Chapter Six

The first weak ray of light struggled through the break in the blinds, reminding Tara that morning threatened. She pushed the thought away, and snuggled closer to her lover. Her body ached but she relished her sore muscles. She'd never been so delightfully used.

Rick Steele shattered every illusion she ever believed. Her limitations with sex. The fear of her body. The confidence in her sexuality.

And about being caught by another man.

Unease stirred her heart. She never felt more treasured or loved in her entire life, and realized Rick set the bar for all future men.

Tara wondered if she'd ever find another man in her life to match him.

“What are you thinking about?”

His low voice pulled her back into the moment. She smiled up at him, loving the golden arch of his brows, his glittering tawny eyes, the rough slope to his jaw. She traced the curve of his lower lip and he bit down on the pad of her finger, his tongue darting out to taste. Her breath caught as her pussy clenched. Rick laughed, as if he knew.

“I was wondering why on earth you'd ever need to book a one night stand.” She caressed the stubble of his beard, loving the scratchiness against her flesh. “I'm sure women are begging you to take them on a daily basis.”

He laughed again and pressed a quick kiss on her lips. “Thanks, sweetheart. What a nice complement.”

“No, tell me. Why did you do this?”

The humor eased, and Tara caught a hint of vulnerability in his green eyes. “I haven't been with a woman in a long time.”

Her mouth fell open like a guppy. “Get out.”

A ghost of a smile settled on his lips. “No, truth. I haven't been with a woman for six months now. My choice.”

Tara gazed at his naked chest. The man was sex on a stick and he'd been celibate for half a year? “Why?”

“I used to live in Atlantic City. That's where my family is from. I have three younger brothers, and we all followed in my father’s footsteps and made our living as dealers in casinos. Anyway, first, my dad made us get a college degree, and then we were allowed to go to dealer school. In college, I met a girl Rebecca, and we pretty much were together the whole four years. On graduation day, I asked her to marry me.”

Jealousy pierced Tara’s heart. She resented the idea of another woman being pleasured by him. Claimed by him. She locked the messy emotion away and concentrated on his story. “What happened?”

“We began planning a wedding. Moved in together. Then I came home from work early one day and found her in bed with one of my groomsmen.” He gave a humorless laugh. “Talk about a cliché all the way around, huh? At least he wasn't the best man.”

Horror filled her eyes as she imagined the scene. The betrayal he must have struggled with. Already in one night, Tara realized this man gave his heart and soul without holding back. He'd demand the same of his partner.

A dozen apologies skittered through her mind to communicate. “Bitch,” she muttered instead.

This time his laugh held genuine humor. “Yeah, that about says it. Needless to say, things got pretty ugly. After a few months, I realized I couldn't handle living there any longer. I needed a change. I decided Vegas was the perfect playground. I got a job quickly, settled in, and never looked back.”

“That doesn't explain why you stopped having sex.”

Rick shrugged. “When I first settled in Vegas, I went a bit crazy. Dated a lot and experimented with different women. Then my need fizzled out, and I only felt empty when I woke up in the morning. So, I took a break and concentrated on other stuff for a while. My hand has been my new best friend this past year.”

He waggled his eyebrow in a bad Groucho Marx invitation. She giggled. “Sounds like my vibrator. It almost caught on fire these past few months and broke from overuse.”

They laughed together. Tara stroked his chest, enjoying his crisp hair against her palm. “Do you still miss her?”

“No. Not anymore.” Suddenly, his gaze locked on hers, glittering with a fierce intensity. “I miss this.”

Joy broke through her at his words. But her heart pounded in confusion. What was he saying? Had he experienced the same strong connection she did? Did he want to continue when the night was over? Did she really want to continue?

Reality crashed around her. No. As much as she wanted more time with him, she had to stick to her plan. Work. Volunteer. College. She'd made herself a promise to never get involved with a man until she was whole. He'd given her a precious gift, but she couldn't risk pushing herself. She was still too fragile and suspected he might be too.

She just wasn't ready for anything other than a one-night stand. So, at dawn, though it would break her heart, she would leave Rick Steele behind.

Tara pushed away the strangled grief at the idea and climbed on top of him. Surprise lit his eyes as she straddled his hips, her hair falling around his face to wrap him in a curtain as she kissed him. She gave him everything he asked for in that kiss: her body, her surrender, her gratitude, and her desire.

Her tongue swept in and she greedily tasted his dark, male hunger. When she lifted her head, her gaze burned into his with promise.

“I'm doing this because I can't stand the idea of not having your cock in my mouth.”

He tensed at her words. Then Tara slipped down his body, cupped his balls, and sunk her mouth over his hard, throbbing length.

