Beauty and the Brain

by Duncan, Alice

  “You’re so wonderful, Brenda,” Colin murmured onto her stomach, where his lips had roamed.

  Brenda lay back and luxuriated in pleasure. “When we met, I thought you hated me.”

  His low chuckle sent waves of prickles through her. “No. I never hated you.”

  “I’m happy to hear it.”

  She couldn’t stand just lying there any longer. As Colin’s hands stroked a map of sensation from her stomach to her breasts, she allowed her fingers to tunnel through his thick, dark hair. He had beautiful hair, although she knew men didn’t like to think of an about themselves as beautiful. Men were so vain. Still, she loved his hair. Through sated eyes, she watched his hands discover her body, inch by inch.

  His skin was dark from having been exposed to the sun for, so many years. Hers, as was the fashion, remained as white as milk. The contrast excited her, especially when his hands worked their way up to her breasts. Brenda was happy, as she’d never been before, that she had substantial breasts, because she’d always heard men liked women who had a certain amount of flesh on them. She wasn’t huge, by any means, but her breasts were a nice handful for Colin.

  He took full advantage of them, too, kneading them gently for a moment before he lowered his mouth to each in turn. Brenda gasped and closed her eyes. The sensation was almost too exquisite to bear. When he took her right nipple between his teeth and gently nipped it, she thought she might die. His tongue made magic on her skin. She began to utter little cries and moans without being entirely aware of what she was doing

  Colin, too, seemed to be absorbed in what he was doing. When she started exploring his body, he groaned. His body felt warm and hard under her eager hands, and she delighted in the contrast between it and her own. She’d sometimes wished she could examine the differences between the male and female structure, but she never believed she would have the opportunity to do so in such a splendid way. The relative hairiness of his legs and chest as opposed to hers fascinated her. She ran her hands over his chest until the overwhelming compulsion to taste him came to her. So she did. He groaned again.

  And then there was his sex, pulsing and hot against her. She’d never imagined ever doing such a thing, and it shocked her for an instant, but she reached out and touched it. As soon as she did so and Colin uttered a low, breathy growl, her inhibitions fled.

  “It feels so silky.” She hadn’t expected that.

  Colin only groaned again, from which Brenda deduced that he didn’t dislike her examination. Therefore, she continued, feeling the smooth, burning shaft with eager fingers.

  “That feels so good,” came from Colin’s throat, sounding husky and strained.

  “Yes,” Brenda agreed. “It does.”

  And then there were his balls. Brenda had heard men refer to their balls, but she hadn’t understood what they’d meant until this minute. How very unusual they felt in her palm. Slightly hairy, loose in their sac. Interesting. Very interesting.

  “God, I can’t wait any longer.”

  Surprised, Brenda snatched her hand away, afraid she’d done something wrong. But no. From the way Colin acted now, she knew she hadn’t. He pressed her back on the mattress and kissed her hard and long. The kiss was delicious, but what he did with his fingers was even better.

  When she felt his hand cover the curls between her thighs, she bucked in shock and anticipation. Her shock faded when she understood that, as she’d explored his masculinity, he wanted to explore her womanhood. It was only fair.

  Merciful heavens. It also felt sensational. She cried out softly when his fingers started probing her secret places. She was very wet down there. She hoped that wasn’t a bad thing.

  “You’re so wet,” he murmured. Since he sounded pleased about it, Brenda took heart.

  She also decided two could play at this game, so she reached for his rigid sex once more. He threw his head back, shut his eyes, and looked as if he were in some kind of exquisite pain for a second.

  In an instant, he recovered. “I can’t wait much longer, Brenda. Are you ready? I’ll try not to hurt you.” He kissed her again, urgently.

  “I’m ready, Colin,” she whispered when he drew back to look at her, a plea in his eyes. Indeed, she was beginning to fear that if something didn’t happen pretty soon, she was going to die. Her body was screaming for release by this time, in such a state of fevered excitement that it didn’t know what to do with itself.

