by Laura Taylor
"You’re absolutely right."
"The question is whether or not they’ve all been buried. I guess some appetites and desires persist, no matter how hard we try to avoid or dismiss them."
"Your eggs are getting cold." Her tone was rigid with annoyance.
"Jessie."
"I mean it, Dev. You can stop now. You’ve made your point."
He said nothing more suggestive than, "Would you like me to refill your coffee cup?" during the next twenty minutes.
Despite his restraint, Jessica ate without tasting her meal. Mother Nature filled in the gaps in their conversation with an angry–sounding wind and furiously pounding rain.
The eerie silence that suddenly descended on the house reminded Jessica of the moments that followed an unexpected scream in a horror film. She felt the air begin to electrify as she met Dev’s startled gaze.
Jessica dropped her fork. The clattering sound punctured her shock. Jumping to her feet, she raced to the window above the sink. She heard Dev’s chair scrape across the kitchen floor in the same instant that she spotted a funnel–shaped cloud skipping erratically across the center of Willow Lake.
Gripping the counter edge until her knuckles whitened, she gasped when the cloud dipped into the lake and sent a geyser of water shooting straight up into the air. The funnel cloud moved like a restless child, darting every which way. Geysers burst out of the lake each time it paused.
"Oh, my God," she whispered.
Jessica cried out when she felt rough hands seize her and jerk her away from the window. She didn’t resist Dev as he tugged her across the room. They paused in the doorway that separated the kitchen from the dining room. Stunned and breathless, she stared up at him.
"What…" she began.
"If that twister comes near the house, the windows might implode and the flying glass could injure or kill you," he shouted above the din created by the screaming winds that shook the inn until the entire building felt as though it were quaking with fear.
Jessica clutched his forearms and steadied herself by taking a deep breath. "You’re right, of course. That was stupid of me."
"I can’t believe the eye passed over us so quickly."
"It doesn’t take long."
"Where’s the entrance to the storm cellar? Inside or outside?"
"Outside!"
"It’s too dangerous to try to go out there now," he decided when the decibel level of the storm increased to a jet–engine shriek.
She nodded her agreement while simultaneously searching the kitchen for an alternate means of shelter from the tornado’s unpredictable fury. The sound of wood and God knew what else splintering, debris hitting the inn’s exterior walls with jarring thuds, and then an awful squealing sound Jessica couldn’t identify finally jolted her survival instincts into action.
Recalling guidance offered by the weather service, she dropped to her knees and jerked on Dev’s hand when he hesitated. She crawled in the direction of the kitchen table.
He immediately followed her, sliding beneath the sturdy oak table on her heels. They tugged the chairs circling the table toward them as an added barrier to falling debris if the inn suffered damage from the destructive force of the tornado. Jessica found an even more reassuring haven in Dev’s embrace when he gathered her against his strong body and held her close.
They listened to the sounds of violence all around them. Jessica’s imagination produced a series of devastating mental images. She finally closed her eyes and tucked her head beneath his chin.
Intent on a fervent prayer for their safety and survival, a wave of shock rolled over her. And then another. She couldn’t stop the trembling that had taken hold of her entire body. Dev tightened his hold on her, repeatedly promising her that they would be alright.
The pitter–patter of rain and periodic gusts of wind that made the inn tremble announced that the tornado had ended as abruptly as it had begun. Dev exited their temporary shelter first. Jessica followed, pausing to glance up at the stove’s clock. Less than ten minutes had passed since their retreat beneath the sturdy oak table.
Dev drew her to her feet. "You okay?"
She shoved her hair out of her face and tugged down the hem of her sweater. "I think so."
"Good."
He hugged her, his embrace nearly bone–cracking, and then he planted a hard kiss on her parted lips. When he set her free, he headed for the portable radio atop the kitchen counter and turned up the sound.
Still shaken by the sudden violence of the weather, Jessica began to stack their brunch dishes.
Dev frowned, seized her shoulders, and nudged her into the nearest chair. "Damn it, Jessie, are you trying to worry me into an early grave?"
She stared at him, wide–eyed as a result of his outburst.
"Christ!" He raked fingers through his short, dark hair before he calmed himself enough to say, "I’m sorry, Jessica, but this isn’t the time to do the dishes or to show me any other examples of your efficiency. I’ll go on record right now as being totally impressed by your obvious self–sufficiency, your culinary expertise, and your business acumen, but only if you stay put for a little while. You’re too pale right now, and I’m afraid you’re going to fall over if I so much as exhale in the wrong direction."
She nodded, clasped her still shaking hands, and tried to slow her breathing. Although grateful for Dev’s protectiveness and concern, she still disliked appearing weak or vulnerable in front of him. She also didn’t know what to make of his uncharacteristic show of temper.
Neither could she ignore the fact that he was right. She had spent a great deal of their time together stressing her independence. To cover the awkwardness she felt, she quietly asked, "Is there any coffee left?"
Dev shoved a glass of orange juice into her hand. "Drink that. It’ll do you more good right now."
Keeping a close eye on Dev, she sipped the juice while he leaned against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest. Once she drained the glass and placed it on the table, she noticed that he’d shifted his attention to the radio.
