Tonight and Forever Magical Romances Boxed Set

by D'Alessandro, Jacquie

  “During our lives there were probably lots of nights when we were both looking up at the same star.” He ran a single fingertip over her cheek. “Looking at the same star yet never knowing each other existed.”

  Not trusting her voice, Emma merely nodded. Maybe she hadn’t known his name, but in the most secret recesses of her heart, the place where she’d dreamed of romance, yearned to be the sort of woman who’d inspire it, she’d known he was out there-- the man who would make her feel like this. Make her heart pound this way. Make her forget how to breathe. Make her forget everything except him. And how much she wanted him.

  Reaching up, she tangled her fingers in his thick hair then urged his head down. His mouth covered hers in a soft, slow, deep kiss that melted her spine into the blanket beneath her and left her trembling. She parted her lips wider, drawing him in deeper, tasting his tongue, reveling in the delicious heat of him.

  Where their first kiss had been wild and frantic and out of control, this kiss… dear God, this kiss simply destroyed her with its gentle tenderness. Its soft, sensual thoroughness. Its unhurried perfection. He kissed her as if he intended to do so for hours. Days. Weeks.

  He shifted to lay half on top of her, fitting one leg between hers. Emma spread her thighs to accommodate him, arching her back to press more fully against his chest and the hard ridge of his erection. A deep, aching need throbbed through her, centered at her core, radiating outward with every rapid beat of her heart. She couldn’t recall ever being so aroused. Ever wanting a man this much. Yes, she’d wanted him when he’d arrived at her apartment for their date, but that interlude had exploded out of nowhere and had almost seemed like temporary insanity. While this… this was natural. And perfect. And right.

  Yet that tiny voice in her head again cautioned that even though this felt right, it was still happening too fast. Too soon.

  He lifted his head and trailed his lips down her neck. “Emma.” The rough whisper of her name blew warm against her throat. She moistened her lips to whisper his name in return, but before she could speak, he groaned and abruptly moved off her.

  Panting, dazed with arousal, she opened her eyes. Watched him push himself to his knees. Run unsteady hands through his hair. Squeeze his eyes briefly shut and blow out a ragged breath. Then he looked down at her. “It’s time to take you home.”

  Feeling as if she were emerging from a trance, Emma blinked several times then sat up. After scooping her disheveled hair away from her face, she cleared her throat. “Um, not what I was expecting you to say.”

  He made a humorless sound. “Not what I was expecting to say, believe me.” He turned to her and cupped her face between his palms, his expression solemn, his gaze steady. “I don’t really know how to say this because it isn’t something I’ve said before. I’ve never, ever wanted a woman more than I want you. Which is why I’m going to take you home. Now. While I still can. Because I want to do this right. Because I don’t want to mess this up. Don’t want to risk you having any regrets tomorrow for moving too quickly. Because this is… important. You’re important.” This thumbs brushed over her cheeks. “That okay?”

  His words, his thoughtfulness, his care and almost clairvoyant acknowledgment of the tiny voice in her head created a swirl of emotions she couldn’t even begin to untangle other than to know that while they rendered her physically bereft they also filled her heart with a warmth she’d never before experienced.

  She placed her hands over his and nodded. “That’s okay.”

  Without another word he stood and helped her to her feet. He held her hand during the five minute drive back to her apartment then walked her to her door.

  “You up for some kayaking tomorrow?” he asked as she dug in her purse for her keys.

  “I’m working until four.”

  “How about I pick you up at five? We can head out from my dock. I’ll bring some sandwiches for a picnic. I know a nice little spot with a terrific view of the main lake.”

  She smiled. “That sounds like fun. And speaking of fun, I had a great time tonight, Liam.” Actually fun and great were pretty tepid and half-assed words to describe what had unexpectedly turned out to be the most spectacular date of her life.

  “Me, too.” He drew her into his arms and looked into her eyes. “We’ll take this slow and do it right, Emma. We have all the time in the world.”

  She could barely swallow around the lump of emotion that swelled in her throat. “All the time in the world,” she agreed.

  He brushed his mouth lightly over hers, then stepped back and shot her a wink and a grin before heading back toward his car.

