Uncovering Annabelle (18 page)

Chapter
Eleven

Annabelle crept through the darkened house.
She knew Mike was here because his truck was out front and the hood
was still warm. She’d let herself in using the key he’d given her.
Truthfully, she’d been afraid to knock. Afraid he might not let her
in. She reached her hand out in front of her to guide her as she
searched the downstairs.

Careful to make no sound, she checked the
living room. Even before she was all the way inside, she knew he
wasn’t here. She couldn’t sense him in the room. Backtracking, she
hesitated at the bottom of the stairs, but followed her instincts
and headed toward the kitchen. Now that her eyes were adjusted to
the dark, she noticed the back door was open. As she eased closer,
she heard the squeak of the porch swing as it moved back and
forth.

Annabelle took a deep, fortifying breath and
stepped out onto the back porch. “I told the entire town I loved
you.”

“Did you?”

Mike sounded almost uninterested, so cold
and unapproachable. Her stomach clenched and her chest hurt. She
thought about running, for about two seconds. In spite of her
earlier actions, she was no coward, and Mike deserved no less than
her total honesty. What he did after that was up to him.

Obviously, he wasn’t going to make this easy
for her. Sucking up her courage, she continued to explain. “I ran
up on the stage at the fair, grabbed the microphone and called out
to you not to go, that I loved you.”

The swing continued to sway back and forth.
Annabelle wished she could see Mike’s face, but it was shrouded in
darkness. She bit her lip and watched him for any response. A bead
of sweat ran down the side of her face, but she made no move to
wipe it away. Her nerves stretched to the breaking point as the
silence continued.

Annabelle almost jumped out of her skin when
Mike’s boots came down hard on the back porch and the swing came to
a halt. He leaned forward and a beam of moonlight illuminated his
face. His eyes were grim, his jaw taut. He looked tired but
determined.

“Did you really mean it?” Mike’s voice was
harsh in the quiet night.

She briefly closed her eyes as anguish
seared her. She now understood how painful a blow she’d dealt him.
It had taken all her courage to admit her feelings and he doubted
them. Just as she had doubted him.

It didn’t help any that she knew he had
every right to question the depth of her commitment. She’d been
treating their relationship as temporary from the beginning.

Her knees were shaking, so Annabelle leaned
against the porch railing for support. The edge of the railing dug
into her hands as she gripped it tight and gathered her courage to
speak. What emerged was a croak, so she swallowed and tried
again.

“I allowed my insecurities to blind me. I
doubted myself and therefore you, even though you never gave me any
cause or reason. I can only promise that I’ll never again doubt
that your feelings for me are real.” Before she continued, she took
a deep breath to help fight back the threatening tears. She was
determined to get through this without breaking down. “And if
you’re willing, I’d like us to have another chance.”

Her fingers retained their death grip on the
railing. She was afraid to look away from him as she waited for him
to respond. Had she thrown away the best thing that had ever
happened to her?

“Come here,” he ordered, his voice little
more than a rasp.

Mike held out his hand and she tumbled
forward into his arms. Her momentum started the swing rocking, but
she wasn’t afraid. She was cradled securely in Mike’s lap with his
arms around her.

“I’m sorry.” Annabelle suddenly burst into
tears, surprising not only Mike but also herself. “I never cry,”
she wailed, unable to stop the flow of tears.

“Of course you don’t, honey.” Mike held her
as she cried. His kindness only made it worse and the tears kept
flowing. When they finally subsided, he gently wiped her eyes with
the tail of his shirt. He kissed her eyelids, her nose and her
cheeks before he brushed a kiss across her lips.

Annabelle responded instantly. Every fiber
of her being was crying out to show him how much she loved him. She
kissed him with every ounce of feeling welling up inside her. She
was surprised, and a little hurt, when Mike suddenly pulled away
from her.

“Do you remember the first night I brought
you home?” As he spoke, Mike lifted her gently until she was
astride him. He adjusted her skirt so that it covered his lap like
a blanket, giving his hands easy access to what was underneath.

