Pete was off his chair and then she was in his arms. The other diners looked discreetly away as he crooned to her, “You’ll never have to worry about anything again as long as I’m around. I’m going to take care of you forever and ever. That’s a promise, Maddie.”
It was what Maddie wanted to hear, needed to hear. She knew in that one, exquisite moment that her future was secure.
“Now it’s your turn. Tell me all about Pete Sorenson. From the day you were born,” Maddie said, her eyes crinkling up at the corners.
It took him almost an hour to tell her.
“Did you leave anything out?” she teased.
Did he? He hadn’t told her about Barney. The only person he’d ever told about Barney was Annie. He’d mentioned him to Leo, but not in any great detail. “Well, do you want to hear the kid stuff?”
“Of course. I want to know everything.” She smiled intimately at him and then raised her eyebrows and openly leered at him. He laughed.
“I had this friend named Barney. We were best buddies. He was a couple of years older than me, but that was okay. He treated me like a buddy, and that was all that was important. He had a terrific tree house we played in. Jesus, I loved that kid. His mom was super too, but she was married to this prick who Barney hated. I think his mom was afraid of the guy, but she did love Barney the way my mom loved me.
“The day the social service people came to get me, I ran over to Barney’s tree house and hid. We put up a hell of a fight, but in the end I had to go. Barney and I made a pact, we even cut our fingers with this old rusty knife and said we were blood brothers. Who knew anything about tetanus shots? Certainly not us. We didn’t get blood poisoning, so I guess it wasn’t that rusty. Anyway, Barney swore he would come and get me when I was sixteen. He’d be older and on his own then. He said he’d never forget me because we were blood brothers. I believed him. It made all those foster homes bearable because I knew Barney would come for me the day I turned sixteen.”
Maddie trilled with laughter. “Tell me you didn’t believe that kid. Really, Pete. That’s the funniest thing I ever heard. I know you were only six, but at six you know a little bit, for heaven’s sake. You really believed him! Did you keep a calendar and mark off the days and years? Pete, you are so naive sometimes.” She laughed again, a chilling sound that made the fine hairs on the back of Pete’s neck stand on end. “What happened on the day of your sixteenth birthday when he didn’t show up?” She laughed again.
“I was devastated. I believed him because I wanted to believe him. I believe,” he said coolly, “that something happened to prevent him from keeping his promise to me. I will always, until the day I find Barney, believe that. That particular day, that particular incident, was the ... I will never forget it. Not ever. I think it’s time I took you home.”
Maddie blinked, reached for his hand. He jerked it away and was on his feet before she could blink a second time. She felt her secure future slip away from her. How stiff he looked. Brittle, actually. Fear ran down her spine. “Pete, wait. I’m sorry. I guess I ... I don’t know much about little kids, boys in particular. I’m sorry if I ... what did I do, hurt your feelings? Listen, sixteen is pretty old to ... Pete, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.” “I am too, Maddie.”
Pete’s face was a mask of disappointment when he dropped Maddie off at her apartment. She talked all the way, apologizing for her lack of understanding, begging him to understand, to forgive her.
“Will you call me?” she asked quietly when he turned to leave her.
“I don’t know,” he said honestly.
He didn’t call her, and he was miserable. He did call Annie, just to talk about mundane things. Even Annie failed to cheer him up. He talked to Barney—for hours on end in his apartment, where no one could hear him. He polished his surfboard a dozen times.
He was stubborn, he would never call, no matter how much it hurt. Barney was just too damn important to him. Couldn’t she see that? Couldn’t she tell by his tone of voice?
And then she called. He knew she was crying, had probably cried buckets. “Pete, I love you so much. I’ve been so miserable. Can you ever forgive me? I guess I just didn’t understand. I do now, though. Please.”
Because he loved her, he forgave her.
“Would you have called me, Pete? I need to know.”
“No, Maddie, I wouldn’t have called.”
“That’s good, we’re being honest with each other. I can handle it if you can. Can you come over now? I need you, Pete Sorenson.”
