by Helen Conrad
She arched against him, wanting to press herself into him, to mold herself to him. Her hands found muscle and hard, smooth flesh and she clung to him, letting her hands, her mouth tell him everything she couldn’t put into words.
He was hot and sweet, soothing and exciting. She felt herself falling and didn’t care. Her arms felt heavy. Her eyelids drooped; it was too hard to keep them open. Where he touched, it sizzled and she pulled him closer for more.
“Kelly, Kelly,” he sighed against her swollen lips. “Take it easy. We’re going semipublic here.”
She laughed softly and kissed him again. “How long are we going to do this?” she whispered, breathing in the wild, musky scent of his skin.
“As long as it keeps storming.” He nipped at her earlobe.
“Pray for rain,” she murmured. “Or hail. Or whatever.”
He kissed her again and she sighed. He was still being much too careful. She wanted to feel his hand on her breast. She wanted the stroking to find every secret place her desire was hiding. The designs his fingers were creating on her back and neck were heavenly, but they only made her want more.
He shifted position and his hand brushed against her breast. She gasped and her fingers moved convulsively, digging into his arms. Looking down at her, his expression was bemused. “Did I hurt you?” he whispered.
She shook her head, her green eyes wide with longing. He stared into them for a long moment, then his gaze dropped to the breast he’d inadvertently touched.
As though he could read her mind, he reached out slowly and his fingers curled around the lapel of her blouse, pulling it back. The snowy white bra seemed to blaze in the gloom of their hiding place and Kelly silently cursed the modesty that had forced her to wear it. But it didn’t hamper Cody. His fingers slid beneath the strap, pulling it out and slipping the bra down until her entire breast was revealed, small and high, the tight nipple trembling for his touch.
He didn’t move. She held her breath, her eyes squeezed shut. The cool breezes from the hailstorm tickled the skin, unused as it was to being exposed this way. And still he didn’t move.
“Cody,” she moaned, letting her head fall back. “Oh please—“
His mouth was hot on her storm-cooled skin, so hot she almost cried out with the ecstasy of it. His tongue curled around the nipple, stroking and teasing, and his hot breath scalded her nakedness. Deep and hard, she felt the hunger grow, the need that could overwhelm her in an instant. When she felt a shudder go through him, she sighed in answer.
“Kelly,” he ground out her name, covering her breast from the cool air with his hand. “I want you so badly. But I’m not sure—“
She put her fingers to his lips, not certain what he was going to say, but sure she didn’t want him to say it. “Yes,” she whispered hoarsely. “Oh yes, Cody. Tonight.”
He drew back, holding her shoulders, searching her face. “I won’t ever marry you,” he said bluntly.
She nodded, loving the darkness of his eyes. “I know.”
His fingers tightened almost painfully on her shoulders. “You’re sure?”
She nodded again, her eyes full of what she was feeling for him.
He saw it and he almost had to wince at the intensity. Could he handle this, he wondered? Was he playing with fire?
“I won’t hurt you,” he promised softly. “And I’ll make sure you don’t get pregnant.”
Kelly nodded again. She knew he would take care of her. She’d known from the first that the only thing he would damage would be her heart. She was prepared to risk it.
“Look,” she said calmly, but with regret. “The storm’s over.”
Cody let his hand slide down from her shoulder, down the length of her breast, and he touched the tip with his thumb before he covered her again. She shivered and her hips moved involuntarily. He closed her blouse and kissed her nose. “Back to reality,” he muttered, more to himself than to her.
“I promised to meet everyone for pizza,” she told him sleepily. A bed, with him in it, was all she could think of. Would he come back to her house? She wished she knew what had driven him away the last time.
He met her gaze and his old smile began to creep back. “I heard Tammy say she was staying the night at Heather’s,” he noted.
Hope blossomed. “That’s right,” she said, managing to sound casual.
“That means you’ll be all alone.”
“I’ve been alone before.”
“But not tonight.” He drew her to him and kissed her one last time. “Not tonight.”
Chapter Seven
Bruno’s Pizza Party was crowded, but they were able to get a long table for the whole team. Country and western music was playing on the jukebox.
“This is quite some place,” Cody muttered as he held the door for Kelly. The girls scooted by to claim the table, their small, sturdy bodies flying through the place like a herd of conquering gerbils.
Kelly laughed at the girls, then favored Cody with a bright grin. “Not your usual style, I know,” she teased. “But you’ve got to get a feel for how the other side of Las Vegas lives.”
“Do I?” He made a comical face. “Why?”
She hooked her arm through his to lead him to the ordering counter. “To bring you back to basics,” she chattered on. “To get you in touch with your roots.”
“How do you know anything about my roots?”
“I don’t mean yours personally.” She was sunnily unaware of a growing tension on his part. “I mean the roots of the culture as a whole.” She made a sweeping gesture. “I mean country music and Softball and mom’s apple pie—“
“And pizza?” He laughed, but his eyes were wary again. He turned and slid his arms around her waist. “Why don’t you come right out and say what you really mean?” he asked her softly, his gaze intense. “Why don’t you say ‘honesty and truth and integrity—and no gambling or covering up for criminals’?”
She stared up at him, shocked. He saw right through her, to things she hadn’t even admitted to herself. He was right, of course. She’d been blithely assuming she was going to reform him, even if she hadn’t put the concept into concrete form in her own mind as yet. The dream had been there from the first.
“Cody,” she whispered. “I’m—I didn’t mean to… “
“Never mind,” he said with a sad smile. “It won’t work, anyway. I am what I am. At some point, you’re going to have to come to grips with that.”
He was right. She knew it. Her mind knew it. Why couldn’t her heart get it straight?
