And in the center of it all was Celeste.
“This is amazing,” she whispered. The cane reed swayed behind her and the wind gently whistled through it. “It’s breathtaking.”
“Exactly what I was thinking.”
She smiled, stretched out her arms and let the breeze ripple against her loose blouse. The fabric pressed against the gentle curves of her breasts and emphasized her peaked nipples.
Dax’s groin tightened.
Then she looked down at the ground beneath her feet and wiggled her toes.
He glanced back at the house, at the long gravel driveway, then at River Road, separating the Vicknair property from the levee. “I didn’t think about you not wearing shoes.” He squatted beside her to look at her dainty feet.
“They don’t hurt,” she said, still gazing at the scene around her. “It’s so beautiful here. I want to remember this forever, Dax.”
He didn’t look up. Instead he continued looking at her feet, thankful he could hide how the piercing reality of her statement had devastated him. She wanted to remember this forever because she assumed that she wouldn’t be able to see the beauty of his world on a regular basis. He simply wouldn’t believe that there wasn’t some way that he could make it happen. He just had to put the pieces together.
“Oh, Dax, look at the sun now,” she said breathily.
Still kneeling beside her, he turned his head to see the sun had dipped a little lower, its color converting from golden yellow to rich orange, an amazing contrast to the blues, purples and pinks of the surrounding sky. She was right; it was beautiful. But he couldn’t stop thinking about her time for this visit, undoubtedly running out, and the fact that he still didn’t know how to bring her back.
She lowered to her knees beside him and smiled. “Evidently whoever decided on my new clothing didn’t think I needed shoes. Hey, stop feeling bad. I’m not hurt.”
“I should have offered to carry you.”
“Kind of hard to do that without using your hands, don’t you think?”
“Hell.” Again, the reality of their situation was driven home to Dax. “Someday, I’ll carry you.”
“That a promise?” Her eyes-currently a bit darker than they’d been in the kitchen-glittered, and her long curls tumbled wildly around her shoulders. He wanted to run his fingers through her hair. One day, he would.
“Yeah, it’s a promise.” He didn’t know how, but one way or another, he was going to hold her, carry her, love her…permanently.
“But what about today? What do you plan to do for me today, Dax Vicknair? Because, since you did forget to carry me across the road and all, even though I was fine on my own, I think you owe me something.” Her finger touched his chin, tilted it slightly, then her mouth moved closer. She slanted her lips over his, then hummed her contentment when he opened his mouth and their tongues met.
Dax hungrily accepted her kiss, hot and potent and tantalizing, while he gripped the earth with his hands. If he didn’t, he’d grab her and hold her and never let her go. And who knew what the powers that be would do if he blatantly ignored the rule? They could take her away forever, and Dax wasn’t about to take that chance.
She broke the kiss, licked her lips, then glanced at the folded blanket he’d grabbed from his car and dropped on the ground nearby. Knowing they would be making love at some point during this walk, he’d wanted to make it as comfortable as possible for her, but after learning that she hadn’t felt any pain on her bare feet, maybe she wouldn’t need the cushion after all.
“If you don’t need that-” he started.
She pressed a finger to his mouth. “I don’t, but it was sweet of you to bring it, and I want to use it.” Her touch, as always, sizzled against his dampened lips, and he sucked the tip into his mouth.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” she asked.
He kissed her finger. “What?”
“How hot it is, with us. It’s not normal, is it? The heat that I feel when I touch you, and when you touch me?”
He grinned. “Well, it certainly isn’t anything I’ve ever experienced before.”
“Me, neither,” she said, then added, “I wonder, if I were breathing, would it be this hot?”
“What do you think?” he asked, and moved his face closer to hers, so close that he whispered his next words against her lips. “Do you think there’s any way it wouldn’t be hot between us?”
She gave him a siren smile. “No way at all. But I can think of something that we haven’t done yet that might make it even hotter.”
He swallowed and wondered…
Celeste evidently guessed his thoughts. “I’ll be careful,” she said. “If I feel myself getting pulled away, I’ll tell you.”
“I’m not ready to let you leave me, and if it takes that much out of you that if things do get hotter, then we may not have any control over that pull.”
“You’re not saying no, though,” she said, not really asking a question. “I want you inside of me, Dax, no matter what. And if I feel like I’m slipping away, we’ll slow things down.”
He grinned. “So in the heat of the moment, if you say slow down, I’ll just-stop. Just like that.”
“You can, can’t you?” she asked.
“I can try,” he said. “But trust me, it won’t be easy.”
“Well, maybe you won’t have to stop at all. I have rested and I am definitely ready to expend a little energy.”
“A little?”
“Okay, a lot.” She stood and unfolded the blanket, held it up to catch the wind, then let it fall to the ground behind some shrubs that still had a few leaves. Then she kneeled on top of it and motioned for him to join her.
Dax slid his body against hers and brought his lips to her throat, nuzzling her hair out of the way as he brushed soft kisses along her neck and beneath her ear. She rubbed against him, her body growing hotter with every movement, and Dax leaned away from her, then looked at her eyes.
Smoky gray. The light shimmering around her was a little brighter too, more of a pale yellow than the creamy glow that had surrounded her for the majority of this visit.
She was getting weaker.
He licked his lips, swallowed, and wondered whether there was any way possible to do this, to do everything, without forfeiting all of her time.
“Don’t,” she said. “Don’t even think of stopping now, Dax. I need you. Please, I’ll tell you if we need to stop.”
“You’ll tell me,” he repeated.
She nodded, then grabbed the edge of his T-shirt and slid it up and over his head, her hands scalding his flesh with the movement. The heat of her, the heat of the two of them together, had Dax’s mind and body soaring. He needed to be inside of her, needed to be one with her, but he also needed to keep her here. “Celeste.”
She didn’t respond, but instead moved down his body, quickly removing his shoes and socks and then turning her attention to his jeans. Her hands were frantic and shaky as she unfastened them. “Don’t say it,” she said. “Let me have you, Dax. Let me be with you and know what it’s like, please.”
Hell, he didn’t want to deny her anything she wanted or needed, and obviously, right now, she needed him. But what if that need took her away?
“You want me too,” she said, removing his jeans. Then she placed her hand against his heart, and the heat, once again, penetrated his entire body as she slid her palm down his abdomen and stroked his erection. “Don’t you?”
“Yes, but…”
She shook her head, those long spirals gently swaying with the action, then she removed the gauzy blouse. “No buts, Dax. I can do this, and I’ll tell you when I start getting too weak. But I want to be with you, and I’ll never forgive myself if I leave again without knowing how it feels to have you inside.” Then she stood and shimmied out of her pants and panties.
With her hair flowing behind her, she stood above him, boldly and beautifully nude. “I want you, Dax.” Her words were true, Dax had no doubt of that, but they also held a hint of apprehension.