  Emma entered her apartment, closed the door, then leaned back against the wood panel and closed her eyes. Listened to the hum of his pick-up’s engine fade into silence as he drove away.

  A loud meow sounded and Emma opened her eyes. Fluffy stood before her, regarding her with a scolding expression that clearly asked, “Where the hell have you been, and why the hell are you carrying that dopey purse instead of a grocery bag filled with cans of my favorite tuna?”

  “Oh, don’t be grumpy,” Emma said, plopping down on the foyer floor. She scooped up Fluffy and nuzzled his warm neck. His motorboat purr instantly vibrated against her cheek and she smiled.

  “Seems you liked Liam,” she murmured. “Me, too. So much for my I’ll-never-date-another-firefighter-again resolution. That sucker went up in flames. Ha. Pretty ironic since he’s a fireman.”

  Fluffy stared at her through squinty eyes and continued to purr, clearly unimpressed with the irony.

  Now that she was home and could think clearly, Emma couldn’t deny she was grateful for Liam’s forbearance. If he hadn’t halted things, she definitely wouldn’t have. He’d given her the opportunity to think. To decide. Which she truly appreciated.

  “Because Liam’s right, you know,” she whispered into Fluffy’s soft fur. “We have all the time in the world.”

  ~~~

  Damn it to all bloody hell and back!

  I glared in frustrated fury at the red glow of Mr. Gallagher’s tail lights as he drove away from Miss Heely’s apartment. I’d arrived too late.

  Feeling as if steam spewed from my ears, I crossed the brick façade and entered Miss Heely’s apartment. She sat in the tiny foyer cuddling her monstrous, unfortunately named cat. Liam’s right, you know. We have all the time in the world.

  “No, you bloody well don’t!” I bellowed. Christ, I could feel the veins in my forehead and on my neck straining and popping. If I weren’t already dead surely this epic infuriation would result in an aneurism that would drop me like a stone.

  I moved to within an inch of Miss Heely’s face. “You do not have all the time in the world,” I roared. Her cat hissed, clawed the air then jumped from her arms. The animal hunched its back, gave another mighty hiss then darted toward the kitchen as if chased by the devil himself.

  That bastard Lucifer was most assuredly in a more kindly mood than I at the moment.

  Miss Heely stood then walked right through me to follow her pet. “Wow, I guess you’re really suffering from tuna withdrawal. One can of Fancy Feast comin’ right up.”

  I started to float after her, but with a muttered oath I instead shot from the apartment like a bullet back into the chilly night air. Because God knows I needed to cool off.

  Damn it! Never in two hundred years of existence had I ever felt so out of control. Undone. Enraged to the point that I could barely see straight. That infernal Task Director and whatever spell she’d cast upon me had utterly derailed my plans for my humans who, if things had gone the way I’d intended, would now be naked and moaning and well on their way to discovering this idiotic True Love that I so desperately needed them to find lest I spend all of eternity burning in Hell.

  But nooooo. Alessandra-damn-her-soul-Foscari had shown up and sidetracked me and because of her interference, I’d arrived too late to make certain my humans spent the night together, thus robbing me of precious time I could not
afford to lose in bringing them together. Bloody hell, now they both believed they had all the time in the world to develop their relationship.

  “Perhaps you have all the time in the world, but I only have four bloody weeks,” I thundered to the heavens.

  How had I lost control of the situation? Clearly the blame rested squarely on the shoulders of that… that… termagant. That Bane of My Limited Existence.

  But more maddening and perplexing was how had I so thoroughly lost control of myself? And how, how was it possible that I’d felt that? That I’d felt…

  Desire.

  The word brought my anger-fueled skyward climb to an abrupt halt . With cold air swirling around me, I squeezed my eyes shut and fought to catch my breath, calm my erratic heartbeat. I buried my face in my unsteady hands and tried to make sense out of the impossible.

  That rush of want, of need, that tension and anticipation, the flood of heat and hardening of every muscle. It had come upon me without warning, hard, fast, furious and undeniable. It didn’t matter that it had been nearly two hundred years since I’d felt desire. There was no mistaking it.

  Or was there?

  I had to be wrong. Had to be. Had to have imagined it. Heavenly beings, both Full-Fledged and those waiting to be, were stripped of all sexual desire. Yet it had felt so… real. And why had I been driven to kiss her? Kiss anyone? But most especially a woman who grated on my every nerve?

  Utterly drained and suddenly exhausted, I dragged my hands down my face and released a long, jagged breath. It must have merely been anger. Frustration. Rage. All felt on an unprecedented level. Not surprising given my situation, my dire need to succeed at my task within a tiny window of opportunity. I hadn’t wanted Alessandra Foscari. Hadn’t wanted her naked and shuddering beneath me. Not at all.

  Except I knew, in my soul, for a shocking, inexplicable blink in time, I had.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “I don’t need to ask how last night’s date went-- you’re glowing like a lightning bug on a hot summer night,” said Barb in an unmistakably smug tone the next morning as she joined Emma at the coffee pot in the library’s small break room. Barb’s bright blue eyes twinkled at Emma over the rims of her bifocals. “But of course I want details.”

  Emma added a splash of half and half to her coffee. Uh oh. Glowing wasn’t far from red and blotchy. Probably no more than one probing Barb-like question away, which Emma predicted would be voiced sometime in the next ten seconds.

  “I had fun.”

  Barb cocked a brow. “Honey, that post-coital radiance you’re sporting is practically blinding me, and fun is all you have to say?”

