Annabelle winced. The insight was more than she'd expected and she wondered how he'd coped as a boy being misunderstood by his parents.
How sad. And how shocking that she wanted to make up for all he'd lacked. Though her parents had died, she'd had Uncle Yank to celebrate her successes along with Lola and her sisters to wipe her tears and help her through her frustrations.
"Well, I understand your family dynamics a lot better now." Not that she could comprehend how his parents could put their pride above their child.
"That's nice but don't think I'm looking for your sympathy," he said, folding his arms over his chest, erecting barriers in case she rejected him too.
Oh yes, she understood him so much better now. "Good." She cocked her head to one side. "Because I’m not offering any. So how'd you learn to compensate? I saw you going over contracts in the office and I know for sure you wouldn't have gotten to this point in your life if you were still struggling the same way."
He shrugged, still cavalier, still acting as if what she thought didn't matter. "I met someone who cared enough to point me in the right direction."
She rose and stood toe-to-toe with him. "You were fortunate."
"Yes, I was," Vaughn agreed. But he wasn't about to tell Annabelle it was her uncle who'd been his savior. He'd bared enough of his soul for today.
His body, however, he wouldn't mind stripping further. Hers either. He wanted her. Wanted to feel and stop all the damn talking, especially about him. And since she'd come here for just that reason, he knew she wouldn't resist.
He threaded his fingers beneath the flimsy silk strap. "I think this would break with one easy pull," he murmured.
Her gaze flew to his. "I take it you're finished talking?" she asked, a seductive grin tipping her lips.
"Personally I can think of better things to do." His voice grew rough with desire and he grazed her skin with his fingertips, deliberately caressing her silken flesh. He liked the feel of her, so soft and real.
She tipped her head back. "Do tell."
He grinned. "I'd rather show you."
Their gazes met and held. And when he couldn't take the teasing foreplay of words any longer, he lowered his head closer to hers.
Only he didn't kiss her on the lips. Instead he buried his face in her neck, suckling the sensitive area of flesh and inhaling the fragrant scent of fruity soap and shampoo he associated with Annabelle.
Her body trembled as did his.
"Mmm. You're good," she said on a low moan.
He nuzzled her neck and inhaled deeply. "You knew I would be."
"Arrogant man." She chuckled, the sound low and throaty and oh so sexy.
She broke free and strode over to the bed, shimmying her hips, making him sweat as he took in her lithe body covered only by the seductive garment she'd chosen to wear-for him. Lace caressed her firm bottom, teasing him, making him jealous of a piece of flimsy material.
As if she knew his every thought, she ever so slowly lowered first one sexy strap over her shoulder, then moved on to the next. When both straps fell temptingly around her arms, she shimmied them down further.
He watched, entranced, as she freed first one breast then the next until the teddy slipped completely down to her waist. Bare, she faced him, her rounded breasts and darkened erect nipples ripe and ready. For anything.
"Good Lord." He sucked in a breath, his mouth dry and parched.
"What are you waiting for?" she asked, crooking a seductive finger his way. "Come on, Vaughn. Don't back out on me now."
"Is that a challenge?" he asked.
She nodded, her tousled hair falling over her shoulders. Damn, he wanted to run his fingers through the strands, and then let her sweep that mane over his body, tantalizingly slowly. "Absolutely." She flashed him a knowing smile. "Because if you can't resist anything else, as an athlete I know you can't resist a challenge."
He raised an eyebrow. She knew a lot about him, but she didn't know everything. He intended to enlighten her.
"What I can't resist is you." He grasped her around the waist, his hands partly on the bunched teddy and partially on her bare skin, then moved her to the center of the bed.
Her eyes opened wide, pleasure and anticipation flooding her flushed cheeks. Never breaking eye contact, he joined her on the large mattress, lowered her to her back and kissed her full on the lips.
