by Sandra Ross
“You know,” he said quietly. “If I stay any longer, I’m going to kiss you.”
“Yes, I know,” Portia answered.
“So, do you want me to leave now?” he asked.
“No. I want you to stay,” Portia whispered.
Still looking at her, he put a finger under her chin and tilted her face upward.
Then, he leaned down and placed his mouth gently on hers. The gentleness quickly caught fire and became very passionate, the kind that totally made her feel that her bone has melted, but neither of them drew back nor tried to tone it down at all.
Portia realized on some level that this was what had been missing from her life. The feeling of being alive was what she had shoved away after everything that had happened. She didn’t want to feel it because she felt that after what happened to Gideon and their child, she didn;t deserve to survive. Making penance for being alive mattered to her for so long...
However, now her body felt as if it were on fire and blazing even hotter the longer the kiss lasted. She has never felt as alive as this for a very long time.
Their kiss turned into something quite primal soon enough. There seemed to be no awareness of anything except the heated sensations that produced in them. So lost was she in the kiss that Portia only came back to herself when she felt Brock’s hand covering her breast and teasing her nipple with his thumb. The feelings that evoked in her jolted her back to what she was actually doing.
With a shaky breath, she drew back from him. It was impossible to speak at first, and besides, she wouldn’t have known what to say.
In the end, it was Brock who broke the awkward and erotically charged silence.
Chapter Six
“I apologize, Portia. You obviously aren’t ready and I shouldn’t have just assumed something.”
“Oh no, please don’t apologize," she said after a relieved laugh. "It’s just that I haven’t been with a man since Gideon and you’ve apparently awakened some feelings that I thought were long buried." She sighed to calm herself. "I’m not upset or angry or regretful. I just don’t know what to do with all of this. Not to mention that I so don’t act like this with men that I barely know. I’m probably a bit embarrassed about that, at least.” Portia ended her little speech with a rueful laugh again.
“You have nothing to be embarrassed about,” Brock assured her. “And as much as it pains me to do this, I’m going to make a decision here for both us. I need to leave because if I stay, I’m going to want to do more than just kiss you. So if I go, there’s no pressure." He stood up. "I’m going to call you tomorrow and, if you’re still interested, I want us to go out again. We’ll get to know each other and see where it leads. How does that sound?”
“It sounds like you’re the most understanding man in the world,” Portia said, smiling as she stood up, too. “Just so you know, I would have probably gone through with it but it wouldn’t have been for the right reasons just now.”
“I understand. And I’m going to take that as something to look forward to.”
They both walked to the front door. He put his finger under her chin once more then he gave her a very gentle, yet rather lengthy, kiss. Just at the point where things could have become too much once more, he broke the kiss and stepped back.
“Don’t forget to lock up and reset your alarm,” he said. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
She nodded. "Yes."
PORTIA woke up the following morning with a smile on her face.
She couldn’t remember having felt truly happy in so long that this was a different experience for her. In spite of the way things were around her just now, she was still happy to be alive. That was something new for her because she had spent so much of the last two years wanting to die.
Now that Brock had come into her life, she knew that she was finally ready to move on. That was true no matter what happened or didn’t happen between the two of them. He had opened a door for her to sunny days in her life. For that, she was very grateful.
Just as she was stretching and trying to talk herself into getting up, her phone rang. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was just past 9AM. She reached for the phone and answered it.
“Good morning, Beautiful,” a sexy deep voice greeted her. “Did you sleep well?”
Smiling broadly, Portia leaned back against her pillows.
“Yes, I did sleep rather well,” she replied. “You see, there was this amazingly handsome man that took me out for a great dinner and even greater conversation. So I was quite happy when I went to bed.”
“I’m so glad to hear that,” he laughed. “I, on the other hand, was awake for most of the night. There was this woman that I spent the evening with last night that I simply couldn’t stop thinking about.”
“Oh, I’m sorry that happened to you. Is there anything I can do to help with that?”
“I’ll have to ponder that question and let you know. But I think that if you agree to have dinner with me again, possibly tonight, that it will go a looong way to helping me relax.”
she was grinning now from ear-to-ear. “Well, then I couldn’t possibly say no to something like that, especially when I can help my fellow man.”
They hung up after agreeing that Brock would pick her around 7:30PM that evening for dinner. Portia set her feet on the floor and headed to the kitchen.
She put on coffee and fixed some scrambled eggs.
Pouring some apple juice, she sat down at the bar to eat her eggs.
Chapter Seven
BY the time Portia was finished eating, the coffee was ready. She made a cup and carried it out to her office. Her email hadn’t been checked since yesterday morning when she had discovered that horrible email. She was more than a little hesitant to look at her account today but she knew that she must do so because she had a business to run.
Typing in her login details, she waited for the account to open so that she could see her email. The list came into view. As she had expected, she found several business emails and the usual amount of spam. Once she had deleted the spam, she turned her attention to the business emails.
Buried in among those, she spotted what she had been half expecting to see. And her heart gave a rather wild thud.
