Home for Love (An Adult Contemporary Romance) (10 page)

Finally, after he’d returned the favor
by slowly stripping his clothes off as he walked around her, he moved so that
her back pressed into him. Bree felt the evidence of his desire. Rock hard
against her flesh. Moaning, fantasies of it entering her, filling her drove her
wild. She tried to turn and pull him down to her, but he held her fast, steady
so she had no choice but to continue being subjected to his erotic torture.

“I need you, Todd. Now,” she ordered.

“No,” was all he said in response.
Moving in closer, he allowed their flesh to meet so that her back was flush
with his front. Grabbing her chin, he tilted her head sideways and leaned down,
purposefully, slowly, not allowing their locked, heavy stares to break. Lips
met, tongues danced and the flames continued to flicker and burn, searing until
only flesh was left, only flesh mattered.

Bree purred, wiggling against him,
returning the torture wantonly. She was a wet flame; sensuality personified and
had never felt so damn sexy, so desirable before. The more they kissed, the
more the sensations grew, the brighter the flame burned. Todd started caressing
her and she felt alive, her skin prickling to attention under his hands. No
longer flickering, the flame roared as he touched every part of her body that
his long, strong arms could take into his masterful hands.

“Need it now,” she growled.

“No,” he repeated. Then he led her to
the bed, allowing her to turn. Bree whimpered in relief, expecting him to fill
her only to arch up from the bed as he trailed his mouth over her body, letting
his tongue flick, suck, and taste. Bree didn’t think she could burn hotter, but
she did as he stoked her desire until the flames burst and she cried out in
pleasure.

After her release, with him still
leaning above her, she wiggled, breathless, but still unsatisfied. “I need…”
she began then screamed out in pleasure when he plunged into her. Finally
joined, the flame burned to new heights taking them with it.

They lay together in the aftermath, flat
on their backs in the bed - chests heaved in search of oxygen, and bodies were
paralyzed after their erotic exertion. The bedding lay strewn over the bed and
tangled with clothing on the floor. The air was tinged with the spicy smell of
sex.

Breathless and dripping, Todd glanced at
her and asked, “What was that?”

Smiling wickedly, Bree teased, “Oh, I
think you have a pretty good idea of what we just did.”

Enchanted by this confident vixen, he
grinned, “Yes, I do and no, I don’t.” At her perplexed expression, he laughed
and kissed her forehead. “No way can you frown after that.”

“I mean,” he explained, “what changed
your mind?”

“Your hockey shirt,” she stated simply.

“My hockey shirt? The one from high
school?” He heaved himself from the bed and made his way to the closet.
Determinedly opening the drawer and locating his hockey shirt, he pulled it
out. “This?”

“Mm…” she purred in agreement. “It’s
such a turn-on.”

Shaking his head, he grinned and joined
her in bed, swooping her into his arms so that they lay comfortably exhausted.
“I’m never getting rid of that thing. I’m putting it into my arsenal.”

“You do that,” she chuckled.

“Seriously, though,” he prompted, “what
changed your mind? Not that I’m complaining but one minute I was preparing
myself to try to sleep with yet another hard on and thoughts of you and the
next you became my hottest fantasy turned into reality.”

Bree turned around so that she faced
him, “I honestly can’t say. It just felt right, like it was time. We’ve been
circling around our attraction to each other since I came back to Devil’s Peak
and it seemed nonsensical suddenly. I’m glad I jumped you though.” Bree grinned
at him, trailing her fingers across his chest, loving the feel of this Todd,
with ripped, masculine muscles, and the more mature physique than that of the
high school boy she’d known.

“Believe me, I’m gladder than you are,”
he smirked, satisfyingly.

Bree smiled up at him and a yawn slipped
through. “This is comfy,” she said, turning around so that she lay spooned in
his arms. He kissed her head with curved lips and snuggled into her. Within
moments, they fell asleep, one hurdle of their romance crossed.

xxx

Bree awakened from a dreamless sleep, to
the feel of a heavy arm trapping her. Looking at the clock next to the bed, she
saw that it was still the early hours of the morning. Strange - she must’ve
gotten in about two hours of sleep but felt as though she’d had a full night.
She tried to stretch, but her legs were trapped, entwined in his larger,
heavier ones.

“What are you doing?” Todd asked,
looking at her with heavy-lidded eyes.

“I feel a bit stiff so I was trying to
stretch,” she replied.

“I have a better remedy for that,” Todd
stated, solemnly.

“You do?” she coyly inquired.

