Four Men & A Lady Read online

Ben didn't even stop. He twined his fingers through Heidi's, pulled her down the terrace steps and out onto the lawn's winding trails.

  He wanted privacy. Total privacy. No subdued laughter, no intimate whispers, no it's been a long time intrusions. He was running out of patience as it was.

  "Ben, wait!"

  Heidi tugged at his hand and he slowed, barely, looking right and left. Dammit. Nothing. No place offered the seclusion he sought.

  There were too many people, too many wide-open spaces. A golf course, a few trees. No secluded benches. Or beds.

  Who was he kidding?

  His urgency wasn't going to wait for a bed. What he felt for this woman had been building for fifteen years. Fifteen years he'd lived with the fantasy. And here she was. Real. Flesh and blood. The woman he wanted.

  "Ben, wait!"

  This time she jerked her hand free of his hold. He stopped because he had to, turned and stared. What the hell was he doing?

  Her chest rose and fell with the exertion of their flight. Her eyes shone wildly in the light of the moon.

  Spirals of hair escaped their clasp and twirled like tempting ribbons on her skin.

  She was flushed and fevered and he stirred at the sight of her. One purposeful step at a time, she walked toward him. Her smile, as it spread across her face, stirred him more. Her hand came up, she placed it along his jaw, tracing the line of his scar, and he stirred completely.

  "I'm not going to run out on you, Ben." The stroke of her finger was erotically soft, the stroke of her breathy voice arousing. "I'm not going to run. Ever. Again."

  He had her. She was his. Her eyes, the eyes which even his dreams looked into, told him that truth. He breathed deeply. The tight knot that had seized his gut released its fire. Liquid heat spread through his body and his knees shook.

  He wanted to bring her pleasure. More than taking his fill of this woman, he wanted to make her burn— for him, with him, all over him. Hands on his hips, he watched her smile grow wise and knowing.

  And this time when he stirred he knew he was in trouble. Emotional trouble. Trouble that began with a capital H and had held him captive for years.

  He blew out a long telling breath. Later. He'd deal with that later. Right now he had a more pressing problem to resolve. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist more gently this time. "Come on, Heidi."

  "Come on where?"

  He searched the grounds madly, the tennis courts, the golf course, the pool... "This way."

  She came willingly which, even after her words of reassurance, came as a relief. He was so close to having her that not having her wasn't an option.

  He'd wanted her in high school, but then he'd been seventeen and horny. That was a lust that had confused him, tangled up as it was with his feelings of friendship.

  He'd wanted her the years after the assault and the note. That want was tied up in anger and revenge. Sicker, yes, but much easier to understand.

  He wanted her now because she was Heidi who was strong and sassy. Who answered his catcalls with a baseball bat and had the class, the grace, the feminine allure that couldn't be surgically implanted or donned with designer labels, that made a man stand up and take notice.

  “Where are we going?" she asked, breathless behind him.

  He smiled his first smile of the evening, felt the first easing of nerves. Oh, this was going to be good. “I have an urge."

  "An urge? You do?"

  Nodding, he kept his pace steady though his legs screamed to run. “Actually, I've had it for years."

  “Have you seen a doctor about this?"

  He laughed. Good? Ha! This was going to be great. "No need. The cure is right in front of my face."

  They'd reached the gate that led into the fenced-off pool enclosure. The area had been locked up for the reunion night festivities, but Ben punched the code into the electronic keypad and guided Heidi through.

  Security lamps glowed yellow from the enclosure's four corners, lighting the walkway from the gate to the pool house and on to the water's edge.

  She waited for him to secure the lock then said, "Isn't this area off-limits?"

  "Membership does have its privileges." It also had its rules, a dozen or so of which he was breaking. So sue me, he thought.

  "What are we doing here?" she whispered, though there was no one around to hear. Or to see.

  Which fit in perfectly with Ben's plans. He looked down at her, feeling the tide of desire rise. "You always said no when I asked you to my pool parties. This time I'm going to make you come."

