Rafe. For a moment, she studied him. This man was here, now, and he wanted her. Loved her. He made her feel wanted. Needed. Alive! Somewhere over the last few months—or maybe it was during the culmination of the three years she’d known him—but at some point, she’d fallen in love with Rafe McCord. It had been slow, like drizzling honey over a hot bun, but now her feelings were exploding.
Maybe that was what was wrong between Danger and her. Maybe he’d sensed she’d fallen out of love with him and in love with another man.
She hadn’t seen it coming, but maybe Danger had.
Oh, God. The guilt she felt for wanting Rafe ate at her insides. No matter how wrong she knew it was, she couldn’t stop the aching desire. She wanted him. No! No. She couldn’t want him. If she admitted that, she was lost. She looked at Rafe, saw his heart and soul in his deep blue eyes, and she knew it didn’t matter, she was lost anyway. They were both lost.
Lacey rubbed her hands along the seams of her jeans. Her heart skipped a beat. If she let this happen, she’d destroy everything.
Could she live with that?
Was there anything left of her marriage to destroy? The answer to that was simple. No. When Danger left her alone with Rafe, he’d silently told her he didn’t care, that he was finished with her, finished with their marriage. The only thing left of her marriage was the bitter taste of ashes in her mouth.
“Rafe, please.” And she wasn’t sure anymore what she was pleading for from him.
“I’m asking for one night, Lace. That’s all. One night. A single night that you and I share, beautiful memories that only the two of us will ever know, memories that’ll last a lifetime because they have to.”
Oh, God. She wanted this night, wanted this man, but her mind balked. “Rafe.”
“Sssh.” He slid his arms around her and held her close. “You aren’t doing this. I am. Let me kiss you again. I’m dying for a taste of you.”
“Rafe.”
“One kiss, Lace. What’s one kiss going to hurt? I already have the taste of you on my tongue. You’re in my blood. What’s another kiss going to change?”
“Everything.” And nothing.
Danger was already gone. In her heart, she knew he’d left her. He’d walked away, turned his back and left her alone with another man.
But she knew, even as Rafe tugged her closer, cupped her face, and lowered his head, if he kissed her again, she’d be gone, too. Lost. There’d be no turning back. Yes. It’d change everything. Change their lives. Change them.
Rafe brushed her hair from her face and wiped the tears off her cheeks with the tips of his thumbs. “Ssh…Lace, oh, God, honey, don’t cry. I only want to kiss you.”
No. It wouldn’t be anything as simple as a mere kiss. “Rafe, I—”
“Please?”
She stood there, her soul aching. “Dear, God,” she whispered helplessly. “Don’t you see, Rafe, a kiss isn’t going to be enough. It isn’t going to be all there is between us. Not now. Not ever again.”
“I know the things you say are true, but I…please, Lace. Don’t shut me out. Let me in your life, your heart. Let me love you.” He pulled her hand to his zipper. “Feel how much I want you.”
She drew a shaky breath. “I know how much I want you. The ache never goes away. Not anymore. I can’t deny what’s between us. I can’t deny you any longer.” Her heart felt as if it was breaking in half. Her mind screamed a denial. On one hand, she’d lost the love of a wonderful man she adored. On the other hand, she held the heart of another man who loved her, a man she’d fallen hopelessly in love with, too.
She hadn’t meant for it to happen.
But the more Danger pushed her away, the more she’d opened her heart and mind to Rafe.
Slowly, Lacey bowed her head. “Don’t say ‘Please’ again. If you want me, I’m yours.”
Rafe tilted up her chin. “Then don’t hang your head in shame. You have nothing to be ashamed of, and God, woman, I’ve wanted you for so long, I’m nearly crazy with the need to be inside you, but I won’t touch you, take you, if all you’re going to feel is shame.”
Lacey searched his eyes, saw nothing but love there in the warm depths for her. Her body clung to his in surrender. She needed him, needed to feel his mouth on hers. Needed to feel his body joined with hers. “I’m not ashamed, Rafe, but I’m walking away, turning my back on something that’s been important to me. I don’t feel shame, but I do feel guilty. This isn’t an easy decision.
