Lucky Charm (12 page)

“Mmm-hmm. Isn't it delicious?”

He breathed in again and groaned. “You're delicious.” He swept her hair off her neck and nuzzled the soft skin there. She swayed against him, her body sensuously brushing against his, deliberately provocative.

Remaining still enough to continue the dance wasn't easy, but he was determined to pace himself.

She cupped her hands around his cheeks and pulled his face to hers, capturing his lips in a long-awaited kiss. It wasn't their first since her return, but because they were alone, because there'd be no interruptions, he savored it.

Prolonged it.

Made it last.

She didn't rush it, either. She slid her lips back and forth over his, teasing with her tongue, heightening the foreplay and his arousal until he slanted his head and deepened the kiss.

She took the lead in the dance, easing them toward the bed. She braced her hands on his shoulders and pushed him down before stepping away.

“Going somewhere?” He patted the space beside him, encouraging her to join him.

“I'll be right back. Why don't you get undressed in the meantime?” Her eyes gleamed in anticipation as she sashayed toward the bathroom, stopping only to open a drawer and pull out something that looked like flimsy lingerie on the way.

G
ABRIELLE HAD GONE BACK
to her apartment for clothes and for the garment in her hands—baby-doll-style lingerie with lace covering her breasts and a pleated fall of silky material that ended high on her thighs. The peach color complemented her tanned skin and gave her a boost of confidence. She quickly slipped into the sexy negligee, needing all the confidence she could get.

She dusted shimmery powder on her chest in the fragrance Derek had noticed earlier before opening the door and stepping back into the room.

She'd hoped to blow him away, but when she found him lying on the bed, she was the one undone. Sure, she'd seen Derek in a bathing suit earlier today. She'd marveled at how much his body had filled out, how he'd matured and changed. But they hadn't been alone. She hadn't had time to drink him in, remembering the past while hungry for a future.

He leaned back against propped pillows, resting comfortably against the headboard. She'd think he was relaxed…if not for the erection tenting the black cotton briefs. Her mouth grew dry and she swallowed hard.

In her dreams, he was always the boy she'd lost. But now she was facing the man—a sexy man wearing nothing but short black boxers.

“I've never known you to be speechless,” he said as he held out a hand.

She'd never lied to him before and she wasn't about to start now. “You're suddenly real.” She walked toward him and placed her palm in his. “I'm overwhelmed.”

“Same for me.” He ran his fingers over the pulse point in her wrist.

She knew he could feel her heartbeat pounding through her veins.

“I can't wait to be inside you,” he said, his voice husky and deep.

Her pulse skyrocketed even more and moisture pooled between her thighs.

Unexpectedly, he closed his eyes and groaned, a sound of frustration, not pleasure. “I don't have protection,” he said through clenched teeth.

Derek couldn't believe now that he was here with Gabrielle, finally about to make love to her, he'd have to call a halt. He'd been so busy thinking about how not to act on his desire, he wasn't prepared.

She reached over and put her hands on his. “I'm on the pill.”

He raised an eyebrow, surprised. “I thought you hated the thought of putting hormones into your body,” he said, repeating what she'd told him when he suggested that form of birth control when they'd been teens.

She smiled. “You'd be amazed how quickly terrible monthly cramping will change a woman's mind,” she said wryly. “So don't worry about pregnancy. As for the rest, I'm safe.”

He understood what she meant. He wasn't sure he wanted to discuss her love life at the moment, but then, he couldn't think of a better time.

Before they shared anything else, he needed to know. “What
has
your love life been like?”

She tipped her head and laughed. “Helluva question right now.”

“Humor me.”

“Well, after you, there wasn't anyone for a good long while. I went to the University of Miami and majored in psychology. I threw myself into school.”

“Miami has its share of athletes,” he said, knowing there had to have been guys in her life.

She shrugged. “There were men, Derek. You didn't think I would become celibate, did you? It just took me longer than it took you.”

He winced, but he deserved the dig.

