For the next three days it rained continuously. Brad now stood at the window and peered outside. It was going to be another gloomy day, but at least it wasn’t raining at the moment. He turned from the window and sat down on the sofa. It was early and Simone wasn’t up yet.
Simone. She’d become a sizzle in his blood, a flame that burned hotter and hotter with each minute he spent with her. The night of the thunderstorm, he’d almost kissed her. God, he’d wanted to take her lips with his and kiss her until they were both completely breathless.
He’d thought he’d seen a moment in her eyes where she would have welcomed his kiss, but then she’d jumped up and run to bed. Still, he wanted her more than he’d ever wanted a woman before.
During the last three rainy days, they’d each played games on their phones and then had spent the time playing endless games of chess and cards.
He’d found her a worthy adversary. She was as competitive as him, and both a gracious winner and loser. She was quick-witted and their senses of humor were alike. She challenged him intellectually and he found that totally hot. In fact, he found everything about her totally hot.
In another lifetime he would have vigorously pursued her. But they were stuck in this lifetime, where having a sexual relationship, where having any kind of a relationship other than a professional one, would be all wrong.
His role was to be her protector, and through this ordeal of staying together in such an intimate environment, he hoped they would walk away from this cabin as friends and she would be safe to pursue the life she wanted.
He had given her the spare revolver he’d brought with him and they had gone over everything she needed to know to use it. He felt confident in her ability.
There had still been no breakthroughs on the case. Leo remained on the loose and Jared still wasn’t talking. The entire case was basically at a standstill. Brad had no idea how long it would be before he thought it was safe for Simone to go back home, but he knew they couldn’t stay holed up here forever.
However, it was far too early in the game to be thinking about heading back to Chicago. He roused himself from the sofa, poured himself a cup of the freshly brewed coffee and then pulled some breakfast sausage links out of the freezer to cook. Breakfast today would be the sausage and pancakes.
He and Simone had fallen into an easy routine. He cooked breakfast and she took care of lunch, usually sandwiches, and then he made dinner. He cleaned up after breakfast, she cleaned up after lunch and then after dinner they took care of washing and drying the dishes together.
Maybe today if it remained dry, they could get out of the cabin for a little while and go for a short walk. Maybe the fresh air would cool his simmer of desire for her, but he seriously doubted it.
By the time the sausage was finished cooking, her bedroom door opened and she stepped out. Clad in a pair of yellow-and-white-striped capris and a yellow blouse, she looked bright and beautiful. But he didn’t say a word to her as she beelined to the coffeepot, poured herself a cup and then sat at the table. He had definitely come to respect the time it took for her to fully wake up in the mornings and be ready to socialize.
He placed the bottle of pancake syrup, the butter and a platter of the sausage links in the center of the table and then began to make the pancakes. When he had a stack of five made, he carried them to the table and sat across from her.
“Good morning,” she finally said and offered him a small smile.
“Back at you,” he replied with a smile of his own. “You look as bright as a ray of sunshine this morning.”
“Thank you.” She served herself two of the sausage links and two pancakes. “Just so you know, pancakes are my most favorite of breakfast foods.” She slathered them with butter and then poured a liberal amount of syrup over them.
“Hmm, I’ll have to keep that in mind.” He served himself. “Looks like the rain has stopped, so maybe later we could take a walk and get some fresh air.”
“That would be great. Maybe if we find a dry enough spot, I could put together a little picnic for lunch,” she replied. She licked a drop of shiny syrup off her bottom lip and Brad felt the earth tilt as a fiery heat filled him. Oh, he wanted to be that dollop of syrup that lingered on her lip. He wanted to reach across the table and slowly lick it off.
“Brad?” She looked at him expectantly. She must have asked him something, but damned if he knew what it was.
“I’m sorry?”
“I asked if you thought we could actually find any dry ground out there today,” she replied.
“To be honest, I doubt it. The ground has to be really saturated after all the rain that has fallen. I checked the news earlier and there is historic flooding happening all over the place.”
Her eyes darkened. “But we’re okay here, right?”
“Right. Even though the river is practically outside our front door, the riverbed is so deep we don’t have to worry about it flooding,” he assured her.
“That’s good, but I feel sorry for anyone the flooding affects.”
“I just hope the rain is finished for good. It’s definitely time for some days of sunshine.” At least if it stopped raining, he could spend more time outside, where the air didn’t smell like her, where her nearness wasn’t torturing him every single minute of every single day.
