Private Property: a Contemporary Romance Novella (11 page)

It was one of those exciting, out-of-nowhere kisses that left her breathless and reeling.  He didn’t stop, but drew his hands up to her face, cocked her head to one side and
seductively
deepened the kiss.  Her breath left her in a
rush;
her arms inst
inctively came up around his neck, pulled
him further into her.  He bent at the knees, grinding himself against her.

He felt good, this solid
,
giant
of a man.  She could feel his enormous strength envelope her, his arousal evident with each rocking motion of his hips.  He
moaned,
a deep, guttural sound that evoked all kinds of activity inside her.

This has to stop!
  Her brain screamed.  But her body was winning and mental thought process was of no
real
concern
anymore
.  Her right
hand began to assault his body, delving into the crevices the muscles along his spine
created
, pressing into the hard planes along his shoulders and sides.  His taut flesh felt good to her fingers, but she couldn’t feel enough; she had to get under his shirt.

Tabitha pulled his shirt out of the waistband of his slacks and slid her hand up along his back.  That was better, but still not enough.  She wanted this man naked.  Naked before her,
bared
for her perusal.  While he laid siege to her mouth, she fumbled with the clasp of his pants, daring to disrobe him before the chance was gone.  He moaned again, as her fingertips grazed the tip of him while she tried to open his zipper.  It wasn’t going to work and her
fumbling led to
frustrations
that
came out in the form of a sound of disgust as she gave up the futile attempt.

He chuckled and broke away from her.  His appearance was disheveled; his hair mussed from her attentions, his eyes glowing fiercely.  “What is it you want, Tabitha?”  He stepped away, moving his arms out to his sides in an open gesture.

“To see you naked.”  The words were out before she could stop them and a look of horror plastered itself to her features.

His eyes grew dark, animalistic, and his features steeled, angling his arrogant jaw with a stern set.  A moment passed by, then his slacks slid to the floor and his shirt came floating off his body.  He wore no underga
rments – no undershirt or shorts
.  And he stood gloriously naked in front of her.

My God!  He’s perfectly gorgeous
.  Tabitha wasted no time in allowing her eyes to devour him.  He
had
chose
n
to discard his clothing.  It was only fair that she be allowed to memorize every part of him.  And oh, the parts he had to offer.

Jared was all tight
muscle and hard planes, defined
angles that brought geometry to mind.  His shoulders were rounded from the bulges of muscle that cleaved lines and shadows down his
long
arms, his chest was broad and dusted
with a faint patch of hair
only at the
cleft between his pecs
.
The thin trail of hair ran between them
but stopped
over a perfectly formed
six-pack that delineated small clusters of muscles along his rib cage and small waist.  Then, the
faint
hair line
appeared again
ar
ound a small, indented navel be
fore traveling downward. 
Oh my
…
downward
.

His
even longer
legs looked as though he was flexing the muscles, even though she knew he stood in repose.  His thighs bulged in carved steel, his calves eviden
tly chiseled in the same form.

Tabitha’s
eyes slowly climbed back to the juncture of his legs. This man had every reason to walk with the air of surety he exuded. 
She
made a
nother
swift
head to toe sweep of his frame.  She might not be able to touch, b
ut
oh
, she could look.

“Quid pro quo, Tabitha.”  He rasped out, perfectly aware that she was visually eating him up.

Her eyes snapped to his.  “What?”

“It’s
your
turn.”

For one heated second she panicked.  If she got naked there would be no stopping the next logic
al step from occurring.  But,
reason quickly presented itself and she rel
axed.  She pointed at her left
arm, still bound tightly in cast and sling.

“I’m your doctor, remember?”  He took a step towards her.  “I think I know how to get you out of that.”

The panic resurfaced.  He took another step and s
he matched it by backing away.

“That’s unfair, Tabitha.”  He growled, a knowing smile playing at his lips.  The way her named rolled off his tongue did funny things to her abdomen.  He reached out and grasped her shoulders, halting her retreat.

He locked eyes with her, and slowly began to unhook the sling that held her arm tightly to her side.  “The pins are in place
just
above your elbow, so you still have free range of movement at the shoulder.  But, you already know this because you get yourself dressed every morning.  How difficult could it be?”  The sling dropped to the floor.

He began unfastening her jeans.  “When you stood up that first night and barged past me intent on finding your own way down the hall, your white T-shirt was still so wet it was plastered against your skin.
I thought I was going to lose my composure at the sight of you trying so damned hard to storm past me.  In fact, you even had a sexy hobble.”  Her jeans were fully undone and being pushed over her hips.

“I thought you said that you didn’t look at bodies that way.”

He stopped lowering her jeans and laughed at her.  “I am always able to perform my professional duties, Tabitha.  But I am a man, and you are one beautiful woman.”

With no retort forthcoming
, her jaw hung
slightly
open, lifeless.  He stepped back as her jeans became a puddle at her ankles and roved her body with his eyes.
She self-consciously drew her left
arm
tighter
across her body, linking it with her
opposite
hand.

