"Don't know, but we'll find out." Alex rang the bell and shuffled her feet. "Damn, it's cold out here."
"Hey, you two." Jenn opened the door. "How are you?"
I followed Alex inside and hugged Jenn. Before I even had a chance to take off my jacket my cell phone rang. I glanced at the number and ignored it. I should have known Bill would call. For two cents I'd turn it off. But I hated to do that in case there was an emergency. I caught the looks from my friends and ignored them too. If I chose not to answer my phone, what business was it of theirs?
"So, where's Julie?" Change the subject, get them focused on something besides me. I noticed the look Alex shot Jenn. The way she rolled her eyes and indicated, 'I'll tell you later.' Oh, yeah, I knew the look. I'd been recipient of it many times myself. Hell, I'd even given it a time or two. "I hear she's got someone new on the line."
"I do." Julie appeared behind Jenn. "Come on in, and I'll tell you all about him. In fact I'll go one step further and you can meet him yourself."
"Ah, that explains the new Lincoln." Hmm, I thought, looks like this one might be well off. Good for Julie. I hope this guy was the one.
"You'll have to wait a bit though. He's in the shower."
My cell phone rang again. I knew it was Bill without even looking, but looked anyway. Yep. I ignored it.
"Aren't you going to answer that?" Julie asked.
"No, it's not important." I walked past her into the living room.
"How do you know it's not important if you don't answer it?"
Julie just wasn't going to leave well enough alone. Of course not, she never did.
"So, tell us about your new guy. What's his name?" I had to get the focus back on her, and maybe she'd forget.
"His name is Mike. Why aren't you answering your phone?"
"She's not answering her phone," Alex said, "because it's some guy she slept with, and he already has a girlfriend."
I threw daggers at my friend. Talk about a crude way of putting things.
"Shut up! You slept with someone?" Jenn twirled around and looked at me. "You, 'Miss I Don't Have Time for a Relationship', slept with someone? Do tell, girl."
"Oh, I can't wait to hear this story." Julie plopped on the couch. "Come on, give it up."
I wanted to strangle Alex. It was bad enough it would come out eventually, she didn't have to blurt it out like that. "Alex can tell you."
"Uh uh, no way. You tell it. It's your story." Alex sat on the chair opposite Jenn.
"Well, since you blurted it out, it's your story. Go ahead and tell it." I wished I'd never mentioned it to Alex. I didn't want to talk about it. Even now my stomach did flip flops at the idea that Bill called. What did he want? Why couldn't he just leave me alone?
"Come on, don't be such a baby. Tell them what happened."
I walked away. A tall, dark haired, good looking hunk stood in the kitchen doorway. Whoa, hunk didn't even begin to describe him. He went beyond hunk. I could see why Julie was infatuated. At least I was saved while Julie made the introductions.
* * *
After lunch my cell phone rang three more times in a row.
"If you're not going to answer that, at least turn it off." Alex said. "It's annoying."
"I think you should answer it. And I still want to hear this story." Julie stared at me.
"Yeah, answer the darn thing. If nothing else, tell him to bug off," Jenn said. "Here, let me do it."
Before I could react, Jenn grabbed the phone and flipped it open.
"Hello," she said sweetly.
I wanted to punch her. Sure my friends meant well but this was something I needed to deal with on my own. In my own way. I didn't need their interference.
Before I knew it, Jenn handed me the phone. "Someone named Bill wants to talk to you."
I took the phone and almost slammed it shut. Instead I put it to my ear. They were right. I needed to end this right here and now. Otherwise he would just keep calling and it was annoying.
"Hello."
"Can we talk?"
I melted at the sound of his voice. Lord, I loved this guy. Loved and hated him all at the same time. "We are."
"No, I mean person to person."
"What's this? I don't hear anyone else?"
"I meant face to face."
"I don't think so. I have nothing to say." I stood and walked away from my nosy friends.
"I do."
"Then say it and let me get on with my life."
"What you thought you saw..."
