GOING … GOING … WED!

by Amy J. Fetzer

  He flattened her hand on him, then drew it to his chest. "You keep doing that and I'll do more than throb," he said into her mouth, then kissed her, drawing her to the bed. Fishing in her robe pocket, he tossed the packets on the bed, nipping her smooth, flawless shoulder.

  "Show me."

  She held his gaze, untying her sash, parting her robe.

  His smoldering gaze raked down to her bare toes and back up. "I knew you were gorgeous." He looked again, pushing the robe down her arms to pool on the floor. "I just didn't imagine this."

  Madison felt proud and beautiful as he swept her hair back and kissed her, a never-ending layer of his lips and tongue over her body. He had an amazing mouth. And he knew how to use it. He worshiped her breasts, her ribs, her stomach, and her fingertips dug into his shoulders, knees liquefying as he tasted the dip of her waist, her navel, the sweep of her hip with exquisite care.

  "Nor this." He laved his tongue over the tiniest tattoo, chucking to himself.

  "You'd do anything to see that."

  "Oh, yes." Gently, he pushed her onto the bed, hovering over her long enough to lick her a path to her dark brown curls between her thighs.

  "Alex?"

  "I crave you like candy." He nipped the inside of her thigh. "And I want to taste it." He spread her, his tongue immediately delving.

  She cried out and arched, calling his name in a long, breathy moan, writhing elegantly, and if Alex had thought long enough, he'd swear she'd never experienced anything like it.

  Madison hadn't. Never. Ever. And any thought of denying herself flew from her mind. She lost herself beneath his touch, his expertise sweeping her quickly to the brink of rapture. He pushed her knees up, draping them over his shoulders, driving deeper, then thrust two fingers inside her.

  Her body fractured, clenched and she begged him to stop. On a dastardly chuckle, he refused, loving her quaking, her cries and moans and the little jerks of her body as she rode his mouth helplessly to the end of pleasure. A little sob caught in her throat as she sank into the bed.

  She panted, swiping the hair off her face as he moved onto the bed beside her. Flinging a leg over his hip, she slid her hand inside his slacks.

  "Don't. Stop. Oh, no," he said deadpan as he ducked, worrying the tip of her breast, feeling her nipple peak on his tongue.

  She freed him into her palm. "Oh, Alex, is that for me?" she said inside a devious laugh.

  "Always."

  She stroked him. Not that Alex needed any more stimulation. Just watching her undress him, curl away to tug his slacks free, which she was most eager to do, left him quaking with desire. He ground down on his control, the urge to push her on her back and be inside her scraping him raw. She crawled up him, over his legs, smiling, soft and mysterious, before she slicked her tongue over the tip of him. His muscles seized, and he dragged her up and kissed her with the ferocity of a man gone wild.

  His lungs worked. "I want you all night long." He said it like a complaint.

  "But I want you now." She pushed him to his back, then straddled him.

  He arched a brow, his hands smoothing over her buttocks and thighs. He was shaking, badly, like a boy with his first girl, and he tipped his head to look up at her. Her legs spread across his thighs, she was beautiful, erotically woman. Chestnut hair as dark as her eyes curled over her bare shoulders, hiding her breasts. He exposed them, her body lush and shapely and taunting his patience. This was a woman he never thought to have in his bed, to want to share so much with her – much more than his body. He sat up suddenly, gripping her hips and urging her closer to his heat.

  She slid wetly against him, creating friction and slick impatience and delicious sensations that left him weak and pliable. And growling for more.

  Madison loved it. Like a mighty rock tower torn to the ground, she manipulated him, teased him. His eyes slammed shut, his long, lean body glistening with sweat despite the cool air. She licked a trickle at his temple, whispering what she was feeling, how warm and solid he was for her and what that did to her. He groaned, hitting the bottom of his control.

  "Madison, darlin'—" He showered quick, thick kisses over her throat and breasts. "Come to me."

