He flashed a wry grin as he took a couple of small containers from the sack. “And then my sweet tooth got the better of me and I added a couple of these sinfully delicious desserts.”
He turned to her, taking both of her hands in his. “If you set out the food, I’ll build a fire in the fireplace.”
The evening quickly took on a sensual feel. They ate their dinner and engaged in soft conversation. After eating, Ry poured each of them a glass of wine, then he put the tape in the VCR.
“What movie did you rent?”
“An old one—Charade with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.”
Her face lit up with delight. “I love that movie. It’s one of my all time favorites.”
After the movie they settled into the large floor pillows in front of the fireplace and had another glass of wine. Ry put his arm around her shoulders and she snuggled against his body. They silently sipped their wine and watched the flames rhythmically dance across the logs. It was a time of closeness, a personal and intimate feeling that stirred excitement as much as it settled a close contentment over them.
It was a night made for love. For Jean that meant the emotional as much as the physical. If only she knew what that meant for Ry.
But any further thoughts were chased from her mind when he ran his hand up the inside of her pullover shirt, brushed his fingers teasingly across her skin, then unhooked her bra. A soft moan of delight escaped her throat as his mouth came down on hers infusing her with all the passion she had come to associate with Ry Collier.
Ry brushed his tongue against Jean’s, exploring the dark recesses of her mouth and relishing the sweet taste that was uniquely hers. She was everything he wanted and more. He cupped her bare breast in his hand, her puckered nipple sending a tingling sensation through his body. His kiss deepened. He wanted it all…he wanted every thing…he wanted Jean Summerfield, body and soul.
He pulled her shirt up until it bunched around her neck, then broke the kiss long enough to remove her shirt along with her bra. He dropped the articles to the floor and a moment later his sweater joined the pile. He drew her body against his, reveling in the feel of her bare breasts pressed against his chest. He caressed her shoulders and back, then ran his fingers through her hair.
It didn’t take long before all their clothes were scattered across the living room floor. He laid her back on the large floor pillows, taking a moment to watch the way the illumination from the fireplace flickered across her bare skin. A surge of hardened need rushed through his body. He stretched out next to her, purposely taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm his already overexcited desires.
He experienced a warm feeling of utter contentment at just being with her. It spread through him as she caressed his back and ran her foot along his calf. Every place she touched only added to the sensations of his already overstimulated senses.
He nibbled at the corner of her mouth, then rained a series of kisses across her throat, finally drawing her puckered nipple into his mouth. He held it there for a moment, then released the delicious treat. He placed soft kisses between her breasts and slowly continued lower until he reached the downy softness at the apex of her thighs.
Tremors of rapture raced through Jean’s body as Ry’s hot breath tickled across the sensitive skin of her inner thighs. Then his mouth touched the very core of her femininity, sending waves of ecstasy through her. Her head jerked back into the softness of the large floor pillow. Her fingers trembled as she ran them across the top of his shoulders. She gulped in a lungful of air, then another. She wanted to touch him…she needed to touch him.
He slowly kissed his way up her stomach and between her breasts, ending at the base of her throat. She ran her hand down his ribcage. Just the feel of his skin beneath her fingertips kept her senses in a state of continual excitement. She reached for his hardened arousal, stroking his rigid manhood.
She felt the gasp that escaped his throat and the tremor that moved through his body. Her thoughts quickly faded into oblivion, to be replaced by heated passion. But one last thought remained with her. They had not taken precautions the last time they made love. It had been a very foolish lapse in good sense. She couldn’t allow that to happen again.
Before she could say anything, Ry grabbed his jeans and pulled the condom package from the pocket. A few moments later he rolled over on his back and pulled her on top of him. Her legs straddled his hips. She saw the sparkle in the depths of his silver eyes—a silver color that turned to the smoky-gray of passion as he grasped her waist and lifted her to the point where he could lower her on to his hardness.
He closed his eyes as the incredible sensations swept through his body when her heated femininity tightly encased his manhood. As all-consuming as the first time they made love was, this time seemed so much more—more sensual, more exciting, more vital and much more important. There was something he couldn’t identify that nearly took his breath away.
He guided her hips into as smooth a rhythm as he was able to maintain. He wanted everything to last forever yet he wanted it all right now. His ragged breathing matched hers. He tried to speak. “Sally Jean…you are so exquisite…so…” He couldn’t get out any more words. The upward thrusts of his hips increased, bringing her to a faster pace.
The convulsions started deep inside her and quickly spread through her body. The delicious sensations built one on top of the other as Jean matched Ry’s smooth thrusts until she collapsed on top of him, her breasts pressing against his hard chest. She ran her fingers through his thick hair as she gasped for breath. The rhapsody continued to course through the very essence of her life.
Ry teetered on the brink of his control. As much as he wanted this to last, he knew it couldn’t. He rolled over on top of Jean, being careful not to break the tangible connection that physically bound them together. He gave a final deep thrust as he wrapped her tightly in his arms. The hard spasms shuddered through his body. He buried his face in her hair as his chest heaved and his pulse raced. He caressed her shoulders as he tried to control his breathing.
