Although he decided not to kiss her, he went ahead and indulged his pleasure by nibbling on her neck for a while, knowing full well he was placing a hickey there. Then he ran his tongue along the soft little lobe of her ear, enjoying the sound of his Cat purring.
Knowing he’d better stop before he changed his mind about going fishing, he placed her back in bed and stood. “Miss me.”
When she didn’t say anything, he smiled. She had drifted back off to sleep.
Cat slowly came awake thinking that if a person could die from having too many orgasms, then she would definitely be dead by now. The number of times he’d made her come had been relentless, extraordinary, mind-blowing madness. It had definitely been one of those record-setting nights. She gave a half-smile, thinking that she didn’t have any complaints, even with the fact that her body was pretty sore.
Turning over, she glanced at the clock. It was ten in the morning already. She remembered waking up earlier, right before Rory left to go fishing and then drifting back off to sleep. She shifted again in bed, knowing it was time she got up and faced the world.
Five minutes later, and Cat was standing under the spray of water as it washed down over her back. Eyes closed, she threw her head back, enjoying the feel of the warm gush of liquid caressing her all over. Then suddenly she felt a nibble on the soft curve of her neck and quickly turned around. Rory was back and had stripped naked to join in her shower. She could read the look in the deep, dark eyes staring at her. He wanted to make love to her again.
Right now. Right here.
He gently took the soap out of her hand and began lathering her all over, making her body quiver beneath his touch. And then he got on his knees, to lather her stomach, which brought him right in front of the area between her legs, an area he had branded his two years ago in this very cabin, an area he had reclaimed numerous times since she had arrived yesterday.
She knew without a doubt that once again he was about to give her extreme satisfaction, almost to the point of delerium. Her assumptions proved true when he tossed the soap aside and pulled her forward, out from beneath the spray of water, and he leaned closer until her hot center was right in his face.
“Open.”
Although he gave the command, he didn’t wait for her to comply.
Rory needed this: the taste of her. He had gotten it last night, but it hadn’t been enough. Not nearly enough. The heat of her made her scent that much more profound, erotic, intense, and the ache inside him grew that much more unbearable.
The fish had been biting, which was a good thing. As soon as he’d been satisfied that he’d caught enough, he turned his mind to another type of satisfaction. Only the kind that Cat could provide. When he had walked into the cabin and heard the shower going, he knew what he wanted to do. What he planned to do.
He leaned closer to her, reached out, and gently parted her womanly folds, still swollen from last night’s workout. And then he kissed her there, letting his tongue taste the sweet nectar he sought. He heard her groan and widen her legs for him the same exact moment her fingers clutched his head firmly to hold it in place. Little did she know that he didn’t intend to go anywhere until he’d gotten his fill.
He worked his tongue around inside her slowly, teasingly, until the stroking got harder, more intense, and greedier. In this case, less wasn’t best. More was better, and he wanted more.
When he felt her on the verge of coming, he grabbed hold of her lips, locked his mouth tight on her, and worked his tongue like nobody’s business, forcing her to come.
She did.
And he enjoyed every bit of her.
When it was almost impossible for her to stand on her own, he gathered her into his arms and held her. A part of him didn’t want their weekend to end. They still had a lot to talk about. A lot to straighten out, and lots of assumptions to set right. But now at this moment, nothing was more profound to him than holding the woman he loved so close to his heart, where he knew she would always be.
“Who taught you to take care of fish?”
Startled, Cat turned around. This was the third time Rory had caught her unawares. After their shower, he had taken a nap. She, surprisingly, had had an exceptional burst of energy. After dressing, she had gone into the kitchen to find his cooler filled with the fish he’d caught. Deciding that since he had been the one to catch their meal, the least she could do was to cook it, she had immediately begun the task of cleaning the fish before getting the grease and frying pan ready. Even though the kitchen vents were on full blast and the windows open, there was no way the aroma of fried fish wouldn’t make its way to their bedroom.
“My dad. He used to go fishing all the time, and once or twice he took me and my brothers and sisters with him. But I don’t ever remember getting up as early as you did this morning.”
He lifted a brow. “I didn’t know that.”
“What?”
“That you’ve gone fishing before.”
She grinned. “Yes. You even brought me here once with you to fish.”
He smiled. “I brought you here under the pretense of going fishing, but we both knew that fishing was the last thing on either of our minds. Getting it on for the first time was.”
Cat laughed. “Yes, that’s true. But still, you never invited me back.”
“Yes, I did.”
She blinked. “You did?”
“Yes. Several times. But you were always too busy to come back.”
With his words, memories floated through her mind, forcing her to remember. He had asked her to spend weekends at the cabin with him fishing, but at the time she’d been too busy plotting and planning how to achieve her professional goals.