"The weather bulletins are every half hour," she said. "It’ll be just a little while until the next one."
He glowered in her direction, his frustration at having to listen to the current price of pork belly futures and feeder cattle readily apparent to Jessica. She couldn’t help her snort of laughter at his expression.
"Relax, Dev. I’m fine now, but you’re starting to remind me of some bizarre creature in a Stephen King novel."
Instead of finding humor in her comment, Dev simply studied her though narrowed eyes. "You’re finally getting some color back in your cheeks."
"Stop worrying about me. I’m alright. Everything just happened so fast. I’ve never actually experienced anything quite like that, even though we’ve lived smack in the middle of tornado alley for several years." She hesitated, her eyes shifting to the kitchen window above the sink.
"What’s wrong?"
"I’m concerned about the damage outside," she confessed.
"I should have thought of that." Dev moved to the sink.
Jessica watched for any unusual reaction as he peered out the window. When he stiffened and swore under his breath, she slumped in her chair. The damage to the resort had to be serious to illicit such a response from him.
"The rain’s stopped for the time being, and the wind has died down."
"You’re hedging. I’m properly insured, so please tell me the truth," she said. "Otherwise, I’m out of this chair to see for myself."
He turned to face her, his expression grim. "All of the cottages are still standing, except for one. Most of the lawn furniture is floating in the lake. Your flower garden looks as if someone took a hammer to every blossom, the swimming pool is full of tree limbs, and the tennis court net is missing. The boat dock is partially swamped. So are half your boats. Several trees are down. One in particular took out the cottage that has just one wall left standing." He paused. "I’m sorry, Jessica. I
know how proud you were of the resort."
She mustered what she hoped was a credible smile. "The important thing is that no one’s been harmed."
Dev approached her, crouched on the floor in front of her, and took her hands. "This hurts, doesn’t it?" he asked gently.
She nodded, unable to stop the tears that brimmed in her eyes. "We’ve worked so hard to make the resort a success."
"It is a success."
"And it always will be," she announced, the stubbornness that marked her personality putting a blaze of determination in her blue eyes. "Which one was leveled?"
Dev hesitated.
Her heart sank a little more. "Not your cottage?"
"I’m afraid so."
"Your things…" she began.
"Things can be replaced, and my cell phone and computer are upstairs. Let’s just be thankful the inn didn’t fall down around our ears while we were parked under your kitchen table."
He straightened, but he didn’t release her hands. Drawing her to her feet, he waited and he watched her.
Jessica knew the next move was up to her, and she didn’t bother to try to deny or disguise the need she felt. She walked into his embrace, the reassurance and comfort she found there immediate and restorative.
Sliding her arms around his narrow waist, Jessica looked up at him. "I’m so glad you’re here. Handling this alone would have been… really rugged."
After tilting her chin upward with his fingertips, Dev framed her face with his hands and studied her features. "I don’t want to be anyplace else, Jessie."
She welcomed the promise of his passion and the taste of his hunger for her when he swooped down and claimed her lips. She opened herself to him, consciously surrendering to the life–affirming power of his questing tongue as it slipped past the barrier of her teeth and plunged into the heat of her mouth.
Jessica couldn’t get enough of Dev. Clutching at him, she moaned as heady sensations raced through her bloodstream and distracted her from the destructive reality of the storm. She thought of nothing but the man who held her, the man who owned her heart, the man who possessed the ability to arouse her senses to fever pitch with a single intimate kiss.
Restlessly skimming her hands up and down his back, Jessica eventually measured the width of his broad shoulders with her fingertips before cupping his head with her hands. Despite the clothing that separated their bodies, she felt the strength of his aroused sex and the powerful muscles of his chest and thighs. She loved the very strength of him, and she found herself unable to curb the instinctive need to undulate against him like a feline in heat.
"Jessie, you’re killing me," Dev whispered, his voice raw with need.
Seizing her hips when she arched suggestively against him, he positioned himself between her thighs, and thrust repeatedly against the natural cradle fashioned to welcome his straining sex.
Jessica felt her insides swell and heat and dampen. She trembled with desire. Thrusting her hands beneath his sweatshirt, she sank her fingers into his dense chest hair and absorbed the heat of his skin and the racing of his heart. Her fingertips found his nipples. She toyed with them until desire and frustration drove her to curve one of her hands over the jeans–covered length of his hard sex.
Shaking with need, Jessica turned her face up to Dev’s. She found his lips in the same instant that one of his hands moved up under her sweater and closed over her breast. She sucked at his tongue, seducing it and him with teasing strokes until she drew it into her mouth. She simultaneously stroked his arousal.
Her nipples beaded beneath his fingertips. When she began to moan and writhe against him, he held her hips still and allowed her to feel the forceful, rhythmic surging of his loins as he rocked against her.
She quivered in response to the friction caused by his fingers at her breasts and the hard ridge of flesh rubbing suggestively at the juncture of her thighs. Jessica felt as though she’d been set aflame, and those flames consumed her, forcing her to surrender to the stunning sensuality of the moment.
Dev held her as she came apart in his arms. Although acutely aroused, he ignored his own clamoring desire for completion.
