A Father's Promise

by Marcia Evanick

  Ellis's hands stopped in midstroke. "For what?"

  "For … you know…" She couldn't bear to look at him, so she weakly waved one of her hands into the air. Her experience with men might not be what most twenty-eight-year-old women's were, but she knew Ellis should have been with her on that incredible journey he had just taken her on.

  He reached down, cupped her chin and forced her to look at him. "No, I don't know, Sydney. Explain."

  Mortification flooded her cheeks. If she had the energy, she would have fled the room. As it was, she still couldn't feel her knees, let alone stand up and run. Her hand fluttered helplessly once again into the air. "You know, you didn't…" She couldn't think of a proper way of completing that sentence.

  "I didn't what?" Ellis refused to allow her to bury her face back into his shirt.

  "You know…" The flood of embarrassment heated her face as Ellis continued to stare at her. He was waiting for an answer and by hell he was going to get one. "You weren't … satisfied." She nodded her head as if she was some slow-witted pupil who just thought of the right answer. "You know what I mean…"

  Ellis chuckled until she glared at him. It took him a moment to catch his breath and then he asked, "Is that what you were sorry for?"

  "What did you think I was sorry for?" Ellis wasn't slow or thickheaded. What else could she possibly be sorry for?

  "Old insecurities die hard, Sydney, that's all." Ellis cupped her face and kissed the tip of her nose.

  "What old insecurities?"

  This time his kiss landed at the corner of her mouth. "Later, my love. I'll tell you later."

  My love! Ellis had called her his love! When he tried to kiss the other corner of her mouth, she turned her head and landed a direct kiss of her own.

  He chuckled. "You didn't think we were finished, did you?"

  "Finished?"

  Ellis gave her a kiss that not only rekindled a couple of the sparks she had thought were fading, but lit a few new ones as well. "Sydney, Sydney, Sydney." Warm and insistent lips placed tiny little kisses all over her face. "That was only the first inning."

  "First inning?" She tried to capture his roaming mouth, but he was too quick for her.

  "You know what they say about first innings." Ellis's teeth playfully nipped at her earlobe.

  "What?"

  "There's eight more to follow."

  * * *

  An hour later, Sydney stood under the warm pounding spray of the shower and tried to relax. She couldn't. She was still waiting for the second inning to begin. Ellis obviously wasn't in a hurry to restart the game. Or maybe the anticipation was part of his game plan.

  He had teased away her embarrassment with gentle kisses that hinted at even greater pleasures yet to come as he had refastened her bra and redone her buttons. They had locked up the house together and climbed the steps hand in hand. He had walked her to her bedroom door, kissed her until she nearly melted at his feet and then asked her if there was a lock on her door. She had skidded her fingers down the buttons on his shirt and told him yes, but she wasn't planning on using it—at least not to keep him out. He had captured her wandering fingers, opened her bedroom door and gently nudged her inside with the promise of joining her soon.

  She had nervously paced her room, listening to the sound of Ellis taking a shower across the hall. Mental images of him standing under a pounding spray had had her nearly hyperventilating. She had pictured broad shoulders, muscular thighs and a chest worthy of her undivided attention, for at least an hour or two. Suds and water had been running in rivers down his body.

  A stirring of heat had had her cursing both her imagination and Ellis. She had turned into a wanton woman.

  As soon as he left the bathroom and returned to his room, she had dashed across the hall praying that a bracing shower would cool her down.

  Her prayer had been in vain. She wasn't cool. Heck, she wasn't even warm. She was hot and aching.

  With a rueful shake of her head she grabbed the pink netted shower puff and squirted it with the bottle of shower gel. The scent of raspberries filled the steamy air as she started to lather her body. She jerked in surprise as the net brushed against her still hardened nipples and heat rushed through her. What in the world had Ellis done to her body?

  With warmth coiling its way deep within her abdomen and slowly settling at the junction of her thighs, she quickly finished washing and stepped out of the tub. The thick yellow towel was soft against her skin but she hardly noticed. What held her attention was the scent of Ellis's aftershave still clinging to the air and the sight of his small travel case sitting on the back of the toilet.

