She placed at kiss in the center of his chest. Her tongue flicked out to taste him.
“Salty,” she murmured. “Good.”
“I don’t want to take advantage of you.”
“You need a bath and you’re already here. You’ve got a bad hand. I can help you.”
“I don’t think that such a go—”
“Shut up, Doctor. I’ll wash your hair then get out.” She reached for the shampoo and, using the tips of her fingers, she gently scrubbed his hair.
Court couldn’t resist kissing the crest of her creamy breast that was below his mouth as he bent to give her access to his head. Her sharp intake of breath made his shaft grow harder. She ran her fingers through his hair, clearing it of soap under the water. He straightened.
She blinked up at him. Worry lines still etched her face, but anticipation, desire were there also. Leaning down, he kissed her forehead. When she made no effort to move, he kissed her temple and let his lips travel across her cheek. She turned her head, giving him an invitation to her mouth. Accepting it, he took her lips in a hungry kiss. She met him with equal appetite as he devoured her mouth. One of her hands slid along his chest, along the column of his neck to wrap around it. She tugged, bringing him nearer, crushing her lips against his as if she couldn’t get enough of him. As if she’d been in limbo, waiting for an emotional release.
She moaned. His erection strained against the fly of his shorts. Court accepted her gift, encouraging her to open her mouth for him. She did. He entered. She met him, greeted him, danced with him.
Court had been hot for women before, lusted after them, but he’d never felt the burning, consuming, driving desire he felt for Maggie. She was like tinder to his combustible need. He couldn’t fight it any longer. If he hadn’t known Maggie needed tenderness and patience he would’ve turned her, taking her fast and hard. No matter what it took from him to maintain control he intend her to be caressed, pampered and reassured that she wasn’t alone. For tonight. He would make no promise about tomorrow.
* * *
Maggie felt the bowstring tenseness of Court’s body against her. It fed the longing deep within her. She trembled with the hunger to be a part of him, to find that perfect connection, to forget the harrowing past hours and to not think of the ones to come. To escape.
A growl she recognized as sexual needed formed low in Court’s throat. A burst of heat rocketed through her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and intensified the kiss. Soon she was pushing at his wet clothing. He reached behind her, shut off the water and helped her finish the job of ridding him of shirt and pants. Placing the arm with the unhurt hand below her butt, he lifted and carried her.
“Grab a towel,” he bit off, as if he was straining to hold himself in check.
Maggie snatched a towel off a hook as they went by.
Court came down on the bed with her. Taking the towel from her, he gently dried her hair then burrowed his hands into it. He muttered, “You’ve no idea how many times I’ve stopped myself from reaching to touch your hair.” He brought a handful of the mass to his mouth and kissed it before watching it trail though his fingers. “Even damp it’s magnificent.”
She took the towel. As she rubbed his head, he kissed her breasts. A honeyed heat built low in her.
He shifted to his back and brought her almost over him. He felt strong, sure and secure. She kissed his neck. The tips of her breasts teased his warm skin, making her tingle. Maggie squirmed, buzzing with sexual tension. She gave Court little nipping kisses along his jaw and over his cheek, her hair creating a canopy around them. They were all that existed. He ran his hand over the curve of her hip and she flexed against him. His fingertips skimmed over her until he cupped a breast.
Her eyes locked with his. They had turned dark like the sea at night and questioned as if searching for confirmation she wanted this. That he hadn’t pushed her. She smiled and it grew bigger when she saw the promise in his eyes that she was enough just as she was.
He grazed the end of her nipple with his finger. “I want you like I’ve never wanted before,” he whispered. “I won’t hurt you. I only wish to give you pleasure.” With two of his fingers he rolled the tip of her breast with a light touch, until it hardened.
“Please,” she whispered on a fading breath, as she pressed her breast into his hand.
Court’s hands moved to Maggie’s waist and lifted her.
Maggie was curvy, sleek and sinuous. Heaven.
She gave to everyone, but this time he would give to her. Court positioned her so her breasts hung above him and the bulk of her hair brushed his shoulder. Slowly, he took her nipple into his mouth as if plucking a ripe grape from the vine.
Maggie shivered, and made the sweetest crooning sound. His shaft grew larger, something he would’ve thought impossible. She squirmed, and he moved to her other breast, giving it the same treatment, before circling his tongue around the extended nipple. He released it with a gentle tug, then blew gently over it.
