"That's it?"
"Pretty much."
"We have a good view of the water here, if you just walk across the street to the beach."
"I've noticed that," he said. "But to be honest, I'm partial to the view from this window."
Madison smiled. "What can you see?"
"Whatever you're willing to show me."
With his flirting, the feeling of weak knees and liquid warmth she'd experienced earlier, while he was kissing her, returned. Madison would never have thought herself bold enough to play along with him. But he was in his house and she was in hers and loosening up a bit seemed almost...safe. At least it was safer than having him any closer.
"So, if I were to unzip my dress and let it slip down a little, like this--" she lowered her zipper and let her dress fall to just above her br**sts "--you could probably see that?"
"I could definitely see that." His voice had grown deeper, his expression--or what she could see of it--more intense. Somehow guessing at his reaction made what she was doing that much more titillating.
"And...if I were to lower it a little more, say to here--" she dropped her dress several inches more, to just below her br**sts "--you could tell what kind of bra I'm wearing?"
"Black lace," he breathed. "My favorite."
The depth of his attention, which she could feel despite the distance, made her giddy. "And if I were to go a little farther..." she heard him suck air between his teeth as she followed suit "...you'd be able to tell if my panties match my bra?"
He groaned. "It's a thong. What are you doing wearing a thong?"
She laughed. "It sort of went with the dress."
"Oh, yeah? Turn around for me," he said. "Let me get a better look."
Taking a deep breath, she let the dress fall to the floor, stepped out of it and turned slowly in a circle.
"You're killing me," he said.
"Are you sure you don't want that nightcap?" she asked, scarcely able to get the words out for the pounding of her heart.
He didn't answer right away. Pressing his forehead to the glass, he closed his eyes. After a few seconds he finally said, "I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because..."
"Caleb?"
When he looked up, she took hold of the front clasp that fastened her lacy bra. She didn't know if she had the nerve to do what she wanted to. She'd never done a striptease in her life. But neither had she ever experienced such wanton desire. "Are you sure?" she asked. Before he could answer, she unsnapped the clasp and let her bra drop onto the floor with her dress.
Caleb's mouth fell open. He obviously hadn't expected what she'd just done. But she didn't regret it. The appreciation on his face was worth it.
"Beautiful," he whispered. Then, after a brief silence, he added, "Throw on a robe and come over here."
The pounding of Madison's heart seemed to tap out, Hurry over there...hurry over there...not every girl gets to be with a man like Caleb...don't miss out. But she'd promised herself she'd make good decisions. She had a six-year-old to think about.
"I know this will probably punch a big hole in my sexy siren act," she said, "but I have no birth control. I haven't been with anybody since Danny."
"I bought some when we stopped for gas."
"You knew it might come to this tonight?" she asked, feeling slightly indignant.
He chuckled softly. "On some level."
She said nothing. She was thinking. Make good decisions, avoid emotional upset, take no risks? Or go to Caleb?
Somehow, making good decisions and avoiding unnecessary risk had never seemed so hopelessly unappealing. "You come over here," she said.
"I'm on my way." He hung up, and then it was too late to change her mind.
Suddenly far too nervous to remain as she was, Madison put on her bra and got her robe. She was just tying it when Caleb knocked.
That didn't take long. She wondered if she had the nerve to answer. She walked down the hall, backed away, bit her knuckle and, when he knocked again, finally opened the door.
He loomed above her, his face shadowed, the moon directly behind him. For the first time, she found his height a little intimidating. Or maybe it was the intensity of his expression. It seemed to suggest they'd gone too far to turn back now, even though they weren't even touching.
What am I doing? she asked herself. But she didn't wonder long. She stood back in silent invitation for him to enter, and the moment she closed the door, he slipped his hands inside her robe and around her waist, staring into her eyes as he drew her up against his hard length. He kissed her neck, curled one hand around her bottom, and she couldn't wait for his lips to find her mouth and his hands to seek all the places that begged to be touched.
"Caleb?"
"Hmm?" He sounded distracted as he pushed her robe off her shoulders and gazed down at what his hands revealed.
"If you're used to being with really experienced women, I'm not sure I--"
He caressed her lace-covered br**sts, and she sucked in a quick breath. "You don't have anything to worry about," he said.
Lowering his head, he kissed the indentation beneath her collarbone, his breath hot, his lips barely grazing her skin. Then his hands sought the clasp of her bra, and Madison squeezed her eyes closed, waiting expectantly for that moment when he'd slip off her bra and actually touch her. But he didn't immediately do so.
She opened her eyes to look up at him. "What is it?" she asked, every nerve taut. She thought she might die if he backed out now.
"I want to go slow, but I don't think I have enough control right now." Surprise echoed through his voice. "I've never wanted anyone so much."
She was shaking; surely that told him how she felt. "I'm already burning from the inside out, Caleb. And I want you to burn, too. Burn for me."
What had started out slow now moved very fast. "We'll do it again--slower--afterward, okay?" he promised. "Tell me I'll have another chance."
Madison would have told him almost anything. She murmured something and he said, "I know you might hate me for this later, Maddy, but I have to have you."
Madison smiled at the sound of her childhood name on his lips. "Why would I hate you?"
He didn't answer. He kicked her robe aside and removed her bra, leaving it where it landed. Her panties soon followed. Scooping her into his arms, he started toward the back of the house, but her bedroom seemed too far away. She made him stop so she could remove his clothes--his shirt, his pants, everything. And when she pressed against him, both of them fully naked, and felt him shaking like she was, she knew they weren't going to make it another foot. Arching into him, she breathed, "Take me now, Caleb. Right now."