The Billionaire's Secretive Enchantress (The Berutelli Escape) (15 page)

Sierra bit her lip and shook her head, almost ashamed to admit that she was still a virgin. 

Drake took a deep breath, taking her hands and placing them flat against his chest.  “Is that what you’ve been trying to tell me?” he asked softly.

Sierra wished it were that simple.  As embarrassing as it was to be a virgin at her age, it still wasn’t the worst of her crimes.  “No.  That
part might be true, but it isn’t the worst of it.”

“Might be true?  Or it is true?” he teased.   

She glared at him.  “You’ve already guessed that it is true so let’s not beat that one to death, okay?”

Drake
laughed, delighted.  He liked the fact that she’d never let anyone touch her the way she’d let him touch her.  And he knew that she’d never gone this far with anyone.  He now understood all of her tentative touches, all of her hesitation in making their relationship physical.  She just didn’t understand how good it would be between the two of them.  Whatever horrible thing she had lurking in her past, it couldn’t be that bad.  She was just too smart and sweet. 

“It’s going to be okay, Sierra,” he said and pulled her into a gentle hug.  She was stiff for only a moment before she melted into his arms.  He wanted badly to question her, to find out more, but he sensed that she wouldn’t reveal anything else today.  “How about if we ride a bit longer, then I’ll take you back to your place
?”  He pulled back and looked down at her. “Unless you would be willing to let me cook for you tonight?”

She immediately shook her head.  “More riding would be great, but you’ve already fed me lunch.  I can manage my own dinner.”

He left it at that but the thought occurred to him that he wanted to feed her every night.  And every morning.  He remembered seeing her coming out of the bathroom earlier today in his shirt and he wanted to be the man who bought all of her clothes for her, gave her everything.

She was too independent to allow that, but it was a primitive reaction that struck him deep and hard.  He wanted her, not just for the afternoon or the night.  But forever.  He wanted this woman in his life and the idea of marriage to her, to be able to wake up with her in his arms for the rest of his life, was powerfully appealing. 

“Let’s just enjoy the rest of the afternoon and let tonight take care of itself.  Okay?”

Sierra thought that was a perfect idea.  She felt her shoulders relax, knowing that her secret could be held off for one more day. 

They rode through the tall pines, hemlock and fir trees.  Sierra knew she should separate herself from Drake, but instead, she laid her head down on his back and wrapped her arms around his waist, savoring the feel of his body.  She tried to keep her fingers still, she tried to ignore the heat.  But as they rode through the tall evergreens, she couldn’t ignore the incredible need to touch him. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, knowing he couldn’t hear her above the roar of the engine.  But it still felt good to say the words finally, to apologize for what her father did so many years ago.  It was almost cathartic as she whispered the apology and she sighed with the release of her guilt.

Drake had to grit his teeth against the need that surged through him with her arms around him like this.  He heard her whispered words only because he was extra-sensitive to everything about her, wanting her like this.  He loved having her arms around him, even if he knew she wouldn’t want him to do anything about it.  It showed that she trusted him at least while he was driving her through the forest.  That was something, he accepted. 

But when they arrived back at his house, she didn’t move away from him like she normally would.  Like he was expecting her to.  Instead, she sat up and he could tell that she was looking around, the sudden silence causing the earth to seem much
quieter. 

“Are you okay?” he asked softly, not turning his body because she still had her arms wrapped around his waist and he liked them there.  He simply turned his head so he could see her out of the corner of his eye. 

Sierra nodded her head, still leaning against him.  It was as if she were hugging his whole body since her inner thighs were still pressing against his outer thighs, her chest against his back and her arms around his waist. 

“I guess I’d better….”

He shifted suddenly and shook his head.  “You don’t need to do anything, Sierra.  Except relax.  Come inside and have a glass of wine, I’ll start a fire and we can just talk.  No pressure.  Let’s just talk.”

