by Doreen Alsen
She trembled where his hands roamed over her. He kept his touch feather light, raising goose bumps on her hypersensitive skin.
“You are so beautiful,” he murmured. “I haven’t taken the time to love you right.” He kissed her and coaxed her lips apart with his tongue.
Her eyes drifted closed as he made exquisite love to her mouth, practically making her weep with pleasure. She mewed when he lifted his head.
“Don’t worry, Sparky. There’s a lot more where that came from.” He reached behind him, grabbed one of the cans of whipped cream, and shook it.
“What are you going to do with that?”
“This.” He popped the top and sprayed the whipped cream over her tight, hard nipples. “Pretty.” He lowered his mouth slowly to lick the cream off. “Delicious.”
She couldn’t catch her breath as he swirled his tongue over and around the taut peaks of her breasts. Her head swimming, she anchored her hands in his hair and held on for dear life.
“Hmmmmm,” he said as he shook the can again. “I’m still hungry.” He decorated her breasts again and drew a line down from her chest to her belly button.
Her muscles quivered as he lapped the whipped cream from her body. She writhed as he held her close and feasted. Pleasure spiraled through her with each pass of his tongue.
He continued to lick and lave her trembling skin as he moved down her body, to the soft lips covering the hard button of her clitoris. She screamed at the first intimate kiss he delivered to her melting core.
Pleasure rolled over her in wave after wave. She was drowning in it. Her hips lifted up to meet his hot, wicked mouth.
As she flew off the peak with the sharp release of her orgasm, he reached between them and joined their bodies with one long, hard thrust.
Her climax went on and on, her inner walls molten and squeezing the magnificent length of his erection. She met him thrust for thrust, desperate to bring him to the same amazing release he’d just brought her. Impossibly, she felt the tender spasms build again as he moved in her body.
“I’m close, so close, baby,” he growled. “Come with me.” He nipped her lower lip with his teeth.
With one last ferocious roar, he pushed into her hard and deep and came in four strong bursts. She came apart along with him.
****
Air sawed in and out of Tim’s chest as he came back to himself after the most profound climax of his life. He had totally lost himself inside this amazing woman. He didn’t think he’d ever be the same again, as if some newer, better man had been born out of this insane physical connection he had with Angelique.
He rolled over and pulled her on top of him. “Are you okay?”
She shuddered on a wavering sigh. “More than okay. Amazed is more like it.”
“Me, too” He stared into those big brown eyes of hers. So much of his new life came into focus, revealed in her velvety soft gaze.
She gifted him with one of her beautiful smiles, a lovely curve of her mouth that shot him straight in the heart.
Love for her washed over him in bright, pulsing waves.
Tim had always wondered how he would know when he fell in love. Never, in his wildest imagination, could he have predicted this mix of elation at how right, simple, and inevitable it was and sheer terror that Angelique might not reciprocate his feelings
That she now held the whole of his heart in her small, adorable hands.
She leaned up over his chest to kiss him. “You know what I’m thinking, cher?” Her eyes sparkled.
“Don’t have a clue.” It was the absolute truth to God.
She reached past him and snagged the can of whipped cream and shook it. “I’m thinking turnabout is fair play.”
He grinned. What a woman. “Bring it on.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Pass the soap, please.”
Angelique pursed her lips in light of Tim’s demanding voice. “I dropped it.” She sat facing him in the huge Jacuzzi that took up most of the space on his second floor balcony.
“Maybe you should try to find it, like feel around in the water and see what comes up.”
She splashed him. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you.”
“I would enjoy that, yes.” He splashed her back. “I could make it worth your while, too.”
“You could?” Angelique shook her head. “Feeling pretty cocky right now, aren’t you?”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Tim reached over and pulled her on top of him. He kissed her as the warm water fizzed and twirled around them. The night sky winked down at them just like the fireflies bobbing around them on the deck did. The waves lapping on the shore provided the background music.
