The Closer I Get to You (Cochran/Deveraux Series Book 8)

by Melanie Schuster

  “Let’s make love.”

  ***

  Paris had no idea how luscious she looked to Titus as she perched in the middle of the king sized bed. He’d carried her into the bedroom as though she weighed next to nothing, because to him she really was the perfect size. Their clothes had been dispensed of quickly and efficiently and now she was ready for him, her bountiful curves exposed to him in the way he’d wanted for months. He loved looking at her, touching her and now he was going to make love to her, something he’d been looking forward to for a long time. He moved behind her so that she rested on his big chest while his hands began to explore her body with long, sensual strokes, as he talked to her in a deep, sexy voice.

  “You are so beautiful, Paris,” he whispered as his hands caressed her breasts, fondling them for the first time and loving the feel of the firm, luscious globes. “Your body is gorgeous, baby. I love the way you’re made, you’re just right for me. And I’m going to love you all over, every single inch of you,” he vowed as the soft sounds of passion began to issue from her throat. He smiled as Paris relaxed into his embrace, her nipples hardening and growing big with anticipation as he worked his magic on her.

  He turned her so that she was on her back and he moved over her body, kissing his way down to her breasts and taking her nipple into his mouth for the first time. It was hard to say who derived the most enjoyment from the erotic gesture; he experienced an erection as hard as tempered steel while Paris trembled and moaned as he applied a gentle but intense pressure to the tender tip, sucking and nibbling as he kneaded the other one. She tasted as good as she smelled and the lush bounty of her body was making Titus hotter than he’d been in years.

  There was something about the feel of her body that was driving him into a frenzy of desire; she was soft yet firm and totally inviting. The way she reacted to him also fueled his fire. She looked beautiful and exotic; lying beneath him while she let him know in every possible way that he was exciting her, too. He treated both of her breasts with his hands and his mouth until her breath was coming in soft pants and he knew he was giving her as much pleasure as he was getting. Only then did he continue his exploration, kissing and licking her torso, loving the firm roundness of her belly as his hands stroked her hips, learning the curves of her thighs and parting her trembling legs to find the treasure within.

  The thick curly triangle that adorned her was a special delight to Titus; he loved the silky feel of it as he began to explore that which made her woman. He began to stroke her moist folds with his long fingers, only to find her wet and throbbing for him, so fragrant and yearning he couldn’t resist, he brought his mouth to those lips and plundered her sweetness. He parted her legs and groaned deep in his throat as she put her long legs over his shoulders while he paid her the ultimate erotic tribute. Her response was more than gratifying; he could feel the powerful tremors that racked her body as she cried his name, over and over. When he finally made his way back up her body she was still sighing his name.

  He kissed her thoroughly, their mouths pleasuring each other as he reached for the condoms on the nightstand and quickly and expertly put one on. “Paris, baby, this is going to be so good,” he promised. He positioned himself between her magnificent thighs and joined their bodies in one swift movement, or he tried to. Paris’s hands clenched on his shoulders and in the late afternoon sunlight that streamed through the windows, he could see her face contorted in pain. His eyes widened in shock and he realized for the first time that Paris was a virgin. How the hell is this possible? This is crazy, he thought frantically, this is all wrong. For a split second he thought about leaping off the bed and calling a halt to this, but he couldn’t do it. Instead he changed his technique, making his movements slow and gentle so he could initiate Paris into the art of lovemaking the right way.

  “It’s okay, baby, it’s not going to hurt anymore,” he said soothingly. “We’re going to take it slow and easy, Paris, nice and slow and gentle until you’re ready for more,” he whispered as he kissed away the tiny trickle of tears from her face. “Open your eyes, sweetheart, and look at me,” he crooned and was pleased when she did. Still moving against her, he rocked slowly, bringing her closer with each gentle push. “It’s just you and me and we have all the time in the world. Just relax with me and we’ll get there, Paris, just take your time,” he breathed as he stared into her face, which was flushed with passion and wearing the most incredible expression of innocent trust and adoration he ever seen. That look, coupled with the feel of her around him, hot, tight and exquisitely moist, was almost his undoing but she surprised him yet again.

