The Driven Snowe Page 11

  Maybe he should have slept with her. He certainly wanted to. No matter how many times he saw her, having her just casually present herself naked was something that hit him like a punch in the gut every single time. He’d gone hard in a matter of seconds. He’d never reacted to anyone as passionately or as quickly as he did to Angela.

  That’s why I’ve got to show her—there’s more to this than sex. That she’s got to see it as more than just sex.

  He drove with grim purpose. He’d tried talking to her, but she’d given coolly polite answers and then more silence. So he drove through the winding countryside, checking his map every so often. Finally, they got to his planned destination. His tires crunched on gravel as he pulled over to the side of the road.

  “We’re here,” he said, with enthusiasm. She merely nodded. “I’ll help you out of the car.”

  He ran around to the other side of the car, getting the door, helping her to her feet. Despite her outward aloofness, he saw her cock her head slightly. “Is that…water?” she asked slowly.

  “Just a few more minutes. Wait right here.” He ran to his trunk, popping the latch and grabbing a few items, then running off a little distance. “Just stay there!” he yelled, as he made his preparations. When they were done to his satisfaction, he ran back to her. She was frowning behind the blindfold, and yet smiling slightly. “Okay, walk with me.”

  The crunching of gravel gave way to the soft sounds of grass. “Where are we?” she asked, and he grinned.

  “Just a second…here.” He turned her, then took off her blindfold.

  She blinked a second, trying to get accustomed to the sunlight, then glanced around. He felt gratified as her mouth dropped open. “This is…this is Cache Creek,” she whispered. “I haven’t been here since I was a little girl.”

  He had taken her to a grassy cliff, overlooking rapids. The water crashed and gurgled. “I know. I saw a picture of you and your mother here, on the wall by your desk. I figured if it made you smile then…” He stopped, noticing that tears were forming in her eyes. “Whoa. This wasn’t the reaction I was hoping for.”

  She smiled even as a fat drop crawled down her cheek. “I…I’d always meant to come back here, but never had the time or the energy.” She did a quick twirl. “It’s beautiful, Josh.” She turned to him, her smile hitting his bloodstream like pure sugar. “Thank you.” She kissed him, sweetly, then threw her arms around him for a hug.

  He tugged her over to the picnic blanket he’d put out on the soft grass. She sat down, looking amazed. “What’s all this?”

  He pointed to the wicker basket he’d prepared. With fanfare, he opened it, “For today’s lunch—or brunch, considering the time—we have the following—French rolls, herb cheese, fresh fruit…” He listed off each item as he presented it, Vanna White-style, onto the blanket. She smiled and applauded accordingly. He went through the contents, then finished with, “And for those of us with a sweet tooth no matter what hour of the day, I have cinnamon buns and chocolate cake.”

  She grinned. “I can’t believe this. You went to a lot of effort.” She glanced at the gift-wrapped box sitting next to the now empty basket. “And what is that?”

  “That,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows, “is for you.”

  She glanced at him shyly. “You didn’t have to get me a present.”

  “I think that’s the main reason I do…because you’re never expecting it.” He nudged it toward her. “Go on. Open it.”

  She looked at it for a second, then started to gingerly tug the wrapping off at the edges.

  “Come on, come on. Tear into it,” he said.

  She stuck her tongue out at him. “Of all people, you should know about anticipation…” she said, then stopped cold when she got the wrapping off. “It’s a food processor.”

  “That way you won’t get all tired chopping vegetables.” He waited for some reaction. She sat there, and to his alarm she started to get that weepy look. He quickly scooted next to her. “Don’t cry. Please. I’ll never get you a food processor again…”

  “I don’t…open up to people. Not easily, anyway.” Her voice sounded choked. “I don’t mean to close people out, it just sort of happens. No one has ever gone through this sort of effort to get to know me—especially without me telling them. You are the most perceptive man I’ve ever met,” she whispered. “You know me better than I ever would have guessed. Sometimes, I think you know me better than I know myself. How do you do that?”

  He grinned, chuckling softly. “Just lucky, I guess.”

