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Caitlin was too mesmerised, too enthralled by what he was doing to her to think of undressing him. When she was finally, tremulously naked, and she fumbled at the buttons on his shirt, he stopped her, sweeping her off her feet and laying her on the bed.
‘I want to look at you, waiting for me to join you,’ he said huskily. ‘There’s no more exciting sight in the world.’
Nor to her, watching him divest himself of clothes, feeling the anticipation swell inside her as his body emerged, taut with desire for her.
‘Remember the first time you entered my office for the job interview?’ David murmured.
‘Yes. Very well.’ It had been like entering an electric field, her whole body tingling as the man behind the desk rose to greet her, the most handsome, vital man she had ever met.
‘I’d never felt anything like it,’ he confessed. ‘The hair on the back of my neck prickled. My heart kicked. Life was suddenly super-charged. When you spoke, your voice seemed to sing through my head. When I took your hand, the mere touch of you sent a fever through my blood. I had to have you, Caitlin.’
So that was the effect she had had on him...an instant chemical reaction so strong that it consumed any consideration he might have given to other interviewees. Caitlin felt awed by the fact he had never felt it before, awed and elated. She was different from every other woman who’d been in his life. As he was different for her.
‘Is it still like that?’ she asked.
‘More. It’s hell not having you.’
A straight statement of fact, the truth of it burning in his eyes, burning into her heart, touching on the same truth for her. As he discarded his last piece of clothing, Caitlin swung herself off the bed and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging the heat of his flesh to herself, feeling and revelling in the solid muscle-and-bone reality of the man she wanted and loved.
‘It’s hell without you, too, David,’ she whispered, pressing feverish little kisses down his throat, along his collarbones.
‘Caitlin...’ It was a half-strangled cry of need. His hands skated down her back and clasped her to him. His chest expanded, crushing the pliant softness of her breasts, confining her movement.
‘Let me love you, David, as you did me,’ she softly pleaded, running her fingernails lightly down over his buttocks.
She felt the muscles tighten. He took a quick, shallow breath and eased his hold on her. The desire to pleasure him, to show him how beautiful he was to her, was like a fever in her blood. She could feel his sensitivity to her touch, the excitement rippling under his skin, the acute response to the intimacy of her mouth sliding over him, the tremor in his thighs...and it stirred a passion to make him feel more and more, to imprint not only his body but his soul with her love.
His hands writhed through her hair. He arched back. Then with an anguished groan he jack-knifed forward, picked her up and carried her to the bed. He drove himself inside her in a frenzy of need and she wildly welcomed the intense thrust of possession, goading him to reach as deeply within her as she hoped she had with him, wanting the searing sensation of his flesh pounding within hers, seeking the ultimate fulfilment of melding into one.
It came like a white-hot flash, engulfing her body, engulfing them both in a moment of ecstatic union, peaking to a pinnacle of utter perfection, completion, then slowly, slowly sliding into a trough of languorous sensuality that fed an almost insatiable passion for more and more pinnacles.
Their bodies were so sensitised that the merest caress effected arousal. David had only to close his mouth over her breast and softly draw on it to make her writhe with the sweet piercing pleasure that streamed through her. She had only to stroke the innerside of his thighs and his need for her stirred anew. The constant heat of their involvement in each other melted the hours away.
There was a blissful sense of belonging, a recognition of it in their eyes, a celebration of it in every kiss, an affirmation of it in each intimate connection. Even when exhaustion set in and the need for sustenance cried out to be met, they were reluctant to release each other from the intense togetherness they had shared.
‘Do we have to go back to Sydney?’ Caitlin asked, burrowing her head into the curve of his neck and shoulder, wishing this incredibly wonderful interlude could last forever but knowing it had to come to an end.
David didn’t reply at once. He stroked her hair for several moments, clearly mulling the decision over in his mind. Then he cuddled her closer, and rubbed his cheek over the top of her head. ‘No,’ he murmured. ‘We’ll do whatever we want.’
They spent the night at The Last Retreat. All night. They had breakfast together the next morning. Caitlin was so happy she couldn’t stop smiling. Her high spirits were infectious. David was more relaxed, more light-hearted, more ready to laugh than she had ever seen him.
Their hunt for precisely the right piece of land for Danny Boy turned into a delicious game as they bounced ideas off each other, building a picture of what would be absolutely idyllic. They not only needed good pasture for grazing, there had to be a creek or a big watering hole he could splash around in, the right amount of shade trees, solid fences, and it shouldn’t be too lonely for him. This led to a discussion on the purchase of some mares as well. David was very eloquent on the subject of a stallion’s needs.
Going back to Sydney was postponed indefinitely. David took Caitlin on a shopping spree, since their quest would obviously take a few days and they needed fresh clothes. They also bought a book on Clydesdales.
David clasped the concept of spontaneity to his soul.
They made love. They had fun together. The sun shone. They shared a joy in life they had never shared before. It was wonderful. David found out that the best Clydesdale mares should have a very feminine face. He couldn’t believe it!
The dream property grew and grew. If they were going to buy some mares for Danny Boy, and the mares had foals, they would need stables and a feed-barn. They would also need a house because someone would have to live on the property and look after everything. An investment of this size demanded a good manager.
They finally found the perfect place. It not only had a house, but a workman’s cottage, as well. David had no hesitation in buying it, despite the horrendous cost. ‘The ideal country retreat,’ he said. Caitlin could not help thinking he meant it for both of them, for the future they would share together.
They drove back to The Last Retreat and made love again. It was immensely satisfying, yet as they lay entwined together afterwards there was a twinge of sadness in knowing that the quest was over. It brought to an end—had to—this idyllic existence. David’s real life was back in Sydney.
There was the Crawley patent infringement case coming up in court. That h
ad to be attended to. And won. Then there was David’s business. Although he had handed the reins of management to other people, he would have to keep an eye on it. No one knew it as well as he did. Last, but far from least, there was his mother.