Instead, he soothed Jessica with tender hands and gentle kisses as she melted within his embrace and then slowly regained her awareness of their surroundings. They stood quietly in the aftermath of her climax, holding tightly to each other and still trembling. They remained oblivious to everything but the thundering heartbeats and throbbing pulse points of their bodies.
"Dev…" she eventually whispered.
"Jessie…" he said in the same instant.
She opened her eyes to find him gazing down at her, a tender expression on his face. "I wasn’t expecting… I didn’t…" She hesitated for a moment, and then continued because she knew the truth was important. "It’s been so long. I didn’t think I’d ever feel pleasure from a man again."
His arms tightened around her, and he gave her a look of mingled sadness and regret. "You always reminded me of a sunburst when we made love, Jessie. You still do."
"But you didn’t… finish… I mean… you must need…" Her voice trailed off.
He moved against her, displaying the hard, hungry energy still pulsing through his body. "I will once I’m inside you," he vowed in a rough voice guaranteed to make her want him again. "And when I’m inside of you, Jessie, I’ll find a way to make you want me forever."
She did want him. She wanted everything he had to offer her as a man, as a lover, and as a life partner. She wanted him beyond forever. And in that moment, she knew she would risk everything to have him. The entire truth. Somehow, she would admit the entire truth of why she’d left him ten years ago.
When she felt his hands dig into her waist, she looked up at him and noticed that he was frowning at the portable radio.
"… and our phones here at WLWS in Willow Springs are ringing off the hook with preliminary reports of damage to lakefront residences and businesses. The marina at Sandy Point reports only minor damage…"
Dev guided Jessica into the chair she’d occupied earlier and then settled into one beside her. They sat thigh to thigh, both listening intently to the weatherman while they gazed at each other and held hands.
"The National Weather Service has informed WLWS that the current tornado advisory will be upgraded to a full–fledged tornado alert for north–central Arkansas and southern Missouri within the hour. When advised of early reports of tornado damage around Willow Lake, the Weather Service indicated that certain weather conditions can, and probably will, spawn additional mini–tornadoes that won’t be reflected on their radar. Unstable weather patterns over the region show signs of lingering throughout the day and perhaps late into the night. To repeat, the National Weather Service…"
Despite the desire still throbbing in her body, Jessica forced herself to be practical. This wasn’t the time to abandon her common sense and throw caution to the wind, no matter how much she wanted to adjourn to her bedroom with Dev and forget the destructive power of tornadoes, her dependent mother, and the fate of lovers thwarted from the life they’d once dreamed of sharing.
With a sigh Jessica got up from her chair and made her way into the pantry. She retrieved an already packed emergency picnic hamper filled with non–perishable foods and placed it near the door. She then reached for a supply of candles and the box of matches stacked next to it, but she paused when she felt Dev’s hand on her shoulder.
"Can I help?"
Slowly turning toward him, she nodded. "Please."
He smoothed his fingertips down the side of her face. She caught his hand before he could withdraw it and pressed a quick kiss into his palm. He smiled, but Jessica thought he looked almost melancholy. Later, she would find out what was troubling him. For now, though, they had a more immediate crisis to handle.
"We’ll need sleeping bags and blankets. You’ll find them in the second floor linen closet. The door is marked with a red emergency emblem."
"Do you need any
other clothes while I’m upstairs?"
"No, thanks. I have some old things in a chest in the storm cellar, but we’ll need to make a quick trip out to your cottage to see if we can salvage any of your clothes."
"They’ll keep."
"Not if it gets bad out again. This may be our only chance."
"Then I’ll go by myself."
She reached out and caught his wrist before he could walk out of the pantry. "You always told me we were a good team. We can work more quickly together, so let’s not debate the issue."
He adjusted his hand so that their palms kissed and their fingers were laced together. "I’m worried about your safety."
She grinned at him. "Then you can keep a close eye on me while we dig through the ruins of your cottage."
Dev muttered something distinctly derisive about the contrariness of the female sex as he stalked off. After tucking a few last–minute items into the large picnic hamper, Jessica dressed in a warm jacket, boots, and a rain poncho.
Dev joined her at the back door a few minutes later, sleeping bags and blankets piled high in his arms and a computer bag slung over his shoulder. Once he shrugged into his leather jacket and then reclaimed their supplies, she pulled open the kitchen door and peered outside.
Venturing out a few minutes later into a thick misting rain that fell from the ominous–looking clouds overhead, Jessica acknowledged once again the futility of denying her love for Dev. She also realized that Mother Nature had just reminded her of the tenuous quality of life and the very human need to share love.
Together they managed to open the heavy double doors of the shelter lodged beneath the inn. Separated from the inn’s basement by a twelve–inch cement and stone wall, the storm cellar had been built by the original owner and refurbished by Jessica and Monica.
She led the way, flipping on her flashlight as she descended the native stone steps into the cellar. Equipped with his own flashlight, Dev followed her.
"I already have air mattresses, bottled water, two oil lamps, a hot plate that runs on batteries, and a medical kit down here." After depositing the food hamper on a small metal table, she faced Dev.