Wine and Roses (8 page)

“This place truly is beautiful,” she said. “How long have you owned it?”

“I was born here.”

“What?” Talk about a shocker. She turned to look around even more. “This is your home; you brought me to your home?” She couldn’t wrap her mind around actually being in the place where he grew up. He never answered her only headed for the steps leading to the wrap around porch and the front door, his dog at his side. He shifted the bags he held to get the key ring dangling from his front pocket. After pulling it out, he unlocked the door, and she quickly followed behind him. Gunner ran in first and immediately sniffed everything in sight.

The house smelled like the pine wood it had been made from and seemed well-cared for. A log cabin, the dark brown stain on the outside logs looked recently done. Nothing showed wear about the exterior. Except for the roof, the tiles were faded in some places showing signs of a little scuffing. She couldn’t tell the age of the house, could be a year or twenty-years-old, but if he had been born there it was way older than it appeared.

She followed him into the interior of the home. He moved off to the side and opened blinds letting light into the darken rooms, and the more light he let in the more she could see of the place. “You grew up here?”

“Yes. Come on, I’ll show you where to put your stuff. Leave the crate right there, I’ll get it later.”

He moved past her to head for a hallway to her right, but she stayed put for a moment glancing around. They’d entered into a small foyer. From the outside, the house looked like an L shape. With the view of the river on the inner part and the front of the L. The small living room area appeared more lived in than cluttered. In the far corner of the room, wood piled as high as her waist lay in a cart next to an iron stove. A pipe came out from the top of the stove all the way through the top of the ceiling. The room would be cozy when it got colder out. Two sofas both short and wide, one brown with green stitching around the edges and green cushions, the other burnt gold, sat facing each other. Colorful-knitted Afghans in earth tones were thrown over the backs of both sofas. A recliner sat on the other side of the wood stove, and a few scenic pictures covered the wooden walls. Straight ahead, an archway separated the area leading into another room where she could see the side of a refrigerator. Stepping to her left, the direction Simon had gone in, she spotted an entryway into yet another part of the house. A hallway ran the length of the L, with several doors, two on one side and three on the other. The first room she came to was empty but she could make out the edge of a bed. Simon walked out of the second door down the hall.

“This room will be yours. You’ll have your own bathroom here and a great view of the river.”

Simon stepped aside so she could walk in. “What a nice room,” she said, looking around. Again, like the rest of the house, homey. Another colorful Afghan, in autumn colors, rested across this bed, along with a matching rug on the floor. The wood walls were stained a dark brown, with a few photographs of the area adorning them. A large dresser stood in the corner and matching nightstands on either size of the king-sized bed. Who lived here? Eboni knew Simon lived in LA when he wasn’t travelling on assignment. Where were his parents, anyway? God, she didn’t know a thing about him. She frowned. Why not? How come he’d put her here by herself. She turned around to face him. “And where’s your room?” She could not believe the question came out of her mouth.

“Here if you want me.”

Chapter Ten

He’d planned on sleeping with her, but thought it best not to outright tell her. This used to be his room. The twins slept down the hall, and his parent’s room had been the first one in the hallway. In truth, he didn’t really know why he’d bought her here. There were questions she’d have he wasn’t prepared to answer. He waited.

“Simon, I don’t think it’s such a good idea for us to…to….”

Smiling, he stepped right up to her until they stood toe-to-toe, using his greater size to intimidate, but she didn’t back down, instead she glared up at him. He smiled even more. God he’d missed being near her, around her, inside of her. Raising his hand, he traced his finger from her ear to her cheek then with his thumb he brushed her mouth.

“Who said we were going to think?” He lowered his head intent on kissing her unfortunately, damn Gunner had other ideas. He jumped up on his legs, pawing at him trying to get his attention. He shifted his focus down to the little dog that looked up at him with his tongue hanging out of his mouth and his dark eyes shining with joy.

