Ties That Bind Read online

  Randolph placed the Bible on the blanket between them. He then looked up and met Jenna’s gaze before reaching out and taking her hands in his. “I love you, Jenna. I love you very much and in my heart I know the love we share was meant to be. Our love will always be the tie that binds us. No matter what happens, our love will survive the test of time. I want this to always be our very special place and one day we’ll bring our children here, our grandchildren, and if the Lord is willing, even our great-grands. And together we’ll share with them the importance of this Bible and what it means.”

  He reached out and with his thumb touched the dampness of tears that appeared on her cheek. “You are mine and I am yours. Will you bind your life to mine, Jenna, here, now, forever? Will you accept my love?”

  Randolph’s words touched Jenna deeply. For the moment, unable to speak, she reached up and lay her hand along his jaw. “I will,” she breathed as more tears gathered in her eyes. “I love you,” she said softly. “And yes, here, now, forever, I will bind my life to yours.”

  With the words spoken to bind them, Randolph took an ink pen out of his pocket and recorded their commitment to each other in the Bible before placing it aside. Reaching out he pulled Jenna into his arms. Together they tumbled back onto the blanket. He rained kisses over her face and throat before seeking out her mouth. She parted her lips beneath his as desire rushed through her.

  Jenna accepted his kiss and felt the need, desperation, and the passion it conveyed, and began melting under his heat. She caught the distinctive scent of him, male, primal, earthy, as his mouth mated with hers. His tongue claimed hers with a ferocity that made her surrender to whatever demand it was making. The taste of him filled her. It was a taste she had come to know over the past five months.

  His hands eased their way to her shoulders to push aside the straps of her bathing suit, seeking the part of her he had come to enjoy. She shivered when his mouth left hers and made its way downward to her breasts. Tipping her head back, a soft moan escaped her lips the moment he captured a nipple in his mouth, lavishing it with his tongue. She lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck, tilting her breasts upward as his mouth continued a greedy feast on the other breast.

  Randolph pulled away from Jenna’s body to sit back on his haunches and look down at her. Her mouth was still moist from his kiss. So were her breasts. Long seconds passed as they stared into each other’s eyes as the love they shared flowed between them. With a low groan, he reached for the zipper of her jeans and slowly began easing it down. His body and mind had been primed for what lay behind that zipper for a long time. He drank in the scent of her as her entire body began sending off the aroma of her heat. Suddenly he couldn’t breathe and his entire body began to hum with a desire it had never felt before. He was so aroused his sex pushed hard against his zipper, making his need for her that much more intense.

  He lifted her hips just enough to ease the jeans down the smoothness of her thighs and the shapely outlines of her legs. Tossing them aside, his hand began removing her bathing suit, slowly peeling it down the copper darkness of her skin. He suddenly came to a halt when he moved past her flat stomach and down to the juncture of her legs.

  The shock of seeing her completely naked stole breath from his lungs. He had never seen her there. He had touched it before, many times, when his fingers would slide into her, stroke her, loving the feel of her wetness. But now he saw with his own eyes the very essence of what his body so desperately craved. His hands began to tremble as he continued to remove her bathing suit, tugging it down her legs then tossing it aside to join her jeans. When she lay completely naked before him he stood on wobbly legs to remove his own clothes.

  Jenna watched as Randolph first removed his shirt to reveal a dark, powerfully muscled chest. She had seen him without a shirt before and each time she did so, she had wanted to touch him, run her fingers over him because he was truly one fine specimen of a man. The shape of his upper torso was magnificent and his dark skin gleamed with perspiration.

  Delirious with passion, she bit into her lower lip when he began easing the zipper of his jeans down. Her eyes became huge, mesmerized as his swollen shaft boldly sprang forth from its confinement. A ripple of shock went through her at the unexpected sight. She thought he had been wearing swimming trunks under his jeans. “Randolph … ?”

  He read the question in her eyes as she continued watching him. “This is how I go swimming here,” he said hoarsely, as he continued to push his pants down his thighs. He stepped out of them and kicked them aside.

  A shudder ran through Jenna as her gaze took in all of him, from head to toe. But her gaze returned to study that part of him she had never seen before. It was thick, hard, perfectly formed and very much enlarged. She found she wanted to touch it, stroke it and take it inside of her. She stared at him as he reached down and picked one of the rubbers he’d brought, removed it from its foil casing and slid it in place over his erection. “Randolph.” She breathed his name in a whispering voice filled with desire, and lifted her arms to receive him.

  The guttural sound of a male animal that was about to mate poured forth from deep in his throat as he moved forward, easing into her arms and placing his body directly over hers. Her breasts ached beneath his chest and the feminine folds of her body became even more heated with the feel of his sex pulsating against it. A jolt of anticipation raced through her and she closed her eyes when a hot rush of desire lubricated her just that much more. The shudder that went through him indicated he’d felt it, too.

  “Hold on, baby,” he whispered as the scent of her increased his sexual hunger and nipped at his control. Bracing his weight on his elbows he stared down at her, watching her closely. He wanted to see her expression the exact moment their bodies joined as one. His visual focus was entirely on her. His physical focus was on that part of her he so desperately needed to connect with.

