The Seduction of His Wife

Chapter Twenty-one

S arah decided she wasn’t taking any more pain pills, not even a quarter of one. She was sorely tired of waking up to a solid wall of blackness, her mind stuffed with cotton and her muscles feeling like lead. And then there was the fact that someone was sleeping beside her again. Actually, he was surrounding her, more than lying beside her.

“Good morning,” Alex whispered next to her ear, his arm tightening around her waist.

“It is not morning. We just had lunch.”

“Oh, that’s right.” The hand attached to that imprisoning arm slid up her belly. “But then, you can’t see, so you really can’t tell what time it is, can you?”

Sarah halted his hand by covering it with her own, though his fingers continued to caress her ribs.

“Your real name is Frankenstein, isn’t it? I shudder at the thought of Delaney and Tucker enduring your doctoring for two weeks.”

He used his lightly stubbled cheek to move her hair so his lips could touch her ear when he spoke.

“Careful, Sunshine, or you’ll have to soothe my dented ego again.”

His warm breath sent a wave of heat all the way down to her toes. “Is it still snowing?” she asked. He snuggled closer. “Last I looked,” he said, again into her ear, again making her toes curl. “Aren’

t you glad you’re snowbound with Paul Bunyan? I chopped wood all afternoon just so you’d be warm.”

But it wasn’t the fire in the hearth making her hot. “I need to use the bathroom,” she told him.

“And I need to get up and move around. My muscles are screaming to stretch.” Almost as loudly as my hormones are screaming.

Alex kissed her cheek, then unwrapped himself from around her and sat up. “It’s almost four o’

clock, if you’re wondering,” he said. “The storm’s gotten worse, and it’s dark out.”

Sarah rolled onto her back. “Is someone home with Delaney and Tucker?”

“Everyone’s home,” he said, the mattress moving as he stood up. “Have you decided yet?”

It took Sarah a minute to realize what he was asking. “No, not yet,” she said, not quite ready to admit her feelings to him. She sat up and held out her good hand. “Help me up?”

Her hand was pushed aside, the mattress dipped, and he picked her up. And she was right back to feeling his warm breath and smelling his woodsy male essence.

“Are you hungry?” he asked as he carried her across the room. “Our menu tonight is fire-toasted popcorn, melted chocolate and marshmallows served on cinnamon graham crackers, and spit-roasted hot dogs slow-cooked over glowing coals. To complement tonight’s three-course dinner, your chef has chosen a sparkling grape juice imported from…Massachusetts, I think.” He sat her on a hard chair in a much cooler room.

“The powder-room attendant seems to be on break at the moment,” he added, his voice sounding as if he were looking around for said attendant. “Will madam be okay on her own?”

“I’ll be fine,” she said, dismissing him with an imperial wave. “I shall call when I need your services.”

She heard his footsteps move to the door. “Don’t try peeking past your bandages. There’s no light in here. I found some old lamps in the kitchen, but the kerosene had evaporated. I brought a gas lantern, though. Do you want me to get it?”

“No,” she said. “I’ll be fine.”

“Then I shall have a fresh towel waiting for madam when she’s done. Just give me a shout.”

Sarah heard the door click shut. Holy smokes, how was she going to survive a night alone with Alex? He was nearly irresistible when he was so playful.

Sarah slapped her good hand to her chest. Now she was on to him—they were on a date! He’d brought her here to get her alone, not to check out her camps. And she’d bet there was absolutely nothing wrong with the truck. It probably wasn’t even snowing anymore, either. Trapped, hah! The man was staging a seduction.

So…was she going to let him? Could she go back out there and play his game, eat his three-course meal and drink his sparkling grape juice, and act innocently but pleasantly surprised when he made his move?

Then she remembered Alex’s reaction when she had kissed him this morning. She had caught him completely off-guard with that kiss, and he’d run into his imaginary snowstorm like an overheated teenager.

Why not turn the tables on him again and let him see what it was like to be on the other end of a well-orchestrated scheme? After all, how hard could it be to seduce a man who’d already admitted he wanted her and had worked so hard to set the stage for her?

Images of their first night together suddenly ran through Sarah’s mind, making her shiver as she remembered the heat of Alex’s body covering hers, the exciting sensations that had sent her soaring to wondrous heights, the feel of him deep inside her. She’d been so close…so close…

Why not just put them both out of their misery and simply go for it? She could no longer deny that she wanted Alex just as much as he wanted her. Sarah thought she might explode with repressed desire. And, by God, she would experience it this time, and finally become a fully realized, completely satisfied woman. Sarah lifted her bandaged hand and gave the fictional Rachel Foster a high-five just as she heard footsteps stop outside the door.

“You okay in there?” Alex asked.

“I’m just great! In fact, I’m feeling positively energized from all that napping.”

There was a moment’s hesitation. “O-kay. Call me when you’re done,” he said just before she heard him walk away.