“One sec,” he said to Eboni, picking up the little dog. Alex put some things together for Gunner, too, and left it with the crate. Simon headed for the living room, found the crate, and grabbed the bag, taking both dog and stuff into the kitchen. Eboni came out of the bedroom and followed him. He turned back to grin at her. “Sorry.”

She smiled back. “Oh, don’t mind me.”

He put the things down on the table and found two bowls.

“Can I help?” she inquired. “Do you have food for him?”

“Check the bag.” He placed one bowl on the table the other he filled with water. When he turned around, Eboni held a bag of dog food already open. He put the dog down on the floor along with the bowl of water, which Gunner lapped up. Eboni placed his food next to it. The dog moved over to the other bowl.

“There, he should be fine for now.” He turned back to Eboni and took her hand. “Now where were we? Oh yes, I remember.” Without another word, he led her back to the bedroom and closed the door. Moving them both closer to the bed. After all these months of wanting her, he’d have her again.

Putting his hand in her hair to hold her, he captured her mouth with his. The first touch had her parting her lips, and he slid his tongue inside, tasting the mint she’d eaten earlier in the car, and inhaling the fragrance of cinnamon and vanilla lotion she liked to use. He’d seen a small bottle of it peeking out of her bag and immediately recognized the scent as hers. But most of all, she smelled like home to him. A dangerous thing for someone like him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he pulled her closer until their bodies were flush against each other. The only barriers between them the clothes they wore. Which shouldn’t last for long. Simon moved away from her mouth and licked his way to her chin. She responded by tilting her head back and placed her hands on his shoulders. Grabbing the end of her T-shirt, he pulled it over her head dropping the shirt on the floor. Then he unhooked her bra and paused to admire the bounty before him. Her breasts weren’t large, but they were full enough for him. “Beautiful.” She raised her hand and touched the ever present shades over his eyes, and he jerked back. “Sorry,” he said startling her. “There’s too much light in here. Hang on. Hold on to your thoughts. I’m going to make them a reality in a sec.”

She took a step back and sat on the edge of the bed while he moved around the room pulling the drapes closed. The sun would be setting soon but at least the room held a comfortable darkness to it. He returned to the bedside and removed his shades placing it on the nightstand. Straightening, he pulled his own T-shirt off watching her the entire time before returning to kneel in front of her. “Now, where were we?”

“You were just about to get into my…thoughts.”

“Mmm, your thoughts were not what I’m about to get into.” He leaned forward and kissed her again, letting their tongues play a little, while his thumbs found her nipples and rubbed a circle around them before moving down to her jeans. He unbuttoned them. “Lift for me, honey.” When she did, he pulled the jeans off her.

“Hmm, I can see your underwear is already wet.” He raised his eyes to hers. “For me.”

She looked around. “I don’t see anybody else in here.”

“And there won’t be. Not now, not ever.” He wasn’t sure what made him say something so unlike him, but he damn well spoke the truth.

“Oh, and how many women have you brought up here and said that to?”

“None.”

***

“Oh.” Eboni didn’t know what to say to his statement, too unsure what it all really meant, or why he brought her to Montana.
And of all places, his childhood home
. So many questions ran through her mind, but she dared not ask any of them. This certainly was not the time. She wanted Simon, never stopped wanting him. Whatever happened between them was just about the here and now. She’d be fine.

When he lowered his head and raised one of her legs over his shoulder, she knew they’d passed the point of no return. His hand reached out and rested on her chest laying her down, while those gray eyes stared right at her as his tongue reached out to lick over her already wet underwear. She moved her hands down to pull the scrap of lace aside, holding herself open for him. Eboni needed his mouth on her wet flesh, and he obliged. She ripped the underwear herself so he could lick her clit. His entire tongue lay flat against her opening, and he spread her legs wider for him.

“You like that, sweetheart. Tell me if you like that.”

“Yes, you know I do,” she whimpered.

“Mmm.”

He purred against her sex, sending shivers throughout her body. Taking his hand off her chest, he moved it around to her butt lifting her up so he could have better access to her nether regions, when he slid his tongue deep into her. Her stomach muscles tightened, and her juices rushed to bathe his face.

