Heart of the Raven(18)

"I'll do it," he said quietly. "Please."

"Okay."

She felt him tug the band off her hair, then he unbraided it, slowly,  carefully, until her hair lay across her back like a cape. She closed  her eyes, enjoying his touch, his attention. She'd watched his hands  cradle Danny, stroke his hair, pat his back. Now they worked magic on  her instead, both hands tunneling through her hair like gentle combs.

"Beautiful," he said. "You're beautiful. I don't think you know that about yourself."                       
       
           



       

"No-"

"I thought it the first time I saw you."

She looked over her shoulder at him.

"And fierce," he added. "Protective. Kind. Brave. Nurturing. Scared."

"Scared?"

He nodded. "Of commitment. Of the disappointment that so often comes with it."

"You've learned all that about me in two and a half weeks?"

He sat up, lifted her hair over her shoulders, and massaged her back.  "All that and more. My mother pointed something out, though, that made  everything click."

"What was that?"

"That she'd never seen anyone work harder at keeping their distance than  you. I started to pay attention then-to how you clench your fists when  your eyes say you want to touch. To how you take a step back when the  rest of your body seems to be leaning forward. You don't let yourself  give in to what comes naturally. Except that you didn't try to keep your  distance from Danny."

He'd summed her up. There was no defense. "No." And I'm not keeping my distance from you, even though I should. But, no regrets.

"Heath?"

"Cassie?"

"I'm saying yes."





Eleven




S he said yes.

Heath didn't know if he'd made the wisest or stupidest decision of his  life by bringing her into his room, but there was no turning back now.  He wanted her with a depth of passion he hadn't known in a very long  time.

Everything about her appealed to him in some base way, whether in sex  appeal, maternal instinct or job efficiency. A complete package. He  knelt beside her on the bed then was surprised to find his hands shaking  when he touched her face.

"I'm glad," she said softly, making eye contact.

"About what?"

She wrapped her hands around his. "That you're as excited as I am. My heart is thundering so much I can hardly hear anything."

"You are the sexiest woman I've ever known," he said.

"What?"

"You are the-" He stopped when her eyes sparkled at her joke, then the  sparkle turned to brilliance as she slid her hands down his chest,  stopping at his waistband. She slipped a hand under his T-shirt and  touched skin. He sucked in a breath as her fingernails scraped his  flesh.

"I take it you're not sleepy," he said.

"My little nap was enough to keep me awake for hours."

"Hours?"

"Can't rise to the occasion?" She smiled seductively.

He didn't know what to make of the playful Cassie, except to enjoy her.

"You've already gotten a rise out of me," he said, untying the sash of her robe.

"I noticed."

"Are you on the Pill?" he asked as she slipped out of her robe and tossed it aside.

"Yes."

He knew she wouldn't lie to him. She was well aware of what Eva had  done, and Cassie wouldn't do the same. "Anything else I should know?"

She shook her head. "You?"

"No."

"Twenty-first century reality sure pours ice water on romance, doesn't it?" she asked, suddenly looking hesitant.

Time to change the tone. Time to let her know how much he wanted her. He  peeled his T-shirt over his head and dropped it. Before he could reach  for her, she leaned close and kissed his chest.

"Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to do that?" she asked, her  tongue making swirls, leaving cool, damp trails that chilled and  excited, teased and tormented.

"Not as long as I've wanted to do the same to you," he said, moving her  back, stopping her. He liked her assertiveness, liked that she wasn't  afraid to show she wanted him. But his control was going to last about  half a minute if she kept doing that. "Let me show you," he said.

She sat quietly as he unbuttoned her top and pushed it over her  shoulders. He whispered her name as her breasts were bared, then  resisted the temptation to touch, making her wait, making her want. He  grabbed the waistband of her bottoms and tugged them down and off.

"Exquisite," he said as he slid his bottoms off, too. "Perfect."

She dragged her hands down his chest, wrapped her fingers around him,  her fingertips like fire. "Not sure that's a good idea," he said,  struggling against the need threatening to burst.

"I need to touch you."

He moved her hands, held them by the wrists and sat back on his heels. "Later."

Her body was amazing-lean and muscled, yet curved and soft. He kissed  her hard, unable to keep things slow a second longer. Her tongue met his  thrust for thrust as he pressed her into the mattress and stretched out  on top of her. Her legs opened, welcoming him, but he wanted more  first. More of her mouth. More of her breasts. The taste of her nipples,  hot and hard. The feel of her skin, damp and smooth. The temptation of  the sublime femaleness of her body as he moved down her, savoring and  appreciating and arousing. She arched high, moaned low, begged softly.  He dragged his fingers up her thigh, stopping at the apex to stroke her  lightly, learning her, appreciating her, going deeper with each touch.                       
       
           



       

"I can't," she said. "I-"

"Can't what?"

"Wait. Wait. I can't-"

"Then don't wait."

"Together," she said, the word gritty. "I want it to be together."

"In a minute." He caressed her, teased her, found the places that made her gasp, settled his mouth there.

She grabbed hold of his hair as if to stop him even as she tipped her  pelvis toward him, then she exploded with sound and motion, pleasing  him, exciting him. Before she could come down, he moved up her body and  drove into her, her welcome tight and hot. He'd barely begun to move  when she came again, louder, more violently, the sounds dragging on and  on, her legs wrapping tighter around him. Then he was lost, too, in the  pleasure, in the heat, in the beauty, in the wonder. There's no place  like home. He wanted it to last forever, be forever, take forever … .

When reality touched him again and he was spent, he lay sprawled on her,  not wanting to give up possession. "Can you breathe?" he asked after a  while.

Silence.

"Cassie?"

Still nothing.

He pulled back. She drew a long, sucking, gasping breath that turned into a laugh.

"Brat," he said then he dropped onto his side, leaving a hand on her abdomen.

Her smile was so tender and sweet he almost couldn't associate it with her. Another fascinating side of the complex Ms. Miranda.

"Was it good for you?" he asked, hiding his grin.

She shoved him.

"Is that a yes?"

"You know it was," she countered.

"Yeah, I heard it loud and clear."

Her cheeks pinkened. He was amazed. Tough girl Cassie was embarrassed that she enjoyed sex in a way no one could doubt.

"Stay with me," he said seriously. "Sleep with me."

"You're just looking to get lucky again."

No, he wasn't. But he would play along with her. "What if I am?"

"Then I'll definitely stay." She laid a hand along his face. "Can you sleep with the light on?"

"Anything you need."

Her eyes took on a little sheen. She raised up enough to kiss him, then  he gathered the blankets around them and pulled her close. When he felt  her relax he said, "Why are you afraid of the dark?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Why not?"

"Because it sounds stupid."

"Fears often are, but that doesn't make them any less real."

She didn't respond. After a few minutes he closed his eyes.

"My angel can't find me in the dark," she said quietly.

He tucked her closer. "Tell me about your angel."

"When I first was sent to my grandfather after my mother died, I  couldn't sleep at night. My mother died during the night, and I guess I  figured my grandfather might, too, if I fell asleep. Who knows what goes  through the mind of a five-year-old? Anyway, he put a night-light in my  room so that my angel-the one specifically assigned to me-could find me  and kiss me good-night, then I could sleep."

Her voice had gotten small, as if she was five again. He pressed his lips to her head.

"You're the first person I've told. I've never spent the night with anyone before, because I didn't want them to know."