The Fairest of Them All (17 page)

Russ groaned. She didn’t know what she was asking. A minute was all it would take for him right now. But he couldn’t find the wherewithal to resist her. “You’re gonna kill me,” he muttered before he kissed her hotly, savagely. It required every ounce of his self-discipline, but he skimmed his hands over her, reacquainting himself with her curves, arousing her. He played with her until they were both so hot, he expected steam to rise from their skin.

Then he lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. The water lapped around them, cushioning their movements. He slowly penetrated her until she gloved him. The connection drew a soft moan from her lips, and her face glowed with his possession of her.

He closed his eyes and shuddered. Sixty seconds, he told himself.
I can do this for sixty seconds
. But then she moved. “Stop,” he said tightly. “Don’t move.” In spite of the cool water, he felt sweat bead on his forehead.

She curled herself around him and made love to his mouth, nipping and sucking on his lips. Her beaded nipples teased his chest, while her belly rubbed against his. Her thighs were a silken pleasure, putting him somewhere between heaven and hell. He resisted his need to caress her, knowing if he did, everything would be over in less than a minute.

“That’s it,” he said, gritting his teeth. He drew away, feeling his body scream in frustration, then carried her from the pond to his discarded clothes.

His hands were immediately all over her with his mouth following suit. He remembered the sensitive spot behind her ear. He remembered how she loved the rasp of his cheek against her shoulder. He remembered that her skin rippled when he skimmed his fingers low over her abdomen. He generously exploited her senses, and challenged her sanity.

Carly gasped when he gently parted her legs with one of his knees. “Russ,” she whispered. His heat took the chill from her skin. The sky was a spinning kaleidoscope of a bright, full moon and sparkling stars.

“I’ve wanted you every night since that weekend we spent together,” he muttered against her neck, visibly trying to slow down.

He nuzzled his way down her chest until his hot mouth found a nipple. He tugged and she felt it everywhere, from her head that seemed as light as air, to her mouth that suddenly went dry when his questing fingers found her aching femininity, to her toes that curled in pure pleasure.

“Russ,” she managed to say in an unsteady voice, “you’re making my head spin.”

He switched breasts and chuckled. The vibration of his mouth jolted her like a bare live wire. “Go ahead and spin.”

She fought against his madness. “No. There’s one more thing—” She broke off when he pressed that talented mouth to her belly button. Then she shook her head and grabbed his hair. “I mean it, Russ,” she pleaded.

He stopped and raised his head close to hers. His bottomless brown eyes were full of passion. “What is it?”

“There’s one more thing I want to do tonight that I’ve never done before.” She gave a gentle push, the gesture asking him to give her free rein.

He turned and caught her face between his hands. “You know you belong to me.”

Carly swallowed hard. “It’s time you learned you belong to me.” She shook free of his hands and pressed openmouthed kisses down his chest until she was the one flicking her tongue over his belly button. He jerked, but she continued. She allowed only a second of uncertainty.

Then she kissed him intimately.

“Oh, my God,” he said in a rough voice.

She tasted him with her tongue and learned his male texture, satin wrapped around steel. He was shaking. His abandoned response made her feel deliciously sexy. She liked the feeling so much, she got more daring. She opened her mouth, enclosing him, taking him in a rhythmic movement until he swore and pulled her away.

He breathed harshly, and his eyes were wild. “I can’t take any more. I need you.”

Her spirit soared at his obvious, overwhelming need for her. She knew it was only for her.

In seconds he protected her, and turned her over. Carly didn’t know who was more relieved when he sheathed himself inside her. They both moaned.

It wasn’t long before she felt the beginning shudders while she watched his eyes. They glowed like fire, and his face was taut with arousal. He thrust and she arched. Then, fast and furious, the peak came, sweeping both of them into its cyclone strength. Afterward, she was so overcome, she wept while he trembled.

The next morning all the prophylactics were gone.

Carly untangled herself from Russ’s arms and kissed him good-bye with a promise to meet him at his house for an early dinner before the evening cruise.

She hummed her way through the day, thinking things felt differently to her. She was hopeful, truly hopeful.

