A hundred reasons why he should stop came to mind. The riot, the house full of company, his promises not to make love to her.
None mattered as he shoved the camisole aside and her full breasts were freed from the cotton.
“Please,” she asked, in a whispered voice that seemed to scream through his mind. “Don't pull away from me this time. Love me, Daniel. If only once. Make love to me.”
When she leaned to kiss him once more, his arms closed around her and pulled her against him. All the logic in the world couldn't deny the need he had for her.
His kiss was now hungry, almost violent in haste. His hands were starved for the feel of her. He twisted her so that her head rested against the arm of the chair as his mouth moved to taste her fully. She moaned softly and arched her back as his mouth closed over flesh.
Giving and needing at the same time, she crossed through the walls he'd so carefully put up. Denying her would have been denying breathing. She reacted to his every move. Her reaction pumped adrenaline into his blood. She was perfection in his arms.
He couldn't get enough of the feel of her, of the taste of her. Had it only been hours since he'd touched her at the lake? It felt like a lifetime. Frustrated, he stood, lifting her with him.
As before, she drove him mad by welcoming his every touch, his every taste. She was a river, running white water through his veins.
“I can't make love to you in a chair.” His voice was low with desire and frustration.
The study was cluttered with books and papers, the desk piled a foot high. He felt like he was on fire with need. Every room in the house filled with people.
He lowered her feet to the ground, leaning her against the wall. His body pressed along the length of her letting her know how dearly he wanted her. She'd shattered the calm reserve he'd spent years building. If making love to her was what she wanted, she'd never have to beg again.
His hands knotted into her hair while he pushed against her and kissed her with the need of a lifetime for a mate. Her body was made to fit his and she took his hunger as a gift.
He moved his hands from her waist and closed his fingers over her breasts. They were full and silk. He caught her cry of pleasure in his mouth as his palms pressed over them.
She was breathless when he broke the kiss, but he didn't lean away. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall as his hands moved over her. At the lake he'd been hesitant, unsure sometimes, but now he knew her body. He knew what she wanted and loved hearing the sounds of her pleasure.
Somewhere above, a child cried in sleep. Painfully, Daniel forced himself back to reality. He heard movement. Someone was up.
“This is insane,” he whispered against her mouth still tasting her as he spoke. “We have to stop.” He knew she'd do nothing to help his quest. “I have to stop.”
Karlee nodded and rocked slightly, her body pressing against him, allowing him to feel her fullness against his heart. She was a woman made to be loved, hard and fast, soft and slow, all night long. He knew as soundly as he knew his name that she would never withdraw from him or help him stop holding her. He caressed her breast and heard her moan. He'd already taken her beyond reason. In another moment, he'd be there as well.
He cupped her face in his hands. “You are so perfect. Right or wrong, we will finish this between us.” He held her still until he knew she was listening. “I promise, I'll make love to you so completely, Karlee, you'll beg for sleep.”
Without hesitation she answered, “Or you will.” Her breathing, against his throat, grew shallow, causing her breasts to rise and fall against him.
He grabbed her hair and leaned against her once more. “I'm not sure if it's me having you, or you having me, but I plan to bed you. If you have no objection, Mrs. McLain? When we have a bed, of course.”
“I've no objection,” she whispered as he pushed away from her. “With or without a bed.”
For a long moment, he stared at her, his eyes hot with passion even in the darkness. There would be no more bargains or games between them. She'd open to him willingly the next time they touched. And he'd make love to her as he'd never made love to a woman in his life. She was a part of him, as essential as breathing. A part he could no longer deny.
TWENTY-SEVEN
KARLEE PULLED ON HER CLOTHES WHILE LISTENING to the sounds that had brought Daniel to his senses. Someone moved from room to room, carefully opening and closing doors to keep from waking anyone.
Her body still shook with need. She wasn't sure what she'd expected when she crawled onto Daniel's lap and kissed him while he slept, but an all-out declaration to bed her was what she got. She had little idea what it would be like to have him make their marriage real, but if it were anything like what they'd felt so far, it might kill them both.
He was such a kind man, reading to his children, giving a welcoming word to all. He even made Gerilyn feel as though she belonged tonight. Not because he liked the woman; he just didn't want to see her unhappy. But there was another side to Daniel McLain. A side she wondered if any woman had ever seen, even his first wife. Gerilyn talked of how they had been best friends, and he always seemed to carry May around as if she were a china doll.
Karlee couldn't imagine him plastering little May to the wall and pressing against her while he took her breath away with a kiss. If she hadn't been there she wouldn't have thought he'd ever do such a thing. A newly discovered passion pounded in him stronger than a heartbeat. Karlee found it exciting and impossible to resist.
“Are you all right?” Daniel's words startled her.
Karlee finished buttoning her blouse. “Yes, thank you.” Her hands were shaking, her voice formal. She wanted all of this wild animal within Daniel, not to tame, but to satisfy. And she wanted the gentle Daniel, as well, to stand beside.
“I didn't hurt you.” Worry flavored his words as he moved toward the door. “Did I?”
“No, Dear.”
He extended his arm, and she moved beneath his gentle-embrace.
“I never want to hurt you.” He kissed her forehead. “It's more than you make me feel alive again after years. You take me to a place I never knew existed. I feel like I'm in a full run when I'm around you, and you're matching me stride for stride.”
A latch clicked beyond the study. Daniel pulled her close.
“Someone just opened the front door,” she whispered against his throat.
“I know.” He rubbed his chin against her cheek. “And they had to have used a key for I locked it earlier.”
They waited, listening.
“Stay here,” he ordered.
Karlee nodded but followed him out of the study. The hallway was dark as a tomb. She touched his back for guidance and moved with him toward the porch.
She heard the latch close when he touched the door. Someone had stepped outside, leaving it ajar.
Slowly, he opened the door and moved onto the wide porch. Karlee followed, bumping into him when he stopped suddenly.
“What is it?” She peered around Daniel.
On the center of the steps, five feet away from them stood Ida, still as a statue. The light from the street lamp slashed across her face. Terror had frozen her features.
“Ida?” Karlee started around Daniel, but his arm swung to hold her back.
When she glanced up to understand why, silver light sparkled off a handgun with the barrel pressed against his temple.
For a second, nothing before her seemed real. The shadows hid the gun's owner from sight. Karlee tried to move, but Daniel's arm held her in place.
“Don't scream.” Ida's aging voice drifted across the stillness. “Please, Karlee, don't scream, or the entire household will die.”
Karlee made herself breathe. Screaming hadn't occurred to her. Fighting had. She hesitated, knowing she had to pick her time. She heard the slight jingle of spurs, the creak of leather, a restless breathing of several men hidden in the blackness around her.