Tara knew when she put on the racy bra that she was insane to think that she would actually wear it. Testing herself further, she reached for the wisp of red lace that was supposed to be a thong and dragged it over her long legs and curvy hips. Staring at herself in the mirror, her first impulse was to laugh. To say that she looked ridiculous was an understatement. But, turning in a slow circle to examine the full view, she conceded that if the scandalous bra and panties hadn’t been made for her voluptuous body, they should have been. Preparing to strip them off, she hesitated. Glancing at the way her full breasts protruded through the empty cups of the bra and the sight of her intimate labia visible in the outrageous thong, she was horrified. Knowing that Griffin would go crazy if he saw her in them, she wondered if she could be brave enough to wear them. She was even more stunned when the thought of him seeing her in the indecent scraps of lace sent a shockwave of electric sensations to her core.
Closing her eyes to the outrageous sight that was provoking an unexpected and unwelcome reaction in her amped-up body, she surprised herself when she reached for the expensive jeans on the counter and yanked them on. Seconds later, she’d added the Dolce and Gabbana shirt and covered it with the gorgeous Chloé jacket. Adding her sneakers and refusing to look in the mirror, certain she couldn’t face the woman she would see there, she headed for the door to meet the most outrageous and surely the sexiest man she’d ever known.
Now, lying on the bed of pine needles, naked except for the scandalous underwear, Tara forced herself to look up at the man kneeling over her. She wasn’t surprised to see the fury that was rippling off him in waves. How could he be anything but angry? She knew she had cut him to the bone. She’d taken his solicitous attempt to show her how deeply he felt about the land before them and sneered at it. She’d not only refused to consider his sincere offer to see if they could come together on their divisive issue, but she’d spit in his face. Moreover, she’d attacked him at his core. Accused him of fucking her in the process of screwing her. It was an ugly accusation and, she knew, an untruthful one. If anything, the dishonest, cowardly person was her.
Griffin had told her that he was falling in love with her. A declaration that was unquestionably premature, but he’d had the courage to put words to the extraordinary feelings and actions between them. In addition to scorning his declaration, she’d minimized it. To be truthful, she’d torn it to ugly shreds. Rather than falling in love with her, she’d accused him of fucking her so he could co-opt her, get her support for his project.
At first, she hadn’t understood why he was so angry when she told him that she’d talked to his admirers and was planning to publish columns in favor of his development. Now, she was beginning to acknowledge how dreadful her actions were. She hadn’t had the decency or the courage to admit to him or to herself that he wasn’t the blackhearted robber baron she’d accused him of being. Even in the face of compelling evidence to the contrary, she’d continued to accuse him of planning to rape the land and essentially rape her to accomplish his nefarious goals. The depth of her perfidiousness was glaringly apparent, even to her, when she refused to admit that he cared as much for the land as she did. She’d scorned his touching assertion that they could work together to meet both of their needs. Moreover, with a heart-wrenching start, she acknowledged that if anyone was falling in love, it wasn’t the man brave enough to make the damning declaration—it was her.
Staring up at him, Tara was startled by the intensity she saw in his flashing emerald eyes. She acknowledged that she’d seen raging green seas crashing against rocky shores that were less turbulent than the emotions she saw in his formidable gaze. He was glaring down at her as if he were struggling to keep from attacking her. While she knew, or hoped she did, that he wouldn’t hurt her, she admitted that she was frightened by the fierceness in his gleaming eyes.
“Why . . . why did you wear these?”
She was surprised by his growling inquiry. Then, remembering the sight she’d seen in the mirror, she understood.
Her quaking response was barely audible. “Wear . . . what . . . ”
Grabbing the strap on her bra, he growled, “This, damn you! Why did you wear this?” Snatching the edge of the flimsy thong, he snarled, “Or this?” When she didn’t answer because she couldn’t breathe, much less respond, he twisted the fragile material, tightening it against her already swollen labia. Leaning over her, he brushed his lips against her ear. His whisper was harsh, insinuating. “Did you want to tease me further? Is that what you wanted to do, Tara? Torment me? Make me acknowledge how much I want you? Tell you that the sight of you naked or embellished with these whorish scraps of lace drives me to heights of passion I’ve never experienced? Is that why you wore these, Tara? To taunt me while you ripped my heart to shreds with your ugly accusations?”
Truly horrified by his impassioned indictment, Tara could only shake her head from side to side. Then, forcing herself to acknowledge the pain underlying his anger, she whispered, “No, Griffin. I wore them . . . because I wanted you to make love to me. To make you want me. To think that I am . . . that I can be as sexy, as provocative as you are.” Seeing his deepening frown, she added, “That you will want me as much as I want you.”
Griffin stared down at her. Balancing on his hands and knees, he managed to keep his raging body from doing what he wanted to do, ached to do. Which was ignore everything but his fulminating cock that was determined to take her, fuck her, as fiercely as he’d told her he would. But gazing at the sight of her beautiful body shown to outrageous perfection in the provocative red lace, Griffin forced himself to hear what she said. If it weren’t for the tears threatening her obsidian eyes and the scarlet patches staining her cheeks, he would have been tempted to think that she was as much of a disreputable tease as he’d accused her of being. But seeing her gnaw at her swollen bottom lip and acknowledging the tears that were escaping her lush lashes, he managed to control his anger.
