The Ties That Bind

tonight."
    He smiled lightly, looking both indulgent and amused. "How about discussing the subject of my return?"
    Her eyes were alive with happiness. "Is the subject open for discussion?"
    "You know I'm going to be back, don't you?"
    "When?"
    "On the weekend. And the weekend after that and the one after that and the one after that."
    "You've rented the cottage for a whole series of weekends?"
    "No. I only rented the cottage for a few days. The next time I come over to the coast I'll be staying here with you. Assuming I've got an invitation."
    "Oh, Garth, you know you do." She snuggled against him, her happiness threatening to swamp her.
    "I didn't expect this, Shannon," he said very thoughtfully.
    "Neither did I."
    He gave her a small shake. "I'm serious. This changes a lot of things. I'll have to make some plans."
    "What sort of plans?"
    "Don't worry," he said vaguely. "I'll take care of everything. As long as I know you're waiting here on the weekends, I can handle the details."
    The weekends, Shannon thought. She wondered why the phrase bothered her. Of course, for the immediate future the weekends were the only times they would be able to get together. After all, Garth had his company to run in San Jose, and she had her work here on the coast. It was only logical that he should talk in terms of seeing her on the weekends. But something about the way he said it bothered her. She wasn't certain why. It was as if Garth was thinking of her as something separate and distinct from the rest of his life. Someone he saw only on the weekends.
    Shannon frowned in the darkness and pushed aside the odd, uneasy sensation his words had caused. She was imagining things. Tonight was very special, and she wasn't going to ruin it with feminine paranoia. Deliberately she trailed her fingertips through the curling hair on Garth's chest.
    "Hey, that tickles," he complained with a small chuckle.
    "What, this?" She traced a circle around one flat, male nipple. "Or this?" She drew her nails light down across his stomach. He clamped a hand over her roving hand.
    "Didn't your mother ever warn you about what happens when you tease a man?"
    "I don't think so. My mother left most of my sex education to the schools. My teachers stuck to little charts and diagrams. I don't recall them discussing teasing."
    "Then allow me to complete your education." He rolled over, sprawling on top of her and pinned her wrists above her head. "Women who tease men are liable to find themselves in just this sort of situation." Keeping her hands locked above her head, he began dropping a string of small, nipping kisses across her shoulders and down to the peaks of her breasts.
    Shannon shivered. "I can see my mother and the teachers all overlooked something very important."
    "It's all right. I don't mind the fact that you've had a limited education. I'm a very patient man, and I'm willing to teach you a few things myself." He used one hand to maintain his hold on her wrists and then began to use his other hand on her body. When he caressed her from her breast to her hip, Shannon gave another small shiver.
    "I get the feeling teasing brings its own rewards," she taunted, her hazel eyes full of sensual laughter.
    "You think so?" He drew delicate, tantalizing circles on her hip until she moved a little under him. Then he began weaving the same patterns on the inside of her leg. Shannon shifted again, her senses bubbling back into full awareness.
    "Garth?"
    "Hmm?" He was drawing the patterns higher now, very near the place that sheltered her feminine secrets.
    "I think I'm ready for the reward."
    "Convince me." o
    "Let go of my hands and I will," she promised, her voice growing husky with her rising passion. She broke off to gasp as he did something very special and a little mind-shattering with his fingers. "Garth!"
    "I'm not convinced."
    He continued to hold her wrists gently captive while she began to writhe beneath him. His hand moved more boldly on her until she was begging him to take her again. He listened to her soft pleas, all the while tormenting her so deliciously that Shannon began to think she would go crazy.
    "Garth, I... Oh, my God, Garth!" Her eyes widened in astonishment as he deftly brought her to another nerve-thrilling sense of fulfillment. Only then did he release her wrists, and Shannon instantly wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly as she trembled beneath him. When a moment had passed, she turned her head and kissed the skin on his