She still didn’t and couldn’t understand how he could make such a statement. They’d known each other for only a couple of weeks. And although she knew more about him now than she did before, a part of her still felt things were moving too fast. But then another part, the one that controlled that intense throbbing between her legs, was convinced that things weren’t moving fast enough.
“What are your plans for us?” she asked curiously. For some reason, she felt he had some. There was no doubt in her mind that Lake Masters was a man with an agenda, and maybe it was time she found out what it was.
He tilted his head as if to study her before saying, “Sorry if I haven’t made my plans clear. I thought that first night when I told you that I would be an integral part of your future, and on our first date when I told you I wanted more in my life than a woman to warm my bed, that you understood my intentions. My plans for us are simple. At some point in time, I want marriage. So in other words, Courtney, my plans are to marry you.”
Courtney stared at him. Marry me? Is he joking? But his expression told her he wasn’t. The very idea that this man had thoughts of marrying her sent her pulse skittering.
“I know what you’re probably thinking,” he said in a husky tone.
“Do you?”
“Yes. You’re probably thinking that it won’t happen. But only because you haven’t been fully convinced that it will.”
“Yes, that’s about it,” she agreed.
“But it will, Courtney, and do you know why?”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t have a clue. Why?”
“Because I want you.”
He said it as if that settled it. “And what if I don’t want you?” She couldn’t help asking.
“Then I think I better get busy and change your mind about that. Starting now.”
Courtney watched as Lake stood from his seat and came around the table. Dark eyes were latched on to her with heated, blatant intent. She felt herself getting weak in the knees even while sitting down. Physical desire, swamped her already aroused body. There was a deep churning in her stomach, and her nipples, pressed against her blouse, were aching.
When he came to a stop before her and gave her his hand, she didn’t hesitate to place hers in his. The moment their hands touched, he went still. She, however, stood up on shaky legs. She swallowed deeply, thinking she needed a drink. But quickly concluded that no, she didn’t need a drink. What she needed was Lake.
She wondered if he knew what she wanted, and if so, would he take the initiative to make it happen? She didn’t want him to be noble, at least not tonight. He’d said he intended to change her mind about a few things, starting tonight. Why was he hesitating?
As if he read the questions in her eyes, he said in a low tone, “I want you to know what you’re getting into, Courtney. Once I make love to you, I’ll consider you mine.” At the widening of her eyes, he added, “No, and I’m not some sort of obsessive control freak. I’m a man who wants you so much, the intensity of the desire is about to kill me. A man who wants to marry you one day, build a future with you. I know you don’t see it now, but you will.”
He was right. She didn’t see it. Nor did she understand it. How was it possible to spend a third of your life dreaming, looking, and praying for that perfect man, and when she was about to give up hope that such a man truly existed for her, to have him show up in her life—when she wasn’t looking—with the belief that he had every right to be there. Usually it took a man a long time to figure out what he needed and wanted in life, and most men put a lasting relationship with a woman at the bottom of the list.
But not Lake Masters.
And she had a feeling from this night forward her life would never be the same.
Lake sensed her acceptance of what was between them, although he was certain she didn’t fully understand it. It took him a while to understand it himself. But like he’d told her. In time she would. She still had her doubts, which was understandable. He’d hit her with some heavy stuff. And was about to hit her with more.
She took a breath when he stepped closer to her, and immediately his front connected to hers. There was no way she could not feel his aroused body pressing against her. He’d told her that he wanted her. Now she knew to what extent.
He lifted his hand and released one of her hairpins and then watched her hair drop in soft waves around her shoulders. She didn’t say anything, just continued to stare at him. And then he was lowering his head, determined to taste her like she’d probably never been tasted before. Their last kiss wouldn’t even come close.
When he got close to her mouth, he angled his head in a way that he knew would give him deeper penetration, a lot more depth. And then without missing a beat, or taking a breath, he sank his mouth onto hers, latched on to it with a greediness that immediately had her moaning in response.
His tongue had never failed him when it came to kissing a woman, and he didn’t intend for it to fail him now. It had whip-snapping speed when needed and could be methodically slow at other times. He was using both, rotating, mating, devouring, and igniting sensations of pleasures that passed from her mouth to his.
He deepened the kiss further, at the same time that he drew her closer into his arms, letting the palms of his hand come to rest firmly on that backside that he enjoyed looking at so much. Of her own accord, she tilted her head back, took her tongue, and begin playing cat-and-mouse with his, knowing what would happen if it got caught. He could tell from the last time that she wasn’t used to getting such detailed and energetic kisses. But he was glad she was a quick study. She was not only following his lead but was also trying to create a few moves of her own. He would definitely give her an A for effort.
Moments later he drew back. It was either that or he would have gone up in smoke. He breathed in deeply, watched her watch him, saw the unevenness of her breathing, studied her lips and saw they were still moist from their kiss.