Vaughn immediately realized Annabelle wasn't about to be a passive participant. She grabbed his waist and slipped her hands into the band of his boxers. She cupped his buttocks in her palms and pulled him toward her with a sure and determined grip, a tempting smile on her lips. With difficulty, he managed to focus on her luscious mouth and devour her, completely lost in the moment.
In her.
He was in a heated sweat, his desire building with each thrust of his tongue into her mouth, with every rotation of her hips that ground her feminine mound into his. Through her silk covering, through his boxers, he felt her, hot and ready. He wanted to bury himself in all that dewy heat and the knowledge that there was nothing stopping him drove his desire.
Slowly but surely, he slipped his hand downward, there. Needing proof, he edged his finger beneath the lace. At the first touch, her hips bucked and moisture trickled onto his fingertip.
"Annie," he said on a husky, shaking groan.
"I want you, Vaughn," she replied, proving to him that she was an equal partner in this seduction, giving of herself and taking in return.
He'd wanted to stop talking. He'd wanted to feel. Well right now his body was rock-hard and ready to explode. Oh, yeah, he was definitely feeling now.
Problem was, he was probably feeling too much- about her, and for her. He ought to run for cover, but he wouldn't.
And once he lost himself in her warm, damp body, he knew he'd be way past caring.
CHAPTER NINE
ANNABELLE TINGLED. She shook all over. And she was this close to making love with Brandon Vaughn. Oh, she could get used to this. So very easily. Too easily considering her past had taught her to know better. So for now, she just wanted to make sure she savored every moment of this experience. Just in case it never happened again.
He eased his finger beneath the teddy and began to torment her with exquisite friction. He ran his finger back and forth, his roughened skin arousing her already sensitized flesh. She grew hotter and wetter, cresting waves building inside her. Her hips pivoted in time to his rhythm and she arched her back, seeking harder, deeper contact.
"Slow down, baby." He slipped one finger deep inside her body. "I have every intention of giving you what you want. I just plan to prolong the pleasure first." As he spoke, his cheek snuggled against hers, his breath warm as it fanned the side of her face.
Pleasure or torture? she wondered. Then, deciding he needed to suffer, too, she reached between them and slipped her hand beneath the waistband of his boxers so she could grasp his long, hard length in her hand.
His groan of agony told her she'd accomplished her goal. "Still want to go slow?" she teased, gliding her palm up and down his shaft while her thumb caressed his moist tip. She ached for him to fill her completely, longed to feel every silken ridge as he thrust deep inside-
"Do you know what happens to bad girls who play with fire?" he asked as he rose and peeled off his shorts. A smile on her lips, she helped him until he stood before her, completely nude.
If Brandon Vaughn fully dressed was a sight to behold, this sight literally sucked the air out of her lungs. Her heart beat out a rapid rhythm as she took in the sight of the swollen, thick arousal she'd caused.
Turning her attention to the teddy she didn't want on her body one moment longer, she eased the flimsy silk down over her hips, revealing herself to this man in the most intimate way.
His stare never wavered. He watched, eyes dilated with hunger and need. Every last vestige of uncertainty and embarrassment was swept away in the heat of his appreciative gaze.
"What happens to bad girls?" she asked
coyly, tossing the garment over the side of the bed.
"They get burned," he said and with the smooth grace of an athlete, he tackled her, tumbling her flat on the mattress, his body entangled with hers.
She shut her eyes and savored the feel of his hard body covering hers and she spread her legs, letting him settle in between. Needing more, she clenched her thighs around him tightly.
Vaughn gritted his teeth but a low growl escaped anyway. He couldn't wait another minute and from the way she writhed beneath him, neither could she.
She raised her arms above her head, which had her arching her back and pushing her chest toward him. Unable to resist, he lowered his head and captured one taut nipple in his mouth. He teased her with his tongue, nipped and grazed with his teeth. All the while she rolled her hips beneath him, damp, moist, and silently begging him to take her.
And he planned to. He reached into his nightstand drawer for protection.
