On the Line (26 page)

She cried harder and he held tighter. When her arms eventually slipped around his
waist, he exhaled. He’d waited so long to hold her again, and for her to hold him.
He silently vowed that he would never be separated from her again.

He listened to the rainfall dissipate as she softened against him. Eventually he
felt her shaking stop, but she continued to hold onto him and kept her head against
his shoulder. Her chest rose and fell against his.

“You’re wet,” she mumbled into his neck.

He barked a single laugh. “So are you.”

She lifted her head and looked at his face. Her eyes were brighter, less haunted,
than he’d seen them in a long time, since the time of their affair, and he was happy
to see that. “We should go in and get dry.”

“First things first,” Nathan said with a grin.

Her eyes asked the question for her and his smile widened as he lowered his head
to hers. He saw the comprehension dawn just before their lips met.

They sparked instantly, like they’d never been separated. She tasted sweeter than
he remembered and he savored the feel of her soft lips under his. Her arms slowly
snaked up his chest, leaving a trail of fire in their wake, and he felt her sigh.
He swallowed the sigh and tightened his arms around her as she speared her fingers
through his short hair.

He’d needed this, from her, more than he’d realized. His body was now engulfed by
her but it still wasn’t enough. He brushed her lips with his tongue, and she immediately
opened her mouth to him. He slowly plunged into her
warmth and teased her tongue
with his. She rocked against his erection and he groaned. She blatantly pressed herself
against him.

Gasping for air, he broke the kiss. “Maybe we should go inside.” A Cheshire-like
grin spread across her face and she took his hand.

Eighteen

Janelle held Nathan’s hand as she led him into the house, the electricity from their
connection making a circuit through her body. She paused by the foot of the steps
as he closed and locked the door then bent over to untie his shoes as Janelle looked
around the room. Kelsey was nowhere to be seen, but there were a couple of towels
on the bottom step. She glanced into the kitchen and saw a wine bottle and a couple
of empty glasses sitting on the island.

She felt the towel wrap around her shoulders and looked up into Nathan’s smiling
face. He gripped both ends of the towel and slowly moved it side to side over her
drenched back, pulling her closer at the same time. His grin widened and his hazel
eyes had darkened, the gold flecks stood out prominently against the brown. Janelle
was familiar with that look.

Oh, how she’d missed it.

Nathan tugged on the towel, and her breasts collided with his chest. She placed her
hands on his waist as his warm lips found a cool space just under her ear. Goosebumps
crept down her leg and her eyelids fell. He showered kisses across her jawline to
the corner of her lips.

“I don’t think this towel is going to work, we may need to take drastic measures,”
he whispered across her cheek.

Her lips lifted. “Oh really? How drastic?”

“Very,” he replied, and her eyes opened. She wrapped her arms completely around him
and raised a brow. He chuckled and continued, “I’m thinking I need to get you out
of these wet clothes and into a nice hot shower to make sure you don’t catch a chill.”

“How considerate.” Janelle’s head fell back as his lips began to travel down her
neck. “What about you, you’re pretty soaked too. I couldn’t send
you home in such
wet clothes.” She sighed as he dipped his tongue into the cleft of her neck.

“That could be dangerous. I might catch a cold.” He lifted his head and met her dazed
stare. “We should take care of this right away.”

“I agree.” Janelle nodded her head. She placed a light kiss to his lips as she tugged
the towel out of his hand and slid her hand into its place.

Silently, she led him up the stairs, her heart racing as she considered what she
was doing. She’d only been a widow for just over a month; she shouldn’t even be contemplating
going to bed with another man already. But this was Nathan. She’d known him almost
her whole life, they’d already had an affair and, in all fairness, her marriage had
been over for a very long time. Richard had never met her needs, he’d stopped making
her happy a long time ago, and she wasn’t sure she’d ever truly loved him. Nathan
had always, even when they’d just been friends in school, made sure she was happy
and had everything she wanted in any situation.

And she was certain he had her heart.

They reached her bedroom door and stepped through. She heard the latch click, and
Nathan placed his hands on her arms and turned her to face him.

“What are you thinking now?” he asked, apprehension filled his eyes and his brow
furrowed.

“What makes you think I’m thinking anything?” Janelle shook his hands off and placed
her arms on his shoulders.

“I watched you tense as we climbed the steps.” He circled her waist with his arms
and pulled her tightly against him. “We don’t have to do this.”

Her knees went weak when she felt his erection pressed against her. “It’s been so
long, Nathan,” she replied and rubbed herself against him. “Of course I’d be a little
tense.”

He groaned and his eyes closed as he placed his forehead against hers. She tipped
her head until their lips met, and he kissed her with a fierce intensity. The warmth
of his mouth filled her body with wave after wave of heat, settling low in her abdomen.
She took his bottom lip in her teeth and lightly bit it. He lowered his hands to
her waist and lifted her, her legs on either side of his body, her core pressed against
him.

He took two steps and everything in him stopped. He lifted his head and focused on
something beside them. Janelle followed his gaze and gasped.

“Where did those come from?” he questioned, staring at the box of condoms centered
on the foot of her bed.

Janelle laughed until he tried to put her down. “No, don’t,” she said, hooking her
ankles around his knees. He looked at her, turmoil, anger, and lust warring with
each other in his gold speckled eyes. “Kelsey.”

His hazel gaze sharpened on her face and she pouted slightly.

“I’m sure she thought we could put them to more use than she can right now,” Janelle
added softly, placing a light kiss on his cheek.

