Chapter 9
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Katherine swung open the door and flew into the room. It was empty. She stared at the vacant crib stupidly until she heard another sharp gasp and a vicious "Ouch!" before realizing that Jace's cries were coming from the bathroom.
Katherine hurried to the doorway. She halted abruptly, frozen in astonishment.
Jace and Allison were in the bathtub. The contrast of Allison's smooth, white bottom against Jace's dark, hair-matted chest was startling. Even more startling to Katherine was the sight of Jace's naked body submerged in the warm water as he reclined in the bathtub. Even his knees, raised to accommodate his long body in the short tub, didn't screen his masculinity from her amazed and involuntarily curious eyes.
"Oh, Katherine, thank God. Help me." Jace winced in pain, and, for the first time, she noted the source of his distress.
Allison was lying on her stomach along his chest. Each of her tiny, plump fists was clamped around a handful of the hair on Jace's chest. In her excitement over finding this rare new toy, Allison's fists were clenching tighter each second. Her small legs were kicking against his flat stomach in delight.
Katherine swallowed the large lump that was blocking her breathing passages and murmured, "I'll just get her off..." She leaned down and grasped the wet, wriggling body around her chubby waist.
"No!" Jace exclaimed in panic. "If you do that, I'll be depilated, and that tends to smart."
Katherine looked at the tiny fingers which seemed helplessly enmeshed in the dark hair and saw that he was right.
"What..." she started to ask.
"See if you can unwind the hair from around her fingers. I'm afraid to let go of her. She's as slippery as an eel."
Katherine closed her eyes for a moment and drew a deep, restorative breath. Then she knelt down beside the bathtub. She worked the small fingers of Allison's hand until they relaxed and released their grip on the crisp, wet curls. When the first fist was free, Jace reached up and grasped it, holding it away from him.
Katherine worked with the other fist, leaning over his body in order to see what she was doing. She refused to feel the breath that stirred her hair as her head was bent close to his chin.
Finally, Jace was free from Allison's painful grip, but instead of handing her over to an anxious Katherine, he quickly stood up with the baby still in his arms.
"I ought to spank you for that, young lady," Jace chided Allison. "From now on when we take a bath together, I'll wear a T-shirt."
Immodestly, he walked naked into the bedroom, still carrying Allison and drying her with a soft towel. He ignored Katherine after saying "Thanks, honey" over his retreating shoulder.
Katherine skirted by him as she went through the bedroom. He was dressing Allison in her pajamas as he leaned over the crib. His taut hips were only one shade lighter than his broad, smooth back. They tapered from his narrow waist into long, muscled thighs. Katherine hurried through the door into the living room.
She fumbled with the manual which a few moments ago had so engrossed her and her trembling hand had dropped it on the floor before Katherine placed it beside the typewriter. She couldn't resume studying. Of that she was certain. Her eyes weren't able to focus properly. She kept seeing the image of Jace as he lay back in the bathtub.
She went into the kitchen. Something in there would distract her, calm her down, she hoped, so that she could start acting like a rational person again and not a quivering blob of jelly.
She raised the lid on the pan of simmering spaghetti sauce and sniffed the delicious aroma. She was replacing the lid when she heard soft footfalls and knew that Jace was standing behind her. She dropped the aluminum lid, and it clattered onto the range.
Before she could retrieve it, one of Jace's arms came from under her arm, picked up the lid, and replaced it securely on the pan. She felt his chest pressed against her back.
His other arm came from behind her to join the first. He slipped both under her blouse, and, with one swift motion, unclasped the front fastener of her bra. Pushing aside the wisp of lace and nylon, he cupped her breasts in his hands.
"It got you all hot and bothered, did- n't it?" He was nuzzling the back of her neck under her hair. The tip of his tongue explored the velvet smooth skin behind her ear.
"What?" she croaked. His hands were kneading her gently, then flattening her with pressing palms.
"The sight of my nakedness. It's been known to cause quite a disturbance. Why, when I was in Africa, the sight of me walking down the street was enough to make the parents of nubile daughters tremble in fear." His voice was barely above a whisper, entrancing. He moved closer, and his thighs rubbed against the backs of her legs and hips.
It was hard to articulate anything, but Katherine kept up the inane conversation. "Y-you walked naked down the street?"
