The Better Man

by Hebert, Cerian

  “Yes, until tomorrow night, anyway. She’s not in right now. She’s gone to the Cathedral of the Pines. She shouldn’t be too long, though. She’s been gone a few hours already. If you want, you can go into the parlor until she gets back. There’s coffee and a television.”

  “Thank you, I will.”

  So he waited. Drank coffee, watched the news, although he spent more time looking out the window, waiting for her to return and wracking his brain to figure out what he was going to say to her. He wanted to kidnap her and take her back down to Florida, lock her in his house until she understood how perfect they could be together and make love to her every night. Hell, make love to her all day long, too.

  After a half an hour, his restless thoughts got the better of him. He couldn’t stand being cooped up in the room, so he went onto the verandah at the back of the inn and sat in one of the wooden rockers. Even the large pond beyond a slope of well-maintained lawn didn’t hold off the edginess that kept his muscles tight and his nerves jumping. Besides, if he was out back he might miss her coming in, so he went back inside and got another cup of coffee.

  Where was she? Probably out having lunch. With each moment that passed, the anxiety grew until he had to push it aside. This was crazy! He felt like a damned stalker, sitting here. It was no good. She had to live her life and he couldn’t interfere. She’d hate him for butting in

  He’d leave, drive back to Manchester and hop a return flight to Orlando. No harm, no foul. When Lori came home, they’d work it out. And this time, he was not going to let her walk away without a fight.

  “I’m going to head out and find a hotel,” he told the girl at the front desk. “Please, don’t mention to Lori that I was here. I’d rather let it be a surprise.”

  “Okay, sir.”

  “Thanks.” He smiled and headed for the front door.

  As he reached for the handle, the door opened and Lori strode in, nearly colliding with him. She stopped quickly, an embarrassed grin on her beautiful face as she stepped back.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, I really need to slow down— Oh, my God.”

  Lori slapped her hand over her gaping mouth and stared, blood draining from her cheeks. Damn. So much for quick exits and pretending he’d never made this foolish trip. He waited for the man to come in behind her, but no one did. She was apparently alone.

  “What are you doing here?” The smile left her face and her eyes clouded with suspicion. “Is everything all right at home? I get lousy cell reception up here, but I haven’t been totally unreachable.”

  “I…no, it wasn’t that.” Will glanced back. The girl at the front desk stared at them with unabashed curiosity. “Can we go talk somewhere? Your room, maybe?”

  “Of course. Come on.” She moved past him toward the wide staircase. They went up two floors before she stopped outside a door and unlocked it.

  The room wasn’t exactly spacious. Though tidy and quaint, the furnishings were sparse. “This is the honeymoon suite?”

  Lori laughed. “No, this isn’t the honeymoon suite. Another couple checked in right after me. They were booked for the wrong weekend, and since I had no need for the honeymoon suite, I gave it to— Will, what’s wrong?”

  Will sat on the double bed, and put his face in his hands. “Shit,” he muttered.

  “Will?”

  He lifted his face and shook his head, unable to meet her eyes. “Do you remember the couple’s names?”

  “Um, Austin and Lori. Why?” Then she grew silent. The mattress dipped when she sat next to him. “Oh, Will.”

  “I’m an idiot. I’m sorry, Lori.”

  “You thought that I’d…and so you came all this way up here…”

  “I’m an idiot.” He was mortified. Every doubt he’d had about making this trip smacked him right upside the head and settled on his brain like a ton of lead. She wasn’t going to forgive him for this, and she shouldn’t.

  For a long moment, his admission was greeted by thick silence. In a minute, she’d tell him to get out. He waited on edge for those words and was completely taken unaware when she started to giggle. The giggling turned into a full laugh that shook the bed. “Oh, Will, you thought that I…this is funny, really. If you’d seen the guy—” She fell back on the bed next to him. Her laughter died down slowly. “What in the world, Will? If you were worried, why didn’t you just call again? During the day?”