She sighed deeply, disgusted. It didn’t seem to her that she’d been much of a girlfriend. In fact, she could go so far as to consider herself one selfish bitch. It was a wonder he wanted to have any dealings with her at all, let alone repair their relationship. At that moment, she fully understood why he was satisfied with them just having an affair. If she wasn’t all that hot as girlfriend material, he probably assumed she definitely would not make a good wife…if he’d still been in the market for one.
“So what can I do to help?”
She glanced over at him, and he had that incredible smile on his face that had the dimples to die for right along with it. Any woman would be stupid not to want this loving, handsome, unselfish man in her life. “It depends on what you want to go along with it,” she finally answered. “The fish is already done.”
“Yeah, and it smells good, too.”
“Thanks.”
“How about if we include a salad and baked sweet potatoes?”
“Sounds good to me.”
When they sat down to eat a half hour later, she told him she wanted him to talk about his work for a change. He told her that the business he and Peyton had started together right out of college was doing great, and now that they had expanded nationally, a lot of good contracts were coming in. It surprised her to see that she hadn’t been the only one of them who’d had dreams and goals. But it seemed she was the only one who had gotten totally obsessed with them.
“You’ve been busy,” she commented as they both cleared the table.
He smiled over at her. “And so have you. Peyton has kept me abreast on how well things are going for you and Lisa.”
“I’m surprised you wanted to know.”
“Why would I not?”
“My obsession with work is the reason we broke up.”
“No it wasn’t. Your obsession with not wanting to ever get married was.”
She shrugged. “Same thing, since I considered a commitment of that sort as interfering with the long-range goals I’d established.”
He nodded. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that anymore, since I’ve told you my new philosophy. I understand why you felt the way you did, because I now find myself in the same predicament. Our company is expanding, so I’m a busy man these days. I’ve increased
my traveling, and taking the company on a national level is the most important thing going on in my life right now. I don’t have time for anything else remotely serious.”
Cat placed the dishes in the sink and then leaned against the counter. “And your views changed just because of me?”
Rory came to stand beside her. “No, they didn’t change just because of you. But what happened between us did make me question why I had made such a fuss. Things had been good between us, and if no strings attached and no expectations was what you wanted, then so be it. Although we weren’t married, we spent a lot of time together, and got along better than some married people, so I asked myself, why did I even rock the boat.”
Because at the time you thought you wanted more, she wanted to tell him. And now she was the one who wanted more, but he didn’t. “So what would you like to do now?”
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “How would you like to take a walk? I’d like very much to show you something.”
Her curiosity piqued, she said, “All right. I’d love to go for a walk with you.”
Seven
Cat wondered just where Rory was taking her as he led her past the lake where he’d gone fishing that morning, through several yards of dense woods, and over a small pond and narrow stream. Eventually they reached an area where another cabin sat in the clearing.
It was obvious the place was in need of repairs, but where it was positioned provided a panoramic view of the mountains that loomed in the distance. It was a breathtaking sight, a perfect spot.
“Well, what you do think?” Rory asked, smiling.
The expression on his face was one of joy, accomplishment, and satisfaction—those were emotions a high achiever like Cat could easily recognize. Therefore she knew the answer to the question she was about to ask but inquired anyway. “Who does it belong to?”
“It’s mine. I bought it a couple of months ago. I’ve had my eye on it for a long time and thought it would never go on the market, but it finally did. The original owner, who was a friend of Peyton’s parents, died last year, and it took his siblings a long time to decide what to do with it.”
“Congratulations, Rory. That’s wonderful, and the view is beautiful from here.”
Rory placed his arms around her waist, bringing her closer, to him. “I think so, too. The time I spent in this area with Peyton made me want a place around here of my own. Come on and let me show you around.”
They spent the next hour or so walking around his property. He gave her a tour of the inside of the cabin and pointed out things he planned to do, changes he intended to make in the future.
When they came to the stream, Cat looked around, and her mind went into daydream mode. An image of a small child wading in the stream suddenly filled her thoughts. Her and Rory’s child. The image was so vivid and clear that it almost took her breath away.
“Cat, are you all right?” Rory asked, studying her.
She turned and looked at him. “I know this might sound crazy, but in my mind I envisioned a little boy playing in this stream. He was your child.” She decided not to mention the fact that she’d imagined him as being her son, too.
His lips curved, and for one long moment he met her gaze and didn’t say anything. Then he said, “That’s a possibility if I’m not too old to enjoy a child, but right now marriage and children are the farthest things from my mind. My top priority is expanding my business and getting this place livable, which means this will take up a lot of my time. I’m glad you’ll understand.”
She blinked. She had clearly missed something. “I’ll understand what?”
“The weekends when I’ll be away, working out here. It would be too much to ask for you to be inconvenienced while I accomplish the goal I’ve set of getting this place right before the summer.”
“When you’re out here working, where do you sleep? Back at Peyton and Lisa’s cabin?”
