Chapter 12

His large hands framed her face, his thumbs meeting at a point beneath her chin. Pressing slightly, he inched her face up. His eyes were smoldering and reminded her of a stormy cloud on the verge of erupting. His cologne was enticing, subtle and masculine. His head lowered slowly, an inch at a time as if gauging her reaction.

She expected him to seize her lips in a rapacious kiss, but was surprised when he brushed them lightly, slowly, back, and forth.

His eyes held her captive as he moved one hand to encircle her neck. He massaged the skin lightly, rhythmically as if making sure she was relaxed. But how could she? She wondered numbly when her body was slowly turning into a ball of flames.

Her lips parted, her fingers curling into the silk of his sweater as she instinctively brought her body closer. Her nipples were painful reminders that she was on the verge of losing control. But he was in no hurry. Using only the tip of his tongue, he traced the lush outline of her bottom lip, memorizing the shape and texture.

The fire was not concentrated in his loins but was rapidly spreading to every part of his body. His blood was hot, racing through him like a freight train heading towards a cliff. She was close enough for him to feel her nipples branding his chest.

“Cat. Cat.” He breathed her name, his breath stirring her lips. “I will not hurt you. But oh, sweet darling, you are addictive.” His hands wandered over her shoulders and then bracketed her rib cage. “My sweet baby. I want to devour you. I want to get drunk on you.” He nibbled at her lip, his tongue soothing the slight sting.

“Earl, please.” She was vibrating, every inch of her body yearning to be taken by him.

“Soon baby,” he laughed shakily, his head lifting as he stared at her. Desire, like nothing he had felt before zinged through his body like an electric storm. Her lips were parted, her brown eyes wide and passion glazed.

“I want to love you like you have never been loved before. I want to worship your body, every inch of it.” He kissed her again, his tongue diving into her mouth slowly. Cathy’s head went back as a sigh and a moan escaped her.

His tongue tangled with hers in an erotically charged kiss that had her toes curling. He slowly deepened the kiss, his fingers crushing the silk of her hair as he held her steady for the thorough exploration of her mouth.

She tasted like honey; was as sweet and soft as a wine he had sampled while in Tuscany only recently. She settled on his palette, making him yearn for so much more. Sensations rocketed through their bodies like wildfire. The kiss took on a madness that was about to spin out of control.

Earl had never been so hard, his sex was throbbing, swelling so swiftly that there was no room in his trousers. He had to do something. Dragging his lips from hers, he staggered back a step, without letting her go. His eyes were wide and fierce, the desire pumping through his body could not be contained any longer.

Taking her hand in his, he led her up the steps and pushed her gently down. Kneeling in front of her he took off her boots and dropped them to the side. She was wearing flesh-colored stockings, making her legs look silky and bare. Lifting one foot, he examined the coral painted toes, before running his fingers up her ankles to her calves.

“Earl.” She whispered achingly.

“I know.” He murmured thickly. Peeling the stockings off, he ran his hands up her supple thighs. “Stand.”

When she did, he unhooked the clasp of her pants and peeled them down. His eyes zeroed in on the flimsy material covering her sex.

“I promised you that I was going to worship your body from head to toe,” he whispered thickly.

“I need you. Inside me.”

His body jerked as if someone had prodded him. Lifting his head, he stared at her for a few ticking seconds before he lifted the sweater over her head. Her breasts were barely covered by matching lace, the color of delicate champagne. Her nipples were pronounced, the areolas puckered.

He felt the saliva pooling inside his mouth. He had to taste her.

Stepping back, he removed his clothes hastily, giving scant regard to their quality. Cathy’s knees weakened and she had to sit back down as she stared at him. There was a dense dusting of hairs on his wide chest, which tapered down to a flat stomach, disappearing into the waistband of his white boxers.

With his eyes on her face, he eased his fingers into the elastic band where his sex was already throbbing and full. His body shuddered at her gasp. Dragging the underwear off, he freed that part of him that had been aching for her ever since he heard her voice on the phone.

Her eyes flew to his, a moan escaping her.

