Willow Smoke by Adriana Kraft Page B

he really found her. She’d gotten him to deflower her. Was that all she wanted? Was that all she thought she deserved?
    He gave her his most wicked grin. “You think you’ll learn all there is about sex in one night?”
    “Of course not.”
    He propped himself up on an elbow and looked at her, memorizing every curve and
nuance of her lusciousness. He stroked the inside of her thigh. She moaned.
Brushing her trim curls, he said, “Maybe we could be lovers for a while.”
    Her muscles tightened
and he sensed her withdraw.
    “I don’t know much about
love, and I’m not sure I want to,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.
    “But you want to know
more about sex.”
    She nodded.
    He’d have to treat her
as gingerly as she treated an injured horse. “Okay, well, if I’m a passable teacher...”
He waited for a response.
    She blinked. Her inner thigh quivered against his fingers. “More than passable, I think,” she managed to say.
    “Good. I’ve got the time,
and it seems like the body is more than willing. Maybe I could further your education.”
    She arched an eyebrow. “For
real? No strings?”
    “I thought you trusted
me. For real. Would you like that?”
    “Yes.”
    He hadn’t thought she
could sound so meek. “Good, then it’s settled. You’ll continue teaching me
about the horse business. And I’ll continue teaching you about the sex
business. Deal?” He offered her his hand.
    “Deal,” she whispered,
placing her hand in his. “What if I’m a slow learner?”
    Nick laughed deeply, pulling her closer. “I hope you are, Daisy. You shouldn’t rush good sex anymore than you should rush a good wine.”
     
    - o -
     
    Daisy closed her eyes and let the feel of his fingers grazing her belly soak into her pores. Did he realize he’d called her Daisy for the very first time? Odd, that that intimacy should scare her more than what his fingers were doing. Had she gotten herself into more than she’d bargained for? An image of Cassie Travers flashed before her mind. The woman was nodding yes and giving her an inexplicable smile.
    Tension released from her upper body down to her toes. She’d just made a deal with a man old enough to be...well, old enough to know better. And she was relishing his touch as he dipped a finger into her moist crevice. His thumb found her button and she rose and faltered and then rose again. She soared as his tongue rimmed her belly button and his fingers continued working a special magic. She caught her breath and moaned. Jerking her knees toward her
breasts, she ignored the man arousing her and rode the waves of ecstasy that she’d dreamed so much about. Only this was better, much better. And then oblivion overcame her senses and she slept.
     
    - o -
     
    An hour had passed. Wide awake, Nick lay beside the long-legged beauty, watching her sleep the sleep of a well satisfied woman. She’d wanted him to make her a woman; hopefully she realized it had taken both of them to do that, in the physical sense. But she’d always been all woman to him, and probably always would be.
    Despite his glib words about teacher and student, what had he gotten himself into? There was no positive outcome to this arrangement. She was still too young. But damn, she was responsive. She exuded an innocent passion that was overpowering.
    He’d been so close to embarrassing himself the first time she’d touched him. He hadn’t had to worry
about that for years.
    Daisy Matthews was uncharted waters. He’d spent many days and weeks in a canoe on the Boundary Waters, where he often could not see where he was headed because one island followed another in endless chains. Sometimes islands seemed to emerge and change overnight. Even with a compass in hand, he had to trust his instincts and experience.
    Daisy rolled over in her sleep. Nick patted her rear affectionately. “Guess that’swhat I’ve got to do with you, Daisy. Trust my instincts and experience and hope to hell I don’t lose my