After breakfast they settled in on the sofa. “Do you want to play a game?” he asked.
“Not really,” she replied. “I’m kind of gamed out after the last three days. When do you think we can go outside?”
“I’d say we need to give it a couple more hours of drying out. Maybe after lunch?”
“A picnic sounded good, but maybe I’ll plan on tomorrow when things are definitely drier,” she said.
A silence rose up between them. She stared into the fireplace that now held nothing but ashes, and he gazed at her. He wondered if he would ever tire of looking at her, of admiring the length of her lashes and the soft curve of her jaw, the sparkling blue of her eyes and the shape of her generous mouth.
“I’m sorry things are so boring,” he finally said to break the silence.
She turned her head and cast him an impish grin. “I haven’t found it too boring beating you at almost every game of gin rummy.”
He laughed. “That was low. I’ll concede that the cards fell in your favor.”
“How dare you blame it on card luck when it was my awesome intelligence that won those games.”
He looked at her more seriously. “That’s important to you, isn’t it? For people to know you’re smart,” he observed.
She immediately frowned thoughtfully. “I’m certainly sorry if I come off as arrogant or some kind of way.”
“You don’t,” he assured her. “I’ve just noticed you get a bit defensive when it comes to you being a smart woman.”
She released a deep sigh. “Maybe you’re right. I’m in a male-dominated college world where woman professors are sometimes undermined and overlooked, and in my last relationship my partner often went out of his way to make me feel dumb. So, maybe I’ve been overcompensating since then.”
“That was definitely uncool of him. So, how long were you with him?”
“A little over six months,” she replied.
“Why were you with him as long as you were?”
She stared at him as if he’d just asked her what life was like on Mars. “I don’t know. I guess I was hoping somehow that he would change but, in the end, that didn’t happen and the whole relationship was just a waste of my time and his.”
“So, if you could build yourself the perfect man, what would he be like?” He wasn’t sure why, but her answer seemed incredibly important to him.
“My perfect man would appreciate my intelligence and not try to demean it. He would want the same things as me...a monogamous marriage and a couple of children. I just want a man who loves me and who wants to build a healthy, happy marriage that lasts a lifetime.”
“That doesn’t sound like too much to ask,” he replied.
“What about you? What is the perfect woman for you?” She looked at him curiously.
“I would want a strong woman who respected my job and that sometimes my hours are crazy. I’d like an intelligent woman who enjoys deep conversations. I, too, would want a monogamous marriage and I’d be open to having children.” He wondered if she realized they’d just described each other. “I really hope you find what you’re looking for, Simone.”
She smiled. “And I hope the same for you. So, tell me about the woman who almost got you to the altar.”
“Her name was Patty and I was introduced to her through a mutual friend. She was a barista at a coffee shop and we hit it off right from the very beginning.”
“What was she like?” Simone asked.
He frowned. “She was pretty...but kind of loud and brassy. Initially I kind of overlooked those qualities about her because she could also be quite charming and kindhearted.”
“How long were you with her?”
“A little over a year. We fought a lot, mostly about my job. She was pressuring me to quit and find another career.”
“And yet you asked her to marry you,” Simone said with a quizzical gaze.
“I did. I didn’t believe she was really serious about me quitting my job and she was pressuring me to put a ring on it. But once we got engaged, our fighting grew worse. She was angry with me all the time. If I missed a dinner or a social night out because of my work, she’d punish me for days.”
“Were you in love with her?” Simone asked softly.
He smiled. “I was, but like you with your professor, I kept hoping she would change. I wanted out, but I didn’t want to hurt her. Ultimately she broke up with me because I refused to quit my job and we both got on with our separate lives.”
“I would never ask a man to quit his job, just like I wouldn’t be with a man who asked me to quit mine,” she said.
Just looking at Simone right now, any thought of Patty was nothing more than a distant memory. He wanted to pull Simone into his arms and feel her body close to his. He wanted to kiss her over and over again. He wanted to make sweet, hot love to her. Instead, he jumped up off the sofa and went to the window.
“I don’t think we’re going to see any sunshine today,” he said, although the weather was the last thing on his mind.
“Maybe tomorrow,” she replied.
He drew in several deep breaths and released them slowly in an effort to get all inappropriate thoughts about Simone out of his head. Even though it didn’t completely work, he turned around and rejoined her on the sofa.
Thankfully the conversation was much lighter after that. They talked and laughed about childhood antics and humorous workplace events. He loved laughing with her. There were times it was easy for him to forget that they were here for a reason and not just as a couple enjoying time spent together in a cozy cabin.
