Tortoise Tango Read online

  “Now take my clothes off.” He whispered the order next to her ear. Amber shivered at the hard promise in the male tones. Her hands instantly obeyed as they found the buttons on his shirt front and separated them from their holes. Crisp male hair sprang up through the opened sides of the garment. Amber unhooked the last button and slid her palms up the center of his body. The skin to skin contact made her shiver. Her nipples tightened into little pebbles as she separated her hands and ran them beneath the fabric to each of his shoulders. Amber pushed the shirt up and over those huge male shoulders and Joe moved his hands behind him so that the shirt fell to the floor.

  His flat male nipples were as tightly beaded as her own. She stared at the little sign of his arousal and leaned towards one. Catching it between her lips, she let her tongue lick it as Joe hissed in response. The sound inflamed her courage making her move to his opposite nipple and lick it completely around before sucking its puckered tip into her mouth.

  Her hands went south.

  Amber purred around his nipple as she pulled his pants open. She trailed her lips over his abdomen as she sank to her knees and worked at the fly on his pants.

  “I love the way you play with me, Little Red.” His eyes aimed solid approval at her as his cock escaped the constriction of his pants. Amber slipped her fingers around his length before settling onto her knees.

  “I think I could get used to daily matches myself.”

  Joe felt every muscle he owned freeze as she took his cock between her lips. Her red hair streamed down her shoulders as her mouth pulled more of his length into its hot center. Her little tongue licked around the head before finding the sensitive spot right underneath. She licked and rubbed as his hands gripped her hair. Pleasure shot down his body and back up to slam into his brain. Her fingers closed around the length left outside her mouth and she stroked it with a firm grip. The need to climax slammed into his skull but Joe pulled her away from his cock instead. She aimed amused eyes up to his as she leaned back to show him her coral nipples.

  “I want to see you stretched out on that sea of satin and lace, baby. The idea has haunted me since I first saw it in your bedroom.”

  Amber pushed to her feet as her fingers lingered on his cock. Her body suddenly felt so empty. The walls of her passage begging for the hard thrust that would fill it with pleasure.

  “I thought you didn’t like it.”

  “Right up until I thought about you lying naked on it. Then I discovered a hidden craving for it to be on my bed.”

  Amber wanted to feed that craving. She backed away from his body and winked as she rolled right into the center of the bed. The satin was smooth beneath her back as she slipped her stocking-clad legs along each other and flipped her hair onto the comforter.

  His eyes moved over her with complete possession. Amber stared at the stark bluntness of male ownership, and felt her heart melt. No gushing remark about how beautiful she was could have hit her harder. Joe tossed his jeans onto the floor as he dropped his eyes to her nipples.

  The savage need to mate written on his face proved that she was the most amazing sight he had ever seen. It was an instinct centered somewhere in her brain that recognized that Joe wasn’t just indulging his lust for her…he was mating with her.

  Some people might call that making love. Amber felt it as complete, as the bed dipped when he placed a knee onto the mattress. Two hard fingers caught the edge of her panties and pulled. Amber lifted her hips as he tugged the little bit of satin down her body and tossed it onto the floor.

  Joe was certain he was enchanted at the moment. Her body drew him to it with coral nipples and lush curves that whispered to his longings. Joe couldn’t touch her in enough places at once. They rolled across the bed as they stroked and kissed with open need. His hips spread her thighs as she lifted her bottom for the hard thrust of his cock.

  Her body was hot and wet, making him groan. Joe twisted his hands into her hair as his body pumped between her legs and pleasure exploded across them both. It was a timeless moment shared only by two people who were willing to let their separate personalities go. True intimacy wasn’t something one person could touch, it took both partners holding onto only each other to reach its simmering folds. The night became an endless moment of pleasure as the world was forgotten and life simply ignored in the face of making love.

  * * * * *

  Joe kissed her lips as she woke up. Amber rubbed her eyes as sleep tempted her to return to it.

  “I’ll see you after work, honey.”

  Another warm kiss landed on her mouth as Joe stood up and left. Sunlight broke through the blinds as Amber watched his wide shoulders fill the doorway before he disappeared.

  A little smile lifted her lips as she considered her day. There was nothing but normal, everyday things to do and not a cloak or dagger event in sight. No SEALs or drug dealers, just work and family and one giant opinionated reptile to deal with.

  Now that was a good morning if ever there was one!

  Chapter Thirteen

  Joe called her before he left work. Amber slapped a hand over her face as a blush stained it. The beast didn’t give her a chance to utter a single word. Instead his male voice filled her ear with a dark suggestion before the line snapped shut.

  “I could just move to Idaho!”

  Flamingo snorted and Amber glared at her pet. The tortoise began nuzzling the basketball and Amber jumped out of her sun chair. “Why do you have to be a male also?” Flamingo mounted the ball and Amber snorted.

  Males! Men! It wasn’t safe for a woman to breathe the same air! She stomped into the house but froze at the sight of Joe leaning against the doorway. He clipped his cell phone back onto his hip as he grinned at her.

