A Family For Ronnie (Harlequin Treasury 1990's)

by Julie Caille

  Her fingers tightened on his. “If you want it to be.”

  On the drive home, he forced himself to stay below the speed limit, knowing it was foolish to rush, knowing the delay would only heighten the pleasure. In any case, Alicia had opted to sit in the middle this time, her hips snug against his, which was proving the sweetest of torments. His blood hammering, he steered with his left hand, his right arm draped around her shoulders.

  When they reached the house, he shut off the engine and turned to her, seeking her eyes in the shadows. His impatience dismayed him. Each time he touched her, he felt like a clumsy teenage boy, filled with raging hormones and the grinding, relentless needs of male adolescence.

  “Maybe I should have asked if you wanted to go to the movies first,” he said with reluctance.

  “What if I had said yes?” He could hear the smile in her voice, the breathlessness that told him where her interest lay.

  “Then I would have done this,” he said, leaning closer.

  As his lips brushed hers in the darkness, he knew in the corners of his mind that it would be all right, that he possessed the control to harness his urges. And harness them he would, for despite the clamoring demands of his body, he meant to go slowly, to make their lovemaking last. He had waited ten years for this moment and he was going to savor every instant of it.

  He ended the brief kiss and drew back, his breathing unsteady. “Let’s go in, okay?”

  “Okay.” Her voice was as shaky as his.

  He slid his arm around her waist, holding her close as they walked toward the front door. A mournful bark greeted them. Luke unlocked the door, shooed a joyful Daffy outside and held the door open for Alicia. As they stepped into the foyer, he saw her glance toward the staircase.

  “Not yet,” he said with tender amusement. “We’ve got all night, remember?”

  How could she forget?

  Alicia’s heart thudded as he linked his fingers through hers and led her down the hall to the living room. She halted nervously while he strode over to his tape deck and popped in a tape. A moment later, the strains of a familiar melody reached out from the speakers to enfold her in memories. “Stairway to Heaven.” She’d never have guessed he’d remember the song that had played when that wedding snapshot was taken. The first slow dance they’d ever danced together. The tune was engraved on her mind.

  He turned back to her and held out a hand, a smoldering invitation in his eyes. Her nervousness died. Without hesitation, she walked into his arms, wordlessly melting against him with a sigh of sheer contentment. At last, at last, she was where she had wanted to be all these years. She had finally come home.

  “I always think of you when I hear this,” he murmured. “You and your dusky rose gown. Do you remember I said something about your pink dress? You looked at me with those big blue eyes and said, ‘Actually, it’s called dusky rose,’ in that shy, sassy voice of yours.”

  She smiled against his shirt. “Shy and sassy are opposites.”

  “Maybe, but they describe you.” He tipped up her chin with his hand, his gaze devouring her face as she parted her lips in mute enticement. “Let’s take it slow,” he whispered, and kissed the tip of her nose.

  Clearly he intended to drive her crazy, for his hands explored her as they danced, heating her with tiny strokes and caresses. And while they swayed together, she fantasized about what was coming next. She imagined their clothes scattered on the carpet and the warmth of his mouth on her flesh. She imagined her own mouth on him. And she imagined his first intoxicating thrust and how it would feel to have the man she loved make love to her.

  He was very aroused. She could feel him pressed against her, the telling size and stiffness of him. Beneath her cheek, his heart pounded. She thought of Kenny, who had only taken and never given, and felt an enormous tenderness toward this man who seemed determined to put her needs before his own.

  “You were smart to say no to me before,” he said huskily. “I wasn’t in the right frame of mind. I would have rushed things, and that would have been wrong.”

  She kissed his chin. “Saying no wasn’t easy. You’re a hard man to resist, Luke Garrick.”

  As they drifted with the tempo of the music, he brought his mouth close to her ear. “Are you as turned on as I am, Alicia? Tell me how turned on you are.”

  “On a scale of one to ten,” she murmured, “I think I just hit twelve. I never knew you could be such a tease.”

  His low chuckle ruffled her hair. “Baby, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” His hand moved to unzip her dress.

