He continued to glory in the flood of creamy evidence that she’d been well pleased, never stopping the probing rhythm of his hand, while he waited, shaking, and near his own edge to see whether she came down or went up and over again. He hoped it would be the later because he sorely wanted to lose himself inside her churning depths. When she undulated underneath his hand he knew she was ready for anything.
Rolling onto his back Nick moved Shannon fully astride his wide spread hips as she struggled to become upright on top of him. It was like riding a savage beast she marveled as he shoved her knees as wide apart as they would go to comfortably accommodate his spread eagle posture underneath her.
With strong capable hands Nick helped her get in position as he prepared to enter her soft, wet woman’s body. She reached between them and with one silky delicate hand she held his throbbing staff steady as he maneuvered her over the head of his rock hard cock. Shannon was having an out-of-body experience she was sure since nothing they’d shared before this had ever come close to the sheer raw carnality of what was happening between them now.
Just as before when he asked if she was ready to let him kiss her he asked again but with a different and more seductive meaning.
“Are you ready to let me in, little one?” he groaned in a husky rasp that shredded her control as he stroked the engorged head of his huge sex against her creamy cleft.
Yes, must have been the word du jour Shannon thought as she once again surrendered to his powerful, alpha male drive and let him hurl her trembling body into a whirlpool of swirling erotic energy. With one mighty surge he thrust upward at the same time that he used the grip he had on her thighs to impale Shannon forcefully onto his hard, engorged sex.
It was a moment like no other for Nick as his eager manhood quivered and throbbed inside her hot, wet depths. Once he was deep inside and she was fully seated on top of him, she rotated her sexy hips in a series of naughty circles that stole his breath and robbed him of the ability to think.
My god she was so incredibly guileless in her enjoyment of his body as she rocked and swayed while the wet creamy evidence of her excitement flowed from her aroused body down onto his; anointing him with the sweetest proof imaginable of the incredibly powerful physical connection they shared.
He helped her find a lazy rhythm that brought soft sighs of delight from Shannon as she took him deep in languid plunging strokes that set her nerve endings on fire. After the extraordinary orgasm she’d experienced from his touch, Shannon was surprised to realize how quickly she launched into another breathless journey that could only end one way. Knowing that ratcheted her excitement level even higher.
She continued moving on his magnificent hardness while Nick lay back and watched her through hooded, sex drenched eyes while his large hands cupped and kneaded her ample breasts. The only sounds in the room were their occasional moans and gasps and the unmistakable sound of her well lubricated female body swallowing his in continuous, sure and steady strokes.
She could have stayed like that forever but Nick changed the tempo when he started bucking strongly underneath her bringing a startled gasp and a moan of surrender to the upward plunges that drove her to the brink. He put both hands on her back pressing her chest forward so he could capture the puckered nipple of a swaying breast with his hungry mouth.
Shannon struggled to stay upright. Placing her shaking hands on the bed to either side of his head, his lips tugged relentlessly on an aching breast as he surged up into her bucking hips over and over.
It was too much and still not enough, keeping Shannon on a knife’s edge of sensual agony as she writhed and moaned on top of him seeking relief from a torment she never wanted to end. Eight long years of heartache melted away with each passing moment. This wasn’t just sex – it was far too personal and deep to be only a physical act of release. She could feel his heartbeat in the part of him that was buried deep inside her while he was drawing a response from her soul that transcended all other feelings.
The French saying la petite mort or ‘little death’ is a metaphor for the intensity of the perfect orgasm. Shannon doubted that level of intensity would be possible without the staggering depth of emotion they were sharing. A feeling of completion in her soul rocked her to the core, making her cry out from the beauty of the moment.
“Nick, please.” Shannon gasped. “I don’t think I can…” Her hips rocked but her arms lost their strength and she collapsed on top of him as he continued grinding against her. Shannon lost herself in a tidal wave of sensations and submitted to him totally.
Sensing her loss of control Nick took the upper hand, immediately rolling her so she was now underneath his plundering thrusts. He pushed her knees up with his hands and helped her grasp his waist between quaking thighs.
She arched and writhed in growing abandon while Nick continued hammering away; building his orgasm as hers began to clutch with increasing vigor at his invading shaft. With strong, steady arms he held himself upright while he flexed his hips against her twisting, rolling center. He wanted to shout with satisfaction at the incredible pleasure she was giving him; the type of pleasure he hadn’t known existed.
On and on it went as they built a bonfire of primal desire, higher and higher until it seemed they would both turn to ash from the sheer heat of their combined excitement.
Shannon leapt first. Just at the moment when she was sure she couldn’t take the relentlessly stimulating pounding anymore Nick surged deep and sure and then held himself still. Her womanly sheath replaced his rhythmic strokes with a heart stopping series of rippling contractions that started deep in her core, radiating outwards until she could do nothing more than flail in unrestrained ecstasy as she cried out to him in total abandon.
The sexy throbbing of her shimmering climax was still exploding deep in her core when Shannon felt Nick’s manhood swell to bursting inside her. A low rumbling grunt tore from his throat when his own completion rocketed through his sweat covered body. Shannon was overcome with a consummation of delirious satisfaction when he stroked in and out several times emptying himself in a series of heated eruptions that filled her soul as well as her womb.
