Maggie's Mountain (19 page)

She didn’t protest when he untied her belt. She felt the whimpers begin to form in her throat and couldn’t fight the sound when it escaped. He parted the soft material with slow reverence, not releasing her lips until he had her completely exposed.

She felt a moment of embarrassment when he sat back to study her. Automatically she reached for the edges of the robe, but he shackled her wrists with his calloused fingers to stay her movements.

“You are the most beautiful…Maggie, you’re so…”

Maggie felt herself blush at his breathless praise. “I…thank you?”

He chuckled at her words. “I think maybe
I
should be thanking
you
.”

He stretched his fingers out and ran a long, easy line from her collarbone, between her breasts, all the way to her bellybutton. Her body, already dancing with desire, became inflamed as he feathered soft touches along her thighs, finally lifting to the very heart of her need. She gasped and dug her fingers into his shoulders.

“Perfect.” His shaky words were an echoed whisper as he lowered his mouth to her breast.

She bowed in a hard, unforgiving line, ravaged by the sensation of his lips, tongue, and fingers. He absorbed her movements, coaxing her reactions and tightening the coil inside of her with each stroke of his hand, each nip of his teeth.

He moved away from one breast, gave his attention to the other, cradled her close as she felt a sob nearly erupt from her throat. Maggie had wanted him for so long that her body readily responded to each and every sensation he created. She wanted to feel him, to have his naked flesh underneath her hands, to taste his skin and feel him pressed against her with no barriers between them.

She didn’t realize she was pulling at his shirt until she felt him shrugging out of it. She let go of a shaky sigh as she spiraled her fingertips along his chest, over his wide shoulders, down his broad back. He kissed her again, this time pressing his bare chest against hers. The heat and the wonder were so piercing in intensity that she gasped with it.

“I wanted to go slow, but I’m not sure if I can.”

His confession was a sudden aphrodisiac that swirled the desire raging through her body. Truth be told, she wanted him, had always wanted him, and tonight her fantasy was coming true. And, by some miracle, he felt the same raw emotions she was, understood the same aching need that had clawed at her for too many years.

She tore at his jeans, determined now to have exactly what she wanted. He made no protest as he helped her shimmy the material off his legs and onto the floor. She gave his shoulder a sharp love bite before pushing at him, and was delighted when he complied by flipping their positions.

She straddled his thighs, leaving him open to her perusal. Unlike her, he didn’t appear at all shy. She reached out to touch his chest, pausing at the last moment as she stared down at him. He lifted a questioning eyebrow but waited with what seemed like infinite patience. It felt like she'd spent a lifetime wanting him, denying herself, knowing they could never be together. And yet here they were, her body shimmering with need, his body hard underneath hers. He was hers in this moment, and she was free to touch, to stroke, to taste.

Smiling, she leaned down and kissed his chest. There was a quick indrawn breath before he fisted his hands in the sheets. Wicked power whipped through her body, so strong she laughed with it.

“You like that?” Her voice was heavy and rich with desire.

“Y…yes,” was his strangled response.

She kissed his chest again, slow, easy open-mouth touches while her tongue made little laps at his skin. Surprising heat rose inside of her, adding layers to the need he had already stoked. She continued her exploration, running her palms over his flesh while she made her way down his torso, filling every sense she could with him. Sight, sound, taste, scent, overflowed with him.

She traced a circle around his navel with her tongue, nipped at his solid abs, nuzzled the hot skin. She could feel him, hard and thick, against her flesh, pulsing with the same frenzied beat as her heart. Reacting instinctively, she kissed his stomach, gently arching against his arousal, pressing him against the soft mounds of her breasts. She was only allowed a moment to enjoy the love play. He grabbed her upper arms and pulled, securing her along his body so that they were face to face.

“If you go any further, sweetheart, I’m not going to be able to control myself.”

She gave him a slow, seductive smile. “Who said I wanted you to?”

His growl set off tiny explosions along her veins as she was flipped again. She landed underneath his body, and he scooted her even more securely, aligning their limbs in perfect unison. She felt him pressing against her soft flesh, so very close to joining them, and yet still too far away. The teasing touch had her wiggling in frustrated need.

