A Lover's Touch Part 5

Her body was hot and there was nothing she could do to get cool. She had practically stripped down to the bare essentials yet she was burning up. She hadn't dared let Slate kiss her good-night. After he had accepted her invitation to dinner, she

Chapter Sixteen.

The night air was cool and Kendra tightened the robe at her waist as she walked along the sh.o.r.eline. The moon's glow seemed endless and bathed the beach waters in a sparkling hue.

She drew in a calming breath and inhaled the scent of the ocean. A number of stars sparkled overhead like dots of diamonds in a dark velvety sky. A few minutes later she had almost reached her destination, when suddenly she made out a figure not far from where she stood. The reflection from the moon provided enough light for her to see the person who was standing less than twenty feet away, staring out at the ocean.

She gathered her towel against her chest when a voice inside her head tol

Chapter Seventeen.

As much as Slate wanted to pick Kendra up in his arms and carry her to the beach house and devour her, he didn't do it. There was a reason the two of them had met out here under the stars and facing the ocean.

For seven years he had grown to hate the sea because of what it had taken away from the Conrads and away from him. Now with Kendra's help, the last phase of deep-rooted guilt was being destroyed. From now on whenever he thought of the sea, it wouldn't be as a taker of life but as a giver. In Kendra's arms tonight, in front of the rolling surf of the ocean on its mystic sh.o.r.es, he planned to get his life back.

Without saying a single word, he leaned down and kissed each corner of her mouth before hungrily staking his claim and slanting his mouth over hers. He could feel her breathing quicken and the heat that flooded her mouth when he felt her body shudder. He felt it vibrate through every cell, every pulse, every pore.

Slate's tongue was in control, and Kendra's went where his led, seeking, devouring, eating away at her with a hunger that made her knees weaken and her heart race. She wrapped her arms around him, feeling the hardness of him, large and physical. His fingers slipped beneath the straps of her bikini top and pulled it down off her shoulders, and his mouth began devouring her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

He was renewing his brand, staking a claim, reaffirming what had always been. His mouth moved back to hers, demanding her response as it greedily robbed her of any conscious thought other than how he was making her feel. And she matched him, pa.s.sion for pa.s.sion.

His hand moved to her hips and grasped her bikini bottom, and after one firm tug on the flimsy material it ripped. She broke the kiss, panting profusely. Her decision made, she took a step back and eased what was left of the bikini bottom down her legs and kicked it aside. She then pulled the bikini top over her head and tossed it away.

Naked, she went back into Slate's arms. "I want you," she whispered softly.

His mouth captured hers and he picked her up into his arms and walked her to the area where he had spread a towel earlier. He placed her down on it, then proceeded to remove his swim shorts.

He heard her breath catch when he stood before her, gloriously naked and aroused. He had wanted to talk to her and explain everything before things reached this stage. He had wanted to tell her what had gone on in his life over the past seven years and why he had stayed out of touch.

Out of touch but not out of mind. He had loved her and had never stopped loving her. Loving her was what had kept him sane when he'd felt himself about to go off the deep end.

His entire body was tensed, wired, filled with desire. And when she reached out her arms to him, he dropped down beside her on the towel, aroused and ravenous beyond reason.

d her to turn around and go back. Slate was the last person she needed to see, but she couldn't advance nor retreat. She just stood there transfixed and watched him, knowing he was unaware of her presence.

The shimmering light cast his features into sharp view, and she thought that she had never seen a more beautiful specimen of a man. The only piece of clothing he wore was swim shorts and the rich brown coloring of his skin seemed to glow. His bare chest, masculine shoulders, and firm thighs displayed a physically fit body, one that was capable of giving a woman intense pleasure. She shuddered, remembering just what kind of pleasure it could deliver.

Heated desire thrummed through her already hot veins as her body responded to the sheer essence of him, making it plainly clear whom it wanted and what it needed.

The seven year wait was over.

She inhaled deeply and the sound seemed to alert Slate to her presence. He turned, and his gaze caught hers and held it. Heat flowed from his eyes to her and the desire in his eyes communicated to her, making every nerve in her body move between her legs. She shuddered against the s.e.xual power he held over her from just looking at her and was tempted to close her eyes to shut him out, but couldn't.

