DISCLAIMER: ALL HUSH HUSH CHARACTERS BELONG TO BECCA FITZPATRICK
THIS CHAPTER: ALRIGHT, THERE HAS BEEN SOME QUESTION ABOUT WHY PATCH DIDN'T SAY THOSE MAGICAL THREE WORDS...THERE WAS A REASON AND I HOPE THIS CHAPTER CLEARS IT UP WHEN HE TELLS NORA ABOUT THAT. THERE WERE THINGS THAT I KNEW ABOUT PATCH THAT YOU, THE READERS, MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN OR CAUGHT ON TO SO I HOPE HOPE HOPE THIS CLEARS SOME OF WHY HE DIDN'T UP FOR YOU, AND YES...HE'S GOING TO TELL HER.
READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO HAVE AND THOSE WHO DO, THIS STORY BELONGS TO YOU.
THIS CHAPTER WAS WRITTEN AS A BIRTHDAY GIFT TO MY FRIEND AND FELLOW AUTHOR
~~~~~~~~BOOKZRMYLIFE~~~~~~~
THIS ONE IS FOR YOU GIRL :) HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
MY LIFE HAS BEEN BLESSED BY YOUR FRIENDSHIP AND MY WRITING CONTINUES WITH THIS STORY AS YOUR LOVE AND ENTHUSIASM FOR IT INSPIRE ME AND KEEP ME MOTIVATED TO WORK ON IT. THE FACT THAT SOMETHING THAT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME MEANS SOMETHING TO SOMEONE ELSE IS A POTENT FEELING. I NEVER INTENDED TO SHARE THIS STORY AND NOW IT HAS BLESSED ME WITH FAITHFUL READERS I ADORE AND NEW FRIENDS LIKE YOU THAT ARE PRICELESS. WITHOUT YOUR PASSION FOR FOLLOW YOUR HEART I MIGHT HAVE ENDED THE STORY ALREADY OR QUIT LONG AGO. THE GREAT THING ABOUT THIS WEBSITE IS PEOPLE LIKE YOU WHOM I GET TO MEET AND SHARE WITH, WHITHER AS A READER OF MY STORIES OR A FELLOW AUTHOR. YOUR REVIEWS AND MESSAGES ARE THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY DAYS AND KEEP A SMILE ON MY FACE AND IN MY HEART. MY BIRTHDAY WISH FOR YOU IS THAT MY STORY AND MY FRIENDSHIP ARE AS MUCH A BLESSING TO YOU AS YOURS ARE TO ME. YOU ARE BOTH ONE OF A KIND AND A PRICELESS TREASURE AND YOUR LIFE IS A GIFT TO ALL WHO MEET YOU, EVEN IF THEY DON'T SEE IT OR ACKNOWLEDGE IT.
3 HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUN AND I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS CHAPTER BECAUSE IT WAS ALL FOR YOU 3
CHAPTER 27
WAKING UP IN A DREAM
Sunshine poured in through the white gauzy drapes where the gap laid open between the large heavy ruby-red velvet curtain panels. The rays shone directly in Nora's sleepy eyes and she groaned, covering her face with a pillow while grumbling to Patch and reaching for him, only the sheets were cold where his warm body should have been. Just when she started to panic thinking this had all been an awful dream, awful because it is a dream, she heard that oh so familiar sounding velvety voice.
"Good morning, beautiful." I see Patch bringing me a tray of breakfast that, after a night of passionate lovemaking, smells divine, but I'm torn between devouring the food and devouring him. I watch as he sets down the tray of food before leaning over to kiss me on the top of the head, I don't want kissed on my head though, I want to feel his lips against mine, the lips that spoke the words that were rapidly mending the cracks in my heart loving him had caused. I reached up and cupped my hands around the back of his neck and pulled him into a deeper kiss.
When Patch pulled back Nora raised her arms to stretch, she smiled at the familiar soreness, remembering the night before. Patch had been such a giving lover, he made more than sure she was beyond satisfied.