  She held his gaze, held him in her palm, and Alex experienced a trembling moment, a deeper intimacy as she slipped on the condom. They were never more together than in this instant. Here she trusted him. Here she was his. If for one night or one month or longer, he didn't know, didn't trust himself to think beyond this moment. Only that she wanted him as much as he did her.

  He pushed himself inside her, barely. She was incredibly tight, and he teased the bead of her sex, waiting for her body to adjust, yet she spread her legs wide, forced him deeper, then in one sharp motion, she took control and thrust downward, gasping as he filled her completely. He groaned her name, quaking at the incredibly snug feel of her surrounding him. Alex kissed her tenderly, his throat suddenly tight as he tried understanding why it felt perfectly natural to be inside her. As if he'd waited his lifetime to be right here, right now.

  Madison buried her face in his shoulders, the tiniest tinge of pain passing and giving her a strange freedom. She smiled, met his gaze and wished she understood the look on his face.

  "Ready to rock, rich boy," she whispered in Alex's ear, and he choked a laugh, then went silent as she rose and fell, taking and receiving him. He wanted to lie back and watch, yet didn't want any distance between them. Cupping her breasts, he rolled the tips between thumb and forefinger, ducking to suckle and lave. He teased the bead of her sex, watching her rock, watching the desire play over her face, in her soft smile, until it was too much. He pulled her legs around him and rolled her to her back. Locking his fingers in hers and bracing himself, he retreated and plunged, his gaze never wavering from hers. Her body glistened and her hips rose to greet him, her gaze sweeping briefly to where they joined before meeting his again.

  He withdrew and her legs grabbed him back, demanding he hide nothing, spare nothing. Then she told him so, and Alex was delirious with her, her scent and touch – her hotly whispered words.

  Her soft yielding flesh gripped.

  Her breath tumbled into his mouth and he drank it.

  Her body pulsed, a savage claim to his tired soul.

  And she begged for more.

  Suddenly he swept her off the bed and against him, wrapping himself in her smooth muscled limbs. He shoved harder and harder, answering her pleas, holding her tight as she slammed and pushed and took from him all he could give.

  Raw and piercing.

  Slick skin and blistering heat. Wild, ravishing.

  Her breath skipped.

  He breathed her name, desperate, hungry.

  Gripping his shoulders she bowed back, grinding to him as thick waves of pleasure swam through him. She flexed beautifully and trembled, a sight to behold, and he thrust and joined her climax, hot, pumping, an untamed blast through his blood. He held her suspended, watching rapture spear her, then taper off with her breathing. He didn't want it to stop, wanted to see her smile like that for an eternity. She straightened slowly, coming into his arms and sighing against him like a drape of silk.

  Alex gasped and clutched her, raining kisses over her face, holding her sculpted jaw as if she'd suddenly vanish. "Madison, oh, darlin'—" His voice broke a bit, and he swallowed.

  "I know," she whispered, tightening her arms and legs around him. She laid her cheek to his shoulder as he rocked her gently. Against his skin she smiled.

  Alex squeezed his eyes shut, squeezing her, his pounding heart telling him they shared a power that went beyond this bed, this moment. And it scared him as well as comforted, called to him. "I was right," he said after several moments. "You're an addiction."

  She lifted her head to look at him.

  "I can't believe after that earth-shattering experience—" he watched her smile widen "—I could still want you again." He grunted. "But my knees are killing me." She laughed and he scooted to the edge of the bed. She le
ft his lap, slipping into the nearby bathroom. Alex followed. She was already stepping into the shower.

  He disposed of the condom and paused. There was a streak of blood on his thigh, and something gripped his chest.

  "Madison?"

  He opened the shower door and met her gaze.

  Her guilty flush told him all he needed. "Why didn't you tell me you were a virgin?"

  "You didn't need to know."

  "How can you say that?" He stepped under the spray with her, his arms circling her. "Maddy! That's not something a woman gives up easily."

  "I didn't." She cradled his face, staring into his eyes. "It was a wonderful experience, Alexander. One I'm certain I'll never forget, and it would have been different if you knew."

  "Hell, yes. We weren't exactly … tame."

  "Yeah, ain't it cool?" Madison grinned. He didn't. Oh dear, he wasn't taking this well.

