“Then I guess you’re just going to have to figure out a way to distract me, when the time comes. Can you do that, cowboy?”
JD’s grin was more than a little cocky as he looked down at her. “Yes Ma’am, I can.”
“So where, exactly, is your bedroom?”
“We’re almost there,” he answered.
Within a few more steps they were at his door. It was more of an apartment than just a bedroom, this place where he lived. It was detached from the main house. It was a large stucco bungalow. JD opened the door for her.
She stepped inside. Sunny was astounded by her surroundings. The place, rightfully, had the look of an old-money Texas homestead. There was a rock fireplace with what she was sure was an original Remington hanging above it. There was a massive four poster topped with a crocheted canopy. And there was a desk under a shuttered window. Two comfortable companion chairs flanked the hearth. Intricate Native American rugs were scattered over the hardwood floors. The whole apartment was masculine and tasteful.
JD turned a lamp on beside the bed. “There’s a bathroom in there if you want to shower.” He indicated a closed door.
“Shower?” she asked terrified. “Together?” Sunny was back to feeling shy and unsure again.
JD shook his head, taking pity on her. “No, you can have all the privacy you want. I’ll just stay out here and get a few things done. Do you want some wine? I’ve got a nice Shiraz. I can open a bottle and let it breathe while you’re bathing.”
She nodded dumbly. Where was all that wonderful bravado she’d possessed a few steps from his door? Apparently it had deserted her.
“Do you have anything I could change into? Maybe something another woman left here?” she croaked.
He looked at her a long, long time before he answered. His eyes were as somber as his words. “I’ve never brought another woman here, Sunny.”
“But surely Leanne…,” her voice tapered off.
“I don’t ever discuss my sexual partners, Sunny,” he chided. “But I will tell you this is my refuge. The only place in the world where I can be truly alone. My life is very structured, but not very private. I work hard. And I play hard. But I do neither in this space.”
“So no one’s ever slept with you here?” She looked over at the impressive bed. Piled high with creamy linen, it was both inviting and decadent.
“No one.”
“Thank you JD,” she whispered.
She knew what a gift he was giving her. He could have taken her to any one of the many suites or guest rooms in the rambling McIntyre homestead. Instead, he’d brought her here, to his true home. The mansion was just window dressing. This small, elegant apartment was where John Deacon really lived. And the fact that he was willing to share it with her mattered.
The night to come would be life altering for Sunny. When dawn broke over the prairie the next day, she’d be a different person. She promised herself she’d have no regrets. She vowed to savor every second she spent with him. In the morning, she’d get up, pack her things, and get Billy home to Sea Glass Point. But this night, this wonderful surreal night, would be hers to cherish and relive over the long lonely years to come.
Her thanks humbled the man standing there watching the light from that solitary lamp play over the gold-shot length of her hair. He shrugged out of his coat. He let it drop to the floor. Then JD methodically began to unbutton his pin-tucked shirt. He watched as her eyes got bigger and bigger. When the last button was pulled free, he eased it off his shoulders. He approached her as a man might a frightened woodland animal. He held it out to her.
“Here, you can wear this when you get out of the shower.”
Sunny had seen actors in movies without their shirts. She’d seen plenty of guys on the beach in much less than JD wore. But she’d never seen such a glorious display of masculine beauty in her whole life. The sun-darkened skin of his smooth chest rippled and knotted with packed muscle as he held the shirt out. A fine, black line of hair started below his navel and traveled down his taunt abs. It disappeared into the waistband of his pants. She studied the sexy McIntyre brand tattoo he had inked high on the slab of muscle over his heart. Apparently he’d toed off his shoes and socks while she’d been delighting in the room. Because his bare feet made not a sound as he ambled closer to her.
“Sunny?”
“What?” She couldn’t take her eyes off him. He was a living, breathing work of sensual art.
“Take the shirt. Relax in a hot shower. Don’t rush back. We have all night. I’ll get the wine ready.”
“Good, fine, I’ll go take a shower.”
