A Silken Thread

by Brenda Jackson

  She was wearing her hair down, and tonight it fell around her shoulders in fluid waves. Some of the dark strands seemed lighter underneath the brightness of her kitchen light. His gaze moved to her face. The first thing that had captivated him about her was her eyes. They were cat eyes, hazel in color and so captivating that a man could take one look in them and lose his senses. He definitely had that the first time. The next feature he noticed were her lips. They were perfectly shaped, made exclusively for his. She’d once said she hadn’t experienced a bona fide kiss until she’d kissed him.

  His gaze traveled slowly from her face to her feet, admiring everything he saw in between, especially the curves that shaped her figure. She wasn’t as tall as most women he’d dated, but he thought her five-four height perfectly complemented his six-three frame.

  Yes, Erica was a strikingly beautiful woman, a creature that sensual fantasies were made of. His chest tightened. She was so damn gorgeous that when he looked at her he couldn’t think straight, and a fierce, primitive need rumbled through him. He felt himself take his first steps toward her at the same time she kicked the door closed with her sandaled foot and moved toward him.

  The moment she was within arm’s length he reached out for her, mumbled from deep in his throat, “Welcome home, sweetheart,” just seconds before he captured her mouth beneath his. He felt her immediate response as she automatically plastered her body to his as if she had every right to do so.

  And she did.

  By asking her to marry him and putting that ring on her finger he’d given her rights he’d never given another woman. Rights he would continue to give her. She was his heart, the very epitome of his soul, and he loved her in a way he had thought he could never love a woman. In a way he truly hadn’t wanted to love a woman.

  At fifteen he had been old enough to remember the hurt and pain his mother had endured when they’d lost his father unexpectedly. Patrick Lawson had been there one day, a vital part of their lives, presumably in the best of health, working as a partner in a prestigious law firm—the same one where Brian was presently employed, but then the next he was gone. Neither Brian nor his mother had been prepared for the loss, and even now, nearly fifteen years later, he often wondered if his mother would ever recover, since she hadn’t allowed another man in her life.

  He pushed those thoughts aside and concentrated on the woman in his arms, the way her tongue was tangling with his, diligently determined to swipe any and every thought out of his mind except for one—making love to her with a need he felt all the way to his toes. For now that was all that mattered. She was all that mattered.

  He’d been having erotic dreams of Erica every night since last seeing her. She hadn’t helped the situation during their nightly talks. She had been better than any dial-up sex line any man could have called. During their late-night talks, she would deliberately make her voice even huskier in their sexually explicit conversations. She would whisper things she would do to him when they were together again that he was certain weren’t found in any sex manual. They were promises that only fueled his sexual fantasies. No wonder he was fighting for control and trying not to succumb to the urge to strip her naked right now. Right here.

  “Make love to me, Brian. Show me how much you’ve missed me.”

  She broke off the kiss and whispered the words against his moist lips. He smiled, thinking that would be easy. He needed to be inside her as much as she needed him. He’d had too many lonely nights without her and he intended to make up for them this weekend. With that thought in mind, he swept her off her feet and carried her toward the bedroom.

  Erica buried her face in Brian’s shirt as he effortlessly carried her toward her bedroom. From the moment his lips had touched hers, she became lost in the demands of her body, her mind and, most importantly, her heart.

  Until that moment she hadn’t known it was possible for any woman to love any man this much.

  She inhaled deeply and drew Brian’s scent into her nostrils. He smelled manly, with a tang of wild and reckless. She knew from experience that he could turn her bedroom into an adventureland that even Disney couldn’t compete with. There was no doubt in her mind that tonight Brian would be bringing all of her erotic dreams to life, all those sexual urges to fruition and all those private thoughts to the forefront.

  Tonight, this entire weekend, she would join him in letting go and giving in to physical needs as well as emotional ones. And as he placed her on the bed, she knew the pleasure was just beginning. The moment the bedcovers touched her back she tipped her head up and met his gaze. The dark eyes staring back at her nearly took her breath away.

  Not for the first time she thought Brian Lawson wasn’t just classically handsome; he was heart-wrenchingly beautiful in a masculine way. From the deep darkness of his eyes that could hold her spellbound, all the way to the elegant bone structure of his cocoa-colored face, which would be flawless if not for that small dent on his nose. He’d said it had gotten broken when he had taken a fall off his skateboard as a child. But that minor imperfection only added to his looks, giving them an arrogance that was not a part of his demeanor. Not one iota. She doubted there was one conceited bone in his body.

  The women might all pause when he walked into a room, but he didn’t use his looks to get what he wanted. He was a charmer by nature, with a smile that could sweep a woman off her feet. With dimples in both cheeks and a cleft in the center of his chiseled jaw, he exuded a strong sense of manliness, while at the same time making her feel as if she was the most precious and feminine being on earth.

  “We have on too many clothes, don’t you think?”

