A Man Not Her Own Read online

  “You’re one smart woman, Sarah Smiles.” He opened the door to the darkroom. “Enough about our kids. We have one glorious week to ourselves. I for one aim to have a hell of good time with a beautiful lady I like and admire very much.”

  “Are you trying to sweet talk me, Mitch Defalco?”

  He smiled that killer smile. “Is it working?”

  Sarah kissed his cheek as she passed him going into the darkroom. “Yes, I’d say it’s definitely working.”

  “Good. Wouldn’t want all this charm to go to waste.”

  “If you were any more modest, you’d be downright dangerous.”

  Mitch chuckled as he closed the door and walked the four feet to where Sarah stood. He hauled her in his arms and kissed her. It was like they’d taken up where they’d left off the other night. The intensity of the kiss caught her unawares and her legs went all rubbery.

  Before Sarah could sink to the floor, Mitch tightened his hold and slid his hands down her back, cupping her bottom and pulling her as close as clothing would permit. He kissed her hard and deep, plunging his tongue into her mouth and at the same time, walking her backward until she was flattened against the wall.

  When his arousal pressed against her stomach, her heart suddenly thudded in her chest. Bile rose in her throat and Sarah struggled for breath, fighting the smothering sensation and the blackness closing in around her. She shuddered at the clammy wetness of cold sweat trickling down her back and between her breasts. Dear God, it was the nightmare all over again.

  She couldn’t do this. Not here. Not now. Clutching Mitch’s shoulders, she pushed with all her might.

  “Sarah? What’s wrong?” He stepped back, his eyes dark and serious. “Are you all right?”

  “No.” She swallowed the lump in her throat and tried desperately to catch her breath. “I... I panicked. I don’t know why. Oh, Mitch. What if this doesn’t work?”

  “It’ll work. I moved too fast. I didn’t let you have control. I’m sorry. My fault. It’ll work, Sarah. Believe me. Damn it, I came on too strong.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “I want our first time to be perfect. In bed with candles and moonlight. Music and flowers. And I want you to feel in control.”

  Sarah tried to smile. Her knees still felt a little wobbly. “I want it to be perfect, too.”

  Stepping closer, Mitch carefully took her in his arms and leaned his forehead against hers. “It will be perfect. I promise.”

  Sarah stroked his beard-stubbled cheek. “Thank you for going to all this trouble.”

  He touched a finger to her lips. “Hey, no trouble. I’m getting to spend time with you. Alone. Finally. With no kids.” He grinned that bad-boy grin she was beginning to love so well. Then he kissed her swiftly, gently, before moving away. “So, let’s develop some of those pictures from the other night. Then we’ll have a romantic dinner at the restaurant. Just you and me. Candlelight and good food. And no kids.”

  Sarah smiled for real this time. “Sounds heavenly.”

  “After that, we’ll go to your place,” he said. “I want to sleep with you in my arms, Sarah. Even if all we do is sleep.”

  Heavenly indeed.

  ****

  Mitch cursed himself for the hundredth time that evening for being such a horny bastard. He’d almost lost it in the darkroom when he’d been kissing Sarah. Damn, he hated that she’d panicked.

  After that, he’d kept his hands pretty much to himself. Oh, he’d snuck in a few touches, here and there, while he’d developed some of the pictures. His restraint was rewarded when Sarah began leaning close, putting her hand on his back, on his arm.

  He’d had to call it quits, because his damn hands had been shaking so much, he couldn’t do the work required to process the film.

  They picked up a pizza at Defalco’s, deciding to take it home instead of eating in the crowded restaurant. His brothers gave him the thumbs up when they saw him with Sarah. He hoped like hell she hadn’t noticed.

  Now, they were sitting on her back porch swing, enjoying a cup of coffee and the symphony of night music played by the crickets and frogs.

  “This is nice,” Sarah said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

  “Very nice.” He took her empty cup, set it on the floor next to his, and hauled her onto his lap.

  “Another lesson?” she asked, draping her arms around his neck.

  “Yeah, another lesson.” Searching her face for any sign of fear, he saw nothing but trust and maybe a little bit of eagerness. Thank God. “Is that okay with you?”

