Bachelor Unforgiving (14 page)

Chapter 15

K
ara recognized that look in Virgil's eyes and knew what he was thinking. He'd never shared his space with any woman...except for her. And now she was asking him to share it again. And from the hard, penetrating stare he was giving her, he wasn't having it.

“There has to be someplace else you can stay,” he said gruffly.

“If there was I wouldn't be asking you” was her quick comeback.

His gaze hardened even more. “What about your sister?”

“I'd rather not. Marti and I aren't on the best of terms.”

“Could have fooled me from that day Uriel and I ran into you two at the Racetrack Café. You looked pretty chummy then.”

“I'd rather not talk about Marti, Virgil. You just have to take my word for it when I say I don't have any place to go.”

“Then postpone having your floors done. I'm sure you have that option.”

“Yes, but I don't want to take it. Why should I?”

“Because you need somewhere to stay.”

He was being a smart-ass. “And you have plenty of room at your place.” That was an understatement. In addition to a huge master bedroom, his two-story home that sat on a huge lake had four guest rooms—each with their own full baths—a living room, dining room, family room, eat-in kitchen, a screened-in patio and a three-car garage.

Virgil slid her off his lap and she sat beside him on the sofa. She knew that already he was trying to put distance between them. “I don't share my space, Kara.”

She decided not to call him out and say he had once. With her. Although he had never asked her to move in with him permanently, there were a lot of times she'd stayed at his place more than she'd stayed at her own. He'd even given her a key.

“I need you to share your place with me, Virgil.”

“No.”

“Fine,” she said, easing from the sofa. “You need to eat before you leave.”

He grabbed her hand before she walked off. “Why, Kara?”

Kara lifted her chin. She knew she was taking a gamble, but she had to break through that solid wall he'd erected. “Like I said, I need a place to stay for just a week or two. You want us to be lovers but I'm not good enough to sleep in your bed.”

“You can sleep in my bed all you want, but you can't stay at my place. Temporarily or otherwise.”

“Fine. Evidently you don't want me as much as you claim you do. I'll find somewhere else to stay.” She tried pulling her hand away but when she did he tugged her back down in his lap.

He tightened his arms around her, and his lips were mere inches from hers when he said in a husky voice, “There's no claiming about it, Kara. I want you.”

“Prove it.”

Virgil looked at Kara intently for a second. He had no idea what was going on in that pretty little head of hers, but he had no problem proving anything. If she hadn't gotten the message before, then by the time he left tonight, there would be no doubt in her mind about the degree of his desire for her. As far as staying at his place, it wouldn't be happening. There was no way he could handle her invading his space. Not even for one or two weeks.

He drew in a sharp breath when she shifted positions in his lap, causing her backside to rub against his hard, throbbing erection. Heat began building up inside of him. He couldn't resist planting featherlight kisses around her lips before using the tip of his tongue to lick around the edges. She had to feel him harden against her, so how could she think he didn't want her just because he refused to let her move in with him?

“Don't waste my time, Virgil,” she said against his mouth. “Either prove it or leave.”

He leaned back, held her gaze and his stomach clenched in heated lust. He would prove it all right. “I think dinner will have to hold for a while,” he said huskily. Then he stood with her in his arms and headed toward her bedroom.

* * *

Kara felt the mattress beneath her back and when Virgil stepped away from the bed, she felt the erratic beat of her heart. She had pushed him and now she knew he wouldn't let her leave this bedroom until he had proven everything to his satisfaction.

As well as to hers.

She'd known exactly what she was doing in taunting him. Now she had him in a place where she intended to rekindle a lot of hot and steamy memories. By the time he left tonight, she would have proven a few things of her own. Their lovemaking had always been passionate, but they had been pretty emotional, as well. He'd once told her that he'd never made love with a woman until her. Up until then for him it hadn't been anything but sex.

She wanted to believe that the Virgil who had felt that way then would feel that way now. Although he thought her believing the worst about him was unforgivable, a part of her wanted to believe that spending quality time together would eventually wipe away all the hurt and anger. She was taking a big risk, probably the biggest gamble of her life. But she had to believe that what the two of them once shared had been so special there was no way it could have been totally destroyed.

He returned to the bed and before she could blink an eye, he had tugged her up and within seconds had whipped her sundress over her head, leaving her bare except for her panties.

He tossed the dress aside as his gaze scanned her body. It was as if he needed to recapture in his mind what his eyes hadn't feasted on in four years. Granted, he'd tasted her pretty well Saturday evening, but now he was taking his time to look his fill. And she had no problem with that.

Already Kara could feel a deep tingling sensation between her legs. She hadn't slept with another man since Virgil. When she'd thought he had betrayed her, she hadn't wanted to become involved with another man. She'd dated on occasion but could never give her heart or body to anyone else.

“When did you start wearing thongs?” he asked her, intruding into her thoughts. She saw that his gaze was concentrating on the area between her legs and the little scrap of almost nothing lace covering her there.

“Why do you want to know? Do you have a problem with what I have on, Virgil?”

“No. Just curious.”

Virgil recalled that she preferred wearing hip-hugging briefs. The thong fit her long legs and curvy hips perfectly and he liked seeing her in it...mainly because it exposed more of her body. And speaking of exposure, she wasn't wearing a bra. The last time he'd seen her breasts she hadn't been wearing a bra, either. Had this become a habit?

He shifted his gaze back to her face. “Have you stopped wearing bras?”

“What gave you that idea?”

“This is the second time I've seen you without one.”

She smiled. “I don't wear one...whenever it suits me.”

Hell, it definitely suited him. She had a pair of the lushest breasts any woman could own. Seeing her lying there, tempting and adorably hot, made him want to make love to her real bad. He had to fight hard for control. But then, hadn't she dared him to prove just how much he wanted her?

