Chapter Five
As Redford poured the remainder of the wine into the glasses, out of the corner of his eye he could see Carmen move around the cottage. It was identical to the one he was using, with a spacious living room, bedroom and bathroom.
Redford tried forcing his concentration back to what he was doing. That was hard, especially when thoughts of the kisses they’d shared ran rampant through his mind. The kisses had been expected. Gone according to plan. What had not been expected was the impact her taste had on him.
It was as if the moment their tongues tangled, something had come over him that was deeper and stronger than mere desire. It was something that had caught him off guard. A rational part of him wanted to believe there was a first time for everything, but the irrational part could not accept he’d let go of his smooth moves with this particular woman.
For a short while, all the legendary exploits he was known for had been eradicated from his brain. His focus had been only on her. Mainly, how she made him feel, the way she tasted and his desire to connect their bodies in the most primitive way. He ached to get inside her, and even now he could feel her heat.
Turning with both wineglasses in his hand, he saw Carmen now stood at the window, peering out. It was raining even harder and the sound of it beating on the cottage’s roof was almost deafening. He wondered if she knew that the weather could affect a person’s sex drive, especially when it was raining like it was now.
He could feel it. And seeing her in that dress wasn’t helping matters. He almost regretted having asked her to keep it on.
“Here you are,” he said, moving toward her.
She turned and smiled. “It seems Denver’s weather is so unpredictable. There was no sign of rain when we were watching the stars.”
“Yes, I would say it surprised us,” he said, handing her the wineglass. Not only had the rain surprised him, but it had angered him. His hands had made it under her dress, and he’d been about to slide his fingers under the waistband of her panties, when he had felt the first droplets.
“Thanks.”
Meeting her gaze, he said, “You’re welcome.”
After taking a sip of wine, he moved to stand beside her and look out the window. “It’s coming down pretty hard.” That meant even if he finished his wine, she wouldn’t send him out in the storm. At least, he hoped she wouldn’t.
“Do you want to sit on the sofa and talk?” he suggested, turning from the window to look at her.
She arched a brow. “Talk about what?”
“Anything.” Conversation was part of his strategy for tonight. Sexual chemistry crackled in the air. Some due to the rain, and some due to the lust flowing between them. He had no problem with all the arousal consuming them both.
“Okay, we can sit and talk,” she said. “Hopefully the rain will stop soon.”
Redford watched as she moved to sit on the sofa. She’d made sure the side split in her dress didn’t show too much thigh. He was tempted to tell her not to bother because he intended to see her naked by morning.
He moved to sit down as well. However, he didn’t take the wing-back chair across from the sofa, but eased his body down beside her. Other than the lifting of her brow in surprise, she said nothing. Instead, she took another sip of wine like she really needed it.
“Tell me about your classes, Carmen.”
“What classes?”
“The ones you teach at Georgetown.” Redford figured talking about something she was passionate about would relax her, and he wanted her as relaxed as she’d been by the lake.
Leaning back against the sofa, he slowly sipped his wine while listening. He had honestly thought he would find the subject of economics boring, but quite the contrary. The way she broke it down made it relatable to his business model regarding his resorts.
Talking made the shape of her mouth even more alluring, and the sound of her words was like a soft caress. Suddenly she chuckled about something. Whatever had been amusing, he regretted missing the punchline. When she asked about his resorts, and how he determined when to buy or build, he knew it was his time to talk.
The last thing he wanted to do was discuss business, so he decided to make it quick. He’d gotten comfortable enough to remove the jacket he had slid back on when it had begun raining. And she’d relaxed to the point where she’d kicked off her shoes to sit with her legs tucked beneath her. It was such a sexy pose. She was obviously listening to what he was saying.
He wondered how long it would take for her to notice that he’d shifted positions and now they were sitting closer than they had been before. When she leaned over to place her empty wineglass beside his on the coffee table, he took her hand in his and entwined their fingers.
“I enjoyed listening to you, Carmen.”
“And I enjoyed listening to you as well. I find your work fascinating, Redford.”
He glanced down at their empty wineglasses and then over at the window. “We finished the wine, but it’s still raining.”
“So I hear.”
“Do you plan to send me out in it?” he asked, tempted to bring her hand, the one he was still holding, to his lips to kiss it.
“Surely a little water won’t hurt you,” she said. At that moment he knew she’d realized how intimate their positions were.
“It might.”
“Do you think you’re made of sugar, Redford St. James?”
He tightened his hold on her hand and eased closer to her. “You’ve tasted me, Carmen. What do you think?”
When she unconsciously licked her lips with the tip of her tongue as if remembering his taste, he got hard. He doubted she knew that seeing her do such a thing made him want her with a vengeance. He’d never wanted any woman with a vengeance before.
“Well, what do you think, Carmen?” he asked again when she’d yet to answer.
Their gazes locked. When he heard the sound of a moan, he wasn’t sure if it had come from him or her. What was there about her that convulsed his body with such sexual need? His body was on fire. Dazed to the point that just being this close to her was pure torture.
