A Heart to Rescue (6 page)

A
clearing throat
drew her attention
as
Nate broke the kiss. Mel turned her head and saw Daphne standing there
watching them
with a sour expression on her face.

Daphne’s head snapped in Nate’s direction.
“I trust you enjoyed your dinner, Nathan?”

“It was excelle
nt as always, Daphne. Thank you,
”
Nate said gruffly.

As Daphne storm
ed off in a huff, Mel giggled. “Yea, I’m never getting a job here.”

“
If
I have anything to say about it
, those hands will never carry another tray in your life. I have an idea.
Let’s go back to your place,” Nate suggested, nuzzling against her hair.

“I’d like that.” Mel wanted nothing more than to find out what other things Nate could do with his tongue.

“It’s a good thing you
said you
like driving fast.”

In
what felt like
record time, Mel was letting Nate into her apartment. She threw her clutch
on the table and turned to him with
arms open wide
.
“
Well, t
his is it.”

Nate had already crossed the room to the far wall
that was lit
across the top
by soft track lighting
.
“Wow. These are amazing, Mel.”

She went to stand beside him, feeling shy and vulnerable.
The six-piece collection covered the entire wall.
She
felt
a little
bit like
she was introducing him to her children.
“These were the last pieces that I painted before the end.
I was going through a lot of different emotions
,
and it all spilled out on the canvas.
No one has seen these
yet. I’m not sure why I haven’t been able to part wi
th them even though
I feel l
ike they are my best work to date
.
”

Nate pulled her into him. “All good things come to those who wait.”

“We’re not going to wait, are we?”
Mel asked, looking up at him. She
couldn’t believe the wantonness of her question.

“Hell, no,” Nate growl
ed. His lips claimed hers again
as if he
thought that he
had to convince her. He pushed her back against the wall
,
and she yelped in pleasure as
her back met the cool brick wall and she felt
his
hard
body molded against hers. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about how sexy you are
ever
since I watched your ass swish across
the room in
that shithole bar.”

Mel was only half listening as she dug her fingers into his shoulders.
She decided that t
hey had to many clothes on.
Sh
e was burning it up. It was as if
h
er whole body was on fire. She wanted him inside of her as quickly as possible.

Nate’s hands came u
p and gently cupped her breasts through her dress. His gentle kneading
against the fabric caused
her nipples
to spring to attention. Nate’s lips left her
s
and started to travel down
the side of her neck. She stood on her tip
toes and tried to get closer
to him
.

As if reading her mind, he gripped her hips and without breaking
his lips away from
her neckline, he
slowly stepped them backwards
over to the couch.
He sat down on the
edge
and gazed up at her. She could see the passion in his eyes
,
and she felt like the sexiest woman in the world.
His hands
went behind her
,
and she felt the tug on the zipper on her back.

Mel
had
just
one
pertinent
question left. “You have something with you?”

“I was a boy
scout. I’m always
prepared,” he replied as her dress fell to the floor.
She wasn’t wearing anything underneath.
“Damn, Mel, you are beautiful.”

His pull was rough this time and
she
found herself
pressed between his hard body and the back of the couch. His
hands seemed to b
e everywhere at once. Then his hand caressed her stomach and
slipped
further down her body. When he found
that juncture between her thigh
s
she started to moan.

“
You
are soaking wet,” he
groaned against her throat
.
Then his lips lifted and he was kissing her again, harder this time
.

Her fingers crept down his body and then flitted across the crotch of his pants,
giving her a small thrill of delight as she felt him
jump. “And you are hard as a rock,” she chuckled. “Let me help you
get more comfortable
.”

Nate’s
clothes
joined Mel’s dress on the floor, and she pushed
against his chest so that he was sitting
back against the couch. As she moved to straddle him, he grabbed her waist and flipped her around so that she was beneath him
again
.

“Not so fast,” he said.
His
eyes locked on hers and she saw
tenderness there mingled with the lust
.
It had been
a long time
since she had been with a man who was so attentive and thoughtful of her feelings.

His mouth explored the curve of her neck, and his small kisses sent tingles of delight qui
vering through her body. Then his lips
found her nipple, and she moaned as his tongue slow
ly circled the taunt flesh
. Her h
ips began to gyrate, mimicking the motion of his tongue
, and as Nate sucked and teased with his teeth, his hand wandered down and parted her soft folds again.

Mel arched her back, making it clear what she wanted. Her legs automatically parted wider as his fingert
ips twitched around her hot nub
. When they slipped inside
her
,
she felt as if her body was turning to liquid
. “Yes,” she begged.

