Firstborn

by Carrigan Fox

  His eyes opened guiltily, bearing a slight mistiness of arousal.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Getting lost in my happy place,” he admitted. He watched her lips curl into a knowing grin before giving in to his urge. He slipped his hands behind her calves and pulled her closer to him, gently tugging and placing her legs beside his own. He then put his hands around her tiny waist and lifted her into his lap.

  She gasped in surprise at the feel of his arousal and curled her legs around his body instinctively. He caressed the sides of her neck possessively and pulled her face down to his, taking possession of those lips he had imagined drifting over his body.

  Thrilled with her instantaneous response, he tasted her lips and took satisfaction in hearing her gasp for breath even as she moved her body in his lap to brush against him seductively.

  “Damn, woman, I want you.”

  She pulled back from him a moment and looked into his face. “I want you, too, Will. But I don’t want to risk hurting you.”

  She saw disappointment and frustration in his eyes, but he nodded in agreement. “Then we wait. But I don’t want you to stop on my account. You say the word when you’re ready, and I’ll make it work,” he assured her.

  She laughed at his sweet assurance and kissed him again as she climbed to her feet.

  He pushed himself to his feet, wincing at the pain in his ribs and his own physical discomfort from his arousal. “Will I look like a cad if I call this date a success and head home? I’m thinking I will get some work done and turn in early.”

  Smiling in sweet understanding and sympathy for his pain and suffering, she sent him off with a chaste kiss and a swat on the ass.

  ***

  “It seems you’re one of those people who are not affected by meditation,” she had told him as he walked out the door. She now sat in her meditation room, trying to calm herself and come back down off of the buzz that Will Archer had created in her. Regardless of her efforts, however, he seemed to be fixed in her mind.

  “Not affected?”

  “It just doesn’t work with some people,” she had shrugged.

  “I wouldn’t say that it didn’t work. It’s a great tool for foreplay.”

  She had snorted. “I suspect that it doesn’t take much to rev your engine, Dr. Archer.”

  “That’s only because you’re always on my mind.”

  “Charming,” she had laughed.

  Breathing deeply, she shook her head, telling herself that she had done the right thing by putting a stop to their frisky behavior. Wanting Will had never been an issue. But she had waited this long to give herself to a man, and she wanted to be certain that he was the right man.

  She envisioned her hammock and stared up at the oak leaves, breathing deeply through her nose.

  And then she was in Will’s office, pressed between him and his desk.

  “I never was one of those girls who wanted a fairy tale ending with Prince Charming. And yet, here I am,” she declared to him.

  Will smiled down at her, his bright eyes twinkling, as she twined her arms around the back of his neck, pulling him down for a kiss. He indulged briefly before strolling to his office door, closing it and walking back to her side. He pressed her back against his desk and dipped his head for a kiss.

  “What are you doing? You’re in the middle of business hours and I imagine you have patients coming.” She pointed a finger into his chest playfully. He bent lower to nip her earlobe.

  “I don’t see anyone for another hour. I didn’t want to be interrupted in the middle of my marriage proposal,” he answered, trailing moist kisses across her jawbone and to her chin before claiming her mouth again with his own.

  Relishing the sensations of arousal, pride, and love, Jac admitted to herself that he was ten times the partner that Prince Charming would have been. She could not have done better than to get herself saddled with Dr. Will Archer.

  “Holy crap,” she muttered when she looked around and found herself still sitting in her meditation room alone. Her cell phone was still resting in her hand. She knew she adored Will Archer, but she was stunned to realize that she would fall in love with him. And after another moment of reflection, she confessed to herself that she wasn’t actually stunned at all. She had been falling in love with him from the moment he had stuffily pointed out to her that she was seven minutes late. As it turned out, she’d been right. Seven had definitely been her lucky number that day.

  Picking up her phone, she punched in a text message to the ever-impressive Dr. Archer. Are you feeling better?

