AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I reached up and smoothed a lock of hair behind his ear. “I’m sorry to interrupt your truly stellar foreplay. I wanted to clear the air.”
“Has anyone ever told you you’re a brat?”
“More than once, unfortunately. I’ll be quiet now.”
“What if I make you scream?” His grin threatened retribution.
“Finley! Don’t say things like that. You’re embarrassing me.”
He sobered in an instant. “You’d better get over that. By the time the sun comes up, I’m going to know every inch of your body, Duchess. Fair warning.”
This time when he kissed me, it was different. Before, he’d been lazy and sweet in his caresses. Now, he was desperate. Not half as desperate as me.
We rolled wildly from his mattress to mine and back again. He smelled like wind and rain and aroused male. I struggled with his clothing. When he was naked, I almost lost my nerve.
Finley Craig was a beautiful man. Unclothed, he was far more intimidating than ever before. Broad, muscled shoulders gleamed with sweat in the firelight. His jaw was tight, his expression hard to read. His chest was a symphony of sleek muscles and tanned skin stretched taut over ribcage and sternum.
At the moment, he had me on my back, my arms pinned over my head with his two big hands. “Damn, Duchess,” he muttered. “Where have you been all my life?”
I wasn’t going to be swayed by pretty words. I was a grown woman. I had chosen to have sex with an interesting man because I wanted to know what he would be like in bed.
The analytical part of my brain still managed to reason, though barely, pointing out that this scenario could definitely be labeled a fantasy. A gorgeous man. A stormy night. Physical intimacy ratcheting upward exponentially. “I’m glad I met you,” I whispered, driven to honesty by the avalanche of emotions that threatened to consume me.
“Fate,” he said with a roll of his eyes.
“Make fun if you want,” I said. “I can’t help it if you showed up when I was in trouble.”
“Somebody else would have come along eventually.”
Maybe he was telling me not to get attached to him. Too late. I wrapped my legs around his. We were as close as two people could be but for that final joining. “Kiss me again,” I demanded. He tasted like sin. Though he was in the dominant position, I was reaping all the benefits. The feeling of helplessness was a turn-on, because I knew that he wanted what I wanted. And soon.
He left me for thirty seconds, no more, and came back ready for action. When he moved between my thighs, I tensed up. I didn’t know why. It wasn’t as if I was scared of him.
“What’s wrong, Duchess?”
I made myself relax. “Nothing. Just nervous. I’m not very good at this.”
He kissed my nose. There was something disarmingly sweet about a guy who could be so gentle and teasing when we were both about to go off like rockets. “Who told you that?” he asked.
“Nobody had to tell me. I haven’t exactly had guys knocking down my door to hook up. Some women aren’t naturally…um…erotic.”
“Oh, Duchess.” He shook his head as if he were disappointed in me. And we hadn’t even done anything yet. “Don’t be a clueless blonde. You’re the best kind of hot.” He nudged his erection against my sex.
I lost my train of thought when all the blood left my brain and moved south. “The best kind?”
“Yeah. Cool and collected and ladylike. Makes guys like me want to get you mussed and flustered.” He pressed all the way in and stayed there, giving me a chance to adjust to his size. I didn’t have a lot of basis for comparison, but I had definitely graduated to the big-time.
When I could catch my breath, I opened my eyes and found him staring at me with a peculiar expression. “What?” I asked.
I saw his throat move when he swallowed. “Hush, Duchess. I’m trying not to come.”
“Oh.” I frowned. “That would be disappointing.”
He choked out a laugh. His blue eyes were hazy and unfocused. “Hell, I’m sorry, McKenzie.” He groaned and finished, leaving me wondering what had happened. I was no femme fatale. I hadn’t even gone down on him, for Pete’s sake. Yet here we were, me revved and ready to go…Finley heavy and lax on top of me, his breathing labored and his skin hot.
An awkward silence fell after that. He went into the bathroom to clean up. I pulled the sheet and blanket over me. That was the thing about fantasies. They weren’t based on reality. I felt hollow inside. Not because Finley had left me behind, but for being a thirty-two-year-old woman who hadn’t a clue how to understand the male of the species. His brain or his sex drive. It didn’t really matter. Finley was a mystery to me.
When he came back, he was still naked. I had a difficult time looking at all that male magnificence, so I stared past him into the fire. “I suppose we should get some sleep,” I said calmly. “Who knows what will happen tomorrow…weather-wise, I mean.”
