Rumor Has It. Cindi Myers

head until he groaned. Then she bent and exhaled her hot breath on him, almost, but not quite touching him.

      In one movement he pushed her away and ripped off the briefs, freeing himself. He stood over her, his arousal straining toward her. She swallowed hard. To think she’d missed all this in high school. “Maybe we should go into the bedroom,” she said.

      He shook his head. “No. When we were in high school, I don’t think we’d have ever made it to the bedroom.” He touched her shoulder, urging her back against the cushions.

      She leaned back, stretching her legs along the length of the sofa and resting her head on a pillow. He helped her out of her panties, then sat beside her and stroked her stomach, sending ripples of arousal through her. She struggled to lie still, to savor the delicious tension coiling within her.

      “I always knew you were gorgeous,” he said.

      Then why didn’t you say anything? She thought, but then all thought fled as he begin to kiss her breasts. He moved slowly at first, making easy circles with his tongue around her nipples, first one and then the other, until she was moaning and writhing beneath him.

      He chuckled softly and put his hand on her thigh. “Patience, patience.”

      “I never had any patience in high school. What makes you think I have any now?”

      He laughed. “That’s okay. I like a woman who’s eager.” He slid his hand up her thigh and slipped between her legs. “And you are eager, aren’t you? You’re soaking wet.” He dipped two fingers into her, his thumb and fingers stroking, coaxing her closer to the edge.

      She closed her eyes and arched against him, gasping. “Dylan!” Words failed her.

      His hand stilled. “Look at me.”

      She opened her eyes. “Don’t stop,” she pleaded.

      “I want to see you when you come.”

      She nodded and he began to fondle her again, lightly at first, then with more pressure, faster and faster until her vision faded. At the moment when she was sure she could stand no more, his hand left her. She thrust toward him and groaned in frustration. “No!”

      He leaned over and kissed her on the lips. “I promise it’ll be worth the wait.” He picked up his jacket from the floor. “Here, you put this on.” He tossed a condom to her.

      She raised up on her elbows and tore open the packet, then leaned forward and reached for him. “I can’t believe my hands are shaking.”

      “Yeah.” He put his hand on her shoulder and she felt his own tremors run through her.

      She rolled the condom onto him, then lay back and looked into his eyes. “Hurry.”

      He nudged her leg aside and knelt between her thighs. She opened to him and he filled her completely with one deep thrust. One hand on her hip, he caressed her thigh, while the other hand moved again to her clit.

      Desire claimed her like wildfire, consuming her. She kept her eyes locked to Dylan’s face, seeing him caught in the same firestorm. Arousal transformed his face, sharpening the lines and planes, giving him a harsh beauty that stole her breath as surely as his thrusts.

      She wrapped her legs around his waist, angling her body, silently urging him to bury himself more deeply within her. He thrust harder, increasing his pace, driving her to the brink, then following her over.

      Their cries rang in the silence that followed. Dylan collapsed against her, his head resting between her breasts. She buried her fingers in his hair, savoring the feel of him filling her completely.

      “That was incredible,” he whispered.

      She smiled. “It was pretty incredible, wasn’t it?”

      He levered up onto his elbows and withdrew from her. “The bathroom’s down the hall, if you want to use it,” she said.

      While he was in the bathroom, she went into her bedroom and cleaned herself, then slipped into the blue silk robe she’d bought as an indulgence last fall. Tonight wasn’t a night for her everyday pink terry cloth.

      When she returned to the living room, Dylan was stepping into his pants. She paused in the doorway, admiring the fit of those black bikini briefs around his backside. “I’m going to have a glass of wine, would you like some?” she said when he turned to face her.

      “Yeah, that sounds good.”

      She returned with the wine and found him seated on the sofa, shirtless and barefoot, the diary in his hand. She felt another tremor of desire at the sight of him, so masculine against all her feminine things.

      He looked up at her approach. “I can’t believe you kept this all this time,” he said, hefting the open diary.

      “Don’t you have things you kept from high school?” She handed him a glass and sat beside him.

      “A couple of football trophies, maybe. A jersey. But nothing like this.”

      “Nothing sentimental.”

      “Nothing this…immediate.” He closed the book and laid it aside. “I hope you don’t mind. I guess I should have asked before I read anything.”

      She smiled. “After what just happened, I wouldn’t say we had many secrets anymore.”

      He took a long drink and shook his head. “It wouldn’t have been that good when we were kids.”

      “No. I’m sure it wouldn’t have.”

      He glanced at her. “Were you a virgin? I mean, back in school.”

      She shrugged. “Almost. I’d had one experience with a guy back in California, but it wasn’t very satisfying.”

      “What happened?”

      “Oh, you know. He was overeager. I was nervous. We were in his car and things got out of hand. Before I knew it, it was over and I hadn’t enjoyed it very much.”

      He put his hand on her leg. “I would have treated you better than that.”

      She smiled. “I think you would have. You were always very considerate. What about you? When was your first time?”

      He thought a moment. “Summer of my junior year. A girl I met on vacation in Corpus.” He grinned. “An older woman. She was a senior.” He took another drink of wine. “The first time was a little awkward, but we had a good time.”

      “Sex ought to be a good time,” she said.

      “It was good tonight.”

      “Yeah.” She couldn’t recall when it had been better for her. She couldn’t recall anything right now. Dylan had wiped out the memory of every other man. Not that there’d been that many. None like Dylan, able to move her so deeply and to satisfy her so completely.

      He set his empty wineglass on the coffee table. “So, how is this going to work? When should we see each other again?”

      “Soon.” She set her own glass beside his. “When are you free?”

      “How about tomorrow?”

      She smiled, pleased by his eagerness. “How about Monday?” She didn’t want to take this too fast. The longer it took to work their way through all the old rumors, the more time they’d have to spend together.

      “What rumor do you have planned?”

      She laughed. “I’m not sure. I’ll call you.”

      He nodded, but made no move to finish dressing. He sat with his elbows on his knees, staring at the flame of a candle on the coffee table. “Do you think this is going to work?” he asked after a moment.

      “What do you mean?”

      He glanced at her. “Us, getting together like this? Is it really going to make you feel better about what happened