“And I need you, Maddie Stern. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
When he hung up, he said aloud to his old friend, “What do you think, Barney? It takes a big person to come around. I wouldn’t have buckled no matter how much it hurt.”
“Oooh, I feel so good, Pete Sorenson.” Maddie stretched, arching her back and at the same time thrusting her knee into Pete’s groin. She laughed when he groaned. She felt his instant erection. They had already made love twice. A heartbeat later she was on top of him, her dark hair a waterfall that cascaded down over her face and covered her heaving breasts.
“One of these days you are going to kill me,” Pete moaned as he felt himself slide into her, his fingers searching for the dusky nipples beneath the waterfall of her hair.
Maddie stopped her wild gyrating atop him just long enough to suck in her breath and curse his slowness, her wetness, his hardness. Her head reared back, the wild mane of hair behind her. She was aware of Pete’s rotating hips, his fingers on the nubs of her breasts. And then she was beneath him in the blink of an eye, her hands guiding him, again cursing his slowness, demanding he satisfy her. “Now,” she hissed, her breathing ragged.
“No, no, no,” Pete whispered. “My way this time. Shhhh, let me make love to you.” His mouth swooped down on hers. “You’re the nectar and I’m the bee,” he murmured as his tongue wrapped itself around hers.
His hands moved, both of them, one trailing down her hard, flat stomach, the other searching for and finding the dark patch of curls. Maddie stirred on the bed, urging him to search for and find the soft folds of her secret place and the wetness that would caress his hand. She murmured words he couldn’t hear, but he sensed the urgency behind them. In turn he whispered the words lovers had been using since time began.
He nuzzled her neck, at the same time inhaling the faint fragrance that remained on her slick skin. He blazed a trail from her throat to her bare breasts, and she trembled with exquisite anticipation. All things moved to the distance, nothing and no one existed beyond this moment and place. The only reality was the way her body reacted to his. Pleasure radiated upward from some hidden well, and he allowed himself to be carried with it, unable to hinder the forward thrust of his own desire, lifting out of space and time into the turbulent waters he was creating in his love.
Greedy hands and fingers drew him closer, so close they were almost one, closer than any secret. As her hands moved over him, Pete was filled with a sense of his own power and exulted in her passion for him. She was so beautiful with her moist, kiss-reddened lips parted seductively, and her languorous, heavy-lidded gaze hinted at a depth of passion that excited him unbearably. Damn, he was hungry for her; he would have liked to spread her beneath him and plunge into her fiery depths, to feel himself become a part of her. Each curve of her body was eloquent; the roundness of her breasts with their dusky pink crests; the slender arc of her hips, which narrowed into long, lean legs; her silky skin gleaming softly with a sheen of desire. He would take her slowly, savoring each inch of her, the way he’d dreamed of since first seeing her, delighting in the pleasure they would share.
When he moved to cover her body with his, it was her turn to protest. “No, let me,” she whispered, rolling over on top of him.
As she leaned over him, her cloud of dark hair tumbled around his face, grazing his shoulder and tickling his chest. She smoothed his chest with her fingertips, trailing through the patch of dark curls, exploring the
regions that were smooth and hairless, then moving to the flat hardness of his belly. He heard himself gasp as her hand wandered dangerously close to his groin and then flew upward again to his chest. He wanted to applaud her daring, yet he almost laughed when he saw her eyes widen wickedly.
In the time it took his heart to beat once, she was nestled between his legs, purring and licking.
When she lifted her head to look at him, her eyes heavy with desire, he was reminded of a feline who has just discovered the cream crock; the little smile she bestowed upon him was rife with a cat’s self-satisfaction. And she was feline, he found himself thinking, sleek and smooth and silent, like a jungle cat, a black panther who has just given chase and was now anticipating the feast. She reached out to touch him again with her silky tongue, this time watching him, aware of his every reaction, relishing the hardness of him and feeling it pulsate in anticipation of her touch. When she closed her mouth around him, a deep throbbing sounded in his chest and rumbled from his lips. Unable to withstand her sensuous onslaught a moment longer, he reached out and pulled her beside him, and this time it was he who took the superior position. Only having her, losing himself within her, would satisfy.
