Slow Burn (A Madaris Family Novel) (14 page)

She watched Slade toss her jeans aside, and then he reached out his hand to her. On her knees she crossed the mattress’ short distances to him, and he pulled her into his arms, held her gently. “I like what you’re wearing,” he whispered hotly against her ear. “But I have a feeling I will like you even better not wearing anything at all.”

Before she could even try to think of anything to say to that, he released her and took a step back, and Skye knew that he was about to remove his own clothes. A part of her was curious, fascinated. She had never seen a man undress before, not even Wayne. He’d claimed that wasn’t the way things were done. He had enjoyed seeing her undress for him but had never undressed for her, and never had he made an attempt to undress her.

Her attention came to full alert when she saw Slade’s hand go to the belt buckle of his jeans. The movement was as easy and smooth as anything she’d ever seen. There was nothing mechanical, staged, or planned in anything he was doing. Being sexy came natural for him.

“Do you prefer that I take my shirt off first?”

His question had her looking up, meeting his gaze. It was her opinion that it didn’t matter what came off first, as long as something came off. Shaking her head, she said what she knew he would probably say to her if she had been the one asking the question. “Do whatever makes you comfortable. The decision is yours.”

She then decided to add just so that he would know, “I’ve never seen a man undress while I watched before.”

“Not even the man you were to marry?” he asked, and she could tell from the sound of his voice and the expression on his face that he was clearly shocked.

“Yes, not even the man I was supposed to marry. He had a different view on sex than most people.”

“Doesn’t sound like it was a good one. That’s really sad.”

Skye agreed. But until now she never thought about just how sad it was. She had gotten used to Wayne’s habits, his unusual take on things. Now she was glad she didn’t have to deal with them…
or him…
again.

“So, Slade Madaris, what’s your view on sex?”

The promising grin he sent her was slowly building fire in her body. “It’s hard to explain. Besides, I’d rather show you.”

And she wanted him to show her. From the moment he had opened the door to Justin and Lorren’s home a few weeks ago, his presence had affected her, and when she had returned home, she’d had a gut feeling as to why. And today seeing him again only reconfirmed it.

She loved him.

She was not one who would normally believe in love at first sight. Skye Barclay, daughter of Tom and Edith Barclay, was too no-nonsense to even consider something like that happening.

But deep down, Skye knew that it had. With a tenderness she had found endearing and a sense of caring she had discovered was such an ingrained part of his character, without even trying, Slade had captured a huge chunk of her heart. To be totally honest, he had ensnared all of it. He had shown her that all men weren’t cut from the same cloth. And that in itself said a lot.

Her attention was drawn back to Slade’s hand movement. Evidently he’d made a decision to remove his shirt first, and she watched as he went about performing the task.

“I might as well warn you,” he said softly as he removed the shirt from his body and tossed it aside.

“What?” she breathed out, but just barely. Shirtless, he was a fantasy come to life. There was no other way to describe him with his flat chest, muscled shoulders, lean and strong-looking body.

“I’ve been thinking of making love to you for some time. You, Skye Barclay, have invaded my dreams quite a lot.”

She decided to be honest with him as well. “It can’t be any more often than you’ve invaded mine,” she said softly.

He smiled at her admission and she watched his hand return to his belt. “Then the rest of the day should be interesting.”

There was no doubt in her mind that it would be. He pulled the belt through the loops and then went for the zipper of his jeans. He paused to bend over to remove his socks and boots and toss them aside. When he straightened back up, he gave her a smile that had her entire body drumming with both tension and desire.

Then her heartbeat began hammering in her chest when he started easing the jeans down his muscular thighs and strong legs, exposing the sexy pair of black briefs he wore, briefs that could barely cover the evidence of the rigid, hard length of his aroused body. Not that it mattered. The heat in his eyes was another clear indication of just how sexually stimulated he was.

“Now we need to remove the last of our clothing, don’t we?” he asked.

“Yes.” She couldn’t think of a time she’d even wanted to get out of her clothes more.

