Scarlet Nights: An Edilean Novel Read online

  In the next second, Mike waved his arm across the little kitchen table and everything on it went flying. He lifted Sara up onto it, her long, slim legs, still in the stockings, hanging down, while Mike ripped off his own clothes. As his skin was exposed, Sara’s eyes widened. She’d seen his nude back, but the front of him was even better. He had strong pecs above a stomach that looked like a terrain map.

  Reaching out, she put her hand on his warm skin and felt the rock hard contours while he removed his trousers and her underpants.

  A moment later she saw that his chest wasn’t the only part of him that was “rock hard.” He entered her with all the pent-up desire he’d felt since he met her. And Sara clung to him, her mouth on his, searching, exploring. Her hands roamed over his body as she felt all the incredible muscle on him. She’d rarely seen bodies like his and certainly never touched one.

  His low voice turned husky, and he told her how good she felt to him, how much he’d wanted her since the first. His voice and his lips excited her—all while he was sliding into her with long, deep, gentle strokes that gradually increased in strength and speed.

  Sara’s arms went back against the wall, her hands made into claws, as Mike moved harder and faster. Faster and harder.

  “Okay, baby?” he asked, his lips on her ear.

  All Sara could do was moan.

  When Mike slipped his hands under her bottom and lifted her so he could go deeper, Sara would have screamed if he hadn’t put his mouth over hers.

  When she came, it was as though lava erupted from the center of her and flowed into her veins. Her whole body shook, and Mike held her to him, his arms around her as he also shuddered.

  For Sara, she didn’t think she could have walked if her life depended on it, so Mike slid her forward on the table, keeping them attached in their most vital areas, and wrapped her legs around his hips. She clung to him, their sweaty skin pressed together. He carried her to Sara’s bedroom, where he dropped her onto her bed.

  When he turned his back to her she came up on her elbows. “You aren’t leaving, are you?”

  Turning, he smiled at her. “I was thinking of filling your tub with hot, soapy water and a generous dose of Scarlet Nights. Suit you?”

  “Oh, yes,” Sara said. She lay back on the bed and listened to the water running and thought—She sat up. This was her wedding night, and the last thing she wanted to do was think.

  She went to the bathroom and saw a naked Mike standing by the tub. His body was so beautiful that she just stood there and stared at him. She slowly looked from his toes, to his stomach, to his neck, to his lips. And when she got through she saw great evidence that he was ready for her again.

  “What do you look like under all those clothes?” he asked in a voice that was little more than a growl.

  “The best you’ve ever seen,” she said with a smile.

  “Yeah? Well, let’s see.”

  When she stood near him, he sat on the edge of the tub and slowly, expertly, began to undress her. He unsnapped the garters and with kisses began to unroll her stockings. When he got to her foot, he lifted it, put it on his thigh, and massaged it. His hand went up her leg, and after a few caresses in the center, his hand moved to her other leg and removed that stocking.

  She started to turn around so he could reach the back clasps of her corset but he pulled her onto his lap and entered her. Sara wanted to move her hips, but he held her down as his hands reached around the back of her, and in seconds the corset was on the floor.

  He kissed her, still not letting her move her hips, while his hands caressed the sides of her breasts, his thumbs moving inward to stroke her nipples.

  By the time he released her so she could move up and down, she was groaning. She put one foot in the tub with its warm water, the other on the floor. Again Mike’s strong hands cupped her bottom as he helped her with her movements.

  When she was near to peaking, he pulled her up, never breaking contact, and lay her down on the rug on the bathroom floor.

  His thrusts were hard and fast, and went deep, deep within her. This time, she felt his climax as strong as her own.

  Minutes later, they were in the tub together. Mike’s back was against the far end, and Sara was leaning against him. She kept glancing at her ring and looking at what she could see of Mike. Two weeks ago all she’d known of him was that he was Tess’s “mysterious brother.” When she’d first seen him, he’d been coming up through her bedroom floor, and she’d been terrified.

  Now she was married to this man. There’d been no mention of love, and if it hadn’t been for her, she wouldn’t even have had a wedding night.

  What she wanted now was a honeymoon.

  “Are you looking forward to going home for a week?”

  Mike was soaping Sara’s arms. He’d already poured perfume into her freshly washed hair and the scent was intoxicating. “No,” he said absently.

  “But you must want to see your friends.”

  “Yeah, I guess. Gym buddies and guys on the force.”

  “What about other people you don’t work with? Just friend friends?”

  Mike chuckled. “My life isn’t like yours. I go away on undercover assignments that last for years. I’ve worked in LA twice and once in Iowa and—”

  “Iowa?” She turned to look at him. “Surely they don’t have crime in Iowa!”

  Mike laughed at her joke. “Evil is everywhere, even in sweet little Edilean, Virginia.”

  Relaxing, she leaned back against him. “No friends, no place to live. It doesn’t sound like a true home.”

  Mike kissed her earlobe. “I make do with eighty-degree winters and palm trees blowing in the breeze.”

  “And nightclubs with gorgeous Cuban girls?”

  Mike nuzzled her neck. “I never noticed them.”

  “Mike, I was thinking. Maybe—”

  “No.”

  “No to what?”

  “No, you can’t go with me to Fort Lauderdale.”

  “I didn’t ask you if I could, but now that you mention it …”

  “I have to work. I’ll be at the office at seven and won’t leave until ten at night. You don’t realize how big this case is. The Feds are—”

  “Did you tell them to get dogs for Mr. Lang?”

  “Yes. I’ll probably bring them back with me. They’re Airedales.”

  “So you found a breeder?”

  “It’s Florida, so of course we found a breeder.”

  “Did I ever tell you I’ve never been to Florida? Joce grew up in Boca Raton and she’s told me wonderful things about the place.”

  “No, you can’t go,” Mike repeated. “When I get back I need to let everyone in this town know that we’re married. Luke said there are games at the fair, so I’ll need to win them. That’ll draw lots of attention to us. Then—”

  “Ha!” Sara wasn’t happy about being left behind. “The Fraziers always win the games. There’s the cable toss, where you have to throw a telephone pole. I’ve seen Ariel’s oldest brother, Colin, lift the front end of a pickup truck.”

  “Yeah? So where does he work out?”

  “I don’t know. Gyms have never been of interest to me.”

  Mike held up her arm, which was slim but had no discernible muscle. “I can see that.”

  “Are you saying that I’m—”

  Mike kissed her to silence, his hand on her breast.

  Sara leaned back against him.

  “Are there any contests for skills of agility?” he asked.

  “Like the rope jumping?” She was teasing him.

  “I can do that,” Mike said.

  “You’re outclassed there too. Anna Aldredge, Kim’s little sister, will win that. She placed third in the national championships.”

  “Does she need a partner?”

  “She’s twelve and a brat.”

  “I like bratty females.”

  “I need time to tell you about all the events so maybe I should—”

  �€