He followed her inside and found the room glowing thanks to the half dozen flickering candles on the dresser and bedside tables.
“I did tell you I came prepared, right?”
He nodded again, his voice failing a second time when he should be finding a way to tell her what she was doing to him.
How much he wanted her. How he would do everything in his power to make this perfect for her.
That he understood what a big step this was for her.
Dean walked her to the edge of his bed and then cradled her face in his hands. His thumb rubbed back and forth across her full bottom lip, loving how her eyes, skin and hair looked golden and radiant in the candlelight.
“And I’m on birth control,” she whispered, “so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“I’ll protect you, Shelby.” He thought about the box of condoms he’d purchased just yesterday tucked into the bedside drawer, but his words were a solemn promise that meant so much more. “I’ll always protect you.”
She pressed a kiss against the pad of his thumb before he moved on, stroking her skin from her neck to her shoulders, his fingertips passing back and forth over the delicate straps of her dress.
He wanted her with a desperation that threatened to take the strength from his limbs, but he had to make certain she knew who was truly in control.
“You can tell me no,” he said. “At any time, just say the word and we’ll stop.”
“I don’t want to stop.” She captured his hands with hers and together they drew the thin pieces of silky cording away from her shoulders. “Make love to me, Dean.”
“With you, sweetheart. With you.”
He lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her deeply, before drawing away to follow the same path his hands had taken moments before.
She dropped her arms, limited by the way the straps held her captive, leaving only her hands free to curl at his hips. Her fingertips slipped inside the waistband of his jeans and the material pulled even tighter as she held on.
His lips moved slowly, gently, across her skin leaving behind soft, wet kisses as she arched her neck to give him room to taste her.
Slowly. He vowed to take this moment slowly.
Pulling the dress straps down the length of her arms, he forced her to let go of him but he released her from their confines, and then did the same with her breasts. A simple push sent the material over her hips and floating to her feet.
Then he cupped her breasts, loving the weight of them as his lips moved even lower until he drew one tight point into the heat of his mouth.
“Dean...Dean...”
Shelby repeated his name, her hands moving to the back of his head, as if she wanted to make sure he stayed right where he was. No need to worry, he had no desire to go anywhere as he tweaked and tugged the tender bud with his lips and tongue.
He only paused long enough to move from one breast to the other, wrapping one arm around her to hold her upright when he felt her knees give way.
Finally, he straightened, then gently lifted her and laid her on his bed. His hands drifted over her hips and the length of her legs to remove her shoes, letting them drop silently to the floor.
He looked at her, a bright spot of light against the dark sheets. She smiled shyly and grabbed at the top sheet, pulling the corner of it to cover her breasts.
He was about to tell her it didn’t work—she still looked so damn sexy, even more so now—but then his attention was captured by her other hand and the way her fingers were lightly trailing back and forth across her flat belly.
They slowly moved lower until they came to the edge of the scrap of pink lace that still hid the most intimate part of her. She slipped one finger underneath the band at the edge of her hip bone, but he smiled and then captured her fingers, stopping her.
“Oh, no...not yet.”
Her smile matched his, but then she tugged free and reached out to lay that same hand against the rigid flesh behind his zipper.
“I think you’re a bit overdressed, don’t you?”
Her words, a hushed whisper that caught in her throat, had Dean reaching for the top button of his jeans before she even finished speaking.
Slowly.
Yeah, that mantra was going to be tough to follow no matter how many times he repeated the word in his head.
He lowered the zipper, then pushed the material past his hips, taking his briefs with it until both items pooled around his ankles. He kicked them to the side and stood there naked as her hungry gaze roamed over every inch of him.
She then crooked her finger, beckoning him to join her as she scooted farther onto the bed. “It’s a bit chilly in here.”
Chilly? Was she kidding? He was about to explode from the intense fervor that engulfed him.
Then she shivered and he stretched out beside her, propping his head on one hand while the other rested flat over her stomach. “We could get under the covers.”
“Hmm, yes, but I was hoping maybe you could keep me warm?”
Yeah, he could that, too.
Covering her body with his, their mouths met in ravenous kisses that went on and on. At times powerfully raw, then slow and teasing, the low mewling sounds from her as she matched his passion, stroke for stroke, consumed him.
Moving the sheet aside, he caressed every inch of her body, loving how she trembled from his touch. He returned his mouth to her breasts, unable to satisfy his need for the sweet taste of her.
The gasps, the way her nails dug into his shoulders, the natural rolling of her hips calling to him.
“You like that, Shelby?” he asked.
“Yes...very much...oh, please...”
Moving lower, his hand curled at her hip as his mouth followed. He breathed deeply, loving the mixture of spice and floral and musk that rose from her skin.
He trailed his fingertips over the dainty material that covered her sex before slowly pulling the scrap of lace away and down over her hips. When the material reached her knees, Shelby kicked it free.
Dean eased between her open thighs, planting kisses from her hip bone to her bikini line, the soft wetness that clung to the dense curls drawing him closer.
