Rick meant only to brush a fleeting kiss to her lips, nothing more. He didn’t have time for more. Pierce, his chief assistant, brought with him from Georgia, sounded harried. It looked as if one of the divisions of Masters Enterprises might have a wildcat strike on their hands.
But touching his mouth to hers only made Rick want to kiss her again. Life had a way of wantonly turning things inside out without giving any notice. He knew that now. Gathering her into his arms, he kissed her as if he wasn’t coming back. As if she wouldn’t be here when he did. As if the world was going to end in the next five seconds and all they had available to them were these precious few moments.
He was draining away her soul. As he drew his lips back, Joanna had to hold onto his arms just to steady herself. If she’d been an old-fashioned galleon, she would have sworn that she had just been broadsided and breached.
Still holding on to his arms, she pretended to shake her head to clear it. It was only half in jest. “Wow, if that’s a retainer, I can’t wait to find out what the whole payment is.”
He brushed the back of his hand against her cheek, a bittersweet feeling filtering through him. All the warnings he’d issued to himself were temporarily on hold. He just wanted to enjoy the sight of her. “Just be ready when I come back.”
“I’m not sure if that’s possible,” she murmured as he left the house. She was beginning to think that nothing would prepare her for him, not at this level of intensity.
She couldn’t help wondering if he’d forgotten all about that mysterious “something” he’d alluded to earlier. She knew she’d told him to stop giving her things, but he’d made her curious.
Passing a mirror, she grinned at her reflection. Rick still had the ability to make her feel as if she were no more than twenty.
Rick unconsciously tightened his hands around the steering wheel as he took a turn. It took effort to make himself relax and loosen his grip. He glanced at the clock on the dashboard. Eleven-oh-two. He had to work hard to rein in his anger and curb it.
The quick meeting had been anything but that. It definitely hadn’t gone as planned. What should have taken no more than an hour had stretched out into four, then five, threatening to go well into the predawn morning until he’d finally called a halt to it, promising to reconvene the next day.
Obviously he wasn’t as on top of things as he’d originally thought, otherwise the workers at the Pasadena plant would not be threatening to walk if certain terms were not met.
When it rained, it poured. As if his life wasn’t hectic enough with the home office transfer, he was now in the middle of a work arbitration.
The meeting felt as if it were a million miles away. Right now, all he was concerned about was finding a way to make it up to Joanna. He didn’t want her to feel that he was taking her for granted, that he expected her to stand on the sidelines, waiting until he could spare a moment for her.
He’d called her twice from the office, pushing back the time until there wasn’t any time to push back.
He felt really awful. There weren’t enough hours in the day, but somehow, he intended to find them. Or create them if he had to. There had to be a way to be a conscientious businessman while still maintaining some kind of a private life. He hadn’t wanted one up until now, but things had changed, at least temporarily. He needed to find a way to be able to juggle both, he thought, getting out of the car.
It was after eleven. Too late to eat out. And probably too late to make it up to Joanna. The evening wasn’t supposed to have gone this way.
Feeling drained and annoyed, Rick let himself in through the garage.
“So, how did it go?”
Glancing toward the living room, he saw her getting up from the sofa. She was wearing a robe and her hair was slightly tousled, as if she’d just been lying down.
He closed the door behind himself. “You waited up for me?”
She shrugged carelessly. The sash on her robe loosened slightly, the two sides parting a little. “I waited. I’m up, so I guess you’d be safe in saying that I waited up for you.”
Crossing to her, he flashed an apologetic smile as he slipped off his jacket. This time, he’d made sure his cell phone was off. He dropped his jacket on the back of the sofa. “I’m sorry about tonight.”
“Why, did it go badly?”
Her makeup was gone, and she looked as natural as sunshine. He could feel himself being aroused. “No, I meant about us not going out.”
“Well, unless there’s some kind of edict about closing down all the restaurants in the world by tomorrow morning, I figure you can make it up to me.” There were still frown lines about his mouth and eyes. She feathered her fingers along his brow, pressing them away. “Did you get a chance to eat?”
He nodded, loosening his tie then slipping it off. It joined his jacket. “We sent out for sandwiches. How about you?”
“I got the better end of the deal.” She threaded her arms around his. “I had Mrs. Rutledge.” The woman had insisted on making her a full dinner. “There’s some leftover beef Wellington in the refrigerator if you’re interested.” She waited to see if he wanted her to warm up a portion for him.
“Beef Wellington?” It was one of Mrs. Rutledge’s specialties. “You really did get the better end of the deal.”
As far as food went, anyway, she thought. The evening had gone very peacefully. Rachel had been perfect company, sleeping for most of it. “Sometimes things turn out that way. So, are you hungry?”
“Yes.” But as she turned to go to the kitchen to prepare a late meal for him, he caught her by the wrist and pulled her back. When she turned to look at him quizzically, he said, “I’m hungry, but it doesn’t have anything to do with food.”
“Oh?” She cocked her head, looking up at him. “What does it have to do with?”
Instead of saying anything, he pulled her closer to him and brought his mouth down on hers. The kiss began passionately and ended practically in flames.