  "Did I hurt you?"

  "You can do that to me all night."

  He lowered his arms. "I don't think so."

  Her expression fell. "That's why I didn't say anything." She rinsed and stepped past him.

  Alex let the hot spray cover him like the guilt swimming through his blood. Part of him wondered if she expected anything from him now, and another part was so incredibly humbled he was gasping for air. He was the first man to touch her, be inside her, and he had the ridiculous urge to roar. Madison wasn't a careless woman. She didn't do anything she didn't want. Not until he'd cornered her into this lie with Angus. But when it came to them, no, she'd already proven she couldn't be easily swayed. And that she'd wanted to give that gift to him left him feeling unworthy of her.

  He rinsed and left the shower, drying and slipping into a terry robe. He found her on the deck, a glass of wine in her hand. She stared out into the night-cloaked scenery below, wearing that silky creation that shaped her body and made him remember what her skin felt like in his hands, remember every subtlety of her climax. His body reacted with embarrassing swiftness, yet he felt strangely uncomfortable, especially after the abandon they'd just shared.

  "Don't feel guilty, Alex. It wasn't your choice. It was mine."

  "Why?"

  Facing him, Madison met his gaze. Because I'm falling in love with you, she thought. She'd been tumbling since they'd danced in the moonlight and he wanted to be a true Southerner. But he wasn't ready to hear that and might never be. If he'd considered a relationship an hour ago, the look on his face was as closed as it had ever been. She felt suddenly very alone.

  "Because I wanted to make love with you." She tipped the glass to her lips. "It's that simple."

  "There is nothing simple about you, Madison." It came out sharper than he'd wanted.

  She drained the wine. "Why are you so concerned? You've been with enough women to have had a least one virgin in the pile."

  "No. Never." He moved until he felt the heat of her skin through her satin robe. "I haven't been with a woman in three years."

  She blinked, then a little smile curved her lips. So, there weren't other women. "For a man, that's about like a recycled virgin, huh?"

  He chuckled softly, shaking his head and sighing as he gathered her to him. "Yeah, I guess it is." He pressed a kiss to her temple. "I don't know what to say, baby. I'm honored, but—"

  She met his gaze, covering his lips with two fingers. She didn't want him excusing away those precious moments. "I didn't make love with you to trap you or give you a guilt trip, Alexander. You're reading far too much into this. It was a burden as much as a gift." She lowered her hand to his shoulder. "And I wanted you. There can't possibly be any mistake in that."

  His look was sly. "I think that's why it was such a shock. You didn't act like a virgin."

  "This is the nineties, you know. Nineteen, not eighteen. With movies and literature, it's hard not to be educated." She cocked her head and in a Southern accent thicker than her own said, "Or would you rather I simply swoon, sah?"

  His smile grew as she spoke. Madison, he realized, was a woman who did not dwell on the past long and moved on. "I would rather you kiss me."

  "Oh-h, much obliged, sah."

  And she did, her mouth driving him crazy, her body calling to be fondled, and she let him. In the dark, on the deck, she left him with no doubt that a twenty-five-year-old virgin was better than a woman with loads of experience.

  An hour later they fell into the bed in a tumble of arms and legs and a lake of wrinkled sheets. Alex snuggled her into the curve of his body, yet before they settled, she reached for the phone.

  "Room service?"

  Alex leaned over her, smiling.

  "Yes, cookies and milk, please." She met his gaze. "For two."

  * * *

  Alex looked up from his laptop and sank back into the chair, his chest constricting at the sight of her in the bed. She lay sprawled on her stomach, her hair spilling over her face and bare shoulders, the slender dip of her spine exposed where the sheet wrapped around her hips and buttocks.

  He wanted to crawl in beside her, but after last night he understood she'd be a little tender. His brows furrowed, uncertainty sprinting through him. He'd woken twice during the night to simply stare at her, wondering why he hadn't recognized her innocence, then realized she wasn't, her sophistication shielding the fact that she'd never known another man.

  She's never known another man.

