Shh. She had his bare chest now. Shed uncovered these treasures before. The slope of his shoulders. His upper arms, muscled as hard as sailors rope. Patches of chest hair, not soft, but as wiry as his temperament was. And an Adams apple that was throbbing, throbbing, for the lick of her tongue.
It was his fault-because of the dog. Hed broken her heart, seeing how much hed obviously loved his dog. Teague sounded so tough, but shed seen the collar, the pink-stuffed teddy bear with the eaten-off nose. The pink tennis balls peeking under the couches and chairs in the living room. The ceramic feeding bowl with Hussy engraved on it, clean, sitting on the counter, no food in it but somehow he hadnt been able to face putting it away yet.
She was so touched, hed almost made her cry. Made her afraid she might cry. Losing his dog had so clearly devastated him, and all for a mutt.
Obviously she had to kiss him.
And kiss him good.
In fact, as far as Daisy was concerned, she had no choice about making love with him, either.
And making love right.
Um, Dais- He didnt seem to mind her unbuttoning his jeans, but his big callused hands suddenly, softly, framed her face. I dont know what pushed your on button-
You did.
Uh-huh. Well. Im glad I did. But I could have sworn you said you had to be at the café-
I do. Later. We might have to hurry.
That, um, wont be a problem. You want speed, trust me, I can give you speed. But-
No buts, tiger. She lifted her head, eyes suddenly stricken. Unless you dont want to make love?
Trust me. I want this. I want you. Full-time, part-time, fast, slow. Any way youre willing to do this. While she had her hands on his jeans zipper, he handily slipped both his hands down her spine, down her back into the waistband of her pants. Somehow he started pushing her pants down at the same time he caressed her fanny, kneading and squeezing. His mouth was leveling hers at the same time.
Daisy intended to protest. She was the one in charge here, not Teague. She was going to remind him about thatin just a minute or two. Her slacks were trying to trip her. She stepped out of them. And while she was attempting to step out of them, Teague took the opportunity to lift her high-high enough to tongue-tease both her nipples, first one, then the other, taking his timemy, the man was strongbefore lowering her onto his platform bed. Who knew theyd even made it all the distance to his bedroom?
It was downright impossible to get his jeans off when he was on top of her, but she was highly motivatedgroaning under his weight, moaning under his touch, demanding more of both. His bed was another reason shed felt forced into this drastic behavior choice. His whole house was so pure guy. The wood. The stone. A jar of mustard sat all by its lonesome on its own shelf in the fridge. His chest of drawers had a fork and a hammer and a tower of books and socks. His mattress was harder than concrete.
But then shed seen that hedonist, floofy, fluffy comforter. And now she could feel it, soft against her naked skin, cushiony so that she felt she were sinking, sinking into a cloudor maybe that was sinking into Teague. An ardent, wild Teague, who seemed to forget time, place, and the phone ringing somewhere in his house.
The comforter and dog were the only soft spots in Teague shed found. The only hints that he was lonely. That he had needs. Wants. That he yearned
And damn, so did she. Hed broken her down. Its the only way she could think of it. Shed tried so hard to be mean. Shed tried to scare him, by driving his car in a way that had to turn him off. Shed barged in his business with his customer. She hadnt come clean with him. And still he was good to her. Still, he seemed to want her.
Still, he touched her in ways-deeper, more worrisome ways-than any man ever had.
Those jeans of his-she finally won them. And one of his socks. The shadows in his bedroom seemed darker than smoke, yet there was nothing but searing bright sensations running through her. Greedily she touched, wooed, claimed. Her blood raced hotter and faster because of how fiercely he responded to anything she did. He just kept giving and giving and giving.
She reared her head up, eyes glazed and crazy with wanting. Teague-I dont love you, she whispered urgently.
His mouth was wet from her kisses, his eyes as glazed and dark as her own, yet he responded easily, as if he were expecting the comment. You think not?
All right. Maybe I do. But thats just about loving you right now. Its because these moments together are so good, so right. But it doesnt mean ties or future or permanence or anything like that.
I know. Youre leaving town.
Yes.
As soon as you possibly can.
Yes.
So this is ideal, isnt it? Exactly what you want. We can make love and make love and make love. And you can forget me as soon as youre gone.
She was about to say yes again, only that wasnt what shed said or even meant. She frowned, and then the chance to answer him disappeared. He swooped her around, pinned her beneath him, and in the darkening shadows pounced. Kisses dropped on her throat, between her breasts, on her navel, then on the swell of her abdomen. He was aimingthe wrong way.