Never in his life had he felt as close to a woman as he did to Jean. He flirted with the word love, but couldn’t bring himself to truly acknowledge its existence. He knew what he wanted, but feared what he would have to do to have it. He tightened his embrace, holding her body close to his in the hopes that it would give him the emotional strength he needed. He didn’t want to let go.
Six
Ry stirred awake when Jean turned over in his arms. He glanced at the glowing numerals reaching out from her nightstand—it was almost six o’clock in the morning. He held her tighter, cupping her breasts in his hands as he snuggled his chest against her back. It had been a glorious night of lovemaking that had touched the very depths of his soul, but a night that had left him even more fearful than he had been before of what was happening.
He kissed her cheek, then whispered in her ear. “Jean, are you awake?” He kissed her cheek again.
“Hmm…” She placed one of her hands on top of his, and ran the other one along his bare thigh, reveling in the warmth of his body touching hers. “Yes, I’m awake.”
“The last thing I want to do is untangle this nice cozy place we’ve found, but it’s six o’clock and I need to go back to my hotel so I can get some clean clothes and prepare for work today.”
“You’re right, this is definitely cozy.” It felt so good waking up in Ry’s arms. This is the way she wanted it to be, the way she envisioned the future. Was she wanting more than could be?
A hint of a chill invaded her contentment. Work…there was that uneasy situation again. What kind of recommendations would he end up making about her department and how would they impact her job situation? He had dismissed her question last time, but perhaps this would be a better time to pose the question again.
She trailed her fingers across his upper thigh as she ran her foot along the edge of his calf. “Speaking of work…are things going okay? Is there anything I can do to help?”
>
“Well…” He brushed her fingers away from his leg as he emitted a soft chuckle. “The first thing you can do to help is stop teasing me. Unless, of course, you think we have time to pursue this to its logical conclusion.” He ran his hand down her stomach and tickled his fingers through the downy softness. A tremor of delight assailed her senses when his finger penetrated her womanhood.
He nuzzled the side of her neck. “And I can certainly find the time if you can.”
She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her spiraling excitement. “As tempting as your offer is, I’m afraid it’s too close to work time. You see, we have this efficiency-expert-type of guy at the office looking over our operation so I need to be on my toes and that includes getting to work on time.”
He wrapped his arms around her and took a calming breath. “You’re right. This may be the place, but it isn’t the right time.”
Ry threw back the covers and climbed out of bed. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to retrieve my clothes from the living room.” He hurried downstairs.
Jean slipped out of bed and pulled on her robe. He had done it to her again. He had managed to skillfully sidestep her question about how his work assignment was progressing. Intellectually she understood his decision not to discuss it with her, but emotionally the matter left her uneasy.
Her gaze fell on the opened condom packet on the nightstand, the mate to the discarded packet in the living room. Ry had obviously anticipated their making love and had come prepared. But then her thoughts turned to the first time they had made love. Continuing to swirl in the back of her mind was the fact that they had not taken precautions. She tried to tell herself that her fears were unfounded, that she couldn’t possibly be pregnant, but she had not been able to convince herself of that.
She knew it didn’t do any good to dwell on the possibility, but she couldn’t help it. Another week and she could have something real to worry about rather than baseless fears. If her period hadn’t materialized by next week, then she would get one of those home pregnancy tests. She took a calming breath. It was ridiculous to put herself through this mental torture. She was allowing her fears to run wild and she needed to rein them in before they got totally out of control.
When Ry returned to the bedroom, he wore his briefs, had pulled on his jeans although he had not zipped them up and was carrying his sweater, shoes and socks. He dropped everything on the bed, then folded Jean into his embrace. She wrapped her arms around his waist and he held her for several minutes without saying anything. He ran his fingers through her hair, nestled her head against his shoulder and rested his cheek against her head.
“I probably need to get in the shower and get ready for work,” Jean finally said.
A teasing grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. “If it wasn’t for the time growing later and later, I’d suggest that we conserve water by showering together, but I’m afraid lathering each other’s body would not be conducive to hurrying.”
“I think you’re right,” she said, laughing.
Ry sighed and finally turned loose of her. He placed a tender and loving kiss on her lips, then finished getting dressed. He took her hand in his. “I’d better get out of here. I’ll see you later.”
Jean walked downstairs with Ry and watched as he backed out of her driveway. She closed the front door and went upstairs to her bathroom. A few minutes later she stood under the hot steamy spray of the shower. She loved him…she loved him so much. What would happen if she turned out to be pregnant? How would he react to the news? As much as she wanted a family of her own, this wasn’t the way she wanted it to happen.
A cold shiver darted through her body in spite of the warm steam that surrounded her. She had never been so happy and so frightened all at the same time.
