The Wilde Side (22 page)

Then he went in search of Ashley and found her standing in the middle of her dimly lit bedroom, rocking Sophie in her arms. The little girl was wearing a pink one-piece outfit, and she was snuggled up against her aunt's breast, soothed to sleep by Ashley's gentle, swaying motions.

He moved quietly into the room, and Ashley smiled at him, seemingly enjoying the cuddling moment with her niece. As for Scott, he wished it were his cheek resting against those soft breasts of Ashley's.

"Isn't she an absolute angel?" Ashley whispered.

Scott caressed the back of his fingers along Sophie's cheek, her baby skin so soft and supple to the touch. "She's very sweet. Do you need help putting her into the portable crib?"

"I think I can do it."

A few moments later, Sophie was safe and secure in her bed. She made some noises and squirmed restlessly when Ashley initially laid her down, but quickly settled into a comfortable position and fell back into a deep sleep.

Scott held his hand out to Ashley, and she placed her fingers in his palm. He led her back to the living room, where he'd set the bowl of ice cream on the table between the couch and recliner chair. He tugged her down onto the sofa next to him, let her get settled in, and reached for the huge serving of ice cream.

Surprise and pleasure brightened her eyes. "Wow, is all that for
me?
"

He laughed at her enthusiasm and her eagerness to sample the dessert. "I was hoping that you'd share."

An impish grin tugged at her lips. "Okay, I'll try."

Moments later she sighed blissfully as he filled her mouth with the cold, sweet treat. After savoring the rich flavors, she accused softly, "You're spoiling me."

He arched a brow and kept the next bite just out of reach. "Is that a complaint?"

"Oh, no. I like it," she assured him, and leaned her head back against the cushions and licked sticky ice cream and hot fudge from her bottom lip. "I can't think of anything more exciting than being fed my favorite ice cream by a gorgeous, sexy guy."

"It's all my pleasure," he said, and took the next bite for himself, just to tease her.

Now that he had Ashley in a languid, playful mood, there was one last thing he wanted to discuss with her, something he needed her to know because it was as much a part of his past as her relationship with Greg was to her. And just as her time with Greg had left her with insecurities and doubts, Elaine had inflicted the same kind of damage.

But he didn't want this to be a depressing kind of discussion, so he tried his best to keep things light and casual. "Since you just shared so much with me, there's something I want to tell you, about a past relationship of mine."

Her expression turned wary, which was exactly what he'd been trying to avoid. "Sounds serious."

"No, not really." He fed her another bite of the sundae, to keep her mouth full while he talked. "It's just something I want you to know. And once you hear what I have to say, maybe you'll understand better my adverse reaction to finding out you'd kept the fact that you were a St. Claire a secret. When I discovered the truth about you, it brought up a lot of memories for me."

She cringed, and her gaze filled with contrition. "I take it they weren't good ones?"

"Hardly." He flashed her a smile, staying true to his decision to maintain an upbeat attitude. "A few years ago I met a woman, and from the very beginning of our relationship things were very intense, and mostly based on sex. Elaine pursued me quite persistently, in a way that was flattering, and exciting even. But even after we started seeing one another, she always managed to keep our encounters private and secretive."

He lifted another spoonful of the ice cream concoction to her mouth, and their gazes met. He knew Ashley was thinking about the way she'd seduced him, which echoed Elaine's behavior. But the two women were nothing alike, not in the ways that mattered to him.

"Our affair went on for a few months, but it was a very one-sided relationship the entire time," he said.

She frowned. "In what way?"

"I'll admit I fell for her, and I was the one who wanted to take the affair to a more serious level so she could meet my family and we could bring everything out in the open. But she claimed she liked things just the way they were."

When she held a hand up to ward off the next bite of ice cream, he knew she was finished, and he set the bowl on the table in front of them. Then he turned toward her, shifted closer, and rested his hand on her knee.

"But there were other aspects to our relationship that really started bothering me, as well," he went on. "I'd never been to her apartment, because she insisted that her roommate didn't like overnight guests. I didn't have her home phone number and could only reach her on her cell phone. And she was always off on business trips, so seeing her was very sporadic and always on her schedule and terms."

Ashley glanced away at that, and Scott refused to let her withdraw from him – physically or emotionally. He touched his fingers to her jaw and gently drew her gaze back to his. This was something he needed to tell her as much as she needed to hear, and he wanted her full attention while doing so.

"I knew in my gut that something wasn't right, but I wanted to believe Elaine, and I wanted to trust her." Ashley's fingers were pleating the material of her skirt in her lap, and Scott reached for one of her hands and held it between the two of his to stop her nervous habit. "Then one day I was shopping at the mall for a birthday present for my sister, and I saw Elaine at the food court, and she was with another man who was holding a little girl in his arms, who was probably no more than four. So, I approached the three of them, certain that Elaine was with her brother or something else that made sense, except when she saw me coming up to them, the full-blown panic on her face told me that something was definitely wrong."

He shook his head, recalling that day with too much clarity. "Before I could say anything more than hello, she quickly introduced me to her
husband
as a business client."

"Oh, Scott," she breathed, her eyes wide with shock.

He remembered that feeling of disbelief all too well. "Needless to say, I was stunned to realize that I'd been sleeping with a married woman who had a child, and in hindsight, everything about her behavior finally made sense. I walked away without revealing anything, but confronted her a few days later when she called."

He brushed his fingers along the back of Ashley's hand, caressing her soft skin, grateful for the small connection between them as he continued. "Come to find out, I was nothing more than a fun and exciting boy toy for her, a diversion from her less than happy marriage, though she had no plans to divorce her husband who's a wealthy, high-powered attorney at a Chicago firm. The whole situation left me feeling used and deceived."

