Recaptured Dreams (24 page)

He kissed her gently when she tried to speak.

“But that hurt you, too,” he continued. “I see now that the distance I’ve put between us has had the opposite effect I wanted. I don’t want you to ever think I don’t care for you. It was stupid of me to think that you couldn’t handle what I was feeling. I don’t want to ever hurt you. Losing you again would destroy me.”

Xavier’s lips curled as Sophia’s mouth dropped open. Finally saying those words had lifted a thousand-pound weight off his shoulders. She didn’t run away; she just looked stunned at the moment. Stunned he could deal with.

To his utter shock and astonishment, she threw her head back and laughed. He could do no more than sit and watch her while the rolls of laughter kept coming. His face hardened as he considered all the possibilities.

With a hand clutching her belly, Sophia looked over at Xavier.

“I’m sorry,” she said, quelling her chuckles. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

“What’s so funny?” His eyes narrowed, readying his heart to be broken.

“I’m sorry,” she said again, making her tone more serious. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“Not many people like to be laughed at.”

“You don’t understand. I get the laughies when I’m really happy.”

An eyebrow shot up. “The laughies?”

She laughed again, the spray of the sea making her skin glisten. “Yeah, that’s what Anne Marie calls them. I get them a lot more often than you would think.”

He eased back into a comfortable position on the rocks. “Why are you so happy?”

“I don’t know if you’d believe me if I told you.”

“Try me,” he said as he lay back on his elbow, careful to avoid the pointy rocks.

She leaned toward him, taking her time as their bodies brushed together. Inch by inch, she leaned closer to his face, her essence warming every part of him. She stopped in front of his lips and let out a long, soft sigh. He drew his bottom lip between his teeth and clung to her waist. Continuing past his mouth, Sophia stopped at his ear and let her lips trail over the lobe. She then rubbed her cheek against his and drew in a slow breath.

“Because,” she said airlessly as warmth spread between their bodies. “I love you as well.”

“That was the longest drive ever,” Xavier said as he led Sophia though the front door. In one swift move he picked her up in his arms.

Her body molded perfectly against him. She giggled and threw back her head. He buried his face in her neck, inhaling her sweet vanilla scent with a hint of sea.

“You smell wonderful,” he said. “I wonder if you taste just as good.”

He carried her up the stairs, down a hallway that had grown a mile long, and made his way to his bedroom. His need for her grew with every step, and he felt he would explode if he had to wait much longer. Groaning in frustration as he kicked open the door, he pressed his smoldering lips to hers.

Kissing her sent a tornado of pleasure roaring through his body. It pushed him to conquer and devour. Wild and reckless, just like the first time. But as Xavier lowered her down on the silken sheets, something inside him clicked—this time he’d have to garner all his will and pleasure them both painfully slowly. He would take his time and show her just how much he loved her.

Her body stretched against the sheets, her pale face a beautiful contrast to the silvery thread. Xavier positioned himself above her and took her mouth again. Lips parted, mouths connected, he swept his tongue around hers in a lazy fashion. Drawing it out, he traced the outline of her lips.

In seeming anticipation of what he would do next, Sophia’s breath came out in slow pants. An airless moan escaped when he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth and gave it a gentle nip.

Then, without warning, he leaned back and pulled her into his lap so they were both sitting up and facing each other. He ran his lips along her jaw and neck, stopping to lick and kiss in all the right spots.

He shucked her thick jacket, tossing it carelessly to the floor. Her cotton shirt was thin, and the heat of her skin nearly burned Xavier’s fingers as he circled her waist. His hands skimmed along her curves, kneading the supple skin. Spreading his fingers apart, his hands traveled north. They stopped for a moment at the bottom of her ribs and then moved higher until they stopped at her heart. It pounded against his hands, the vibration thrumming through his veins.

“Mine,” he whispered over her skin.

Sophia buried her head in his shoulder and began a gentle assault of her own, tickling his senses in a way only she could, almost as if she was asking him to beg for more. Having her like that, pliant and willing beneath his hands, made him feel powerful and alive.

As their hands and bodies continued to tease, Xavier recalled the memories of their first few times. They had been awkward but beautiful; now, they were confident and assured. They could pleasure each other tonight in a way neither of them had been pleasured before.

Xavier let out a low growl against the swell of her breast, then drew away from her again as he rose to his feet. The sun was setting over the horizon, and an orange-blue hue covered Sophia’s body. It made her glow like an angel,
his
angel.

