It wasn’t fair that they both had come to mean so much to her in such a short time. It wasn’t fair that even if she could bear the thought of never returning to the city again, Ross wouldn’t want her. Here today. Gone tomorrow. More than likely he’d be glad of it.
Of course there would be no one to add a spoonful of salsa to his scrambled eggs to give them a little kick. No one to turn his traditional chicken dishes into Italian feasts. No one to make sure his pillows were plumped, his shirts were ironed and his books were dusted. No one to tell him that he was being unreasonable when it came to Rosa May and lip gloss. No one to directly disobey his orders.
Helpful Hannah wouldn’t do that. She’d go along meekly with every order he issued. Every proclamation he proclaimed. Every command he uttered.
It would certainly make for a boring marriage. Claudia was mad enough at him to hope that he did marry the girl, and that one day he would come to realize how colorless his life was without her in it.
By the time she’d finished cursing him to a life with Hannah, Claudia realized that she was outside the school. Despite the summer month, tonight the air held a chill. She wrapped her arms around herself and went in search of the pickup. She didn’t know what she was going to do when she got there, but it seemed like a plan.
“Hey there, cowgirl.”
Claudia started at the low voice. Her first thought was that Ross had followed her. Her second thought, after she turned around, was that she was in trouble.
He was a big dude, with a big belly, and a ten-gallon hat. He stood ten feet away from her, but she could smell his alcohol-laced breath from where she stood. His belly was rolling over the top of his jeans, his thumbs were tucked into his pockets, and he oozed arrogance.
“Look buddy, you don’t want to mess with me tonight,” she warned.
“Now is that any way to talk to a cowboy, cowgirl?” The cowboy moved in with a swagger. “I saw you in the gym and thought maybe you and me could two-step.”
“You thought wrong.” Claudia backed up a few paces but the cowboy persisted.
“Come on sweetheart, you and me would be a great couple. Let me show you.” The drunk shuffled forward with his hands raised in an attempt to grab hold of her.
Claudia shook her head. “You asked for it.” She was a woman who’d been born and raised on the streets of New York. She’d dealt with muggers, drunks and Marco when he’d gotten out of hand. She could take the big guy.
The cowboy reached for her, leaving his body completely open for attack. Claudia slammed a well-placed knee into the man’s groin. When he buckled over with pain, she took advantage of his vulnerable position. She managed to grab hold of a thumb and twisted it so that the cowboy’s arm was around his back, his thumb at a backward angle to his body.
“Say uncle,” she commanded.
“Let go of my arm,” the man moaned.
Feeling slightly vicious after the night she just suffered, Claudia smiled evilly and repeated her order. “Say uncle.”
There was a pause, then a whimper.
Claudia tightened her hold. “Uncle,” she taunted.
“Uncle,” the man murmured. As soon as the word escaped his mouth he was released. Claudia wasn’t one to renege on a promise.
“Now get the hell out of here before I really get mad.”
The man scuffled to his feet and took off as fast as he could. Claudia watched his big butt as he rambled away. That’s when she heard the clapping. She turned to find Ross leaning against the pickup she’d gone in search of. His legs were crossed at the ankles and he wore a large grin. Enthusiastically, he applauded her performance.
She amazed him. “For a woman who still can’t move a bale of hay, you sure handled him easily enough.”
“It’s all in the moves,” she explained.
“Remind me never to tick you off,” he teased.
“You already ticked me off.”
“Again,” Ross corrected himself.
Determined not to forgive him, she marched forward, waited until he unlocked the doors, then tried to hoist herself up into the cab. Her anger gave her the strength to lift herself into the truck without his help. When he situated himself in the driver’s seat he asked, “I’m surprised you didn’t take the truck and leave.”
“Don’t think I wouldn’t have. If only…”
“If only what?”
“If only I had the key and…I knew how to drive,” she admitted grudgingly. Now was not the best time to admit her weaknesses. Not when she needed to be strong.