Wordlessly he crossed the room back to the bed, holding her gaze with every step he took. When he was close to her, he leaned his hip against the bed frame and reached out and unhooked the front of her bra. The firm and full breasts jutted forward, the darkened tips of her nipples protruding proudly. Taking his finger, he began caressing each tip. And when her breathing escalated to an almost unbearable height and the low whimpers started, he took his full hand and cupped her breasts and began massaging them gently before taking his fingers to caress the nipples all over again.

“Slade.” She said his name in a shaky breath.

“Yes, Skye?”

“Stop torturing me.”

He smiled. “Is that what I’m doing?”

“Yes.”

He gave her a lopsided grin. “There’re several degrees of torture, you know.”

And to prove his point, he dipped his head down and let the tip of his tongue replace his finger. The moment he closed his mouth over her breast she moaned deep in her throat as he vigorously began licking the hardened bud, which seemed to grow even harder, making it more distended in his mouth. Moments later he transferred his mouth to the other breast and provided it with his same brand and degree of torture.

The sexy moans and groans she was making were sending him over the top, pushing him over the edge. He lifted his head and whispered in her ear, “Tell me when you’ve had enough.”

She didn’t hesitate in saying, “I’ve had enough.”

“Umm, that’s too soon.” He then eased her back on the bed. “We haven’t even gotten started good yet.” He then reached out and slid her panties down her legs.

When she lay naked before him, Slade had to grip the edge of the bed to keep the rumble of desire that was spreading rapidly through his body from overtaking his control. Never had he wanted to make love to anyone like he wanted to make love to Skye. He reached and gently rubbed a hand over her bare belly, feeling the shiver that passed through her beneath his hand.

He then trailed his fingers across her stomach, as if to brand the letter
S
into her skin. His fingers then moved lower until they reached the area between her legs, and then he eased his finger into the moistness of her womanhood.

“Now you’ve really done it,” she warned breathlessly.

He smiled. “Trust me, baby. I haven’t done anything yet.” And with that said, he began gently stroking her in a way no man had stroked her before.

Another shiver ran down Skye’s spine with Slade’s intimate caress, and she dug her hands into the bedspread to keep her sanity. The logical side of her brain tried to convince her that making love wasn’t supposed to be like this. It was supposed to be over before these sorts of feelings could overtake your mind.

But not with Slade.
He was slow, exceedingly thorough, and painstakingly torturous in his dealings with her.

“Earlier you asked what was my view on sex.” He leaned down and placed a kiss on her bare belly. “This,” he said, cupping her feminine mound, “is the best view I’ve ever seen.”

He placed kisses along her inner thigh before pulling back to remove the last of his clothing. Afterward, he stood before her naked and aroused as he retrieved his wallet out of his jeans and pulled out a condom packet and then proceeded to sheathe himself.

He walked back over to the bed and eased his body onto it. The first thing he went for was her lips. His tongue slid between them in an invitation that she readily accepted, devouring her mouth with a need that he felt all through to his bones.

Now that he was getting satisfied with the taste of her, he wanted to go further and get inside of her. He eased his body in position over hers. He wanted her to feel his need and began rubbing the hardness of his aroused member against the apex of her thighs and could feel her shudder in his mouth. And then she was taking over the kiss, sucking and stroking his tongue like her life depended on doing so, and helplessly he groaned deep within his throat.

Not being able to handle any more, he tore his mouth from hers and breathed in deeply. He stared down at her. “What are you trying to do to me?” he asked huskily, fighting to get the words out.

“Torture you like you’re torturing me.”

His face was an aroused mask. “The torture ends. Are you ready?”

She smiled back up at him. “Yes, I’m ready.” She lifted her hips automatically to receive him.

He remained still above her, holding himself in check, for one short second before sliding into her slowly, holding her gaze while he did so and watching the display of pleasure reflected in her features the deeper he went. She felt stretched and full and he felt hard and was getting even harder.

Instinctively she wrapped her legs around his hips when Slade began moving, thrusting into her once, twice, over and over, getting lost in the pleasure of being inside of her to a degree he had never before done with any other woman. He threw his head back and a deep guttural moan forced its way through his clenched teeth. It was as if this was where he belonged and where he always wanted to be, in a place that was uniquely hers and was quickly becoming exclusively his. His heart pounded ferociously against his ribs at the very thought.