By the time he drew his mouth from hers, they were both breathing hard.
“That,” he told her.
She threaded her arms around his neck. Her eyes danced with mischief as she looked up at him. “Aren’t you too tired for ‘that’?”
He locked his hands behind her, his pulse beginning to accelerate. “Did it feel as if I was tired?”
She sighed, wishing the moment and this feeling would go on forever. Knowing it couldn’t. “It felt like heaven.”
He glanced toward the rear of the house, where the nursery was. “When was the baby fed last?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
One down. “And Mrs. Rutledge?”
Tongue in cheek, she said, “She ate about three hours ago.”
He pressed a kiss to her throat, then another. Her pulse leaped up to mark the passage of his lips. “I meant is she asleep?”
“She said good-night at ten.” It was hard to get the words out when her head was spinning.
“That’s all I wanted to know.”
His lips found their way back to hers again. He kissed her hard, the way he had earlier before he’d gone to his meeting. The way he’d wanted to all evening.
Joanna could feel her blood rushing in her veins as her whole body went on alert.
It wasn’t going to end here, in the hall, with a kiss that curled her toes so hard she might never be able to straighten them again.
This was just the beginning.
Anticipation sang through her body, priming it. Making her ache so badly, she almost whimpered. Joanna wrapped her arms around him even tighter, raising herself up on her toes. Trying to absorb every nuance of his kiss, every nuance of his body. To sustain her later.
It wasn’t easy, but he pulled his head back to look at her. “You sure it’s okay?” he breathed.
It was more than okay, it was wonderful. The grin on her lips came into her eyes as she looked at him. “Well, if we make love out here, Mrs. Rutledge might see us if she wakes up and hears s
omething.”
He laughed, kissing her quickly before saying, “You know what I mean.”
It touched her that he was so concerned about her well-being at a time like this. Another man would be ripping her clothes off by now. Independence not withstanding, it was nice to have someone worry about her, even if only fleetingly.
“Yes, I know what you mean.” She brushed a kiss to each of his cheeks. “And the doctor said I’m fully operational.”
The description made him laugh. “That makes you sound like an aircraft.”
Her arms around his neck, she pressed her body tantalizingly against his, swaying just enough to make him crazy. Her eyes never left his as she said seductively, “Come fly me.”
It was all he needed to hear.
The instant he kissed her again, needs that had been held back for so long broke free of their chains. He kissed her over and over again, changing the chemical composition of her body from solid to almost completely liquid. Heated liquid.
And then, it seemed as if her body was on automatic pilot. Her arms still around his neck, she jumped up, wrapping her legs around his hips and waist. Her mouth never broke contact with his.
He caught her, holding her to him. She could feel her inner core moisten and yet seem to be on fire. Her mouth slanted over his again and again.
All the years of longing pushed forward, fueling her desire, beating against her with fisted hands as they begged to be finally freed.
She was playing havoc with his restraint, bending it all out of shape until he didn’t know how much longer he could contain himself. He could feel the inner heat emerging from her, hitting him square in the stomach, whetting his appetite and raising it to incredible heights. His mouth sealed to hers, his consciousness all but disintegrated, he was barely aware of walking with her.
Somehow, they made it into her room, though the logistics of how didn’t completely register. All Joanna was aware of was the overwhelming desire that had taken her body hostage.
How many times had she dreamed about this, digging deep into her memory and reconstructing every time they’d been together? The first time, the last time, they’d all merged into one compelling memory, making her long so much that it hardly seemed humanly possible to feel this way and still live.
But she’d managed. Managed to survive for a long time without him. Without anyone.
But now that was at an end. She was going to make love with him tonight. She had to. Otherwise, she was going to self-destruct.
Joanna felt as if there were explosions going on all over her body.
Slowly, he drew her away from his body and laid her down on her bed. Her robe parted. The nightgown she had on exposed more than it covered. His mouth became as dry as the Mojave in summer.
As he lay down next to her, he could feel his entire body pulse to a rhythm that had been set down before time was recorded.
He tugged her robe from her shoulders. Joanna raised her hips to accommodate him and he felt in danger of swallowing his tongue as he pulled the robe off the rest of the way. The silken material slid unnoticed to the floor.
Covering her mouth with his, Rick took his assault to two fronts, his lips reducing her to the consistency of tapioca pudding left out overnight while his hands delved beneath her nightgown, finding places that had existed only in his dreams. Places that had once been his.
Joanna drew her breath in sharply against his mouth as she felt his fingers spread out over her hip, caressing her softly over and over again. Regaining possession. She turned into his touch, savoring it, then abruptly pulled away.
When he looked at her in confusion, she breathed, “No fair.”
Before the words could penetrate the growing haze around his brain, before he could ask her what she meant, Joanna began making short work of the clothes he was wearing.
Understanding, he leaned back and quickly undid the buttons of his shirt.
But she was the one who pulled the tails out of his waistband, the one who pushed the shirt off his shoulders as she craned her neck in order to capture his mouth with her own.
