The Cowboy's Surrender (18 page)

Dallas walked past her toward an antique armoire. When he opened the mirrored doors, Gillian saw a well stocked wet bar inside.

"What do you want? Wine?" he asked.

"Are you trying to get me tipsy and take advantage of me, sir?" she said, covering her nervousness with playful banter.

"Sweetheart, I've never had to resort to those kinds of measures. And I've never taken advantage of a woman," he said, as he searched for glasses.

"I'm sure that's true. You wouldn't have to resort to those kind of measures with anyone, would you?" Gillian stood quickly. She had to do something before she lost her nerve. "Forget the drink. I don't want a drink. All I want is you. Only you, Cowboy." She held her breath, shocked at her own boldness.

Dallas closed the bar and turned. His eyes burned with passion. "Come here." The words were spoken quietly, but they echoed in Gillian's brain. She walked slowly across the room until she stood directly in front of him. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest. The time of reckoning had come.

Dallas gathered her in his arms. "I'm glad you want me, because I want you, too. I've wanted you since the first time I saw you." His mouth came down on hers, hard and demanding. Tasting and savoring, exploring, possessing.

Gillian wrapped her arms around his waist, molding her body to fit his. She felt his hardness against her tummy. Her breasts pressed into his muscled chest.

Dallas cupped her bottom and pulled her upward, pushing his arousal more fully against her.

Gillian groaned as delicious sensations pulsed through her blood. Her body quickened. Her knees felt weak and rubbery. Her stomach fluttered with sensual awareness.

Dallas lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bedroom. He set her down and switched on the bedside lamp, then took her mouth again. Her sweet response made his body coil tightly. He was close to the edge. Too close. He wanted to push her onto the bed and shove himself inside her. With supreme effort, he fought for control. He'd never lost control with a woman and he didn't plan on starting now. Especially not now.

He deepened the kiss. Sliding his fingers through her hair, he smoothed the silky mass back toward her neck, glided his hands down her back, learning her body, holding her close. Slowly, he moved his exploration forward, tracing her ribcage, easing upward until he came to her full breasts. He liked how her breath hitched as he brushed his thumbs across her nipples. He didn't like how she stiffened when he unhooked her bra through the fabric of her t-shirt.

Gillian tore her mouth away and pulled out of Dallas's embrace. She took a step backward, dragging air into her lungs. Delicious feelings swirled in and around her, mixed with fear and apprehension. This was going too fast. She wasn't quite ready. She needed to regroup. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm a little nervous here," she said. "Is there any way I could freshen up? It's been a long day, what with the races, the heat, delivering the baby and all. I really could use a bath before we--uh, you know."

"Yeah, I know. We could both use a bath," said Dallas. "I'll tell you what. You can have the tub in there and I'll use the shower in the mud room." He gripped her shoulders reassuringly and pressed a gentle kiss on her lips. She trembled beneath his fingers. "Unless you want to bathe together?"

Gillian pulled back again. "To tell the truth, I haven't done this kind of thing in a long time. Right now, I'd rather bathe alone. I'll take a rain check for a later date, if that's okay with you?"

"Make that a promise and it's okay with me. I'll show you where everything is." He led her to the bathroom, handing her a towel and a robe he found in the closet. "Put this on when you're finished. Meet me in the living room. We'll have a glass of wine and try to take this nice and slow. And remember Gillian, we won't do anything you don't want to do." He kissed her quickly before closing the door.

Gillian ran hot water in the tub. Pouring a capful of shampoo for bubble bath, she eased into the blessed heat. She leaned back and let the warm water wash away her jitters.

She was nervous and a bit scared, but excited as well. This felt right. A tremendous weight seemed to have lifted from her shoulders. She had thought she could never be close to a man again. But Dallas had changed all that. Her body tingled with anticipation, and she hurried through the bath, drying herself and slipping the robe over her nakedness. The soft terry cloth rubbed her sensitized flesh. The thought of Dallas's hands and mouth on her body made her toes curl. After combing her hair, she hurried to the living room.

Dallas waited on the sofa. The room was dim, with several candles flickering in the darkness. He stood when she entered the room. He wore nothing but boxer shorts, his hair damp from his shower, his skin gleaming in the candlelight.

Gillian swallowed the lump in her throat. The man was beautiful. Ropes of muscle rippled across his wide chest. He wasn't as hairy as she had imagined, but a fascinating line of dark fuzz began at his navel, disappearing into his waistband.

Her knees weakened when she saw the evidence of his desire straining against his shorts. Tightening the belt of her robe, she took the glass of wine he offered.

Dallas resumed his place on the couch. "Sit down," he said, patting the cushion beside him.

Gillian took a sip of wine, gathered her courage and curled up beside him. He hooked his arm around her shoulders and hauled her body next to his. With his bare feet propped on the coffee table, he drank his wine, holding her close, caressing her arm.

She gradually relaxed and enjoyed the moment. She could feel Dallas's heartbeat, the steady rhythm keeping time with her own. When she finished her wine, she slowly twirled the fluted glass by the stem, watching the candlelight reflect on the shiny surface.

"Let me take that." Dallas placed both glasses on the table. Leaning back, he pulled Gillian on top of him, positioning them both until they were reclining on the sofa. Gillian's heart was beating double-time now. So was his. Dallas's face was only a couple of inches away. His crystal blue eyes searched her face as his hands kneaded her bottom. His breath whispered against her lips, the tangy scent of wine teased her nostrils.

With her elbows propping her up, Gillian's robe gaped open. She felt herself exposed and tried to close it back.

"Don't hide yourself from me." Dallas pushed her hand away. He boldly cupped one breast as he covered her mouth with a kiss.