  Her eyes glittered beneath the brilliance of the moon and a light even brighter that came from within. "You are?"

  Wrapping one arm around her waist, he pulled her to him. "Yes. Several times."

  "How many is several?"

  It was going to be one less if she didn't stop looking at him that way. "How many do you want it to be?"

  "How much time do we have?"

  "Less than we did two minutes ago." And once again he took her hand.

  They made their way to the pool house where Ben pulled open the door to the breezeway. Bypassing the workout room and the sauna, the locker rooms and showers, he grabbed a stack of towels from those freshly folded and pushed back into the open air with the smell of chlorine and the night.

  Heidi's heels clicked against the pool decking as she followed him to the water's edge. He grabbed a chaise lounge, dragged it behind him, shrugged off his suit jacket once he'd stopped.

  "Ben?" Heidi faced him from the other side of the chair. Her voice was steady, but her face showed signs of hesitation. "What're you doing?"

  He pulled at the knot of his tie, draped it over his jacket where it lay across the back of the chair. "Going to a pool party. With you."

  Tentatively, she placed her evening bag on the foot of the lounger, uncuffed her bracelet and tucked it inside. "Should we be here? Is it safe?"

  "We're safe. The pool house blocks the view from the gate. No one can get in without the code. And only one or two of our ex-classmates are members anyway."

  He worked his buttons through their holes and tossed his shirt to the chair. Then he toe-heeled off his shoes, pulled off his socks, his watch and reached for his belt.

  "Ben?" Heidi hadn't moved, but stood watching him undress, stood staring at his half-naked body with the moon and the stars and intensity in her eyes. "I don't have a swimsuit."

  "You have a bra and panties?"

  Nodding, she closed her eyes, pulled in a breath, blew it out through pursed lips and looked up. Then kicked off her shoes and smiled.

  It was a wicked smile. An evil smile. The smile of a temptress wearing red. He ground his jaw and suppressed the erection he had rising.

  He needed patience. He needed control. He didn't need to frighten her before he'd convinced her to follow his lead.

  He opened his fly and waited.

  Heidi lifted one shoeless foot to the seat of the chair, raised her skirt and reached for the band of her thigh-high stockings. Ben groaned. Heidi's legs in sheer thigh-high stockings.

  Breathe, Ben. Breathe. Imaginary fingers drummed against his heart. Silently he watched as she took her time, drew her fingers higher, slipped them beneath the lace-banded tops, eased down the white nylon and pulled the fluff free from toes with nails of bright red.

  She repeated the process, giving him a nice long look at her other leg—a look he took. He saw her smooth skin, the curve of her calf, her strong shapely thigh, and then he saw a flash of white panty. Groaning again, he moved his gaze away, to the dip of her neckline.

  Breathe, Ben. Breathe. Her breasts swayed as she worked off the second stocking and he gave up fighting his body. Her stockings now lay on his jacket and shirt and the sight had him wanting a drink to wet his mouth. And then she reached for the zipper on the back of her dress.

  He watched as her bare arms lifted to release the first few inches of the closure, then lowered to reach behind her back and finish the job. The motion pu
lled her dress tight over the breasts he was so close to having.

  He didn't care if he ever breathed again.

  And then she stopped, met his gaze, arched a brow and said, "Well?"

  "Well what?" What was she doing talking? Why had she stopped?

  "It's your turn."

  "My turn?"

  She nodded, took two steps toward him. "Our feet are both bare. Our zippers are down. We're even. The next move is yours."

  Ah. But she was so wrong. He shook his head. "We're not even."

  "How so?"

  "You're still wearing your top," he said and felt his nostrils flare, felt sweat break out across his bare chest, felt a full throb of his erection against the elastic of his shorts.

  He wanted to see her strip, not necessarily to see her naked. He wanted to be closer, eye to eye, mouth to mouth, skin to skin when she finally bared all.

  And he wanted to do the baring.

  He wanted to release the clasp of her bra, to pull the straps down her shoulders, to tease the cups across the nipples he'd dreamed about for years since that day in her attic, to hold her full flesh when her breasts were free.