  Emma nearly spewed her coffee. “Not post-coital. No, it’s not what you think. We didn’t… um, we didn’t do… that.”

  Barb’s eyes widened. “You mean you’re throwing off that kind of luminosity and you didn’t even get naked?” She waved her hand in front of her face. “Have mercy. He must be one awesome kisser.”

  “You can say that again.” Ack! Had she just said that out loud?

  Barb’s lips curved upward. “Oh, honey, I’m so happy for you.”

  Yup, apparently she had said that out loud. “Don’t get carried away. It was just one date.”

  “Uh huh. And apparently a really good one. Which begs the question: when’s the next one?”

  Oh, boy. There was no stopping the blotches now. Even though she intended to tell Barb about today’s upcoming kayak plans, the devil in Emma couldn’t spill all the scoop without teasing her nosy friend just a little. She shrugged. “I only agreed to one date. What makes you think there’s going to be a second?”

  Barb gave an unladylike snort. “Only about a dozen things, starting with the fact that you already admitted he’s an awesome kisser. Only a doofus wouldn’t accept a second date from an awesome kisser and we both know how smart you are, what with your fancy Ivy League degree and all. Then there’s the fact that you look like you were hooked up to a nuclear reactor. I’d bet my bottom dollar Mr. Awesome Kisser is all aglow, too. Toss in that twinkle in your eye and the slight smudge on your neck that looks suspiciously like a fading hickey, and it all adds up to second date. Oh, and as if that’s not enough, there’re the flowers that were just delivered for you, which I’m figuring are from You-Know-Who.”

  Emma’s pulse quickened. “Flowers?”

  Barb nodded. “I put them on your desk, next to the peonies he brought you yesterday. Another couple of days and you won’t be able to fit in there for all the floral tributes. I’ll have you know it’s a testament to my patience and non-busybody-like nature that instead of peeking at the card I came in here to get you. But curiosity has taken over my patience, so if you wouldn’t mind hurrying things up in here… ?” She slanted a pointed look toward the door.

  Forcing down the urge to dash from the break room like a sprinter off the blocks, Emma made her way toward her office at a sedate pace. She paused in the doorway and her breath caught at the bouquet of gorgeous bright pink flowers arranged in a black ceramic vase sitting on her desk.

  “Just don’t stand there gawking, honey,” said Barb from directly behind her. “Go read the card. Then tell me what it says.”

  Smothering a laugh at the impatience in Barb’s voice, Emma crossed to her desk, drawn to the beautiful bright pink flowers like a bee to honey. After setting down her coffee cup, she dragged a fingertip over one of the large, ball-like blooms, each of which contained dozens of small flowers with pointed petals. “I’ve never seen anything like these before,” she murmured.

  “Neither have I,” said Barb, leaning over to give them a sniff. “Lovely. They look like little stars.”

  They did indeed. She quickly slid the small accompanying card from its envelope and read the brief message:

  According to the florist, these are Pentas or star flowers, which seemed a perfect thank you for a perfect evening. Looking forward to seeing you tonight. Liam

  “Well?” Barb asked, her voice tinged with a combination of amusement and exasperation.

  Emma had to clear her throat to dislodge the lump of emotion stuck there. “They’re from Liam.”

  “Well, I didn’t think they were from the chief of police. What does the card say?”

  Unable to tear her gaze from the gorgeous flowers, Emma wordlessly handed Barb the card.

  “What’s the significance of stars?” Barb asked several seconds later. “You two spend the time you weren’t kissing talking about celebrities?”

  Emma laughed. “No. After dinner we went stargazing.”

  “Ooooh, and he sent you star flowers. Very sweet. Very romantic.”

  Indeed it was. And the sweet, romantic gesture had everything girly in her heaving a gushy, feminine sigh.

  “Honey, I’m not getting any younger here,” Barb said in a tart tone. “Are you going to tell me about your date or do I have to open up a can of good ol’ fashioned Southern whoop ass on you?”

  Emma chuckled then gave Barb a condensed, G-rated version of her date, ending with, “we’re going kayaking at five o’clock today.”

  “So date number two starts in less than eight hours.”

  Seven hours and thirty-four minutes. Not that she was counting. “Yes.”

  Barb reached out and clasped Emma’s hands. “I have a good feeling about this man, Emma. About you and him together. The way he looks at you, the gleam he’s put in your eyes… yes, a very good feeling indeed. Trust me. Age and life have given me a lot of experience in these matters.”

  Emma’s normally practical nature couldn’t squash the thrill she experienced at Barb’s words. “It’s much too soon to know something like that,” she said, determined to keep things in perspective. “I don’t want to rush things. We barely know each other.”

  “That will change. Very quickly, I predict, as I don’t see that young man missing any opportunity to spend time with you.” She squeezed Emma’s hands. “My mama used to always say, ‘an ounce of experience is worth a pound of the
ory.’ So don’t think or wonder or worry about things moving too quickly. Just do it. Follow your heart. Be with that hunka hunka burnin’ man who’s on fire for you and let yourself be happy. Because I have to tell you honey, you look really, really happy. The happiest I’ve seen you since you moved here.”

  Appreciation filled her at Barb’s heartwarming advice and supportive words, which were the polar opposite of what Emma’s mother had offered while growing up. That guidance had always stressed education over emotion. Functionality over feelings.

  You look really, really happy. No doubt because she was happy. And filled with anticipation at the prospect of seeing Liam again in… her gaze strayed to her watch… seven hours and twenty-nine minutes.

  Not that she was counting.

