Page 30 of Bride By Committee

She swallowed. “A very determined man. Maybe even an annoyed one.”

“Wrong. You see a hungry man. And I see the perfect woman to satisfy that hunger.” He whispered a heated proposition in her ear. “And what do you hear?”

She shuddered in his arms. “A suggestion. Ihear a most interesting suggestion.”

“That’s right. Only it’s more than a suggestion. It’s a promise I intend to keep at our earliest convenience.”

He bent his head to nuzzle the joining of her shoulder and neck, thrusting the strap of her sundress out of his way. Aslight movement on the other side of the bushes caught his attention. Sunny peered through the branches and waved gaily. Next to her Bartholomew regarded his son with a broad, amused grin. Harry choked.

“Is something wrong?” Madison asked.

He motioned frantically for their audience to get lost. Fortunately, they took the hint and trotted off in the direction of the parking lot. “Not a thing, sweetheart. Now where was I?”

“Explaining the principles to me,” she replied a little too fast. She must have thought so, as well, since she immediately infused a note of righteous indignation into her voice. “Explaining them against my will, Imight add.”

He buried a smile. “Sorry, my sweet. But you’re getting a lesson in the principles, whether you want one or not.”

“Just so you know I’m opposed to the entire experiment.” She trotted out the lie without a hint of shame. “Totally opposed.”

“Objection noted. Where were we?”

“We’d just finished sight and hearing. You’d made a most improper suggestion involving the two of us, ascandalous lack of clothing, abed, some champagne and strawberries, and topping various parts of my anatomy with scoops of ice cream,” she reminded with alacrity. “And I was shocked speechless. Now, what’s next?”

Oh, yeah. The ice cream. How could that have slipped his mind? He fought for coherent thought, finally seizing on one of the three senses he’d somehow forgotten. Who’d have imagined one over-controlling, obsessive, practical-minded woman could have such an impact on him? “Did you know that when we were on the elevator it was your voice and your scent that helped form my first impressions of you? Every so often I caught the faintest hint of your perfume, and something else. Something that’s unique to you.”

Her eyes fluttered closed and she inhaled deeply, smiling in pleasure. “So is yours. It reminds me of a cleansing rainstorm.”

She wasn’t far wrong. He shifted so she wouldn’t detect the first warning spattering of raindrops and pressed her hands tight against his chest. “Sight, hearing, scent… and now touch. What do you feel, Madison?”

“Your heart.”

“Beating in rhythm with yours.” He brushed a kiss across her mouth, their lips barely touching. Then another, slightly deeper. Then a third that warned of a passion held barely in check. Her mouth blossomed beneath his, welcoming him. He swept inward, sparking something hot and primitive and desperate. “And last, but far from least, what do you taste, Madison? Tell me.”

Her response came as a slow sigh of want. “You.”

“Isn’t this how it should be? Doesn’t this feel right? Now do you understand how the principles are supposed to work?”

Her eyes slowly flickered open, like someone waking from a deep, delicious dream. “Oh, yes! It feels—” Her brows drew together. “Harry? Why… why is your hair wet?”

“There’s an excellent explanation for that.”

“Oh, good heavens. It’s raining. Harry!” She shoved at his shoulders. “Get up. You’re getting soaked. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Reluctantly, he rolled off her. So much for giving her a firsthand demonstration of the principles of love. With swift efficiency, he dumped the remains of their picnic into the basket. The light rain intensified, within seconds becoming a downpour. Tossing the blanket over Madison’s head, he snatched up the picnic basket with one hand and grabbed her with the other. They ran to the car. Unfortunately, Madison’s sandals weren’t made with a Seattle rainstorm in mind. They hadn’t gone more than ten feet before they tripped herup.

“Screw it.” Harry tossed down the basket, ripped the blanket off her head and pulled her into hisarms.

Rain pounded down on top of them, but in that moment he didn’t give a damn. Lifting her against him, he kissed her. There was something intensely primitive about kissing a woman in the pouring rain, their bodies locked together, their skin slick, the heat of their want a striking counterpoint to the chill of theair.

All he could think about was peeling away her clothes and laying her down in the wet, fragrant grass and making her his. His desire drove him beyond rational consideration, his need the most desperate he’d ever felt. The rain washed away all civilized thought, the unrelenting rhythm echoing the raw passion throbbing through his veins.

She clung to him, her soaked sundress sealed to his cotton shirt, her skirt twining around his legs in a loving embrace. It was as though every part of her had become joined to him. He swept his hands down her back, unable to resist exploring. She was round where a woman should be rounded—full, generous breasts, hips that curved into a lush bottom that filled his hands, well-formed thighs made to wrap around a man and cradle him close. With each stroking caress, she shivered with unmistakable urgency, pulling back only long enough to utter two delicious words.

“Don’t stop.”

He wasn’t a man who took orders well. But he made an exception this once, losing all sense of time and place. He wanted the woman in his arms, was driven by the compulsion to brand her in the most elemental of ways. He’d spent years fighting to control the baser side of his nature. But not here. Notnow.

Resistance proved impossible. He dragged the straps of her sundress downward at the same instant a faint, outraged squawk sounded nearby. At first Harry thought Madison had changed her mind and was voicing a reluctant protest. Then he realized it came from her purse. He swore beneath his breath.

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