A golden warmth flooded through Maddie as he brought his mouth to hers once again. His movements were smoothly executed as he drew a path from one breast to the other, covering each first with his hands and then with his lips. She clung to the strength of his arms, holding fast as though she were fearful of falling in on herself, never to be found again.
His hands spanned her waist and rounded to her buttocks, lifting her slightly from the bed. Tortuous, teasing explorations of his tongue made her shudder with heightened passion. Her fingers, greedy once again, clutched and pulled at his dark, ruffled hair as though begging him to stop, while her body arched into his, feverishly exposing herself to his maddening mouth. He searched for and found the secret places that pushed her to the brink of release, only to have his worshiping kiss follow another path before returning again to the first.
A yawning ache spread through Maddie, demanding satisfaction, settling at her core and forcing her to seek relief by writhing and thrashing about restlessly. Pete held her there, forcing her to him, adoring her with his hands and lips until she could deny herself no longer. Her body flamed, her back arched, and her world divided in two parts; her need and his lips. And when the tremors ceased and his mouth covered hers once again, she tasted herself there. She was satisfied, yet discontented; had feasted, yet was famished. There was more she wanted, much, much more. She wanted to share with him the release of his own passion, to participate in bringing him to that same wonder.
He urged her onward, assuring her he was ready. Grasping her hips, he lifted her and wound her parted thighs around him. She guided him into her, pulling him forward, driving him downward, knowing that same need within him, a desire of a different, cooler color than before. It was as though once having slaked his thirst, he could now enjoy the flavor. Moving with him, becoming part of him, Maddie fueled his passion and renewed her own. Together they were flung upward; together they found the sun, the moon, and the stars.
He wanted to sleep, needed it, craved it, but Maddie bounded off the bed. Naked, hands on hips, she said, “Move it, Sorenson, we have showers to take and food to prepare.”
Pete blinked. He didn’t mean to say it because only a fool would utter something like this, but he did. “Was it as good for you as it was for me?”
“Better.” She blew him a kiss.
On their eighth date Pete said, “I’m in love with you. Will you marry me?”
They were in Central Park, jogging. Maddie stopped long enough to say, “I thought you’d never ask. Yes, yes, yes.”
At the end of the three-mile jog, Maddie fell into Pete’s arms. “This has got to be the happiest day of my life.”
“Mine too,” Pete said gruffly.
“Are we going to have a real wedding, you know, church, gown, attendants, the whole thing? I don’t think I can afford anything lavish, Pete. Simple will do it. Maybe a brunch or a breakfast. Will you be embarrassed if it’s small? That doesn’t mean it will be ... tacky, just small. Tasteful. God, I always wanted one of those bang-up weddings, you know the kind. Pictures, wonderful dinner, the church, gorgeous gowns. Exquisite flowers; orchids. In the church. Lots of balloons.” She made a face to show how far she’d come in her dream of a church wedding.
“Whatever you want, Maddie, and don’t worry about the money. Do it up right. Spend whatever you have to. We’re only going to do this once, so let’s do it right. When do you want me to give you my guest list?”
Spend whatever it takes, she thought. Good Lord. She knew she could spend a fortune without even trying. Don’t worry about the money, he said. Well, then she wouldn’t worry. “Whenever you have it ready. I only have a dozen or so people to invite. How about you?”
“Twenty, tops. Annie, of course, is at the top of the list.”
“Uh-huh,” Maddie said.
“Uh-huh. What does uh-huh mean, Maddie?”
“It means,” Maddie said carefully, “that I think I’m jealous of Annie Gabriel. You talk about her all the time like she’s some . . . some saint, some paragon of something or other.”
