Uncovering Annabelle (8 page)

“We might not make it to my place if you
keep that up,” Mike growled. He captured her hand with his and then
pushed it firmly against the front of his pants. His erection was
obvious and hard.

“Oh, my.” Annabelle was enthralled by her
effect on him. She’d never realized that a man’s arousal could
excite her so much. It certainly never had before.

Mike raised her hand to his lips and kissed
in the center of her palm before returning it to the seat next to
him. “I want to get us home in one piece, honey, so you have to
keep your hands to yourself until we get there.” His voice dropped
to a husky whisper. “Once we get there, you can do anything your
heart desires.”

The possibilities fueled her imagination,
and by the time she could find her voice to speak again, Mike was
turning off the main road and onto a tree-lined driveway. They were
about ten minutes outside of town and the area was wooded and
secluded.

Annabelle peered out of her window with
interest and couldn’t stop the gasp of wonder that followed when
his home came into view. It wasn’t overly large, but it was
absolutely breathtaking. At least what she could see from the porch
light and truck headlights.

Mike parked in the driveway, shut off the
engine, and sat back in his seat. “So what do you think?”

“It’s beautiful.” Mike seemed to relax when
she praised his home, and until that moment, she’d had no idea that
he was tense too. Oddly enough, that fact helped her to relax.

“Wait for me.” Mike got out and came around
to open her door. He took her hand as he helped her out. Tucking it
in the crook of his arm, he led her to the front porch.

Annabelle stopped at the bottom of the
steps, wishing it was daytime so she could see every detail of
Mike’s two-story home. The wide front steps led up to a covered
porch, which wrapped around the home on both sides.

“The porch goes around to the back, too.”
Mike ushered her up the stairs. “And there’s a porch swing in the
back.”

“Can we try it?” She loved the idea of a
porch swing. It would be a wonderful place to curl up and enjoy an
afternoon. Maybe read a book or simply relax.

“Not the first time, maybe later.” Mike let
go of her long enough to unlock the door and usher her inside. It
took her a moment to understand Mike’s comment about the swing. Her
first reaction wasn’t prudish like she would have thought. She
tried to imagine just what they could do in that swing. The
possibilities were intriguing.

Mike turned on the light and Annabelle
peered around with unfeigned interest. She had to admit she was
curious. She wanted to know everything about Mike.

“Welcome home.”

Before she had time to think about the
implications of Mike’s words, he’d bent down and swept her into his
arms. Taken off balance by his actions, she grabbed his shoulders
to keep from falling. No man had ever held her in his arms, at
least not since she was a child, and this was vastly different.

A tender expression in his dark eyes, Mike
leaned down and kissed her. It started out as a simple kiss, a
meeting of lips, slightly tentative and searching. Then his tongue
swept into her mouth and it became a claiming. He was staking out
his territory and didn’t care if she knew it.

She not only loved it, she reveled in it.
His impatience was arousing.

Annabelle slipped her hands around his neck
and dug her fingers into his hair, holding him to her. She stroked
her tongue over his. His husky groan sent her pulse racing. The
heat being generated by their kiss was off the charts. Mike tasted
better than chocolate and twice as sinful. She couldn’t get enough
of him.

Mike was climbing a set of stairs, but she
was too caught up in their kiss to care. She could see the house
later. For now, all that mattered was Mike. She tugged his hair in
protest when he started to pull back from their kiss. He gave a
half laugh, half groan and gave her one last hard kiss on the lips
before lowering her feet to the floor.

Annabelle was more than a little unsteady.
She swayed slightly, but Mike kept his arm around her, giving her
an anchor in the sensual storm. Once she was steady and could stand
on her own, he went down on one knee in front of her. He lifted her
right foot and slipped off her shoe. Annabelle grabbed his
shoulders for balance. He then performed the same service for the
other foot.

Still on one knee, Mike wrapped his arms
around her waist, buried his face against her stomach and just held
her. The tenderness of the gesture touched Annabelle. Her breathing
was uneven and tears came to her eyes, even as she blinked
furiously to fight them back.

