“I’ll certainly do my part,” he said solemnly, though his eyes were dancing, showing more green than gray. “What I’m trying to tell you, Shelley, is that I’ll do anything to guarantee your happiness. I want you to be happy with me. I want us to be happy together.”
To his surprise, her face crumpled and she turned away from him again. “Shelley, for godsake what—”
“I want you to be happy with me, too, but I’m afraid I’ll fail you,” she sobbed softly.
“What are you talking about?” he asked with a combination of frustration and bewilderment.
“What Daryl said about me was true. Once we were married, I … I was like a corpse. I don’t know what’s happened to me these last few days, but I’ve never been this way before. Suppose we get married and I … disappoint you? I couldn’t bear it. You’ve had so many women and—”
“Shelley, Shelley,” he said, turning her around and cradling her against his chest. He ran his fingers under her hair, massaging the back of her neck with a loving hand. “Are you really going to listen to that strutting peacock and let anything he says get to you? My God, can’t you see why he wanted to insult you like that?”
He raised her face to his and peered down into her confused, tear-filled ey
es. “He knew that beneath your ladylike veneer was a passionate, sensual woman. I knew it ten years ago when I kissed you.
“What galled Robins and what will gall him for the rest of his miserable life is that he couldn’t bring out that sensuality. The reason he came running here today wasn’t so much that he thought our relationship could ruin his career; he was curious. Some masochistic compulsion drove him up here to see for himself if that sensual creature within you had finally been freed. One look at the woman you are now and he knew the truth. Being the coward he is, his only defense was to insult you, your femininity.”
“But maybe he’s right.”
His smile was soft, knowing. “I’ll prove to you how wrong he is.” The rough quality in his voice gave it a special intimacy.
She stared at him, wide-eyed and trusting, as he leaned forward and kissed her fleetingly on the cheek. His lips nibbled along her cheekbone, her temple, pressed a sweet kiss onto her forehead.
He pulled back to survey the results of his work. “Your eyes are taking on that smoky hue that’s a sure sign of your arousal. Even when you deny it, that cloudiness in your eyes is a dead giveaway.”
All the while he was talking, he was rubbing her ear-lobes between his thumb and forefinger. Now he leaned toward her and kissed one, whisking his lips over it. Then he paused, stayed. His tongue batted at it playfully before he caught it between his straight white teeth and worried it tenderly.
She shivered and unconsciously placed her hands on his shoulders. He wouldn’t be rushed. He gave the same avid attention to her other ear until she was twisting her head around in an attempt to capture his gifted mouth with her own.
When at last he obliged her, he sealed her mouth with his, joining them together and defying heaven and earth to try to break them apart. His tongue pressed deeply, explored thoroughly, evoking memories of the times they had loved.
“I love your mouth,” he said urgently, dropping hot kisses on her lips. “God, I love it. Every time I kiss you it’s like eating a rich, creamy dessert.” When he kissed her again, they reclined on the blanket. His hands slipped under her sweat shirt and he thrilled to the warm satin texture of her skin. With titillating slowness he stroked his way up her ribs to the undersides of her breasts. He cupped them, barely touching them.
Her breathing had become rapid and he smiled. He raised her sweat shirt and looked down at the sun-drenched radiance of her breasts. “How could you doubt your femininity when you have breasts like these?” he asked, softly chiding. “They’re beautiful. Created for me to love.” He traced a finger around one full mound. And again. And the circles became smaller until she was writhing against him.
“Kiss me,” she rasped, clutching at air until she gained a handful of his hair.
He outlined her nipples with the tip of his tongue. Lifting his head, he studied their perfect response before he took one between his fingers to fondle and sucked the other into his mouth. As she was drawn deeper into the trance he was creating, her hips undulated on the blanket in a sexual ballet.
His hand caressed its way down to squeeze her upper thigh through the denim of her worn jeans. A cry escaped her lips. “Grant,” she gasped.
His purpose wasn’t to torment, but to please and he instantly reacted to her silent request. Raising himself above her, he stared into her befuddled eyes as he opened her jeans and slid his hand inside. The dainty lacy band of her panties was lifted and his fingers covered the dark downy triangle.
“Grant … ?” Her voice was thin and reedy as he parted and caressed.
“You are a woman, Shelley. I’ll show you how much of a woman you are.”
For only a heartbeat she resisted the persuasive talent of his fingers, until she saw that was a useless exercise. She surrendered to their sweet magic and the spell they wove. Delicately, tenderly, he stroked the very center of her femininity with a sensitive fingertip. A veritable mountain of fire built inside of her.
Restlessly she arched her back. Mindlessly she covered his dear hand with her own and pressed it. The mountain trembled with boiling internal pressure.
“Shelley, look at me,” he urged as he gripped her other hand and interlaced their fingers. Her blank eyes opened to meet his and only then did they come into sharp focus.
“Grant … you are … ah, my love …” The mountain of fire erupted with volcanic intensity and she closed around his fingers spasmodically. The aftershocks went on and on until the conflagration burned itself out.
Her head lolled on the blanket even as her chest heaved with gasping breaths. When at last her pulse had slowed and her respiration had been partially restored, she opened her eyes again.
She blinked against the bright sunlight until he shaded her face with his lowering head. Drowsily she smiled at him. “I don’t know whether to be thankful or ashamed,” she said, barely above a whisper.