  Her eyes widened suddenly and she began moving against Titus, matching him move for move until she gasped his name and her hands tightened on his huge biceps. “Ooh, Titus…” she moaned. His gentle movements had brought them to the place they needed to be, he was inside her fully and she was able to experience everything she should, every thrilling sensation as her body clenched and released his in the rhythm of love. The passion continued to build as Paris began to experience the release of her body into Titus’s strong thrusts. They were both damp with perspiration and breathing erratically as the final climax began. Titus tightened his arms around her as his body began to empty itself into her tender heat and it was his turn to cry her name. “Paris, oh damn, baby…Paris!”

  Paris was awash in a sea of the same ecstasy and she returned his passion with all the emotion she could muster as she sobbed, “I love you, Titus. I love you.”

  Minutes later, they lay spent, still wrapped in each other’s arms, neither one wanting to end the intimate connection. They didn’t speak, they just stared at each other for long moments and by mutual consent, their mouths connected for another long and passionate kiss.

  ***

  Paris was awake for some time before she opened her eyes. She was so sated and so euphoric she didn’t want to move a muscle. She was still feeling the aftermath of Titus’s incredible lovemaking and that’s all she wanted to feel. After that first time, when Titus made her his woman in the most profoundly passionate way, they’d made love for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. He’d carried her into the shower and they bathed each other slowly and lovingly. Then they took turns drying each other. The constant rubbing and stroking with the soft thick towels began to turn them on until they couldn’t stand any more sensation without completion. Titus had put his big hands around her waist and walked her backwards to the bed while kissing her like it was their very first time. They fell onto the rumpled bed and continued kissing until the kisses weren’t nearly enough.

  She sighed softly, remembering every moment with the unerring clarity of a woman who’d experienced love for the very first time with the first and only man she’d ever loved. Her rosy lips turned up in a smile as she thought about her reaction to seeing his body; she’d probably never completely recover from it. When Titus had taken off his shirt to reveal the most magnificent chest she’d ever seen, Paris forgot how to breathe for a few moments. He was like a bronzed Colossus, smooth and hard with sculpted definition that was amazing to behold and irresistible to touch. She had shyly put her palms on him, amazed by the feel of his skin. “Titus, you are…beautiful,” she’d whispered. He’d laughed in delight and grabbed her hard, kissing her over and over. It was then he said that words that made her believe that he had the same impassioned love for her that was making her heart pound like a thousand butterflies.

  “Paris, you’re the one who’s beautiful. You’re pretty to look at but you also have a beautiful spirit. You’re gorgeous, you’re sweet and you’re so damned sexy you need to come with a warning label.” They lay facing each other, looking at each other’s body, touching each other and kissing gently, a subtle prelude to their next round of lovemaking. “If I’d only known, sweetheart,” he murmured, pulling her closer to his body and stroking her possessively.

  “If you’d known what, Titus?” she said softly as she kissed his neck, his shoulder and his
chest.

  Titus had risen up on one elbow so he could look down at her, taking in every inch of her body. He caressed her with his eyes and his hand as he touched her reverently but deliberately. He circled her breast with his palm, then leaned over and took her nipple in his mouth for a brief, hot salute. Then he raised his hand to stroke her face before lowering his lips to hers. “If I’d known how sweet you are, Paris, I couldn’t have resisted you as long as I did, and that’s the truth, God help me. I’d have come after you a lot sooner,” he said solemnly.

