by Cara Marsi
“I’ve dreamt of you like this,” he whispered, awe in his voice.
She skimmed a hand over the smooth muscles of his chest. “I’ve dreamt of you, too.” The admission flowed from the deepest part of her heart. Her voice shook. “I want you again, Aiden.”
“And you’ll have me.”
He rolled her onto her back and leaned over her, then took her face between his hands. She stared into his eyes, hooded and dark, as they searched hers. “Trust me?” he asked.
She could only nod.
He smiled, then skimmed a kiss on her waiting lips before moving his attention to her breasts. He suckled and fondled, testing their weight, pushing them together and flicking his tongue over her cleavage. His hands and mouth and eyes worshipped her. “Beautiful.”
He seared her with his kisses, weaving a scorching path down her stomach to lave her belly button. Sam tangled her fingers in his thick hair and gyrated her hips, her core ablaze. When his mouth pressed against the curls at her apex, she tightened her grip on his hair.
His fingers separated her slick folds, then his tongue followed, dipping into her. Sam pressed his head closer, desperate for more.
His tongue found her bud. At the electrifying sensation, Sam clutched the sheets, wild, crazed with the feel of his power. Aiden’s tongue darted in and out again and again until she was a writhing mass of need. Her climax built like waves pounding the shore until she cried out his name, tossed into a sensual storm where nothing mattered but Aiden and the explosive satisfaction only he could give her.
He held her until she stopped trembling. When he kissed her gently, she slipped her tongue into his mouth, feeling his silkiness, tasting herself on him.
Aiden released her and propped himself on his elbows, looking down at her. “Give me a minute.”
He slid off the bed and left the room. Cool air whispered over her exposed skin. She reached for the comforter and sheet and pulled them over her, then squeezed her eyes shut, missing his closeness.
At his soft footsteps seconds later, she opened her eyes. He stood before her in all his naked glory, his penis hard and thick.
“You’re beautiful,” she whispered.
Holding a foil-wrapped packet, he sat on the edge of the bed, quickly unwrapped the packet, and rolled on protection. Then he was beside her again. He covered them both with the bedclothes and gathered her into his arms.
“Make love to me, Aiden,” she said.
He positioned himself over her. The bedcovers slipped down to his waist. She spread her legs, inviting him to take possession.
“Sam, I’ve waited so long.” The slight quiver in his voice touched her soul.
He sheathed himself inside her with agonizing slowness, moving back and forth until she felt mad with want. She pulled his head down and kissed him with an urgency that frightened her. She needed this man.
In one quick thrust he was all the way inside, his cock pressing against her womb. He plunged hard and deep, faster and faster. She wrapped her legs around his hips and matched every thrust, lost in his heat, his masculinity and her own potent hunger. Tears formed at the corners of her eyes. No man had ever possessed her so completely. The thought knotted her insides with a mixture of fear and excitement.
They rocked together. Consumed by the powerful storm raging between them, Sam forgot the storm outside. Her climax exploded on a tidal wave of sensation that took her breath.
Aiden shuddered with his own climax and cried out her name. He held her tightly for a few minutes. Bracing himself on his elbows, he looked down at her with soft, dark eyes and rained tender kisses on her face and the corners of her mouth.
He rolled onto his back and pulled her on top of him, then covered them with the bedclothes. He cupped her face. In the semi-darkness his eyes reflected desire, passion, and something else, something that met an answering need deep inside her.
Her passion for him frightened her, yet another part of her gloried in it. He made her feel alive, desirable, sexy. Somehow he made her feel complete. She was afraid to question why, to delve too deeply because of what she might find, to think beyond this time they had together.
“Sam,” he rasped. “You’re mine.”
His words sent a thrill through her, tempered with anxiety. Did she want to belong to him? Hell, yes, a small voice whispered. Another voice urged caution. He could break her heart.
