by Bella Andre
And then she was threading her hands into his hair and kissing him. He tasted so damned good, his skin faintly salty as she ran her mouth over his five o’clock shadow.
Lola wanted to memorize every moment in his arms so that she could mark this in her mind as the moment her life changed forever.
At last, she’d found the happiness she’d secretly been searching for.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Duncan had never felt so lucky.
No man could ever be worthy of Lola Sullivan. No mortal could possibly deserve the crazy pleasure of having her luscious curves pressed against him while she rained kisses over his face and lips.
And yet, somehow, some way, Duncan had found his way to Lola.
To her smile.
To her laughter.
To her open arms.
To the sinfully sexy sounds she made when she was desperate for his touch.
But even though Duncan knew he didn’t deserve her, how the hell could he walk away from her when she was offering him the most precious gift in the world? Not just her body, but her heart.
He’d never wanted anything so badly as he wanted to be in her heart. Because for all that his body was crying out for hers, the warmth and honest emotion in her eyes were what made him catch his breath.
Lola was, hands down, the most stunning woman he’d ever seen, but her beauty was so much more than physical. Her beauty came from the inside, from a totally pure heart. More pure than he’d known a heart could be.
A million times more pure than his…
He drew back to look into her eyes, and what he saw in them floored him. No one had ever looked at him this way, as though she needed him more than she needed anything else, even her next breath.
I think I’m falling in love with you. The words hovered on the tip of his tongue. Only the worry that she might freak out if he said them so soon held them back. He couldn’t bear the thought of scaring her off with the three little words he’d never said to anyone. Words he’d never so much as thought about another woman.
“Do you have any idea how much I want you?” His voice vibrated with desire. “Do you have any idea how desperate I am to hear you cry out with pleasure when I put my hands, my mouth on you?” He brushed the pad of his thumb over her full lower lip, and he nearly groaned as her tongue flicked out to taste him. “Do you have any idea how much I love hearing you gasp when I touch you?”
“Touch me again, Duncan.” She pulled him down to the couch with her. “Love me.”
Her words, and her obvious joy at being with him, flipped a switch inside of him. She wrapped her legs around his hips as he levered up with one arm so he could watch her reaction as he used his free hand to cup, stroke, tease her breasts. Her eyes fell closed as she writhed beneath his touch, so damned responsive that it wasn’t enough just to touch her, he had to taste her too.
Sweet Lord, the taste of her against his tongue nearly undid him…
Even if he never experienced anything more with Lola, this would be far more than Duncan had ever dreamed of.
Wanting to give her pleasure beyond her wildest imaginings, he laved her breasts with his tongue as he ran his hand over her stomach, loving the way her body tensed in anticipation as he slid his thumbs into the sides of her panties and drew the sheer fabric down her gorgeous legs.
For a long moment, he simply let himself drink her in. Her smooth skin. The faded scars on her knees where he guessed she must have fallen as a child playing with her siblings. The little freckles beneath the curves of her breasts. Every inch of her took his breath away. Until looking wasn’t nearly enough, and he had to taste her again, had to touch her again.
He greedily took her mouth as he cupped her sex. She was so wet, so hot, as desperate for his touch as he was desperate to touch her. She arched against him, her hips instinctively moving so that his fingers slipped over, then inside her slick flesh.
He’d never come closer to the edge of control as he did at the feel of Lola’s curves, her sweet scent, the taste of her lips against his, the bucking of her hips as she tried to take him deeper.
As he slid his thumb over the center of her arousal, all it took was one long moan from her throat to snap his remaining control. Moving like a man possessed, he drove her crazy with his hand against her sex while running kisses over her breasts, then down her abdomen.
In the exact moment he tasted her on his tongue, she cried out his name. Nothing had ever sounded better. He could spend his whole life making her come over and over again and never get enough of it. Never get enough of her.
Her inner muscles clenched against his fingers as he continued to pleasure her with his tongue. And as she gasped and writhed beneath him, everything in Duncan’s world came down to giving Lola as much ecstasy as he possibly could.
Duncan’s past and the future seemed to disappear completely, leaving only this perfect moment with Lola.
“That was beyond amazing,” she said once he had moved back up to hold her in his arms. Her skin was rosy and flushed from her climax, her lips full from their kisses, her eyes shining with what looked like anticipation. “I can’t wait for what comes next.”
She started to unbutton his shirt, and the pleasures awaiting him threatened to overwhelm what was left of his sense. His conscience.
It was impossible to think straight when they were this close, her skin flushed a beautiful rose, her chest still rapidly rising and falling in the aftermath of her release. He’d never wanted anything so much in his life as he wanted to make love to her. And he knew she wanted that just as much by the way she wrapped her arms around his neck and looked into his eyes.
Only, even now, he couldn’t completely forget his past—or hers. Not only that he was nowhere close to being a saint, but that she deserved a man who would do whatever it took to prove to her that she was far more than just a beautiful face and a hot body.
Drawing from his deep well of control, he lifted his mouth from hers.
