Only Skin Deep

by Cathleen Galitz

  But not from the cold.

  When he pushed the fabric off her shoulders, it was all Lauren could do to refrain from catching the dress as it slipped over her breasts and pooled at her feet. Travis wasted no time in disposing of her nearly translucent slip. She stepped out of the pile of clothing at her feet to stand before him in a lacy bra and matching wisp of panties.

  Lauren felt exposed as a fraud. Not nearly as comfortable with herself as she pretended to be, she expected him to find fault with her body. She was nowhere near as thin as the models who sold such fantasy wear in the magazines. And a good deal older.

  Travis didn’t seem to mind. His eyes trailed hungrily down the length of her body and back up again, resting on the swell of breasts spilling over a ridiculously skimpy bra that she’d bought on impulse in anticipation of just such a moment. His hands were hot as he tested the fullness of each breast, cupping each one gently before bending down to place a kiss between them. A surge of heat swept through Lauren. Her knees wobbled. Swaying, she threw her head back, gasped for breath and dug her nails into the flesh of his shoulders.

  He didn’t complain. Standing to his full height, he drew her flush against him and encircled her in his arms. So nimbly did he undo the clasp of her bra that she didn’t even realize it until the lace fell from her shoulders to encircle her wrists. Taking one hard nipple into his mouth, he suckled gently as she tried to rid herself of her shackles.

  Travis didn’t seem the least interested in helping her escape.

  Desperate mewling sounds came from some place deep inside Lauren. She could no more stop them than she could stem the waters of a raging river overflowing its banks. When Travis drew away at last, she offered him the tip of the other breast, swollen equally with wanting.

  “Good girl,” he murmured, his voice soft and seductive.

  The next thing Lauren knew, she was flat on her back in bed and he was pulling off her panties. With his teeth. Never having thought of herself as a screamer, she was suddenly glad that they were miles away from the nearest house. The noises welling up inside her could not be contained as his teeth scraped the gentle flesh along her inner thigh and his tongue teased its way all down the length of her legs.

  Wrapped up in the most exquisite sensations she’d ever imagined, Lauren watched with undivided concentration as he raised himself up and proceeded to strip for her. She was thankful the process didn’t take long because she didn’t think she could stand waiting much longer before begging him to hurry. Already shirtless, his upper body was exposed by the moonlight spilling through the window. He was a perfect sculpture cast in silver.

  Travis divested himself of his boots and jeans. A pair of plain white boxer shorts tented out in an obvious display of arousal that was fully exposed a second later when he tossed them among the growing pile of clothing on the floor. He unwrapped the foil package and sheathed himself. All muscle and sinew and perfect masculine strength, he took Lauren’s breath away.

  “You’re so beautiful.”

  That those words came from Travis’s mouth and not her own took Lauren by surprise. She allowed the compliment to seep into her heart. Whether she was lacking physically in comparison to others wasn’t the issue. She felt beautiful. Desirable. Deliberately shutting off the schoolteacher part of her brain that caused her to over-analyze just about everything, she freed herself of thought and gave herself over to the pure rapture of the moment.

  Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined Travis to be such an amazing lover—and she was a woman who prided herself on her imagination. Having been disappointed in the past, Lauren reveled in the eroticism of being with a man who truly knew how to pleasure a woman. Lowering himself over her, Travis pressed the length of himself against her belly and branded her with the knowledge that she was about to be filled completely. She was immediately seized by the worry that she would not be able to accommodate his considerable size.

  The instant his lips touched hers, however, that anxiety disappeared and was replaced by the most heavenly sensation. Long, liquid kisses carried her away as Travis prodded the seam of her lips with the tip of his tongue. When Lauren had dreamed about having sex with Travis, she had neglected to include the tenderness of his kisses.

  Kisses as demanding as they were soul searching.

