AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Theirs was the first stop, thank goodness, and Philip twined his fingers in hers and pulled her after him the moment the doors swished open. Claire caught the stare of the one woman in the group and would swear the older lady, who looked long-married and content, gave her a surreptitious wink.
A few steps, the flash of an electronic key and they were inside an opulent room. But Claire wasn’t even curious enough to look around. She just wanted him.
He seemed every bit as frenzied. The moment the door clicked shut behind them, he bent and picked her up in his arms, carrying her across the huge suite to the massive bed that dominated the bedroom. The covers were already pulled down and, she was shocked to see, red rose petals were strewn over the silky sheets.
“You arranged all this?”
“Of course,” he said, as he lowered her onto the bed and followed her down.
“Thank you,” she whispered, looping her arms around his neck and pulling him down for a sultry kiss.
Their tongues thrust lazily and the kiss went on and on. They shared each breath, and their bodies melted together, angles welcoming curves. Philip never moved his mouth from hers as he began to touch her, stroking her arms, her neck, her throat, her hair. When his fingertips brushed the top curves of her breasts, she arched toward him, ready for him to intensify his caresses.
Instead of ending the kiss so she could unzip her dress and pull it down, he kept his mouth on hers and slid his hand farther, past her stomach, her hip, her thighs. Until he reached the hem and began to tug it up.
She quivered, anticipation making her hold her breath as his fingers worked her nerve endings. Her legs were shaking before he was anywhere near their apex, and when he finally did reach the curls covering her sex, she cried out against his mouth.
“Do you know how much I loved tasting this?” he asked, finally pulling away to kiss her jaw, her neck, her ear.
“As much as I loved tasting you?”
“More,” he insisted, finally reaching around to unfasten her dress. She sat up a little, helping him, watching his eyes grow nearly black as he uncovered her body. The dress had a built-in bra, since it was so low-cut in the back, and when he realized she wasn’t wearing a stitch underneath, he growled in approval.
“I want to feel you pressed against me,” she said, pushing his jacket off his shoulders. “Every inch of you.”
He got up from off the bed, his eyes never leaving her face as he stripped out of his clothes. Claire lay there watching him drop the jacket, the tie, the shirt. When he reached for his trousers she nibbled her lip, eager to see him naked.
Of course, she wasn’t totally naked herself; she was still wearing a pair of black, spike-heeled shoes. When she reached down to unbuckle them, he shook his head slowly, suggestively.
She left them on.
“I’ve never seen a more perfectly built man,” she admitted, her eyes devouring him as he unbuttoned his fly. He was gorgeous, all broad and lean and sculpted.
The trousers fell, as did his boxer briefs, and she swallowed hard. Seeing that huge erection reminded her of how he’d tasted, how just the thick tip of it had filled her mouth.
She didn’t have any worries about taking him into her body now—first, because she wanted him desperately and was more wet and aroused than she’d ever been in her life. Second, because she knew that, no matter what, he would take care of her.
As if reading her mind, he reached for her and cupped her cheek. “I’ll never hurt you.”
She extended her arms, pulling him down to her. “I know.”
They began kissing again, and this time, with the press of their naked bodies—her bare leg slipping between his, her breasts crushed against his chest—she groaned at the rightness of it.
“Please, Philip,” she whispered as he kissed his way down her neck, “don’t make me wait. I’ve been waiting long enough.”
He knew what she meant, and reached for his pants. “I packed us a small bag,” he admitted. “The rest of the condoms are in it. But in case we didn’t make it here, I tucked one in my pocket.”
“Smart boy,” she said, laughing softly.
She watched greedily as he tore open the packet and slipped the condom over his rigid cock, noting that his hands shook the tiniest bit, as if he was just as affected by the importance of this moment as she was.
It was important. Vitally so. Because for the first time in her life, she was about to make love with a man she loved.
She’d never been in love before, never experienced anything like this, but Claire had no doubt that’s what she felt for Philip.
“Now, please,” she begged, spreading her legs, arching up to welcome him.
He settled himself between her thighs and she wrapped her ankles around his hips, pulling him closer. Wonderfully restrained, Philip gently nudged into her channel, giving her time to adjust to him. He groaned when he found her hot, wet and ready for him, and began to sink deeper.
“Oh, yes,” she whispered as he filled her, making a place for himself in her body the way he had in her heart. She tangled her fingers in his hair, pressing kisses against his throat and chest, wanting to wrap herself around him and never let go. “Fill me up, Philip, so I’ll always remember what it’s like to have you as a part of me.”
“Oh, Claire, you always will,” he promised as he bent to kiss her. Their mouths locked as he plunged deep, filling her so thoroughly, so perfectly, she wondered how she’d ever lived this many years without realizing she’d been incomplete.
They began to move, first with slow, gentle thrusts, then with harder, more intense ones. Every stroke was both a question and a promise, every touch had many meanings, every kiss was like a vow. At one point, Claire rolled him over and climbed on top, wanting to look down at him, to see him helpless with desire for her. He gave her all she wanted and more, gazing up at her adoringly.
She didn’t know how long it went on, just knew that they made love for what seemed like hours, until he’d become so much a part of her she didn’t think she was ever going to be able to let him go.
She climaxed again and again, each time more intense and blissful than the last. When he finally came, he whispered the sweetest words against her mouth.
“I love you, Claire.”
And she could say absolutely nothing but the same.
“I love you, too.”
7
THE NEXT TEN DAYS passed in a blur and were among the happiest of Philip’s life.
Since their night at the hotel, he and Claire were inseparable. He slept with her in her bed each night and awakened to her smiling face every morning. Several times a day he found an excuse to end up in the kitchen of her shop, sometimes just watching her whip up some fantastical treat that would delight a child on Christmas morning. Sometimes helping her by unloading boxes, cleaning bowls or even stirring batters.
He even, as he’d threatened, got Teeny to help. When it became obvious that Claire’s business had become popular, and that she wasn’t getting much rest, he made sure his friends lent a hand wherever possible. To his shock—and Claire’s amusement—his bodyguard had a keen eye and a steady hand, and took real delight in creating intricate flowers made of icing, or delicate cakes.
It was now just a few days before Christmas. Just a few days before he needed to leave for home. While he and Claire had talked about tomorrow and the month after and the year after that as if they would still be together, he had not yet asked her to be his wife.
He couldn’t, not until he told her who he really was and where he was from. Philip only hoped that when he did, she wouldn’t decide she wanted nothing to do with a world she might consider backward, since it lacked many of the amenities of hers. Of course, it had its own delights, and so much beauty, but until she experienced it for herself she might not realize just how magical it could be.
They had just finished decorating a small tree in Claire’s living room. He suspected she’d been putting it off in hope that she would see or hear from her brother, as the tradition had been one she’d shared with him in recent years. So Philip did all he could to make the evening a memorable one, wanting her to have new, good memories to replace those that made her sad.
They’d listened to jolly music, shared ginger-flavored cookies, and laughed together as he tried to figure out how to hang a blasted strand of tiny lights. Frankly, he preferred candles, but she insisted that would be a fire hazard. The two of them finally ended up curled together on the floor in front of the tree, looking at the light reflecting off the beautiful red ornaments as a long, silent night descended.
“Ready for bed?” he asked, kissing her temple.
“Yes, except I just realized how fabulous those ginger cookies were, and decided I’m going to make some for the shop tomorrow,” she said with a light laugh.
“Huh, always thinking of your work,” he teased.