  “I thought I’d call a little closer to home, just in case the wait was unbearable.”

  “For who?”

  Joe raised his eyebrow at her, making her stomp before she giggled again. Men! Well, actually, her problem wasn’t with males—it was with one man! She couldn’t stay mad at him. Even when he was being presumptuous, she found it too damn flattering!

  Joe’s eyes drifted over her face before they slipped down her body, igniting fire as they went. Her nipples beaded and her passage flooded. The heat doubled and tripled as he raised his eyes back to her face. The corners of his lips twitched up into a cocky grin as he laid his gun on the bedside table.

  “Come over here, baby. I love the way you sweet-talk me.”

  A low chuckle came from his chest as he raised his hands to the top button on his shirt. Her mouth went dry as she watched the lean fingers push that little piece of plastic through its hole. The warm skin of his neck peeked at her as just a hint of chest hair curled between the edges of fabric. Another button separated and she felt her body leaning towards the warm male skin he was baring for her.

  “Honey, when you tell me I make you want to toss aside every aspect of civilized behavior and just get naked, that’s flattering.”

  “I don’t remember offering to get naked.”

  Another button opened and she swallowed the lump in her throat. Naked sounded really good right then.

  “Your eyes say it right now. So do those little nipples. God, I love those little coral tips.”

  Amber shivered but couldn’t hold back her little naughty grin—she sure did love the fact that he liked her nipples! The thing the man did with his mouth made her hands lift and pull on her own shirt buttons. Getting naked with Joe seemed like the best idea she’d had all day!

  “I want you to wear one thing to bed with me, honey.”

  Amber unhooked her bra and stopped as his words hit her. Joe’s face was dead serious as he let the open shirt just hang. He stepped forward and caught her hand.

  “Wear this, baby, and promise me you will never take it off.”

  Joe pushed the diamond engagement ring firmly up her finger before he let her see it. The little gem sparkled at her as she looked into the serious eyes of the man who still held her
hand. He raised his eyebrow as one side of his mouth twitched up.

  Amber stared at the little golden ring and felt tears prick her eyes. It felt so completely right on her hand. “But we just met…and isn’t it supposed to take time to decide to ask a girl to marry you?”

  “Of course, you’re free to think about it.” He bent and hefted her over his shoulder. A solid whack landed on her bottom as a giggle escaped her mouth. Joe’s masculine laughter mixed with hers as he tossed her onto his bed. His hands peeled his shirt off as Amber leaned back on her elbows. “But I’ve made up my mind, honey. Fate dropped you in my path and I’m not going to look at the details. You make this place a home, Amber, so I’m asking you to stick around and help me fill up some of those bedrooms.”

  He wasn’t asking her. Joe’s voice was full of arrogant demand and the tone reminded her of a drill sergeant. Amber grinned as she considered the heated debates their life together was bound to be filled with. She lifted a finger at him.

  “I’ll make a demanding wife, Joe Lott.”

  “Dear God! I hope so!” His eyes lit with challenge.

  He landed on the bed and cupped a breast with a firm hand. Amber sighed as his lips nibbled at hers before pushing them apart for his kiss.

  Love wasn’t just silly, it was corny and unexpected but most importantly, it was spontaneous. Her fingers threaded through his hair as she realized that this love was just perfect. Wedged right in between life’s ups and downs there was Joe.

  “I will never take it off.”

  “I love you, Little Red.”

  “Auburn!”

  His fingers dipped down across her belly and found the soft curls at the top of her mound. His lips leaned towards her ear… “Red, my sassy Little Red.” Joe leaned out the window. “Hey, Frank, tell your mama to marry me.”

  The tortoise snorted and pushed the basketball into his house. It was freshly painted with heat lamps attached to the top of it. Snip had painted a face on the basketball too. Frank ambled in behind his basketball as Joe wiggled his eyebrow at Amber. “I love Frank. I think we have a lot in common.”

  Well, they just might at that, but Amber giggled as she lay back across the satin bed covering. Dark eyes followed her every move as she smiled. Joe might favor her pet in a few ideas but he certainly chased his chosen partner a whole lot faster!

  About the author:

  I write to reassure myself that reality really is survivable. Between traffic jams and children’s sporting schedules, there is romance lurking for anyone with the imagination to find it.

  I spend my days making corsets and petticoats as a historical costumer. If you send me an invitation marked formal dress, you’d better give a date or I just might show up wearing my bustle.

  I love to read a good romance and with the completion of my first novel, I’ve discovered I am addicted to writing these stories as well.

  Dream big or you might never get beyond your front yard.

  I love to hear what you think of my writing: [email protected].

  Mary welcomes mail from readers. You can write to her c/o Ellora’s Cave Publishing at 1337 Commerce Drive, #13, Stow, OH 44224.

  Also by Mary Wine:

  A Wish, A Kiss, A Dream anthology

  Alcandian Quest

  Beyond Boundaries

  Dream Shadow

  Dream Specter

  Dream Surrender

  Ellora’s Cavemen: Tales from the Temple III anthology

  Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.

  www.ellorascave.com