WindSwept Narrows: #21 Charlotte Bell & Natalie Templeton
Page 25
“You’re laughing at me.”
“No. No, I’m not. Friends don’t have price tags for helping,” one shoulder rose and fell. “It just is. Am I attracted to you? Absolutely. I felt it when I watched you run the team catching the guy holding Charlotte Bell. You’re smart and you care and you have a quirky taste in books and I could go on, but I’ve learned all of that is kind of like pheromones. Individual. I’ve watched my friends become attached to women I considered sisters and wondered what in the world…” He liked the little smile he’d coaxed out. “That was when I was younger,” he winked at her. “Now…I get it. Well, sometimes I don’t because they still seem like sisters to me but to my friends…”
“You’re strange,” she laughed at his rambling.
“I have branches inside my head that do tend to take me places most avoid,” he chuckled.
“I wouldn’t share that thought with too many people.” Natalie laughed, feeling all the quickly surging tensions drifting off. “You know there’s a psych theory against guys being white knights and riding to the rescue.”
“You don’t need rescued,” Tre said instantly.
“Really? Then why am I hiding out in your guest room?”
“Because we’re not ready for you to be in my bedroom yet,” Tre was pretty sure she’d stopped breathing. “You don’t need rescuing, Natalie. Protected and I’m thinking some of that is from yourself. Accepting that you don’t owe them anything is the hardest hurdle to get over. As long as that’s still in your head, they’ll be able to get to you.”
“When I was little…my mother has books of photos…she said she wished for a little girl so she could do all those girl things. I had tons of frilly dresses and we were always going places, shopping and having teas. Then I grew up…”
“You’re doing a good imitation of a girl,” Tre remarked in the lull.
Natalie tipped her head to the side. “You’re still envisioning those dance moves from the other day.”
“They are eternally etched upon my weak male psyche,” Tre admitted, a wistful sigh making her laugh again. “What girl career do you think your mother wanted for you?”
“Girl career?” She blinked at the question she’d never given a thought to. Her head shook slowly, the braid she never finished tying off, slowly unraveling behind her shoulders. “I’m not sure she thinks I should have a career. I’m not built right for a model. I took ballet for years but…again, not built right.”
“I like your built,” he injected teasingly, thinking of her curves in the swimsuits she wore.
“She mostly echoed things my father said. She keeps finding recently single kids of her friends or friends of friends and setting me up,” Natalie ran her hands through her hair. “When it’s just her and I…we talk about things. Not my job, but…most everything else. She loves cooking and bakes for charity things all the time. It upsets her because I avoid them.”
“What she’s willing to settle for isn’t the same as what you need, Natalie. Peace at any price usually hurts someone,” Tre watched as she crawled to the end of the bed, hands digging into the large pack and surfacing with a wide toothed wire brush.
“I think that’s it. I don’t think she’s happy. Sometimes I think she’s afraid of them,” she looked up at him. “Of my father and brothers. Then I get a surge of guilt for thinking that.”
“Parents and guilt…go figure,” he teased, moving from the chair and sliding onto the bed behind her, taking the brush before she could get a firmer grip. “Let me.”
“Tre…I keep telling you about bad ideas…”
“And why would this be a bad idea? I’ve never done this before. Never let my hair grow anywhere near this. It’s thick and soft, like silk threads,” he stroked from her forehead to the tiered ends at the center of her back. Smiling at the tiny sounds of approval that came from her.
“Because I could seriously get to like it,” she admitted, bracing her hands at her sides.
“Girls like really different things than guys,” he remarked, a genuine trace of curiosity in his tone.
“Another mystery between the genders. Foot massages, pedicures and having our hair brushed…kinda simple really.”
“Sensual,” Tre corrected. “You think your mother doesn’t understand that you can be a kick-ass murder cop and a girl at the same time?”
“Sometimes I wonder if…if it wasn’t for the negative way my father and brothers treat my career, she might understand,” Natalie let a long, contented sigh break from her lips, her shoulders slack and head tilted back.
“Did she ever have a career of her own?”
“I think she thought about it. All those frilly dresses I wore…she used to make them. We’d spend hours and hours scouring fabric shops for just the right lace or ribbons. I think she would have enjoyed that,” a frown wrinkled her forehead. “But he always found an excuse for why it was a bad idea. And she let him. She had this big drawing pad filled with ideas and notes.”
“Maybe she just needs to meet some people with the same passion,” he slid his palm beneath the heavy mass, taking the brush from the underside to the ends and repeating. Fresh and sweet, the fragrance that was Natalie had a strangle hold on him. Add to that, the feel of her hair on his hands and the closed, thick lashes coupled with a tiny mewling sound and he was doomed.
“Maybe.” Her voice was vague until her nose twitched. “Did you make popcorn?”
“I think so. A long time back,” Tre barely straightened up before she spun, took the brush and grabbed his hand, tugging him off the bed.
“I love popcorn.” She stood beside the bed, blinking at him. “Tre? Are you okay?”
“Oh, yeah…uh-huh…” He pushed to his feet, growling when she bit her lip and turned away, moving to stand near the door.