  Of course to be able to do any of that he'd have to be able to move. And right now he was rooted in place because the sleeves of her dress were coming down.

  "Wait," he said and put up one hand.

  She halted, questioned him with her eyes and waited. And waited, waited with her feet bare and her legs bare and her dress close to coming off. And while she waited, he tried to decide why he'd stopped her.

  This moment had been so incredibly long in Coming. And now that it was here he wanted everything to be perfect. He wanted it to last forever because never in his life had he felt anything so right.

  Heidi had been his since that first day in the band hall when she'd singled him out of the four. She was here with him now and he didn't want her to think this was a payback, a collection, a calling it even of any sorts.

  This was about one man and one woman and the pleasure between.

  "Ben? What's wrong?" she asked and frowned.

  Nothing was wrong. This was all so right. Why was he even worried? He shook his head, blinked hard, lifted one corner of his mouth. "Just enjoying the view."

  She took another step closer and another, lowered her dress one more inch and one more. Her eyes flashed fire when she asked, "Were you wanting a closer look?"

  The look he wanted required Braille. He swallowed hard, shoved his hand in his pants pockets, and wrapped his right fist around the strip of foil packets he was so glad he'd decided to bring.

  He shook his head because he couldn't speak, nodded for her to continue.

  She did, shimmying out of the slip of red silk in one long full-body, hip-rolling shake. The pool of red swallowed her feet and she stood there in a bra and panties that would never pass for a swimsuit.

  Good thing this party was private, that this was his show and his show alone.

  She wore white scraps of nothing, sheer enough to see shadows and outlines and suggestions of all the things female so close to his reach. The cups of the bra were lace-edged and cut low, the legs of the panties lace-edged and cut high.

  His hands itched to close over her bottom, to pull her close, to grind his hips against her. To lose his pants before he did any of that.

  "Ben? I think it's still your turn." She stepped out of the puddle of silk, reached down to pick up the dress and exposed a lot of pink-tipped skin in the process.

  After draping the dress across his discarded shirt and jacket, she rounded the head of the chair, taking slow barefoot steps toward the pool's edge and presenting him with a full view of her back.

  Dipping the toes of one foot in the water, she glanced back over her shoulder. "Ben?"

  "Huh?" he grunted.

  "I said it's your turn."

  "My turn?" His turn for what? How could he think about anything when, but for two straps of elastic across her back, she was bare from nape to heel.

  Tendrils of hair tickled her neck and his imagination. Her shoulders were beautifully rounded, her back beautifully strong. Her waist was narrow, her hips curvy, her bottom a fit to fill his hands. Her legs went on forever and he wanted them around his waist. Which meant he had to get naked.

  He shucked his pants, tossed them carelessly to the chair. And missed. Who cared? He was finally down to his white briefs and wearing no more than Heidi.

  Now they were even. Both standing at the pool's edge and fully filling out what underwear they wore.

  Leaving two feet between them, he moved to stand at her right. She cut a glance his way, taking him in from top to bottom. Her eyes held curiosity, interest, appreciation. His head swelled, along with other parts of his anatomy.

  And then while he was contemplating his state of painful bliss, Heidi jumped into the shallow end of the pool. The splash of water settled to lap at her breasts. Envious, Ben lowered his body and sat on the edge, dangling his legs over the cement lip and into the pool.

  Heidi walked toward him, stopping when she reached his knees. He wanted her to come closer, to touch him, to step between his legs...

  A droplet of water fell from her lashes, another from her nose. Her hair was still up and still dry. They stayed there, Heidi in the water, her bra now wet and transparent, and Ben sitting on the edge holding onto his last shred of control.

  And then Heidi beckoned with a lazy blink of her eyes, the crook of one finger and a low-pitched request. "This isn't going to be much of a party if I'm the only one getting wet."

