Donna moaned softly at his words, feeling the muscles in her nether region clench and contract deliciously. “God, no,” she breathed, looking up into his soft blue eyes. “If it is, then we're in trouble. Because all I want is for you to fuck me. Again, and again, and again,” she whispered before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him passionately.
They wasted no time undressing one another with determined, probing hands between heated kisses and soft whispers of love. When he had her completely naked, Cory picked her up once more and moved over to the bed. Slowly, he lowered her onto the bed of rose petals and then stood for a moment, letting his eyes travel the length of her body and back up again.
“You are so beautiful, Donna,” he whispered. “How in the hell did I get this lucky?”
Donna said not a word as she laid there staring up at him. He always made her feel so sexy. The tip of her tongue darted briefly from her mouth and she licked her lips hungrily as she looked him over. He had such an incredible body, every inch of him all hard muscle. She lifted her arms and reached for him, but he smiled and took a step back out of her reach.
Moving slowly, he climbed onto the end of the bed and sat near her feet. Then he took her left foot in his hands and began to rub, massaging gently and firmly as Donna moaned softly. And he smiled again as she closed her eyes and relaxed into it. He spent several minutes on each foot before moving on to her calves, then her knees and her thighs. His hands slid smoothly over her hips, carefully avoiding her hairless mound as they journeyed up to caress and massage her waist, and then her ribcage. Moving steadily upward, he took one full breast in each hand and lightly squeezed, pinching the nipples gently and twirling them in his fingers. And Donna's soft moans became louder as she started to squirm beneath him.
Leaning down, he gently let the tip of his tongue play over one pert nipple as he continued to tease the other with his fingers.
“Ah, Cory, please,” she moaned.
Sucking the nipple into his mouth, he feasted on her as her moans grew louder still. Then, in one fluid movement, he was inside her, thrusting boldly as she cried out in ecstasy.
“Cory! Yes!”
He turned over onto his back, bringing her with him without breaking their intimate connection. And soon, they were deep in the throes of passion as their bodies moved and pulsed together.
He sat in the middle of the bed with Donna on his lap, staring into each other's eyes as they moved. His cock buried deep, their breaths mingled as she searched his face with her fingertips. For long stretches of time the only sounds in the room were their grunts and moans, the slick, wetness of sex, and their soft, whispered utterances of love and encouragement.
“I love you so much, baby. You feel so good inside me, Cory.”
“God, you drive me crazy. I love being inside you. I can't get enough of you, baby.”
They came together amid screams of rapture as their shared climax crashed over them like a tidal wave. She slumped forward, resting her head on his shoulder as he ran his hands slowly over her back as they waited for their hearts to slow down.
“You are so amazing, Donna,” he panted softly as he held her.
Lifting her head, she looked into his eyes and smiled. “Think you'll still be saying that fifty years from now when my breasts are sagging down to my naval and I'm covered with wrinkles?”
Cory laughed out loud. He loved her warped sense of humor. “You are an actress, baby. Fifty years from now, the only thing that'll be sagging and full of wrinkles is my poor limp dick!”
She giggled at him. “Well, it's true. I am not above having a little work done here or there when the time comes. But as for your poor limp dick, Mr. Dutton?”
“Mmm hmm?”
“I've got just one word. Viagra! I could have a whole lot of fun with an erection that lasts longer than four hours!”
She loved the sound of his laughter. And the way his blue eyes sparkled when he laughed. It was one of things she loved most about him, and she always seemed to able to tickle his funny bone just right.
He fell back onto the pillows then, bringing her along with him. And in an effort to comply with her whispered plea from earlier, he made love to her again. And again. They spent the rest of the afternoon in each other's arms, doing what newlyweds do. And when she was lying spent across his chest, Cory pulled the rose-petaled covers around them and they slept.
They woke a few hours later to the sound of rain hitting the large window of their bedroom. Cory kissed Donna's forehead as he stretched and sat up.
“Where you going?” she mumbled sleepily.
