Until Tomorrow Read online

  “You taste so good,” he whispered, stroking me again, swift and rhythmic, as sensation built between my legs in a way that I had never fully experienced. Fingers inside me again, he bent and teased my clit with his tongue, circling it, and my hips jerked. I heard gasping and realized it was coming from me, and Marshall held me gently around my left hip with his free hand.

  I pressed a forearm against my mouth in attempt to smother my cries. Marshall spread me even further with his fingertips, following with his tongue, hot and sleek, and although I could see only red-hot bursts of color, I imagined his sexy mouth that I had watched so many times now, French-kissing me between the legs, deeply and exquisitely.

  I gasped and moaned, again and again, bucking inadvertently against him as he bent over me…at last he lifted his face, breathing as though he’d just been in a hell of a fight, inserting his fingers back inside and pressing upwards. I shuddered hard and let the pulsing sensation overwhelm me, crying out so loudly that probably neighbors miles away would come investigate.

  “Oh holy Jesus,” he groaned, tipping his forehead against my belly. He kissed me there, his hand softly cupped between my legs. His voice was hoarse as he said, “You’re so amazing…”

  I was flat on my back on the couch now, both forearms crossed over my eyes, still quivering. I couldn’t think about moving for the next few hours at least, pleasure firing so hard between my legs that my breath came in little gasps.

  Marshall moved to cradle me to his bare chest, displacing me carefully towards the back of the couch as he joined me; full-length he was much bigger and longer than me, and curled protectively around my body. He kissed my damp hair and said, in a half-teasing way, “I’m pretty proud of myself right now, I have to say.”

  I giggled a little, still breathless and trembling, but I wanted to get my arms around his neck. I did, and then dared to meet his satisfied eyes. I couldn’t believe after what he’d just done to me that I was actually a little shy to look right at him. My face was blazing-hot and my heart raged against his chest as he held me close. He was smiling, his eyes crinkling at the outside corners, and he was so handsome and tempting, and everything I had never known I needed.

  I didn’t know what else to say, so I whispered the heartfelt truth, “Thank you…”

  He laughed and I flushed brighter, I could feel the heat absolutely seeping over my face. His arms held me close and he was warm, his muscles lean and hard beneath my hands, which were upon his back. He said, “It was my great pleasure, I can assure you. I’ve never been so turned on in my life. That was incredible. But I’ve always known it would be this way with you…”

  I pressed my forehead to his shoulder and whispered, tripping over the words, “That was so incredible…I’ve never…I can’t even…”

  “You’ve never?” he repeated softly and incredulously, gently lifting my chin with one hand. His dark eyebrows were raised in surprise. “You mean…”

  “Never like that,” I whispered, not wanting to think about Liam right now.

  “When you love it that much?” Marshall asked softly. Fingers still beneath my chin, he bent and kissed my lips, a gentle, stroking kiss, and my eyes closed as I melted into him. He drew back and his hand moved to cup my jaw. He whispered, and there was no challenge in his voice, only a desire to know the truth, “He doesn’t make you feel this way?”

  I shook my head, eyes still closed, ashamed to admit this and yet still so aroused that I bent a knee around Marshall’s hip, pressing closer. His jeans brushed against my bare skin and I curled my arms even more tightly around his neck, possessively. He said softly, “Then I bet you never knew that you could feel the same way again…right after…”

  My eyes flew open to find his burning into mine. I knew I should stop this right now, but I was incapable, slightly shocked at how much I wanted more of what he’d just shown me. He grinned slowly, clearly reading my mind, and my heart kicked and throbbed.

  “Let me show you,” he whispered. “But let’s get you naked first, you beautiful, sexy woman. I want your nipples in my mouth.”

  Five seconds later they were, as my fingers sank into his hair. Wordless, mindless, I had become a creature of pure desire. He lavished attention on my breasts before lifting his head and saying breathlessly, “That summer…you only wore that tiny little green bikini…”

  I smiled at that, sweat trickling over my temples. He grinned in response to my smile, his strong hands bracketing my ribcage, and I was unable to resist teasing him a little. I pressed even closer to him, my nipples gleaming-wet from his mouth, and murmured, “You thought about us doing this?”

