“I could never pay you back,” Scarlett said as those four still bidding quickly pushed Brad’s total up to two thousand dollars. Then three. Two women remained.
“Six thousand,” a voice said. Scarlett swiveled in her seat to see Virginia, the woman from earlier holding high the number-one paddle.
The auctioneer seemed to get her drift, because he quickly cut off the other bids and yelled, “Going once, twice, sold to number one, Virginia.”
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Kat said.
“Who is that?” Scarlett demanded. “She heard Brad say he loved me. Why would she do this?”
“You mean you’ve never met the calendar committee chair?”
“No, but I will now.” Scarlett stood before Kat could say anything and rushed off toward where she’d found Brad earlier. When she reached him, Virginia was standing there. “He’s all yours, dear,” she said, pushing him forward. Scarlett’s anger dissolved into confusion, especially when she saw the huge wedding ring on Virginia’s finger.
“I don’t understand. I can’t pay you back,” Scarlett said.
Virginia smiled. “Consider it my wedding gift. I adore true love. My Parker and I have been married fifty years.”
“Really, we can’t. I must insist…”
Scarlett began to protest, but Brad grabbed her hand. “Thank you,” he said, leaning over to give Virginia a kiss on the cheek. “We appreciate this.”
“I want to be invited,” she called after them.
He wrapped his arm around Scarlett and propelled her toward the doors. “I’m ready to go, aren’t you?”
They stepped out into the bright hallway. The hotel coat check was across the way. “Brad, we can’t let her pay for you.”
He kept guiding her across the floor. “Yes, we can. She’s richer than Croesus and will be insulted if we don’t. And she found a solution to keeping me with you. I want to be with you, Scarlett.”
“I want to be with you too,” she said.
“Then let’s go home.” He ran his forefinger from her shoulder down her arm to her hand. She trembled and he took her fingers in his. “Do you know what you do to me? I’m serious when I say I’m going to be your guy and that I love you.”
She leaned forward and put both of her hands on his forearms. “Then if you’re already mine, I know what I’d like you to do to me. Please don’t stop tonight. Make love to me.”
They got in the car, and Brad leaned across the center console to give her a kiss to end all kisses. He plundered her mouth, liking how hard he immediately got. She had him ready in a heartbeat, even if he wasn’t planning on using that particular part of his body. No other woman turned him on this fast, for he’d never been as connected to anyone as he was to Scarlett.
The only reason he stopped was someone behind him honked, and he and Scarlett laughed as they drove away. She kept her hand on his leg the entire ride home. He drove into the garage, turned off the engine, hit the remote and leaned across the console for her again. He held her head tenderly between his hands as he kissed her mouth. He slid his hands into her hair and freed it from the pins. Her red hair tumbled down around her shoulders, and he moved a strand or two away as he inserted a finger under the scoop of her dress and drew out her left breast. He shifted so he could bring his lips to the peak that waited so eagerly. He loved tasting her. She held his head close to her breast as he licked, swirled his tongue over the nub before returning to draw the nipple farther inside his mouth. He liked how sensitive she was.
He could feel her quiver. He used his free hand and bunched up the dress that didn’t have far to go. Found the thin strip of fabric. Slid his finger along her wetness and made her head thrash. She swiveled, giving him even more access and he took that same finger and slid it inside. Then he brought his finger out before sending it back inside again. He repeated the motion until her legs shook and she came.
“I’m going to taste you,” he told her as he lifted his head. He took his finger and put it in his mouth. “Delicious.” He pulled her dress back down. “I’m going to lick you until you come in my mouth. Do you want that?”
Scarlett could only nod. Brad smiled. “Good. Tonight we’re not stopping.”
Her voice was deep and throaty. After what he’d just done, she wanted all of it. “No. No, we’re not.”
The light inside the garage flashed off, plunging them into darkness. “Shall we go inside?”
He came around to her side of the car. Lifted her into his arms. Carried her across the backyard and into the house.
She stood in the kitchen as he rearmed the alarm. Watched him shed his overcoat. The man was a siren in a suit. He held his arms out. “Come here.”