When it was over they both sank into the mattress in an exhausted but sated tangle of trembling limbs and heated skin. Shannon didn’t think anything could top the memorable passion from their joining earlier. She was wrong. What they’d just shared had been more deeply moving and satisfying than she could have imagined. A sense of deep contentment seeped into her bones, feeling for the first time as if she was truly where she belonged. As long as they were together, they could overcome anything.
With that thought Shannon hugged his still heaving body even tighter and smiled a secret woman’s smile right before she gently nipped him on the shoulder.
“Hey!” he rumbled in a low laugh. “What the hell was that for?”
Gently disengaging from her luscious body, Nick rolled them to their sides in case his superior weight had been crushing her smaller frame. Her whimper at the loss of connection warmed his heart. Pulling her close he yanked a sumptuous, fluffy blanket around them.
Smiling into his happy eyes Shannon giggled at the sight of his exultant face and knew a sense of peace that eclipsed whatever lingering doubts and fears she may have been clinging to. “I just wanted to see if you were real.” she shyly answered.
Snuggling her face into his chest Shannon sighed blissfully and said “You’re very sexy Mr. Barrett.”
“Speak for yourself Ms. Reynolds!” he answered back.
A soft contented smile appeared on Shannon’s face and would stay there throughout the long night ahead. She squirmed and wiggled against him trying to find the perfect snuggle spot until he swatted her rump and warned her to be still lest he teach her a lesson or two about being a tease.
The contented smile bloomed into a shit eating grin when her head popped up from its place on his shoulder and she looked him squarely in the eye saying, “I’m so very happy, Nick.”
Whatever playful retort he may have been prepared with after he playfully thumped her butt evaporated in the face of those simple words and were replaced by what they did best. What was left of their evening would tick by in silence as they indulged in a long, deep, wet kiss that plundered and soothed while they whispered words of love and renewal deep into the night.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Getting them both out of the house the next morning had been a monumental undertaking. Nick still couldn’t believe how late he’d overslept. He absolutely never stayed abed much past the break of dawn but this morning he’d been astonished when eight a.m. had rolled around and his eyes were just fluttering open for the first time.
Smiling absently to himself he acknowledged that the warm female body wrapped so beautifully around his had accounted for his deep sleep. Uh, that and the incredible intimacy the two had shared throughout the night. No wonder they both slept late! Each time one or the other had stirred while they were cocooned in Nick’s tremendous bed it would lead to multiple acts of bone-melting lovemaking and some pretty toe-curling acts of primitive mating that still had not been enough to satisfy them.
Even now, as they sped along the highway with Mr. Allen at the wheel, Nick was considering how soon he’d be able to have her bucking and moaning underneath him again. God, he felt insatiable and couldn’t conceive of ever reaching a point where he’d be satisfied; where he’d think he’d had enough if only for just a few hours. Shifting slightly in his seat he realized that some adjustments in his work schedule were going to be necessary.
Until days ago he’d been living to work. That’s pretty much all there was to his empty life. He never considered how much time he spent doing just that and only that. Working. Now however, everything was different. His world had been turned on its head and not in a bad way. For the first time ever, he didn’t feel like working. Didn’t want to think about business and really didn’t want daily operational issues to find their way into his mind.
Just like that he knew his PA Claire was going to be handed the opportunity of a lifetime before the day was out because Nick had every intention of taking some serious time away from his C.E.O. duties. He’d make Claire an offer she couldn’t refuse, something flexible and accommodating so her new role as a parent could flourish too. They’d figure out how to coordinate whatever he needed to be involved in because from here on out, Shannon was his main priority.
Even though they had found a way to rise above the hurts from the past there was still a lot of healing to do. For both of them. He hadn’t been kidding when he’d laid out his vision of their future and meant every word he said about the house, the picket fence, the kids, the dog and the mommy van. Making all of that a reality would take time, a lot of attention and most of all, love.
With that thought Nick reached across the space between their plush seats and took the hand he found resting in her lap. When she looked over at him he raised her lovely, feminine hand to his mouth and gently pressed a soft kiss to her the center of her palm. He almost forgot all about going into the city when Shannon smiled in that sweet, shy way she had. He was losing himself in the deepening sensuality in her eyes when Mr. Allen buzzed with his customary twenty minute heads up.
Ordinarily Nick utilized the drive time for work and had a virtual ‘home office’ installed in the limo for his use should he need it. Today however all he could concentrate on was how inconvenient the individual seating was, no matter how comfortable and luxurious, if it made hauling her into his lap a challenge. He eyed the interior of the functional executive limo and imagined something decidedly more decadent. Suddenly he felt like a randy teen-ager planning on seduction in the back seat of a car.
Oh well, now was not the time for such thoughts Nick realized. In just a few moments they’d pull in to the parking garage of the huge building that housed Barrett Global and Nick would have to at least try to put his game face on. He didn’t think carrying her caveman style into his private office and kicking the door shut would go unnoticed. Calling upon the gentlemanly manners that his southern mama had drilled into him he sighed in resignation while reassuringly squeezing the hand he still held.