  His eyes blazed into mine and he nuzzled his chin between my breasts, whispering, “Only every second.”

  Sweat seemed to mist on every inch of bare skin as I dared to whisper, “It feels so good.”

  “Oh God, it feels so good,” he agreed, and then said softly, “You’re blushing and it’s sweeter than anything I’ve ever seen in my life.” He opened his lips again over my left nipple, swirling his tongue and suckling me into his mouth, holding me tightly with both hands. He did the same on the other side and then whispered, “Can you feel it here when I do this?” To demonstrate, he drew my right nipple back into his mouth and slipped one hand down my belly to stroke firmly between my legs.

  “Yes,” I moaned, lifting into his touches, his lips and tongue hot on my skin. He was so amazing, but I had known he would be – somehow I had always known.

  “Just like this,” he murmured. And then, “Your nipples are so pink…and sweet…just like this spot too…” and my hips jerked against his hand.

  “Marshall,” I gasped, and he grinned at me again.

  “I like hearing you say my name that way,” he whispered. “I like it very much.”

  He could tell I liked what he was doing to me, very much indeed. His wide shoulders arched over me as he worked his way down my body with hot kisses, tasting me. His voice was husky as he told me, “I have dreamed about you for so long. I want you to know that.” He groaned a little as he reached the juncture of my legs, whispering heatedly, “You’re so wet…let me make you even more wet, angel…”

  I moaned and allowed him every access. He stroked me deeply and the same pulsing sprang instantly to life inside of me, as though coiled up and simply awaiting him to release it. He kissed between my legs, slow and soft, until I begged him for a deeper touch, and he responded at once.

  “I want you to come again, and again,” he ordered, watching me intently, his eyes flashing onyx in the dim light. I arched and cried out as he went straight back to work. I had never felt an orgasm last so long, and so intensely.

  “Oh God, I want to be inside you so bad,” he said, moving swiftly back above me like a lean, powerful animal, and he sounded agonized. “You said you’re not on the pill…and I don’t have a condom…”

  “I don’t care,” I moaned, breathless with need, my hands on his chest. I was buzzing so hard between my legs that I was surprised my teeth weren’t chattering. I was shocked at myself for saying something so irresponsible, but beyond caring.

  His voice shook a little as he said, “We can’t risk it…I don’t want to get you pregnant. Not yet, anyway…and I’m about to come really hard…touch me…”

  I shifted and frantically unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, taking him in hand. He was huge and rigid, and he gasped as my fingers wrapped around the head of his cock. He bent to close his teeth around my chin, groaning as he spilled over into my hand in a hot and creamy rush. It flowed over the backs of my knuckles and he pressed his face to my neck, shuddering.

  What have you done? I screamed at myself, cuddled close to Marshall’s chest a minute later, both of us still shaking with the aftershocks. I was naked; Marshall’s jeans were bunched at his knees. I had wiped my hand on my crumpled shorts.

  Oh God, what have I done?

  But the agony was all in my mind. My body had never felt so deliciously content. Marshall’s chin wa
s tucked over my head, my face at his neck; he smelled faintly of cologne, and wood smoke, his skin sleek with sweat, and I inhaled this scent, committing it to memory for the very near future when surely I would not be allowed to touch him any longer. He was warm and hard against me, and nothing had ever felt sweeter than his naked body pressed to mine. I let myself indulge in the sensation, knowing it was finite. That I had only very limited time with this man.

  It’s what you have to do, Ruthann. There is no other choice.

  You cheated on Liam!

  But I don’t care! It was so beautiful.

  This cannot happen again. Ever.

  You aren’t staying here. You’re going home.

  Do you hear me?

  “When can you buy condoms?” I whispered against his neck, pressing kisses there.

  He rumbled a laugh, tightening his arms around me. His voice was drowsy as he murmured, “As soon as humanly possible. Right now I can barely move. And I don’t want to move, because then I won’t feel you in my arms.”

