by Bette Ford
“Trenna…” he whispered, brushing his lips over her forehead.
His kisses were like him, exquisite and unbelievably sexy. Goodness, she didn’t want it to stop! She couldn’t seem to get enough. She was disappointed when the need for breath forced their lips to part. She didn’t want him to stop...not ever. That realization frightened her.
9
Trenna was shaking, unable to think. She couldn’t recall ever feeling this way. Her reaction to him was intense, more so than ever before. Why was this happening to her? She had learned to be cautious, to always think things through.
But tonight was different. She was filled with such intense longing, with overwhelming feelings, all because of him. The instant he kissed her, her brain stopped working. One part of her warned her to be careful while another part urged her on.
She could have resisted, if he hadn’t been so unbelievably gentle and caring. It was weird! Did he have a sixth-sense? How did he know that she craved his kisses? Or that she adored the way he cradled her body against his big frame? He made her feel safe.
Those things alone were enough to send alarm into her system. Goodness! His caresses were a major distraction and his kisses more decadent than the richest chocolate truffle. The man was dangerous. No! No! Things like this happened to other people, not her!
Peering at him through the thickness of her lashes, she watched him drop his arms and take a step back. She frowned, baffled by conflicting emotions. But what stood out in Trenna’s mind was that she was not afraid of Darrin and did not want him to leave. Lost in thought, she was not conscious of reaching out and wrapping a hand around one of his wrists. “Darrin?” she said, unaware that she was caressing him.
Flames of desire seem to spark in his dark eyes and his nostrils flared as if he were inhaling her scent. Gazing down at her, he asked, “Talk to me. I need to know if you want me as much as I want you.”
Her eyes widened and her heart picked up speed as she stared at him. Realizing he expected an answer, embarrassed, she dropped her lids. The instant she looked away he tugged free and bent to reach for his boots.
She said his name sharply.
“No games, Trenna, just tell me what you want.”
“Please don’t go,” she whispered. This time when she touched him she slid her hands up his chest, until they came to rest on his wide, wool-covered shoulders.
“Why?”
She worried her bottom lip, then she said in a quick whisper, “I want you to stay and make love to me.”
There wasn’t any hesitation when Darrin feathered light kisses over each of her brows before placing kisses down her cheeks. He brushed her mouth with his before he raised his head.
He said, “Be sure.”
She preferred to show him rather than to verbally admit that she hungered for more of his slow, drugging kisses. She longed to be cradled in his arms, skin to bare skin. Goodness! She had no idea how he had done it, but he made her feel both safe and utterly desirable. It was such a heady combination. And it was foreign to her. Even though she had been married, she had never experienced such heat, such tenderness.
“Trenna?”
It was not that easy to admit she wanted him. Nor could she ignore the way her heartbeat drummed in her ears as she stretched up onto her tiptoes. But he did not drop his head so their lips could meet. Instead, Darrin encircled her waist and lifted her until their lips touched. They exchanged one sweet but brief kiss.
“Mmmm,” she moaned, and then surprised them both when she took the initiative. Cupping his jaw, she sponged his bottom lip and then suckled. Wanting another taste of the rough, velvet heat of his tongue, she slid her tongue into his mouth. She sighed from pleasure.
Trenna was thrilled when she heard Darrin’s deep groan as he tightened his hold until her breasts were pressed against him. She was glad he was holding her because her legs were shaking so badly she feared her legs would give out and she’d end up in a heap at his feet. The pleasure was intense, beyond anything she’d ever experienced.
“So good….” she whispered aloud.
Yet, the sensible side of her demanded she stop and think this through, that she use logic to evaluate what was happening between them. Her feminine side was hungry, though, focused on one thing alone: the pleasure she suspected he could give.
When their lips parted, she kept her eyes closed, struggling to be sensible, to think, but she couldn’t! He was too close and so attractive that he tantalized her senses. Where their bodies touched, she quivered. She couldn’t stop marveling over the way his strong, hard body felt against hers. Like a bee seeking nectar, her senses homed in on him, hungry for more of this gentle giant.