  I COULD DIE a happy woman, Angela thought as Josh skillfully drove them back from Cache Creek to his house. They had picnicked all morning, then in the after noon they had hiked and stared up at clouds, just like she had when she was a kid. It was one of the most perfect days she’d ever had in her life. The sun was setting, a gorgeous fiery orange-red bleeding into midnight blue.

  It seemed as though she had a perpetual smile on her face. She hadn’t thought of her seduction plan once since he’d taken her to the riverbank and began his elaborate surprise. She could only think of how wonderful he was—too wonderful for her to be afraid of how she was feeling. The sex, incredible as it was, paled in comparison to the amazing tenderness she now felt. She didn’t want to even think too much about it, and wake up from this dreamlike experience. Instead she kept talking to him, holding his hand.

  They got to his house, and he carried her food processor and the remnants of the picnic inside. She kicked her shoes off, twirling a little in his living room. “So how was San Diego?” she called to him in the kitchen, flopping on his couch with a grin. “Too busy working, or did you have time to play a little?”

  He was putting their picnic lunch/dinner leftovers away in the fridge. She could hear him rummaging around. “It was great. I swam a little bit, after my last meeting. You’d love it. You’ll have to come down with me one of these weekends,” he called back.

  She smiled with pleasure. “Sure.” In her current frame of mind, anything seemed possible. “Josh, I want to thank you.”

  He emerged from the kitchen, looking at her with surprise. “Don’t thank me yet. I’m not done.”

  She blinked. “There’s more?”

  He smiled, and for the first time since he’d picked her up that morning, it was a devilish smile. There was nothing sweet about it. A tender smile, maybe, but even that was a stretch.

  She thought she’d put all thoughts of sex away in the face of the remarkable sweetness she’d been presented with, but apparently she was wrong. Her body started to throb just at the grin. She stood up. “So,” she said, her voice husky. “What else did you have in mind?”

  He motioned her forward, but instead of letting her come to him, he took her out onto his patio. She noticed that his pool, normally covered, was open. She looked at the pool, then over to him, not comprehending.

  “You’re the one who loves new experiences,” he said, with a slow grin. “I thought, well, she’s probably never tried this.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’ve been swimming plenty of times, thanks.”

  “Not like this, I bet.” His smile turned more devilish, and he pulled his shirt out of his waistband.

  She thought hard, then slowly she got the gist of what he was saying, and crowed with laughter. “You don’t honestly mean…”

  “You got it.” He took off his shirt, and her breath caught, just as it always did when she saw his well-muscled chest and back. She was apparently a torso person. “Well, get naked, woman. You can’t skinny-dip like that.”

  She laughed even as she felt the blush cover her. A blush he’d soon be witnessing all over her body. So silly to be shy after all they’d done, she scolded herself. Nonetheless, her fingers faltered on the button of her jeans, and she tugged off her T-shirt with reluctance. I’m getting naked, outdoors, in front of the world and everybody!

  Everybody being a couple of squirrels and possibly a raccoon, she realized. Still, it was just the ide
a of it.

  She was still in her underwear when he shucked off his boxers and, with a war cry worthy of an Apache, plunged into the water. He yelped, then sighed. “Thankfully, I took the time to heat the pool,” he said. “I don’t do it that often, so you’d better be grateful, as well. Otherwise, I’d shrink so bad that swimming is all we’d be able to do.”

  She took off her bra, gasping as the cooling night air hit her breasts, making her nipples pucker. “Were you planning on doing more than that?” She dropped her panties and got into the water, carefully. Feeling the water on every part of her was a lot different than swimming with a bathing suit, she thought after a moment. The heated water felt heavenly, and she found herself ducking in up to her chin. It was warmer than the air, and it covered her like a cozy, comforting haze. It caressed her, enhancing her desire. She moved her limbs through it lazily, smiling to herself.

  He floated over to her, and she felt his hand move past her in the darkened water. He hadn’t turned the pool light on, so she couldn’t see. He touched her, his hand gliding over her body like a faint caress, a current against bare skin. Her nerves quivered, and she moved closer to where he was.

