Falling for Him 9: Karen and Robert, Book 1 Read online

  She licked and teased his sensitive tip until he couldn’t take it anymore. “Stop. Or you’ll be disappointed.”

  Karen giggled but dutifully released him from her mouth, and he wished he hadn’t said anything. The feeling of loss was so intense, it took his breath away. A few moments later when he’d gather his composure, he slipped her around to lie on her back and fully undressed her.

  Now she was lying in front of him and in all her glory, even more beautiful than he remembered her. He lingered only a moment at her luscious breasts, her scent drawing him lower..

  He traced his hands down her long legs and up again her inner thighs until he reached her wet core. Karen squirmed beneath him and he knew she was more than ready for him. But she’d have to wait. First he’d feast on her.

  His finger traced across her labia, probing and teasing, finding she was already slick and wet. He pushed two fingers into her while his thumb grazed her love bud and he could sense the trembling tension in her legs. Her moans of pleasure became louder and he had to use all his self-control not to jump at her. “You are so beautiful. Karen.”

  “I can’t wait,” she said.

  “You’ll have to, babe,” he answered and his lips skimmed her belly, nipping lightly at the slight curve, before delving between her legs to feast. Her legs fell apart to give him better access, and he buried

  his head between her thighs, to taste the scent of her arousal. He loved her unique smell. It intoxicated him, kindling the burning fire of his own desire.

  When Karen moaned in delight and gripped his hair hard, Robert hummed against her, chuckling when she growled at him and tried to pull him back up her body. “I need you now,” she whispered.

  “Not yet.” He licked her until she cried out loud, her inner muscles convulsed around his fingers, and she came, shattering against his tongue. He waited until the last wave of her powerful orgasm had ceased and then he kissed his way up to her mouth while lowering himself over her.

  His need to be inside her had grown stronger with every passing second. He fit his body to her wetness and when she arched against him, he slid in to the hilt. It felt like homecoming. He held himself still inside her for several long moments, enjoying the closeness and intimacy between them. The physical, mental, and emotional attachment of this moment threatened to overwhelm him.

  “God. You feel so amazing,” he whispered against her lips before taking them in a ravaging kiss that echoed the ever-increasing movements of his hips. He pushed them both steadily towards release. She completely gave herself over to him, and responded to each of his movements until he felt her muscles tense once again. “Come with me, babe.”

  He felt her grip him with her hands just before she arched her back and screamed his name. Robert followed her over the edge, giving one last thrust against her and groaning at how right being with her like this felt.

  His heart was racing and it was a full five minutes before he felt able to move. He had his weight partially supported on his elbows, not wanting to crush her; his head was bent and he kissed her tenderly before moving to the side and pulling her against him.

  “That was amazing,” she said. “It was so…passionate.”

  “I know. It was like when we were freshly in love. Just better.” He grew quiet, thinking about the truth in his statement.

  “I have missed this passion – our sex life had become rather routine…”

  He sensed the change come over her before she even moved. “I love you, Karen. And I promise we can have the passion back,” he whispered against her temple, running a hand up and down her back until gooseflesh appeared.

  She tensed in his arms. “Robert, I love you too. That’s why I cannot come back to you while you’re still married to that other woman. I just can’t, and you shouldn’t expect me to.”

  Her words only confirmed what he’d known – making love with him had been an emotional reaction, but nothing had changed.

  “Karen. Babe. I understand. That’s why I hired a private investigator. He found her.” He paused, unsure if he should continue. “She’s a registered nurse in Los Angeles.”

  Karen pushed away to meet his eyes. “She is?” She asked the question as if unsure if she should be relieved or afraid. Was she afraid he would change his mind and want to stay with Marcela?

  Robert kissed her. “Don’t worry. Nothing is going to change how I feel about you.” He pulled her into his arms again. “Close your eyes and go to sleep.”

  “I should head to Rachel’s…”

  “Stay. Please.”

  He knew he would beg if he needed to, but he was praying he wouldn’t have to. She was snuggled up to him, their bodies still sweaty from making love, and he wanted to hold her as they slept. It was a simple need, but one he knew she felt as well.

  “I shouldn’t…”

  “Who’s to say what we should and shouldn’t do? Stay with me.”

  Karen tightened her arms around him and then nodded. “This doesn’t mean anything.”

  I disagree. It means everything. Robert held his tongue, and moments later her body relaxed against his own as she fell asleep.

  He should have known their lovemaking would come back to bite him in the ass, but right then, at that moment, he didn’t care. He had the love of his life in his arms and nothing was going to take her away from him.

  Five hours later Robert woke up, when he felt Karen shoving against the arm that lay draped across her chest. He tried to pretend not to get the message and went to nuzzle her neck in an attempt to continue what they’d started last night, but she stiffened in his arms.

  He could feel the anger rolling off of her and sighed before turning onto his back, allowing her an easy exit from the bed. She hurried around the room, gathering up her discarded clothing while he watched. “Karen,” he sighed in resignation of the fight he knew was coming.

