Secret Fantasy(20)
Author: Carly Phillips

The car came to a stop but the driver didn’t get out to help them from the car. He was obviously giving Doug and Juliette a chance to talk. A chance Doug had forgotten about earlier in favor of helping her through her fear and enjoying her gentle but heated touches.

“I guess this is it,” Doug said.

She lifted his shirt back onto his shoulders, a mischievous grin on her lips. “It doesn’t have to be. Remember what I said before. I don’t want to go inside and leave you standing at my doorstep again.” Her words were strong but the tremor in her voice revealed her vulnerability.

“You wouldn’t be leaving me on your doorstep this time. I’d be in a dry car.” He spoke lightly, feeling anything but.

No matter how much she desired him, she’d run the other way if she knew he was the man who’d broken the story about her ex-fiancé’s partner. He wanted to give her her fantasy, but he needed to respect himself more.

He started to close his shirt buttons, needing the distraction, but she swatted his hands away and handled the chore herself—forcing him to watch her bent head as she worked, letting him drink in the sight and scent of the riotous head of curls she’d freed earlier.

She finished and rested her hands in her lap. “A real gentleman would walk me to my door. And once he got there, would he really want to let me go in alone?”

Yes. No. What he wanted didn’t matter and Doug knew damn well he was no gentleman.

Another flash lit up the dark sky. Her wide, bright eyes shone with hope, asking him not to let her down. Thunder immediately followed and Doug knew he was doomed. No way would he send her inside to face the rest of the storm and the rest of the night alone. He wondered if fate was laughing as it prevented him from doing the noble thing. Doug had never considered himself honorable yet when it came to Juliette, he didn’t recognize the man he’d become.

In answer to her question, he pushed open the door and stepped out into the rain. He wasn’t surprised when the driver practically materialized by his side or when Juliette hesitated at the edge of the car’s back seat to stare up at the stormy sky.

“You took long enough to decide. I don’t mind being alone. I’m an adult, no matter how foolish I’ve acted, and I’ve survived many thunderstorms on my own.”

He held out his hand but she stubbornly refused to grasp it. “Are you waiting until I drown?” he asked.

She set her jaw tight. “I don’t want you coming with me out of pity.”

He reached forward and grabbed her hand, hauling her out of the car and into his arms. Ignoring the driver and the rain, he pulled her flush against him. “Does this feel like I pity you?” He whispered the words, harsh and as desperate as he felt, in her ear.

Her eyes opened wide.

“I don’t know why you’re surprised. Thanks to that distraction you needed, you’ve spent the last half hour gearing me up.”

“You’re certainly feeling aroused.”

“By you.”

“You don’t say?” She grinned and he couldn’t help but kiss the smile on those damp lips.

She laughed and kissed him back, twining her arms around his neck and opening her mouth, letting him deep inside. Somewhere beside him he heard the gunning of the car motor and knew the driver had left them behind.

Grasping her hand, he pulled her beneath the portico of her cottage. The overhang was small and barely granted them coverage. “We should get inside.”

She licked at the water on her lips. “We should and we could—but then I’d never get over my fear of storms. But if we were to replace the bad memories with something wonderful…” Her voice trailed off. Deliberately provocative, husky and sure.

“Then we’d have a cure for phobias. We could market it and make millions.”

She laughed. “I’m game if you are.”

He groaned, conceding defeat. He was here and unless he wanted to walk back to the main resort and his room in the rain, he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Nor could he back off without giving her the wrong impression and making her unsure and vulnerable, two things he never wanted her to be again. Especially not when she was with him.

“What the hell,” he muttered and sealed his lips tight against hers.

Though he knew he couldn’t justify this with the notion that he was fulfilling her fantasy, at the moment, he didn’t care—about anything except feeling and tasting the erotic mixture of rainwater and Juliette. He stroked her lips with his tongue and delved into the deep recesses of her mouth, learning and giving one minute, devouring then gentling the next.

The rumble of thunder, when it came, was softer than before but she still stiffened. “Easy.”

Her muscles slackened and he ran his hands up and down her arms, warming her through her damp shirt and attempting to heat her body with the same fire raging through him. But a chill shook her slender frame and Doug knew their time outdoors was coming to an end. Something he couldn’t allow until he’d done as she asked and replaced her old fear of storms with a new kind of awareness—a tempest of arousal and emotion that culminated in blinding ecstasy. One she wouldn’t forget or ever fear.

With that thought, he slipped his hand between them, cupping her intimately, waiting for a signal of rejection or acceptance, knowing he’d heed either. But when his hand found a warm, welcoming home in the juncture of her thighs, he hoped like hell she wouldn’t have second thoughts now.

She let out a whimper of assent, a soft mew of satisfaction, and just when he thought he’d been granted his deepest desire, she shifted her stance, parting her legs and affording him greater access. He’d wanted her permission. He’d received her submission instead. Her complete and utter trust, he thought, and an alien emotion rose in his chest—something tender and warm, pushing hard into his throat and nearly stopping his breath. The feelings she inspired should have sent him running, but he was beyond reason. Beyond anything except this woman and this moment.

Juliette sighed, tingling with anticipation. He flattened his palm against her there and despite the heavy barrier of denim, his fingers managed to dip inward, creating a rising tide of emotion she’d never experienced before. She shuddered and grabbed for his shoulders, certain she’d fall without support.

So this was what real desire felt like. Swirling sensations that kept her light-headed and dizzy. A relentless tugging that caused her heart to pound, her throat to close, and made that delicious pulling sensation he created between her thighs not close to being enough.