It's in His Touch (15 page)

Their fit was pure perfection. Nothing like Angelique had ever known. They moved together, finding that perfect rhythm that only happened once in a lifetime. The fruition of partnering with the one person in the universe who was made just for you.

In mere minutes, her insides began to contract around him, and she clung to him with every ounce of strength she had.

“Jesus, Angelique, you fit me like a glove,” he said, his voice hoarse, his breathing hard, his heart pounding against hers.

He slid a hand under her bottom and gripped, reaching even deeper inside of her with each new stroke.

A shriek of pleasure that may have sounded like Blake’s name pierced the lusty haze that shrouded her mind. She plunged over the cliff of ecstasy again, her entire body writhing under him, and dragged him over with her.

They lay still for a long time, their heartbeats and breaths intertwining until they became one. When their breathing steadied, Blake rolled over onto his back and pulled her with him. One arm around her shoulders, the other stroked her hair.

“You okay?” he asked.

Still speechless from the unbelievable response he’d elicited from her body . . . twice . . . she nodded and placed a gentle kiss on his chest. Then she nuzzled her cheek into the same spot, one hand caressing his pec.

A band of crickets struck up a tune somewhere in the apartment.

“Thank you,” she mumbled against his chest. “For being so . . .”
Sweet. Hot. Big.
“. . . understanding.”

His fingers gently caressed her hair, and he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. “Only a wuss wouldn’t be.”

When she circled his nipple with one finger, his manhood twitched. She smiled, turned her lips on the other nipple, and drew it into her mouth. Another remarkable erection sprang to life and pressed against her hip.

“How many condoms do you have with you?” she asked, then nibbled at the taut nipple again.

“Enough.” He pulled her on top so she straddled him. “I promise you’ll leave here tonight sufficiently satisfied.”

“I’m counting on it,” she said, as he placed one hand at the nape of her neck and pulled her mouth to his. And she really was counting on it, because this would be the only time they’d be together as lovers.

C
hapter
T
welve

A sense of contentment that Angelique had never imagined cloaked her like the warm quilt she and Blake had just left behind in his old apartment. She wasn’t ready to let go of either Blake or the fulfillment he’d just given her. But she had to.

Sadness crept in to push out the warmth in her soul. And that old quilt? She could snuggle into it and stay forever, especially if Blake were in it too.

When they pulled into her drive, every light in the cabin was out. The same quiet peacefulness that had settled over her when she was in Blake’s arms blanketed the landscape at this late hour.

“Pull around to the back. Looks like everyone’s in bed,” Angelique said. Thank the angels in heaven because she really didn’t want to answer an onslaught of questions from Kimberly, especially with her parents visiting.

He parked and killed the engine.

“I’m fine from here. No need to walk me to the door.”

Of course he ignored her. He got out and met her on the other side of the truck. As they walked up the path toward the back door, his fingers threaded through hers. They climbed the steps in silence, except for the nocturnal insects that came alive every night. And Angelique’s heartbeat. It pounded in her ears. She jumped when an owl hooted from a nearby tree.

She should tell him now, tell him it had to be over before it ever really got started. A clean break would be the least painful for the both of them. Their lives were on separate paths, and they wanted different things in their futures.

Not true. Actually, they probably did want at least some of the same things. A family. Kids. Only she couldn’t have what she wanted, but he still could. Better to end it before her heart was broken all over again, because he’d already taken a piece of her soul tonight. Nothing would ever fill it the way he had with his tender lovemaking.

At the door, Blake pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Soft and sensual. He let out a satisfied sigh as he deepened the kiss, and it wrung the same involuntary response from her.

Finally he broke the kiss and brushed a strand of hair off her forehead. “You better go inside. You’re too loud for us to get started with your parents inside.”

She blew out a shy laugh.

He found her lips again, caressed them with his own. Pulling back just a breath, she traced his bottom lip with the tip of her tongue.

His arms tightened around her, and one hand sank to her butt. He molded her against his male firmness. He really was hard all over. Impressively so.

“Seriously,” he whispered against her lips. “You better go inside before I take you back to my place.”

That would be fine with her. Except that it wouldn’t.

“See you tomorrow?” he asked, staring down at her.