Patch handed Nora a cup of coffee made just the way she liked it, it smelled delicious.
"You're my hero." She said as she took a sip of the dark brew.
"I'll bet you say that to all the guys who make you coffee in the morning." Patch smirked.
"Yes, it's a regular revolving door of hot men brewing me coffee." She retorted dryly, but her eyes danced with amusement.
Patch stretched back against the headboard on the over-sized king bed, and Nora drank her fill of him along with her coffee. He was wearing a pair of blue-and-white board shorts and no shirt, and the delicious thought continued. He looked hot and tan, his abs washboard tight and sexy, his raven black hair shiny and still sleep-tousled. The last thing on her mind this morning was leaving that hotel room. She wanted to drag him back down in the bed and have her way with him at least five or six more times, or until she passed out.
"If you keep looking at me like that, two things are gonna happen." Patch said, giving her a very hot look over the rim of his coffee cup.
"Yeah? What two things?"
"One, I'm going to get very very hard, and two, we're aren't going to be leaving this room today."
Her lips curved. "And those are bad things?"
"Not necessarily, but there's plenty of time for those things later. Today I promised we'd finish talking, and I'd take you out."
"I guess you're right."
Nora registered the smell of breakfast again and took a peak at the food on the tray.
"Didn't you sleep?"
"I got plenty of sleep." Patch answered.
"As I recall, we didn't sleep much last night." She'd drifted off, but he'd awakened her in the wee hours, hard, and stroking her breasts. She'd gone willingly into his arms and under his body. Just the memory of the two of them making love in the dark had her body quickening, wanting more. They'd had sex before, passion filled sex, but with feelings out in the open, this was making love.
"You're giving me that look again." He arched a brow.
"Am I? You know, we could put off the whole going out thing."
"Temptress. I'm going to get ready while you eat. You're dangerous to be around when you're sleepy and all sexy like that."
Nora grinned and after watching him gather his stuff she realized how hungry she was and went about sampling a little of everything he had ordered for her. By the time that he exited the bathroom, Nora was done eating and almost too full to move.
Patch kept smiling at her, and staring at her, giving her looks that distinctly reminded her of how he'd gazed at her when he was inside her last night. Very direct, with not-so-subtle meaning. Which meant she'd get hot and flustered, and she had no idea why they were going out when right now they could be rolling around in bed together.
It wasn't that long of a weekend, after all. She didn't know what he had planned but she could tell he was up to something.
"Before I let you know what my plan is today, and I let you get ready, I wanted to talk to you about something." Patch's demeanor turned serious.
Talk? Hadn't they talked enough? What more could there be to say? Nora didn't know but now she was curious to find out.
"Okay, what do you want to talk about." She asked as Patch pulled her into his lap.
"Last night, when I said I wanted to say I was sorry but I wasn't, you told me you loved me, I never said it back to you and I want to tell you why."
Nora hadn't said it expecting him to say it back. To be honest, she was surprised he'd been able to move or speak at all instead of being frozen when she said it. Best friends often tell each other they loved each other, Patch and Nora never had. Nora's parents didn't fight or have marital problems, but it wasn't a relationship built on love either. The only love she knew was Clista and her love for her sister. Between Clista and Vee, plus Patch, Nora knew she was loved, but she wasn't accustomed to hearing it from anyone aside from grandma. Sisters didn't really go around saying I love you all the time and neither of them grew up hearing it from their parents so it wasn't a habit they got into. Nora also refrained from saying it to Patch because she knew if she did, eventually her tone and expression would give away the feelings she had to keep so closely guarded, and after Dabria, he would have bolted in fear of what that meant.