  “Don’t. Just don’t,” she said through clenched teeth.

  Damn it. Don’t do this. “Karen, we need to talk,” he said, sitting up against the headboard and hoping she was going to be reasonable about this. Yeah, in what Universe is that likely to happen?

  She slammed into the bathroom, but not before giving him a scathing look. “I can’t believe you did this.”

  Robert sat there for a moment and then lunged from the bed, pounding his fist against the bathroom door. “You can’t believe I did this? Karen, come out and let’s talk about this.”

  “I don’t want to talk to you. Go away and leave me alone.”

  “That’s not the same message you were sending out last night,” he reminded her snidely.

  She opened the door a crack. “Don’t you dare bring up last night. I was drunk and you took advantage of me.”

  Robert held up his hands and backed up a step, hoping to draw her out, but she only slammed the door in his face. Shaking his head, he decided to give her some space to calm down. He climbed back into the bed, rolling over so his back was to the bathroom door.

  It took all of his self-control to keep his back turned to her when he heard the bathroom door open a while later. He strained his ears to try and figure out what she was doing. But he couldn’t. Frustrated, he rolled over, expecting to find her standing in the bathroom doorway watching him. But the doorway was empty. As was the bedroom, save for himself.

  He bolted from the bed, jumping over his boxers and hurried into the living room. “Karen?”

  No trace of her. On a second glance he realized her purse was gone, and the deadbolt was off the front door. Robert stood lonely and stark naked in his living room, and he believed he heard the clanking sound of his heart breaking to pieces and shattering on the floor. She left. Just like that. She didn’t even say goodbye

  Despite his own hurt, sorrow for Karen filled his soul. She’d looked so distraught when she’d awakened. It was a look he never wanted to see on her face again. Last night had been fabulous, the sex never better, but this morning, the happiness had been wiped away by the evidence o
f her hurt and anger. He needed to do something to fix this. Now.

  Robert waited a few hours to let her calm down and then he called her, amazed when she picked up on the second ring.

  “Robert.”

  “Karen. I wanted to make sure you made it home okay.”

  “I’m fine,” she said.

  Her voice betrayed her and he knew it couldn’t be further from the truth, but he ignored that fact for the moment. “I just wanted to let you know the private investigator has arranged a meeting between myself and Marcela.”

  A long silence ensued until he heard her hoarse voice. “She’s coming to Santa Clara?”

  “No. I’ll fly to Los Angeles. We’ll meet the day after tomorrow in the early afternoon. I’ll probably be gone two or three days while I sort things out with her.”

  “You’re going to her place?” she asked.

  “No. The PI suggested to meet initially in a public place and she suggested La Trattoria, an Italian restaurant near the hospital where she works.”

  Her voice was shaky when she responded, “Good luck. Call me when you’re back with good news.”

  “Babe…” He started to try and soothe her nervousness, but she hung up on him. He held the phone in his hand for a moment before tossing it to the bed in frustration. This meeting had better yield some positive results. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.

  ***

  The story of Karen and Robert continues in book 2.

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  Falling for Him Book 1

  Read on for a preview of Found by Love, the story of Lee and Rocco.

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  Please enjoy a preview of the story of Lee and Rocco

  FOUND BY LOVE

  Falling for Him, Book 8

  Jessica Gray

  Preview Found by Love

  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzzzz. ZzzzzzzzzEeee.

  Marilee “Lee” Taylor rolled over in the bed, raised her hand up to her forehead, and pushed her tangled hair up and off her face.

  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

  “What in the world?” she groused.

  She sat up a little farther in the bed, glanced over at the side table, and located the alarm clock. “6:30 in the frickin’ morning – someone had better be dying or they’re dead.”

  The noise stopped momentarily. She listened for a few seconds, released a huge sigh, and had just scooted back down in bed when…

  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. ZzzzzEeeeeeeee. ZzzzzEeeeeeeeeeee.

  Lee rushed from the bed and ran through the bedroom door, frantically looking around for the source of the sound. She had to make it stop. Now.

  Looking back and forth through the wall of windows, which occupied most of the ground floor, she located the perpetrator of her disrupted sleep. Ugh! It was wearing jeans that had seen better days, a worn flannel shirt, and was holding some sort of electric tool. The offending item appeared to be a drill and was responsible for the awful noise that had awakened her.

  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzzz. ZzzzzzzzzEeeeeeee. ZzzzzzzzzzzzzEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

  She ran out onto the deck of her uncle’s cabin and shouted at the offending man with the power tool.

  “Stop! Stop!”

  He didn’t even lift his head, but kept doing whatever he was doing. Looking around, she located the electrical outlet with a large orange extension cord plugged into it.

  Zzzzzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

  Quickly moving in that direction, she grabbed the cord and yanked it from the socket.

  Zzzzzz..........

  Lee smiled smugly as the man slowly stood up and looked at the tool in his hands. He turned it in different directions, and even tried unplugging the cord several times. When it didn’t switch back on, he reached behind him and gave the extension cord a tug. Not prepared for a slack cord, he lost his balance, going down to one knee with a curse.