CHAPTER SEVEN
LIGHT TEASED AIDEN’S EYELIDS, rousing him from the best sleep he’d had in a long time. He opened his eyes. The light came from the bedside lamp. The power was back. Not that he cared. Sam was back. He didn’t care about anything other than her curled beside him, her lush body warm against his. This time she hadn’t run off, but of course, she couldn’t run.
Would she have if there’d been no storm?
Had she made love with him because she truly desired him, or was he just convenient like before? He didn’t want to be a convenience. He looked down at her smooth-skinned face, at the high cheekbones, slightly tilted eyes, and full lips. In sleep, she looked peaceful and vulnerable. He lifted strands of hair away from her face with his forefinger, and his chest tightened.
As a teenager, he’d noticed the sadness in her beautiful eyes. Even when she’d smiled, the melancholy that clung to her never went completely away. As far back as he could remember, he’d wanted to kiss her soft, generous mouth and make the sadness disappear. Whenever he’d seen her, first in school, then at his bar, he’d done his best to coax smiles from her. Each time she smiled he’d lost a little bit more of his heart.
Now she was his, for a while at least. She stirred and he kissed the tip of her nose. When she opened her incredible eyes—bedroom eyes—his heart lurched. “Good morning, Sam.”
She smiled, and his heart jumped again. “Morning.” She looked over at the lamp. “Power’s on.”
“We can pretend it’s still off and spend the day in bed keeping each other warm.”
She blushed and averted her eyes, making him wonder if in the cold light of morning she regretted what they’d done. When she looked back at him with desire in her eyes, he released his breath.
She reached out to touch his face. “Staying in bed all day sounds divine. I’ve never done that before, never wanted to. Until now.” Her low voice held a touch of wonder.
Smiling, he gathered her to him and held her close.
After several minutes, she pulled away and sat up. Her movements made the bedcovers slip off, exposing her breasts to his hungry gaze. He sucked in a ragged breath. Her nipples pebbled. His cock grew harder.
She rubbed a hand over his chest, her movements almost reverent. Her smile hesitant, she said, “I want you.”
He laughed softly. “Have me.”
“I will.”
Without taking her gaze from his, she pushed the bedcovers farther back and knelt on the mattress. Her eyes, hungry and hot, skimmed his body. “You really are a beautiful man.”
With a low chuckle, he wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her atop him.
Her eyes widened before she leaned over him, trailing her fingers lightly over his chest. Her scent, roses mixed with the musk of their lovemaking, enveloped him. Her black hair swung around her heart-shaped face. She looked wild, a sex goddess come to life. Desire glazed her eyes. Desire for him.
Her warm, satiny skin seared him. He wanted her like he’d never wanted another woman. Part of him feared that if he lost her again no other woman would ever satisfy him.
Sam bent and kissed him, sliding her tongue over the seam of his lips. He opened for her. He would give her everything she wanted. Their tongues stroked each other in an erotic dance, stirring him with desire so consuming he thought he’d die from it.
She released his mouth to nibble his neck and kiss a sizzling path to his chest. His rock hard cock throbbed, straining for release. He cupped her buttocks, pressing his fingers into her flesh, his body and soul on fire.
When she took one of his hardened ni
pples into her mouth, he growled her name. She looked up. “You like?” she asked in a thick voice.
“Yes,” he managed. “I like.”
She licked and suckled his nipples until he groaned deep in his throat. With a flirtatious smile, she straightened and lifted her hair off her neck, then let it fall down around her shoulders, inviting him to touch her. He stroked her breasts, tested their weight, massaged and caressed. He closed his eyes for a second, struggling for control.
Groaning softly, she continued her sensual assault, licking her way down his chest and blowing soft air on the skin she’d touched.
She slid down his body and kissed the tip of his penis, licking the drops of semen that leaked out. Lifting her head, her dark gaze locked with his. “Aiden,” she said in a breathy voice.
“Don’t stop, baby. Don’t stop.”