"Always prepared," she said, her gaze following his movements. "I'd never have pegged you for a Boy Scout."
Her voice was light and teasing, but for a split second he thought he caught a hint of something more in her gaze. Something akin to wondering if she was one of many. Normally he didn't bring women home with him, an unwritten rule that went along with his distrust of females.
Yet he'd done both with Annabelle and for that reason he wanted to answer her unasked question now. "I bought these after you came to stay."
Her gaze softened. "I don't know whether to be flattered or mortified you think I'm easy."
He chuckled. "Baby, there's nothing easy about you " He sheathed himself with unsteady hands and as her gaze held his, he spread her thighs and drove himself hard and deep inside.
He'd expected it to be good. Hell, he'd even anticipated fantastic. But what he felt now was unbelievable. She was soft and moist, warm and wet and as she drew her legs upward, pulling him impossibly further into her body, spiraling sensations of ecstasy swamped him from every angle.
He slid out, then in, picking up a rhythm that brought him faster and faster to the brink. She moaned and met his even thrusts with a rotating of her hips that ground her mound against him.
Her pelvic muscles contracted, tighter and tighter as her breath against his neck came faster. He drew a deep breath and thrust in more rapid succession.
"Vaughn." She cried out his name at the same time she came, her body milking his as the spasms hit and continued, triggering a shattering climax of his own.
"Don't stop," she urged, the rapid clenching and rotation of her hips continuing as she dug her nails into his back and her climax slowly subsided.
His own had been so powerful, he collapsed against her, cheek to cheek, her breasts crushed against his chest and her heart beating rapidly in time with his own.
ANNABELLE AWOKE after a full night's sleep feeling more rested and secure than she could ever remember being. As awareness came to her, she realized she lay in Vaughn's bed, his arms wrapped around her holding her tight. That was a good realization.
She hadn't dreamed last night, not that she remembered, anyway, which marked a milestone because she always dreamed. Always woke up in a heated sweat because in some form, she heard the social worker's words threatening to separate her from her sisters. No man she slept with had ever vanquished that nightmare, no friendships, no matter how strong, had ever replaced the bond with her sisters. A bond formed not because of family but because of a fear of loss.
Yet one night with Brandon Vaughn and she'd let those demons go, at least for this one time. And that wasn't a positive realization because Annabelle had promised she wouldn't invest any part of herself in this relationship. She refused to let her subconscious mind contradict her well-laid plans.
She turned her head to find Vaughn, eyes open, watching her. Her stomach did a flip at the sight of him, face stubbled, hair messed and utterly sexy.
"Morning," she mumbled, trying not to give thought to how awful she must look right now, the morning after they'd made love twice, each time more explosive and bonding than the last. The morning after he'd confided his deepest secret, trusted her to know about him what few people did.
Still she wasn't about to turn this into a fairy tale. Light and easy was the best course. "I can't believe I slept here."
He brushed a strand of hair off her cheek, the caress so gende a lump formed in her throat.
"As I recall, I asked you to."
He had, when she'd gotten up to let the animals out for a quick walk, with thoughts of sneaking back into her own bed dogging her. But he'd told her to hurry back and when she had, Boris had followed her into the room and naturally so had the cat, which she'd named Spike because of the short hairs standing up on her head. The dog now slept at the foot of the bed and the cat peered at her from the top of Vaughn's pillow.
"For the record, I'm glad I did." He confirmed his words with a long, deep, leisurely kiss that aroused her naked body all over again.
But Annabelle was determined to keep the morning light and carefree, to prove to herself and to Vaughn that last night was nothing more than a one-night stand. Or in guy terms, an easy lay. She winced at the notion, but forced a smile. "What do you say I put something together for breakfast?" she asked, sliding out of his arms and missing his warmth immediately.
He leaned back, arms crossed behind his head. "Dinner the other night, breakfast this morning. Careful or you'll spoil me." He winked in a way that made her feel all woman and uniquely special.