  “So how do you like skinny-dipping?”

  His face was barely outlined by the pale light from the house. She felt that same dreamlike surreal quality she felt when she’d agreed to see him in the club, that one night, months ago. She felt him move forward, and his body slid against hers in the water. Her nipples hardened almost painfully, and she felt a wave of tightness from her stomach to between her legs. She tried to slow down and savor the sensation, but only succeeded in breathing faster, more shallowly. “I like it a lot.”

  She felt his erection brush against her, and the tightness redoubled. “Angela, I have to ask you something.”

  She wound her arms around his neck, pressing kisses against him, floating high enough to cradle him between her thighs. “Right this minute?”

  “Definitely,” he said on a groan. “Did you go on the Pill?”

  She paused. It was hard to concentrate, given the circumstances. “Well, yes.”

  “When?”

  Inexplicably, she felt herself blushing again. There was something about these conversations that hardly lent themselves to romance and moonlight seduction. “Actually, I’ve been on it for a long time. That was why they found out about the lump. They were being extra careful when I went in for my refill prescription. I’ve been on since I was in high school. Health reasons, not…” She cleared her throat, a sound that wound up ending with a gasp as he pushed against her entrance. “Not, um, other reasons.”

  “Yes, honey, I know.” He cleared his throat, too. “I took a blood test. I’m safe. I’ve got the results upstairs, if you want to see them.”

  She blinked at that, now completely jarred out of the mood. “You did?”

  “I know you trust me. But there’s trust…and then there’s trust,” he said seriously, before pressing a series of scorching kisses down her neck. “Hell. I haven’t trusted anybody like that for years.”

  She warmed at the idea of him trusting her, but there was more going on here. He was starting to talk in some kind of code, and her body was starting to respond in that mindless, reckless way that always seemed to manifest when he held her like this, touched her like this. Whatever he was suggesting he trusted her enough to do, she wanted to do it, and as soon as possible. But this was obviously important, too important to just accept blindly. “What are you saying?”

  “If you’re ready,” he said, “then there’s something new we can try.”

  She thought about what he was saying. He’d gotten a blood test…he wanted to make sure she was safe…

  She suddenly realized what he was asking.

  Did she trust him?

  She pulled away from him, the water seeming cool now compared to the heat they’d produced. “You mean, sex without a condom?” she clarified.

  “That’s right. Just you and me.”

  “Oh. Well.” She didn’t know why she felt nervous suddenly, and she moved aimlessly in the water, not wanting to keep still. She felt his stare, even if she couldn’t see his face clearly. “I’d never really thought about it.”

  “I have.” His voice was dark and rich with promise.

  She mulled it over. She was on the Pill—he’d gotten a blood test. It was sweet, actually, if she thought about it. He cared enough to ensure that she was safe, that she felt secure. As sweet as it was, it was also unnerving. This wasn’t about a passionate, no-strings-attached, do-as-you-please affair. This was taking it to another level, as it were.

  And he was asking her. It was all her decision.

  It was a matter of trust. It was a matter of…vulnerability, she thought, nibbling at the corner of her lip.

  Did she trust him?

  She stopped her swimming, closed her eyes. And waited a minute, to see if any alarms would go off in her mind or body.

  Yes, I trust him.

  She swam over to where he was patiently waiting, making no move toward her. She moved her body fully against his, reveling in the groan he produced. “I want to try,” she said softly, tucking her forehead against his neck for a moment, then lightly nibbling his shoulder. She couldn’t remember feeling this excited, or in a way this scared, since she’d made love to him the first time. This man. Always with this man. “I…trust you.”

  He paused. “Thank you,” he said, his voice reverent.

  She braced herself for his entry, but to her surprise, he didn’t take her immediately. He must have noticed, because he laughed.

  “I’m glad we got that out of the way,” he said, nuzzling her neck. “But you’re not ready enough.”

  “I’m not?”

  “Not by a long shot.” He grinned. “Also, as much as I’d love to try it from a purely scientific standpoint, I also would hate cleaning the pool afterward.”