“But there wasn't anyone serious for a long time.”

“And once there was?”

“There was an assistant to one of my professors, but he was too uptight. No sense of humor.”

He held on to her hand. “You need a man with a sense of humor,” he said gruffly.

She nodded. “After him, there was a publicist I met while on a book tour.”

He bit the inside of his cheek. “What were his flaws?”

“He was too slick.”

“Slick?”

She nodded. “I couldn't trust him.” Her eyes twinkled as she spoke.

Damn, but she was enjoying this. “And then?”

“Another author. My editor introduced us at an awards ceremony.”

“Too messy, being in the same profession?” he guessed.

She shook her head. “Too needy. I want a man who's independent and doesn't have to know where I am 24-7. Besides, he worked at home and he was around. All. The. Time.” She groaned at the notion. “After that, there was the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker. The butcher was a slob, the baker too heavy and the last guy always smelled like another woman's perfume,” she said, laughing.

“Wench.” He realized by the end she was teasing him, although he also sensed there'd been some truth in each of them.

No man had suited her.

“How about me? What are my flaws?” he asked.

“Honestly? The fact that you don't have any. And that brings us back to the issue at hand. Protection and how we don't need any.” Her eyes darkened as she met his gaze. “I want you, Derek. I always have.”

His body throbbed with anticipation. He'd been hard since he'd seen her again. And he'd wanted her ever since they'd said goodbye years ago.

“The problem is we
do
need protection.” He swallowed hard. “Ever since Marlene got pregnant, I've made it a nonnegotiable rule to always wear a condom,” he said, more serious than he'd ever been.

She nodded slowly. “I respect that. And it just so happens that I believe in protection, too—with everyone in my past. Even though I was on the pill.” She licked her lips. “But I had a hunch you might feel this way, so look what I picked up?” she asked, obviously pleased with herself. She held up a box of condoms.

“You're still thinking ahead,” he said, amused that this one character trait hadn't changed.

And though he'd like nothing more than to feel her around him, her hot slick walls cushioning him in moist heat, he couldn't break his rule. He needed to protect them both from the damn curse.

The time for talk was finished. He flipped her onto her stomach in the center of the bed. The hem of her lingerie slipped upward and cool air rushed over her bare buttocks.

He groaned and rubbed his hand first over one cheek, then the next. His body shook over hers and he knew he was building their arousal and anticipation. Knew he wanted her as desperately as she wanted him.

Derek leaned down and pressed a kiss against her skin.

Gabrielle's body trembled, and before she could think beyond the erotic sensation of his lips against her flesh, he straddled her derriere and began to massage her back and shoulders. A delicious pulsing began between her thighs. And as he worked on her shoulders with his hands, he rocked insistently, erotically against her back, his erection obvious. His hard length lay in the crevice of her bare behind and she felt him
there,
an oddly arousing sensation.

“If I let myself go, it'll be over in two seconds,” he said, his breath hot in her ear. He swept her hair off the back of her neck and leaned forward to press his lips against her skin. As he moved upward, so did his penis. Rigid and unyielding, he pressed himself against her bare cheeks.

Her thighs clenched of their own volition and her body quaked in reaction.

She attempted to roll over, but Derek placed a hand against her back, stopping her. “Not so fast. I'm not finished with you yet,” he said in a gruff voice.

He kissed her neck, nibbling with his lips and tongue, traveling from the sensitive flesh on her shoulders down the length of her back. His touch burned and she writhed beneath him, pressing against the mattress, seeking relief from the building crescendo of need.

There was no relief to be found. With each pivot of her hips, his erection thrust harder against her, heightening her excitement and her desire until she ground herself harder and faster against the mattress, pushing and pressing her lower body until just the right spot hit the bed, sending her closer to the release she desperately needed.

All the while, his movements mimicked hers. His hips rocked faster, harder, his erection exciting her beyond belief. Between her mound grinding against the mattress and his erection thrusting at her back, she could barely catch her breath. She gasped for air, unwilling to choose between breathing and coming apart right here, right now.

