More Than a Mistress Page 8

  He shook his head. “I didn’t say that. I can just think of better uses for it.”

  So can I. Holding Daniel’s gaze for a long while, she swallowed her rejoinder. Someone cleared his throat, and Sara jerked her head around to find Troy staring in amusement. At that moment she would have traded a box of Godiva chocolates for a paper bag to put over her head.

  Carly, God bless her, announced the turkey was ready, and she was nearly stampeded by her brothers. Everyone filled their plates, then took a seat at the huge dinner table. Daniel, at the head of the table, offered the blessing.

  Sara, ensconced between Jarod and Troy, felt the return of underlying uneasiness about being among the Pendletons during this special holiday. They all seemed so comfortable with each other. They all seemed to belong. Sara knew she didn’t.

  She was an intruder, she realized, as she listened to the different conversations and watched the family. Somebody asked Luke about one of his pet chickens while Carly cut the little boy’s meat into small bites. Daniel offered Russ the butter and started a discussion about the effects of the flood, and Brick, Ethan and Nathan were discussing a camping trip they’d taken last summer. Erin seemed a little withdrawn until Garth wrapped a supportive arm around her and whispered something in her ear. Her mouth lifted in a grin.

  Sara looked away and tried to concentrate on her food.

  “How’s the pup?” Troy asked.

  Sara started, then smiled. “Wet, loud and adorable.”

  “Strange combination,” he said, shaking his head.

  At the friendly overture, Sara relaxed a bit. Jarod asked about how she liked Beulah County, and they soon got into a discussion on the different hangouts in Chattanooga, since Jarod had lived there during his college years.

  “You don’t have a Southern accent,” Jarod observed. “Is your family from Chattanooga?”

  Sara felt a sliver of discomfort. “My former husband was.”

  “Oh, that’s right,” Jarod said. “Where do your parents live?”

  Everyone seemed to take a breather from talking at that particular moment, and with the exception of the sound of silverware meeting china, the room was silent.

  Sara cleared her throat and glanced around to find several people looking at her expectantly. She felt horribly awkward. “They, uh, used to live in Minnesota. They’re dead now,” she added more quietly.

  Jarod faltered. “Well, I stepped right into that one. I’m sorry. Sounds like you have something in common with us,” he said, referring to the fact that both Pendleton parents were dead.

  Sara darted a quick look at Daniel. His inscrutable expression did nothing to alleviate her anxiety. “A little bit in common,” she said lamely, in an effort to help Jarod feel better. That they were all human beings was about all she had in common with the Pendletons, she supposed. Jarod’s remark only served to emphasize that fact, and Sara abruptly identified where her underlying uneasiness originated. She’d thought she was uncomfortable around the Pendletons because she wasn’t a member of their family, but that was only part of it.

  The truth of the matter was that among these connected, loving people, Sara Jean Kingston felt like a complete fraud.

  One more try, Sara thought, as she stirred the simmering beef tips. She wore the same pink sweater, same winter-white slacks as last time. At five fifty-five the doorbell rang. Pavi barked from behind the laundry-room door. Sara ignored him. She refused to dodge his puddles during this meal!

  She opened the front door, and Daniel’s tension rolled over her like a wave. He wore a suit and a wary, careful expression on his face. He tentatively offered the bunch of violets in his hand. “These okay?”

  Her heart turned a flip. Despite a jab of embarrassment over her reaction when he’d given her a rose, Sara smiled and accepted the gift. He was uncomfortable, and if there was one thing she’d learned, it was how to put a man at ease. For once she knew what to do with Daniel Pendleton. “Violets are wonderful.” She took his hand and pulled him into the room. “And you look great.”

  “I’m overdressed,” he grumbled, wishing he’d worn something more casual.

  “I like your tie.”

  “You can have it.” He tugged it loose and followed her into the kitchen, appreciating the sight of her great rear end. He wondered how long he could watch and refrain from touching.

  Sara laughed. “Relax. Take off your jacket and shoes. This is just a rain-check dinner with Sara Kingston.”

