She slid her fingers beneath the elastic on his Calvin Kleins. Tugged them down. Freeing him.
He jerked backed. "The drapes." His breathing was as tight as the elastic that wrapped his thighs.
"Remain open." She caught the narrowing of his eyes, the uncertainty in his expression. Tonight was a first for Aaron. She'd never taken him public. Yet at that moment her desire was strong to take him naked in the moonlight.
She shoved back the glass doors. Cool air rushed in as she stepped out.
Aaron Grayson blinked. "Where the hell are you going?"
"To take a walk in the garden," she cast over her shoulder.
"In your bra and panties?"
"Soon only my skin."
Sweat beaded his brow. "Are you crazy?"
Her nostrils flared. "Not crazy. Creative."
His testicles tucked tight against his body. "It's too public."
She crooked one finger. "It's private beneath the trellis."
"Natalie…damn!"
He jerked up his briefs, grabbed Natalie's French blue chenille robe, and followed her to the arbor trellis. The moonlight illuminated her face and body, casting her in white light. The innocent fragrance of climbing, intertwining roses mixed with the sin of her musky scent. He tossed her the robe. "Put this on."
She slapped the robe aside, then snagged his Calvin Kleins. "Take these off."
A police siren wailed in the distance. The thought of getting arrested in his hometown for indecent ex-posure had him sweating and swearing, "Damn it, Natalie, have you no decency?"
"I prefer naughty." She ducked deeper beneath the trellis. He heard her inhale, caught the rise and fall of her naked breasts. When had she slipped off her bra? "Roses smell divine." Her voice sounded sultry and seductive. "The petals are as soft as my inner thighs."
Aaron dove for her and she squirmed away, her silky laughter sliding over him like a flicking tongue.
They circled the trellis once, twice. He stepped on her discarded panties. When he finally caught her, she was completely naked. Her body welcomed his with heat and suggestion, her arms wrapping his neck, her thighs cradling his sex.
His heart kicked, his body alive with wanting this woman. "Natalie… not here." He could barely breathe.
"Right here." She stole the breath from his lungs with her first kiss. Her second kiss stopped any thought of protest.
Aaron allowed Natalie to have her way with him. Tucked beneath the trellis, she plied him with hot kisses, erotically stroking hands, and whispered words that made him blush.
His Calvin's soon wrapped his ankles.
When she nudged him toward the old swing that hung beneath the arbor, he hesitated, uncertain whether it would hold his weight. He soon discovered it held not only his, but Natalie's as well.
He sat on the wooden seat.
She straddled him. Took him inside her… the lit-tle there was of him. He was having a hard time holding an erection.
The rope squeezed his hips as splinters stabbed his ass. He faced rope burn and an hour of tweezing his butt.
"Push the swing," she breathed against his neck.
She had to be kidding!
"Motion, I need motion." Her voice was harsher, more demanding.
He dug one foot into the grass and set the swing in motion. The swing squeaked and the trellis groaned under their weight. Moonbeams bounced off their bodies with each to-and-fro. Rose petals fluttered onto his shoulders and down Natalie's spine.
"Higher!" She ground her groin against his.
He swung his legs back. Wild rose thorns stabbed his ass. Gliding forward, his feet hit the hedge.
"Close, so close." The night air captured her rising orgasm. An orgasm that went from low moan to mighty scream. When he covered her mouth with his hand, she bit him. Not a love bite, but a full set of teeth marks in his palm.
He hoped their room had a first aid kit.
He was current on his tetanus shot.
Aaron lay in bed, unable to sleep. He tossed and turned and counted sheep. Yet the scene in the garden played over and over in his mind like pornography. He'd been so dazed by Natalie's naked display, his heart had yet to slow down. Any guest at the bed and breakfast could have looked out the window and caught them swinging.
Had he not muffled her scream, she would have wakened the entire population of Frostproof. He'd been so nervous, he'd barely remained hard. Natalie had been the only one to climax. Tonight he'd seen a side of her that scared him soft. He might never have another erection.
She'd relished his fear and laughed in his face. Teasing and taunting and taking charge. Always dominant, she preferred to be on top. Even in bed, she rode him until his hips hurt and he was totally drained.
In the early months of their relationship, he'd enjoyed the sense of power, the respectability of dating the team owner's daughter. Walt Llewellyn treated him like a son. For a small-town boy, the big-city lady held major appeal.
Until tonight.
Tonight she'd gone public. Natalie's need to be close to nature made him very, very nervous. He had scratches on his back from both her nails and the thorns on the roses. And rope burns on both hips. Their garden tryst had destroyed Mrs. Crawford's prized roses. He doubted there was a decent bloom left.
At first light he needed to locate his Calvin Kleins. He'd searched on hands and knees, but there had been no sign of the black briefs. Thank God Natalie had found her bra and panties.
She lay on the far side of the bed now, so near the edge, she could easily fall off. The green comforter was tucked beneath her chin. Sated, her desire to touch and be touched had faded with her climax.
She'd made it quite clear she wanted nothing more to do with him that night. Nothing at all.
Aaron had known from the beginning she wasn't a cuddler. She demanded her own space. She'd already suggested separate bedrooms after they married, which was still under debate. Oftentimes heatedly.
He rolled onto his side the exact moment she cut loose like a buzz saw. Damn, the woman could snore. He'd forgotten to pack his earplugs. Earplugs that had cost him six dozen coral roses and an engagement ring when she discovered he used them to block out her snores. She'd given him the cold shoulder until he'd produced the diamond. A diamond of her choice.
He'd paid a high price to keep Natalie happy. In the process, he'd broken Stevie Cole's heart. His announcement had crushed her. He'd watched her bleed.