  His words intruded into her thoughts and she couldn’t help but get turned on from the playful grin that touched his lips. Drawing in deep, steady breaths, she watched as he began removing some of his clothes. She enjoyed seeing him naked, watching him expose the most dynamite male body, from his head to his feet. But she definitely loved those areas in between. Those parts that could make her temperature spike while delivering pleasure beyond measure.

  Fueled by a need she’d only discovered since knowing him, she felt an ache travel from the lower part of her stomach to the juncture of her thighs. Desire took on a life of its own when he eased his jeans, along with his briefs, down powerful, masculine thighs and legs. When her gaze settled on his erection, she stifled a gasp. Although she doubted it was possible, he seemed to have grown since the last time.

  Fire flared through her veins and when he stood before her completely naked, love and lust dueled within her. She knew those feelings were totally acceptable. He’d taught her time and time again there was nothing wrong with having such a hot and heavy desire for the man she loved.

  “Strip for me, Erica.”

  She eased up on the bed, knowing he liked seeing her take off her clothes, although she much preferred those times he took them off for her. But she would accommodate him, give him exactly what he wanted, since she knew he would be taking care of every one of her needs.

  She whipped her blouse over her head and sent it sailing across the room, coming within inches of landing in the small wastepaper basket. She glanced over at Brian and when he lifted an amused brow, she could only throw her head back and laugh while reaching behind her to remove her bra.

  His breathing changed when her breasts were freed. She heard it and as she studied the way his chest was moving, she saw it. She kicked off her sandals and seductively leaned back to make it easier to remove her slacks. She worked out often, so she was proud of her body.

  She loved the way Brian was looking at her, letting her know he liked her body, as well. His gaze darkened and his erection grew, revealing, unashamedly, just how much he liked it.

  When she was completely naked she sat back on her haunches in the middle of her bed and smiled at him. She flung her head back, tossing her hair wildly around her shoulders, met his gaze and asked, “Think you can handle this?”

  He smiled. “I’m going to try.” And t
hen he reached for her, pulled her into his arms, lowered his head and covered her mouth with his.

  Brian thought there was nothing like making love to a woman who was more than your other half. The woman who could make you fight reaching an orgasm just from her feminine scent alone. A woman who was driven with a need just as fierce as your own.

  She was kissing him back with a passion he felt all the way to his toes, but he especially felt it around the head of his shaft, right there, that part that wanted to connect with her in the most primitive way. She could ignite feelings and emotions in him that were almost overwhelming. The first time he experienced it, he’d been tempted to haul ass as far away from her as he could get. He’d been completely convinced she’d cast a spell on him, used some sort of witchery to literally bring him to his knees.

  But he didn’t run as he’d been tempted to do. He’d been too intrigued, too determined to discover what it was about Erica that made her different from all the others. And after spending time with her he’d found the answer. She was just as alluring out of the bedroom as she was inside it. She didn’t have a pretentious bone in her body. She was totally genuine and he loved her.

  Amazing, how he loved her.

  And with that thought embedded deep in his mind as well as in his heart, he continued to kiss her, enjoying the way she was kissing him back with a combination of heat and passion.

  His hands roamed all over her body as he angled his head to kiss her even deeper, needing to touch her, reacquaint his hands with her heated skin and the parts of her he could never forget. Never intended to forget. There was an urgency within him that he felt and knew she felt, as well.

  The phone on her nightstand began ringing and he pulled his mouth from hers. She was flat on her back as he loomed over her. “Do you need to get that?” he asked.

  She blinked as if hearing the ringing phone for the first time and then she shook her head. “It’s probably Mom. I’ll call her back later.”

  And then she reached up, wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his mouth back down to hers. A rush of profound desire filled him to capacity, made his entire manhood ache in a way that only she could. Made him feel like one greedy bastard with a need to get inside her, be enveloped in her hot heat, her inner muscles clenching him in a way that could make him growl.

  Like he was doing now.

  She recognized the sound, knew what it meant, and it seemed her body prepared for what was to come. Her response only fueled his need as he leaned back and flipped her on her belly, and then his mouth went to work. He needed to taste her all over, every inch of her skin, top to bottom, inside and out.

  He felt her shiver when his tongue did a hot sweep up her spine, over her buttocks and thighs. And when he flipped her on her back and continued the torment with his mouth to her breasts, licking the dark nipples, before sucking the hard pebbles into his mouth, he couldn’t help but feel the desperation that flamed his actions, fired his senses.

  The next minutes consisted of seduction in its most sensuous form, both sweet and raw, and by the time his mouth settled between her legs, using his tongue to excite her even more, to make her squirm in sensual need beneath his mouth, something inside of him nearly broke.

  Being here with her, loving her this way was the reason he had nearly driven himself crazy reworking his schedule to make it here before the weekend. The flight had been torturous. All he could think about was what he would do to her when he saw her, how her body would react while he made love to her.

  “Brian!”

  He recognized the tone of her voice, knew what it meant, and he pulled his mouth from her and eased his body in position over hers, parting her thighs in the process. “I’m here, baby.”

