Part 6 (2/2)

s.e.xless? Bull!

d.a.m.n Sean anyway. Ever since he'd rearranged Cole's thinking about the woman, Cole couldn't make his body behave. Definitely not his c.o.c.k. Well, he'd better figure out how, or he'd be in deeper s.h.i.+t than he already was.

Tara opened her laptop and surfed the Internet, looking for information on the care and feeding of five-month-olds, but it seemed no two babies were alike. She'd have to wing it, at least until she could throw herself on her mother's mercy and get some advice. She called Lindsey, who put Tara at ease at once. And her mother agreed at once to go shopping, but Tara knew she had an ulterior motive and prepared herself for what she knew would be a not-so-subtle interrogation. Finally she showered and pulled a robe on over her nightgown. Molly was sure to wake soon for a bottle, and she didn't want to traipse around the house in a way that sent the wrong signals to Cole.

Actually, they're the right signals, but I'd better shut them down. Fast.

At eleven, Molly woke, making little noises in her crib. Tara managed to get down to the kitchen, heat a bottle and be back in her room without running into Cole. She peeked down the hall and saw the den was dark, and when she pa.s.sed his room, heading back to hers, the door was shut with a faint beam of light s.h.i.+ning out beneath it. Was he in there reading? Thinking?

Regretting the bargain? Pus.h.i.+ng the thoughts from her mind, she fed Molly, rocking her to sleep before slipping back into her own bed.

Even as tired as she was, she had trouble falling asleep. The major changes in her life had her mind in turmoil. Applying for the license and buying the rings felt as if they'd happened to someone else. And of course, overriding everything was this unexpected and increasing s.e.xual attraction to Cole. She closed her eyes, and immediately Cole's face swam before her.

”You're so beautiful.” In her dream, he was lying beside her, his hand mapping her body with gentle strokes. ”I love your nipples, the way they feel when I put my lips around them.”

She felt the familiar flutters in her p.u.s.s.y, the surge of liquid inside the swollen, pink folds.

His fingers danced through the curls surrounding her s.e.x then dipped into her slit, finally probing at the entrance to her wet channel.

”Spread your legs for me.” His voice was hoa.r.s.e, thick with l.u.s.t.

She complied, but at the same time reached for his shaft, its thickness burning against her thigh. When she wrapped her fingers around its length, his breath hissed through his teeth.

”Do that too much, and we'll be over before we start.”

She slowly slid her fingers from root to tip then raised her hand and moved it across his chest. She loved the soft feel of the fine hair covering his hard muscles, and she twisted her fingers through it.

”You feel so good,” she murmured, heat building inside her like a fire spiraling out of control.

”So do you. And you taste good, too.”

He s.h.i.+fted his position and dipped his head between her thighs, his tongue lapping the trail his fingers had traced on her slit. When he reached her c.l.i.t and rasped back and forth across the tip, her body began to shake with need. He teased her with his tongue, tormented her, while one hand reached for a breast and fingers lightly pinched a nipple.

Her o.r.g.a.s.m gathered deep inside her, and she pushed at his head.

”Inside me,” she whispered. ”I want you inside me.”

He gave her c.u.n.t one last lick then reached for the condom on the bedside table.

Sheathing himself, he moved into position, lifted her with his hands and plunged inside her with a swift stroke. The first flutters of o.r.g.a.s.m clutched at him, drawing him deeper inside her. Tara wound her legs around him, locking them at the base of his spine and arching herself to ride his pulsing c.o.c.k.

”I can't last.” His breathing was harsh, uneven.

”I'm there.” She moaned his name.

His eyes, dark with l.u.s.t, bored into hers. ”Now, Tara. Now.”

He thrust one last time, a powerful movement, and they exploded together, shudders racking her as his body stiffened. She felt him spurt through the thin latex sheath and pressed his rigid body harder against her.

He rode her through the aftershocks, gasping for breath himself and...

Tara sat up in bed, heart racing. Once again she'd fallen into an erotic dream. Her body was covered with perspiration, her hand again between her legs. Panicked, she leaped out of bed and raced for the bathroom, turning the shower on and stepping into it. As she let the cool spray beat down on her body, she was thankful she'd closed her door. In her own home, she slept with it open, but here, she wanted the privacy. She could just imagine Cole's reaction if he stumbled on her little performance. The bargain would be ended before it even began.

Chapter Five.

Cole was gone when Molly's cooing noises drifting in from the nursery to wake Tara the next morning. Even though it was only six, she worried about running into him in the kitchen, but he must have been up at dawn and left the house. There was no sound of anyone in the house, his bedroom door was slightly ajar, and when she checked the garage, his car was gone.

Was he running away, escaping the confines of their situation? Did he have buyer's remorse? In any event, she felt relief, unsure if she could face him without the remnants of last night's dream showing on her face.

Back upstairs, she lifted the little girl from her crib.

”Oh, sweetheart, you are such a love,” she said, nuzzling her cheek against the baby's soft skin. The pain she'd lived with for so long s.h.i.+fted, fading in the warmth of the tiny child she cradled.

Molly blinked at her and gave her a drooling smile.

Tara hugged her tightly. Already she felt a sense of possession. After she'd changed and fed Molly then put her back in her crib, she called her mother.

”I need help,” she confessed. ”I have absolutely no idea what Molly's schedule is, and I have to shop for her, too. There seems to have been some...miscommunication about what she needs.”

And isn't that an interesting way to put it. ”I'm kind of winging it,” she went on. ”But she just had a bottle so she'll probably sleep for a couple of hours.”

”You can figure she'll be up by ten,” Irene said. ”I'm more than happy to help with the shopping.”

”Thank you,” Tara breathed, relieved.

”Feed her then come pick me up. Bring another bottle for backup, just in case. If you leave as soon as she's fed, we should be able to get enough done before she has to go down for her afternoon nap.”

After she hung up, Tara wandered through the house, exploring the place that was now her home. Although well designed and beautifully decorated, the atmosphere had a sterile quality with no personal objects of any kind anywhere, no hint that a child lived within its walls, or even a memory of Maggie. The house was wiped clean of her existence.

Tara frowned, wondering if she could find a way to ask Cole about this. She had no idea yet what topic was forbidden and what wasn't.

Back upstairs, she peeked into Cole's room, noting the bed hadn't been made and she chastised herself for it. Of course, she should have checked this morning. Tomorrow, she would remember to take care of it.

While Molly napped, she made her own bed, showered and dressed in slacks and a short-sleeved sweater and fixed herself a cup of coffee. Sitting at the kitchen table, sipping from the mug, she stared through one of the big windows at the peaceful scene outside and wondered for the thousandth time if she'd just made the biggest mistake of her life. A week from today, she'd Mrs. Cole Ca.s.sidy. She would be able to ease some of the financial strain on her parents and, for once in her life, have no worries on that score herself.

And she'd have a child to love and care for, to watch grow into a young woman. Was it a fair enough trade? And could she fulfill her role for what seemed like an endless stretch of years?

What about the growing attraction to Cole? Would she be able to hide her feelings indefinitely?

Her stomach cramping as tension rolled over her, she dumped the rest of her coffee and rinsed the mug. Time to put all of that out of her mind. She could do this. She could. And she would.

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