The Better Man (5 page)

God, was she
crazy? Must be. Because she didn’t want to stop what she’d started. Slowly, she
sat up and rested her cheek against his broad back, both hands now on his
torso, under his shirt. They smoothed around him until she was embracing him
from behind.

“Lori,” he
warned softly.

“Shhh…”

Her touch
became bolder, its purpose not to be questioned.

“You know where
this is going to lead.”

One palm danced
over his hardened nipple, the other pressed against him so she could revel in the
increased tempo of his heart. “I’ve thought about you every single night since
I’ve been here. Every night. Not Brian. Never Brian. You. Why is that?”

“Because I love
you.” He spoke in a hoarse whisper. “I’ve always loved you.”

Those words
were like a balm on her soul. Lori closed her eyes and pressed kisses along his
back. Of course, she’d known since the morning she’d left him in the parking
lot, but having him voice the sentiment was so much more real . It ripped at
her. Thrilled her.

“I know that
now. I don’t know why I missed it before.”

“But you’re not
sure about me…your feelings for me yet, are you?”

Finally, Will
turned to her and pulled her into his arms. For the first time in ages, she
felt truly safe, truly loved. But he was right, she wasn’t sure about her heart
yet. “I love you and you know that.” Each word was punctuated with a kiss on
his throat.

“You’re just not
sure what kind of love. We’ve been friends for years.”

“Best friends.”

Despite the
doubts, she wanted him. Wanted the weight of his body on hers. She’d seduced
him once and spent ages dwelling on that night, reliving it.

She wanted the
passion again. With her gaze, she traced every feature on his face. His gray
eyes were dark with desire. She leaned toward him and touched her lips to his.
At first he didn’t respond, but all at once, his hold on her tightened and he
rolled her onto her back. He knelt over her, his hands pinning her arms to the
bed as his mouth crushed down on hers with a delicious ferocity that sent her
head spinning.

His hunger
excited her. Or maybe his declaration of love. All the walls they had
previously built were down. He was free to tell her anything he wished, do
anything he wanted, without fear that she’d turn him away. With sure fingers,
he unbuttoned her blouse and pushed it aside.

Briefly, she
sat up so he could divest her of her bra, then she lifted her hips to allow him
to slip her pants and undies off. In less than ten seconds, she was entirely
naked under his gaze.

“My God, Lori,
you’re perfect,” he murmured, sweeping over her entire body with his bold scrutiny.
Everywhere his gaze touched, her body tingled in anticipation.

His lips
returned to her mouth, more slowly this time. His tongue found hers and they
swept and swirled together while his hands explored her body, drifting down
from her neck to her breasts. Fast and electric sparks shot throughout her body
as he caressed and lightly pinched her tight nipples, moving lower to center in
the apex of her thighs where thousands of erotic stirrings gathered, waiting
for release. When he pulled away and returned his attention to her mouth and
throat, she groaned at the loss. He’d started a wildfire in her that wouldn’t
be doused until he gave her complete release.

 Will drew out
the moment with each touch and taste over every inch of her body.
Not fair.
His mouth followed the path his hands had taken and savored one peak, then the
other. He was still fully dressed. She longed to have his skin against hers,
see it in the soft, glowing autumn sunlight streaming through the window onto
the bed. But there was no way she could move, not with what he was doing to
her. His mouth stroked and pulled on her swollen nipple while one hand caressed
the other. His other palm  skimmed down her belly and eased over the juncture
of her thighs.

“Will.” She
pressed her hips against his hand.

He replied not
with words, but with a nip at her throbbing peak. A finger swept inside the
cleft between her legs, igniting a fire from the glowing embers of desire. She
cried out his name again and again as the flames built. She longed for the
culmination of this sensual exploration, yet was amazed at how high he was
taking her. His kisses tickled and teased down her belly and he parted her
thighs to reach her pulsating core with his lashing tongue. She breathed in
choppy gasps, fast and hard as she writhed against his questing lips and
fingers. Swirl after swirl of erotic delight assaulted her, pushing her closer
to the edge of a silken, molten precipice that promised only heaven once she
fell.

