Very early the next morning, Rory slipped out of bed. He glanced back over his shoulder at Cat while he slipped into his jeans. She was sleeping peacefully, dead to the world, an understandable state, since they had hardly slept at all last night.
They were lucky the cabin was out in the middle of nowhere, on private land. There hadn’t been any neighbors around to hear the sound of the headboard hitting the walls and no reason to drown out the moans, cries, and, in some instances, the screams of pleasure that had been torn from both of them. A clear indication of how their night had gone. His Cat had also clawed up his back pretty good, which was another sign. But then no pain, no gain.
“Rory?”
He turned. She had opened her eyes just enough to look at him. She wasn’t as dead to the world as he’d thought. “Yes, sweetheart?”
“Where are you going?”
“Fishing.”
She switched her gaze from him to the window. “But it’s still dark outside.”
He grinned as he walked back over to the bed and sat down on the edge. He gently pulled her into his arms, sliding his arm in back of her so she could rest her head on his shoulder. “Yeah, and that’s the best time.”
“Umm, who am I to argue, since you’ve proved countless times that you know a lot about perfect timing.”
He glanced down at her. “You think so?”
“I know so.”
“Thanks for that vote of confidence.” He could tell she was still sleepy, and he was tempted to kiss her until she forgot all about sleeping, but doing so meant he would forget all about going fishing. He would take the time to taste her—all over—when he returned. Besides, he didn’t intend to stay away long. The lake was within walking distance and could easily be seen through the trees. If things went as planned and the fish were biting as he hoped, he would be back before she woke up good.
Although he decided not to kiss her, he went ahead and indulged his pleasure by nibbling on her neck for a while, knowing full well he was placing a hickey there. Then he ran his tongue along the soft little lobe of her ear, enjoying the sound of his Cat purring.
Knowing he’d better stop before he changed his mind about going fishing, he placed her back in bed and stood. “Miss me.”
When she didn’t say anything, he smiled. She had drifted back off to sleep.
* * *
Cat slowly came awake thinking that if a person could die from having too many orgasms, then she would definitely be dead by now. The number of times he’d made her come had been relentless, extraordinary, mind-blowing madness. It had definitely been one of those record-setting nights. She gave a half-smile, thinking that she didn’t have any complaints, even with the fact that her body was pretty sore.
Turning over, she glanced at the clock. It was ten in the morning already. She remembered waking up earlier, right before Rory left to go fishing and then drifting back off to sleep. She shifted again in bed, knowing it was time she got up and faced the world.
Five minutes later, and Cat was standing under the spray of water as it washed down over her back. Eyes closed, she threw her head back, enjoying the feel of the warm gush of liquid caressing her all over. Then suddenly she felt a nibble on the soft curve of her neck and quickly turned around. Rory was back and had stripped naked to join in her shower. She could read the look in the deep, dark eyes staring at her. He wanted to make love to her again.
Right now. Right here.
He gently took the soap out of her hand and began lathering her all over, making her body quiver beneath his touch. And then he got on his knees, to lather her stomach, which brought him right in front of the area between her legs, an area he had branded his two years ago in this very cabin, an area he had reclaimed numerous times since she had arrived yesterday.
She knew without a doubt that once again he was about to give her extreme satisfaction, almost to the point of delerium. Her assumptions proved true when he tossed the soap aside and pulled her forward, out from beneath the spray of water, and he leaned closer until her hot center was right in his face.
“Open.”
Although he gave the command, he didn’t wait for her to comply.
* * *
Rory needed this: the taste of her. He had gotten it last night, but it hadn’t been enough. Not nearly enough. The heat of her made her scent that much more profound, erotic, intense, and the ache inside him grew that much more unbearable.
The fish had been biting, which was a good thing. As soon as he’d been satisfied that he’d caught enough, he turned his mind to another type of satisfaction. Only the kind that Cat could provide. When he had walked into the cabin and heard the shower going, he knew what he wanted to do. What he planned to do.
He leaned closer to her, reached out, and gently parted her womanly folds, still swollen from last night’s workout. And then he kissed her there, letting his tongue taste the sweet nectar he sought. He heard her groan and widen her legs for him the same exact moment her fingers clutched his head firmly to hold it in place. Little did she know that he didn’t intend to go anywhere until he’d gotten his fill.
He worked his tongue around inside her slowly, teasingly, until the stroking got harder, more intense, and greedier. In this case, less wasn’t best. More was better, and he wanted more.
