by C. D. Gorri
“Any luck?” her voice interrupted his thoughts, but he didn’t mind not one bit. She handed him a steaming mug of coffee, black just how he liked it, and smiled. God, he loved her smile.
“Uh, yeah. I’ve traced the image and erased it.”
“I guess boys will be boys, but my goodness! Imagine my body plastered all over the internet! How embarrassing! Every stretch mark and freckle just exposed to the whole world, ugh! It would make people sick!” She shook her head and patted her stomach self-consciously,
Randall stood up so abruptly he knocked the chair he was sitting in right over. He closed the space between them in two long strides. He took the mug from Tulla’s hands, ignoring her wide-eyed stare, and placed it on the table. Then he brought his hands to either side of her face and met her lips with his.
“You are beautiful and even though I’d want to tear the eyes out of anyone who would look at nude photos of you, they’d be damn lucky, hell, they’d be blessed, if given the opportunity to gaze upon the vision that is you, naked in the moonlight.”
His statement was met with a look of disbelief. He needed to erase that look. He pulled her flush against his body and delighted at the way her heart thudded in her chest at the contact. She went still in his arms, but she didn’t move away. In fact, she leaned into him ever so slightly.
He felt himself grow hard at the small submissive movement. He flexed his hips, pressing his manhood against her soft belly and brought his head down to meet hers again. Mine. The word sounded like a roar in his ear and brought a rough growl to the back of his throat as he kissed her.
His lips were soft, teasing her mouth with their gentleness. The contrast between his rock-hard body and her soft sigh of acceptance against his mouth made his heart sing with wanting her. He penetrated her mouth with his tongue, licking and tasting, drinking her in.
She was warm and sweeter than honey. He wanted more. Her small hands reached around his waist and she pulled him closer to her. Randall almost lost it at the small gesture of possession. He wanted to be hers, hell he’d just about roll over if she asked him to.
“This is the only thing I’ve wanted to do since before I watched you jump off the sand and into the water like some sea goddess in the middle of the night.”
“I can’t believe you’ve seen me naked,” her shy whisper was accompanied by a sudden dropping of her eyes.
“Hey, none of that now, sweet Tulla. Every inch of you is beautiful and I don’t know anybody in their right mind who wouldn’t say the same if they saw you the way I did last night. Bathed in nothing but moonlight, you looked like a goddess.”
“Oh please, I did not-”
“I never lie. You can believe me when I tell you, you are incredible.”
She stared at him dumbfounded. Did he just tell her he found her beautiful? She couldn’t be sure of his exact words. Her mind was being torn between listening to him and trying to keep up with every feeling she was having as he kissed and touched and talked.
She felt the pressure of his lips and then his tongue was dancing with hers again in a kiss so damn sexy she was liable to swoon at his feet. Oh my! She had never been kissed like that in her entire life. But he’s a guest. A client. OMG! What was she doing?
“Excuse me, I’m sorry, I have to go,” she ignored his call and grabbed her car keys before sprinting out the front door. The sight of him gorgeously disheveled standing in her living room with his lips swollen form their kisses was sharp in her mind as she started the car.
CHAPTER 10
Tulla drove home with Danny safely buckled in the back seat of her car. She’d been gone five full hours. She needed some time to think, that’s what she told herself when she hightailed it out of the house after Randall kissed her. Okay, you kissed him too and you know it.
She couldn’t deny that she responded to his touch. The thought of his deliciously aroused body pressed up against hers made her pulse speed up and her knees grow weak. Tulla didn’t care if she was an affront to feminists everywhere, the man had some serious skills, worthy of weak-kneed swooning women everywhere. And all he did was kiss her!
He could probably make her orgasm within five minutes of contact if they ever got really hot and heavy. Not that Tulla would know much about that. The only man she’d ever been with was her late husband and Tom was not what you’d call a generous lover. They’d only completed the physical act of sexual intercourse the one time and she hardly remembered it.
