One Christmas Wish by Brenda Jackson

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“WELCOMETO ZARA’S HAVEN.” Vaughn opened the door to his home for Sierra.

“Thank you,” she said, crossing over the threshold and glancing around. “Wow! This place is larger than the Landrum Estates and everything is so immaculate.”

He smiled as he led her into the huge foyer. They were both fully aware why he’d invited her here, yet he wanted her to feel relaxed, even though he would like nothing better than to sweep her into his arms and carry her to his bedroom.

“If you recall, Jean Lafitte built this house as a gift for my great-great-great-great-grandmother, Zara Musa,” he said as she walked beside him to the grand foyer.

“The kidnapped African princess.”

Vaughn nodded. The tale of Princess Zara’s kidnapping by Jean Lafitte was widely known...at least by most living in Catalina Cove. According to the cove’s history, Zara had been a beautiful African princess who was on a ship sailing to the Caribbean. Lafitte captured the ship, decided he wanted the princess, kidnapped her and brought her to his home on Catalina Cove. Then he did something he’d never done—at least not with his other mistresses—and that was to court the woman. He also built her one of the most beautiful houses in the cove, and together they had six children, of which Vaughn was a descendant.

“At the time, it was a common practice for men to provide their mistresses with an extravagant gift such as a house,” he added.

“Yes, but there are some who believe Zara was his wife and not his mistress,” Sierra stated as she continued to look around. “As a teen I loved reading the love story between Lafitte and Princess Zara. The romantic in me believes they were married.”

“My parents would have loved you for believing that, but as I’ve mentioned, there’s no proof. However, I will say he obviously thought highly enough of her to give her this,” he said, waving his hand around.

“All the furniture is antique and has been owned by my family for generations. I’m told the carvings on the staircase banister were originally meant for a castle in Ireland. Fortunately for Zara—and unfortunately for the Irish castle owner—Lafitte and his gang of pirates pillaged the ship meant to deliver it to Ireland. In fact,” he said, grinning, “a number of pieces in this house he smuggled in from other countries. That’s why you don’t get a Southern feel of this place like you’d get with other ancestral homes in town. Come on, let me give you a tour of the place.”

First, Vaughn showed Sierra the living room, dining room and kitchen. His mother had modernized it by adding the double ovens, stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. “At some point Mom enlarged the butler pantry and then wished she hadn’t when it became my sister’s favorite hiding place.”

He stood back and watched Sierra move around the kitchen, running her hands over the smooth countertops, and he imagined her running those same hands over him in much the same way.

Vaughn could feel his breath coming out shaky and his erection pressing against the zipper of his slacks. He presented his profile to her so his arousal wouldn’t be so obvious when he asked, “Ready to take a tour of the upstairs?”

She smiled at him. “Yes.”

As they walked toward the stairs, she commented on how she loved the dark oak floors and how beautifully polished they were. He led her up the stairs and told her that there were twelve bedrooms in addition to the master suite, which was on a wing of its own on the side of the house that faced the gulf. The third floor was the attic, but it was big enough to be converted into more rooms if needed.

“This house is huge for just one person or even for two. Do you and your sister ever plan to sell it or will you keep it?”

He shrugged as they walked down the long hall that led to the twelve bedrooms. “We haven’t decided. I doubt she will ever move back to the cove. I’m here for good but this is too much house for me. I could have moved into one of the guest houses or cottages on the property, but either would have called for remodeling and I wasn’t into doing any of that. Besides, I didn’t have time to oversee a project like that after I went to work for Reid. I needed to hit the ground running.”

They walked side by side as they moved through the rooms and returned to the hall. He was trying to be patient, waiting for a sign from her, but the wait was almost killing him. He led her to the wing where the master suite was located and heard her gasp the moment he opened the double doors. This room alone was as large as her apartment. The four-poster bed was humongous and the curtains and canopy surrounding it matched those on the windows. The other antique furniture in the room added to the grandeur and spoke of opulence and wealth. There was a love seat across from the massive fireplace and several floor lamps were arranged around the room. Although it was dark outside, she could see the moon reflecting off the surface of the gulf. She knew the view had to be breathtaking.

