Enticed by Ecstasy (Wicked Treasures) (8 page)

“You’re an amazing woman,” Channing said into the silence.
 

An elephant trumpeted in the distance, causing Abby to roll over and look out the double doors.
 
She was in Africa, with a man who had truly stirred her body.
 
The adventure she’d longed for was right before her.

She turned back to Channing.
 
“Am I still your captive?”

“I don’t think you ever were, though I’d say your body has captured mine.”

“Show me Africa, Channing.
 
I want to see it through your eyes.”

* * * *

Before Abby realized it, two weeks had passed.
 
Her days were spent learning of Africa and her ways.
 
And her nights were spent in Channing’s arms training in all the ways lovers could come together.

She leaned against the corner of the porch and watched a group of children playing.
 
For all her time with Channing, there was still so much she didn’t know about him, but she was enjoying learning.

A hand touched the small of her back.
 
She knew instantly it was Channing.
 
His touch was as familiar to her as breathing.

“Do most children play like that?” she asked.

“Most I’d guess.”

She glanced over her shoulder at him.
 
“Did you?”

He grinned.
 
“I did.”

“Are they your slaves?”

“Never.
 
I pay all of them.”
 
He walked around to stand in front of her.
 
“I give them land to build on, money to buy clothes and grain and whatever else they need.
 
In return, they give me loyalty.”

“No,” she said.
 
“They give you loyalty because you’re a good man.”

He chuckled.
 
“I might just keep you around forever if you continue with compliments like that.”

Abby’s body stilled.
 
She hadn’t realized until that moment how much she wanted to stay.
 
She told herself she’d be strong whenever she left Channing, but now she wasn’t so sure.
 
He had become such a large part of her life over the last couple of weeks, weeks where for the first time she felt like she truly belonged to something.

“Abby?”

She forced a smile and winked at him.
 
“I think I’ve decided that I want at least a dozen children.
 
I want my home filled with laughter.”

“And broken items with that many kids,” he teased.
 
“Not to mention trying to get them all to mind.”

She shrugged.
 
“Maybe, but there will be laughter.”
 
It was something she had missed out on as a child. She wouldn’t have it gone from her life now.

He held out his hand to her.
 
“I’ve got something to show you.”

Abby readily put her hand in his.
 
“Where are you taking me today?
 
To see the elephants again?
 
Or the cheetahs?
 
What about the lions?
 
Oh, is it more giraffes?
 
I love the giraffes.”

“You’ve already seen all of those,” he said with a laugh.
 
“I’ve got something different to show you today.”

“You know how curious I get.
 
Give me a hint.”

He turned and picked up a bag.
 
“No hints.
 
You’ll just have to wait.”

She loved each adventure he took her on – and there had been many.
 
She had seen parts of Africa that she doubted many whites would ever see.
 
The animals were magnificently large, their calls filling the air day and night.

Abby hurried after Channing as he started out to wherever he was taking her.
 
Just yesterday he had promised to take her to see the plains of Africa where the earth stretched for miles with nothing but a few trees and animals dotting the landscape.
 
At her prodding, he even agreed to take her to the desert just so she could say she’d seen it.

They walked for a couple of hours.
 
Talk was kept to a minimum while Abby admired all the wildlife.
 
She now kept a pistol in a pocket of her skirts just in case there was danger nearby.
 
It made her feel a little safer, but nothing put her at ease like Channing’s nearness.

When Channing suddenly stopped and turned to her with a smile on his face she could only stare at him.
 
And then she heard it.
 
She gasped and lifted her skirts to run toward the sound of the surf.

She broke through the dense trees, Channing on her heels, to see a magnificent beach of white sand.
 
Waves of dark blue crashed on the shore leaving white foam behind.

The roar of the waves deafened the animals behind her.
 
She jerked her skirts over her knee and lifted her leg to tug off her boot.
 
The thick sand made her lose her balance, and she tried to hop around to keep upright.
 
Just when she was about to fall, Channing was there to steady her.

“In that much of a hurry, are you?” he teased.

She tugged off her boot and tossed it aside before rising up on her toes to kiss him.
 
“It’s stunning.
 
I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing the many sides of Africa.”

A strange light came into his eyes at her words.
 
“Good.
 
Want to feel the ocean on your skin?”

She nodded and sat down to take off her other boot.
 
When she stood, Channing had removed his own boots as well as his shirt and rolled up the hem to his trousers.

Once more she took his hand and let him led her to the water.
 
Abby pulled her skirts up and tucked the hem in her belt as the water touched her ankles.

They waded out until the waves reached their thighs.
 
She stood looking out over the vast ocean, ever amazed at the world.
 
Channing moved to her back and wrapped his arms around her.
 
His chin rested on top of her head.

“I never thought to share this with a woman,” he said.

Her heart skipped a beat.
 
“I’m very glad you did.”