  I went all to pieces at this statement, tucking myself even closer to him. He was lean and hard, sinewy and strong. I loved how his chest hair felt against my breasts. A surge of pure shyness rose up my throat as I whispered, “I was hoping…”

  Marshall bent and kissed my earlobe, licking me just a little. He whispered lazily, “You tell me just what you were hoping, my angel-woman. I’ll make it happen.”

  “To return the favor,” I said, keeping my forehead against his collarbones, all shivery with heat at being so bold. I knew it was ridiculous that I was hesitantly shy after everything we had just done together, not to mention the fact that we were naked and clinging together, but it was true.

  He lifted my chin for the second time, and his gray eyes were tender, crinkling at the outside corners as he smiled at me. He said softly, “You’re blushing again.” I tried to duck my head, lashes lowering, but he insisted, “I love it.” Then he sensed that there was more, as he shifted to one elbow so that he could look at me more easily. He stroked hair from my face and said, “Ruthann. You haven’t done anything wrong.”

  I curled the fingers of my left hand into the dark hair on his chest, swallowing before I said, “But I have. What about Liam…”

  “How long have you been with him?” Marshall asked me, though he answered his own question right away, saying, “A long time, haven’t you?”

  I nodded. “Since I was eighteen.”

  “Have you ever been with anyone else?”

  “Not that way,” I said. I met his gaze, overwhelmed by this desire. He was watching me with his eyes intent, concerned now, I could tell. I said, “And never like this. The way you make me feel, Marshall…I can’t even describe…” my voice trailed away, my face afire.

  “It’s the way you make me feel, too,” he said, and it sounded like there was maybe a husk in his throat. He went on, “You have for so long now. I feel very protective of you. Possessive. I can’t describe it either.”

  “But you’ve been with other girls,” I said, unreasonably jealous. “Not just me.”

  “I have,” he admitted openly. “But you have to believe me when I say not like this either. Never like this. When I first saw your picture seven years ago, I knew we would be together. That somehow, some way, we would. When the time was right. Tonight it was finally that time.”

  I closed my eyes, trying desperately to get my bearings. I couldn’t locate my center. But then I opened my eyes to Marshall’s. I touched his face with one hand, tracing my thumb over his eyebrows, his long, knife-edged nose, the shape of his wide, sensual mouth, the slender curve of his jaw, bristly with stubble. He watched me watch him, the storm gathering again in his gray eyes. I admired the greens and blues that streaked his irises. And I knew, deep in my soul and inexplicably, that I knew him.

  I knew this man.

  “Your eyes are so beautiful,” I whispered, and my throat felt choked. I amended, “You’re so beautiful, Marshall. Everything about you.”

  “Ruthann,” he whispered, catching my face in his free hand. He caressed my jaw, letting his fingers linger on my neck. He said softly, “Thank you.”

  “I don’t want you to think I’m a slut,” I told him, my voice still rough, and his eyebrows drew instantly together.

  “You thought I would think that?” He sounded legitimately stunned.

  “Well…I mean…I have a boyfriend… and you and I just…” I stumbled.

  “What we just did is something I plan to do with you again and again,” he said authoritatively, no room for argument in his tone. “Maybe I should have held back…” and here his eyebrows lifted, this time accompanied by a hint of a smile, as I was shaking my head adamantly. He continued, “But I wouldn’t have held back for all the gold in those foothills. Do you understand me?”

  I nodded.

  He cupped my breast in his wide palm, making gentle circles against my nipple. I shivered and hooked my bare leg higher over his hip. His jeans were still bunched at his knees and his cock was growing ever insistent, brushing against the hair on my pelvis. I felt constructed of nothing more substantial than hot liquid, knowing that I had to feel him inside me tonight. Right now, and my eyes told him this.

  His eyelids had lowered and his hand was again between my legs. He pressed a soft kiss to my forehead and then said, “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful than the way you look right now, all hot and flushed from letting me touch you. You look like an angel, Ruthann. I’ve always thought so, but never more than this moment.”

