TIS THE SEASON...FOR ROMANCE (WESTMORELAND/MASTERS/JEFFERIES)

by Jackson, Brenda

  She liked stroking his primitive side and used to tempt him without reservations when they were alone. And they were alone now, and had no reason to watch a clock or worry about her parents waking up from their naps early to come look for her. Now they were adults. Time didn’t matter. What anyone thought didn’t matter. They had all the time in the world to do what they wanted to do, when they wanted to do it and how they wanted to do it.

  With those thoughts in mind she deepened her control of the kiss, moved closer into him and felt the way his arms tightened around her. And when she thought she could stand there and kiss him forever, she felt herself being swept off her feet and into his arms.

  “No fair. And just when I was beginning to feel wild and reckless.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “Hey, don’t let me stop you. I’m just moving us inside.”

  She smiled. “Oh, you won’t stop me, Corey. I’m free.”

  “You’re free?”

  “Yes. And I’m yours.”

  After opening the door and carrying her over the threshold, Corey lowered her on her feet and gently pulled her to him. “Do you know what you just said?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you mean it? Are you truly mine?”

  She smiled. “As truly as truly can get. Are you mine, Corey Westmoreland?”

  “Yes.”

  “You sure?” she asked, leaning on tiptoes and using the tip of her tongue to trace along his lips. They were standing so close she could feel the clenching of his muscles in his stomach, and his erection was boldly pressing hard against her.

  She pulled away and took a step back. “Pull off your shirt, Corey.”

  He lifted a brow. “Here? Now?”

  She nodded. “Yes. Here and now. Haven’t we waited long enough?”

  She watched as he eased the shirt from the waistband of his jeans and began undoing the buttons. There were eight of them. She had counted. And now she watched as he eased each one free, surprised to see he wasn’t wearing a t-shirt underneath when he’d bought several for her at the general store earlier that day.

  As if knowing her thoughts he said, “I’m used to the cold.”

  She lifted a brow. “And you think I’m not? I was born and raised in Boston.”

  He shrugged. “There is cold and then there is cold,” he said, tossing his shirt aside.

  “Your turn, Abby,” he said.

  “I didn’t know I had one,” she said, but complying anyway by pulling the top over her head and tossing it aside.

  “Nice bra.”

  As if on cue her nipples hardened against the lace material, right before his eyes. She drew in a deep breath when he leaned over and licked at the tips through the material of her bra. The faint scrape of his moustache brushing against bare skin sent sensations shooting down to her womanly core.

  “Your jeans, Corey.”

  “Umm, what about them?” he asked huskily before applying his mouth to her nipple and sucking at it through her bra.

  Suddenly, every fiber of her entire being responded and she could feel herself becoming putty in his hands. But she would not be rushed. She needed to savor every moment, to remember and reminisce. He had been her first lover, and as far as she was concerned her only lover.

  “I want you to take them off,” she said, deciding if she didn’t take the matter into her hands he would have her begging in no time at all.

  “You sure that’s what you want?” he asked, stepping back and pulling the belt out of the loops and bending over to remove his boots.

  “Yes, that’s what I want.” For starters. She was determined over the next two weeks to make up for all those times she had gone to bed longing for him, dreaming of him and wanting him with a need that would often keep her awake at night.

  When he straightened his body she scanned her gaze over him while thinking at fifty-four he was in very good shape, all muscles and no flab on his arms, shoulders, legs or belly. He even had nice feet. “What do you do to stay in shape?” she couldn’t help asking while watching him slowly lower his jeans.

  “I ride a lot. And then I do I lot of chores around my place. I was determined not to let myself go once I retired.”

  Well, he most certainly hadn’t let himself go, she thought, drinking in every contour, line and plane of him being uncovered. She wasn’t disappointed and hoped once she was uncovered he wouldn’t be disappointed either. She was a member of a spa and worked out several times a week. And she participated in numerous walk-a-thons for charities and she –

  Whatever thoughts she was thinking were wiped clean from her mind when he slid down his zipper and proceeded to inch his jeans down past his hips. Her eyes were right there, taking it all in, every bit of him; especially his erection that was pressing against his black briefs.

  He had a body any woman would appreciate and staring at him made her lips throb, along with other distinct parts of her body.

  “Now for your jeans, Abby.”

  Her gaze moved slowly from his middle upward to his face. “You sure about that?” she asked, hooking her thumbs in the waistband of her jeans.

  A smile touched the corners of his lips. “Positive. If I can strip down to my underwear so can you.”

  She bent down to remove her boots and he moved closer to her. “Let me help with those,” he offered.

  She watched as he leaned over and removed her boots and socks from her feet. And then he took a step back. “Now you can take the jeans off,” he said in a tone that stroked her skin.

  Abby met Corey’s dark and intense gaze and forced in a deep breath. She should have known she would probably get cold feet when it came to this part. It had been years since she’d undressed in front of a man and was feeling somewhat awkward doing so now.

  “Need help with your jeans, too?” he asked chuckling softly.