"I wanted to say it to you then, when you said it, but I had to kiss you. God, do you realize that that was the first time EVER in my life that anyone has said that to me? My mom didn't even tell me that as a toddler or a young child, and you know my dad was inclined to beat me, not tell me his unconditional love. Rixon and I don't have that kind of relationship even now, and I don't have extended family here that could say that. I trusted you had love for me and Clista did, but we didn't say those words. Dabria never even told me she loved me, even after I told her. I've never heard the words, never really understood what they meant. I thought I was in love with Dabria, I thought I loved you as a big brother, I was wrong on both accounts. The only thing my dad loved about me was using me as his punching bag, the only thing my mom loved was how good she looked on the front of a Christmas card with two smiling kids. When I got older the girls loved me, or at least they loved my body and what I could do to them with it. That was the closest I got to love and affection outside of you and I. I didn't know how to tell you I loved you, hell, I struggled knowing how to care for you when I'd never been cared for. The closest thing I had was Clista, thank God for her or I wouldn't have been able to do the little bit I did manage to do right for you when we were growing up, or even now."
It broke Nora's heart thinking about that part of their lives again. She knew things were bad for Patch at home. He wasn't wanted, he was the black sheep of the family, the rebel son, the problem child, an embarrassment. He hadn't even been good enough when he was trying. He worked hard in school and won the competitions his parents had put him in and not once could Nora remember a time she'd heard them give him a compliment, or even say they were proud of him. Telling him they loved him was simply out of the question. He had even finished his degree while engaged to Dabria, he graduated from a major University class Valedictorian and that hadn't made a difference to them. The thought of how young he was when girls/women started using him for sex was appalling. Patch was thirteen his first time and the girl was three days shy of her eighteenth birthday. From that point on though, he'd sought 'love' in the form of bed partners, he really believed that was all he was good for. Patch's voice snapped Nora out of her thoughts.
"I was like a big brother to you, I wanted you protected, I knew from being around my dad the potential men had for physical violence, I never wanted you to experience that. I knew what it was like to be used for sex, I didn't want that for you either, so it was easy as you got older to tell myself that what I was feeling was brotherly protection, not jealousy or insecurity, let alone love. I couldn't help but notice how you grew from a pretty little girl into a beautiful teenager and now a full-grown stunning young woman." That made Nora blush. "You know the story of your prom night and Dabria with aftermath included. That brings me to last night. I wanted to tell you I loved you without it being in the heat of a moment, I know that may sound odd, different from how other people do it, but I didn't want you to think it was a sexual thing, or an automatic response because you said it. I didn't want there to be any distractions that were running rampant last night. I know it made sense to tell you then, I confessed it why not say it, but I wanted this, this right here. No big confession of all my wrongs, all my tormented thoughts while you were unconscious, no heights of sexual tension going on. Now it's just you me and this...Nora Grey, I love you." He locked his eyes on hers, eyes burning with intensity and emotion, pooling with sincerity that cut straight into her heart and soul as she heard the words for the first time, the words she'd nearly died to hear. "I love you. I love the way you smile, that sassy, sarcastic little attitude you have, I love the way you love, the way you get all fired up and feisty. I love your creativity, your innocence, your way of seeing life as something to be achieved and conquered. You make the right choices, you do the right things, you care for and nurture those around you. You can be a martyr. I love how intelligent you are, I love how you're both sexy and alluring while maintaining a timeless beauty. I love your laugh, the way you light up when I walk in a room, the way I can hear you smile when I call you and you pick up. I love the excitement you have for me, for life. I love your passion, your romantic side, your silly side. I love you Nora Grey, all of you, every perfection, every imperfection, it's all perfect to me. You may not be perfect, I'm not perfect, but I think we're pretty perfect together. I hope I didn't disappoint you last night again, that I didn't blow things again too much by waiting until now to say that. I just needed it to be this way. I-" Nora cut him off with a kiss.
"I love you too, Patch Cipriano." She whispered when she pulled away to catch her breath. "I always have, I always will." She nipped his bottom lip, making him growl and tickle her sides lightly on the ribs.
"If you keep wiggling around on my lap like that I'm going to throw you down and show you exactly what that sweet ass does when it grinds against me like that." He threatened with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"You're the one making me squirm and you lost your chance." Nora jumped up giggling and dashed for the bathroom. "I'm showering and your taking me to do whatever it is you had planned for us." She stuck out her tongue with a giggle, making Patch chuckle before disappearing into the bathroom.