  She frowned at him, then splashed water. “Okay. That ruined my mood.”

  “Hardly.” He splashed her, and the two of them got thoroughly wet before he cornered her against the hot tub section of the pool, kissing her as she panted, breathless from laughter. The kissing abruptly turned more serious, and her breathlessness had nothing to do with humor. The feel of his body, naked and slick in the heated water, stirred up her desire, even as the cool shock of the night air seemed to only heighten her senses. She felt his tongue rub against hers and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He growled, and she felt his hardness again, dipping inside her. She gasped, disengaging from his kiss and throwing her head back. “Oh, Josh.”

  She felt him press a little further inside her before retreating…the rush of heated water only reminded her of her own wetness. She felt a keen stab of disappointment. “Come on.” He pulled her up out of the water. The coolness of the air tortured her skin, making it feel more alive, more aware.

  She barely paid attention to the fact that they were dripping water on the tiles of his kitchen floor, through his dining room, down the hallway to his bed. When they got there, she headed instead for his bathroom. By the time she’d grabbed two towels, he’d lit candles.

  She patted herself dry, seeing his erection in the flickering light, his body sculpted and golden. She licked her lips nervously. This was so different, even though she’d had sex with him before. Why was this so different?

  Because it was going to be without barriers. On several levels. It was more than just protection of her body…it was the protection that she was giving up. This was going beyond casual, anonymous sex. This was intimacy. This was trust.

  For pity’s sake, this was blood tests. Like marriage…

  She refused to think of what that normally signified, focusing instead on the feel of the cooling air on her body, the tingling rush. She bit down on her nervousness and sat down on the bed, almost instantly laughing. “Satin sheets,” she murmured around a chuckle.

  “Silk,” he corrected. “Silver silk. But I didn’t kick down and get the ma
gic fingers.” He reached for her as she laughed, motioning for her to lie down on the bed. “Thought I’d provide those myself.”

  She looked up at him, her heart in her throat. “They feel nice.”

  His blue eyes were almost black in the flickering light of the candles. “Close your eyes. Really feel them…and me.”

  Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, and was plunged into a world of sensation, much as she had been when he’d blindfolded her to take her to the car. She felt the cool slipperiness against her back even as she felt the almost searing heat of his body cover hers for an instant, his lips pushing against hers with a burning intensity.

  She moved sinuously along him, and he retreated, much to her disappointment. Instead, he pressed kisses on her neck, and his hands moved slowly down her body in long, gliding strokes. He was testing her, running strong fingers in loving patterns over her highly sensitized skin. She reached for him, but he evaded her grasp.

  “You need to just enjoy this. Trust me,” he said. “I know what I’m doing.”

  She sighed, not really being able to argue with him. Before, their sex had always been this consuming hunger…somewhere along the lines of high-school kids knowing that their parents would only be gone for an hour. There was plenty of experimentation, but there had also been a quick, ravaging impetuousness about it. This was grown-up sex, she thought wryly.

  Then she gasped as his lips started down the curve of her stomach. “Oh, Josh,” she said, and felt the heated breath of his chuckling against her solar plexus as he trailed wet kisses even lower. Correction. This is virtuoso sex.

  He started to nestle lower, into her curls, and she jerked up like a marionette. “I don’t know about this,” she said, feeling the moment start to slip. She was anxious. She wasn’t sure if she could let him go through with something so…intimate? That wasn’t the word, but somehow it was different than everything else they’d done.

  “Shh. I didn’t know when you’d be ready for this, but it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while. Just relax,” he said, and she felt helpless to do anything but feel her body jerk spasmodically at every new touch. When his lips closed in on her sex, and his tongue slowly explored her, she could barely breathe. It was all she could do to stay on the bed. She clasped the sheets, feeling their slickness sliding beneath her fingers. Her hips moved against his mouth of their own accord as he stroked his tongue rhythmically against her, circling her clitoris with strong strokes. She was panting, all but crying against the flood of sensation that threatened to burn out her system.