He looked up the length of her body as he gently parted her, first with his fingers, easing one, then two inside. She watched him at first, but then arched against the pillows, her breasts thrusting into the air. Then he lowered his mouth to her, tasting and teasing, loving how she rose up to meet him when he would move away.
Slow. Slow and easy.
Time faded to nothing as he brought her to the edge again and again, only to deny her what she wanted, what he wanted for her.
“Dean...I’ve never... I mean no man has ever...made me...”
A primal sense of possession came over him as he realized she was about to experience something for the first time, with him, made him stroke her softer, drawing out the pleasure that was about to come, dipping into her wet heat again and again.
Then she was there, her slender body tight with need, arched high with expectation before she shuddered beneath him, her climax coming with dizzying speed.
He wanted to be there with her, to feel her tighten around him as he thrust deeply inside her, but he waited, put off his own desires as she started her descent. Then he was back again, offering her more, rebuilding the need, the desire, the wanting until she was panting, pleading for him to come to her....
Rising to his knees, he leaned over and yanked open the drawer on the bedside table to grab one of the foil packets.
Suddenly she was there, sitting before him, grabbing at his hips as her mouth pressed hot, open kisses along his abs. He groaned, loving the feel of her warm tongue on his heated skin.
Then she took him firmly in one hand, exploring the length of him from base to tip. A heart-stopping jolt raced through him, his breathing now harsh when he felt a cool waft cross over his erection.
He wanted, oh, man, he wanted...
But it’d been a while for him,
too. Not six years, but if she touched him there, with her lips, he would...
His fingers gathered a fistful of her honey-blond hair and gently tilted her head back until she looked at him. “Next time,” he choked out the words. “Let’s save something for next time.”
She slowly lowered her body back to lie against the sheets, her fingers still stroking him. “Next time.”
He gently pushed her hand away, loving the saucy grin on her face as he quickly ripped open the packet, surprised at the shaking of his own hands as he sheathed himself.
“Dean...”
“Shelby...”
Their words overlapped as he stretched out on top of her again, forearms pressed to the mattress as he framed her face with his hands.
He brushed her hair back off her face so he could kiss her again as he nudged against her wet heat. “Slow, baby, let’s take it slow.”
She smoothed her hands from his underarms to his hips, pulling him closer, arching as he began to slip inside. “Now, I want you now...”
“I’m here. I’m right here.”
He ignored his body’s demands to thrust forward, straining his muscles to obey his mental command to move with care, inching deeper and deeper until he was fully into her. Holding still, he waited, wanting to give her body time to adjust, but she was already rocking against him.
“Shelby, I—”
“Love me, Dean, oh, please, just love me.”
His body was hot and hard and he wanted nothing more than to take the pleasure she was surrounding him with and give more in return.
She whimpered into his mouth as he started to move, retreat, then thrust deep, over and over. This was heaven, perfection, an ecstasy he’d never felt before with any woman. He gave her everything that was in him. Their lips met and held as she grabbed his hips, her fingers pressing into his skin as she clung to him.
He was close, so close, he couldn’t hold back any longer. She broke free from his mouth, gasping for air as she came apart in his arms. Then his ragged groan of release filled the air as she took him with her.
* * *
A warm heaviness she’d never felt before weighed her down.
Shelby tried to move, but muscles she hadn’t used in years, had never used properly before, protested. She smiled at that thought, then groaning softly, tried again, but all she could do was stretch out with her legs, pointing her toes, then releasing to fall, feeling boneless, back to the mattress.
Ah, that felt good.
Trying with her hands this time, she succeeded with the left one finding the cool air from beneath the bedcovers, but the other hand landed on warm body heat and taut muscles.
Dean.
Her smile grew as her fingertips danced at the indent at his waist, and because she couldn’t help herself, down over his very fine backside, as well.
She brought her other hand back beneath the covers realizing it was his arm, and the defined muscles she now traced there, that angled across her rib cage, holding her in place.
Burrowing deeper into the pillows, she kept her eyes closed as the memories came rushing back to her.
How she’d made the decision to wait for him outside the bathroom door as he showered, so sure she was doing the right thing.
So afraid he’d tell her it was too soon, ask if she knew what she was doing and try to convince her they could wait.
He did all those things, of course, but even after she’d practically come out and told him how little experience she’d be bringing to his bed, he’d still wanted her to be sure about being with him.
She’d never been surer of anything in her life.
Then the powerful rush of experiencing the perfection of his lovemaking. He’d been slow, seductive and sweet, putting her needs and desires ahead of his own that first time, every time.
The night had only gotten better from there as they ate a very late dinner of reheated lasagna while the rain that had started to come down in earnest hours earlier danced atop the trailer’s roof.
They then finished the bottle of wine here in his bed while he’d used a single rosebud, with its velvety soft petals, to caress every inch of her body, an amazing prelude to making love a second time.