“Annie’s not a saint, but she is very special. So special I couldn’t even think about getting married unless she were there. When you meet her, you’ll know what I’m talking about.” Pete decided that he was absolutely, positively, not going to dwell on Maddie’s attitude toward Annie. She didn’t know her. From the looks of things, she didn’t want to get to know her either.
“Are you going to continue your friendship with Annie after we get married?”
“I hadn’t thought much about it, Maddie. It’s a forever kind of friendship, the kind you have with Janny. Is this going to be a problem?”
“I don’t know, Pete, is it?”
“I think,” Pete said carefully, “it’s only going to be a problem if you turn it into a problem.”
“If I told you I wanted you to curtail your friendship with Annie, would you? I’m not saying I would ever ask that of you, but would you?”
Instead of answering her, Pete asked a question of his own. “If I asked you to curtail your friendship with Janny, would you do it? I’m not saying I would ever ask that of you, but would you?”
“Yes, but with terrible misgivings. You?”
“No, Maddie. I guess this is going to be a problem.”
“It could be,” Maddie said thoughtfully. “I know it’s fashionable for men to have women friends and vice versa, but part of me, the selfish part of me, wants you all to myself. You share too much with her. You should be sharing with me.”
“Maddie, I’ve known Annie for almost twelve years. I could never turn my back on her. She got me through law school. I owe her. Big-time.”
“When is she going to want to collect, Pete?”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s always a payback. When is hers coming due?”
“That’s silly, Maddie. Annie isn’t like that. She’s a kind, warm, generous, unselfish friend. In all the years I’ve known her, she’s always put me first.”
“When people are in love, they do that.”
Pete sucked in his breath. Suddenly the sunny park, the wonderful moment, was dark and gloomy. “Then why aren’t you doing that?” he said quietly.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Maddie asked with an edge in her voice.
“It means . . . Annie always says . . . if you love someone, their happiness comes first. I just happen to agree with the statement. You know my friendship with Annie is important to me. You should be willing to accept it. Instead, I suspect you’re waiting for me to say I’ll give up that friendship. I won’t, Maddie.”
“Even if I say it’s important to me?”
“It doesn’t concern you. It would never occur to me to ask you to give up something that was established before I met you. I had a miserab
le childhood, Maddie. Friends are very important to me because I don’t make them easily and when I do they’re my friends for life.”
Maddie laughed, a trilling sound. The same kind of laughter he remembered when he’d told her about Barney. “I was just testing you, Mr. Sorenson. Of course I’d never ask you to give up a friendship. We’re two of a kind, you and me. We know about friendships.” She smiled then and kissed him lightly on the lips. The smile didn’t reach her eyes, though. Something rumbled throughout Pete’s body. Gas, he thought in dismay. Three hot dogs would do that.
They walked back to Pete’s apartment, licking ice cream cones on the way. The bad time was over, but not forgotten.
“I have an idea,” Maddie said. “Let’s take a shower together. You soap me up, I’ll soap you up.”
“And?” Pete teased.
“Then I’m going to lick you all over just the way I’m licking this ice cream cone.”
Pete grinned. “Promises, promises.”
“Oh yeah, race you the rest of the way.”
Nikes slapped at the hot pavement. They were in a dead heat when they careened around the corner to Pete’s building. The doorman proclaimed them duel winners.
When they finally ran naked from the shower, they were like a raging brushfire, out of control. They were wild animals trapped in the heat and flames that only a bodily release could extinguish.
Afterward, Pete groaned, to Maddie’s delight. She snuggled into the crook of his arm. “Pete, do you think our lovemaking will always be so wild and wonderful, even when we get older?” she whispered.
“Absolutely,” Pete said drowsily.
“Promise me,” she whispered again.
Pete’s eyes snapped open. Everything with Maddie had to be a promise. “I promise.” He thought about Barney again and his promise.
“Okay.” A moment later she was asleep, her breathing little puffing sounds against his arm. He closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep.
Lovemaking was always like this, wild and intense. He wondered what it would be like to make slow, lazy love for hours at a time. Was it his fault, or was it Maddie’s, or was it both their faults because they wanted instant gratification?
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