  And with one smooth thrust, he was inside of her. For a minute he stayed still, needing to absorb the feel of being planted inside of her, feeling the way her inner muscles clenched him greedily as if trying to milk everything out of him.

  Then he began moving, withdrawing and thrusting again, over and over, listening as her whimpers turned into murmurs and then groans. No woman knew how to take him in like she could.

  She was with him all the way, never missing a beat as he made love to her the way he was driven to do, the way he knew she expected. The next time they would go slow, savor the moment. But for now it was fast and voracious. Hard. Relentless. No restrictions.

  At that moment he couldn’t imagine his life without her. He wondered how he’d made it before he’d met her, and knew it didn’t matter now. She was here, in his life, in his arms, sharing his body while he rocked within her, and he knew at that moment August couldn’t come fast enough to suit him.

  He took her mouth again and she gasped the moment he did so, causing a firestorm of emotions to erupt within him. He thrust deeper, harder, and when she screamed his name, his senses shattered and his erection exploded. The hot release that shot from him into her, mixing with her juices, made him pull back his mouth to suck in a deep satisfying breath. He inhaled the scent of sex—raw, primitive and edgy.

  One hell of an orgasm ripped through them, wrapped them in a cocoon of sensations, enveloped them in something so deep and absolute he knew she was an element in his life that he needed just as much as he needed his next breath.

  And as they slowly began drifting back down to earth, he knew they would rest up a bit and then do this all over again. He was looking forward to it.

  Chapter Two

  “Erica isn’t answering her phone, Wilson. I think I’ll call Griffin and ask that he go over there and check on her,” Karen Sanders said, tossing the words to her husband who stood on the other side of the living room about to pour a glass of scotch. For years this particular room served as the place the two of them would retire after dinner.

  Lately, however, she couldn’t help noticing their paths crossed increasingly infrequently, especially since Erica had moved out. There was less conversation between her and Wilson these days, although she would be the first to admit during the thirty years of their marriage there had never been much dialogue anyway.

  Their marriage had not been one of love, but over the years they’d put up a good front and tried to make the best of it. Now without Erica there to motivate the pretense, such a charade was no longer needed…at least not in private. It was as it was. He’d been born a Sanders and she a Delbert. Their parents had planned their futures and they’d had no say in the matter. That’s the way things had been and she fully understood the importance of preserving one’s family heritage, especially when it was a distinguished one such as theirs.

  Instead of hanging up the phone she immediately began dialing the number of the man she’d always assumed would one day be her son-in-law. As far as she was concerned, engaged or not, there was still hope that Erica would come to her senses.

  “I wish you wouldn’t do that, Karen.”

  She glanced across the room again and met Wilson’s tired gaze. He had been working a lot of hours at the office lately, doing more business traveling in his role as CEO of a multimillion-dollar corporation, one that had been in the Sanders family for generations. He had good people working for him and, though he was turning sixty in November, he wouldn’t hear of retiring.

  “Excuse me, but why wouldn’t you want me to call Griffin to go over and check on Erica?” she asked him. “He lives only a few miles from her so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

  He frowned. “That has nothing to do with it and you know it. You think I don’t know what you’re doing? You’re deliberately putting Griffin in Erica’s face every chance you get. When are you going to accept the fact that our daughter has fallen in love and it isn’t with the man you picked out?”

  That statement hit a nerve that was completely raw. “She would have listened to me, possibly even considered my position, if you had backed me up on the matter, Wilson.”

  He all but slammed his tumbler down on the coffee table. “When are you going to realize it’s not about you, Karen? O
ur daughter has fallen in love. That in itself should make you happy.”

  She waved off his words with an elegant hand. “Happy? The very thought makes me want to have a stiff drink. Spare me the spiel about love, Wilson. It has nothing to do with our daughter. We raised her to expect the finer things in life. Love won’t keep those expectations coming her way. My ancestors, yours and the Hayes’s have established their places in Ohio’s history. We aren’t regular people and everyone in this town knows it. They go out of their way to give us the respect we deserve. The respect our forefathers always intended for us to get. The notion of Erica leaving Hattersville is bad enough, but she plans to get a professional job, for crying out loud.”

  “A little hard work never killed anyone. That little glamour job as librarian you made sure was dropped in her lap is a joke and she knows it. She’s always resented it and only took it to keep peace between you two.”

  She stared at him for a moment and then said, “A person born of both Sanders and Delbert blood should not have to work. There are enough people in the lower classes capable of handling the manual labor.”

  Wilson pressed his lips together to keep from coming right out and calling his wife a snob. She would probably take it as a compliment, anyway. Over the years he’d been tempted more than once to deliberately plunge the company into bank ruptcy so that she could see how it felt to be one of those less fortunate souls, those same people she looked down her nose at. He knew she went to bed each night thinking she’d done her Christian duties by giving her time to make life just a little better for those she considered inferior.

  “Whether you think I should call Griffin or not, Wilson, our daughter is missing.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Cut the drama, Karen. Erica is not missing. She probably went out for the evening. I talked to her earlier today and she mentioned April was in town. The two of them are probably together somewhere.”