The email address was different than the first one she had seen but it was still not anyone she was familiar with. With much trepidation, she opened the email.
This time the photos were of Gideon in his casket and of her in the hospital bed hooked up to various tubes and machines while she was still comatose.
It took a while before she could recover from them. With trembling hands, she printed out the photos and then forwarded the email to Brock with a note from her. She was hoping he would know what to do, since he confessed to being quite a good hacker in his teenage days. She wanted to see if he would be able to trace the email address in some way.
Suddenly, her cell phone rang and she could see that it was Brock. He had received her email and was calling.
"Are you okay?" he asked in a very worried voice.
"I-I'm fine, Brock. Okay, not really as fine. But I'm holding up."
He sighed deeply. "Okay... do you have any other detail that you can tell me about these threatening emails that you caven't included in your email? I need to know everything, sweetheart. Can you do that?"
"Yes. But I don;t know much." She told him everything that has happened since her birthday party. After that, he promised he was going to see about getting the address traced as much as he could. He was also appalled at the pictures.
"Are you sure you're going to be alright. Because if you're not, we'll think of something."
"I'm fine. I feel secure in the house. What just bothered me is how anyone can hate me so much... and that I don't even know who it is or what I'd done to deserve that hatred."
"Noone deserves being threatened by anyone, Portia," Brock said firmly. "Okay, I'm going to consult with a friend of mine whose a rather good investigator. I've updated software for the FBI
and I can ask for favors. You're not alone in this, okay? Try to stay strong."
She smiled, realizing with his words that she hasn't been truly alone since she met him again in the cemetery. In fact, it was like itwas Gideon whose brought them together. Strange.
DINNER that night was just as wonderful as it had been the night before, even with the shadow imposed by the emails. There as just too much physical attraction.
They did keep the brakes on things a little more, but it was clear that the attraction was getting more powerful all the time. Portia felt closer to Brock the more time she spent with him, and the best part is that she didn’t feel guilty about it. He did not accept her invitation for coffee that night, though. Or the next night. For some reason, she was grateful. She knew what would happen if they let it.
And it just didn't feel like the right time... yet.
Chapter Eight
OVER the next few weeks, a routine of sorts was established between Portia and Brock. She had even introduced him to Carrie and they had double-dated a few times. Carrie was thrilled to see Portia stepping out into the world of the living again, although they all were quite concerned over the constant stream of nasty emails and cruel little gifts that kept arriving.
Finally, the night arrived that Portia felt she was ready to be with Brock in the way they had both wanted for some time now. Kissing and cuddling was wonderful, but also more than a little frustrating. To make things more relaxed and simple, Portia invited Brock to dinner at her house. She was a pretty good cook and felt that it would make the progression of events that much easier for them both.
Portia decided to dress a bit sexier that night than she normally would. She wanted to let Brock know subtly that this night would be much different than the ones they had been normally spending together. It didn't matter that he probably already knew. That made it more exciting somehow. She had bought something new to wear. It was a Grecian style dress that reached to the floor but has slits on either side up to mid-thigh. The top portion was fitted with a deep V-neck. Her breasts were emphasized as well as drawn into an impressive cleavage. She wanted to see Brock's face when he sees it. The royal purple shade worked well with her coloring and she was pretty sure that she looked the way she wanted.
Her opinion was verified as soon as she opened the door to Brock. He gave a low whistle and then kissed her. He did not take his hands away even after that hot kiss. It was almost as if he didn’t want to let go of her.
“I see beauty," he said, "and your kitchen smells delicious. I’m not sure I can take all of it at once!” ” he teased.
“Well, if you think this may do you in, I might better put off the other plans I have for tonight.” She giggled at the look on his face. “It’s a surprise so I’m not telling you anything. Now come on and let’s eat.”
Taking him by the hand, she led him to the candlelit table that was already set.
"Wow... this looks great. You did this for me?" he asked.
"I did it for us," she whispered.
His answering smile was simply special. "Then we're going to enjoy it," he replied in a tone as intimate as hers was.
As they ate, they spoke about ordinary everyday things. Toward the end of the meal, Portia stood up and went to the kitchen. She brought back a bowl of sweet succulent strawberries. Included was a small bowl of whipped cream, and some champagne.
However, she didn’t stop at the table. Instead, she kept walking until she reached the bottom of the stairs.
Then, she turned around and looked at Brock over her shoulder, smiling a slow sexy smile.
It took him a second but finally he understood that he was meant to follow her. With a very broad smile on his face, he nearly knocked over his chair in getting up. Then he practically jogged over to where Portia was waiting.
Brock eagerly followed Portia up the stairs and down the hallway to the master bedroom. The double doors were already open and he could see that she had made special preparations in here, too.
There were several oil lamps casting a soft light over the room. The large king-sized bed was turned down exposing black silk sheets. The entire room was set up as a seduction scene and Brock was very thrilled at the prospect of what this night was going to bring. He watched as Portia set down the champagne and bowls on a nightstand. Then she turned to face him.
