Part 38 (1/2)

”I'm glad you're not pet.i.te and frail.”

”And I'm glad you're not impeccably dressed with perfect manners.”

”I'd still want to make love to you, even if all I had was a bed of pine needles.”

Pine needles were okay as long as she shared them with Tyler. Somehow it seemed appropriate. She'd spent her whole life feeling like an outcast, first from the society that produced her parents, then from the society she would have entered as Guy's wife. She felt comfortable sleeping on pine needles next to a cowhand dressed in cotton, linen, and buckskin.

It felt as good to be in Tyler's arms as she remembered. It brought with it a level of excitement that had Daisy feeling too warm to remain under so many blankets. She didn't object when Tyler pulled her out of the bedroll. She didn't notice the cold. There was no guilt this time, no need to stop. She found it hard to believe just being held could give her so much pleasure. She liked the warmth of his nearness. She liked the comfort of his strength, the solid support of his firm, muscled body against her own.

Being in his arms just felt right.

She was aware her feet were still in the s.p.a.ce between their two beds. She pulled them inside and shoved them deep into Tyler's bed.

”You're cold,” he whispered.

”Only my feet.”

He pulled her closer. He seemed to envelope her with his warmth. She wondered what could be so comforting about being in a man's arms, even a man as big as Tyler. It didn't change anything in the past. The rest of the world was exactly the same. She even doubted it would have any real effect on the future. Despite all this, everything seemed new, different, like she was seeing and feeling everything for the first time.

Tyler kissed her gently, merely brus.h.i.+ng her lips with his. It was an unexpected change from the hard, hungry kisses she had come to expect. Confounding her even more, he traced her lips with the tip of his tongue. It made s.h.i.+vers race back and forth over her body. He seemed to be tasting her. Her mouth opened and her tongue sought his, but it fled to be lost in a series of kisses which became more and more urgent.

She could hear Tyler's breathing become a little faster. His kisses grew less gentle, more insistent. Nor did they seem aimless. They were hot and kindled an equal heat in her.

That feeling in her belly was back. It was a strange excitement, delicious and discomfiting at the same time. It seemed to affect her muscles, making them difficult to control. It caused heat to flow throughout her body in a steady stream.

The feel of Tyler's hands on her body increased the heat and trembling until it was difficult for Daisy to focus her thoughts. The myriad of feelings and sensations were new, and each clamored for primacy. It wasn't long before she was overwhelmed. When Tyler slipped his hand inside her s.h.i.+rt and cupped her breast in his calloused hand, her brain gave up trying to distinguish, differentiate or a.n.a.lyze. It even stopped trying to record.

It simply experienced.

s.h.i.+vers of excitement ricocheted along her ribs like shotgun pellets in a cave. The pressure of his fingertip on her nipple was like a small explosion. The friction as he gently rubbed the puckered skin drew heat from inside her. She was unable to remain still. Her body arched against his hand, bringing her abdomen into contact with a hardened length low on Tyler's abdomen.

Their lips locked in a fierce kiss which mirrored their need for each other. Heat blazed through Daisy like a wind-driven forest fire through dry brush. Her own breath caught in her throat, then escaped with an explosion that caused her body go limp. But only for a moment. The feel of Tyler's fingers as they moved down her body unb.u.t.toning her s.h.i.+rt caused her muscles to bunch, her breathing to become erratic, her skin to quiver under his touch.

Tyler's tongue snaked into her mouth. Her tongue darted out to meet his. They engaged in a sinuous frolic with the grace of two dancers. They entwined in a prelude to the joining of their bodies. The feeling of urgency grew until their breaths became noisy, uneven gasps.

The feeling was even more intense when he began to unb.u.t.ton her chemise. The feel of the night air on her hot, bare skin caused a s.h.i.+ver to race through her. Moments later Tyler's open hand covered her skin, blocking out all awareness of the crisp night air. His hand moved over her breast, cupped it, then moved down her side and to her stomach. The roughness of his hand chaffed her soft skin, making the feeling still more intense.

But nothing compared to the shocks that rocked her body when Tyler leaned forward and took her breast in his mouth. Daisy thought her body would explode.

The hot moisture of his tongue scalded her skin. Her breast became so sensitive, the nipple so firm it was a mixture of agony and pleasure. At times she couldn't decide which was stronger. It was only increased by Tyler hand caressing her other breast, creating with fingertips and open palm a pleasure nearly as intense as that from his mouth.

Daisy cried out when he took her nipple between his teeth. She tried to hold it in, but the shuddering moan would not be contained. Through the blazing swirl of pa.s.sion that was slowly engulfing her, she reached out with shaky fingers to unb.u.t.ton Tyler's s.h.i.+rt. The feel of his muscles quivering under her touch was like an aphrodisiac. She could feel the power of his muscled chest, feel the strength of his broad shoulders. His body was a work of art, the work-hardened muscles of a man who had built his body into a fine-tuned masterpiece. She buried her fingers in the soft mat of brown hair that cl.u.s.tered in the center of his chest and tapered to a narrowing band as it sank toward his middle.