“I’ll…I’ll go out and check on the TV movies…”
“You do that. I’ll be out in a few,” Tre went into the bathroom and closed the door, his hands immediately in the cold water he threw into full force.
Chapter Thirty-One
Natalie pushed a long breath between her lips. She wasn’t ready to be in his bed.
Says who, her libido demanded as she searched cabinets and found a large bowl. She took the now cooled bag of popcorn from the microwave and put the one waiting outside in, pressing the easy popcorn button.
He was so far from her ex.
She’d been so stupid and ignorant. Dazzled because he was older. He was experienced. The man he introduced her too was a one hundred and eighty degree turn from the man she came to know. Where had her instincts been? Why had she been so lonely, so needy that he was able to creep into her life and take so much from it?
She’d had doubts. And she’d shoved them aside. Let his flimsy explanations inside when she knew better. But Tre…he was honest, even when it didn’t always work in his favor, she thought with a little smile.
Tre found her staring at the microwave, chewing her lower lip in thought.
“I think it’s pretty much popped,” he reached for the button and froze when she turned those wide, gorgeous eyes on him. His mouth opened to ask if she was alright seconds before her hands were up and on either side of his face.
She went to her toes and kissed him.
She wasn’t sure why.
Well, she did know why. Because the teasing glimpses he’d given her of his mouth had been driving her crazy since Saturday night.
It began simple enough. Her mouth pressed hotly against his. Her tongue surged into the open, parted lips and swept around, engaging his tongue, backing away and exploring on its own.
Tasting him. Curling temptingly and backing off just enough to drag her tongue around his mouth before settling down once more.
It didn’t bother her that she was on her toes because she wasn’t sure her feet were even on the floor anymore. His arms had reacted, circling her in a tight, lifting hug, his back against the counter and just holding her there, letting her control their kiss.
Her hands were small and she’d shoved both of them through his hair, holding tightly to the back of his head and ravaging his mouth.
Not that he minded. He couldn’t recall a kiss that swept through him with such power before. One arm remained tight around her, holding her snugly against him, the other allowed his palm to caress down her back and onto her behind, lifting her a little more.
He held her against him, his eyes opening slowly when she lifted her mouth from his. Her arms lay along his shoulders and somehow he doubted he’d ever be tired of holding her close.
He could feel her bare toes against his shins, stroking him. Her lips looked as swollen as his felt but he was ready to go back for more except for the expression on her face.
“You don’t think I’m cold.”
Tre wasn’t sure where the statement came from, but that’s what it was. And it was accompanied by the oddest, most studious look he could recall seeing on someone’s face over the age of five.
“As in…you need flannel PJs in the summer?” He heard his own uncertainty.
“As in a fish.”
“A cold fish?” He repeated the words, pulling his brain from the throbbing between his legs. He had the mind of a couple computers that suddenly short circuited when she kissed him.
“Hmm…”
“A cold fish! Right…okay…” Heat tinged his cheeks when she laughed and pushed her face against his neck, her tongue tasting him and pulling a low growl from inside him. “Who the hell would think you’re a…” he stopped, bits of his brain finally coming back online. “The ex?”
Her head moved slightly against his cheek, sharp teeth nipping the open space between his throat and shoulder.
“It was almost three and a half years ago. I don’t know what was wrong with me. How I let myself think…” She pulled in a deep breath and lifted her head.
“So…that was a test?”
“Well…no…maybe…you got to initiate the last two times you kissed me, I thought it was my turn now,” she wiggled her feet. She knew the floor was down there somewhere. The problem with wiggling feet is the hips wiggled, too. And there was no denying the hard, thick cock she was pressing against. “Tre…you probably should put me down now.”
“Why?”
“The popcorn’s finished. We can sit on the patio and watch the sun colors and eat popcorn. I’m not much in the mood for a movie. And you don’t seem to be too interested in movie watching, either,” Natalie knew he was aroused. But he didn’t make a move after her kiss. “Would you rather do something else?”
“You really didn’t just ask me that,” Tre felt his eyes cross and realized he still had one palm firmly around her ass. And he didn’t want to let go.
“Maybe you should show me your bedroom,” Natalie went back to exploring his throat and the bit of shoulder exposed by his shirt.
He’d been leaning against the counter and groaned loudly when he stood up and those long legs wrapped around his waist.
“Natalie…you’re not making this easy on me.”
“I need practice seducing you,” she sighed dramatically. “Evidently you’re resisting.”
“The hell I am,” he gave into the growl when she thrust her hips hard against his cock. “We’re going to end up on the damn floor, Natalie.”
“Okay…something tells me you have an erotic imagination hidden in there,” she whispered against his throat, taking his ear with a nip before swirling her tongue around and down to his shoulder again. She held on as he walked carefully, somehow managing to get them to the wide, winding stairs that looped beside the kitchen. She felt her feet touch the smooth black stones and brought her palms to frame his face.
“Why did you say we weren’t ready for this, Tre?” She saw more than her reflection in his glasses, she was inside his eyes, deep and treasured.
“Because I don’t want to be a regret, Natalie. I don’t want you running from what happens between us,” he remained on a lower step, their faces level and his mouth moving over her cheek, along her jaw and onto her mouth.
