When he stood in front of the closed double doors to his bedroom, his eyebrows furled. Was that music he was hearing? He reached out to open the doors and then quickly remembered his manners. Although it was his room, for the next seven days they would be sharing it and he had to afford Brittany the courtesy of knocking before entering. Pulling in a deep breath, he tapped his knuckles on the door. "Come in."
He lifted a brow. Was he imagining things or had he heard a tremble in her voice? Taking another deep breath, he opened the doors. What he saw made him blink and mutter in a shocked tone, "Holy c.r.a.p."
Chapter 12.
Galen was convinced his heart had stopped beating, his lungs had seized and his p.e.n.i.s had doubled in size. He had to literally shake himself just to get his body back to working order.
Brittany stood there with a s.e.xy smile on her gorgeous face, and the "come get whatever you want" invitation he saw in her eyes suddenly made him feel like Adam in the Garden of Eden. Only thing missing was the apple.
"It took you long enough to get up here, Galen."
He swallowed. If she hadn"t said his name he would have wondered if she was talking to him. Was she saying she"d been waiting for him to make an appearance? What the heck was going on and why did he feel he had gotten caught in some sort of trap?
In his peripheral vision he saw that his room had been transformed into a setting he hadn"t ever seen before. Candles, imparting the scent of vanilla, glowed all around the room, soft music was playing and red rose petals were sprinkled over his bed, giving the room an overall romantic effect. He"d never thought he had a romantic bone in his body-until now.
But what caught his attention and held it more than anything was Brittany herself. How in the h.e.l.l had she known that a woman in stilettos was his weakness, especially if she had legs like hers? And if that wasn"t bad enough, the stilettos were red.
It was her dress, however, that had his erection throbbing, his tongue feeling thick in his throat. Where in the h.e.l.l had she gotten something like that from? It was red to match the shoes and it was short. The fabric crisscrossed at the top and tantalized at the bottom with its flirty hem that barely covered her thighs. What was she trying to do? Kill him?
That thought, quite seriously, sent all kinds of questions flying through his mind. But all it took was a whiff of whatever perfume she was wearing to lay them to rest unanswered. His main consideration was getting her out of that dress.
"So how did work go today?"
He blinked, realizing she had spoken, and then what she was asking. While heat drummed through him, he figured that he needed to move his tongue to answer. "I finished my goal for today. Just one or two more pieces to work on this week and I"ll be ready."
None of what he said was making any real sense. His mouth was saying words that his body didn"t comprehend. Finish what? Ready for whom? His mouth was merely responding to her inquiry when the rest of him wanted to respond in another way. Forget the small talk.
"I didn"t know you were waiting for me," he said, moving toward her, deciding to dispense with preliminaries and anything keeping him from her. Manners be d.a.m.ned.
"Yes," she said. "You probably didn"t notice, but I left for a while to do some shopping. Because I"d found your pantry bare, I also stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few things to prepare for dinner. Rule number four is to never invite someone to your home as an overnight guest without plans to feed them."
"I was going to take you out," he defended.
"For breakfast, lunch and dinner?"
"Yes."
"Don"t you ever cook for yourself?"
"No."
"That can get kind of pricey," she pointed out.
"I can afford it," he said, coming to a stop in front of her. "Is this dress real?"
"Touch it and see," she challenged.
"I think I will."
Galen smiled and for one heart-stopping moment, Brittany suddenly realized he wouldn"t stop at touching the dress. He reached out and his hands slowly made their way down the front of her dress, tracing his fingers across the soft material. But as expected, his hands didn"t stop there.
They slid over the softness of her shapely figure, as if molding her in a way that made her breath choppy. When he took a step closer and cupped her b.u.t.tocks, rubbing his hands over their firm curve, she fought back the moan from deep within her throat.
"What is this about, Brittany? Why are you all of a sudden handing yourself to me on a silver platter?" His voice was husky as his hands continued to roam.
She stared into the depths of his green eyes. "You ask too many questions," she said in a voice that trembled even to her own ears. He was standing close. His body was pressed into hers. She could feel the outline of his erection through his jeans. His eyes were trained on her face, causing goose b.u.mps to appear on her arms and stirring a hunger within her. A hunger that was all new to her.
Deciding it was time to be bold and take things to the next level, she wrapped her arms around his neck and molded her body to his. She felt her already-short dress rise up in the process. Air fanned her b.u.t.t as she pressed her hardened nipples into his solid chest. Instinctively, she shifted her body, causing her hips to move against his rock-hard thighs and his very aroused p.e.n.i.s.