Leaning closer, she rubbed her breasts over his cock. He slid in and out between her cleavage imagining himself inside her. Her hair fell forward and brushed the sensitized skin of his abdomen. Guttural cries came from her. Her desire to please him filled him with pride.
With cat-like grace, she straightened and stretched her arms above her head. Her breasts, with their pink-tipped nipples, peeked from the glossy strands of her hair that draped across her chest.
“God, Sam.”
“You do things to me,” she whispered, moving in for another soul-searing kiss. “Make me want you. No one else—”
He touched a finger to her lips. “Shhh. It’s just you and me here. No one else.”
With a soft smile, she shifted off him to kneel between his legs. She touched his penis, running her fingers over the length, making him groan. Then she wrapped her hand around him and slowly massaged him. He threw back his head and closed his eyes, lost in Sam’s heat, in her touch. As she licked and sucked the tip of his shaft, he fought for control. She instinctively knew how to please him. She belonged with him, and only him. The thought scared him to death. She could walk out on him again. He wouldn’t think of that now.
When she took him into her mouth, he cupped the back of her head, pressing her face closer.
Moaning, she fondled his sac and swirled her tongue over the tip of his penis, then took him more fully into her hot, wet mouth. He felt his climax building. He couldn’t hold off much longer. He needed to be inside her.
He reared up, dislodging her hold on him. Grabbing her under her arms, he rolled her onto her back and settled himself between her legs. She stared up at him with passion and trust. Inhaling his own scent of musk that clung to her, he dipped his head to lave and suckle the hard peak of one breast.
“Aiden,” she whispered.
The green fire in her eyes burned him from the inside out. His cock felt ready to burst. When he thrust inside her, she groaned her pleasure and wrapped her legs high around his hips. He rode her hard and fast until all thought fled his mind and he knew only Sam and only this moment.
They came together in a climax that left them both shaking. When his breathing slowed, he rolled off her and pulled her to him, placing a gentle kiss on her lips.
“That was incredible,” she said in a husky whisper. “I’ve never—”
He took her lips in a quick kiss, stopping her words. He didn’t care about other men. He cared only that this wonderful, sexy woman gave herself to him so freely.
After long moments in each other’s arms, she moved away and propped herself on her elbow. He tangled his fingers in the soft strands of her hair and pulled her down for another kiss.
When the kiss ended, she looked into his eyes. “We didn’t use protection.”
He skimmed his fingers over her defined cheekbones. “I’m sorry. I wanted you too badly to think of anything else.”
“That makes two of us.”
“Are you on anything?”
She shook her head. “It’s a good time. We should be all right.”
A twinge of disappointment hit him. What would it be like to see Sam carrying his baby? He tamped down the thought. A baby would bind her to him in ways unimaginable.
He wanted her to come to him willingly or not at all.
<><><>
Aiden watched Sam as she stood in front of the stove making breakfast. He couldn’t let her go. But he wouldn’t beg her to stay. She had to want him as much as he wanted her.
He strode into the room and put his arms around her waist. Murmuring little sounds of contentment, she leaned back into him. He swept her hair off her neck and placed tender kisses on her nape.
“That feels good,” she said.
He turned off the burner and edged her away from the stove, then loosened the ties on her terry robe and cupped her breasts. “These feel good too.”
She laughed softly. “I get that you really like them.”
“I really like you.” He pressed her against him. “Feel how much I like you?”
“Yes,” she said on a husky breath.
“I want you again.”
He had her stripped and up against the kitchen wall in seconds. Wild and frantic, she clung to him as he plunged into her.
<><><>
Later, they sat at the table and finished their eggs and coffee. The storm had slowed down. It would end soon and the Coastal would open. They’d go their separate ways. Aiden refused to dwell on that.
He watched Sam, wanting to imprint her image on his memory. Her face was flushed from their lovemaking and her hair brushed softly around her shoulders. She looked sexy and warm. No sadness reflected in her eyes, only contentment. He wanted to keep that contented look in her eyes forever.
