Operation Prince Charming

by Phyllis Bourne

  Ali shut her eyes briefly. Do the right thing, her conscience whispered. Walk away.

  Finally, she raised her head until their gazes met, fully expecting to see the pain of another woman’s betrayal in his eyes.

  Instead, she saw a man who wanted her as much as she wanted him. One who wouldn’t stop making love to her until she was calling his name in ecstasy.

  “Yes, I’ll go home with you.”

  Hunter’s arm dropped from around her waist, and he grasped her hand. His soulful brown eyes never left hers as he raised it to his mouth and bestowed it with the gentlest of kisses.

  Ali’s mind flashed back to the child who’d called him a prince. Now she knew the little girl hadn’t been mistaken.

  For now, Hunter Coleman was Ali’s Prince Charming, and she could hardly wait for him to begin making her grown woman fantasies a reality.

  He gave her hand a gentle tug and led her to his car. The air of anticipation thickened on the short drive from the park to Hunter’s place.

  Her mind could only focus on two tasks—getting him naked and getting him inside her.

  Neither said a word, but he held her hand the entire ride, releasing it only when he turned into the driveway of a three-story town house and hit the garage door opener. He drove into the attached garage, and the door closed behind them.

  Ali chewed on her bottom lip, both eager and nervous.

  He opened the passenger-side door and pulled her to her feet. In an instant, she was in his arms. He kissed her hard and deep, leaving her breathless and weak. She sagged against him.

  “Are you sure?” He inclined his head toward the door leading inside the town house. “Because once we’re on the other side of that door, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop.”

  She slid her hand downward and palmed his impressive erection. “The only words you’ll hear from me are don’t stop.” She squeezed his hardness as she rose on tiptoe to whisper in his ear, “Please. Don’t. Stop.”

  “Oh God,” he moaned.

  He kissed her again, somehow managing to unlock the door to his town house without breaking contact with her lips.

  Once inside, she didn’t feel any of the curiosity or awkwardness at entering someone’s space for the first time. She didn’t care if he was neat or about his taste in interior design. Her only concern was how fast they could get naked.

  Hunter grabbed the edge of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head, revealing his well-muscled chest and washboard abs. Her fingertips tingled as she reached out to touch him.

  He grasped both of her wrists in one of his large hands and shook his head.

  “Not here.” He inclined his head toward a staircase. “Upstairs.” His voice was half plea, half command.

  They scrambled up the three flights, the last one ending in a huge master bedroom suite that took up the entire third floor. Her gaze fell upon the king-sized sleigh bed dressed with plush burgundy bedding.

  She felt him behind her. He placed his hands on the sides of her arms and kissed her lightly on the side of her neck.

  “I’ve dreamed of you in that bed,” he whispered against her ear.

  “What was I doing?” she asked boldly. The idea of him tossing and turning on that big bed thinking of her turned her on even more.

  “Riding me.”

  Ali felt her knees buckle as the timbre of his deep voice turned her arms to gooseflesh.

  “Cold?”

  She shook her head. “No, just the opposite.” She turned until she was facing him. “I’m hot to start making that particular dream come true.”

  Hunter reached for the top button on her shirt and unfastened it. She sucked in a breath as his hands brushed against the tips of her breasts while making quick work of removing her shirt along with the rest of her clothes.

  His hungry gaze raked her from head to toe, lingering on her breasts, and she felt her nipples tighten under his scrutiny.

  “You’re beautiful.” Hunter’s voice, low and seductive, left her trembling with need. The day-old beard on his chiseled jaw scraped her skin as he began a series of slow kisses beginning at her neck and trailing down to her breasts. He lifted them with his hands.

  “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to do this?” Without waiting for her answer, he flicked his tongue across one taut nipple and took it into his mouth.

  He gently tugged it between his teeth, before giving her other breast the same rapt attention.

  “I knew you’d taste this sweet,” he rasped.