Besides, Tulla couldn’t afford to entertain even hypothetical visions of Randall Graves in bed. Nope. No way. No matter how eye-opening or earth-shattering such an event might be for her. She was too busy for fantasies! She’d leave that to the authors who wrote those clever little eBooks she downloaded on her tablet regularly, her own guilty little secret. As for her long-haired, caramel-eyed guest, well, Tulla was determined to keep him at arms length.
Her life was far too complicated for an illicit affair. She could not afford to be reckless. The one time she made the decision to throw caution to the wind she got pregnant. She was married before she knew it and then poof, her new marriage was over. There’d been no other man in her life since then.
Tulla simply didn’t have the experience necessary to deal with a man like him. How would she survive an affair with him? All she had to do was look at him to know she was out of her league. She was a mom for Pete’s sake! She wore her hair in a pony tail most days and preferred jean shorts, loose tops, and sneakers to slinky little outfits and heels.
He, on the other hand, looked like a model. Not one of those skinny little guys with too much eyeliner and hair gel. No sir, not him! He was more like one of those tall, lean, and cut athletic types who modeled underwear or motorcycles. He was gorgeous.
Tulla thought he was handsome even before he shaved off the beard. Once the facial hair was gone, he went from nice looking to serious hottie. She could picture him now, standing in her kitchen with his long, shiny locks down around his broad shoulders like it had been earlier that day and, well, she had no words. Sigh. The man was dreamy, as Aunt Mildred would say.
Sometimes, when he watched her, his dark brown eyes would lighten to a molten caramel color that she found purely hypnotic. He had high cheekbones, a strong, square chin, straight nose, white teeth, and full sensuous lips that made his face sinfully handsome.
Then there was his body. Tulla sighed under her breath when she thought of his herculean build barely hidden under loose athletic pants or shorts and t-shirts. His long, tall frame was corded with tight muscles and a smattering of chestnut colored hair that dipped beneath the waistband of his sweatpants.
His thighs were something else! Tulla felt his thick muscles press against her when they kissed. She had to stop herself from running her hands up and down them to his no-doubt, hard as steel backside. She had a weakness for men with killer legs! She was startled out of her daydream when a horn sounded behind her. Oops!
Shame on you, Tulla! He’s a human being not a piece of meat! She stepped on the gas and her little car moved down the road at a steady speed. Of course, she could always think about his pleasant conversation, his quick wit and charm. That was probably more dangerous than mooning over his abs. But Tulla did enjoy talking to him as much as she did looking at him. Randall was funny and refreshingly forthright in his speech.
It was obvious he was exceptionally bright. Like Danny. Her sweet boy was buckled in his booster seat sipping on a peach smoothie. She glanced in the rear-view mirror and chided herself for not paying attention as her son chattered away about his day of school from the backseat.
“How come I didn’t take the school bus today, Mama?”
“Oh, I just had an errand to run,” it wasn’t a lie exactly, but she couldn’t tell her son she’d been too scared of what she’d do if that man kissed her again. Truth was, she forgot to prep for dinner and stopped at the market for a couple of fresh porterhouse steaks for her guest. She was going to grill them along with some fresh asparag
us and wild rice pilaf.
“Mama! My backpack is stuck again! I wanna show you my art work from today! We made honeycombs out of pasta and glue, I put some gold glitter on mine,” his excitement was contagious.
She laughed as she stopped in their driveway and put the car in park. Tulla turned around in her seat to pull it free. That little blue backpack often wound up halfway stuck beneath Danny’s seat when he was in the car.
He scrambled up the graveled path as she exited the car with her bags of groceries. She paused when she saw Randall standing in the front door. He was big and so masculine looking with his hair pulled back and a black t-shirt on with gray sweats. He had a high five ready and waiting for Danny who jumped in the air to deliver it, his blue eyes sparkling with delight. Uh oh. Don’t go there. Oh, please, don’t be nice to my son. Don’t make it so easy for me to fall for you.
