pleased him, and his penis grew harder at the thought of penetrating her. But first, her pleasure. He got on his knees and pulled her toward him to the edge of the bed. Her legs were splayed wide, and it was apparent that she was ready for him from the wetness of her sex. He’d been wondering what she tasted like and now he bent his head and devoured her. His tongue moved slowly around her clitoris, inciting a current of electrically charged sensual pleasure throughout her body. She felt it down to her toes. Her moans were low at first and grew louder as her impending orgasm drew nearer.
He left her clitoris and licked the sides of her labia. This made her thighs tremble. She whispered, “Yes, yes, yes...”
Though he was happy she was enjoying his efforts, he wasn’t satisfied with that reaction alone. He wouldn’t be content until she started calling on a deity. He redoubled his efforts. She rose up on her elbows, “Oh, my God, what are you doing to me?”
He merely smiled.
When she climaxed, she not only released pent-up sexual energy, but she also came to the realization that there was a lot she didn’t know about sex, and here was the man who could teach her.
Colton got up and while she was in that malleable state just after an orgasm, when your mind was blown and sensual pleasures were magnified, he entered her. She was just as he imagined she would be—hot, tight and more than capable of handling him.
Never had Lauren had such an enthusiastic, energetic lover, one who seemed to give even more than he got. Her body reveled in it. Felt as if it had been waiting for him all her life. She knew that this feeling was what people were trying to describe when they said that sex was the closest thing to heaven on earth. She’d never felt so alive.
Colton couldn’t believe his luck. This woman was his equal in every way. Not content to lie there and accept his thrusts, she was giving it back to him with as much fervor as he was giving it to her.
When he came it was a monumental moment for him. He didn’t know if it was because his emotions were so intense tonight after the day he’d had, or there was something unique about Lauren. She was smiling up at him. She looked exhausted but supremely happy. He was glad he’d had something to do with that.
Chapter 3
“I’ve done it now,” Lauren said jokingly as they lay in bed wrapped in each other’s arms. They’d gotten up and showered together and climbed back in bed.
Colton smiled. “What have you done?”
“I’ve become the Gaines girl who’s not only divorced but who, after the divorce, jumped right in bed with the first available man. I left Raleigh to get away from it all and a hunk shows up on my doorstep.”
“Life isn’t fair,” Colton said sympathetically.
Lauren laughed softly. “Darn right, it’s not. I was determined to give up men.”
He reached out and brushed a tendril of hair behind her left ear. “How long would that have lasted? You’re a vital, passionate woman, Lauren. I can tell that much from the little time we’ve spent together. Don’t let Eckhart turn you off men.”
“Please don’t say that name,” said Lauren.
“All right, I’ll just say ‘the asshole’ from now on,” Colton said.
“Don’t even refer to him at all. I came here to forget he exists.”
“Then why’d you come to a place you shared?”
“He was rarely here,” Lauren explained. “He bought the place and came a couple of times, met your parents who, as you can imagine, gave him a cool reception. Then after a while, he stopped coming at all. I didn’t care. What he didn’t know was that I had an ulterior motive when he announced he was buying the property.”
“Which was?”
“My granddaddy Beck, my mother’s dad, lives up here near the Cherokee reservation. He owns a lodge. I go to see him whenever I come up here. Grandma died about five years ago and he doesn’t have any family in the area. My sisters and I make sure one of us goes to see him at least once a month. I was delighted when my ex bought this place. And, thanks to you, I got it in the divorce settlement.”
“Thanks to me, how?” Colton wondered.
“Because he got no reaction out of you when we moved across the pond from your place, he lost interest and gave it to me without a fight.”
Colton understood. “So when you come up here, it’s like going home.”
“Exactly,” she answered with a contented sigh.
“The only place I’m able to feel that way is my parents’ home,” Colton told her. “I own a home but it’s just a house. A very nice house, mind you, but it has no sentimental value.”
“Maybe you haven’t been in it long enough,” she suggested.
“I bought it six years ago,” he replied. He smiled at her. “You’re an architect. Maybe you can come take a look at it and tell me what’s missing about its design that’s preventing me from caring about it.”
“That implies that we’re going to take this further than this nonreality bubble we’re presently in,” Lauren warned him.
“Is that what you think is happening here?” Colton asked, the humor gone out of his tone and his eyes. Up until now they had been talking good-naturedly. True, her insistence about keeping this a secret had indicated that she believed this was to be a one-night stand, but after making love he no longer wanted it to be just that. He envisioned seeing her again, slowly getting to know her. He had assumed she felt the same way.
“Wasn’t that what we agreed on earlier? That this remains our little secret?”
“Yes, Lauren, but I thought you were thinking of your reputation. I didn’t believe that you were really going to kick me to the curb afterward. Not if we both enjoyed ourselves. And I know you enjoyed yourself.”
“I did enjoy myself,” she confirmed as she freed her arms from his and sat up in bed. “I simply didn’t want to set myself up for disappointment. I wanted you to know that there were no strings.”
“Just pleasure,” he said as he sat up while maintaining eye contact with her. “I understand not wanting to be hurt, Lauren. Believe it or not, I’ve been hurt before, too. On the other hand, I don’t want you to sell yourself short. Of course I want more than a tryst in the mountains.”
“You say that now after sex, but you may feel differently when we get back to Raleigh and to our everyday lives. Plus there’s the trauma you are under due to your father’s death. People do strange things when they’re grieving.”
“And you’re worried that you might have slept with me just to get your ex out of your system, is that it?” he wanted to know.
Lauren shook her head, but her eyes told a different story. She was undecided. “I’m an emotional wreck right now,” she admitted. “I don’t know up from down. I only know that I enjoyed being with you tonight.”
“That’s an honest answer,”