“Fuck yes,” he growled. “I missed your taste.”

Standing quickly, he got rid of his jeans leaving his underwear on.

“Wait, condom.” She had no idea how she remembered something she should never have forgotten. A sense of self-preservation perhaps kicking in, she wished it was strong enough to put a stop to even having the need to use one, but looking at the sculptured well-endowed man before her, she sighed, might be asking too much. In the months since they’d been together, who knew with how many other women he’d seen fit to indulge himself with. While she had been with no one else, and after this, it would be a long time before she’d be able to let another man touch her. An ache of sadness rested heavily in her heart.

“Are you still taking those shots?”

The first time before they’d come together they’d cleared the air about their sexual history. “Yes.”

“No problem.”

She frowned. “Have you been tested again since?” Was there a need for him to be tested? Oh God! How many women had he slept with in the last three months? Talk about a buzz kill.

His reply didn’t come quickly, but then he said, “No need. I’ve been busy so haven’t been with anyone since you.”

“Oh.” Oh! What did that mean? She never got around to asking, because Simon lowered his head and kissed her. A softer kiss than the others. Tender. Eboni wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him, tugging him down to her, but he eased back. She released him, and he straightened up to take off his underwear.

The tattoo she remember of the black jaguar still gave her chills, so much so moisture pooled again between her legs. The head of the cat began below his belly button, and the sleek lines of its body continued down all the way to his groin. The tail seemingly hugged his sex. Which stood pulsing, bursting with his blood, and the veins in the head turning it purple. It might look soft to the touch but from experience she knew it would be the exact opposite. She didn’t have much time to admire the size of him, much as she’d have liked to. Simon pulled her to him and raised her parted knees so her feet rested on the bed, just before he plunged into her waiting sex.

Once he rested, buried deep in her core, they both groaned and she never wanted him to come out. “Simon.” She shut her eyes, couldn’t believe his name came out half-cry half-moan, but it did. She’d been fooling herself. She’d missed him more than she should have. “Oh God!”

“Shhh…I’m here with you now.”

Did he understand how he made her feel? Did he even have a clue?

Simon withdrew to her entrance and surged back fully into her, and from one breath to the other, all thoughts left her as she delved into sensation. No nerve ending remained untouched by him. When he withdrew from her yet again this time pulling all the way out, she opened her eyes to voice a protest. But in no time, he turned her over onto her stomach.

“Rest your forehead on the bed and raise that gorgeous ass for me.”

He did not have to tell her twice, and her reward, he hovered behind her rubbing his sex along her opening, coating himself in her juices before entering her from the back. Simon placed one hand on her butt cheek, the other he moved around her thigh to rub against her nub. So as he moved in and out of her core, going deeper each time his fingers rubbed against her sex heightening her pleasure, until tears snaked from her eyes at the intensity of her emotional and physical response to him.

“I’m coming. I’m coming,” she panted.

In reaction to her cry, he stroked in and out of her faster, until the only sounds in the room were their harsh intakes of breath and the slapping of sweated flesh against flesh. The pressure grew in her center, building in volume before bursting to rush like fire throughout her system, finding an exit down her canal. She screamed his name as she came and heard her name on his lips. The warmth of his seed rushed to flood her passage and as their bodies joined so did their essence mingle. Filling them both.

Unable to hold herself up, she collapsed half-on half-off the bed. He pulled out of her and turned her over. “You okay?” he asked.

“Ah huh.” In truth, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever be okay again. Every solid part of her turned into liquid.

Picking her up like she weighed no more than a feather, and perhaps to him she did, he moved her so she lay straight on the bed. Pulling the sheet aside, he rolled her so he could cover her up with the Afghan lying over the bed. Then he got in beside her and took her into his arms so they faced each other.

“Rest. Sleep. We’ll unpack later. It’s been a long day for you, and you’re still recovering. I should have waited.” He kissed her hair and shifted so his head rested on the same pillow as hers. “I just needed to be inside you so badly is all.”