“No, it would be too time consuming and too much of a hassle coming back and forth through the woods with all the supplies that I have to bring with me. Usually I use one of the company trucks to haul my supplies and rent one of those pop-up campers to hook behind it. And I’ve gotten pretty good at putting up a tent.”
The thought of sleeping in a tent with him outdoors and under the stars sounded truly romantic, and there was no need to wonder why he assumed she wouldn’t want to share such an adventure with him. He’d made such a suggestion in the past, and she had turned him down. She sighed deeply, thinking that this weekend with him had definitely been an eye-opener of just how much she had taken for granted…as well as just how much she had lost.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to take an inventory of the things I’m going to need the next time I’m here to work on this place,” he said.
“No, I don’t mind.” She watched as he took a small writing pad out of his back pocket and begin jotting stuff down. Although he had brought her here and had shown her what seemed to be something that was very important to him, for some reason she felt as if she was being excluded from this part of his life. Before their breakup, he had shared practically everything with her, but that was when he’d had marriage on his mind and thought what they’d shared was forever.
She thought of her earlier vision and smiled. At that moment, she decided on a new goal and intended to do whatever it took to make her vision come true.
It was late afternoon when they returned to the cabin.
“Do you want to sit on the back porch, watch the stars, and eat a bowl of popcorn?”
The back porch was screened in to keep out pesky mosquitoes, and it provided a perfect view of the mountains and the lake. Last night they had sat outside on the front porch when the weather had been fine, but tonight there was a distinct drop in the temperature. “Sitting outdoors in the cold doesn’t exactly turn me on. How will I stay warm?”
He met her gaze. “I’ll keep you warm.” The look in his eyes promised more than just his warmth.
“Now, the thought of that does turn me on,” she said as her lips curved into a smile.
“Good. Let’s go inside and take care of that popcorn.”
An hour or so later they lay curled up together on the daybed under several blankets, eating popcorn and watching the stars. It was a beautiful night, and good at his word, Rory was keeping her warm. His body was generating plenty of heat, in more ways than one. The rush of sensations that just being near him evoked was hot, and the only time she experienced such intensity was when she was with him.
“What time will you leave tomorrow?” he asked.
His question reminded her that tomorrow would be their last day at the cabin. “I’d like to leave as late as possible,” she said honestly. “I love it here.” She shifted positions and turned in his arms. “What time are you leaving?”
He leaned over and caressed her cheek. “Not until after you do. I want to spend every moment that I can with you.”
“Oh, Rory,” she whispered, touched by his words. She framed his face with her hands and at that moment, nothing could stop her from kissing him. Desire rose within her instantly, and she slipped her tongue into his mouth. He automatically took control, eagerly, hungrily making a need within her pound like a physical ache.
He pulled her to him, letting his hand caress her bottom, molding her to him, and then his hands moved to slip under her blouse and close over her breasts, stroking them lightly.
“Rory.” His name was again whispered from her lips, and she shuddered from his touch.
“Come on, baby. Let’s go inside and heat up the place.”
The moment Rory closed the door behind them, he pulled her into his arms and began kissing her like tomorrow didn’t exist.
And maybe it didn’t.
She knew that the affair he had offered her that first night was totally unacceptable. There was no way that she could share a “no strings attached, no expectations” type of relationship with him. She wanted attachment; she wanted expectati
ons. Point blank, she wanted him as a permanent fixture in her life, but he didn’t want her in the same way, which was no one’s fault but hers. The reality of that meant that this weekend would be all they had together. He might not know it yet, but he would before she left tomorrow.
Not wanting to dwell on what she would be losing, she turned her complete attention back to Rory and everything he was doing to her. She really had no choice. He was a master at creating desire within her, igniting emotions and pleasing her beyond her wildest dreams. He was her Mr. Satisfaction. Only he could drive her to the point of no return, and as always, she was a willing participant.
Rory felt his control slipping as he carried Cat into the bedroom. Tomorrow would be their last day at the cabin, and he should be telling her the truth instead of making love to her, but a part of him still wasn’t sure just what Cat wanted. He knew he had said things to make her think, but had it been effective? Did she actually believe him when he’d said that he wanted only a “no strings attached and no expectations” relationship? And if so, would she fight for something more or accept whatever?
Dammit, he wanted her to fight, come out kicking and screaming that that wasn’t what she wanted and he could take his offer and shove it. So far, she wasn’t doing that, which made him think she was okay with his offer. He didn’t like the thought.
He clenched his jaw in disappointment, knowing she would leave tomorrow, willingly accepting a noncommitted relationship between them.
“Rory, I want you.”
She wanted him. Never had she said that she loved him. He’d just assumed, like a lot of people, that she had. But now he wasn’t sure. He needed to hear it but doubted that he ever would. “And I want you, too,” he whispered as he placed her on the bed.
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