LovePlay by Diana Palmer

I love looking at you,” he said softly, “you’d better button those buttons. We’ll have company in a minute.”
    “Oh.” She sat up, tugging at the blouse with fingers that shook. He knelt just in front of her and opened it gently. His eyes worshiped what he saw. He bent, taking one swollen nipple into his lips to suck it softly, warmly, moistly. Then, while she was taut with the wonder of the ecstasy, he brought the edges together and buttoned the blouse.
    “Tonight,” he whispered, looking straight into her eyes. “I’ll take you home. And we’ll love each other all night.”
    Tears welled in her eyes. She was too weak to tell him so. She loved him. It was like having every single dream come true, after all the long, empty years. How could she tell him no when she loved him? If one night was all she could ever have, wouldn’t it be worth it?
    “I feel as if I’ve waited all my life for you,” he said, standing to straighten his shirt. His eyes searched hers quietly. “Every woman I’ve touched in the past six years has been you.”
    That admission brought tears to her eyes. He meant it; it was in every line of his face. And if he wanted her that much, couldn’t it mean that he cared, just a little?
    She stood up, brushing back her long hair, oddly shy with him. As the passion left her mind, it became sharp again and she remembered the pain of being pushed aside and wondered if she was strong enough to go through it again.
    “Bett.”
    She looked up.
    “Don’t brood about it,” he said softly. “Tonight, we’ll talk. We’ll make plans.”
    “What kinds of plans are there to make?” she asked sadly. “You’ll take me to bed, and I’ll let you, and in the morning, you’ll be gone.”
    “No,” he said. He drew her gently into his arms with a long, soulful sigh. “No. I’m no stronger than you are. The past six years have been pure hell. If we make love, it won’t just be a one-night stand.”
    Her heart flew straight up. She drew back and looked at him with a hundred questions on the tip of her tongue.
    He touched her mouth with a long finger. “Get rid of Hadison,” he said, smiling. “You’re my woman. Tonight, I’ll even prove it to you.”
    She smiled. There was just enough time for that before noisy footsteps sounded in the hall, signaling the return of part of the cast. She went back to work with a fatalistic happiness. She’d never considered the possibility that she might want to sleep with a man without marriage. Well, maybe once, with Cul. But now, she had little else to look forward to. It was the way of the world, these arrangements. Marriage wouldn’t make her any more committed to him than she already was. But a small ache deep inside her belied the smooth thought. She’d been raised to believe that people fell in love and got married and had children. It was going to be next to impossible to reconcile what she was contemplating with her conscience.
    Nevertheless she put the consequences out of her mind and threw herself wholeheartedly into her role. Cul was obviously pleased, and even managed a kind word for David, which seemed to startle the poor man dumb.
    Bett began to get nervous about nine-thirty, a half hour before Cul released the cast for the night. By the time the rest of them filed out, she was almost trembling with mingled anticipation and wonder because Cul was looking at her in a way he hadn’t in six long years, and she was burning with a mad, helpless fever.
    David paused at the door, glancing back until he saw Bett’s eyes on Cul. With a look of sadness, David closed the door behind him. And they were alone.
    “Afraid?” Cul teased softly as he led her out into the darkness.
    “I don’t know,” she replied, tingling from head to toe.
    “At least you aren’t a virgin.” He laughed, and she felt herself cringe at the laughter. “That’s one problem we won’t have.”
    He dropped his arm over her shoulders and pulled her close. “Bett, I’m