Loving Bailey (8 page)

Bailey carried the plates to the small table
by the window and Spencer followed with glasses and another bottle
of wine. While he opened and poured, she looked out over the almost
dry lake bed. In other times, they would have been able to see the
moon reflected in the surface of the water instead of shinning on
the bent over grass of the lake turned field.

“You know, they don’t know where the water
goes when it drains away. Not exactly anyway,” she said, taking a
swallow of her wine.

“I think I read about that.” He loaded his
fork with chevre and baby greens. “They tried some kind of
radioactive dye, right? But not all of it came out where they
expected.”

“Yes, and now they’re talking about filling
the wholes which let the lake drain.”

“It seems a shame to mess with something
that’s been doing its thing for over 4,000 years. Of course, it
would help your business if it filled back up again.” Spencer took
another bite of his salad and waited for her to answer.

“Anything that helps the lodge helps my
business. I’ve managed to make Seasons a destination in its own
right but we need more traffic to be sustainable.”
I don’t want
to worry about work. Can we please get back to the sex and us
having some?
She took a swallow of wine so she wouldn’t say the
words out loud.

Spencer finished his salad and rose, but when
she started to follow him he stopped her. “Sit, I can handle the
lamb and peas. They don’t let just anyone wear the apron.” He
brushed her shoulder with his hand on his way to the kitchen, and
even that simple touch scorched her skin through the thin fabric of
her dress.

She sipped at her wine so she’d have
something to do to keep from chasing him into the kitchen, pushing
him back against the counter and kissing him senseless. By the time
he came back, carrying plates of seared lamb chops and snow peas,
her glass was empty again. She had to slow down on the wine.

In culinary school and later working in other
restaurants, she done her fair share of drinking and built up a
pretty high tolerance for someone her size. But the last thing she
wanted to be tonight was drunk. Barely tipsy to knock her nerves
back would be good but not drunk.

Spencer set the plate in front of her, sat
down opposite her and waited expectantly for her to taste the
food.

“Go on, go on,” he said motioning with his
hands. “How did I do?”

Bailey cut into the gray lamb and fought the
urge to cringe, taking a bite instead and chewing carefully. The
meat was way past medium rare, but it tasted good so that’s where
she decided to focus.

“It’s good,” she said.

His answering smile of pleasure was worth a
little overcooked lamb, and the peas were so fresh and sweet, they
would have been delicious raw or charred. Spencer’s were somewhere
in between.

“Told you,” he said, filling her glass and
then his. “I’m a man of many talents.”

“I don’t doubt that.” She took a sip of her
wine and wondered which of his talents she’d get to see next.

“I thought we could have dessert in the
living room if that’s okay,” he said when they’d finished the
lamb.

“That sounds great. What can I do to
help?”

“Not a thing. Go relax in front of the fire.
I’ll be there in a minute.” He bent and kissed her, just a quick
touch of his lips to hers, but it was enough to have her reaching
up, her body instinctively moving toward his. When he pulled away,
she made a disappointed noise and he grinned. “Less than a
minute.”

He carried away the dishes and Bailey stood,
wobbling a little on her heels.
Definitely lay off the wine
,
she thought. She walked carefully to the living room and settled
herself on the buttery leather sofa in front of the fireplace. The
fire was gas instead of wood, but it didn’t diminish the charm of
sitting in the rustic cottage lit with the warm glow of the
fireplace. She slipped out of her shoes and tucked her feet up
under her.

The food and wine combined with the dim light
and warmth of the fire lulled her, and she stifled a yawn. She
looked around to make sure he hadn’t seen. Nothing sexier than your
date yawning. Shaking her head slightly to clear it, she forced
herself to sit straighter on the impossibly comfortable sofa.

Spencer came in carrying a tray with a bowl
of strawberries, the artisanal chocolate they’d gotten at the
market and two short snifters of amber liquor. He set the tray on
the coffee table and settled himself on the sofa next to her. His
face was chiseled and undeniably masculine in the glow of the fire,
and the top buttons of his shirt hung open. She stared at his
throat, hypnotized, imagining what it would be like to kiss him
there and feel the beat of his pulse under her lips.