She wanted that so desperately, she knew she should say no, should ask that he drive her back to her house and she could put all of her energy into her work.  Instead, she heard herself say, “Okay.  A glass of wine sounds nice.”

He stood up and helped her off of the ATV, then pushed it carefully back in his garage with the other toys he had stored there.  She spied a motorcycle and what looked like climbing equipment.  The man certainly enjoyed his outdoor sports, she thought.

“I have a great bottle of wine that you’ll probably like,” he said and took her hand as he led her into the house.”

“That would be nice,” she said, her eyes relaxed.  Nothing was going to happen but they would sit down and get to know each other better.  A glass of wine never hurt anyone, she told herself firmly.

He opened the bottle expertly, then flicked a switch and the fire came to life, the flames licking the top of the fireplace.  There was even a crackling sound,
the look and feel from this gas fireplace to be similar to a wood burning one. 

She was just as impressed with this living area as she had been at his city penthouse. 
“You don’t seem like the type to enjoy a gas fireplace but you have a large one here and back at your other place.”

He shrugged as he sat down next to her with his own glass, placing the bottl
e of wine next to them on the coffee table.  “I normally prefer a wood fire, but I chose a gas fireplace in both places so I could enjoy it more often.  A wood fire doesn’t turn off and on as easily so if I only have an hour or two, I can still light up the fire and have a nice evening or afternoon.”

She knew that made sense, it just seemed so out of character with him.  It was what she would prefer as well, even though she lived in an apartment.  “So how did you get into construction?” she asked, curling her legs underneath her.  She’d already dusted off her jeans so the linen covered sofa wouldn’t get messed up. 

They talked about how each of them got into their chosen professions and Sierra laughed about some of the foibles he’d run into as a teen in the construction industry. 

They laughed and talked for the rest of the afternoon, neither of them sensing the passing of time. Sierra vaguely thought she might be in trouble when he opened the second bottle of wine and started c
ooking dinner, a delicious chicken dinner with lots of cheese and sun-dried tomatoes which she devoured after a long afternoon in the sunshine. 

For dessert, he made
a raspberry sauce and poured it over ice cream, making the creamy confection divinely wonderful.  So when he leaned over and kissed her softly, she didn’t pull back.  There wasn’t anything to be nervous about and she leaned into the kiss, telling him without words that she liked it. 

But not for long.  The gentle kiss could only last for a few minutes when the two of them
touched.  The chemistry was always there, always simmering just under the surface.  Just like the gas fireplace that was still crackling away, their need for each other might be turned off, repressed for a while.  But at the first spark, it flamed back to life, roaring so that neither of them could control it. 

As he leaned closer, she pulled him down over her, pressing
herself against him and whimpering when she felt his strong body cover hers.  His hands were no longer holding the wine glass, nor was hers.  He’d already taken both of their glasses and put them on the coffee table which meant that his hands were free to roam, free to wander over her skin, underneath the flannel shirt and up to cup her breasts.  She inhaled sharply at his touch, but she didn’t have the strength to push his hands away.  A part of her mind told her that she should tell him no, that they couldn’t do this.  But she was so tired of doing that.  And deep down, she didn’t want that at all.  She wanted him, had wanted him from the first time he’d kissed her. 

She’d been afraid of him, of what he could make her feel.  And there was still that horrible honesty issue, but none of that surfaced to her mind at this point.  The only thing she could think of was
touching him and having him touch her everywhere! 

When he pulled the flannel shirt off, tossing it over the coffee table, she didn’t even look to make sure it didn’t topple the wine bottle or glasses.  She just wanted equal viewing time and her shaking fingers started on the buttons of his flannel shirt, desperate to see and feel what lay underneath. 

But the more he focused on the skin he’d just revealed, the less she was able to concentrate on revealing her own prize.  “Let me help you,” he growled and tore the shirt off over his head then took her hands, placing them against his heated skin.  “That’s better.” 

