by Folsom, Tina
The bathroom door opened, and he stepped out, dressed only in his boxer shorts. With every step he made toward the bed, her heart beat faster. She hoped to find the courage to do what she needed to do.
The mattress moved when he lowered himself onto the bed and slid under the covers. He reached for the light on the nightstand and switched it off.
“Good night, Holly.”
He made no attempt to move closer to her or to even kiss her goodnight. Her heart beat up into her throat, but she couldn’t go back.
“How are those cold showers working for you?”
She felt him jolt up, and seconds later the light came back on. He sat upright in bed and turned to her. His face looked angry. This evidently hadn’t been the right approach.
“I think it’s better I sleep on the couch.”
Before he could get out of bed, Sabrina put her hand on his arm and pulled him back. “No.”
He gave her a startled look but didn’t say anything.
“You promised we’d be sharing a bed, and you also promised you’d kiss me. Are you planning on backing out on both those promises?”
He raised his eyebrows but still didn’t talk.
“Damn it, Daniel, you haven’t kissed me all day, and you’re moping around like somebody stole your lollipop. Why the hell don’t you take what you want? You sure paid for it.” Now she felt anger boiling up in her. How could a man be so stubborn?
He finally seemed to find his voice again. “I don’t take what’s not offered freely,” he hissed.
“What do you want me to do? Wear a sign saying fuck me? I can’t do that.”
“I won’t sink so low as to force a woman to have sex with me when she obviously doesn’t want me, no matter whether I paid for it or not. You made it pretty clear today that you don’t want me. I should have never talked you into this weekend.”
“What?” She thought she’d given him sufficient signals that she wanted him to touch her. Had he completely forgotten the massage and how she’d shivered under his touch?
“Don’t play with me. Every time I touch you, you tense up.”
Oh God, he’d completely misread her. She’d have to be much more obvious to get the message to him. Drawing on all her courage, she slid closer to him.
“Daniel, please.” Sabrina looked into his eyes, but he didn’t seem to understand. She took his hand and slowly moved it, placing it on her breast. “Make love to me.”
“Because I paid for it?”
She shook her head. “Because I want you to. Because I need to feel you inside of me.”
His other hand went to her face, cupping it gently. Daniel searched her eyes as if to determine whether she meant what she’d said. “Are you sure?”
She could feel his breath on her face. “Kiss me and you’ll find out.”
The instant she felt his lips on hers, her heart leapt, and she felt as if she’d faint. But his lips kept her conscious. There was no denying their chemistry. His kiss released all the pent up tension from the day. Without hesitation, she responded to him, demanded he play with her tongue and invade her mouth.
She clung to him with a desperation she’d never known, until she suddenly felt him pull away. Stunned, she looked at him. Had she put him off with her behavior?
“We have to talk,” he said in a serious voice.
“No. No talking. I want to feel you.”
He grabbed her wrists before she could pull him back against her body. “Baby, I need you to understand something.”
No. She didn’t want to know anything. She didn’t want to face reality, not the reality they were in anyway.
“Look at me.” His tone was insistent. “If we do this tonight, if we make love, you’re mine. There will be no backing down. I won’t take no for an answer after this. Do you understand?”
Sabrina nodded. She understood. As long as he was in San Francisco and for the entire time he’d booked her, he’d demand that she have sex with him, and he wouldn’t accept any more excuses. Yes, she understood. And she would comply, because she wanted him.
“Yes.”
“God, I missed you,” Daniel exclaimed and swept her back into his arms. He chuckled softly. “I have to warn you, those cold showers didn’t do anything to cool my desire for you.”
Sabrina laughed. “I don’t know why you bothered. You almost made me come on the massage table. You could have had me right there and then.”
Daniel gave her a surprised look. “But you tensed up.”
“Because I was about sixty seconds away from an orgasm.”
He kissed her softly. “I’m such an idiot. How can I make it up to you?”
“I can think of a thing or two . . . or three . . . or four.” She smirked.
Daniel laughed out loud and hugged her tightly, his laughter rippling through his body. Suddenly everything was perfect again. Sabrina had come to him and admitted she wanted him. And he’d told her that he wanted her for good, and she’d accepted it. They’d work out the details of their lives together later. But now, all he wanted was to make love to her. He’d already waited far too long.
Though he could feel her breasts through her thin nightgown, he decided she wore far too many clothes. He’d make it a rule that from now on she wouldn’t be allowed to wear anything in bed. Ever.
His mouth was greedy when he captured hers, because he was hungrier for her than he’d ever been. The knowledge that he loved the woman in his arms made every touch and kiss double as sweet. He hadn’t declared his love yet, but he knew she could feel it. Soon he’d make it official.
But for tonight, he would just savor her first step, savor that she’d come to him. He knew she needed more time for all implications to sink in, but she’d already made a large leap forward by acknowledging that she was his.
The only small hurdle he still had to jump over was to let her know that he was aware she wasn’t an escort. But this wasn’t a talk for tonight. After twenty-four hours of lovemaking she’d be ready to have that conversation, because by then she would have realized just how much he loved her. He’d make sure of that.