But he had to remember why they were here. He’d been in contact with Russ every night concerning the case. Everyone was frustrated by the lack of information concerning Leo’s whereabouts. There hadn’t even been any sightings of him or clues as to where he might be coming in over the TIPS line.
“So, tell me more about your family,” he said. “I’ve met all of them, but I don’t know too much about them.”
Her features immediately brightened. “You know January is a social worker. She’s passionate about trying to protect the children she’s assigned to. She’s engaged to Sean Stafford.”
“Who is a homicide detective with Chicago PD,” Brad added. “He seems like a great guy and he’s definitely a good cop.”
“I’m just glad they’re so happy. Then you know Tatum has the restaurant and now is dating Cruz Medina.”
He nodded. “Another good detective. And you’re really close with your cousins, right?”
“We grew up with them right next door and it was like they were our siblings. Carly has finally gotten together with the man she was meant to be with, a man she thought was dead.”
Brad listened with interest as she told him about Micha Harrison, a special forces army lieutenant who had nearly lost his life in service to his country. He’d been Carly’s fiancé before he’d been hurt and he’d believed it was in Carly’s best interest to believe him dead.
“But he couldn’t stay away from her. He started following her and watching her and finally she caught him,” Simone continued. “And now they’re getting their chance at the happiness they both deserve. I think it’s all quite romantic.”
“And then you have two male cousins. I’ve had some conversations with Heath and I know he’s temporarily running Colton Connections. He seems like a real stand-up kind of guy,” Brad said.
“He is, and the best thing he ever did was realize his love for Kylie. She’d worked as his right-hand woman for years and she was there for him as he grieved.”
“Jones has definitely been a high-profile guy around the police department,” Brad said.
“I know he was warned to stay out of the investigation. I think Jones has a ton of regret. Right after high school, he left Chicago and kind of drifted around for the next ten years. Then he came back and started his microbrewery, which is fairly successful. But when his dad was murdered, I think Jones had a lot of regret about losing those years and not building a better relationship with his dad.”
“All I know is him hiring Allie Chandler to go undercover was the best thing that happened to the investigation. Otherwise we would still be spinning our wheels trying to figure out who the bad guys are.”
“I’m happy he hired Allie because they are now in love and hopefully she’s helping Jones deal with his grief.” She shifted positions on the sofa.
“So, all your sisters and cousins have now found their significant others.”
“Yeah, everyone but me. But I’m sure it will happen for me when the time is right.” She stood from the sofa.
“Your family is so interesting to me. The fact that your mother and aunt are twins and they married twin brothers is so unusual.”
“And then they went on to buy land and build homes right next to each other and had their children at almost the same time,” she added. “We all grew up with really strong family ties.” She frowned at him. “Do you have any cousins or anyone else in your family that you’re close to?”
“No. Both my parents were only children and so there were no aunts or uncles in my life.”
She studied him with an expression of sympathy. “I’m sorry you don’t have anyone.”
“I’ve never known anything different. Besides, I now have some good friends and coworkers.”
“Russ is a good friend?”
He smiled as he thought of his redheaded coworker. Russ had gone with him to several of the meetings he’d had with Simone’s family. “Yeah, I consider Russ my very best friend. He and his wife, Janie, invite me to their home a lot and I enjoy spending time with them. They have two kids who call me Uncle Brad.”
“Good. Now, I’ll bet you’re getting hungry. How about some lunch?”
“Sounds good.” He got up and moved to the kitchen table while she rummaged in the refrigerator for sandwich fixings.
“You ready to head outside?” he asked her after they had eaten the sandwiches and chips for lunch.
“Thank goodness I decided to throw some tennis shoes into my suitcase. Let me go change into them and then I’m absolutely ready to get out of this cabin for a little while,” she said.
She disappeared into the bedroom. He pulled his athletic shoes out of his suitcase and put them on, eager to get outside for a change. He also pulled on his shoulder holster with his gun in the holster.
Minutes later Simone returned clad in a pair of expensive, white shoes. “Oh, those shoes are so going to be ruined,” he said.
She laughed. “I know, but when I was packing, I didn’t think about having to traipse through mud. I’m willing to sacrifice them to the gods of the muddy earth just to go outside and get some fresh air.”
“Then let’s go.” He opened the door and together they stepped outside. The air was warm and humid, and the wet ground squished beneath his feet.
