Chapter Six #2
Her arms tightened around his neck as their tongues swirled together and his desire for her spun completely out of control. His lips slid from hers and he kissed down her neck, loving the taste of her skin.
She leaned her head back, granting him full access to the length of her throat. She gasped with pleasure as he nuzzled her behind her ear.
His mouth found hers once again, and this kiss was just as deep, just as hungry as the last. They kissed until they were both breathless and then she suddenly withdrew her arms from around his neck. He instantly drew back from her, not wanting to offend her with any unwanted advances.
She stood from the sofa and then held a hand out to him. He looked up at her, confused by her action. Her eyes glowed in the illumination from a nearby lantern and what he saw in the honeyed depths was sheer, raw desire.
“Come with me, Daniel,” she said in a whisper. “Come with me to my bedroom and make love with me. Please, Daniel…”
He had a single thought that everything was spiraling out of control, and then he stood and placed his hand in hers and everything suddenly seemed right.
She picked up one of the lanterns and then led him into her bedroom. Once there, she placed the lantern on the nightstand, where it created a soft glow around the bed. He took off his holster and gun and set them next to the lantern, and then she stepped closer to him.
Again, he gathered her into his arms and claimed her lips with his. A burning desire filled him, inflaming his blood and scorching any rational thought from his mind.
All he could think of was Angelique and her sweet, hot lips. All he could focus on was the way her breasts felt pressed against his chest and how perfectly their bodies fit together.
His senses were dizzied by the very scent of her, and all he could think about was his desperate need to have her. She broke their kiss and stepped back from him.
He stood before her, his heart thundering in his chest. Had she changed her mind? It was certainly her prerogative…the next move was up to her and he would respect whatever she wanted.
ANGELIQUE HAD NEVER felt as alive as she did in this moment with Daniel’s gaze hot on her and her own desire for him coursing rich and powerful through her body. It had been so very long since she’d felt this way. In fact, she wasn’t sure she’d ever felt this way before.
She had desired Daniel since the first time he had come to her shanty.
It felt right that tonight they acted on the crazy sexual energy that had existed between them.
With this thought in mind, she reached down to her knees, grabbed the caftan’s silky material in her hands and then pulled it up and over her head.
It dropped like liquid gold at her feet, leaving her clad only in a white lacy bra and white panties. His heated gaze slowly swept the length of her, as potent as a physical touch against her skin.
He pulled his shirt over his head, dropped it to the floor and then reached for her once again, but before she allowed him to embrace her, she plucked at the zipper on his jeans. She wanted him as naked as she was.
He took her hint and quickly pulled off his jeans and took off his socks, leaving him clad only in a pair of navy boxers.
His body in the lamplight was absolutely stunning.
His chest was firmly muscled and a six-pack of abs added to his wild attractiveness.
His legs were sturdy and well shaped, and overall he was a study in perfect masculinity.
This time when he reached for her, she came willingly back into his arms, where they kissed once again. His fingers danced through her hair and then stroked down her bare back. She could tell that he was aroused and that only increased her desire for him.
She was on fire and Daniel was the only person who could put out the flames. Within minutes they were both breathless again. She broke the embrace only long enough to turn down the lilac-colored bedspread. She slid between the sheets and then beckoned him to join her.
He didn’t hesitate. He got into the bed and they came together once again. Their near-naked bodies writhed against each other as they shared another searing kiss. Their legs tangled together and she loved the feel of his warm bare skin against her own.
“Angelique, you are so beautiful,” he whispered into her ear as he reached behind her to unfasten her bra. It fell off her, and he plucked it away from her and tossed it to the floor on the side of the bed.
His palms immediately covered her breasts, and she gasped with hot pleasure as he dipped his head and licked at first one and then the other of her erect nipples. Electric currents rushed from her nipples to the very center of her.
“Daniel, you’re driving me crazy,” she whispered feverishly.
He raised his head and grinned at her. “Good,” he replied, his blue eyes twin orbs of fevered heat. “And I’m just getting started.”
As if to prove that point, he slid one hand down the length of her stomach.
Slowly he caressed further down until he reached the top of her panties.
He ran his fingers lightly back and forth, teasing her and building a new need in her that was all-consuming.
