A Touch of Persuasion

  He caught her, snarling her tongue with his and feasting on her mouth like a starving man. The more he feasted, the more her body began overflowing in desire so thick she could almost smother in it. When he reached down and touched her hips to bring her more snugly against him, slanting his mouth across hers in the process, she decided to pull back before they ended up making love on her living room floor. And that was not how she intended their evening to end.

  At least not yet. She planned to torture him for a while longer.

  Fighting the heat erupting in her stomach, Kendra licked her lips as if relishing the taste of him. Tilting her head up, she smiled brightly. “All right, then, I’m ready to go.”

  Incapable of speech, Slate could only nod and follow her out the door.

  Thirteen

  The woman was trying to torment him, Slate concluded as they finished off the last of their meal. After a steamy kiss began their evening, things had gotten even hotter on the thirty-minute drive to the restaurant. Kendra had sat in the car with her legs crossed in a way that blatantly showed the slit in her dress. He could barely keep his eyes on the road.

  Then when their meal had been delivered, she had turned eating snow crabs into the most erotic sight he’d ever seen when she had taken her tongue and practically sucked and licked the claws dry. The motions she had made with her mouth while eating the crabs had him shifting in his seat. He could just imagine the things that she could do with that mouth, which was something they’d never got around to doing when they had dated years back.

  “Do you think you’re going to want dessert?”

  Her question grabbed his attention and their gazes met and held across the table. Yes, he wanted dessert, but what he had a sweet tooth for was definitely not on the menu.

  He took several deep breaths before answering. “No, I think I’ll pass, but you can order something if you’d like.”

  She smiled. “Thanks. I see on the menu that they have ice cream cones. I think I’ll order one since I feel like licking something tonight.”

  His erection suddenly strained against his zipper with such brutal force that he nearly gasped in pain. “Then by all means order one,” he said huskily, surprised that he was capable of speech.

  Her smile widened. “I will.”

  Slate thought that in all his twenty-nine years he had never seen anyone lick an ice cream cone the way she did. Sitting across from her and watching her tongue at work was enough to tempt him to have more than one glass of wine, but since he was the one doing the driving he just sat there and let her torture him. Besides, he had a feeling he needed all his faculties to handle the rest of the evening with Kendra, and couldn’t help wondering how she intended it to end.

  After he’d taken care of their check, he stood. “Ready to leave?”

  “Yes.”

  He nodded. He would find out soon enough.

  When she stood, intense longing flared through him as he took a look at her dress. Seeing what he could of her dark, creamy flesh was enough to make him lose control. “Have I told you how good you look tonight?”

  Even her chuckle turned him on. “Yes, four times tonight. Thanks. And you know what they say, don’t you?”

  He raised a curious dark brow. “No, what do they say?”

  “They say that flattery will get you everywhere.”

  He tilted his lips in a smile when he thought of all the possibilities. “Everywhere?”

  Fourteen

  “Ahh,” Kendra moaned throatily. “Move just a little lower. Ah, now move just a little more to the right—do it harder. Yes, oh, yes, that’s it, harder still. Umm, that feels so much better.”

  After one last moan she looked over her shoulder and said. “Thanks for scratching my back, Slate. You can zip me back up now.”

  Slate’s hand trembled as he slowly zipped up Kendra’s dress. When he had pulled into her driveway she had suddenly begun twitching in her seat, saying her back needed scratching. He had been more than happy to oblige until his fingers had come into contact with her bare skin. The first thing he’d noted was the absence of a bra. The next thing had been how warm and smooth her skin was.

  His hand had glided over the spot she’d indicated needed scratching. The throaty sounds she’d made when he’d finally found the spot had sent shivers of excitement racing down his spine. If she made those kinds of sounds from having her body scratched, he didn’t want to imagine what type of sounds she would make when they made love.

  “Are you sure your back feels better?” he asked once he had zipped her dress completely up.

  She turned around in her seat. “Yes, I’m sure.” She smiled and gave him a thoughtful look. “I’d almost forgotten what great hands you have.”

  Blood raced through his body at an alarming speed with the memories that suddenly came to mind. “I’m glad I was able to help you to remember,” he said as his fingers absently stroked the steering wheel. “We shared some wonderful times together back then, didn’t we?”

  Kendra rested her head against the back of her seat as memories filled her mind. “Yes, we did. I couldn’t wait to hear Dad start snoring each night so I could sneak out. I’ll never forget how we used to meet on the beach under the beautiful night sky and talk for hours.”

  Slate nodded. Talking wasn’t the only thing they did on those nights. To keep what they did private, he would drive into Jacksonville each week for his condom purchases to make sure he always had plenty on hand.

  “Well, it’s getting late and I’d better go inside,” Kendra said softly, breaking into his thoughts. She tipped her head and looked over at him. “Thanks for such a wonderful evening.”

  He swallowed deeply and shifted in his seat, wondering if she really intended to send him home with a hard-on. Her next words let him know that she did.

  “I hope you sleep well tonight, Slate.”

  He tried to downplay his disappointment and cast a grin over at her. “Yeah, I hope so, too.”