Patch opened Nora's suitcase and took out her bathing suit, a pair of shorts and a tank top with her sandals and set them in the bathroom, telling her that what she needed for the day was on the vanity bench waiting for her when she was finished showering. It had felt good to tell her he loved her, he figured it would have the night before too, but he knew that Nora would understand, she did understand why he had waited. She had even managed to take the seriousness of it seriously, but turn it around into something lighthearted and fun. That was Nora, she knew what he needed better than he did. If he had needed that serious moment/mood to last she would have been right there with him, she sensed that he needed to get it off his chest and move on, that's what she helped him do. How had he not realized how much he loved the girl a long, long time ago?
He finished getting things ready for their day. He ordered up a basket of food to take with them. He was taking her water-skiing. Patch used to go all the time with Angelo and Gianni, he didn't think Nora had ever been so he rented a boat and planned on spending the day alone with her on the lake nearby teaching her to ski.
When they walked out into the parking lot and Nora spotted the shiny red and white speed boat behind the jeep she gasped.
"Patch, what is that?"
"Gee Nora, that is what we humans like to call a boat." Came his sarcastic response. Nora glared at him.
"No shit Sherlock, I know what a boat is. What's it doing behind the jeep?"
"We're going to the lake, I'm going to teach you how to water-ski." He smirked at the apprehensive look on her face. "Unless you're scared." The fastest way to get Nora to agree to something was to dare her, challenge her. Nora didn't know how to back down from a challenge, obviously, she'd never backed down from the challenge of winning his heart.
"Lead the way, Cipriano. You don't scare me." She narrowed her eyes at him before glancing nervously at the boat. He didn't, water-skiing did. She trusted Patch though, he'd never let her down, especially when her safety was involved. If anything, he was way too overprotective.
Patch and her climbed in the jeep and took off. It wasn't far to the lake, so Patch gave her instructions on backing down the ramp so he could get the boat in the water. They worked as a team, and before long he had the boat off the trailer. She pulled the jeep and trailer forward, parked, then climbed in the boat.
"Nice job. You didn't even sink the jeep." Patch winked at her.
"Gee, thanks."
He backed the boat out and took it slow out of the shallows, then pushed the throttle. Nora held on as he sped past the lines of trees along the bank, wind slapping her ponytail across her back.
The breeze was wonderful, the sun already promising a very hot day as they cruised along the tops of the waves. She settled in and enjoyed the view of the lake as Patch throttled down and they moved along at an easy pace. Nora finally took a seat and looked out the side as other boaters breezed by, some of them waving as they passed.
Before her accident they'd both been working at a grueling pace for a long time, she was attending school and working full-time. Patch was working more than full-time and though she didn't know the details, it sounded like he was working more than one job, she'd find out more about that later. Needless to say, between work, sleep, Patch's bed hopping, school and homework, they didn't get a lot for real fun times together, she couldn't count the events they had to attend like the auction as fun. To be able to relax like this with Patch was a slice of nirvana.
Patch finally pulled the boat to a stop in the middle of the lake.
"Ready to ski?"
She inched out of her seat. "I...guess so."
He smiled at her. "It's not that hard. I'll give you some instructions, and we'll have you up in no time."
He took her to the back of the boat and got out a life jacket and the skis.
"What about you? Won't you get to ski?" Nora asked.
"I'm fine. I've done it a thousand times with Angelo and Gianni. I really want you to do it today."
"I could drive the boat, and you can ski."
Patch cocked a brow. "Ever driven a boat?"
"No."
"Then get your skis on and get out in the water. I'm driving, you're skiing."
"Shouldn't there be three people on the boat?"
"What for?"
"One to drive, one to ski, and the other to watch the skier."
He gave her a look. "Nora. I'll have my eye on you the whole time."
"Then how will you be able to see where you're going?"
He laughed. "Trust me. I know what I'm doing here. Eyes in the back of my head, Angel."