  Waves of pleasure washed through her and for a moment she thought she’d come right there. She pulled his mouth from her breasts and took a step back.

  “I want to see you,” she said. “All of you.”

  He ducked into the bath, and she heard the shower start. When he returned, he tugged both his gym shorts and briefs down over his lean hips. They dropped in a heap at his feet.

  Ali barely noticed him stepping out of them or kicking off his shoes, her gaze transfixed by the sizeable erection calling to her from between his muscular legs.

  “Like what you see?”

  She licked her lips and swallowed hard, savoring him in his naked splendor. The sheer maleness of him took her breath away. Never in her life had she wanted a man so badly.

  “It’s been quite a while for me. I haven’t since before…”

  He stepped over to the nightstand and retrieved a large box of condoms from the drawer. “I’ve got all day with nothing to do but help you make up for lost time.”

  Again, her gaze fell to his erection. “Well, let’s not waste it talking.”

  He pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly. Clothes no longer a barrier between them, Ali let her hands roam freely over his body. Her palms slid down the warm skin of his back until she was cupping his firm buttocks. She squeezed them as she ground against his thick length, reveling in the rock-hard feel of him.

  Her feet left the floor, and she realized he had carried her into the bathroom. When the kiss ended they were both standing in the glass shower stall.

  Steam rose as the warm water rained down on them. There was something deliciously intimate about being in the enclosed space with the man she’d lusted over for weeks, Ali thought. It was as if a fairy godmother had granted her sexiest wish with a cherry on top.

  She reached for the soap. Water sluiced over them as she ran her slick hands over his hard chest, covering it in the fragrant lather. His amazing anatomy made her regret having only two hands. She’d yearned to touch him like this for so long. From his wide shoulders and powerful biceps to his broad back and tempting butt, she wanted to feel all of him—all at the same time.

  “My turn.” Hunter took the soap and rubbed it between his palms.

  Ali’s gaze met his, and the raw hunger in his eyes made her feel like the most desirable woman on earth.

  “I’m going to touch every inch of you,” he said, making her tremble in expectation.

  Starting at her neck, he caressed her skin with his large hands, the slippery soapsuds heightening the sensation of his touch.

  Ali gasped when he reached her breasts, taking his time with each one before replacing his hands with his mouth.

  “Oh yes,” she said, taking his head between her hands and holding it there. He alternated between breasts, each suck, lick, and gentle tug an exquisite torture.

  Meantime, his hands continued their sensual exploration. They slid past her waist and over her hips until he reached the juncture between her thighs.

  Ali sucked in a breath as his hand brushed against her swollen folds before he pushed a finger inside her.

  “Hunter.”

  Ali opened her mouth, but her next words were smothered by his mouth. He kissed her long and deep, his tongue moving in tandem with his finger stoking the desperate need building within her until Ali thought she’d collapse from pure pleasure.

  Heart-hammering, she pushed against his hard chest and pulled her mouth from his.

  “Pleas
e,” she gasped, her voice a hoarse plea.

  Hunter removed his finger, and she fell back until her butt hit the shower wall. He leaned forward and braced his hands on the glass, one on each side of her head.

  Lowering his lips, he brought them toward her ear as if he was about to confess his naughtiest secret.

  “Please, what?” he asked, breathing hard.

  She hooked a leg around his waist and pulled him close until his incredible hardness rested against her stomach. “I’ve wanted this so long,” she said. “Please don’t make me wait.”

  Ali shivered as Hunter stepped out of the shower, already missing the overwhelmingly masculine presence of his body. She heard the wrapper rip on a foil packet, and he returned to the steamy shower fully sheathed.

  Hunter’s hands slid down over her hips until he was lifting her butt with both hands. Ali grasped his wide shoulders and straddled him, wrapping her legs around his trim waist.

  She closed her eyes in anticipation. She’d wanted this so badly for so long, and finally, it was hers for the taking.

  “Look at me,” Hunter huskily demanded.