“I think you tasted kind of sweet,” she finally said.
He inched his mouth closer to hers. “You know what that means, Carmen?”
She shook her head. “No, what does that mean?”
“It means,” he said, inching even closer to her. “I need to share my taste with you again so you can be certain.”
And then he captured her mouth.
Redford took Carmen’s mouth with a ferociousness that made everything inside of her feel his possessiveness. This kiss was even more torrid than the others. She could actually feel her veins throb.
At present, her veins were the least of her worries. This kiss was making it hard for her to think...at least logically. All she could concentrate on was his delicious, all-consuming taste. And it was sweet. The sweetest flavor she’d ever consumed. However, she couldn’t say it had anything to do with sugar. It had everything to do with the man himself.
He tightened his arms around her as his mouth continued to devour hers in a way she wasn’t used to. Everything about Redford was seductive and intense. Just the thought that she was the one he’d wished for, the one he wanted to make his, had her falling in love with him even more.
Something else was increasing as well. Need. And it was creating a sexual longing within her, making her think things, do things and want things. Her brain, which she could usually count on to be logical, dependable and reliable, was letting her down in the most salacious way.
Without breaking contact with her mouth, he stood, drawing her up off the sofa in a pair of strong, powerful arms. That’s when she felt him. He was aroused. Totally and fully. He wanted her. A man’s erection couldn’t lie. She’d felt an aroused male body pressed against her before, but at the time she’d known it was a waste of time and effort on the guy’s part.
Why wasn’t she thinking that way now? Instead, she wanted to do something that she’d never done before in her life—touch it. How illogical was that? But at that moment, under the onslaught of his tongue, logic was being tossed out the window and getting rained on.
Lightning crackled the sky, followed by a boom of thunder that shook the earth. As far as Carmen was concerned, neither could compare to the tempestuous desire that was taking her over.
Redford suddenly broke off with a half-strangled moan. The lamp light behind him flickered when thunder and lightning fought for dominance of the storm outside. Inside, there should be another fight going on, but there wasn’t one. How could she fight this? Feelings and sensations so new and unique, they had her craving them instead of rebuffing them.
“I think we have on too many clothes, Carmen.”
Redford’s words should have knocked some sense into her. Instead, she felt the erection pressing against her middle get harder. It was as if that part of him was calling out to her. Pleading for release from its confinement. Was that why she agreed they had on too many clothes?
Expelling a breath, not of frustration but of need, she tipped her head back to stare up at him. This was the man she loved, had loved from the moment she’d laid eyes on him. And tonight, after two years of avoiding her, he had admitted to wishing for her on a star and saying he wanted to make her his. No man had ever said such a thing to her. She believed deep in her heart that he had meant it; his words hadn’t been just a line. It had taken two years for him to finally accept her place in his life.
“What are you thinking, Carmen?”
His voice was low, husky and unmistakably masculine. It was a voice that would not only get a woman’s full attention but also send sensuous shivers through her body. Maybe she should tell him what she was thinking. Specifically, how happy she was that he’d come around. But the need that had been building inside her had reached its peak. They would talk about their future later.
“I was thinking that you’re right, and we do have too many clothes on, Redford. How do you think we should remedy that?”
The smile that touched his lips sent even more shivers rushing through her. The man wasn’t just sexuality on legs, he was that all over, especially in his smile. “Trust me. I have plenty of ideas.”
Redford leaned down and took her mouth again in a very demanding, deeply hungry kiss. He even gripped his fingers in her hair to hold her mouth in place while he plundered it.
Energy crackled in the air. Not from the storm outside but from the one raging inside. She placed her arms around his neck. His kiss was raw, inflamed and unapologetic. When he exerted even more provocative pressure on her mouth, she got weak in the knees.
His hands were at her back, hunting for the zipper to her dress. When he found it, he eased it down the length of her spine. Sliding his hands inside the opening, he gently stroked her back. The feel of his hands on her skin had desire lacerating her insides. Never before had she felt such primal want for a man. Now she fully understood why. He was meant to be hers like she was meant to be his.
Suddenly he broke off the kiss and she went to work on removing his shirt, trying not to pop any buttons in her haste. He must have felt her urgency because he began helping her. Easing the shirt from his shoulders, she ran her hands over his muscular upper torso, using her index finger to sign her name onto his skin.
Then she felt compelled to do something she’d never done before—she leaned in and kissed his chest. A chest she now thought of as hers. One kiss wouldn’t do. She planted them nearly everywhere on his broad chest, determined not to miss a single spot.
Suddenly, he tipped her chin up to meet his gaze. The look in the dark depths of his eyes was filled with a degree of need that stunned her. “I think we should finish this in the bedroom. What do you think?” he asked.
At that moment, she couldn’t think. All she could do was feel the need to be with him, to seal a commitment, to begin their relationship in the most elemental way. Later tonight they would talk about their future. The thought made her happy. Deliriously so. Smiling up at him, she said, “I think you are right.”