  The effort of control was etched on his face as his body began easing his engorged shaft into her. She was tight. Almost too tight. He partially withdrew then began a slow penetration again as he watched her. Her expression indicated it hurt. Her fingers sank into his shoulders as he continued to ease forward, deeper inside of her. He felt her tense beneath him and a sheen of tears glistened her eyes. He was about to pull out when he felt her legs wrap around him, locking him to her, a silent message for him to stay put—no matter what. She needed to experience this hot, burning pleasure just as much as he did. The feel of her legs around him and the wetness of her feminine folds clutching him pushed him over the edge.

  He spread her legs farther apart with his knees at the same time he slipped a hand beneath her hips, lifting her as he pushed into her with one forceful lunge. He saw the flicker of pain that flashed in her eyes just seconds before she cried out.

  “It won’t hurt again, I promise,” he whispered in a strained voice as he felt himself embedded deep within her.

  She nodded then he leaned down and kissed her, devouring her mouth as he remained still for a while as his shaft throbbed within her. She could actually feel him growing, getting larger and stretched her body to accommodate him. Her inner muscles gloved him tight.

  Randolph then began to slowly move in and out of her body. He knew the exact moment pleasure replaced pain when her hand caressed a path up and down his back, and she began meeting him stroke for stroke. Whimpering sounds poured forth from her throat and was captured in his kiss. Her legs tightened around him as the movements of their bodies intensified.

  He groaned.

  She purred.

  The two sounds infiltrated the quiet peacefulness of their surroundings. Passion—deep and sharp—rammed through them, spurring them to increase the pace of their mating and flooding their minds with unbearable sensations.

  He broke off their kiss and looked into her face just seconds before earth-shattering sensations ripped through her, shaking her to the core, making her eyes glaze over in unadulterated pleasure. She screamed his name over an
d over again. He felt the stirrings of his own desire being shaken to the core by her body’s tremors. Throwing his head back and releasing a deep, piercing groan, he joined her in carnal paradise as the throes of ecstasy pushed him over the edge and straight into sweet, sensuous oblivion.

  Ten

  Jenna didn’t want to open her eyes just yet. She didn’t think she had the ability to do so even if she wanted to. Nor did she think she could move her body, which was just as well since Randolph was still on top of her. He was still inside of her, joined, connected.

  She had experienced the ultimate in passion in his arms. And as she felt the heat of him throb, harden, and enlarge inside of her, her own body awakened to a sensuous stir as powerful sexual urges again consumed her. Her feminine walls once again stretched to accommodate him.

  Randolph began nuzzling her neck as his hands cupped her hips, holding her in place when she instinctively began to move. “No, baby, don’t move,” he whispered hoarsely. “I want to savor the feel of being inside of you this way. I’ve wanted you for so long. Now that I have you, totally and completely, and now that your life is joined with mine, I won’t ever let you go, Jenna. You will always belong to me, no matter what. We will always belong together.”

  And then he began kissing her with a passion as his body began moving in hers. And this time when she lifted her hips, he didn’t stop her. Instead he set the rhythm for her to follow. She began meeting him thrust for thrust.

  Tearing his mouth from hers, he concentrated on giving them just what they needed and wanted, pushing her higher as he went deeper, staking a claim on her body, her heart and her soul.

  Then it happened again. Jenna felt the tingling that started at her toes and settled dead center between her legs where she and Randolph were joined. There, in that spot, the sensations intensified, overwhelming her, and making it difficult for her to breathe. She called out his name at the same exact moment he called out hers. And then he took her mouth again as he grounded himself against her, inside of her, mating relentlessly with her as the muscles of his body flexed with the flow of his movements as he thrust in and out of her.

  Kissing her long and hard, Randolph felt the insides of her gripping him, pulling everything out of him. A part of him wished he wasn’t wearing a rubber so he could feel his hot release spurt inside of her, coating her womb with his seed. But he knew now was not the time. They had college to complete.

  Vowing his love for Jenna over that Bible made what they were doing now feel right. Their lives were bound together and he felt no marriage vows could make them any more connected and committed. In his heart she was his soul mate, his other half, the woman he intended to share the rest of his life with, the woman who would one day give him children.

  That thought made the headiest of sensations spear through him. And when he felt her body muscles squeeze him, extracting from him what it really couldn’t have because of the latex separating them, he gave it up anyway when he felt himself falling over the edge. The rapid clenching and unclenching of her muscles as she tried to pull the very essence from him made his entire movement quicken with an agonizing need for release.

  A volcano erupted inside of him and it shook with the force of an earthquake as he felt her body climax. Then his body traveled the second time that day to a place called ecstasy.

  For the rest of the day Randolph and Jenna shared the essence of what it meant to be totally and completely in love. After making love a second time he had picked her up in his arms and had taken her to the shallow end of the pool and sat down with her in his lap. The heat of the water from the hot spring felt soothing to the muscles her body had used for the first time that day. He had leisurely caressed her body over and over again, reawakening it to his sensual onslaught. Then, taking her hand he had walked her farther into the depths of the pond where he turned her to face him, kissing her with an intensity that melted every bone in her body. He then spread her legs apart in the waist-deep water, wrapping her legs around his hips. Slowly entering her he emitted a groan deep in his throat the moment their bodies connected.