“Duncan?” She blinked at him, her gaze slowly refocusing. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t deserve you.”
“You’re the only one who does.”
She reached for his chest again, but he caught her hands in his. One more touch, and he’d be lost, forgetting what he needed to do.
“I’m not good enough for you,” he insisted. “But when I look in your eyes, I desperately want to be worthy of you.” It nearly killed him to say the rest. “Which is why I can’t make love to you tonight.”
“What?” She looked stunned. And, worse, hurt. “Why can’t you?”
“That came out all wrong.” Damn it, he hadn’t meant to hurt her. Hurting Lola was the very last thing he ever wanted to do. “Of course I want to make love with you. More than I’ve ever wanted anything in my whole life.” He tried to corral his thoughts into some semblance of order. “But I don’t want you to think I came to Bar Harbor because I was angling for a one-night stand. I swear to you that it’s the very last thing I want. I want us to have more than just one night together. So much more.”
“I want that too,” she said. “And you don’t have to worry. I know this isn’t a one-night stand. Our connection…” She stared into his eyes, her heart in hers. “I’ve never felt anything like this before, Duncan. Not with anyone else.”
Her clear confirmation that she felt exactly the way he did nearly shook his resolve. “I haven’t either,” he said softly. But he still needed to ask, “How many men have treated you the way you deserve to be treated?”
She shook her head, his question seeming to hit her hard. “Apart from my family—” She dropped her gaze. “None.”
“Let me woo you.” The intensity in his voice made her gaze connect with his again. “Let me romance you. Let me adore you the way you deserve to be adored.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Lola’s body was still humming from the incredible orgasm Duncan had given her. She felt sated, deliciously so, and yet…
She wante
d all of Duncan. Wanted to feel his body wrapped around her. Wanted to feel his strong muscles pressing her into her bed. Wanted to twist up her sheets together as they made wild, passionate love.
She’d been stunned when he’d held himself back, and then when he’d told her he couldn’t make love to her tonight. It had been the very last thing she’d expected him to say. The very last thing any other man she’d been with would have said.
And it would be so easy to seduce him into changing his mind. Truthfully, she was so darned tempted to do just that.
But at the same time, he was right that no other man had ever put her first. Men had lavished her looks with praise, they’d practically written sonnets about how sexy she was…but no one had ever truly adored her or romanced her. All they’d ever wanted was physical pleasure for themselves.
So if Duncan wanted to prove his devotion to her, she would let him.
And she would adore him even more for it.
“Okay. I can do it. I can wait. At least I can try,” she said as she licked her lips, wanting him more and more every second. “I have to be honest, though. I’m not sure I’ll be able to withstand wanting you this much for too long.”
His gaze was intense, full of heat and emotion. “I’ll never forgive myself if I screw up things with you. I’ve never felt like this about anyone else. Never thought I could. Not until you smiled at me, and held my hand, and made me feel like dreams can come true.” He stroked her cheek. “I want to savor you. Everything about you. Inside and out. I want to hear about your childhood, and your experiences in high school and college, and then everything that happened after that. I want to know what you like and what you hate, what kind of movies you binge-watch, and the music you listen to. I want to find out how you got the scars on your knees, if it was from playing with your brothers and sisters? I want to hold you in my arms and listen to absolutely anything you want to tell me. But first,” he said in that deep voice that had melted her insides from the very first time he’d spoken, “I want to give you more pleasure. So much that you’ll never be able to forget our night together.”
“There’s no way I could ever forget it,” she whispered against his lips right before he claimed them again.
She swore she could taste his desire—the desire to give her everything she wanted and needed, rather than the desire to take whatever he could get away with. Even though bringing her to another breathless climax would surely only leave him more frustrated.
His hands, his mouth found all her secret pleasure spots. Behind the curve of her knee. Along her spine. Even the tips of her toes were lavished with kisses. Until she was so aroused again that the barest brush of his fingertips between her legs sent her reeling back into climax.
He gathered her close as she fought for breath, but the brush of her breasts against his chest, and the way she could feel his heart hammering in his chest, only made her want him more.
“You amaze me, Lola.” His words sent as much heat through her as his touch had.
Lifting her eyes to his, she said, “You amaze me too.”
When their mouths found each other again, she was certain they wouldn’t be able to stop this time. But she hadn’t counted on just how strong his will was, because somehow he convinced her to leave the couch, put her clothes back on, and head out into the garden. The light had faded while they were inside and the stars were starting to twinkle from the sky above them as they created a comfortable, cozy haven with pillows and soft blankets, including the quilt her mom had made from the scraps of her favorite childhood dresses. They had also brought out a feast of fruit, cheese, crackers, and wine.
Though Lola’s body was still humming with desire—and she knew his was too—she loved how easy being with Duncan felt. She’d never had a moonlit picnic in her backyard with anyone before, and every second with him, listening to the owls call back and forth while the moon rose higher and higher in the sky, was wonderful.
