She placed her arms around his body and opened her mouth. He slid his tongue into hers and kissed her so desperately, so urgently, that she could feel the bones of her back pressed hard as if glued against the headboard. They kissed as if it had been years. And then their lips finally parted, and their tongues finally relaxed, their breathing became so labored that they continued leaning against each other just to regain their composure.
“You miss me?” he asked her, his breathing even more erratic than hers, his sweet breathe blowing cool air all over her warm face.
“Yes,” she replied, and she could barely speak.
“How much, Nikki?”
“I miss you so much. More than you will ever know.” She said this lovingly, and sadly, because it was so true. He looked at her with such intensity, with such love and desire, that she grabbed hold of him again. And he kissed her again. Even harder, even more passionate, even more desperately than before. He had never wanted her as much as he wanted her this very hour, and he had to have it in the worse way. That was why he forced himself to break away, to stop kissing the woman he could have kissed all night, but his need went deeper than a kiss. He stood up and removed his coat and tie.
Nikki watched him, with thrill and apprehension, with a sense of uselessness and a sense of awe. She wished she was stronger; she wished she could say no the way she did that night at his cabin, when the realization that she was too needy, too damn dependent on this man, caused her to finally wake up.
But she wasn’t there yet. Because as she watched him, as she watched him remove his coat, slip off his tie, his shirt, his T-shirt, and then unbuckle his belt, she knew she was doing exactly as she planned not to do, and was reentering a world she was trying to leave. But she couldn’t leave. She craved him. He was her drug of choice. And as he laid her down, and lifted her gown off of her body, she knew she was like a wiggling bait for the catch: hooked again.
He kissed her face and her neck and her breasts for the longest time, and then her stomach, and then he tasted her. It was so exhilarating to her that she lifted her body, as if carried on that wave of exhilaration, as his tongue massaged deep within her. She grabbed the sheet and squeezed it tightly, and he lifted her thigh to get that perfect angle. Her body kept jerking with excitement, too much excitement, and she finally closed her legs. It was over, she thought. It had to be over. She didn’t know if she could take anymore.
But it wasn’t over. He was just getting started. He stood up, staring at her, as if telling her telepathically that more was coming, get ready for more, and then he removed his pants and briefs.
He leaned down to her and turned her onto her stomach. And when he laid on top of her and entered her from the back, his massive body gyrating hers in rhythmic, bed shaking bounces that caused even him to yell out oh, she cried. She cried as he fucked her. She cried as he thrashed her. She cried because it felt so good, and it felt so right, and it felt as if she was never going to overcome this man, this big, wonderful, domineering man, that she loved too much.
A small café on Division Street and Melanie arrived late. Luke waved her toward the back, where he was seated, and after they ordered drinks, Melanie leaned back.
“Don’t be so impatient,” she said to him.
“Impatient? Didn’t you hear me? Daniel fucked her last night.”
“How would you know that?”
“I can tell by the way she looked this morning. They’re back together. I’m telling you. She didn’t give me the time of day when they were separated. I was patient as hell, too, just like you said I had to be. Now they’re back together. I don’t stand a chance!”
“What did I tell you, Luke? Daniel Crane is a mountain that has got to be chipped away. It will not toppled all at once. But it’ll fall. Believe that.”
“Daniel will fall?”
“Absolutely!”
“You want the man you love to fall?”
Melanie hadn’t expected him to be that sharp.
“What, you think I’m stupid?” Luke asked her. “You love Crane about as much as I do. Maybe even less.”
“You’re mistaken, but that’s beside the point anyway. The point is: do you still want Nikki?”
“Of course I want her! I haven’t wanted anybody else since she walked into my office.”
“Then calm yourself down, Luther. It’s working. You’ll have her.”
“What are you talking, lady? You are so sure of every damn thing when nothing’s happening! Even after those naked photos. Even after that very specific phone call I got a friend of mine to make, she still thinks the world of Crane.”
“But seeds of doubt are being planted, how many times do I have to explain this to you?” Then Melanie exhaled. “But I agree, we should kick things into a higher gear. I agree with that. That’s why, while I’m in New York kicking it higher with Daniel, you need to be right here, in Wakefield, kicking it higher with Nikki. I had hoped that it would be a smoother way to go, but that doesn’t seem likely now. For some idiotic reason Daniel’s completely devoted to that child.”
“And she’s completely devoted to him. Even when they’re supposedly not together.”
“Right. But everything works in accumulation. That’s what happened to my . . .” Melanie could not believe she almost went there. She stared at Luke. He was staring at her.
“What happened, Mel?”
Melanie smiled. “Nothing happened. Nothing at all. Forget I said that. Let’s just focus on the here and the now. We leave for New York this afternoon. And while I’m on that business trip with Daniel, having what I am determined to be the time of my life, you will be here, with Nikki. Alone. And if that’s not an opportunity for you, and for me, I don’t know if there ever will be.”
“But you should have seen her this morning. Crane must have put it on her sweet, because she was beaming.”
“Forget that, Luke. Focus on the here and now. We’re breaking through. Trust me. I know what I’m doing.”
