Page 11 of Hot in the City
He rolled off her with the cheekiest smile she’d seen. She sucked in a breath, needing a moment to collect herself.
“Back in a sec.” He got up and strolled off through the adjoining door. She whistled her approval at the fine rear view. His answering chuckle echoed from the bathroom.
She shifted into action so when he returned, she’d be ready. One truffle between her teeth and the glass dish holding the rest sitting on the bed beside her. She pushed back the sheets so she lay naked, ready to tempt him.
He opened the door – she heard the snick of the lock – and then nothing. Dead silence. Then he dropped whatever he’d been holding with a thud and rushed to the side of the bed. He kissed her mouth, biting the truffle in half. Devouring it, and her. Everything in her whole body tingled and sighed, kissing him, tasting the sugary smoothness, the cocoa butteriness, the whole kit and caboodle. Tasting those full lips and the truffle in one astonishing morsel. But she was ready for more.
Samuel lay beside her, his naked torso aligning with her side. He picked up another truffle from the dish and held it up near her mouth and licked his lips. “You’re a genius, Beth. I think I love you.”
Her heart thudded, those pesky tears prickling again. Joy rising up, she laughed with a lightness she hadn’t felt in years.
She breathed out, then dived in. Headlong. Brave. “You know, it’s funny you should say that. I think I love you too.”
Before she could say another word, he’d placed another truffle on his tongue and captured her lips in a delicious, never-ending kiss.
Tree Love
A romantic short story
Cassandra O’Leary
Ten years ago
Natalia Bianchi wasn’t shy about getting what she wanted. Until she met The Man. Dan ‘The Man’ Mancini was everything she wanted, in a beautiful, six-foot-three package of yum, begging to be unwrapped. But she didn’t. Unwrap him.
Natalia sat quietly beside him, her nose in a book, as usual. Learning about the history of garden design wasn’t usually so stimulating. She kept notes in her leather-bound sketchbook, decorating the margins with drawings from life and memory. Leaves, flowers. A vitally strong man’s hands...
Natalia and Dan were study buddies. That was all. Study sessions in the university Arts library’s private study rooms were painful. In a low down, throbbing, sweet and sinful way. It wouldn’t have been so bad, so arousing, except it had been going on for a year. She squeezed her thighs together under the table.
Straightening her spine, she gathered her courage. Now or never. Now.
Thumping her book closed, she glanced at Dan. He watched her, tilting his head to the side, his full lips slightly parted. Dark, wavy hair flopped over one ebony eye, sparkling with awareness. His scent was the forest in spring, both earthy and herbally-fresh.
Natalia approached him in two strides and climbed onto his lap before she changed her mind.
His eyes were wide, but he didn’t move. “What’s up, Nat?” he asked, his gaze dropping to her mouth.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, inhaling so his scent filled her nostrils. Dan’s groan rumbled through her body like earth tremors, and molten lava flowed between them.
She leaned in and pressed her lips to his. Tasting him, teasing him, she nipped at his lips with tiny kisses. Then he bit her bottom lip, giving it a gentle tug. She flung herself at him, pressing into his chest, hot through his clinging t-shirt.
Opening her lips under his, she tasted him—an explosion of bittersweet chocolate and the headiest hit of that herbal scent. Tongues clashed and slid together until she was gasping. Slanting her head for a better angle, she licked across his delicious lower lip and kissed him deeper.
His large hand had moved to her hip, grasping her close to his body. His hardening body.
She made the kind of noise usually reserved for devouring chocolate covered almonds. Study buddies? All bets were off.
He broke the kiss. “Natalia.” His voice came out choked. Resting his forehead against hers, his chest rose and fell in a ragged rhythm.
Dan kissed her forehead, then lifted her to standing as if she weighed nothing. He grabbed his notebook and swaggered out of the room without saying another word.
She’d shocked him into silence.
Natalia slid down on her chair, still panting, letting her head flop onto her sketchbook. It would be okay. They’d talk about the kiss tomorrow.
Present day
Emails pinged her inbox in furious succession. Natalia shook her head. Work, work, work. So many trees, so little time.