When he felt her on the verge of coming, he grabbed hold of her lips, locked his mouth tight on her, and worked his tongue like nobody’s business, forcing her to come.
She did.
And he enjoyed every bit of her.
When it was almost impossible for her to stand on her own, he gathered her into his arms and held her. A part of him didn’t want their weekend to end. They still had a lot to talk about. A lot to straighten out, and lots of assumptions to set right. But now at this moment, nothing was more profound to him than holding the woman he loved so close to his heart, where he knew she would always be.
* * *
“Who taught you to take care of fish?”
Startled, Cat turned around. This was the third time Rory had caught her unawares. After their shower, he had taken a nap. She, surprisingly, had had an exceptional burst of energy. After dressing, she had gone into the kitchen to find his cooler filled with the fish he’d caught. Deciding that since he had been the one to catch their meal, the least she could do was to cook it, she had immediately begun the task of cleaning the fish before getting the grease and frying pan ready. Even though the kitchen vents were on full blast and the windows open, there was no way the aroma of fried fish wouldn’t make its way to their bedroom.
“My dad. He used to go fishing all the time, and once or twice he took me and my brothers and sisters with him. But I don’t ever remember getting up as early as you did this morning.”
He lifted a brow. “I didn’t know that.”
“What?”
“That you’ve gone fishing before.”
She grinned. “Yes. You even brought me here once with you to fish.”
He smiled. “I brought you here under the pretense of going fishing, but we both knew that fishing was the last thing on either of our minds. Getting it on for the first time was.”
Cat laughed. “Yes, that’s true. But still, you never invited me back.”
“Yes, I did.”
She blinked. “You did?”
“Yes. Several times. But you were always too busy to come back.”
With his words, memories floated through her mind, forcing her to remember. He had asked her to spend weekends at the cabin with him fishing, but at the time she’d been too busy plotting and planning how to achieve her professional goals.
She sighed deeply, disgusted. It didn’t seem to her that she’d been much of a girlfriend. In fact, she could go so far as to consider herself one selfish bitch. It was a wonder he wanted to have any dealings with her at all, let alone repair their relationship. At that moment, she fully understood why he was satisfied with them just having an affair. If she wasn’t all that hot as girlfriend material, he probably assumed she definitely would not make a good wife … if he’d still been in the market for one.
“So what can I do to help?”
She glanced over at him, and he had that incredible smile on his face that had the dimples to die for right along with it. Any woman would be stupid not to want this loving, handsome, unselfish man in her life. “It depends on what you want to go along with it,” she finally answered. “The fish is already done.”
“Yeah, and it smells good, too.”
“Thanks.”
“How about if we include a salad and baked sweet potatoes?”
“Sounds good to me.”
When they sat down to eat a half hour later, she told him she wanted him to talk about his work for a change. He told her that the business he and Peyton had started together right out of college was doing great, and now that they had expanded nationally, a lot of good contracts were coming in. It surprised her to see that she hadn’t been the only one of them who’d had dreams and goals. But it seemed she was the only one who had gotten totally obsessed with them.
“You’ve been busy,” she commented as they both cleared the table.
He smiled over at her. “And so have you. Peyton has kept me abreast on how well things are going for you and Lisa.”
“I’m surprised you wanted to know.”
“Why would I not?”
“My obsession with work is the reason we broke up.”
“No it wasn’t. Your obsession with not wanting to ever get married was.”
She shrugged. “Same thing, since I considered a commitment of that sort as interfering with the long-range goals I’d established.”
He nodded. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that anymore, since I’ve told you my new philosophy. I understand why you felt the way you did, because I now find myself in the same predicament. Our company is expanding, so I’m a busy man these days. I’ve increased my traveling, and taking the company on a national level is the most important thing going on in my life right now. I don’t have time for anything else remotely serious.”
Cat placed the dishes in the sink and then leaned against the counter. “And your views changed just because of me?”
Rory came to stand beside her. “No, they didn’t change just because of you. But what happened between us did make me question why I had made such a fuss. Things had been good between us, and if no strings attached and no expectations was what you wanted, then so be it. Although we weren’t married, we spent a lot of time together, and got along better than some married people, so I asked myself, why did I even rock the boat.”
Because at the time you thought you wanted more, she wanted to tell him. And now she was the one who wanted more, but he didn’t. “So what would you like to do now?”
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “How would you like to take a walk? I’d like very much to show you something.”
Her curiosity piqued, she said, “All right. I’d love to go for a walk with you.”