He inhaled sharply as she ran her fingers over his skin but she ignored the sound.  Until he reciprocated, his forefinger slipping inside the lace of her bra and finding the overly sensitive nipple underneath.  She arched against him as she hissed with the intensity of the pleasure that was so powerful, it almost felt like pain but she didn’t want him to stop.  She was unaware that her nails were digging into his shoulders until he moved away from her nipple.  She had to almost pry her fingers away from his skin though. 

“Sorry,” she whispered.

He shook his head, his eyes hot and bright as his fingers moved to her back, expertly releasing the clasp on her bra and tossing that away.  “Don’t ever apologize for doing that to me,” he groaned, then his head dipped and his mouth took in her nipple, sucking hard and Sierra couldn’t believe how good that felt.  Her legs moved up, her jeans rubbing against his in her need to get closer to him.  He wasn’t waiting for that though as his head moved from one breast to the next nipple, laving that one with the same attention. 

“Don’t stop,” she gasped when his mouth moved away. 

“I won’t,” he promised but his mouth didn’t return to her breast, moving lower, downward.  She couldn’t believe how vibrant every part of her skin felt after he kissed her.  She had no idea how he’d done it, but her jeans were a thing of the past and his hand was moving along the inside of her thigh. 

Briefly, she thought that perhaps she should be a bit more circumspect in her reactions but she couldn’t do anything to contain them.  When he touched her thigh, her body moved towards his hand.  When his fingers moved closer, she was more than ready for him there.  And when he touched his goal, she almost exploded as his fingers moved inside of her.  She was on fire and didn’t know how to extinguish that fire. 

“Please, Drake.  I don’t know what to do,” she pleaded with him, her fingers tracing his back, his arms, enjoying the incred
ible feel of his muscular body covering hers. 

“Just relax,” he said, his voice deep and husky as he watched her, his finger sliding into her heat.  He wanted to bury himself inside of her but at the same time, he also wanted to watch her face as she came to her first orgasm.  He couldn’t believe how sexy she looked, laying here in his arms like this. 

He couldn’t resist moving lower, his mouth tasting her while his fingers continued to weave their magic and with that one added touch, her body exploded around him, making him ache with how erotic she felt but also so turned on he could barely think. 

When the tremors finally subsided and he heard her soft, beautiful sigh of happiness, he stood up, then bent down and picked her up, carrying her into the bedroom.  He laid her onto the middle of the bed, stripped off his own jeans and then reached into the bedside table for protection.  As she watched, he
slid the condom over himself.  He would have laughed at her fascinated expression if he had any control left.  But he didn’t and he couldn’t and when he finished rolling it down his length, he moved over her, his arms holding him above her while he looked down into her eyes.  “Are you sure about this?” he asked.

Sierra felt her heart burst with love for this man who was so sweet and tender and loving.  “I’m sure,” she said with finality.  She wasn’t sure what to expect, but she wanted it all, wanted all of this man.  She wanted to have him fill her up and make her feel like a woman for the first time.

When she felt his heat probing, she lifted her hips, too eager to wait.  She had to close her eyes as he easily slid inside of her, her whole body stretching, trying to accommodate his length.  “It’s okay, baby,” he soothed when he felt her hands tense on his shoulders.  With one gentle thrust, he was buried inside of her.  He held still, waiting for her to adjust, for the pain to ease. 

He couldn’t stop but was relieved when he moved only slightly and it didn’t cause her pain.  When he did it again, she actually smiled.  And when he moved almost all the way out of her, hesitating before coming back inside of her heat, her eyes lit up with the feeling and he knew without a doubt that this was the woman he wanted to be with for the rest of his life. 

Sierra wanted something more, but wasn’t sure how to ask for it.  So when he started moving, she closed her eyes and reached out for him, loving the incredible feel of him now that the slight pain was gone.  She loved the way he felt, the friction his body caused.  But as he moved more, she didn’t like it all that much anymore.  It caused feelings inside of her to run into the too-crazy-to-control area and she preferred control.  “No, stop,” she said and tried to get him to stop.