She was going to tell him about that, mention that hed lost his sense of direction entirely, except that he wrapped his arms around her thighs, pulling them up even as his head dipped down. All that urgent rushing, yet suddenly he moved slow. Slower than honey. Slower than shadows on a summer night. His cheek nuzzled the inside of her thighs. She felt his rough beard, felt his breathlost her own.
Her sisters whispered about this. Women were supposed to love it. Not her. It always made her feel too vulnerable, toonaked. She was all about being wild, always had been, but not like this. Not. Like. This. It was uncomfortable and upsetting and
Sheesh, Dais, Ill never stop if you respond like that. Come for me, love. Come. Give in, let it happen. He wasnt talking, wasnt whispering. It was a croon to her, a promise.
I dontI cant
He chuckled, a soft earthy sound, a vibration low in his throat that he transferred to a kiss on that most intimate part of her. Okay, then. Fight it. Itll be fun.
It wasnt fun. She felt need tear through her like fire, burning, flames licking at her consciousness, blinding sharp. She tried to hold back. Tried to hide, but desire kept escalating, scaling that mountain of hungry, greedy needuntil she tipped over the edge and soared.
He took his own good time about shifting, finally came up to smile wickedly at her in the darkness. Youll be sorry you showed me how much you liked that, he promised. Youd better believe Ill remember the next time.
She couldnt answer him. He didnt seem inclined to give her a chance to, anyway. He lifted her legs high and tight around his waist and then dove in, drove in, all at once. She felt a yielding of loneliness inside her, a keening to be like this, with him, forever, like this, but of course that was just her heart talking. How was she supposed to think? He was thick and hard. He was whispering wicked ideas to her. He was holding her, holding her, so she couldnt escape yet another climb toward release, every muscle in her body straining for the next cliff edge, the next mountain top, and then there it wasanother sensation, like flying free, flying through a silver wind, a flashing-soft sky, soaringstraight back into his arms.
Oh, yeah, he whispered exultantly, as if this were what he expected all along. As if he always made the world tilt when he made love. As if he always turned a woman into shambles when he made love.
As if he loved her.
Eventually she started breathing again. Eventually she even opened her eyes. She seemed to be wrapped around Teagues naked body tighter than a present at Christmas, both of them smelling like sweat and sex, neither of them moving.
She wanted to move. She wanted to lift her head and stare at him. Its not as if she hadnt been married. Its not as if she didnt enjoy sex. But Teaguetheyd made love in the blizzard, and shed been so sure that was just a lost moment in time. Now she wanted to know where he got his Wheaties. Where he learned all that wicked stuff. How come he moved her to heights shed never climbed before.
But she didnt look at him, didnt ask him. For just a moment more, she wanted to be nowhere else but right here, snugged in his arms, no reality intruding in any way.
But, of course, there was no escaping reality. An alarm clock ticked right next to her head. I have to go. Close up the café.
Yeah, you do. But first you promised youd tell me about your ex.
Now?
A low chuckle came out of his throat. Hey, you think I want to talk about another guy after we just made love? On the other hand, I dont often have you naked and vulnerable. I figure I have to use this to my advantage while I can.
Idiot, she murmured affectionately. He had to know that he wasnt being manipulative at all, not when he told her exactly what he was doing. I told you Id tell you-
Yeah. So spill. Exactly why youre so poor if your ex is supposedly so rich and successful. Exactly why didnt you want your family to help you or know how much trouble you were in. Exactly why you got the divorce.
Sheesh. Could we work on one question at a time, tiger?
No. All at once. Lets just get this conversation over with.
She sighed, staring blindly at the moonlight shining in his bare windows. Rime decorated the panes in magical shapes, crystals and diamonds and jewels. The kind of diamonds you couldnt touch, of course-the kind of diamonds that disappeared if you tried to touch them. Shed tried to touch the wrong kind of diamonds her whole life, but how could she explain that to Teague? I dont know where to start, except thatI always had a panic attack at the idea of being ordinary.
Since were pretty short on time, you dont have to waste it telling me stuff I know.
He forced her to grin. I mean, a real panic attack, Teague. Maybe it started from being the only one in the family with the totally ordinary name. I swear I remember fighting it even way back in my sandbox days. I wanted to be different from everyone else. I wanted to see the world. Take big risks. Have a big life. Do exotic, romantic, wonderful things.