He pulled his mouth off hers, and breathing hard, whispered, “We need to stop this.”
Her heart was so full. Her world so right. But she still wanted more. She wanted all the desires, the wants and cravings, encompassing her to be fulfilled. She’d read the magazines that Jane had snuck into the house. The ones about flappers and movie stars, and about sex. That was what she wanted, had wanted since he’d left her standing on the beach craving more. So much more. “No, we don’t.”
“Yes, we do,” he said.
Tossing her last inhibitions of the dutiful, rule-abiding Betty she’d always been, if she truly had any left, to the wind, she asked, “Why?”
He stepped back. “It could easily go too far.”
She stepped out of one shoe, and then the other, kicking them aside. Then reached up and plucked the hat off her head, tossing it on a sheet-covered chair. “What would you consider too far?”
“This.”
The shimmer in his eyes made her pulse beat even faster. “I don’t want to stop, Henry. I want you.”
He grasped her hand, pulled her close again. “I’ve wanted you since the day I left you standing on the beach.”
She laughed, because that made her feel good, alive. “I’ve never forgotten that kiss. The way it made me feel. The things it made me want.” She kissed the underside of his chin. “I want you, Henry.”
He let out a tiny growl that sounded so husky she nearly got goose bumps. Wonderful ones. She snapped one of his suspenders as she stepped back this time, and then pushed one of the narrow straps holding up her loose-fitting butterscotch-colored dress off her shoulder.
“Betty,” he said with that husky growling sound. “Are you sure about this? Because I can’t take much more.”
“If I wasn’t sure. I wouldn’t be here,” she said, and pushed the other strap off her shoulder. The dress fell slowly, revealing the only thing beneath it was a pair of white tap pants.
Her nipples were hard, her breasts tingling, and when he reached forward, cupped one, the muscles deep inside her, at her very core where a swirling heat was growing, tightened.
He rubbed her nipple with his thumb, then kissed one, and the other. She tossed her head back at the pure delight rippling through her from head to toe.
When he lifted his head, she pushed the suspenders off his shoulders. “Fair is fair.”
He removed his shirt, his pants, and stood before her in his undershorts. She planted her hands on the wide spans of his upper arms, her hands absorbing the heat, feeling the firmness, and kissed his chest, giggling as the black hair tickled her nose.
She stepped back and pushed down her tap pants.
His mouth was back on hers when he lifted her, carried her to the sofa, and laid her down. He started at her ankles, caressing the skin with the heel of his palm, the tips of his fingers, and worked his way upward.
“Your skin is so soft, so silky,” he said, kissing her stomach.
She buried her hands in his thick, soft hair, inhaling the spicy, soap-clean scent that she still remembered from that day at the beach.
Her body was begging, needing more. Each kiss, each caress, made her want more and more. She was squeezing her thighs together at the fire, the craving, pulsing hard and fast. “Henry,” she nearly gasped.
“I know you’re ready,” he whispered. “I am, too.”
He removed his undershorts and perched above her then, in one swift plunge, they joined together. The snap of pain was of little consequence as she arched upward, pressing her hips firmly against his as an unimaginable pleasure followed, consumed her. All she could think about was him, and the incredible sensations overtaking her entire body. It was as if he was lifting her higher and higher, until everything spun out of control.
She had to gasp for air as the overwhelming pressure threading through her entire being hit a crescendo like the final notes of a song, and then clutched tighter to Henry as wave after wave of bliss spread throughout her system.
An incredible warmth was unfurling inside her, when suddenly they were separated. Henry grabbed the sheet and pulled it over her stomach as the wonderful weight of his body was once again atop her. The waves of bliss retuned as he encompassed her in his arms, and they lay together, catching their breath and kissing. The joy inside her was massive, and she knew now what all the fuss was about in those magazines. Joining with Henry had been the epitome of pleasure.
The epitome of broken rules, too.
Chapter Five
Henry was thankful that even during the most intense pleasure of his life that his common sense prevailed, near the last moment, but it arrived, and he pulled out before spilling his seed. The sheet protected her as he’d held her close, relishing the aftermath of a world-rocking event.
It was there, while he was still basking in a satisfaction that he’d never experienced, when he felt her stiffen. His weight. He was crushing her.
He rose and bundled up the sheet he would have laundered and returned, then collected the clothes strewed about. His and hers. He helped her off the sofa, helped her dress. The flush of her face, the flush of her skin that had been so enticing, so exhilarating only moments ago, made the back of his throat burn when he caught the nervousness in her movement.
Tilting her chin upright, forcing her to look at him, a ball of regret formed in the pit of his stomach. She’d been a virgin, there was no mistaking that. No words would form, other than he thought she was the most beautiful, the most precious woman on earth. If he had been capable of love, it would be her
