If Ever I Fall (Rhode Island Romance #1) (16 page)

Willa could only
nod her head.

He trailed his
fingers across her forearm. “You’re tired,” he whispered huskily. “And still in
a state of shock, I think. As much as I want to be inside of you right now, I’m
not going to make love with you. Not yet. Go to sleep.”

As his fingers
continued their slow, lulling caress, Willa found herself drifting, falling
deeper into a state of tranquility and warm bliss. Her heavy eyelids drooped
and then shut. She sank into sleep.

The
aroma of coffee awakened her. She gradually opened her eyes. The comforter was
tucked closely around her body. There was a small square of sunshine on her
pillow. She moved her head into it, smiling as the filtered warmth kissed her
face.

With the sun at
that angle, it must be early afternoon. She’d never slept in this late before.

And then she
remembered what had happened.

She bolted upright,
the comforter falling to her naked waist. Her eyes darted around the room.

Joe wasn’t there.

Her robe was draped
across the chair in front of the vanity table.

The door was
closed.

Willa scooted to
the edge of the bed and placed her feet on the floor. She stood up slowly,
testing her limbs.

The shakiness was
gone.

In fact, she felt
wonderful. Refreshed. Excited.

She slipped on a
fresh pair of underwear and a pair of jeans. Deciding to go braless, she tugged
a loose, pale blue cashmere sweater over her head.

She was still
wearing the socks Joe had put on her feet.

Her pulse quickened
as she opened the door and walked down the hallway towards the living room and
kitchen. Rounding the corner, she instantly spotted Joe standing at the stove,
spatula in hand as he watched whatever he was cooking up in the frying pan. He
was dressed in his jeans and tee-shirt; they looked clean and dry.

As if sensing her
presence, he pivoted towards her. A smile creased his face. “Hey there. How are
you feeling?”

She walked towards
him, pausing at the counter. “Warmer.” She smiled back. “How long was I
asleep?”

“A couple hours.”

They stared at each
other for a while.

Willa wrinkled her
nose. “Is something burning?”

“Oops.” He turned
back to the stove, flipped something over with the spatula. “Stop distracting
me,” he ordered, teasing. “Or it’ll be cereal for lunch for you.”

She moved into the
kitchen, coming to stand beside him. “What are you making?”

“Grilled cheese
sandwiches. There’s tomato soup in the pot. Give it a stir, will you?”

“I didn’t know I
had tomato soup in my pantry.”

“You didn’t. I went
to Dave’s Market while you were sleeping. A grilled cheese sandwich with tomato
soup is the favorite comfort food for the Rossetti family.” He nodded towards
the kitchen window. “And it looks like it’s going to rain any minute. That’ll
make this taste even better.”

Willa lifted the
lid from the pot and stirred the soup with a wooden spoon. Her smile broadened.
“Are we going to have cookies and milk for dessert? That was my aunt’s comfort
food for me.”

He gently nudged
her shoulder with his arm. “And a bedtime story if you’re a good girl.”

She blushed.

Joe scooped the
sandwich onto a plate. He added some butter to the pan before placing another
sandwich inside. He turned towards her, leaning one hip against the counter. “You
are hungry, right?” he asked.

“Yes. I didn’t have
breakfast.”

“Don’t you usually
take your walk earlier in the morning?”

“Usually. But
Collette came over for coffee. Once she gets to talking…”

Her voice drifted
off. While she’d been speaking, Joe had reached forward to tuck a strand of
hair behind her ear. His hand lingered, one inquisitive finger tenderly
investigating the shell of her ear.

“Yeah, she’s a
talker,” he murmured, distracted.

“She’s gone to
Foxwoods with her mother for the weekend.”

He frowned. He
dropped his hand, fisting it on his hip. “When did she leave?”

“Around
nine-thirty.”

“That’s strange.
She called me yesterday and asked me to come over to pick something up. She
said it was something important for the desk I’m building for you. Some kind of
surprise.”

“She asked you to
come over today?”

He nodded. “She
said she’d be shopping in the morning but would be back by eleven. I got here
early and decided to drive down to the park.”

Willa felt the
color drain from her face. “So it was just a coincidence, you being there.”

“Two minutes after
I parked my truck, I saw you jogging on the sandbar. I wondered what the hell
you were doing. It was too windy to be out there. I was already getting out of
the truck when I saw you fall in the water.”

He reached forward,
grabbed her by the shoulders and brought her against his chest. His arms
wrapped around her back. “
Jesus
, Willa. My heart stopped when I saw you
fall in. I felt like I was in one of those horrible nightmares where my feet
felt like they were in quicksand. I couldn’t run fast enough. I thought I
wouldn’t make it in time.”

She curled her arms
around his waist and rested her cheek against his chest. “But you did. I knew
the moment I saw you that you would save me.”

He brought one hand
to her head, slowly trailed his fingers through her hair. “If anything had happened
to you…” His embrace tightened.

“I know,” she
whispered.

He took a step
back, cupped her face in his hands and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “This is
all I dare give you right now,” he muttered, his voice shaking. “You need to
eat.” He kissed her again before returning his attention to the stove.

Willa’s senses sang
with anticipation and desire. So overcome with these feelings, it took a while
for Collette’s plotting to sink in. Collette had intentionally lured Joe here
and had made sure Willa would be home today. Willa wondered what the note on
Collette’s door said. She doubted it was addressed to the UPS man. It probably
instructed Joe to go knock on Willa’s door.

But Willa couldn’t
find any anger towards her friend. Unwittingly, Collette’s maneuverings had
placed Joe in the right spot at the right time.

If he hadn’t been
there…

She shoved that
thought to the back of her mind. He
had
been there. And he was here now.
And there wasn’t a doubt in her mind as to where both of them would be as soon
as they were done with their lunch.