  She closed her eyes. It was like a dream, the way he eased the dress off her shoulders, the way it slipped down to puddle at her feet. The music finished, fading into another equally familiar melody. She realized he must have made this tape for her, filled it with songs from their summer of memories.

  However, when Luke said slow, he meant slow. Their dance continued through several more songs, and though his hands roved, he made no move to take off her bra or panties. Instead, he whispered of fantasies he wanted to play out, sensual intimacies he’d been imagining during the past few weeks.

  By the time he’d finished describing them, Alicia’s whole body had turned to molten syrup. He’d touched her everywhere, thoroughly, except the one place she was dying for him to touch. And so, to urge him on, she put her hand on him, stroking in a way she knew would drive him over the edge.

  His breath erupted in a harsh hiss, his body trembling just as hers had trembled. Eyes shut, he stood with clenched hands while she unbuttoned his shirt, then lowered the zipper of his pants. And then she caressed him with her finger, watching the convulsive tremors of his face as she spread a drop of his own moisture over his velvety, sensitive surface.

  As she had hoped, his control snapped, and a low, deep growl issued from his throat. Without further delay, he began to shuck his clothes, all of them. “Where?” he grated in a thick voice. “Do you want to stay here, or go upstairs?”

  Dazed by the exceptional beauty of his nude body, Alicia swallowed. “Here is fine,” she murmured. “Anywhere is fine.”

  He laughed hoarsely. “I’ll remember that.”

  Yet even when she lay naked on the rug, even when he knelt over her like some magnificent, hedonistic god, he did not hurry. He moved his lips over her as though they had a lifetime for this, tasting and teasing and showering her with kisses, exploring all her most secret places with his hands and with his mouth. And when at last his fingers parted the delicate petals of her flesh to stroke the bud of her female pleasure, she let out a moan of pure ecstasy.

  “Do you like this?” he whispered. “Or is this better? Tell me how you like it, sweetheart. Help me make it good for you.”

  Curiously she didn’t feel shy now. She felt empowered, voluptuous, like a woman who had never had a moment’s doubt about anything. And so, without embarrassment, she showed him her preference.

  He was a fast learner. Within seconds, he had her writhing and gasping under his expert fingers. “Please, Luke, no more. Now...I need you now.”

  He paused only long enough to put on a condom. And then he came to her, seeking entry into her body, thrusting into her with all the urgency of his robust male lust. As she gripped his shoulders, he moved against her, his weight supported on his arms, his gaze pinned to hers just as his body pinioned her to the floor.

  “Oh, Alicia,” he uttered through clenched teeth, “I’ve wanted you this way for...so long....”

  She gulped air, past the point of speech. With each long stroke, the exquisite tension was building inside her, spiraling higher and higher with his rhythm until at last it claimed her—he claimed her—in a volcanic eruption of red-hot, delicious sensation. As wave upon wave of liquid fire cascaded within, through and around her, she felt him give one final thrust. He collapsed on top of her with a loud groan, shudders racking his powerful body as he rested his head next to hers.

  They lay still for almost a minute, their hearts thudding in un
ison as though connected. Then Luke lifted his head and grinned. “So did I seduce you or did you seduce me?”

  She smoothed a hand over his hair, her breathing still a little quick. “Both, I think. How about an encore to help us decide?”

  “Insatiable woman.” His eyes crinkling with good humor, he lifted himself away from her, then rolled them over so that she was on top. “Give me a few minutes, honeybun. I’m thirty, not eighteen.”

  Alicia gazed down at him, studying the tiny age lines that framed the corners of his mouth. It seemed incredible that he could be thirty, that she could have missed so many years of his life. Where had all the time gone? A kind of sadness crept over her, but she shook it off.

  “What about Daffy?” she asked. “I think I heard her barking.”

  “Let her bark. In a few minutes, she’ll lie down on the porch and go to sleep.”

  “Speaking of sleep...”

  “Are you tired?” His hands slid down to massage her bottom.