Deciding he hadn’t gotten enough and wanted another go at it, he held her gaze as he leaned in closer. He took the tip of his tongue and traced it from corner to corner and when her lips parted in a sigh, it was on again. She offered no resistance. In fact, she seemed ready for his intrusion and sank into his embrace like she was made for it. She positioned her head in a way that left him no choice but to deepen the kiss, which he did.
A while later she was the one who pulled back, needing air. But that didn’t stop him. His tongue continued to torment her, shifting from her lips to the hollow of her throat, then sideways beneath her ears. She was responsive to his touch, and when she began quivering in his arms, he tightened his hold on her. He inhaled deeply, drawing air into his lungs, and with it came her womanly scent. From that heated aroma, he knew just how aroused she was.
Lake knew if he was going to leave that now was the time to do it. Otherwise, he would have her spread out on the table in no time. He wanted to stay. He wanted to make love to her tonight. But it would have to be her decision. Still keeping a hold on her, he eased back. Their gazes held, and he whispered in a strained voice, “It’s getting late. Time for me to go.”
At first he wasn’t sure if she was going to say anything, or merely show him to the door. But she continued to hold his gaze, and then in a move that almost brought everything male in him to the forefront—if it wasn’t there already—she took a step to lean fully against him, fitting their bodies together in a way that made it seem as if the hardness of him was the one thing she sought. Then she lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck, and in a voice whose subtle warmth was a direct hit on his lips, she whispered, “I want you to stay, Lake.”
17
Technically, I’ve invited him to spend the night, Courtney thought. A first for her. But she’d had no qualms in issuing an invitation to Lake. And from the dark look in his eyes, he intended to accept it.
How could she explain to him that sleeping with a guy she’d met barely two weeks ago wasn’t the norm for her? Usually she would slow things down
before they got a chance to move too fast. But with Lake, she hadn’t been given the chance. She couldn’t claim that he had taken her by surprise, not when she’d seen it coming. Her only excuse was that she had been too far gone to deal with him on that level. However, now after a little bit of small talk and a rather laid-back getting-to-know-you session, she felt they were more than ready to get it on.
Before she could think anything further, she was suddenly scooped up into massive strong arms, and a hungry mouth clamped down on hers. Then the only thoughts that flashed in her mind were that she could get pushed over the edge just by kissing him. He had the ability to awaken every sense she possessed and send enough heat storming through her body to melt her bones.
And then he was lifting his mouth off hers, gazing down at her with an expression that looked as if he was trying to regain his control. She knew the feeling. “Are you sure this is what you want?” he asked in a deep, husky voice that seemed to trace along her nerve endings, causing even more pulsating desire to overtake her.
She knew what he was asking and why. He wanted her to be absolutely sure before they went any further. “Yes. I want you, so that means this is what I want.” Then she put it back on him when she asked, “Are you sure this is what you want?”
“I know it is,” he quickly said. And then as if following her lead he said, “I want you, so that means this is what I want.” And then he was kissing her all over again, sending her mind and body into a tailspin of desire. She once again became lost in their kiss and responded in ways that only he had the ability to make her do.
This time when he lifted his head, he studied her for a moment before taking his finger and gently tipping her chin up. “Fair warning,” he whispered throatily. “I want you bad.”
She looked at him quizzically, knowing he was trying to tell her something. “Which means?” she asked.
“It won’t be over any time soon.”
She stared at him, understanding completely. “Will I be able to go to work tomorrow?”
“Probably not.”
She drew in a startled breath. “Oh.”
“What do you have to say to that, Courtney?”
She couldn’t quite bring herself to say anything, but since she knew he was waiting for some sort of response from her, she said, “Thanks for the warning.”
With Courtney cradled in his arms, Lake headed for the bedroom. Never had making love to a woman meant so much to him, mainly because he had determined from that first night that she wasn’t just any woman. She was his woman, his soul mate, and she had been signed, sealed, and delivered to him in a way he couldn’t deny. And now he would connect their lives together in a way neither of them would forget.
When he entered her bedroom, he crossed the room to the bed and lowered her to the mattress and then he took a step back. “The first thing I plan on doing is undressing you,” he said in a voice so low, he barely recognized it as his own. She was sitting on her haunches in the middle of the bed, looking as sexy as any woman had a right to look.
“Now it’s my time to give you fair warning,” she said.
He zeroed in on her gaze. “About what?”
“About the fact that when it comes to my breasts, I’m overly sensitive there. If you touch them too much, I’m liable to …”
He lifted a dark brow. “To what?”
“Come.”
Damn, he wished she hadn’t told him that. Didn’t she know that sharing information like that with a man was paramount to sealing her fate? If what she’d said was true, then she would be coming a lot, because he definitely planned to touch them. In fact, he planned on doing more than just touch them.
Returning to the bed, he reached out his hand and she took it, and he slowly drew her closer to him. First her blouse and bra had to go, he thought, anxious to get a taste of her bare breasts, as well as to see if her warning was true. Once her breasts were exposed, he leaned over and latched on to a nipple and began sucking on it, liking the taste, the way it fit in his mouth. He could feel her nipple getting firmer in his mouth, and his tongue enjoyed the feel of it doing so. In no time at all, just as she had warned, an explosion hit her and he could feel her intense shivers in the depth of his mouth. But that didn’t stop him as he continued to make love to her breasts, sucking on them like a newborn baby.