“I want to seduce you,” she told him, stepping forward.
“You already have. But I want to kiss you for a while.” He brought his mouth to hers, making kissing an act all its own. His lips gently traced hers, as if memorizing every texture and nuance. His tongue slid inside to mate with hers, starting a dance that both knew where it would end. The kiss was sweet yet sensual all at the same time.
“Do you know how beautiful you are?” he asked as he lowered his mouth to her collarbone. “I’m going to show you.” He let her go and shed the suit jacket. Drew her back into his arms. “Now I can hold you closer. Kiss you better.”
How was it possible that the next kiss topped the first? But it did, and as the passion grew between them, she needed to touch him. She’d wrapped her arm around him, and she moved her fingers to his tie. Tugged at the knot, pulled it loose and slid it from his neck.
Then she began undoing the buttons of his shirt, remained mesmerized as the white oxford broadcloth disappeared, revealing his undershirt. She slid it up and over, and it joined the dress shirt somewhere on the floor. “I peeked at the calendar,” she admitted as her hands found bare skin. “You’re better in the flesh.”
She ran her hands over his rock-hard abs. Traced the lines between the muscles. He gritted his teeth. Swore.
“So, tattoos?” she asked, moving around the back side of him.
“None,” he admitted. “No identifying marks preferred in my SEAL work, and then once out, I never had the urge. I don’t like needles.”
“Ah, Mr. Big and Strong and Wonderful has a weakness.”
“And I’m not afraid of admitting it,” he replied. He sucked in his breath. Made it hiss out as she stood in front of him. She grabbed his belt loops and pulled him toward her. Took her hands and ran them down the front of his jeans. Cupped him. He grabbed her hands. Brought his mouth to hers.
“Love this dress, but it needs to go.”
“It does.” He leaned, and in a swift movement, he had her in his arms. He carried her up the back stairs as if she were light as a feather. Brought her into her bedroom and set her on her feet. Then he took her arms and lifted them above her head. He stripped the dress from her, then stopped and stared. She stood in her black stilettoes wearing only a lacy black bra and a tiny silk scrap of fabric.
“You are beautiful.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Only because it’s true.”
And as he kissed her again, Scarlett believed. She stood before him, no longer nervous or scared. She was a thousand and one nerve endings, all working together in harmony for one purpose—to be as close to him as possible. “Touch me,” she demanded, emboldened by the desire pooling between her legs. He reached for her breasts, cupped underneath them and brought his mouth to the lace of her bra. He’d tasted her before, but now he took his time, lavishing attention on each peak until she strained against him. Her legs shook and her head fell back as her bra disappeared and his tongue found her unimpeded. She clung to his shoulders for support.
“I’ll buy you new ones,” he whispered, and he grabbed the thin fabric strap that sat on her right hip. It snapped as he tugged, and the thong joined the dress somewhere on the floor. A finger slipped lower and between her folds. Her body clenched around him. He slid his finger out, joined
it with a second and slid both back in. She climaxed immediately and cried out. She’d wanted sparks and instead gotten fireworks, and they weren’t even at the main event.
“Must taste you,” he told her, dropping to his knees before her so he could put his mouth to her apex. He took a deep breath as if memorizing her scent. “So lovely.” Then using his hands, he spread her legs and his tongue shot forth.
The moment he first slid his tongue across her wetness, Scarlett again had to hold on. She ran her fingers into his hair, clutched him to her as his tongue darted inside to drink. She wobbled on the stilettoes. “So beautiful,” he repeated, kissing the inside of her thigh before going back. Another earth-shattering orgasm began to build as Brad’s fingers spread her folds so his tongue could go deeper into the most intimate part of her. He suckled and she cried out. Tried to remain on two legs as her knees threatened to buckle. Fingers joined tongue as he feasted, and Scarlett, who’d desired for so long to do nothing but feel, let Brad’s magic take her away. “Take it,” he whispered. “Come. I’m going to make you come all night. Let go. Let go for me.”