  And with those words he urged her on top of him and began to show her yet another way of making love. Until then Paris had considered herself fairly well educated in the ways of love. Untried, yes, but she hardly considered herself untutored. She’d had many frank talks with her Aunt Lillian, her cousin Angelique, and her close friends both male and female. Besides, there was so much reading material available on the subject of sex it was rather impossible to be uninformed on the process. In addition, Paris also had a secret arsenal of very well written romance novels that were frank and uninhibited besides being captivating stories. So on one level, she knew all about sex, but the depth of what she was feeling now was a revelation. Her naked body was still throbbing, her nipples tingled and there was a lovely warmth emanating through all of her erogenous zones. She sighed again and reached for Titus, only then realizing she was alone in the bed. Her eyes finally opened, and she smiled shyly as she became aware of the fact that he was in the room. He was standing next to the bed looking down at her and she was so glad to see his beloved face she didn’t feel the least bit self-conscious.

  Pushing her hair away from her face she smiled again, radiant and welcoming. “Good…is it morning?” she asked curiously.

  “Not really. It’s about midnight,” Titus said quietly.

  “Why are you standing there? And why are you dressed? I like you much better naked,” Paris said mischievously. As she spoke she took a peek under the sheet at her own body and yes indeedy, she was quite devoid of clothing. Titus didn’t answer her at once, but he did sit down on the side of the bed. Paris scooted over to make more room for him, but he stayed where he was. His face was completely serious as he addressed her.

  “Paris, you should have told me you were a virgin,” he said solemnly.

  She flashed him a wicked grin. “I think you’re missing the big picture, Titus.”

  “And what would that be?” he asked, still using the dull, unemotional voice she’d never heard from him before.

  “I’m not a virgin anymore. I am so not a virgin. So it’s kind of a moot point, really.”

  “You should have told me. I had a right to know before this happened. Fine as you are, as old as you are how in the world did you manage to never have sex before this?”

  Paris looked at him strangely. “You had a ‘right to know’? Virginity isn’t a communicable disease, Titus. And how was I supposed to announce it to you? Virgin pins went out of vogue a long time ago.”

  It was Titus’s turn to look puzzled. “What’s a virgin pin? Never mind, it doesn’t matter. The point is it never occurred to me that this was your first experience. I just can’t believe someone as sexy and sensuous as you are never made love before. How is that possible?” His growing frustration was evident in his voice.

  “Titus, come on now, you’ve met my brothers. There isn’t a man in the state of Louisiana who would touch me with a ten-foot-pole,” she said with wry humor. “I didn’t even go to my prom because they scared off every potential date I ever had. And before you ask, I went to an all-girl’s high school and a women’s college. I didn’t have all that many opportunities to meet men. When I was in law school the only men I had any interest in were my professors because I was there to get a law degree, not a husband. And it was the same way in graduate school. Besides,” she added, and her voice lowered and took on a soft, dreamy tone. “I don’t have the gene for promiscuity, apparently. I wanted my first time to be with someone I love. And I’ve been in love with you for a long time, Titus.”

  Titus groaned and stood up abruptly, clenching his hands into fists and pounding his forehead lightly with one as he spoke. “Paris, you don’t know what you’re saying. This is all wrong; this is…look, how old are you anyway?”

  Again she stared at him oddly. “I’ll be thirty on my next birthday, what does that have to do with anything?”

  “I’m almost forty, Paris. I’m too old for you, baby, way too old. I don’t know why I didn’t realize it before. This is all wrong, sweetheart, it’s not going to happen for us,” he said with finality, the regret was plain in his voice.

  Paris sat up, mindless of the fact that the sheet slipped away to reveal her round, enticing breasts to his eyes. “I’m confused, Titus. From my perspective it’s already happened between us. Several times, I might add, or are virgins also unable to count? What are you talking about?”

  He paced back a forth a few times before coming back to sit on the side of the bed. “Paris, you’re a beautiful woman, a magnificent woman, as a matter of fact. You’re everything a man could ever want, but I’m not the man for you. You need someone who’s going to want to settle down, marry you and give you some pretty babies and I’m not that man. That’s just not how I roll. Every relationship I have is finite. We meet, we flirt, we got out a few times and if we’re both agreeable, we have sex. It lasts as long as it lasts and we part with no regrets. That’s why I’ve never dated anyone as young as you are. It’s just not fair to you.”