Gillian felt herself free-falling as his tongue tangled with hers. He rasped his thumb across a nipple sending a shower of electric currents cascading down her body. He jerked the robe away, leaving her completely naked, wrapping his arms around her and crushing her to him, until they were bare chest to bare chest.

He threaded his fingers through her hair, pulling her closer, consuming her with his mouth. His every touch, his every move produced intense waves of pleasure. Gillian held on to his powerful shoulders, riding the torrent of desire, pressing her breasts flat against his chest, moving to cradle her body more snugly over his turgid length.

Suddenly, Dallas changed positions and she was lying flat on her back. He bent to suckle her, laving his tongue around and around the rigid nipples, teasing and taunting, coming close to the rosy tips, yet holding back.

Gillian squirmed beneath him, grasping his neck, arching her back, searching. "Please, Dallas--"

Dallas trailed his tongue over the curves of her breasts, stopping at the crest, licking quickly, then blowing on the swollen nipples.

Gillian groaned with pleasure, then almost screamed when he took one nipple in his mouth and sucked. She bucked under him and could feel him hard against her sensitive core. She reached between their bodies, sliding her hand inside his waistband, clasping her fingers around him.

Dallas shuddered at her touch, then clamped his hand over hers and moved it away. "This will all be over in a second, if you keep doing that."

"Take me now," she said, lifting up and kissing his lips. "I'm ready. I want you inside of me."

Dallas breathed deeply. "We're not going to do this on the damned couch." He kissed her quickly, then scooped her in his arms and walked to the bedroom.

Gillian leaned her head on his shoulder, enjoying the feel of his muscled arms around her. He stooped to pull back the comforter and gently set her on the bed. Peeling his shorts off, he lay down beside her.

Taking her in his arms, he kissed her, making sweet maddening love with his tongue. His fingers roamed over her body, cupping her breasts, moving over her flat tummy, settling between her legs. She was everything he'd ever dreamed about, totally responsive to his every touch. He probed the soft flesh of her womanhood with one finger. Gillian moaned with desire.

She was ready for him, but he wanted her more than ready. He moved his mouth downward, kissing the base of her neck, the hollow near the collarbone. Gasping with pleasure, Gillian grasped his head and held him close as he continued his descent.

He caressed her soft breasts, suckling gently, teasing them again and again, making her wild under him. Then he moved lower. He kissed her belly button, licking the small indention, trailing hot kisses toward the center of her being.

"Dallas?" Gillian looked at him questioningly.

"Relax, sweetheart. It's okay. I want to kiss you all over."

She lay rigid beneath his touch. He wondered if she'd ever been loved this way before. It gave him intense satisfaction to know that he might be the first. He would do his damndest to make it good for her.

He knelt between her legs, rubbing his hands down the length of them, caressing her thighs and calves. He came back up and took her mouth with his, thrusting his tongue inside, claiming her, branding her with a promise of much more.

She arched her back, lifting her body to meet his.

"Easy, sweetheart. There's no rush."

"But I want you. Now." She kissed him feverishly.

He pulled away and grinned wickedly. "I want you, too. But there's plenty of time. We have all night."

He trailed hot kisses across her tummy down to the triangle of dark curls, lightly touching the warm flesh with his lips. She tasted like sweet femininity.

Gillian held her breath. No one had ever kissed her down there before. She'd been married true, but her love life had been more like slam, bam, thank you ma'am. Dallas was doing things, making her feel things, that were completely new and wonderful. She grasped the sheets with fisted hands, opening her legs to him.

He didn't fail her.

As Dallas bent over her, their eyes locked. He kissed her soft curls, teased the swollen flesh, flicking light touches in and around the delicate folds. Gillian's chocolate brown eyes darkened with desire. Her breath came out in quick puffs.

Slowly sliding a finger inside her, he pressed his tongue against her inner core, caressing, stroking until she was moving beneath him, finding the rhythm that would lead her over the edge. She fell back against the pillows, squeezed her eyes shut, lifting her hips, writhing on the bed. Dallas increased the pressure, doubling the strokes, until she moaned loudly and shattered beneath him.

Sensations exploded throughout Gillian's body. Shards of desire crashed along every nerve ending. She drifted on the aftermath of rapture, amazed at the exquisite feelings pulsing through her bloodstream.

Yet somehow, it wasn't enough. She wanted more. "Make love to me. I need you," she said, grasping his shoulders, pulling his big body upward. She clasped her arms around his neck, sought the drugging sweetness of his mouth, lifted her hips to meet his hardness. Seeking to fill the empty ache inside.

Dallas reached in the bedside drawer for protection. Tearing the packet with his teeth, he made himself ready. His shaft throbbed as he nudged Gillian's legs apart with his knee and settled between them. Her hands caressed him all over, frantic in her need for him.

Propping himself on his elbows, he tangled his fingers in her hair, traced her cheek and jaw with his thumb, bent to drink from her lips. All the while, he rubbed his shaft against her soft warmth, probing the hot flesh, taunting himself with the pleasure he would soon find.

The sexy little moans deep in Gillian's throat drove him close to the brink. Her fingers bit into his shoulders, her mouth found his flat nipple and he groaned when she lapped and sucked.

It was too much. He gripped her hips and plunged his length inside her hot damp flesh. She accepted all of him, her body sheathing him to the hilt.

Gillian arched her back, meeting him thrust for thrust. Dallas gritted his teeth when she wrapped her legs around him and pulled him in even deeper.

Dallas raised himself above her, bracing his fists on either side of her head. The black tangle of her silky hair spread across the pillow. Gillian's eyes were closed, her dark lashes whispered against her ivory skin.

Suddenly, he needed to see the rich brown color of her eyes. He wanted to lose himself in their depths, just as he was losing himself in her hot flesh. "Look at me," he said, his voice harsh with pent-up passion.