The adjoining bathroom was larger than her and Teryn’s bedrooms combined. A huge claw-foot tub sat in the center of the room with wraparound vanities and mirrors. There were his-and-hers dressing rooms and closets. There was even a fireplace in the bathroom.

“My word,” she said, looking around. “How do you manage sleeping in here every night? I didn’t know they made beds so big.”

He chuckled. “The bed is custom-made. But to answer your question, I don’t sleep in here. My living quarters are downstairs,” he said. “There’s a second master suite. I understand my great-grandfather’s ability to climb the stairs was challenging later in life, which prompted them to make one of the rooms downstairs into a mini master suite. It’s half this size.”

“Everything looks immaculate.”

“Thanks,” he said, leading her back toward the stairs. “My housekeeper comes in weekly to do laundry, dusting and other general housecleaning chores.” When there was a lag in the conversation, he continued, “My cook only comes when I call her, which is seldom. To me that’s a lot to ask when it’s only me. She has prepared a few Thanksgiving and Christmas meals for me and Zara whenever she visited.”

He paused at the top of the stairs. “My parents retained the housekeeper, as well as the gardener and cook, on the payroll until they reach the retirement age of sixty-five,” he told her.

“What happens after that?”

“My parents’ will stipulated after they retire, they are to receive a very generous monthly amount for the remainder of their lives.”

“That was very thoughtful of your parents.”

Vaughn shook his head. “After dealing with my parents for years, they deserve it, trust me. However, I’m sure it was my mother’s idea more so than my father’s.”

He gestured for her to go down the stairs ahead of him and then wished he hadn’t. Just watching her ass sway had him heating up again.

“One day I’d like to invite you back in the daylight and you can see how beautiful it is out that bedroom window. The ocean view is gorgeous no matter what day of the year, and in the morning when the sun rises, it is breathtaking.”

When she reached the bottom, she turned and waited for him to join her. She held his gaze and with every step he took, he felt his heart rate increase. In her eyes, he saw a look of primal sexual hunger he could no longer fight. Nor did he want to.

When he reached the floor, he gently pulled her to him. He was certain she’d seen just how aroused he was. Now he wanted her to feel it. He stared down at her, knowing what they both needed and wanted. When she shifted her body and pressed closer, he gritted his teeth and moaned.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressed her body flush against his and leaned up on tiptoe to connect his mouth to hers.

SIERRAKNEW VAUGHNwas holding nothing back in this kiss. Having seen him only once this week, neither was she. More than anything, she wanted Vaughn to make love to her. She needed it.

She was mating with his mouth, the way she’d learned from him. Little did he know that as he was giving her a tour of his home, she envisioned them making love in every single room they passed through. For a woman who for years thought she didn’t have a single passionate bone in her body, that was unprecedented. Desires she hadn’t ever experienced were taking control of her body, making her feel hot and wanton, and sending her senses reeling.

He suddenly broke off the kiss and stared down at her. He moved his hands from her waist to cup her backside and bring her even closer to him. She felt him. But then she’d been feeling him from the moment he had picked her up tonight, even when their bodies hadn’t been touching. He had a way of looking at her, training his scorching hazel gaze on her, arousing her as no man ever had.

“I want you, Sierra, but I doubt if I can make it to the bedroom,” he whispered close to her ear.

She doubted that she could make it there, too. “Then don’t.”

Vaughn whipped her tunic-style blouse over her head and tossed it to the sofa.

“Good throw,” she said.

His lips widened into a masculine smile. “I plan to show you a number of things I’m good at tonight.”

“I’m all for it, just as long as you have me home by two.”

He chuckled as he hooked his fingers into the waistband of her slacks and began easing them down her legs. “At least you didn’t say midnight.”