“If it was easy, it wouldn’t be worthwhile. I love you, Lace,” Rafe whispered softly. “I fell in love with you the first time I saw you. I’ve been going slowly insane with the need to touch you, to love you. I swear I never meant for any of this to happen either. I didn’t mean to fall in love with you. If I could, I’d go, leave you untouched. I’ve walked away from you so many times, but I–I just can’t do it again.” He drew a deep breath, slowly exhaled. “I swear to God, I’ve never touched another man’s wife before. I swear it.”
“Rafe.” Lacey stroked the sides of his face with unsteady hands.
“You don’t have to love me back, Lace, I’m not asking that of you…just let me love you. I’ll be happy just loving you.”
She laid a trembling hand over his mouth. “I do, Rafe. I do love you back.”
He stilled. His chest heaved with the release of a long breath. “Oh, God, Lace. I never expected to hear you say those words. Say them again.”
“I love you, Rafe. God forgive me, I love you.” Her lips quivered. “I don’t know when I fell in love with you, but—”
“I don’t care when, just that you did.” He locked his arms around her waist and twirled around with her. Laughing, he set her back on her feet. “I thank God you did.” Slowly, he lowered his head, set his mouth on hers, and gently parted her lips.
Lacey caught her breath at the exquisite softness of his lips, at the deep hunger and tenderness. It had been a long time since Danger kissed her with hunger. A long time since he’d kissed her, period, or shown her tenderness. Somewhere along the way, he’d stopped needing her, stopped wanting her.
But this man held her as if she were a precious jewel. Rafe slid an arm around the curve of her hips and lifted her against his erection. It was all he did. He simply held her there and deepened the kiss. Her body suffused with heat. She rubbed against the hardness pressed tautly against her.
His fingers slid up, fumbled with the buttons on her rust-colored blouse. Easing the pressure off her mouth, Rafe glared hatefully at the long row of tiny buttons. “You wore this on purpose.”
“I did. Yes. I thought to save myself from you.”
“The hell with that shit!” He grunted, and ripped the front of her blouse open. Buttons scattered through the air and bounced as they hit the tiled floor, scattering in myriad directions.
“That’s the second blouse today you’ve destroyed. Keep this up, and I’ll have nothing to wear.”
“Good.” He frowned. “You’re wearing a bra? You never wear a bra.”
“I know.”
“Never wear a bra again.”
“I won’t.”
The front clasp of the annoying garment gave beneath the expert flick of his fingers. He slid both articles of clothing off her shoulders and dropped them at their feet.
“I’ve waited an eternity for you, Lace. I thought I was going to die with the wanting.” His gaze settled on her breasts. “God, you’re so beautiful. I dreamed so many times of touching your breasts, tasting them. You have no idea how often I’ve pictured you in my mind, erotic pictures of you naked, riding me. Out there, in the barn today? It was like a miracle seeing your breasts for the first time, touching you, tasting your nipples. I’ll never get enough of you, Lace.”
Lacey drew a sharp breath when he palmed her right breast and rubbed his thumb across her tingling nipple. It tightened instantly beneath his slow touch. Rafe groaned, lowered his head, and took the tight bud inside his mouth, wrapped his tongue around it and
sucked strongly.
She arched her back in supplication. Lacey loved the feel of his mouth on her, the wetness of his tongue, the hunger in his hesitant touches, the slow hard suction as he drew on her nipple. She cast aside the last of her doubts, the last of her feelings of right or wrong and clasped him close. Nothing that felt this good could be wrong. This was surrender at its sweetest.
Threading her fingers through his thick, dark hair, she said huskily, “I saw you naked in your room today.”
He moved to the other breast and gave it equal treatment before lifting his head. His blue eyes glittered. “Did you now?”
“You’re magnificent, Rafe. I wanted you so badly in that moment. You have no idea how difficult it was for me to walk away.”
“I wanted you in the barn and again in the hall when I came out of the bathroom. I wanted you desperately when you stared at my dick like it was a gold bar.”
“You knew I saw you?”
He grinned. “I made sure you did.”
She laughed. “You devil.”
“When it comes to you, yes, I’m horny. I wanted to take you then and there, and in the barn. Jesus, I almost came when you did that little kittenish mewl thing in the back of your throat and slid up and down my cock.”