  There was that arrogant smile on his lips again, and the sight of it gave her a little courage, some spunk. She flipped her hair over her shoulder with a haughty toss of her head and said. “No, I can handle it.”

  And to prove that she could, she slid the zipper down and proceeded to work the jeans over her hips. Moments later she was stepping out of them and standing before him in a pair of black lace panties.

  She swallowed hard as his gaze slowly swept over her. Even stripped down to her bra and panties, his eyes were leaving scorch spots on various parts of her skin. If the size of his erection, growing longer and getting thicker was any indication, he liked her matching lingerie.

  Not being able to handle his intense scrutiny any longer, she lifted her chin and said. “Well?”

  He smiled and slowly strolled over to her and said. “Well, I think we should finish this in the bedroom.”

  And then he swept her off her feet and into his arms.

  * * *

  After placing Abby on the bed, Corey drew back to look at her. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen and his entire body throbbed in desire for her. He quickly dispensed of his briefs and saw her eyes widened as she stared at his penis that was getting harder right before her eyes.

  “Like what you see, Abby?” he couldn’t resist asking.

  She glanced up at him. “What’s there not to like and appreciate?”

  Naked, he moved toward her and braced a knee on the bed. “Come here, sweetheart.”

  Abby eased over to Corey and he lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her with a hunger that she felt all through her body. She grabbed his shoulders to hold on. He was giving her one sensuous tongue stroking experience.

  The muscles beneath her hands felt solid and the mouth feasting on hers was causing her heart to pound rapidly in her chest. She loved him and she wanted him. And when he raised his head and broke off their kiss, she felt an extreme sense of loss.

  “Now to get you naked,” he said in a throaty voice as he proceeded to slide her bra straps down her shoulders. When he tossed her bra aside she felt the heat of his gaze dead-center on her breasts. And whe
n he leaned forward to catch a nipple into his mouth, she could only close her eyes and groan.

  “Corey.”

  The tip of his tongue wasn’t having any mercy on the hardened peaks. His concentration might have been on her breasts but every part of her body seemed to be on fire.

  “Like that?”

  If you only knew, she thought, and slowly opened her eyes to gaze into his. The look she saw in them made her moan a sound that probably was not dignified, but at the moment she didn’t care. The only thing she cared about was how he was making her feel, and how much time had elapsed since she’d felt this way. “Yes, I like it,” she finally said.

  “I was beginning to think a cat had your tongue,” he said smiling. “Umm, I better check to be sure.”

  And then he leaned down and lowered his mouth to hers, slid his own tongue between her parted lips to captured hers, stroking it once again while placing the palm of his hand on her back to impel her closer to him, to feel the hardened tips of her breasts press into his chest. Skin to skin.

  He pulled his mouth away and smiled. “No cat was in there. Now for your panties.”

  He took his time removing them and then cupped her buttocks firmly in his hands and hauled her up, close to him. “Remember me introducing you to this, Abby?” he asked before shifting his body to lower his head between her legs.

  Yes, she remembered, and at the time she’d thought it was the most scandalized thing a man could do to a woman. It didn’t take long for her to conclude it was one of the most pleasurable.

  She gasped when she felt the heat of his tongue invade her womanhood and grabbed hold of his head, thinking to push him away and then to hold him in place instead. Each stroke of his tongue was perfect. And all kinds of sensations went hurling through her. Hot blood rushed through her veins. She shuddered. She moaned. She called out the name of the only man who could make her feel this way. The name of the one man who could cause her body to throb. And the only man who could appease her need to be satisfied.

  Corey.

  Her response to what he was doing to her was without shame. It was unrestrained and uninhibited. It left her releasing his head to grip at the bedcovers when an explosion that started at the place where his tongue was to travel through every part of her body. She moaned and whimpered while she writhed beneath his mouth as her body shuddered uncontrollably.

  Corey lifted his head and drew in a deep breath, pulling her luscious intimate scent right into his nostrils. By the time the last spasm had left her body, he had moved his body in place over hers. He looked down into her eyes and held her gaze for a moment before saying. “I love you, so very much.”

  She reached up and stroked her hand against his cheek and said. “And I love you so very much, as well.”

  Then a moan rose in her throat when he eased into her, going as deep as he could go, filling her depths with his male heat, stretching her the deeper he went. And then he began moving at a steady pace, establishing a tormenting rhythm and moving in and out at her over and over again.

  She knew the moment an orgasm snapped his control as well as her own. And using her inner muscles she drew him deeper inside of her. When she felt the heat of his release she rode the hot wave of desire that swept her along, made her moan and tossed her in a world of complete abandonment.

  The only thing she could formulate in her mind, other than the intense pleasure she felt, was that this man was Corey. Her heart. Her love. And the deliverer of all her pleasure.

  Seven

  If Corey hadn’t been so anxious to get Abby up to his mountain, he might have been tempted to linger at the cabin another day or so. Their overnight stay there had been enjoyable.

  The Quinns had a stocked kitchen and after they’d made love Corey had slipped on his jeans to go outside to unpack the horse and bed him down for the night. Abby had slipped into his shirt and had gone into the kitchen to prepare them a meal.

