Chapter Fourteen

Outside, wind and rain lashed at the small house. Waves crashed on the beach, spraying white foam. No one in their right mind would be out on a night like this.

Inside, the fireplace crackled merrily. Lissa lay back against the faux bearskin rug, stretching lazily as Alex returned from the kitchen, two glasses in one hand and a bottle of water in the other...and naked as the day he was born.

God, he's beautiful, she thought for the thousandth time.

She watched the play of his muscles as he moved. It was like watching one of those Greek statues come to life. Well toned, from the top of his blond head to his hairy little toes, Alex was a masterpiece.

A smile curved Lissa's lips. Even the tattoos were works of art.

"What's that smile for?" Alex asked, sitting next to her.

She watched him open the bottle, pour the water. "You," she said simply, when he handed her a glass.

He grinned. "Thought so," he chuckled.

"Full of yourself, aren't you?" she asked with a grin, poking him in his ribs as he set his glass aside.

"No, but you were...full of me, that is," he laughed, "and I say we repeat the experience." Plucking her glass out of her hands, he set it aside then rolled her to her back, laying on top of her.

Staring up into his eyes, Lissa asked, "Promise me something, Alex?"

"Anything," he assured her, peppering kisses over her cheeks, to her ear. He started to nibble.

"Quit that," she giggled. "I'm being serious."

Alex leaned back. "So am I," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. "Serious about making love to you...right now."

"In a minute," she urged, pushing at his shoulders as he leaned down again.

"Okay, you've got one minute," he sighed, smiling indulgently.

"Promise me that we'll always make up like this every time we fight."

"We're never going to fight again," he asserted, bending down to nibble on her neck.

She pushed at his shoulders again, and he leaned back with another sigh. "We're two grown people, so, of course, we're going to have different opinions from time to time...so, naturally, sometimes, we're going to fight." She stroked his cheek, then ran her fingers through his hair. "Just promise me we'll always make up like this."

He took her hand in his, and kissed each of her fingers. "I promise," he said. Turning her hand over, he placed a kiss on her palm, then curled her fingers around it. "Sealed with a kiss."

Lissa smiled up at him. "I love you, Alex," she whispered.

Alex leaned down so they were only a breath apart. "And I love you, Lissa." He closed the distance between them, his lips brushing hers once, twice.

She sighed, and his tongue dipped between her parted lips. He tasted her, groaning when she twined her tongue with his.

Alex gave a soft moan when she pulled away. "Liss..."

Smiling, she kissed him quickly, then gave him a gentle push so he lay on his back. She kissed him again, but more deeply, pouring her heart into it. His fingers twined in her hair, holding her close, trying to drag her closer still.

Reluctantly, she pulled away and pushed his hands to his sides. Sliding down his body, Lissa trailed kisses down his neck. Her tongue flirted with his nipples, flicking across one until it hardened, then twirling her tongue around it until he groaned. Lissa's kisses drifted through the patch of dark hair on his chest to his other nipple, repeating herself and wringing another groan from him. "I take it, this means it's my turn now?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

Lissa's smile was her answer as she slid further down his body, her lips leaving a trail. She traced his 69 tattoo with her tongue, grinning as his belly flinched with each delicate stroke.

She slid further still, and found what she'd been seeking. Rising from a thatch of dark hair, his cock throbbed, waiting. With a sigh, Lissa licked away the pre-cum that had collected at the tip, wringing another groan from him. "Lissa," he breathed, his hands once more twining in her hair.

She ignored his urging and took her time, savoring every delectable inch of him with her tongue. As she reached the tip to swipe away more pre-cum, she opened her mouth over him, taking him just past her lips then lightly raking her teeth along his length as she drew him deeper.

Her name was a whispered litany on his lips as she loved him with her mouth...deeper and deeper until he nudged the back of her throat. She swallowed, and he cursed, pulling her off of him.

"Alex," she protested, but he silenced her with a kiss, rolling her beneath him and entering her in one stroke. She moaned into his mouth as he drove himself within her. She met him thrust for thrust, urging him deeper...faster. Their mouths mated. Her nails raked across his back, driving him insane.

He pulled back. Holding her hips, he thrust harder...closer and closer to the edge. "Love you," he groaned.

As if the words were the catalyst, she came. He watched her eyes widen, then slide shut....could feel her inner muscles spasming, milking him as he lost control, burying himself within her as he went over the edge.



"What'cha doin', Grandma?"

Lissa looked up from the photo album on her lap. She blushed as she noticed her granddaughter, Kristy, smiling up at her. "Just thinking about Grandpa," she answered, glancing down at the book again.

"Why?" the precocious five year old wanted to know.

"Because I miss him," Lissa said, running her fingers over their wedding picture, wondering where all the years had gone.

Kristy's dark brows pinched into a frown. "But, you just saw him at breakfast."

Lissa smiled. "I miss him whenever he's not with me."

"Miss who?" Alex asked, his hands sliding over her shoulders.

Lissa smiled up at her husband of thirty-six years. "You," she said simply.

A grinning Alex bent his head to kiss her.

"They're at it again," Shelley, Kristy's older sister, groaned. "C'mon, Kris, let's go play."

Lissa and Alex watched two of their seven grandchildren leave the room. "You brought out the book again," Alex gently accused.

Lissa smiled guiltily, running her hand lovingly over the pictures. "Yes."

"Thinking about the Boys again?" he asked.

She could hear the pain in his voice. Ever since losing Howie to cancer last spring...Lissa sighed, "Just remembering the way things were."

Alex closed the book and set it on the table next to her. "Just remember that I love you."

She stroked his cheek. "I'll never forget," she whispered, leaning forward to kiss him.

"Grandma!!" a young voice echoed through the open window.

They pulled apart with a laugh. "Let's go see what those girls are doing to my grandson," Alex chuckled, urging Lissa out of the chair.

"Grandpa!!!" the young voice held an edge of panic now, heightened by the gaggle of high pitched giggles.

Smiling, Alex and Lissa went to join their grandchildren.