“I'm a little hungry,” he answered. “I thought I would go check out the fridge and see what kind of eats Noah and Mercy left behind. Want me to bring back enough for two?”
“Mmm, yes, please,” she sighed as she sat up and stretched. And she smiled at his bare ass as she watched him go.
Cory made his way through the dimly lit house on his trek to the spacious kitchen. It was one of Donna's favorite rooms in the house, even though she didn't cook much. The thought always made him smile. Once there, he opened the fridge and took out a bottle of water, opening it up and taking a quick swig before examining the contents on the shelves. He found a large platter full of various finger sandwiches, all cut into little heart shapes. And he chuckled to himself imagining Noah cutting the shapes out himself with a cookie cutter. The image was amusing, but he had no doubt that this was all Mercy. He set the sandwiches on the counter and reached into the fridge once more to pull out another dish full of elaborately decorated chocolate-covered strawberries. Satisfied with his find, he carried the two platters back to the bedroom.
Donna was pulling on a sexy, white silk nightgown as he entered the room and set the dishes on the bed. And as he climbed in, he could see that she had poured them each a glass of the waiting champagne. She climbed in beside him and smiled at the plate of heart-shaped sandwiches.
“That girl has too much time on her hands,” she giggled.
He smiled at her. “She's sweet. And she's in love. And she appreciates the fact that we're in love,” he said softly as he took her chin in his fingers, leaned in and briefly kissed her lips.
“Mmm,” Donna moaned softly. She caressed his face as she whispered, “Remind me that we need to do something really special for the two of them sometime.”
“I will,” he whispered, kissing her again.
They settled back onto the pillows then to eat their dinner, and they were quiet for a short while as they munched.
“I didn't realize how hungry I was,” Donna said, biting into another sandwich.
“That happens when you work up an appetite,” he said, giving her a sexy little smile. Then he grew somewhat serious as he said, “I am going to hate it when you leave for Canada. I've enjoyed having you all to myself for a little while.”
She looked at him sadly for a moment as she chewed her mouthful and swallowed. “I'm going to hate it too. But it's not just my schedule, babe. The Thank Heaven tour resumes just a week or so after I leave for Toronto, and you'll be hitting the road too. So, we would have to be apart for a while anyway.”
“That's not exactly accurate, baby.” Cory said, popping another sandwich into his mouth. “I mean, it was different when all you had was your shooting schedule at Model for Murder. You have a somewhat set schedule there, and the show's just about to start their summer hiatus. You used to be able to travel with the band during the show's break. But now that you're making movies, your free time isn't free anymore. I feel like we're never going to see each other. I just hate being away from you so much.”
“Cory.” Donna's voice was full of uncertainty. “When I got offered this movie deal you were so excited for me.”
“I know that, baby. And I still am. I am so proud of you,” he said, taking her hand and looking into her eyes. “I'm just … thinking out loud. I mean, until you shot that first movie a few months ago, I never really thought about how much time it wo
uld take away from us.”
Donna didn't know what to say as she stared into his eyes. “Well … I didn't either but … I'm enjoying it,” she said softly. “Making movies, I mean. It's different from doing TV. I feel like I'm learning so much.”
He reached out and caressed her cheek. “I know you're enjoying it, baby. And I'm happy that you are. I just don't want us to lose sight of us, you know? We need to make a pact that we will always make our marriage a priority. Especially with us spending so much time apart.”
She smiled at him. “I never thought we would be in a long-distance marriage. But I guess, when you're on the road and I'm making a movie we will be. But you're right. We have to promise … our marriage comes first. Always.”
“Always.” He smiled at her as they clinked their champagne glasses and took a sip. “Besides, we'll only be doing the long-distance thing until little Donna junior comes along, right?” he smiled.
Donna felt her stomach flip flop at the suggestion of babies, and she couldn't help the startled expression on her face as she stared blankly into her champagne flute. It's not that she didn't want children. She did. And she wanted them with Cory. In fact, giving him a child was very important to her, mainly because she knew that he wanted it so badly. But the timing had to be right for her too, and she hoped he would understand that.