  His heart wrenched in his chest at the thought. Half with guilt, half with utter joy. He didn't deserve her. She'd made it clear what she wanted, and he wasn't ready for that. He wasn't. Her virginity was a complication he hadn't foreseen, and though she absolved him of any responsibility, Alex couldn't shake the lingering guilt. He took a sip of coffee, closing his eyes. He had too many irons in the fire to consider a future, yet the image of her holding that baby kept flying through his mind like a whispering angel. He shook his head and straightened, setting the coffee aside and focusing on his computer.

  "Why didn't you wake me?"

  His gaze flew to her as she left the bed, careless of her nudity.

  He looked his fill before he said, "Cover up, darlin', or you'll stay like that all day."

  Smiling, almost daring him, she slipped into a robe, then belted it as she crossed the room to him.

  For a moment they stared before she leaned down and brushed her mouth over his. The fire ignited quickly and he pulled her onto his lap, opening her robe and filling his palm with her breast as he kissed her.

  Madison sank into the feel of him, loving his hands on her body, loving the innocence she shed last night in his arms. Though she'd nothing to compare it to, she knew no woman could ask for a better introduction. And she wanted another lesson, the center between her thighs growing quickly damp and pulsing.

  She took his hand, pushing it there.

  Alex smiled against her lips. He loved that she wasn't shy about her wants, and toyed with her, parting the soft curls and…

  The cell phone rang.

  She moaned a complaint.

  He drew back, reaching for it. "I have to get it," he said regretfully, then opened the phone. She tried slipping from his lap, but he stopped her, kissing her softly as he put the phone to his ear. "Donahue," he said against her mouth, then jerked back. "Elizabeth!"

  She stiffened, trying not to frown.

  "How did you get this number?"

  Madison listened to the one-sided conversation, feeling like an intruder. When she left his lap this time, he let her go.

  "Destroy the number. This is for business only." A pause and then, "I know you didn't, darlin'—"

  Madison felt her insides jerk at the endearment.

  "—I can't take social calls right now."

  Alex's gaze swung to Madison. She was sitting on the sofa, her legs curled to the side as she finished off her croissant. Her expression was blank as she dusted her fingertips.

  "No, I'm not alone."

  She met his gaze.

  "It has nothing to do with you. It's … busine
ss."

  Her heart did a painful drop just then. Business?

  "Goodbye, Elizabeth." He clicked off the phone, staring at it for a moment before sliding a glance to her.

  "You weren't very kind, Alex."

  "I don't want to talk about her."

  "I see."

  "No, I don't think you do. She's just a friend."

  Madison stood, walking toward the bathroom. "Get a reality check, Yankee. A friend doesn't hunt you down on your private line just to chat. Especially when she knows she shouldn't." She slipped into the bathroom.

  "I'll change the number. I can't have Elizabeth thinking she can butt into my privacy when she wants."

  "Then you should have set her straight from the start." At his confused look, she gave him a playful shove. "She wants you."

  He scoffed. "She needs another dinner partner."

  "That's hardly it."

  "And I'm sure you are going to tell me," he said, slipping his arms around her and clasping his hands at the small of her back. The position said he would wait just like that till she had her say.

  "She wants to marry you."

  His brows shot up. "Liz? She worries about her social calendar and whether or not she'll need a facelift in ten years, but not marriage."

  "You're fooling yourself."

  He chucked under her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. "What's this really about?"

  "Why didn't you tell her you were with me?"

  He didn't mistake the hurt in her voice. "It's none of her business. And I want to keep you to myself."

  "Or hidden."

  He frowned. "You can't believe that."

  "We both didn't want this relationship to be public. And before, it was understandable, but now?"

  "You going to admit to being with me and risk becoming the flavor of the week?"

  "Can I take out an ad? A billboard will do. Or maybe I'll just give the info to Bubba Pickney and heck, it'll be all over the South in about a week."

  His smile grew as she spoke. "I'll take that as a yes."

  "Smart man." She kissed him lightly. "I'm not afraid of what anyone will say." Because I love you too much, she thought, fighting the urge to tell him.