She adored his kisses, amazed at the way he teased and inflamed her senses. Shouldn’t she be alarmed? Darrin’s kisses were seductive, created need deep inside of her. His hands were incredible, almost hypnotic, and his touch was pure magic against her skin.
She lifted her chin to study his features but his head came down and covered her lips. There was no hesitation as he deepened the kiss, taking it from enticingly sweet to raw, and hungry. Trenna lost track of time and place as he sucked her tongue, taking it deep into his mouth.
Shocked, a small part of her wondered if she should tell him to stop, but she didn’t…she couldn’t! How, when he was slowly driving her out of her mind? Nothing had ever felt so good. The texture and taste of his mouth was headier than the most expensive champagne. He was sheer intoxication.
They were both breathing hard when he allowed her body to slide down his. Although her feet were on the ground, Trenna was so far from feeling stable. She felt as if she were still floating, her entire body seeming to hum from the pleasure of his kisses and closeness. He didn’t help calm her racing heart when he smoothed his hands over her back to her spine. She was surprised by her disappointment when his hands dropped to his sides.
“Please, don’t stop.”
“We have to stop.”
If not for the smoldering, dark blue flames of desire she saw in his eyes she would have been devastated by his rejection.
“Why?” she forced herself to ask. She needed to know if the problem was with her, if she wasn’t enough. “I’m not involved with anyone else. Are you? Is that why you stopped?” Suddenly, Trenna was embarrassed. She felt like a lovesick teenager, longing for the most popular boy to pay attention to her. She quickly added, “Never mind, forget …”
He cut her off with a hard kiss that quickly softened, making her want him even more. Had she ever been so responsive? Without a doubt the answer was no. Nor had she ever imagined finding such pleasure in kissing. Incredible!
What was it about him that made her feel special, desirable? Being in his arms had been incredible, so much so that she hadn’t wanted it to end. She trembled, shocked that she wanted more. She wanted him.
Chuckling, Darrin stopped when he saw her face. Instantly sobered, he cupped her face as he whispered, “I am not laughing at you, Trenna. I’m laughing at the absurdity of the question. You’re the only woman I want, darlin’. It’s been that way for some time. And frankly, I’m thrilled that after all this time, you want me, almost as much as I want you.”
Trenna‘s heart pounded with a combination of desire and fear. Was it true? Did he want her so badly? But what if she failed to plea… No! She wouldn’t go back in time. She was with Darrin. She could see and feel his desire for her.
“Finally, you in my arms,” he said as he kissed her temple and smoothed a hand over her hair. “The male part of me has already said yes to whatever you’re offering. You fed me. I’m grateful. But, I don’t want you to feel obligated. I don’t want to rush you, Trenna, into something you might regret later. I should go.”
That was the last thing Trenna wanted. She was so tired of being alone—tired of going without. She was sick of doing what was right and being the good girl that her parents raised her to be. Just this once, she wanted to feel like a woman. She couldn’t remember the las
t time she had been impulsive, taken a risk.
“No…” Wrapping her arms around his waist, she hugged him close. “…please stay.” She didn’t wait for a response but finished undoing his shirt buttons and then stroked him.
He moaned, “You’re not making this easy for me. I’m no saint. I want to make love to—”
“Good,” she interrupted. “Because that’s what I want.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes…”
She had barely gotten the word out when he swung her off feet and up into his arms and gave her a hungry kiss, using his tongue to glide inside and stroke her own tongue. The exchange was hot and needy, leaving her trembling, her entire body aching. Trenna was beyond thought as Darrin carried her up to the loft.
When they’d reached the landing Darrin paused, gazing into her eyes. He cradled her against his chest as if she weighed nothing.
His voice was deep and throaty when he whispered, “This time, kiss me.”