Annabelle felt her face flush when she
recalled her innocent comment about trying out the swing and Mike’s
reply that they would try it later. “Yes.” It was both an
affirmation that she recalled the conversation and permission to
proceed.

Mike needed no more urging. He cupped her
face in his hands, leaned forward and kissed her. It was a gentle
caress, filled with tenderness and love.

When his tongue slid along her bottom lip,
she opened her mouth and used her tongue to coax his inside. Mike
groaned and tightened his hold as he kissed her with a passion that
stole her breath. His tongue laid claim to her mouth, devouring
her.

This was where she wanted to be, where she
belonged. She ran her hands up his arms, over his steely biceps and
broad shoulders and finally buried her fingers in his thick
hair.

Mike trailed hot kisses down her neck,
pausing to nip her shoulder. “I have to have you, Annabelle.”

His words were stark, his need as great as
her own. “Yes.”

Mike tugged at her tank top, pulling it from
the band of her skirt. “Raise your arms.”

When she did as he asked, he whisked her top
over her head and dropped it onto the back porch. He paused and
stared at her, or rather at her breasts. Her white bra shone like a
beacon in the moonlight. He traced the satin covering her nipples.
They hardened instantly. Mike swore under his breath and reached
behind her to unhook her bra. He dragged it down her arms and
tossed it aside.

Slowly, almost reverently, his hands cupped
her breasts. Annabelle held her breath when he leaned forward and
blew on one puckered nipple before running the flat of his tongue
over it. She moaned as pleasure shot from her breast to her core.
She squirmed, trying to get closer to the ridge of hardness
pressing against the front of his jeans.

Mike turned his attention to her other
breast, giving it the same attention before sitting back. The heat
from his gaze almost scorched her as he stared at her wet nipples.
“Give me your hands.”

Annabelle was unsure what Mike wanted her to
do but offered him her hands. He took them and guided them to her
breasts, positioning them so she was supporting their weight. She
felt awkward when he leaned back to survey his handiwork.

“You look like a pagan goddess offering
herself to me in the moonlight.” He clamped his hands around her
waist to hold her steady and then took what she offered. He traced
his fingertips over her taut nipples, softly first and then with
more pressure. He caught both nipples between his thumbs and
forefingers and tugged gently.

Annabelle felt pagan and wild sitting there
half naked in the moonlight. The light breeze brushed over her
heated flesh like a caress. She felt totally alive, a
temptress.

Only Mike made her feel this way. It was a
gift, one she wanted to freely share with him.

He replaced his fingers with his mouth,
shifting back and forth to suck on both breasts. Annabelle gave
herself up to the erotic pleasure of his mouth on her sensitive
skin. The hot tug of his mouth on her nipples, the feel of her own
hands on her breasts, and the summer breeze were incredibly
erotic.

But it soon wasn’t enough. She had to feel
his skin against hers.

She dropped her hands from her breasts and
tugged at his shirt, eager to have it off. Mike didn’t have
patience enough for her to do it and yanked it over his head. She
didn’t care who removed his shirt, only that it was gone, no longer
an impediment to her touch.

She ran her hands over his muscled chest,
loving the way the muscles rippled. His skin was deeply tanned from
working outside with his shirt off. And he was strong, so very hard
and firm. Everywhere.

She placed her palm over his heart. It was
beating fast, a pounding rhythm that echoed hers. It spoke of
passion and growing need. She traced a pattern around and over his
nipples and was rewarded with his moan of pleasure.

Mike dragged her close and devoured her
lips. He drank from them as though she was the only one who could
quench his insatiable thirst. They were chest to chest, her nipples
pressing against him. Annabelle rocked from side to side, loving
the feel of her soft breasts against his rock-hard muscles, and the
rasp of her nipples against the light covering of his chest
hair.

He groaned and blazed a path down her neck
to her breasts. He cupped them both with his hands and feasted on
her. His movements were not the caring touches of an accomplished
lover, but those of a desperate man. She’d never felt so needed or
so needy.

“Mike, hurry,” she encouraged. She had to
have him, to feel him hard and hot inside her. Almost losing Mike
had forced her to face her love for him. Now she wanted to
celebrate in the most natural and basic way.

