Chapter 8
It was midmorning when Marissa awoke the next time. Scott was still sound asleep, his arm thrown over his head. He looked younger when he was asleep, making Marissa remember that he was older than she was, a fact that didn’t bother her, but was obvious when his face was relaxed in sleep. Sliding out of bed, she got in the shower letting the hot water wash over her sore muscles. Until last night, she’d never had any idea how truly physical sex could be, her other experiences had paled compared to last night and her body tingled just thinking of all the wonderful things Scott had made her feel.
She was just washing the shampoo from her hair, when she felt a pair of big hands cup her rear end. Opening her eyes, she found Scott looking at her, his hair still rumpled from sleep, but clearly wide awake. “You snuck out of bed,” he accused.
She looked at him for a second trying to decide if she should tell him the truth. “Um, I’m a little sore this morning, I thought a hot shower might help,” she said, blushing.
“Oh, Marissa. I’m sorry, I didn’t think,” he said, stepping back.
She smiled up at him, thinking he was sweet. “I’m not broken,” she said, stepping into his arms. “Just a little fragile this morning.” Then she kissed him until he pulled her into his arms.
They took their time, taking turns with the shampoo and soap between wet kisses. Then Scott helped her out of the shower and gently dried her off. “I think we should get out of the cabin today. I don’t think I’ll be able to keep my hands off you otherwise,” he said when she was completely dry.
“What did you have in mind? Normally, I’d be all for hiking, but...” she stopped, blushing.
Scott, who was sitting on the bed, pulled her into his lap and kissed her. “I’m sorry if I hurt you, I just lose all control when it comes to you.”
“Hm, I know the feeling exactly,” she said, running her hands over his chest. “I’ll be fine by tonight, don’t worry.”
“Enough of that or we’ll be back in that bed,” he said, standing up and putting her on her feet.
“Well, you started it,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him then running across the room when he tried to tickle her. “Get dressed, Mr. Terrell, and show me what there is to see in Pleasant Valley.”
“How about if we start with a soak in the hot springs, then a massage, and lunch? Then if you want we can go check out town. There’s a lot of shopping and a couple of great bars if you want to go dancing,” Scott suggested.
“Yes,” Marissa said, slipping on a pair of leggings and a tank top.
“Yes to what?” Scott asked.
“To all of it,” she said, laughing.
Scott watched her getting dressed, thinking that watching her put on clothes was almost as sexy as taking them off her. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep up with you. I never should have mentioned the shopping,” he said, groaning.
“But just think what the reward will be at the end of the day,” she said, crossing the room and kissing him, her hand sliding down his body to cup him in her hand.
Scott groaned and reached for her, but she stepped away. “Let’s go, I haven’t had a massage in forever.” Then she laughed when he had to rearrange himself after her touch.
When they got to the hot springs, Scott got them a private room where they soaked naked in the healing mineral waters. After an hour, they emerged weak limbed to a couple’s massage, which was just the thing Marissa needed to ease her sore muscles. After a lunch of salad and fresh fruit, which Marissa enjoyed but Scott grumbled about but finished, they headed for town.
“I promise we can have big fat steaks and baked potatoes for dinner,” she said, laughing when he complained that he was still hungry.
“Don’t get me wrong, I like salad, but I want a big steak afterward,” he said, laughing when she handed him a protein bar out of her purse.
“Eat that and you’ll feel better,” she said, then waited while he ate it.
By the time they got to town, Scott was feeling better, the scowl gone from his face. When they got out of the car, he pulled her to him and said, “Sorry, I guess I was just hungry.”
“Well, it takes a lot of energy to, um...” Still not quite comfortable talking about sex with him, she didn’t finish the sentence.
Scott leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Making love to you,” making her tingle all over.
As they walked along the sidewalk through downtown, they held hands like kids on their first date, the need to be touching overwhelming. Scott brought her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it, then noticed that her wedding ring was sliding around on her finger.
“You’re ring is too big. Why didn’t you say something, we need to get it resized,” he said, holding his hand up to look at the ring.
“I don’t want to take it off,” she said, shyly. “It’s perfect, just like the wedding was,” she said, looking up at him as they walked.