As much as she was afraid to admit it to
herself, this evening was about more than just sex. She had deep
feelings for Mike and had for quite some time. Otherwise, she
wouldn’t be here. She wasn’t the type of woman who could separate
her emotions from her sexuality. Maybe it would be wiser and safer
for her heart if she could.

It was a magical moment she knew she would
never forget. Her decision to become his lover was right and,
whatever the outcome, she would never regret it.

His kissed her and she felt his breath, hot
and moist through the thin fabric of her dress. “Remember, if I do
anything you don’t like, just tell me to stop and I will.” He gave
her waist a light squeeze and flowed to his feet, their quiet
interlude over. “Tell me what you want and I’ll fulfill any fantasy
I can.”

Annabelle physically reacted to his promise.
Her breasts grew heavy and ached for his touch. Her stomach
quivered and her panties were damp. She wanted Mike. Of that, there
was no doubt. She now realized she wanted all of him—heart, mind
and body. But she’d take what she could get for as long as she
could get it.

This night, their love affair, would change
her forever. She knew that whatever else happened in her life, she
would compare every other man she ever met to Mike Sloan. She
feared they would all come up lacking.

Mike walked to the nightstand and turned on
the bedside lamp. The soft light illuminated her. Annabelle
flinched as if a spotlight had hit her. It was so bright after the
darkness. “Do we have to have the light on?” She bit her lip
nervously. Like most women, she was insecure about her body. She
wished she hadn’t eaten that chocolate earlier today. It had
probably gone straight to her hips.

“Not if you don’t want to, but I really,
really want to look at you.” His heated gaze traveled the length of
her body from the top of her hair to the tips of her bare toes.
Annabelle suddenly found it difficult to breathe.

“I want to see every lush inch of your naked
body,” he continued, his words like a physical caress, sweeping
aside all her concerns. “I want to see you, touch you, taste
you.”

“Oh, yes,” Annabelle sighed. The visions his
words brought to her mind sent her heart racing. She wanted all
that too. Light on or off, she no longer cared as long as he did
all the things he promised.

• • •

Mike couldn’t take his eyes off Annabelle.
He finally had her where he wanted—in his home and in his bedroom.
After months of getting to know her, to get her used to being
around him, she’d finally agreed to go out with him. He hadn’t
anticipated her agreeing to get naked with him so quickly, but he
wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

The sexual attraction between them snapped
and sizzled whenever they were in the same room. The yearnings she
brought out in him were extreme. On the one hand, he wanted to
treat her gently and carefully make love to her all night long,
pleasuring and pleasing her. On the other hand, he wanted to toss
her on the bed and fuck her every way possible until they were both
exhausted sweaty heaps on the bed.

Then he wanted to do it all over again.

He wanted everything she would give him and
more.

“Let’s just get this dress off you.” Mike
carefully plucked her glasses off her face and placed them safely
on the nightstand. Then he turned her around until her back was to
him. He gripped the ties of her dress and pulled slowly. It was
like unwrapping a long-awaited present. He wanted to take his time
and savor the experience.

The bow gave way and the dress loosened
around her.

Annabelle hunched forward and Mike drew his
hand back. He had to go slow and not push her too hard, too fast.
She was eager but still skittish.

“I didn’t think about getting out of this
dress when I put it on tonight. It’s got to come off over my
head.”

“No problem.” Before she had time to worry
herself too much about what was about to happen, he reached down,
grasped the skirt of the dress and pulled it up and over the top of
her head. She raised her arms to help him, and in less than a
second it was off. He tossed it aside and admired the long,
graceful line of her spine. Several short wisps of hair had escaped
her bun and skimmed her nape.

He reached around Annabelle and cupped her
breasts through her sensible cotton bra. Annabelle was quite a
handful, and he had large hands. He molded the soft mounds and
gently teased her pert nipples between his thumbs and
forefingers.