  The black leather case was opened and she could see the various items he had brought. His aftershave bore an expensive designer name. Shaving gel, razor, toothbrush and toothpaste were common brands. They were all masculine things and it reminded her that Ellis was the first man to share this bathroom with her. Her father had a bath connected to his room and this had always been her private domain, except during the occasional visit from Aunt Rose. There was something so intimate about Ellis sharing her space.

  She raised her leg to the rim of the tub and rubbed it with the towel. There was something else that caught her eye in Ellis's bag. A bottle of no-tears baby shampoo, a tube of bubblegum flavored toothpaste and a small toothbrush with Bugs Bunny on the handle. Trevor's things. Ellis wasn't the only new male in the house.

  Seeing Trevor's personal items reminded her that Ellis's first and foremost reason for being here was his son.

  She slowly hung up the towel and slipped into the white chenille robe that hung on the back of the door. With fingers that shook, she tied the belt, took off the shower cap she had donned to keep her hair dry and hung it on the hook by the tub. Sighing heavily, she turned and faced the mirror.

  Steam condensed on the reflective surface, but it wasn't enough to obscure the view. Suddenly she saw what she had been afraid to see—a woman on the brink of falling in love. The wonder and excitement were clearly in her eyes. So was the pain to come.

  She picked up her hairbrush, turned from the mirror and left the room. She glanced down the hall to where her father's room was and then back to the closed door of the guest bedroom. Ellis and Trevor's room. She paused, then walked firmly down the hall to her own room. The one thing she had learned from the accident that had taken her mother and blinded her father was to live for today, for tomorrow might never come.

  The thought of spending all of her savings or charging up her credit cards just because tomorrow might never be was ridiculous. But the thought of taking a lover and savoring every moment with him was something else entirely. Ellis would be heading home soon enough. For now, she wanted to make each day and every night a memory.

  She stepped into her bedroom and closed the door behind her. Ellis would come. He said he would come later and she believed him.

  Her hand holding her brush was raised and halfway through its first stroke when his low voice startled her. "You look like a little girl all barefoot and in that oversize robe."

  Her gaze shot to the big comfortable chair she had positioned in front of the window. Dressed in a T-shirt and boxers, Ellis slouched down and sank into the chair's depths, hidden in the shadows created by the small light on her bureau.

  She forced her hand to complete the stroke of the brush and start another one. She had seen what her wild and curly hair looked like in the mirror in the bathroom—as if she had jammed it all under a plastic shower cap, which she had. She was surprised he hadn't run in horror when she had entered the room.

  "I'm not a little girl, Ellis." She wanted to dispel any notions he might have on that score because she definitely didn't feel like a little girl. In fact, she was having some big-girl fantasies where he was concerned.

  Ellis grinned as he stood up and walked toward her. "I know."

  The heat in his gaze confirmed that statement as he gently took the brush out of her hand. "I like it when you leave your hair dow
n." He took her by the shoulders and turned her around.

  She was surprised when he started running the brush through her tangled hair. "I—I put it up in a ponytail because it's easier when I work," she said, stammering nervously. She never had anyone besides her mother or a hairstylist brush her hair. It felt strange in a good way. It was a very intimate gesture.

  Ellis's hands were gentle as he worked the brush through her curls. "It looks dark now, but when the sun hits it I can see the red highlights."

  She glanced over her shoulder and crinkled her nose at him. "Don't remind me. It's a lot calmer now than when I was a little girl."

  Strong fingers wove their way through the wavy curls as if he were memorizing the texture. His gaze followed his fingers. "What, the curls or the color?"

  "Both, but mostly the color." The intensity of his gaze caused her to take the brush out of his hand and back away. She didn't want Ellis to see what she saw when she had looked into the mirror. She placed the brush on top of the bureau and moved away from the light. "Is Trevor okay?"