“Don’t start over thinking while you’re in there,” he instructed. “There’s no need for you to ramp up your anxiety. I promise I’m not going to jump on you the first minute you come out. We’ll have a glass of wine. We’ll talk. ”
“Right…, I’ll… I’ll just go take my shower now.”
He smirked as he watched her march off towards the bathroom with all the enthusiasm of a condemned prisoner. He didn’t know why he found her so freaking adorable. Not adorable in a childish way. Adorable in a he wanted to know everything about her way. Feisty one second and terrified of something as natural as sex the next, Sunny Murphy was a puzzle. One he intended upon solving during the night to come.
In the bathroom, Sunny was swiftly assailed with every kind of doubt. She strode up and down the length of the room several times worrying her lip. She leaned her hot cheek against the cool, slick surface of the mirror. When the black evening gown became too much of a burden, she peeled it and her shoes off. The necklace followed. She twisted her hair up in a messy bun. She turned on the spigots in the shower. Instantly the small space began to fill with fog. Setting her mind to the task, she plunged under the stinging spray. Using his soap felt too intimate, which was stupid, she thought. She was about to let the man join his body with hers. Sharing a bar of soap was nothing in comparison. She took the fat French soap in her hands. It smelled amazing. She worked up an impressive lather and proceeded to wash every square inch of her body, three times. There were some occasions when a girl just couldn’t be too clean. This night qualified as one of them. Toweling off after her bath, she wished she had her toothbrush. Rummaging through a drawer rewarded her with a tube of toothpaste. Squirting some on her finger, she scrubbed her teeth.
She put on JD’s shirt and was completely awash in his scent. Sandalwood, lemon, and man made a mighty fine perfume. The thing fell to her knees. Strangely, she liked that. It made her feel covered. She took her time rolling the sleeves up until they hit her forearms. She let her hair down from its knot. She spent a little time fluffing it. When she could delay the inevitable no longer, she stepped out of the steamy bathroom.
The view confronting her was no less steamy. JD had lit a multitude of candles. He had them stationed around the room on almost every flat surface. He stood by the fireplace, still clad only in his pants. But now they rode low on his lean hips. A glass of deep red wine dangled from one lazy hand.
“I hope you don’t mind, I started without you.” He tipped his dark head towards the glass where the subtle movement of his hand caused the rich wine to rotate in lazy circles.
“No, of course,” she answered in a nervous, high-pitched voice.
“Ahh,” he mused aloud, prowling towards her like a big lazy cat. “You’ve been worrying again.”
“Not exactly,” she defended herself. But she had been. She’d spent the entire time she was in that dratted bathroom drowning in a sea of anxiety.
He lifted the glass and took a long drink. He arched one eyebrow. “There’s still time for you to run.”
Sunny bristled at his words. “I don’t run from anything.” Though her headlong escape to Texas with Billy certainly made a liar of her.
“In that case, why don’t you join me with a glass of wine?”
He went to over to the mantel. The wine bottle and another glass sat there waiting for her. JD poured her some Shiraz
and put it next to a candle on the table between the companion chairs. He waited, standing, as she bridged the short distance and seated herself.
“You look lovely wearing my shirt,” he commented.
A hot surge of male possession lit his eyes as he took his time perusing her. His body began to alter, as it always did in her presence. He noted the way the shirt’s open collar rose and fell with each of her rapid breaths. He saw the way her hand clenched around the bowl of the wine glass as if it was a lifeline. He noticed how she’d tucked one long leg under the other on the seat of the chair to make herself look taller.
“The wine is good,” she said after taking a very miniscule sip.
“It’s not as good as the Krug 1928 we had for lunch. But then it’s about twenty-one thousand dollars cheaper.” He waited for the eruption he knew was coming.
“That bottle of champagne was worth twenty-one thousand dollars?” she sputtered aghast.
“A little over that actually.” He drank from his glass once again.