Then his lips were next to her ear. “Yes?” His fingers circled her opening and then flicked across her throbbing core.

“Please,” she panted.

“Do you want me?”

“Yes,” she said.

The absence of his body next to her moments later brought her out of her lust induced haze. She heard the crackle of plastic and knew that she was just moments away from the releas
e she had been so impatiently waiting for. It still felt like an eternity before
Nate was back,
his hard body sliding slowly up her
s
, kissing and nipping the whole way
.

“Are you ready for me, baby?”

“Yes,” she cried out.

H
is throbbing
manhood teased the sensitive edges of her velvety opening, and then thrust ins
ide. He filled her completely and her
eyes popped open. Her softness immediately wrapped itself around him
,
and
she
squeezed
her muscles, causing him to moan
. Then, he slowly began his thrusts in earnest, and Mel was almost pushed over the edge right away.

“Faster,” she said.

Nate fell to his elbows and looked deep into her eyes. Even as she felt the wave of pleasure building inside of her, she didn’t take her eyes off of him. It seemed important. As he panted, she knew that he was getting close too.

“Come with me, baby,” he demanded
.

Mel nodded and the
n his thrusts were more urgent
. Mel wrapped her l
egs around his waist, giving him
even better access
and she felt his hardness hitting that innermost part of her insides
.
It was driving her crazy.
Nate’s ha
nds slid
beneath her to fondle he
r ass. Then he
press
ed
her closer
to him. His pace quickened, and Mel knew that she was almost there.

“I, can’t, hold, on, any, longer,” she managed
to say
just as she felt the waves of pleasure overtake her and she
bit
her lower lip to hold
back a scream.

Nate’s
sharp intake of breath
confirmed
that he
had joined her in on that plane of
ecstasy
.
Then he fell against her, his full weight resting on top of her. Skin on skin, she could feel his heartbeat keeping pace with hers.

Then he kissed her hair, her neck, her breasts, and her lips.
It was as if
he was trying to devour her.
“Where’s the bedroom?
” he asked.
“
In about five minutes, I’m going to be ready for round two.
Trust me, we’re just getting started.
”

Mel laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I promise I won’t keep you up all night.
I am pretty sure one of us has to work in the morning
.
”

“I’m the
boss. I think I’ll
play hooky,” Nate said. He swept her up in his arms, and Mel let herself be
carried
away.

In the
middle of the night, and Mel awoke from a sound sleep. The gentle snoring next to her told her that Nate was undisturbed. She couldn’t keep the grin off her face. Nate had kept his promise. Round two was even better than round one, and then there was round three. Her toes curled as she re
played
that orgasm
in her mind
.

Usually a sound sleeper, she wondered what had woken her. She was thoroughly
satiated
, so she should have been sound asleep. After examining her thoughts for a few minutes, she realized what it was that she wanted to do. It was the reason she had woken up.

Careful not to
wake Nate, she slipped out of bed
and grabbed her robe. Then she
pad
ded into the room next door. It
was her studio. In the middle of the room was the same blank canvas that had been sitting there for the last six months. It was time to change that.

Hours later, Nate wandered into the room. He came up behind her
,
and his arms encircled her. He kissed the side of her neck. “Who knew that painting could be so erotic?”

“Are you saying that because I’m naked
under this robe, or because of the subject of the painting
?” she said without stopping her strokes against the canvas.

“Both,” he replied
.

Then
Mel turned her head toward him and kissed him boldly. “Thank you.”

“For what?” he asked.

“For
giving me back something I thought I had lost
,” she said. “I woke up, and couldn’t wait to paint. It’s because of you.”

“
In that case, w
hy don’t you come back to bed for a little while
to repay me
?” Nate said.

“What
do I owe?”
Mel said with a sly smile.

“I’m sure we can
come to a mutually beneficial arrangement
,” Nate winked.

“Give me a minute,” she said.

“Sure.” Nate kissed the top of her head and then left the room.

Mel stood and set her brush down on her stool. She took a step back from the canvas. She was satisfied that she had captured Nate’s baby blues perfectly. Her critical eye picked out the areas that needed more shading and definition. She didn’t normally paint nudes, but her subject had been more than enough inspiration
for her to try it again
.

She got to the doorway and turned back to the canvas. She knew then that she’d take the job that Nate had offered. She was ready to paint again.
She was ready to live
her life again. S
he
even thought she might be lucky enough to
have Nate by her side to support her, just like she would support him.