  “Tired of being alone,” she answered huskily, and kissed the base of his throat.

  Long minutes passed, minutes in which she fulfilled a few of her own fantasies. Skillfully, hungrily, she used her feminine talents to arouse him, to return him to the very pinnacle of pleasure. And when the final moment came, when he could no longer withstand her assault upon his senses, he drove himself into her once more, fiercely, with a potency that carried her along with him on the highest crest of the wind.

  Chapter Eleven

  Alicia gazed out the window of the plane as it descended toward Houston Intercontinental Airport, her fingers clenched around a handwritten note. She must have reread it fifty times by now, and each time she felt a little guiltier.

  Darling,

  I apologize for not being here now that you finally made it back to Boston. Unfortunately, I’m heading out to the West Coast for the week and won’t be back ’til Saturday night. A family matter that couldn’t be ignored, I’m afraid. You can imagine how unhappy I was, knowing I would miss seeing you. It’s been hell having you gone all these weeks—I don’t know how I survived. Please come back soon.

  Love,

  Nick.

  The note had been delivered to her condo, an hour after her arrival on Tuesday, and had been accompanied by a dozen long-stemmed red roses.

  Confusion sifted through her, joining the guilt. How could she have been so wrong about the state of Nick’s sentiments? Then again, how could she have known? He’d never called her darling before, never behaved as though she mattered to him in any way beyond friendship. To make matters worse, what romantic feelings she’d had for him had died a swift and painless death during their separation.

  Shaking her head, she tucked the note back into her purse. Perhaps she should have canceled her return flight and stayed on through the weekend, but she had promised Ronnie she would be home today. Anyway, she wasn’t ready to face Nick yet. She’d left a message for him on his answering machine, said all the appropriate things. She hadn’t lied to him, hadn’t led him on. But she hadn’t been cool to him, either.

  As the plane’s wheels touched the runway, her thoughts flew to Luke. Within minutes she would see him again, and her heart raced as she pictured the meeting. Would he embrace her? Would they kiss the way teenagers did, regardless of watching eyes? She would if he would. She wouldn’t care if people noticed.

  At last the plane came to a halt and the seat-belt light went off. Alicia rose and gathered her belongings, her adrenaline level rising with her.

  Trying to stay composed, she emerged from the tunnel into the terminal and scanned the crowd for a tall figure in a cowboy hat. He’d hardly been out of her mind all week. She’d carried him in her head while at work, while out to lunch with the girls and during the evenings when she had stopped by to see Gail. Most of all, she’d thought about him at night when she lay by herself in the queen-size bed she’d once shared with Kenny. She’d pretended Luke was there with her, beside her, inside her, even though it had made her ache.

  He wasn’t here.

  Certain she must be mistaken, she searched the crowd again. All around her, other couples and families were reuniting amid noisy exclamations and laughter. But there was no one here for her.

  No one.

  Swallowing her disappointment, she started along the corridor. First Nick, and now Luke. Wasn’t she first priority with anyone? Immediately she squelched the self-pitying thought. Nick had had a good excuse, and so would Luke.

  Down in baggage claim, she waited for the conveyor system to spew forth her suitcase, wondering how much it would cost to take a taxi as far as Luke’s house.

  “I see her!” squeaked an excited voice in the distance.

  Alicia swiveled in time to see Ronnie and Brian push their way through the turnstile. Ten yards behind, Sharon Redford hurried after them, an apologetic smile on her face.

  “Sorry we’re late,” she explained as she huffed up. “The traffic was worse than usual. Luke asked me to tell you he’d see you later. Two of his employees called in sick today, so he couldn’t get away.”

  Relieved by the simple explanation, Alicia thanked the other woman for coming to her rescue, then turned her attention to Ronnie. “Hey, sweetie, I missed you.”

  Ronnie hesitated only an instant, then flung his arms around her legs. “I missed you, too,” he said emotionally.

  Alicia bent down to hug him, a tightness in her throat. When she straightened, she reached over to ruffle Brian’s hair. “So what have you two been up to?”

