Thief of My Heart Read online

  “That seems fair,” Desiree said.

  “Don’t get me wrong,” Decker said, looking her in the eye. “I’m no saint. When I started out, I would defend anyone who could pay me the big bucks. But as time passed, I was no longer able to stomach the real scumbags. They were coming to me in droves because of my reputation in the courtroom. My soul, though, was suffering because of it. These days, I choose whom I defend more carefully.”

  Desiree reached across the table and affectionately squeezed his hand. “I love that about you.”

  Decker smiled at her and squeezed her hand back. “Enough about me,” he said. “How is that girl doing who turned her teacher in and is now being harassed at school?”

  Desiree was pleased he was concerned about Madison. She, of course, had not told him anything personal about Madison’s case, like her name or the name of her molester. That was privileged information. “She’s getting stronger every day,” she said. “I’ve often seen that happen when a girl actively starts taking back her power.”

  “I’m glad,” Decker said. “I hate it when children are preyed on. It’s tough enough growing up without having to deal with that.”

  Desiree sighed inwardly. No wonder she loved this man. She hoped he wanted children, because she wanted a houseful. With that thought, she blushed.

  Decker must have seen the change in her facial expression, because he laughed shortly and said, “What?”

  She looked straight into his eyes as if she could distract him by showing him she had nothing to hide. “What do you mean?”

  “Desiree, I’ve been watching you for months now. I’m your ex-stalker, remember? I’ve watched you from across a crowded room. I’ve watched you laughing and talking with your crazy sisters. I love them all, but they’re crazy. I’ve watched you gossiping with my aunt Veronica. I’ve watched you eating chocolate cake, which, for some weird reason, turns me on. I know when you’re embarrassed, and something you were thinking a minute ago embarrassed you. What was it?”

  “Damned lawyers,” Desiree grumbled.

  To which Decker laughed heartily. “Go ahead, insult the lawyer. We’re used to it. That doesn’t mean I’m going away. What were you thinking?”

  Suddenly thunder rumbled, and rain began falling in sheets. They quickly gathered plates, glasses and cutlery and raced inside, laughing all the way. “So much for dining al fresco,” Desiree said. They piled all the dishes in the sink for later, and eyed each other in all their drenched glory. Desiree’s hair lay limp down her back. Her dress was plastered to her body. She looked at Decker. His clothing clung to his body, outlining his sexy, muscular form. She had yet to see him naked because she had not given him the green light.

  Love came hard for her. In spite of her resolve to be open to love, it eluded her. She didn’t trust her ability to discern true love when she saw it. She had loved Noel, or thought so. Admittedly she had never felt this much desire for Noel. But these feelings could be because she hadn’t been with a man in years. She hadn’t wanted to make love to Decker until she was certain she loved him. Anything less would be unfair to him. He’d already been deceived by a woman he had loved. She would not add to his heartbreak.

  He was looking at her now with undisguised lust in his eyes. After coming inside where the air was on, she felt a chill, and her nipples had reacted to the change in temperature. She wouldn’t lie to herself: It wasn’t entirely the chilly air that had done that. It was Decker.

  Decker had moved closer. His thigh was touching hers. She inhaled sharply, and exhaled slowly. She trembled as he slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her against him. She threw her head back, and he kissed the hollow of her throat. His warm lips on her skin sent wanton currents of pleasure pulsing through her. Her body went limp. The throbbing between her legs was a sign of her sexual readiness. Yes, she was past ready. There was no mistaking he was ready, too. His rock-hard erection was proof of that. “One hundred and twenty days,” he whispered. His hot breath was on her neck. “I adore you. Can’t you see we’re made for each other? Say you want me, Desi. Just say the word, and I’m yours.”

  “Oh, God,” she breathed. He had backed her against the sink, and her dress hem was hiked up, exposing her thighs. She had kicked off her shoes somewhere between here and the patio. Now their lower bodies were pressed together, pelvis to pelvis, and it didn’t take a great imagination on her part to know they fit well together. The only thing that separated them were a few thin layers of clothing, wet clothing.