  I felt drunk on his words and his touch, holding tightly to him as his fingers played over my skin. He totally and completely knew how to use his hands. I said, my breath growing shallow, “Thank you…so much. I never knew…all this feeling…was always there…”

  He shook his head, so much desire in his eyes and on his face that my heart clamored hard. He said, “That you don’t know this is a crime. But I’ll show you. Shit, I’m the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”

  I giggled a little, even as I trembled at his touch.

  “This will be a lesson in restraint,” he said, shifting so that his cock was flush against my belly. I reached and caught him into my hand. He groaned and pressed his forehead to me for a second, and his voice was rough as he said, “Not being able to finish inside of your sweet, tight, wet little body is also a crime. Oh my God…”

  Even though I had only gone down on Liam a few times over the years, I had never dreamed of swallowing. But I wanted this with Marshall and told him, “You can finish in my mouth.”

  Marshall groaned again, sheathing himself even more deeply against my curled fingers. He said, “I would die of happiness. But first let me make you come again.”

  “Yes,” I begged, releasing my grip on his cock and getting my arms around his neck, pressing to him. “Please, make me come again…I need it…” I hardly recognized the sound of my own voice.

  He grinned at me, all heat and sensuality. He said, “I need it, too,” and moved down my body, cupping his hands beneath my hips. He breathed lightly against me, then bent his head and my world became a narrow corridor of pure, wanton, hardcore need. He was breathing hard, his tongue swift against my flesh.

  He said, “You’re so gorgeous. And you taste so sweet…” and I was lost to everything but him. I couldn’t dream of letting anyone else touch me again, not after this, even as I understood, achingly, that this would have to end. And no doubt sooner than later.

  But I couldn’t think of that right now.

  I was pounded by spasms of pleasure that vibrated through my lower body and then outward along all of my nerves. Nearly out of my mind, I half-begged, half-ordered, “Put your cock in me for just a second, Marshall…I need it for just a second…”

  He obeyed instantly, sliding all the way inside on the first thrust as I cried out and he groaned my name, allowing himself to plunge deeply only a few more times before he pulled out, shuddering and gasping, and then we rolled
sideways and I shimmied down his body this time, to take his cock as far down my throat as I was able. He cupped my head and drove into me, coming in a hot rush.

  “Oh holy God, oh my dear sweet Jesus,” he uttered, making me giggle even as I tried not to gag. I fumbled for my abandoned tank top and wiped my mouth. Marshall had rolled to his back and lay like someone who’d just been knocked out by a sledgehammer to the head. I fit myself against him and he shifted so that I was tucked between him and the couch. In the last hour we had done more intimate things than I had done with Liam in four years.

  Marshall took my left hand into his right, linked our fingers, and brought it to his lips. Without opening his eyes he kissed my knuckles and then said, “If you would have told me this morning when you hugged me that this is how we’d end up tonight…”

  I giggled again. He was all sweaty and yet it felt so utterly natural, tucking into the crook of his arm. I snuggled there and played gently with his chest hair. I wanted him to know what I felt, and told him with soft sincerity, “You are amazing.”

  Marshall said, “My brothers would never believe a woman said that to me in a million years.” He hurried to insist, “Not that I would tell them. But you know what I mean.”

  Although it hurt me to ask, I pressed, as though calling a bluff, “You haven’t ever heard that before?”

  Marshall opened his eyes and pinned me with them. He said, “I’ve been with my share of girls. I’m not gonna lie to you, not ever. Ladies like the drummer.” I pinched him then, and he laughed and caught my hand, bringing it back to his lips, gently biting my index finger. He went on, “But this goes so far beyond anything I’ve ever done, anything I’ve ever felt. And I mean that sincerely. Years ago, on the night that we first met Carter and Camille at The Spoke, she showed us that picture. I saw your face and felt this – I don’t know how to describe it other than an awareness, I guess. Here was Case claiming Tish as his woman, holding nothing back, so I just kept what I thought to myself. But I felt the same way about you. I still do.”