  She edged her way back towards the door of the house as the man picked himself up off the deck, setting the drill down in the process, and turned towards the outlet. She had almost reached the safety of the doorway when he caught her movement out of the corner of his eye and whipped around, pinning her in place with his stare.

  He took in her appearance from the top of her head to the soles of her feet. His perusal caused an unfamiliar heat to travel through her body, but she was used to men’s stares and gave as good as she got.

  She took in the tousled hair, the several days’ stubble along his chiseled jawline, the aviator sunglasses, and the strong chin. Moving her eyes downward, she acknowledged that the worn flannel shirt covered an impressive, broad chest, and where his shirtsleeves were rolled up his arms, she could see a sprinkling of golden hair covering tan and strong arms. His hips were trim and his jeans fitted him like a glove – everywhere.

  As her eyes reached below his hips, he shifted his weight, making her aware of her stare. Quickly raising her eyes, she watched as he removed his sunglasses and a smirk took over his very kissable lips.

  A smirk? Who was he smirking at? That guy had some nerve. Opening her mouth to tell him off and get him off her uncle’s porch, his grin intensified and he shook his head before gesturing back to her.

  “I don’t know who you think you are, but get…” She paused as his grin grew even bigger. Not sure what he was finding so amusing, she placed her hands on her hips – her very naked hips.

  Glancing down she realized why the stranger was openly grinning at her. She was stark naked, and to make matters worse, Lee had always had the habit of talking with her hands. He’d gotten a good glimpse of her everything.

  Quickly covering her breasts with one arm and shielding her crotch with the other, she took refuge behind one of the deck chairs. She could feel the blush rising in her cheeks and chest, and her breathing had become quick and shallow. He had to leave. Now.

  The man’s grin returned at her attempt to cover her body. He grinned even more when she finally became aware he was getting a perfect view of her backside thanks to the reflection from all of the windows. His eyes traveled up and down her body, leaving hot trails of fire behind him. Lee felt the flush spreading from her cheeks and chest all over her body. By now she probably was a flashing red signpost.

  He crossed his arms over his chest, waiting her out. She couldn’t believe this arrogant man had seen her naked. And now, he just stood there, as if he was waiting on her to invite him in to tea. Brazen.

  “Don’t just stand there. Pack your stuff up and leave these premises immediately.” She so wanted to stomp her foot at him. But barefooted this wouldn’t make an impression on him, and she could do without a splinter from the deck’s weathered wood in her foot. A splinter would just make the morning all the better.

  It was taking her a lot of effort to maintain her self-control. And that bullhead across the porch had to stoke the fire – he shook his head without saying a word. Double brazen.

  Lee’s mouth dropped open. She had just given him a direct order to leave the premises and he looked like he was getting ready to laugh at her. Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself, she tried again: “Look, I don’t know who you think you are, but my uncle owns this cabin and I want you to leave. I won’t tell him you were here, doing whatever you were doing, but if you don’t leave immediately, I’m going to call the police and have you arrested for trespassing.”

  Not able to hold back this time, she stamped her foot, only to cringe when she felt a small piece of wood pierce her tender arch. Great!

  When the man continued to grin at her, she quick
ly whirled around and hobbled into the cabin. She grabbed the first piece of clothing she could find, an old rain jacket hanging on the coat rack, and quickly donned it while shutting and locking the door.

  After ascertaining she was safe for the moment, she grabbed the cordless phone and quickly dialed 911.

  “911; please state the nature of your emergency,” a calm voice on the other end of the line said.

  “There’s a strange man doing some sort of work on my uncle’s cabin. He’s not supposed to be here and he won’t leave.”

  “Ma’am, could you please give me your address and name? “

  “My name’s Marilee Taylor, and I don’t know the exact address. It’s a cabin up the road from the town a little ways. Green metal roof and wrap-around porch.” She couldn’t believe she had forgotten the address; of all the stupid things to do! “There’s a lake not far from here, if that helps?”

  “Ma’am, are you by any chance Charlie Taylor’s niece?”

  “Yes, I am. Thank God – can you please send someone to make this man leave?”

  Lee had wrapped her arms around herself as she watched the man outside return to his task.

  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzz. Zzzzzz.

  Turning her back on the sight, she continued, “He’s at it again.”

  “Who’s at what again?”

  “The stranger on the porch. Haven’t you been listening? He’s using some sort of drill out there. I told him to stop, but he’s at it again.” She took another deep, slow breath. She was sounding hysterical even to her own ears. How must the person on the other end of the phone be interpreting her anxiety?

  “Ma’am, Sheriff Brown is right here and would like to talk to you. Okay?”

  Lee felt a sense of relief to hear that an officer of the law was already aware of her predicament. “Sure, that’s fine. Please put him on.”

  “Miss Taylor? Or is it Missus?”

  “Miss Taylor is fine. Officer, there’s this strange man on my uncle’s porch. He woke me up with these loud drilling noises and…”