Never had such an intimate moment given her so much pleasure. Her having an orgasm was a destination in itself, not just some foreplay. The difference astounded her and her legs shook and quaked as she came standing up, over the man whose mouth opened beneath her catching every drop. She held on for life as he refused to let her orgasm subside, his touch continuing to give her the longest orgasm ever. She felt engorged. Full. Satisfied. Pleasured completely. “So good,” she told him, hearing the wonder and satisfaction in her voice.
And there would be more. They were only getting started. He leaned her back so her knees connected with the bed and she sat. Flopped back, spent. His hands slid down her legs and began to remove her shoes. Then he lay down next to her.
“I always want it to be good for you,” he told her and she heard the conviction that told her she mattered to him, that those earlier words of love hadn’t been a fluke.
“Went beyond good. That was incredible.”
His finger slid around to the front and he caressed her nipple. “You have to tell me how you’re doing. I don’t want to make you sore.”
“Don’t you dare stop. In fact, you have too many clothes on.”
“Tonight’s not about me. Not until much later. If I don’t keep my pants on, it’ll be over way too fast.”
“Okay.” She touched his chest. “I’m glad we have all night.”
“I want to savor everything. It’s been a while.”
“For us both,” Scarlett amended, gasping as his mouth found her nipple and her back arched to meet him. He kissed her, the sensation of mouth and skin highly erotic and charged. Yet, her subconscious could sense how cherished she was. His exploration was about her. He’d stop if she said the word. She could send him back to his apartment over the garage all hot and bothered and he’d go without protest. That fact allowed her to let go of any fear. She trusted him.
If Brad didn’t realize how special he was, then the man was dense as fog. She put her free hand on the hand he used to caress her breast. Sighed as his tongue swirled around her, fulfilling her wish.
She had no idea how long he made love to her breasts. He pushed both together so he could take them at the same time. She cried out. The ache between her legs he’d satisfied earlier came back tenfold. Yet his mouth concentrated only on her breasts. Both hands and fingers. She reached to touch herself. Pulled back.
That caught his attention. He lifted, and her body ached for his touch. “Never hesitate to indulge yourself,” he told her. “Do you know how sexy it is that you’ll take your own pleasure?”
Her hand tentatively went back between her legs. He watched her do it. “Rub yourself.”
She made a circle and he groaned. Looked at her with deep chocolate eyes. Her head dropped back. “Now, you do that and let me do this. I want you to come. You can’t do this to yourself.”
“No,” she gasped as his mouth found her breasts again. “Oh shit!” She trembled violently as another extreme orgasm powered over her. Her breathing came hard and heavy and after she climaxed, she clutched the sheets with both hands. “Holy hell.”
There was just enough light coming in around the curtains to put a faint glow in the room. She swore she could see him grinning from ear to ear. “That was incredible.” He took one of her free hands and guided it to the bulge at the front of his pants. “Feel what you do to me.”
“Oh.” She rubbed her palm along the length of it. Oh boy. “You need to get naked,” she told him. She found the fly and tugged.
His hand stilled hers. He seemed nervous, and the fact touched her deeply. “You sure?”
She tugged the second button. “Whatever you do … Don’t. You. Dare. Stop.”
Brad had gotten under her skin—okay, poor analogy considering the circumstances, but as he kissed her neck, she realized she wanted all this and more. They would deal with whatever the morning brought once the sun came up. For tonight, only the two of them—in this room—existed. No one else. No baggage. No memories. No comparisons.
Just the now.
She pushed him onto his back and freed the last button. Having already kicked off his socks and shoes, he lifted his hips as she stripped him of his jeans and boxers. She rose, went to the curtains and pulled them open another four inches. More streetlight slivered in through the narrow crack. He lay on the bed, watching her, his arms folded behind his head as she crossed the room, oddly not shy that she was completely exposed to him. “Condom is in my wallet,” he told her.
“Won’t need it. I never stopped taking the pill.” She straddled his thighs. His hardened cock jumped. “Not unless you’re diseased.”
