A Love to Cherish by Connie Mason

out a long, drawn-out sigh as she snuggledagainst Casey. She’d expected no commitment from Casey and received none. The words of love that usually followed lovemaking were missing and she felt the loss keenly. She sighed again and Casey turned her against him.
    “Are you sorry?”
    She didn’t even have to think about that one. “No, are you?”
    “Only sorry that we waited so long.”
    “We haven’t known each other all that long. You must think I’m a woman of loose morals. I’ve never done anything this wanton or spontaneous before. I made Tom wait until we were married.”
    “I think you’re a warm, passionate woman who needs a man to take care of her.” He paused, forcing the next words out even though he didn’t mean them. “Unfortunately, I’m not that man. There are things you don’t know about me. I’ve put this off long enough but I think you should know …”
    She placed a finger against his lips. “No, I don’t want to hear it. Don’t spoil things now. Tell me tomorrow, after I’ve had time to adjust to being with you like this.” She made as if to rise. “I really should be going.”
    He pinned her against him with the awesome strength of his arms. “Not yet. Let me love you again.”
    He ground himself against her and she sighed, half in longing and half in regret. She really shouldn’t do this again. But Casey made it difficult for her to refuse. She felt the weight of him against her thigh, the shape of him, the hardness and length, and melted into his embrace. Recriminations could come tomorrow, tonight was hers to savor and enjoy.
    He stroked and aroused her and she responded by initiating a few bold caresses of her own. He loved the feel of her, the hunger inside her when she responded to his caresses. Their second coming together was every bit as wild and untamed as the first time, but Casey reveled in the knowledge that he had been able to prolong their pleasure this time. He felt strength coursing through him, a power heightened and finally released by the woman striving with him toward a common goal. He stroked his thick length to the root inside her, and smiled as she whimpered and writhed beneath him. He bent and drank her small cries from her lips, thrusting and withdrawing, until her cries became piercing, urgent, demanding.
    The sharp edge of ecstasy pierced them, then splintered into millions of tiny glittering pieces. The outside world did not exist for the lovers inside the small room. They had stumbled upon something precious, something too earth-shattering to suffer interference from problems that threatened their newly discovered passion. Unfortunately forces were at work that would shatter those feelings.

Chapter 6
     
    “M issy Belle! Missy Belle! Where are you? Big trouble.”
    Still flushed and warm from Casey’s loving, Belle bolted upright in bed. “That’s Wan Yo! Something’s wrong. Oh, God, I’ve got to get out of here.”
    Casey leapt from bed, pulling on his pants and shirt before Belle had struggled into even one of her petticoats. “I’ll go out and see what he wants while you finish dressing. Hurry.” He placed a quick kiss on her lips, unlocked the door, and stepped into the kitchen.
    “What is it, Wan Yo? What happened?”
    Wan Yo staggered into a shaft of light and Casey caught his breath in alarm. The old man was staggering drunkenly, favoring his newly mended leg, blood streaming from his head.
    “Big trouble, Mr. Casey, poor Missy Belle.”
    A coldness settled in the pit of Casey’s stomach. “Where is Tommy? Who hurt you?”
    The old man wagged his head from side to side, dribbling blood into his eyes. “Bad men break into house, hit Wan Yo, take Tommy.”
    Belle came out of the bedroom, heard Wan Yo’s last words, and screamed. She would have fallen to the floor if Casey hadn’t caught her. Regaining her wits, Belle shrugged away Casey’s support and went to Wan Yo. “Sit down, Wan Yo, and tell us what happened while I place a