  She sat on the floor fidgeting, the calmness she had been trying to achieve a moment ago through meditation now out the window. Within a matter of minutes, her phone buzzed, alerting her to a new message.

  Well enough to visit or share a meal? Definitely. Well enough to skydive? Give me another day or two. She laughed giddily and sent another message back.

  Well enough to let a woman bring you dinner and attempt to get you into bed?

  She bit the corner of her lip nervously, wondering how he was reacting to that particular message. Taryn had teased her once about being more subtle and playing a bit harder to get where men were concerned. But Jac had never been a big fan of playing games. She said what she felt when she felt it. She relied heavily on her intuition to guide her in her romantic relationships. And the moment she realized that she had no romantic future with a man, she had always ended the relationship as gently as possible.

  But Will Archer was different. Will Archer was the man she was going to marry. Her phone buzzed again.

  You make that sound much more exciting than you probably intended.

  She grinned to herself as she typed, I actually intend it to be much more exciting than it sounds.

  She should feel nervous or unsure of herself. But Jac was, if nothing else, a woman ruled by her passions. If she had chosen not to be with a man before, it was because she knew that the romance would not be as fulfilling as it would be with a man who truly mattered to her. After a few more minutes passed, she began to wonder if Dr. Archer was backing out. And then her phone buzzed one last time. His message had her grinning like a fool.

  Do you have any roller skates? I have a thing for women in roller skates.

  C

  hapter 10

  “Did you bring your gun?” he greeted as he swung open the door.

  She tilted her head in the image of a 1980s airhead and argued, “My gun totally doesn’t color coordinate with my roller skates.”

  “Hmm,” he grinned.

  “I always have my gun with me. But no, I don’t have any roller skates.”

  “Pity,” he replied with a shrug as he held the door open wider for her to enter.

  Now that she was here, she wasn’t quite certain of how to proceed. Should she grab him and force him against the wall before planting a passionate kiss on his mouth? Or should she do a slow strip tease? She’d considered the sexy lingerie under the trench coat, but it seemed a bit too cliché. She could light candles and offer him a sexy massage, but that didn’t seem her style either. When it came to seduction, Jaclyn MaCall was simply out of her element. She shared her thoughts and feelings openly, and seduction involved a bit of teasing and game-playing that were not a part of her repertoire.

  He watched her eyes flit around his tidy living room, clearly unsure of how to make her move. For the first time, he saw a lack of certainty in her eyes, and it made him want her even more. He loved that she could kick ass and take names one minute and then stand hopelessly unsure of herself the next. She was so perfectly imperfect. And he knew in that moment that once he possessed her, he would never want to let her go.

  “Can I get you a drink?” he suggested.

  “Maybe two,” she nodded.

  Smiling to himself, he left her alone as he moved into the kitchen to prepare her a drink. He opened his fridge, as well, to see what he might make for dinner. He hadn’t expected company and his h
eart had been racing since she’d sent the first text message about getting him into bed. He’d first thought that she meant she intended to tuck him in and see that he was getting some sleep. Then she’d sent the second message, and he’d nearly wet himself.

  “Can I help?” He stood up quickly, startled by her sudden appearance, and smacked his head on the freezer door above him. She chuckled softly and patted him on the back. “Let’s try to keep head injuries to a minimum, shall we, Dr. Archer?”

  “Ha ha. Are you hungry?”

  “For some Pie a la Will, perhaps,” she suggested with a cheesy grin.

  How quickly she was always able to regain the upper hand. She reached for him and took the package of eggs out of his hand, placing it on the counter behind him. She put her hands on him and enjoyed the sound of air rushing out of his lungs as she ran her hands up over his chest and shoulders. Leaning in to him, she lifted her face and placed a string of gentle kisses along his collarbone.