  Daniel was anything but relaxed. He was wound up so tight from arousal, anticipation and tension, he felt crazed. He shook his head. “This is the beginning of my forbidden affair with a wild woman.”

  Sara stopped in the midst of putting the flowers in a vase. Had he offended her? Then she smiled, an almost taunting smile.

  “We’ll see,” she said noncommittally. “Beer or wine?”

  “Beer,” he replied. Her comment ate at him. “What do you mean, ‘we’ll see’?”

  Sara popped the top on the beer and handed it to him. “Just what I said. We’ll see. We’ve got lots to do. You’ve got to drink this beer. Then we’ve got to eat dinner, and you’ll have to tell me how wonderful it was. Then we eat dessert and—”

  “Lady, give me a break.” Daniel meant it. He knew he was coming across as smooth as a rough ride on a bronco, but he had to know how to gear himself. Every fiber of his male being said skip the food and take the woman.

  Sara gave a sigh. She stepped closer, and Daniel felt his pulse throb in every erogenous zone in his body. She shook her head and pulled off his tie. “You really need to relax. Sit down and let me tell you what I bought today.”

  “Sara—”

  “Just listen.” She pulled out a chair and gave him a nudge. When he didn’t move, she glared at him. Daniel sat down, resigned to be driven straight up the wall.

  She pushed off his jacket. “I went to the new department store today. They have a great cosmetics section.”

  She began to rub his shoulders, and the sensation of her fingers on his tight muscles made the inane conversation more bearable. “Good?” she asked.

  He gave an appreciative groan.

  Sara laughed, and the husky sound was another reminder of another discomfort he wished she’d take care of.

  “I don’t suppose you frequent the cosmetics department,” she continued.

  “Not lately,” he said dryly.

  “Cosmetics companies know how to go for the jugular. Women can be tempted by claims of how much all these products can do for them. For example, my new lipstick…”

  She sifted her fingers through the hair on his nape until Daniel was sure every nerve ending in his body was standing at attention. Surprisingly enough, her new lipstick teased his imagination. “What about it?”

  “It’s called…”

  He heard the hesitation in her voice and turned. “What?”

  She unfastened the top button of his shirt, her hazel eyes focused on his neck. “‘Sensual.’ The company promises that it will stay on my lips until I take it off. I can’t drink it off. I can’t eat it off. And you,” she said finally lifting her sultry, challenging gaze to his, “can’t kiss it off.”

  She put her thumb on his bottom lip, and Daniel felt his mouth go desert dry. Her scent wrapped around his senses. He noticed how the V-neck of the sweater she wore revealed just a hint of cleavage. Nestled on a long chain between her breasts, where he’d like to put his mouth, was a cluster of pearls. Punch. Punch. Punch. One more and he’d be down for the count. He cleared his throat.

  Sara dampened her lips with her tongue.

  Boom. That was it. He tumbled her into his lap. “I could dedicate myself to a whole night of disproving that kind of claim.”

  “Is that so?”

  He kissed the corner of her mouth, just to tease her as she’d been teasing him. Her swift intake of breath was gratifying. “You know how it is with the oldest son. A hardworking overachiever type like me won’t stop till the job is don
e.”

  He wrapped his hands around her waist, lowered his head and covered her mouth with his. He settled his lips first one way then another, the better to smudge her lipstick. Or was it because he wanted intimate knowledge of every centimeter of her lips?

  At her soft sigh he forgot the game and dipped his tongue past her teeth, savoring her flavor. He felt a rush of satisfaction when her hands crawled up and clung to his shoulders and her breasts rubbed enticingly against his chest. Her tongue coupled with his, thrusting, dancing, and Daniel thought he could spend the next hour just kissing her.

  He probably would have if she hadn’t pulled back. Swaying, Sara visibly caught her breath and ran her not-so-steady index finger around his mouth. “Not yet,” she said, looking a little stunned.

  Daniel swallowed. “Not yet what?”

  “You haven’t kissed off my lipstick.”

  Daniel looked at her stall-tinted lips. “Well, hell, give me another minute or two—”

  Sara shook her head and stood on shaky legs. “Drink your beer while I serve dinner.”