"What I thought I saw. You're kidding, right?" I knew I sounded cold, I didn't care. I was so angry I could spit nails. What I thought I saw, the nerve of this guy. "I know what I saw. There's no thinking about it."
"Okay, poor choice of words. I wasn't kissing Kathy. I...she..."
I wanted to hang up. Bad enough he had someone else on the line. I didn't need to listen to his lies too. I knew what I saw and they were both swapping spit. No doubt in my mind.
"Look, I'm busy right now. I don't care what I saw. I don't care what you did or didn't do. Makes no difference to me whatsoever." I flipped the lid on the phone and hung up. Enough was enough. Just hearing his voice made me want to lash out. Hurt someone. Tears stung my eyes, and I fought to hold them back. Never had I experienced such pain. The knot in my stomach gnawed at me. I just wanted to curl up and cry. I didn't know how I'd go on without Bill. Worse, how would I feel when I saw him again? It was inevitable. I couldn't avoid him forever. I really thought I'd met someone I could spend my life with, and I was wrong.
* * *
Bill heard the click and closed his cell phone. She sure was making this difficult. Not that it surprised him. He knew what she saw, and it couldn't have looked good. But he wasn't responding to Kathy's kiss. If she hadn't had such a grip on him, he'd have pulled away before their lips connected. Somehow he had to make Wendy listen. But how? She wasn't home, and no one seemed to know where she was. Not her assistant, not Nick. No one. No point in calling her again. She'd either ignore the call or just hang up.
She'd have to come home sometime. He'd talk to her then. Damn it, he wanted it settled now. He wanted to tell her how he felt about her. Waking up in the morning wasn't the same without her next to him.
She at least owed him a chance to explain. Not that he didn't understand her jumping to conclusions. He'd have thought the same thing if the situation was reversed. No, he didn't really blame her. He probably wouldn't listen either.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Alex pulled into my drive, and I almost jumped out of the car. Thank God that was over. I swore if someone mentioned Bill one more time I would have screamed. I didn't think I could feel so much pain.
Okay, so my friends hadn't had the opportunity over the years to discuss my sex life. They didn't have to make up for it now. Every time someone mentioned him, I felt like I was being ripped apart.
At least the weekend wasn't a total loss. I did enjoy the dinners with Gary and Mike. Julie certainly was smitten. Not that I blamed her. Mike might just be the one. Both of them acted genuinely in love. Who knew, maybe before the year was out, they'd be engaged. It certainly wouldn't surprise me.
And Jenn's new house, I loved the way it was built on a hillside and the basement entrance faced the woods. Terrific view all around. I almost envied my friend. Not that I begrudged her. Not by any means. I just wished it could've been me and Bill.
Bill, everything came back to him. I couldn't get him out of my mind no matter what I did.
"Hey, thanks for coming." Alex said. "Sorry about you and Bill. Maybe you should listen to what he has to say."
More advice I didn't need. Not from Alex, not from anyone. "Sorry about you and Scott, too." No reason to mention Bill.
"You know," Alex leaned back in her seat. "It doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would. It hurts, don't get me wrong. But the more I think about it, the more I saw it coming. We haven't been happy for a long time."
"Well, who kno
ws, maybe your Prince Charming is right around the corner." I pulled my overnight bag from the back seat.
"Maybe he is. And you never know. Yours might be lurking on your doorstep."
"Huh?"
Alex nodded toward the house. Bill stood next to the door with Leo.
I groaned. "What's it going to take to make this guy understand?"
"You know, someone that persistent might be worth listening to."
I leaned in and hugged my friend. "Maybe he is. You take care."
"You too," Alex said. "Call me."
I turned toward the house, prepared to do battle. I didn't have much of a choice about talking to him. He leaned against my door, his arms and legs crossed. God, he looked good. Maybe he was sincere. I walked up the step and dug in my purse for the keys.
"I have these." Bill dangled my other set of keys in front of me.
"Where'd you find them?"
"You're not going to believe this."
"Try me."
"In Leo's crate."
"You're right, I don't believe it."
"I told you."
Leo nudged my leg, and I reached down and patted his head.