“You don’t know how to drive?” he asked, astonished. “No wonder you’re making the women of Sun Prairie come to the house. We’re going to have to change that.”
“What do you mean ‘we?’ I have no need to learn how to drive. In a few days I’ll be back in New York. I don’t need a license there. And that is what you’re waiting for isn’t it? For me to go back to New York so you can run off with Helpful Hannah.”
“Hey, you were the one who told me to dance with her. You said I needed someone to keep me company after you leave.”
“And you just listened to every word I said, didn’t you?” Claudia accused irrationally. “Fine.
Marry her and move on with your life. Just leave me alone.”
“Maybe I don’t want to leave you alone,” he growled. That said he slid along the bench seat of the truck and pinned her against the passenger door.
Claudia was so surprised by the move, she barely caught her breath before he was swooping down to capture her mouth with his own. So surprised that she couldn’t think, couldn’t act, couldn’t shout. What she could do was kiss him back. So that was exactly what she did.
7
“OH, ROSS,” she breathed. When he let her come up for air, which wasn’t often, she desperately tried to gain control of her emotions. But it was impossible. His kiss wasn’t subtle. It wasn’t tender. It wasn’t soft or romantic.
It was fire. Molten lava that he spilled over her body, numbing her, forcing her to submit to his wicked will. Which was okay by her.
His tongue teased her own, his teeth nipped at her lips causing them to swell, and his hot musky breath pushed into her mouth, increasing the heat and the intimacy. It was like no kiss she had ever known. Every sense was occupied, every nerve was on alert. She felt simultaneously alive and numb. A long way away from Joey Angelucci in the fifth grade.
He held her head in the grip of his two powerful hands, while his mouth ravaged her. Claudia clutched at his shoulders, but didn’t have the strength to hold on, so she let her arms flop about her sides while Ross held her securely. She trusted him not to let go.
But then he did.
Her head hit the window with a jolt, but no real pain. She was too shell-shocked for any pain to register.
“We’re still in the parking lot,” he said as he started the car’s engine. “We can’t do this here.” Roughly, he threw the gearshift into drive and peeled out of the parking lot.
Claudia remained mute, but the questions flew inside her head. He said they couldn’t do it there. Did that mean they were going somewhere else to do it? And do what precisely? They were too old to play like teenagers and make out under the stars in a parked car. But they were the perfect age to make love under the stars. Is that what she wanted?
Yes! her heart shouted freely. Her fire-ridden body willingly agreed.
But there was her mind. Her stubborn, highly rational mind. It always had to put its two cents in. What if they did make love? What would happen after that? It was still painfully clear that Claudia didn’t belong on the farm. It was also clear that Ross was searching for someone vastly different from herself. Someone like Susan. Like Hannah.
So what would happen after? The passion would subside. Awkwardness would set in. They would struggle for their clothes, embarrassed that they’d seen each other naked. He would mumble some apology about how it never should have happened. Claudia would agree, but inside her heart would break. The n
ext several days would be excessively uncomfortable, then she would leave, never to see him again.
But she had to consider the flip side. A night of pure passion. A night like she had never experienced before in the arms of a man she unfortunately believed she was in love with. A memory that she could take with her for the rest of her life.
The car stopped shortly and Claudia was jerked out of her thoughts. She turned to Ross, realizing they hadn’t said a word the entire drive home. He must have been answering some of his own questions.
“Where are we?” she wondered. They seemed to be stopped in the middle of nowhere. Some trees looked familiar as did the telephone pole. “We’re stopped on your driveway.” About halfway down as far as she could tell.
“Betty is inside the house with Rosa May. We can’t very well go inside like this.”
She wanted to ask like what, but she imagined that her hair was all over the place, not a truly unusual style for her, but probably suspicious under these circumstances. As for Ross, he seemed unscathed by their little tumble, except for the taught lines of his body and the grim expression on his face.
