Again (31 page)

She bit her lip at the sudden desire to be more for him.
 
She wanted him to think she was perfect.
 
She looked down at herself, wondering…was she good enough for him?

“Look at me, Catherine.”
 

She raised her eyes and all doubt vanished.
 

His fingers followed the crevice and touched her lightly beneath her breasts before cupping her fullness in his hand.

She couldn’t have looked away if she wanted to.
 
And still he hesitated.

She pressed into his hand, wanting him to take more.
 
“I am not a fragile flower, Jonathan.
 
I am a woman grown.”

With a husky moan, he cupped her breast and slowly rubbed his thumb over her nipple, teasing it to a hard peak.

She threw her head back and cried out, reveling in the tiny shivers that raked her body.
 

He planted steamy kisses on the soft skin beneath her ear, along her jaw, and trailed down her neck, and stopped, resting in the curve of her neck.
 
Pulled hard against his chest, she felt his body quiver against hers, fighting to regain control.
 
Harsh breaths shuddered through his chest as he held very, very still.

“I cannot possibly behave like a gentleman when you bewitch me so, milady.”

“Then,” she whispered, “be not a gentleman and call me not a lady.”

His grasp on her slowly released and Catherine gently pushed him away.
 
They stood apart, yet bound together by undeniable attraction.
 
She dared herself to go on.
 
She slowly raised her hands and hooked her thumbs at the top of her gown, which hung loosely about her waist.
 
She eased it down and pushed it past her hips, letting it crumple to her feet.
 
A shiver ran through her body.
 

The lack of light concealed the true depths of Jonathan’s reaction as she stood before him.
 
She had the disadvantage of not being able to see his face clearly, but the way he stood so still, muscles coiled tight, she knew neither of them would be turning back from what they were about to do.
 
She could feel the heat from his eyes as he soaked up the sight of her and watched her every move.
 
Encouraged, and driven by her own curiosity, she unhurriedly trailed her fingers up along the length of her thighs, over her lush hips, and across her flat, smooth belly.
 
Her body flushed at the touch of her own hands as they brushed underneath her breasts, smoothing over her nipples before trailing back down again sensuously to her hips.
 
She stepped out from the gown gathered at her feet and stood a fingerbreadth away from Jonathan.

He looked down upon her, his lower lip caught between his teeth.
 
She took his hands in her own and turned with him slightly so that the light shining off the water and pouring into the cave would reflect upon his face.

His amber eyes had turned liquid gold, heavily lidded with desire.
 
He cradled her face in his hands before he treated himself to the taste of her lips in a slow, luxurious kiss, his tongue finding hers once again.

But that was not enough.
 
She needed more.
 
She ached to feel his skin under her hands, her flesh against his.
 
She pulled up hard on his tunic to give her access to what lay beneath.
 
Her hands splayed against the ridges of his stomach and slid up over his powerful chest.

A low growl rumbled deep in his chest when he broke their kiss.
 
He held her face apart from his.
 
But she would not hesitate.
 
She would not waste what moments she still had with him.
 
Her hand snaked around his back, as she touched her tongue to her full lips, swollen by his kisses.
 

He needed no further encouragement.
 
Jonathan released her and stripped himself of his tunic and untied his breeches, dropping them to the ground.

Catherine’s eyes grew wide at his bronzed skin pulled tight over his wide shoulders, smooth expansive chest, bundled muscles of his arms, rippled stomach, and narrow hips…and his rising desire.

“Catherine…”

“Shh…” she managed to say.
 
“No words.
 
Come.”
 
She pulled him deeper into the cave and turned to him, pressing her body against his, reveling in the searing heat at every point their flesh touched.
 
She felt his hardness against her belly and moved wantonly against the swell.
 

Pushing away her hair to expose the curve of her neck, he dipped his face and planted feather-light kisses along her jaw and down her throat, his hand stroking the small of her back.
  
He lowered her to the soft sand and, in one fluid motion, he stretched the length of his body next to hers and ran his hand along her waist and hips, drawing her leg up over his.
 

Her skin flamed anew where he squeezed her buttock, pulling her closer to him.
 
The intimacy with which they lay, with his shaft pressed hard between the moistness of her thighs, fired such an exquisite longing within her.
 
She could not stop herself from touching him wherever she could.
 
Her hands ran over the corded muscles of his shoulders and back, the smooth skin over his tight buttocks.
 
She wanted to know everything about him.
 
She wanted to etch into her memory, right down to her soul, what he felt like.

She never knew her body was so capable of tightening with such pleasure.
 
Her fingers threaded through his thick hair and pulled him into a soul-searing kiss, searching for a release.

But he would grant her no such boon.
 
Sliding his hand slowly up her side and finding its way to her breast, his kiss softened and slowed.
 
He pulled on her lower lip, flicking his tongue at the corner of her mouth.
 
Her sigh of satisfaction melted into a moan when he gently massaged her soft mound, nipping the tight bud between his fingers.
 

The fever that ran through her when she first kissed him paled when compared to the inferno that melted her now.
 