“What is wrong with you people? Are you all insane?” she ranted, her fear forgotten. “I could put a new roof on Maude Evelyn’s house for that amount of money. I could buy a new car. I could set up a college fund for Billy. And you let us just drink it all away at lunch?”
“No,” he stopped to slowly take inventory of her once more. He was glad to see some color returning to her face. “I’m not insane. I wanted you to enjoy the meal. And, if I’m not mistaken, you did.”
“Of course I did. The champagne, the caviar, the Chateaubriand- it was all wonderful. No, it was incredible, a once in a lifetime experience. But spending twenty-one thousand dollars on a bottle of wine,” she said weakly. It was as if her mind could not wrap itself around the fact that she’d actually drunk the stuff.
“Don’t you think you’re worth it? I do.” He sat down.
“See, that’s just it. You don’t need to buy me. Some things don’t come with a price tag. I’m one of them.” She took another, bigger sip from her glass. A warm, cozy glow began to spread through her veins.
“We’ve had this conversation, or one very similar before, haven’t we?”
Her eyes narrowed as she looked over at him. She had the distinct feeling he was playing with her. She took another sip of her wine.
“You’re trying to loosen me up, aren’t you,” she wondered aloud. The Shiraz must be going straight to her head.
His handsome face showed nothing. “Do you need loosening? There are better ways to achieve that goal. Anger and inebriation will not serve either of us well later.”
“I’m not tipsy. And I’m not mad,” she grumbled. “I’m sorry. That’s not entirely true. I am a little miffed.”
“Over the champagne?”
“Over all of… this.” Her hand made a little gesture to indicate she was speaking of the whole place. “Why couldn’t you be some nice easy guy like Trey? He actually told me he’d help me get rid of… well you know what I’m talking about.” She flushed and finished her wine.
“He offered to relieve you of your virginity?” The words were calm and unemotional. The man speaking them was anything but those two things. He promised himself he’d enjoy killing Dunn, the next time he saw him.
“He did. But I’m pretty sure he was just… I don’t know. Trying to do the right thing? Trying to fall in love with me? But he was already smitten with Trinity by that time.”
“Why didn’t you let him?” JD was alarmed to realize how much he needed her answer to that pointed question.
“Because he wasn’t you, blast your dark, evil soul. I couldn’t feel that way about any man after you accosted me on the beach that night.”
“Accosted?” He chuckled. “You sound very much like an outraged Victorian maiden when you use that kind of language.”
“I can’t help it.” Her response was morose. “I hang out with Maude Evelyn too much. She kind of rubs off on a person after a while.”
“Sunny?”
He got her attention immediately by the way the pitch of his voice dropped. “What?” she replied.
“We’re through talking. I want you to unbutton the shirt.”
“You do?” The girl sat her glass down on the table between them.
“I do.”
Without another word she began fiddling with the buttons. She got the first three undone. But that showed him no more than her slinky gown had earlier in the evening. The fourth button was proving more resistant to her clumsy efforts.
“Come here,” he demanded sprawled like a debauched pasha in his chair. “I’ll help you.”
Without thinking, Sunny got up and walked over to stand before him. She wasn’t usually so obedient. She had a mind of her own and a voice she was never afraid to raise. But the wine had done its work. She was feeling not exactly tipsy, but unafraid. And the sight of his bronze body and those half-closed eyes focused on her made her courageous.
Without taking his eyes off hers, JD began to release each button from its setting. Every time he opened a button, he pushed the shirt farther off her. When he got to the last one, the shirt drifted away to settle in a graceful collapsed pile on the floor.
Sunny stood before him. She prayed he would find no fault with her body. She wasn’t extremely well-endowed. Her hips were coltish at best. And her stomach’s concave little dip at her belly button would never be considered voluptuous.
When he didn’t say or do anything for a very long while, she became even more apprehensive. JD McIntyre was a god. He could have any woman on the planet. And not just because of his wealth. Why had she ever allowed herself to believe she would be enough for him? The very thought of them together was ludicrous. She longed for the shield of the big shirt he’d peeled away from her quivering body.