That afternoon they enjoyed cold sandwiches and conversation until Russ’s phone rang. Propping his feet on a kitchen chair, he talked to a distributor and rolled an apple across the table to Carly.

Carly caught it and smiled. She watched the crinkles around his eyes as he grinned in return. Her heart tripped. Could she possibly be happier than she was at this very minute? Carly rolled the apple back.

“Yeah, that’s right, David,” Russ said as he began tossing it into the air and catching it. He pointed meaningfully to his lap, obviously wanting her to join him.

She slowly shook her head.

She saw his eyes darken with retaliatory promise. He tossed the apple again. “Uh-huh, thanks for checking.”

Before he could react, Carly snitched the apple midair and took a bite.

“Anytime, bye now.” Russ hung up the phone. “Are you
teasing
me?”

Carly batted her eyes in innocence. “Who me? Tease the catfish king?”

He rose and stalked her around the table. “You’re playing a dangerous game.”

Carly scooted around a chair. “I’ll take my chances.” Then she stopped short, because she suddenly realized she wasn’t kidding. She’d be willing to take her chances with Russ. Forever kind of chances. It was an awakening that somehow managed to imbed her feelings about Russ more deeply at the same time that it shook her foundation.

“Gotcha!” He wrapped his arms around her.

Carly stared blankly at Russ, pulling back. She could have used a moment alone to come to grips with this, she thought. “Here,” she said and put the apple to his mouth so he could take a bite. “You can have it.”

Russ refused the bite but took the apple and looked at her in bewilderment. “If I could spend five minutes in your head ...”

“You’d get lost. Remember? I don’t do straight-line thinking.”

Russ chuckled and slung his arm around her shoulder. “Let’s go out on the porch.” He stopped.

“But first, I want you to look at the kitchen and your shirt.”

Carly slit her eyes at him. And he thought
her
train of thought was convoluted.

“You match.” He pointed to the yellow stripe in her shirt. “Yellow on your shirt and in my kitchen.”

She nodded, but didn’t have a clue what he was discussing. “Uh-huh.”

“And the green stripe goes with my den.”

Carly waited silently. She’d check his forehead for fever in a minute.

“And we already know you go perfectly in my bedroom,” he said as he ushered her to the porch.

“I’m not wearing aqua,” she felt compelled to point out.

He pulled her down beside him on the sliding porch swing. “You go perfectly when you wear nothing. Your shoes look great on my bedroom carpet. You match this house and me so well, you should stay here permanently.”

His point finally dawned. “Think so, huh?”

His grin fell, dispelling the light mood. His eyes were serious, so filled with somber commitment that her chest felt crowded and achy. He took her hand and looked at it. She couldn’t help but tremble.

“Gwen,” he began, and Carly felt her stomach take a dive. Gwen was his first wife.

“She was a homecoming queen, and she chased me up and down campus.” He shrugged. “She was just a freshman and I was a senior when we met.”

Carly held her breath then slowly released it.
Close your mouth, you ninny. This is what you’ve been asking for.

“Gwen used to say that being with me was the most important thing in her life. Marrying me would be a dream come true. I probably should have known better, but Dad had just died and Mom was making plans to move to Florida.”

He squeezed her fingers, frowning. “It’s easy to fall for a beautiful woman who says all the right things.”

His disappointment was etched in his face and written in his tone. A flare of futile jealousy burned within her.

“Pretty soon, the tide turned, and I was chasing her, begging her to quit college at the end of the year to marry me. We married in June. She hated living on a farm. She missed the frat parties and the football games. I didn’t want to face the fact that it wasn’t working out. She left on Christmas Eve.” His bitter laugh was rusty. “I must’ve stayed drunk for a solid week.”

Carly swallowed. “Did you ever try to get her back?”

Russ met her gaze. “Just once, but she’d already seen a lawyer. She wanted a divorce.”

“Must have hurt.”

Russ nodded. “Like hell.” He turned his head thoughtfully to one side. “I thought I’d never get married again till you. I wanted nothing to do with it.”