“It took me a long time to pick it out. At first, I went for the biggest, most elaborate ring I could find, but when I looked at it I knew that it wasn’t you. The poor sales girl showed me every ring they had and it was the last one. The ring is simple, but I think the ring suits you,” he said, kissing her hand again. What she didn’t know was that he had an engagement ring to match, but hadn’t found a good time to give it to her.
“Well, it’s perfect, I would have hated a big ring,” she said, tucking his hand under her arm as they walked. “I’ll get it sized but not yet. I’ll wrap some dental floss around it if I have to.”
Scott only smiled at her, thinking how much he loved her, but knew that she wasn’t ready to hear that. Instead, he suggested coffee at the pastry shop owned by one of his cousin’s wives. “I can only think of one thing that sounds better than a cup of coffee,” she said, with a sultry smile.
“Now you’re teasing me,” Scott said, leading her inside the shop.
Fueled by caffeine and sugar, they wandered around town, browsing the shops but not buying much of anything until they came to a huge store full of both antiques and handmade wooden furniture. When they walked through the door, Marissa all but screamed at the sight of all the wonderful pieces jammed into the small space.
“Oh, Scott, look at this,” she said, pointing to the interior of the store. “This is perfect, I have an empty house just waiting for this kind of furniture.” Then, clapping her hands, she started through the store like a kid in a candy shop.
Scott followed her thought the store, then realized what she’d just said. “You have an empty house?” he asked.
She stopped and looked over her shoulder at him, then took a deep breath and came back to where he was standing. “Part of the reason I’ve been staying at my dad’s is that I don’t really have any furniture in the house yet,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.
“Nothing?”
“Well, I have a bed and little kitchen table, but that’s it,” she said. “But I’m going to remedy that situation starting right now.”
“Do we even have a couch?” he called after her as she made a bee line for an oak kitchen table with matching chairs.
“No, but I’ll leave that to you. There’s a room off the kitchen that we can use as a family room, it’s all yours. I get the rest of the house,” she said, getting down on her hands and knees to look under the table.
“What are you doing?” he asked, looking around the store for a clerk.
She looked up at him from the floor. “Looking to see if this is handmade,” she said as if it was obvious.
“Well, couldn’t we just ask?”
“We could, but they could lie and the value between handmade and factory made is vastly different,” she said, taking his hand when he offered it and getting up off the floor.
She dusted her hands off on the seat of her pants, a stylish pair of black slacks that matched her silk blouse perfectly. Scott studied her for a moment, then walked around behind her and dusted of her butt where she’d left hand prints. A surprised squeak came out of her mouth when his hand connected with her rear, but then she giggled when his the brush turned into a caress, then before she knew it she was in his arms.
Someone clearing their throat interrupted what was soon to become an embarrassing situation for them, and they pulled apart. “Um, sorry,” Scott said to the man standing there watching them. “I’m Scott Terrell, and this is my new wife Marissa.”
“I’m Simon Howells,” the man said, holding out his hand. They shook hands, propriety restored. Scott gestured that Marissa should continue shopping while he talked to the man. She started to protest, but then realized that it might be nice to have Scott do all the dirty work, leaving her free to do what she loved best, shop.
Several hours and several thousand dollars later, Marissa and Scott walked out of the store with a receipt for several choice pieces of furniture for the house. Scott wasn’t sure when he’d start thinking of it as his own, but for now he was happy to see her so thrilled with their finds. He’d wait until they were back in California and had a chance to look at the room she’d given him before looking for furniture, but he knew that he wanted a couch big enough to make love to her on.
The rest of the afternoon, they spent gathering an interesting array of souvenirs that Marissa insisted that she needed. It was clear that she wasn’t buying them for herself, but every time he asked her who something was for, she changed the subject or just flat out kissed him to shut him up. Several of the shopkeepers were a bit shocked by their behavior until Scott explained that they were newlyweds.
On a recommendation from Sabrina, they found the little restaurant that would have the steak dinner that Marissa had promised Scott, one of the best steaks she’d ever eaten as it turned out, since it was Terrell beef. Scott hadn’t planned it, but he sensed that this was the perfect opportunity to tell Marissa about the man he used to be. They’d been given a table in the corner, well away from the other diners, the mere mention of their recent marriage enough to score them the best table in the house.