  Later, much later, he dried her off and carried her back to the blanket where they ate sandwiches and drank wine. After satisfying their hunger they lay back on the blanket wrapped in each other’s arms, looking up at the sky and wishing their time here could last forever.

  Jenna knew that being with Randolph without her parents’ or his grandparents’ knowledge was wrong but at the moment she didn’t care. They had seven days to be together before they had to return to school and she wanted to spend all seven with him, savoring every stolen moment that she could. In less than three months they would part ways for the summer and she wanted every single minute to count so she would have memories to draw from.

  “Ready for your swimming lessons?”

  She looked over at him and smiled. It was a smile of a woman in love, a woman whose body and mind were deeply satisfied and at peace. “You promise not to let me drown?”

  He gave her a slow, sexy grin. “Oh, I promise to do a lot of things to you, Jenna, but letting you drown isn’t one of them.”

  Jenna watched as he stood up and then looked down at her. Both of them were naked as the day they came into the world. She watched his eyes darken as he gazed down at her, with love, male appreciation and sexual desire within their depths. The heat of his gaze made her feminine core throb. She couldn’t believe she could still want him again and looking at him, at that male part of him that was large and aroused, she could see that he wanted her again, too.

  “No, we will never stop wanting each other,” he said softly, as if reading her thoughts. “You’re my soul mate and my body knows it. It’s in tune to the very thing it wants and needs for nourishment and for happiness.” She then watched as he reached out and picked up another rubber. After tearing off the wrapping he put it on. “First I gave you swimming lessons …”

  She smiled up at him as a tingling sensation spread all the way throughout her body. “Then what?” she asked, as if she didn’t know after seeing him sheath himself.

  “Then I give you something else.”

  “Something else like what?

  “Some of this,” he said, pointing to a certain part of his body. “Want it?” he asked, his voice a rasped whisper.

  The nipples of Jenna’s breasts tightened. She felt the feminine folds of her body fill with moisture. “Yes, I want it.” She suddenly felt wild and hot, wondering just how much pleasure a person could take before dying from it. “How about if we reverse the order of things a bit,” she said, gazing up him, all of him.

  “In what way?”

  “First I get some of that … then I have swimming lessons.” And to make sure he was just as hot as she was, she lay back on the blanket in a pose that told him she was ready. Her legs spread, her knees slightly raised and her breasts pointed and firm. But just to make sure he got her message, she met his gaze and in a deep, sultry and ultrasexy voice she said, “I want you inside me, Randolph.”

  He came to her immediately. Covering her with his body, his sex immediately went after that part it wanted. With one forceful lunge he entered her to the hilt. Kissing her, devouring her mouth as his body began mating with hers at a frantic pace, he pumped back and forth into her with a frantic need. She moved against him, with him, taking all he was offering. Within seconds the both of them were overtaken with pleasure so strong it made them lose all manner of control.

  Randolph couldn’t think straight. The only thing he knew was that he wanted to feel the very essence of Jenna without anything between them. In a moment of madness, without thinking but reacting, he pulled completely out of her, snatched off the rubber, tossed it aside and reentered her in one smooth beat. The feel of her hot wetness on his sex was more profound than he could have ever imagined, and the male part of him that throbbed wanted to flood her with the thickness of his semen.

  His animalistic roar vibrated the air at the same time Jenna screamed his name. His r
elease into her was hot, plentiful. He wanted to pull out when he realized what he had done but it was too late. The climax they were sharing surpassed any they had shared before, and they knew in their hearts that their love would surpass any and all things. Happiness was theirs and they intended to savor each and every moment of it, now, today and forever.

  As the following days flowed one into another, Randolph and Jenna’s love for each other intensified. Their days were spent taking walks, talking, making future plans with their lives as well as discussing the present situation in Vietnam. They had heard on the radio that morning that Vietcong guerillas had launched an attack against a Tan Son Nhut air base, killing seven American soldiers and injuring a hundred and sixty others. Also, China had downed an American attack plane, killing everyone on board.

  Randolph and Jenna didn’t talk about where the war might be headed, nor did they speak of the possibility that she might be pregnant. They refused to allow anything to invade their peaceful existence. They enjoyed waking up together in the mornings and going to sleep together at night. They shared a desperate need to fill their senses with each other and that is what they did. Unlike they thought it would, the sexual urgency to make love did not wear off with each passing day. If anything, it intensified, although they never lost control like they had that first day when Randolph had taken off the rubber. It was only on their last day at the cottage, after they had packed and were ready to leave, did he bring the incident up.

  He pulled her into his arms after checking the house a final time to make sure no evidence of her being there with him was left behind. “If you’re pregnant, Jenna, we get married, all right?”

  She shook her head vehemently. “No. That would mean your having to quit school and possibly going to Vietnam.”