Brad looked around the area, making sure that nobody was lurking nearby. Even though he was relatively certain nobody knew where they were, he also knew he couldn’t ever let his guard down. Simone’s very life depended on it.
He saw nobody anywhere around them. He still doubted that the nearest cabin to them was even occupied right now. They first walked through the trees, talking about the wildlife that might live there.
“Maybe this is where Big Foot lives,” she said as they continued walking.
“Do you really believe there is a Big Foot?” he asked.
“I’m not sure what I believe, but I do believe that there are things on this earth that we don’t know or understand,” she replied.
“What about UFOs?”
“I do believe there are things not of this earth that we don’t know enough about,” she replied. “In other words I’m very open-minded about these kinds of things.”
“What about woodland elves? Do you think there are tiny people hiding someplace around here and right now they are watching us?”
She laughed. “Absolutely,” she replied. “You have to say that so if they really exist you don’t make them mad,” she added in a whisper.
He grinned at her. “You definitely don’t want to get woodland elves riled up.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m really kind of a dorky college professor,” she said.
“I must be dorky, too, because I don’t think you’re dorky at all.”
They walked and talked for about a half an hour and then returned to the front of the cabin.
“I want to take a look at the river,” she said. Once again, he looked around to make sure they were all alone, then he watched as she walked over toward the edge.
“Don’t get too close,” he warned. He barely got the words out when he heard an ominous rumble and a tremor in the ground, and suddenly Simone was gone.
She was falling...falling.
It took only a moment for Simone to realize the earth had given way under her feet and then water and mud completely engulfed her. She was in the river. Her brain screamed the words as she flailed her arms and legs beneath the water’s surface.
Which way was up? When she tried to open her eyes, all she saw was water so muddy it was impossible to see anything else. Her feet hit what she thought was the bottom and she thrust herself up, finally managing to get her head above the water. She spat and gagged on the mud as she tried to gasp for breath.
Above the rush of the river, she could vaguely hear Brad yelling her name. But she couldn’t concentrate on him as her body was buffeted by fallen tree limbs and other debris and she was sucked under once again.
Beneath the surface it was pure darkness and the cold of the water ached in her legs, throughout her entire body. Once again, she fought to find the surface as her lungs burned painfully from a lack of oxygen.
She finally managed to get her head up and she gasped for air as the river carried her. If she didn’t do something, she was going to die. With this thought screaming in her head, she began to try to grab at exposed tree roots or limbs...anything that would halt her horrifying progress downriver.
She felt as if she’d been in the water for hours, even though she knew it had just been minutes. She finally managed to grab hold of an exposed tree root, and even though her hands ached with the cold, she grabbed on to it and held tight. Her breaths ached in her chest as she gasped for air.
Mud clung to her face. It was in her hair and half blinded her. She desperately needed to swipe her face with her hand, but she was afraid to take one hand off the root that held her in place. The rushing water buffeted her, and limbs and debris smacked into her.
She should have known that a landslide was possible. She’d been a fool to walk so close to the edge knowing the amount of rain that had fallen.
Now she was going to die because she’d been a stupid fool. Her heart banged so hard she could scarcely breathe. She was freezing, and she knew if she lost her grip on the roots, then she would be swept to her death.
“Simone!”
She looked up to see Brad above her. He was lying on his stomach on the bank above her and he had one hand stretched out toward her. “Grab on to my hand, Simone,” he yelled.
She cried, terrified to take one hand off the tree root that held her in place, yet knowing he was the only way she’d be able to climb up the steep bank to safety.
But how could he ever pull her up? She was covered in mud and waterlogged. Was he even strong enough to pull her up? If he couldn’t, then she would fall back into the river and somebody would eventually find her body floating somewhere.
“Come on, baby...you can trust me,” he cried. “Take my hand, Simone.” He reached down even farther so his hand was only half a foot or so away from hers.
If she didn’t grab hold of it, she would probably tire and lose her grip on the root. She’d be cast down the river, her body pummeled by the weight of the water and the mud and debris. And she would surely die.
Her arms already trembled with her efforts to hang on and the cold now encased her entire body, making her teeth chatter uncontrollably.
“Come on, honey...let me pull you out. Simone...grab my hand,” he cried.
She had to trust that he’d catch her. Drawing a deep breath and releasing it on a sob, she let go of the root and reached for his hand.
He grabbed on to her, wrapping his hand tightly around her wrist. As he pulled her up, she tried to find purchase on the side of the riverbank with her feet to help him. Slowly she rose from the water. His arm trembled with the effort, but his grip remained strong.
