Michelle Celmer - Once Upon A Kiss... - The Cinderella Act / Princess in the Making / Temporarily His Princess

When Annie’s hands slid inside the waistband of his pants he flinched, responding powerfully to the increased sensation. “I want to make love to you.” It sounded so old-fashioned the way he said it, but he couldn’t think of a better way to express his desires or intentions.

“And I want you to make love to me.” She breathed it in his ear, hot and sultry. “Again.”

His eyes slid closed as memories of their first encounter met and mingled with the sensations and emotions of the present. He fumbled with the last of the buttons on her dress and it fell and pooled around her feet before she stepped out of it, wearing nothing but a delicate pair of flesh-toned panties. She looked totally unselfconscious, a glorious, timeless study in feminine beauty, standing on the hand-hewn limestone of the terrace. The moon dressed her in light and shadow that emphasized the full curve of her breasts and the sweet pear shape of her behind. He could sit and stare at her for an hour.

But, growing impatient, and with a glint in her eye, she slid his belt out of the buckle and soon he was also naked in the moonlight.

“Are you sure we’re alone here?” She glanced suddenly over her shoulder, into the dark woods on the edge of the lawn.

“There’s probably a crowd of admirers in the trees.” He let his fingers skate over the curve of her waist.

“You’re kidding.” Her eyes widened.

“But they’ll keep our secrets. They have other things to do, like feather their nests, and bury their acorns in the tree trunks.”

Her look of alarm mellowed into a smile. Then her expression grew more serious. “Is this going to be another secret?”

Her gaze hinted at a well of sadness beneath her lovely exterior. Guilt stabbed him for the way he’d pushed her aside after their surprise encounter. He’d been shocked at his own behavior. He was barely even divorced and already he’d pulled another woman into his bed. His emotions had been jolted out of the deep freeze and he didn’t know how he felt about anything. His first and only impulse had been to run and keep on running.

But all that running had led him right back here into Annie’s welcoming arms. “Only if you want it to be.”

She looked at him, her eyes clear and bright. “I don’t like secrets.”

“Me, either. Usually they make me worry about the SEC and insider trading accusations.” He watched the smile creep back onto her face. “But in this case it just seems unnecessary. We’re adults.”

“There’s no arguing with that.” She surveyed his body with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “You’re certainly all man.”

His arousal pulsed stronger. His hands rested at her waist, and he pulled her gently to him and kissed her lips. “And you’re all woman.” He sighed as he ran his hands over the sweet curve of her backside. His erection pressed gently against the soft skin of her stomach, and throbbed with anticipation at finding an even more inviting and intimate hiding place.

Annie spread herself out on the elegant fabric, sheltered from the stars by an elaborate canopy. Her body looked like an invitation to sin, of the most enjoyable kind. Right now he must be the luckiest man alive.

Then a dark thought crossed his mind. “Now is probably not the ideal time to mention this, but I don’t have a condom.”

“Better now than afterwards.” She simply smiled and shifted herself into an even more delectable pose. “But don’t worry. I still have it covered.”

Thank heaven . He wasn’t sure if even a bracing plunge in Long Island Sound could take the edge off his current state of erotic tension. “That doesn’t surprise me, since you’re always prepared for everything.”

He climbed over her on the wide, cushioned sofa, sinking against her warm skin and drinking in her subtle fragrance. Her arms wrapped around his back, holding him close as she layered kisses over his face. He sighed at the luxurious sensation of her body in his arms, and the ever growing ache inside him so close to being soothed.

Being with Annie felt utterly different from any encounter in his life before and he really had no idea why. Naturally a thinker, he’d usually be able to puzzle it out, but right now he didn’t want to think at all. It was enough to just feel—in his body and in his heart.

He entered her slowly, kissing her inviting mouth. They moved together in a hypnotic rhythm, her soft sighs music that made his heart fill with joy. He loved the sensation of her hands on his body, even her nails digging into his flesh as the fever of their passion gripped her.

Lithe and agile, she moved with him on the lush, upholstered sofa. Astride him, she took him to new heights of agonized pleasure. Just when he thought he couldn’t stand another second without exploding, she pulled back, a sly smile on her face, and shifted so that he was on top of her again.

He managed to roll over without losing his safe place deep inside her. Every inch of his body, every muscle and corpuscle, throbbed with intensity. Half of him wanted to climax and end the delicious agony, the other half wanted it to continue forever. To keep them both suspended in a blissful half-life of sensual pleasure.

Would they both regret this in the morning, when the champagne would wear off and the silver moonlight be replaced by blinding rays of harsh sun?

“I won’t regret this.”

Her rasped words startled him. She’d spoken as if she could read his thoughts. “I won’t, either.”

“Whatever happens next, we’ll always have this moment.” With her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms tight around his neck, Annie held him with force. The heat of her arousal, compounded with his own, threatened to make sparks in the air. “And I won’t forget it.”

A threat or a promise, her words drove him those last few miles out into the realm where worldly cares and concerns evaporated and there was nothing but right now. They shared a climax so forceful it almost threw them onto the stone terrace, and he had to brace with his arms to keep them on the cushions.

Panting, gasping and holding on for dear life, they floated back down to earth together, chests heaving against each other.

“Why does that feel so good?” Annie’s question, after a long silence, made him laugh.

“Because if it didn’t there wouldn’t be any people on earth. If having sex was like brushing your teeth people wouldn’t bother.”

“You don’t brush your teeth?” Her eyes sparkled with both passion and humor.

“I’m the kind of person who does stuff out of a sense of duty.”

“I like that about you.”

“I can tell. You’re the same. I bet you never go to bed without brushing your teeth.”

“Am I that easy to read?” She pouted, or tried to, despite the smile tugging at her mouth.

“Yes, you’re an open book.”

Her smile faded slightly and a thoughtful look darkened her gaze. “Am I really? Did you know all along that I’ve … had a thing for you?”

He didn’t know that. It hadn’t crossed his mind that she felt that way about him. She’d simply been an excellent employee to him. How did you say that without sounding rude? “Something rendered me blind to your charms until our trip up to the attic. I don’t know why, because you’ve been the same ravishing beauty—cunningly disguised by L.L. Bean—haunting my house for years.”

She frowned slightly. “How odd that the trip up to the attic changed everything.”

“My mom would say it’s fate. Something mystical is happening.” He spoke in a deliberately mysterious tone.

Annie glanced around, still holding tight to his body. “I kind of feel that way, too. I’m not sure I would have ever dared to do … something like this before.”