Her small but determined hands captured his face and directed his mouth back to the first breast. He gave it equal devotion before he lowered her to his chest. The sensation of her silky skin against his was almost too much. He took a second to gain control. This was about Maggie.
The skin across his abdomen rippled as Maggie’s fingers fluttered over it on their way downward. The tip of a finger brushed the throbbing end of his manhood. It jumped.
He flipped her, stopping further exploration. If he let her truly touch him, he might explode. His mouth sealed hers. She met him kiss for kiss. The open, responsive Maggie was almost his undoing.
She kissed his shoulder and chest. One small but purposeful hand caressed the fine hair of his torso while the other kneaded his back.
Had a woman ever acted as if she needed him more? It was a heady feeling to know that this courageous, passionate woman craved him.
Maggie placed magical kisses along the length of his neck, feathering across his collar bone. She was going to unman him if he didn’t take her soon. She stopped kissing him, and looked her fill. Not normally a self-conscious man, he was a little uncomfortable under her scrutiny.
“You are so beautiful.” Her eyes were filled with awe.
He reached for her. “Nowhere near as amazing as you are.” He took her hand, placing a kiss in the palm. “I want you.”
“I know,” she said, “but it’s been a long time for me.”
“I thought as much.”
Maggie tried to pull away but he held her close and kissed her brow. “I didn’t mean that like it sounded. You don’t have to have a medical degree to see there are few available men around here. And even if that wasn’t the case, after what you told me…” he hesitated “…I’m not surprised you’d want to protect yourself.”
Her smile was wry. “You’re right.
He nudged her onto her back and gave her a wet, hot kiss. Parting her legs with a knee, he dipped a finger into her warm, slick center, while his tongue mimicked his finger in her mouth.
She arched beneath him.
Pregnancy not being a worry, he’d have the ultimate pleasure of having no barrier between them. He was climbing for the summit.
With Maggie open and ready for him, he shifted upward, found his harbor and with a slow, controlled and blissfully perfect thrust entered her. She wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled him home, meeting his thrusts as they became one. She moaned her pleasure, tensed and ground out his name before he joined her in the brilliance of oblivion.
Amid the powerful primal rhythm he found the peace he’d been so desperately searching for, the easing of the ache in his heart. A sense of empowerment. Maggie accepted him without making judgments. Recognized him for who he was. He didn’t have to prove himself to her. A feeling Court couldn’t identify bolted from his heart. Now it was out he feared there’d be no locking it away again.
Court lay beside her. Taking her in a possessive hold, he snuggled her against him. Enjoying the feeling of having Ma
ggie securely in his embrace, he drifted off to sleep.
* * *
For Maggie, the past two days had been a whirlwind Court had created and held in firm control.
She was amazed at what Court could accomplish by using the Armstrong name when he made up his mind it was the correct thing to do.
Maggie had been surprised to find Raja flying out with them. When she’d questioned Court about Raja he gave Maggie the short answer that he’d made arrangement to see about getting Raja a prosthetic leg. He didn’t allow her time to find out more.
The plane ride to Tema had taken a little more than a few hours in Court’s luxurious jet. An ambulance waited at the airport to whisk them away to the Provita Specialist Hospital where Neetie received an MRI and was diagnosed with hepatitis B, with primary biliary cirrhosis. Court said the diagnosis had been what he’d expected. Heartsick at the results, she was glad Court had been there to help with Neetie.
He would need a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt, or TIPS for short, if there was any chance of him surviving. The diagnosis was as bad as Maggie had feared. Where she and Neetie lived, people with hepatitis B didn’t survive. The basic care given at the Teligu Hospital was too little. She was more thankful for Court than ever. Without him, Neetie wouldn’t have had a chance to live. Neetie was one small example of what the Armstrong Foundation’s influence could do for the people in the area around Teligu.
Throughout the days, Maggie had seen a subtle but definitive change in Court. So in tune with him from the first moment, she recognized the confidence he now had in his medical decisions. Where he’d been unsure and tentative before, he was in control and sure now.
A few hours after confirmation of Neetie’s diagnosis, he was again loaded onto Court’s jet and they were on their way to the States. This time Court wasn’t doing all the piloting. The Armstrong Foundation had provided another pilot, giving Court the opportunity to care for Neetie, if necessary. Neetie had a comfortable spot in the plane and woke occasionally but never for long. He’d never been farther than the hospital from his village, and the plane trip alone was daunting for him. Maggie made certain she was never far away in case he called out for her.