“It’s brandy,” he said, snapping her out of
her fantasy. “The candy lady said it was - I think the word was
transcendent - with these.” He handed her the glass and then held
one of the small rectangles of chocolate to her lips. She bit the
piece in half never taking her gaze from his and let the rich dark
chocolate melt in her mouth before taking a sip of the fiery amber
liquid.

“My God,” she said, closing her eyes in
pleasure as the warmth of the brandy flooded her. “It’s fantastic,
perfect, transcendent.”

“It certainly is,” he said, and then he was
taking the glass from her hands so he could taste the chocolate and
brandy from her lips.

He cupped her face in his strong hands,
threading his fingers through her hair and holding her in place
while he plundered her mouth. The chocolate and brandy were a heady
combination, but it was the man who had her pulse beating wildly
and her breath coming in shallow gasps. He kissed her, pulling her
to him and she followed, leaning against the hard length of his
body and giving into the sheer pleasure of his mouth on hers.

His arms slid around her and he ran his hands
up and down her back with slow, demanding strokes. She kissed her
way along his jaw, relishing the feel of his rough skin so unlike
her own under her lips. When she scraped his jaw gently with her
teeth, he groaned, sending pleasure uncoiling deep inside her.

He held her tighter, sliding her across his
lap until she was straddling him. Bailey rocked over him, pressing
his rigid length against the seam of her aching sex. She wanted him
so much, wanted this so much she thought she could come just from
the friction of pressing against him even through the damp silk of
her panties.

Spencer nipped her bottom lip, tugging the
plump skin between his teeth and then worked his way along her jaw
to the tender skin behind her ear. She tipped her head, offering
herself to him and shivered with pleasure as he moved his mouth
down her throat. He filled his hands with her breasts and she
arched, pressing her aching flesh closer.

He trailed kisses over the skin of her neck
and when he moved the fabric of her dress aside so his mouth could
play along the tops of her breasts, she thought she’d fly apart
with the delicious torment of it. She leaned back, watching his
reaction and reached between them for the tie on her wrap dress.
With unsteady hands, she pulled first one tie and then the other,
letting the dress fall open.

“My God, you’re beautiful, Bailey.” His blue
eyes went sapphire in the glow of the fire and she felt her skin
flush. “I want to explore every inch of you. Let me take you to
bed.”

She couldn’t speak so she simply nodded, and
his answering grin sent another flush of heat over her skin. He
kissed her hard and then help her stand, groaning a little when she
got off of him. With their fingers twined, they climbed the steps
to his bedroom.

She should tell him now she thought as she
padded along behind him bare foot. Just come out and say it.
You
probably didn’t realize this, but I’ve never actually had sex
before. I mean I’ve got a pretty fantastic vibrator, but as for sex
with an actual human man – not so much yet. But hey, we can take
care of that together right now, eh?
Lost in her ridiculous
train of thought, she caught her foot on the step and stumbled, but
Spencer steadied her before she hurt more than her pride.

“Easy,” he said, sliding an arm around her
waist.

She loved the way she could feel the heat of
his body along her side. With her dress hanging open, her nipples
tightened in the cool air and she could feel the start of goose
bumps on her skin, but the heat came off of Spencer in waves. She
wanted all that warm man stretched over her, covering her with his
body and warming her from the inside out.

When he opened the door to the bedroom, she
saw that at some point in evening he’d snuck up to light the
candles. The soft glow lit the warm bittersweet comforter, bathing
the room in rich golden light.

She looked from the candles to his face,
loving how all along he’d wanted her here and hadn’t tried to hide
it. When she arched an eyebrow at him and smiled, he held up his
hands in mock surrender.

“A man can hope,” he said, with the sheepish
expression she found so charming. “I wasn’t assuming. Just
optimistic.”