Afterward, he pulled her trembling body into his arms, propped his chin on the top of her head, thinking what just happened was special. He whispered, “Baby, you can come for me anytime.”
He heard her soft chuckle before she said, “I don’t have a choice, Lake. It happens.”
And he wanted it to happen again, but later. There were other parts of her he wanted to explore and taste. Gripping the soft material of her skirt, he slowly eased it down her legs. Then her sandals went, leaving her clad in only a pair of black panties. He reached out and touched them at the center between her legs. They were drenched with her wetness. That knowledge had a direct hit on his erection. He felt it get even more hard.
Lake held her gaze as he slipped her panties down her legs, inhaling her feminine scent. As soon as she was naked in front of him, his focus and attention went directly to her womanly core, and he thought it had to be the most beautiful site on her body. His erection throbbed at the thought of claiming it. Making love to it. But not before he got a chance to taste it.
He made a guttural sound all the way in the back of his throat when he gently eased her back on the bed and began kissing her mouth. Moments later, he was kissing her all over as he made his way down south. She had closed her eyes, and when she felt the warmth of his breath against her thigh, she opened them back up and gazed down at him.
He felt her body immediately tense, and could tell from her reaction that no man had gone down on her before. That was fine with him. He would enjoy introducing her to this special form of lovemaking. He placed a wet kiss on her stomach, right below her navel, before moving lower. And then he gripped her hips before nudging her thighs apart with his nose.
She whispered his name just seconds before his tongue entered her, and then it began to move with sure, powerful strokes. The more he tasted, the more he wanted and the deeper he delved to be satisfied. He gripped her hips tighter when she began thrashing about in the bed. And nothing, not even the loud scream she suddenly made when her body was hit with another orgasm, was enough to pull him away. It did just the opposite. It urged him on, and he could feel her inner muscles contracting around his tongue. Her hand reached down and clutched at his head, at first in an attempt to pull him away, but then to hold him there.
When the last tremor had passed through her body, he eased off the bed to remove his clothes. It was time to acquaint her body with the only man it would need to know from this day forward.
He wasted no time removing his clothes, knowing her eyes were on him the entire while. Even when he pulled a condom from his wallet and slipped it on, she stared. Especially at that area of his body that showed just how much he wanted her. Seeing was believing.
Naked, he crossed the room back to her, eased onto the bed, and immediately placed his body in position over hers. He met her gaze. Words he’d never said to another woman were there on the tip of his tongue—right along with the taste of her. He wanted to tell her how he was dealing with emotions he’d never dealt with before, but he knew she wouldn’t believe him if he did. She was a skeptic, but it was his intent to eventually make a believer out of her.
He reached his hand down and gently stroked the area between her legs. “I’m about to get naughty,” he whispered, and before she could make any reply to that, he entered her in a thrust that was so deep, she bucked her body in response.
And then they mated.
She lifted her body to meet his every thrust and he gave it to her, over and over again. He closed his eyes as a raw, urgent need consumed him, and he blotted out everything, except for how she was making him feel. When he was inside her, he felt he was there at the base of her womb,
and that’s when her muscles would contract and tighten around him to hold him inside her. He would manage to pull out only to thrust back in again.
He set the pace; she followed. Her nails dug deep into his back, but he couldn’t think about pain, only pleasure. Tonight he was testing his strength, his endurance. He had no power to fight the next climax that hit them, nor did he want to. And when he felt her legs tighten around his waist, he threw his head back and gave in to a fierce release that shook his insides. A guttural sound escaped from between his clenched teeth, and he knew one thing was definitely for certain. Courtney Andrews was everything he could possibly want in a woman.
Courtney could feel Lake stir beside her while he slept, and she glanced over at him, thinking the man was simply amazing. Even now her body was poised and ready for him to wake up so they could do it all over again. Not that they hadn’t done it enough already.
All through the night, he had made love to her. The only time they had taken breaks was when he had gotten up to go into the bathroom to dispense of his condom and put on another one. And then there was that time after their last mating session when he had gone into the bathroom to retrieve a warm washcloth and a bottle of body oil.
In a move she felt was intimate as well as caring, he gently wiped her body down and then applied the oil in certain areas. They were areas he felt he might have scratched with his beard. After giving her such personal care, he had pulled her into his arms while they had both drifted off to sleep.
Now she was awake, and her body was throbbing again for his touch. She shifted in bed and immediately felt the soreness between her legs. No wonder he said she wouldn’t be going into work today.
She gazed up at his face. He looked peaceful while he slept. Even relaxed. Definitely sexy. She like the way his beard was neatly trimmed around his mouth, giving him a somewhat roguish appeal.
Her Little Black Book Page 14