Nobody's Perfect Page 12

  But he wasn’t straddling her like she had been him. He was lying almost full-length on her. His face was very close to hers and she could feel his breath warm her skin. His hands held each side of her face.

  “So you want to play dirty, huh?” His eyes glinted with mischief.

  Now he had both hands full of her hair, and she couldn’t turn her head to either side, even if she’d wanted to. Lowering his head only slightly, he kissed one corner of her mouth, then the other. Without parting his lips, he gently brushed back and forth across hers. Then, parting his lips only slightly, he nibbled at her full bottom lip.

  Nella had never experienced the sensations that were charging through her body. Her lower stomach was churning with feelings she had never felt with Nick.

  “Sam?” She opened her lips to whisper his name, and when she did, he gently traced her mouth with his tongue. He was driving her crazy. She could feel her entire body going limp with desire. Her heart was pounding so hard her chest ached. He moved a hand down to cup a breast as his lips fully claimed hers.

  Vaguely, they both became aware of Jake crying. In unison, as if in slow motion, they turned their dazed eyes in his direction to find him staring at a collapsed snowman.

  “Daddy! Help me!” Jake pleaded.

  Sam slowly raised himself from Nella.

  “We’ll continue this later,” he promised, as he went to help Jake repair the fallen snowman.

  Chapter 10

  Sam volunteered to clean up the kitchen while Nella got Jake ready for bed. He knew he should be confronting a lot of questions that were trying to surface, but he didn’t want to deal with anything, at this point, that might interfere with the new happiness he felt.

  He hadn’t felt this content, this happy—that silly grin was coming back on his face. He almost used the word “giddy” when trying to describe how he was feeling. He hadn’t felt like this since he was a child. He felt like a teenager, falling in love for the first time.

  Maybe he was falling in love for the first time. The thought stopped him dead still.

  Love? Could that be what was happening to him? He knew he hadn’t been in love with Vanessa when they married. Getting married just seemed the socially correct thing to do at the time. He also knew he’d never been truly in love. In fact, he hadn’t thought he was capable of loving a woman.

  The women he’d known were all shallow, and interested mostly in his money. Over the years he’d developed a callousness toward women in general, and lumped them all in his own little “love them and leave them” category.

  Then came Nella. Gentle, yet strong. Soft, loving, alluring, and, he was beginning to realize, very sexy, Nella. Her smoky blue eyes were beautiful. And that sensual mouth. He could picture that mouth—

  “Sam, you need some help finishing up?” Her voice from the doorway startled him back to reality.

  “No, I’m almost finished,” he answered, without turning around. He’d become partially aroused, just thinking about her.

  Nella went into the living room and stood looking out the window. Was she headed for a broken heart? She was definitely not a love ’em and leave ’em type, so the fact that she was considering making love with Sam made her know her emotions had advanced farther than she cared to deal with at this moment. Especially if she were going to continue her plan of getting to him before he got to her. She sure hoped she didn’t get caught in her own trap.

  Sam came up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. She could feel the warmth of his entire body pressed against her back. He rested his chin on her shoulder, his face pressed against hers.

  Together they stood silently watching the falling snow. Words didn’t seem necessary, as their thoughts were joined.

  The ringing phone startled them back to reality. Reluctantly, Sam walked to the phone and lifted the receiver to his ear.

  “Hello—No, I haven’t heard the weather tonight—Are you serious? No, we have everything we need, as far as I know—Okay, thank you for calling. Yes, I’ll let you know if we need anything.”

  Replacing the phone, Sam turned to Nella with a slightly concerned look on his face.

  “What?” she asked impatiently.

  “We’re going to be snowbound. That was Mr. Adams, and he says the weather forecasters are saying this could be the worst storm to hit this area in forty years. We could be snowed in for several weeks.” As he talked, he walked across the room to turn the television on. Every channel was covering the weather, and saying the same thing.