He leaned down and recaptured her lips, taking her mouth with a hunger that sent shivers through him and at the same time drugged his mind with what they were sharing. Delicious sensations overtook him at the slow, rhythmic pace he set while showing her how to move her body in sync with his. Each thrust seemed to stroke and tease, and she arched her hips to mate with his own. He released her mouth to begin whispering intimate words into her ear and described in detail just how she made him feel.

When he felt her entire body shudder, indicating she was drowning in sheer ecstasy, he quickened the pace and locked his legs around her and held tight. His release came as a powerful orgasm rammed into him.

He called out her name the same time she cried out his; the sensations that were tearing into him were so intense, his body seemed to go into a super-shock mode as waves and waves of pleasure washed over him, seemingly non-stop.

By the time the last spasm shook her body as well as his own, he knew what they had shared was one of those incredible experiences that he wanted to share with her for an entire lifetime.

Skye woke up hours later to find she was naked and in the
bed alone. She hadn’t remembered Slade getting out of the bed, but she did recall every little detail of their making love. And they had done so more than once. At least three times before she had finally drifted off to sleep.

She couldn’t help but wonder where she had gotten so much energy. She had never looked forward to sleeping with Wayne and had never gotten the amount of pleasure from the experience as she had with Slade. She hated to keep comparing, but the two men were so vastly different it was simply astounding. She couldn’t discount the possibility that the fact that she was in love with Slade probably had a lot to do with it.

She knew she needed to get up, take a shower, and start unpacking. This would be her home for the next three months, and already she was looking forward to spending her time here. She didn’t want to think about how her parents had literally turned their backs on her because she’d refused to bend to their will and how Wayne had called, giving her one last warning, the same day she had left for the airport. He wanted her to know that he wouldn’t be waiting around for her forever. Before hanging up the phone she had tried to explain that he didn’t have to wait for her at all because they were not getting back together. For some reason, he wanted to believe their wedding was back on and they would have a Christmas wedding like they’d originally planned. He might be having a Christmas wedding, but she had no intentions of being the bride.

“You’re awake.”

Skye turned her body toward the sound of the sexy, masculine voice to find Slade standing in the bedroom doorway with a tray in his hand. “I thought I would whip us up something to eat since it’s past dinnertime,” he said, walking into the room.

She pulled herself up in bed, conscious of the state of her undress. He had slipped back into his jeans and he came and sat on the edge of the bed while placing the tray on the nightstand. He had made a couple of turkey sandwiches, had grabbed bags of potato chips and two cans of iced tea.

“You didn’t have to do that,” she said, but was glad he did, at the sound of her growling stomach.

“No problem. I have to make sure you keep your strength up.”

She couldn’t help but smile when he handed her a moist wipe for her hands. “So in other words, you have an ulterior motive for being so nice to me.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, you can say something like that.”

She knew she needed to say a number of things to him. First she had to thank him for giving her one of the most wonderful experiences of her life. “Thank you, Slade.”

“I told you that you didn’t have to thank me for—”

“I’m not talking about the food any longer. I want to thank you for sharing what you did with me. Like I told you, Wayne had a different view on sex, and since he was the first and only other person I’ve slept with, I didn’t know there was any other way. Today you showed me differently.”

Slade went about uncovering their sandwiches and said curtly, “The more and more I hear about this guy, the more I don’t like him.”

“To be completely honest, I never liked him myself.”

Slade lifted his head and met her gaze. “Yet you were going to marry him?”

Skye inhaled deeply, knowing she needed to explain. She owed Slade that. “In Maine things are done differently between wealthy families. It’s not uncommon for the parents to match their children up for marriages. Although my father is an accountant, he came from a well-off family. So did my mother. And their parents arranged their marriage when they were still in their teens. If my father never worked a day in his life it wouldn’t matter, because he’d have money coming in from the trust funds his family established for him.”

Slade nodded. He knew about trust funds. His uncle Jake, the one in the family with a head for investments, had established trust funds for all the younger Madarises when they turned sixteen that were to be paid out starting on their thirtieth birthdays. The smart ones had turned the money back over to Jake when they’d reached that mark so he could rein-vest it for them. Everyone in the family knew that when it came to ways to make your wealth grow, Jake was the man. Even now, at a mere thirty-two, Slade considered himself pretty well-off, and thanks to Uncle Jake, his money was growing daily.