She intended to remove Tyler's s.h.i.+rt, to study every inch of him until he was no longer a mystery, but she found her strength and willpower fading. Tyler had removed her s.h.i.+rt, slipped the chemise over her shoulders, and was in the process of slipping chemise and skirt from her body. The prospect of lying naked in his embrace made her forget everything else.

Tyler shrugged out of his own clothes. Long before she had become accustomed to her own state of undress, Tyler's naked body joined hers.

The fact they were naked next to each other stunned her. The fact his hands wandered over her body, touching, caressing, exploring was more than she could comprehend. Daisy felt completely at Tyler's mercy. The more intimately he touched her, the more helpless she became. Each increment of familiarity seemed more shattering than the last. She felt swept away on a tide of swirling sensations that carried her w.i.l.l.y-nilly through one stunning experience after another.

Tyler slipped his leg between hers, and her body clamped down tight.

”Relax,” he whispered. ”I won't hurt you.”

She hadn't thought he would, but she no longer controlled her body. She no longer controlled anything about herself. Her body reacted to him with a will of its own.

”You must relax and open for me,” Tyler said.

She tried, but her body wouldn't respond to her will. With gentle pressure, Tyler moved his leg farther between hers until she felt the muscles give way.

”I promise no to hurt you any more than necessary.”

It wasn't hurt she feared or felt, only surprise and unfamiliarity, antic.i.p.ation of something more. Tyler put his arms around her and pulled her to him. She stiffened at the unmistakable sign of his own arousal, but he merely held her close. He talked softly, kissed her gently, caressed her hair. Held her.

The warmth from Tyler's body suffused her own and she was gradually able to relax. Even when his hand moved down her back, dipped at the small of her back, and cupped her b.u.t.tocks, she was able to contain her surprise, absorb the shock waves of sensation without becoming rigid. All that changed when he slipped his hand between her legs. She gasped for breath, and her body became taut.

Daisy didn't know how she was going to feel pleasure when panic threatened to drown every other emotion. She was certain of it when Tyler invaded her body. Every part of her being screamed in warning, seemed ready to rise up and fight off the intrusion.

But somewhere deep down behind the fear and the tension and the uncertainty, Daisy felt the feeling in her belly begin to grow and spread like water pooling after a summer rain. Even as her mind struggled to come to terms with what was happening to her, her body accepted it eagerly. She felt herself begin to relax, to move against Tyler, to want more instead of less. The feeling of warmth continued to grow and she felt her whole body begin to respond to his touch. Gradually her whole awareness narrowed until she thought of nothing else but the magic Tyler wrought.

She didn't know when Tyler moved over her. She only became aware when he withdrew his hand. ”This may feel a little uncomfortable at first,” he said.

She felt the pressure of him as he slowly entered her. But he was so gentle that in moments she was pressing against him, wanting him to reach the need buried deep inside her.

”This may hurt,” he warned, ”but it will only last a moment.”

Tyler sank all the way into her. A sharp pain caused her to cry out, but he covered her mouth with a kiss. As he began to move within her, she felt the pain recede, the aching need grow and intensify until she felt nothing else. It seemed to gather her body and reduce it to a single white-hot kernel of such aching, longing she was conscious of nothing else.

She clung to Tyler, tried to envelope him, tried to absorb him so he could reach that spot deep within and satisfy the need that seemed to grow stronger with each second. Her need became urgent then nearly frantic. Tyler didn't seem to be doing enough to end this agony which was sweet and bitter all at the same time.

Daisy's need grew until she was conscious of nothing else, cared for nothing else. Bands inside her seemed to grow tighter and tighter until she felt she would be compressed into nothingness. Only her need seemed to grow without limitation.

Then she felt the beginning of a wave that lifted her, then another, then a continuing series until she felt tossed helplessly by them. She clung to Tyler, her fingers sunk deep in his flesh, her body fighting to force him to find the soul of her need.

Waves of sensual pleasure pulsed through her, throbbed until she was certain she wouldn't be able to breathe. One last pulsating wave welled up from deep inside and just as she thought she would die, the dam broke, and release flooded through her in waves of sobbing relief.

Only after some of the tension had ebbed from her body did she realize Tyler was now in the throws of the same need which had so recently teased and tortured her. His body was rigid, his breath came in noisy gasps, and his movement less smooth. Moving more deeply and rapidly, he pitched himself forward until his body locked and he emptied himself into her in a series of powerful thrusts.

Finally, his energy spent, Tyler collapsed next to her.

Daisy lay still for what seemed like hours, trying to absorb the full enormity of what had just happened to her. She didn't want to talk or move. She just wanted to feel. Tyler lay with his arms around her, her body nestled protectively against his body. It seemed impossible they could ever be separated after this. A bond had been forged between them that seemed more powerful than the differences between them. Everything had changed.

Yet nothing had changed.

It would take her a while to understand it all. In the meantime, she was content to remain where she was.