She set the table
and poured the coffee. She opened a tin of fresh cookies and put some on a
plate. Joe scooped the soup into individual bowls and carried them to the
table, then brought over a plate of sandwiches, cut in halves.

He sat down across
from her. “Dig in,” he encouraged, his eyes mirroring the anticipation that
glimmered from hers.

As they ate in
companionable silence, the rain began to fall, plinking lightly on the
windowpanes and the gutters. The sky had darkened, giving the illusion of early
evening.

Willa felt as if
she and Joe were nestled in their own private cocoon. Right now, nothing
existed outside of this room. Nothing mattered except the here and now.

She finished her
soup and ate two sandwiches. Joe demolished the rest. As they sipped their
coffee and nibbled at the chocolate chip cookies, a delicious tension moved
into the space between them, tightening the air.

Her breaths came in
short, shallow pants. She moistened her lips, her gaze lingering on his neck,
the way his Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed his coffee. Her eyes drifted
upwards to his firm jaw, his sculpted lips, the tinge of red along his
cheekbones.

He set down his
coffee cup. “Are you on birth control?” he asked, his voice strained.

She nodded. Her
eyes flickered up to his. Her pulse skittered out of control as she felt the
force of the desire that blazed from his eyes.

“I bought condoms
while I was at the store,” he said. “I’m safe, but I’ll use them. But, very
soon, I’ll want to be bare inside of you. I want to feel you, skin to skin.”

She liked the
directness of his words, the absolute certainty behind them. She returned his
bold gaze with one of her own. “Yes.”

He scraped his
chair back from the table and stood. He came to her in two swift strides,
lifted her from her chair and into his arms.

She gave a startled
huff of laughter as he carried her down the hallway. “You seem to have a thing
for carrying me,” she said breathlessly.

His smile stretched
across a face that was rigid with need. “You’re light as a feather. With that
mop of brown hair and those big, gorgeous eyes, you remind me of a little
mouse.”

If there had been
any ounce of doubt in her heart about the choice she was making, it vanished at
that very moment.

He was hers.

Only hers.

In the bedroom, he
set her on her feet and stepped back only far enough so that he could yank off
his shirt. She lifted her sweater over her head and let it drop to the floor.

She kept her arms
loose at her sides, offering her breasts to his keen gaze. He stood still for a
few moments, simply staring at her. A flush of red rose up his neck. He
swallowed hard. “You are so pretty.”

She felt a
corresponding flush spread across her skin, a visible testament to the inner
glow that was spreading like warm honey throughout her body. Her breasts
swelled, her nipples hardened.

Joe took a lurching
step forward and cupped one breast with a hand that was hot and shaking. He
slowly rubbed his thumb against her skin. “I love how soft they are,” he said
on a hoarse breath. “I need to taste.”

Willa gasped as he
lowered his head and gave the breast he held a light, venerating kiss. She
grabbed his arm, her knees threatening to buckle when he took the nipple into
the hot, wet cavern of his mouth and suckled. His delighted groan vibrated
against her skin as he brought his free hand to her other breast, squeezing
lightly before sliding his mouth over to give it equal attention. 

Willa shivered. She
brought her hands to his head, sifted her fingers through his thick, wavy hair,
urging him with her touch to fondle and suckle and lick as much as he pleased.

She didn’t
recognize the mewing, pleading sounds coming from her throat as his mouth
traveled down her torso and kissed and nibbled at her quivering skin. Her
excitement soared to a higher level when he dropped to his knees, unsnapped the
button of her jeans and tugged the zipper down. He looked up at her, the
promise of sex and sin in his eyes as he pulled her jeans down until they
puddled at her feet.

“Step out of them,”
he whispered, his breath warm against her stomach.

She placed one hand
on his shoulder to keep herself from toppling forward. She kicked the jeans
into the corner and almost lost her balance in her hurry.

He chuckled softly
against her stomach. Then he hooked a hand behind her left knee, bringing her
leg up and over his shoulder so that the damp folds of her feminine core were
fully exposed to his lascivious gaze.

“So pretty,” he
breathed just before he set his mouth there, his tongue finding her clitoris
with ease, licking and tasting, coaxing it from under its protective hood.

She pressed her
fingers against his scalp, closed her eyes, arched her back and let out a long,
discordant moan, feeling a climax rapidly building. She’d never approached
orgasm so quickly before.

Joe clamped one arm
across her hips, his outspread hand on her bottom, fingers lightly digging into
the crevice between her cheeks as he pulled her closer to his wicked mouth. Her
moans escalated in volume when she felt the fingers of his other hand spreading
her outer labia wider. When his tongue delved inside of her and licked her
inner walls, Willa exploded. Light and color flashed behind her closed eyelids;
her body felt aflame with liquid, pulsing heat.

She thought she
might have screamed, but her heart was hammering so loudly in her ears she
couldn’t be sure. She swayed forward, her leg threatening to collapse. Joe
unhooked her other leg from his shoulder and stood up, keeping steadying hands
around her waist. He walked her backwards towards the bed and gently pushed her
down, leaving her legs to dangle over the side in lewd abandon.

She lay there, arms
outspread, fingers stretched, feeling languid in the aftermath of the most
intense orgasm she’d ever experienced. She gazed up at him with slumberous eyes
as he bent over to remove his jeans and briefs. His penis was so hard it sprang
upwards, the tip brushing against his stomach.

His breath hissed
between his teeth as he quickly moved over to her nightstand and retrieved a
box of condoms from the drawer. His hands trembled as he opened the box and
then one of the foil packets. She watched with an avid gaze as he prepared
himself to take her.