Eddie’s Prize (38 page)

Jay laughed. “Then go outside and play while the grownups play inside.”

“Maybe she’ll stop crying now,” Jelly suggested, hope in his voice.

Eddie’s cock warmed and thickened when Lisa pulled him through the door of a room that held her wonderful scent. She set the canvas bag on the floor and took out the afghan, holding it out for him to see the riot of color in graduated squares radiating from the center. “Eddie, it’s not big enough yet, but someday I want us to snuggle together under this afghan. I imagined that with every stitch I made.”

He put his hands on her shoulders to look at her. Her eyes were still tear-wet and her smile trembled. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. “You’re not going to make me wait that long to snuggle with you, are you?”

She shook her head. “I’m not that fast at crocheting yet. I can’t wait that long.”

They were alone in a room with a bed that smelled of her. She was his wife again. He wanted her with his whole body, but also his whole heart.

“I love you, Lisa. Will you make love with me?”

Her smile firmed and grew. “That’s why I brought you here.”

He unbuttoned her coat with eager fingers and threw it on the floor. He wanted her naked, but he would strip her gradually, lavishing his kisses on each section of skin he revealed. He wanted this lovemaking to be perfect for her.

“Lisa,” he groaned against her throat. “Kiss me. I’m going to spend all afternoon loving you. I want to touch every inch of you so I can re-acquaint myself with your beautiful body. Your breasts are so perfect. I love to kiss them.” He trailed a hand down her back to her rear end. “I can’t imagine a more lovely line than the long curve of your spine or the luscious curve of your ass. Let me taste you everywhere.”

*

Lisa felt a giggle bubble up in her. On their wedding night, he had gotten right down to business. That night she had wanted leisurely foreplay. This afternoon it was the opposite. She wanted him to claim her like a caveman marking his woman. Or a cat marking his mate? She pulled away and took off her boots and clothes as quickly as she could. Her heart pounded with excitement when she saw the way he looked at her naked body. She put her arms around his neck.

“Eddie,” she breathed into his ear. “Later. I don’t need foreplay. I need you inside me
now
.” She grabbed one of his hands and pulled it between her legs. “See? I want you.”

His finger speared into her wet heat. She arched her back with a cry of delight. “Yes,” she gasped. She unfastened his belt buckle by feel and yanked his pants open. He fell into her hands, stiff and swollen and hot. “Eddie,” she moaned, lifting a leg to open herself for him. “Please.”

“My wife never needs to beg me for anything,” he whispered.

His cock slid through her hands like a velvet-wrapped iron bar, parting her in a hard, fast slide until they were one flesh. She remembered a Sunday school lesson about marriage when she was in school. The Bible said something about a man and wife being one flesh. This must be what it was talking about. Right now, holding her husband both within her arms and within her body, she felt truly married. She kissed his lips tenderly.

“I love you,” she breathed. Their standing position didn‘t give her the angle she needed to move. “The bed. I want…”

He picked her up without removing himself and moved them to the bed. “Hold on tight, Lisa-love. I don’t want to lose this connection.”

With her arms and legs wrapped around him, she didn’t let his body slip from hers as he settled her down on her back and lay on her. “Now, Eddie,” she ordered. “Move inside me. Hard. Fast. I want you.”

He teased her for a minute with leisurely play, but soon his movements became wild and needy. Lisa met every thrust joyously. A drop of sweat rolled down his face and plopped on her pillow by her ear.

“Lisa,” he panted. “Are you close?”

As if his words had triggered it, she exploded into a shrieking, shuddering orgasm. He roared back, the screaming howl of a mountain lion, jerking inside her as his own orgasm hit. Gasping, he fell over her.

He’d never made that sound before. It was definitely not human. Did that mean he was no longer hiding himself from her? This was her husband, her not perfect, yet perfect, husband. At this moment, there were no secrets between them. She knew his darkest secret, and he knew the truth about her insecurities.

He lifted his golden head. “I love you,” he whispered.

Weak with spent pleasure, she smiled into his shoulder. His shoulder was still in his shirt since all she’d done was open his pants. She had wanted him, raw and untamed, and he had given her all he had, even his mountain cat self. She wanted to give him everything of herself.

“I love you too.” She framed his face in her hands and looked up at him with sober eyes. “What we did just now? That was making love. I’ve had sex before, with other men.” She tightened her hold on his face when he flinched ever so slightly. “But making love doesn’t make love. That’s not what creates love.” She was desperate for him to understand what she had learned in the last few months. “Love is more than sex, more than lusting for a perfect body and handsome face. It’s getting up to make breakfast when you’d rather stay in bed. It’s thinking of how the other person feels even when you’re so hurt and angry that you’d rather just scream. It’s knowing you’re okay by yourself, but you’re better with the other person. Eddie, I wasn’t better with those other men, but I’m much better with you.”

Tears shimmered in the turquoise of his eyes. “For the first time, the thought of you with other men doesn’t hurt.” His voice was thick. “I think even the cat is reassured.”

“Good. Because I want both of you to know if either of you hurt me like that again, I’ll leave again.”

His gaze went to the ugly marks on her arm. “Oh, God,” he choked. He bent to touch his lips to the bruise. “If I ever hurt you again, I’ll help you pack. You’ll need to tell me when I’m being stupid. I promise I’ll never run out again when you want to talk.”

Tears made his eyes glow more brightly blue. She touched a finger to his cheek. “That’s a deal.”

Eddie moved to her side and put an arm around her. “No more secrets. From now on, we’ll be truthful with each other.” He sat up to shimmy out of his clothes and then lay his perfect body over her. “It’s time to make love my way this time.”

Her body warming again, Lisa wrapped her arms around her husband. “Slow, with lots of foreplay? I can handle that. Just how long do you plan to make love to me?”

“Forever.”

His voice was fervent and final.

Lisa laughed and arched to offer herself to him. “That sounds just about right.”

The End

Publisher’s Note

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Maddy Barone has a B.A. in History, which is probably why she works in the financial department at Medicare. She enjoys reading, creating historical costumes, knitting, and spinning—yarn, that is. Not the exercise kind of spinning. That makes her break out in hives. Literally. To learn more about Maddy, visit her at www.MaddyBarone.com.