The thought that he wanted her filled her head with an excitement she"d never felt before. It made her bolder. Made her want things she"d never desired before. Made her want to do things she"d never done before.
She decided not to fight anything tonight, to just roll with the flow. Let loose. Be something she"d never been before-one of those s.e.xually needy chicks. And with that thought in mind, she stood on tiptoes and offered her mouth to him.
He took it, and the thrust of his tongue between her lips made her quiver. At the same time that his mouth ravaged her, his hands took advantage of her raised dress and began caressing her backside and then slipping under her lacy panties to touch her bare skin.
He continued to kiss her in a way that made her moan and spread heat through all parts of her body. The juncture of her thighs tingled. Nothing she and any other man had done in the bedroom could equate to this. A mere kiss. Never had she gotten fired up to this degree. Or to any measure, to be honest. She hated admitting she used to pretend in the bedroom. Actually she"d gotten pretty good at faking it. But there was nothing bogus going on here.
Their lips clung and she wasn"t aware until now a mouth could actually make love to her. It was as if he was determined to know her taste, emerge himself in her scent. He seemed content just to stand there, feel her body wherever he liked and explore her mouth. And she was pretty much content to let him. They had kissed before, but never like this. Never with this much hunger, greed and intensity.
He suddenly broke off the kiss and the sound of his breathing-rapid successions of quick, hard breaths-matched her own. He met her gaze and held it and she noticed his lips were wet from devouring her.
"You do know this dress is coming off, don"t you?" he asked in a deep, throaty voice.
"And what if I said it was glued to my body?" she teased.
He smiled. "Then I would have to prove that it wasn"t. St.i.tch by st.i.tch. Inch by inch." And he began doing just that as his hands slowly moved over her body, tugging the dress off her shoulders and down her hips.
She heard his sharp intake of breath when he saw her red lace bra. And with a flick of his wrist he undid the front clasp and let the bra fall, setting free her twin mounds. His mouth immediately set upon them, drawing a nipple into the contours of his mouth to begin sucking.
Brittany grabbed hold of his shoulders when she felt weak in the knees. She hadn"t known her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were so sensitive. Hadn"t known they could ache for a man"s mouth, until now. He had moved his mouth to the other breast, and quickly he had latched onto the other nipple, sucking profusely, and causing her stomach to tighten with every pull.
Holding her nipple hostage, he tilted his head to gaze up at her and she saw a flicker in the depths of his eyes as his hands remained clenched around the curves of her b.u.t.tocks.
He lifted his head, touched his lips to her neck when he whispered, "Remember I told you it was "taste you" night." And without waiting to see if she recalled it or not, he dropped to his knees in front of her. "I want the taste of you in my mouth. We"re going to see just how cheap talk is, baby."
Brittany tried to ignore his term of endearment when she lifted her heels to step out the dress that had tangled around her feet. He tossed it aside and glanced up at her wearing nothing but red lace panties and red stilettos.
"d.a.m.n, you look s.e.xy. And tasty," he said, leaning forward, his hot breath right there at the crotch of her panties. He reached out and slowly began easing them down her legs and over her shoes to toss them aside.
He leaned back on his haunches. She was standing in front of him naked except for her high heels. When she made a move to take them off, he said, "Leave them on."
She looked at him questioningly, but only for a minute. His hands had slid up the backs of her thighs, while his face had moved close to her stomach. He was licking the flesh around her belly b.u.t.ton. The feel of his tongue on her stomach sent unfamiliar sensations through her, flooding all parts of her. And then, in a simultaneous invasion, his hands cupped her backside at the same time his mouth lowered to her womanly folds. He slid his tongue between them, and Brittany let out a deep whimper.
Never had any man tasted her there. But he wasn"t just tasting her. He was devouring her. She grabbed hold of his shoulders as his mouth seemed intent to make a meal of her. She deliberately rolled her hips against his mouth, instinctively pushed forward as blood rushed to her head, making her dizzy.
His hands held her b.u.t.tocks, determined to keep her pressed to his mouth as his tongue filled her, sent widespread shivers through her. She continued to whimper as he ravaged her womanhood, openmouthed and thrusting deep, as far as his tongue could go. This was what other women had experienced. Why they kept wanting more. Why they"d looked at her like she was crazy when she seemed oblivious to what an o.r.g.a.s.m was about. Now she was finding out firsthand. She felt it building, right at the juncture of her thighs, under the onslaught of Galen"s mouth and tongue.