“You wouldn’t lie to me,” she said softly. “I knew that the instant you yelled at me in the gym.”
Tre felt like laughing. “That’s an interesting way to know that. I do my best not to lie, Natalie. I don’t want to be lied to. I know you’ve been hurt and…”
She smothered his words with her mouth, sweeping in and taking him back to the hot, sweet pleasures that began perking toward a boil. Natalie took a step up, her hands on the hem of her shirt. She peeled it over her head and let it fall to the stairs.
She laughed. She’d managed to steam his glasses. She reached for them only to find her wrist circled and tugged.
“Tre! What the…put me down…” frantically, she gripped the waistband of his shorts and held on as he climbed the remaining steps to the loft bedroom.
“Do you realize, in my eyes, in my opinion and to my masculinity, I believe you have the most perfect pair of breasts I’ve ever peeked at since I discovered breasts at the young age of eight,” Tre set her on her feet and stared, ignoring the bubble of laughter from her.
Laughter that vanished when his palms cupped her breasts, thumbs stroking over the nipples. Using the edge of his nails, he continued until she gripped his wrists.
“You have to stop that,” Natalie breathed raggedly, her head shaking.
Tre released her long enough to pull his shirt over his head and drop it to the floor.
“Why? Don’t you like it?”
“Yes…god, yes…but if you continue that…don’t you doctors know the bits that are connected and melt a girls’ brain?” Natalie groaned when one of his palms returned to arouse and tease her nipple.
“Ahh…a weakness…you know all weaknesses must be exploited,” he whispered, his other arm wrapping around her waist and holding her in place while he bent his head and captured one nipple between his teeth. He felt the shudder racing through her and suckled gently, wrapping his tongue around the taut nipple and tugging.
If her clit wasn’t screaming for relief, she would have laughed at him.
His teasing, his words, god, his mouth…he had fun with sex.
He had fun with life, she thought fleetingly, her lower body arching against the thigh he’d thrust between hers. She was positive he’d have a damp spot on his thigh if he kept that up, she could feel the pulsing, the tingling threatening…hiding just outside her reach and he hadn’t done more than kiss her and her breasts!
Natalie pulled her senses together and forced her palms against his chest, sliding them lower and opening the button on his shorts. Her fingers grazed along the hardened length of him as the zipper parted for her.
“Still feeling good?” Tre whispered huskily against her breast, the breath he was drawing in trapped somewhere outside him when her hand closed around his cock, stroking down and cupping him firmly.
“Want to see who comes first?” But the teasing sound ended in a gasp when she was forced to take a step back, his free hand sliding inside her panties and tangling in the short clipped dark down. His thumb just barely brushed her clit. Just enough to make her teeth clamp down on his shoulder.
“You’ll lose, beautiful,” Tre slid his entire palm over her, his middle finger parting the swollen puffs of flesh and collecting the hot moisture.
“Oh yes…”
“It’s like feeling lightning in my hands,” he whispered against her breast, kissing his way back to her mouth and stretching out with her on the bed. He’d stepped out of the shorts that had fallen down his legs and let her finish pushing his boxers aside. His tongue surged against hers, urging it to spar and play.
But only for a moment.
Natalie pulled her mouth from his, gulping in air when her body spiraled out of her control. Sh
e felt the strands of lightning he spoke of; felt them ignite and rip through her. Strong, solid currents convulsed, gripped and rippled her female walls.
“Tre!” She heard her own voice, almost a foreign sound that vibrated beneath the power of the pleasure racing through her.
It wanted him. It wanted him now!
Tre met the wild, flashing and gorgeous violet eyes. Watching her explode in his hands had been magical. She was still gasping in deep drafts of air when she spun him around and pushed against his chest, sending him back on the bed.
“Condoms?”
“Drawer,” Tre watched her peel the damp panties down her legs and kick them aside even while her hand was digging in the drawer beside his bed. She came out with a handful and dropped them to the top of the nightstand. She straddled his thighs, hands busy opening the packet. He felt himself groan, his eyes crossing when she gripped him with both hands before rolling the latex into place.
“Natalie…”
“Shh…my turn…and I want you inside me…” She kissed him, slow and teasing from one side of his mouth to the other and pressed him onto his back. His hands moved to her hair, fingers sliding into the silken mass and holding her with a hunger she willingly met.
Tre was positive he’d very possibly explode and die of pleasure. He felt her hips move above him. The pure eroticism heightening his excitement as she tipped and rotated her hips, taking him inside her slowly.
Damn slowly. She was wet for him, drenched after her orgasm and he could still feel the faintest of tremors in the muscle of the walls clenching him.
“Christ, woman…you’re killing me here…”
“Then we’ll both die happy,” she groaned, her palms pressed flat against his abdomen as she shifted her body, working to spread the juices; working to ease him inside her. Thick and hard and throbbing, she pressed down and froze while her sex adjusted to him.
Small retreat and she took a little more.
Tre watched and felt every inch of those muscles she’d honed so finely during her dancing. The sight of her body curving and weaving itself over him, sinking lower and gripping him more firmly than he’d have ever thought possible.