She visibly winced, obviously seeing the similarities. "I'm sorry, Scott," she whispered. "I swear I never meant to hurt you that way."

"I know." He especially knew after tonight and everything she'd shared with him. He understood so much more about her life, her choices, her reasons for initially seeking an illicit affair with him. This woman was looking to break free of constraints, but obviously couldn't bring herself to do it in
all
aspects of her life.

There was still one more important thing he needed to tell her. "I hope all this gives you a better insight to my past, but mostly the fact that I'm a man who values honesty, and that's what I want between us from here on out."

"Okay." Smiling tremulously, she framed his face in her hands, and her lashes fluttered closed as she settled her mouth against his in a kiss that was soft, tender, and apologetic in its intent.

Her lips parted on a sigh, and he took the initiative to deepen the kiss, to let her know that all was forgiven and he held nothing against her. What happened to them was a part of their past, and that was okay, because they would hopefully learn and grow from the experience – together.

Sliding his hands into her hair, he moved his mouth over hers, slow and languid, and his teeth nipped at her plump bottom lip. Then he slid his tongue inside, and she met every hot, damp sweep of his tongue with her own. She tasted like sweetened coffee and rich chocolate, like his very own sundae to enjoy and savor.

And he did exactly that, using his mouth to seduce and tease, which only seemed to make her more impatient and restless. Every time she tried to increase the pace of the kiss, he'd slow it down a notch, deliberately driving her crazy. She mewled in frustration and tried to crawl into his lap to get closer, to take control, to take what she wanted.

Scott knew exactly what she was after, but they wouldn't be making love tonight, no matter how much he wanted the same thing. This courtship that included plenty of necking and foreplay was part of their growth process in their relationship, but consummation wouldn't come until he knew for a fact that she was emotionally ready to accept more than just his body. But he could make her feel good and give her what she needed, what she hungered for.

Instead of letting her sit astride his lap, which gave her way too much power over his own restraint, he eased her back on the couch until she was lying there with her hair tumbled around her head, her lips parted and swollen from his kisses. She waited for him to join her with a come-hither look in her eyes. Smiling down at her, he knelt between her splayed knees and pushed the hem of her skirt up to her waist, exposing her long, sexy legs and the pale pink satin and lace panties she wore.

He didn't dare remove that barrier, knowing it was the only thing keeping him from holding tight to his decision not to make love to her. He trailed his fingers up her quivering thighs, traced the elastic edge of her panties at the crux of her sex with his thumbs, and smoothed his palms over the curve of her hips. Then he leaned over her, holding her heavy-lidded gaze as he opened the front of her top, one slow, agonizing button at a time, until he was able to part the two sides of her blouse and she was bared to her torso.

He brushed his fingers over the swells of her breasts, and her breathing deepened in anticipation as he dragged the stretchy lace cups of her bra down, releasing those two full, perfectly shaped mounds of flesh from confinement. Her nipples puckered, tightening in hard beads that looked as delicious as two cherries atop his own personal sundae.

She reached up, curled her hand around the nape of his neck, and drew his head downward. "Put your mouth on me, Scott," she urged huskily. "
Please
."

Refusing her wasn't even a remote possibility. He bent his head and heard her suck in a breath when he gently grazed her nipple with his teeth. Another gasp escaped her when he laved her with his hot, wet tongue. And finally, a long, drawn-out moan sounded when he took her deep into his mouth and suckled hungrily at her soft flesh.

Her fingers raked through his hair as he switched to give the other breast equal attention, until she was writhing beneath him and panting in that needy way he recognized all too well. He blazed hot, moist kisses up to her throat and along her jaw as he moved over her and settled his hips against hers. He pressed his solid erection, still confined behind the fly of his jeans, against the crotch of her panties, exactly where he knew she'd need that firm, driving pressure the most.

He watched her eyes darken with desire and could feel the heat and dampness of her through the heavy denim and did his best to keep his concentration on
her
pleasure and off his own. Lowering his head, he kissed her while moving against her in a slow, sensual motion that was as intimate as the act of sex itself.

Her hands tunneled beneath his shirt, shoving the cotton upward until it was bunched around his chest. She glided her flattened palms over his taut belly and around to his back where she kneaded her fingers into the muscles bisecting his spine in an attempt to urge him to a faster tempo. When that didn't work to her advantage, she wrapped her legs around the backs of his thighs and grabbed his ass in her hands so she could control the depth and pace of his strokes.

He wrenched his mouth from hers and managed a laugh. "God, you're an impatient little thing."

She made a whimpering sound of longing and slid her hands between them to try and unbutton his jeans. "Scott ... I need you."

He swore as her fumbling fingers feathered along his straining cock, and he knew he'd be a goner if she so much as got her hands inside his pants. So, he grasped first one wrist, then the other, and pinned her arms above her head. Then he linked their fingers, just to be sure she didn't manage to free her hands to wreak more havoc on his body and restraint again.

"I know what you need, baby," he murmured, and resumed his slow, deep thrusts against her sex. "And I'm going to give it to you. Just relax, let it happen, and come for me."

She moaned in frustration, arched into him, and tossed her head back on the couch.

"Move with me, Ashley," he encouraged huskily. "Just imagine that I'm deep inside of you, filling you up..."

She caught on to his rhythm, her hips rolling and gyrating against his as she matched him stroke for stroke. From there, it was only a matter of minutes before her orgasm crested. She cried out softly and shuddered beneath him, taking what her body desperately needed, and giving Scott something infinitely more precious in return – more honesty. As he looked down at her face and into her eyes, there was no disguising the tenderness and reverence he saw there that told him there was so much more between them than just physical pleasure.