“Maggie.” Her name was a soft, gentle whisper against her ear.

“Hale.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and snuggled against his neck.

He grazed her throat with his lips, pressed forward to not quite join them, then pulled away. Her denial was a hard noise bouncing against the walls. He teased her again and again, until she was raking her nails along his back, panting and groaning for more.

“Maggie…Maggie, look at me.” His ragged breath tickled her eyelashes as she complied. “Now.”

Then he was there, pushing into her, filling her body with exquisite pleasure. Hale’s face was a study of awe and absolute bliss as he sheathed himself. He stopped for a moment and they lay together, immersed in the feeling of being completely coupled. She shook with waves of pleasure, holding onto him as the world fell away. She felt so right, so whole, and she wanted nothing more than to stay just as they were, forever.

He moved and her mind splintered. Moving away, coming close, taking her with him with every stroke of his body. His motions were smooth, almost effortless, as he set a gentle pace. She responded with a natural sixth sense, moving with the slightest provocation, melting and blending into him so that she didn’t know which thrust was hers, which touch was his. When he captured her mouth she complied, sealing herself even more to him.

His rhythm increased, still steady, but more insistent. Everything was a bright wave of desire, a rising tide that carried her in swirls and eddies until she was freely drowning in them. She could feel it, the tight knot of need cinching so tautly she thought she might forget to breathe.

“Maggie…my Maggie…let go, baby. Let go.”

His voice was all the prodding she needed. Explosions started at her core, sending sizzling tendrils of piercing pleasure snapping through her veins. There was a distant scream of satisfaction as her bones evaporated in the heat of completion. She clung to Hale, solid and sure, as the explosions became fingers of warm flames. As she floated on the cascading heat she felt him convulse, heard his growl of gratification, knew he was plummeting off the same precipice from where she’d just plunged.

She wasn’t sure how long they lay entwined, his body a welcome weight on top of her. Somehow, she managed to catch her breath again, though she was light headed by the time she managed to find her equilibrium. He finally stirred to prop himself on his elbows before he laid a tender kiss on her lips. The smile that spread across his face was enough to make her heart begin to pound again.

He spoke softly as he studied her face. “That was…wonderful."

She stroked his cheek, drifting on the wisps of euphoria. “It feels like a dream.”

He shook his head. “Feels too good to be a dream.”

He started to move away, but she held onto him, afraid to lose his warmth, suddenly desperate to keep his arms around her. He gave a quiet chuckle and took her with him as he rolled to his back.

“I’m not letting you go now, you need to know that.”

There was quicksilver fear of how hard it would be to lose him, but it was tempered by the fact that this was reality. He was a possessive man; he’d stay for as long as his need was hot.

“I knew that when I told you yes,” she finally replied.

“It’s terrifying.” He dropped a peck on the top of her head, snuggling her against his chest. “At least it is for me.”

She swallowed, surprised by his admission; she knew the least she could do was to be as honest. “No, it’s not just you.”

There was a long pause before he took her chin in his hand and lifted her face to his. “We’ll be scared together. I’m sticking, Maggie. I’m not going anywhere.”

She rolled her lips together, kept her uncertainty to herself. She wasn’t ready to ruin this moment. “Then I hope you don’t snore. I don’t have any earplugs.”

He might have swung the conversation back to the serious side, but he seemed to understand she needed to cool the intensity. “No snoring, but I do kick sometimes.”

“Um, I’ll have to see about getting shin guards.”

“Brat.” He smacked her naked bottom, then began to knead it with his rough palmed hands. “Maybe if I’m exhausted I’ll be too tired to move.”

Her insides began to quiver again as he slowly slid on top of her. “Exhausted, huh? Any ideas how to get there?”

“I might have a few.” He gave her a cat-that-ate-the-canary grin and began to kiss her.

Chapter Sixteen

The sun tickled her eyes awake the next morning, warming her face as it seeped through the window and into her bedroom. She was smiling before she was fully conscious, though she didn’t know why her mood was so light. Absently, she stretched, confused momentarily by the liquid feel of her bones and the slight soreness of her muscles. It wasn’t until she felt the sheet scraping against her bare breasts that clarity struck.