“Here, let me take that for you,” Randall reached out and took the grocery bags from her. He smelled good, like soap and that same earthy spice she’d noticed earlier that day. She wondered if she could discreetly discover the name of the cologne or after shave or whatever it was he used. The scent made her nerve endings tingle.
“Thank you.”
She looked down and noticed he was bare foot. His feet were nice, she mused. He had short, clean toenails. It seemed such an intimate thing, looking at someone’s bare feet. She paused as guilt overwhelmed her. He must have stayed indoors on the computer all day! Damn it. She walked inside with him following behind as she wrestled with her conscience.
“I hope you got outdoors today, it was so nice and sunny.”
“I did, actually, I went for a run on the beach. It was a real nice day for running though I’m not sure how many more of those we’ll have.”
Her back went ramrod straight as she caught his meaning. Play it cool, Tulla. She smiled politely and turned to start taking groceries out of her bags. His deep chuckle sounded behind her and she realized he was teasing her. The gall of the man! Danny came inside with his picture in his hand and Tulla praised his work before sticking it to the fridge with a magnet.
“Wow! That is some honeycomb you designed there, pal! Do you know what they call that shape in math?”
“A hexi- no, a hexagon!”
“That’s right! High-five! Come on, don’t leave me hanging, bud!”
The scene was so homey. The two guys talking and fooling around. Tulla almost allowed herself to believe it was real. It’s temporary, don’t forget that, she thought to herself, he doesn’t belong to you.
“Mama, what’s an orphan?” Danny’s question made the two adults in the room stop cold.
“Huh? Why are you asking that honey?”
“Today at recess Marcus said I was an orphan. I asked him why he said that and he says it’s because I don’t have a daddy.”
“What!” Tulla covered her mouth as she bit back and expletive. She was so angry, she was spitting nails!
“Ooh, that little jerk. You tell him, well, just tell him, ugh, I can’t-”
“Hey, hey, hey. Come here, calm down, it’s okay,” he rubbed her arms up and down and faced her before nodding to Danny, “May I?”
Tulla was so angry she couldn’t form a coherent sentence. She didn’t think he’d say anything to harm her boy so, she nodded and pushed her hair out of her face. Her hand covered her mouth as she tried to register the fact that he was kneeling on her kitchen floor to address her boy on eye level. Her heart squeezed in her chest.
She’d fight the world for her son, take on beasts or man, it didn’t matter to her. But how do you deal with other children when they were perhaps even more cruel than anything else out there? Randall’s voice was steady and calm as he spoke.
“Danny, an orphan is someone without any parents. You have a mama so, you can’t be an orphan, right? Now, there are lots of people out there in this world that don’t know what they are talking about. The next time this Marcus or someone else says anything like that to you, you inform them that they need to learn the definition of a word before they use it, okay bud?”
Tulla smiled through tears at the patient explanation Randall gave her son from on bended knee. He was right too, she thought. She laughed out loud when he continued.
“And if Marcus or anyone else insists on using words like that despite all your trying to persuade them otherwise, then you punch them right in the nose.” He proceeded to fake punch Danny until the little boy roared with glee.
“You are funny, Randall! Hey, when are you gonna show me how to use the ukeleelee again?”
“It’s pronounced ukulele, bud, and I’ll show you after supper, if it’s okay with your mama?”
“If you’re sure,” she nodded and turned her head before the tears in her eyes threatened to fall.
“No problem, but first I think you have things to do, little man!”
“Nuh uh, I don’t have any homework today,” was the quick reply.
A tickle fight erupted behind her and wails of laughter followed as Randall picked up Danny and tossed him in the air. She wiped her face and listened as man and boy began talking about music and then games.
Before she knew it all six-foot three inches of Randall was curled up on her tiny loveseat next to her towheaded son playing an old spaceship themed video game on her tiny, battered TV instead of the one she used for her guests.
