She prayed for the inevitable.
Glancing at the marble table, Matt saw a sheet of notepaper with his and Rose’s names written across the top in Beth’s flowing hand. Scanning it, he smiled and blessed the woman for her foresight.
“Looks like we’re alone.” He held up the note. “She’s gone to the theater for the evening. To see a revival of My Fair Lady and to a party afterward. Won’t be home until after midnight.”
He let the note fall from his fingers, his eyes intent on Rose’s face. They were alone. Finally, completely alone.
Her breath grew short. “I guess that means we have the run of the place.”
Suddenly nervous, she took a step back, her shoulders coming in contact with the wall. She looked at him, her heart beating in double-time.
His eyes holding her prisoner, Matt reached for the first button on her blouse and slowly slipped it from its hole. “I guess.”
Desperate to say something, not wanting him to know that she was so eager for him that she was almost jumping out of her skin, Rose mumbled, “What would you like to do?” The words were thick as they left her lips.
The second button was freed, and then the third. His smile slipped over his lips as easily as the buttons slipped out of their holes.
“You guess.”
She swallowed, but there was no moisture to be had within her mouth. It had gone drier than sand. “How many chances do I get?”
The blouse undone, he tugged it out of the waistband, then pressed a single kiss to her throat. He felt her pulse beating wildly beneath his lips.
“Depends.” He raised his head to look at her. “How many will you need?”
Anticipation danced along her body like a ballerina whirling out of control.
“Shut up and kiss me,” she ordered, unable to wait a single second longer.
Catching her hands and holding them above her head, against the wall, Matt threaded his fingers through hers as he pressed his body against hers. The heat that shot through him was like a long-lost, dearly missed old friend.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, a sliver of humor curving his mouth one second before desire chased it away.
His mouth came down on hers, dissolving any further words, any further thoughts, save one. That he wanted her. Wanted her the way he wanted air to sustain himself. Wanted her more.
Over and over again, his mouth slanted across hers, his body trapping her between him and the wall. Releasing her hands, he let his roam her sides, reveling in the familiar feel.
Reveling in the homecoming.
Damn, but he had missed her. He hadn’t realized just how much until this very moment. Until desire all but threatened to completely shred him apart.
His mouth curved again as he felt her hands urgently race over him, tugging at the ends of his shirt, trying to loosen it in the negligible space that existed between their bodies.
He was vaguely aware of taking a half step back from her to allow Rose room to work. To allow himself space to do the same.
An urgency Rose could not begin to harness assaulted her as she almost ripped all the buttons off his shirt. They wouldn’t undo easily and she was eager to touch his chest.
To feel his flesh against hers.
Her mouth still sealed to his, she finally managed to pull his shirt off his shoulders, doing so at the same time that he slipped her blouse from hers.
She shivered even though she had never been this warm before.
And then she felt the clasp between her shoulder blades being undone.
The next moment her bra straps were sliding down off her trembling shoulders and then the bra itself peeled from her breasts. It fell to the floor between them.
Fire licked the center of her very core as she felt the light hairs on Matt’s chest slide against her breasts.
The next instant he was coaxing her skirt down over her hips until finally, all she was left wearing was a small scrap of white lace.
Rose felt more than saw Matt sink to his knees in front of her, his mouth pressing a hot trail of openmouthed kisses from her waist down to where her lacy underwear met her quivering abdomen.
She sucked in her breath as his lips went lower, kissing her through the material.
And then he was tugging the material away.
Rose felt the final barrier slide down her thighs slowly, was consumed by the fire he was generating as his mouth took possession of what had already been his.
Groaning, she buried her fingers in his hair, pressing him closer. Biting back a moan before it turned into a scream.
Her body grew damp despite the air-conditioning.
Her breath completely vanished as Matt thrust his tongue in between her legs, bringing her to a climax before she even knew she was on the verge of having one.
The shudder went through her entire body.
Moist, stunned, she tried to focus as she felt herself being swept up into his arms.
Reacting, she threaded her arms around his neck and cleaved to him. She was still throbbing as he carried her to her room.
To her bed.
Laying her down gently, Matt quickly pulled off his trousers, kicking them aside before he began to shuck his underwear.
Watching him, her eyes wide, she whispered, “No. Let me do it.”
Her husky voice traveled the length of his body, exciting him.
“Always glad to oblige.”
Matt lay beside her, struggling to hold himself in check as he felt her cool fingers urge the cotton material from his hips. The path was impeded by the swell of his desire.
He closed his eyes, absorbing her touch as her palm lightly glided over him before she continued pulling the material ever downward. And then, changing gears, she swiftly yanked his briefs down his legs and tossed them aside.
Matt saw the glint in her eyes. She would have slowly dragged the length of her body over his, tantalizing him to the breaking point, but he pulled her to him, need preventing him from patiently waiting for contact.
Fitting her against his body, he raised his head and caught her lips. With his hand to the back of her neck, he held her in place as his mouth savaged hers.