  He moaned softly, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her snug against his body. Even before he lowered his mouth to hers, he was becoming aroused and the movement of her tongue against his only further inflamed his desire. She moved onto her tiptoes to deepen the kiss, and he growled at the sensation of her body moving against his erotically. He had wanted women before, but he was consumed with this one. He hoped she had her belly button ring in and then began wondering what other surprises he might find on her delicious naked body.

  His hands were on her hips fumbling at the bottom hem of her blouse, a soft lavender silk that matched her captivating eyes. She felt his hands, cooled from the refrigerator, resting on her side briefly before one reached up to caress her warm back. She opened her eyes briefly to watch as she pulled back and unbuttoned his shirt, exposing his bare chest and washboard abs. Trailing a single fingernail down the center of his chest, she smiled when he shuddered and then tested him further by looping that finger in the waistband of his pants. She considered loosening the button, but she didn’t want to rush this first time.

  He watched her eyes mist over with passion and nipped her full bottom lip that now bore a bit of swollen redness from brushing his beard. He hadn’t shaved that morning, and his face definitely bore a five o’clock shadow. He wished he’d had the foresight to shave before she arrived, but she didn’t seem to be complaining. Instead, she reached a hand up and caressed his cheek, purring in approval.

  He responded by running his hands up her sides as he closed his eyes again and sank himself into another drugging kiss. She sighed into his mouth while his fingertips caressed the underside of her breast through lace and satin. And with no necessary invitation, his hands shifted to cover her full breast. He muffled her gasps of delight with his lips as he pushed aside her bra straps and ran the pad of his thumb over her most sensitive spots. She arched her body against his, pressing him against the countertop while she grinded against him, teasing them both in this realm somewhere between pleasure and pain. She had been attracted to men before, but she had never felt this desire to possess a man before. Dr. Will Archer, it seemed, was in her blood.

  She watched him painstakingly take his time unbuttoning her blouse before pushing it off of her shoulders. With a quick embrace, he had reversed their positions and pinned her against the refrigerator he had opened only moments before. He stopped suddenly, pausing to admire the pale yellow satin and lace before reaching behind her to unclasp the delicious fabric that covered the skin he craved. When he had successfully bared her breasts, he traced the tan line around her breasts before dipping his head to taste her.

  “Beard!” she gasped.

  Immediately apologetic, he pulled back and attempted to take more care until she grabbed the back of his head and pulled him against her body, moaning in pleasure when his rough cheek brushed her aroused peaks. He continued to make her writhe by alternating gentle kisses with the scrape of his beard followed by a soothing caress of his tongue. He moved down her stomach and paused to appreciate the amethyst jewel that decorated her belly button. Placing a gentle kiss on that particular treasure, he stood up again, pressing against her so that she was both pinned between him and the cool appliance and so that he was nestled too comfortably between her legs.

  She captured his mouth again, rubbing against him and enjoying the feel of his sparse chest hair as it rasped against her already sensitive breasts. She felt a throbbing need at her core and wanted him with an urgency she’d never experienced.

  “Will,” she gasped between kisses.

  “Oh, Jac. I’ve wanted you from the moment you grinned at me in the rain.”

  “Will.” She needed to tell him that she was still a virgin, not so he would take more care with her but so that he wouldn’t feel sorry later. “There’s something--” she cried out when he moved against her suggestively, imitating the act that she knew would bring them both more joy than they had ever experienced.

  “There has been something from the beginning,” he breathed in apparent agreement.

  “I’m a virgin,” she blurted.

  While he didn’t move away to remove the pressure of his body against hers, he did stop kissing her, still standing pressed against her with his cheek resting against her hair. “Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t know. Here I am mauling you like an animal,” he berated himself.

  She wrapped her arms around him to keep him from stepping away from her. “No. Well, yes,” she chuckled. “Don’t stop. I don’t want you to stop.”

  He looked into her eyes with care and regret, though whether he was regretting how he’d manhandled her or the possibility of not having her after all, she wasn’t sure. To convince him of her sincerity, she moved her pelvis against him. “I mean it,” she announced with certainty.