“Oh, God, Rafe.” Heat pooled between her thighs. Her stomach tingled. Her heart fluttered like something wild and untamed. “I’m burning up. Touch my breasts. Touch me…everywhere.”
He cupped both her breasts and rubbed them back and forth across his chest. He tweaked her nipples until they stood stiff and ready for his mouth.
Rafe fumbled with the button on her jeans, eased down the zipper, and, suddenly impatient with the barriers between them, yanked jeans and panties down her sleek hips. Already barefoot, she stepped out of the clothes pooled at her feet. In seconds, he’d stripped off his jeans and dropped them on top of hers.
Her gaze slid to his straining cock. A tiny bubble of clear liquid stood at the tip of the broad, blunt head. Her eyes widened. Lacey licked her dry lips. “Oh, Jesus. I realized you’re hung like a mountain stallion, but I hadn’t taken in quite how thick and broad it…is…until just now. It’s big. I mean…yeah, that’s the word.”
“I’ll go easy with you,” he said, understanding the look of doubt on her face. “Don’t worry. I’ll go slow and easy. I swear.”
Rafe lifted her into his arms and hesitated. He looked around like a man who’d lost his way.
Lacey giggled and pointed. “Bedroom’s that way.”
“Fuck the bedroom…I can’t wait that long.”
He carried her over to the long, sturdy dining table loaded down with Christmas dinner. Holding her with one arm, he swept the bowls of mashed potatoes and gravy to the floor, along with the turkey, dressing, and the pies, all in one single sweep of his arm. He stretched her out on top of the now bared table.
“You’re my Christmas present,” he breathed.
Lacey turned her head and eyed the broken dishes and food on the floor. “If you get hungry, I don’t know what you’ll eat.”
“There’s only one thing I’m interested in eating tonight.”
He spread her thighs wide, lifted her hips and licked her. Oh, God. Lacey tangled her fingers in his hair and arched her hips against his mouth. He wa–was—he did! He stabbed the wet inner flesh of her opening with his tongue. No. Oh, no. She couldn’t take this. She twisted beneath him. No, she couldn’t bear—this.
Slowly, he slid his tongue along her clitoris. Lacey nearly came off the table. Oh, Jesus. The instant orgasm slammed into her with unexpected force. She screamed.
Rafe scraped the sensitive tissue with his teeth, applied gentle bites that left her gasping. She clawed his shoulders. “Don’t…stop. Ooh, don’t stop. Mmmm. That’s good. That’s…great.”
Oh, Jesus. She couldn’t climax again. Not this soon. But her body was no longer her own. The second orgasm ripped through her, as hot and violent as the first. Lacey couldn’t hold back the explosions of pleasure. Her body responded to his long, slow licks and there was nothing she could do except enjoy the delicious ride he was taking her on.
Slowly, Rafe raised his head and locked his gaze with hers. His eyes glowed with forbidden heat. The hue darkened to intense blue flames that promised her pleasure and delivered on the promise. His hard hands pushed her thighs wider and he bent down, pushed his tongue inside her and slowly slid it in and out. Rafe took his time, tasting, licking, and nibbling.
Lacey screamed with each explosive climax that racked her body. Her body vibrated like a finely strung violin. When Rafe lifted his head again, his lips glistened with her juices. Her breasts heaved with ragged breaths. Weak and drained, she barely found the strength to lift her head.
“I have no intention of stopping anytime soon,” he said, licking his lips. “Hold onto me and enjoy.”
She bucked wildly beneath the expert licks. His tongue penetrated her steamy channel and explored each silken crevice. He captured her clit and sucked gently. Like a wild, tumultuous river, she rode the rapids into one violent orgasm after another and still he didn’t stop. Lacey met the hard stabs of his tongue, clawed wildly at his shoulders while her body came alive for the first time in months.
Electrical bolts shot through her, scalding her blood. It was like riding a live wire over the edge of a water fall. Her nerves jolted. Something elemental filled her, until she was too weak to move.
She lay there stretched out before him like a banquet, too limp and exhausted to draw the next breath. Her pulse pounded. Her heart slammed violently. All she could do was sob with the intense pleasure he gave her.
