“I don’t know—I didn’t—you talked about your boat.”
“April to November. It’s only March.”
“Of course.”
He chuckled. “Of course.” He kissed her again, careful to keep it light this time. When he raised his head, he put his hands safely on her shoulders. “I’ll see you tonight, then?”
“I’ll try.”
“Tryisn’t good enough.”
“I’ll make it. I just don’t know what time.”
“That’s okay, as long as I know you’re coming.”
“I’ll come.”
Dipping his head, Jared touched his lips to hers a final time, but he did it so lightly and with such sweet promise that, without thinking, she opened her mouth for more. He ran the tip of his tongue over her lips, then her teeth, then pulled back.
“I’ll be waiting,” he said in a husky tone that was more intimate than any he used on the air. Then he left.
For the duration of the afternoon and evening, Savannah held the memory of that intimate tone inside her. She thought of it often, and each time she did, she grew warm. At one point, Arnie even asked if she was feeling all right.
“You look a little—I don’t know—flushed.”
“I’m fine,” she said, adding a new blush to what he’d already seen. She tried to keep her mind on track, particularly after that, but she couldn’t get through the evening fast enough.
Unfortunately, when she was on trial, her out-of-court hours had to be used not only for preparing the next day’s agenda, but taking care of matters relating to other cases she was handling. It wasn’t until eleven-thirty, when she was nearly frantic to get away, that she finally managed to escape.
As Jared had suggested, she took a cab, and it was a good thing. If she’d driven, she’d surely have been stopped for speeding, or running a stop sign, or driving up a curb. She felt impatient and eager, more so than she had ever been for a date in her life.
Not that this was just a date like any other. She had never done what she was doing now.
When she rang the bell at the large Victorian house, Jared answered the door. He wore the same sweater and slacks he’d had on earlier. As clothing went, the outfit was tame. There was nothing tame about the look in his eye.
Without a word, he framed her face with his hands and gave her a long and thorough kiss. That was all it took for the level of desire to soar to where it had been that afternoon. Grabbing her hand, he made for the front stairs. She had to trot to keep up, particularly when he began taking the stairs two at a time, but she didn’t mind. She was brimming with the same excitement, the same impatience and need.
He didn’t stop at the first landing, but continued on up a second flight of stairs. At the top of that was a single door, opening into a single, large room. In most Victorian homes, it would have been the attic. In this one, it was Jared’s suite.
Savannah had neither the time nor the inclination just then to explore it. Having kicked the door shut, Jared was kissing her again, and while he did that, he was taking off whatever of her clothes he could.
She helped him. Only when she was naked did they turn their joint attention to his sweater and slacks—at least, she thought their attention was mutual, but he kept interrupting the task to touch her, to stroke her breasts or brush her nipples or splay his hand on her stomach and lower. And each time he touched her, she lost track of what she was doing. She had to struggle to focus again when he resumed the task himself.
It seemed forever until he was nude, but that was forgotten the instant their bodies touched. Foreplay was unnecessary. Jared was hard, and Savannah was wet. Neither of them had the presence of mind to do anything but complete the joining they had been thinking about since that afternoon.
Crossing her ankles at the small of his back, Savannah arched into his thrusts. They came hard and fast, seeming to defy the limits of her body with their depth. Spontaneously, she lifted her head and scraped his nipple with her teeth. His reaction was every bit as spontaneous and feral. She cried out, then sucked back the same breath with the stunning force of her release. Seconds later, Jared surged into a breathtaking climax of his own.
“Jesus,” he breathed between gasps as he sank down on top of her seconds later. “Jeeesus.”
Unable to help herself, and as breathless as he, she laughed. “You’re incredible!”
“Look who’s talking. I open my front door and you attack me.”
“Me?”
He didn’t allow her to argue, but kissed her silent, then rolled over and drew her to his side. For several minutes, neither of them spoke. Slowly, their breathing returned to normal.
Then Jared, who was usually restrained regarding his feelings toward women, blurted out, “I can’t believe you’re here.”