Luke stared at her. He wondered what game was she playing at. What was she after? It certainly wasn’t any love of Daniel Crane. He was no fool. That woman probably hated Crane. But why, he wondered.
But one thing he knew for certain: Melanie Chandler was a sly dawg if ever he saw one. A slick, manipulative, as sly as they come dirty dawg. And although he wouldn’t trust her as far as he could throw her, he was nonetheless glad they were on the same team.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The work of the conference had been exhausting, but Daniel still took the time to show Melanie the town. Although they journeyed to Greenwich Village in search of jazzman Arthur Chandler, and didn’t find him since he never would headline a club, they still didn’t give up. They hung around, enjoying good jazz in a small club on Bleecker Street, where the conversations were muted because the real reason for the season was the music. And they listened to every note, listened like the jazz enthusiasms they claimed to be. And they danced.
Daniel and Melanie danced in the middle of the room. He in his Oxford suit and Vito Artioli Italian shoes, and she in her backless Armani evening dress. They danced as if they were in love on the dance floor. The music was It Just Happens That Way by Mindi Abair, and it was played impressively, Daniel thought, by the club’s headliner band. Melanie knew how to move, and so did Daniel, and when he dipped her, he smiled. Because she knew how to do it. She knew how to allow her hair to flow back and her neck to tilt just angular to his chest, and when he lifted her back up, back into his arms, they were practically lip to lip. Daniel stared at her lips, and then in her eyes, he stared at this goddess of a good looking woman, and he could have kissed her. He could have pressed his lips into hers and he knew she would have allowed it.
But he held on. He pulled her closer to him instead. But her back was bare. And the feel of that bare back made him grind her on the dance floor. She was pleased with his touch and the rhythm of his movements, because she knew she had done it. She had created a magic moment. He now de
sired her. And that was the perfect result. She had him, she felt for the first time, right where she needed him to be.
While Daniel was out dancing with Melanie, Nikki was at home watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding on DVD. Her doorbell rang. It was Luke. At first she hesitated, because she’d told him earlier, when he offered to take her out, that she preferred to spend the evening alone. She opened the door.
“I thought I made myself clear, Luke,” she said to her boss and friend.
“I couldn’t help myself, Nikki,” he said with a smile. She looked at him, in his jeans and Pacers jersey, looking like the player she took him for. “I really don’t feel up to going anywhere tonight.”
“You don’t have to. I just thought I’d spend a little time with you. Just talk a little and then I’ll be on my way. Scout’s honor.”
She smiled. That Luke. She let him in.
“What are you watching?” he asked as Nikki settled back on the sofa, her small feet tucked under her butt, her shorts and short shirt making Luke almost impatient with need.
“A movie,” Nikki said.
Luke smiled. “I know it’s a movie. What movie?”
“My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”
“Your what?”
Nikki almost smiled. “My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It’s a comedy.”
“Seems like a Greek tragedy the way you look.”
Nikki looked at Luke. “What in the world are you talking about?”
“You, Nikki. Look at you. You’re nearly in tears watching a comedy. That should tell you something. Either that’s a badass movie, or something’s wrong with you.”
Nikki exhaled. “Just sit down.”
“No,” Luke said. “I don’t wanna sit down. You might rub off on me. Misery loves company, you know.”
“First of all,” Nikki said, unable to suppress a smile, “I didn’t ask your ass to come over here. I didn’t ask for any company, okay? And second of all, you can always leave. Then I’ll be certain not to rub off on you.”
Luke stared at Nikki. Nikki refused to look his way, but when his stare wouldn’t quit, she did. “What?” she asked, still unable to suppress her smile.
He smiled. “You’re cute when you get mad.”
Nikki stared at Luke, and then she exhaled. “Okay, you win. I apology. All right? I’m just a little out of it tonight.”
“And why’s that?”
“Can you sit down for two minutes?”
“I’d rather stand.”
Nikki smiled. “Daniel’s not here. You don’t have to be afraid.”
Luke smiled too. “You’re wrong for that, girl.”
Nikki laughed. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist.”
“Answer my question. Why are you down in the dumps?”
Nikki’s smile dissipated as she thought about the never-ending drama of her life. “I just am,” she said.
“It’s Daniel, isn’t it? He’s the reason, isn’t he?”
Nikki wouldn’t respond.
“You know what? This is crazy. I mean, look at you, Nick. You’re the most beautiful, sweetest, kindest woman in the world to me. You don’t have any business being down in anybody’s dumps. And alone on an electric night like this? I’d bet that bastard Crane isn’t alone, or down in the dumps.”
Nikki looked at Luke. Everybody seemed to think they knew Daniel, everybody seemed to have such strong opinions about him.
“I’m here for you, Nikki. I’m your friend. I want you to feel that you can talk to me.”
When Nikki didn’t respond to that, Luke knew when to back off. He knew it well now. So he smiled. “Guess what?”
Nikki looked at him. “What?”
Luke pulled a small stack of CDs from his pocket. “I brought music.”
“What?”
Luke walked over to Nikki’s DVD player. “Do you mind?” he asked.
