Her hand behind his head, bringing him once again to her starving mouth cut the cord to his common sense, and he devoured her, pressing her into the cushions of the sofa, rolling his hips between her spread legs, feeling her heat. He could feel her heartbeat against his mouth and hands, and he was sure she could feel his, too. He struggled to think through the heat of her, through the sweet taste of her, and failed utterly.
"Does this mean I can stay all night?" he whispered harshly against her throat, having dragged his hungry mouth from hers a moment ago.
He felt her still against him, and looked into her eyes.
"I take it that's a no, love!"
He saw the answer in her eyes, and pressed a tender kiss on her cheek, before pushing off her and rising to his feet. Pushing a shaking hand through his hair, tousling it irrevocably, he watched her as she sat up, straightening her clothes, and putting a hand to her lips. He could almost hear her thinking. Part of him wanted to seduce her and take what he had been longing for for three months. The other part, the reasonable, calm adult, recognized the need for patience.
"Bella, I'm sorry!" He pushed his hands through his hair again and turned away from the sight of her, as rumpled as he, as needy, and he wished he could hold her and tell her what he was really feeling. He wished he could assure her that he would never hurt her, but he knew if he took more than she was ready to give him, he would hurt her irrevocably.
She stood up and faced him bravely, even though he could see the uncertainty in her eyes, before she shuttered them and presented a cool front.
"I think maybe you were right, Rick." She cast a rueful smile his way. "I'm sorry I forgot myself there for a minute."
She walked past him, studiously avoiding touching him, and went into the kitchen, but sure what she wanted to do, but knowing she needed to put some distance between them. She might want his kisses, might even need them, but they hadn't said two words to each other of any kind to allow them to jump in the sack together. There was a limit to how modern she was prepared to be. For now...
"Would you like something to drink?" she asked.
Rick turned to look at her, and bit back the answer that came first to his lips. Satisfying himself with a nod, he swallowed against the desire to taste her, to drink from her, and followed her to the kitchen, where he sat at the table and watched her reach down a bottle of wine. He could feel the fine tension in the room, and saw by the set of her shoulders, and the slight trembling she fought to hide from him, that she was still as tightly wound as he was. It thrilled him to know that all he had to do was touch her, and she would fall apart.
"Merlot?" she asked, turning to him. "It's not my favorite, but guests seem to like it."
"I'll only drink what you enjoy, Bella!" He smiled at her, wanting to defuse the tension and help her relax. "I'm not fussy!"
"Are you sure?"
Her eyes never left his face, and he saw when they slid down to take in his mouth. He smiled again, and watched her blink to clear the arousal from her gaze. His cock jerked. Well damn! Seemed all she had to do was look at him with hunger in her eyes and he was a goner!
"I'm sure!" he answered. "What do you like to drink?"
"I really feel like a glass of sherry," she said, and reached to replace the bottle she held with sherry.
Harvey's Bristol Crème, he noticed. He watched her pour two generous glasses, and accepted the one she handed him with another smile.
"Cheers!" she said, tipping her glass to his.
"Skol!" he replied, gently touching his glass to hers.
She took a generous swallow, and Rick had to restrain the grin that fought to crease his cheeks. Liquid courage, he knew, and sipped his own. He may not intend to make love to her tonight, but he sure as hell wasn't about to leave any time soon. He was driving, so he had to make sure to remain clear-headed. He chuckled at the thought. Bella made him completely befuddled. She dazzled him and shook his control. He blinked when he heard his name, and focused on her.
"Sorry, what?"
"I asked what was funny!" she said sharply.
"Nothing! Just a thought!" He took another sip and watched her wrap her fingers around her own glass. His mental screen saw that hand wrapped around his cock and he had to smother the groan that brought to his throat.
"Bella, you have to know that you are always on my mind! You're my first thought when I wake up, and my last before I fall asleep. It doesn't take anything to distract me from my routines these days. All I have to do is think of you, and I'm lost."
He sipped his sherry again, then put the glass down and reached for her, circling her wrists where they rested on the table. He could feel her pulse beating heavily in them, and the motion echoed the pulsing of his own. He caressed the insides of her wrists tenderly with his thumbs, and heard her catch her breath. The caress was seductive and erotic, stirring his blood more. He let her go, not willing to push her any further, and waited for her response.
"I can't imagine why," she answered with a small smile. "Surely there is some woman your age waiting in the wings for you to look at her? Don't ask me to believe you've been blind to all the attention the women in oyur classes give you, and I don't mean your lectures either!"
They chuckled together at that, and Rick said,
"I feel about them the way you used to feel about me." He stopped and looked into her eyes, putting a finger under her chin when she lowered her gaze, and forcing her to look at him again. "You HAVE stopped thinking like that, haven't you, beautiful?"
"What do you think?" Cara hedged, and he chuckled at her avoidance.
"What if I say I don't know?" he asked, holding her gaze with eyes grown dark with suppressed desires. "Would you tell me, or hide it from me?"
Rick saw her struggle, and added, "I should warn you that should you choose to prevaricate, or refuse to tell me what I want to know, I have deliciously torturous ways to punish you!"