"Are you trying to tell me Leo took them?"
"Only way they could have got there. Maybe he didn't want you to leave either."
My heart pounded so hard I thought it would burst through my chest. So he hadn't wanted me to leave, yet he let me go. Hadn't tried to force himself on me. I couldn't quite figure him out. Of course he wouldn't have to. He had Kathy on the line. It didn't matter to him whether I stayed or not.
"Thank you for returning them." I took the keys from his hand and tried to put them in the lock. My hand shook so bad I could hardly insert it in the hole.
"Here, let me." Bill took the keys back and accidentally brushed my hand with his.
Of course my body responded to his touch. Even now I wanted him. Wanted his arms around me, wanted to feel his skin against mine.
Bill turned the key and pushed the door open. "We have to talk." He followed me inside.
I didn't want to talk. I wanted his lips on mine, wanted to feel his tongue entwined with my own. I wanted to make love. I set my bag on the steps and went to the kitchen. Make coffee, keep busy. Don't look at him. I'd melt if I did. I'd give in and throw myself in his arms.
"Will you look at me?"
I shook my head. I couldn't. I didn't trust myself. "Say what you have to say and leave." I took my time setting the coffee maker up. I'd listen. I had no choice. But I didn't have to look at him. Didn't have to let him see the desire I knew reflected in my eyes.
I felt his breath on my neck, his hands on my shoulders and already I drowned in my own desire. How was I going to resist him if he turned me to face him? Thankfully, he didn't.
"I know what you saw the other day. But what you don't know was that I wasn't kissing Kathy back. She had such a grip on me I couldn't pull away."
The memory of the kiss flitted through my mind. I gripped the sink. Oh, no, he was kissing back. I saw him. I tried to move away.
I stiffened beneath his hands and held my breath. He turned me to face him. "I dated her a while a few months back. It's been over for a long time, but she won't let it go."
I lowered my head, and he put his hand beneath my chin so I had to look at him. I lowered my eyes.
"You have to believe me. I don't know how it happened but I'm in love with you. These last few days while you were gone were the worst days of my life."
I looked at him. I had no choice. I could have closed my eyes, but I guessed I owed him this much. Besides, I had to see if he was telling me the truth. He was going to kiss me, and I wasn't going to stop him. I wanted him to, needed it.
Was it true? Was he in love with me? I didn't know. I wanted to believe him. Wanted to, desperately, because I was in love with him.
He brought his lips down to mine– first gentle then he increased the pressure. Flames burst through my body. I clasped my hands behind his head and drew him closer. I couldn't deny I wanted him. Couldn't deny I loved him. I wanted, with all my heart, to believe him. My heart overruled my head. His kiss deepened. Small moans came from my throat. How could I give in so easily?
Suddenly, something nudged my leg. Leo. I pulled away from Bill and looked down at the dog. "Looks like someone is a bit jealous."
Bill kept his arm around me. "When you left that day, I followed you but you were in Frank's car before I even came outside.
"I saw you. So did Frank. He asked me if I wanted him to stop."
"Of course you didn't. I understood. I would've felt the same way."
"So why was Kathy there? I heard her ask if you missed her."
"She works for me, and for some reason she's thinks we still have this thing going on. No matter how many times I tell her, she just doesn't get it." Bill slid his hand under my blouse and rubbed my back. "Well, she didn't until I told her you were my fiancée."
"You told her what?" I wanted to pull away, but the way he massaged my back felt so good.
"Well, that's what you told Nick, wasn't it?" He slid his hand around to my front and cupped my breast. I shivered.
If he kept that up in another minute I was going to jump his bones. I loved the way he slid his hand under my bra and fondled my breast. Love the way his rough calloused hand felt against my skin. I especially loved the way he squeezed the tip of my nipple between his thumb and finger with just enough pressure to send me reeling.
I felt his warm breath in my ear. "You did tell him that, didn't you?" he whispered. He moved his mouth across my cheek and kissed my nose, then down to my neck, just skimming his lips across my throat.
I was drowning in passion. Small moans of pleasure came from deep inside me. He moved his hands from my breast, down along my stomach. I arched against him.