“Okay. We’ll wait out here for a while.”
“We can’t do that, either.
“Why?” she wondered.
“Because if we don’t exit this car in about two seconds you’re going to find yourself in my lap, and it won’t be to tell me your Christmas wish.”
Oh, Santa! Claudia supposed he issued the threat to make her bolt out of the car. But the threat was going to have to be a lot more…threatening for her to do that. Instead she sat with her hands folded primly in her lap.
“You’re not leaving,” he said.
“You’re not leaving, either,” she returned.
“Do you want this to happen? Because it will happen. I’ve been thinking about it too long for it not to happen.” And after that kiss, he understood that she wasn’t getting off his farm until she had gotten into his bed. He’d never felt such heat before. He heard guys all his life talk about hot women and steamy sex. He’d always believed they were exaggerating for the sake of the story. But what he felt now was urgent. It was more than lust or desire or want. It was need.
He turned to Claudia to gauge her reaction. She had a dreamy smile plastered to her lips. “What?” he asked.
“You’ve been thinking about me,” she crooned happily.
Damn, he shouldn’t have admitted as much. They were still on opposite sides of the line drawn in the sand. And in war one didn’t reveal a weakness to the enemy. “Let’s get back to the topic at hand.…”
“Absolutely,” was her answer.
“Absolutely what?”
What a dope. Slowly this time, so he understood, “Ab…so…lut…ely.”
Lost, Ross wondered if he hadn’t destroyed some of his brain cells back there in the school parking lot.
She huffed, then tried again. Turning to her right, she very obviously locked the passenger door. Her message was clear. She wasn’t going anywhere.
Ross wasn’t thrilled with the location, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. In a swift move he lifted her off her seat, over the gearshift and settled her weight onto his lap, her knees on either side of his hips. She was tiny enough to fit, but it was tight. He was sure the steering wheel was pressed into her back, forcing her to press herself against his chest. Which was all right with him, but he didn’t know how comfortable it was for her.
Oh, my gracious, she thought. His chest. His wonderful gloriously thick chest. She held onto the headrest above his head, allowing her breasts full contact with his hard muscles. She actually moaned.
“Are you in pain?” Damn that steering wheel, he thought.
“Oh, yeah, agony.” She lifted herself against him, then slid down his body once more.
This time Ross groaned. “I want your mouth.”
“Me, too,” she uttered, not knowing if she made sense or not.
Tentatively, tauntingly, teasingly, she brushed her lips against his, then pulled away. She licked the tip of his nose then retreated. She gently bit his earlobe then escaped. His hands were cupping her bottom, so she doubted he would release that treat to force the kiss. She had all the power and she reveled in it.
She had all the power, he thought, because he’d be damned before he moved his hands. He’d waited weeks to squeeze this precious part of her anatomy, and he wasn’t letting go now. Besides, he could take any torment she could dish out.
A nip of his neck. A drag on his ear. A suckling of his bottom lip. Anything. He could take anything. Then she dragged her hands down his chest, and began to unbutton the buttons, starting with the bottom and moving up. Still, he was in control, but when all the buttons were undone, she pushed her hands inside the fabric. Her lengthy nails kneaded his flesh like dough. Then they began to scrape against his tight nipples. A jolt shot down his chest, through his stomach and to his groin. It was like no other sensation he’d ever felt before. He never knew how sensitive his nipples were. Never associated them with sex before. Not until Claudia. It was driving him delightfully nuts.
Maybe a year, she counted hazily. If she touched and kneaded his chest for a year straight she might be satisfied. Anything less than that would leave her wanting. She couldn’t say what it was that so enthralled her. But there was a male essence that hovered about Ross that humbled her. Something that Marco did not possess. Simultaneously that essence made her weak and strong. Weak with desire. Strong in the knowledge that she was desired.