  "Trevor's sleeping fine." Ellis followed her into the shadows. When she turned toward him once again, he reached out and cupped her cheek. "Second thoughts, Syd?"

  She pressed her cheek into his warmth. "No." The only other person who dared to shorten her name to the ridiculous-sounding Syd was Cindy. Sydney had gone through puberty and into adulthood with her best friend by her side and so Cindy had earned the privilege of calling her just about anything she wanted. When Ellis used the shortened version he made it sound intimate and special.

  "Nervous?"

  That was the understatement of the year. "What, you can't see my knees knocking?"

  Ellis glanced down and grinned. "No offense, Syd, but dressed in that thing I can't see anything but trim ankles, cute feet and painted pink toenails." Ellis's thumb stroked her jaw. "I shudder to think what kind of pajamas you are wearing under it."

  She glanced down and frowned. Ellis had a point there. Any woman who wore more material than a bedspread for a robe was apt to wear flannel pj's and knee-socks to bed. She didn't own a pair of flannel pajamas, and the few pairs of kneesocks she owned were meant to be worn with jeans and work boots. She was one of those people in the world who preferred to sleep in the nude—she had been since she graduated from college. The feel of material wrapped around her arms or legs while under the covers made her feel claustrophobic.

  Sydney met Ellis's gaze and tried for a casual shrug. "I'm not wearing any pajamas."

  Ellis lowered his gaze to the front of Sydney's robe and he had to swallow twice before he could unglue his tongue from the roof of his mouth. "What exactly are you wearing under that tent?"

  "A blush." Sydney's hand reached out and held the lapels together.

  Sydney was naked beneath the robe! He noticed the slight trembling of her fingers and wondered if it had to do with embarrassment or desire. The blush she was referring to was sweeping up her throat and tinting her cheeks a lovely shade of red. He would have given everything in his wallet to know exactly where that blush had started from. "You look adorable when you blush. Your face nearly matches your hair when the sun catches it." He reached out and touched her heated cheek. "But I wish you wouldn't do it."

  "Why?"

  "Because it's telling me that you're embarrassed or something I said made you uncomfortable." The confusion in her eyes pulled at his heart. It was very obvious to him that Sydney wasn't used to entertaining men in her bedroom. That fact made tonight that much more special to him. "Tell me what you are thinking, Syd."

  "I didn't dress like this because of you." Sydney appeared more mortified at her words. "I mean … I never wear pajamas."

  He let out the breath he had been holding and relaxed. Sydney had been embarrassed or uncomfortable about her normal lack of sleeping attire, not because of him. "It doesn't matter."

  "It doesn't?"

  "Nope." He shook his head and tugged her closer. "I would have taken them off anyway."

  Sydney whispered a soft "Oh," and came willingly into his arms.

  He captured her soft whisper with his mouth, wrapping his arms around her and pressing her close against his aroused body. Desire boiled through his blood and turned into pulsating need. His tongue swept into her mouth. A low groan ripped through his chest as her tongue met his advance with sweet little stabs.

  Sydney's hands caressed his back, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. Pleasing musical purrs rumbled up her throat and mated with the kiss. He loved that sweet sound she made when they kissed, and silently vowed to discover if she would still be making it when her thighs were wrapped around his hips and he was deep inside her.

  He broke the kiss as Sydney tugged his shirt up and over his head. His fingers toyed with the belt on her robe. "You smell like raspberries." He nipped the enticing curve of her neck, where the robe had slipped a bit. "Will you taste like them too?"

  Sydney trembled within his arms. "No, it's not edible. The manufacturer only guarantees that I'll smell like raspberries after a shower, not taste like them."

  "Write them in the morning." His mouth brushed aside the soft white robe and trailed a string of kisses to the curve of her shoulder. "Tell them to start research on making it taste like raspberries and that you'll take the first case of the stuff off the line." He gave her shoulder a tender nip. "I love raspberries."

  His mouth skimmed downward as the robe slipped farther. The seductive curve of her pale full breast caused him to groan as he savored the soft flesh. "Scratch that last comment."