  Nella knew she should be concerned, but in this house with Sam, who always seemed so much in charge, she felt no fear. In fact, it was almost a comforting feeling to know they couldn’t go back to their other world for a while. And no one could get to them. A soft smile toyed with the corners of her mouth as she thought of the cozy aspects of being snowbound with Sam du Cannon, now that her feelings were changing toward him.

  Slowly she became aware that Sam stood staring at her.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Aren’t you going into hysterics or start demanding that we get airlifted out, or something typically female like that?”

  “Sam,” she said, in a condescending voice. “You really do disappoint me. Number one, that was a totally chauvinistic thing to say, and number two, you’ve known me long enough to know that I don’t do many things that are ‘typically female.’”

  “You mean you’re not concerned at all about being snowbound up here for an undetermined length of time?”

  “Well, as you showed me earlier, we have plenty of food, and heat, so why would I be concerned? This will be a new experience for me. We’ll make the best of the situation, and try to have a lot of fun. Are you worried?” She turned the question back to him.

  Suddenly a smile covered his entire face.

  “If we live together for fifty years, will you still continue to surprise me?”

  The question took them both by surprise.

  “I’ll try,” Nella whispered, for lack of a better answer. She had never thought of living with Sam for that many years.

  He clicked the TV off and came slowly toward her. Taking her by the hand, he led her to the couch and they sat down. He switched the lamp off. The only light in the room came from what drifted in from the light above the stove in the kitchen. They could see the falling snow through the sliding glass door. Sam still held her hand in his.

  “When I was a teenager, I had romantic fantasies about being caught in a snowstorm with a beautiful woman, and we had all the time we needed to make love over and over, with no interruptions. The only time I’ve ever been snowbound with a woman before now was with Vanessa, and she went into a bitch fit that lasted the entire week we were here. We didn’t make love once. In fact, Vanessa and I never ‘made love.’ We had sex, but we never really made love. There’s a difference, you know.” There was a sadness in his voice that Nella had never heard before.

  All of a sudden she wanted to be that girl from his teenage fantasy. She wanted to show him how loving a woman could really be. She wanted to let him know that she did know the difference between having sex and making slow, gentle, long-lasting love.

  Reaching up, she pulled his head down to her. Her lips found his and she started slowly, sensually kissing him. His response was automatic as he drew her into his arms and deepened the kiss.

  Before the kiss went too far, Nella pulled back and reached up and started unbuttoning his shirt. She wanted to feel his skin touching hers. As she undid each button, she kissed the open spot that was exposed. She heard the low moan that escaped Sam’s throat as she made her way down to the last button. She pulled the shirt apart and placed her open hands on his chest, to feel the warmth and strength that came from him.

  Sam reached down and grasped the bottom of the sweater she had on, slipping it over her head. Then, slowly, he unhooked the back of her bra and removed it, to reveal her breasts to his hungry eyes. As he gently took them both in his hands, Nella leaned in
to him. A wave of pure ecstasy engulfed her as his hands worked their magic.

  But instead of losing control and letting him do all the work, she again took the lead. Leaning over, she placed her mouth over one of his nipples and gently nipped it with her teeth. She heard his sharp in-drawn breath and wondered if she was the first woman who’d ever introduced him to this pleasure. She teased the hardening nipple with her tongue and teeth, then moved her sweet torment to the other nipple to give it equal time.

  “You’re driving me crazy,” he groaned hoarsely.

  “That’s my plan,” she whispered back.

  Nella kissed her way down his stomach, stopping to give his deep navel special attention with her tongue. She could feel his arousal against her body. Her breasts rubbed against his clothing, teasing her tender nipples, giving her as much delight as she was giving him. She slowly undid his belt and pants, to expose his excitement.

  Sam, knowing he was too close to losing control prematurely, caught Nella’s hand, which was driving him crazy, and pulled her back up to him. Then together, in mutual consent, they slid off the couch onto the soft Persian rug on the floor.