“Abby,” he said and turned her toward him.
 
His hands rested on her waist and his gaze searched hers.
 
“Stay with me.”

Her breathing quickened, but she refused to read more into his words than he intended.
 
“I am with you.”
 

“No.” He blew out a harsh breath, a small frown marring his forehead.
 
“I mean always.
 
These past two weeks have been heaven for me.
 
You’ve healed me in ways I never thought existed.
 
I don’t care about your father or the past anymore.
 
I only want the future.
 
With you by my side.”

Before she could answer, he withdrew something from his pocket.
 
He held his hand in front of her face and dangled the chain that held a magnificent blue diamond the size of the end of her pinkie.

“Oh, my,” she whispered in awe.
 
“I’d heard that Africa had such diamonds.”

“I found this one several years ago.
 
I don’t know why I had it made into a pendent at the time, but I do now.
 
It matches your eyes, Abby.
 
Please, stay with me.”

She smiled as joy swept through her.
 
“Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been surer of anything.”

“Then my answer is yes.”
 
There had never been any other answer.
 
Channing had given her a life she had only dreamed about.
 

At her words, he lifted her in his arms and spun her around.
 
Abby let her head fall back as their laughter filled the air.
 
She had never been happier than she was at that moment.

He finally stopped spinning.
 
Abby looked down to find his eyes filled with desire.
 
Instantly, her sex clenched with need.
 
He lowered her slowly, her body sliding sensuously down his hard frame.

When her feet touched the warm sand, he turned her around and hooked the chain around her neck.
 
She touched the diamond before she pivoted to him.
 
But he moved away from her and unfastened his trousers.
 
Abby bit her lip when his thick arousal sprang free.
 
She longed to wrap her hand around his hardness and hear him moan.

But instead of coming back to her, he dove into the water.
 
She wasted no time in removing her own clothes, and when she turned back to him, he stood watching her like a god raised from the waves.

His black hair, wet and plastered to his head, gleamed in the sun while ripples of water ran down his chest before the ocean claimed them once more.
 
Abby walked into the water and grinned when Channing’s eyes roved over her body.

Her nipples, hardened by the constant wind, puckered when the cool water splashed on her.
 
And then his hands were on her, pulling her through the waves to his chest.

Abby wrapped her legs around his waist and rubbed against his shaft.
 
He hissed and ran his lips over hers, teasing her with nibbles but never kissing her.

      
She wound her arms around him then leaned to trail kisses down his neck.
 
He moaned low in his throat, deep and resounding.
 
Abby smiled inwardly.

Then his hands gripped her bottom and lifted her.
 
His cock grazed the entrance to her sex.
 
She was eager to have him fill her, but when she tried to lower herself on him, he held her.

“Not yet,” he said.

She wanted to argue with him, to beg him, but the words died in her throat when his mouth closed over her nipple and his tongue circled the tiny bud.

Abby strained against him as desire pumped through her.
 
She ground her hips into him, silently begging him to ease her torment.
 
Instead, he continued to suck and lick her nipples.

“Channing,” she pleaded.

He chuckled, but lifted his face from her breasts.
 
“I could feast on your breasts all day.
 
What do you want?”

“You,” she answered without hesitation.
 
“I want you. Always.”

“I’ve made love to you a million ways, and yet it’s never enough.”

She knew exactly how he felt.
 
He kissed first one breast then the other before he turned her so that her back met his chest.

“What’s this?”
 
She tried to reach around and grab his cock, but he evaded her.

“Something I’ve dreamed of doing since I first took you that night two weeks ago.”

Abby closed her eyes and sighed.
 
Channing always knew what to say to make her heart melt.
 

His hands cupped her breasts and his thumbs circled her aching nipples while his cock rubbed against her bottom.
 
The waves crashed around them, but she no longer felt them.
 
Her entire being was centered on Channing and the desires he awoke in her.

She moaned and dropped her head back on his shoulder when his hand moved down her stomach to part the curls at her sex.
 
His finger moved over her clit with the slightest of pressure while his other hand pinched her nipple until pleasure mixed with pain.

He loosened his grip on her nipple and pushed a finger inside of her.
 
Abby’s body was on fire, her need growing with each beat of her heart.
 
He stroked her body, pushing deep and adding a second digit.

His fingers knew just where to touch to make her moan and beg for more.
 
When she began to set a tempo, he’d remove his fingers and swirled them around her clit until she was writing with need.
 
Only then would he once more fill her.

Abby felt the familiar tightening of her body.
 
Her hips moved with his fingers, seeking the pleasure he tempted her with.

And then his hand was gone.
 
She opened her eyes when he lifted her once more and carried her toward the shore.
 
When he reached the beach, he sat down and shifted her so that she straddled his hips.

“I’ve wanted to see you riding me for days now.”

Abby glanced down at his cock that she now held in her hands.
 
“You want me in control?”