She had slept with Hale Warrick. No, not slept, she admitted as her eyes shot open and she stared unseeing at the ceiling. They had been much too active for sleeping to be involved. She blushed recalling the way she’d touched him, the way he’d touched her, the way she’d responded like an attention starved animal to his lovemaking. There had been no barriers between them, not psychologically, not physically; he had made sure of that.

His demands had become her wishes, his desires had become her needs; he had brought her satisfaction and she had given it back to him. There hadn’t been a piece of her skin he hadn’t stroked, and in the bright reality of morning she knew there hadn’t been an inch of flesh she hadn’t explored on his body, either. She felt the swelling of her lips, the raw spots on her neck where he’d kissed, the tenderness of her breasts, her thighs, and the places in between. She pulled the sheet up, looked underneath at her naked body, and quickly dropped the covering back down. No, it hadn’t been a dream.

She felt strangely shy as she stretched her hand out, fully expecting to feel a warm, solid body beside her. It took a moment for the cool sheets to register, for the implication of the empty spot to settle in. She turned her head and found an indention in the pillow, the only indication that she hadn’t been alone in her bed. Her brows knit in bewilderment before her mind came up with a plausible explanation. He was downstairs making breakfast. After their aborted dinner the night before he was probably starving.

She hurried into her robe, telling her speeding heart not to forget the limitations of the affair they’d started. She raced down the stairs, abandoning decorum and any hope of dignity. But even before she reached the kitchen she knew he wasn’t there. The cabin was eerily quiet, no banging of pans, no clattering of cutlery. She was alone. He had left her.

Maggie bit her bottom lip and batted away the tears that balanced in her eyes. It was ridiculous, becoming so emotional over the fact that Hale had gone. After all, he had to work. He had the family business to take care of. She couldn’t expect him to be at her beck and call. She wouldn’t be the woman who clung and begged; it was too degrading a thought. Worse was the fact that part of her was keening because of the lack of his presence.

She sank down on the couch and sighed as she cradled her head. She knew last night, before she’d been robbed of all thought, that she would have to take what moments she could with Hale. No regrets, she’d promised that to him, to herself. She took a fortifying breath, squared her shoulders, and cleared her tight throat. She needed coffee, then she would think about doing what she’d intended to yesterday. She would work on her garden then check her e-mail. Later she would need to go into the sheriff’s office to sign a report. She would not, under any circumstances, sit in her living room and brood.

She was so determined not to be upset that she jumped up in surprise when the front door swung open. Standing there, the breeze ruffling his hair, his face ruddy from the cold front that had moved in, was Hale. She took a quick step forward before she could stop herself.

He gave her a slow moving smile that sent a warm wave from her toes to her scalp. “Good morning, sweetheart.”

And just like that her intent to stay objective wafted away. “Good morning.”

He closed the door and stared at her, his dark eyes full of unspoken words. “I have your door key, I hope you don’t mind. We’ll have to stop on our way back from the sheriff’s to make a copy for me and drop this one at Jolene’s. I thought I’d make it back before you woke up.”

“I thought you’d—never mind.” Her mouth curved up and she felt the tension drain from her stiff back. “I bet you’re starving.”

He cocked his head and studied her a long moment, looking as if he wanted to say something. Instead he lifted the white plastic bag in his hand. “I picked up breakfast for us from Wilson’s. Sharon’s all atwitter over how much I ordered.”

“They’re probably speculating right now,” she said, and couldn’t seem to find the desire to care. “I’ll get the dishes.”

He shifted his weight quickly and stretched out his empty hand. “Wait, before you do that, there’s something else.”

She gazed at him, uncertain why he’d been so quick to stop her. “What is it? Your…your mother?”

Hale sighed and shook his head. “Even worse.”

Before she could contemplate what could be worse than his mother’s anger, he opened the door, grabbed something in his hand, and was forcefully pivoted back into the cabin. Maggie blinked at him, then followed the blue leash in his hand down to the black and white fluff ball wriggling at his knees.