Male Order Bride (17 page)

Never mind
, she told herself.
Let
him have normal days
. He'd need them if her fantasies went
into effect. She smiled, wondering how he was going to feel with all
her attention.

Just give him enough breathing space
,
she reminded herself.
Let him make the first moves at the
beginning, just to be sure what you're feeling isn't all one-sided
.
But after last night, she knew it wasn't.

"Jane, I'll see you after lunch," Lacey called as she
hopped down the stairs from her attic room and left the boutique.

If she had had time to think during the whirlwind date
Rafe had taken her on this weekend, she could have planned to send him
some sort of thank-you note in the mail. Something simple, just to let
him know she was thinking about him. Like those cards that read, "The
pleasure was all you."

After all the cards and letters he had sent her leading up
to the date, he would appreciate something like that.

She pulled into her driveway and checked her mailbox,
thinking he might have sent her something similar. But there was
nothing of interest in today's mail. As long as he called tonight, she
wouldn't mind missing any mail. He would call, she told herself. But if
he didn't, she'd call him, just to talk, just to hope that during the
conversation he'd invite her out to the country again, for tea or
coffee or…

Lacey tingled at the thought.

She rummaged halfheartedly in the refrigerator, not at all
interested in food when there was that man on her mind. She needed to
lose weight anyway, and his super-slim frame would be an incentive for
her to cut down on calories. She slammed the refrigerator shut. Why eat
when she wasn't hungry?

Someone was knocking at her door. Lacey jumped at the
sound; she hadn't heard a car pull into the drive.

She raced to the side window and peeked through the
curtains. Rafe's Excalibur sat in the driveway just behind her car.

Lacey's heart thumped at the sight. She ran to the side
door and opened it to him, grinning. "I was just thinking about you,"
she said, beaming. "What are you doing here?" Her look drew him in. Her
arms automatically pulled him to her.

"I was hoping you'd come home for lunch," he said,
stepping through the doorway and shutting the door behind him with his
boot.

His lips were cool against hers, devouring but gentle, his
mustache slightly tickling against her upper lip. He held her tenderly
against him as he mumbled, "That's quite a welcome for lost and found."

"Were you lost?" she asked. "Are you found?"

He smiled. "Your sunglasses," he said, and she felt him
putting something from one hand onto the countertop behind her. "It's a
pretty bright day today. I thought you might need them."

"Did I lose them?" she asked, taunting him with her mouth,
feeling his breath warm against her skin. Now that he mentioned it, she
recalled wearing them over to his house yesterday in the heat of the
afternoon. She hadn't remembered taking them out of her hair, but must
have done so at some point and then forgotten them with her
early-morning departure in the dark.

He didn't answer her, unable to resist the teasing
nearness of her lips any longer.

Lacey took her time, slowly tracing the shape of his lips
with the tip of her tongue, pressing her body closer to his and
tightening her arms around his neck as she ran her fingers into his
hair at the base of his neck. She felt him relaxing against her,
pulling her to him.

Rafe sighed against her lips, and Lacey drew back. "Now
that you're here, you're just in time for lunch. Have you eaten?"

He looked down at her, smiling, shaking his head, and she
could tell by the look in his blue eyes that food was the last thing
his body wanted.

"Good," she said, remaining in his arms as she continued
to work her fingers up the base of his neck into his hair, massaging
and rumpling as they went. "You can have lunch with me." She glanced
over her shoulder toward the refrigerator. "Unfortunately, there's not
much here," she hurried to explain before he could interrupt and invite
her to go out to lunch with him. "So it won't be a very filling lunch.
Although I can promise it will be a fulfilling one."

She paused to see what his reaction was and if he was
beginning to understand the nature of her invitation. His eyes had
narrowed slightly. The smile was still on his face, but the message
wasn't completely clear yet.

"I thought we'd have a very simple menu. Lettuce, tomatoes
and ravishes." She pronounced the last distinctly, so that he wouldn't
mistake her intentions.