“I won’t hurt you,” he rasped. “Don’t let me hurt you. I just want to possess you. Give me all of you, baby.” Easing a knee on the bed, he waited until she had scooted up to the mound of pillows before lying next to her.

Bending over her, he spread her hair out on the pillows, his body reacting to seeing the strands against the blue cotton. “I have dreamed of this.”

“What was your dream?” She turned sideways to get closer to him.

“The moment we were introduced, and I knew who you were, I wanted to see your hair spread across my pillows.” He trailed a finger over her cheek and then her lips. “Cathy. Sweet Cathy.” Bending his head, he took her lips in a slow erotic kiss that had the tears forming at the back of her eyes.

Lifting his lips from hers, he feathered it across her cheek and further down until he was kissing the hollow of her throat. He captured her skittering pulse, bathing the tender flesh with his tongue, until she was clutching at his shoulders.

Sliding a powerful leg over hers, he finally reached his target. The thin material seemed to melt away as he flicked at the front clasp.

“My breasts are big. I am big and…”

“You’re beautiful.” He ended her uncertainty by lifting his head and allowing her to see how profoundly affected he was. “Never doubt that.” Shifting slightly, he cupped her breasts until they were overflowing his palms.

His thumbs flickered over the rigid flesh, watching them hardened even more. His hands reshaped the flesh, causing her heartbeat to quicken. Nothing had ever felt so good.

Her fingers curled into his shoulders and wandered down the supple muscles of his back. When he bent his head and blew on a nipple, she arched clean off the bed. “Earl, oh God!”

His tongue ventured out to touch slightly before swirling around the tight bud. By now, Cathy felt as if her insides were incinerating. The heat was too much, she could not bear it.

Tugging at the nipple, he suckled gently, until the taste of her filled him completely. But it was not enough and very soon, the motions of his lips became hungry. Pulling on the rigid flesh, he settled on top of her, his rigid sex sliding between her thighs urgently.

Her body arched, her head thrashing on the pillows as beads of moisture broke out on her forehead and the top of her lips. Her sex was swollen and aching. Her lower body was heavy with a desire so intense, she felt as if she was dying.

By the time he transferred to the next nipple, she was mindless, her fingers making furrows into his flesh.

Earl was straining to drive into her, but he wanted to pleasure her. He wanted to brand her as his own, completely his own. Moving down, he kissed her quivering stomach, his tongue swirling around the deep indentation of her navel.

When he kissed the hairs covering her sex, she reared up in shock, her eyes opening wide. Instinctively, she used her hands to cover herself, but he removed them with a shaky laugh.

“No baby.”

“Earl, I can’t…”

“It is fine. Just let me…” Moving her hands, he planted a hungry mouth kiss on her throbbing mound before flicking his tongue over the flesh. A cry escaped her as she automatically bent a knee. This was new to her.

She was in her thirties and had never had a man love her so intimately before, none had ever offered, and she had never thought to even suggest such a thing.

As if sensing that this was something she had never done before, Earl used the tip of his tongue to enter her moist warmth. The result was explosive! The tightness that had coiled in the lower part of her body uncoiled with a ferocity that had her calling out his name.

The climax took her over completely until her body was heaving against his mouth. He captured her essence, drinking in the musky taste of her. Cupping her derriere, he loved her completely until she thought she was on the verge of dying.

Waiting until she had drifted back to earth, he climbed on top of her, the tip of his cock barely touching her. He entered her slowly, his eyes on the tear-stained cheeks and the quivering lips. He did not stop until he was sheathed, her tightness pulling him deeper still.

For a few seconds he could not move. Nothing had ever felt so wonderfully good. No one had ever reduced him to this shuddering mass of desire that seemed to take over his entire being.

Closing his eyes briefly, he took in several deep breaths and tried to quiet the chaos going on inside him. He wanted to tear her apart. He wanted to devour her, meld himself to her so that they were one. And the need for that frightened him.