Cory felt the unmistakable twinge of doubt in his gut the minute the words left his lips. The look of fear in her eyes was difficult to miss, and he took a deep breath as the puzzled frown kissed his brow.
“Donna?” he questioned quietly, willing her to look at him.
Smiling at him nervously, Donna finally met his gaze with a look of apology. He sighed heavily as he turned away from her, confused.
“We talked about this. I thought we had decided,” he said, looking down at the bed. “We agreed that we were going to start a family right away.” He turned to look at her once more and fixed her with a steady, piercing gaze. “You said you wanted that too. What's changed?”
“I do want that! Cory, you know that I want to raise a family with you … more than anything.”
“Then what's changed, Donna?” he repeated impatiently.
“I just … I want to see where my movie career goes,” she said timidly. “I mean … if it goes anywhere at all. My deal was for two movies. If they do well when they're released, it could lead to more offers, and bigger roles. I know it's a long shot, baby … but I could be on the verge of launching a major movie career! I just want the time to explore that. That's all.”
“That's all?” Cory looked at her with an incredulous expression on his face. “Donna …” He let his voice trail off as he shook his head slightly, trying to digest what she had just said.
“Just a couple of years, Cory,” she said softly, grasping his hand as she pleaded with him. “Just give me two years to see where my movie career could go. And then I promise you, we will start a family and I will give you beautiful babies! I promise!”
He stared at her in silence for a long time, wondering what had just happened to all of their plans. He knew that Donna was ambitious, and he loved that about her. But when they had talked about starting a family before they got married, they were on the same page. At least, Cory had thought they were. Why was she back peddling now? Did she really just want a little time to see where her career could go, or was she trying to back out of the whole baby thing entirely?
He swallowed anxiously. He knew that he had to give her the benefit of the doubt for now. She was his brand new wife and he was so insanely in love with her. If two years was what she thought she needed, he could give her that, couldn't he? He reached out and caressed her face once more.
“Okay,” he said softly, looking into her eyes. “Two years.”
Her lovely face erupted into a huge smile as she looked at him. “Thank you!”
He smiled sadly as he leaned in and kissed her lips gently. And when he made love to her again after they finished eating, it was tempered with doubt, confusion, and uncertainty.
Chapter Three
His mind still clouded with Donna's sudden turnaround, Cory pulled his Corvette into the driveway of the house he still owned in Agoura Hills. Not the little bungalow he had been renting when he first met Donna, but the house he had purchased for his mother back when Jagged Ivory's debut album, Seven Deadly Sins, took off and the band became a real success. It was the first major purchase he had ever made, followed closely by his beloved '66 Corvette Stingray.
Climbing out of the car, he felt a little guilty that he and Donna had been back from their honeymoon for a week now and this was the first time he was coming to see his mom. Silently, he berated himself for not being a better son as he rang the doorbell. And as he waited for it to be answered, he glanced around the yard, noting that the gardener he had hired before he left to go on tour wasn't doing such a hot job of keeping the shrubs trimmed. He frowned at their overgrown, unruly branches.
“Hi honey!” His mom's bright smile pulled his attention away from the shrubs for a moment as he stepped inside and gave her a big hug.
“Hi, Mom,” he smiled as he kissed her cheek.
Ellen Dutton was an attractive woman for her age. Hell, for any age. She had dabbled in modeling back in her teenage years, and did a lot of print work for magazines. But she gave all that up when she met his dad. He had been a local nobody, good-looking and charming, and Ellen had fallen for him instantly. Things happened quickly between them, and when she got pregnant he stepped up to do the right thing. It wasn't until a wedding ring and three kids later that he decided he wasn't the type to do the right thing for very long. After that train wreck, Ellen just seemed to stop caring. At least, that's what Cory gathered from the stories his sisters told. They were both older than him and both had lots of memories of their father. Cory had been an infant when Charles Dutton left the house to buy some diapers for the baby and a box of cereal for the girls to eat the next morning, and never came back. His sisters say that part of their mother died that night. After that, she stopped bothering with trivial things like makeup and hair care, and got down to the business of raising three children all on her own. But Cory didn't know much about any of that. All he remembered was that his mom was always there, with a huge smile and a big heart, working her ass off to raise them, and to fill the void their so-called father left when he walked out.