  Fortunately for Brenda and her body, Colin knew exactly what to do. He said, “Don’t be shocked, Brenda. I’m going to do something first.”

  She’d had her eyes squeezed shut, savoring the miracles Colin was performing on her body. When she felt his warm, wet tongue take over from where his fingers had been probing seconds earlier, her eyes flew open, and she pushed herself up on her elbows. Good heavens, he was licking her!

  “Colin! Whatever are you doing?”

  He glanced up at her, and she distinctly recognized the glint in his eyes. “This is the result of some research I did. In France.”

  He went back to work. Her shock lasted only long enough for her to react to what he was doing. With a low moan, she sank back and enjoyed herself. Thank heavens for France. It didn’t take long. Colin had driven her to such a pitch of excitement that a very few strokes of his tongue sent her spiraling over the edge and into a climax of magnificent proportions. Her whole body convulsed, and she gasped and cried out in pleasure and astonishment.

  Before she’d fully comprehended the glory of this new experience, Colin had guided his shaft to where her femininity still quivered. With one plunge, he’d buried himself in her. Brenda gasped again, this time with surprise. And a little pain. She had to admit to it. But it wasn’t bad.

  It wasn’t really bad at all.

  In fact, now that she thought about it, it was really quite thrilling. There was something astonishingly exciting about knowing that she and Colin were joined in the most intimate way possible.

  “Are you all right?” The words sounded tense. Colin had pressed his face into the pillow next to her head, and Brenda sensed he was holding himself back with a huge effort. She lifted her hands to his shoulders and started caressing him tenderly. She kissed his hair.

  “I’m fine, Colin. Fine.” Never better, in fact.

  She could sense rather than feel his sigh of relief.

  “Good. I’m glad of that. I didn’t want to hurt you.” He lifted his head and looked into her eyes for a moment before he gave her one of those little half grins of his. She thought her heart might burst with love, although she knew things like that didn’t really happen.

  For only a moment, time seemed suspended. Then Colin bent to kiss her again, and he started moving in her.

  “Oh, my!”

  He stopped moving instantly. “What?” he gasped. “Are you hurt?”

  No, she wasn’t hurt. It was only that she hadn’t expected anything to feel quite like this. It was it was—it was really quite exciting. “No,” she said, absorbed once more in the novelty and variety of these sensations.

  “Keep going. Please.”

  So he did. After a few seconds, Brenda got into the rhythm of it. Oh, my, it felt good. She’d had no idea. After only a few seconds more, her thoughts scattered like chaff in the wind and her body took over, reaching for the release it had only moments earlier achieved.

  And then it happened. Like a crescendo in music, the sensations rose and rose until everything exploded into a shattering culmination. Brenda bucked and cried out, and ripples of release danced through her body.

  With a roar, Colin, too, achieved release.

  For what seemed like forever, time stood still. The only sound in the universe was the duet of gasping respirations as Brenda and Colin tried to catch their breath. The only beings in the universe were Brenda and Colin, and they were one.

  Gradually, the world started slowly spinning again.

  Birds commenced chirping in the trees outside the window. The hotel room came into focu
s, and Brenda’s spirit returned to her body. When she opened her eyes at last, she discovered herself staring straight into Colin’s dark, beautiful eyes. They didn’t look cold any longer. In fact, his entire face, which often appeared aloof and withdrawn, held a new softness and wonder. Brenda imagined her own expression echoed his.

  He moved first, lifting his hand and brushing the hair away from her face. It had come loose from its pins. Brenda supposed it was a mess, although she couldn’t work up much concern. A whole new world had just exploded into being in her life, and she didn’t give a hang about her appearance.

  Colin’s smile was as intimate as any smile she’d ever received from a man. “Are you all right, Brenda?”

  Because emotion threatened to overwhelm her, Brenda only nodded. She didn’t want to cry and scare the poor man to death.

  “I’m glad.” He kissed her with exquisite tenderness. “I—I’ve never—I mean—it was . . .” His words trailed off.