  ~~~

  “Want to check out this cove before heading back?” Liam called over his shoulder to Emma who paddled behind him. “There’s an interesting home at the end that looks like a lighthouse.”

  “Sure. Lead on, Fearless and Intrepid One.”

  Liam shot her a grin then steered his kayak into the last cove before the one where his cabin was located. Keeping close to the land, he paddled forward at a leisurely pace, focusing on the quiet, natural beauty surrounding them. The soaring trees with leaves that showed the first signs of the colorful explosion of fall colors that would overtake them in the coming weeks. The dark blue-green water, its mirror-like surface rippled only by the gentle wakes of their crafts and quiet splash of their paddles. The slanting golden rays of the setting sun that stained the sky with a spectacular palette of pinks and orange.

  Then there was the natural beauty paddling behind him.

  She hadn’t been out of his thoughts the entire day. Hell, she’d barely been out of his thoughts since the moment he first saw her, but today had been all Emma, every minute, every second. He’d spent the morning and afternoon preparing for today’s kayak excursion by storing his power tools in the garage and straightening up the cabin so Emma wouldn’t think he was a slob. Which he wasn’t, but neither was he a neat freak. Then heading to the market to stock his fridge and cupboards with some wine, cheese, fruit and other essentials so he didn’t look like a typical bachelor who existed exclusively on sugary cereal, protein bars and frozen dinners. Stopping at Dave’s house to borrow his buddy’s kayak.