Lori gripped
the quilt on the bed with all her strength as her hips rose to meet him. She
was flying. He’d sent her into some kind of spiraling, senseless orbit as she
was overcome with intolerable pleasure. It maddened her and she begged him to
stop, fearing she would never come down to earth.

Will pulled
back and joined her on the bed, smoothing her hair away from her damp forehead.
He didn’t smile, but his devotion was in his eyes—what he felt for her. So
clear, so unafraid.

She wished she
could be as certain of things. She wanted him so much, but could that lead to
the kind of love he needed? Was she nearly to that point? Her body cooled to a
slow burn, and she wanted it stoked again, wanted him to burn as much as she
did. Even with the embers still glowing within her, she wanted more.

“I’m going to
take off your shirt.” She got to her feet. “I want to make love to you just as
thoroughly. And lucky us. I still have plenty of condoms.”

She sent him a
wicked wink and sashayed across the room to her suitcase, returning a moment
later. She dropped a foil packet on the bed next to Will, and then knelt down
beside him. “But first things first. You’re wearing far too many clothes and I
plan on getting rid of them. Now.”

Just that
suggestion was enough for Will’s breath to increase. He complied, and when he
started for his pants, she pushed his hands away. She wanted to undress him herself.
Slowly, she released the button of his jeans and pulled the zipper down. She
caressed his rock-hard arousal through the stiff fabric, tearing a moan from
his throat. Will lifted his hips as she eased both pants and underwear down at
the same time, pulling the garments from his body. She tossed them behind her,
and then leaned in to kiss his mouth, jaw, neck, and down, pausing at each
pebbled nipple to suck and tug as she went.

While her mouth
blazed a trail across his body, her hand had already found what it was looking
for. She wrapped her fingers around his thick erection and stroked lightly,
delighting in the way it felt so powerful in her hand. Delighting in the way
his breath grew more ragged with each slide. She kissed her way down his body,
just as he had hers, until she was poised over his rigid shaft. He sucked in a
startled breath as she took him into her mouth, just the tip of his penis at
first, but slowly, teasingly, she advanced more, pulling back and dipping down
again, tasting the saltiness of his juices.

His flesh was
hot and hard and his breath came faster and faster until he pulled her up and
back onto the bed, pinning her body under his.

“I want to see
your face when I make love to you.” His hand slid down over the hardened peaks
of her breasts and the smoothness of her belly to rest between her thighs, but
instead of playing there, he eased her legs apart and moved over her, his gaze
never leaving hers. He held his body still, his straining erection poised and
pressing against her center, but he didn’t move.

Anticipation
built. Every nerve ending in her body stood on alert and the small contact of
their bodies was enough to start a raging fire. But she refused to move. She
liked this game, this challenge.

No matter what
kind of love she held for him, she didn’t want any other man in the world. Not one
of them could possibly love her as thoroughly, and a little bit of her heart
broke in fear that she wouldn’t be able to reciprocate the way he needed.

But she could
give him this. Her body, her desire, and all the love she ever had for him.

Without
breaking the hold his gaze held over her, he sank into her, a hot glide of
flesh against flesh until he filled her entirely. He held himself still before
pulling back and plunging in a second time. Lori arched to meet his next
powerful thrust. Shivers ran the length of her body with each slow and steady
stroke. He punctuated each dip and lift with a kiss along her throat, jaw line,
earlobe. The steady surge offered her time to drink in all of him. She inhaled
his breath, threaded faintly with coffee, as he nibbled her lips.

She explored
the planes of his muscular back and buttocks, rocked with his measured,
insistent rhythm. With each push, he delved deeper into her, whispering his
love as he moved. Sweetness with edge. Passion with barely contained ecstasy.
He held it in until she reached that first pulsing moment of release.