Dammit. She supposed she was out of excuses. Patch gave her a litany of instructions, told her how to squat down when he first got going until she felt herself balanced, to remember to hold on to the line, and to let go if she fell.
"I have all that."
"Then get in and have some fun."
Nora was dubious about the fun part, but she slid into the water and swam over to the skis, put them on, and grabbed the rope handle when Patch tossed it to her.
"Point the tips of your skis toward the back of the boat." He said. "And when you fall, raise your hand up so other boaters can see you. I'll keep an eye out for you and come around."
"Sure."
"Have fun." He grinned.
"Yeah. If I even get up."
"You're strong, Nora. And you're coördinated. You'll get up. Just remember what I told you."
"Okay." She was utterly terrified, and hoped she wouldn't embarrass him.
He started up the engine and went slow. The rope had slack, so she sat there for a few seconds, her heart pounding the entire time as she tried to remember everything Patch had told her. As soon as the rope started to pull, she tensed, ready to get up.
This was much faster than she had anticipated. The rope pulled taut, and she promptly face-planted in the water.
That went well.
Patch came around right away, putting the boat back into position again.
"I didn't get up." She said as he threw the rope to her.
"You tilted forward, toward the rope. Don't worry about it. It's a natural instinct to do that. Just remember, lean back, away from the rope. And squat down a bit."
"I'll try to remember that next time."
Except she did the same thing the next time, smacking the water with her face and body.
"This is starting to hurt." She told Patch, who grinned at her as he tossed her the rope again.
"Your body or your ego?" He smirked.
"Uh, both."
"Don't give up. Not everyone gets up on their first try."
"I suppose you did."
He didn't say anything to that, which obviously meant he had. And if he could get up, so could she. Nora was coordinated. She'd taken dance and gymnastics as a kid. She could do this.
With renewed determination, she pointed her skis, grabbed the rope handle, and when it started to pull, she leaned way back and made sure to keep her knees bent.
She didn't face-plant that time, and she actually got up to a squatting position as Patch propelled the boat forward.
She was up! Exhilarated, she let out a squeal of joy, though it was short-lived because this skiing thing took a lot of concentration and a lot of muscle as the line tugged her forward. She was glad for all the Pilates and yoga classes Bella and Shadow had forced her into taking over the past few months before her accident, because her core muscles were definitely getting a workout as she rode along the waves.
She made it about five minutes before losing it on a high wave. Patch came around.
"You did it."
"I did. Can I go again?"
"Of course."
Determined to stay up longer this time, she got up easier than the last time and stayed up. She spent about an hour skiing, though she'd fall and then have to restart. But each time, she learned something new about how to ride through a wake or adjust her body.
When Nora climbed back into the boat, her limbs felt like spaghetti, her arms and legs shaking from the effort.
Patch handed her a towel. "You did really good."
"Thanks. It was so much fun, but oh my God, what an effort. Definitely not as easy as it looks."
"Yeah, it takes some practice, but you handled it great."
"Now why don't you show me how to drive the boat so you can ski for a bit? Surely it's not rocket science."
Patch waffled a little, and she kept arguing because she knew he really wanted to get out there in the water. He finally caved.
"Okay. We're in the deep part of the lake, so if you head along the straights." He said pointing the way. "You shouldn't hit anything."
"You have such confidence in me. Just tell me where not to go, and I'll make sure to stay away from those places."
He dug out the lake map and showed her the shallows. She nodded and told him to get his life jacket on.
"I can ski for a long time. I'll just wave my hand when I'm done. If you feel like you don't want to drive the boat anymore, just slow it down and I'll drop. Then you can come alongside and pick me up."
She nodded, and he went in the water and got his ski on. Obviously he was an expert at this thing since he was going to do slalom, using only one ski for both feet.
When Patch gave her the signal, she pushed the throttle and slowly got up to speed, keeping her eye on him. When he was up, she kept her focus mainly on the water and the other boaters, occasionally looking back to be sure Patch was still up and behind.