Rick groaned. Cursed. She took her time, enjoying the taste of his salty flesh, licking to the tip, and then swirling around in teasing circles. His muscles clenched, and her nails dug into his hard thighs. Finally, she opened her mouth wide and sucked, rubbing and stroking the underside of his cock, scraping her finger nails over the sensitive flesh of his balls, while her name rang like music in her ears.

Suddenly, he stiffened and grabbed her shoulders. Tara knew he was about to explode, but she refused to move. His excitement blended and melded with hers, and her juices flowed as she rubbed herself against his leg like a cat in heat, sucking harder, harder, and then....

He exploded in her mouth. She swallowed him as he jerked helplessly under her touch, and then eased her mouth off his length. Sheer feminine power surged through her at his response, and in that moment, Tara finally slayed all her demons.

“What have you done to me?” he groaned.

Tara laughed, and then resumed licking him with gentle laps of her tongue. She stroked, rubbed, caressed. In minutes, his cock was hard again, stretched like iron encased in silk around her fist. This time, he lifted her in one quick movement, and settled her on her hands and knees. A tearing sound echoed in the air.

“Rick, I, oh!”

His hard length plunged inside her wet heat. She moaned and pushed back into his hands as he rubbed her ass and pleasured her. Slow, delicious strokes filled her, driving her higher and higher. Her breasts hung down free, and he played with the heavy globes as he thrust in and out of her. The erotic abandon pumped through her body, tightening her muscles as she reached so close to orgasm. She circled her hips, searching for it, but he only laughed and kept his strokes shallow enough to tease but not get her off.

His hands pinched her nipples. Slid down her belly, and found the tight nub of her clit. He rubbed, using her juices to coat it, and then wrapped his fingers around her.

And squeezed.

Sharp pleasure grabbed, attacked, and threw her over. She cried out his name as every muscle clenched and released as ecstasy shot in waves over her. He came again, then collapsed on top of her in the bed, limbs entangled. Tara's heart beat as she breathed heavily, completely sated and praying for the light of dawn to never come.

***

His lips travelled over her soft skin. The heady scent of sex and strawberries hung heavily in the air. Rick stroked her lush breasts, her silky hair, and the curve of her buttocks. The red digits on the clock flashed with alarming rapidness.

He wasn't ready to let her go.

Rick closed his eyes and reached for courage. His one night-stand had become much more. He wanted the chance to date her. Cook her dinner. Make love to her in the daytime. Wash her in the shower.

Would she give him the opportunity?

Since Rebecca, he'd never had a soul connection to another woman like Tara. He also knew in his gut Tara was different. He knew now by experience, his ex-fiancée had always been selfish in her core. Tara held the soul of a giver, and a man would be safe giving her his trust.

So, he ripped down the last barriers of his heart and gave her the words.

“Stay with me.”

Her body stiffened. She sat up. Her golden red curls tumbled wildly around her face. Aqua blue eyes held a mixture of emotions from his words. Fear. Hope. Joy. Resolve.

“What do you mean?” she asked. “We agreed to one night.”

“Let's agree to more,” he said. Rick reached over and took her hand. “Remember when we spoke about not getting caught? It's too late for me, Tara. I know it's crazy, that we've only been together one night. But you caught me. I want to see where this can lead. I want to see you again.”

She flinched. Rick fought the uneasiness at her reaction and waited. It was time to push out of his comfort zone. This woman would walk away if he didn't try to fight for her. And by God, he would give it his all before he surrendered.

“I can't,” she said softly.

His gaze dared her to speak the truth. “Why? You're attracted to me. We formed a connection last night. There's no reason not to take this further.”

Suddenly, he knew. Her eyes filled with tears as she stared at him, all the naked emotion and vulnerability and fear on display. “I'm not ready, Rick. What you gave me tonight... the things you made me feel... I don't think another man will ever come close. But I made myself a promise. I'm not ready to commit to someone else yet. You gave me back my body, my mind, my freedom. You changed my life.”

She closed her eyes and one tear leaked down her cheek. When she opened them, a hard resolve glimmered and shattered his heart. “But I'm not ready for a relationship. I need time to be on my own and find my own way.”

Rick looked at the woman before him and realized he needed to let her go.

She was stronger than anyone he'd ever met. Sexy as hell, sweet as sugar, and not ready to give him everything. Emptiness poured into the spaces of his soul and threatened to stay. But damn, he needed to give her time to realize this was more than one night. She had already found her own path. She just needed to trust herself again.

Rick knew if he didn't leave now, he'd overpower her. Make her have so many orgasms she'd beg him to stay. Force her to accept they were meant to be together, and then she'd always wonder.

So, he shoved his needs and his wants into the depths of darkness, and locked it tight. Bent his head and kissed her. Her sweetness swam in his head and he breathed in her scent one last time.

Then rose from the bed and dressed.

“Thank you, Tara Denton,” he said huskily as he paused at the door. “Thank you for giving me the best night of my life.”

Rick opened the door and left.