The Love List (7 page)

"We should do yoga together, naked," he
suggested, his hand fondling her breast.

A giggle erupted from her throat as she
grasped the bottle and looked down at his hand. Sitting up, she
gently pushed him down so he was lying on his back and opened the
bottle.

"My turn."

Drizzling a tiny line of the flavored oil
down his flat belly and beyond, she flashed him a grin. Her tongue
circled her lips as she made eye contact with him. He chuckled and
lay back, lacing his hands behind his head. Placing herself between
his legs, she rubbed the oil into his belly, then took a lick. She
continued this down and down until she reached his erection.
No
need to rub anything into that monster
. She placed her hand
firmly around the base and licked off the massage oil, taking her
time while keeping her eyes trained on his face.

Sweat broke out on his brow as his erection
grew under her care. She could see the muscles in his jaw clench as
his hands fisted the blanket.

"Ummm, delicious," she murmured, raising her
head, "Losing control?"

At that, he sat up and put his hands under
her arms. He pulled her up as if she were a rag doll and placed her
on the blanket as gently as his passion would allow. His mouth bore
down on hers, hard and demanding, his tongue possessing her mouth,
while his hands roamed over her body, squeezing, pinching and
stroking her into hot wetness.

"Mine…you're mine…loving you…taking you,"
Grey muttered his breathing ragged.

She nodded, her arms around his chest. She
loved it when he took control.

"Take me…take me," she whispered.

He raised himself on his knees and mounted
her, entering her swiftly. She was surprised at how easily his huge
erection slid into her. But she gasped and her eyes grew wide as he
filled her completely, shoving himself in up to the hilt. Grey
raised up on his forearms, his eyes only inches away from hers, his
brow furrowed.

"Did I hurt you?"

"No, no. Fine. I'm fine. God…Grey…don't
stop." The feeling of him inside her drove all rationale thought
from her mind.

A grin replaced his worried look and his hips
began to move. Carrie closed her eyes and hugged his chest to hers,
crushing her breasts against him as he thrust in and out of her.
Time seemed to stand still as her hips moved in tandem with his.
She closed her lips over the soft muscle of his shoulder where it
met his neck and sucked gently. Grey was all she could feel, smell
and taste. Their rhythm fused their bodies and their hearts beat
together as one, pumping passion-filled blood through one body,
joined together for life.

"You feel…amazing," he muttered.

When she squeezed her muscles around him he
groaned, sweat dripped off his forehead. Grey picked up the pace a
little as his breathing changed to panting. Carrie's hands rose and
fell with the heaving of his chest. Sensing his climax was near
fueled her passion, and intense heat rocketed through her body.
With his next thrust, her muscles exploded in a powerful orgasm.
She cried out into his shoulder as her hips moved rhythmically with
the force of her release. He speeded up momentarily then gave three
hard thrusts and stopped, muffling a loud moan in her neck. Sweat
trickled off his shoulder onto hers, her nails formed trails
through a light sheen of perspiration on his back. They both
stopped moving at the same time.
Don't stop!

Carrie refused to open her eyes. The feel of
Grey on her, inside her, the scent of him and their love blending
with the smoky aroma of the burning log filled her senses.
Number one on my love list, no walking away. He's part of me
now.
The thought calmed her as she listened to the low hiss of
the fire, the only sound in the room. Unlike with other men, fear
didn't play with her mind. She wasn't scared.
Happy. He makes me
happy. I deserve to be happy.

A smile of contentment and satisfaction
curled her lips. He moved first. Carrie reluctantly opened her eyes
to find him perched over her, raised up, staring down into her
face. She smiled widely at him, placing her palms on his
cheeks.

"I love you. I love you so much," she said
softly, arching up to place a gentle kiss on his lips.

Grey smiled and rolled to the side, pulling
her into his arms, her head nestled into his shoulder. "I love you,
too, honey. Forever."

They lay there not moving, feeling the heat
of the fire in the fireplace grow fainter as the log burned down.
Carrie sat up, stretching her toes toward the fire to warm them.
Grey joined her.