She thought she would scream in agonizing pleasure when he took her in his mouth to suckle her.
 
She arched her back in response with her breath coming in short bursts.
 

She shuddered.
 
“Love me now, Jonathan.
 
Please.”

He raised his head and shifted his body over hers, putting his weight on his elbows.
 
Their hearts beat furiously against one another, their flesh hot and slick between them.
 

His teeth grazed her jaw before nipping the lobes of her ears.
 
Then his words brushed across her even more gently than his touch.
 
“There is no reason to rush.
 
We have much time, my love.”
 

“No.
 
No time.”
 
She was hungry for him.
 
She wanted him to fill her now, until she no longer felt separate from him.
 
“Now.”
 
She shifted under him until her thighs cradled and tightened around his hips.

He laughed softly.
 
“You are much too impatient.”
 
But he conceded, and slowly slid into her hot, wet tightness.
 

She gripped his shoulders as she gently filled her, and reveled in the explosive union of body and soul.
 
“More,” she breathed.

When he met resistance against her thin barrier, he stopped.
 

“Catherine?”
 
Jonathan searched her face for words she might not say.
 
All was quiet but for the noise of the distant ocean as the waves pulsated against the rocks outside.

“Please do not stop,” she pleaded.

“You must be certain.”

“I have never been more certain of anything in my entire life.
 
Please
.
 
I
want
this.”

He nodded as he considered her words.
 
Then he pressed deeper, his hips moving against hers, slowly at first, then stronger as her heat wrapped around him.
 
He thrust hard, penetrating the barrier between them.
 

Catherine arched against the pain that shot through her and Jonathan’s mouth captured the sounds that would have escaped her lips.
 
He stilled, letting her accustom herself to the size of him inside her.

“You are so beautiful, Catherine.”
 
He rested his forehead against hers.
 
“You cannot possibly know what you do to me.”
 

The knowledge that she had the power to excite him made her bold.
 
She smiled wantonly.
 
“Show me.”

He studied her, as if weighing her commitment. “As you wish, milady.”
 
He claimed her mouth and began the dizzying torture of seduction, probing her mouth with his tongue.
 
With a long draw on her lower lip, he broke the kiss, and as she wished, he began slow, deep strokes, watching her face as he moved inside her.
 

The friction against her very core brought her to a precipice where, wave upon wave, the air trapped in her lungs swelled and burst forth, filling her heart, spilling over into her loins, and exploding beyond her very soul.
 
His name stuck in her throat as she gasped for air.
 
She road the crest, clutching his hard buttocks, bringing him closer, and then, when she thought she could go no higher, she shattered into a thousand fiery stars.

His rhythm pounded faster, his thrusts deeper as she tightened her legs around his waist, demanding more of him.
 
He rose above her, filling her, driving harder, before calling out her name with his own release, then collapsing against her.

She unlocked her ankles, sliding her heels up and down the length of his strong thighs.
 
A satisfied smile danced on her lips.
 
She marveled at the way their bodies fit, at the way her skin was still afire where he touched and kissed her, where he lay within her.
 
His back tightened in response to the lazy lines she trailed with her fingers.
 
Planting small kisses upon his shoulder, she strove to remember the taste of him upon her lips.

Jonathan rolled to his side and propped himself upon his elbow, watching her, his hand resting protectively across her hip.

She smoothed back the wild tangle of his hair and smiled.
 
“Thank you.”

His brows rose in question.

“For showing me.
 
For giving me something to remember.”

She closed her eyes to his tender caress upon her face, across her shoulders, and down to the hollow space between her breasts.

“Nay, ‘tis you who have given me something to dream about, Catherine.
 
It will be sweet torture until I return.”
  
He leaned close and brushed his lips against hers.
 
“I want more of you.
 
More than this.”
 
He gestured about the cave.
 
“Not just when I find myself in port, but every moment of every day.
 
I want you forever.”

Her heart lurched. Their moments together were stolen at best and the moments were fast running out.
 
Jonathan would leave.
 
Galen and her father would return.
 
What then?
 
What if she failed to convince her father of Jonathan’s worthiness?
 
What if Galen refused to let her go?

Jonathan lifted her chin to search her eyes.
 
“What say you?
 
Am I alone in these feelings?
 
Tell me you want me to return.”

She knew not what tomorrow would bring.
 
But she was certain of one thing.
 
“Aye,” she whispered.
 
“I would like that very, very much.”

Chapter 31

Bryce stared at his clenched hand, a piece of paper choked in its grip.
 
Proof.
 
But what, he thought, if this was just a sick, twisted joke?
 
Brandi certainly wouldn’t be above stooping this low to hurt Eryn.
 
She obviously had a personal vendetta against her.
 
Blinded by his own jealously, he had stepped right in the middle of it.
 
And now Brandi had him by the balls.
 
But if he played along, he thought, he had a good chance of getting out of this with his marriage intact and with Brandi out of their lives for good.

Slowly he eased his fingers open, exposing the crushed page from Eryn’s journal.
 
He ignored the slight trembling of his hands as he pulled the crumpled paper apart and smoothed it out on his desk.