  Now Sam was the one in charge. He kissed her hungrily, as if he’d never get enough of the feel of her soft, full lips. He traced kisses down her throat and nibbled at her breasts. He took long, gentle pleasure with her peaks and went repeatedly from one to the other, until Nella thought she’d go crazy from wanting him. Finally, he entered her, and together they reached that final crest at the same time. It was a moment they both knew was different than any either of them had experienced before.

  They made love several times that night. Each time seemed better than before. Sam was in awe that his fantasy was finally coming true, and Nella was making sure he’d never forget this time they spent together, even if he tried.

  Sometimes during the night, they wound up in Sam’s bed.

  Slowly, Nella came awake and opened her eyes to look directly into Jake’s questioning gaze. His chin rested in his hands as he leaned onto the bed and stared at her.

  “Whatcha doing in here?” he asked. “I went to get in bed with you, and you weren’t in your bed. Now here you are in Daddy’s bed.”

  Nella realized Sam was still asleep, so she whispered to Jake to be quiet, then gathered him into the bed beside her and wrapped her arms around him. He giggled and snuggled in as close as he could get.

  This was true happiness, Nella decided as she drifted back to sleep, her arms wrapped tightly around him.

  Sam came awake gradually. He realized his body spooned Nella’s perfectly. His right arm was around her waist and his face was half buried in her hair. As he remembered the night of pleasure they’d just spent, he automatically reached up and gently massaged one of her breasts.

  “Stop that, Daddy!” Jake’s small voice scolded, as he pushed Sam’s hand away from Nella’s breast.

  “Oh, hell!” Surprise registered in Sam’s voice. “How long has he been in bed with us?” he whispered into Nella’s hair.

  Nella had only dozed on and off after Jake got in bed with them. It was obvious the child’s sleep was over, but it felt so good to lie here with Sam’s arm around her. She was afraid if she moved, the night they’d just spent would become a memory, not to be repeated.

  “About an hour,” she said.

  “Well, how am I supposed to proceed with the plan I had in mind?” His voice was husky from sleep and emotion.

  “Oh, we’ll find a way,” she promised, wiggling her bottom seductively against his arousal.

  Jake, ready for his day to begin, sprang from the bed. “Come on, Mommy. I’m hungry.” He pulled on Nella’s hand.

  Sam’s moan was genuine as he reluctantly let Nella leave the bed. Her laughter followed her from the room.

  When Sam joined them in the kitchen, Jake was contentedly eating a bowl of oatmeal.

  Closing the refrigerator door, Nella turned to Sam as she heard him enter the room.

  “You know, the only thing that concerns me about this situation is milk. We only have a gallon left, and Jake’s really going to miss his milk.”

  “I don’t think that’ll be a real problem,” Sam answered, going to the door. A blast of cold air greeted them as he stooped down and picked something up. Closing the door, he handed Nella a gallon jar of ice-cold milk.

  “What on earth?” She took the milk and looked at Sam in disbelief.

  “The Allens have several milk cows. They always have fresh milk, butter, and cheese. Mr. Allen knew we’d need milk with a child up here.”

  “But how did he get it up here? And why isn’t it frozen?” The snow was still falling heavily, and the temperature had to be well below freezing.

  “Come here.” Sam motioned Nella to the window. “See those tracks out there?”

  Nella saw the deep grooves in the snow, and nodded her head.

  “Mr. Allen has a sleigh and an old mule named Fred who can travel these hills like a mountain goat. All Mr. Allen needs to do is hitch Fred to the sleigh and he can go just about anywhere he wants to, in practically any kind of weather.”

  “Then we really aren’t snowbound,” Nella mused. “Mr. Allen could rescue us any time we needed.”

  “Yes, that’s true.” Sam was standing close and looking deeply into Nella’s eyes.

  “Then why did you let me believe we were up here with no help?” Nella almost felt angry.