The next to go were his pants. Wiggling almost beneath him, she undid the button, then the zipper, her hand delving inside the space that was created to touch him lightly before she continued removing his pants.
He moved to help her, but she was clearly in charge. A woman with a mission. “You’ve done this before,” he teased.
He could have sworn there was a twinkle in her eyes. “I’ve practiced on mannequins.”
He didn’t want her to think that he was prying. She had the right to be her own person, the right to her privacy. As much as he wanted to know, he wouldn’t ask. He wanted her to know that.
“I’m not asking about your past, Joey.”
“There is no past, Rick.” Hot with her breath, the words echoed against his mouth. Unable to rein in her emotions, she yanked away his underwear. “There’s only you.”
He didn’t know if she meant that, if there’d been no man in her life since they’d separated. But true or not, he wanted to believe it.
So, for now, he did.
The flame within him raised ever higher.
Pressing her back against the soft comforter, he began to make slow, methodical love to every inch of her, beginning at her toes and working his way up as she twisted and sighed beneath him.
He lingered over every part of her, satisfying his own ever-increasing desire with the sounds and movements she made as he pressed kisses to her in-step, to the back of her knees, to the insides of her thighs. Cataloging dusky tastes in his brain.
Remembering.
Finding the very heart of her, his tongue teased her, bringing her up to her first climax.
Joanna grasped fistfuls of the comforter, scrambling closer to the sensation that was exploding within her as his mouth branded her. Making her completely his, as she always had been.
She bit down hard on her lower lip to keep from crying out.
Panting, she fell back, only to be quickly brought up to the promise of a second explosion.
She reached for him, wanting to touch him, to possess him as he did her, but he was merciless in his quest to bring her pleasure.
He kissed her belly, making it quiver, weaving the chain so that it descended again before he finally took it upward.
He anointed each of her breasts, hardening the peaks until she thought she would go insane. And then, he was over her, poised, ready, wanting.
She realized that her eyes had been squeezed shut. She opened them now and looked up into his face. The face of the man she had always loved.
Framing it with her hands, she raised her head and pressed her lips against his. The kiss that flowered between them was velvety and deep.
It cut through the last of his resolve. He’d wanted to prolong the moment, to kiss and tease her a little longer before he finally came to her. But there was no way he could physically hold back even a moment longer. She’d weakened him, weakened him with the look in her eyes, with the soft promise of her body as it yielded itself up to his.
Uttering a sound that was only marginally intelligible, Rick drove himself into her.
His eyes holding hers, he began to move, at first slowly, then more and more rapidly with each beat of his heart. He’d wanted to watch her, to take in every movement, every tiny glimmer of her expression.
But the need to kiss her, to savor her lips, was even greater. Just as his body was sealed to hers, he sealed his mouth over hers.
As their hips moved and the tempo increased, so did the urgency of his kiss until both erupted in one final, all-surrounding crescendo.
Within the small eternity that followed, Rick found the spark, the ecstasy, the peace that had been eluding him for so long. He clung to it.
Ten
Nestled in the crook of his arm, she’d been quiet for a while now. Rick wondered if that was a good thing. Brushing a kiss against the top of her head, he asked, “What are you thinking?”
> He could feel her smile as it spread against his chest. The warm feeling following in its wake was indescribable.
“That you must have been practicing.” She looked up, her hair brushing against his skin. “I don’t remember you being this good.”
He laughed softly. “I was always this good.” The smile faded slightly as he looked into her eyes. “And I haven’t been practicing.”
He watched as her smile turned into a grin. “Oh, then you’re telling me you’ve lived like a monk all these years?”
“Of the highest order.” Rick winked and then crossed his heart with his free hand. “Want to see my membership card?” He pretended to reach for it, then stopped. “Oh, sorry, this outfit doesn’t come with pockets.” When she laughed, another warm feeling curled through his belly, like smoke from a chimney on a crisp winter morning. His arm tightened around her as emotions he’d been so certain had left him for good filled his heart. “I’ve missed you, Joey.”
She turned into him, the humor gone from her eyes. “Why didn’t you come after me?” There was no recrimination in her voice. She just wanted to know. “I was in the same place I always was. Why did you just leave town like that?”
He shrugged. Looking back, he knew he shouldn’t have. He should have laid siege to her house until the truth came out. “Pride, I guess.” He lowered his gaze to take her in. “The same pride that keeps you stubbornly fighting off help at every turn.”
She shook her head, her hair moving along his arm. Arousing him again. “Apples and oranges.”
“Fruit salad,” he countered.
She stared at him in confusion. “What?”
The grin began in his eyes, filtering down to his lips slowly. “I thought as long as we’re lobbing fruit around, we can make a salad.”
Laughing, Joanna swatted at his arm. “You’re talking crazy.”
“Right.” He fitted her against him, his eyes intent. “Then shut me up, Joey. I don’t want to talk about the past.” He kissed the swell above her breasts and felt her begin to shift, “or anything else, except that I’ve got a very beautiful naked woman in my arms and I’ve remained inactive far too long.”
A Bachelor and a Baby Page 11