He was right about staying up for a long time. He was a natural at water-skiing, and she enjoyed taking the occasional peek at him flying through the water, one hand on the rope, the other waving at her or other boaters as they rode past. When he finally let go of the rope and dropped ever so expertly into the water, she turned the boat around and came alongside him. He tossed his ski in the boat and climbed back on board, shaking his wet hair at her.
She laughed. "Enjoy yourself?"
"Hell, yes. Thanks for driving."
"It was my pleasure. I liked handling the controls."
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, his wet body doing nothing to cool down the raging heat his kiss had evoked within her.
"You like being in control, huh?"
She palmed his bare chest. "That wasn't at all what I meant."
"So you like giving up control?"
She pushed back. "And that wasn't what I implied, either."
He laughed and grabbed the towel, then started up the boat again and drove them to a shady spot where he dropped the anchor.
"How about some lunch?"
"That sounds perfect. Water-skiing makes me hungry."
He had sandwiches and cut up fruit that he ordered made up for them that morning, so they ate and drank in the shade while the boat bobbed in the water. The waves had started to pick up as clouds began to thicken.
"Rain might be moving in," Patch said as they both watched the sky.
"Should we head back?"
"Probably. We don't want to be caught out on the water in case there's lightning or a downpour."
They finished lunch, packed up all the gear, and Patch made his way back to the boat dock. Once again, Nora hopped out of the boat and backed the jeep and trailer down the ramp, while Patch pulled the boat onto the trailer. Once secured, Patch climbed into the jeep and drove them back to the hotel.
When they got back and finished putting things away Patch walked over to the window and looked out. "Looks like a good storm coming in." Sure enough, right on cue a huge crack of white lightning lit up the dark sky and cast light into the hotel room as thunder shook the ground. Patch pulled Nora tightly into his arms and gave her a kiss.
"I'm going to take a shower." Nora grabbed a quick shower and slipped into a cotton sundress, leaving her hair damp. Patch came in just as she was finishing combing out her hair.
"Wow, you look gorgeous."
She laughed. "My hair's wet and I have no makeup on."
He kissed her shoulder. "I like you that way."
She took a deep breath. "I'll let you take your shower.
"Sounds good. I'll be right out."
By the time she straightened up the room, Patch had reappeared in a pair of shorts and a no top, his hair still damp from his shower. He slipped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her cheek.
"You smell good."
She took a deep breath. Thunder had started rumbling outside again.
They sat on the small balcony off the honeymoon suite. It was still warm, but windy, the limbs of the trees stretching back and forth as the skies darkened further.
"I love the smell of rain." Nora smiled softly.
"I do too. It's a lot nicer out here where it's quite, back in the city it's not so pleasant. I remember when Rixon and I would build forts in our rooms during thunderstorms and pretend we were mighty knights defending the castle during a siege."
She laughed. "Obviously you had good imaginations."
"We had to do something. Two rambunctious boys forced inside due to weather? You can imagine the potential for destruction." Patch smirked.
"You could have read books." Nora teased.
He cocked his head to the side and gave her a look. "Come on. I mean, books were fine later, when I was older. When we were little we wanted to be doing something, not reading about someone else doing something. We heard the stories Clista read and watched the movies she played for us as kids or our nanny's before that. That's where we got the warrior and castle ideas."
"I like that you envisioned yourselves as knights."
"We'd use broomsticks as our swords. I gave Rixon a black eye during a particularly vicious sword fight one stormy afternoon."
She laughed. "Oops. Did you get in trouble?"
"Beat was more like it. Boys will be boys though." Patch never really talked about things like that when they were little. She was younger than him, his memories went back further and clearer than hers did. He didn't have many happy moments at home though. This was nice to hear.
"I always got in trouble for fighting with Vee."
"I imagine your fights weren't physical like ours were."
"True enough. We mostly yelled at each other, then I'd get the blame for starting it because I was the more responsible sister, when half the time it was Vee bugging me or taking one of my toys. Some big sister she turned out to be." Nora giggled at the memories.