It was then he knew that he would never get enough of her.
The more he kissed her, held her, touched her, the more he needed to.
Shifting so that it was her back against the bed instead of his, Matt reined himself in enough so that he could re-explore terrain that he was already achingly familiar with.
So that he could reclaim all that had once been his.
Beneath him, Rose twisted and turned, eager to feel, eager to experience. With each pass of his hand, each kiss he pressed to her skin, she grew more and more excited, wanting it to go on forever.
Wanting to take the final plunge.
The opposing desires warred with each other, just as they had all along. There was no resolution. All she knew was that she was just barely holding on to the precipice by her fingertips and that if they didn’t come together soon, she wouldn’t be responsible for her actions.
He made love to every part of her, glorying in the silky feel of her.
Grateful for the second chance.
She was his.
No matter what she said to deny it, he knew she was his. She’d surrendered herself to him at the very first touch. And it humbled him and filled him with joy at the same time.
Passion all but burned away the sheets that tangled beneath them as first he led the way, then she did, each taking a turn at dazzling the other. At being the jailer and the jailed.
Sweat slicking her body, her heart pounding almost beyond its limit, Rose looked up at him.
“Please.”
He hardly heard the word. It was more as if it was echoing in his brain, in his soul.
The smile that came to his lips was soft, sensitive.
“Never ask for what you already have,” he whispered against her cheek.
And then, raising himself up on his elbows, Matt parted her legs wit
h his own and slid into her, at first gently, then with increasing urgency. Sheathed within her, he caught her hands with his own, and held them above her head.
His eyes on hers, satisfying himself that she felt the same desire, the same sense of urgency mingled with contentment that he did, Matt began to move. At first slowly, then faster and faster until it seemed as if the whole world was moving to a wild, furious tempo that had seized their bodies within its grip.
Rose cried out his name as she felt herself being hurled first up and then over the summit.
As Matt sank down against her, his breathing labored, she knew that he had reached the peak at the same time she had.
The knowledge made her smile.
Whatever happened after tonight would be all right, she thought. She could handle it because she had this to remember.
And this time had been the best time.
Exhausted, Matt began to shift his weight from her, but he felt her arms tighten around him.
“Not yet,” she told him, so tired she could hardly form the words, but unwilling to lose the moment. “Wait a minute longer.”
“A minute longer and it’ll be shorter,” he murmured against her cheek, grinning as he brushed a kiss there. “Wouldn’t want to be embarrassed in your presence,” he teased, shifting to the side. He slipped his arm around her and pulled her closer.
She clung to the rosy afterglow surrounding her. “Trust me, you will never have anything to be embarrassed about.”
He raised himself up on one elbow and leaned his head on his fisted hand, looking down at her. “Oh, and you’ve made a study of this, have you?”
He’d been her first and they both knew that. And her last. That was something she alone knew. Because there’d never be anyone like him in her life again.
“No, it’s just something a woman just knows,” she told him.
He laughed, his fingers lightly stroking her breasts. “Just make sure you don’t decide to do any extensive research on the subject,” he warned. His grin widened as he saw her nipples harden beneath his hand. He rubbed his thumb against one peak, enjoying the way she moved in response. “Chilly?”
Silently she moved her head from side to side in denial, desire creeping up her toes like a hot ray of sunshine taking possession of the land. A moment ago she could have sworn that she barely had the strength for breathing. And yet here it was, out of the blue: desire. All dressed up and ready to go to town again.
What was it he did to her? “Just the opposite.”
Matt raised a brow, amused. He gathered her to him, his body already hardening in anticipation. “Got a fire you need putting out?”
She turned her body into his. “Think you’re man enough to do it?”
Catching her earlobe between his teeth, he suckled it before saying, “Man and a half.”
Never in her wildest dreams did she think that any man could have her burn so brightly. She’d just finished making love with him and all she could think about was doing it again. And again.
“Think a lot of yourself, do you?”
“Actually, it’s you I’m thinking of.” He wove his fingers through her hair, brushing it from her face. “You could raise the dead if you wanted to, Rose. And make a celibate man forget his vows.”
She laughed, curling her body into his. “Oh, like you were ever celibate.”
He felt himself becoming more and more aroused. “Never said it was me. But I have been,” he told more seriously. “Since you.”
She thought her heart would burst with the surge of love she felt.
Taking his face between her hands, Rose lightly framed it with her fingers as she raised her head to press her lips against his.
And to begin the second round of what was to be a three-round match that night.
Moving on tiptoes, Beth slowly closed the door behind her. The play had been wonderful, the company divine, although she had to admit that time and again, her thoughts strayed to what might be happening within her apartment while she was gone.
The lights, she noted, had been left on in the living room. She wondered if that meant they were still up and out here.
She’d hoped…
Beth stopped dead as she turned to place her purse on the marble table.