  He growled, pushed off and launched into the water. Unlike Heidi, Ben felt the need for a complete dunking and when he came up for air she was waiting. He walked toward her slowly, the water tugging at his limbs. She backed away one step at a time until she came up against the pool wall.

  "Looks like you won't be going any further," he said, though the entire Olympic-size pool stretched in front of her.

  She waved her hands through the water, creating ripples all around. "Are you saying I've gone far enough?"

  "I'm almost amazed you've gone this far."

  Her chin came up, her hands stopped. "I told you I wasn't going to run out on you, Ben."

  "I know. I heard you."

  "I heard you, too."

  "What did I say?"

  "You invited me to your pool party. And you told me you were going to make me come."

  "So I did," he said wanting to spread her legs and bury himself in her body, wanting first for her to ask him to.

  "Well?"

  "Well what?"

  "I'm here. At your party." She reached out her arms along the pool edge, suspending her body while she kicked out with her legs. "When are you going to make me come?"

  He was near enough now to touch her, so he reached out one hand and trailed one finger from the hollow of her throat over her breastbone and between her breasts, down her belly, through her navel to the edge of her panties.

  He dipped his finger inside to find her flesh swollen and her nub hard. She gasped as he stroked her once, twice, circling the pad of his finger around her while she squirmed to work him inside.

  It took the steel control of his sudden super powers to pull away. But he did. And then he closed his eyes and counted to ten to recover.

  He was only up to three when Heidi spoke.

  "Ben?"

  He opened his eyes. "Yes?"

  "Would you do that again?"

  "All right." He ground out the two words.

  "But this time don't stop."

  "Okay." He groaned out the one.

  "And this time I want more than your finger."

  Like there was a man alive who could say no to that?

  He stepped forward, boosted her onto the edge of the pool and finally, finally, finally buried his face between her breasts. Her skin was cool from the water, warm from her heat. He reached behind her to release the catch of her bra.

  He didn't have a chance to see the flesh he'd bared b
ecause she took his head and guided his mouth to her breast. She was sweet and textured and gumdrop hard and he rolled her nipple with his tongue.

  Her body arched. She leaned back on the palms she'd planted on the deck behind her. He couldn't get close enough, dammit. Kissing his way to her other breast, he placed his hands at her waist, lifted her from her perch, lowered her onto his body.

  Her arms came up to wrap around his neck, his thigh came up to press between hers. He swept their bodies back into the water. Looking into her eyes, he swirled her to the center of the pool, moving his thigh and rubbing circles on the hot spot she ground against him.

  "Oh, Ben," she said and lightly shuddered, raining kisses on his forehead, on his eyelids, on his cheeks. "Don't stop. Please don't stop."

  He'd only gotten started. He never intended to stop. He held her naked bottom where she rode his thigh and leaned forward, exploring her mouth with his tongue while he busied his hands behind her.

  Securing the strap of her thong in one hand, the band of elastic in the other, he yanked. Hard. Separating the seam and stripping her bare.

  "Oh, Ben," she said as now only his shorts remained as a barrier between them, as her feminine flesh made full contact with his thigh. She scooted farther up his leg, closer to the part of him she sought.

  And then she said, "It's your turn again."

  He carried her back to the pool's edge, away from the underwater lights and into chest-deep water. Once there, once his body held hers in place, she moved her hands to his waist and the elastic of his shorts.

  He hissed, struggled for control, knew he'd never find it in the dark, in the water, in Heidi's arms. Her hands were on his skin now, working the wet material over his hips, over his erection. Then she raised one leg and, with a foot between his thighs, took his shorts to his feet.

  "Now we're even." She wrapped her legs around him, reaching between their bodies to take him in her hands for the first time.

  Her hands and the water and her legs were too much. The waiting was over. He grabbed the leg of the trousers dragging the deck. With Heidi kissing his neck, running her hands over his chest and his back and his rump and his erection, he fumbled in the pocket.

  Underwater condom application was not the easiest thing he'd ever done, and made even harder by his degree of hardness and the pressure of Heidi's great expectations and her roaming hands. But finally he was sheathed and ready.