Nikki gave up. “Whatever, Luke, okay?”
Luke hated that she had such little enthusiasm, but he was determined to change that. He put on Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines and then stood in the middle of the room and started smiling.
“Come on, Nikki,” he urged her, “let’s turn this mother out!”
“You turn it out.”
“Come on, Nikki!”
“No, Luke. I told you I wasn’t feeling it. I’m not feeling it.”
“You don’t have to feel it. Blurred lines. . . You know you want it, kept repeating. “All you gots to do is dance.”
“No, thanks. You dance.”
“So it’s like that?”
“Exactly.”
“Okay. Fine.” Luke tried to dance, but he was horrible. Nikki tried not to laugh, watching him, but when he whipped around so fast that his feet became entangled, causing him to fall to the floor, she laughed. She nearly fell over laughing.
“You need help, boy!” she yelled between laughs.
“Help me then,” Luke urged her as he stood up from the floor.
Nikki shook her head. She wasn’t up for this, she thought. But he was so cute standing there, a white man with no rhythm at all, and she felt she had to do it. She had to come to his rescue.
And they danced. With Nikki leading the way, a teacher if ever there was one, although Luke could hardly keep up.
“There ya’ go,” she kept saying. “There ya’ go. Now you got it. Now you got it. That’s how it’s done. Don’t think about it, just move. Just move, Luke. There ya’ go.” And Nikki, before she knew it, was actually enjoying herself.
They danced and danced, through the all the latest tunes. And Nikki didn’t mind at all. She just danced. She lost herself in herself and had a ball dancing and laughing as Luke tried and tried but never quite got the rhythm.
Finally, when they were both already too tired, Luke stumbled. Nikki laughed. But he stumbled into her, causing her to tumble to the floor with him. Nikki hit down first, and Luke conveniently landed on top of her.
She was still laughing. Not just at the fall, but at the fact that Luke had landed, of all places, right on top of her. No man had ever been on top of her, except Daniel. It was a strange position to be in. Now Luke was right there. Looking good, smelling good, making her laugh. But when he stared at her, and his look was no longer playful and gay, but serious, she turned serious too. And the feelings she began to feel, as Luke laid there, forced her to realize the true position he had put her in.
“We’d better get up,” she said weakly. But Luke shook his head.
“Why, Nikki? I’m free. And whether you know it or not, so are you. Don’t you understand that? You don’t owe Crane a damn thing. Not even respect. Because Nikki, you may not want to admit this, but that man doesn’t respect you. He does everything to push your buttons, haven’t you figured that out yet? You’re not his woman, you’re his convenience. You’re there when he needs you. But when somebody else is available, he forgets you. You. The best of the best. Still not good enough for him. Well forget him, Nikki. Who the hell is he? Stop believing lies, man. That’s not what you’re about. That’s not the Nikki I love. That’s the good little doll he wants you to be. But that ain’t you. Stop being what you’re not.”
Nikki stared at him.
“I love you, Nikki. You know I do. And I want to be your Prince. I want to wait on you hand and foot. I want to look at you day and night, just stare at your beautiful eyes and your little button nose and your luscious, oh they are so luscious lips. And I promise you this: I won’t break your heart. I won’t play you like love is some game and your heart doesn’t matter. And you know I won’t. Me and you are the same kind of people, babe. We’re passionate and we believe in things. And believe this if you don’t believe anything else I’ve said, you’re good enough, Nikki. Don’t ever think that you aren’t. You’re more than enough woman for me.”
He didn’t understand, Nikki thought. She once figured him to be a kindred spirit, but he didn’t understand at all. “Let me up,” she said.
Luke felt that he had made a point,
but not enough to move the needle. He stood up and helped her to her feet.
“You need to leave,” she said to him.
“Melanie Chandler is with him,” Luke said. It was his trump card, but he felt he had to play it now.
And it worked. By the look on Nikki’s face, she didn’t know.
“He didn’t tell you, did he?” Luke asked. “But I have my little birds, and they told me that she went with him to New York.”
“She’s his assistant,” Nikki said, although a part of her was disappointed. “Sometimes I’m sure she has to go on business with him.”
“But he promised to show her the town. It’s her birthday or something. And he promised to give her a good time, Nikki. While you’re here all alone, watching some Greek wedding, he’s having a ball with Melanie Chandler. A very beautiful woman, from the internet pictures I’ve seen of her.”
Nikki felt so lost.
“Why does he keep doing this to you, Nikki? If some woman isn’t calling, they’re sending him nude photos of themselves. Now he’s taking a beauty of a woman to the New York with him. He could have taken you. He could have been showing you the town. But he didn’t. He treats you like crap, Nikki. Admit it. Finally do yourself a favor, and admit it.”
Daniel and Melanie arrived back at the hotel late, and Daniel unlocked the door of Melanie’s hotel room. He then handed her the keycard. She smiled and invited him in for a nightcap. He declined.
“If you don’t come in,” she warned, “all of your efforts at cheering me up will have failed miserably.”
DANIEL'S GIRL: ROMANCING AN OLDER MAN Page 22