“What?” she asked. “Do I have egg on my face?”
“I was thinking how gorgeous and sexy you are.”
Her face reddened. “You’re gorgeous and sexy too.” Then her expression turned serious and she set down her mug.
A rock seemed to settle in his chest. “What’s wrong?”
“I’ve been wondering about something. I have to ask you.”
“Shoot.”
“Tell me about your engagement.”
He raised his eyebrows. Sure wasn’t expecting that. “How did you know?”
“Carly Madison posted it on Facebook.”
“Carly has a big mouth.” He shrugged. “What do you want to know?”
“Who was she and why didn’t it last?” The slight hesitation in her voice belied the bluntness of her question.
Aiden cradled his coffee mug and looked at a spot above Sam’s head, remembering. “I met her the summer after you left. Her parents bought a house in one of the new, exclusive developments in Bethany.”
“The multi-million dollar houses?” she asked.
He returned his attention to Sam. She studied him, waiting. “One of those.” He gave a self-deprecating laugh. “I was at a crossroads, questioning everything. The first time I met her, she came onto me strong. Not only was she beautiful, but the way she carried herself, the way she dressed, shouted money, and lots of it. She was so different from the other women who came into the bar. I’m ashamed to admit it, but her sophistication and her obvious wealth threw me for a loop. She was generous with her body too. And she pursued me.”
He shook his head. “I thought I could handle her and her money. I didn’t know what hit me.” He barked a laugh. “I didn’t stand a chance.”
Sam blinked. “She was beautiful?”
Not as beautiful as you. He couldn’t say that. Instead, he said, “Blonde hair, green eyes. Good figure.”
“No wonder you were thrown for a loop.”
“Looks can be deceiving.” He shrugged. “I didn’t know it at the time, but she wasn’t a nice person.”
“What happened?”
“It’s not much of a story. Her father owned a chemical supply company in Baltimore. When we got engaged, her father offered me a job as head of their marketing department. Celia begged me to take the job. I had a marketing degree, so it made sense.” He drew a deep breath and leveled his gaze at Sam. “Later I
realized I wanted to stay in Rehoboth and run the bar. This is my home, my life, and where I’m comfortable, but Celia didn’t want to live in Rehoboth year round and she didn’t want to be married to a bartender. To make her happy, I took the job in Baltimore.” He shook his head. “Worst six months of my life.”
Sam sipped her coffee and watched him over the rim of the mug. “I can’t see you stuck in an office all day.”
“I couldn’t see it either, but I tried to please her.” And I didn’t want to end up like Uncle Sean, pining for a woman who barely knew I existed.
“But she wanted more,” Sam said.
“She wanted me to aim higher, to be CFO. More money, more prestige.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “It wasn’t long before I realized I’d made a huge mistake. I hated Baltimore. I hated my job. I missed the ocean, missed the bar, even missed the customers.”
Aiden looked toward the window and finished his coffee, then set the mug back on the table and faced Sam. “When I found she was cheating on me with a guy who was as ambitious as she was, I left.”
Sam laid her hand over his on the table. “I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for. It wasn’t all her fault. To be fair, I should have thought things through. She wasn’t what I wanted, and I wasn’t what she wanted. It was a hard lesson, but I learned who I am and what I really want.”
“What do you want, Aiden?”
You he wanted to say. “My life here, running the bar, being with my family. Hopefully someone to share it with.” He hesitated, then went on. “I allowed myself to be fooled by a beautiful face, seductive words, and money. If I marry, the woman would have to want to share my life, would have to want the same things I do.”
“Do you think you will marry someday?” she asked softly.
He looked at her directly. “Only if the right woman comes along.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
SAM OPENED THE living room curtains and peered outside, watching Aiden as he fought his way around the house, searching for the loose shutter that was flapping against the siding. He needed to secure the shutter before it did any real damage. Please be careful. She pressed her hand against her mouth as she watched him struggle against the wind.