Remember the Dreams (21 page)

Her last remark was loaded with possibilities.

And when she saw that wonderful, teasing smile lightening his features, she knew she was in for it.

He shook his head slowly. "You could have fooled me." His dark eyes caressed her from the top of her head to her knees, and back up again. "I was under the impression that there were certain aspects of those capabilities that you . . ."

"Be serious!"

His smile deepened. "I am."

"You're getting off the subject," she reminded him, not wanting to move from where she was pressed against his side. She wanted him to get back to this marriage thing, then tell her what Greg had said.

Kyle shifted toward her, his motion making her release his hands. Taking her by the arms, he pushed her down onto the cushions, settling his weight on his elbows and covering her body with his. "I thought it was very much a part of the subject," he returned. He propped his chin in his hand and pushed the hair back from her forehead with the other. He could feel her small breasts crushed to his chest and the friction of her hips as she shifted beneath him. Suddenly, it was a little difficult to remember what else needed to be said. "Maybe we should ..."

Toni's finger stilled his words.

"You told me the other night that I was better at denying myself what I want than you are." Her voice was soft, filled with wonder at how instantly her body had responded to the feel of his. "But you were wrong. I want to kiss you, and I don't want to deny myself a minute longer."

"Oh, Toni." The tight groan of longing rumbled in his chest, and his lips met hers.

The tenderness of their kiss, the way his mouth barely touched hers when her tongue traced a tantalizing path along the firm line of his bottom lip, then dipped inward to tangle with the touch of his own, quickly turned to a hunger that threatened to consume them both.

She clung to him, feeling the lean muscles in his back tensing as he molded her hips into more intimate alignment, delighting in the solid feel of his body and pulling his weight fully upon her. There were still words that needed to be said, matters to be discussed. But what they were communicating to each other now was just as important.

His hands were working under her sweater, their warmth melting the pervading chill that had been shuddering through her only moments before. The tremors coursing through her now had nothing to do with the cold. And the answering tremble rippling his length spoke in answering need. She felt her arms being pulled from her sleeves and he lifted his head only long enough to pull the soft wool over hers and toss it and her scant pink bra to the floor. Then he was pressing her back down and murmuring her name over and over as he rained tormenting kisses from her ear to her throat and down to capture the turgid bud of her breast. Toni gasped at the shock of pleasure his tongue, his lips, his teeth, elicited. His caress was so loving, and so gentle.

She drew her fingertips through the crispness of his hair, moving them slowly over the back of his head to dip below the collar of his sweater. His flesh was warm and hard—and that small contact wasn't enough.

A tiny whimper caught in her throat when he slid his hand behind her back and moved to her other breast. His touch was like velvet fire, her own an impatient plea to rid him of the fabric that kept the feel of his skin from her. Kyle understood the urgent motions of her hands. They had followed the line of his back downward toward his belt.

Seconds later, his sweater joined hers. The hair on his chest tantalized her sensitive breasts. The motion of his hand as he pushed the weight of one upward when he fastened his lips over hers once more brought a stab of exquisite heat to shimmer inward, then down.

"I love you, princess," he rasped, tumbling them both to the floor and pulling the blanket over them. "I want to make love with you knowing what it's like to say and really mean those words." He moved his hand between them and caught the snap of her jeans. "And to have you mean them."

Over and over she whispered those words. The confining garments were gone. There was nothing to separate the silkiness of her skin from the coarse smoothness of his. His hands drifted over her body. His sensual, provocative words urging her with their erotic poetry. Everywhere his tongue touched her, she burned. And she knew her own caresses, the subtle and seductive motions he had taught her, were provoking that same honeyed heat in him.

"Please, Kyle," she pleaded, needing the release only he could give her—wanting the fervid tension to last forever. "Please. I need you."

She arched against him, feeling his rigidity pressing against her. And then he was pulling back, poised above her.

"Look at me." His voice was thick and laced with desire.

Her lids felt heavy. But she met the intensity in his eyes and saw the passion tightening his features as he tucked his hand beneath her hips and slowly entered her waiting warmth.

It was the tenderest of possessions. And then the fiercest. A culmination filled with so much need and love that the physical explosion of release that followed was only the final melding of two souls already irrevocably fused. And when the world righted itself long minutes later, the universe had expanded to accommodate the larger oneness they had created.