Finally, tiny flickers of light danced in front of her eyes. The fulfillment she'd been seeking hit and a fast and furious orgasm followed. And continued until she collapsed against the sheets.

Her body still trembled, her breath still came in shallow gulps, long after the sweet release had ended. When she was able to focus again, she took stock of her surroundings, how her body felt. And she immediately realized something was missing.

He
was missing.

She needed him inside her.

But with his delicious weight on her back, he was still calling the shots. She cleared her throat.

With a chuckle, Derek eased off her and she flipped over onto her back. His heavy-lidded gaze met hers.

She let out a contented purr, letting him know she'd enjoyed it. “But it wasn't enough.”

“Tell me something I don't know,” he said through gritted teeth.

She grinned and decided turnabout was fair play. Through the thin cotton briefs, she cupped his erection in the palm of her hand, sliding up and down his length, pausing only to circle her finger over the damp head.

He leaned back and let out a low groan.

Pain? Pleasure? A mix, she supposed, enjoying watching the play of expressions cross his handsome face.

Her own body was ready again. Dampness pooled between her thighs and her nipples were puckered into hardened peaks. The pulsing had started yet again, as she anticipated finally having him inside her. But she wasn't ready to give up feeling his strength and power pulsing inside her hand.

Wanting to give him just a taste of the sensual torture he'd inflicted on her, she bent down and flicked her tongue over his cotton briefs. She aimed for the tip of his erection and tasted his salty essence through the cotton barrier.

“Mmm.” She hadn't let go of his rigid length, nor did she stop at one taste.

His hips jerked upward and his body shook. “That's it,” he ground out.

Gabrielle smiled, pleased she was still able to make him as crazy as he made her. So many things hadn't changed. They'd gotten even better with age, she thought as she sat up, meeting his gaze.

Derek couldn't hold out another minute. If she kept up the pressure, he'd come in her hand.

He was finished waiting and thankfully so was she. He pulled her into his arms at the same time she reached for him.

She came warm and pliant, molding against him and making the thin fabric separating them a mere nuisance. He pulled one of the straps over her shoulder and trailed damp kisses down her neck, over the scented skin on her shoulders and arms, before she helped him by wriggling her upper body out of the sexy garment. From there it was easy for her to lift her hips and, with his help, slip off the negligee completely.

He sucked in a shallow breath, stunned at how her body had changed. Either that or his memory had failed him. She was curvier than he remembered, her breasts lush and full. His gaze traveled over her silken flesh to the small triangle of hair between her thighs.

She didn't cover herself in embarrassment but let him drink in the sight of her.

“When is it going to be my turn to look?” she asked, a sultry glint in her eyes.

He'd be happy to release himself from the confining boxers. “Whenever you're ready.”

“Now sounds good.” She slid her fingers beneath the elastic waist and began to ease them over his hips.

He helped and soon she was the one staring.

“Keep looking at me like that and it'll be over before it begins.” He didn't know how he'd held on this far. But giving her pleasure, while holding back his own, had let him feel her orgasm rush through her. It was an incredible sensation, feeling her release, while still surrounded by her warm body and delicious scent. He hadn't been able to resist savoring every moment of it.

She backed up to the top of the bed and beckoned to him with a crook of her finger, her eyes gleaming with delight.

At last he joined her. He ripped the foil open. She took the condom back and together they rolled it over his hard length.

Protected and more than ready, he came down on top of her, hard and fast. Her skin was warm, her body soft, so opposite of his.

Finesse went by the wayside. He slid his hand through her slick, dewy folds, finding her damp and ready. Her hips twitched and her body trembled as he parted her and pushed hard and fast inside. He found himself cushioned in unbelievable warmth and he exhaled a slow groan, unable to hold back the sound. It wasn't the physical sensations that floored him, but the rampaging feelings he couldn't control. Connected with her, body to body, his heart swelled with deep emotion that shook him to his core.