  Brenda understood. With an effort, she managed to whisper, “Me, neither. Yes, it was.”

  Somehow, in the last several minutes, they’d managed to create a unit perfectly tuned to operate as one. At least that’s what it felt like to Brenda when they sighed together and closed their eyes. Again as a unit, they moved. Colin slid to Brenda’s side, wrapped her in his arms, and drew her up to his chest. She snuggled there in a kind of blissful relaxation. She felt rather as if they were floating together on a cloud somewhere above the tawdry earth.

  With a sigh of absolute contentment, she smiled. So did Colin. She didn’t know how long they lay there, drifting and dreaming, before they went to sleep.

  Colin came back to consciousness slowly. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d felt this contented, this relaxed. Languid. Free. Glorious, actually. And it was all because of Brenda. The perfect woman He couldn’t understand now, after they’d made love together, why she’d allowed him such intimacy. She was far too good for him. He’d never in a million years deserve so superior a person.

  She was everything he’d ever dreamed of in a woman. That is to say, she was everything he ever would have dreamed of, if he’d been in the habit of dreaming. It seemed a pity to him now that he hadn’t ever allowed himself the privilege of daydreams. They’d have enlivened and enriched his life. He’d been a fool to eschew such fancies as irrelevant and unimportant. At the moment, he couldn’t think of a more useful task to set his mind to than, spinning fantasies about Brenda.

  Reality sent a sharp stake through his heart with a sudden, painful thrust, launching him back into real life with a jolt. Colin frowned, and his heart started, aching painfully.

  Brenda still lay curled at his side, and he still had an arm around her. He glanced down at her soft blond curls and felt like crying.

  Before they’d made love, he’d told himself that once the act was done, he’d be free.

  Which only went to prove something he’d known for days now. He was an ass.

  Now that he’d made love with her, it was painfully clear to him that he could never have enough of Brenda. Bright, beautiful Brenda. The most perfect woman in the world.

  Unfortunately, it was also painfully clear to him that there was no way in hell he could have her. The truth was so unbearable, Colin closed his eyes against it and tried to pretend it wasn’t so.

  Unpracticed in pretense, he failed utterly.

  ChapterTwenty-One

  When. Brenda slowly returned to the waking world, at first she didn’t remember why she felt so good. Then all came back to her, and she smiled. Turning over, she reached out her hand for Colin. She wanted to feel his naked chest one more time before they had to wash up and go downstairs to resume their lives among the cast and crew of Indian Love Song.

  Her hand flopped onto the sheet instead of onto Colin’s hairy chest, and she opened her eyes, blinking into the soft afternoon sunbeams floating through her window.

  Where the heck was Colin? Groggily, she pushed herself up, only then realizing that several previously unused muscles were annoyed at having been put to use at last. Let ‘em protest, she thought happily. They’d get used to it.

  She saw Colin sitting beside the window, his chin in his hands, his elbows on the sill. He seemed to be studying the bird life out there. Brenda wondered if he were cataloging the different kinds of birdy chirps. Perhaps he was studying the flight patterns of scarlet tanagers as opposed to those of blue jays, before and/or after they’d robbed other birds’ nests

  “Colin?” Her voice came out low and husky.

  He turned and smiled at her. This smile carried a lot of warmth and friendliness, or so it seemed to her. She smiled back, hoping to convey more than mere friendliness with her own smile—although there was sure nothing wrong with friendship. Heck, Brenda valued friendship more than most things in life.

  But she craved something else from Colin.

  The more fool she. She knew she’d never get it. Colin was far too good for her, and they both knew it. He was a certified brain. She was a certified beauty. She’d known for a long time that, while the twain might meet from time to time, there was no future in it.

  She opted not to dwell on the bleakness of her situation at the moment, for fear her heart would break.

  “Awake at last?” His voice was deep and silky. Brenda loved his voice.

  “Yes.” Feeling expansive, she held a hand out, hoping he’d come to her.

