Brandon let Corey give the cria his bottle, and the baby was soon contentedly humming as he sucked hungrily at the nipple. The fun of feeding the baby animal gradually restored Corey's self-confidence. When the llama had taken all the milk, Brandon turned off the lights, and they watched the inquisitive little beast toddle about exploring the cabin in the soft moonglow spilling down through the skylight. By the time the little creature was nodding off in his bed of old towels, she felt quite comfortable curled up on the couch with Brandon. Until she turned from watching the sleeping llama and saw the hunger in Brandon's navy eyes.
Her heart began to trill in her chest so loudly Brandon must surely hear it. She put her hand over her heart as though her touch might calm the rapid beating and drew in a shuddering breath. She needed air; she felt light-headed as though she might faint. The wood must be burning too rapidly in the stove, she thought in a daze. The room is much too hot and stifling.
Brandon slowly reached for her. It seemed to take a very long time; the moment stretched on and on as though he were moving in slow motion. She held her breath until he touched her.
Grasping both her arms, he pulled her up against him. She marveled at the strength in his hands, the solidness of his flesh.
He bent his head to kiss her--her forehead, eyelids, cheeks, lips, neck. She threw back her head to bare her throat. Yes, it must be the stove, she thought in confusion, for his lips were burning hot, and his kisses left a trail of tiny brush fires that instantly spread and threatened to engulf her whole body.
Brandon loosened his hold on her long enough to reach up and pull off his sweatshirt. Even that brief absence made Corey lonely for the feel of his body pressed against hers, and she wanted to snatch him back, but she was rewarded for her patient waiting by the sight of his magnificently muscled chest and arms. A golden pelt spread across his chest, then narrowed and darkened to a line of sable that disappeared into the waistband of his jeans.
Brandon tossed the sweatshirt to the floor. Corey was trembling, and her eyes were large pools of liquid brown, but he sensed no resistance, so he began unfastening the buttons on the flannel shirt one at a time, kissing each new patch of creamy skin as it was revealed.
Corey gasped when the burning kisses reached the very tip of her bare breast. He circled both dusky, rose-colored buds with his tongue until they tightened into knots of exquisite sensation. Then the fiery path of kisses went lower, across the seemingly fragile ridges of her rib cage, over her softly rounded belly, down to the center of her pleasure.
Brandon nuzzled the soft fluff of light brown hair, gently parted her legs, then ran the very tip of his tongue along the delicate petals of her flesh. Corey cried out in ecstasy, arched her back and dug her fingers into the dense muscles of his neck and back. A deep moan was torn from Brandon's throat. He rose to stand by the couch and started to unfasten his jeans.
Suddenly he froze, and a deep frown furrowed his face. "No," he groaned.
"What's wrong?" Corey asked in alarm, half sitting up on the couch and clutching the flannel shirt together over her chest.
"I'm so sorry, darling, but I don't have anything to use for protection. I'm not prepared. We don't want another little Robbie on our hands."
Corey squeezed her eyes tightly shut at the sudden stab of pain. A little Robbie was the one thing in the world she wanted most, but it could never be.
"Don't worry, Brandon. It's all right; I can't have children. We don't need anything."
A brief spasm that Corey couldn't decipher crossed Brandon's face, and he hesitated for a moment longer, then he began to push his jeans down his lean hips. At that moment a long wail sounded from the loft.
"What the...?" Brandon ground out and jerked his pants back into place. He was halfway up the stairs before Corey's befuddled senses even took in what was happening.
Corey slowly buttoned the flannel shirt and tried to calm her painfully raw nerves and quickened breathing. She'd had no idea a man's kisses could feel so wonderful or that she could react so wildly and with such abandon to anyone's touch.
Even in the first months of her marriage when everything had still been all right between them, her husband's lovemaking had never excited her. She had thought it was just her inexperience and that sex would get better as time passed. Instead, it had steadily worsened until Wayne had seemed absolutely repugnant to her, and she had had to grit her teeth to get through their "appointments" trying to conceive.
From the loft, she could hear a childish voice shrill with distress and Brandon's much deeper, soothing rumble. It wasn't long before a hush settled over the cabin, and Brandon returned to her side. He took her in his arms again, but this time without passion. He cuddled her in his lap and sighed.
"It was Robbie. He doesn't have nightmares very often anymore. They were almost a nightly thing right after Jane died. I'm sorry about the interruption. I think it may be the very first time I ever wanted to wring his little neck."
"Don't apologize," Corey said, feeling blissfully content just snuggled up against his broad chest. "I would never think of a frightened child as an interruption."
They sat there companionably for a few moments, listening to the crackling of the burning logs, Brandon gently stroking Corey's hair. She felt peaceful and relaxed, no longer fearful of what the evening might bring. Brandon was so quiet, almost as though he were listening, waiting for her to speak, receptive if she had anything she wanted to say.
"You have beautiful children, Brandon. My husband and I wanted a family. We tried for a long time to have a child," she began hesitantly.
She paused. The reassuring caressing of her hair continued. "After we had been married for a while, I started getting these really bad pains." She crossed her arms over her lower abdomen, hugging herself, remembering the agony.
"The doctors said I had endometriosis. There was tissue growing inside me that prevented pregnancy. They said it was treatable. I took medicine for a long time and finally had surgery, but nothing worked," she said sadly. "My husband was so disappointed he didn't want to stay married anymore. So--well, he divorced me." The ugly words came out brokenly.
The poor little thing, Brandon thought, pulling Corey closer to him. What kind of a man would treat a woman like that, abandoning her after she had endured such pain and unhappiness?
Suddenly he froze as a horrible thought crossed his mind. He had wondered why such a classy lady would be interested in him. Now he knew; he wasn't what Corey wanted. He felt a gut-wrenching twist of pain and humiliation.
Brandon had stopped stroking her hair. Somehow his body no longer felt comforting. Corey moved away and looked into his face. His eyes looked flat, hard, his face forbidding.
)