The scene warmed her heart. It touched someplace deep inside of her. It was as if the tiny shield she had erected to protect herself was crumbling. This man was breaking down her barriers. He was dangerous to her peace of mind. It won’t last, she tried listing the reasons why in her head. He’s leaving soon, she repeated inside her head again and again as she prepared dinner. This isn’t real for him, it’s a vacation. Like a kid playing house.
The next few days passed by in blur. Tulla managed to treat Randall with all the politeness and courtesy she could muster. It wasn’t easy to remain distant when his smile was ever at the ready for both herself and Danny, who seemed to have developed a bond with the tall stranger.
She was surprised when he came out of his room one day with a ukulele kind of like the one she’d gotten for her son at a garage sale. He’d been teaching Danny the process of playing the four-stringed instrument ever since. It was just another thing they bonded over. Gaming, music, old TV shows. Danny had started watching the original Star Trek series when he’d come down with a bad case of the flu that past winter. Homebound for two weeks, the little boy had watched every DVD they had so, she got a subscription to one of those streaming video apps and he’d gotten hooked.
Tulla could take it or leave it, but Randall it seemed was a devoted trekkie. Between that and the ukulele, the man had grown about ten more feet to her son. She only hoped he understood that it wasn’t forever. Being a person with no musical talent at all, despite a persistent love for singing along with the radio now and then, Tulla was surprised at her guest’s ability. Was there anything he couldn’t do?
He was patient, kind, and generous with his time when it came to her son. The sounds of a happy little tune met her ears and she smiled. He was teaching Danny to play the small instrument in record time, but her son always was a quick learner. She admired Randall’s eagerness and willingness to help though he was on vacation. Even when she attempted to get Danny to leave him alone he would hear of no such thing.
Tulla had to admit she appreciated his candor. It was refreshing. If she was being truly honest with herself she’d also admit that it didn’t hurt that Randall was breathtakingly beautiful to look at. Seriously. He was gorgeous. He had smooth, creamy skin that was growing more tan by the day. Even though he shaved regularly, she liked the five o’clock shadow that was visible on his cheeks by noon.
His laughter was deep and rich, and she liked the feeling she got in the pit of her stomach whenever she heard him. It was addictive, that feeling of anticipation and desire. It was desire, after all. She finally admitted that to herself days ago.
T
ulla also noted that despite his re-connecting her modem, he spent little to no time on his Chromebook. He seemed to be enjoying his stay at The Sea Mist. He didn’t go for any of the usual tourist attractions, but he seemed to like the island.
He went for daily runs on the beach. He even went swimming regularly. She sometimes caught a glimpse of him him from the laundry room as he swam out into the Atlantic, past the buoys, despite her frequent warnings. He’d just smile at her attempts to caution him and reply by saying he was a good swimmer. He took the row boat out fishing a time or two. One day he came back once with huge sea bass that he then cleaned and grilled for the three of them. Yep, the man cooked too. He was damn near perfect.
There was just one thing she didn’t get. With only two weeks left of his vacation, Tulla found herself wondering why he didn’t make another move to kiss her. She caught his caramel gaze staring at her time and again, but he never did anything more than look. She admitted she was a little bit confused and, maybe a little disappointed, though she should have been relieved. After all, she couldn’t afford to fall for a man like him.
She shouldn’t even be having thoughts like these. It wasn’t safe, it wasn’t smart. She knew better. Tulla wasn’t a kid anymore. If she could only stop thinking about those lips of his and what it would feel like to have the right to kiss him every single day!
She felt like a teenager daydreaming over him. Maybe it was hormonal? Maybe something happened to a woman after being alone for years? Tulla had gone out on the odd date here and there, but no one moved her the way this man did. It was a simple fact. Not even her late husband. The thought made her feel ashamed of herself.
Tom wasn’t a good husband. If she were being brutally honest she’d recognize he wasn’t even a good man, but he gave her Daniel. For that, she would always be grateful to him. Rest in peace, Thomas, she thought to herself. A loud bout of laughter coming from her small living room jostled her from her morbid thoughts.