And he knew just where to start. Reaching out, he lifted her hips and slid the thong down her legs. After tossing it aside, Virgil felt his guts twist into knots as his gaze raked over her entire body. Never had he seen a woman more beautifully made. His fingers trembled when he touched her skin. It felt soft and smooth, almost like velvet. He could recall the days, right after they'd broken up, when his body had gone through withdrawal just thinking how perfect she was and how much he'd wanted her.

He pushed those memories to the back of his mind. That was then. This was now and she was here. He was here and for whatever reason they were back together in this place. He forced the thought that it was a temporary arrangement to the back of his mind. Right now he didn't care. All he could think about was that he was actually touching her again.

“Virgil?”

He lifted his head and met her gaze. “Yes?”

“What are you waiting on? Christmas?”

He couldn't help but throw his head back and laugh. Only she could make him laugh at a time like this. She always had the ability to keep things lively in the bedroom. “That mouth of yours will get you in trouble,” he said, stepping back to start removing his clothes.

“Then I suggest you use that mouth of yours to keep me out of trouble.”

“Mmm, I like you naughty,” he said, sliding his pants down his legs and liking the look of appreciation in her eyes when she gazed at his erection. That look reminded him of times when she'd definitely been naughty.

Returning to the bed, he sat beside her, needing to touch her some more. As much as he wanted her, and no matter what she said, he would not be rushed into pleasuring her. For some reason, their first mating after all this time needed to be slow and painstakingly meticulous. It might annoy her at first, but in the end she would appreciate it.

He held her gaze as he began stroking between her legs with methodical detail, letting his fingers recall every inch of her, reacquainting his hands with the feel of her and needing to see the play of emotions crossing her face as he did so.

Virgil always thought she was the most passionate of women and pleasuring her had always been an honor as well as a privilege for him. He'd never felt that way with any other woman. Kara could arouse him to unprecedented heights. Even now her feminine scent was enveloping him, eliciting a need that all but crackled with the highest voltage of sexual energy.

He loved the sounds she made while he was getting her ready for what was to come. He wanted her to feel the heat, to desire it and need it as much as he did. His gaze was transfixed on her as he continued to stroke her and he wondered if she detected an air of shimmering sensuality surrounding them.

“Virgil...”

It had been a while since he'd heard his name whispered from her lips just that way. He'd missed hearing it. He leaned close to whisper, while keeping his fingers planted between her legs. “Tell me what you want, Kara.”

“You.”

Sexual tension thickened the blood in his veins and a rush of desire seized his groin. At that moment he couldn't hold back any longer. He had to have her.

Grabbing his pants off the floor, he retrieved a condom packet from his wallet and quickly sheathed himself, knowing she was watching him. Easing back onto the bed, he slid his body in place over hers while gazing down at her.

Needing to touch her, he reached up and tangled his hands with hers by the sides of her face, fighting deep emtions that tried resurfacing. He simply refused to let them. “I'm about to prove just how much I want you, Kara,” he whispered when the hard ridge of his erection fit snugly at the entrance of her womanly core.

As if she couldn't wait any longer, she lifted her hips and he slid inside her. He kept going until he was totally embedded and couldn't go any farther. In the past, with him planted so deep inside of her and staring deep into her eyes, he would tell her how much he loved her, and he would feel the very existence of those words deep in his soul. But he was convinced all he was feeling now was the stirring sensations of heated lust combined with sexual excitement curling around in his stomach. There was no way he could love her again. He was convinced of it. But tonight he intended for the sex between them to be good.

* * *

Nothing, Kara thought, could ever equate to the feeling of being taken by Virgil. Nothing could compare to the feel of his engorged erection sliding inside of her all the way to the hilt. And then there were the sinfully erotic movements of his hips as he began thrusting hard. The steady rhythm rocked through her veins. She could even feel a throb of desire in the hands holding hers hostage near her head.

And when Virgil increased the pace, making his thrusts even more powerful, she couldn't stop herself from moaning his name. The intensity of their lovemaking was tripping her pulse, sending her heart rate off kilter and setting every inch of her skin on fire. And the look in his eyes held raw, sexual heat.

Then she felt it. The beginning of a thrumming sensation started low in her belly, compressing her inner muscles, making them clench him tight and begin milking him all the way into her womb.

That's when he lowered his head and kissed her, using his tongue to make swirling strokes inside her mouth. She pulled her hands free to grab hold of his shoulders, needing to feel her fingers digging into his muscles. An explosion erupted inside her that shook her, had her bucking her body upward at the same time he shouted her name and slammed downward in one deep, powerful thrust.

He kept kissing her, taking the kiss deeper while thrusting inside of her, running his hands all over her as if he needed to touch her, make sure she was real and not a figment of his imagination. And she kissed him back, needing him as much as he seemed to need her.

He was back in her bed. It would be up to her to make sure passion prevailed over caution, desire superseded Virgil's unforgiving nature and love conquered all.

* * *

What the hell happened?

Virgil slumped down beside Kara, totally spent, feeling raw, his muscles unable to function, and his emotions totally exposed. Why did making love to her always leave him with a feeling he couldn't explain? And how, after all this time and everything that had transpired between them, could he feel that way?

He thought that he could make love to her, desire her, yet keep a part of himself detached. But Kara had a way of making him give all or nothing. He'd given his all, and with each and every thrust into her going deep into familiar territory, emotions he'd tried holding at bay—the same ones he'd convinced himself were nonexistent where she was concerned—had overtaken him. In the end, he'd been powerless to fight it. Why?

He quickly concluded the reason had everything to do with being back inside of her after all this time. That coupled with the fact that over the past few weeks he'd been horny as hell. Yes, that had to be the reason why he'd lost it, and why even now he was getting aroused all over again.