"Thank you, Lizzie."
She snuggled against him, unable to speak, unable to do anything more than cling to Reece.
Evening shadows fell across the room. Only the dreary gray gloom of cloud-obscured light came through the windows. She could see his body, naked except for his shirt, big and hairy and muscled, his flesh a natural light olive hue. His partially erect manhood lay nestled in a bed of brown hair. She had an irresistible urge to touch him, to circle him and discover the feel of his masculinity. When she reached for him, Reece grabbed her hand, bringing it down on his stomach, trapping it beneath his own.
They lay side by side, their heads resting on the pillows. Glancing over at him, she smiled. "Reece?"
"Are you all right, Elizabeth?"
She saw the concern in his eyes, the fear. "Yes, I'm all right. It's just that I want more. I want to touch your body, to taste you. I'm aching inside, Reece."
Reece lifted himself up on one elbow. "Keep talking like that, Lizzie, and I'll be ready in a couple of minutes."
She ran her hand down his chest, stopping just a fraction above his manhood. "My breasts are so tight and heavy."
Reece looked at her large, firm breasts, noting how rigidly her nipples stood out, as if begging for his mouth. He flicked one nipple with his tongue. Elizabeth squirmed, moaning and reaching out, circling Reece.
Reece clasped her hand, covering it with his own, showing her how he liked to be touched, what movements gave him the most pleasure.
"My whole body throbs," Elizabeth said. "I have this tingling sensation down here." With her unoccupied hand she covered herself, indicating the area. "I took away your pain, Reece, now I want you to take away mine."
Reece removed his shirt, tossing it atop their other clothes on the floor, then reached up and tugged down the spread and blankets. Elizabeth lifted up as Reece pulled the covers down enough so that they could slip underneath. He slid his arm behind her back, dragging her up against him.
"Warm?" he asked.
She nodded.
"Comfortable?"
"I would be if I weren't hurting so much."
"Do you want me to take you again, right now?"
"Yes."
Reece laughed. "The first time was for me. The second time is going to be for both of us.''
Elizabeth kissed his chest. Reece shoved her slightly away from him, turning her over on her side.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
He rubbed her shoulders, lifting her long hair aside to kiss her neck. "I'm making love to you, Lizzie. Slow, sweet, passionate love."
"Oh."
"Just relax, baby, and let me take you where you want to go."
He kissed and licked and caressed every inch of her back side, from her neck to the heels of her feet. Elizabeth squirmed and moaned and begged Reece to stop tormenting her, but he continued with his magic foreplay, teaching her what an incredibly sensuous woman she was. Her body, though tense with need and anticipation, became pliant in his hands, warm, quivering putty to be molded to his specifications. By the time he turned her around to face him, she was crying with her need, pleading with him to take her, to ease the agony that had built inside her.
Reece spread her legs, positioning himself between them, but he did not take her. Instead, while she clung to his shoulders, biting her nails into his muscles, he lowered his head and took one of her nipples into his mouth. She arched up off the bed, her femininity open and waiting for his possession. With every stroke of his tongue, every touch of his fingertips, Reece brought Elizabeth closer and closer to the brink.
"Please, Reece. Please..."
"You're almost ready.''
"I am ready!"
His fingers sought and found her moisture, hot and dripping with desire. "You are ready, baby. So very, very ready."
When he entered her with one swift, firm plunge, she took him into her, accepting him fully, clinging to his shoulders, wrapping her legs around his hips. She met him thrust for thrust, giving and taking in equal measure, reveling in the feel of him buried deep within her, savoring the fullness of him that made her complete.
"Ah, Lizzie... so good, baby. You're so good."
"Love me, Reece. Love me!"
He took her hard and fast then, with a frenzy she equaled with her acceptance, her raging hunger to find fulfillment. Their bodies moved in unison, to the undulating rhythm of mating. The tightness within her released, exploding shards of breathtaking pleasure through her whole body, the throbbing spasms of her climax continuing on and on until satiation claimed her. Reece followed her over the precipice, falling headlong into an earth-shattering climax, his body jerking as he jetted his release into her receptive body. He groaned with pleasure, falling on top of Elizabeth, whose own body still pulsed with the aftershocks of such a fierce loving.
He rested heavily atop her, his big body damp with sweat, even though the covers lay at their feet. Elizabeth clung to him, her own body damp from their lovemaking. She felt as if she were still a part of him, still connected. She could not bear to let him go.
Reece eased off her, cradling her in his arms, never wanting to release her, wanting to keep her at his side forever. Reaching down, he pulled the covers up and over them. He kissed Elizabeth on the forehead.
"I don't think I could bear to lose you, Lizzie. Not now." He hadn't even realized he'd spoken aloud until he heard the sound of his own voice.
Draping her arm across his stomach beneath the covers, she cuddled closer to his side. "I'm yours. Now and forever. Don't you know that, Reece?" Don't you know that I love you?
She felt his body go rigid, and knew only too well that he wasn't ready for her confession of love.
"It's all right," she told him. "I won't leave you."
They lay there together, in each other's arms, as evening turned to night. Elizabeth slept, warm, safe and content, protected in the embrace of the man she loved. Reece lay awake for a long time, thinking about his life and wondering if there was any chance that he could change. Was it possible for a hard-hearted, cold bastard like him to ever learn to love, really love, the way Elizabeth deserved to be loved?
Finally Reece allowed sleep to claim him, but even in his dreams he could not escape the fact that Elizabeth Mallory cared for him. And more than anything, yes, perhaps even more than revenge against the Stantons, he wanted to be able to return her feelings.
Elizabeth awoke to the sound of the winter wind whipping around the edge of the cottage, creating a keening whine. Opening her eyes to the morning sunlight filling the room, she glanced at the empty side of the bed and wondered where Reece was. The silence in the house chilled her far more than the frigid temperature in the room. Holding the covers around her to protect her from the cold, Elizabeth crawled over to the edge of the bed, leaned down and picked up her jeans and shirt from the floor, leaving her panties. She slid the garments under the covers and dressed as quickly as possible, then sat on the side of the bed to put on her shoes.
She glanced into the kitchen when she emerged from the bedroom. Coffee brewed in the coffee machine; two clean cups waited on the counter. When she entered the living room Elizabeth felt the warmth from the roaring fire and also a distinct chill coming from across the room. She saw that the front door stood wide open, freezing air pouring into the cottage.
Approaching the door, she noticed Reece standing on the porch, his back to her. She walked across the room and out the door, stopping just inches away from Reece.
"It's a beautiful morning,'' he said, not turning around. "But it's damned cold. Are you wearing your coat?"