  Moaning, Lauren parted her lips for him, and Travis thrust his tongue inside. Writhing with pleasure, Lauren placed her hands on either side of his neck and held him close. Without breaking their kiss, she wrapped her legs around him and splayed her fingers through his hair. Never had she felt more completely connected with another human being.

  Feeling suddenly brave, Lauren reached down and took his shaft into one hand.

  “Squeeze,” he commanded in a hoarse whisper.

  Good girl that she was, Lauren did as she was told. He was hard and hot. And vulnerable. It gave her the most incredible sense of power to hold this man in the palm of her hand. And it filled her with an overwhelming sense of love for him.

  Love?

  The word materialized in her consciousness like lightning striking the center of a dark forest. Only she could see the blinding flash, the glowing spark that was struck. Lauren knew it was capable of razing everything in its path.

  Including herself.

  She told herself that she was a silly fool to fall head over heels in love with a man so committed to his single life.

  Then she heard herself scream, and rational thought dissolved into nothingness. It was not a scream of fright or of pain, but rather a primal reaction to Travis pressing the tip of his shaft against her clitoris. Lauren arched her back. She dug her fingernails into the hard plane of his back and unleashed the animal deep inside her.

  “I don’t,” Travis gasped, holding back, “want to hurt you.”

  “You won’t,” Lauren lied.

  The body knows things long before the mind can accept them. Physical pain was not a priority at the moment. Nor was the certainty that she was destined to pay an emotional price later. Seeking the exquisite perfection of her love for this man, Lauren knew only that her soul would tear apart at the seams if he did not complete what he had started.

  Travis plunged deep inside her with an urgency that seemed to surprise even him. Nothing in Lauren’s life had prepared her for the utter bliss of being filled so completely by such a man. Of surrounding him with her warm, willing flesh. Of simply letting go. And letting herself go a little crazy.

  Moving her body in unison with his, Lauren met him stroke for furious stroke. She climaxed quickly. Clawing and gasping and forgetting her own name, she called his out as if it were a magical incantation. The sensations assaulting her from every direction were sublime. Her body clenched in spasms of white-hot flame, demanding that Travis succumb to his own need. The muscles of his neck corded as he closed his eyes and threw his head back. Buried to the hilt, he exploded.

  Lauren filled her senses with that glorious sight, holding him deep inside her until well after the throbbing subsided. Panting and slick with sweat, Travis opened his eyes to regard her with wonder. She smiled at him almost shyly and spiraled back to earth in his arms. Although she did not want to let go of what she was feeling for this man, she was also afraid of holding on too tight.

  Was after-play too much to expect after such an incredible experience?

  She brushed a damp lock of hair away from Travis’s forehead. With infinite tenderness she traced an eyebrow with the tip of her index finger, stroked the stubble of a cheek that would need to see a razor in the morning and raised her head up to suckle the lobe of his ear.

  “That was very nice,” she murmured.

  Travis blanched at the tepid choice of words.

  “Nice?”

  “Fabulous,” Lauren amended.

  In fact, she hadn’t believed it possible for earthbound creatures to experience such ecstasy in this life. Although words could not do it justice, she did her best.

  “Spectacular. Fantastic. Incredible. Mi
nd-bending. Life-altering. Utterly indescribable.”

  “That’s better,” Travis growled.

  He wrapped his warm body around her as if to say he wasn’t letting go anytime soon. Lauren didn’t want to go anywhere else. Pressing an ear to his chest, she listened to the life song beating there in steady cadence. A woman in love, she heard the echo of her own spirit. And though she knew better than to blurt out such a raw, untested proclamation so soon, Lauren refused to think about the consequences of giving her heart to a man who wasn’t ready to accept it.

  For once in her life, she wasn’t going to let herself think about the future and all its complications. Not when the present was so perfect.

  And so damned fleeting.

  Seven

  A pink sun climbed behind a bank of clouds to spill dawn upon a glorious new day. Filtered through lace curtains, the morning light tattooed dancing patterns on Lauren’s shoulder and that of the man sleeping so soundly next to her. She stretched her hand out to the sunbeam, marveling that it hadn’t turned her invisible again.