  Ali opened her eyes, meeting his hot gaze as he lowered her onto his erection. Her nails dug into his shoulder blades, and she bit down on her bottom lip to keep from crying out in joy as he filled her.

  “So tight,” he said in a broken whisper. “And so damned sweet.”

  Hunter stood motionless, and Ali knew he, like she, was savoring the moment. Trying to prolong it, before animal instinct took over.

  Then he began to move.

  Ali’s breath hitched as he thrust upward into her heat and pulled back. Deep and achingly slow. Each powerful movement sending ripples of pleasure pulsating up and down her spine.

  Pinned between the shower wall and his body, she rode him, her pelvis rocking back and forth meeting his thrusts with her own. Her inner walls clamped down on him as he stroked her, squeezing him.

  “God, you feel good,” he rasped.

  Ali opened her thighs wider and tightened her legs around him, forcing him deeper. He met her silent challenge by increasing the pace.

  “Hunter.” His name was a cry on her lips.

  “Is this what you wanted?” he asked between pants as he stroked her harder, faster.

  “Yes,” Ali said breathlessly, her head rotating from side to side against the wet wall. “Oh yes.”

  The warm water pelted down on them as Hunter fulfilled her plea over and over again. The heat that had been building in her core exploding into waves of mindless pleasure.

  A low growl tore from Hunter’s throat and his body stiffened, before shuddering in its own pulsating release.

  He held her as their heartbeats slowed to normal, and Ali knew she’d just had the best shower of her life.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Ali’s dark lashes rested on her high cheekbones, and her sweet lips were curved into the hint of a smile as she slept.

  Hunter couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  He wasn’t dreaming.

  Ali’s head was on his arm, and her gorgeous legs were entangled in his sheets. Moreover, he’d spent the better part of the day making love to her. First in the shower and twice more in bed, before pulling her into his arms and falling into a deep sleep.

  Hunter gently extricated his arm and managed to get out of bed without disturbing her. Slipping on his robe, he padded barefoot downstairs to the kitchen. He was starved and expected Ali would be once she awoke.

  Pulling open the refrigerator door, he scanned the meager offerings. A trip to the grocery store was in order. Until then, they’d have to make do with bacon and eggs.

  Hunter hummed his favorite tune from Tosca while he cooked. With the toast down and bacon sizzling in the cast-iron skillet, he filled the coffeemaker with water and measured out a scoop of grounds.

  Footfalls sounded on the staircase behind him, and he paused.

  “Did I wake you?” he called out over his shoulder as he cracked open a few eggs and added them to the pan.

  “No, the bacon did. I could smell it from upstairs.”

  He turned around, and his next breath caught in his chest. Although he’d spent the better part of the day with Ali, the sight of her made him smile.

  She looked beautiful.

  The silky hair he’d sunk his fingers into when he’d pulled her in for kissing fell to her shoulders in tousled waves. He was glad she’d left it down. His gaze traveled down to the threadbare denim shirt from his closet. Despite the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, it was huge on her.

  “I borrowed your shirt. It looked like an old one. I hope you don’t mind.”

  He abandoned the stove to kiss her lightly on the lips. “I’ve never seen that shirt look better.”

  “It smells delicious in here. Can I help with anything?”

  Hunter divided the bounty between two plates.

  “I was going to bring this to you in bed, but since you’re here…” Before he could finish his sentence, she turned tail and began walking up the stairs. “Hey, where are you going?”

  “If I have a shot at a near-naked man serving me breakfast in bed, then I’m not missing it.” She looked back at him over her shoulder. “Even if it is dinnertime.”

  Hunter watched her hips sway as she slowly climbed the stairs. He remembered how those sexy hips had rocked against his, and he felt his groin tighten.

  Lord help him, he wanted to bury himself inside her all over again.

  Hunter managed to push the images of how they’d spent the afternoon out of his head long enough to pour coffee and take a tray upstairs.