As Daniel freed her from her nightgown and slipped out of his boxers, he was finally able to feel Sabrina the way he’d wanted to all day. Naked skin on naked skin, lips locked, legs intertwined. Possessively, his hand moved to the soft curves of her ass and tugged her closer into him. With a sigh, she surrendered.
“Baby, I’ve never been happier,” he murmured into her ear as he proceeded to kiss the tempting curve of her graceful neck down to the dip on the base of it.
Her hands roamed his chest exploring him, but before he could even register her touch, she moved south. A second later, she wrapped her hand around his erection. A deep moan originating in his gut traveled up to be released from his lips.
With one touch, this woman could completely undo him. His woman, he corrected himself. The power she had over him was frightening yet exciting at the same time.
“Stop, baby, please. Or you’re going to make me come instantly.”
As he looked into her face, he saw a naughty smile spread over her lips. “A little sensitive, are we?”
“Says the woman who almost came on the massage table,” he joked. “Which reminds me. What exactly was it that set you off?”
Before she could protest, he flipped her onto her stomach. “I think I should find out in order to know for the future.”
“I don’t think I should give away secrets like that,” Sabrina teased him.
He kneeled next to her and put his hands onto her back. “I’ll just have to figure it out for myself then.” And his hands went to work, slowly moving along her neck and shoulders, before diving deeper, stroking along her spine and reaching the curve of her lower back.
Daniel noticed a change in her breathing and knew exactly what direction to go. He shifted on the bed and, pushing his knee in between her thighs, he forced her to spread them wider to make space for him. She complied with an appreciative moan.
His erection grew harder and bigger as he looked at the enticing position he’d taken, nestling between her thighs with his hands on her hips. It was exactly the kind of position he wanted her in.
Softly, his hands massaged her cheeks, making circles on her skin, moving outwards to her hips and then back inwards and down to the apex of her thighs. Sabrina lifted her ass up toward his hands asking for more, and he saw the glistening entrance to her female core. Moisture oozed from her plump pink pussy.
Daniel slipped his hand down and touched the moist and warm flesh. Instantly, he was rewarded with her moan.
“I can guess what you want.”
Sliding his fingers along the outside of her female folds, he sank his head onto her ass, planting kisses on her skin. Soon, his tongue came out to aid and licked every inch of her twin peaks. Her breathing told him that she was well on her way to a very satisfying conclusion. His teeth tugged at her skin, biting gently into her soft flesh.
Daniel felt her press against his hand, and he gave into her and slid his finger into her tight channel.
“Oh, Daniel!” Her voice was raspy and uncontrolled.
Continuing to bite and lick her ass, he added another finger and moved in and out of her moist core. Her body flexed under this touch, forcing him to move faster and harder.
“Please,” she begged. “Fill me, now.”
He was more than ready to join her. But where were those damn condoms? “Wait, condom.”
“Nightstand, drawer, my side,” Sabrina pushed out between pants.
Lifting himself up, but without pulling his fingers out of her, he struggled to reach the drawer, until he finally opened it and pulled a condom out. With his teeth he opened the wrapper.
“Sorry, baby.” He needed both his hands to sheath himself. It took only seconds until he was ready and pulled her hips up to him.
“Now, Daniel, please.”
His erection nudged at her center and sliced into her with one smooth, continuous, slow motion as he savored every inch he submerged in her. He pulled back and plunged in again, but it had been too much for her already. Her muscles clenched around him as her orgasm ripped through her, making him unable to hold on to his own control. He joined her in release as his cock jerked uncontrollably inside her.
Daniel felt a high he’d never felt before, as if he’d taken some drug and was floating. This was more than just sexual gratification. To be physically joined with the woman he loved, and to know the kind of heights they could drive each other to, brought with it the awareness that he’d found what he’d been unknowingly looking for all his life. His other half, the person who completed him.
As they collapsed, he rolled them to the side, spooning her. He showered Sabrina’s neck with kisses, unable to stop showing his affection for her. With his hand, he smoothed her hair out of her face to look at her. She turned her face to him.
Her green eyes seemed darker than before, and she wore the look of a woman who seemed completely and utterly satisfied. Which wouldn’t stop him from making love to her again very shortly. This night they wouldn’t get any sleep, not if he could help it.
“Beats cold showers, hmm?” she asked.
Daniel laughed softly. “Beats everything else I’ve ever done in my life.” Before Sabrina had a chance to react to his comment, he seared her lips with a passionate kiss.
No other man had ever been able to satisfy her the way he had. She knew she was kidding herself if she pretended she could just walk away from him after this week and go on with her life.
Sabrina looked into his brown eyes when he released her from his kiss and saw an ocean of tenderness in them. She knew Daniel was a passionate man, and maybe that’s how he conducted all his affairs, giving a hundred percent of himself. But it didn’t mean that after this week there’d be anything else.