  He hadn’t known what to expect but the aroma that awaited him when he returned to the cabin let him know she could cook. She’d told him of how she enjoyed watching the cooking channel and on occasion would volunteer her time in the kitchen of several homeless shelters, and had become friends with some of the cooks who’d shared good recipes with her.

  Over dinner she told him about her daughter and he could tell she was very proud of her. She’d also shared with him about Madison’s broken engagement a couple of years ago.

  Abby had mentioned she had gotten enough of a signal to call her two friends to let them know everything was fine before they left tomorrow to return to Boston. She would be calling Madison in a few days since she wasn’t ready to answer any questions her daughter might have about their relationship just yet. She wanted to be completely honest with Madison and tell her everything, and she preferred not going into a lot of details over the phone. But she did want to let Madison know she was okay and not to worry about her.

  That night they had showered together, made love again and slept in each others arms. More than once he had awakened during the night to assure himself that none of it was a dream.

  The next morning they had walked outside around the cabin and having her there by his side meant everything to him. He was already regretting the day she would have to return to Boston. He wouldn’t fool himself into believing she would remain with him on his mountain. As much as he loved her and believed that she loved him, he wasn’t sure if she would be willing to walk away from her life in Massachusetts to spend one in isolation on his mountain.

  Her gasp made him look ahead and she wiggled behind him on the huge horse. “Oh, Corey, let me down. I need to make sure that ranch up there is real. It looks like something that belongs on a postcard. ”

  He brought the horse to a stop and quickly dismounted, understanding completely what seeing his mountain for the first time did to her. It was the same with most people once they reached the top of his mountain and saw the sprawling three-story ranch house nestled beneath huge pine tress and a gorgeous Montana sky.

  “It’s so big,” she said, when he assisted her down. “I didn’t know it would be this huge.”

  He chuckled. “I thought about my eleven nephews and one niece when I designed it. I wanted to make sure they had plenty of room and space.”

  Instead of getting back on the horse, she walked beside him the rest of the way and was attentive while he pointed out several noteworthy sightings on his mountain; like the hot springs and the lakes, as well as a marked area where he intended for his new barn to be built. He also told her about Cedar Canyon, a beautiful part of his mountain that was a nice place for a picnic. He was planning to build a cabin near there in the future.

  She saw horses, cows and sheep. She also saw the airstrip where the postal plane landed whenever supplies and mail were delivered. He’d share that a helicopter service was coming to the area that would offer frequent transportation on and off the mountain. Abby wondered if there was a particular reason he was telling her that. Had he grown tired of her already?

  She forced such a thought from her mind and when he swept her off her feet and carried him into his house, she refused to let it invade her thoughts again.

  * * *

  “You still haven’t been able to reach Madison?”

  Abby turned and smiled over at Corey. He’d been working outside with the horses and had come in to eat. While he had showered she had put the finishing touches on dinner.

  It was hard to believe it had been a week already. She loved his home, she loved his mountain and most of all she loved him. She enjoyed sleeping with him every night, waking up beside him in the morning and spending time with him during the day. He was teaching her how to ride a horse, and she helped him feed the animals and had taken the time to organize his sheep records with a new filing system. And he had shared with her the contents of the box he kept under his bed and how whenever he got lonely he would take out their pictures and look at them and remember good times.

  “No, I
haven’t been able to reach her. I’ve left several messages on her voice mail and I’m hoping she’s gotten them. I don’t want her to worry about me. I’m having the time of my life. I love it here.”

  Corey met her gaze. “Do you really, Abby?”

  Abby studied Corey’s face for a moment, keyed in specifically on his expression, saw the depth of his uncertainty and knew it was real. At that moment she realized he didn’t have a clue just how much she loved it here. He actually thought that she would eventually leave. He didn’t know that here with him she had found the peace she’d missed and the peace she needed. And she had rediscovered the love she had walked away from thirty-two years ago.

  “Yes, I do and that’s what I want to talk to you about, Corey. I’m supposed to leave next week.”

  Disappointment settled on his face. “Yes, I know.”

  “Well, I’ve decided I’m not going. That is, I won’t go if you don’t mind me hanging around for a little while longer,” she said as she continued to set the table. Although it was just the two of them, she did so anyway out of habit.

  “Sweetheart, you can stay as long as you like.”

  She glanced up and saw both relief and happiness on his face. She smiled. “You might regret saying that.” She glanced around. “Look at the changes I’ve made so far.”

  Corey followed her gaze. She had made changes, not just here in the kitchen but all throughout the house. His home now had the Abby touch. She would pick fresh flowers each day to place in various rooms; especially in the kitchen were a huge vase of them sat in the middle of the table as a centerpiece.

  And she had found what used to be Delaney’s sewing machine along with a ton of unused fabric. One evening he’d come inside to discover she had made curtains for the kitchen window. She’d explained that she felt the curtains were necessary since they’d made love right in the kitchen the night before, not far from an open window. Although he’d tried assuring her that no one could set foot on his property without him knowing about it, she hadn’t been totally convinced.