His eyebrows rose at that and she stepped slightly out of
his arms, but let her hand run down his arm to take his hand. "I hope
you'll forgive my housekeeping. But"—she paused and then
looked apologetically at him—"I haven't made my bed yet."

If there had been any doubt before, there was none now.
"Is this a businessman's special?"

"Oh, no," she said, shaking her head. "This is a Rafe
Chancellor special. New to the menu. I hope you don't mind being a
guinea pig."

He chuckled then and let her lead him farther into the
room. "You're a character."

"Does this mean you'd rather not?" She stopped. He might
have plans for this afternoon that excluded her. Or maybe he didn't
like forward women. Lacey blushed, worried now that she had gone too
far in revealing her true feelings. She'd never taken control with a
man like this before. She wasn't sure what she would do once they got
to the bedroom, but hoped he would by that time take over the lead in
this situation.

What must he think of her for being so aggressive? It was
as if she did this all the time, when in fact she had never done such a
thing with any man, not even Dominick when they were living together.

She just couldn't help it. Something about Rafe brought
out a playful/loving side of her that she was eager to explore.

"I'd rather yes," he said, and started to unbutton her
silk blouse.

Lacey warmed to his touch, kissing him as he undressed
her, letting her hands roam over every inch of his body, loosening his
tie and undoing buttons and zippers as she caressed him through his
clothes, struggling with his belt buckle until she finally had to say,
"You'll have to do that for me."

She stepped out of her slacks as he eased them down her
thighs, bracing her hands on his bare shoulders and slipping her feet
out of her shoes.

He had a beautiful body, smooth and unmarred, soft to her
touch with a firm display of muscles in all the right places.

Rafe was kissing her neck now and blowing against the skin
beneath her ear. Lacey tried to reach his ear with her tongue, but she
wasn't tall enough in her bare feet. He led her over to her bed, where
she threw back the covers and watched while he sat on the edge and
pulled off his boots and jeans.

He climbed into bed beside her, holding her against his
side, where she wrapped her legs around his and snuggled her body into
the angles and curves of his, loving the warmth of his bare skin
against her nakedness.

"Uhm, uhm, uhm," Rafe mumbled. He had his eyes closed and
was simply holding her against him, cuddling her with his hands, but in
no hurry for anything else.

Lacey grinned and kissed his chest. It felt so good to
feel a man's body against hers again; not just any man, but this one
who made her burst with happiness.

He started kissing her then. Everywhere. Slowly he took
his time, from her fingers, across her abdomen, down her
thighs… Lacey wanted to return his pleasure kiss for kiss,
but all she could reach was his hair as he nibbled and kissed and
caressed her with his tongue.

She sighed contentedly and submitted to the silky
sensations rippling through her body from his gentle seduction.
Later
,
she thought,
I'll pay him back with honeysuckle-petal
tenderness
.

He brought his mouth to hers and whispered, "You'll have
to tell me what you like so I know how to please you."

"I don't have any complaints so far," she mumbled, trying
to reach his ear again with her tongue, nuzzling against his cheek as
he caressed her with his hands and his body. Lacey's heart was racing.
She wanted to touch him and feel him everywhere, all at once.

He moved inside her gently, taking his time, as if he were
afraid of hurting her. Lacey pulled him closer, peaking with desire at
the pulsing sensations of being joined with him. It was as if they were
made for each other, so silkily did they meld together. Lacey moaned,
arching against him to bring him deeper, closer, more fully into the
cocoon of sensations he had created within her.

"You feel so good," she whispered, wishing she could keep
him this way with her forever. He moved slowly within her, as if he too
wanted to savor the sensations as long as possible, deriving pleasure
from the contact.

"Happiness," she mumbled, and then, "Don't stop. Oh, Rafe,
don't stop."

"Your body feels so good," he told her as the pace of his
hips increased, creating another degree of sensations within Lacey.
"This is not the best position for you to be in," he told her.