“This is the best steak I’ve ever had,” she said, putting another bite in her mouth and letting it practically melt on her tongue.
Scott was momentarily distracted by the look on her face, but forced the desire away and said, “This is the beef that my cousins raise just up the mountain,” he said, setting the stage for what he had to tell her.
“I noticed that there was some tension between you all,” she said, gently taking his hand when he put it on the table.
For the next half an hour he talked, starting from the time his mother died up until he’d pulled the gun on his brother Michael not more than a block from here. He’d avoided the restaurant while they’d been in town, unable to face the memories the building held. Marissa listened quietly, only interrupting when she needed clarification on some person or place.
“The bottom line is that last spring I was a very different man, one who only cared about making money and avenging a wrong that didn’t exist. I’ve wasted a good part of my life, I don’t want to waste any more.” He finally finished then waited for Marissa’s reaction.
She was silent for a long time, putting together the pieces he’d given her with the pieces she’d already figured out. “I’m glad you’re not that man anymore. I don’t think I could love a man like that,” she said, thinking of all the people Scott had hurt in his conquest for riches and revenge.
“But I’m not that man anymore and I need to figure out a way to fix some of the damage I’ve done,” he said, shaking his head. “But I don’t even know where to start.”
Marissa wanted to tell him that she had a million ways he could start to fix the problems he’d created but doing that would only lead to questions she didn’t want to answer right now, so instead she said, “I’m sure you’ll figure it out. It’s a new way of thinking for you. Give it some time, it’ll come to you.” She was trying to figure out when she was going to tell him about the other half of her life.
After a decadent dessert that they shared, taking turns feeding one another, they both decided that dancing was out of the question. The weather had turned while they were eating and the smell of rain was in the air. They barely made it back into the cabin before the lightning and thunder began and sheets of rain came pouring down. It was chilly in the cabin so Scott lit a fire to warm them up. Marissa wandered to the window and parted the curtain watching the storm rage outside.
Scott came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder. “Penny for your thoughts,” he said, rubbing her arms which were crossed over her chest.
“I was just thinking how nice it was to be warm and safe inside. I was also thinking how much has changed in only a few weeks,” she said, turning in his arms and resting her head against his chest.
“Change for the better I hope?” Scott said, loving the feel of her in his arms.
“Definitely for the best,” she said. “I’m just afraid of what’s going to happen when we’re back in the real world and all this wears off.”
“I don’t know about you, but I don’t think this,” he held her tighter for a moment, “is going to wear off. I know this happened fast, Marissa, but you can’t deny that we’re good for each other and I don’t mean just in bed, although that is a nice bonus.”
She looked up at him, then slapped him on the arm. “You’re terrible, but I’m glad you came into my life,” she said, then pulled out of his arms. “I have something special for you.”
Nervous at the daring thing she was about to do, she slipped on the antique white bustier and garter that one of her designers had made especially for her. The silk stockings felt delicious against her legs as she fastened the clips. Sliding her feet into a pair slippers with three-inch heels, she looked in the mirror suddenly feeling the power of her own sexuality. She took her hair down, then quickly put it back up again.
When she stepped into the doorway, Scott was sitting on the couch watching the fire. Sensing her presence, he turned to her, then gasped and sat forward on the couch. His mouth hanging open, he watched mesmerized as she crossed the room to where he was sitting and stood right in front of him. Scott’s breath was coming in little gasps, and when she threaded her fingers through his hair, he groaned and pressed his face between her breasts, his hands on her butt, pressing her closer.
Marissa’s nipples were stiff under the silk of her bustier, straining against the fabric, making her ache with longing. Scott moved his head to one side and licked one nipple then switched to the other, leaving wet spots where his tongue had been. Marissa arched her back, her fingers digging into his shoulders as wave after wave of pleasure washed over her.
