Chapter 34 #2
As if an idea hit her, she stopped moving and strutted across the expanse to me.
Her hips swayed gently, as her bare feet carried her.
The second she stepped in front of me, her entire attitude shifted.
From light-hearted to seductive. Her eyes held the flames of desire where moments ago they had been alit with mirth.
Reaching up, she fiddled with the knot of my tie and gave me a look Calypso would be proud of. “Want to dance, Clay Montgomery?”
The idea of holding her in my arms was tempting. So was the idea of taking her up to bed, stripping her, and losing myself in her. There was no reason I couldn’t have both.
“I’d love to dance with you, Reese Henley, but there’s no music.”
“Ye of little faith.” She ran back inside and pulled her phone from her purse. Stepping back outside, she hit a few buttons on her phone before placing it on the table and stepping in front of me. The familiar, but unexpected strains of “Unchained Melody” drifted from the speakers on the wall.
I pulled her toward me, enfolding her in my arms. In her bare feet, the size difference made it a little awkward, but I didn’t care. “Interesting choice,” my voice low, not wanting to interrupt the mood or the moment.
“Haven’t you already figured out I’m an interesting type of girl, Clay?” The wink she tried to give me was adorable. “I’ll have you know, this was one of Grams’ and Gramps’ favorite songs. They’d go to where they got engaged and dance to it every anniversary.”
The same spot I’d made love to her on, under the same, but very different sky. I couldn’t even pretend it wasn’t love at that point. I may not have realized it, but this woman had taken my heart almost since she first hung up on me.
“Do you just happen to have romantic playlists on your phone?”
She tipped her head back, that sassy smile I adored lighting her face. “Sometimes a girl has to be prepared for a handsome man to dance with her under the night sky. It’s a rule we learn at a young age.”
I moved my hands until they rested on the curve of her ass and fit her more perfectly against me. “So, you think I’m handsome?”
“You’re okay, I guess.” Her laughter lit up something inside of me.
“You’re okay, too, Little Trouble.” She was more than okay. She was beautiful inside and out. Full of fire and drive and an intangible brightness that made her impossible to resist. At least to me and that’s all I cared about.
The song switched and I rolled my eyes. “What? Don’t try to diss Taylor again.” Given the way I’d gotten a lecture on the plane about the impact of the singer on Reese’s generation, I knew better than to even try.
“I woul—"
She stopped me, her finger resting lightly on my lips. “Let’s not talk right now…” She paused, waiting for the perfect moment to join in with the song. “‘Lover.” Her Siren’s smile went straight to my cock. “Right now, I just want to be. With you. Under the stars.”
How could I possibly say no to that? After a brief kiss on her finger, I nodded and held her close.
An intimacy that went beyond sex surrounded us. I could hold her in my arms all day and night long and never once tire of it. The sex we shared was amazing, but this was different somehow.
There was a peace we found with each other, one that I didn’t want to end.
One song faded into another, a mix of classics and current songs of a variety of genres, and still we didn’t stop.
Our bodies found a rhythm uniquely their own, moving in time. Reese melted into me, her body languid and relaxed. In a way, it was a physical representation of her trust, and I wanted to hold on to that, to treasure it for years to come.
You have to tell her. I pushed the thought aside, not wanting to think about it right now.
“Do you recognize this one?” Reese asked as the next song started and she leaned back in my arms.
“From when we danced after your karaoke performance.” I’d never heard it before that night, and if truth be told, I was more caught up in having Reese in my arms than listening to the words.
“I love it.” When I looked at her questioningly, she rolled her eyes at me. “It’s ‘Song for Another Time,’” she offered. “I’m going to have to increase your country music knowledge, especially if you’re going to spend any time in Henley Falls.”
We both stopped on a dime as her words hung over us. Under normal conditions, I’d make the deal and turn everything over to someone else for day-to-day handling. My return would be rare and quick. That’s not what I wanted now. Not by a long shot.
“Um, so yeah, anyway.” She stepped back, reached for my hand and raised it so she could spin under our arms. “I thought this was going to be our song. The one that would make me always think about you.” Her voice dipped low, but I heard every word.
“How so?”