  “I don’t think I’ll panic this time.” Before he could say anything, she pulled his head down and kissed him, open-mouthed, her tongue making little forays in and out and all around.

  Mitch groaned and held her close, relishing the feel of her in his arms, aware of her bottom sitting snugly on his crotch. He needed to keep a tight rein on his galloping libido. He couldn’t remember ever wanting a woman this badly.

  He tried to keep his hands from wandering, but with little success. Easing a palm over one breast, he rubbed and caressed, all the while, gauging her reaction. When Sarah sighed into his mouth, Mitch exhaled a long pent up breath. After a moment, he couldn’t stand it any longer and slipped his fingers beneath the hem of her blouse and deftly unclasped her bra.

  Sarah jerked back, her eyes luminescent in the moonlight. For a minute, he thought she was going to call a halt to the whole thing. Instead, she leaned forward again and kissed him harder, more fervently.

  “Touch me,” she whispered.

  Sending up another silent prayer of thanks, Mitch cupped the bare flesh and nothing had ever felt more wonderful, more erotic. Damn, they weren’t even naked yet.

  “Sarah, look at me.”

  She licked her lips and gazed into his eyes. How easily he could lose himself in their fathomless depths. “You okay?” With his hand on her breast, he kneaded gently, brushing his thumb back and forth across the pert nipple.

  For a moment, she didn’t answer, then she took hold of his left hand and moved it to the other breast. “I’m okay now.”

  Hands filled with soft woman, Mitch kissed her, and thank God, she kissed him back. He definitely didn’t want a repeat of what had happened in the darkroom earlier in the evening.

  Sarah moaned and wiggled against him. He was so painfully hard, he thought he might bust the zipper on his jeans. He needed a distraction. Hell, he needed a cold shower. No way could he get in a bed with Sarah in this state of arousal. He’d scare the bejeebers out of her and undo all the progress they’d made the last couple of weeks.

  “Sarah, we have to stop.”

  “I don’t want to stop.”

  Words every man loved to hear. With real regret, Mitch lifted Sarah from his lap and set her beside him on the swing. Confusion swam in her passion-glazed eyes. He kept one arm around her shoulders.

  “We have to slow things down, sweetheart. We have plenty of time.”

  She sighed and stuck out her lush bottom lip in a little pout. “I’m not going to panic this time.”

  “We still have our clothes on,” Mitch said. “You don’t know how you’ll feel naked in bed with me.”

  She leaned forward and kissed his chin. “I’m willing to give it a try.”

  She was murdering his good intentions. “We will, only we’re going to take it step-by-step. I want you to enjoy this.”

  “Oh, I’m enjoying it. Believe me.”

  Mitch glanced at his watch. Almost eleven. “Let’s get ready for bed. We’ll sleep together, and I mean really sleep. You can get used to me in bed in the dark and then we’ll take it to the next level tomorrow.”

  Dear God help him, he was going to take that cold shower before climbing into bed with sweet, sexy Sarah.

  ****

  Sarah snuggled closer to Mitch, under the covers in her bed. They’d both taken showers, separately, and dressed for bed—Mitch in a pair of boxers and his St. Jude medal; Sarah in the short gown she always wore at ni
ght.

  They might as well have been an old married couple as they performed their nightly rituals, dancing around each other, touching, yet not touching. Except they weren’t old and they weren’t married. They were barely dating, for heaven’s sake.

  Mitch kissed her, a swift peck on the lips, before sliding into bed. He raised the covers for Sarah to crawl in beside him where they lay together spoon-fashion. He said good night, smoothed her hair back so it wouldn’t tickle his nose, pulled her close, his hand thrown over her, lightly clasping her middle below her breasts.

  Her overly sensitive, aching, hard-nippled breasts.

  The room was dark with moonlight slanting in between the blinds. Mitch was breathing steadily; Sarah was not. Her heart beat a salsa rhythm in her chest. She tried closing her eyes, deliberately inviting sleep. It didn’t work. With Mitch plastered to her back, his long hairy legs rubbing against her bare ones, catching a wink of sleep was as allusive as capturing a butterfly without a net.