  Their eyes met, and the smoldering passion in his was her undoing. “I want you,” she said, her voice so low she could barely hear it herself. “I want you so bad.”

  He didn’t say a thing. He simply picked her up and started walking in the direction of her bedroom. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Her nervousness made her say, “I should warn you, I talk in my sleep. Sometimes I wake myself up singing.”

  “I snore when I’m overly tired,” he said, not even breathing hard as he took the stairs. “And I used to sleepwalk when I was a kid, but I haven’t done that in a while, so I think you’re safe.”

  “It’s been so long since I did this, I think I may have forgotten how,” she continued.

  “Baby, I’d be happy to give you a refresher course.”

  “When you asked me what I was thinking a minute ago,” she confessed, “I was thinking of having children with you, a houseful. Doesn’t that freak you out?”

  He smiled at her. “I’ve already picked out names for our first two children, Thaddeus the third for the boy, and Verity, after my grandmother, for the girl, with your okay, of course. So no, that doesn’t bother me.”

  “Your name is Thaddeus?” she asked, confused.

  He laughed shortly. “I’m named after my dad, whose name is Thaddeus. Decker is what they started calling me when I was born. My dad said I was the only thing that could deck my mother. Apparently she had a hard time during the delivery because I was so big. I decked her, hence Decker. Get it?”

  “You’re so strange,” she said, smiling lovingly at him.

  “We’re a perfect match.”

  * * *

  Decker stood in the doorway of the bedroom with Desiree in his arms. The bedside lamp was on, and since the last time he’d seen her bedroom on that tour four months ago, he saw she had done a bit of redecorating. The drapes and the comforter were a deep forest green now instead of white. It was almost as if she was trying to make the atmosphere more appealing for a man. If so, that meant she had recently given seduction some thought. That notion pleased him.

  He walked farther into the room and set her down at the foot of the bed. She looked up at him, her eyes dreamy. Even drenched, she was the most beautiful, desirable woman he’d ever known. He had known women who were just as beautiful, yes, but somehow with their beauty, they had acquired a meanness of spirit that made them ugly in spite of their outside appearance. Desiree was beautiful on the inside and the outside. He felt so lucky that she had finally stopped living in the past. Time was a terrible thing to waste, and they had wasted so much of it.

  “I’d like to undress you,” he said, his voice hoarse.

  She nodded. He felt a slight tremor run through her body. He knew she was nervous. He was nervous, too. He wanted her first experience in years to be memorable in a good way. Tonight, he was going to make sure that tomorrow morning, when she opened her eyes, it would be with a huge smile on her face.

  He pulled the sundress over her head. Then he didn’t know what to do with it because it was wet. She must have seen the indecision in his eyes, because she took the dress and went to hang it on a hook in the adjacent bathroom. When she returned, her eyes had a determined cast to them.

  She was wearing a slip that, on her, looked like sexy lingerie. Her fit, golden-brown body, muscles undulating beneath smooth skin, was the focus of his
attention. He could not tear his eyes away. Her nipples were clearly outlined beneath the silken material, and he wanted to bury his face in her cleavage. But he stood there as she came to him and began unbuttoning his shirt. When she was done, she sultrily ran her hands over his chest, taking her time. Then she bent her head and kissed it. When she raised her head, she finally spoke: “You’re beautiful.”

  Her words made him harden further. He was beautiful to her. It was more than he could have hoped for, having gone months believing she never thought of him, let alone desired him.

  He grabbed her and kissed her hard. At first he thought he’d been too rough, but soon she was controlling the kiss and moaning with pleasure. When they came up for air, her eyes were fierce and passion-filled. She began undressing quickly. He followed suit, and soon they were both naked, not taking their eyes off each other for one second.