“So your marriage to him was being arranged by the two sets of parents?”

“Yes, and Wayne and I agreed to what they wanted so our parents wouldn’t yank our trust funds away. At least Wayne was doing it for that reason, since he stands to lose half of his if we don’t marry. I have no such stipulation on mine, thanks to the person who set it up for me.”

Slade lifted a brow as he watched her bite into her sandwich. “Your parents didn’t set it up?”

She shook her head. “No, someone else did. I believe it was an older aunt or somebody. I never asked, but I do know my parents can’t deny me access to it when I turn thirty. Trust me, as angry as they are with me for coming here this summer, they would have done anything they could have to stop me.”

He nodded, not really surprised that her parents hadn’t given her their blessings to spend the summer in Houston, but she had come anyway. He would love to think he had something to do with it, but he knew the reason. The only reason she was here was to spend time with Vincent.

“So, how does your ex-fiancé feel about the possibility of getting denied some of his trust fund because the two of you won’t be getting married?”

Skye met Slade’s gaze. “That’s what’s so strange, Slade. I’ve told Wayne countless times that we won’t be getting back together, but he acts like he doesn’t want to believe me. Even earlier today he called before I left for the airport and I had to break it down to him again that we would not be getting married on Christmas Day.”

“Christmas Day?”

She nodded again. “Yes. All Bigelows get married on Christmas Day. It’s a tradition that got started by his family generations ago.”

“How old is this guy?”

“Twenty-nine. He’ll turn thirty in April, but he has to be married to me by then.”

Slade shook his head. Now that was an arranged marriage if he’d ever heard of one. What if the couple weren’t compatible? What if they didn’t love each other and were in love with other people? He guessed those things didn’t matter. People who established those types of stipulated trust funds used money as an enticement for people to marry the person they felt was right for them, regardless of how the individuals felt about it.

He got the impression that Skye didn’t want to discuss her ex-fiancé any longer when she asked, “The kitchen is stocked? Is that how you were able to fix these delicious sandwiches?”

He smiled. “No, your cupboards are bare. I went to my place and used the stuff I had in my kitchen to fix them.”

She took a sip of her tea. “I know you said you have a condo in this same building; what floor is it on?”

“This one.”

He knew his words caught her attention when she stopped sipping her tea. “You’re also on the twenty-fifth floor?”

He tried not looking at her when he said, “Yes.”

Evidently, she began suspecting something, because then she asked, “How close is it?”

He glanced up at her, trying not to smile under her quizzical stare. “It’s right across the hall.”

She didn’t say anything as his words sank in. Then as if for clarification purposes, she asked, “Your condo is right across the hall?”

“Yes.” He decided not to go into any details about their having the entire floor to themselves for the time being.

“Don’t you think us living so close is a little too close for comfort?”

He couldn’t help the smile that touched his lips. “Sweetheart, after what we shared earlier, it might not be close enough for me.”

Skye began nibbling nervously on her bottom lip. She hoped she hadn’t sent out the wrong message to Slade by sleeping with him. Although she loved him—something he didn’t know and she didn’t intend to tell him—her purpose for coming here hadn’t changed. She wanted to spend time with Vincent, and she didn’t want his family getting the wrong idea about her and Slade. But then, she wondered what idea they could get now that wasn’t true, especially after she and Slade had shared a bed today. So technically, they were lovers. But still, she had to get him to understand.

“Slade, you do know why I’m here, don’t you?” she asked.

He met her gaze and the dimples in his smile were getting her body hot all over again. “Because you missed me.”

She had done that, but that wasn’t the reason. “I’m here to spend time with Vincent. I don’t want you to think that—”

He placed a finger to her lips. “Hey, don’t get nervous and uptight on me. No sweat. I know what brought you to Houston, Skye. But then I also know something else that maybe you need to know as well.”

“What?”

“I can act as discreet toward you as I can, but my family knows me and it won’t take long for them to figure out just how much I’m interested in you. I can’t and won’t pretend you aren’t important to me, so please don’t ask me to take anything we share lightly, because I can’t and I won’t. But I will promise not to dominate your time. I just want you to know that I’m here, right across the hall, whenever you need me.”