Brushing her lips against the base of his throat, she inhaled his sandalwood aftershave. She followed the line of his jaw, kissing his hair-roughed cheeks, enjoying the contrast. She tasted the sexy cleft in his chin.
When she licked his lips, he released a heavy sigh. Delighted by the sound of his pleasure, she took his lip into her mouth and suckled as if he were one of the all-day suckers she adored as a child.
Darrin didn’t seem to mind, for he groaned huskily. When she parted her lips to take a deep breath, he boldly stroked the silky moist, lining of her right cheek and then the left. He took his time before stroking her tongue with his. The erotic caress sent chills up and down her spine. Soon they were both moaning from pleasure. When the kiss ended Trenna ached all over, feeling as if she were a huge mass of raw nerves. Her breathing was uneven.
When Darrin let Trenna’s petite body glide down his full length. Her hips were snug against his hard, long muscled thighs. He held her shoulders, and she was glad because she doubted her legs would hold her. She closed her eyes, savoring their closeness. It was all she could do not to rub the aching peaks of her breasts against him.
When he shifted, there was no doubt he was aroused. The hard length of his sex was unmistakable. She was shocked by the strength of his desire. Maybe she should she warn him now?
She was also shocked by the deep, pulsating ache in her core. Goodness! She couldn’t stop shaking. But why? She was far from a virgin. She had been married for years to a man she had never been able to please. She had lost count of the times she had tried and failed to please him, and had finally she stopped trying. She hadn’t been with another man since Martin passed. She hadn’t been tempted.
With Darrin she didn’t know what to expect. She had no frame of reference. It wasn’t the same because he wasn’t like Martin. She felt foolish, like a beginning swimmer about to jump into ocean without a life vest. What if she couldn’t plea…
Just then Darrin gave her one of his slow, drugging kisses. As her lips melded with his, Trenna forgot her doubts and fears, forgot everything but how he made her feel.
He didn’t stop with one. His mesmerizing kisses went on and on, assuring her, as nothing else could, that he wanted her. He kissed her the same way he held her and touched her: with such care. His thoughtfulness caused her heart to fill with warmth and race with sweet anticipation.
They laughed as they fumbled with their buttons and zippers, both eager to touch and be touched. She called out his name when he tongued the side of her throat, before his mouth lingered in the scented valley between her plump breasts. He inhaled her scent.
“Sweet,” he whispered, and then he licked the top curve of her breasts. “Beautiful,” he mumbled as he licked her again.
She gasped aloud, quivering from head to toe. When Trenna looked into his eyes there was no mistaking the hunger that burned in their dark blue depths. In spite of the fear, she wanted him. She longed to feel him…all of him, deep inside of her.
Before the shock of that thought could register, Darrin caught her around the waist and lifted her until he could feast on her soft mouth. When he cupped her bottom she automatically wrapped her legs around his waist. He gifted her with one exquisitely slow, erotic kiss after another until goose pimples peppered her skin and perspiration dotted her forehead.
Trenna was panting for breath by the time he freed her mouth. It took all her self-control not to demand to know why he stopped. The wanting was unbearably sharp. She took deep breaths, hoping to gain some measure of control, fighting to block the emptiness and the yearning for more. Her breasts felt heavy, the hard tips highly sensitive as she pressed into him. The most embarrassing was the moisture that dampened her panties and her longing to please him.
This moment in time was about only one thing: mutual pleasure. She didn’t want him to guess that she hadn’t been able to satisfy her husband in bed or that she hadn’t been sexually active since his death. Her secrets were hers alone.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Although there was a question in his dark blue eyes, she knew it was true. He wanted her and she wanted him. She might have refused to go out with him but that hadn’t stopped her from fantasizing about him. His kisses were far better than what she had imagined. That was all that mattered. “Everything is fine. Make love to me,” Trenna whispered.
Chuckling, he confessed, “I like you like this.”