He forced himself to see the woman who was gazing up at him and acknowledge the truth about her . . . and about him. This was the woman he’d whisked away from his coming out party and done things to her body, and surely her spirit, that no other man had come close to doing. He knew that while she wasn’t a virgin, she was damn close. Certainly when it came to the way that he’d forced her to strip and then endure a range of provocative assaults he was confident she’d never known, likely never imagined. But rather than saying stop, as he’d assured himself he would have done if she’d said the word, she had given herself to him openly, eagerly, coming close to begging him not to stop.
Now, after more assaults on her body and spirit than he cared to catalogue, she’d confessed that she wore the scandalous underwear to prove to herself, and to him, that she could be as sexy and as provocative as he was. Blinded by the knowledge that this gorgeous woman who was more than the equivalent of the most incendiary men’s magazine’s centerfold was as innocent as she was, he forced himself to pull back. Managing to contain his fearsome arousal, he smiled down at her. Knowing it was foolish to think that she didn’t see the tears that were escaping his eyes, he managed to murmur, “Jesus God, Tara, if you were any sexier, any more provocative then you are, I would have to clothe myself in a Kevlar bodysuit to keep from assaulting you the moment I saw you. As it is, darling, I’m going to try not to embarrass myself by spilling like a randy teenage boy and instead make love to you the way that you deserve.”
Griffin was gratified when she brushed at the tears on her face and then at the ones on his, and asked tremulously, “How . . . how would that be, Griffin? What way do I deserve?”
He groaned and said as he rose up over her, “Christ, baby, the way that a woman deserves to be fucked, a woman who is even sexier, more provocative than her outrageous underwear. As for how she deserves to be loved, make that harder and deeper and more lovingly than her besotted lover had known he was capable of.”
****
Long after he’d taken her slowly, then deeply, determined to listen to her body and stunned at her glorious response to his amorous initiatives, he was surprised when she murmured after coming down from a body-shaking orgasm, “Griffin, can . . . can I make love to you? Try to make you feel the way you make me feel?”
“Ah, darling, let me be clear. First, you can do any goddamn thing to my body that your little heart desires. As long as it doesn’t include cuffing me to a tree, then hopping on the Harley and leaving me to the mercy of the pronghorn, javelina, coatimundi, and black bears. Hell, if I’m lucky, they may call on their reptile buddies to come and have at me. I understand that the Sonoran mountain kingsnake and black-tailed rattlesnakes are plentiful in these parts. Second, sweetheart, know that those varmints are no doubt sending out alarms to their brethren indicating that an outrageous man has invaded their territory. According to them, that horny human beast, along with the most beautiful woman in the world, has been putting on a show the likes of which those critters have never seen. Third, in case you didn’t know the roar that you elicited from me following what has to be one of the most righteous orgasms this particular beast has ever achieved confirmed that as amazing as you must feel, know that if anything, I’ve never felt as well-loved as I feel now.”
Tara nodded as if in agreement, then said wistfully, “It’s just that you are touching me in ways and in places that I never knew were so . . . sensitive.” Giving way to what sounded like frustrated disbelief, she added, “Honesty, Griffin, I’m beginning to think I’m just one big all-encompassing erogenous zone that I never knew I was.”
He grinned down at her and winked. “And that is a problem because . . . ?” When she frowned, Griffin realized that she was serious, that for some unfathomable reason, she truly believed that he wasn’t as affected by her as she was by him. Acknowledging that their actual sexual experiences were light-years different from one another, he pulled her up next to him and went to what he now understood was at the heart of her concerns. Reaching for her chin, he forced her to meet his gaze.
“Tara, I know that you and I have radically different histories when it comes to sex. And, honey, I’m not proud of mine. I’ll admit I know women’s bodies. Frankly, I’m a connoisseur. Over too many years and waaaay too many women, I’ve learned how and where to reach their most sensitive, erotic places. I’d be lying if I said anything different.” Feeling her tighten and pull back, he shook his head. “Uh-uh, sweetheart, hear me out. Note that I said we have different histories when it comes to sex. But I’m going to go out on a big freakin’ limb and say that when it comes to love and lovemaking, our experiences are the same. We are both newbies.”
At her questioning frown, he explained. “Tara, I admitted earlier that I’m falling in love with you. I’m going to go one step further and tell you that you are the first woman that I’ve made love to.” At her frowning start, he put his finger on her lips, not letting her interrupt. “I admit that I’ve had sex with hundreds of women. But . . . I’ve never made love to anyone—until you. And sweetheart, while your sexual experience pales in comparison to mine and, thank God, is not as avaricious as mine has been, I know that you have never made love to anyone but me.”
Seeing the understanding dawning in her luminous eyes, Griffin said gruffly, “So, in answer to your original question, yes, Tara, you can love me. And yes, you can do any damn thing you want to my body, experiment with me in any way you wish, drive me out of my ever-loving mind with your audacious, amorous overtures. But you need to know no one has ever made me feel physically or emotionally loved the way that you have. To reiterate, for the first and last time in my life, I’ve fallen in love—with the most wonderful woman in the world. You.”