  Having cleaned her plate, Ali proceeded to devour the last of his toast as Hunter looked on. Afterward, she rolled her eyes heavenward, leaned back on the headboard, and patted her stomach.

  “That was absolutely delicious. My compliments to the chef,” she said.

  Hunter glanced around the bedroom.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “I’m searching for the hidden cameras. The way you just mowed through your food, and a good portion of mine, I figured there’s some kind of hidden camera in here.” He leaned over and peeked under the bed. “Are we taping a reality show I don’t know about?”

  Ali laughed. “Touché,” she said. Then her eyes widened. “Oh my, I certainly hope we weren’t being filmed in here today. Though you did give quite the performance.”

  “Glad it met with your approval.”

  “I think I made that pretty clear.”

  Hunter thought about her nails digging into back and the sound of his name on her lips as she moaned with pleasure.

  She pushed back the covers, got up, and began picking up her discarded clothes.

  “Hey, where do you think you’re going?”

  “I’ve already taken up most of your day. It’s time I went home.”

  He reached for her hand and pulled her gently back toward the bed.

  “Not yet,” he said. “We haven’t had a chance to get acquainted.”

  She arched an eyebrow as she crawled back in bed. “I don’t think we can get any more acquainted than we did this afternoon.”

  Hunter pulled her close, and she settled back, her head on his shoulder. He liked the way she felt in his arms and in his bed. “I know your body.” He touched the center of her chest with his forefinger. “Now I want to know you.”

  Before today he’d held back asking her much about herself because he hadn’t wanted to ruin the moments when she’d let her guard down around him. Also, she would have been perfectly within her right to tell him to mind his own business.

  However, they’d spent the day sharing the most personal of physical intimacies, and he didn’t want to simply leave it at that. He wanted to go deeper.

  Hunter felt her shrug. “There’s not much to tell. My aunt’s school is in financial trouble. She asked me to help, and here I am.”

  “No, that’s your aunt’s story,” he said. “I want to know more about the
woman I just made love to.”

  Ali stiffened.

  Making love with Hunter had been easy. She’d wanted him from the moment she’d seen him, and being with him had been better than she could ever have imagined.

  An attentive lover, he’d fulfilled needs she hadn’t even known existed before today.

  But talking?

  The only thing he’d learn was he’d just slept with a big screwup, a woman who had it all and somehow let it slip through her fingers.

  “Are you sure you want to talk?”

  Ali slipped her hand inside his robe and ran her fingers over the hair on his hard chest. Today had been so wonderful. She didn’t want to taint it by talking about herself.

  He took her hand and splayed it over his heart.

  “You can trust me, Ali.” His body was warm, and his heartbeat was strong and steady beneath her hand.

  Ali pulled her head off his shoulder and sat up. She inhaled a deep breath and blew it out.

  “I used to have the life Erica wants, not the money, but the rest of it. I was an author with a popular newspaper column, married to a local television weatherman. We were big fish in a little pond,” she said. “Our calendar was filled with everything from nightclub and restaurant openings to lavish parties and charity fund-raisers. We were the golden couple, always featured in newspapers, magazines, and blogs covering the local south Florida scene.”

  Ali glanced at Hunter to gauge his reaction, but his face gave nothing away. He hadn’t approved of Erica’s courting society mavens. What did he think now that she’d admitted to once moving in the same circles?

  “So they accepted you even though you weren’t wealthy?” Hunter asked.

  Ali nodded. “I’m sure part of it was our high-profile careers,” she said. “But what I lacked in money, I gave in time. Don’t get me wrong—good causes need money. However, they also need people who don’t mind doing tons of tedious, drudge work for free.”

  “Erica never talked about volunteering,” Hunter said.

  Ali shrugged. “Brian, my ex, never did, but I did enough for the both of us. I chaired fund-raisers for the library, the local ballet, and opera as well as served on at least a dozen nonprofit boards.”