Afterward Dean had insisted on her taking a shower, telling her the hot water would help her soreness, but when he’d come to check on her, teasing that she was using up all his hot water, she’d been bold enough to pull back the curtain and invite him to join her.
His sexy smile as he’d reached for the waistband of his sweats had gone straight to her heart and she’d taken great pleasure in finally returning the favors he’d shown her many times as she kissed and caressed him beneath the hot spray. Then he showed her that yes, people really did have sex standing up before they’d dried each other off and fell back into bed again.
As she lay there in his arms, her head resting against his chest listening to the steady beat of his heart, she’d asked about the scar.
He’d told her about his childhood illness, the pain and loneliness of being different from the other kids, yet the love he’d found for books and reading back then stayed with him still today.
Happy to know he was perfectly healthy now, she understood better his connection to children, why he played referee for kids in the park and why it was so important to him that Caitlin’s day care have a place for the—
Caitlin.
Shelby groaned and squeezed her eyes tight. The last time she’d checked, it’d been almost two in the morning.
She needed to get home despite her mother’s assurances that she was okay with Shelby staying over. Last night, she didn’t have any idea how the evening would go, but she promised her mom she’d be there when Caitlin woke up, having never been away from her daughter overnight before.
Meaning to grab her clothes and get dressed, she’d promised herself just a few more minutes with Dean. She’d closed her eyes, knowing they hadn’t talked at all yet about what would happen tomorrow—today—how their relationship changed now that they were sleeping together.
Sleeping...
She must have fallen asleep.
Opening her eyes, Shelby looked around the room, blinking several times. The light in the room was different. Grayness edged the blinds telling her daylight was almost here.
Oh, no! What time was it?
“Morning.”
Dean’s deep voice sent shivers over her body, but when he tried to tighten his hold on her and pull her closer, she wiggled out from beneath his arm.
“Shelby?” He sat up, scrubbing his hand over his face and then pushed his fingers through his hair. “What... Where are you going?”
She rounded the end of the bed, grabbing her dress and underwear from the chair where Dean had neatly placed them. “Ah, home. I’ve got to get home.”
“What time is it?” He twisted, pulling the sheets tight across his body and reaching for his watch from the bedside table. “It’s only eight-fifteen.”
“I didn’t plan on— I thought I’d be gone by—” She held her clothes to her chest and backed up toward the door. “Bathroom. Can I use?”
“Yeah, sure. Go ahead.”
He started to get out of bed, but Shelby hurried from the room.
She’d never experienced the morning-after awkwardness she’d heard others talk about, but suddenly her ability to put together a complete sentence was gone.
Feeling foolish and at a complete loss as to what to do next, she quickly dressed, borrowed a comb to use on her hair and brushed her teeth after spotting an unopened toothbrush in the top drawer.
Offering a quick prayer that Dean was in the kitchen getting his morning coffee started, or whatever it was he did in the mornings, she opened the door.
He stood there wearing nothing but those low-riding sweats.
Oh, boy.
“Shelby, it’s okay.”
She squeezed past him. Shoes. She needed her shoes.
“I have to use the bathroom. Please don’t leave while I�
��m in there.”
Looking up from where she sat, fumbling with her wedge sandals, she found Dean watching her, an unreadable expression in his eyes.
She nodded and relief crossed his face as he moved inside the bathroom and closed the door.
Eyeing the candles in the room, noting most of them had burned down to nothing, she gathered them and walked out to the kitchen. She tossed the candles, along with the used one from the dining table, into the reusable shopping bags she’d brought with her.
Spotting the dishes from last night still soaking in the sink, she debated for a moment, but then quickly washed and dried them, packing them away, too. Lifting the jar of flowers, she pulled the tablecloth free and rolled it into a ball hiding the cheesy mess that had dripped off the fork when Dean had leaned over to feed her....
“You going to take the flowers, too?”
Dean’s voice had her fingers tightening around the soft material for a moment before she shoved it on top of the candles. She turned and found him dressed in jeans and a plain black T-shirt.
“Not if you want them. Ah, if you want to keep them.”
“I’d like them to stay.” Dean walked to her and gently ran one hand over her hair, pushing it back from her face. “I’d like you to stay.”
His simple touch sent shivers through her. “I really should get home.”
“Your mom is there.”
She nodded. “I know, and depending on how many movies they watched last night, they’re probably still asleep, Caitlin with that darn kitten curled up right next to her.”
“So why are you breaking the speed record to get out of here on such a dreary morning?” Dean asked, then grinned, easily pulling the bag from her hand. He set it in the chair and then wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. “To get away from me?”
“Well, as you probably figured out from my lack of experience, I don’t know how to act...in a situation like this.” Shelby sighed, laying her hands against his chest. “I’ve never been in a situation like this.”
“Like what?”
“Oh, the whole morning-after-great-sex situation.”
Dean chuckled. “Great sex? I like the sound of that.”
The Maverick's Summer Love (Montana Mavericks: Rust Creek Cowboys) Page 16