Moonlight Masquerade Read online

  “I love being short,” she murmured as he walked toward the stairs. “I’ve never figured out what tall girls do with their excess body parts.”

  Reede could have told her but at the moment he couldn’t seem to remember.

  “You smell good,” she said. As he went up the stairs, her lips were on his neck. “Smell good. Taste good. What about your inner self?”

  Reede chuckled. “Better since I met you.” He carried her down the hall to the bedroom, bent, and put her on the bed. She instantly turned to her side and went back to sleep.

  He stood there for a moment, looking at her curled up, her jeans curving around her bottom, her pink shirt clinging to her upper half. She was shaped like an hourglass, a throwback to a time when women wore corsets to give themselves a twenty-inch waist. But Sophie didn’t need a corset to get that figure. Even in modern clothes of jeans and a T-shirt she showed off her roundness top and bottom, with her tiny waist in the middle.

  Right now he should leave her. He should close the door and let her sleep, but it wasn’t going to be easy. He wanted to snuggle up next to her, wanted to make love to her. Wanted to—She turned over, her face toward his. Without opening her eyes she lifted her arms to him. It was all the invitation he needed.

  Instantly he was in bed with her, his arms, even his legs around her.

  “I missed you so much today,” he said as he kissed her neck, her face. Her clothes began to come off. “I want you with me all the time. Forever.”

  She didn’t answer, just arched her body against his, enjoying his hands, his lips, his words.

  It took him only seconds and she was nude. It was erotic for her to be naked and feel her skin against his clothes, as though they were doing something illicit, almost illegal.

  She kept her eyes closed as he kissed her breasts, his big, hard hands on her waist, his thumbs caressing her stomach.

  “Sophie, you are so beautiful. I’ve never seen a woman as perfect as you.”

  She couldn’t help smiling. His lips went lower and lower and when his tongue touched the center of her, her eyes opened in shock. This was new to her, something she’d never experienced before, and it didn’t take long before wave after wave of passion went through her.

  He brought his face back up to hers. “Okay?” he whispered.

  “I never . . . No one ever before has . . . ”

  “Yeah?” he said. “I like being the first.”

  “You’re the first at a lot of things,” she whispered, her hand on his cheek. She could feel the whiskers, that oh so masculine symbol. She kissed him, felt the whiskers under her tongue.

  “I think we should share,” she said as she lowered her hand to between his legs. He was ready for her, but she meant to take her time. Button and zipper came open quickly and when she put her hand on his hot skin, he groaned, his head back in the ecstasy of her touch.

  She liked having this power over him, liked feeling this large man become hers. His trousers easily slipped off and she felt his skin against hers. Hot, rampant with desire.

  For all that receiving pleasure was new to her, the giving of it wasn’t. Her lips moved downward slowly, taking her time, her hand lightly caressing him, her thumbs playing along his thighs.

  “Sophie,” he whispered as she took him in her mouth.

  After they’d both found release they could take their time in the joy of discovery of each other’s bodies. Caressing, touching, kissing, exploring. It took them a long time until they’d worked to fever pitch and could no longer hold back. Reede lowered her to the bed, onto her back, but Sophie laughed and pushed him down.

  “Have your way with me,” he said, sounding as though he was submitting to her greater power.

  Sophie gave a villainous laugh as she moved on top of him, then lowered herself, both of them groaning in pleasure. “Shall I shape you into a giraffe? Or a bear?” she said as she began to move on him. “Or a hawk to match your eyes?”

  His hands were on her waist, holding her, guiding. “Sophie, my love, you can do anything you want to me.”

  Their lovemaking was slow, languorous, sensual. They held back as long as they could, extending their pleasure as long as possible.

  But soon they built to a pitch and Reede pushed Sophie onto her back, her legs wrapped round him. They came together in a blaze of ecstasy, then held each other tightly, neither wanting to let go.

  “Sophie,” Reede whispered into her ear and the way he said her name seemed to say it all. They clung to each other, naked skin together, warm, glowing.

  It was the growling of Reede’s stomach that pulled them apart.

  “Food is the only thing that takes a man away from lust,” Sophie said.

  “Lust?” he said softly as he rolled off of her. “Is that what we are?”

  She wasn’t yet ready to answer that question. “Can I make you a sandwich?”

  “Please,” he said.

  Reede switched on the lamp by the bed and watched Sophie as she got out, nude, and began to dress.

  “I feel like I’m putting on a show.”

  “Yeah,” he said, with so much innuendo that she laughed.

  When she was dressed she sat on the end of the bed. “Your turn.”

  As he got out of bed, Sophie watched in appreciation. He kept in good shape and she admired the way the muscles of his chest blended into his hard, flat stomach. “Do I pass?”

  “Mmmm. Okay,” she said in a way that made him laugh.

  “Don’t say that to Mike or he’ll kill me in the next workout session. As it is, he gives me about fifty burbies to do.”

  “And what are they?”

  “Exercises designed by the devil. How about roast beef with horseradish?”

  “Sounds great,” she said as they went down the stairs.

  In the kitchen he pulled a loaf of bread from under the counter. “Are you ready for your opening tomorrow?”

  “Not in the least.”

  “I wish I could help but my patients are backed up by weeks. I’ve been busy with other things.” He grinned at her.

  She told him about Russell’s employee who was coming, but she didn’t tell him about the teaching offer. “I think Roan misses teaching.”

  “Can’t tell that he’s stopped,” Reede said. “But it was nice for him to have people to entertain today.”

  “Is the book he was writing really bad?”

  “Truly awful,” Reede said as he cut the sandwiches they’d made. He opened the fridge and saw big bowls of lemons and cut vegetables.

  “You haven’t made the soups?”

  “No time,” she said. “Besides, there wasn’t room to put them in the fridge. The cream in them has to be kept cold. I’ll do them in the morning.”

  “I’ll help you.”

  She knew he meant to spend the night but not yet.

  He saw the answer in her eyes. “I understand. When I started practicing medicine I needed to prove to myself that I could do everything. I needed to believe in myself.”

  “And do you?”

  “I did until I came back here to Edilean,” he said, making a joke, only it wasn’t one. He’d finished his sandwich and stood up. “Sophie, why don’t you move in with me? I don’t have a lot of furniture, but you and I can go buy some. It’ll be your taste, whatever you want.”

  It was tempting for her to say yes. There was part of her that wanted to let him take care of her, to let herself become half of a whole. But at the same time she wanted to see if she could do something on her own.

  “All right,” he said, “but I’m here when you’re ready.” He went to the door. “Lock this behind me and I’ll be here in the morning to help you. I don’t know anything about cooking but I can follow orders.”

  “Not from what I’ve seen,” she said, making him grin. “Now go. I need some sleep.”

  “I could help you with that. I could—”

  “Go!” she said, laughing as she pushed him out the door, then locked it behind him