  Now he could not stop staring, and his heart thumped with excitement, to say nothing of his member, which had hardened so much he knew he would be fully erect soon. They circled each other like fencers about to duel. He took the opportunity to observe her from all angles. Some people should be naked 24/7, and she was one of them. Her body was smoothly muscular, yet utterly feminine. Her skin was unmarred, except for a scar on her right thigh, an old injury he would ask her about later. Her breasts were full and natural, with nipples he wanted to taste right now, but he maintained control. He wanted to know where she was going with this sensual dance. He lowered his gaze to her vagina and was pleased to note she was natural there, as well. Her navel was lovely, and he realized he’d never seen her in a bikini or a midriff top before.

  She was watching him as closely as he was watching her. A smile crinkled the corners of her warm brown eyes. Obviously she liked what she saw. Her gaze traveled downward, and he couldn’t help feeling a little self-conscious. No man liked being judged by his size. He had nothing to feel insecure about, but still. Her smile broadened, and she launched herself at him. Taken by surprise, he fell backward onto the bed with her on top of him. She kissed him, and they rolled until he was on top. She opened her legs to him, and he almost lost control.

  The intoxicating scent of her, the warmth of her naked skin against his, were making his plans for a night of slow, intense lovemaking seem like a pipe dream. But he was determined and redoubled his efforts. “Where are your condoms?” he asked before this could go any further.

  “They’re in the top drawer of the bureau,” she said, and actually started to grind against him, the little devil.

  He got up and looked in the drawer.

  “I hope you haven’t had these for ten years,” he joked.

  “No, silly, I bought them recently. I wanted to be prepared.”

  Finding a small box of condoms stuck in a corner, he opened it and withdrew a couple of packets. Returning to the bed, he put the condoms on the nightstand for easy access later, and straddled her.

  He moved backward on the bed on his knees and then bent to lick her nipples, first one, then the other, taking his time and enjoying every minute of it. She rubbed his head, moaning loudly, modesty out the window. He smiled and moved down a bit more, his tongue exploring her navel next. She writhed with pleasure, which caused him to harden even more. He’d bet she didn’t know until this moment that the navel was an erogenous zone. He wanted to know what she would think of what he intended to do to her next.

  He got up, grabbed her gorgeous legs and pulled her toward the foot of the bed, after which he got on his knees and joked, “No sudden moves. I don’t want you to take my head off.”

  Desiree laughed softly. “I’ll try not to.”

  He felt her body relax as he coaxed her legs apart. She did offer a bit of resistance. He attributed this to her lack of knowledge about what was to come. Perhaps she’d never been pleasured in this manner before. In which case, she was in for a treat. He began by gently kissing the insides of her thighs. That was her initiation. When she was putty in his hands, he went for the gold and plunged his firm, hot tongue into her honey pot like a hungry bear.

  “Oh, my God,” she gasped, tensely at first, and then as she relaxed, she said again it with a note of rapture in her voice. He had a new convert.

  She climaxed with a shudder. He didn’t stop until he felt her release, although he did decrease the intensity, allowing her to float down from the precipice in a gentle manner.

  The sound of her contented sigh was his reward.

  He then got to his feet, his member hard as it had ever been. After putting on a condom, he pulled Desiree, who was still coming down from her high, forward and then he gently but thoroughly entered her. It felt so good he wanted to shout, but he restrained himself.

  He waited a moment for her response. Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked at him in amazement; then she smiled, sighed and met his thrusts with as much energy and enthusiasm as he. Oh, yeah, this was going to be a good night.

  Chapter 8

  Desiree didn’t remember sex being this much fun. Admittedly, she wasn’t much of an expert. Noel had been her first and only, and in retrospect, he hadn’t been very giving as a lover.

  She rarely had one orgasm, let alone two with him. She’d been too naive back then to tell him her needs weren’t being met.

  She turned and grinned at Decker after they’d made love for the second time that night. They’d fallen back onto the bed, facing each other, exhausted. He was smiling, too, and his eyes were quite mellow as they lovingly regarded her. “How’s the refresher course going?” he asked.