Claudia lifted her head from his expansive chest and she noted the color of his eyes. Dark, hazy, they spoke of a powerful lust. In that instant the game changed. This wasn’t about teasing and touching anymore.
She clutched his face in her hands and bent her head to capture his lips. The kiss was intense. It spoke of fulfillment instead of arousal.
Ross recognized the change instantly. Releasing her bottom, he burrowed one hand under her shirt, and captured her breast. It was encased in a lace that both thrilled him and irritated him. He wanted to feel her soft flesh. He wanted to feel her nipple pucker into a tight bead of desire.
“Damn, I want you in my bed,” he cursed, longing for the room and the time he would need to fully experience her.
“Me, too,” she murmured as she made her way from his lips, to his cheek, to his neck. Her need was an agony. So much that she actually felt a roaring in her ears. A horn that blasted through her dazed senses. Odd, she thought, most women saw stars when they made powerful love.
“I want you naked and writhing, and begging for me to come into you.”
“Naked, writhing, begging,” she repeated in a chant.
“I want to feel your legs wrapped around my waist, holding me inside you.”
“Inside you. Yes, that’s what I want, too.”
“I want…”
“Dad!” a distant shout called to them. “Are you guys okay?”
A beam of light from the flashlight that Rosa May carried hit him square in the face. She was a few yards away and coming closer.
“Stop,” he ordered, halting Rosa May in her tracks. “We’re fine.”
Still in his lap, her face a portrait in guilt, Claudia whispered, “Oh. My. God.”
In one smooth motion Ross lifted Claudia up and off his lap. “Ow!”
“What?”
“I hit my head on the roof of the truck.”
“Are you sure you guys are okay?” Rosa May called out again.
“Worry about your head later, button up your shirt now!” he instructed Claudia. To his daughter he shouted, “What are you still doing up?”
“I heard the truck pull up, but it stopped. Then you started beeping the horn I thought you might be in trouble or something.”
“Oh, the horn,” Claudia concluded realizing that the sound wasn’t coming from inside her.
“Your butt was pressing up against it,” Ross accused softly as he finished with the buttons on his shirt.
“No,” Cla
udia corrected as she, too, finished redressing herself, “my butt was pressing against your hand, which was pressing against the horn. This is your fault!”
“My fault,” he roared. “If you hadn’t…” he stopped.
“What?”
If she hadn’t aroused him to a feverish pitch, was what he was going to say, but he managed to bite his tongue. Obviously, she couldn’t be held responsible. Still, knowing that all amorous activities had been suspended for the night left him in a bear of a mood. A mood he was willing to share with everyone who crossed his path.
“Rosa May, go back inside. We’ll be in shortly. We were just talking,” he called to his daughter.
“Six point two, Dad. Lacks both believability and originality,” Rosa May said laughing.
“Rosa May,” he threatened.
“I’m going. I’m going.” The light receded and they were left alone again.
Claudia unlocked her door and was about to get out when she noticed Ross wasn’t moving. “Well,” she wondered. “Are you coming inside with me to face the music?”
“I’m not going anywhere for a few minutes,” he snarled.
For a moment she was confused, but then her gaze shifted and she caught a quick peek at his lap. Oops. He wasn’t going anywhere for a few minutes. Claudia had the nerve to giggle.
“Don’t you dare laugh,” he warned. “There is nothing funny about this situation.”
Claudia begged to differ. Like a couple of teenagers they were caught red-handed making whoopee in his pickup truck by his eleven-year-old daughter. It was a little funny. However, she didn’t feel now was the time to share her mirth. Instead, she took a more practical approach.
“Look at it this way,” she began, “at least we spared ourselves the awkward phase.”
His features were knife sharp in the moonlight. When he turned and pinned his gaze on her, Claudia sucked in her breath. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Fearless, almost, she trod forward. “We both know that this would have been a huge mistake. After it was over we both would have been mortified. We spared ourselves that.”
The Doc's Double Delivery & Down-Home Diva Page 25