His gaze said it all. He wanted her.

Kendra took a step forward, knowing that she wanted him, too. She bit her lip, remembering how things used to be between them, the heat and the intensity. At seventeen and eighteen, she'd had the desires of a young girl; now her body had the hunger of a woman.

She watched Slate take the remaining steps toward her, holding her gaze all the while. The expression on his face was intense, and for a moment she could only imagine what thoughts were flitting through his mind. Then suddenly, she read a few of them and her breath caught and her nipples hardened. He planned on doing a lot to her tonight; seven years' worth and no matter how he tried, he still wouldn't get enough.

But then, she thought when he finally came to a stop in front of her, neither would she.

had opened the car door and raced into the house without looking back.

Thinking about him only made Kendra's body feel hotter. Knowing she was in a state where she would not find relief tonight, she walked back into the house and went into her bedroom. Taking off her robe she quickly slipped into her bikini.

It was a wonderful night to go swimming and she decided to go to her favorite part of the beach - the stretch of sand in front of the beach house.

Chapter Eighteen.

Pa.s.sion grew to extreme proportions when Slate's fingers touched Kendra, skimming all over her body, noticing the differences the years had made. This was no longer the body of a young girl still coming into bloom, but was as a flower fully opened. The curves, fullness, and lushness he found absolutely extraordinary as he stroked her everywhere, beginning with her b.r.e.a.s.t.s before moving lower between her legs.

There his hand found the treasure he sought. She was hot to his fingers, exceedingly wet, and the scent of her consumed him. He began stroking her while whispering just what he wanted to do to her.

When neither of them could take any more, he knelt before her, driven to taste her all over. He began spreading kisses all over her body, paying special homage to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, flicking his tongue over the swollen nipples. And when he heard her soft, throaty breath catch, he was determined to go someplace where he'd never gone before with her.

Holding her hips firmly in his hand he lowered his mouth past her navel and felt her body clench in surprise, then heard the sounds of shocked pleasure that erupted from deep in her throat when his tongue delved into the very essence of her, loving it, cherishing it.

"Slate!"

His name was a scream of gratification when his tongue began stroking her in a way it had never done before. Taking his hand he gently widened her legs, determined to get everything he wanted. With the heat of his mouth he showed her in a way he had never shown another woman just what she meant to him - what she'd always meant to him.

She screamed his name over and over as her nails clawed his back, and when he felt her body tense with her climax, he swiftly moved in place over her.

Their gazes met the moment his body entered hers as his hand grabbed her hips and lifted her to go deeper.

"Ahh." He released a long sigh and a deep shuddering breath when her inner muscles tightened around him, clenching his throbbing erection, holding it captive inside of her. For a second he couldn't move; he just remained still in that position, savoring the feel of being inside of her, connected to her, one with her.

"Love me, Slate."

Her words broke him, destroyed the very last vestige of his control and restraint, opening a floodgate of desire. He began moving and the strokes increased. His thrusts became extensive when a need long denied ripped through him. His mind began spinning out of control. His body followed, and when he felt her body let go as an o.r.g.a.s.m shook her to the core, he screamed her name and pushed deeper inside of her as an o.r.g.a.s.m tore through him as well, making him explode inside of her.

Lowering his head, he consumed her lips, her mouth, and her tongue. She was back in his arms, and he was back inside her body, and there was no way he could ever let her go.

Chapter Nineteen.

Too weak to move, Kendra lay in Slate's arms, enjoying the feel of being there. When he shifted his body to stare down at her, she felt the intensity in his gaze. He leaned forward and captured her lips and she gloried in what they had shared, but knew what was still between them - the doubts, regrets, and the anger. It was time they got everything out in the open.

When he finally broke the kiss, emotions she'd tried holding at bay came tearing through, bringing with them pain. "Why?" she asked softly.

Slate knew what she was asking him. "I went through h.e.l.l, Kendra, and couldn't let you see me that way. Not being able to save Susan Conrad almost destroyed me. It didn't matter that everyone thought I had done all I could do. I was convinced that I had not done enough and was a failure."