  "What comment?" Sydney's hands stroked the quivering muscles in his back as he restrained himself from picking her up, tossing her onto the bed and sinking so far into her it would take an act of Congress to get him out. He could feel each of her fingers quiver against his skin.

  "About tasting like raspberries." The tip of his tongue followed the low sweeping line of the robe against her skin. "No manufacturer could ever duplicate your taste." He lifted his head and met her gaze. Sliding his tongue slowly across his upper lip, he reveled in her flavor. "You taste like hot silk and sinful pleasures."

  A blush started to sweep up Sydney's cheeks once again, but he could see that this time she mastered it beautifully. Her hot gaze singed his chest as she smiled slowly. "What do you taste like, Ellis?" Sydney's fingers teased their way through the scattering of curls arrowing their way down his chest

  He captured her hand just as it reached the waistband of his boxers. "I'm going to taste like humiliation if you go any lower." His arousal was painfully obvious. If she so much as touched him, he was going to embarrass himself beyond belief.

  He had wanted their first time together to be slow and sweet. He wanted to touch, taste and savor every inch of her body and make her feel things she had never thought possible. When he had to return home, he wanted to leave with Sydney knowing she had been loved, and loved well.

  Now he wasn't even sure if he could last until they made it to the bed. The little prologue to their loving that had taken place in the den had nearly done him in. He had held her and watched as she had climaxed at his touch. He thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The next time she climaxed, he not only wanted to be deep inside her, he wanted to be with her all the way.

  If he had any hope of achieving that goal, he had better do something about it, and fast. Ellis reached for the belt on her robe and gently tugged.

  Sydney stood still as the robe gaped and slipped farther off her shoulders.

  He swallowed hard as his gaze followed the pale line of skin from between her breasts to the dark nest of curls at the junction of her thighs. The air in his lungs turned blistering as he forgot to breathe.

  Sydney lowered her hands and shrugged.

  The robe slid to her feet like a white puffy cloud. He knew she was beautiful, he just hadn't realized how beautiful. Sydney looked like an angel. Twin mounds with jutting pink nipples begged for his mouth. A waist, so slim he could span it wi
th his hands, pleaded for his touch. Legs that were both long and curved ended in rounded hips. And the thatch of dark curls guarding her secrets implored him to explore farther.

  He reached out and traced her collarbone with the tip of one of his fingers. "You're beautiful, Sydney." He felt her tremble beneath his touch and smiled. This time he knew she shook with desire. He could see it in her eyes.

  Eyes that were normally soft green burned with a fire as hot as his own. Sydney wanted him. His finger trailed lower and slowly circled one of her protruding nipples.

  Sydney swayed toward him and he needed no further response. She was his. With a quick movement he gathered her up into his arms and carried her to the bed. The comforter was swept onto the floor before he lay her across the mattress.

  Sydney held out her arms to him and softly whispered, "Please."

  He shook his head and stepped away from her tempting arms. "Soon." Slowly he pulled a foil packet from his pocket and tossed it onto the bed before pushing down his boxers and stepping out of them. He couldn't afford for her to touch him now. He would never last. He was beyond aching.

  Sydney shivered as he placed a kiss on the inside of her ankle. She reached for him, her voice filled with the same aching quality that he was feeling. "Ellis, please."

  His mouth caressed her calf and teased the sensitive spot behind her knee. He gave her other leg the same slow treatment before kissing his way up her trembling thighs.

  Strong fingers pulled at his shoulders, forcing him to move away from his intended target. He didn't mind. There would be other opportunities later for that particular kind of loving. His fingers trailed up the inside of her thigh as he kissed his way to the taut peaks of her breasts. His teeth lightly nipped a tight bud the same instant his finger slipped deep inside her moist and welcoming opening.

  Sydney arched her hips upward, pressing against his hand. The harsh quality of her breathing told him what he already knew. He released her and reached for the foil pack he had tossed onto the bed. "You're ready for me, aren't you?"