Page 16 of Over Verdant Irish Hills

She pressed the toothbrush to her chest and walked to the door. Opening it, she looked him straight in the eye. “I hope you don’t mind me wearing nothing but this little ol’ toothbrush. It’s all I have.”

He barked out a laugh as his eyes slid over her in one long, slow, tantalizing perusal. “I think you might be starting a new craze in the bedroom with that concept of yours.”

She was burning with a different heat now. “You want to see if that bed out there is as big and sturdy as it looks?”

“Pillow fight?” he joked, his eyes crinkling. “Or dueling toothbrushes? I can get mine out of my suitcase.”

She tossed the toothbrush aside in a show of bravado and put her hands on her hips. “Maybe later. I don’t think I can bear another moment of not kissing you.”

“Neither can I, sugar. Especially when you’re standing in the light all beautiful and sexy like you are.”

He pulled her to him until their bodies were flush. She felt heat and arousal as he lifted her chin. For a moment, they simply gazed at each other. Her heart rose up in her chest as if taking flight. Yes. This.Linc. She was aware of the warmth of his hands as he clutched her to him. Then he lowered his head and gave her what she wanted. The moment their mouths touched, she forgot she was standing in a sumptuous suite in the heart of Paris.

She was only aware of being in one place—in Linc’s arms, a place she’d been dreaming about, a place more powerful than in her imaginings.

CHAPTERSIX

Linc was old enough to know that just because he woke up alone in bed after a raucous night, it didn’t mean anything was amiss.

From the sound of running water, he’d say Bets was in the bathroom. He rolled onto his back and tucked the sheet around himself. God, what a night. Bliss didn’t begin to describe it. The only other times he’d felt this good were when he was looking at Ellie’s art, the colors from her stained glass windows raining down all over him.

Love swamped his chest, as did a certain amount of pride.

Pride might be a strange emotion for him to feel this morning, but he couldn’t help himself. He’d crow like a rooster if he could. They’d gone all night, and only an idiot of a man wouldn’t celebrate that victory at his age.

The bathroom door opened a crack, but she didn’t appear. “I’m awake if you’re trying to be quiet. Hell, girl, don’t make me leave this bed and come for you. I had plans for us this morning.”

She appeared in the doorway in a hotel bathrobe. He’d have preferred her buck naked with that little ol’ toothbrush, but she might be a little shy this morning—although why she’d feel that way, he couldn’t fathom. But women were beautiful, peculiar creatures, and he’d long since given up trying to figure out how their minds worked in some moments. Especially ones involving nudity.

“Good morning.” She made a lopsided bow out of the white tie at her waist. “This bathrobe might be the nicest I’ve ever come across.”

He rolled onto his side and purposely let the sheet slide a few inches. He watched her face heat and bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. How she could still be blushing after all the things they’d done to each other, he didn’t know. Maybe she’d never stop. He rather liked that idea. Blushing meant she wouldn’t take things for granted. When someone started treating sex as a familiar habit, something to tick off a list or schedule, the enjoyment was sure to tank.

“We’ll take it home with us then—the robe.” He crooked his finger at her. “You planning on staying over there all morning? It’s not that I mind looking at you across this giant room, but I’m feeling a little unsure this morning, and I imagine a kiss good morning would be just the thing to turn things around for me.”

Her mouth tipped to the side. “Unsure, huh? I thought you dropping the sheet was a practiced move.”

He let it slip some more. “This old thing? Sugar, that’s what happens when there are stirrings down below. You look beautiful this morning. Don’t make me chase you back to bed in my birthday suit. I’ll do it, you know.”

Her shoulders shook as she padded toward the bed. “Part of me would like to see that, and then the other part wonders how insane we’d look. Two grown people chasing each other around, one naked as a jaybird.”

He tossed a pillow her way. “No pillow fight in our future? I’m so disappointed. Maybe you can make it up to me another way.”

The sheet didn’t need help sliding down the rest of the way. She stared at his morning erection. “It’s pretty impressive, I must say, Linc. I wasn’t sure it was going to fit last night. I sure as heck didn’t expect to be sore as a bride this morning.”

“I might be sore too, but I consider it a victory at our age.”

“You ready for another victory lap, cowboy?” she asked, her blue eyes hot. She got that way when she was passionate about something. Before it had been the arts center or her roses. Now it seemed it was him. He couldn’t be happier.

He fell back and opened his arms. “Take me.”

She was laughing as she jumped onto the bed and climbed on him, still wearing the robe. He gripped her hips as she took him into her, delighting in the little sounds she made in the back of her throat. Bets was not a quiet lover. He shifted until his knees rested against her spine.

“Lean on back now,” he urged her, rocking slowly as he unknotted the tie on her robe and flung it open. “We’re not in any rush.”

Her head fell back as she moaned. “Maybe you aren’t.”

“I like you like this,” he said, finding her breasts and squeezing them gently. “I should have known you’d have this much pent-up energy inside you.”

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