Bailey stepped through the door and into his
arms, letting her hands slide up his strong chest. She stood on
tiptoe to brush a kiss across his lips, and then went to work on
the buttons of his shirt. Her mouth followed her hands, nipping and
teasing each inch of skin as she exposed it. His chest was smooth,
mostly hairless with tight dusky nipples.

She pushed the white dress shirt off his
shoulders, letting it fall to the floor and then licked the
puckered flesh with the tip of her tongue. She felt rather than
heard the rumple of his chest under her mouth, making her wonder
for a moment what other noises he would make when she got her mouth
on him. When she reached for his pants, he stopped her, placing his
hand over hers and bringing it to his mouth so he could kiss her
palm.

“You first,” he said, his gaze locked on
her.

With warm, sure hands, he slid the dress off
of her shoulders and watched as it pooled at her feet, revealing
the purple lace and silk of her bra and panties. The way his eyes
went wide and dark was a balm for her bruised ego. No need to guess
whether he wanted her or not. It was written on his face and
obvious in the way his body reacted to hers.

Reaching for her, he pulled her against him
and kissed her like she was something good to eat. He found the
clasp on the back of her bra and with practiced efficiency, he
unfastened the hooks faster than she could have done it herself
even if her hands hadn’t been shaking. He leaned back, putting a
breath of space between their bodies and she shrugged her
shoulders, letting the scrap of silk and lace fall to the
floor.

Her nipples, already impossibly tight,
pebbled tighter in the cool air.

“Gorgeous,” he said. “You are so fucking
gorgeous.”

He cupped her breasts in his hands, brushing
his thumbs over her nipples, and her back bowed desperate for more.
When he bent his head to her and drew one of the peaks into his hot
mouth, her breath left her on a cry.

“So good,” she moaned, finally finding her
voice. “That feels so good.”

He moved from one breast to the other,
drawing spiraling circles around her nipples with the tip of his
tongue. When he reached the peak, he suckled her, molding her with
his mouth and focusing every nerve in her body into that aching bit
of flesh. With every tug of his lips and gentle graze of his teeth,
he forged a path between her nipples and her clit, the sensation
becoming so intense her knees shook.

She felt his satisfied chuckle rumble against
her aching flesh and knew he was completely aware of the effect he
was having on her.

“Lay back on the bed, baby. Spread yourself
open for me.” His voice was rough and she hoped she was having at
least as much effect on him as he was on her.

Bailey scrambled up on the bed and stretched
out on her back. She spread her legs wide and lifted her hips to
him. The air was like a cool kiss on the damp silk of her panties
and she knew the thong wasn’t providing any obstacle to his view of
her swollen sex.

He stopped, hand in his hair, momentarily
hypnotized by the view of her spread out before him. And then he
was moving again, drawing his belt from its loops with a snap which
made her mouth go dry. After they got this first time sex out of
the way, maybe they could try something more adventurous. She might
be a virgin, but she wasn’t timid, and she wanted this. Wanted
him.

He unfastened his pants and stepped out of
them, standing in front of her wearing nothing except a pair of
briefs, straining to cover what to her inexperienced eyes looked
like an impressive erection. He climbed onto the bed with her and
she realized she’d run out of time to say what she needed to say to
him.

“Wait,” she said, putting her hand on the
smooth, naked flesh of his chest. “There’s something I have to tell
you before we go any further.”

“I know you’re not a guy,” he said, glancing
at the tiny triangle of purple silk covering her sex. But his
normally playful smile seemed uncertain and he sat back on his
heels, watching her. “What is it? No diseases, right?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head, the
movement making it swim a little.
Too much wine.
“No
diseases and not a guy.” God, this wasn’t going to get any easier.
She just had to say it. “I’m a virgin.”

Bailey wasn’t sure what reaction she expected
but it certainly wasn’t the laughter she got.

“Stop it,” Spencer said, practically wheezing
with laughter. “You’re going to give me a heart attack.”

He started to move toward her again and again
she put her hand up.