Chapter 11
She barely made it back to the inn in the late afternoon before the freak storm hit.
Sandra had insisted on her staying until Brian came, and she had not found an argument against it.
She figured that by the time she got back, he would be gone.
It suited her well.
The place would be empty because the other couples had left shortly before she had to run out to see to Sandra.
And she was not expecting anyone until next week.
Driving into the cobbled driveway, she sat behind the wheel and stared out at the wind whipping the leaves on the trees.
The sky was a sickly gray-green color, and the rain had already started.
Fall was as unpredictable as spring, and she had witnessed her fair share of these wild storms.
Enough to galvanize her into getting out of the car and rushing inside before it unleashed its fury.
The wind tugged and buffeted at her and it was a struggle to get to the porch.
Once there, she tugged the covered chairs inside the hallway to prevent them from getting soaked.
Taking a deep breath, she dragged off her sodden jacket and sat to take off her boots.
Jessica had left a fire glowing in the hearth, bless her soul.
She was about to hunt up for candles and a flashlight when lightening pierced the sky and the lights went out.
“Blast!”
She whispered, rubbing her hands over her arms.
The glow from the fire was enough to light the way so that she could see and feel her way to the kitchen where she kept the supplies.
Sighing in relief, she lit the candles and turned on the flashlight.
The place was as silent as a tomb, except for the fury going on outside.
Branches lashed at the windows, and it felt as if a giant hand was shaking the very foundation.
The inn was on a slight incline, so she did not worry about flooding.
Leaking in places maybe and she hoped the roof was sturdy enough to handle the amount of water pouring from the sky.
She was also accustomed to being here on her own and was not afraid.
Just a little edgy, jumpy, and damned weepy.
It was seeing the baby, she sniffed as she walked through the kitchen and put away the meal Jessica had left for her.
She was not hungry.
Storing everything away, she decided to check on the other rooms to make sure that all the windows and doors were secure.
She checked the rooms that had been occupied by the couples and secured the windows, tugging against the wind.
And deliberately bypassed his suite.
She would check on that later, she told herself as she hurried past the door and went into the tidy family room.
Seeing that the glass doors were slightly ajar, she hurried to close them and stood watching in awe as the storm lashed the earth with petty vengeance.
Lightening lit the sky, and the boom of thunder followed.
Leaves bowed to the majestic demands and fury of the rain.
Putting the candle down on an antique table, Zahra stood there for a minute, transfixed and unable to move.
It took her several minutes to gather her thoughts.
Picking up the candle, she was about to turn and leave when she heard the unmistakable sounds of footsteps on the hardwood floor.
It froze her for a minute, and she had to take some deep breaths to quiet the sudden hammering inside her chest.
It was the wind or just her very active imagination, she decided.
There were times in the past when she swore she heard someone walking up and down the stairs and had laughed at the fancy.
Her hand flew to her chest when the doorknob started turning.
A vagrant, they did not get much of them in town, but this one was obviously trying to find a way to shelter from the storm.
Well, there were plenty of shelters in town and she was not going to be staying here with a stranger.
Not bloody likely.
She was holding the candle and flashlight like a shield, when the door was shoved open.
The scream erupted from her throat and had the man stumbling back.
She was about to pounce when she shined the light on a very familiar face.
“What the hell!”
“Bryce?”
“Who the devil did you think it was?”
“What are you doing here?”
Ignoring the happy jig of her heart, she rounded on him.
“You’re supposed to be gone.”
“I decided to stay.
Did not like the look of the clouds.”
He eyed her for a minute.
He had been fast asleep, drunk more accurately.
And he had no idea there was a fury raging outside.
“What were you planning on doing with those?”
He gestured to the flashlight and candle.
“Defend myself.”
Feeling foolish, she blew out the candle.
“Are you hungry?”
His brows lifted at that.
“I thought you wanted nothing to do with me.”
“You’re still a guest…,”
she stepped back when his eyes glittered dangerously.
“Is that what I am?”