She needed them to make love.

In answer to her plea, Mike lifted her off
his lap and in one motion stripped away her skirt and panties.

He paused only long enough to carefully
unzip his jeans. His penis was hard and straining upward from the
opening in the denim. He pulled her astride him once again and
impaled her at the same time. “Take all of me.” It was more of a
plea than a command and was exactly what she wanted too.

Annabelle spread her legs wider and gripped
his shoulders for support as she lowered herself. He slid deeper
inside her, the pleasure intense. He filled her, stretching her
slick channel in the most delicious way, sending jolts of pleasure
rushing through her.

She didn’t think it could get any better.
Then Mike used his foot to set the swing swaying.

As he pushed the swing forward he pulled her
to him. The momentum drove him deep. Annabelle was open and
vulnerable as she hung on to Mike’s shoulders for support. He held
her as they swung back, easing her away the slightest bit, and then
pulled her harder against him as the swing moved forward again.

Annabelle felt wild and totally free for the
first time in her life. The bond she shared with Mike enabled her
to let go of all inhibitions and just explore every aspect of
herself. Sitting naked on Mike’s lap, making love in the back
garden and on a swing, no less, she should have felt vulnerable.
Instead, she felt powerful and sexual. It was intoxicating.

Her fingers dug into his shoulders as she
slid up and down his penis. Her inner muscles clamped down hard on
him as her own climax built. Mike’s grip tightened when she reached
her peak. Annabelle screamed as her climax washed over her like a
tsunami. Wave after wave of pleasure swamped her.

Mike continued to swing, prolonging her
orgasm. Finally, he gave one final push and joined her. His cock
swelled and rippled and the warmth of his ejaculation spilled
inside her. It gave her a moment’s pause that they hadn’t used a
condom. Strangely enough, the thought of having Mike’s baby didn’t
bother her at all. In fact, Annabelle was quite proud of the fact
that she had caused Mike to lose all control.

She slumped forward and rested against Mike,
her head pillowed on his shoulder. He held her close, lightly
running his hands over her back and around her naked bottom.
Contented, they rocked slowly back and forth on the swing for a
long while before Mike finally brought them to a halt.

“That was incredible.” Mike tenderly kissed
her forehead. “You’re a wild woman, Annabelle.”

“Only with you.” The pounding of her heart
gradually slowed back to normal. The breeze seemed cooler now and
was a welcome respite against her overheated body. She was in no
hurry to move. “I’m glad you don’t have neighbors.”

Mike burst into laughter. She tried to act
disgruntled, but his humor was infectious. It was a release of a
whole other kind to be able to laugh with Mike. They were both
sweaty and sticky from their lovemaking, but Annabelle felt no
pressing need to rush inside and clean up. She felt natural and
more comfortable than she could have ever imagined.

“Marry me.” His previous laughter was gone,
and Mike was suddenly very serious. “Share my life with me.”

Annabelle was stunned by his proposal. She
sat back on his lap so she could see his face and was startled when
she felt his growing erection flex against her belly.

He gave her a boyish grin. “You do that to
me, honey.”

“You really want me to marry you?” Annabelle
wanted to make sure she’d heard him correctly.

“Yeah, I really do.” He watched her, waiting
patiently for her reply. “I know it seems quick, but I know what I
want.”

The smile started deep within Annabelle. A
warm feeling expanded from her heart, swelling until it filled
every inch of her. She knew it was love, love for this man.

Her mind argued that they hadn’t known one
another long enough, but her heart, her heart knew there was only
one possible answer. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

His lips curved up in a slow, sexy smile
that made her toes curl. “I’ll make you happy,” he promised. She
didn’t doubt him or his commitment. He kissed her then, and it was
full of tenderness and promise.

“I know you will,” she whispered against his
lips.

Before she knew what he intended, Mike
slipped inside her and the swing started to rock once again. The
thought crossed her mind that she’d answered the question she’d
wondered about earlier. He certainly hadn’t been wearing any
underwear.