  “Because I didn’t want to sound like a jealous fool,” he muttered.

  She chuckled again. “So you thought flying here and showing up unannounced would make you not look like a jealous fool?”

  He sighed and closed his eyes. “Guess I didn’t think it through.”

  “No, you didn’t. And what were you going to do with my alleged lover? Knock him out and drag me back to Florida?”

  “The thought crossed my mind.”

  She didn’t respond for a long moment, not moving from where she lay on the bed. Her thigh lightly touched his. It would’ve been so easy to reach out and stroke it, to turn to her and—

  He stopped that train of thought. Notions like that would only get him into trouble, and he was waist deep in it already.

  “It’s a sweet gesture.” Her voice was soft. “A little misguided, and I ought to be angry you jumped to the conclusion that I’d pick up some guy and sleep with him.”

  “You should be. I can’t tell you how sorry I am, Lori. I’ve been worried about you, though. You haven’t been off my mind since…”

  His body stiffened when she reached out and rubbed the palm of her hand up his back and down again. God, no, she couldn’t touch him. If he let her, he wouldn’t be able to walk out of this room like he knew he should. Yet he didn’t move. Any touch from Lori was a godsend. How could he turn it down? What a damned mess.

  “Same here,” she whispered quiet and unsteady.

  “Where are we going with this?”

  “I honestly don’t know, Will. I’ve been trying like hell not to think beyond the moment. Please, let’s not think beyond right now.”

  Her touch became bolder, and it didn’t take much to release his pent-up desire. He turned and stared at her face. She still lay on the bed, her hand circling over his back, down and around until her fingers caught the hem of his shirt. He sucked in a breath as she caressed his skin under the shirt, leaving a trail of fire as she went.

  Chapter Six

  God, was she crazy? Must be. Because she didn’t want to stop what she’d started. Slowly, she sat up and rested her cheek against his broad back, both hands now on his torso, under his shirt. They smoothed around him until she was embracing him from behind.

  “Lori,” he warned softly.

  “Shhh…”

  Her touch became bolder, its purpose not to be questioned.

  “You know where this is going to lead.”

  One palm danced over his hardened nipple, the other pressed against him so she could revel in the increased tempo of his heart. “I’ve thought about you every single night since I’ve been here. Every night. Not Brian. Never Brian. You. Why is that?”

  “Because I love you.” He spoke in a hoarse whisper. “I’ve always loved you.”

  Those words were like a balm on her soul. Lori closed her eyes and pressed kisses along his back. Of course, she’d known since the morning she’d left him in the parking lot, but having him voice the sentiment was so much more real . It ripped at her. Thrilled her.

  “I know that now. I don’t know why I missed it before.”

  “But you’re not sure about me…your feelings for me yet, are you?”

  Finally, Will turned to her and pulled her into his arms. For the first time in ages, she felt truly safe, truly loved. But he was right, she wasn’t sure about her heart yet. “I love you and you know that.” Each word was punctuated with a kiss on his throat.

  “You’re just not sure what kind of love. We’ve been friends for years.”

  “Best friends.”

  Despite the doubts, she wante
d him. Wanted the weight of his body on hers. She’d seduced him once and spent ages dwelling on that night, reliving it.

  She wanted the passion again. With her gaze, she traced every feature on his face. His gray eyes were dark with desire. She leaned toward him and touched her lips to his. At first he didn’t respond, but all at once, his hold on her tightened and he rolled her onto her back. He knelt over her, his hands pinning her arms to the bed as his mouth crushed down on hers with a delicious ferocity that sent her head spinning.

  His hunger excited her. Or maybe his declaration of love. All the walls they had previously built were down. He was free to tell her anything he wished, do anything he wanted, without fear that she’d turn him away. With sure fingers, he unbuttoned her blouse and pushed it aside.

  Briefly, she sat up so he could divest her of her bra, then she lifted her hips to allow him to slip her pants and undies off. In less than ten seconds, she was entirely naked under his gaze.