  Daniel thought pouring the beer over his head would be more effective. “Dinner?” He caught her hand.

  She nodded slowly, her eyes still hazy. “Remember,” she said, gently prying his fingers off hers. “Getting there’s half the fun.”

  The meal passed in an ebb and flow of excruciating anticipation. Just when he relaxed, Sara would do something like lick her lips or fiddle with the necklace that lay between her breasts, and Daniel would start feeling crazy all over again.

  “Dessert okay?” Sara asked.

  Daniel didn’t have to put much effort into appreciating the chocolate mousse topped with whipped cream and raspberries. “Delicious. Where’d you learn how to make it?”

  Sara’s gaze went shuttered. She set her spoon into her bowl. “I, uh, took cooking lessons a long time ago. Someone gave me the lessons as a present with the agreement that I prepare a meal for him when I completed the course.” She picked up her wine and took a deep drink. “I forgot most of the recipes, but I guess the chocolate mousse stuck.” She gave a wry, forced smile. “The way it sticks to the hips.”

  The joke was weak, and Daniel found himself wondering about the shadows that came and went in Sara’s eyes at odd moments. She’d let him know that she wasn’t pure. The knowledge didn’t put him off. Instead it excited him, made him feel free. But tonight, he thought, rubbing a finger over his lip, he didn’t like the man who’d paid for the cooking lessons because Daniel suspected there’d been more than one meal involved. That relationship had obviously made her sad. And Daniel didn’t want to make Sara sad. He wanted to make her smile. He wanted to hear her laugh. He wanted a lot.

  Leaning across the table, he scooped some dessert onto her spoon and lifted it to her mouth. “I like the way it sticks to your hips.”

  Sara fluttered her eyelids in disbelief. “Right.” But she opened her mouth and let him feed her.

  “I do,” he insisted. “And I ought to know, since I’ve spent a lot of time watching your—”

  Sara swallowed, shaking her head. “Daniel—”

  He pushed another spoonful past her lips. “Did you know that your rear end is perfectly heart shaped? Of course I’ve had to conduct this study from a distance, but if I set my mind to it, I could come up with your hip measurement.”

  Sara lifted her hand in alarm. “Please don’t. You’ve already guessed my weight. That’s enough.”

  “For who?” He clasped her wrist and tugged, bringing her out of her chair and into his lap.

  “For both of us?” Her heart hammering against her ribs, Sara watched unequivocal determination flare in Daniel’s eyes.

  “I drank my beer. I ate the meal, and it was wonderful. Dessert was delicious. Getting here’s been half fun and half torture. I need to get back to work on smudging your lipstick. I need to figure out your hip measurement.” His lips lifted in a lazy, sexy smile that made her breath catch. “I don’t plan on leaving here until I figure out exactly how your body fits together.”

  He clasped her waist, then boldly worked his big hands down to her hips and lower still to her thighs. The tension inside her grew tighter and tighter, spreading to vulnerable feminine places he hadn’t touched.

  “And how it’s gonna fit with mine.”

  Sara leaned her head against his solid chest and moaned. “Oh, Daniel. I knew you’d be a horrible tease,” she whispered.

  “I’m not teasing, honey. I’m promising.” He shifted her in his arms, stood and carried her down the hall. “Which way?”

  No man had ever carried her, she thought, swallowing over a lump in her throat. The chivalrous gesture nearly rendered her speechless. “Right.”

  He kissed her at the same time that he let her body slide down the front of his until her toes touched the floor. His tongue eased into her mouth, and her bones began to melt. One of his hands slipped under her sweater to the small of her back, while the other went to her bottom and pulled her to him. He rocked against her in a heady rhythm that sent sensation pooling into her nether regions.

  When she echoed his movements, he groaned against her lips. “You taste like chocolate and raspberries and…”

  His hand slid to her breast, and Sara sucked in a deep breath. “And what?” she asked breathlessly, craving the way his voice made her nerve endings jump and shimmy. Her body undulated against his, cradling his arousal between her thighs.