  A flickering flame of desire gradually built into a raging inferno of need and yearning. Instead of fear and panic, Sarah experienced a hunger so deep, so intense, she should have been scared witless. Wonder of wonders, she wasn’t.

  The clock on the nightstand showed it was a little after one. Sarah sighed and the movement made Mitch’s hand brush the underside of her breast, torturing her even more. He had been kindness and understanding itself. Who would have guessed bad-boy Defalco could be so tender, so patient?

  He expected Sarah to enjoy the lovemaking to its fullest extent, something she’d never done. Somehow she was certain, this time with Mitch, she’d fall over the edge and fly. If only he would let her. If only they could get on with the lessons.

  That moment in the darkroom, when she’d panicked, Mitch had rushed her and she’d felt powerless. He’d quickly apologized and made her comfortable again.

  She trusted him. She loved him.

  He kept insisting she would have the power when they finally made love. Was she brave enough to take the initiative right now? What would he do if she turned over?

  No sooner had the thought crossed Sarah’s mind, than she put it into action. To her surprise and joy, Mitch’s eyes were wide open.

  Sarah snuggled closer and was rewarded with a grin and a hard jab against her lower abdomen. Mitch smoothed her hair away from her face. “I thought you were asleep.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t want to wait until tomorrow, Mitch. I want to make love now.”

  The grin widened into an all out smile. “Are you sure? I wanted it to be perfect with candles and music—”

  “Shh.” Sarah put her fingers against his mouth, cutting off his words. “It is perfect. You’re here with me in my bed. The moonlight’s shining through the window. I’m ready for the final lesson. Please, Mitch. Make love to me.”

  Mitch had never refused a woman before and he had no intention of refusing Sarah now. He’d taken that cold shower and dulled the edge of his desire. Even so, lying in bed wrapped around this soft warm woman, he’d been extremely conscious of where her bottom jutted against his throbbing groin and how close his hand had been to her breast.

  Thank God Sarah had turned over when she did. He knew he’d never be able to sleep if they didn’t make love. He’d almost been ready to seduce her, kiss her, make her so hot for him—damn, he was a horny bastard. Maybe he wouldn’t have succumbed to his baser instincts. Luckily, he wouldn’t be put to the test.

  Now all he had to do was bring her slowly to his level of arousal and make sure she felt safe and loved—

  Whoa, Defalco! No way was this connected to love.

  What he needed to do was to make her feel relaxed, then seduce her until she was begging for mercy and take her to the heights of passion. From what she’d told him, she’d never climaxed. He wanted to make this good for Sarah. She deserved it.

  Sarah nuzzled his neck. “Please, Mitch?”

  Oh, yeah. “You got it, sweetheart.”

  She reared up and balanced on her elbow. “I want this. Truly, I do.”

  He rubbed his fingers over the upper portion of her arm. “Make sure, Sarah. Even though I took a cold shower, I’m still so hot for you that once we get good and started, it will be hard for me to quit.”

  “You took a cold shower for me?”

  Damn, she made it sound like it was the nicest thing a man had ever done for her. “Yeah, I did.”

  She leaned down and kissed him. The tenderest, sexiest kiss Mitch had ever received. He cupped her bottom and hauled her on top of him, his arousal right on target between her thighs. For a moment, he couldn’t breathe. Quickly, Sarah administered mouth to mouth and resuscitated him. His breath was coming in gasps; so was Sarah’s.

  Mitch broke the kiss. “I want to take your gown off, or you can take it off. I want to see you naked.”

  Sarah raised herself up and straddled him across his groin. Taking hold of the hem, she peeled the nightgown off, revealing her beautiful, perfect breasts. They jiggled when she tossed the garment to the floor.

  Mitch couldn’t wait, he had to touch and taste. He flipped her over and covered her body with his own. Her eyes widened and she bit her bottom lip. Slow down, Defalco.

  “You’re beautiful. I want to kiss you everywhere. Will you let me, Sarah?”

  She nodded, gripping his biceps tightly.

  He kissed her forehead, her nose, her chin. “We can stop any time you want.”

  “I thought you said it would be hard—I mean, difficult—to stop.”