"Siblings can be a pain in the ass sometimes."
"Yes. I'd try to escape from her a lot."
"We'd have played out in the storms if we were allowed to, our mom didn't want us getting muddy."
"Little boys are supposed to get muddy." At least in Nora's opinion.
"That's what I thought, too. You know my mom, she wasn't for anything that was dirty, work, or didn't put her in the spotlight."
"I know, I'm sorry." Nora looked at him sympathetically.
He shrugged. "It's no big deal."
She slid her hand in his. "But it was, wasn't it, Patch?"
Her gaze met his and lightning arced across the sky, followed by a loud crash of thunder that drew their attention. The clouds burst, and rain came down in sheets so thick you couldn't see. The wind whipped around them, rain lashing the balcony. They grabbed their glasses and dashed inside.
"Wow, that was rather abrupt," Nora said, shaking the water droplets off.
They dried off with a towel in the bathroom.
The rain came down hard for the first thirty minutes, then settled into a steady, light shower after that. Nora and Patch curled up on the couch in the seating area of the suite to watch.
"Did you have fun water-skiing today?" he asked.
He'd picked up her legs and draped them over his lap, pulling her closer. Nora had to admit, she didn't mind this at all, she was loving the domestication of this weekend with him, the feeling of being a real couple in a real relationship. She tilted her head back to look at him. "I had a great time. Thanks for taking me."
"Thanks for driving the boat so I could get in a little skiing."
"I enjoyed it."
"Oh, right. That whole control thing. We were going to discuss that."
Nora arched a brow. "No, I don't believe we were."
"Yeah. You said you liked being in control, and then I got hard thinking about you being on top."
She laughed. "I think this conversation played out entirely in your head."
"Did it? Huh. So about that control thing." He laid his glass on the table and pulled her on top of him. His hands splayed across her back, then started a slow trek south, stopping when he grabbed her butt.
Her body started up a fast rush of pleasure. She wriggled against him. "So not subtle, Cipriano."
He quirked a wickedly sexy, bad-boy grin up at her. "I wasn't really going for subtle, Grey."
She palmed his chest. His body was warm, a storm raged outside, and she couldn't think of anyplace she'd rather be than right where she was.
"No, you're definitely not being subtle." The hard proof of that rocked between her legs, igniting her passion. She surged against him, lost in his eyes, which, when he was laughing, were a soft shade of black, but when filled with passion, like now, turned dark as a churning sea at midnight.
"So, it's storming outside, Angel." Patch said, brushing her hair away from her face. His touch ignited her pulse rate as his hand lingered at the side of her neck. "Do you want to play indoors?"
"Swordplay?" she asked.
Patch laughed. "Yeah. Swordplay sounds good to me."
Patch watched the change of emotions on Nora's face, from playful to sexy to downright temptress as she bent and brushed her lips across his. His breath caught as she slipped her tongue between his lips.
She was just so damn sweet, a mix of innocence and sultry vixen that tightened his balls and turned him into a walking erection every time he was around her. She smelled good, her laugh drove him crazy, and she had a wicked sense of humor. Package that up in a body built for a man's hands and a mouth made to worship, and she was damned near perfect, and now she was his.
And as she moved that lush body of hers over his, she unraveled his senses. He let his fingers trek across her bare shoulders and over her back, feeling her breasts rise and fall against his chest as her breathing deepened.
"I like this dress." He said, smoothing his hands over the soft cotton that clung to her curves. "When you put it on after your shower, I wanted to take it off of you right away."
She sat up, looked at him, that sexy, fuck-me look in her eyes making his dick harden even more. "Is that right?"
"Yeah."
"I can take it off."
He tightened his hold on her hips. "No. Actually, I'd like you to keep it on."
Her eyes gleamed with wicked desire. "I can do that, too. I'll be right back."
She slid off of him and disappeared while he took several deep breaths. The rain had intensified again, sheets of it pelting against the windows. Lightning flashed just as thunder banged so loud it shook the glass.
Nora came back with a condom packet in her hand.