“I’m, I’m sorry… I’ll leave,” she said in awful defeat. When she tried to pick up the garment from the floor, he stopped her.
“No.” He got up. He enfolded her in his corded arms. “Don’t go. Don’t ever go.”
“But I’m… not, enough. I’m not pretty enough. My body’s not enough. You should go back to the party and take Leanne home. You and she… you match. You’re both perfect,” she admitted.
“No, you’re not pretty.”
She felt the hot tears gathering in the backs of her eyes at his low intense words. She’d known the truth. But it was agonizing to hear him say it out loud.
“Pretty’s an inadequate word to describe you Elizabeth Sumner. You are beautiful. You are more than stunning. You take my breath away and stop my heart’s beating. You’re so gorgeous, I’m humbled you find me worthy of you. If you want to talk about perfection, you’ll need to go look in the mirror. You are everything lovely, honest, and good.”
Her hungry kiss stopped his next words. She’d felt a shaft of pure joy as she boldly rose up on her tiptoes to capture that hard carnal mouth with her own. Her hands slid down the valley of his spine. She reveled in tracing the defined muscles of his broad back. But the patchwork of ridged scars she felt made her furious. Someone or something had injured him in a horrendous way. She pulled away to ask him what had happened to cause such awful permanent marks. But his forbidding face stopped her.
“I don’t talk about the scars,” he warned her.
“It seems like there’s a whole lot you don’t talk about,” she commented.
“We’ve got better things to do than talk.” He captured her mouth once again. Her hands grasped his shoulders when he easily lifted her into his arms.
For several long seconds he stood there with her cradled against him. The flickers of candlelight turned her lovely body into a sensual map of Heaven. He’d never seen anything more beautiful. He’d never wanted a woman more. He shuddered when she traced his tattoo with an inquisitive finger.
He couldn’t wait any longer to claim her. He carried his exquisite burden to the bed. He stripped off his pants and followed her down into the soft cushion of the linens. He devoured her like a starving man.
Every little moan and shiver she gave him, made JD only desire her more. He teased the rosy tip of one breast before sliding his lips over the entire cherry crown and drawing it deep into the blazing fire of his mouth.
With sweet abandon, Sunny arched up to meet him. Her hands reached around his back once again. She explored lower, lower until she was able to caress his solid male curves. His hips pushed recklessly against her. She bucked up to meet his thrust, eager to be one with him.
JD pushed himself up on his elbows. His fingers played in the damp curls springing up around her face. He traced the beautiful contours of her face. His expression was hard with desire when he began kissing his way down the length of her writhing body. He took his time, worshipping her dewy flesh. His tongue circled her navel with a slow deliberateness that had her keening with wild pleasure. Lower and lower his open searing mouth went. When his fingertips began to softly part the honey-brown thatch of curls guarding her mound, she tried to deny him.
“What are you doing?” she gasped.
He lifted his head and gave her a wicked smile. “I’m distracting you.”
He explored with his scorching tongue. He began caressing her with slow rasping slides in a rhythm as old as time. When he was sure she was ready, his fingers moved to the sleek opening of her body. When she softened for him, never breaking the rhythm of his intimate kisses, he went deeper. She was tight, almost too tight to accommodate him.
He knew he was being selfish with her. But he couldn’t stop himself. Sunny Murphy was addicting. And he was relentless in his seduction of her. He was intent upon having her almost mindless with pleasure before he joined their bodies.
As he felt Sunny tensing in preparation for her release, he eased further into her taunt inner passage. JD loved hearing the helpless catch in her breath. He gloried in her generous, unstudied responses to his lovemaking.
He gave her one last intimate kiss before backing away to pull her body close to his. He settled between her open, surrendered thighs. He set the wide pulsing head of his member against her sweet entry. He watched her body begin its descent into rapture.
Searching for Sea Glass: BEST-SELLING AUTHOR (Sea Glass Secrets Book 1) Page 18