“I’m young,” Carly pointed out quietly.

He cupped her chin. “You’ve had your share of losses. It’s made you strong. You’re the most loving woman I’ve ever met.” He took a deep breath. “What I”—he hesitated—”feel for you is deeper than anything I’ve felt for any other woman.”

Tears backed up in Carly’s eyes. It wasn’t I love you, but it was darned close. “Oh, Russ.”

“I want to spend the rest of my life trying to figure out the way you think. I want to be with you when you make a huge success of that riverboat.” He stroked her cheek and painted a picture for her. ‘‘I want us to trade secrets and make babies together. I want to fight and make up, but only with you.” He lowered his voice to a deep, low rumble that seemed to come from his very heart. “I joke about it, but, Carly, I want you with me forever.”

She looked into his clear brown eyes and saw only honesty. Her resistance crumbled. She loved him more than she’d dreamed possible. Carly threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight, feeling both his strength and exhale of surprise.

He ruffled the hair at her nape with one hand and wrapped his other hand around her waist. “How long are you gonna make me wait, lady?”

Her heart seemed to burst. “Not anymore, Russ,” she whispered. “No more waiting.”

He stiffened and put a little space between them. He stared into her eyes. He must have been looking for a sign and found it. His hands were bands of steel encircling her arms. “You’re sure? Did I hear you right?”

Carly nodded. “I’m sure.”

In one exuberant movement, Russ stood and pulled Carly with him. He let out a rebel yell, and the dogs started barking. The porch and trees blurred together as he spun her around and around.

Finally, he stopped and just stared at her. His smile could have lit up the whole state of Tennessee. He kissed her and allowed her to slide down the length of his body. By the time he broke the kiss, Carly was dizzy with happiness. She barely comprehended what he was saying.

“We’ll have the ceremony next week,” he announced. “To hell with waiting till September.”

Carly nodded weakly, struggling for her equilibrium.

“And we’ll get your ring now. The jeweler’s still open, and I want you to help pick it out. Then we’ll tell your brothers.”

Carly nodded again, then remembered her cruise and shook her head.

Russ paused, studying her. “No?”

“I’ve got a cruise tonight. It starts in—” She checked her watch and made a face. “I should probably leave now.”

“I forgot,” Russ said.

Carly laughed. “So did I.”

Consternation crossed his face. “It’s a hell of a time to watch you ride off into the sunset. I’ll drive you. We can talk on the way.” He dug car keys out of his pocket and guided her toward his truck. “I’ll pick you up after the cruise and bring you back here.”

“You don’t have to,” Carly said when he opened the door for her.

“Yes I do. Your car will be here.” He shortened the distance between their faces. “Besides, we’ve got something to celebrate tonight and I won’t have a minute alone with you once we tell your brothers.” Carly’s heart turned a little flip. He brushed his mouth against hers in a firm, possessive kiss that hinted more would come later. She managed to get in the truck and sit down.

“You’ll need to give notice for your apartment lease,” Russ pointed out as he drove toward town. “Do you have any idea who you’ll want to give you away at the wedding?”

Carly thought of her seven brothers and how special each of them was to her. She shook her head. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t want any of them to feel left out.”

Russ chuckled. “You could always ask all of them. By the way, is tonight’s cruise for anyone special?”

“National Electronics. They’ll be booking four more cruises contingent on their satisfaction with this one. I really want it to go well.”

Russ was silent so long, Carly turned to look at him. “What’s wrong?”

“You didn’t ask whatsisname about becoming a silent partner yet, did you?”

“No. I wanted to think about it a little longer. Why?”

“Because I’ve got a little surprise that I think will make you happy. When I suggested you look into getting a silent partner, I was hoping you’d think of me.”

Carly blinked. “You?”

“Sure. It’s the perfect setup, especially since we’ll be married.”

Carly felt uneasiness crawl under her skin. “Well, we can think about that later. We’ve got enough to do now.”

Russ lifted a broad shoulder in a half-shrug. “It’s already a done deal. I bought your brothers’ share of Matilda’s Dream about a month ago.”