  Or made Travis disappear.

  Lauren was certain that heaven would have difficulty competing with the feeling of waking in his strong arms, sharing his body warmth and savoring the sweet soreness of being so thoroughly loved. While he slept, she studied him at length. Time had honed the boyish good looks she had loved so well and turned Travis into a man slightly too rugged for the cover of slick fashion magazines. The stubble along his jawline lent roughness to the peaceful expression that he wore while sleeping. Lauren couldn’t resist finger-combing his short blond hair. Natural highlights caught the sunshine and warmed each strand to the touch.

  Oh, what she would give to start out each day appreciating this man’s finer attributes! Those on the inside as well as the outside. He had his quirks. That much was true. Who didn’t? Scarred by the past, Travis was clearly afraid to let his guard down. But Lauren knew him as a good man. The fact that he was willing to rush in to a save a damsel in distress—whether she wanted to be rescued or not—was testimony to his own personal sense of integrity. And despite her assertion that she could take care of herself just fine, thank you very much, she secretly longed to renew her faith in long forgotten fantasies about knights on white horses.

  Lauren understood that Travis didn’t feel the same way about her that she did about him, but she couldn’t believe that passion such as theirs could be born in the absence of emotion, either. Watching his chest rise and fall in steady rhythm, she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have his children. She fantasized briefly about standing over a crib and gazing upon the sleeping angel such a union was sure to produce. Would the baby be as beautiful as his father? As inquisitive as her mother?

  Something sweet and unbidden welled up in Lauren’s heart, and moisture rose unexpectedly to her eyes.

  Stop it! she told herself fiercely.

  Such dreams could only lead to heartbreak and ruin the perfection of the moment. She refused to let concerns about the future drain the joy out of the present. For the precious time being, the man of her dreams belonged to her.

  At least until he woke up.

  Impulse drew her hand over his heart. Cupping it like she would to protect a flame from the wind, Lauren said a prayer over its steady rhythm.

  “Good morning, gorgeous.”

  The sound of that voice, gravelly with the first utterance of the day, startled Lauren so that she drew her hand back as if caught in the act of stealing. She savored the sound of that tender endearment on his lips. However, without benefit of a comb or makeup or toothbrush, it was hard for her to believe its reliability.

  “Good morning,” she repeated.

  Eyes the color of lifting fog reassured her. And beheld her gently. She was relieved to see that Travis gave no sign of bolting from bed once awareness of his surroundings settled over him. Instead he drew her close and asked for a kiss.

  Lauren clamped her mouth shut. “Sorry—morning breath,” she mumbled apologetically.

  A spark of irritation flashed over Travis’s face.

  “Kiss me,” he demanded over the rumbling of his empty stomach.

  Lauren succumbed, doing as she was told and giving herself over to a man who, by the feel of things, had something other than breakfast on his mind. Relatively inexperienced in such matters, she was pleasantly surprised to discover that he awoke in a state of arousal. A firm squeeze was all the invitation Travis needed to start the day out right. Dragging her on top of him, he gave her permission to forget all about her morning breath.

  Lauren’s laughter was deep and full as she sat up and reached for the only remaining cellophane packet left on her nightstand.

  “You’ll have to replenish your supply,” Lauren chastised, struggling to open a package designed to deter less determined lovers. “And I’ll have to figure out how to work these things myself.”

  Travis grinned as he watched her take a corner between her teeth and rip it open. Positioning himself to make the rest of the task as easy as possible, he clasped his hands behind his head and, with a satisfied sigh, offered to help in any way he could.

  “I’d rather do it myself,” Lauren said assuming the masterful tone of a dominatrix in training.

  Putting a little elastic covering over such an impressive erection proved a lot harder than Travis had made it look last night. When the condom shot out of Lauren’s hands like a rubber band that some rowdy student might try launching when her back was turned to the class, she burst into a fit of giggles that would have made a less secure man shrivel up. Travis’s patience was rivaled only by the tenacity of his libido.