  “My God, Lori, you’re perfect,” he murmured, sweeping over her entire body with his bold scrutiny. Everywhere his gaze touched, her body tingled in anticipation.

  His lips returned to her mouth, more slowly this time. His tongue found hers and they swept and swirled together while his hands explored her body, drifting down from her neck to her breasts. Fast and electric sparks shot throughout her body as he caressed and lightly pinched her tight nipples, moving lower to center in the apex of her thighs where thousands of erotic stirrings gathered, waiting for release. When he pulled away and returned his attention to her mouth and throat, she groaned at the loss. He’d started a wildfire in her that wouldn’t be doused until he gave her complete release.

  Will drew out the moment with each touch and taste over every inch of her body. Not fair. His mouth followed the path his hands had taken and savored one peak, then the other. He was still fully dressed. She longed to have his skin against hers, see it in the soft, glowing autumn sunlight streaming through the window onto the bed. But there was no way she could move, not with what he was doing to her. His mouth stroked and pulled on her swollen nipple while one hand caressed the other. His other palm skimmed down her belly and eased over the juncture of her thighs.

  “Will.” She pressed her hips against his hand.

  He replied not with words, but with a nip at her throbbing peak. A finger swept inside the cleft between her legs, igniting a fire from the glowing embers of desire. She cried out his name again and again as the flames built. She longed for the culmination of this sensual exploration, yet was amazed at how high he was taking her. His kisses tickled and teased down her belly and he parted her thighs to reach her pulsating core with his lashing tongue. She breathed in choppy gasps, fast and hard as she writhed against his questing lips and fingers. Swirl after swirl of erotic delight assaulted her, pushing her closer to the edge of a silken, molten precipice that promised only heaven once she fell.

  Lori gripped the quilt on the bed with all her strength as her hips rose to meet him. She was flying. He’d sent her into some kind of spiraling, senseless orbit as she was overcome with intolerable pleasure. It maddened her and she begged him to stop, fearing she would never come down to earth.

  Will pulled back and joined her on the bed, smoothing her hair away from her damp forehead. He didn’t smile, but his devotion was in his eyes—what he felt for her. So clear, so unafraid.

  She wished she could be as certain of things. She wanted him so much, but could that lead to the kind of love he needed? Was she nearly to that point? Her body cooled to a slow burn, and she wanted it stoked again, wanted him to burn as much as she did. Even with the embers still glowing within her, she wanted more.

  “I’m going to take off your shirt.” She got to her feet. “I want to make love to you just as thoroughly. And lucky us. I still have plenty of condoms.”

  She sent him a wicked wink and sashayed across the room to her suitcase, returning a moment later. She dropped a foil packet on the bed next to Will, and then knelt down beside him. “But first things first. You’re wearing far too many clothes and I plan on getting rid of them. Now.”

  Just that suggestion was enough for Will’s breath to increase. He complied, and when he started for his pants, she pushed his hands away. She wanted to undress him herself. Slowly, she released the button of his jeans and pulled the zipper down. She caressed his rock-hard arousal through the stiff fabric, tearing a moan from his throat. Will lifted his hips as she eased both pants and underwear down at the same time, pulling the garments from his body. She tossed them behind her, and then leaned in to kiss his mouth, jaw, neck, and down, pausing at each pebbled nipple to suck and tug as she went.

  While her mouth blazed a trail across his body, her hand had already found what it was looking for. She wrapped her fingers around his thick erection and stroked lightly, delighting in the way it felt so powerful in her hand. Delighting in the way his breath grew more ragged with each slide. She kissed her way down his body, just as he had hers, until she was poised over his rigid shaft. He sucked in a startled breath as she took him into her mouth, just the tip of his penis at first, but slowly, teasingly, she advanced more, pulling back and dipping down again, tasting the saltiness of his juices.

  His flesh was hot and hard and his breath came faster and faster until he pulled her up and back onto the bed, pinning her body under his.