Scott pulled his head back and took the ribbon that held the strained fabric over her swollen breasts and pulled, the bow come undone slowly, making Marissa’s legs shake with anticipation. Once loosened, it took only a small tug and the ribbon fluttered to the floor forgotten when Marissa’s breasts came free. Scott’s mouth clamped down on one of her nipples, the other hand on the other breast, and his arm came around her hips to press her closer to him.
She was lost in a storm of sensation, the power of the passion between them heating the very air in the room as Scott took Marissa higher and higher. Not wanting to lose control of the situation, Marissa reluctantly pushed Scott back against the back of the couch, then pushed his legs together and climbed on top of him, making him gasp when her hot moisture slid along his swollen length.
Marissa laughed seductively, silently thanking the woman who had designed her outfit for the tasteful split in her panties. Scott had expected a thin piece of cloth to be separating them and when he felt only Marissa’s slick heat, he nearly lost it, only holding on by sheer force of will. Marissa suddenly understood the power she held over him and wiggled a little on his lap, making him gasp and grab her hips.
Reaching up, she pulled the pins from her hair, letting it spill in wild curls over her shoulders. She reached up and ran her hands through her hair, shaking her head several times, making Scott grind his teeth even harder as she slid over his pulsing penis with each move she made. He had his head back, using every last bit of his strength not to lose it right then, the groans coming from the back of his throat only encouraging Marissa.
He tried to push her back, to regain some of the control, but she pushed him back against the couch and threaded her fingers though his hair, then brought her mouth down on his. Sliding her hips back and forth across his throbbing cock, making him wet with her moisture, she reached between them and gripped him firmly in her hand, then lowered her hips until he was buried deeply inside her.
“Oh, God, Marissa, I don’t think I can take this for long, it feels too good,” he ground between clenched teeth as she raised her hips and buried him inside her again.
“You’re not supposed to,” she whispered in his ear, increasing her rhythm, then grinding her hips into his. “I want to shatter your world like you do mine.”
No longer content to let her be in control, he grabbed her hips and thrust himself into her over and over again until the pressure became too much and he felt his control evaporate. With one final thrust, he tumbled over the edge, his orgasm leaving him fighting for air as Marissa’s orgasm took her over the edge in a free fall of raw pleasure. Panting, Scott pulled her to him, suddenly aware of the silk of her stockings and the cold leather of the slippers she still wore.
Almost instantly, he began to stiffen inside her, the mere thought of how sexy she was spiking his need for her again. Draped over Scott, she felt him move inside her and sat up to look at him. “Do you see what you do to me? I’m not sure that outfit is legal,” he said, getting to his feet with Marissa’s legs still wrapped around him.
Giggling like a little girl, she hung on to Scott, loving the fact that he could carry her. It awakened a primal feeling in her that she didn’t know existed. When Scott finally set her on her feet, she swayed a bit and grabbed a hold of his shoulders. He knelt in front of her, took off her shoes, then rolled the silk stockings down her legs and slid them off, his hands burning a path down her leg.
He stood and stripped the last of the lace off her body, then turned her around and pushed her onto the bed. Marissa climbed onto the bed on her hands and knees, not sure what to expect, but then she felt Scott’s erection pressing between her legs and arched her hips, letting him slide into her. The abrupt feeling of Scott filling her so deeply made her gasp with pleasure.
Scott was kneeling between her legs, his hand gripping her hips as he drove himself into her over and over again, Marissa crying out with pleasure each time his throbbing length stretched her. She was beyond thought, her body spiraling up and up, the pressure deep inside spreading though her in waves that built with each deep thrust of Scott’s hips.
Scott’s hands left her hips to cup her breasts, squeezing and massaging her swollen globes, then one hand sank down between her legs. With his hard chest pressed up against her back and his hand between her legs, Marissa felt the pressure deep inside her burst. A flood of pleasure so intense she couldn’t help but cry out Scott’s name rushed through her, only growing more intense when he began to rub her in circles while he continued thrust into her over and over again.
Finally, when she thought the sweet torment would never end, Scott gripped her hips and with one last thrust of his hips, emptied himself inside her, her name escaping his lips in a cry of ecstasy. They collapsed together on the bed, their bodies still shuttering with the passion they’d just shared.