She hesitated. Tensed. And he went still.

“Blake, this is getting too complicated. I have to meet with your attorney next week.”

He dragged a hand over his jaw and hauled in a breath. “We’ll figure it out.”

With a shake of her head, she pushed out of his embrace. “There’s nothing to figure out. I’m a very good attorney. Do you know what that means?”

He shoved both hands into his pants pockets and looked out over the shimmering night sky. “It means you’re going to win, and this town will change forever.” He looked at her again. “And my work here will be over.”

“It means you won’t like me very much when I’m done here. It wouldn’t be the first time someone loathed me for being good at my job,” she said, her voice shaky. “You can do good work and help people anywhere, Blake.”

He smirked. “It’s not as simple as you keep trying to make it sound.”

“Life never is. That’s why this can’t be.” She waggled an index finger between them.

He stared at her for a second, then backed off the porch. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Misty images of Angelique panting his name and asking for more undulated through Blake’s dreams until he woke up in the purple haze of dawn with the quilt tenting.

Best night’s sleep he could remember in . . . well, ever.

He pulled himself out of bed, showered, and started working on a few repairs around the cabin. A leaky faucet, a few new nails in the back porch steps. His machete made quick work of the poison oak around his cabin so Angelique wouldn’t get another rash when she came over. If she came over.

Oh, she’d come over. He’d make sure of it.

The work kept him busy, but his thoughts didn’t stray from the hardheaded Italian beauty living next door. He hadn’t been able to focus all morning because of last night’s images of Angelique in the clutches of an orgasm while under him . . . on top of him . . . even when she’d pulled on his T-shirt and they’d gone into the kitchen for a drink of water, they’d somehow ended up against the wall making good use of another condom before finally collapsing into bed again.

She’d been every bit as beautiful naked as she was dressed. Of course he hadn’t seen her with the light on, but the plastic surgeon who had done her reconstruction was obviously good, because in the moonlight they looked natural and better than most real breasts he’d seen. Which was a lot, considering he was a doctor. He’d wanted to touch them, taste them, but she’d have to make that move eventually.

Hopefully there would be an eventually. Stubborn-ass woman.

By late morning, the mist had burned off, and the sun hung high and bright in the cloudless sky. Unable to stay away from Angelique any longer, he tossed his tools in the shed and headed across the footbridge.

As he walked up to Angelique’s cabin, Blake heard Sarge bark from the backyard. As he detoured around the side, Angelique and Kimberly’s voices pierced through the quiet morning air. He stopped and listened to them chat on the back porch.

“I told you Dr. Tall, Dark, and Hot-some was fling-worthy,” said Kimberly, apparently slurping a cup of coffee.

The corners of his mouth quirked up. They’d named him?

The robust scent made his mouth water for both the coffee and Angelique, and he suddenly wanted to curl up in a blanket with her and sip from the same mug. Right before he took her back to bed and made her scream his name all over again.

“It was one night,” Angelique said. “That’s it.”

“Doesn’t have to be,” her friend argued.

Damn straight it didn’t have to be, and he’d have to remember to thank Kimberly.

“My work here makes it impossible.” Angelique called to Sarge.

“Have you considered telling the firm to piss off? I mean, really, after Gabe the Douchebag was caught screwing your legal assistant on company property, they should’ve asked for his resignation, but they didn’t, and now he’s trying to pin his financial discrepancies and his case file mismanagement on you.”

Blake bristled. Tried to focus on the cedar siding of her cabin, counting the rings in the wood to keep himself from rounding the corner, demanding Gabriel’s address, and driving all the way to Albuquerque to relieve him of his ability to chew for a while.

“Gabriel can’t back up his accusations,” Angelique said.

“What if the firm believes him? They haven’t held him accountable for any of his behavior so far.”

“I’ll figure something out. I’m not about to let him ruin my chances for a partnership to save himself.” Angelique went quiet for a second. “He sent me a text this morning.”

Blake’s fists clinched.

“Said he wanted to drive back up here to my cabin and talk about
the situation
.” Angelique emphasized the last two words. “Alone,” she added.

“Jeez, he’s a real piece of work,” Kimberly snorted.