  “I want to see your face when I make love to you.” His hand slid down over the hardened peaks of her breasts and the smoothness of her belly to rest between her thighs, but instead of playing there, he eased her legs apart and moved over her, his gaze never leaving hers. He held his body still, his straining erection poised and pressing against her center, but he didn’t move.

  Anticipation built. Every nerve ending in her body stood on alert and the small contact of their bodies was enough to start a raging fire. But she refused to move. She liked this game, this challenge.

  No matter what kind of love she held for him, she didn’t want any other man in the world. Not one of them could possibly love her as thoroughly, and a little bit of her heart broke in fear that she wouldn’t be able to reciprocate the way he needed.

  But she could give him this. Her body, her desire, and all the love she ever had for him.

  Without breaking the hold his gaze held over her, he sank into her, a hot glide of flesh against flesh until he filled her entirely. He held himself still before pulling back and plunging in a second time. Lori arched to meet his next powerful thrust. Shivers ran the length of her body with each slow and steady stroke. He punctuated each dip and lift with a kiss along her throat, jaw line, earlobe. The steady surge offered her time to drink in all of him. She inhaled his breath, threaded faintly with coffee, as he nibbled her lips.

  She explored the planes of his muscular back and buttocks, rocked with his measured, insistent rhythm. With each push, he delved deeper into her, whispering his love as he moved. Sweetness with edge. Passion with barely contained ecstasy. He held it in until she reached that first pulsing moment of release.

  Despite the slowness of their lovemaking, the climax came wildly, explosively. Wave after wave of fiery pleasure swept through her, swirling with soul-shattering intensity, both in her mind and her center where Will filled her so completely. She couldn’t do more than breathe in short, heated gasps, pressing her face into the crook of his neck as his body tensed with his jarring end. With a harsh groan of satisfaction, Will shuddered, his hands buried in her hair. She wrapped her legs around his waist to keep him deep within her.

  After a long moment passed, Will finally rolled off her, pulling out of her body but still keeping her in his arms. Not for a split second did he release her and she was glad. She wanted every touch, knowing the consequences of holding on to him so tightly There was no way she’d give up any part of this incredible gift of love he offered, a gift that no other man had ever bestowed before.

  She closed her eyes and let herself drift. How in the world could she go from jilted br
ide to satiated lover in less than two weeks? Her body felt wonderful, better than ever before. There’d be no sneaking out on Will this time. Already the sun had disappeared behind the wall of trees outside her window, casting the room in amber light. She and Will were under the blankets, their limbs tangled together. She couldn’t move, even if she’d wanted to. All she needed was the soothing caress of Will’s hand on her shoulder, the idle stroke of his fingers on her skin.

  For the moment, she’d bask in his love, take it for all it was worth and hold it to her. Her head rested on his chest and she listened intently to his steady heartbeat. Later, after they were rested, she would want him again.

  She would want him all night long, to spend the night with her and remind her that he loved her.

  But before that could happen, she’d have to let him know of her possible plans to stay in New Hampshire. Maybe her plans would change his. Maybe she should’ve told him before they’d fallen into bed with each other. Too late for that.

  “Will?”

  “Hmmm?” He didn’t move an inch.

  “I need to tell you something.”

  “Am I going to hate it or love it?”

  Lori chuckled and kissed his chest. “Not sure. But I have a feeling you’ll probably hate it.”

  Heavy silence fell between them before he finally spoke in a hard voice. “Then why tell me?”

  “Because I want to be fair. To you. To us.”

  His arms tightened around her. “Do you mean to tell me there could be an ‘us’?”

  She kissed him again. “There’s always been an ‘us.’ But the dynamics of the relationship have changed.”

  “For the better.”

  “In many ways. But please, be quiet and let me talk.”

  “Talk.”

  “I want to stay here. In New Hampshire.”

  “What, permanently?” Will sat up, pulling her with him so she was practically on his lap. He pushed back her hair.