Home Fires by Barbara Delinsky Read Free Book Online Page B

things … but she somehow knew he wasn’t. As bizarre as it was, she trusted him. And she wanted him. Even in the throes of unsureness, she was aware of the fever that raged within her own body. There was only one antidote.
    Forcing herself to relax, she smiled. “I’m all right This is just so … new …”
    â€œI know,” he murmured, leaning forward to kiss her with the gentleness of that understanding. As he straightened he drew the dress from her shoulders and eased it down her body.
    Deanna focused on the auburn vibrancy of his hair
while he knelt to help her from her black silk slip, her shoes, her stockings. With each went a bit of the past, replaced by the fantasy of a new woman. If the mild unsteadiness of Mark’s hands was a sign of his own dubious control, Deanna’s pulse was racing too fast for her to notice. Finally he straightened and looked down at her.
    His eyes touched her everywhere, caressing her throat and the swells of her breasts, moving over her stomach to the lace-edged silk of her panties. She felt the heat rise to paint her cheeks a delicate pink as she tried to discern his thoughts. Was he disappointed?
    Groaning softly, he gathered her into his arms. “How did I ever find you?” he rasped into her hair and she felt the beginnings of a reassurance that was enhanced by his hoarse-whispered, “So lovely.” Working his way around her ear, he tasted the lemon freshness of her neck, then sought her throat in a sequence of warm, moist kisses. Deanna closed her eyes and let her head fall back as she felt resurging delight at every touch point She arched her back unknowingly, innocently offering herself to him. The whisper of a sigh escaped her lips when his moved across her chest. Behind her, the muscles of his arms tensed with wanting.
    In one dizzying moment she was lifted and gently laid on the bed. When she opened her eyes in the stillness, he was smiling just above her.
    â€œAre you okay?” he asked. The arms he propped on either side of her trembled slightly.
    â€œI think so.” Reaching up, she threaded her slender fingers into the thickness of his hair and drew his face down. When she arched off the sheets to kiss him, he slid his hands behind her and deftly released the catch of her bra. It was gone in an instant and she gasped.
    But the gasp caught in her throat, silenced by the worshipfulness of his expression. In its wake she felt like a
goddess, a woman of flesh and curves with the awesome power to please this man. It was what she wanted more than anything to do. And she sensed a renewed urgency in him.
    Her hands went to his shoulders, then around his neck, as she pulled herself into his embrace. His back was warm with muscles that flexed when she touched them, which she did with growing courage. But Mark touched as well, and was soon dissatisfied with the slender span of her ivory-sheened back. Easing her down he placed both hands on her neck, then began an erotic descent toward her breasts. When he reached their fullness at last, she strained toward him. Her nipples had long since grown taut, yet now they responded even more fully to him. His fingers massaged the pebbled tips until she bit her lip to keep from crying out at the torment.
    â€œDon’t do that,” he commanded softly against her lips as his freed them from her teeth. “Yell, scream if you want to. I don’t want you to hold anything back.”
    Deanna looked up. “I’ve never felt anything like this.”
    â€œI know.” He grinned with a pleasure that was remarkably calm in light of the fire that licked at them both.
    In that instant time sped back. Deanna recalled that fantasy of girlhood innocence when she’d first anticipated a man’s possession. Blushing as she might have done then, she asked, “You do?”
    â€œUh-huh,” he hummed smoothly, invitingly.
    â€œHow?” Without realizing it, she flexed her