  “Excellent, if I do say so myself,” she returned happily.

  “You’re a fast learner.”

  “I’ve always been an overachiever.”

  He gently touched her cheek. His eyes raked over her face as though she were the most precious thing in the world to him. “I’m so sorry I wasted years behaving like an idiot. If I’d come to you correctly the day we met, we wouldn’t have wound up wasting two years.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Desiree said. “I had a wall up around my heart. I probably wouldn’t have been receptive to you if you had come to me correctly, as you put it. Let’s face it, this is our time.”

  She loved the way his forehead crinkled when he frowned. “I don’t want to sound ungrateful for this blessing, because I am. It’s just that I can imagine how far we would be now if things had been different.”

  “Oh, no,” Desiree said, laughing softly. “You’re one of those what-might-have-been people.”

  “Hear me out,” he said.

  “I’m listening.”

  “Colton Jr. could have had a little cousin by now,” he said. “And maybe we’d be working on number two. I’m thirty-four. I’d like children before I get decrepit.”

  Desiree laughed harder. “You’re a young man. You take care of yourself. You still have plenty of years during which you can play ball with your son and daughter.”

  He laughed. “No daughter of mine is going to play sports. She’ll be a little lady. I’m going to spoil her rotten.”

  Desiree sat up in bed, pulling the sheet over her chest as she did so. She glared at him. “If you really feel that way, you can get out of my bed right now, because no daughter of mine is going to sit on the sidelines. Playing sports and being active give a girl confidence. I’m going to sign my daughter up for martial arts as soon as she shows an interest. And any other sport she wants to play.”

  Decker was up on his elbow, still lying next to her, with a humorous expression in his dark gray eyes as he looked up at her. “You’re adorable when you get mad. Your eyes flash. And you growl, did you know that?”

  Desiree hauled off and hit him with a pillow. “I should have known you were pulling my leg, pretending to be a Neanderthal!”

  Sitting up, Decker caught the pillow and pulled it out of her grasp. “Hey, enough
violence, sweet cheeks. I give up. Our daughter can learn karate. Don’t blame me if she beats up all the boys in class, though, if she takes after her mother.”

  Desiree had a killer comeback for him, but when she was about to deliver it, her stomach growled so loudly she let his comment slide. Decker looked at her stomach and burst out laughing. “We didn’t get the chance to eat much before the storm broke,” he said.

  “And then you jumped my bones,” Desiree said, climbing out of bed. “How about a quick shower and then we go downstairs and raid the kitchen?”

  “Who jumped whose bones?” Decker asked, following her into the bathroom. “I think there was a mutual jumping of bones.”

  She tossed a saucy grin over her shoulder. “I shouldn’t be held liable for anything. I was practically a virgin until you showed up.”

  “Baby, those were not the moves of a virgin,” Decker countered. “More like a vixen!”

  In the bathroom, she turned and smiled at him. She was happy to hear he’d enjoyed her. She’d been a little worried she wouldn’t please him. “A vixen, huh?” she said, going up to him and pressing her body against his. “Say that again.”

  He held her face between his hands and looked deeply into her eyes. “I’m glad I have a strong heart, or you would have killed me.”

  Desiree grinned. “That’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.” Then she kissed him.

  When they parted, she whispered, “I love you.”

  Decker’s smile vanished. He grabbed her by the upper arms, a look of astonishment on his handsome face. He heaved a huge sigh of relief. “You love me?”

  Desiree blinked back tears. She nodded. “I do. I think I have for a while now, before we started dating. It was Lauren who pointed out the possibility to me. I would act as if your attention was annoying, but the fact is, I looked forward to your notes and your phone calls, but I was too blind to recognize those feelings for what they were. And, too, all the times we saw each other at family gatherings, I would subconsciously be waiting for when you’d enter the room. And once you did, I’d exhale with relief. Yeah, I think it’s safe to say I’ve wanted you for a long time. Does that surprise you?”