His hands pushed her breasts together, forming a deep cleavage, and he raked his thumbs over the aroused nipples.
"Of course. In some African cultures that's a matter of form. No pun intended." He caught her earlobe between his teeth.
"Well, this isn't Africa." She sighed as his hands moved over the flat planes of her stomach. "And I'll thank you not to ... oh, Jace."
He turned her to face him. The cerulean eyes were full of resolve as he lifted her and carried her through the living room to the bedroom which, until now, had been used exclusively by him.
Gently and carefully he lowered her onto the king-size bed. He stood up and whipped the towel from around his waist, dropping it to the floor as he lay down beside Katherine.
He smoothed back the hair from her flushed cheeks and brushed light kisses on her temple. "Katherine, I'm going to make love to you." He wasn't asking permission. It was a statement of intention. He kissed her tenderly, drawing on her tongue with persuasive insistence.
He gloried in each part of her body as it was revealed to him. He removed her clothing with practiced skill and maddening leisure, frequently stopping to nibble and caress.
When he eased the bikini panties down her long slender legs, he whispered endearments in praise of her body that Katherine could never have imagined coming from anyone's lips.
He stretched out beside her and held her tightly against him. Slowly the tension in her body ebbed under the soothing strokes of his fingers. Their arousing exploration coaxed her to participate. Her head was thrown back against the pillow, her chin raised, allowing his seeking mouth access to her throat.
His lips settled on her mouth, kissing it with infinite passion and tenderness. His tongue searched its sweetness even as his hands traversed her body. His lips were still resting on hers as he whispered, "I don't know what you like. Tell me if—" She sealed his words inside by capturing his lips with her own. If this were an example of things to come, there was nothing she would- n't like.
His mouth trailed across her cheek to her ear and teased it with soft, warm breath and a darting tongue.
His hand caressed her from her shoulders, across her breasts, and around her waist. His fingers stroked the silkiness of her inner thighs, and a liquid fire ran through her from his fingertips to the very center of her being.
"Your skin is like velvet," he murmured. He eased his hand back and forth across her feminine cradle. "Remember the night I put you to bed?"
"Yes, Jace," she breathed. His hands were a vivid reminder.
"I wanted to touch you like this then." He rested his hand on the soft tuft at the top of her legs. "I'm glad there's nothing between us now."
Her ragged breath was trapped inside her mouth by his plundering kiss. She clasped his head on either side of his jaw just under his ears and moved his head downward.
"Jace," she pleaded. "kiss me here." She placed his head against her breasts.
He kissed the soft curves. His tongue outlined their undersides until she was writhing with longing. When she felt his mouth close around her nipple, she heard herself moan in ecstasy. He pulled on her gently, then raised his head slightly and used only his tongue to assuage the aching bud.
She clasped his shoulders and explored the hard muscles under her fingers. She became braver and slid her hands between their bodies, combing her fingertips through the hair on his chest and curiously examining the small brown nipples nestled in it. It delighted her to hear his quickening breath.
"Ah, Katherine, you're so sweet," he said as his fingers discovered the moist warmth between her thighs. Her sighs echoed his.
"Now?" he asked with lips that nibbled hers. "Now?"
She nodded and his plunging kiss was symbolic.
He raised himself above her and found the treasure he sought. He fit his strength into her softness and applied a gentle pressure. When he met the unexpected veil of resistance, he paused and looked down at her with a bewildered expression. The urgent hands on the back of his thighs and her arching hips entreated him not to linger in his purpose.
The initial pain vanished, and Katherine submitted to the thrill of the experience. She blocked out every conscious thought, anything that would dim the lightning fury of the sensations washing over her. It no longer mattered what his name was, or who he was related to, or that they came from different worlds. All that had import was that her body was one with his. It was not only a physical fusion, but one of the spirit as well. She belonged; it was right.
Even though he was the first, Katherine knew him to be expert. He encouraged her, praised her, adored her, made love to her with words as well as his body. He kissed, nibbled, licked, caressed, stroked, breathed her. It went beyond mere consummation.
When she felt herself slipping into some uncharted but seductive oblivion, she cried, "Jace! Jace!"
"Yes, darling, yes," he whispered in her ear. "Katherine, sweet Katherine, give in to it."
And she did.