Come Lie With Me Read online

  His flat stomach, ridged with muscles that were now writhing under her touch, beckoned her marauding mouth. She traced the arrow of downy hair, played a wet game of sneak attack with his navel, then slithered downward. Her silky hair draped across him as she kissed his legs from thigh to foot, biting the backs of his knees, dancing her tongue across his instep, then working her way back up.

  He was shaking in every muscle, his body so taut that only his heels and shoulders were touching the bed. He was gripping the bedposts, his arms corded as he writhed in tormented ecstasy. “Please…please!” he begged hoarsely. “Touch me! Damn it, I can’t take any more!”

  “Yes, you can!” she insisted, panting for breath. She touched him, her hand learning him, stroking him, and something close to a howl broke from his throat.

  Suddenly she knew. For such vital strength, for such tender power, there was only one resting place, and that was the mysterious depth of her femininity. Male and female, they had been created to join together, the two halves to make a whole. She felt breathless, stunned, as if suddenly the world had shifted and nothing was the same as it had been.

  His body was a bow, taut and aching. “Take…me!” he rasped, both in plea and demand, and Dione smiled a radiant, mysterious smile that almost blinded him with the joy of it.

  “Yes,” she said, and with aching tenderness moved over him. She accepted him easily. He cried out, but lay still, letting her move as she wished. She looked at him, and golden eyes met blue, communicating wordlessly. She was awed by the rightness of their union, by the heated flares of pleasure that shot through her body. All the barriers were gone now; the fears and nightmares that had prevented her from letting herself enjoy the magic of giving herself to the man she loved had disappeared. She was sensual by nature, but events had taught her to deny that part of herself. No longer. Sweet heaven, no longer. He freed her, not only allowing her to be herself, but glorying in the woman she was. It was evident in the lost, rapt look he wore, the mindless undulating of his body.

  She reveled in him. She adored him, she used him, she sank deeply into the whirlpool of the senses and welcomed the drowning. She was burning alive in the heat of her own body as the pleasure intensified and became unbearable, but still she couldn’t stop. The moans and gasping cries that kept forcing themselves from his throat as he fought for control were matched by her own sounds of pleasure, until that pleasure became wildfire and she was consumed by it. She heard a wordless cry lingering in the night air and didn’t recognize it was hers, or realize that it was joined by a deeper cry as Blake finally released himself from his sweet torture. She sank down, a long, long way, and sprawled weakly on him. His arms swept up and held her safely, securely in place.

  He was kissing her, his mouth all over her face before finally settling on her lips and drinking deeply. She met his tongue with her own, and they lay together for a long time exchanging tired, leisurely kisses.

  “You took me apart,” he murmured.

  “I put you together again,” she said sleepily.

  “I’m not talking about Humpty Dumpty, lady bird, I’m talking about what you did to me.”

  “Didn’t you like it?”

  “I loved it.” A deep chuckle rumbled through his chest. “As if you had to ask.” Then he sobered and pushed her hair away from her face so he could read her eyes. “Was it good for you?”

  She smiled and ducked her head against him. “As if you had to ask.”

  “No bad moments?”

  “None,” she said, and yawned.

  “Wretch, are you going to sleep on me?” he demanded in mock indignation, but his hands were tender as he stroked her. “You’re tired, aren’t you? Then sleep, darling. I’ll hold you. Just don’t move; I want to stay inside you all night.”

  She would have blushed, but she was too tired, too satisfied, and he made a wonderful bed. She was boneless, draped over him, protected by him. She eased into sleep with the steady throb of his heartbeat in her ear.

  He woke her at dawn with his slow, tender movements. The room was chilled, but they were warm, heated by the excitement that began to curl inside. There was no urgency, no need to hurry. He talked to her and teased her, told her jokes that made her laugh, and her laughter somehow increased her inner heat. He knew her body as well as she knew his, knew how to touch her and make her writhe with pleasure, knew how to gradually move her up the plane to satisfaction. Her trust was a tangible thing between them, evident in her clear, shining eyes as she allowed him to handle her as he pleased. Even when he rolled her onto her back and pinned her with his weight, no shadow of ancient fear darkened her joy. He had earned her trust the night before when he had offered his own body for her enjoyment. How could she deny him the pleasure of hers?

  There was pleasure for her, too, a deep and shining pleasure that took her breath away. It was so intense that she almost cried out her love for him, but she clenched her teeth on the words. The time with him was golden but transient, and there was no need to burden him with an emotion that couldn’t be returned.

  “I’d like to stay in bed with you all day,” he whispered against her satiny skin. “But Alberta will be up here soon if we don’t put in an appearance. She was worried about you yesterday, almost as much as I was.”

  She buried her hands in his thick, dark hair. “Why were you worried? You knew why I was upset.”

  “Because I never meant to upset you. I didn’t want to remind you of anything that had hurt you, but I did. You were so pale and cold.” He kissed the enticing slope of her breast and smiled at the ripple of response that was evident under her skin.

  They showered together; then he sprawled on the bed and directed her dressing. He wanted her to wear the slinky, seductive shorts she’d worn before, and his eyes glittered as he watched her pull them on. He had to return to his room to dress, as he’d come to her stark naked, and stark naked he walked down the hall, moving slowly but with increasing confidence and grace. Tears of pride stung her eyes as she watched him.

  “It’s a beautiful day,” Alberta said with an odd smugness as she served breakfast, and it was so unusual for Alberta to make small talk that Dione glanced at her sharply, but could read nothing in the woman’s stoic face.

  “Beautiful,” Blake echoed gravely, and gave Dione a slow smile that started her blood racing.

  Their workouts were leisurely and remarkably short; Blake seemed more interested in watching her than in lifting weights or walking on the treadmill. He was relaxed, satisfaction lying on him like a golden glow. Instead of trying to slow him down, Dione scolded him for doing so little. “I’m going to have to cut down on the amount you’re eating if you aren’t going to work any more than this.”

  “Whatever you say,” he murmured, his eyes on her legs. “You’re the boss.”

  She laughed and gave up. If he weren’t going to work out, he might as well be walking. It was warmer out than it had been recently, so they walked around the grounds; the only support he used was his arm around her waist. She noticed that he was limping less; even his left leg moved without dragging as badly as it had.

  “I’ve been thinking,” he announced as they returned to the house. “There’s no use in waiting until the first of the year before I go back to work. I’m going back Monday; I’ll get myself accustomed to the place and what’s going on, before Richard takes off.”

  Dione stopped and stared at him, her cheeks paling. He saw her expression and misunderstood it; he laughed as he hugged her to him. “I’m not going to hurt myself,” he assured her. “I’ll just work in the mornings. Half a day, I promise. Then I’ll come home and put myself in your hands again, and you can work me until I drop if that’s what you want.”

  She bit her lip. “If you’re capable of returning to work, then there’s no need for me to stay at all,” she said quietly.

  He frowned, his hands tightening on her. “There’s all the need in the world. Don’t even think about leaving me, honey, because I won’t