When he crawled on top of her, she circled his hard waist with her legs. His gaze settled on the concave of her belly, where a tattoo of a tiny red and blue butterfly rested near her right hipbone.
Rafe traced an unsteady fingertip along the butterfly’s delicate wings. “These are the kind of secrets I want to discover about you, Lace. I want to learn what you like when I touch you. I want to know what it takes to make you tremble in my arms.”
“I think you just spent the last half hour discovering something I like,” she said breathlessly.
He laughed softly. His eyes sparkled with amusement. “I want to know all your secrets, feel you shudder beneath me as I surge deep inside you.” He pressed his face against her belly and licked the tattoo. “I never thought I’d ever get to love you.”
Lacey trembled. “You love me well,” she said on a breathless note.
“I intend to.” He touched his tongue to her belly button, dipped inside, then slowly cupped her mound. Gently, he parted her slick nether lips, nudged her thighs apart. Rafe closed a meaty fist around his cock and guided the broad head to the mouth of her hot, inviting channel. “I intend to love you so damn well you’ll never want me to go away.”
Her inner muscles clamped around the sleek, thick knob of his cock like velvet steel. He pushed deeper, then stopped and moaned. “Jesus, you’re a tight fit, sweetheart.” He pulled out of her, wiped the moisture off the sleek head of his cock with his fingertip and rubbed it inside her. “Open a little wider for me.”
Lacey dug her fingers in his hair. His eyes, such a piercing blue, blazed with wicked fire. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m just trying to make it easier for you. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“We’ll do it,” she whispered huskily.
His cheekbones were stretched tight. His chest heaved with short, ragged bursts. Rafe pushed the head of his cock inside the opening of her sleek channel again. His big body shook, and she knew his control had to be stretched to the limit.
Lacey licked her lips. “I—” She glanced down and bit her bottom lip when she saw how far he had yet to go to be fully inside her. “Oh, God, I…just go easy.”
Rafe lifted his head. “We don’t have to do this.”
“I want you to make love to me. I want to feel all of you inside me.”
His eyes darkened with emotion, he n
odded. Rafe cupped her hips and with exquisite slowness worked his shaft deeper inside her.
“Rafe,” she said breathlessly. Her inner muscles parted layer by layer, stretched beyond their limit. Lacey twisted her head from side to side as he slid in a little deeper. “Oh, Jesus. I can’t—”
“Sssh. Sssh. Relax. Don’t tense so much. There. A little more.” He wiggled his hips. “A little more. More.”
Lacey groaned and clawed his shoulders. “I can’t—”
“Shit! Okay.” Rafe took a deep breath and shuddered. “God, I can’t believe you’re so small.”
Reluctantly, he eased nearly all the way out of her, then pushed gradually, working a bit deeper, stretching her slowly until she thought she’d be torn asunder.
Lacey lifted her hips to ease his entry, but still, he wasn’t inside her.
Rafe groaned. He withdrew a third time, locked his fingers around her knees, and spread her thighs wider. “Hold on.” This time, he didn’t hesitate, he drove into her, hard, fast, deep, and buried to the hilt.
Lacey gasped at the depth of his penetration. “Ahh!”
Dear God, her inner muscles quivered with the strain. Her body jerked. Tears seeped down the corners of her eyes.
Rafe kissed her eyelids. “I’m sorry. I thought it might be easier for you if I did it faster, rather than slower.” He rested his forehead against hers. “Jesus, that took some doing. Are you okay?”
She nodded and wiggled her hips. “Do you always have this much trouble fitting inside a woman?”
Rafe groaned. “Yes. Sometimes. No, sweetheart. You’re exceptionally small, a petite woman in every way.” He pumped his hips, moved slowly, then shuddered. “God, you feel good. Soft. Warm.”
He set a lazy rhythm. Rafe captured her nipples and treated them to the pleasures of his mouth. Nuzzling her throat, he suckled the tender flesh there. Lacey sighed. It had been so long—too long since she’d been this loved.
Rafe trailed a string of butterfly kisses across her face until he reached the other side of the tender flesh just below her left ear. Once there, he nuzzled and licked and kissed her until she thrashed beneath him.
Too Close To The Fire/Too Hot To Handle (Montana Men 3) Page 21