He’d placed bayberry candles into hurricane lamps and their luxurious scent filled the air.
He ran his hands up and down her back as he slipped his tongue into her mouth and deepened the long, sweet kiss. She trembled with desire as he worked his tender magic on her.
The kiss spun down and he sat up and turned Angelique around so she fit between his legs with her back to him. She turned her head to face him as he squeezed her shoulders. “What are you doing?”
He nipped at her earlobe. “Making you feel good. How’m I doing?”
She sighed. “You’ll do, I suppose.”
“Hmmmmm.”
She felt the rumble of his chest against her back. Dropping her head back to rest on one shoulder, she gave in to his ministrations.
He began to make swirls and lines on her back with one finger. She giggled and squirmed.
The swirls and lines turned into letters, a T, an I, and an M. “You wrote your name on my back.”
“Yep. I want everyone to know who you’re with.”
“That’s silly.”
“What can I say?” He used the flat of his hand to ‘erase’ his name. “How about this one? First word.” He traced an I. “Second word.” He traced an L, an O, a V, an E.
Oh, my. She stopped breathing.
“Third word.” He took another nibble on her ear as he wrote a Y, an O, and a U. “Know what that spells?”
She got to her knees and turned to face him. He looked like a pirate with the beard stubble from his cheekbones to his chin. His eyes burned bright as he waited for her.
Where the heck was her voice? She cleared her throat. “I love you?” she whispered.
He smiled. “I do.”
“Do what?”
“I love you, Angelique Durand, like I’ve never loved a woman before.”
Oh God. She hadn’t allowed herself to even dream of this moment. Her stomach took a couple of dizzying loop-de-loops.
He stared at her, his gaze expectant but tinged with fear.
“Turn around,” she told him.
He saluted. “Yes, Ma’am.”
The skin of his back was warm and smooth, the muscles defined and powerful looking. She cracked her knuckles. “First word” She traced a lowercase I and dotted it with a heart. “Ready for the next one?”
“Bring it on.”
She drew a big Valentine’s heart and put scallops around it. “Got it?”
“Yep,” he murmured.
She lightly bit the place where his neck met his shoulders. “Here goes.” She sketched a great big ol’ U and then the number 2.
He turned and pulled her in his arms “Are you sure?” He rubbed his cheek over the top of her head.
She wanted to be honest with him right out the gate. “As sure as I can be. I’ve never been in love before so I don’t really know what it feels like.”
“I haven’t been in love either, but I think about you constantly, wondering how you are, hell, even where you are. We just made love and I can’t wait to do it again. If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is.”
As she listened to him, her heart pounded. She could say ‘ditto’ to everything he’d said. “Then, I do love you.” She hadn’t realized it until he drew the words on her back.
He kissed her hard. �
��Let’s take this pool party inside. I can’t do to you the things I want out here in public.” He waggled his brows. “I have very private things in mind.”
“Private things, huh?” She smiled. “ I love the way your mind works.
She loved everything about him. She was giddy over it, over him.
No one would believe that flighty, queen of the flirts, fickle Angelique Durand had finally fallen in love, but she had and like the Grinch’s, her heart had grown three sizes with the force of the realization.
She leaned in and kissed him. “Take me back in so you can tell me more about all those very private things.
He grinned against her mouth. “Atta girl.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
“…so this event is very important.” Betts Quinn slapped the manila file folder she held in her right hand against her left palm. She’d asked Angelique to meet her in the lobby of the Sea Crest Inn. “Alma tells me that you have an in with Lucien Durand.”
Angelique stifled a groan as well as the urge to pound her head against a wall. “Not really.”
“Oh.” Betts was clearly disappointed. “Lucien Durand is such a celebrity, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s so handsome he makes your teeth ache.”
Mais yeah, Lucien could make your teeth ache…ache with the urge to punch him right in that arrogant nose of his. “I never noticed.”