  Daniel shuddered. “Oh, Sara, you taste like every secret erotic dream I’ve ever had,” he whispered, and his confession sent an unbearable thrill throughout her.

  He tugged her sweater over her head and tossed it on the bed, then looked at her. Sara knew what he saw. Her pink lace bra couldn’t conceal the budding of her nipples. For a second she felt self-conscious. It had been a long time for her, and somehow, with Daniel, she felt very different. She put her hand over the necklace and started to remove it.

  His hand stayed hers. “Leave it on,” he murmured, still staring at her breasts until she felt the tips harden even more.

  He took a deep breath and lifted his gaze to hers. “How do I get you out of these pants?”

  She smiled, moving slightly away from him. “All you had to do was ask.”

  He watched her unbutton, unzip and smoothly step out of the slacks while the pearl necklace swayed against her breasts. The little scrap of pink lace hugging her hips drew his gaze like a homing device. He could rip it apart in seconds, and the thought of touching her where she was moist and hot nearly sent him over the edge. He clenched his hands to keep from grabbing her and taking her right then. How could she be so smooth when he felt worn and ragged from restraint? He opened his mouth to tell her how beautiful she was, but nothing came out.

  Sara laid her hands on his chest and looked at him with the age-old mystery of Eve in her eyes. “This is a little inequitable, don’t you think?” She undid his buttons one by one. The sensation of her hands on his chest made his heart pound.

  She pulled out his shirttails, moved her hand to his belt and hesitated. “I guess it’s my turn to ask. How do I get you out of these pants?”

  “Give me half a minute,” he growled, dispensing with the belt, then shucking both his pants and briefs in one swift motion. He felt her gaze travel from his shoulders, down his chest, to his aroused manhood. She looked at his legs and feet, and Daniel held his breath, hoping like hell she liked what she saw.

  Her expression said she wasn’t intimidated by his size. She was excited by it. She stepped forward and rubbed her cheek against his chest. “You’re a beautiful man, Daniel.”

  The comment surprised him. He plowed his fingers through her hair. “Me? You’re the one who’s beautiful. Hair like silk, skin like satin, and your nipples, they remind me of those raspberries.”

  Sara looked down, undid her bra and shrugged it off. Daniel lifted the necklace over her head. The chain still retained her body heat. He closed his palm around it, then hung it over the k
nob of her bed headboard.

  He’d barely turned back to her before she rubbed those raspberry nipples against his rib cage. The sight and sensation was too erotic for words.

  Something inside Daniel broke free, and his hands went wild. Cupping her breasts, he thumbed her nipples while he lowered his head to kiss her. She welcomed his tongue into her mouth, responding with the same intensity he felt. Her hands gripped his shoulders as she arched against him. He slid his hands inside her panties, over her bottom, then between her legs where she was warm and wet. He slipped a finger inside her.

  Sara gasped.

  “Too fast?” God, he hoped not.

  “I don’t think—” she shook her head, clenching her thighs to keep his hand there “—there’s any help for it.”

  He was trying not to lose it completely. He was trying to concentrate on making sure she was ready, but her heady scent had his senses swimming. The look in her eyes was the kind a man would beg for, and he was throbbing with the need to replace his finger with the part of him that was aroused to the point of pain.

  She wrapped her hand around him, and his knees nearly buckled.

  He sucked in a quick, sharp breath. “S-S-S-Sara.”

  She rubbed her thumb over the tip.

  Daniel swore.

  She removed her hand, and he swore again.

  “I’ve got something in the drawer by the bed,” she murmured, backing away from him, her eyes dark with passion.

  Hating the space between them, he dragged her back and wondered what she was talking about. Then it dawned on him. Protection. He’d brought a couple of condoms in his pocket.

  She pulled him with her, found the plastic packet and tore it open. Then she gave him a shove so that he sat on the bed, and she bent over and smoothed the thin sheath over him. He realized she’d done this before, but he banished the thought immediately. She was his tonight. That was all that mattered.

  Her breasts bobbed inches near his face, tempting him, and he took one tip into his mouth.