They had talked seriously then, about the college he would attend and law school, both back east, then about her scholarship, which had come through. She’d admitted she would be glad to leave her aunt’s home.
“I’m going to have my own place someday,” she’d bragged.
And here she was, back in her aunt’s old house. But now it was hers…hers and the twins. For the split second between one heartbeat and another, she wondered what life would have been like if Spence had been her husband, if the twins had been their babies….
When Spence had opened the bottle of champagne, he’d proposed a toast.
“To friendship. To the future. To us.” She had echoed his words and raised the glass to her lips.
“Wait,” he’d said. He had hooked his arm through hers. Arms linked, they had sipped the magic elixir.
It had been sweet and romantic. When the moon rose over the mountain peak and laid a sparkling trail on the swift flowing river, he had leaned over and kissed her. Full on the lips. Mouth open. Tongue gently asking for entry between her surprised lips.
Then came the rush. A wild, swift, painful release of pleasure that had made her gasp.
He had deepened the kiss at that moment, taking advantage of her momentary start to delve inside and claim her mouth for his own in a way no boy had ever done. And in that instant, she had known this was a man’s kiss, given to a woman. She had responded in kind.
When they had pulled apart, both had been breathing in deep, harsh drafts. They had taken another sip of champagne from the plastic stemmed flutes, their eyes never leaving each other as they drank a wordless toast.
When the flutes were empty, he had tossed them into the back and slid across the space between the bucket seats. Then he’d lifted her into his arms and settled her across his lap. They’d kissed again.
For her, it was as if the heavens had opened and poured all its blessings on them. Happiness, like golden raindrops, splashed through her spirit, and rainbows formed, faded and reformed behind her closed eyelids.
She’d been to parties. She’d been kissed. But not like this. Nothing would ever be like this total bliss, this blending of hearts and minds and spirits. She sensed they had changed. They had gone from best friends to lovers in a single melding of the lips and their spirits.
“You taste like honey,” he murmured, leaving her mouth and tracing a path to her ear. “Like hot honey.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “I am hot…achy hot…”
His body pressed urgently against hers. She felt the rigid length of him against her thigh and wasn’t shocked at the blatant evidence of his desire. Then she was a little shocked…at herself. She’d never been this close to a male, had never felt an erection, but the knowledge only excited her more.
Because it was Spence. And because she trusted him—her best friend, her lover. She shivered in anticipation.
“Spence,” she whispered as a thread of desperation unwound inside her. “The yearning…make it go away.”
“I will,” he said just as fervently. “We will. Together.” He caressed her back, then slipped one hand under her hair to nestle against her scalp.
This time the kiss was explosive, filled with needs they had never dared confess, much less share. She whimpered and moaned. Sometimes she sighed. The kiss went on.
Driven to boldness, she pushed her hands under his T-shirt and found the heated expanse of smooth skin laced with hard muscle. There was hair on his chest. Not a lot, but enough to fascinate while she ran her fingers through it.
He groaned and pressed her hands flat against him. “Yes, Ally, touch me. In any way you want. For as long as you want. It feels…too good,” he muttered.
She thrilled at the shudder that passed through his lean, muscular body. When his hands began a gentle exploration along her waist, she held her breath, wanting…needing…
“Yes,” she said on a sigh when his hand slid over her hot, hot flesh, along her back, down her sides and up her middle. He hesitated then he cupped her breast, taking its weight into his hand.
His heart pounded in unison with hers as the tension escalated to dizzy heights. Her nipple drew into a tight bud against his palm. He rubbed in circles until spirals of sensation echoed down into her core. Breaking the kiss, she pressed her face into his shoulder and bit, very gently, into the strong cords of his neck.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured, appalled that she wanted to bite him. It was something she’d never done.
“No, it’s okay. That didn’t hurt. Bite me some more. I like it. I like anything you do.”
His smile flashed white and quick in the deepening night. Her smile was hesitant. She’d never felt this way, so certain and yet so unsure. It was odd…
He dipped his head and nibbled at her lips. She caught his bottom lip between her teeth and sucked. He drew a harsh breath. Against her breasts, his heart bucked like a rodeo bronco gone wild. Hers went wild with him.
“Ally, I want to see you. Do you mind?”
The question was undemanding, eager but patient. Tears sprang into her eyes. “You are so gentle,” she said.
“I want to be gentle. I wouldn’t do anything to scare you. Do you believe me?”
“Yes.”
He urged her to rest against the car door. His hands went to her blouse. One by one, he unfastened the row of tiny buttons shaped like bows, white against the blue cotton. Her white bra looked dainty, almost flimsy against her tan. She moved instinctively to cross her hands over her chest, then placed them instead around him, sliding one behind him, the other resting on his upper arm.
He smiled again, his gaze catching hers and holding it while he laid a broad hand over her tummy and caressed. “You are so innocent,” he said, almost as if he spoke to himself.
“I am…I mean, I haven’t…”
“I know what you mean. Neither have I.”
He dropped a quick kiss on her mouth, then, looking into her eyes, slid his hands behind her. She felt him pause, then his fingers glided beneath her bra on each side of the hook that held it closed.
“Are you comfortable with this? I can stop at any time. Just say the word.”
She considered, then shook her head, not wanting him to stop. He understood her meaning.
After unfastening the hooks he pushed the blouse off her shoulders. The bra came with it. He carefully laid them over the steering wheel. His eyes came back to her.
“I’m not—”
“Shh,” he said. “You’re beautiful. May I?”
Spellbound, she watched as he tested each tip with his tongue. She closed her eyes and rubbed his shoulders, his neck, threaded her fingers into his hair. He kissed her breasts until they tingled. He drew magic circles that spun off madly into her body and collided with the spirals he’d already caused.
“I want us to touch…my skin, yours,” she tried to explain. “I need to touch all over….”
He leaned away from the seat and stripped his T-shirt off over his head. When he pulled her against him, hot smooth flesh against hot smooth flesh, she trembled as their need reached the flaming point.
“Spence, that’s…that’s…it feels…”
“Incredible,” he murmured. “Ah, Ally, you are so incredibly sweet.”
She writhed against him. He caressed her with sweet movements