“Oh yes,” he moved in and kissed her
then got up from the bed.

“Where are you going?” she called out as
he went into the bathroom.

“Just wait and see,” he hollered back.

“Todd, you know I hate surprises. I’m
too nosy to wait for them.”

“Sure I know, but you know I like giving
them and you’ll like this. Trust me.”

The sound of running water and the spicy
scent of bath oil filtered through from the bathroom. “Not that much of a
surprise, but appreciated nonetheless. I could do with a bath. Thank you.”

“Oh, this bath will be a surprise,” he
grinned at her with the devil in his eyes. Oh boy, she thought.

xxx

“I feel like putty,” Bree said. “My body
feels thoroughly used.”

“Ditto,” Todd grinned back. He was
grinning so much that his cheeks were starting to ache.

“That was amazing. I don’t think I’ll
ever see a bath or full body massage in quite the same light again. “You’ve
corrupted me.”

“I don’t know about that,” challenged
Todd, “what you can do with a towel astonishes me.”

He let his fingers trail along her body,
the gentle caress of loving and tenderness, not lust. His hands came to tiny
bump between her waste and he splayed his fingers across it, wondering at the
miracle she’d carried within for months that had turned into such a vivacious,
precious girl.

Bree gently moved his hand away. “Why do
you keep doing that?” he questioned. “Whenever I touch your stomach, you move
my hand away.”

She grimaced, “It’s my ‘mummy tummy’.”
At his confused silence, she explained, “It’s a bump, i.e. it’s not flat and
sexy. It’s flabby.”

Todd sat up and like a typical guy, had
a closer look. “What flab?” He asked, prodding at her stomach with concentration.
“There’s nothing flabby about it.”

“You’re being nice and that’s sweet,”
Bree turned around onto her stomach to look at him and hide the offending part
of her body away from his curiosity. “I’ve had a child and most women who do
have ‘mummy tummies’.”

“So?” he inquired.

“So, it’s not exactly sexy,” she
replied, embarrassed and hiding her face in the pillow. Of all things to chat
about during ‘pillow talk’, how had they ended up discussing her ‘mummy tummy’?

Realization dawned to the mental fog
created by repeatedly satiated lust. “You’re insecure about your body.”

“Not my body,” she mumbled into the
pillow, “just my stomach. Like I said, it’s not sexy. When you touch it, it
reminds me of how it looks and I wonder how it must feel to you. When you touch
the rest of my body, I feel sexy and wanted, but when you touch my tummy, I
feel self-conscious and gross because you must think it’s gross. Heck, I think
it’s gross. It’s like a big sign to me that I’ve let myself go. I’ve tried to
fix it. I’ve done those stupid tummy crunches, exercises, and everything. Then
I read an article by a plastic surgeon and he said that what happens when a
woman is pregnant is that the muscles of the stomach, also known as the
six-pack, expand and pull apart and the only way to get rid of a ‘mummy tummy’
is to pull them back together with surgery or a tummy tuck. Even if I had the
money for plastic surgery though, I don’t know if I’d do it and one day, when I
have more kids, it’ll happen again anyway, so I have to live with it. I heard a
mom in one of those antenatal classes speak of her pregnancy ‘war scars’ and
how she’s proud of it. Well, I’m proud of Amber, but that’s one thing I’m not
proud of - my tummy. I’ve let myself go and I’m only twenty-six years old.”

He was astounded. For such an
intelligent woman, she was sprouting a load of garbage. He didn’t claim to
understand what a woman went through during or after pregnancy, but her
argument just didn’t make sense to him. It defied logic. “Bree, look at me,”
Todd tugged at her.

Waving her arm at him to ward him off,
she said, “no."

“Come on,” he continued to tug, “look at
me. I’ve already seen all of you, anyway, including your stomach. Come on,” he
repeated.

“Fine,” she blurted out, then turned
around and pulled the sheet up over her breasts feeling extremely
self-conscious.

Todd shook his head then gently pulled
the sheet down, exposing her stomach. He leaned down and kissed it, then laid
his head on it and looked up at her. She seemed so insecure and vulnerable he
wanted to scoop her up into his arms and comfort her. He’d do that but for now,
he had to make a point.

“You turn me on,” he stated.

“I get that,” she rolled her eyes.
“We’ve had sex four times in a few hours. That’s pretty solid evidence of
that.”

“Good,” he nodded, “we agree on that.
What if I told you that all of you turns me on?”

“I’d say that you’re lying through your
teeth to be kind to me because the rest of me turns you on and you want to keep
on having it.”