“I told him I had nothing to say unless one of the partners was present. I also warned him that if he came to the cabin, I’d call the police and the firm and tell them he’s harassing me.” She laughed. “He didn’t respond.”

“Figures,” Kimberly said with a smirk. “He’s too chickenshit. So you’re just going to go back to Albuquerque and work side by side with that jerk?”

Good girl, Kimberly.

For being so smart, Angelique wasn’t using her brain. Gabriel wouldn’t leave her alone. He’d make her life miserable every chance he got and probably try to get her back in the sack, too. The raw jealousy in Gabriel’s eyes when Angelique introduced Blake as her new boyfriend had been impossible to miss. He knew the type. Rich boys who always wanted what they couldn’t have.

Angelique’s armor had slipped last night in the back parking lot at Joe’s. He’d been happy to relieve her of it completely for a few hours, along with the rest of her clothing and another sexy pair of panties. The armor was firmly back in place this morning, and her false bravado was going to earn her more humiliation and another broken heart if she didn’t take Kimberly’s advice. She just didn’t see it yet.

So maybe he could convince her of that before it was too late. Before Red River residents discovered her mission here, or before she won the case and went back to the firm where her ex would keep hurting her. Either that or he really was going to have to make the two-and-a-half-hour trip to Albuquerque and kick some lawyer-ass.

He’d probably get sued, but it would be well worth it.

Another little piece of intel may have escaped her notice. Blake was pretty smart and resourceful himself and didn’t mind playing dirty once in a while. Like using her panties against her. If her shrieking his name and having so many orgasms he’d lost count was any indication, she’d thoroughly enjoyed herself last night. Great sex was a powerful weapon that he could use to save Red River if he had to.

But first, he needed to save Angelique from herself, and he hoped that
she
was worth it.

He rounded the corner, and Angelique blanched. Sarge ran to him, tail wagging full speed. Blake bent to give him a scratch.

“Morning, ladies,” Blake said, picking up a stick. He threw it across the yard, and Sarge tore after it.

Kimberly plopped a hand on her hip. “That dog wouldn’t play fetch with any of us if we wrapped the stick in bacon.” She shook her incredibly wild head of hair, and not one strand moved. “Hi, Doc,” she said, and looked at Angelique’s pale face, rounded black eyes, and parted lips. “Bye, Doc.” Kimberly scurried into the house.

“Hi,” he said to Angelique when the door banged shut.

“Um, hi.” She looked down, suddenly very interested in her creepy puppet slippers.

He sighed. Yep, she was going to make this difficult. He walked up onto the porch without waiting for an invitation and leaned against a wooden post. “I was out looking for more poison oak. Your place looks pretty clean.”

“Thanks,” she said and clamped her mouth shut. She cradled the blue coffee mug in both hands and stared into it.

The back door opened, and a single hand slipped through the crack, extending a mug of piping-hot coffee. “For you, Doc,” Kimberly offered, her voice muffled behind the door.

Kimberly was obviously in his corner, and he’d take all the backup he could get. He grabbed the mug and resumed holding up the post.

The hand disappeared, and the door shut.

He took a sip as Sarge ran onto the porch with the stick between his teeth and dropped it at Blake’s feet.

“Incredible,” Angelique whispered, and shook her head at the dog.

Blake grabbed the stick and threw it again. Sarge lit out after it. “Last night
was
pretty incredible.”

Angelique sputtered. “I wasn’t talking about last ni—”

“You didn’t think last night was incredible?” Blake sipped at the hot coffee. “Because I got the distinct impression that you had a good time.” He let a beat go by. “A
really
good time. Was I wrong?”

Light pink colored her cheeks. “Yes!”

He arched a brow.

“I mean no.” Her hand jerked when she said it, and coffee sloshed out onto the porch.
“Crap.”
She wiped a hand against her fitted jeans.

The pink in her cheeks deepened.

Pink wasn’t the least bit tacky. He’d have to convince her of that one day soon.

“It doesn’t matter because it can’t happen again.” The armor slid back into place.

He rolled the caramel-colored liquid around in his cup. “Why not? We both enjoyed spending time together. I’ll even promise not to make fun of your slippers anymore. Unless they give me nightmares, which is entirely possible.”