The smile she’d worn seconds before disappeared, sadness taking over her face. “Because it’s not about staying together.”
I felt as if she’d landed a punch to my gut. The air had been sucked out of me and a feeling I couldn’t even name settled in my chest.
We stopped moving and she tilted her head back.
I recognized the sheen of moisture in her eyes and reached out to cup her face.
I refused to contemplate ending this between us.
“It’s about enjoying the time we have now, because we’re not meant to be.
Push the inevitable off for as long as possible.
” She dipped her head down, watching as her hands stroked down my chest, coming to rest on my waist. “I thought that’s what would happen to us, and that every time I heard it, I’d think of you and wish we were meant to be. ”
We are, I wanted to scream, to tell the entire city below us that we were meant to be. How could I when she still didn’t know everything and a world of differences lay between us?
“But Clay,” she whispered again, staring up at me with eyes a bright blue, as if the stars had taken up residence there instead of the sky, “I don’t want that inevitable. I want you.” She ran her hands through my hair, dragging my lips down to hers. “Make love to me.”
The words hit hard, and I wondered if she realized what she had said, but I didn’t give her a chance to call them back. Hearing her say them felt too perfect.
I bent down, sliding my arm under her knees and lifted her into my arms.
“Wheeee.”
I silenced her squeal of delight with a kiss and marched inside. Hitting a button, the doors slid closed automatically and I carried her upstairs.
I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but I knew I’d go wherever she wanted to take me.
Walking into my bedroom, I crossed to the king-sized bed dominating the space.
The sleek lines of the room and dark-gray color scheme perfectly framed Reese’s blonde hair and red dress.
She was a spark of color in a monotone room.
Much like she’d been in my life from the start.
There was a vibrancy about her that couldn’t be contained, one that fueled her dreams and wishes.
To be around her was to be taken for a wild ride, but it wasn’t one I wanted to get off.
Lowering her to her feet, I cupped the nape of her neck and tilted her head back until I could look into her eyes.
The blue shone as brilliantly as any sapphire, but there was more in their glow right now.
Something that went deeper than desire and want.
If I looked into my own, I’d see the same thing staring back.
Bone deep need.
The future.
Love.
The first I could handle; I knew what to do with that. It was the second two that hit me square in the chest and almost flattened me. We had more to talk about, and all I could do was hope that when I explained everything she’d listen and understand.
“Did I tell you how gorgeous you looked tonight? You took my breath away.”
Her eyes lit in delight. “You did, but a lady never tires of hearing it.”
“Then I’ll tell you over and over again.” Brushing her hair away from her face with my free hand, I whispered, “What do you want?”
A smile formed on her mouth, one I wanted to kiss away. Taste the coffee and flavors of the tiramisu she’d had for dessert. “You,” she answered. “Just you.”
She had me. She didn’t even know how much she had me.
As if by tacit agreement, we took the time to savor each other. Every other time had been frenzied. A rush to grab what we could before it somehow was stolen from us. But not this time.
Standing still, I let her undo the knot at my tie, letting the material flutter to the floor.
My shirt followed, the garments tossed heedlessly aside.
Picking her up, she wrapped her arms around my neck, running her hands through my hair.
My lips found hers, swallowing the soft mewls of desire erupting from her throat.
Having her in my arms like this, wrapped around me, settled something within me.
I wanted more of her, but this moment was too perfect to alter.
There was something supremely right about holding and kissing her.
Losing myself in the weight of her in my arms, the feel of her breasts pushed against my chest, was more than I thought I could handle.
Every sound, every movement she made set me on fire.
Reese’s mouth melded with mine, our tongues seeking a pleasure I knew would only be found in her.
Setting her back down, we finished undressing each other in slow movements. With each piece discarded, we revealed a new area to savor in that moment.
With a step back, I stared down at her.
“You’re fucking exquisite.” Her body was a masterpiece, but it was the woman it housed that was even more phenomenal.
Her lips ticked up in a half smile that was all seduction. “Ditto.” She waggled her brows, then grabbed my hand, leading me to the edge of the bed. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed back the comforter and lay sprawled back, like a goddess waiting for her lover.
She was not about to wait long.
“Make love to me,” she repeated the words and held out her hand.