“Jeesh, you never used to be such a
moron,” he groaned in frustration. “Pigheaded - yes, you’ve been that, but you
weren't a pigheaded moron.”

Bree narrowed her eyes at him and tried
to kick him off her. “No wait,” he stopped her holding her legs still with one
arm. “You’re a moron to think that every part of your body isn’t a huge turn-on
to me.” When her legs stilled, he ventured on, “Do you know what turns me on
the most?”

“What?” she asked.

“This,” he said, leaning over to kiss
her breasts, softly, tenderly.

Bree rolled her eyes again, “Go figure.”

“And this,” he went back to her stomach
and kissed that too, softly, tenderly. At her skeptic stare, he continued,
“Those are things on your body that have changed in the last seven years. I’m
fascinated by them. They’re signs of the miracle we created, of the miracle you
carried and bore, the miracle that’s our daughter.” He looked at her stomach
reverently, kissing it worshipfully. “And I think that’s helluva sexy.”

“You do?” Bree asked, voice small and
eyes wide and filled with unshed tears.

“I do,” Todd stated solemnly. “Let me
show you just how much.” He went on to do just that, lavishing attention on her
breasts and stomach, lathing and licking them with devoted attention and
showing her how much it turned him on until she started to relax and enjoy his
administrations. Once she did, he made love to her, effectively wiping away her
physical insecurities.

xxx

Bree’s rumbling stomach stirred her from
sleep. She was sprawled over Todd in the exact same position as when she’d
first fallen asleep after his therapeutic lovemaking session. Slowly sliding
out of the bed, she searched for the sweater she’d taken out of his closet
drawer earlier before she’d become completely side-swept.

Sliding it over her head, she noted that
the clock indicated nine in the morning though outside was still pitch dark.
Amber would be awake now, as would her grandparents - time to call and check on
them then make some breakfast. Tip-toeing around the clothes and sheets
scattered over the floor so as to not wake him, she made her way down the
stairs to the kitchen. After a hunt in the dark, she grinned at her foolishness
and put the light on - he wouldn’t wake up from the light down here when he was
upstairs in bed. Shaking her head at herself, she acknowledged that she was
more tired than she thought, but the activity to blame for her lack of sleep
had been worth it.

Locating the phone, she made a quick
call to the farm and spoke to her grandmother and Amber. Satisfied that they
were okay and that Amber was well on her way to recovering from her nasty cold,
Bree explained her sleep-over at Todd’s. Her grandmother was embarrassed and
mortified that she’d locked her granddaughter out the house and apologized
profusely. She explained that Todd was still asleep and that he’d run her home
later. As it was a Sunday, there wasn’t any rush to do anything; it was the one
day that things were kept laid-back in terms of farm chores so she didn’t feel
guilty about it. She felt a bit embarrassed chatting to her grandmother about a
sleepover at a guy’s place - even though the locked farmhouse gave her an
excuse, so she was immensely relieved when no further questions were asked.
Amber also seemed okay with it - assuming that a sleepover between her mother
and father was natural.

Satisfied with the status quo, Bree
replaced the phone on its stand and set about hunting around the kitchen to
prepare breakfast. She found ingredients for a Spanish omelet. The man
evidently liked his food. His fridge was stocked with a variety of ingredients
not carried by the local stores. Like his coffee, he must’ve flown them in from
Fairbanks, the largest metropolis near to them. Bree grabbed the eggs from the
fridge and added them to the list of ingredients on the island countertop. The
quiet of the winter morning lent itself to accentuating sounds around you so
she was very much aware of Todd stirring, moving around the room, and turning
the water on in the shower. She’d woken up to a few sensational surprises from
him throughout the night, so she’d give him one this morning - one she felt
very comfortable providing - a hot, filling, and tasty breakfast.

The mindless task of beating the eggs
into a fluffy golden froth allowed her thoughts to wander. The night before had
been sensational. She couldn’t recall sex like that during their earlier
courtship. The closest it came to was the last night they’d been together, the
night she got pregnant.

Oh, God, she thought. What had she done?
Accidentally burning her arm against the pan she was pouring the egg mixture
into, she pulled back and knocked the pan straight off the stove. Stupefied by
her realization, she watched in shock as the pan fell to the ground, spilling a
mixture of egg, chorizo, and vegetables over the floor.

Cursing, she knelt down and started
scraping the ingredients back into the pan, fumbling because she’d begun to
shake. What the hell had she done?

“Bree,” Todd called out from upstairs,
“Are you okay?”