The throbbing between her legs intensified until it was downright unbearable, and then suddenly her entire body ignited in one h.e.l.l of an explosion and she cried out his name and catapulted in a free fall. This was pleasure. One of those hidden pleasures that Nikki had warned her about. The intensity of it held her captured within its grip.
How had she gone twenty-eight years without experiencing this? The cells in her body felt pulverized and she succ.u.mbed to every novel feeling, soared higher than she"d ever thought possible.
When she thought she would crumble to the floor, he pulled his mouth away, stood and swept her off her feet into his arms. He moved up the steps to the bed and placed her on it, right on those rose petals and among the scented candles. And then he moved back, stared at her stretched across his bed. Naked, except for her shoes.
At the questioning look in her eyes, he said, "Keep them on. It"s my fantasy."
And then she watched as he began removing his clothes.
Chapter 13.
Galen unb.u.t.toned his shirt thinking there was no woman he wanted to make love to more than the one stretched out on his bed, naked except for those s.e.xy red high heels he dreamed about.
He"d asked her to keep them on because he"d never made love to a woman with her shoes on, and because the ones she was wearing looked so d.a.m.n hot on her. Too hot to take off. He"d seen women in s.e.xy heels a number of times and had always gotten one h.e.l.l of a b.o.n.e.r. But seeing Brittany in them was messing not only with his body but also with his mind.
He couldn"t take his gaze off her. She was lying on her side facing him and her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were full, firm and high and the nipples he had sucked on earlier looked ready for him to feast on again. And then there were the dark curls between her legs, looking as luscious as anything he"d ever seen. He was getting harder just looking at that part of her. Using his mouth, he had made her come. And before the night touched the stroke of midnight, she would come plenty more times.
As he tossed his shirt aside he tried to come to terms with what was going on with him where she was concerned. Why was she so embedded under his skin that he was intent on s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g her out of it?
He swallowed hard at the thought of that tactic backfiring on him and instead of s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g her out of it, he might just bury her deeper into it. But for some reason that possibility didn"t bother him. He breathed in deeply, feeling antsy, unreasonably h.o.r.n.y. Maybe he ought to slow things down a bit.
For what purpose? his mind snapped back and asked. She was in a giving mood tonight, so he"d best just take what she was offering.
His erection had thickened and lengthened, and like a divining rod, it was aimed straight toward her, namely the juncture of her legs. He removed the rest of his clothes and when he stood naked in front of her, he let out a deep growl when her scent reached him. And from her scent, he knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her.
But something was nagging his mind, making him wonder why she was being so generous tonight. She had known when she"d accepted his offer that it would come down to this. Still, she hadn"t been happy about it. Why had she done a one-eighty?
"Manners rule number five, Galen. Never keep a lady waiting."
Her words made his heart pound and his pulse race. And as he moved toward the bed he knew that she was was a lady. The s.e.xiest lady he"d ever met. "There"s a good reason for this delay, sweetheart," he said, moving to the bench at the foot of the bed. "A must-do." He lifted the top and pulled out a condom packet and proceeded to sheath himself. a lady. The s.e.xiest lady he"d ever met. "There"s a good reason for this delay, sweetheart," he said, moving to the bench at the foot of the bed. "A must-do." He lifted the top and pulled out a condom packet and proceeded to sheath himself.
He knew she was watching his every move. When he finished, he braced one knee on the bed, held out his hand and said, "Come here, baby."
He thought her movement was as graceful as a swan, and she looked s.e.xier than any woman had a right to be. When she reached him and placed her hand in his, he leaned toward her and began placing kisses up the side of her neck while whispering how much he wanted her.
He then began trailing kisses along the curve of her shoulders, liking the taste of her skin there just as much as he had the area between her thighs. The sweet taste of her womanly essence was still on his tongue and would stay there for some time. And then he kissed her deeply as they tumbled backward onto the bed together.
It was then that Galen pulled back and stared deep into her eyes. "I need to know," he whispered. "I need to know that tonight isn"t a fluke and tomorrow you"ll regret everything that takes place in this bedroom. And even worse, that you won"t share yourself with me the next six days."
He outlined her lips with the tip of his finger. "Tell me that won"t happen, Brittany."
