“Damn. Now I’ve got to gag you.” With one swift motion, he pulled her down on the bed, rolled on top of her, and covered her lips with his own.
His kiss was deep and fierce. It started at her mouth, then traveled on to her breasts, her belly, the backs of her knees, with several thrilling stops in between. Her irritation faded as need took its place.
She wasn’t certain when he got rid of his own clothes because she quickly lost herself in the pleasures of feeling that strong, solid body beneath her hands and lips. For a man of action, he’d always been a leisurely lover, and today was no exception. As the bright sunlight pooled over their bodies, he satisfied his curiosity by exploring every inch of her, turning her this way and that, across the light, toward the light until she begged him.
“Please . . . I can’t take any more.”
He nuzzled her breast with his lips and his husky breath fell hot over her damp skin. “You’re going to have to take a lot more before we’re through.”
She punished him for his teasing with a torment of her own, using her mouth on him in the way she knew he loved, but the deep, moist taking also served to inflame her own need, so that when he finally reached his limit, she had also reached hers. He covered her with his body and entered her. She immediately climaxed.
“Now see what you’ve done,” she complained when she came back to earth.
His eyes were the deep gray of a spring thunderstorm, his voice smoky with the most delicious sort of menace as he pushed himself deep inside her. “Poor honey. I guess I’ll have to start all over again with you.”
“I’m not interested anymore,” she lied.
“Then close your eyes and think about something else ’til I’m done.”
She laughed and he kissed her, and in no time at all they were lost in each other. She had never felt so free. In shedding her clothes, she had also shed the last of her defenses.
“I love you,” she whispered, as he entered her. “I love you so much.”
He kissed her lips as if he were sipping her words. “Sweet . . . My sweet. So beautiful . . .”
Their bodies found a rhythm as ancient as time, and they climbed together through every barrier that separated them. As he loved her with his body, she knew with a fierce certainty that he also loved her with his heart. It could be no other way, and the knowledge catapulted her over the top. Together, they touched creation.
They spent the next few hours in various states of undress. He allowed her to wear a pair of powder blue sandals, but nothing else. She allowed him to wear his black bath towel, but insisted he keep it draped around his neck.
They ate a late lunch in bed, where they played sexual games with the juicy slices of an orange. Afterward, as they showered together, she knelt before him with the water pouring over them and loved him until they both lost control.
They were insatiable. She felt as if she’d been created only to please this man and, in turn, take pleasure only from him. She had never been so well loved, so certain of her powers as a woman. She felt brilliant and strong, soft and giving, utterly fulfilled, and although he hadn’t spoken the words, she knew in the very center of her being that he loved her. Such intensity of emotion couldn’t be coming only from her.
He postponed leaving until he had barely enough time to get to the airport. As the Jeep flew down the driveway, she smiled and hugged herself.
Everything was going to be all right.
* * *
The best country western band in Telarosa, Texas, played a lively two-step, but Cal turned down invitations to dance from a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader and a knockout Austin socialite. He was a pretty good dancer, but tonight he wasn’t in the mood, and not just because he’d played a semilousy round of golf in the tournament that day. Depression had settled on him as thick and dark as mountain midnight.
Part of the reason for his depression sidled up next to him, looking a lot more cheerful than a man who’d given up football should ever look. A blond-haired baby girl, who showed every sign of being a future mankiller, snuggled in the crook of his arm, occupying the same space all those game balls used to take up. As far as Cal could tell, the only times Wendy Susan Denton hadn’t been glued in her daddy’s arm were when Bobby Tom had been swinging a golf club or letting her mother nurse her.
“Did Gracie show you the new addition we put on the house?” Bobby Tom Denton said. “With the baby and everything, we decided we wanted more room. Plus, ever since Gracie was elected mayor of Telarosa, she’s needed a home office.”
“Gracie showed me, B.T.” Cal glanced around him, looking for an escape route, but he couldn’t find one. It occurred to him that having spent a few minutes alone with B.T.’s wife, Gracie Snow Denton, had been one of the few pleasures of this weekend. At the time, Bobby Tom had been charming sports’ reporters and carrying Wendy around, so Cal hadn’t been forced to look at that delicate wiggling bundle and see his own future.