Chapter 86

I can't believe y'all thought the last one was a cliff hanger. Seriously? I thought it was pretty obvious what was coming next... *smirk*

It took three tries to get his key ring properly settled on the pegboard in the garage.  He tried to be nonchalant about it, but knowing that she was waiting in his bed had him turned all upside down.  Richie hadn’t been this nervous about sex since he was a teenager. 

Stepping into the kitchen, he took a minute to grab some coffee and scarf down one of the doughnuts from the box on the counter.  He wasn’t a huge fan of junk food, but Carmen knew that he missed these heavenly little pastries when he wasn’t home.  The smart-mouthed woman was a jewel, and he hadn’t had a moment’s remorse over hiring her.

He drained his coffee cup and rinsed it out in the sink.  With no reasonable excuse left to detain him, he climbed the stairs to the second floor.

How was he going to do this? 

It wasn’t that he didn’t want her.  God knew there was nothing further from the truth.  The problem was …  Well, if his touch prompted memories of the rape, he didn’t know how he was going to handle it.  For those memories to come screaming back at the touch of his hand would devastate him. 

Since the night she sobbed into his arms, he’d known that their physical rejoining could be potentially disastrous.  That’s why he’d been strategically planning in his mind for days, and thought he’d finally struck upon the solution.

All they had to do was get through this first time without a breakdown and he wouldn’t let her out of bed for the rest of the week.

After pausing for a silent, wordless prayer, he pushed open the door to the master suite.

She was waiting in his bed, just like she’d promised, a seductive siren luring him into her velvet clutches.  Her smile captivated him, and the heat radiating from her eyes caused his skin to sizzle.  He watched in fascination as she delicately toyed with the silky waves of hair blanketing his pillow.  

Sweet Jesus, she’s gorgeous.

“You may notice that you can only see one of my hands.  I got a little impatient.”

The blood shot to his groin faster than a speeding bullet, leaving his brain to operate on nothing but hormones.  His apprehension instantly dissolved  in a haze of lust.

Toeing off his sneakers, he tossed his ball cap on the dresser and peeled the shirt from his back in one smooth motion.  “I know I’m from Jersey, but let’s pretend I’m from Missouri.  Show me.”

Her smile widened with the naughty little laugh that she rattled off.  “You don’t believe me.”

“Oh baby, I believe you.  I just REALLY want to see.”  His voice dropped an octave as he towered over her prone form.  When a subtle movement under the sheets drew his notice, he couldn’t resist the temptation.   Richie flipped back the covers with a snap of his wrist, and sucked in a breath.

“I told you,” she purred.

He could feel the blood pounding through his groin. 

The tips of her fingers weren’t readily visible, as they were obscured by the pitch-black curls between her thighs.  While the waxed smoothness had been incredibly sexy in Seattle, everything had now grown back in accordance with Mother Nature’s plan.  Just the way he liked it. 

He was magnetically drawn to the patch of down, his fingers itching with the need fondle it.  “You don’t mind if I lend a hand, do you?”

“I’d like it better if you got naked and put all that hot skin up against me.”

A flush was steadily creeping over her skin, and the color was high in her cheeks.  He recognized all the signs, but still asked in awe, “You’re about to cum, aren’t you?”

“Mmmm.”  Her fingers increased their tempo, and he could see the moisture glistening along their length as she maneuvered them to her pleasure.

“Damn, baby,” he marveled, impatiently shoving his shorts to the floor.  His erection bobbed heavily as he crawled in next to her.  “I thought you’d wait for me.”

“I’ve been waiting forever already.  I need to take the edge off,” she panted, feet moving restlessly across the sheets as she squirmed closer to that edge.

“What can I do to help?” he grumbled in her ear.

“Sing.”

Eyebrows slammed down in confusion.  “Sing?”

“Unnh.  Yes, sing!  Something growly,” she pleaded.  “Hurry.”

With her hand between her legs and his hard-on raging, there was only one song that came to mind.  He reached way down low and sang it directly from his gut into her ear.  The result was a soulful, sultry version of the original.