Betts stared at her as if her skin had just turned snot green. “Maybe you should call the doctor and get an EKG. Or an MRI of your brain. Or buy some glasses.”
Oh brother. “I guess he’s just not my type.”
“And is Tim Baldwin your type?”
Angelique could practically hear the stars in her eyes pop up. “He’s a very handsome man.”
Betts chuckled. “He is that. He’s also near and dear to my heart. His parents are lovely people. Not stuck up like some of the other rich Bostonians who have summer homes up here. Not only that, anyone with eyes can see how much he adores that dog of his.”
“Chester is a real character.”
“All dogs are. I just love ’em. All animals really.” She winked. “Better than most people actually. It’s why I’m so anxious about this Applause for Paws fundraiser for the no-kill shelter in Bar Harbor and for April’s rescue operation.”
Angelique bit her lower lip. “I’ve never met Tim’s parents.”
“Oh, you wouldn’t have. They left about a month ago, maybe two months ago, I forget, on a sailing odyssey from the St. Lawrence Seaway all the way to Key West. The leaf didn’t fall far from the tree,” Betts told her. “That boy loves to sail.”
“I’ve gone sailing with him.” She shuddered. “I spent the whole time in fear for my life.”
“That boy does like to take chances. Truth to tell, sailing on Frenchman’s Bay can get pretty hairy. But…kidding aside, all those years haring off to all those dangerous places, taking those violent, frightening pictures.” Betts shook her head. “Risking his life to take those pictures. And then he got kidnapped and almost died.”
Angelique knew better than anyone how much he still suffered from his time with ISIS, damn them.
“He doesn’t talk about it much.”
“At least he has a nice girl like you by his side.”
Nice girl? No one who really knew her would call her nice. Selfish? Yes. Conniving? Absolutely. But nice?
Never.
“Are you sure you can’t get Lucien Durand to attend the fundraiser?”
She sighed. “I can try, but I’m not promising anything.” Who knew what Lucien would do?
Betts clapped her hands together. “Maybe he could do a signing at Cliff Notes. Alma adores his new cookbook, almost as much as she adores the sexy picture of him on the dust jacket. Bobbie would love to have him sign his new book and donate a part of the profits to the shelter.”
“Maybe.” Loyalty to Hope goaded her on to add, “He is married, you know. He’s very much in love with his wife.”
Betts harrumphed. “Well, a girl can dream, can’t she? I’m going to talk to Bobbie right now about the book signing. I’m sure she’s going to be thrilled.”
“Remember, I’m not promising anything.” Angelique told Betts, panic draping itself around her shoulders.
“Got to stay positive for those precious fur babies. Let me know what Chef Durand says!” Betts trundled off in the direction of Cliff Notes.
Angelique watched her leave, thinking that she should probably live up to the nice girl reputation and give her brother a call.
Because Tim really did deserve a nice girl. She could be that for him.
Even better, she could be that for herself. She deserved it, too.
****
“Hey, Chester! Who’s a good boy?” Dylan Foster, vet at Lobster Cove’s Old Mill Veterinarian Hospital, cooed to the Dobie. “Are you a good boy?”
Chester’s tail thumped against the tiled floor while Dylan rubbed the top of his head. “He’s doing great.” She smiled at Tim. “You’d never know he’d gone through so much before you rescued him.”
Tim sighed. The dog probably saved Tim more than the other way around. You couldn’t eat a gun if you had someone to take care of, to talk you down.
Chester definitely needed to be taken care of. His talk you down vocabulary, however, amounted to woof and grrrr. “He’s a good dog.”
“Listen, I want to talk to you about this Applause for Paws fundraiser for the shelter in Bar Harbor. One of the things we want to do is introduce all the successful rescue adoption dogs and cats. Is that something you think you and Chester can do?” Dylan leaned against the wall of the exam room.
Why not? Tim shrugged. “Sounds okay.”