“Umm, do I look like Cinderella?”

He squatted to remove her shoes so she could step out of her pants. He glanced back up at her. “You’re more beautiful than Cinderella. Plus, the prince never got to see this much of her. All he ended up with was a shoe.”

Now she was down to her last stitch of clothing—a royal blue bra and matching panties.

“You always color coordinate your undies?” he asked playfully.

“Yes, it’s something I like doing.”

No need to tell him it had been Rhonda’s idea, during their college days when they bought what they could afford, no matter the color, brand or style. Most of the time it was mix and match. Cotton. Cheap. Rhonda had convinced her that once they left college and got good paying jobs, they owed it to themselves to look just as sexy under their clothes as they looked wearing their clothes.

“And it’s something I appreciate and like seeing,” he said. He stood and then reached out to trace his fingers around the cups of her bra. His feathery touch ignited a hungry throb at the juncture of her legs.

“Now to relieve you of this.” Reaching behind her, he aptly released the catch and eased her bra straps from her shoulders before removing it from her.

He stood there holding her bra while getting an eyeful of her breasts. He’d seen them before, had tasted them a number of times, yet he was standing there looking at them as if this was the first reveal.

“Do you know how I feel whenever I suck your nipples?” he asked.

She swallowed, not sure he expected an answer. Since she had no idea, she shook her head.

“I feel like I’m burning with pleasure from the inside out.” He took a nipple into his mouth.

A short while later after feasting on both breasts, he eased his hands down the sides of her body, tracing his fingers over her stomach then down to the waistband of her panties.

“I like these,” he said, running his fingers along the lacy edge of her panties. “Do you know what I like better?”

“No.” The feel of his fingertips on her skin was sending intense sexual cravings through her.

“Taking them off of you.”

He nudged her legs slightly apart and squatted again to ease her panties down. Neatly rolling her panties and bra into her slacks, he tossed them to join her blouse. When he began gliding his hands up the insides of her legs, her breathing hitched.

He leaned back on his haunches and looked up at her. “Did I tell you how much I love your scent?”

Yes, he had told her. During the times they’d made love Vaughn had told her a number of things.

“Yes, you’ve told me, but I don’t mind hearing it again,” she murmured.

“In that case, Sierra Crane, I love your scent. It makes me want to fill my nostrils with it and feed my taste buds by devouring you.”

As if to show her, he leaned in and began softly nibbling around her womanly core. Leaning closer still, he brushed his nose against her, making her shudder. She heard the deep sound of him inhaling, then felt the tip of his tongue tracing all over.

“Vaughn...”

She placed her hands on his shoulders and he gripped her hips as he continued to lavish the area between her legs with nibbles, nose rubs and licks. He said some phrases in French and she had no idea what he was saying but intended to ask him later. Right now, she could barely remain standing. The one thing she’d realized about Vaughn was he brought sexual potency to a whole other level, and since discovering her erogenous zones, he had no shame in exploiting that fact.

Her panties had gotten wet at the party when he’d done something as simple as placing his hand in the small of her back, or when he’d offered her a taste of one of the appetizers. She’d taken a bite and he’d finished it off. Anyone looking on would assume, and rightly so, that their relationship was more intimate than she was letting on.

“Why are you so edible, cherie?” he murmured, just seconds before sliding his tongue through her wet folds.

Her fingers dug into the flesh of his shoulders when he began showing just how edible he thought she was. Then she felt herself being gently lowered to the stairs. He quickly joined her and, lifting her legs to rest on his shoulders, he resumed the task of devouring her. Unable to hold back any longer, she cried out when pleasure consumed her. She pushed her hips up to grind against his mouth. As if that’s what he wanted and needed, his tongue effortlessly penetrated her deeper as her body was jerked into still another orgasm.

When the last of her quaking subsided, he pulled his mouth away and lowered her legs from his shoulders. Through glazed eyes she watched him strip out of his clothes and sheath himself in a condom before easing between her open legs.