Skye didn’t know how to respond to that. He was being extremely gracious about things, but then she had discovered from the first that Slade was a very generous and gracious man. “Thank you, Slade.”

“You’re welcome. But there’s something I think I ought to tell you up front.”

“What?”

“I want you something awful and it’s going to be hard to keep my hands off you when we’re around others, but I will. But once we’re alone, Skye, do you know what will happen?”

She smiled. “I think I do, but tell me anyway.”

He decided to show her, and moving the tray aside, he lowered his mouth to hers.

Slade went to his own apartment to get dressed for dinner, and after he’d left, Skye took a shower and dressed in a pair of black slacks and a light pink blouse. Her body was still tingling over the lovemaking they had shared.

And now they were going out to dinner together. Their official first date, although she didn’t want to think of it as such. But then how could she not when she loved him the way she did? However, she would keep her love for him to herself. It was a secret she would share with no one, because nothing could ever come of it. The last thing she needed was to dream about things that couldn’t happen. She was a realist. She didn’t believe in dreams. How many times had she dreamed that her mother would start being kind or that they would have a normal family life, something that never happened?

But then there were dreams worth holding on to. Like the ones she’d had of Slade when she had returned to Maine. She had dreamed of him holding her in his arms, kissing her passionately, constantly, non-stop, and then there were those of when he would make love to her. He had made the real thing so much better than the dreams, and she’d thought the dreams she’d had were pretty heavy. There had been nothing lightweight about them at all.

The sound of the doorbell caused her to jump. She smiled, knowing it was probably Slade, and headed for the door. She opened it and found him standing there, leaning one broad shoulder against the door frame. He was wearing a pair of dark gray pleated trousers and a white shirt, and he looked the epitome of everything male.

The dark eyes that looked her up and down, from head to toe, were turning her stomach to jelly, and then when she remembered all the intimate things they had done together earlier, she knew a tint had to be showing in her features.

“You’re beautiful.”

His words had her shaking her head yet smiling nonetheless. The man definitely knew how to dish out compliments, and he was very generous with them. “Thanks, and I think you’re beautiful, too.”

Now it was he who shook his head. “Men aren’t beautiful.”

“Then I guess you’re an exception, Slade Madaris, because in my eyes, you are beautiful.”

Instead of standing there arguing with her, he leaned over and gently kissed her lips. “You’re having a delirious moment. I think it’s time I fed you more than chips and a sandwich. I’m going to take you to a place that serves big juicy steaks, Texas size, with all the trimmings that go with them.”

“Sounds delicious.”

“I think you’ll be pleased. Are you ready to go?”

“Yes. I just need to grab my purse.” She took a step back inside the condo. He pushed away from the door frame and followed her inside, closing the door behind him.

She picked up her purse off the breakfast bar separating the living room from the dining room area, and spinning back around, she almost collided with Slade, who was standing directly behind her. “Oops, I didn’t know you were standing so close.”

He reached out and placed his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to the fit of him. Then he leaned forward and those so-desirable lips of his moved over hers with such tenderness that something warm and cozy began to spread all through her.

Moments later he pulled back and whispered in a raspy voice, “Thank you for such a wonderful afternoon, Skye.”

He was thanking her when she figured she should be thanking him. She had done more than share a bed with him this afternoon, more than made love with him. She had shared an experience with him that even now still had her body tingling from head to toe. There was no way what they’d shared hadn’t had an impact on her life. For the first time ever, she knew how it felt to be wanted by a man, desired by him, and taken to a level of lovemaking with him that could set your soul, as well as your entire body, on fire. She felt moisture form in her eyes at just how special their afternoon had been together. For the first time ever, she had felt she’d been special to someone. Truly special.

She stared at him, wanting to say the words to make him understand. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead she focused on his lips and thought she could show him better than she could tell him.

She leaned up and kissed his cheek. She then slid her lips to taste the area along his firm jawline. Moments later the tip of her tongue tasted the corners of his mouth, and then with a deliberate purpose, she placed her mouth over his.