Liquid heat pooled deep within her and her belly clenched tight. Moisture dampened her panties and her nipples chafed against the cotton confines of her bra.
Just like that, she wanted him.
“See?” He kissed her again, his tongue doing one searching sweep within her mouth before he pulled away. “I can already tell how aroused you are, Hannah. I see it in your eyes.”
“Take me back to your house,” she said, her earlier worries slowly dissolving.
Maybe Colin was right, maybe she didn’t need the necklace. Maybe all she needed was…him.
“Remember how I explained the Virgin’s Blood legend to you, Hannah? How I told you that my grandfather witnessed it with his own eyes?”
She nodded, her arms squeezing him tight. His erection brushed against her belly and she smiled. She couldn’t wait to get him alone.
“Well…my grandfather used to own that necklace. And he gave it to my grandmother the night before they were to be married. She’d been so shy, so scared of him that when he heard the legend behind the family necklace he had to give it a try. And it worked.”
“The necklace belonged to your family?” She couldn’t believe it.
“It did. My grandfather, he lost it when a hurricane ripped through New Orleans just after they were married, and my grandmother was worried. She didn’t think she would be the same person without it. It turned out she was.” He grinned. “Not that he went into many details since this was my grandmother he was talking about, but still. I got the hint.”
“Fascinating,” Hannah said, still turning it over in her mind that the necklace was a McNamara family heirloom.
“It is, Hannah, but you’re more fascinating to me. And if you’ll have me, I’d like us to give this a try.” He watched her, his expression taut, his eyes worrisome.
He thought she was going to turn him down.
As if.
“Oh yes, Colin, I definitely want to give this a try.” Though she already knew it was going to work. “Now that I have the next few days off, maybe we could go somewhere. Just the two of us.”
“That sounds perfect.”
Their lips met once again in a sweet kiss.
Epilogue
Nine months later
“We had a banner day,” Hannah called out as she tallied up the receipts.
Colin came out of the back stockroom, gorgeous as usual in an olive green T-shirt and dark-rinse jeans that molded to his muscular legs. She still had a hard time grappling with the fact that this man, this gorgeous, supreme-in-every-way man was hers.
All hers.
“Lots of purchases?” He grinned at her as he approached and dropped a kiss to the tip of her nose.
Hannah nodded and hit the total button on the calculator. Her eyes widened in surprise. “We made over twenty thousand!”
“That article in the newspaper did the trick.” His hand slipped around her neck and brought her close to him, kissing her parted lips. “Thanks to you.”
Immediately after his showing at Dolly’s gallery, an investor had approached him, wanting to open a gallery showcasing Colin’s work. He’d asked Hannah to join him in running it and she quit the family jewelry store, much to her sister’s chagrin.
Now they worked together every day and she was so proud of Colin. His career was really taking off and he worked hard on his sculptures. They’d purchased a house together and even built a studio on the property.
Hannah couldn’t have been happier.
“I have something for you. A surprise.”
She pulled away from him and saw the excited expression on his face, his beautiful blue eyes sparkling. “What is it?”
Nervous anticipation bubbled inside her as he pulled something out of his back pocket. He presented it to her in the palm of his hand—a long, black velvet box.
A jeweler’s box.
She took it from him, her hands instantly growing warm at the contact. With held breath, she opened the box to find the Virgin’s Blood Jewels lying neatly on a bed of white silk.
“Colin!” she breathed, pulling the chain from its box and holding it in her hand.
It pulsed and trembled to life, the garnet stones winking as if in greeting. She squeezed it in the palm of her hand, felt the sexual rush whip through her veins and she laughed. “Where did you find it?”
He shrugged. “I was the mystery buyer of the necklace, Hannah. I received a fair chunk of money from the showing at Dolly’s gallery, which surprised the hell out of me. I had Jim, our investor, go purchase it for me since I didn’t want your sister or you to know. I’ve been holding on to it all this time.”
“But…why?” She couldn’t believe he’d had it all these months!
“I wanted to prove to you that you didn’t need the necklace to be the true temptress you are—and you’ve more than proved that.” He shot her a knowing smile and she couldn’t help but blush.
“Why are you giving it to me now?”
Colin took it from her and she turned around, shivering as he pushed her hair to the side to drape the necklace around her neck. “Because I wanted to ask you to be my bride. I know that the conventional way is to get you an engagement ring but I figured you would appreciate this so much more.”
Her fingers went to the necklace, heat emanating from the stones and she wanted to cry with relief. They felt so good lying against her skin, so warm and familiar. “You’re asking me to marry you?”
“Yes, I am.” He turned her around to face him and dropped to one knee, taking her hand in both of his. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife, Hannah?”
She nodded, tears filling her eyes, shocked at the suddenness yet overcome with joy. “Oh yes, Colin, yes! I love you so much.”
He stood and drew her into his arms, his lips touching hers in a heavenly kiss. His arms slipped around her waist, hands running up and down her back as he deepened the kiss, his tongue stroking the inside of her mouth, twirling around her own.
“I want to marry you right away.” He started walking backward, toward the stockroom, his mouth never really leaving hers and she giggled, following him.
“How right away is ‘right away’?”
His arms tightened around her waist and he picked her up, her legs dangling as he carried her into the stockroom. She squealed, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and holding on until he deposited her against the wall.
“Tomorrow, tonight, this very second. I can’t wait to make you mine, Hannah.” This time his kiss drew her breath, made her gasp, her entire body tremble.
The stones trembled too, so delicate and warm against her skin. Colin moved away from her, staring at the necklace as he ran his index finger along the thin chain.
