on her side, she faced him. His masculinity was almost more than she could comprehend. Holding his gaze, she reached out and placed her hand on the pectoral muscles of his chest then ran her index finger over his skin. Slowly she traced his ribs, dipping and rising as she moved downward.
She glanced up to see that Chance’s pupils had dilated. They burned with desire. Her actions were having the effect she desired. Circling his belly button, she enjoyed the inhalation of his breath as she watched his skin react to her touch. It was exciting to see this strong, masterful man respond to her. Her hand followed a line of hair downward until she reached the head of his manhood. She ran the tip of her finger over him and watched the length twitch.
Chance growled and pulled her hand away.
Grinning, Ellen shifted so that she could push his shoulders to the blanket. That done, she straddled him. She kissed his jaw and moved down to the valley of his neck and onto his chest. As she went one of Chance’s hands glided over her hip. When her tongue slid across his breastbone, he cupped a butt cheek and gently squeezed.
She rose above him. Looking into his eyes, Ellen slowly came down to kiss him. It was a kiss of not only passion but of heartfelt longing and caring.
Chance took control and rolled her to her back. One of his legs came to rest over hers. “I can’t last much longer. I promise you slow next time.”
Her heart swelled. He thought there would be a next time.
Ellen lifted her hips, pushing her center against his leg. She throbbed for him. Blood rushed in her ears. She needed him as well.
Chance settled between her legs, his manhood coming to rest at her entrance. He supported himself on his elbows as he looked down at her.
A stricken look crossed his face. “We have no protection.”
Ellen’s hands found his hips and pulled him to her as she lifted upward. “Don’t worry. I have it taken care of.” She reached up and kissed him with everything in her. She refused to let him leave her again.
Chance slipped into her until she held all of him. Ellen gripped his forearms and wrapped her legs around his waist, bringing him closer. He pulled back and pushed forward then did it again. Each time tension coiled tighter in her. She wiggled, begging to have more. Chance gifted her with a hard thrust.
Ellen squeezed her legs tighter around him, bowed her back as he pressed into her. Squeezing her eyes shut, she reached, searched and grabbed for what she needed. Finding the pinnacle, she came apart. She remained rigid, taking all Chance had to offer, until she started the blissful float downward.
Her legs fell away from his hips. Before she could think straight again Chance drove into her. Slowly at first, then faster he stoked. Her hands tightened around his neck. He grasped her hips and held her firmly against him. His mouth took hers and whatever else he wanted. Heat flared in her. She grasped his shoulders. It couldn’t be happening again. Chance gained speed. Her scream of pleasure mixed with his groan of release as he sent her to the stars once more.
Chance held Ellen close as they lay on the too-small blanket. Her head lay against his shoulder and her arm rested across his chest with her hand buried under his hair. One of her legs wrapped around his and her foot was cupped in the arch of his.
She fit like she belonged. Perfectly. What would it be like to have her like this all the time?
He’d never been more satisfied in his life. She was everything he’d never thought to have in a woman. Beauty, intelligence, strength, passion, perseverance and most of all an easy smile. He shouldn’t think like that but having Ellen in his arms made him want to dream again. She’d brought that back to his life.
Her hand moved over his shoulder and teased his earlobe.
He looked at her. “Hey, there. I thought you were asleep.”
“Mmm… Just resting.” She stretched against him, running her fingers across his belly.
“You keep that up and I’ll have to retaliate.”
“I don’t have a problem with that.” She kissed his neck. “Didn’t you promise me slow next time?”
Chance kissed the top of her head as his hand caressed the under-curve of one of her breasts. “I can go slow. But the question is can you stand it?”
Ellen’s hand drifted to his hip. “As long as you can.”
He took the challenge and they both won.
They were still basking in a cloud of satisfaction while in each other’s arms when Ellen said, “Tell me about your childhood.”
Chance couldn’t help but flinch. Why did Ellen want to know about that? He’d rather talk about anything else but that and his ex-wife. She’d already heard that sordid story.
“I was a baby, then a child and now a man. Pretty typical stuff.”
She gave him a playful swat on the chest. “I know well that you are a man. But what I want to know about is Chance the little boy.”
Ellen wasn’t going to back off from this. That wasn’t who she was. He might as well tell her and then she’d quit asking. “I was raised in upstate New York. My father was a world-famous surgeon even when I was a young boy. He traveled and spoke a lot. We had everything money could buy but he was never around. My mother adored him.” Chance had worshiped his mother. “But my father was so wrapped up in his life that he barely saw her. He liked the jet-setting, being the big shot, and he like the women that went with that recognition. I’m not sure why they ever married.”
The same question had occurred to him when Alissa had left him. Had he, like his father, been so wrapped up in his work that he hadn’t been taking care of what he’d needed to do at home? Had it been fair to ask a woman to live his lifestyle? The question still nagged at him.
He looked at Ellen. Her golden hair was spread out over his chest and shoulder. Her fingers ran along the center of his chest as if she couldn’t get enough of him.
“How sad. Your mother must have been so lonely.”
“She was.”
“What happened?”
His chest tightened. “How did you know something happened?”
“By the tone of your voice.”
Had he become that transparent? Or was she just that in tune with him? He wasn’t sure which idea disturbed him more. “She left. Later I was told she joined a commune-type place. As far as I know, she’s still there. I went to see her once when I was in college but she said she didn’t want to see me. I never tried again.”
Ellen’s arm went to his waist and she gave him a tight hug. “Oh, Chance, I’m so sorry.”
She’d lost her mother as well. If anyone could empathize it was her. “You understand too well, don’t you?”
Her head nodded against him. “Mothers are important.” She didn’t say anything for a few minutes. Her voice wobbled as she said, “I watched my mother die.”
Even during this ordeal she’d never sounded so close to tears. They shared a huge loss but hers had been far more traumatizing. He pulled her close. If only he could take her pain away. “Sweetheart, I’m so sorry.”
Chance understood her agony. Knew the need of a child for comfort that only a mother could give. Or the smell of perfume that was hers alone. A whisper of a kiss on the cheek as she went by or that safe feeling when being tucked in at night.
Yet despite their similarities in background, Ellen saw the world as a sparkling place while he saw it as tarnished. She seemed to bubble even in the situation they were in now. He wanted that in his life.
Moisture touched his skin. Strong,