“Matching red panties?”  He punctuated the observation with a groan.

Tabitha shifted her weight from one foot to the other.  They were red satin thongs, one of her favorite pair, and she’d chosen them this morning to match her frilly, red lace tank top.  Now, she wasn’t
quite sure if she was thankful for
or regretted the decision.  He groaned again and she decided it had been a good idea.

He moved back toward her, taking the straps of her tank top between his fingers.  He slid one thin strap down over her casted arm, revealing her right breast.  She felt uncomfortable, standing there in brown
sandals
, underwear and shirt, one boob spilling out the top.  Well, she wasn’t built to ‘spill out’, but her breast had been bared nonetheless.
Jared slid the shirt down to her waist,
covering
her breasts with his hands. 
They
weren’t completely nonexistent, but she felt tiny, miniscule, lacking in his grasp.

He hunched down, sliding the cotton m
aterial all the way to her feet
then leaned a shoulder into her stomach.  “Lift your foot.”  He commanded and removed her clothing and her shoes from one leg, then the other.

He righted himself, running his hands along the outer lines of her body as he stood.  He pinched a nipple; she gasped.  He rolled it between his rounded, flat fingertips; she panted.  He leaned down and sucked it into his mouth, pulling aggressively; her head fell back and she moaned loudly.  She buried her hands in his hair, pushing him down onto her, wordlessly demanding that he take more of her. 
All of her.

Jared complied with a pent up passion.  He bent her backwards over an arm and devoured her.  Raking her delicate skin with his teeth, he nipped, tugged, suckled, squeezed until her knees all but buckled and her heart rapidly beat a staccato in her chest.

He walked her back until the couch bit into her knees and she sank down onto the cushion.  He followed her, relentless in his assault of her body, his hands everywhere at once.  She tried to keep up, follow along, but he was formidable in his conquest.  He pushed at her thighs until they parted,
kneeling
between them.  He came
up against her, pressing her
into
the
hard muscles that bunched and flexed
with his every movement
.

Instinct and need drove
her actions, her body pulsing with unspent energy and longing.  She drug her nails along his back, c
lenched his buttocks
.  The fingers of her casted hand danced along his
chest, stomach, and side;
anywhere she could reach.

He slid his mouth along her jaw line, down around her ear lobe, licking, tasting,
teasing
with the tip of his tongue.  He breathed into her ear and she hitched a breath, digging
her nails
into the tender flesh at his
waist.  He turned them both to lay
her down along the length of the couch, following her with his body.

His weight pressing into her released a beast to run under her flesh and
she
bucked against him, moving so that he could position his body between her legs.
Tabitha called his name and clawed at him – his back, his butt,
his
legs.  She slid a hand between them and pulled him into her slight grip.  She ran her hand up and down, over and over, feeling him pulse in her palm, hearing the moans and sighs the movements elicited from him.  He restrained her movements with an unbending grasp and focused on her face.  “Slow down.  We have all night.”  He whispered.  His gaze was intent, bearing into her.  She ceased all movements, swallowed by the crystal green of his stare.

His movements changed
, slowed
.
 
His caress became so light that it feathered up her stomach, over her breasts, around her collarbone.  Then she felt the fingers of his other hand
find
the center of
her. He set a
quicker
t
empo then and s
he reared up, trying to bury him fully within her.  Her muscles began to clench tightly, painfully
around him, her thighs snapped
around his
hips
.  Her stomach tightened and the pounding of her
heart
reached her ears.  She bowed her back, overcome by sensation and gave in to the overwhelming
release
wreaking havoc on her body.

His breath was shallow, harsh against her
skin.  He pressed heated kisses
to her neck and face, tugging at her lips, licking her tongue.  He was everywhere and anywhere all at once.  Her legs relaxed and he entered her, driving her backwards,
chasing
relentlessly
.  Her head came up against the arm of the couch and she reached out with one hand to steady the
tempo
he beat into her body.

He clasped onto her waist and rolled,
taking
them to the floor, po
sitioning her over him and bringing
her down
upon him
, taking care to isolate her arm from the jarring impact
.  Tabitha cried out as he filled her to the breaking point, tossing herself back against his knees.  She splayed her fingers out along his stomach feeling the muscles tense and release as he surged up into her and brought her hips down to meet each thrust.  He gritted his teeth, his eyes boring into her
,
and moaned repeatedly, bruising
the
tender flesh
of her hips
in his iron grip.

He felt so good, so brazen and bold.
S
he reveled in the feel of his hands on her skin,
the feral
action of
his body rising up to meet
her
s
.  In one glorious moment, she was filled with him, all he had to give
,
and he was barking out as
he spent himself within
her.

She flopped lifeless onto his
chest, heaving in gulps of
air, perspiration trickling along her hairline.  He cradled her to him, smoothing her hair down her back.

After a few calming
moments, Jared turned, laying the
m
both
out on the rug.
It had been so long since she’d had sex and never before had it been as intense as this.  Her head was pillowed along his bicep, her breathing returning to its normal ebb and flow.