“You look so tan and healthy,” she exclaimed. “Honeymoon was good?”
“Yeah, honeymoon was great,” he smiled.
“Aww, I'm so happy for you!” She squeezed his cheeks and he made a face as he pulled away from her.
“Mom, I'm too old to have my cheeks squeezed!”
“Oh, nonsense. You will always be my baby boy!” She waved her hand at him as she turned to walk through the living room and into the kitchen. And Cory gave her a small smile and a roll of his eyes.
“Hey, Mom, what happened with the gardener I hired? The shrubs look a mess,” Cory stated, following after her. “Didn't he come out?”
“Yes, he did, but … I sent him away.”
“What do you mean, you sent him away? Why would you do that?”
“Well, I didn't like the way he was treating my Azaleas. And I can do my own gardening.”
“You shouldn't have to do your own gardening, Mom. He's a professional; that's why I hired him! You tell him what you want your garden to look like and he does all the work so you don't have to.” He hated it that his mom still worked so hard. Now that he was in a position to take care of her financially, he really wanted her to take advantage of it, but she refused. She accepted his gift of the house, but she refused to let him pay all of her expenses and she still kept a part-time job tutoring students at the learning center.
“Cory, I like to garden! It's fun for me; you know that.”
“I know it's something you like to do, Mom,” he said with exasperation as he pulled out a chair and sat at the kitchen table. “But sometimes you need help with things lik
e mulch and soil. You shouldn't be lugging those big heavy bags around by yourself!”
“Oh, I do fine! You worry too much,” she rolled her eyes at him. Then she smiled and said, “You are going to make a damn good husband. I hope Donna appreciates that.”
Cory rolled his eyes at her again, and then chuckled.
“How is my new daughter-in-law, by the way? You know, I was expecting a visit from the both of you,” she said, giving him an admonishing look.
“Yes, I know. But she's working,” he sighed. “The production company sprang a photo shoot on her today for the upcoming season promos for Model for Murder. The shoot wasn't supposed to be until next week but they had to move it up for some reason. She said to give you her love though. And she wants to have you, and her parents, out to the house for dinner before we both hit the road.”
“Hmm, a nice dinner to announce that we're all going to be grandparents?” she asked excitedly. And Cory felt his stomach tilt and roll as it lurched.
“Mom, we've been married three weeks,” he said with an indulgent smile.
“So? You've been together for over two years,” she reasoned. “Lots of people have come back from honeymoons several weeks pregnant.”
“Well, Donna and I didn't, okay?” He couldn't help the agitated edge he could hear in his voice, and he was certain his mom had heard it too.
“Okay.” She looked at him curiously as she sat an offered glass of lemonade in front of him. “Fresh squeezed with lemons from my lemon tree,” she said lightly in a singsong voice, and he smiled.
He definitely got his upbeat personality from her. She was so resilient. How she had managed to keep it together raising him and his sisters all by herself on a teacher's salary, Cory would never know. It was a question he asked himself often. But not as often as he ran other questions through his mind whenever he was around her. Questions like, how could a man walk out on three innocent kids? Kids that he fathered and claimed to love? Two adorable little girls and an infant son … how do you do that? Leaving a bad marriage, he could understand – even with a woman as beautiful as his mother. But walking away from your kids and never looking back? Not even trying to keep in touch? Not a single letter or card or phone call? Cory had vowed to himself at an early age that he would never do that to his kids, if he was ever blessed enough to have any. And as he sipped his lemonade he made that vow anew. Although, with the little bomb Donna dropped on him last week about waiting two years, who knew if he would ever get the chance to be a father.
The Essential Jagged Ivory (Jagged Ivory Boxed Set) Page 23