“Great! Dr. Weaver will be so glad to hear that.” Dylan beamed at him. “I’ll give you a call when we’ve got more details. And don’t forget the dog parade.”
What the hell was a dog parade? “I’m looking forward to it.” He took the leash from her then snapped it on Chester’s collar. “Let’s go buddy.”
He ambled out of the vet clinic into the bright July sun thankful for Chester. He’d been counting his blessings a lot lately.
Angelique topped the list. He’d been working on the photos he’d taken of her. Almost done on creating a portfolio of them, he imagined he’d show them to her one day soon. He’d talk her into posing for him when he showed her how beautiful she still was.
Tim owed her so much. He hoped this tribute showed her just how much she meant to him.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“I’d like to take you somewhere special for dinner.” Tim took Angelique’s hand as they sat in the sand watching the sunset. “Somewhere out of town.”
The evening breeze blew in gentle waves over them. “Mmmmm, I’d love that. Where?”
“Addington. It’s been too long since I’ve been to the ol’ hometown and I’d like to spend time with your family.”
“You want to spend time with my family.” She laced her fingers together until her knuckles turned white. “With my brother. Am I being punked?”
He snorted. “Yes. The man who loves you wants to spend time with your family.” His eyes darkened. “But if it’s too much of a big deal, we can find someplace in Portland.”
Oh, no. She’d hurt his feelings. “It’s not a big deal. You surprised me, is all.” She’d rather have a hangnail and go without a manicure for six months than hurt him. “I think it’s about time Lucien and Hope got to know you better.”
His shoulders loosened a bit. “When can you leave?”
“I’ve got to get time off from work, of course. I don’t think Birdie McCorkle will have a problem with it. If she does, I can always invoke the will of Betts Quinn.”
“Betts?”
“Mais yeah. Betts wants Lucien to come up to Lobster Cove for the Applause for Paws event. If I tell her I need to go to Addington to talk to him, she’ll pack me a bag and push me out the door.”
“Did you tell her Lucien is your brother?”
“Oh no,” Angelique said. “I’m not ready for that step. She thinks he’s an old friend of the family.”
She knew Lucien didn’t want people to know who she was yet.
Angelique herself didn’t know who she was yet. She was getting there, but not quite.
“So, here’s what I’m thinking.” Tim wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “We’ll go on down, check into this B and B I know about, see the sights, then hit your brother’s restaurant for dinner. That way, if he hates me, he won’t punch me out in front of the customers.”
She laughed. “Don’t count on it. He’ll be more than happy to punch you out and put an extra entertainment charge on the customers’ bills.” She bit her lower lip. “We might be better off going to Hope’s.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’ve eaten Hope Monahan’s food practically all my life. I’ve only been to L’Enfer the once. Plus, you’re not a chicken.”
“I’m such a chicken, I cluck in my sleep. But, you’re right.” She grimaced. “L’Enfer it is. I have to warn you, though. Lucien might put extra spice in your food to see if you can handle it.”
He looked aghast. “So, if I hear you right, my road to acceptance by your big brother is paved with spicy food?”
“The spicier the better. And if you didn’t guess by now, Lucien isn’t above dirty tricks.”
“I kind of figured that. Any clues on how to handle him?”
“Oh cher,” she shook her head. “No one handles Lucien Durand. I will say that complimenting Hope is the only way around him. Maybe we can tell him we’re going to Hope’s for dessert because you just love her apple tart.”
“Can we get a to-go order of her shrimp in puff pastry? Those are really good.”
“We can get whatever you want as long as you sing Hope’s praises loud and long.”
“Still, I think I better get my taste buds and stomach ready for all things spicy. What do you think I should do?”
“I don’t know. Find a circus and get lessons from the fire eater?” She snapped her fingers. “I know. Tabasco shots. Lots of Tabasco shots.”
“Cute.” He kissed her. “Really cute. How about this? Let’s go on upstairs to my bedroom and you can show me a thing or two about handling hot stuff.”