She remembered how coldly he’d looked at his ex-girlfriend and knew she didn’t want to be at the receiving end of that particular stare. Once he was through with somebody, his passion would turn to ice, and there was nothing she hated more than the cold. She would have to get out of this before he ever had a chance to turn on the ice machine.
For now of course, nothing of the coming ice storm was visible. On the contrary, he was hotter than ever. Already his hands roamed her body again, and his lips and tongue followed, leaving a trail of fire on her skin.
She had to soak up what she could get, take what he was willing to give her. The need within her grew to monumental proportions, and it frightened her to know that he could awaken such primal emotions in her. But she wasn’t frightened to ask for it anymore. In a week, it would be over, but for now she’d demand that he’d make love to her over and over again.
“I want you inside of me.”
Was it a glimmer of pride she saw in his eyes? It didn’t matter what it was, but only that Daniel responded to her the way she wanted him to.
“There’s no place I’d rather be than inside of you.”
This time when he entered her, their lovemaking was slow and deliberate. He was as hard and as thick as he’d been before, but now she could sense more of him as he slowly inched deeper into her and then just as slowly pulled out, only to repeat his movement a second later. And not for a single moment did he break eye contact with her as if he needed to read in her eyes what she felt while he impaled her again and again.
Small hitches of breath pushed out of her body at every stroke of his shaft. Her body felt like it was on fire, a fire that was spreading from low in her belly outwards into all cells of her body.
Daniel whispered words in Italian to her, and even though she spoke no Italian, his tone told her that they were terms of endearment, a thought that warmed her even more. Knowing that he used the language his mother had taught him and which he associated with family and love, made her feel closer to him.
There was nothing else to do but to surrender to his touch, to let him sweep her up and carry her to heights she’d not been to before, to feel her body float as if it were as light as a cloud. To feel the waves crash into her as if she stood in the wake of a storm, to feel them rise to hurricane strength and yet to feel no fear, only anticipation as it reached its peak and then sweep through her body with more energy than an atom bomb.
Sabrina felt him explode with her, could see in his eyes the second he reached his climax, which seemed as powerful as hers. It was more than she could take. She felt the wetness in her eyes before she understood what was happening.
Only when she felt his lips kiss her eyes did she know he was kissing away her tears. Never had she felt so vulnerable and at the same time so safe. If she could hold onto this one moment and take it with her once he was gone, she knew she would be okay despite everything.
Later, she curled up beside him and felt his strong arms cradle her as if he never wanted to let her go.
“It’s a shame we have to go back to San Francisco tomorrow,” she lamented.
Daniel put his hand under her chin and pulled her face up to look at her. “Would you like us to stay longer?”
“I would love to, but I know you’ll have to be back in the city for business.”
“I can do everything I need to do from here. I’ll tell the innkeeper tomorrow morning that we’ll extend our stay.”
Sabrina kissed him hard. She knew she’d have to call in sick, but she didn’t care. Everybody was busy with the big new client anyway, and nobody took any notice of her, except for the person she didn’t want to be noticed by: Hannigan. A few days away from the office was just what she needed. And she wanted to spend as much time with Daniel as she could.
“Thank you. I love it here.”
He beamed. “I love it here too,” he said and suggestively let his finger slide through her triangle of curls and dip into her moist core.
“Do you ever think of anything else?” she teased him.
“Sure. I also think of this.” Daniel took her breast into his hand and kneaded it. “Or of this.” He low
ered his head to take her nipple into his mouth, sucking gently.
She had to laugh, and he joined in. He could be as playful as he was sensual and as passionate as he was tender.
When the laughter stopped, Daniel looked at her as if he wanted to say something, but instead he just kissed her. No words were needed.
19
Daniel woke with Sabrina firmly tucked in his arms. After a long night of lovemaking they’d finally fallen asleep around four in the morning. He’d never been one to linger in bed and even less to stay with a woman the morning after. It was different with her.
Not only had he slept better in her arms than he’d ever slept on his own, but even fully sated after their passionate night, he could now feel himself awaken to the same desire he’d had the night before. He was tempted to wake her, but instead contended himself with gazing into her peaceful face. Her chest rose with every breath she took, and he was fascinated just watching her.
Remembering everything they’d done the night before, he realized she needed some rest and some nourishment. He glanced at the clock. It was past ten o’clock, and she would awake with a rumbling stomach. They hadn’t only burned up the sheets last night, they’d also burned calories—lots of them. And if he wanted her enticing curves to stay the way they were, he’d definitely have to feed her and replenish those calories. And he absolutely wanted those curves to remain just as they were. He couldn’t imagine anything better in his hands.
He’d been at the verge of professing his love to her last night, but at the last minute had stopped himself. Not because he was unsure—he wasn’t—but because he wanted everything else to be cleared between them first. Thinking back on what Holly had told him, he still wondered how to approach the subject. He didn’t want to make a mistake.
Well, he certainly couldn’t think on an empty stomach. As gently as he could, Daniel peeled himself out of her arms and got up. He took a quick shower before he jumped into the car to find the closest shop to pick up some morning pastries and decent coffee.