A low light on the end table had been left on. He set her down beside the bed. She blinked in surprised when he used his teeth to drag the strap of her lace camisole off one shoulder. Soon the camisole was tossed to the carpet and quickly followed by her black tights, pink lace bra and panties. Pushing the straps away he kissed each of her shoulders before he unhooked her bra.
As his gaze moved leisurely over her lush curves, she had to fight the urge to cover herself because she had never been comfortable in the nude. Martin often compared her unfavorably to his first wife, the mother of his twins. She had died suddenly from cancer. Trenna’s breasts were too small and her hips not full enough.
She was thankful that her dark skin, hid her embarrassed blush. But her stomach was tight with nerves while her limbs trembled as she held her breath as she waited, preparing for a critical response.
“Beautiful,” he said with awe in his voice. “Your skin is so rich and dark like chocolate. You are gorgeous, luscious, and sweet.”
She swallowed a shocked gasp. Beautiful? Gorgeous?
He kissed her throat before he took her earlobe into his mouth to suckle. The tidal wave of emotions and raw need was overwhelming. He wanted her. She sensed his need. But was even more surprising, she wanted him…and she wanted him now.
“You’re trembling.” He ran his hands over her arms. “You must be freezing. I’m sorry, darlin’, for standing here and staring at you, as if you were a painting hanging in one of the galleries in the art institute.”
Grabbing the lush, faux fur throw from the padded bench at the foot of the queen-size bed, he wrapped her in it. Silently, she watched as he moved to the electric, flame- heater across from the bed and turned it on.
The flame shimmered, but she was too embarrassed to admit that she was not cold. She shaking from nervous.
“Better?” Darrin asked, as he came up and pressed his lips to the side of her throat, causing her to quiver from the contact. She turned, stretching up to bring his mouth back down to hers.
“Mmm…” she moaned, longing for more of his kisses. When he kissed her she couldn’t think, couldn’t worry that she might fall short yet again. Briefly she brushed her mouth against the base of his throat, hoping to tell him without words how much she wanted him.
While trailing kisses across Darrin’s shoulder, she smiled, pleased by the way he groaned. She grew bold enough to tongue the place where his neck and shoulder joined, and was thrilled when his large frame shook in response. Next, she worried his flat, nipples until they beaded.
“Good?” she asked.
“Ne
arly perfect. It feels like I’ve waited forever to have your soft hands on my body.”
He leaned down, kissing her hungrily. He soon had her weak with anticipation, her body suddenly hot, tingling with excitement. When Darrin finally lifted his head, she was breathing hard and her head was spinning.
Darrin placed her in the center of her bed that was covered by the colorful, handmade quilt. Her head rested on an array of white lace-edged pillows.
Blushing, she whispered, “You’re staring.”
He grinned. “Because you’re beautiful.”
10
Darrin was not exaggerating. He meant every word. She was gorgeous and had captured his attention from the instant he had laid eyes on her in the restaurant where she had been having lunch with Maureen. She had been stunning, poised, and absolutely gorgeous, so much so that he couldn’t take his eyes off her. That was the moment the wanting had started.
Bold and confident, he asked her out, not taking into account that she was a widow and grieving. Trenna’s defenses were being firmly in place when she had politely said no thank you. Unfortunately for him, though, the waiting and wanting had been relentless. Her ever-ready refusals nor his pride hadn’t stopped him from asking her out again and again.
So what if it had taken a near blizzard to be invited into her home? She had welcomed him. He wasn’t about to question his good fortune. Frankly, he didn’t care what had changed. All that mattered to him was that tonight was special.
Even though he was beyond ready to make love to her, he was no fool. Now that they were finally together, he was not about to rush and risk messing this up. He had waited too long to kiss her, to hold her, to touch her, to have her.
“Trenna...” he whispered in her ear. He had to make it special for her. There was no doubt that she was worth the wait. His biggest hurdle would be to control his own needs. He took a slow, deep calming breath, inhaled her scent. Yes, he would take his time and ensure she would not be disappointed. He wanted her to enjoy every moment of this magical night.