Sarah stood up on her good leg and eased her weight onto both feet, discovering that her knee barely hurt anymore. She groped around and found the toilet, did her business, then threw back her shoulders as she smoothed down her clothes with a Cheshire Cat smile, wondering how Alex liked seducing a woman who was wearing ratty old jogging pants and an even older sweatshirt. She snorted. The guy was only interested in what was under the clothes. “Okay,” she muttered.

“Let’s see if I can pull this off stone-cold sober.” Sarah groped for the doorknob and opened the door with an innocent smile plastered on her face. “I’m done, Alex.”

She heard him walking over and was quite prepared when he swept her off her feet and settled her against his chest. She was not prepared, however, when he sat down with her still in his arms and carefully positioned her on his lap.

“I don’t get my own chair?” she asked, figuring this meant their game must be on.

“I’ve decided I should feed you,” he said. “I realized the menu was messy when I did a taste test.”

“And my fresh towel?” she asked, holding out her hand.

He leaned away momentarily, then set a warm, moist cloth in her upturned palm. “How’s your knee?” he asked, gently caressing it. “It seems like the swelling’s gone down.”

“It has. I guess all that rest worked,” she said, awkwardly washing her good hand. She started washing her face next, but Alex took over.

She hadn’t read all those romance novels without learning one or two things about men. She leaned into his hand, parting her lips when the cloth reached her mouth. “Mmnn, that feels wonderful,”

she whispered, letting her tongue dart out just as his fingers went brushing by. The cloth suddenly disappeared, and she heard it plop into a bowl of water. Alex cleared his throat. “Our first course tonight is hot dogs,” he said, his voice a tad edgy. A warm hot dog was pressed against her mouth, and Sarah parted her lips again, touched the hot dog with the tip of her tongue, then slowly pulled it partway into her mouth with a moan—which was completely drowned out by the stifled rumble coming from the chest she was leaning against. She bit off the end of the hot dog with a snap of her teeth and felt Alex shudder beneath her, the tiny quake empowering her to lick her lips and say in a drawn-out whisper, “Mmmnnnn, that tastes sooo good.”

She heard the remains of the hot dog hit the floor. “Maybe I should start with the s’mores,” he said, the edge in his voice now decidedly pained.

The gooey marshmallow and dripping chocolate cracker was pushed a bit more abruptly between her lips, and Sarah quickly took a bite, chewed, then turned her face toward him. “Do I have chocolate on my face?” she asked, running her tongue over her lips.

It wasn’t a stifled groan she heard this time but an ominous growl, warning Sarah of his impending strike. His mouth completely covered hers, adding the taste of sparkling grape juice to the marshmallow and chocolate she had just swallowed.

Holy smokes, she’d overplayed her hand! Sarah’s head swam in dizzying circles, and it wasn’t until she could breathe again and she felt her back press into the mattress that she realized what was happening.

Alex landed heavily beside her, his mouth again covering hers just as one of his broad hands slid up under her shirt and closed over her breast, his other hand twined through her hair so he could deepen his kiss.

But everything stopped, including time itself, it seemed, when he suddenly reared up, cursed softly, and pulled his hand from under her shirt. “I need to see your eyes,” he growled. Trembling with her own blossoming need, Sarah reached up and touched his clenched jaw. “No, you don’t. I’m wide awake, I promise. Make love to me, Alex,” she whispered. “For real this time.”

That was all the encouragement he needed. He grabbed the hem of her shirt and worked it up over her breasts, lifting her with it as he carefully pulled it over her head. Sarah immediately began helping him pull his own shirt out of his pants and heard several buttons pop and clink to the floor when he yanked it off. Her breath caught in her throat when she reached up and felt his down-covered chest, which he used to press her back into the mattress as his mouth returned to hers, her thin lace bra little defense against his naked heat.

Her own body was generating plenty of heat, too. Sarah’s pulse quickened as her fingers explored his powerful body, her sock-covered toes curling with the urge to run up the length of his legs and wrap around him. Her nerves crackled with high-tension energy as blood roared through her veins to pool in the pit of her stomach.

So this was passion—this urgent need to feel, to taste, to become part of someone else. It was little wonder she felt as if she were being consumed. Sarah wanted to taste every inch of Alex. So she suckled his tongue and slid her feet up his pant-covered legs, all while her body continued to coil in anticipation. She flexed every one of her unbandaged fingers into his naked shoulders, arching her back to push her breasts into his heat.

His mouth left hers so unexpectedly that Sarah cried out, her protest turning to a moan when his lips moved down her throat to find several sensitive places, sending shivers crashing through her like waves.

Alex muttered something just as she felt the flimsy lace of her bra rip away to expose her breasts, and she gasped in surprise when his mouth closed over her nipple. He started to suckle, rocking her with pleasure, making her arch upward again.

Except for an occasional curse when his wandering mouth got stopped by the drawstring on her pants, and intermittent growls when she would grab his hair and try to steer his salacious journey, Alex was proving to be a man of few words.