He smiled. "Smart thinking. I'd hate to be interrupted."
She reached underneath her sundress and made quite the show out of shimmying out of her panties. While he never got a glimpse at the goods, he held his breath as the navy silk underwear slid down her legs.
"God, that's sexy, Nora," he said, when the underwear pooled at her feet and she stepped out of them, then straddled him again.
"I'm glad you think so, because I've never been much for stripping in front of a man." She teased. She'd stripped for him hundreds of times.
He grasped her hips and grabbed a handful of her dress. "Good to know." Patch smirked.
She reached down and laid her palm over his erection. "Now we need to get you inside me."
Heat flared throughout his body, his balls quivering in response. "Oh, I think we need more foreplay."
"Who's in charge here?"
He laughed. "You are."
"I know what I need. I've been watching you all day, with your tanned body on the boat and out on the water, your skin gleaming in the sun." She slid her small hands up his chest. "All I could think about was getting you naked and inside me. That's about all the foreplay I can stand, Patch."
He liked her way of thinking. And knowing she wore nothing under that dress had his hard-on raging.
"Then let's get to it." He leaned forward and she helped him by raising up enough so he could slide out of his shorts.
She reached for him, curling her fingers around his shaft. "Now this is what I need. You, naked, with me on top of you."
Patch reached for the condom packet, his fingers shaking as she stroked him. "You do too much of that and we'll be finished before we ever get started."
Nora leveled one hell of a naughty smile at him. "Oh, I bet you have a lot more willpower than you think."
He applied the condom and lifted her dress, her beautiful body exposed to him as she slid over him, onto him. She gasped and he swallowed, hard, as he entered her, filling her.
"Nora," he said, barely able to find his voice as she seated herself fully on him. He grasped her hips and stilled her, looking up at her. "Hang on a sec. I just need to feel you."
She stared down at him, her body quivering around him, beckoning him to thrust, to give her what they both needed. He drove into her. Nora tilted her head back, her eyes shuttering closed as she rode him.
This time, she was fully in control and he let her take the reins, content to just watch as her face flushed with arousal. He drew the straps of her dress down, exposing her breasts. He grasped them, brushing his thumbs over her erect nipples while she rocked against him, taking them both higher while thunder crashed overhead, rain pounded the shutters, and a storm raged equally within the two of them.
His breathing quickened as she hurried the pace, dragging her body against his, tightening against him. And when she opened her eyes and locked gazes with him, he knew she was close. He lifted his hips and thrust into her.
Her eyes widened and she bit down on her bottom lip, keeping that eye contact with him that enveloped him in a haze of need. He felt the tremors and grasped her hips, quickening the pace so he could give her what she needed.
Her lips parted and she cried out with her orgasm. He plunged deep, then shuddered as he came, holding tight to her as he rolled with the thundering climax that shattered them both.
"I love you, Angel."
"I love you too, Patch."
She fell on top of him, her breathing fast, her hair a cascade of sweet softness over his chest. He stroked her back as the two of them recovered.
"Maifasaslp," she mumbled against his neck.
He smiled at her incoherent statement. "Huh?"
She lifted her head. "My foot's asleep."
He laughed. "Oh." Patch took her foot and massaged it for her before carrying her back to the bed for a nap before dinner.
With Nora pressed tightly to him, wrapped in his arms he felt that feeling of contentment he was addicted to now.
"I meant what I said Nora, I really do love you." He stroked her back and her hair while placing a kiss to the top of her head. Nora sighed and nuzzled in closer to him.
"I know you do, but I'll never get tired of hearing it." Before he knew it her breathing had evened out and she was fast asleep.
The three big words have been spoken, nothing held back and we see the happy couple with a day away at peace just enjoying fun together which we haven't really had in this story. Did you get why he waited? It was a little complicated, but it fit his character, sometimes I forget that you don't have all the 'inside' information on them that I do so I hope that cleared things up a little for you. What did you think? Let me know, I love your reviews and it's fun trying different things with this story.