When she finally reached the top, she rolled on her back, once again gasping for breath as tears choked her. He got to his feet and then scooped her up in his arms and hurried toward the cabin.
She clung to him, her arms tightly wrapped around his neck and her face buried in his broad chest. Her teeth still chattered with the cold and sobs continued to choke through her. Thank God he’d been able to get her up. Thank God she was now safe.
He carried her directly to the bathroom, where he put her down on her feet in the shower stall and he turned on the faucets to start the shower. He quickly took off his gun and holster.
He was covered with almost as much mud as she was, and once the water was hot, he pulled her against him beneath the warm spray. They didn’t speak.
He held her tight for several long minutes. He then reached up and began to work his fingers through her hair, obviously trying to get out as much of the mud as possible.
She stood perfectly still, sobbing as she allowed him to minister to her like she was a helpless child. He grabbed the bottle of shampoo she’d left on the floor of the shower and squeezed a liberal amount into her hair. His fingers worked to lather and scrub as she continued to cry from the trauma she’d just endured.
She’d been so scared. She’d been so terrified of drowning...of dying. It was a combination of that fear and the gratitude that he’d saved her that kept the tears coming.
Finally, she began to warm up enough that her teeth had stopped chattering and her tears came to an end, although there was still a deep chill inside her. He grabbed a bar of soap and cleaned the mud off himself. He stood beneath the streaming water for another minute or two and then reached out, grabbed a towel and stepped out.
“I’m going to go build us a fire,” he said and then pulled his wet T-shirt over his head. Still clad in his wet jeans, he wrapped the towel around his shoulders and left the room.
Once he was gone, she peeled off her clothes and finished washing herself until there wasn’t a single shred of mud left on her. Only then did she shut off the water and grab a towel.
She used the towel to dry off her hair and then wrapped it around her and ran from the bathroom to the bedroom. She dressed in a pair of jogging pants and a T-shirt, and then walked back into the living room, where Brad had built up a roaring fire. He’d also changed into clean, dry clothes.
He spread a blanket out on the floor in front of the flames and she sank down, still trying to warm the chill that lingered deep inside her.
He then sank down next to her and grabbed one of her hands in his. “Are you okay?” His gaze searched her features, as if to assure himself that she really was all right.
She nodded, for a moment not trusting herself to speak as the horror of it all washed over her once again. He squeezed her hand. “God, Simone, I’ve never been so terrified for somebody and it’s all my fault that it happened.”
“How on earth was this your fault?” she asked as she finally found her voice.
“I should have known the ground was too saturated, that it was possible that a landslide might happen.”
He looked absolutely miserable. “Oh, so now you aren’t just an FBI agent, you’re a geologist as well?” she replied. “It was my fault, Brad. I was the one who got too close to the edge.” Her words were suddenly swallowed by an unexpected sob.
Immediately he pulled her into his arms and held her as she began to cry all over again. She buried her face in his chest and his hands stroked up and down her back in an effort to soothe her.
The terror she’d felt played again and again through her head. Once again, she could feel the water and the mud fighting to drown her. She would never forget the feel of her falling...falling into the deepest darkness.
She cried until she thought there were no more tears left inside her. “I...I was so afraid,” she finally managed to say. “I was so sure I was going to drown...from the water and from all the mud. Thank God you were there to pull me up.”
“You were so brave, Simone. You were so smart to keep your head and grab on to something and hold on. That allowed me to get to you.” His breath was soft and warm against her ear. “You’re safe now and I swear I’m not going to let anything else happen to you.”
“Thank goodness you were strong enough to get me out.”
“Failure wasn’t an option,” he replied.
She knew she should move out of his arms, but she didn’t. Finally, the chill inside her was gone and she was wonderfully warm between the heat of the fire and the warmth of his embrace. He smelled like minty soap and clean male.
She wasn’t sure when things changed, but suddenly his caresses up and down her back came slower and grew more languid, and she thought his breathing had quickened just a little bit.
Her body responded. Despite the warmth, her nipples grew hard and she breathed faster as a swift, sweet desire rocked through her. She didn’t want to fight it. She had been fighting against that desire since they’d arrived at the cabin. Rather than fight it, she wanted to let it loose to run wild.
With her heart pounding, she raised her head to look at him. His face was mere inches from hers, his eyes dark and holding a touch of the same wildness that whipped through her. She parted her lips and he took the hint.