Lacey held him against her as she realized what he meant.
He wanted to wait for her pleasure to peak, but he couldn't. She smiled
and encouraged his body to enjoy hers. "It's okay," she told him,
letting his emotion carry both of them to a high plateau of loving that
left him quaking within her and filled her with a contented sense of
fulfillment. There would be other times when the fireworks would follow
for both of them.

He lay against her, inside her, caressing her for a long
while afterward. She whimpered slightly as he left her, smiling at the
tenderness he had revealed. "You're going to have to teach me what you
need," he told her again, kissing her shoulder.

"I have everything I need," she said, smiling. She
couldn't ever remember anyone showing her such love in lovemaking.

Lacey wrapped her arms around him, snuggling against his
shoulder, stroking him as he relaxed with his arms around her. She
wanted to tell him right now that she loved him, but even after
lovemaking it still seemed so soon; she kept the words to herself. It
wouldn't hurt for her to show him, without words, how much she loved
him, for a few days.

The sound of his breathing changed and she realized he had
fallen asleep. She cradled him against her, loving the power he had
given her over his body, loving the intimacy he had revealed to her.

She tried to remember Dominick and the early exciting days
of being with him. Everything before Rafe was fuzzy in her memory. She didn't think she had
ever felt closer to any man, or so thoroughly accepted by him.

Her arm was falling asleep. She moved, disturbing him.

Rafe opened his eyes and looked at her. Without smiling,
he reached up and put his arms around her, hugging her so tightly she
almost couldn't breathe, but the action told her, more than words, how
much she meant to him, even in their short time together. He kissed her
cheek, loosened his bear-hugging grip, and turned in the bed to cuddle
her next to him, blowing at her hair, kissing her cheek, smiling as he
lay next to her.

"What time do you have to go back to work?" he asked,
nibbling at her shoulder.

"Oh!" Lacey sat up to look at the clock. "I forgot about
the boutique."

He grinned. "Good. I did something right, then."

She turned back to him and kissed his mouth. "You did
everything right, especially coming here." She grinned, letting him
take that as a double meaning if he wanted to.

"Are you busy tonight?" he asked, sitting up to look at
the time himself.

"Not if you're not," she answered.

"Come out to the house, then," he told her, ruffling her
already ruffled hair, "and I'll cook dinner for you."

"Shouldn't I be cooking dinner for you?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Tonight you're my guest. You can cook
for me some other time."

"Can I bring you anything?"

He smiled, walking his fingers up her bare back. "Just
yourself."

Lacey turned around and fell back on top of him. "I don't
have to be back at work until three."

"Unfortunately, I should have been back at work about
fifteen minutes ago."

"Oh," she said, drawing back. "I guess this means you have
to leave."

He nodded, smiling, making no move to get up. "You fix a
nice lunch, ma'am. I didn't know what to expect when I walked through
your door."

Lacey grinned. "Why did you come over?"

"To return your sunglasses. To see you. It didn't matter
how little the excuse was."

"I guess it worked, hm?" Her grin widened.

He laughed at her and sat up.

"How about a shower?" Lacey invited.

"Only if you promise not to attack me in it. I do need to
get back to work sometime this afternoon."

Lacey giggled and led the way. Rafe came into the shower
behind her and started soaping her silky body.

Lacey hummed through the remainder of the afternoon with
her secret musings about lunch. After work she hurried home to change
clothes again before going out to Rafe's house for dinner.

As before, he was waiting for her at the door when he
heard her car drive up. Lacey hurried out of the car and into his arms.
"Am I too early?" she asked.

"I thought you'd be here waiting for me when I got home,"
he answered, letting her know again that he wanted her to be with him
as much as she wanted to be here.

"Can I help with anything?" she asked, walking with him
into the kitchen and sniffing for hints of what he planned to serve.

"No. Everything's under control. Just sit down and relax.
Can I get you some wine?"

"Lovely," she answered, sitting at the kitchen table where
she could watch him, when she really wanted to follow him around the
kitchen. He had that effect on her, a kind of magnetism that left her
hungry for his touch even seconds after he moved away.