The blanket lay in a tangled heap beside them, and Toni curled against the warmth of Kyle's chest. His leg was draped over hers, his fingers wending lazily over her arm.

"Your skin feels like satin," he whispered, nuzzling her temple with his lips. "And sandpaper."

A quizzical little laugh threaded her husky voice. "Sandpaper?" That wasn't very romantic!

"Mmmm," he mumbled, groping above his head for something. "All those goosebumps."

She hadn't even noticed. But now that he had mentioned it. . . "What are you"—he had put his hand on top of her head to get better leverage, and she felt the scratch of her sweater brush her neck when he pulled her upright— "doing?"

Her last word was muffled by the turquoise wool being jerked over her head.

"Dressing you. The last thing I want is for you to catch pneumonia. And there's still a couple of things we need to talk about." Her head popped out of the tight collar, and she met his wide grin. "We did get a little sidetracked, you know."

"I guess we did." Was the smile on her face as silly as she thought it was?

That smile relaxed as she reached for Kyle's sweater and she traded him that for her socks. It was probably better to concentrate on getting dressed rather than allow herself the distracting pleasure of watching him dress himself—so she turned and stood up to pullj)n her jeans. Though she had been thoroughly satisfied by their love-making, her need for him seemed insatiable. The sight of his naked perfection did nothing to alleviate that need.

Clothed now, she ran her fingers through her tousled hair and glanced over to see Kyle frowning at her while he tucked his sweater into his waistband.

She matched her expression to his and picked up the blanket. "What's the matter?"

"Why'd you cut it?"

Her hand flew back to her hair. Then, she shrugged. "For a couple of reasons." She resumed her former place on the loveseat. "It was a hassle to take care of. . . and every time I took it down, it reminded me of someone I was trying to forget."

The muscle in his jaw bunched, which didn't agree at all with the smile he was trying to manage. He said nothing else about it though. Apparently, her honest answer had left no room for comment.

His odd mix of reactions brought a reminder of what she had been thinking about while lying peacefully in his arms. She understood now why Kyle had been so driven when she first met him. What she didn't understand was what had happened during those intervening years that had tempered that outward aggression. So she asked him—and that question brought his familiar grin when he sat down beside her.

"I once knew this very opinionated, rather irritating young woman who had the audacity to tell me . . . her boss . . . that if I didn't get rid of the chip on my shoulder, I'd probably run myself right into an early grave, and that she'd be the only friend I had who'd attend my funeral." He reached for her hand and curved his fingers through hers. "If I remember right, I think I told her where she could go with her advice."

That was the day Toni had fallen in love with him the first time. He'd told her where to go all right, but he'd done it with that beautifully sexy grin of his that had left her almost paralyzed.

"It took a long time for that advice to sink in. . . ."His eyes caressed her face as he brought her fingers to his lips. "... And even longer for me to admit to you why that chip was there."

She smiled softly and squeezed his hand. He'd had no reason to tell her then, and they both knew it.

Kyle's expression sobered. "This procedure Greg told me about ..."

The time for less significant questions was over. Kyle wanted to deal in realities now, and Toni quietly accepted what he presented as the cold, hard facts. She hated the thought of him having to undergo surgery. It was obvious enough that he was nervous about it, but at the same time she had never seen him so absorbed or excited about anything. The only thing that saved his graphic description of both the male anatomy and how the correction was supposed to work from being embarrassing was his fascination with the whole process. He talked about it like Greg was an auto mechanic who was going to fix a broken fuel pump.

When Kyle had finished-his explanation, he uncoiled their hands and drew his finger down her cheek. "So how about it, princess?" he asked quietly. "Will you marry me and take the risk? He said there's only a fifty-fifty chance that it will work, but..."

Toni placed a quieting finger on his mouth, her eyes filled with the love that had its beginnings five long years ago. "We take worse risks than that every day in the stockmarket." Kyle had taught her how to take those chances. "And even if we never have children, we'll always have each other."

He swallowed convulsively and cupped her face between his hands. "You know something?" His thumb trailed over her bottom lip. "I think I'm going to like spending forever with my best friend."