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Her body, however, wouldn't listen to the rational voices inside her head or be held back by what the doctors said. And as they made love, every part of her that could touch Justin, that could pleasure and be pleasured, went all in.
Water splashed.
Hands stroked and caressed.
Mouths tasted and nipped.
And raw moans of pleasure filled her room.
Justin drove her higher and higher and higher, the rest of the world disappearing. After driving each other into frenzied ecstasy, at last they collapsed together, lungs heaving, clinging to each other so tightly that it was difficult to draw breath.
"That was unbelievable. Best day of my life." Justin stroked the wet hair back from her face. "You're going to run me ragged."
She gazed into his beautiful face. "If you don't think you can keep up..."
His grin stole her heart, just like it always had. "We Morrisons are known for our stamina."
She raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Is that doubt I hear?"
Knowing he'd always thrived on a challenge, she said, "There's only one way to prove me wrong."
He had her out of the tub and bouncing onto her bed in the blink of an eye. They were both still soaking wet as they tangled mouths and limbs again. And if she couldn't help but wish for more--for just as much emotion as pleasure--she reminded herself that even this was more than she'd ever hoped to have with Justin.
And she would never regret their night together as long as she lived.
CHAPTER NINE
Justin woke the next morning alone in Taylor's bed. He'd much rather have had her in his arms, but she had a job to do, one that included feeding her guests.
He put on his jeans and T-shirt, then went looking for her. He found her in the kitchen with little Sophia and Addison sitting on stools stuffing fresh blueberry muffins into their mouths. Grinning like a fool, he went to say good morning and give her a kiss, but she sidestepped him at the last second. And she barely smiled back.
"I just pulled the muffins out of the oven if you want one."
Trying to convince himself that her voice didn't sound stilted--and that even if it did, it was only natural for things to be a little awkward between them this morning, at least until they had a chance to talk--he grabbed a muffin. But he wasn't hungry anymore...and wouldn't be until he made absolutely sure that last night had been just as good for Taylor as it had been for him. Especially now that in the light of day, he couldn't help but rewind back to that moment in the tub when it seemed as though she hadn't wanted the two of them to talk about anything more than sex. He'd chalked it up to her being as physically hungry for him as he was for her.
Had he been wrong?
He'd been so sure that last night had solidified their connection on every level, from friendship to love and everything in between. But he'd made that mistake once before, after their kiss in college--the kiss that had torn their friendship to shreds.
No, he thought with a firm shake of his head. Things were different now. They hadn't been drunk last night. She didn't have a boyfriend. And they weren't kids anymore. They were adults who knew their own minds and hearts. She wouldn't have slept with him, wouldn't have given herself to him so openly, so fully, if she hadn't wanted to love him the way he wanted to love her.
No amount of reasoning with himself could stop him from wanting to pull her out of the kitchen and make sure everything was okay. But he knew better than to take her away from her job, of course.
Frustration rode him as Sophia and Addison's parents walked in. "We can get the little ones out of here if they're disturbing you," Katie Belmont said to Taylor, giving Justin a smile that he only barely managed to return.
"I love the kids keeping me company while I make breakfast," Taylor replied with a smile. One that was a million times bigger than the one she'd given him a few minutes ago. "You've been really helpful, haven't you?" she said to the children.
"We have!" Sophia pointed to a couple of messy piles of chocolate chips, which were slightly smeared, as though someone had licked them before putting them down. "Taylor needed us to measure the chocolate chips for cookies," she told her mother in a voice full of proud importance.
Justin made a mental note not to eat that batch of cookies, even as he appreciated Taylor's willingness to let her young guests help. His mother had been the same way when Justin and his siblings were little. She'd never been upset by dropped bags of flour or broken eggs. On the contrary, she made them all laugh even more whenever they made messy mistakes. And she never, ever called them mistakes.
Now, he refused to call his night with Taylor a mistake. No matter what was going on inside her head today, he knew with utter certainty that making love had been right. For both of them.
Last night, he'd finally let loose his desire for her. This morning, he would do the same with words of love. Words that he hoped would wipe away any regret she might be feeling.
"How was your night?" Taylor asked her guests.
"Really great," Brent Belmont replied. "Your restaurant suggestions have been spot-on."
"And we loved walking through town after dinner," his wife added.
"And the ice cream was awesome!" Addison rubbed his tummy. "Can we go back today?"
"You bet," said his mother with a grin before turning back to Taylor. "What about you? How was your evening? I hope you didn't work too hard."
Taylor's cheeks immediately flushed a deep rose. Just the way they had when Justin had been stroking her skin, pressing kisses along the swell of her breasts, and driving her to climax with his body inside of hers.
"I didn't work at all," she said with a little shake of her head. She licked her lips, then added, "My night was good."
Good?
"I had the best night of my life," he interjected. No one had asked him, but Justin had no intention of holding in the truth.
The Belmonts' eyebrows went up. "What did you do?" Brent asked. "Sounds like we should follow your example tonight."
"Actually, we both just stayed right here," Taylor replied with a laugh--one that he knew for a fact was forced--before he could say anything else. "Pizza delivery under the stars in Napa Valley," she added with a smile. "Nothing better, right?"
Katie nodded. "Honestly, I'm not sure there is. Brent and I can't stop looking at real estate flyers. It would be such a dream to live here."
"It would be so lovely if you moved to St. Helena!" Taylor said, clearly excited about the idea. "We could talk more about what it's like to live here, as opposed to being a tourist, over breakfast if you'd like. Food should be ready in about ten minutes."
"I'm going to head out for a run," Justin said. "Don't wait on breakfast for me."
His tone was brusque enough that everyone had to be wondering what his problem was. But he wouldn't be able to sit at the table and keep a pleasant conversation going while his insides twisted up with every second that Taylor wouldn't look him in the eye. Going for a punishing run would be the only way to keep from force-feeding the Belmont family so they'd leave him and Taylor alone to talk.
*
An hour later, he came back to find the breakfast table cleared and no sign of the family of four. His T-shirt was soaked--he hadn't run that fast since he raced the mile on the track team in high school--but he headed straight for the kitchen, where he hoped to find Taylor. Alone, this time.
"Hey." He saw her standing at the kitchen sink, still not looking at him. "Is everything okay?"
It was a tip-of-the-iceberg question. One that barely scratched the surface of what he really wanted to ask. But he didn't want to make the mistake of freaking out completely on the morning after if it turned out that there was nothing to freak out about.
"I don't know if it is," she replied in a soft voice.
He'd always appreciated her honesty. She never answered a question unless she was certain about it. This morning, though, her honesty was a punch straight to his gut.
"Talk to
me." He shut off the faucet and grabbed her wet hands, turning her to face him. "Last night seemed perfect. But if it was just that way for me, and not for you, you need to tell me."
"It was perfect," she said, her words spoken in such an intense voice that he knew she meant it. Only, instead of looking overjoyed about it, she pressed her lips together. "But--"
"You don't have to worry," he said. "I know I was a player in college, but that was only because I couldn't have you. Now that we're together, I don't want anyone else. I've never wanted anyone but you."
"You can't want me." She looked utterly panicked as she yanked her hands from his. "We can't be together."
Again, he was ready to counter her worries. "I know we'll have to deal with the long-distance stuff for a while, but I won't be in Germany forever. I was thinking it probably won't be too hard to open a lab here and find scientists who would be more than happy to live in the wine country."