Her arms came around his neck as she nudged her body against his. Bending his head, he captured her lips and started to move. Slow and facile at first, his hips moving in perfect synch against hers. But then the passion spiraled rapidly, taking them to heights they had no control over.

The next climax slammed into her without warning, causing her to arch her body in desperation. He could not hold out much longer, the combination of her moisture wrapped around him like a silken wet glove and the taste of her mouth was enough to drive him out of his mind.

He came, long and hard, his seed flooding her, touching her womb, cleansing him from the bitterness that had plagued his life for years.

He swallowed her cries, his own groans smothered deep inside his throat. His chest felt tight and for an exceptionally long time, his lean body shuddered, the muscles trembling. When it was all over, he collapsed like a balloon that had been pricked by a sharp instrument, his body loose, his heart slamming against his ribs.

Finally, he shifted, but only so that he would not crush her. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her against him, not willing to break contact with her just yet.

Cathy buried her face in his chest, her body still vibrating. She had no idea what on earth to say to him after what they had just experienced together. Somehow, she did not think that: “Wow! That was something!”… would be appropriate.

She did not have the words. And was not certain she could ever come up with anything that would in any way describe what he had done to her.

Earl was facing a similar quandary. In all his life, nothing had remotely prepared him for this. What they shared just now was so much more than physical, it was spiritual too and so emotional, that he could not find the word to describe it.

This woman in his arms had redefined the word lovemaking. She had turned into something so profound that his heart was still quaking.

Bending his head, he kissed the top of her head and caused her to stir. “I should be getting home.”

His arms tightened around her in protest.

“I did say we have all night,” he reminded her.

“Earl, I…,” her words petered off as she raised her head to stare at him. His gray eyes were tumultuous, the color reminding her of a leaden sky just before a particularly raging storm. One hand lifted to cup her cheek. “I want to be inside you again. We are not done yet.”

Cathy’s hands curled into the dense dark hairs on his chest. “Are you sure we have recovered enough for a second round? Or if we have the strength to go a second time? It might just kill us.”

“Then we would die happy.” He said solemnly. His fingers trailed the smooth skin of her cheek slowly. “I would like you to spend tomorrow with me. All day.”

“In bed?”

“If you prefer. We could go for breakfast?”

“As in public?”

His eyes narrowed. “That is the idea, yes. Why?”

“I am not ready for that.”

“Because I was with Diana? I told you there is nothing going on between us. Oh, you mean the guy you were seeing. Is that going to be a problem?”

“There was nothing going on between us,” she clarified. “I mean the fact that you are a celebrity, and I am just an ordinary- well maybe not ordinary…”

“And I am far from being a celebrity.”

“You make news.”

“My company makes news.”

“Which is one and the same.” She toyed with the hairs on his chest, her fingers absently combing through them and unwittingly sending fire to his loins. “People are going talk.”

“And you care what people say.”

“Yes. Don’t you?”

“No,” his sensuous lips formed the word, an implacable expression on his face. “People will talk about us, whatever we do or don’t do. I cannot live my life in fear of gossip. Or I would never leave my apartment. What are you afraid of?” He asked quietly.

“The usual.” She shrugged her shoulder. “Getting killed in a car crash, drowning, being dumped by a multi-billionaire after being seeing with him in public, things like that.” Her eyes met his and she shifted uncomfortable at the hooded look in his eyes.

“You think I am going to dump you.”

“You might.”

“I am in love with you.”

She went still, her eyes popping wide open.

“You don’t know what you are saying, or you are just mistaking the world’s greatest sex for love.”

She was expecting him to take umbrage and was surprised when his white teeth flashed in a smile. “World’s greatest sex?”

“It just might be. I doubt there is anything to top it.”

“Why don’t we try and see.” His deep voice had dropped into a hoarse whisper.

“We are talking and…, and you cannot say those words to me and not expect me to say anything.”

“You can say you love me back.” His hand clamped around her neck, and he attempted to draw her down to meet his seeking mouth. But she resisted by pushing against his chest.

“Earl, please. I am serious. What do you mean?”

Sighing softly, he eased the grip on her neck.