“Are you sure?” Brock asked her softly.
“I’m very sure,” Portia replied.
He crossed the room and took her in his arms.
Chapter Nine
BROCK'S kisses this time were completely without restraint, as hers were. They each gave as much as they took, encouraging the flames of passion to burn even hotter.
If either of them had planned for things to go slowly and gently, that was doomed to fail. Brock was careful not to damage Portia’s dress but he undressed her pretty quickly. She pulled just as quickly at his clothes because she felt greedy. She wanted to put her hands on his nakedness and feast her eyes on it. Brock kissed her deeply and hungrily as he pushed her to the bed with his weight. Portia's hands were all over him, kneading his skin, until her hand reached his rigid manhood, which she guided to the spot between her legs.
"Portia, oh, baby... not yet. I want to love you more..."
She was going to protest. It has been too long and she wanted him inside her. But she moaned instead as she felt his lips and tongue sliding down her throat. she gasped and arched her back when as sensations exploded as he put her nipple inside his warm mouth to suckle at it like a baby, like he was drinking her milk. Then possessively kneaded her soft breasts with his hands. Alternating between each nipple, he aroused her so much she whimpered, wanting him in now. But he wasn't finished yet.
He kissed his way towards the apex of her thighs. Pushing both thighs away from each other, he sighed. Then teased her with wet kisses and nips on her inner thighs before finally giving attention to her throbbing, hungry sex. He started with his tongue, lapping her folds from down upwards, tickled her clit with the tip of his tongue until it grew turgid. He then opened each fold with hisindex fingers, then flicked and finally, sucked at it until she cried. He sucked at her clit, digging his tongue inside her sex as far as he could reach, her inner muscles massaging the little organ until the first wave passed.
"Brock... please...?!"
At last, he obliged her. He traced his way back to her with wet kisses and until he was kissing her mouth again as greedily as he kissed her sex. She didn't need to guide his cock to her pleasure cleft and in no time, he had pushed himself in, to the hilt, to her core.
Their groans of bliss split the room. He paused, and she opened her eyes to see him watching her face with arousal, passion, and gentleness in his. "You look so beautiful," he whispered.
She smiled up at him. "And you are, too," she replied.
"Beautiful?" he asked in a teasing tone huskily as he started moving.
The sensation of his cock creating fiction with her inner muscles rendered her, not speechless, but wordless. Her body writhed under his as she moaned. He was thick and long, and she could feel the length of him as he rocked slowly, in and out, obviously loving how she felt about it, until he slowly lost control. He banged at her, ground himself into her, and she was pushed into the edge of release once more, almost screaming as bigger waves hit her, tumbling with him down, down, as he also found his own climax.
Afterward, they lay naked in each other arms, gasping for breath, both laughing as they wiped the beads of sweat on each other's forehead. And they kissed, couldn't seem to stop kissing until she sat up and reached for the champagne.
"Will you do the honors of opening this?"
"Of course," he said, smiling. He was still looking at her with a kind of indulgence on his face, then took another kiss from her mouth before opening the bottle. They each had a glass and sipped it along with feeding each other the dipped strawberries.
The next time they turned to each other, it was much slower, more involved. Portia made
up by lapping cream off his cock this time. And he liked that very much.
They made love all night, stopping only when they were so exhausted, they finally had to go to sleep.
Chapter TEN
WHEN Portia woke up the next morning, she felt tired but energized. She was also sore but in the best way. Stretching like a contented cat, she opened her eyes and saw that Brock wasn’t there.
Disappointed, she sat up and looked around. Then smiled. Most of his clothes were still on the floor. He couldn’t’ have left. She walked to the doors of the bedroom and could hear his voice. He must be talking on his cell phone, she thought.
She raced into her bathroom and splashed some water on her face and brushed her teeth. As she was coming out of the bathroom, Brock entered the bedroom and put his cellphone on the nightstand. At first, he had a serious expression on his face. Then he saw her and that instantly changed to a huge smile.
"Hello, handsome," she purred seductively, suddenly confident because of that smile.
"Come here, beautiful," he replied as his hands reached for her. He put his arms around her and then he gave her a long kiss. She knew he did not mean to get quickly aroused again, but when he raised his head, he has that look in his eyes that said he wanted her again.
"How sore are you?" he whispered as his hand gently cupped her ass.
She closed her eyes. It did not matter that she was sore. She wanted him again, too. Instead of answering, she pulled his head back to her and kissed him hard. Then giggled when he lifted her from the floor and carried her to the bed.
There, he looked down at her, and she could almost swear that his look held his heart. Then he set the robe aside, lowered his head, and traced kisses from her navel downwards, to her very core. Where he made her swoon and moan as he gently pleasured her with his lips and tongue again. When he entered her, she was so aroused it did not hurt at all. And their climax was slow but powerful, and complete. She knew they had crossed over a boundary after that as they settled in each others' arms, waiting for their hearts to slow down.