  Paris didn’t say anything for a long moment. Finally she spoke, sounding as serious as Titus. “I see. So the flirting and the dating and all the attention, that was like step two of your master plan, is that it?”

  “I wouldn’t put it like that, Paris, you were...”

  “Don’t say I was different,” she warned in a low, ominous tone. “Don’t say I was different or special, please. You had enough respect for me to show me some honesty, so don’t start lying now. It was just step two of the plan, that’s all.” She let the words hang heavy in the air for a few moments, then asked him a question, in the same expressionless tone of voice. “So why didn’t you jump up and run? You had to realize I didn’t know what I was doing, why didn’t you cut your losses and scamper? We wouldn’t be having this horrible conversation right now if you had,” she said, not bothering to disguise her bitterness.

  Titus, to his dubious credit, met her eyes and answered her honestly. He stood and walked away from the bed, staring blankly at the picture on the wall, and then turned to Paris, his face taut and rigid. “I should have and a part of me regrets that I didn’t. But I couldn’t for two reasons. I didn’t want you to despise sex or be afraid of it and I had to make it a beautiful experience for you. That’s the main reason why I didn’t stop. And the other part is, well,” he hesitated for a moment, seeming to weigh his words before continuing. “The other reason I couldn’t stop is you, Paris. I don’t know how to say this without sounding like even more of a jerk, but you’re incredible, baby. Once I felt that beautiful body of yours I couldn’t stop touching you any more than I could stop breathing and that’s the truth. I couldn’t get enough of you, Paris.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “And yet, you seem to have done that very thing. Odd how that works, isn’t it?” Without warning she flipped back the sheet to reveal her nude body and slid out of the bed into a standing position. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to get dressed. I don’t suppose you could scare me up a cup of coffee? Is there a Starbucks around here?”

  Titus seemed thrilled to have something to do and offered to go find out. He took off as though propelled by a jet pack to find Paris a cup of Starbucks coffee. She gathered her clothes and her dignity and went into the bathroom to put herself together. By the time he got back to the suite, she was gone.

  Chapter Four

  Paris paid off the cabdriver, overtipping him and ignoring his effusive thanks. She was just happy to have found a cab in which to make her
escape. To have been sitting there looking like Boo-Boo the Fool when Titus came back would have been way too much for her to deal with, so she went into action as soon as he’d closed the door behind him. She’d dressed hastily and almost cried with relief when she was able to get a taxi right in front of the hotel. Now her only concern was getting inside without waking anyone. She slipped out of the backseat of the cab and stared at the big brick home owned by her cousin Angelique and her husband Donnie. It was a really late hour for a houseguest to come stumbling in, even if the guest had her own key, the way Paris did. Making a face, she tiptoed up to the side door, praying that she wouldn’t disturb anyone. Dealing with what she’d just been through was hard enough, she didn’t want to compound the angst by having to share her humiliation with Angelique; she was just too raw emotionally for that. The door opened and Paris came in stealthily, turning to close it as quietly as possible. With a soft sigh of relief she turned to enter the kitchen.

  “Keeping some mighty late hours, aren’t you?” The voice that made Paris jump straight in the air held a tinge of laughter. She turned to find Aunt Ruth sitting at the breakfast table in her robe and slippers, enjoying a cup of tea.

  Paris gamely tried to play off the fact that she was skulking in like a thief in the night. “Umm, I, ah, umm…” her voice faded away and she tried again. “Hello. I hope I didn’t scare you,” she said politely, ignoring the flaming heat of her face.

  “I’m wide awake. I’m afraid I’m a night owl. Just having a little tea while I catch up on the latest fashions and gossip,” Ruth said with a smile as she gestured to the thick fashion magazine she was perusing. “Have some?”

  Paris shook her head to indicate ‘no’, but her face wasn’t cooperating. She looked bedraggled and forlorn as well as embarrassed. “I’m, umm, going to turn in. I’ve got a flight tomorrow, an early flight, so I should get to bed,” she said hurriedly. She was about to take off for the guest room when Ruth’s voice stopped her.