  He kissed her neck and behind her ear. “It will be, but you have the power, Sarah. You’re in charge.”

  “You keep saying that. But do I really?”

  The question, the entreaty in her voice broke past the desire riding roughshod over Mitch’s body. He told himself to slow down and focus on Sarah. He was going to have to go about this from a totally different angle. Where he found the strength, he didn’t know. All he knew was—this one was for Sarah.

  Mitch moved from on top of her and returned to his side of the bed, lying on his back. Her shock and confusion, added with a dollop of curiosity, made him want to haul her back into his arms and kiss her until they were both breathless.

  She knelt by his side, swiping her tousled hair from her face, her breasts bouncing with the movement. “You’re quitting? You don’t want to make love?”

  “Do I look like I don’t want to make love to you?”

  Sarah let her eyes glide down Mitch’s chest, his stomach, past his bellybutton and the dark hair arrowing beneath the waistband of his boxers. The bulge was unmistakable proof that he was still aroused and still wanted her.

  She had the uncontrollable urge to touch him. Damn, she’d been married and had a child, yet when it came to sex, she was still a novice.

  “You can touch me, Sarah. You’re in control.”

  “I’m in control,” she said softly. “I’m in control.” She reached out and stroked him, surprised at his sharp intake of breath.

  Smiling, she stroked him again, and Mitch grabbed her wrist. “As much as I like that, you’re going to have to stop or I’m going to lose it. Kiss me, Sarah.”

  Leaning over him, she touched her lips to his. Then she straddled him again, scrunching down until the tip of his arousal prodded her between the thighs.

  She wiggled and kissed Mitch, her body humming with desire and want and need. She didn’t know what to do. With Ryan, she had always submitted passively to his caresses, never taking an active role in their lovemaking. She was woefully ignorant. “Help me, Mitch. I need my teacher back.”

  She pulled on his shoulders and he wrapped his arms around her, switching positions again, pushing her into the soft mattress. “I’ll take it slow. I want this to be good for you.”

  “I want this to be good for both of us.”

  Mitch grinned wickedly. “Oh, it’ll be good for me. There’s no doubt about it.”

  He kissed the sensitive skin between her neck a
nd shoulder, licking his way to her breasts. Sarah arched her back, offering, inviting him to taste. Mitch didn’t disappoint her, yet he didn’t immediately satisfy the deep craving building inside. He licked the base of one nipple, laving the flat of his tongue under the soft curve of her breast, kissing the brown areola of the other, back and forth, never directly touching her nipples, driving Sarah crazy.

  Mitch kept taunting with kisses, tongue and delicate bites. If he didn’t take her nipple into his mouth soon, she was going to die. “Mitch, please,” she said on a moan, arching her back as high as she could.

  With each hand cupping a breast, he gently pinched the sides of her nipples and suckled one, then the other. Sarah nearly bucked off the bed and covered her mouth with her hand, moaning, silently screaming, finally falling off the edge into a sensual realm she’d only dreamed about.

  When he’d wrung the last bit of delicious pleasure from her breasts, Mitch kept his hands on her, kissing his way to her mouth again. She stroked his cheeks with trembling fingers. Incredible. He’d made her feel incredible.

  “You liked?” he asked, kissing her softly on the lips.

  Sarah nodded—she couldn’t speak. Not yet. Her body quivered with the aftershocks of her first orgasm and she gasped for breath, trying desperately to drag oxygen into her lungs.

  Mitch kissed her again and smiled that bad-boy smile of his. “Ready for more?”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “There’s more?” she managed to say, still floating in the pleasurable fog. Heaven help her, of course there was more.

  Mitch chuckled. “Oh, babe, we’ve barely scratched the surface and certainly not the itch.” He grinned. “Want me to continue?”

  He was killing her, but dear lord, what a way to go. She’d been missing so much for so long. “Yes, please.”

  “I’m not making you uncomfortable? You’re not panicking?”

  He had to be kidding. Sarah shook her head. “I’m past the panic stage. I want you inside me. I need you inside me.” She discovered she’d never needed anything so badly in her life. “Please, Mitch.”

  Again he chuckled. Damn him.