  She placed a warm hand on his thigh, pretty close to a part of him that was aching. “I’d like to invite you over to dinner tomorrow night at seven. Think you can make it?”

  The look in her eyes indicated she had more than dinner on her mind, and he didn’t hesitate in responding. “Yeah, I can make it.”

  Fifteen

  Three hours later and Slate was still awake. How on earth could he sleep when thoughts of Kendra filled his mind? Although they had enjoyed nice conversation at dinner, they hadn’t discussed the things he wanted to talk to her about. It seemed she had intentionally steered clear of any discussion about the past. Instead they had talked about mutual friends and what was happening with local politics.

  He wanted to tell her how his emotions had been shattered after Susan Conrad’s drowning, and that he hadn’t wanted her to see him that way. He had stayed out of college the following year just to keep his sanity and when he had gone back, things had been rough.

  He wanted her to know that his love for her was the only thing that had kept him sane during that time, and that after seeking counseling and therapy he finally felt normal again and wanted to seek her out, but had thought because of the time that had lapsed, he no longer deserved her love. He’d believed that he would be doing the right thing by giving her up so she could find love and happiness with someone else.

  Finally, he’d broken down and contacted Marcie Wilkins, and the older woman had convinced him that regardless of what he thought, Kendra did need him and he needed her. Ms. Marcie had told him of Kendra’s father’s death and how she had accepted a future of being an old maid by not dating any of the eligible bachelors in town.

  Talking to Ms. Marcie had made him realize just how much he still loved Kendra. He knew now he would not be completely happy until she was a part of his future. Oh, yeah, he wanted her in his bed, too—but more importantly, he wanted her in his life.

  He got out of bed and decided since he couldn’t sleep and it was such a beautiful night, he might as
well take a walk on the beach.

  Half a mile away, Kendra couldn't sleep, either. She stood outside on her porch, thinking that she had laid it on rather thick tonight with Slate and had made the mistake of spreading some on herself in the process.

  Her body was hot and there was nothing she could do to get cool. She had practically stripped down to the bare essentials yet she was burning up. She hadn't dared let Slate kiss her good-night. After he had accepted her invitation to dinner, she had opened the car door and raced into the house without looking back.

  Thinking about him only made Kendra's body feel hotter. Knowing she was in a state where she would not find relief tonight, she walked back into the house and went into her bedroom. Taking off her robe, she quickly slipped into her bikini.

  It was a wonderful night to go swimming, and she decided to go to her favorite part of the beach—the stretch of sand in front of the beach house.

  Sixteen

  The night air was cool and Kendra tightened the robe at her waist as she walked along the shoreline. The moon’s glow seemed endless and bathed the beach waters in a sparkling hue.

  She drew in a calming breath and inhaled the scent of the ocean. A number of stars sparkled overhead like diamonds in a dark velvety sky. A few minutes later she had almost reached her destination, when suddenly she made out a figure not far from where she stood. The reflection from the moon provided enough light for her to see the person who was standing less than twenty feet away, staring out at the ocean.

  She gathered her towel against her chest when a voice inside her head told her to turn around and go back. Slate was the last person she needed to see, but she couldn’t advance or retreat. She just stood there transfixed and watched him, knowing he was unaware of her presence.

  The shimmering light cast his features into sharp view, and she thought that she had never seen a more beautiful specimen of a man. The only piece of clothing he wore was swim shorts, and the rich brown coloring of his skin seemed to glow. His bare chest, masculine shoulders and firm thighs displayed a physically fit body, one that was capable of giving a woman intense pleasure. She shuddered, remembering just what kind of pleasure it could deliver.

  Heated desire thrummed through her already-hot veins as her body responded to the sheer essence of him, making it plainly clear whom it wanted and what it needed.

  The seven-year wait was over.

  She inhaled deeply and the sound seemed to alert Slate to her presence. He turned, and his gaze caught hers and held it. Heat flowed from his eyes to her and the desire there communicated to her, making every nerve in her body move between her legs. She shuddered against the sexual power he held over her from just looking at her and was tempted to close her eyes to shut him out, but couldn’t.

  His gaze said it all. He wanted her.

  Kendra took a step forward, knowing that she wanted him, too. She bit her lip, remembering how things used to be between them, the heat and the intensity. At seventeen and eighteen, she’d had the desires of a young girl; now her body had the hunger of a woman.

  She watched Slate take the remaining steps toward her, holding her gaze all the while. The expression on his face was intense, and, for a moment, she could only imagine what thoughts were flitting through his mind. Then suddenly, she read a few of them and her breath caught and her nipples hardened. He planned on doing a lot to her tonight, seven years’ worth, and no matter how he tried, he still wouldn’t get enough.

  But, then, she thought when he finally came to a stop in front of her, neither would she.

  Seventeen

  As much as Slate wanted to pick Kendra up in his arms and carry her to the beach house and devour her, he didn’t do it. There was a reason the two of them had met out here under the stars and facing the ocean.