“Look, I have said all I am prepared to say.
Now if you would excuse me.
I have some…”
“Shut the hell up.”
He stunned her into immediate silence and had her staring at him in shock.
“How dare you…!”
“Quiet.”
His tone was authoritative and it did the job.
“You hurt me.”
His deep voice was thick with emotions.
“You sliced me with words, because you knew where it would hurt me the most.” He came forward and she forced herself to stay where she was.
The rain was lashing outside, but it was nothing compared to what was happening indoors.
“You know me better than anyone else, knew what I had been through, and you used that against me.”
He was brimming with anger, as if it was pouring out of him.
“I drank.
Last night and this morning, I went through two bottles of scotch to try and dull the pain.
But I decided that I was not going to let you shove me out of your life.
I deserve your contempt and unforgiveness and I accepted that.”
His hands lifted to gripped her arms, fingers biting into flesh.
His eyes were blazing, his mouth a thin line.
“But you’re not doing that to me. To us.”
“Bryce…”
“Quiet.
I am not done.”
Ignoring her stiffening and the dangerous sparkle in her magnificent eyes, he continued.
“I am not the person you painted.
I am not,” he repeated when her gaze turned skeptical.
He shook her slightly.
“You used to look beyond the damn money into who I was.
Do it now for Christ’s sake.
And be honest with yourself.
Just because you cannot control your reaction to me, don’t bloody well take it out on me.”
She felt shame that he had read her so well.
That was exactly what she had done.
She had struck out at him, because she was scared.
“I am sorry.”
She heard herself saying, knowing the words had to be said.
“I should not have said those things to you.”
He did not release her but used the opportunity to pull her closer.
“What are you doing?”
“What I started to do before you interrupted us.”
The anger drained out of him at the hunted look on her lovely face.
“Bryce, look I already apologized.
You were right before.
I was not being completely honest- “Her words were running together in her haste to bring across her point.
The flashlight was still gripped in her hand as if it was some sort of lifeline.
“We do not want to walk down this road again. Friends!”
She said the words on a scream as if the word had just occurred to her.
“We could be friends, stay connected if that’s what you want.
I know how busy you are…”
“It’s not going to happen.”
Her shoulders straightened.
“Just because you have tons of money does not mean you can get what you want.”
She lifted her chin.
“You have developed a penchant for dishonesty.”
His tone was silky, his hands busily wandering up her arms and closing on her neck.
“Your pulse is racing like mad.” He pressed his thumb against her skin where it was beating like crazy.
He moved closer.
“You’re trembling.”
“I am not!”
He only smiled and skimmed his fingers at her throat.
She had to swallow the lump in her throat.
Her skin was on fire and her knees were weak.
When he started to ease the shoulders of her dress away, she acted and tried to push him back.
He did not even budge.
Wrapping a hand around her neck, he used his other hand to tilt her chin up.
She stumbled against him, her hands planted on his chest, fingers curling into fists.
Of their own volition, her lips parted, her breath escaping in little pants.
Emotions swamped him completely.
He had spent last night in utter complete misery and this morning had been the same and even worse.
He had watched her drive away and posted himself at the window looking out for her.
With his head pounding, he had decided to hell with running away.
He would face her and tell her what was on his mind.
Bending his head, he brushed his lips against hers, back and forth, slowly, teasingly, just enough to have her clinging to him and wanting more.
He was punishing her.
She had cut through him like glass through butter last night and he wanted her to pay.
But he was also punishing himself.
His body which had been primed since he saw her, tightened painfully.
Wanting her was making him sick with need, the yearning taking over his body.
When she opened her mouth, he ignored that, taking little nibbles of the full bottom lip, savoring the taste of her, the sweetness that was going straight to his head.
Her whimpers urged him on, giving him power and a desire so strong, it humbled him.
“Please.”
Her voice was sultry and husky with need and went to his heart.
“Not yet.”
He captured her breath and felt faint at the sweetness of it.
His tongue soothed where before he had just teased.
She clung, her body vibrating with sexual tension.