“Let me tell you a STOR-ayy
About body and bloo-od
There's a fire bel-o-oow
Deep in the river of loo-oove, Yea-ahh
HEY pretty mama I'm just trying to be polite
I wanna make you feel the rhythm of the river tonight
And when the story is Oo-ver
You'll be satis-FIED, uh-huh
Honey, honey, honey don't you UN-derstaa-and
To make you feel like a WO-man
Makes me feel like a maaaan”

She cried out her release and his name in the same strangled breath, her body quivering in the aftermath.  A wickedly satisfied smile curled her lips and her neck was boneless when she flopped her head on the pillow, watching him through hooded eyes.  “I love you.”

“I don’t think that’s love you’re feelin’ darlin’,” he chuckled.  “That’s good old-fashioned lust.”

“I love that you indulged my good old-fashioned lust.” Rolling lazily to her side, her palm caressed the warm wall of flesh she found.    “And I hope you continue the indulgence.  That was good, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the way you feel inside me.”

His eyelids fell to half-mast and he intertwined his hair-roughened legs with her much smoother ones.  An imperceptible nudge had his erection nestled against her hip.  “Jesus.  When did you turn into such a wanton woman?”

She snickered softly.  “I’m exactly what you made me.  Hot for you.”  Her lips brushed his with a soft mewl of desire.  “Now kiss me.”

Passion was tightly bottled inside of him, and he fully intended to keep it there until he decided it was safe to let out.  But kissing would be okay, he told himself, because he was fairly certain that couldn’t have been part of the nightmare.

With that thought in mind, he tenderly claimed her mouth in a soft, sensual assault.  Tongues delicately rasped together as they leisurely tasted one another, appreciating their combined flavor.  It was a conscious effort, but he made his touch feather-light, darting into the hidden recesses of her mouth and teasing with subtle caresses.

Her eyes were glazed and her mouth was shining damply when she broke the kiss with a quiet groan.

“You stopped for doughnuts?”  Sapphire eyes sparkled with merriment at the breathless question.  “No wonder I got impatient.”

“Hush, woman.”  Richie’s probing tongue diverted her attention from mocking to making love. 

Goose bumps rose from her lightly roaming fingers on his back and shoulders, yet his hands remained still at her waist.  He intently focused on the fusing of their mouths, trying to get lost in the moist heat.

“Touch me,” she breathed against his mouth.

He didn’t answer her, but continued to tease and suckle at her lips with determination.

“Richie…”  Allegra took his hand and forcibly moved it toward her breast.  “Touch me.”

He froze at the contact with the exquisite rise of flesh.  The knowledge that he was afraid to touch her intimately was going to be a mood killer – no doubt about it.  An indirect path would be more in tune with where they were going.  “Are you sure?”

Her eyes searched him out, and  he knew that she intuitively understood the deeper meaning  behind his question.  With a tender expression, she quietly assured him, “The only memories I have are of you.  And they’re awfully good ones.”

So far, so good, he consoled himself.  Now to subtly let her know she was in charge.  “Then show me what you want.”

One firm nudge against his shoulder and she had him flat on his back, climbing to sit astride his waist.  Her eyes sparked with lust from beneath the wild mane of hair that surrounded her.  Instinctively, his hands went to steady her at the hip.

“Hands go here,” she instructed, prying them away from her sides and bringing them to cup the weight of her breasts.  They became an extension of her own as she kneaded the fleshy globes.  “Your calluses feel so good against my nipples,” she whispered.

“What else feels good?”

She directed his thumb and forefinger together in a pinching formation, placing her nipples directly between them.  He followed the guidance she provided, and tweaked the rosy tips until they hardened into ruby jewels.

In one continuous motion, Allegra pressed his hands into the pillow by his head, and leaned forward until one of those beautiful jewels swayed just in front of his mouth.  “Suck on it.”

There was no pause before his lips wrapped around the turgid little peak and his tongue skimmed over it.  A moan rolled in the back of his throat, as his mouth widened to take in as much of the fleshy bounty as possible. 

“Ohhh, that’s it, baby.”

Richie directed his attention to her breast’s luscious mate, lavishing the same affection on it until both of their hips were rocking. 

“Talk to me, Richie.”