"Don't let it go to your head. You're just lucky I'm willing to include you in whatever I make." Ignoring her state of undress wasn't easy, but she stood and reached for the teddy she'd left on the floor. It'd seemed like a good idea last night but this morning she wished she had one of her jerseys to pull over her head.
As if reading her mind, he pointed to the dresser – behind her. "You can grab a jersey from the middle drawer."
She shot him a grateful smile and seconds later, fully covered, she felt much better. Less exposed. "F m going to let the animals out first and I'll call you when breakfast is on the table."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Can I ask you something first?"
He nodded warily.
"Did you call Laura back?"
He drew a deep breath, then exhaled. "Not yet."
"Well maybe you should." She hated advocating he establish contact with his ex-wife, but Annabelle knew his reluctance to get close to her emotionally was tied up with his ex. Resolution there could only help her. Though she wasn't so foolish as to harbor hope for more than this brief affair with him.
She turned to go.
"Annabelle."
She pivoted, her heart pounding in her chest. "Yes?"
His gaze, velvety soft, met hers. Then he shook his head. "Nothing."
She sensed he'd been as affected by last night as she'd been, but couldn't find the words to explain. Or maybe he was afraid to because, as she thought, he needed closure. In many areas of his life.
Without it, a quickie relationship was all she could expect from him. But that didn't mean she wouldn't enjoy every second of her time here. And last night was just the beginning of their adventure.
VAUGHN WATCHED Annabelle leave. His name on the jersey she wore stared boldly at him as she took her leave, the animals trailing after her. He'd experienced a surreal night in many ways, from the mind-blowing sex they'd shared, to the trust he'd allowed her by confiding his deepest secret and fear, to the connection he'd felt while buried deep inside her.
Sex was nothing new to Vaughn, though he'd become more discriminating and careful with age. Feeling while doing it was something else. And man, he'd felt last night with Annabelle.
But he refused to let himself be suckered by emotion. If he needed any proof as to why, he had only to look to Laura. Which was why he'd stopped himself just now, before he'd said something stupid to Annabelle. Something mushy. Something that indicated last night had been about more than a mutually
satisfying lay.
He reached over and picked up the phone, then punched in the numbers on the paper on his night-stand.
The phone rang twice before Laura answered. "Hello?"
Her voice irritated him and he clenched his jaw. "I got a message that you called."
"Brandon, how are you? It's been too long."
He folded his arm behind his head and stared at the ceiling. "Actually it hasn't been long enough. What do you want?"
"Can't I just call to say hello?"
He exhaled hard. "Do me a favor. Tell me what you want or I'm hanging up now"
"Money," she said quickly. "I need money."
He narrowed his gaze. "You got plenty in the settlement agreement and the bars should be throwing off enough to satisfy even you."
Silence followed for a while before she spoke again. "It's not easy to admit this but I've run up some pretty high credit card balances. I need help or I wouldn't be asking. I mean do you think it's easy for me to come to you?"
"No, I'm sure it isn't. I need to think about it, okay?" As much as he resented Laura and everything she stood for, he couldn't help but think how desperate she sounded.
"You're such a doll, Brandon."
"Not exactly the words you used last time we spoke," he reminded her.
She laughed. "Things said in the heat of the moment, you know what I mean? Listen, I'm glad we can put the past where it belongs."
Had he said he'd forgive and forget? As usual, she heard what she wanted to.
"I really do have to go. Don't forget to call and let me know. I'll be forever in your debt, Brandon. I really will."
She hung up before he could reply, which was a good thing since he really didn't want her owing him a damn thing.
From his quiet room, he heard the sounds of Annabelle puttering around, making herself at home in his kitchen. After tossing off the covers, he rose from the bed and pulled on his jeans. He told himself he was going for breakfast and then heading to work, a day no different than any other.
Except he'd be coming home tonight knowing he could make love with Annabelle again, and again if he wanted to. Not even talking with Laura could dim the thrill that thought caused.
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