Every part of her body was yearning to be touched and loved by him.
Gone were her resolves not to give into the demands of the flesh.
She was aching.
Her nipples felt as if someone with nails were tugging on them. Her sex was heavy, and the clothes felt like a chain mail.
“Bryce.
Please, I can’t.”
She moved closer, one hand moving up to the disheveled hair and gripping it.
Going on her toes, she forced him to move faster or at least she tried, but he was not having any of it.
Instead, he moved to the sides of her mouth and used the tip of his tongue to tease and tickle.
By this time, she was going mad.
Digging her fingers in his scalp, she turned her mouth and unable to hold out much longer, he parted her lips and plunged.
The kiss took on a wildness that staggered them.
She swayed, her knees buckling.
Sweeping a hand around her waist, he backed her to the wide sofa by the fire and lowered her there.
The glow from the flames illuminated his face which was hard and taut with passion.
Pressing her back against the cushions, he covered her body with his.
A cry escaped her when she felt the full extent of his arousal, pressing through the leggings she had donned this morning.
“Yes.”
He rasped, hands cupping her face.
“That’s what you do to me.” Ducking his head, he crushed her lips.
This time the kiss was gentle, assaulting her senses and sending her into a violent spin that felt as if she was toppling off the edge of a cliff.
Her hands wrapped around his shoulders, wandered restlessly down his back and shoulders.
Muscles flexed and rippled beneath his fingers and her body strained upwards.
He was going to have to end this torture soon, he thought numbly.
Or lose control.
He was teetering on the edge, but he wanted her taste to settle on his tongue.
He wanted to taste all of her.
Dragging his lips from hers, he kissed her cheeks and the tip of her nose, before heading to her throat where the pulse was beating madly.
He sipped and pulled the flesh between his teeth to nibble.
Her fingers clutched at him as he soothed the bite with his tongue and her voice was breathless when she called his name.
Sparks flew between them, threatening to engulf them in flames.
Easing up slightly, he got rid of the sweater and stared at the banquet in front of him.
Her breasts were generous, nipples large and printing through the flimsy white lace.
“Don’t!”
He barked sharply when she started to cover herself.
“You’re beautiful.” His voice was aching, his flesh throbbing.
“I am afraid that when I start, I will not be able to stop.” He tore his eyes from her bosom to look into hers.
“Don’t you see how beautiful you are, darling?”
The endearment went through her like quicksilver.
“I am not.”
“I am the one looking, am I not?”
His eyes still holding hers, he released the front clasp of the bra and set her free.
Unable to resist, he bent his head to look some more, and his breath escaped in a rush.
“I am going to spend the night loving you.”
His voice was thick with need.
“And you’re going to let me.” Before she could respond, he was kissing the top of her breast, taking little bites.
When he got to the nipple, he hesitated a second.
Cupping the flesh in his palm, he lifted it and ran his tongue over the hardened skin.
She trembled, fingers clutching at him.
He used first his tongue and then his teeth and was at the point of driving her crazy.
When he pulled the nipple into his mouth and started suckling, she fell to pieces.
The pleasure speared through her body like a flash of lightening.
The storm raging outside was nothing compared to what was happening inside her body.
Everything inside her had turned to liquid and she felt as if she was oozing through the fabric.
Bryce could not get enough of her.
She was sweet, addictive and heady, nothing had ever tasted this good, and he did not want to stop.
Switching to the other breast, he gorged and answering her frenzied please, he slid his hand into the waistline of her leggings and pressed it against her sex.
It took just that to set her off.
The climax poured through her like a volcano, causing her body to twist upwards.
Her body arched – she clung to him, her fingers digging into his shoulders.
It was unending and strength sapping.
And glorious.
She felt as if she was going mad.
Lifting his head, he watched her eyes go blind, her lips parting, her body trembling and with a feral growl, he captured her lips and swallowed her cries.
Stumbling to his feet, he tore the clothes off him and did the same to hers.
He could not wait another blessed minute.