“I already am yours,” she whispered, holding her breath as the sensation of his fingers coming into contact with the necklace washed over her. How she’d missed this, missed the combination of the two of them together along with the necklace’s sexual power. Everything had been wonderful between them without the necklace but the Virgin’s Blood Jewels only seemed to enhance his touch, their emotions, everything.
Colin slipped his hands beneath her shirt, fingers first brushing against her soft stomach then moving up to cup her lace-covered breasts. “Not officially.”
“I don’t care when we do it, as long as I’m with you.” Her head dropped back and her eyes slid closed when his thumbs brushed across her hardened nipples. He tore at the cups of her bra, shredding the delicate lace until he’d bared her breasts to his gaze.
* * * * *
Beautiful. The lush globes filled his hands, her rosy red nipples hard and practically begging for his mouth. He couldn’t resist.
Dipping his head, he kissed her breasts, plumping them together in his hands and enveloping first one then the other nipple with his mouth. She tasted sweet. His tongue swirled round and round the tight bud, savoring her little sighs and cries.
Hannah held him close, her fingers tangling in his hair. H
e loved it when she touched him, it didn’t matter where—the reaction was always the same. His cock would harden ’til he felt ready to burst, his entire body tight with anticipation. If he had his way, he would fuck her all day long, all night long, and probably never get his fill.
He had to be madly in love. No normal man would be this obsessed.
She really was the only one who mattered in his life, the only person who made him feel complete, an emotion he’d never experienced before. No one made him feel like Hannah did. She was his soul mate.
“I want you,” he breathed against her breasts, making gooseflesh pebble her skin. “Unbutton my jeans, Hannah, I need to be inside you.”
She did as he asked, her fingers sure and quick as she undid the button, slid the zipper down. Her hand slipped inside, cupped his raging erection and she smoothed her palm up then down his thick length. His legs threatened to buckle and Lord knew how he was able to keep standing.
He sucked one nipple deep into his mouth while pinching the other, excited by her sweet gasps. He moved away from her reluctantly, breathing heavily, and she yanked her hand away from him. She tore off her shirt then went to unbutton her own jeans, smiling at him. With hurried movements, she stripped herself until she stood against the wall naked and open to his assessing gaze.
“I am a lucky man,” he murmured as his eyes roved over her, drinking her in. Her smooth, pale skin, her curvy figure, the shadow of strawberry blonde hair covering her pink depths—all of it called to him. Made him want to savor her all night long.
“What are you waiting for?” She crooked a finger at him, her expression eager. He could tell she was just as ready for him as he was for her.
“Just enjoying the view.”
Colin didn’t bother getting undressed. He wanted her naked and flush against the wall with him still clothed. He pulled his cock out of his open fly and stroked it once, twice, closed his eyes as it throbbed mightily in his palm. A tiny pearl of liquid shone at the tip and he saw her lick her lips as she stared. He pushed himself against her, his cock brushing against her stomach and she spread her legs for him.
“Wrap your legs around my waist,” he commanded, and she did so, her arms going around his shoulders as he lifted her up.
With one sure stroke he entered her, filling her greedy cunt to the hilt and she closed her eyes, overwhelmed at the sensation. He held himself there, his forehead pressed against hers, their mingled, harsh breaths filling his ears, filling the tiny room. He looked down, watched the garnets throb against her skin. They seemed to move in time with his beating heart and she relaxed her body around him, arms loose around his shoulders, hands buried in his hair.
Colin began to move, his hips bumping against hers as he thrust within her, in and out, in and out. Her swollen pussy clutched at him, drew him in farther and farther until he was balls deep. He groaned, kept his movements slow and sure, filling her with every inch of himself before nearly withdrawing and then doing it again. She groaned and bucked against him.
“Harder, Colin, please,” she urged before he kissed her.
Their mouths clung as he increased his movements, his cock ramming into her welcoming body, making her cry out. Her cries egged him on, her arms and legs now clutching him frantically.
He couldn’t get enough of her.
“It’s too fast I know but I’m gonna come, Hannah,” he muttered in her ear, his voice harsh. He couldn’t help it, she felt amazing, her inner walls clutching around his dick rhythmically, her sweaty body clinging to his. He’d wanted to draw this out but there was no way that would happen.
“Me too,” she panted, her fingers slipping down to rub against the necklace.
She cried out his name, her passage milking his cock as her climax overtook her and he shouted, the sensation of her pussy sending him straight over the edge. A tremor of pleasure shot down his spine to the base of his cock and then he came, filling her with his hot semen. He thrust hard against her with every tremor that shook his body, pushing her against the wall until he heard her head knock against it.
“Are you all right? You did lock the front door, didn’t you?”
Hannah laughed, pressing her face against his sweaty shoulder and kissing it. “I don’t know, I think so. Who cares?”
“Yeah, you’re right, who cares?” He kissed her forehead, his lips lingering. Tenderness for Hannah filled him and he held her close. “You’ve made me the happiest man alive today, sweetheart.”
“You’ve made me so happy too, Colin. I thought the necklace was lost to us forever.”
“When it was always here…you just didn’t know it.” He’d felt bad for keeping it secret but he knew it would all be worth it in the end.
He’d been right.
“You’re naughty.” She shook her head.
“And you like it.”
She glanced up at him and Colin smiled, touched the tip of her nose with his finger. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Hannah whispered, her fingers going immediately to the necklace.
The Virgin’s Blood Jewels had finally come home.
About the Author
After leaving the crazy working world to become a stay-at-home mom, Karen realized she needed to stop thinking about it and actually pursue her life long dream of being a published author. Now multi-published, she is a busy mother of three. Who fits her precious writing time in between chasing her children, hanging out with her wonderful husband and pretending she has a maid.
Karen welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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