  “Partly because I wanted to see your reaction, and partly, and I guess mostly, because I was afraid you’d want to leave if you thought you could.” His voice was so sincere that the irritation Nella felt disappeared.

  “And you really wanted to sit this storm out, didn’t you?” Her voice was soft and understanding.

  “Yes.”

  “Sam, if you love this place so much, why haven’t you spent more time here?”

  “I’ve been asking myself that a lot these last few days.” He paused a moment, then continued. “So you aren’t angry with me for not being more honest with you?”

  “I really should be, but no, I don’t guess I am.” Nella tried to look stern, but couldn’t keep the smile from starting on her lips.

  He leaned down and kissed her gently. It was a different kiss. It was a warm and companionable kiss. It was a kiss of gratitude for her understanding. And it was a frightening kiss.

  The other kisses they had shared were lustful, sensual kisses that aroused her body, but this one touched, seared, and branded her heart, and she knew she was in trouble.

  Later, after lunch, Jake crawled up on the sofa to watch cartoons and was soon asleep.

  Nella went to Sam’s office. His door was open, but it was obvious he was busy working. She was trying to decide whether to disturb him or not when he sensed her presence and looked up.

  “Come on in,” he invited.

  “Well, I didn’t mean to bother you, but Jake’s asleep.”

  “Oh?” He tried to look as if he didn’t understand why she was telling him this, but didn’t quite hide the flash of his eyes.

  “Uh huh,” Nella said softly, “and I thought you might want to finish what you tried to start this morning.”

  “This morning?” He pretended not to remember.

  “Uh huh,” Nella repeated, coming to him. She started slowly unbuttoning her blouse.

  “Yes, I think I’m beginning to remember a little.” His husky voice belied the game he was playing.

  Nella placed her hands on each side of his head and pulled him to her. She drew his face close enough that his lips were touching one of her nipples. She slightly moved her breast, causing his lips to open, and she could feel his hot breath through the material of her bra.

  Not being able to hold out any longer, Sam opened his mouth to playfully nip and tease her nipple though the lace of her bra.

  Laughing softly, Nella said, “I believe you just regained your memory, Mr. du Cannon.”

  Reaching behind her, Nella undid the hooks on her bra to let her breasts
free for Sam’s eager touch. She slowly and sensually unfastened Sam’s pants, and freed him so she would have enough access to give him pleasure. She placed her hands on his shoulders and playfully teased his mouth with her breasts, then straddled his lap and captured what he so willingly offered.

  Later, as they lay exhausted from making love, Sam said, “You are, without a doubt, the most passionate woman I’ve ever known. And you turn me on more than any woman ever has.”

  Not knowing what to say, Nella just reached up and lightly kissed him. “You ain’t seen nothing yet,” she whispered.

  Soon they both drifted into a contented sleep.

  Nella woke first. She lay quietly and watched Sam sleep. He truly was a beautiful man. In sleep, his chiseled features softened to become almost boyish. As she lay watching him his eyes drifted languidly open, as if he sensed she was memorizing his face.

  Embarrassed she had been caught, her own face blushed soft pink.

  He reached over and gently brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. “Lady, you must be having some very naughty thoughts, if getting caught looking at me makes you blush like that.” His hand trailed down to encircle her neck.

  “I was not!” she denied too quickly. “I was thinking you look like a little boy when you’re asleep.”

  “Well, I’m afraid this little boy is having some very big boy thoughts,” he said, reaching for her.

  “Sam,” she protested with fake consternation. “You’re going to wear yourself out.”

  “Not this time. I’m going to let you do all the work for a change.”

  Knowing exactly what he wanted, Nella slowly and carefully mounted him. She reveled in the excitement the position was giving her, and again, together they reached the pinnacle that only two people lost in pleasing each other can reach.

  Eventually they lay flat on their backs, eyes closed, once again exhausted.

  “My fantasy was never this good,” Sam whispered.

  Mission partly accomplished, Nella thought, but only smiled and said, “Hmmm.”