He felt as if he was being poked and prodded with a red-hot prong.
He was so hard; he was in physical pain.
He was throbbing and eager to become one with her.
Parting her thighs, with his knees, he sank down and with his eyes holding hers, he entered her slowly.
His eyes opened wide at her tightness and when she gripped him, pulling him in, he wanted to die.
He wanted to stay right here with her and never move.
Lifting her left thigh, he made more room to maneuver and with his eyes still holding hers, he moved.
The excruciating sweetness was more than he could stand.
“You’re so sweet.”
The words tumbled out of him as he increased the pace.
“You’re mine.
How could I have lived without you, without this for so long?” Bending his head, he captured her lips and sipped from her.
She clung to him, the tears burning the back of her eyes.
She knew what she was doing.
The choice had been taken away from her the minute he walked into the room earlier.
She wanted this, needed it so much it was like a physical ache inside her.
Nothing else mattered.
Tomorrow did not exist.
It was just now. The two of them and what he was doing to her.
She came again – her body stiffening, warning him of what was happening.
He held her against him, increasing the pace, driving into her with a force that could not be stopped.
And very soon he was joining her.
His climax was long, sweet, and maddening.
His body jerked from it. He had to stop a minute or burst into flames.
He had been with lots of women and the pleasure had been somewhat satisfactory, but never like this.
He felt as if he was being hurled headlong from a cliff without a safety net in sight.
His body coated with sweat drove into hers and could not – would not stop.
When he had emptied himself – he still continued to move, hating to break the contact.
He felt as if he would die if he did not feel her beneath him.
She buried her face in his throat, feeling his pulse hammering and his heart beating heavily.
They stayed that way for a bit, neither of them knowing what to say or feeling the need to move just now.
Reluctantly, he eased away from her so that he was at her side, but even so, he refused to let her go.
Putting one arm around her neck, he brought her to his chest and cradled her.
Outside, the storm still lashed, but it did not matter to them.
Even if it managed to dislodge the roof, it would not have made an impression.
Bryce was stunned.
He had expected the heat and the flames, but the intensity of it had knocked him over.
The first time they had made love; it had been frightening.
The feelings intense, the passion out of this world.
It had scared the living daylights out of them.
Two people, little more than kids and for them to feel that kind of passion, had knocked them sideways.
She had wanted to run away, and if he was being honest, he had wanted to do the same.
They thought it was a fluke, but the second time was no less combustible.
What they experienced just now, had no words.
Tucking his head down, he used his free hand to brush at a coil of hair that was clinging to her damp cheek.
Trailing a finger down her face, he lifted her chin so he could look at her and see what she was thinking.
Her eyes met his and he wanted to melt into them.
“You okay?”
She shrugged.
“Ask me in another couple days.”
He chuckled, relieved to know that it was not regret coating her face. “Hungry?”
She rolled her eyes at him and stopped, remembering that the last thing on her mind had been food.
“Yes, I am actually.”
“So am I.
Jessica offered me a meal, but I was too busy getting drunk and thinking up ways to get back at you.”
She shifted her gaze from his gorgeous face to his upper arm where she had noticed the chain link tattoo around his biceps.
She had seen it when she was watching the movie and wanted to know why he had gotten it in the first place.
Lifting a hand, she traced the ink slowly. “Why?”
He shrugged.
“I was doing my first action flick, and it called for tattoos.
The others were temporary, but I loved this one.
Does it offend you?”
She lifted her eyes to his at the question and realized to her surprise that he was serious.
“And if I say it does?”
“I would have it removed.”
It shook her and caused her heart to stumble.
“I like it.”
“Sure?”
She nodded and bent her head to study the intricate design.
“Did it hurt?”
“Nothing to write home about.”
He lifted her chin and brushed his lips on hers.
He could not stop touching her.
He was waiting for her to recover a bit before going for round two.
He had promised her the entire night and that was exactly what was going to happen.
This time in a bed, with his mouth all over her body.
He wanted the taste of her to consume every inch of him.