  He groaned and leaned into her even more forcefully.

  “I’m not completely inexperienced, Will.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’ve never been more sure. I wanted someone who mattered. You matter, Dr. Archer.”

  His hands fell to her side and she reached for him, lacing her fingers through his.

  “Let’s go to the bedroom where I can make love to you properly,” he suggested as he turned to pull her out of the kitchen.

  “No.” Her sharp response stopped him, and he turned with resignation, knowing now that she had come to her senses. Instead, she surprised him by grabbing the waistband of his pants and pulling him back to her. She reached for his belt buckle and insisted, “We’ll try the bedroom later. Right now, you’d better get back to mauling me, Will.”

  A moment of confusion had him hesitating before he grinned at her and moved in for an all-consuming kiss. While their tongues moved together, she maintained enough sense to concentrate on removing his belt and undoing his pants. His hands were equally dexterous at slipping her pants down over her hips, not even taking the time to appreciate the pale yellow satin that she’d carefully donned underneath before leaving her home.

  Leaning over her, he suckled her breasts and ran his hands over her hips, sliding them up the inside of her thigh to test her readiness. He kissed her hungrily while caressing her hot, wet middle, teasing her until she gasped desperately into his mouth. And when she reached for him, he moved her hands away and surprised her by digging his fingers into her hips and lifting her so that she could wrap her legs around his waist. She could feel his arousal pressing against her intimately and longed to have all of him.

  When he pressed her against the counter, she arched her back, stretching seductively across the countertop while he stood between her thighs, poised. He ran his hands over her body, pinching and caressing and bending over her to kiss her with a desperate longing neither of them had ever experienced.

  “Now, Will. Make me yours now,” she urged.

  And he obliged, attempting to hold back to ease her pain while holding back his own release. She countered by digging her heels into his backside, taking him in and crying out in pleasure. And as he drove them over the edge tog
ether, they both delighted in their shared ecstasy and fulfilled destiny.

  ***

  Jac collapsed beside Will on the couch after they had each slipped into their clothes. He was suddenly shy and a bit withdrawn. In an effort to get him to snap out of it, she playfully leaned over and planted a smacking kiss on his lips.

  “I’m an ass,” he responded.

  She laughed and shook her head. “My mind is racing with adjectives but let me check…nope, ‘ass’ is not one of them. Spectacular, stimulating, fabulous, regal, ultimate, sexy, intelligent…definitely no ‘ass.’”

  “I feel like a heel.”

  “You should feel like a heel. Knowing now that you’re such an incredible lover, I’m a little pissed off. You’ve been holding out on me for weeks! I’m almost offended.”

  “I should have been more careful with you.”

  “Shut up,” she laughed. “You’re the man. You’re supposed to light a cigarette, slap me on the ass, and lie about calling me as you swagger out the door.”

  He grinned at the hands in his lap. “How in the hell have you not been mauled before? You are the sexiest woman I’ve ever met.”

  She bit her lip and tried to be serious. “It’s been hell trying to fight them off for all of these years.”

  “Seriously.”

  She giggled and leaned against his shoulder. “It involves some of my pesky visions that make you all squirmy. Are you sure you want the story?”

  He swallowed thickly and agreed.

  “I had a vision when I was a teenager. Not a vision actually. It was more like an overwhelming wave of emotion. I felt loved and passionate and respected. I was a cherished partner. After that, I promised myself that I wouldn’t settle for less. I wanted the vision.”

  He sat in uncomfortable silence, as though waiting for her to profess her love.

  “You’re freaking out.”

  “I’m not.”

  She smiled at him, knowing the truth. “You’re allowed to freak out, Will. I just see more in you than I have in any man I’ve ever known. I’m not saying you’re my destiny. I’m just saying that I have been selective in my past and I happen to think that you’re fantastic.” She shrugged, knowing that telling him about her vision of his marriage proposal would cause him unnecessary stress.