Confer, Lorelei - Deadly Revenge (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (13 page)

“You don’t have to worry about me. And you don’t have to keep tabs on me.” Tory began to pace the hardwood floor, her hands fisted, and her lips pursed tightly closed.

“I’m not keeping tabs on you. I know you can take care of yourself. I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.” Dave spoke sternly, his voice louder than normal.

“If you must know, Matt and I went out, but it wasn’t a date. I had to end our relationship once and for all. I gave him back his grandmother’s ring, a family heirloom. I made it clear to him I wasn’t interested in him or a new relationship. Are you happy now?” Tory replied. Her fists clenched at her sides, forehead wrinkled. She didn’t want to have to tell him everything, she was feeling so vulnerable. And it wasn’t his business. Was it?

“So I have nothing to worry about with you and Matt?” Dave asked.

“I’ve made it clear to both you and him, haven’t I?”

“I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions. I don’t know what got in to me. I’ve never…” Dave said in a whisper as he moved closer to her.

“It is kind of nice to know you care enough to be worried.”

“It is, is it?” Dave moved closer. He took a step, his pants brushed against her bare legs and he put his hands on her waist. He pulled her closer to him. His heart lurched in his chest with the feel of her in his arms. He kissed her lips, a soft caress, then kissed her deeper. He caressed her shoulders and back with his hands, rubbing them up and down her spine. He moved his lips to her ear and nuzzled it, then kissed her in the hollow of her neck.

“Yes, it is,” Tory whispered as Dave pulled her closer and kissed her again.

“So, are we friends again?”

She answered him with a passionate kiss.

* * * *

Dave watched the light breeze flutter through Tory’s hair. The temperature was perfect to have a casual dinner outside on the deck of her apartment. The simple pizza, salad, and wine were everything he’d hoped for. The candlelight reflected off Tory’s wine glass as she touched it to her soft, smooth lips. Those lips he remembered kissing and wanted to kiss again left a lipstick impression on the glass.

They sat at the small bistro table on the deck overlooking a park, and Dave took a sip of wine. She was personable and strong, despite the circumstances. He wanted to be there for her. During the day he couldn’t stop thinking about her, what it would be like to hold her..., to sleep beside her all night and to wake up to her every morning. He wondered what she was doing and who she was doing it with. His heart began to race with thoughts of her wandering through his mind—her soft, sweet lips, her musky womanly scent, and her soft caresses. He wanted to do something to make her stay by his side. He noticed her serious expression and asked, “What are you thinking about?”

“I was thinking how much I like your company, and how you always lift my spirits.” She toyed with the stem of her wine glass. “And how sad it is when everyone in town knows your business.”

“I grew up in a small town. I can relate to that.”

“Anyway, how do you like Hickoryville now that you’ve been here a while?” Tory asked Dave.

“I like it fine. As I said, in certain aspects it’s very similar to where I grew up. But I’m really drawn to the people here, certain ones especially.”

“Oh, and who might they be?” She fidgeted in her chair.

“Well, you for one,” he said with a smile, somewhat self-conscious about his bluntness.

“Who else?” Tory leaned in closer to him. He could see pink blotches on her chest where her light blouse was unbuttoned. Her face flushed.

He cleared his throat and crossed his legs. “That’s about it, just you. My parents?” He rubbed his forehead, knowing the rest of his admission wasn’t going to be easy to say. He took another sip of his wine. “You have bewitched me, woman. I can’t keep you off my mind. When you’re at work, I’m thinking about what you’re doing. At night, if we aren’t together, I’m wondering if you’re out with someone else. And to tell you the truth, I don’t know what to do about it.” His voice softened to a whisper.

“Dave,” splaying her hand on her chest, “I’m flattered. But there’s something I have to admit.” She took a sip of her wine and smoothed the short silk skirt down over her thighs. “I find myself consumed with you as well. So I can’t help you out, I’m afraid.” She smiled.

“Oh, I think you can.” He put his napkin on the table and stood, walked to her side of the table, and extended his hand to her. She took his hand and stood up, leaning in close to him. He bent his head down, touched his lips to hers, and took the slow, simmering kiss to hard and hot in under sixty seconds. He pulled her against him and felt her hands drift up into his hair. His breath came in rapid bursts and his heart began to pound in his chest as all the blood raced to his erection, now hard and throbbing against her abdomen. His eyes closed to concentrate on all his senses; he could feel her soft caresses in his hair, smell her sweet fragrance, hear her heavy breathing, and taste her wine flavored lips.

The sound of giggling girls brought him back to the present.
Too public.
He focused on the people walking by down below and said, “Let’s take this inside.”

Tory lowered her eyes and brushed her hair forward. “Okay.”

A blush covered her cheeks. She cleared her throat when he took her hand and walked hand in hand inside the sliding glass door into the living room.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” Dave asked as he pulled her closer to him and locked his hands behind her back. Her skin felt sizzling hot under his touch, sending jolts throughout his body, all the blood rushing to one area of his body—his erection.

He looked deeply into her eyes trying to read her answer there. He saw her green eyes deepen to a dark emerald color. Dave drew her against him for a long, deep kiss. He felt her soft, moist lips beneath his and didn’t want it to end.

She slipped her arms around his waist. He was so aroused. He plundered her lips and tasted her sweetness. She opened her mouth to let in his tongue, and he couldn’t resist licking her full, sweet lips.