Her note wasn’t where she’d left it. Instead, it was on the floor. Beside the blouse she remembered that Rose had been wearing. Which was beside Matt’s shirt.
A wide grin graced her lips.
Finally, Beth thought, closing her eyes. Hallelujah! She had begun to give up hope that those two would ever get together again.
Whistling the chorus from “Getting To Know You,” she bent and picked up the two shirts. Her tune changed to “We’re Having a Heat Wave,” when she saw Rose’s skirt. Picking it up and tucking it on top of the shirts, she felt that this showed real promise.
And then she spied Rose’s underwear a short distance away. She began whistling “Love is Lovelier the Second Time Around.”
Humming, Beth scanned the area to see if she could find Matt’s trousers or underwear. She didn’t. No matter, she decided. They could have very easily been shed in whichever bedroom they’d wound up in, Rose’s or his.
Depositing the clothing she’d gathered on the back of a nearby armchair, Beth made a mental note to find a way to slip the garments into the appropriate rooms in the wee hours of the night.
No sense in embarrassing the lovebirds, she thought. She just wanted them nesting properly.
Or improperly as the case was, she corrected herself. The rectangular mirror in the hallway caught her wide grin and flashed it back at her.
For the evening, her work was done. Content, Beth went off to bed.
Eleven
Oh, no, not now.
The frantic thought assaulted Rose just as the churning in her stomach rudely yanked her out of the land of misty dreams and warm contentment.
Please not now. Not when he was here sleeping beside her.
Bunching the sheet beneath her hands, her knuckles all but white, Rose lay in bed, desperately trying to project her mind elsewhere. Or, if not her mind, then at least her stomach.
But the more she tried, the worse it became. Within two minutes of waking, she knew that if she didn’t get out of bed and fast, she was going to throw up right here, right now.
That would have been a hell of a spectacle for Matt to wake up to.
Watching him carefully, Rose slid her feet out first. Matt didn’t move.
Not wasting time on a sigh of relief, she got up quickly, then padded as silently as she could across the carpet. Rose grabbed the thin cotton robe she had thrown over the back of the footboard the other night.
She pressed her lips together, willing herself not to throw up until she got into the bathroom. Perspiration beaded on her brow and for a moment, it was touch and go, but she made it.
Once there, she shut the door as quietly and quickly as she could and jammed her arms through the sleeves of the robe. The thought occurred to her that if she died here, she didn’t want to be found nude.
Rose barely got the robe on before she fell to her knees in front of the commode. Just in time.
This bout, she immediately realized with the first wave that hit, was going to be worse than the others.
She was right. This one felt as if her entire body was being turned inside out.
Tears came to her eyes and her throat felt like raw-hide. Each time she thought she was finished, there was more. And when there wasn’t more, her insides still went through the motions until she thought she was just going to die there, clutching the sides of the white porcelain bowl and heaving.
It was a hell of a way to celebrate having a baby.
A light, early morning breeze quietly tiptoed into the bedroom, seeking shelter from the hot, humid day that was already forming. It gently skipped along Matt’s barely covered torso, stirring him into a state of semiwakefulness.
With a sigh that went miles beyond mere contentment, Matt
turned, his eyes still closed, and reached for Rose. He wanted to gather her to him and to sustain this feeling drifting through him for as long as he possibly could. Last night had been perfect and he intended for it to be the first of many perfect evenings that they would spend together. Feuding families notwithstanding, there was no earthly reason why they couldn’t find a way to work things out if they tried hard enough.
The next moment, his eyes opened to confirm what his senses already told him.
She wasn’t there.
Disappointed, still a little dazed from sleep, Matt raised his head and looked around the room, wondering why she would slip out of bed without waking him.
When he saw the closed bathroom door, he had his answer.
Sitting back against the pillows, he laced his fingers together behind his head. He planned to be ready for her when Rose slipped back under the covers. Ready and waiting. Just remembering last night was getting him aroused.
The sight of her supple, soft body, the gleam of the sweat created between their two bodies…
The strange muffled noise caught his attention.
Sitting up, Matt listened intently. It was coming from the bathroom. If he didn’t know better, he would have said that it sounded as if someone was being sick.
It was.
Rose?
Worried, Matt swung his legs out of bed and got up quickly. The retching noise continued. Could she have gotten food poisoning last night?
He stopped beside the bathroom door for half a second to consider the thought.
He and Rose had had identical dinners last night, right down to the sparkling cider. He’d wanted something stronger, but when she told him she didn’t feel like having wine, he’d gone along with her choice, determined to be in harmony with her all evening. Now that he thought about it, she hadn’t had a drop of alcohol at any of the meals they’d had since he’d come to New York. He remembered her saying that she’d read that having a glass of wine at dinner was actually healthy for you. Why had she changed her mind?
And for that matter, he recalled, Rose had barely eaten her dinner. She’d toyed with it and had perhaps no more than a couple of bites. If there was food poisoning involved, he should have been the one to come down with it, not her.
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