He wanted to learn how she liked to be
touched, what turned her on. Annabelle moaned and thrust her
breasts deeper into his palms. Her nipples puckered to sharp points
beneath the cotton. Mike took a chance and lightly increased the
pressure. Annabelle gasped and let her head fall back against his
chest. Her neck was too much of an enticement to ignore. He licked
her skin and savored the salty flavor before nibbling his way up to
her ear.

The woman was pure temptation. There was no
guessing with Annabelle. Her responses were real and spontaneous.
She didn’t try to hide any of her reactions to his touch. It was a
huge turn-on.

He glided his tongue over the curve of her
ear, tracing the delicate whorl. Annabelle was a moaner and her
cries got louder when he swirled his tongue inside her ear.

His cock was hard as steel and throbbing for
release. He tried to ease some of the hunger by rubbing it against
her sweet little ass. That only made it worse. The friction from
their clothing pushed him closer to the edge. It would feel so damn
good when they were finally skin to skin.

Annabelle’s hips started to undulate. He
pulled her even closer and ground his erection between the cleft of
her panty-clad behind. He kept his right hand on her breast, but
allowed his left one to slide down her belly. Her skin was soft and
pale, a contrast to his rougher and tanned skin. A reminder he was
bigger and stronger than she was. And she was his.

His reaction was primitive as hell, but he
didn’t care. When Annabelle pushed back against him, he tortured
himself by sliding himself up and down her bottom. He was going to
burst out of his pants if he didn’t get them off soon.

Her neck beckoned him again and he nipped a
path down her shoulder.

But it wasn’t enough. He needed more. He
slipped his fingers past the waistband of her underwear until his
fingertips brushed against soft hair. He didn’t stop. He combed his
fingers through the tight curls on her mound in search of her
clitoris. He slid his index finger back and forth, lightly teasing
the tiny nub of nerves. “Open your legs and let me in.”

Annabelle didn’t hesitate. She widened her
stance, and he immediately slid his middle finger straight inside
her. She gasped his name as tension gripped her entire body. Then
she began to move against his hand. She was wet and ready, her
arousal coating his fingers. It took all of his willpower not to
come there and then.

He gritted his teeth so hard it was
surprising they didn’t crack. His jaw ached under the strain, but
he was determined. Annabelle had to come first. Once he took off
his pants, there would be no more foreplay. He wanted her hot and
ready for him.

He pushed her closer to orgasm by paying
attention to her sweet moans and the reactions of her body and
discovering what she liked. He continued to play with her breasts
even as he kept thrusting his finger in and out of her slick, tight
channel. God, he wanted it to be his cock. “Let go and come for me,
sweetheart,” he commanded.

Mike lightly bit the side of her neck. She
tensed, her entire body vibrating. She moaned and let her orgasm
take her. Her inner muscles rippled over his finger as he prolonged
her pleasure. She was so damn wet and more than ready to take
him.

When her legs buckled, he caught her.
“You’re so sexy.” With some reluctance Mike slid his fingers out of
her panties and hugged her from behind. That had been intense and
neither one of them was naked. He was still fully dressed and
Annabelle was in her underwear. What would it be like when he was
buried balls deep inside her?

He took a deep breath, loving the feel of
her pressed so securely against him. His balls were snug against
his body, a sign that time was running out.

Annabelle’s whole body began to tremble and
she buried her face in her hands. Mike was instantly alarmed. He
lifted her into his arms and sat down on the side of the bed with
her cradled close.

“It’s all right,” he muttered as he rocked
her back and forth and kissed the top of her head. “Did I hurt
you?” He waited for some sign, but Annabelle said nothing. She
continued to shake.

His patience shot and more than a little
worried, he gently pried her hands away from her face. Tears rolled
down her cheeks, but she was laughing as well. He wasn’t sure what
to make of it.

“I didn’t know. I just didn’t know,” she
muttered over and over.

Relief hit him like a sledgehammer. She
wasn’t upset by what they’d done. Annabelle had never had an orgasm
before, or at least not one so intense. This he could deal with.
“There’s more where that one came from,” he promised. Mike grinned
at the stunned expression on her face and just nodded when she
looked uncertain.