Chapter 15
Angelina savoured the comfort of being wrapped in Richard’s arms, the steady beat of his heart against her ear, his manly scent enveloping her senses.
The soft sounds of the burning wood, crackling in the fireplace was the only other sound intruding on this special moment and Angelina found herself overwhelmed by the intense desire to have Richard make love to her.
They had danced around their attraction to one another from the first day they’d met, but in this moment, Angelina made up her mind she was going to have him.
When she wriggled out of his arms, Richard groaned in protest, but she grabbed his hand and drew him along the hallway toward her bedroom.
“Angelina?” Richard posed her name as a question as she drew him into her room.
She remained mute, closing the door behind them.
Coiling her arms around his neck, she drew his head down and proceeded to kiss him with every ounce of the passion that had been building up for days.
She nipped at his lips with her teeth, and he picked up on the cue, answering her, kiss for kiss.
His arms were vise-like, holding her firmly against his chest. Their tongues entwined, hungrily tasting one another, learning each other.
Angelina lowered her arms from his neck, slipping her hands between them to unbutton Richard’s jeans.
Unzipping the fly, she found him ready and waiting for her.
She wasn’t about to let the fact that he was so much taller than her be a hindrance, and she pulled his shirt up and over his head.
She had wanted to do that since meeting him and she came to a standstill for a moment, admiring what she had revealed.
He was beautiful. Angelina greedily ran her hands over his chest and down to his abs.
Richard, for his part, had managed to do some undressing of his own.
Angelina wasn’t sure how it had happened, but she was standing there, completely naked.
Richard was kissing her neck and nipping at her earlobe.
The sensations she was experiencing under his gentle touch were unlike any she’d ever had before.
Maybe this is what it was like, when you really cared for the other person.
Moans escaped her lips when Richard reached between her thighs and slid his fingers through her warm, wet slit making contact with her sensitive pearl.
Angelina’s legs trembled as she opened herself up to him, riding his hand as he slid his fingers in and out of her slick sheath.
Her breath came in small gasps, and the sensations were building with every passing second.
Angelina grasped Richard’s shoulders when he dropped onto his knees.
He gripped her thighs with his hands and used his mouth to lick and nibble at her nub, sending her soaring into ecstasy and she collapsed across his shoulder, calling out his name on a sigh.
***
Richard lifted Angelina into his arms and laid her across the bed, trailing kisses from her neck to her breasts.
First one, and then the other, was lavished with his attention and he marvelled at the way Angelina’s body responded to his every touch.
This was the woman he wanted, and this was exactly how he wanted her.
Seeing how much she enjoyed his caresses made him grow even harder.
Every moan brought him to the brink and the way she bit her lip and writhed beneath his touch was more pleasure than he could bear.
His body strummed with tension, and he couldn’t wait a second longer.
Dragging his attention away from her breasts, Richard levered himself over the top of Angelina, settling between her thighs.
He ached to enter her, but first he teased her entrance with the tip of his manhood, ensuring she was ready for him.
She squirmed beneath him, her desire to have him inside of her written plainly in her rapturous expression.
He could not deny her and in one pulsating beat, he entered her fully.
As he moved inside her, he marvelled at the soft, velvety walls holding tightly over his rigid length.
The need to spill his seed was overwhelming, but he wished to wait for Angelina to join him in climax.
They would reach for the stars together.
As highly sensitized as they both were in this moment, their bodies hummed and pulsed together, erupting in a crescendo of ecstasy.
They lay entwined in each other’s arms, legs twisted together and panting from exertion. Angelina gently kissed his chest and his heart almost burst with the love he held for her. “Angelina …” he began to speak, but she covered his lips with her finger, stopping him.
“Shhh. Don’t say anything. This is perfect without words.”
***
Held securely in his arms, Angelina didn’t want to hear any false declarations of love.
Didn’t men always say they loved you, after they had sex?
Saying it now would mean nothing to her and besides, she had made it clear she wasn’t looking for love.
Richard had a body as close to physical perfection as she had ever seen and she was certain she wanted to be with him because she was drawn in by sheer animal magnetism, not by love.
Now that she had experienced his lovemaking, she was certain she could move on from the heated desire she had been experiencing when she was around him.
They would be friends, as they’d agreed, but nothing more.
She wouldn’t open her heart to him, not when she knew he would no doubt move on, as soon as the next-best-thing came along.
Experience had shown this was always the case.
If she examined her emotions more closely, Angelina knew she was the one who sabotaged her relationships—in every single instance.
She’d never given any man the opportunity for more than a casual dalliance, because she truly believed, deep down, that no man would stay with her for the long haul.
Why should Richard be any different? Because he is, her mind quietly whispered.
Angry with herself, Angelina disentangled herself from Richard and stood up.
“Where are you going, love?” Richard propped himself up on his elbows to watch her.
“I’ll be right back.” She grabbed her robe and headed out toward the kitchen.
She needed a few minutes away from him, to gather her thoughts.
Lying next to him she’d been overcome with emotions which were clouding her thoughts, so she decided a little space was best right now.
Pouring herself a glass of water Angelina sat at the kitchen table and gave her traitorous heart a stern lecture.
I can’t become attached to him. He told me so himself.
He’s not staying; he’s going to leave soon.
***
Richard intuitively knew Angelina was at odds with herself.
They had agreed that they would only be friends.
She had insisted that was what she wanted, and yet she was the one who had sent them down this path.
She was the one who’d drawn him into her bedroom, she’d clearly wanted to make love with him and now, Richard suspected she was experiencing remorse over the decision.
He decided he wouldn’t push her. This was something she had to come to terms with on her own and he would wait for her to decide on their way forward, one way or the other.
He lay there in the silky, soft sheets, longing to have her beside him, but he wouldn’t pressure her.
He lay awake for more than half an hour, before the door opened softly, revealing Angelina’s slight figure in a shaft of light from the hallway. “I’ve brought you some water,” she announced, holding out a glass.
He let the cool liquid slide down his throat, realizing he had been parched.
How sweet it was, of her to think of him.
He placed the glass down and opened his arms to her, holding his breath to see how she would react.
Angelina climbed into the bed and lay across his chest and Richard wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to his heart.
He gently kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes.
Sleeping with her in his arms was everything he wanted at this moment.
She had granted him this opportunity, but what would the morning bring?