  While Ronnie and Brian chattered about Power Rangers, Alicia’s suitcase slid down the chute and chugged toward them. She stepped forward and grabbed it. Ten minutes later, they were driving along the airport exit road in Sharon’s Bronco.

  “So how’d it go?” Sharon inquired.

  “The presentation went very well—so well that my boss is willing to let me take a little more time off. Unpaid, of course. I’m lucky she’s been so understanding.”

  “Hmm. What about you-know-who?”

  “Ronnie?”

  “No, silly. I mean the big feller. Anything new cookin’ in that direction?”

  Alicia gazed out the window. “I’m not sure,” she said in a quiet tone. “That’s one reason why I came back. To find out.”

  “Oh, really.” Sharon cast her a speculative look. “Did your no change to a yes? Or shouldn’t I ask?”

  Alicia felt herself blushing. “Maybe you shouldn’t ask.”

  “Okay.” Sharon gave a small chuckle. “We had your guys over for supper last night. Luke seemed a little preoccupied. I thought maybe he had you on his mind. By the way, I’ve got that contest information you asked about. It’s in the folder by your feet. There’s one that might be suitable for Ronnie since he’s such a budding little artist. It’s called the National Written and Illustrated By...Awards Contest For Children. The other two are interesting, too.”

  While Sharon talked, Alicia listened with only half an ear. She hoped she had been the reason for Luke’s preoccupation. She wanted him to have missed her as much as she’d missed him. Surely he had. No man could make love the way he had and not feel something very powerful for the woman involved. Logic told her he must love her, just as she loved him.

  But neither of them had said the words aloud.

  It hadn’t seemed too important at the time. In fact, she hadn’t even noticed the omission until afterward when, sated and exhausted, she had lain in Luke’s water bed and listened to the sound of his breathing. He’d fallen asleep first, but she had stayed awake for another hour, dreamily reliving every exquisite moment of their lovemaking. The photograph on his dresser hadn’t even bothered her, not when the length of his body pressed against hers. Whoever the woman was, she was clearly not a current element in Luke’s life.

  The morning after had not been awkward. They’d made love again, not in the bed but in the shower—a hot, hard, erotic joining unlike anything she’d ever experienced. He hadn’t said the
words then, either. And like the night before, it hadn’t seemed to matter.

  But now, when she didn’t have the afterglow of his lovemaking to reassure her, it did matter. And it made her uneasy because this was what had corroded their relationship the last time around. Her doubt that he loved her. His failure to say those three simple words.

  What made her even more uneasy was that as soon as Ronnie had come home, the moment they were three again instead of two, Luke had seemed to withdraw. He had been agreeable and courteous, yet he hadn’t done any of the little things she might have expected. There had been no surprise kisses in the hallway, no physical contact, no secret visits to her bedroom. In short, he’d behaved as though they hadn’t made love. And so, out of pride, she had done the same.

  Time was running out.

  If he wanted her, if he loved her, he had better say so soon because her boss wasn’t too happy about Alicia’s continued absence. In fact, Phyllis had made it very clear that her forbearance would not last much longer.

  “Hey, wake up.” Sharon’s voice roused Alicia to the fact that they were pulling into Luke’s driveway. “You’ve been in outer space for the past half hour,” her chauffeur teased. “You didn’t even hear the kids singing, did you?”

  Alicia shook her head sheepishly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be such poor company. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

  “I’ll bet. Give him a smooch for me, will you? Jim would kill me if I did it myself. By the way, the kids want to know if Brian can stay and play for a while. Is that okay?”

  “Sure. Come on in, guys.”

  Inside the house, she kicked off her shoes, smiling as Daffy and the children raced up the stairs to Ronnie’s room. Massaging the back of her neck, she wandered down the hall to the kitchen and fixed herself a tall glass of ice tea. She took a small sip, reflecting how strange it was that this place felt so much more like home than her condo. Turning, she was about to go into the living room when she noticed the blinking red eye of Luke’s answering machine. Her pulse leapt. Maybe he had left her a homecoming message. She walked over and pushed the button.