His cell phone rang. "Son of a bitch."
"Let it ring."
Finally, it stopped only to ring again a second later. I moved away. "You better answer it. It sounds important."
He flipped open the phone but pulled me back to him and cupped my breast with one hand. "Hello." He snapped.
"Is something wrong, honey, you sound angry."
I heard the woman's voice come through the phone. Kathy's voice. I pushed his hand from under my blouse and moved away. Not again. How gullible can one person be?
"Yeah, you're what's wrong. I told you before there's nothing between us." He snapped the phone closed and came toward me. "Damn bitch won't quit. I swear I'm going to put a restraining order on her."
He wasn't lying. I heard the tone in his voice. I walked toward him. "We have some unfinished business."
Bill stared at me.
"Something told me you liked this side of me. Liked when I became the aggressor."
"Liked it, hell, I loved it." He pulled me to him and lowered his mouth to mine.
It amazed me the way he read my mind. I nibbled his lips as I backed him out of the kitchen toward the stairway. By the time we reached the top step, I had his shirt and my blouse off and unbuttoned his pants. I slid the zipper down and pushed him through the doorway to my bedroom. I stopped at the bed and slid his pants down, brushing his bulging sex with my hand. I lowered him to the bed and fell on top of him. I vaguely recalled seeing Leo lie down at the foot of the bed.
Chapter Twenty-Six
I woke up to a strange whimpering noise. I tried to roll over but an arm pinned me down. I smiled. For a minute I forgot Bill was sleeping next to me. The whimpering must be Leo. I raised my head. Leo sat with his head resting on the bed. "What's wrong, boy, do you need to go out?"
"Huh?" Bill rolled against me and brushed against my breast. His eyes flit open, and he smiled at me. "Morning, sunshine."
"I think Leo wants to go out."
"Leo?"
"Yeah, Leo. You know, your dog."
He leaned up on an elbow and looked at the dog. "Leo, I forgot all about Leo." He shoved the blanket aside and stood up.
> I lay there staring at him in all his glory. Already heat flared between my legs. I stretched. What time was it anyway? I looked at the clock. Only seven o'clock. Too early to get up. I reached out and pinched Bill's butt as he slid his pant leg on. "Hurry back."
Bill grinned at me. "Are you serious?"
"Damn right I am." I smacked his butt playfully. "Ah do declare, Mr. Rhett, it's not nice to keep a woman waiting."
He leaned down and kissed me. A long, slow, arousing kiss. "I swear, Miss Scarlet, your appetite is unquenchable."
"Why, Mr. Rhett, whatever makes you say a thing like that? And don't you just love it?" I cupped his bulging sex with my hand and gently squeezed.
Leo barked and Bill looked at him. "I swear your timing is the worst. Come on, let's go." Leo followed him from the room.
I stretched lazily on the bed. Lord almighty, I'd never felt so good in all my life. Words couldn't describe this glorious warmth that enveloped me. I curled up on my side and hugged the pillow. Never had I dreamed love could be so fulfilling. I felt so alive.
Bill came back a couple minutes later and stripped off his pants the minute he hit the door. "Why, Miss Scarlet, you look ravishingly beautiful."
I held out my arms, and he sat on the bed. I traced my finger along the stubble on his cheek. He bent down and nibbled my lip, sliding his tongue along my mouth until I opened mine. The tangle of our tongues and heavy breathing awakened something new in me.
My heart beat against his chest, or was it his? I wasn't sure. They beat together. He pushed my legs apart with his knee and positioned himself on top of me, resting on his elbows. His mouth never left mine. I felt his hardness against me and was lost yet again.
* * *
Later, Bill rolled off to the side and leaned on his elbow. "You're beautiful, you know? With your tousled red hair spread out against the pillow." He traced the crease between my eyebrows with his finger, then leaned down and kissed me. Gently at first then with a bit more pressure. Not a passionate, I want you kiss, more of an 'I love you kiss'. Dare I tell him? Was it too soon? Not to me. But how would he take it?
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