Brittany stared deep into Galen"s intense eyes and at that moment she doubted she could deny him anything. Not this man who"d less than twenty minutes ago given her the experience of her first o.r.g.a.s.m. And for that she was exceedingly grateful. The last thing she would have tomorrow was regrets. Nor did she want to deny herself this pleasure for the next six days. She was a late bloomer where s.e.x was concerned, but tonight she"d become a woman finding out how to lose herself in the heat of pa.s.sion and pleasure.
"Tell me, Brittany."
She swallowed. A part of her silently warned she was getting in too deep. She should take tonight and be done with it. Anything beyond this could lead to some serious trouble. What if he discovered it had been more than the lure of her mother"s house that brought her to his bed? That it had also been her quest to find out more about herself. Her need to know if she could enjoy an amorous relationship with a man.
He"d proven she could. Should she take that knowledge and run? Be through with it? Let him know there wouldn"t be any more sensual interludes between them and all he would be getting from her over the next six days were lessons in manners? She knew she wasn"t capable of running anywhere. Now that he"d revealed all her hidden pleasures, she wanted to spend as much time as she could and explore those pleasures with him.
"There won"t be any regrets tomorrow, Galen," she said in a soft voice. "And I"m committed to keeping my end of our agreement, so there will be more nights like this one."
He frowned and she wondered why he was doing so. Hadn"t she just stated what he"d wanted to hear? They both had their own ulterior motives for sharing this week. He"d been right when he"d said that he had something she wanted and she had something he wanted.
But what happened after the seven days?
A shiver ran through her, although the answer to that question was simple. He went his way and she went hers. She would have her mother"s home and he"d get his week of s.e.xual enjoyment. What more could either of them expect?
She tilted her head and studied Galen, wondering the reason for the heavy silence. "That"s what you want, isn"t it?"
"Of course."
Still, she continued to look at him, wondering if she was missing something. She shook off the possibility that she was. Before she could dwell on it any more, he lowered his mouth and captured hers again.
Galen, she decided, was a perfectionist when it came to kissing. Some of the things he did with his tongue should be outlawed. Even now he was sucking gently on hers, while his hands were touching her everywhere, squeezing her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, teasing the hardened tips of her nipples. And then he lowered his hand between her legs and inserted a finger into her.
She pulled her mouth back and drew in a deep breath before burying her face in the warmth of his hairy chest. He smelled good. He smelled of man. And his intimate touch was driving her sensuously insane. When his free hand moved to caress the slope of her back she lifted her head from his chest and met his intense gaze.
"Make love to me, Galen."
She whispered the words not caring that her request probably lacked manners. The protocol was changing, and women were bold enough to ask something like that. Still, such an audacious request sounded strange coming from a female. However, at the moment the only thing she cared about was the deep ache in her stomach that had been there for a while and had become unbearable the moment he"d removed his pants to reveal the thatch of dark curly hair at his groin. There was just something about seeing him exposed and the thickness of his erection that had heat radiating to her lower limbs. She wanted him in a way she"d never truly wanted a man. With Galen she could be herself. She could be the woman she"d never been.
She wanted him. He wanted her. And for now that was all that mattered.
"Be careful what you ask for, sweetheart," he whispered as he gathered her close to the warmth and solid hardness of his body. She felt his arousal pressed against her belly and was compelled to reach down and grip his manhood in her hand.
She remembered touching Gilford once and the harsh words he"d said when she did. He"d reminded her that she was a lady who was above doing such things. Instead of being turned off by her actions, it was evident Galen had no such problem with her touching him, if the sound of his heavy breathing and deep guttural groans were any indication. Empowered by his response, she began stroking him, liking the feel of the thick veins that outlined the shaft of his p.e.n.i.s, and the warmth that emitted from the tip of it.
"d.a.m.n, Brittany," he growled. "You"re about to make me lose my manners."
She smiled thinking he just had. A true gentleman would never swear in front of a lady. Instead of pointing that out to him, she decided to inflict her own brand of punishment by sinking her teeth into his shoulder blade and then licking the bruise with her tongue. "Payback, Brittany."
He shifted their positions and she found herself flat on her back with him looming over her, sliding in place between her open legs and red stilettos. And she knew whatever patience he"d been holding in check had gotten tossed to the wind. She glanced up at the see-through ceiling. It had gotten dark and there were stars in the sky adding to the romantic effect she"d created.
That effect stirred everything within her and when she felt his manhood at the entrance of her mound, nudging her womanly folds apart trying to seek admittance, streaks of antic.i.p.ation flooded her.