  For seven years he had grown to hate the sea because of what it had taken away from the Conrads and away from him. Now with Kendra’s help, the last phase of deep-rooted guilt was being destroyed. From now on whenever he thought of the sea, it wouldn’t be as a taker of life but as a giver. In Kendra’s arms tonight, in front of the rolling surf of the ocean on its mystic shores, he planned to get his life back.

  Without saying a single word, he leaned down and kissed each corner of her mouth before hungrily staking his claim and slanting his mouth over hers. He could feel her breathing quicken and the heat that flooded her mouth when he felt her body shudder. He felt it vibrate through every cell, every pulse, every pore.

  Slate’s tongue was in control, and Kendra’s went where his led, seeking, devouring, eating away at her with a hunger that made her knees weaken and her heart race. She wrapped her arms around him, feeling the hardness of him, large and physical. His fingers slipped beneath the straps of her bikini top and pulled it down off her shoulders, and his mouth began devouring her breasts.

  He was renewing his brand, reaffirming what had always been. His mouth moved back to hers, demanding her response as it greedily robbed her of any conscious thought other than how he was making her feel. And she matched him, passion for passion.

  His hand moved to her hips and grasped her bikini bottom, and after one firm tug on the flimsy material it ripped. She broke the kiss, panting profusely. Her decision made, she took a step back and eased what was left of the bikini bottom down her legs and kicked it aside. She then pulled the bikini top over her head and tossed it away.

  Naked, she went back into Slate’s arms. “I want you,” she whispered softly.

  His mouth captured hers, and he picked her up into his arms and walked her to the area where he had spread a towel earlier. He placed her down on it, then proceeded to remove his swim shorts.

  He heard her breath catch when he stood before her, gloriously naked and aroused. He had wanted to talk to her and explain everything before things reached this stage. He had wanted to tell her what had gone on in his life over the past seven years and why he had stayed out of touch.

  Out of touch but not out of mind. He had loved her and had never stopped loving her. Loving her was what had kept him sane when he’d felt himself about to go off the deep end.

  His entire body was tensed, wired, filled with desire. And when she reached out her arms to him, he dropped down beside her on the towel, aroused and ravenous beyond reason.

  Eighteen

  Passion grew to extreme proportions when Slate’s fingers touched Kendra, skimming all over her body, noticing the differences the years had made. This was no longer the body of a young girl still coming into bloom, but was a flower fully opened. The curves, fullness and lushness he found absolutely extraordinary as he stroked her everywhere, beginning with her breasts before moving lower, between her legs.

  There his hand found the treasure he sought. She was hot to his fingers, exceedingly wet, and the scent of her consumed him. He began stroking her while whispering just what he wanted to do to her.

  When neither of them could take any more, he knelt before her, driven to taste her all over. He began spreading kisses all over her body, paying special homage to her breasts, flicking his tongue over the swollen nipples. And when he heard her soft, throaty breath catch, he was determined to go someplace where he’d never gone before with her.

  Holding her hips firmly in his hands, he lowered his mouth past her navel and felt her body clench in surprise, then heard the sounds of shocked pleasure that erupted from deep in her throat when his tongue delved into the very essence of her, loving it, cherishing it.

  “Slate!”

  His name was a scream of gratification when his tongue began stroking her in a way it had never done before. Taking his hand he gently widened her legs, determined to get everything he wanted. With the heat of his mouth he showed her in a way he had never shown another woman just what she meant to him—what she’d always meant to him.

  She screamed his name over and over as her nails clawed his back, and when he felt her body tense with her climax, he swiftly moved in place over her.

  Their gazes met the mom
ent his body entered hers, as his hands grabbed her hips and lifted her to go deeper.

  “Ahh.” He released a long sigh and a deep shuddering breath when her inner muscles tightened around him, clenching his throbbing erection, holding it captive inside of her. For a second he couldn’t move; he just remained still in that position, savoring the feel of being inside of her, connected to her, one with her.

  “Love me, Slate.”

  Her words broke him, destroyed the very last vestige of his control and restraint, opening a floodgate of desire. He began moving and the strokes increased. His thrusts became extensive when a need long denied ripped through him. His mind began spinning out of control. His body followed, and when he felt her body let go as an orgasm shook her to the core, he screamed her name and pushed deeper inside her as an orgasm tore through him, as well, making him explode.

  Lowering his head, he consumed her lips, her mouth and her tongue. She was back in his arms, and he was back inside her body, and there was no way he could ever let her go.

  Nineteen

  Too weak to move, Kendra lay in Slate’s arms, enjoying the feel of being there. When he shifted his body to stare down at her, she felt the intensity in his gaze. He leaned forward and captured her lips, and she gloried in what they had shared, but knew what was still between them—the doubts, regrets and anger. It was time they got everything out in the open.

  When he finally broke the kiss, emotions she’d tried holding at bay came tearing through, bringing with them pain. “Why?” she asked softly.

  Slate knew what she was asking him. “I went through hell, Kendra, and couldn’t let you see me that way. Not being able to save that girl almost destroyed me. It didn’t matter that everyone thought I had done all I could do. I was convinced that I had not done enough and was a failure.”