“Hell no. Took the tests and all. And two plus years,” he reminded her.
“I know. I’m very impressed by that. It makes this all mine.” Boldly she took his length in her hand. Closed and made a fist. Savored the pulse that throbbed in her palm. Heard his gasp as she stroked.
“Witch,” he called to her.
“You ain’t seen nothing yet,” Scarlett teased. She moved her hand from base to tip, memorizing the feel of his soft, smooth skin. She took her thumb and ran it over the head, spreading the drop of pre-cum. She bent over and took the tip in her mouth. As she did she closed her eyes. Blotted out the past. After Todd had cheated, she’d refused. Simply couldn’t go there. Do this. But this was Brad. An overpowering need to give him this gift overtook her and she swirled her mouth over him, savoring the musky flavor that was all his. Heat pooled. Oh, she’d missed this. Missed this connection. Was so glad she could share it with him.
He twitched in her mouth, and she smiled, heady with the pleasure only she could provide. She wanted him at the point of no return. She wanted to know—no, make that needed to know—that she could bring him to the edge and then take him further, as he had her, and that this was special. She lowered more, drawing him fully into her mouth. And loved it.
Loved him deeply and truly. The realization was empowering. Freeing. Exciting.
He hit the edge. “Enough or I’ll…” he said, grasping for her. “We should be together. I want us together.”
She moved her mouth. Lifted herself forward and settled herself down. Sighed and shook as her body took him in. Adjusted to the sweet, blissful intrusion. He locked his gaze on hers and reached for her waist. Helped lift her up and down as she rode him. She leaned over his chest and his head came off the pillow so he could kiss her. She lost herself then to their connection, to their heat and friction. Passion carried her away—every pore alive. With every thrust, her awareness of what was coming heightened. Like the clicking of a roller coaster as it climbed, she could feel her orgasm building. Her hands clutched the sheets as every nerve ending began to sing in a rhythm as old as time. Then, as she reached the top, the orgasm began. She flew with it, up and over and up and over again until finally the thrill ride subsided and the ride ended. Still joined, she lay on hi
s chest, breathing heavy. He stroked her back. Held her close. She’d never felt so secure. So safe. So unhurried. So loved.
His fingers traced circles. She didn’t want to move, but finally, she slid off him and over to one side. His arm wrapped around her and she put her head on his chest, just below his shoulder. He drew the sheet around them. “Take a catnap,” he told her. “You’ll need your energy.”
She was completely satiated. Spent. Yet his words had made her quiver, made her realize she could be ready to go again in a snap. “Can’t wait for more.”
He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Don’t worry. We’re just getting started. That was only round one.”
* * *
After five, or was it six, or maybe seven rounds, Scarlett woke. Sunlight flickered in around the curtains and through the gap she’d made. The beam hit her directly in the face, and as she shifted, she heard a muffled oomph. Worn out from a long night with little sleep, Scarlett found herself momentarily disoriented. She sat up. Grabbed the sheet to cover her nakedness. Turned to the man sleeping soundly next to her, his legs too long for the bed. Remembered that Colleen was at Jenni’s and wouldn’t come walking in the door.
She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She didn’t have regrets. Just no clue what to do from here. She glanced at the bedside clock. A little after nine. Now what? Did she get up and go about her day? Did she make him breakfast? She looked at him again. His brown eyes were open, staring up at her. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. You okay?”
“No,” she replied honestly.
He reached to stroke her cheek. “What’s wrong?”
This was Brad. She had to be honest. “I have no idea what to do next.”
He continued to trace the side of her face. “There’s no wrong answer. I’ll leave whenever you want me to.”
“I don’t necessarily want you to leave. But, I’ve never been here before.”
Brad had. Far too many times. Climb out of bed, get dressed, do a kiss on the cheek and find the door. That simple. His cheek itched and he scratched the stubble he’d need to shave. The amount of times they’d made love last night meant he knew she was sore. “How about we each get a shower and meet in the kitchen? I’ll cook you breakfast.”
Fan The Flames (Man Of The Month Book 3) Page 16