She pulled the panties down, then kicked them off.
Once again, he slid his hand down…down…and then he was there at the very center of her. His fingers found the most sensitive part of her, and they began to dance against her.
Faster and faster they moved and a tension began to build inside her. Higher and higher she climbed, and then she was there, falling over a cliff as wave after wave of her climax washed over her.
She lay utterly boneless for several moments but then she was ready for more. She plucked at the waistband of his boxers. “Take them off, Daniel,” she whispered.
She didn’t have to ask him twice. He slid the boxers off, and then she encircled his hardness with her fingers. He moaned as she caressed him, moving her hand up and down the velvety length.
His moans excited her. She loved that she was giving him such complete pleasure. Still, it didn’t take long before he pushed her hand away and instead positioned himself between her thighs. He gazed down at her and his eyes blazed with blue fire. Then he entered her.
She clung to his shoulders as she arched up to fully receive him. Once he was deep inside her, he leaned down and claimed her lips in a fiery kiss, and a new tension began to build inside her.
Once the kiss ended, he began to move his hips. In and out of her he pumped slow and steadily. She arched up again to meet him thrust for thrust, and it wasn’t long before he went faster and he released a deep groan.
Faster and more frantic they moved against each other, and then she was there…at the top of the cliff once again. She tumbled over it, her orgasm crashing through her with a tremendous force.
He moaned once again and found his own release. He stiffened against her and when he was finished, he collapsed on the bed next to her. The only sound in the room was their panting breaths.
Finally, he propped himself up on one elbow and gazed down at her. “Well, this was certainly a big surprise, Miss Santori.”
She laughed. “I’m a woman who knows what I want, and tonight I definitely wanted you.”
“I certainly hope I delivered,” he replied.
She smiled up at him. “Oh, you did, Chief LeCroix. You totally delivered.”
He frowned suddenly. “This all happened so fast I didn’t even think about birth control.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m on the pill, and it’s been a very long time since I’ve been with a man.”
“And it’s been a long time since I’ve been with a woman,” he said.
“Stay the night with me?” she asked. She didn’t even know she was going to ask him this until the words fell out of her mouth. At least for the night, if he stayed, she would know for sure she’d be safe.
He leaned over and kissed her on her bare shoulder. “Okay, I can do that,” he agreed. “But I’ll need to leave early in the morning.”
“I’ll want you to leave early and get back to finding bad guys. You can use the bathroom first.”
He slid out of the bed and once again she was gifted to a view of his perfect physique as he picked up his boxers from the floor and then left the room.
She liked Daniel and now she had slept with him, but that certainly didn’t mean she wanted any kind of a relationship with him. He was only the first in a string of lovers she might take as she guarded her heart against any entanglements, she thought.
It didn’t take him long to return to the room. Clad in his boxers he got back in bed. She got out of the bed, grabbed a nightshirt and a clean pair of panties from a drawer and then went into the bathroom.
For a long moment she stared at her reflection in the mirror that hung on one wall. Her hair was mussed and her lips were slightly swollen. She looked like a woman who had just been completely sated by lovemaking. And that’s exactly what she was.
Daniel had been an amazing lover. At times tender and at other times half wild, he had fulfilled her completely. She’d instinctively known it would be good with him, and it had been better than good. She cleaned up, put on her panties and nightshirt and then returned to the bedroom.
“Don’t we need to talk about this?” he asked as she got back into the bed.
“What’s there to talk about? We wanted each other…we acted on it and now it’s done,” she replied lightly. “Don’t make it any deeper than it is, Daniel.”
He held her gaze for a long moment and then nodded. “Okay.”
“Do you want to turn out the light?”
He reached out and shut off the lantern. The only light in the room was now the moonlight that drifted in through the window. He then gathered her into his arms, pulling her close against him in a big spoon fashion.
She snuggled into him, loving the way he felt against her back and how his arm fell around her waist. She felt safe…so safe with him next to her.
The sounds of the swamp drifted in. The water lapped against the legs of the shanty and frogs croaked their night songs.
Sleep had been elusive since the night she’d found her mother’s body, but now she felt herself drifting off, safe in Daniel’s embrace and with the lullaby of the swamp to soothe her.