"Ugh. I have to put on clothes to sleep
because it's so cold. I want to feel you against my skin all night
long."

"Mom gave me an electric mattress pad today.
She forgot to put it on the bed. I put it on to surprise you. It's
great. We turn it on and you can sleep in the nude and feel warm
and toasty all night no matter how cold it gets in here."

Carrie turned toward him to plant a kiss on
his lips when she let out a big gasp.

"What is it? A spider? A mouse?" Grey looked
around and reached for a shoe lying nearby.

"Your neck," she said, pointing to the spot
where she had muffled her cries of passion.

"Something crawling on my neck?" He asked,
swatting at his neck with first one hand then the other.

Carrie stilled his hands with hers as she
shook her head.

"A mark. I left a mark…a
big
mark on
your neck." Her hand flew to her mouth.

"A hickey?"

She nodded and he burst out laughing. "Like
kids making out in a car. Oh my God, Grey, I'm so sorry."

"A badge of passion."

"What will your family say?" Carrie's eyes
grew wide, she rested her palm on his chest.

"Do I care? I'll wear a shirt over it and no
one will see."

He glanced up as the clock on the mantle
began to chime eleven.

"It's late. We should get some sleep.
Tomorrow's Christmas and all hell breaks loose around here."

Carrie nodded and slipped on her robe. When
she returned from the bathroom, she discovered Grey had scattered
the fire in the fireplace and punched the dial on the electric
mattress pad to preheat the bed. The bedside lamp was off, the soft
glow of the dying embers cast enough light for her to find her way
to the bed. Carrie slipped her terry robe off her shoulders and
placed it on a nearby chair. Grey, already in bed, threw the covers
down and patted the bed.

She slid in, naked, next to him and pulled
the covers up.

"Oohh. It's so warm.
Delicious...wonderful."

Carrie scooted over to cuddle in his arms.
Grey propped them up on pillows so they could watch the fire slowly
burn out and tucked her into his shoulder.

"That was the best loving I've ever had," he
whispered, stroking her hair.

"Me, too."

By the time the small fire had dwindled down
to a few red embers, Grey and Carrie were tangled together in a
deep and restful sleep.

Chapter Five

Sunlight peeked in between the curtains on
Christmas morning, landing smack on Carrie's face. One eye cracked
open and she rolled over. But the cold air and sun already
disturbed her lovely dream about Grey and now she was awake. She
stretched and snuggled farther under the covers with only her eyes
and the top of her head sticking out.

Grey had his back to her. She figured he was
still asleep by his regular breathing. She inched closer, running
the palm of her hand down his straight spine, giving his butt a
gentle squeeze then gliding back up again. Putting one arm under
her pillow and the other around his waist, she moved up against
him, pushing her breasts into his back. She heard a small grunt
then a large hand clamped down on her arm, trapping her in
position. A snicker escaped the sleeping figure and she knew he was
awake.

"Trapped, like a rat…" he whispered.

Carrie tugged but his grip was like a vise.
Try as she might, she couldn't contain a giggle.

"Please sir, don't hurt me. I'm a poor
country girl…" Carrie whined in a falsetto.

She punctuated her plea with a lick to the
back of his neck. He jumped when the cold air hit the thin layer of
saliva she deposited on him and he let out a laugh.

"I haven't eaten in days and days…sir."

"So you plan to take a bite out of me, your
captor, do you?"

"I'm a carnivore, sir. I'm sure you could
find a part of yourself you could share with a starving girl?"

Now the laughter poured out of him and he
rolled over to face her.

"You're mine, young lady, do you understand
that?" Grey still kept a firm grip on her arm.

"Yes, sir. And proud to be yours." She batted
her eyelashes at him and formed her words in a fake southern
accent.

"Good. Now as for sharing part of
myself…"

A loud knock on the door interrupted their
playtime.

"Time to get up. Santa's been here and we're
opening presents in fifteen minutes," boomed the voice of Grey's
father, John, right through the door.

"Okay, Dad. We'll be right down," Grey called
back.

Carrie made a face.

"Hey, it's Christmas, honey. We can do captor
and captive anytime."

