Kate Hoffmann - Paris or Bust!

Roxanne reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, then smoothed her palm over his cheek. “That’s what I’m counting on.”

“You know, I did bring a present for you. But maybe I shouldn’t give it to you.” He jumped off of her and hurried back to where he’d dropped the bags. When he sat back down on the edge of the couch, he was holding a long, velvet-covered box. “It isn’t remote controlled and it doesn’t sparkle. I hope you like it.”

“You didn’t have to get me a gift,” Roxanne said.

With a grin, Kit pulled it away. “No, I didn’t,” he teased. “On second thought, maybe I should take it back.”

“No. I want to see it.”

He handed her the box and she slowly opened it. Inside was a perfect string of pearls. Kit reached out and took them from her, then fastened them at her nape. “They’re beautiful.” Roxanne wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him and he pressed her back into the pillows until he was lying on top of her.

“So how long have you been working on this?” he asked.

“Almost all day. I got a new dress,” she said.

Kit slipped his fingers beneath the spaghetti strap and gently pulled it off her shoulder. Then he pressed his mouth to the spot and bit softly. “I like it.”

“I bought new underwear, too.”

His eyebrow arched and he shifted above her, sliding his hand down her hip and slowly gathering the hem of her skirt in his fist. He pushed up on his elbow and watched as he revealed the lacy top of her black stocking. “Very sexy.”

“I figured I needed all the help I could get.”

“Rox, believe me. You don’t need sexy underwear to make me want you. I don’t care if you’re wearing a little black dress or a baggy sweatshirt. It doesn’t make any difference to me. I always want you.” He pressed a kiss below her shoulder, then moved to the soft swell of her breast. Roxanne closed her eyes and arched her back, reveling in the feel of his tongue on her skin. This was going much better now. Although she hadn’t removed any of her clothes yet.

Maybe it would be best to just get it over with, to take control. Gently pushing against his chest, she rolled him over and straddled his hips. Her skirt bunched around her waist and she reached around to unzip her dress. But Kit brushed her hands aside and did it himself. When her dress fell in the front, she grabbed it and held it up, unable to completely banish her fears.

“I think I should tell you something,” she said. “Not so much tell you as warn you.”

He reached up and grabbed her fingers. “You’re shaking,” he murmured, pressing his lips to her palm.

“I’m-”

“What? Tell me?”

“Scared. That-that you won’t…like me. I’m not perfect, Kit. I’m a mother. Of four children. Do you know what that does to a woman’s body?”

With a soft sigh, he grabbed her waist and swung his feet to the floor. Then he slowly pulled her up to stand in front of him. “From the first moment I saw you, I thought you were the most beautiful woman in the world. Nothing is going to change that opinion.”

“You hated me the first time you saw me.”

“I was an idiot.”

Roxanne let her arms drop and her dress slid off her shoulders and over her hips. The straps caught on her wrists, but she twisted her hands and, a moment later, the dress fell to the floor. Holding her breath and trying to gauge his reaction, she watched as his gaze raked her body. It had taken her nearly an hour to choose the underwear and from the low moan that slipped from his throat, she could tell it had been an hour well spent. “Now you,” she said, sliding her hand over his chest.

He shrugged out of his suit jacket and tossed it aside, then added his silk tie to the pile. A few moments later, he pulled his shirt over his head rather than unbutton it. Roxanne took it from him and dropped it with the rest of his clothes. After he kicked off his shoes and socks, he stopped, choosing to leave the rest for later.

The beauty of his body took her breath away-the wide shoulders, the muscular arms, the flat belly. With deliberate ease, she ran her hands over his chest, exploring the hard sinew and smooth skin. A soft line of hair traced a path from his collarbone to a spot beneath his belt. Suddenly, she wanted to know where it led. She reached down for his belt, but he drew her hands away.

“When are the kids coming back?”

“Tomorrow,” Roxanne murmured.

“Then we have all the time in the world.”

The fire crackled and Roxanne felt her skin flush with warmth. His fingers moved to the clasp of her bra and her pulse quickened. And when he’d discarded it and covered her nipple with his mouth, her knees went weak. Every caress of his tongue sent a wave of sensation racing through Roxanne’s body. She forgot all her apprehensions and focused on the feel of his hands and his lips on her flesh.

He wasn’t satisfied to linger in one spot. Where hands went, his mouth followed, as if he felt compelled to taste as well as touch. Roxanne had never really experienced foreplay, but Kit seemed to relish it. He was at times playful, then intense, his only aim to make her moan with pleasure.

They ended up on the floor in front of the fireplace, lying amidst the pillows she’d tossed there. He stretched out on top of her, their bodies pressed together. The ridge of his erection pressed into her belly, hot and hard through the fabric of his trousers, and Roxanne arched against him. Kit reached down and grabbed her legs, drawing them up alongside his hips, making the contact even more erotic and enticing.

“Touch me,” he murmured, his voice ragged, his lips pressed against her neck.

Roxanne reached between them and tried to un-buckle his belt, but when she couldn’t, Kit moved to lie beside her. A tiny squeak sounded from beneath his hip. Frowning, he reached beneath him and pulled out one of Jenna’s stuffed toys, a little penguin. He chuckled softly as he stared at it. But then his smile faded.

“What is it?” Roxanne asked.

Kit cursed softly. “What the hell am I doing?” he muttered. “What the hell are we doing? I can’t do this.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, I can, believe me. The body is quite willing. I just…can’t.”

“I bought condoms,” Roxanne said. “Five different kinds.”

He shook his head. “That’s not it. This isn’t right, Rox.”

“Why? We both want each other. We’re both adults. And the kids are gone.”

“But what happens after this?”

“After?”

“Tomorrow. The next day. A month from now. Where is this leading?”

“Does it have to mean something? Can’t it just be about sex?”

His jaw went tight. “What do you want from me, Rox?”

“I don’t know,” she said, tears pressing at the corners of her eyes. Right now, she didn’t know anything at all! Except that he wasn’t touching her and he wasn’t kissing her and it had something to do with a stuffed penguin.

He got up and began gathering his clothes. “And that’s exactly why I shouldn’t be here.” As he walked to the door, he pulled his shirt over his head and stuffed the tails in his pants. He didn’t bother with his socks, just shoved them into his pants pocket and slipped his bare feet into his shoes.

“Don’t leave,” she said, grabbing her dress and clutching it to her chest. She scrambled to her feet, humiliated and confused.

“I have to,” Kit replied. “I’ve got to straighten out a few things.” He paused, then strode back across the room. In one quick movement, he furrowed his hand through her hair and pulled her into a deep, mind-numbing kiss. “I love you,” he murmured.

With that, Kit walked out, leaving Roxanne to stand amid the flickering candles, completely baffled by his behavior. And dumbstruck by his words. “He loves me,” she repeated as she fingered the string of pearls.