She was so lovely sitting there in a gorgeous designer suit that had surprised him when she walked out of the dressing room earlier. So far he’d seen her as a cowgirl, a yoga devotee, and a California girl. The serious business woman was unexpected and sexy as hell.
She’d tamed her glorious hair into a tidy chignon and hung delicate amethyst jewels from her ears. The obviously designer suit was a subtle copper color that beautifully highlighted her coloring. What appealed to him most though was the feminine style which suited her perfectly; instead of the pseudo-man suits he’d become used to in todays’ business world.
In place of something severe and structured, the fitted jacket was a three quarter sleeve, collarless design meeting at a deep, open V before being gathered rather than buttoned by a contrasting silk ribbon. The ribbon wove through the fabric appearing in a short segment at her waist before ending in a center bow. Underneath the jacket was a silky, low cut sleeveless top which, along with the upswept hair, accentuated her glorious long neck. A delicate silver chain dangling with a tiny tear-drop amethyst hung at her throat. He thought she looked amazing.
Ever since having her long, lithe legs wrapped around his hips he’d been able to think about little else and right this second was no exception. There wasn’t anything overtly sexy about the matching skirt but there was something about the way the copper colored fabric molded her voluptuous derrière that took his breath away. Ending a few inches above her knees, the short skirt and autumn colored L.K. Bennett pumps completed the outfit and made her legs look fabulous.
That he knew the designer of her shoes was hilarious. Ever alert to small details he had remembered the maker when, after having admired the shoes and calling them quite sexy, she had preened and pranced a bit showing her delight with her favorite ‘Duchess Kate’ footwear. When he’d admonished her to be careful teetering on heels with a still bruised ankle, she had presented him with a moue pout and declared all men thick before grabbing her bag and flouncing out of the room.
In retrospect, he’d enjoyed the flounce quite a bit. The sight of her amazing rear end so beautifully outlined in the trim skirt as she sashayed past him had been nothing short of fantastic. The cute way her hips swayed when she got all full of herself was magnetic. He’d wanted to haul her back against him and hold her tight and fast. From there the images got wild and very hot making Nick rein in his wandering thoughts yet again.
He hoped his conservative business suit wasn’t too boring. There was certainly nothing shabby about his customary two button formal business suit and he was pretty sure he looked damn good in it. He might not be David Beckham, but he could hold his own in an underwear ad if he had to. Next to her graceful loveliness he just didn’t want to come off as an oaf.
Christ, but she brought out some very uncharacteristic feelings of insecurity in him. Serves you right, an inner voice sneered when he considered that he’d pretty much made her feel like an inferior nuisance that day he’d tried to kill her feelings for him.
His last thoughts as they made the turn into the private parking area were chaotic and unfocused – just what he needed. Clenching his jaw Nick made a final valiant effort to pull himself together before the ‘in your face’ reality of his business life intruded in the bubble they’d been creating around themselves. Was it too late to cross his fingers?
Shannon was oddly calm as she gathered her new Hermes Birkin bag, a rare self-indulgent luxury for her that she hadn’t been able to refuse, and made ready to leave the confines of Nick’s executive limo.
Living in Los Angeles and hobnobbing with the rich & famous through her business meant that Shannon already had a clear picture of how the fabulously wealthy lived. Even so, she’d been nothing but surprised every step of the way on how totally misconstrued her vicious, judgmental narrative about Nick’
s imagined wealthy lifestyle had been.
He was no spoiled trust fund baby who inherited his entire existence at all. The debauched images of an uncaring, self-centered playboy had been well and truly buried under an almost unending onslaught of revelations about the real life he led.
Having regarded his wealth as the root of all evil for so long, Shannon was replacing that former opinion with a complete one hundred and eight degree swing. Nicholas Barrett was a man to be taken seriously. He’d swash buckled his way through the business life he’d inherited and molded it to fit his terms.
He in no way flaunted what she was coming to understand was the kind of wealth that staggers the regular person’s mind. While everything about him was undeniably top drawer, it was all subtle, understated and not flashy at all. At times she felt he seemed uncomfortable with dwelling on the privileges his birthright had gifted him.
The private 727 jet was the first real indication that she was now traveling in a different strata altogether, once who he really was came out of the shadows. Even that had proved to be less an indulgence and more a practical means to an end after their charming encounter with the Reyes family. Seeing first-hand how Nick had insisted that accommodations available to him were put to other uses whenever feasible had been an eye-opening revelation.
She’d expected a Manhattan penthouse too. Some architect’s version of an ultra-modern bachelor pad all decorated in minimalist style. Shannon had envisioned a home devoid of feelings or warmth because after all, that’s exactly how she’d been imagining him all these years. The elegant but cozy brownstone where he actually lived wasn’t just a surprise – it was a complete shock.
True, he was surrounded by luxury and every possible amenity, toy and opportunity one could imagine but he was also more down-to-earth than most of the people she was acquainted with. He was the Nick she’d known only in grown-up form; bolder, bigger and way more powerful than she remembered.
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