He looked at the box for a moment, his face slowly relaxing. “I’m sure we can find
something to do with them.” He met her stare, a smile slowly stretching his lips.
“As soon as we’re warm and dry.”

Janelle laughed, and he quickly carried her to the bathroom and set her down. He
reached for her hand as she scurried to the closet and grabbed two clean towels,
giggling as she went. She set the towels down on the edge of the tub and reached
into the shower and turned the water on. When she turned around, he was behind her,
his hands already on the bottom of her shirt.

She lifted her arms and, with a little effort, he worked the soaked shirt up and
over her head. While he reached around to unhook her bra, she attacked the buttons
on his shirt, pushing them through the wet fabric buttonholes. He got her bra undone
and her jeans unfastened and halfway down her hips before she reached the bottom
of his shirt.

She paused in her efforts to drop her arms and let the bra fall to the floor at his
feet. His eyes dropped to her breasts and she shook her head as she slid his shirt
over his shoulders and pushed it onto the floor. She had to admit, his chest had
the same mouth-watering effect on her that her breasts appeared to have on him. She
laid her palm on his pectoral muscle, just above his nipple, and felt a shudder go
through him.

He reached for the button of his jeans and had them on the floor before she blinked.
His underwear was next. She followed his example and stripped the rest of her clothes
away. A warm flush crept through her body as his eyes slowly took in every inch of
her nakedness.

“You’re so beautiful.” He met her stare with a huge smile and a sparkle in his eyes.

“I’ll bet you say that to all the girls,” she retorted as he took her hand and opened
the shower door.

He stepped into the shower and pulled her in behind him. “Only when I mean it.”

Janelle frowned slightly as she closed the door behind them. “How many times have
you meant it?”

He put his back to the water and pulled her into his arms. “I’m not sure. How many
times have I said it to you?”

Janelle’s frown faded as she shook her head. “I have no idea.”

“Well, that’s your answer.” He backed a little bit and the water hit her in the face
and slid down her body.

She released a sigh and closed her eyes as the warmth seeped into her bones and the
tension of the afternoon washed away with the water. They stood like this for a few
moments as Janelle simply let the water run over her, then let Nathan have his turn.
She brushed her hip against his as she maneuvered around him to retrieve the soap
and cloth so she could wash him. He slid his hand around her waist and pressed himself
fully against her back.

“You first,” he whispered across her ear, following his words with a light kiss to
her earlobe. He reached around her and grabbed everything from her. Mesmerized, she
watched as he drizzled soap onto the washcloth and put the soap bottle back. She
felt an almost overwhelming anticipation as she watched the soapy material get closer
to her body and inhaled sharply when he touched her stomach with it.

She could never have imagined such a simple act to be so erotic. He maintained a
slow, deliberate pace, soapy cloth in one hand, followed closely by the empty hand.
Janelle burned under his touch and, as much as she was enjoying this, she wanted
him to hurry. She had to force air into her lungs as he washed her hips and legs.
She shivered as his hand wandered up her inner thigh, and he chuckled quietly. When
he was finished, she laid her head back onto his shoulder.

She heard his breathing in her ear and the distant sound of the water being squeezed
from the washcloth as it hit the floor of the shower in a rush.
When that stopped,
his hands wrapped around her waist again, and they stood still as the water washed
over them both. Nathan placed light kisses along her hairline and she savored every
touch of his lips.

“Feeling better?” his voice whispered, and in a daze she nodded. “Good,” he said.
She could have sworn she heard a smile in his voice.

One of his hands slowly slid down her stomach, and she closed her eyes to focus on
the movement. The other hand traveled up, coming to a stop on her breast as the fingertips
of the first hand reached her curls.

“Nathan,” she sighed as he lightly pinched one of her nipples and touched her where
she wanted him most at that moment.

His lower finger began to make small, tight circles against her, and she felt her
body climbing to that ultimate peak. He continued to kiss along her collarbone and
up her neck as he twirled her nipple between his thumb and forefinger with one hand
and teased her core with the other one.

She reached behind him and gripped his buttock with one hand as she used the other
one to brace herself against the wall beside them. Before she realized, she was coming
apart in his arms, his steely grip tightened to support her as the white heat of
pleasure spread all the way to her toes. He kept teasing her until she was sure she
would collapse then he slowly pulled back.

Her whole body trembled and she felt light-headed as she exhaled slowly. He held
her close as her heart rate returned to normal.

“Should we get out now?” he asked and Janelle’s eyes fluttered open. She slid her
hand from his buttock and gripped his erection. He groaned as he released her breast
and removed her hand. “Our first time back together is not going to be in the shower.
I intend to take my time.”

Janelle shivered at the promise in his words. “Then maybe we should get out.”

She turned the water off as he released her, stepped out of the shower, then turned
and helped her out. He handed her a towel then picked up the other one. As she dried
off, she watched him do the same. The muscles in his chest and shoulders rippled
as he moved the towel over his body. Janelle was almost hypnotized by the movement
and didn’t realize she was mimicking him until he stopped and met her stare. He smiled,
quickly rubbed the towel over his short, dark-brown hair, dropped the towel, and
walked toward her.
Without a word, he scooped her into his arms and carried her back
to the bedroom.

Nathan gently laid her down, towel and all, in the center of the bed and followed
her down. He took the towel from her loose grip and slowly wiped away what was left
of the water. When he was satisfied with his work, he sat up, dropped the towel on
the floor, and retrieved the box of condoms from the end of the bed.