“I started falling in love with you from the very first time we began to communicate. It only got stronger and more pronounced when we started talking on the phone.” His strong fingers caressed her flesh slowly. “When I was in Italy, I saw Diana…”

“Wait! She was there. You were there together?”

“We were not. We just happened upon each other and that is when she told me that no woman would ever look past my money and see the real me.”

Her eyes narrowed at him. “And based on that load of crock, you decided to end things between us.”

There was a sheepish look on his face. “Yes. I was afraid of making that familiar mistake. I convinced myself that we have not met yet, so it would be easy for me to forget you.

I could not. In fact, I spent the time I stopped talking to you in abject misery. I could not concentrate on anything and whenever I come here, I had to drink to try and get some sleep.”

His thumb moved against the hollow of her throat. “It did not work. I was about to give in and call you when we were introduced at the gala. Do not tell me it has not been the same for you too.”

She could not lie, but at the same time, she wanted to talk about his mindset.

“And now? Am I going to have to expect more comments and suspicions? Are you going to be wondering if I am into you because of what you can give me?”

“I don’t care.”

“I do. I am not a damn gold digger.” Her eyes were flashing chocolate fire. “I worked hard to accomplish what I have. And I never, ever need a man to validate or lift my status. I don’t need anything from you. I have more clothes than I can possibly wear. A holdover from living in a group home and having to wear what people shove at you.

I have some very nice pieces of real jewelry, but I usually wear costume, because it’s more convenient, and I don’t have to worry about being mugged. I have stocks and bonds and money in the bank. I own the house I live in, and my car is a fairly new one. I have everything I need.”

“Except me. I admire your fierce independence and the fact that you have made something of your life against the odds, but as my wife…”

She reared up and away as she stared at him mutely.

“Did I forget to mention that?” He asked softly, watching her. “I want to marry you.”

“Earl, you have to stop saying those things to me,” her voice had turned husky. “We don’t even know each other. For all you know, I might just be into you for your money.”

“You just told me a whole speech about being independent and not a gold digger.” His brows lifted. “Was that all hogwash?”

“No. But you do not know that. I could be just pretending that I am not after your money.”

“Do you love me?”

“What?”

“Answer the question, please.”

“We just met…”

“Cathy?”

His quiet authoritative voice had her staring at him. “We should wait…”

“Cathy?”

Leaning her head back on the pillows, she stared up at the ceiling, surprised when the velvety sky met her eyes.

“No mirrors?”

“That’s just tacky. I love to look at the stars when I am in bed. It gives me a sense of being outdoors.”

“I love it.”

“I am happy for that.” His fingers on her chin brought her face down. “You are stalling.”

“I am …” she rolled her eyes at him. “I am processing. Earl, be reasonable. We have to get to know each other first.”

“What would you like to know?” He asked soberly.

“Uhm…” She bit her lip and brought his attention to it.

“If you continue doing that, the conversation is going to be over.”

“Uh?”

“I want you,” he rasped. Releasing her chin, he used his thumb to press against her bottom lip. “I am hard for you and it is not something to which I am accustomed. I want to feel you wrapped around me, pulling me into your sweetness. If you noticed, I did not use anything. Are you safe?”

It hit her then that they had not even thought about protection.

“No.”

“I don’t care. I want the chance to spend as much time with you before we start having children, but I refuse to have anything between us.”

“Children?” She croaked.

“Don’t you want to be a mother?”

”I…,” her hand closed around his strong wrist. “I am not certain how good a mother I will be.”

“Because of what your own mother did.”

“Yes,”she whispered. While they were talking, he had subtly drawn closer to her, he was so close that she could feel the evidence of his arousal. “Earl…”

“You are going to make an excellent parent. I could say the same thing about myself, considering who I had for parents, but I am determined to do better. Do you want to carry my child, sweetheart?”

She was melting under his touch and the look in his eyes and could scarcely think. He was doing things to her insides that made it hard for her to think beyond what she was feeling.

“Yes.” She whispered. “Earl, kiss me, please.”

When he did, she dissolved.