Her hands caressed his waist, her fingers painting circles across his back. He rubbed his thumb up and down her arms, then her sides. Then unable to stand it anymore, he began feeling her breasts through her blouse. He unbuttoned the blouse with one hand while his other hand held her up by the waist. He moved aside her top to run his hands over her satin- and lace-covered breasts.

He wondered if he should move forward. Is it too soon? Would he scare her off?
He pulled her closer, breathing in her scent and rubbed her back up and down soothingly. He was so hot and his shaft so hard for her. He kissed her neck, the lobe of her ear, the tip of her chin, her shoulder. He ran his hand down along her thigh.

She groaned and gasped for air. And stiffened.

“Are you okay with this?” he asked her.

“Yes, I want you, too.”

She arched her pelvis against him, her nipples, hard and erect, rubbed against his hairy chest. He felt her tense with anticipation and moaned. He kissed her pulse in her neck and felt her heart beat rapidly, her breathing heavy.

He wanted to give her so much more and make her forget about Matt. Dave groaned as he slipped her blouse and bra strap down her soft, smooth shoulders, kissing them all the way. He rubbed his fingers across her nipple, sending a quiver through her body.

He walked her up the stairs, their emotions out of control. His hands groped at her clothing. He finally got his shirt off.

They continued to kiss, a soul-searching kiss, evolving into an open-mouth, plundering, tongue-tangling kiss, leaving him breathless and wanting for more. He wanted all of her. He wanted to be inside of her.

Dave caressed her breasts, first one then the other. A nice handful, they were perfectly proportioned for him. He rubbed his fingers over her nipples, squeezing them between his thumb and index finger.

He lifted her skirt as he ran his fingers up her velvety thigh…and quickly found her wet and ready for him. He removed her silky bikini panties in a single swoop with one hand.

Her hands fumbled at his belt and then at his pants. Impatient, he unzipped his pants as they stumbled up the stairs and down the hall, bouncing first from one side and then the other.

With Tory flattened beneath him against the wall, Dave put his knee between her legs and separated them. She clung to his neck, kissing his face, his shoulders, and his pulse point. She ran her fingers through his hair.

He moved his knee up higher to separate her legs. He couldn’t get enough of her. He wanted to feel her sheathed around him. He lifted her up, putting her legs around his waist. His erection rubbed against her hot and wet opening.

Standing in the hall, he placed his hands on her butt and entered her, then started to move. He moved her back and forth, his shaft moving in and out of her wet opening. She moaned. Her sexual forces overwhelmed him as his legs tightened and his body stiffened. He exploded inside her, releasing the tension that had been mounting for days.

Satiated, exhilarated, and content, he gazed at her face. She smiled slowly until it filled her face with pure, wild satisfaction. Knowing he put that smile there made him feel like a superhero. He carried her into the bedroom and together they collapsed onto the bed.

* * * *

Exhausted and trembling from the excitement, Tory lay wrapped in Dave’s arms on the bed. She needed to know he cared. She gasped, tried to purse her lips long enough to wipe the smile off her face. Shouldn’t she feel trampy and mad for hopping into bed with the first man she’d met since she arrived in town? No. Not when it felt so good.
She heard his heavy breathing. She inhaled his musky sex scent.
I can’t believe I just did that and I want to do it again.

“What are you thinking?” Dave asked as he slid from inside her and laid on his back, catching his breath, a smile on his face.

“I can’t believe we just...I hardly know you.”

He sat up on one elbow and leaned over her. He kissed her neck and walked his fingers up her thigh. “Want to get to know me better?”

She couldn’t help herself. She kissed his hairy chest, licked his nipples and played with them until they grew hard and erect, just as his erection did as well. She felt a poke in her abdomen. She looked up at his face and he smiled, raising his eyebrows and shrugging his shoulders.

Tory loved how he leaned down and kissed her lips. It was a long, slow, simmering kiss that had her gasping for breath. She put her arms around his neck and ran her fingers through his hair, pulling him closer. He spread her legs and placed his hand on her tangle of curls. She stroked his manhood. He entered her with one finger then two fingers. She squirmed on the bed and pulled at the bed clothes, her hands in fists. He rolled her on top of him and plunged into her, letting her ride him. She matched his quick rhythm immediately. She moaned and climaxed instantly.

He rolled her over onto her back and when once again he was on top, he thrust into her with slow even strokes. She licked her lips as he bent down to kiss them, then he moved onto her breasts, licking and kissing each one while moving in and out of her. He groaned and sped up his thrusts. She arched her pelvis toward him, wanting to give him all she had. He moaned and climaxed, spilling his liquid seed into her.

He rolled to his side beside her, holding her until they fell asleep.

Chapter 19

In the early hours of the morning, Dave slowly disentangled himself from Tory and got up from the warm, comfortable bed. He found his scattered clothes, dressed quietly, kissed her forehead, and left in his car. He had surveillance work to do.

* * * *

Later that morning Tory stretched, remembering every sequence of her actions the night before. She reached for Dave on the pillow to her side. It was cold.
What? He left without saying good bye?

She heard footsteps on the stairs, and Dave appeared around the doorway with two steaming cups of coffee.
I have never had a man bring me coffee in bed.

“Good morning, sleepy head,” he said as he set the two coffees on the night table and reached for her. She gave him a quick morning kiss and a great bear hug. “How do you feel this morning?”

She yawned. “Last night was wonderful, and I had the most restful sleep since I came to town. All thanks to you and your male prowess. How about you? Did you sleep well?” she asked him before taking a drink of coffee.

“I slept so well I want to do it all over again,” he said, raising his eyebrows in question. He quickly removed his clothes.