  He rolled his eyes good-naturedly and retrieved the condom from where it landed next to his pillow.

  “I thought teachers were supposed to do it with class.”

  “Just with an eye to perfection. And if that means having to stay after class to bring up your grade, you just might find yourself assigned to permanent detention, mister.”

  Travis didn’t complain about such harsh punishment. In fact, he seemed determined to teach her a thing or two. An amazing lover, he was both gentle and demanding in turn. He caressed, kneaded, suckled and rubbed her all the right ways and in all the right places. Ignoring her pleas that she couldn’t possibly come again, he made sure she climaxed several times before allowing himself the same satisfaction.

  The intensity of his expression as his body strained for the paroxysm of release was so stirring that Lauren deliberately imprinted the sight in her mind. Though she longed for a lifetime of such sublime moments, she was afraid it would be an image that would have to last her forever. Indeed, Travis had issued warnings in place of promises regarding the future.

  Spent so early in the day, they lay intertwined in each other’s arms, soaking up the morning sun and enjoying each other’s company. Such mind-boggling sex could become addictive, Lauren thought as she finally dragged herself out of bed to face the day a new woman.

  Having never showered with a man before, she was reluctant to do so now. Considering the time they had just spent together, it seemed silly to defer to modesty. Besides, how could she argue with Travis’s assurance that “a little clean fun never hurt anyone”?

  Beneath a stream of warm water, Lauren savored the tender ministries paid to her body after such intense lovemaking. Travis lathered her up from chin to toe with soap and gently ran a clean washcloth over all her curves, making sure no trace remained on any part of her body before turning his attention to her hair. She purred with pleasure as he rubbed shampoo into her hair and massaged her scalp with expert fingers. Tipping her head back, she let the water rinse away her troubles. The next thing she knew, Travis had her pinned against the shower wall and was kissing her all over.

  Clinging to his slick body, Lauren discovered he was rock-hard again. And had to apologize for being too sore to indulge him so soon after their sex marathon.

  “No problem,” he assured her, kneeling down before her and
nudging her legs apart.

  A mouthful of water and a hot surge of pleasure prevented Lauren from protesting. Pressing her spine against the wall, she braced herself against the onslaught of ecstasy. The tip of his tongue settled on a highly sensitive spot, and she tried to keep from drowning in the sensations flowing through her. If she could have managed to form the words, she might have begged him to stop.

  To never stop…

  Just when Lauren thought she couldn’t stand another second of such exquisite torture, her body folded around itself from the inside out and burst into spasmodic contractions that left her too weak to stand up. The running water did little to muffle the sounds of whimpering that echoed through the cabin. Travis looked thoroughly pleased by the fact that he had to hold her up to keep her from slipping down the drain.

  Once Lauren’s bones were restored to their proper state, she took it upon herself to fix a hearty breakfast for the man who had so thoroughly satisfied her. A good cook, she liked to keep a full pantry. Wearing nothing but blue jeans, Travis sat at her cozy kitchen table drinking coffee and looking as though he belonged there. As the smell of bacon and pancakes wafted through the kitchen, Lauren was filled with a sense of contentment unlike any she had ever known before.

  Ravenous, Travis piled his plate high with the food she set on the table in front of him. A large pat of butter melted down the sides of a stack of steaming hot-cakes. Lauren didn’t skimp on the warm syrup pooling around the edifice like a moat, either. He’d devoured half a dozen pieces of bacon before the pancakes even reached the table. If his sighs of satisfaction were any indication, the old adage that the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach was right on target.

  “Very nice,” Travis said.

  There was a hint of surprise in the statement as if he were setting a new precedent in sticking around for breakfast after a night of incredibly hot sex. Hoping he might linger longer, Lauren poured him another cup of coffee. She tucked into her memory banks that he liked it strong and black. He smiled over the rim of his cup.