As Xavier removed his clothes as fast as he could without seeming too hurried, Sophia reached out and traced the lines of his stomach with the tips of her fingers. Xavier tensed all his muscles at the trail of fire that followed.

Sophia stood, and with calm hands, started to undress.

“No,” Xavier said as he lightly tugged her hand away from her shirt. “I want to undress you.” He tugged her close and put his lips to her ear. “I want to see every part of you before the sun goes down. I want to touch every part of you before we make love. And before the night is through, I want to taste every part of you.”

Sophia moaned as Xavier flicked the buttons of her shirt apart and allowed the fabric to fall to the floor. His fingers skimmed the length of her torso, latching onto the waist of her jeans. A snap later, the jeans shimmied down into a heap. After each piece was taken off, his fingers and lips spent several moments reconnecting with each part of her. He groaned as the bra and panties fluttered lifelessly to the wood floor. Once she was bare, he stepped back and took a good long look.

“You’re more than beautiful.” It took every ounce of strength to keep the guttural growl out of his voice.

A smile, easy and seductive, lifted her face. “Same goes.”

Xavier laid Sophia down on the bed and spread her legs. Her sweet scent surrounded him. Her warmth engulfed him. As he moved over her body, he could feel the slick heat on his thigh. Trailing kisses down her neck and chest, he stopped at her breasts and cupped one with his hand and the other with his mouth. Sophia cried out as his tongue hardened her nipples.

The curls covering her sweet spot awaited him. It was hot and ready as he placed his mouth over it. Clutching the sheets, her body reared against him as she called out his name. He took hold of her hips with bruising force in order to control his own fire, now grown to a raging inferno.

Sophia shook as Xavier’s body slid on top of hers. Her eyelids fluttered, then closed. His hand was on the back of her neck, his lips caressing hers.

“Open your eyes, Sophia,” he said softly. “I want to see your eyes as I make love to you.”

She obeyed. She opened and invited him in, spreading her legs even farther. He slid into her slowly, taking great pleasure watching her arch toward him.

They moved slowly, allowing their bodies to mold to each other’s—each taking and each giving everything they had in return. They both reeled in their control so as not to quicken the pace. They wanted to let the slow fire burn until there was nothing left but ashes.

The sky was dark, the white glow of the moon raking over their sweat-slicked skin as they moved with a slowness that tortured them in the best possible way. But soon, purrs became growls and low moans became loud groans as they clung to each other. Movements became faster, harder. Their bodies exploded as they came together in a tangle of sheets and panting breaths. Legs and arms entwined, they fell back onto the warm covers.

Snuggled closely together, they lay in silence. Sophia didn’t know if she’d ever be able to speak again. She’d thought he’d consumed her before. She’d been wrong. Tonight, as they’d made love and said those magic words, Sophia had felt the vine curl around their conjoined bodies and transform from weak greenery to strong, unbreakable stone so they could be together, always.

“That was breathtaking,” Sophia said quietly as she curled her body into Xavier’s.

“You took the words right out of my mouth.” He kissed her forehead and nuzzled his face in her hair.

As they lay in the dark, Xavier caressed her back with his hands. His fingers then traced the curves of her thighs, the skin of her stomach, his eyes never leaving hers. She stretched out, lying flat, giving his hand better access. A wolfish grin spread across his face. The tips of his fingers caused a million little fires to light wherever they caressed. As if he knew how he affected her, he trailed the touches with a cooling kiss. Goose bumps sprang up over every inch of her skin.

Xavier’s hand splayed out between her belly button and the curly hairs of her sex. He traced the thin white line of a scar that spread several inches across her skin. Frown lines formed on his brow. “Where did you get this?”

She sighed, relishing the stroke of his thumb. “From the accident.”

His fingers danced over the scar as he studied it. He outlined it once, pausing in the middle, and then again before blowing out a breath. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”

“Doesn’t matter. You’re here now.”

He drew her in close and placed a quick, passionate kiss on her lips. Sophia moaned and urged him deeper.

“I love that sound,” he murmured against her neck. “I’ll be right back.”

Xavier shifted his weight and flung the sheet back as he rose from the bed. A sting of desire rippled through Sophia’s body again as she eyed the taut muscles in his back. Everything felt so right; she was content to the extreme, and nothing would be able to duplicate the euphoric feeling radiating through every pore of her body. She wished she could stay, just like this, for an eternity.

Once alone, she wondered why they
hadn’t
always been like this. They had been teenagers and lived in different countries, but with the strong love she felt for him now, she only imagined it had been as strong then. She had been less than a year shy of her eighteenth birthday; why hadn’t they waited for each other until then?