  After a second or two, he did—reluctantly, unless it was her imagination. She doubted that it was. She no longer believed that he disliked her, but she knew very well he’d had what he’d wanted. The rest, for her, was all downhill from here. Her heart gave a sharp twang at the knowledge. She’d learned to be practical long since, however, and she wasn’t going to spoil a perfect afternoon by whining at this point. She’d known what she was getting into when she went to bed with him.

  He sat next to her, bent down, and kissed her. It was sort of a neighborly kiss, nothing like the kisses they’d shared earlier. She sighed and told herself to get used to it.

  “Are you all right, Brenda? I mean, are you—well, are you hurt or sore or anything?”

  How sweet. Even if he didn’t love her, he at least cared a little bit. “I’m fine, Colin. Never better.” She produced a cocky grin.

  His eyes twinkled in response, and Brenda took heart.

  All right, so she’d never have him permanently; she was sure they could at least be friends. She’d take what she could get.

  “Good. I was afraid I’d hurt you.”

  She shook her head. “No. I’m fine.” More or less. At least her physical self was feeling okay. More than okay. Ginger peachy, actually. Because she felt she needed a hug more than anything else in the world at the moment, she hugged him. He hugged her back, hard, and she felt a little better. His hands even wandered a bit, giving her to understand that he hadn’t yet lost interest in her entirely. Which was nice.

  “I’d better get out of bed. I suppose we should put in an appearance at dinner tonight, or people might begin to talk.” As far as she was concerned, they were welcome to talk. As long as they didn’t talk outside of the motion-picture set. She trusted her friends at Peerless.

  “I’m afraid the dress you wore when you helped George is wrinkled now, as well as dirty”

  “That’s all right. I have lots of clothes.” Her wardrobe was big enough to clothe all the orphans in New York City, in fact. That was one of the primary reasons Brenda gave money to her favorite charity in amounts equal to what she spent on her elaborate togs. She needed fancy clothes in order to support her profession, but supporting the orphans was more important to her—and to the world.

  “Here, let me help you.”

  “Thanks, Colin.”

  He must realize she was sore, in spite of what she’d told him. But of course, he’d know that. He was well versed in the scientific facts of life. He was probably thinking of Brenda now as he might think about a scientific experiment in mating among differen
t species of animal life.

  Because she felt a trifle embarrassed about being naked in front of Colin now that the heat of passion had passed, she pulled a sheet up to cover her breasts. He sighed, and she glanced up at him quickly. He’d been surveying her unclad body. Fair enough. If she hadn’t wanted him to look at it, she shouldn’t have displayed it so freely. It was her own fault if he believed her to be a hussy.

  What a depressing notion. To counteract it, she gave him another one of her patented good-guy grins. “Would you be a real pal and get my dressing gown out of the closet, Colin? It’s blue silk. You can’t miss it. It has a dragon on it.”

  “I know what it looks like.”

  “Oh, that’s right.” He’d seen her in it before. That first time he’d tried to get into her drawers.

  Brenda mentally smacked herself. If she wanted to salvage anything of value from this experience, over and above the admittedly smashing physical stuff, she was going to have to drag her mind out of the gutter. It was imperative to cease thinking of herself as abandoned and of Colin as a predator: It wasn’t true. What they’d shared was special.

  Wasn’t it?

  Countless memories of other women—women not as fortunate in the brains and beauty department as Brenda—swarmed into her head. She couldn’t even recall the number of times she’d comforted some poor, foolish female who’d believed a man’s blandishments and allowed herself to be used.

  Sweet Lord above, she wasn’t just another one of those poor, stupid women, was she?

  “Here. This is very pretty, Brenda. It almost matches your eyes, although your eyes are much lovelier.” Colin held the robe for her.

  How sweet he was being. Brenda appreciated it, since her mind seemed determined to, make something disgraceful out of the love they’d just shared. If it was love and not a mere sexual fling.

  Stop it this minute!

  Her sharp commandment did little to quiet the tumult raging in her head. “Thanks, Colin.” She maintained her smile until she’d shut the bathroom door behind her and turned on the tap to fill the tub.