Despite the
slowness of their lovemaking, the climax came wildly, explosively. Wave after
wave of fiery pleasure swept through her, swirling with soul-shattering
intensity, both in her mind and her center where Will filled her so completely.
She couldn’t do more than breathe in short, heated gasps, pressing her face
into the crook of his neck as his body tensed with his jarring end. With a
harsh groan of satisfaction, Will shuddered, his hands buried in her hair. She
wrapped her legs around his waist to keep him deep within her.

After a long
moment passed, Will finally rolled off her, pulling out of her body but still
keeping her in his arms. Not for a split second did he release her and she was
glad. She wanted every touch, knowing the consequences of holding on to him so
tightly There was no way she’d give up any part of this incredible gift of love
he offered, a gift that no other man had ever bestowed before.

She closed her
eyes and let herself drift. How in the world could she go from jilted bride to
satiated lover in less than two weeks? Her body felt wonderful, better than
ever before. There’d be no sneaking out on Will this time. Already the sun had
disappeared behind the wall of trees outside her window, casting the room in
amber light. She and Will were under the blankets, their limbs tangled
together. She couldn’t move, even if she’d wanted to. All she needed was the
soothing caress of Will’s hand on her shoulder, the idle stroke of his fingers
on her skin.

For the moment,
she’d bask in his love, take it for all it was worth and hold it to her. Her
head rested on his chest and she listened intently to his steady heartbeat.
Later, after they were rested, she would want him again.

She would want
him all night long, to spend the night with her and remind her that he loved
her.

But before that
could happen, she’d have to let him know of her possible plans to stay in New Hampshire.
Maybe her plans would change his. Maybe she should’ve told him before they’d
fallen into bed with each other. Too late for that.

“Will?”

“Hmmm?” He
didn’t move an inch.

“I need to tell
you something.”

“Am I going to
hate it or love it?”

Lori chuckled
and kissed his chest. “Not sure. But I have a feeling you’ll probably hate it.”

Heavy silence
fell between them before he finally spoke in a hard voice. “Then why tell me?”

“Because I want
to be fair. To you. To us.”

His arms
tightened around her. “Do you mean to tell me there could be an ‘us’?”

She kissed him
again. “There’s always been an ‘us.’ But the dynamics of the relationship have
changed.”

“For the
better.”

“In many ways.
But please, be quiet and let me talk.”

“Talk.”

“I want to stay
here. In New Hampshire.”

“What,
permanently?” Will sat up, pulling her with him so she was practically on his
lap. He pushed back her hair.

“I think so,”
she replied softly. From the concern in his gray gaze, this was a blow to him.

“Lori, why?
Okay, I think I know
why
, but you have a life down in Florida.
Everything is there.”

“And maybe I
need to get away from ‘everything.’ I don’t want the reminders, Will. Or the
old life. I have never felt so at home  since coming here. That’s something I
won’t have once I go back.”

“Darling,
you’ll always have a home down there.”

She sighed. Was
she hurting him? That wasn’t her intention. She knew what he meant, she could
move in with him and they could continue to cultivate this affair. But as much
as she wanted
him
, she didn’t want Orlando.

“I appreciate
that, but Will, there’d be so much talk. I don’t want to be the center of more
gossip. I’ve had my fill of it. On Monday, I’ll go back to my old job, which I
hate, and the people there will be patting me on the back and telling me how
sorry they are about what happened with Brian. But behind my back, I’ll be the
hot topic of conversation. My friends, too. Oh, not my closest friends, but the
ones I used to ‘share’ with Brian. I don’t want to be the topic of conversation
for everyone.”

“When are you
planning on dealing with Brian? You don’t see this as avoiding the situation?”

Lori sighed and
closed her eyes. “I’ll have to deal with him soon. Sooner than I want, I
suspect.” And it would take all her strength not to shove his engagement ring
down his throat.

“You’re not still
in love with him , are you?” He asked the question slowly, as if it were the
last thing he wanted to ask, as if he were afraid of the answer he’d get.

Her eyes shot
open and she faced him. “God, no. I’ve done a lot of thinking on this trip.
Being alone does that.”