Lifting her hips in his hands, he thrust hard into her. She cried out, not from pain but from a pleasure so intense, she couldn’t catch her breath. She felt him not just at her center, but throughout her entire body.

He moved in and out with an intensity that made her hips lift to meet his every stroke.

When another orgasm broke, she screamed his name. Her cry seemed to trigger Vaughn to thrust faster and harder until he reached an orgasm as well.

“Oh, my cherie!” he hollered and thrust hard, nearly balls-deep inside of her. She screamed in pleasure again and he threw his head back as his body jerked and bucked so hard she felt it in the depths of her core.

It took a while for the spasms to subside, and he held her while kissing her with hard, strong lips. When he released her mouth, he reached out and pushed a curl from her face. “How do you feel?” he asked with concern etched in his features. “I took you on the stairs, for heaven’s sake. Are you hurt? Bruised?”

Sierra could tell he was worried that perhaps their lovemaking had been too wild and out of control. She didn’t think that way at all. Reaching up, she traced the fretted lines on his forehead with her fingers. “I’m fine, Vaughn. I’m not hurt and I feel amazing.”

A relieved smile spread across his face. “I feel amazing, too.”

He gathered her into his arms. “Let’s continue all this amazement in my bedroom, and I promise to have you home by two. Until then, I intend to show you just how much I desire you.”

And Sierra intended to show him the depth of her desire as well.

VAUGHNRETURNED SIERRAto her home with ten minutes to spare. He knew their relationship was about more than great sex, but tonight the sex had been powerful and the best he’d ever had. Even now, as he walked her to her door, he felt like he was floating on a cloud of sensual sensations, making it hard to keep his feet on the ground. They’d practically made love nonstop over the past three hours, yet more desire was throbbing through him, making him rock-hard. He’d never considered himself a greedy-ass when it came to sex but if given the chance, he would make love to Sierra every minute of the hour. Every single day, week and month.

Forever.

When they reached her door, the porch light came on. One advantage she had with living above the restaurant was that there weren’t any residences nearby. So she didn’t have to worry about nosy neighbors knowing when she got home late or whenever she had an overnight guest. In fact, she’d gotten a special zoning permit to live above her business. Once the shops and restaurants closed, typically no later than eleven on the weekends, everyone headed home, and the historical downtown district was almost deserted. He would worry about her living in this section of town alone except he knew the sheriff’s office was at the end of the street with the fire station at the other end.

“Thanks for a wonderful evening, Vaughn.”

Vaughn pulled her into his arms. “I should be the one thanking you. I meant to ask earlier if you’d made a decision about being my date at the New Year’s Eve Ball.”

She hesitated, then she said, “Yes, I’ll be your date as long as you agree to something.”

Vaughn leaned back and lifted a brow. “Agree to what?”

She nibbled her lip. “That although something is developing between us, I still want us to continue to take things slow. I don’t want things to start speeding up just because of tonight.”

“How slow are we talking, Sierra? I don’t want to start feeling like all I am to you is a good time in bed and nothing else.”

“How can you think that?”

“How can I not when you haven’t even gone out to dinner with me?” he countered. Frustrated, he stepped back and rubbed a hand down his face. Tonight had been too wonderful for them to part angry and upset with each other. But there were times when he wanted to just shake her. The woman was just too stubborn sometimes.

He exhaled, deciding to drop the subject, for now. “Listen, I’ll be flying out later today to join my sister for Thanksgiving. I hope you enjoy the time with your family this week.”

“Thanks, and I hope you enjoy time with your sister.” She paused. “When will you be back?”

For a moment he wondered why she cared. Still, he answered, “Next Sunday night around nine. I’ll call when I get back.”

“Alright.”

He reached for her and kissed her in a way he hoped she would remember. When a ball of need burst to life in the pit of his stomach, he broke off the kiss and took a step back. “Good night, Sierra.”

“Good night, Vaughn.”

He waited until she opened the door and was safely inside before turning to leave.