Once they had eaten, she lay in his arms, her head against his chest, drawing his arms around her waist as she told him funny stories about her childhood. She told him about the first time she used the sewing machine and accidentally sewed her dress to the tablecloth. She laughed as she recounted the Easter when she and all six of her siblings had an egg-throwing fight, and how her aim was so true that everyone in the family still looked a little nervous when she took a dozen eggs out of the fridge. She told him all about how she’d skinned her knees when she and her siblings were pretending to be Evel Knievel on the street in front of their house. He laughed when she said the scars had been worth it, though, because she’d jumped farther and higher on her bike than any of her brothers. She told him about her first gallery showing when she was fourteen, and how exciting it had been to see a red Sold sticker next to her artwork.
Though she tried to get Duncan to tell her stories about his past too, he always managed to bring it back around to her. But she didn’t blame him for being reluctant to delve into his childhood, not when she couldn’t imagine how difficult it must have been for him to lose his parents at such a young age.
“Tell me more,” he urged her. “You’ve told me about your past. Now tell me how you’d like your life to be in five, ten, even fifty years.”
“I have so much already,” she said, her muscles loose and relaxed in his arms, her eyes growing heavy as sleep tried to claim her. “It almost doesn’t seem fair to hope for more. But when I look out five years from now, on a professional level, I hope I’m still really loving my work and that what I do is still bringing a smile to people’s faces.”
“I have no doubt your work will always make people happy,” he said. “And on a personal level, what do you want from the rest of your life?”
She liked his questions, liked the way he made her take a good look at her life. “I’ve traveled a bit, but I haven’t seen as many places as I thought I would by now. I’ve been glued to my desk these past eight years, and while I don’t regret the time I’ve spent building my business, in the future I hope I spend more time outside enjoying the beauty of where I live and also discovering other beautiful places. I also hope everyone in my family will stay healthy and happy—and I’d love to have more nieces and nephews. And of course, I hope there’s peace and love for everyone all over the world.”
“That’s a great list.”
“I’m not done. I haven’t yet gotten to what I want most of all.” She shifted to look into his eyes. “I hope you’ll be beside me.” Her voice was softer now, though no less sure. “Some people might call it crazy after only knowing you for a day, but I can see us together fifty years from now.”
“At least fifty,” he said, his deep voice sending heat moving through her, though the evening had turned cool.
They kissed again, but his intent to savor her meant he stopped the kiss before they lost control. Leaning back against his chest, she closed her eyes, just for a few seconds.
* * *
The next thing she knew, she was waking up to the sound of birds chirping and the first rays of the sun rising over her back garden.
Still holding her, Duncan pressed a kiss to the side of her neck, making her shiver with need despite being covered in thick blankets. “Good morning.”
“The best morning ever,” she said, shifting slightly to run her fingertips over the rugged bristles across his jaw. She smiled into his eyes. “So have I convinced you yet?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t even know what you’ve agreed to, do you?” she asked on a laugh.
“Whatever it is, if you’re recommending it, I trust it will be damned good.”
She turned to kiss him, before saying, “Only good?”
He nipped at her bottom lip, turning her insides to liquid all over again. “Amazing.” Another nip, this time at her earlobe. “Fantastic.” His teeth gently raked her collarbone. “Stupendous.”
It was all she could do to keep breathing, let alone think straight. Still, she somehow managed to say, “Oka
y, then have you agreed to let your new employee step into your role in your company so that you can focus on your talent and passion for cartography?”
He smiled down at her. “Twenty-four hours ago, I couldn’t have imagined I’d be saying yes to that. But now?” He brushed the pad of his thumb across her cheek. “Now I can’t imagine saying no.”
She’d been so sure that her heart was safe from a fairytale, whirlwind romance. She was ecstatic about being proven wrong.
Lola threw her arms around Duncan, holding him tight, her heart feeling like it was going to explode with joy. She pressed her lips to his, wanting to kiss him forever. She felt warm and pleasured all over, her skin heated everywhere he touched her. And her heart? It felt so full. So happy.
Impulsively, the words fell from her lips. “I love you.” After all these years of not being able to trust her heart, it felt so right to tell Duncan she loved him. But at the same time, she felt compelled to add, “I know maybe it’s too soon—”
He stopped her from saying more with a kiss. A kiss that made her feel like she was the answer to every one of his prayers. “It’s not too soon. I love you too.” His mouth found hers again. “I think I fell in love with you the first moment I saw you smile. I fell even harder when you laughed.” He traced her lower lip with one fingertip. “And then when I realized just how big your heart is…I knew I was a total goner.”
Lola’s heart had never felt so full. “I started falling when you didn’t so much as blink when my matchmaking mother asked if it was difficult to leave your wife and children at home.” They both laughed, and then she told him, “Every moment we’ve spent together since has only made me fall faster, and deeper.”
He kissed her again, a kiss so passionate and full of emotion that she was surprised to see him frown when they drew apart. A muscle jumped in his jaw.
“Lola, there’s something—”
The alarm on his cell phone went off, loud and jarring. They’d left the kitchen window open so that they would hear it.