His lips took hers in a kiss that instantly half stole her breath. A new warmth rushed through her and she wound her arms around his neck and pulled him closer toward her.
His tongue touched her lower lip, as if tentatively seeking entry. She opened her mouth wider to allow him in. Her heart raced as their tongues swirled together in a mad dance.
The longer they kissed, the more she wanted of him...from him. She tasted his desire for her and it stirred her on every level. His hands slid beneath the back of her T-shirt, stroking her bare skin and only making her want him more.
A churning, burning need built up inside her. He kissed her harder and she matched his passion with her own. She couldn’t remember ever wanting a man as badly as she wanted Brad right now.
When the kiss finally ended, she moved back from him and pulled her T-shirt over her head. She knew she was taking a chance at being rebuffed. But she’d always been the kind of woman who went after what she wanted...and she desperately wanted Brad.
The minute her T-shirt came off, Brad’s eyes flamed as bright as the flickering blaze that danced in the fireplace. He yanked his T-shirt off and then reached for her again.
“Simone.” He whispered her name in her hair and that only sent her desire for him higher.
His arms wrapped around her back and his fingers went to her bra fastening. “Tell me to stop and I will,” he said, his voice husky and half-breathless.
“Don’t stop. I want you, Brad.”
He unfastened her bra and she shrugged it off her and tossed it to the side of them. She then stretched out on the blanket and pulled him down beside her. His lips claimed hers once again as his warm hands covered her breasts.
She was on fire with the scent of him, with the way his back muscles tightened as her palms swept across the wide expanse. She felt as if he’d been quietly seducing her for days with his heated glances when he thought she wasn’t paying attention, with the inadvertent touches they shared during the course of the day.
His lips left hers and traveled down her jawline, igniting new fiery flames inside her. She gasped as his mouth moved down to one of her breasts, where he began to lick and nibble on first one sensitized nipple and then the other.
She moaned his name with her pleasure. Hunger clawed at her in a way she’d never felt before. She arched up to encourage him to keep licking and teasing her nipples.
After several minutes she pushed him away to take off her jogging pants, leaving her clad only in a pair of wispy pink panties. His gaze never left hers as he stood and took off his jeans. With him clad in just his black boxers, she could tell that he was fully aroused.
He got back down on the floor and pulled her against him, and their mouths once again found each other in a blazing kiss. She was vaguely aware of their frantic breathing. Her heart pounded so loudly in her head she could think of nothing else but him.
She was out of her mind with need. It had been so long...so achingly long since she’d felt a man’s desire for her. Still, she didn’t want just any man. She only wanted Brad.
One of his hands slid down her belly and lingered at the top of her panties. She arched up, inwardly screaming with the need for him to touch her. And then he did. His fingers slid beneath her panties and danced against her heated flesh.
She clutched at his shoulders as a tension began to build inside her. He moved faster and faster against her, touching her at the perfect spot, and she climbed higher and higher. The tension pulled tighter and then suddenly sprang loose. She cried his name as wave after wave of intense pleasure rippled through her.
When her climax was over, she kicked off her panties and plucked at his boxers, wanting...needing to touch him, to give him as much pleasure as he had just given her.
He took off his boxers and she took him in her hand. His hard length pulsed as she stroked him and their gazes remained locked. “I want you, Brad. I want you inside me,” she said.
His eyes flared with fire and he gently pushed her onto her back and then moved between her open thighs. “Tell me to stop, Simone, and I’ll stop,” he whispered.
“Please, don’t stop,” she practically hissed.
He entered her slowly and for a long moment they remained locked together yet not moving.
He raised his hands and tenderly framed her face. He kissed her gently and then began to thrust into her. Slow at first, and then with a moan he increased the speed of his hips against hers.
She moaned along with him, her heartbeat pounding as the tension began to build inside her once again. She met each of his thrusts with her own, wanting him to feel as much pleasure as he’d already given her.
Faster and faster he moved against her until she was climaxing once again. He stiffened against her and groaned as he found his release at the same time.
They remained locked together for several minutes as each of them waited for their breathing to return to normal. He then collapsed on the blanket next to her.
He was so handsome with the golden light of the fire playing over his beautiful and perfect naked body. She was boneless and utterly sated. She smiled at him. “That was absolutely wonderful, Brad.”
He frowned, grabbed his boxers and jeans and then got to his feet. “I’m sorry, Simone. That was totally unprofessional of me and it won’t happen again.” With those words, he stalked into the bathroom.