There was a short wrestling match with her jogging pants, and when Sarah tried to help, she realized she was actually working against him, and she uncurled her toes when he pulled off her pants and socks in one fluid motion.

Her tachometer shot up past the redline when Alex settled between her thighs to nestle against her. He’d taken off his pants, and there was nothing— nothing —between them but solid, glorious heat.

“Say you want me again,” he growled.

“I want you.”

“Say my name.”

“Alex. I want you, Alex.”

He reached down and touched her ever so intimately, his fingers sending a wave of even more focused, more intense pleasure rippling through her. “Hold my shoulders,” he ordered, moving firmly against her as his fingers continued to do magical things. “That’s it, Sunshine, relax and let me inside you.”

Dammit, he was moving too slowly! Sarah shot him a beatific smile, gave it time to sink in, and said in a sultry voice, “I want you, Alex.” She lifted her hips. “Now,” she growled, pulling him closer to lick one of his nipples. “I want…oh, just do it!” she ordered.

He went still. “I’m pretty sure I’ve been trying to do it for the last ten minutes.”

Well, spit. Alex was all but inside her, for crying out loud, and she was blowing her great seduction by practically yelling at him to hurry up! She reached up and cupped his face, rubbing her thumb over his lips. “It’s just you, me, and our baby, Alex,” she whispered, placing his hand on her belly.

“I’ve finally decided. You’re the only man I ever want to have a baby with.”

Sarah felt his hand on her tummy tremble as he softly kneaded her sensitive skin. She arched up with a moan of pleasure and feathered a finger along his clenched jaw. “I want you, Alex. I ache to feel you inside me.”

That, too, was what he needed to hear, apparently, because he lowered himself, setting his elbows on either side of her head as he covered her mouth with his. Sparks of pleasure returned with the swiftness of a summer squall, battering Sarah with a blazing heat that shot straight to her pelvis. He moved then—deliberately and maddeningly slowly—easing into her while gently kissing every inch of her face. Her own muscles tightened as Sarah stretched to take him inside. His weight lifted slightly, and his magical fingers started their erotic dance again, just as he began moving in a wonderfully gentle rhythm. Sarah buried her face in his neck to stifle her moan.

“Don’t hold back, Sunshine. If I can’t see your eyes, then let me hear what you’re feeling,” he whispered raggedly.

And Sarah finally let go. With his heated body reflecting her own raging desire, every nerve, every muscle, every cell in her body suddenly convulsed with violent pleasure, and Sarah’s long, keening scream rose to the rafters. Alex’s answering shout cannonaded like thunder as he drove into her, each commanding thrust carrying her beyond anything she could have ever imagined. It went on forever, this amazing melding of passion; she could feel, even taste, Alex’s pleasure, which only served to heighten her own. A succession of spiraling convulsions rocked her world, shattering her control and soundly shattering her safe little cocoon wide open. There was no sealing it back up, Sarah realized as her mind slowly tilted back into balance, but she didn’t care, lingering spasms of pleasure making her melt into the mattress with a deeply contented sigh. Trembling fingers brushed the hair off her face, and warm lips gently kissed her forehead between ragged breaths.

Long after the last tremor of pleasure faded, Alex continued surrounding her with his heat, staying deep inside her. His weight felt wonderful; he was being so careful not to crush her. But she mustn’t let him get too pleased with himself. Not when she couldn’t stop blushing so hard.

“Don’t think this means I’m moving to your bedroom,” she warned in a panting whisper. “Because we can’t ever do this when the kids are home. I screamed.”

“I noticed,” he drawled, and kissed her forehead with a satisfied sigh. “It’s something we’ll have to work on, I guess.” He grinned briefly, then turned serious. “Will you marry me, Sarah?”

“I already did.”

“For real.”

She hesitated. “I’ll have to give it some thought.”

“You decided you’re glad you’re having my baby.”

She tried shrugging, but his elbows were in the way. “One doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the other.”

He must have realized he wasn’t going to get the answer he wanted, so he simply asked another question, seemingly unaware that he was still inside her. “Was it better for you this time, sunshine? All that you’d hoped lovemaking could be?”

Sarah heaved a huge sigh, forcing Alex to lift his chest enough to accommodate her before he lowered his weight again, pinning her in place. Oh, yeah, he was feeling much too smug—obviously overlooking the fact that she had seduced him and that she should be the one asking that question. Besides, wasn’t he supposed to roll onto his back now, take her with him, and they’d fall asleep cuddled in each other’s arms?

She sighed. “It was wonderful,” she whispered, lazily patting his shoulder. “Even more than I’d imagined.”

He suddenly but gently moved his hips forward and upward at that admission, then slightly withdrew before thrusting forward again. Sarah’s entire body shot awake, especially the sensitive spot he started kissing at the base of her ear. Holy smokes, he was ready to do it again?

Apparently! His mouth moved along the base of her throat, rekindling her passion, and his hips started rocking her world all over again. Mmm, she could easily get used to this….