An audible ‘pop’ resounded through the room as he released her abruptly, eager to comply.  “Your titties are perfect,” he breathed, his hands going back to encircle them.  Long fingers plucked at her nipples once again, only to release them so they could settle back in place.  “They bounce and jiggle so pretty.”

She felt her womb clench at the almost raunchy words.  It should make her feel cheap and tawdry when he talked to her that way, but his sandpapery voice made everything he said erotic instead of crass.  

“More,” she implored, feeling the beads of sweat start to form at her hairline.  She lifted the heavy locks, her hands pinning them to her head, reveling in the light breeze that blew across the exposed skin.  Her pelvis reflexively began to grind against his abdomen, seeking the pleasurable friction it could create. 

“Your hot… wet pussy feels sooo… damn good slip sliding across me.  I swear to God, my balls are on fire.  I’ll be lucky to get inside that sweet slit of yours before I cum everywhere.”

A gasp was ripped from Allegra, and she ground against his treasure trail with a hard thrust of her hips.  “Oh, baaa-by.  I need you NOW.”

She scrambled up, higher on her knees, reaching for his eager arousal.  The head was seated at her entrance, when his quiet reminder came.  “Condom.”

She froze for a split second, considering the alternative, but merely nodded and rolled from his body.  “Where?” she panted, not want to let the momentum fade.

His arm stretched out and fumbled in the nightstand drawer, quickly ripping the foil packet and sheathing himself.  “Come here and ride me, baby.”

Her eyes widened and she hastily positioned herself so that he was set to spear her womanhood with his mighty erection.  Holding his gaze as she steadily invited him into her warmth, her heart seized at the love and tenderness she saw there.  The casual onlooker may consider this a dirty screw, but the emotions they shared made it much more intimate.

Allegra hesitated just before they were fully connected, hovering mere inches above his frame.  Her heart was about to burst, and the words wouldn’t be contained.  “I love you, Richie.”

His full mouth turned up in a deliciously slow smile, coffee eyes brimming with pleasure.  All of his earlier anxiety was banished.  She was okay, and they were okay.

“I love you too, Allegra.”  His hands curled possessively over her hips.  “You belong to me.”

With those words, she let him fully possess her, releasing the tension in her legs that was holding her aloft.  With a ‘whoosh’ of air from her lungs, he was completely immersed.  The fullness of her womb soothed her soul.

“I belong to you,” she approved.  “No one else.” 

Rolling her hips forward, she flattened herself so that their chests were pressed close and she could kiss him.  Her mouth drew on his top lip, then the bottom, gently nipping at their plumpness. 

Her bottom bounced as he drove upward into her, and each fervent stroke invoked that titillating flesh-on-flesh sound.  With a soft cry she reared up, arching her back and pushing downward until they were completely fused, their dark curls indistinguishable from one another. 

Low moans filled the air.  Allegra didn’t know who they came from, and it didn’t matter.  In this moment, they were one and the same, melded together by the magic surrounding them. 

An invisible force compelled her to look down into the handsome lines of his face, drinking him in as she felt him swell inside her.  He was a beautiful man, and she felt blessed beyond reason to have him.

Richie took in her tousled shock of hair, glistening skin, and gently swaying breasts before drowning himself in eyes brimming with both passion and emotion.  He would never love anyone the way he loved her.

Soft grunts of pleasure were the only sounds in the room as she rode him up the slow, winding trail toward the peak of ecstasy, only to fall headlong back into a valley of bliss.  It was excruciatingly unhurried at times, as though she couldn’t bear for it to be over.  Then, in the next instant, the excitement was unleashed and they galloped full-throttle toward the ethereal mountaintop and the idyllic nirvana that waited.

Sweat pouring down his face and limbs quivering with pent up release, he was maddened by the tortuous journey, and seized the reins of control.   It took him only moments to expertly guide them through the uninhibited tempest of their mutual pinnacle.  

Her name was still echoing on his lips when she crumpled into a soft and sated bundle against him.

“Richie?”  Her voice was no more than a thread in the fiber of the cocoon of love that enveloped them.

“Hm?”

“Are there any more doughnuts?”