Ry glanced at the clock on Jean’s nightstand. “I’m sorry I need to leave so early, but I have a ton of work to do before tomorrow morning.” He placed a final loving kiss on her lips, then rose from the edge of the bed and went downstairs. Each workday had become more and more difficult for him, being around Jean and not being able to touch her. But after work hours…well, that was a different story, just as it had been the night before.
Each time he was near her it became more and more difficult to leave. Thoughts of Jean occupied all his waking hours and had even invaded his dreams. And it left him confused and very fearful about what to do and what the future held.
As soon as he was in his suite, he pulled out his attache case and started to work. His emergency trip to Chicago tomorrow right after work would cost him a day on the Jarvis Furniture job. He couldn’t allow his other business concerns to interfere with this work project. It meant he would need to put in longer hours, which he was certainly willing to do. Hard work had never scared him.
He leaned back in his chair. The only thing that truly scared him was his feelings for Jean Summerfield and where they were taking him. His wandering thoughts were interrupted by the ringing phone.
“Hello.”
“Ry, darling. I’ve been calling you all evening. I’m glad you finally got back.”
He let out a sigh, part exasperation and part irritation at the identity of the caller. “What do you want now, Marjorie? And make it brief, I’m very busy.”
“I want to see you, Ry. You know, maybe have a drink and talk. Get to know each other again.”
“I already know you better than I want to. I’m not interested in any new information.”
Ry hung up the phone. The anger seethed inside him. How dare she think she could just waltz back into his life, especially after what she had done—lying to him to manipulate him into a marriage he didn’t want. He took a calming breath and forced his attention to the notes he had removed from a file folder. He read them, then sorted the notes into various categories. A knock at his door drew his concentration away from the task at hand.
Total shock invaded his reality when he opened the door and saw Marjorie. He quickly recovered his composure and stood his ground. He refused to move aside so she could come in, but he could not contain his anger.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“Now, Ry…” She managed to slip past him to enter the parlor room of his suite. She closed the door. “Is that any way to talk to your wife?”
“Ex-wife, Marjorie…Ex-wife. As in no longer and not ever again.” His words came out in a harsh tone clearly showing his anger and bitter resentment. “You told me you were pregnant with my child so that I’d do the honorable thing and marry you even though I didn’t love you. Then I found out you weren’t pregnant at all and never had been. You lied to me and manipulated me in the worst possible way. There is nothing you can say or do that is of any interest to me. Now take yourself back to whatever hellhole you crawled out of and leave me alone. I don’t want to see you and I don’t want to talk to you.”
“I flew to Seattle just to be with you. You don’t want to see me?” She took off her coat and let it drop to the floor, revealing her nude body. She smiled coyly. “Not even if it’s all of me?”
He picked up her coat and tossed it at her. “Especially if it’s all of you. Now get out of my life and stay out!”
“Apparently this is a bad time for you, darling. I’ll be in town for a few days and am staying right here at this hotel. Let’s have breakfast tomorrow morning. I can order from room service and we can have a nice private talk away from the hotel coffee shop.”
“Hell will freeze over first. You can stay in town as long as you want. I’m returning to Chicago tomorrow.” He watched as she stood there, making no attempt to put on her coat. He reached for the door. “You’d better cover up or else you’ll be in the hallway giving everyone a good look.”
A minute later he had ejected Marjorie from his room. He didn’t know what her game was this time, but he was not going to allow her to manipulate him into playing it. The tension knotted in the pit of his stomach. He looked down and saw that his hands were tightly clenched into hard fi
sts. He unclenched them and took several deep, calming breaths, but it was no good. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath, held it for a few seconds, then slowly exhaled. He couldn’t allow her to intrude into his life, to push the buttons that brought out the worst in him—to be able to control his anger and resentment by her mere presence.
He had work to do and that was where he needed to put his efforts. To waste energy on being angry with Marjorie over something that happened ten years ago was definitely counterproductive. But he couldn’t focus. And it wasn’t Marjorie and her irritating antics that had him distracted. Marjorie’s unexpected visit had made him even more aware of how much he wanted to be with Jean, how special she was, how much he wanted a serious relationship with her.
He forced his attention back to work. After two hours he had come up with a restructured schedule that would make up for the day he would be losing at Jarvis Furniture. He glanced at his watch. It was late. He put his work materials away and went to bed, but it was a night that vacillated between both romantic and erotic dreams of Jean and troubled concerns about the real reason for Marjorie’s sudden reappearance in his life.
The next morning he arrived at work early so he could observe the arrival and start-up procedures the employees used. This would be his last day of general observations before moving on to his scrutinization of the individual departments.
He was on his second cup of coffee by the time Jean arrived at work. He closed her office door so they could have some privacy. “I have to go back to Chicago tonight—”
He saw the shocked expression that blanketed her features and immediately moved to correct her misconceptions. “No…just for a day or two. I have an emergency business problem that requires my immediate attention in my office. I’ll be leaving this evening and will try to be back tomorrow night, but I’m afraid it will more likely be sometime Saturday afternoon before I can be back in Seattle.”
Their Child? Page 47