"As long as you don't forget…"

"Hah! Fat chance."

His eyes glistened as he looked at her and
she detected a spark of desire glowing there. She smiled at him.
"After last night I thought you might be too tired to…"

"Are you kidding? I'm never too tired to make
love to my girl."

Carrie rested her palm on his chest, enjoying
the feel of his solid muscle and soft hair beneath her fingers. His
hands sat on her waist and he leaned over to kiss her.

"Good morning, honey."

"Good morning, sweetheart. Merry Christmas,"
she said, her gaze studying his face.

He looks as good in the morning as he does
the rest of the day. God, love his hair in his eyes and that shadow
on his face. Makes me want to jump him right now.

"Can I get a raincheck?" She raised her hand
to feel the bristle on his face and a little tingle went up her
spine.

"Oh, baby…if we weren't here, I'd…" He
trapped her hand and kissed the palm.

Another knock disturbed them.

"Grey, second call," his mother trilled.

At that, he threw back the covers and sprang
out of bed. Wrapping his arms around himself to fend of the chill
in the air, he raced to the dresser. He whipped out underwear and
pulled it on quickly, then his jeans and a cotton sweater.

"What's 'second call'?" Carrie asked from the
warmth of the bed.

Grey opened Carrie's dresser and held up a
pair of panties. She nodded. He did the same with a bra.

"When I was kid, my dad used to come and
knock on my door to get me up for school. But one knock was never
enough. I'd go back to sleep or lie in bed, dreaming. So mom would
come by with a second call a few minutes later. That got me
going."

He tossed the underwear to her and brought
over a pair of jeans and her teal blue cotton sweater.

"I wore that one up here…"

"It's my favorite. It matches your eyes."

Carrie smiled at him and slipped her
underwear on under the covers, then her jeans. She threw back the
covers and raced over to the dresser to smear on some deodorant,
then pull the sweater over her head. A quick run-through with her
hairbrush and they made their way down the hall to brush their
teeth.

They were almost the last ones to arrive in
the living room and Colin stood up and applauded when they
entered.

"Hooray! The engaged couple finally gets out
of bed!"

"Shut up, Colin," Grey snapped.

"Oohh, crabby brother. Didn't you get any
last night?"

"I said shut up. Or do I need to do it for
you?" Grey's hand fisted at his side.

John threw a stern glance at his younger son
and Colin clammed up and sat down.

Jenna came into the room carrying a tray
heavy with mugs of coffee.

"What can I do?" Carrie asked.

"There is a basket of fresh muffins on the
table in the kitchen. Would you mind bringing that in? And the
butter, too? And plates? Mom has the milk and sugar."

Carrie handed her mug to Grey and headed for
the kitchen. Fran put the small tray bearing her antique porcelain
milk and sugar set on the table.

****

Grey topped off his coffee with milk then sat
back on the sofa. He had never felt better, despite the teasing
from Colin. A smug smile curled his lips as he thought about
exactly how very satisfied he was after their lovemaking of the
night before.
Who needs presents? Carrie gave me the greatest
gift ever. What a night! Whew.

Grey picked up on his brother's stare and
turned to face him.

"What?"

"Nothing. Nothing," Colin muttered.

"Come on, out with it. We don't usually hold
back in this family."

"You're happy, aren't you?"

"Can't you tell?"

"I mean you're not settling or anything,
getting anxious to have a family and stuff?"

"Are you kidding? Carrie is amazing. I've
searched for a long time…finding her was a dream come true. I
didn't know what happy was until I met her. Couldn't keep away from
her almost as soon as I met her."

"Well, then…good luck, Grey. No hard
feelings, eh?"

"We're cool, Col. I hope you find a woman
like her. She'll change your life."

"Who's life is changing?" Carrie asked,
carrying a basket of muffins in one hand and a butter dish in the
other as she entered the living room.

"Mine."

"Oh?" She arched an eyebrow at him then set
the basket down.

"Since I met you," he said, reaching for her
hand. He put it to his lips.

Color came to Carrie's cheeks as he pulled
her down on the sofa next to him. But she popped right up
again.