The counterman took their order, but she hardly paid attention. Her thoughts were swirling and she was trying to get her bearings. She wanted Cody. She’d gone too far to back away now. She wanted him near, at hand, touching. But she was going to have to pay. Was she ready for that?
The girls were in high spirits and Cody joked right along with them. When the pizzas came, there were the usual arguments over what had been ordered and how many pieces each would get.
“One large pepperoni,” announced the delivery girl, slapping it down on the end of the table. “One large mushroom and sausage.” She plunked down another. Hands reached out from all sides. “And one pineapple, green pepper, Canadian bacon, olive, shrimp, sunflower seed, maraschino cherry special.” She balanced it on the palm of her hand. “Who wants it?”
A chorus of groans and disgusting noises emanated from the group as almost everyone disavowed the special. “We didn’t order anything like that, did we?” Kelly asked Cody.
His smile was smug. “We certainly did. Put it right here.” He patted the empty space in front of him.
“Ugh!” Heather cried as the pizza was placed before Cody. “How gross!”
The others chimed in, and even Kelly shook her head in despair, but Tammy looked shyly at Cody. “It looks good,” she said.
Cody smiled at her. “You want to share with me?” he asked.
She nodded, brushing aside Heather’s shout of horror.
Tammy jumped up and came around the table to sit beside Cody. He pulled out a piece of the pizza for her, put it on her plate, and leaned close, telling her things that made her grin while she ate. Kelly watched the two of them and all the mixed-up feelings she’d been having fell away. Any man who could treat her daughter like that deserved the benefit of the doubt.
They ate until they were stuffed. They laughed and joked and sang along with the jukebox. Then it was time to go, and they began to gather their things while some of the girls called their families for rides.
Once outside, they milled around the parking lot for a bit, waiting for parents to arrive. Heather’s mother drove up and Kelly bent at the driver’s window to speak to her for a moment while Heather and Tammy piled into the back seat. When Kelly turned back, she saw Cody walking toward the street where a long, low flashy convertible had pulled up.
The two men who emerged from the car were of a special, sleazy mold most frequently found in casino bars. With sharp, hungry faces, they looked out of place anywhere else—except, perhaps, at the track.
“Hey, Cody,” one of them was calling. “Is that really you?”
Cody grinned and spun slowly, modeling his polo shirt and jeans.
“I didn’t even think it was you at first, man,” the other chortled.
“My suburban disguise,” she heard Cody say.
Kelly flushed, resenting his words just a little, and then he moved closer to the men and she could only hear snatches of their conversation.
It seemed to be something about Sugar. There was a shout of laughter, and then they looked more serious. Kelly hesitated, wondering if she should join them. But Penny’s mother drove up at that moment and she was sidetracked. By the time Penny and a few others were packed off, Cody was coming back toward her.
“Anything for Sugar,” he was calling back to the two men. “Thanks for letting me know.”
They got back into their convertible and drove away.
“Who was that?” she asked, watching the car disappear into traffic.
“Just some guys from the casino,” he said casually. He looked at her and she knew he was about to say something she wasn’t going to like, but before he had a chance, another car stopped beside them.
“Hi there!” Glenn Waxman leaned out, smiling at Kelly. “Did I miss the party?”
“Oh hi, Glenn.” She glanced at Cody, then gave Glenn a big smile. “You missed it, I’m afraid. But the girls had a good time.”
“Great.” Glenn glanced from her to Cody, obviously not sure who Cody was or why he was standing near Kelly. “Uh...are you busy tonight?” he ventured, looking hopeful.
Oh Glenn, Kelly thought as warm satisfaction coursed through her. You couldn’t have done this at a better time. “I’m afraid I am,” she said pleasantly. “But I’ll see you at the game on Saturday, won’t I?”
Glenn looked disappointed. “Yes, I guess so.”
“Daddy,” Suzy cried, running up with three other girls in tow. “Can you take us all to the roller rink tonight?”
Glenn looked at Kelly, then at Cody. “I guess so,” he said in a voice that should have broken her heart. “See you later.”
Kelly waved and turned back to Cody. His eyes narrowed as he watched Glenn drive away.
“That’s just about all of them,” Kelly said, but Cody’s face stopped her. “What’s the matter?” she asked, frowning.
He looked back at her, then away again. “I’m going to have to take a rain check on tonight,” he said.
She felt as though something had hit her, hard, in the pit of her stomach. “What?”
He was avoiding her eyes. “Something’s come up I’m going to have to take care of. I’m sorry.”
A false, eerie calm settled over her. “I see.” Her tone was icy. “Something to do with Sugar?”
His eyes met hers at last but instead of seeming apologetic, he looked almost annoyed. “You’ve got your car here,” he said, without answering her question. “I guess you’ll get home all right.”
“I guess I will.” She smiled a bright, artificial smile. Inside she was seething.
“Okay.” He hesitated. “I’ll see you later,” he added gruffly, then turned, swung into his car and started the engine.
Kelly refused to watch him go. Instead, she hurried to her own car and got inside, fumbling first with the seat belt and then for her keys in her purse, just to look busy. When she glanced up, he was gone. To the very last second, she didn’t believe he would actually go like this, after all their plans, with hardly a word of explanation. But he did.
For a long moment, she sat very still staring straight ahead. “He did it again! He did it to me again.” The impulse to drive after him seized her, but before she could act on it, she heard a knock on her side window.
“Mrs. Carrington?” It was Mandy. “I can’t get my mother on the phone. Can you give me a ride home?”
Kelly sighed. She felt guilty for not noticing that one of the girls had been left without a ride. “Sure, honey,” she said, unlocking the door. “Hop in.” Mandy gave her a grateful smile. Kelly smiled back, feeling rueful. “I’ve got all the time in the world,” she muttered as she started the car. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Once home, Kelly took a long bath and washed her hair and tried not to think about Cody. But of course, he was all she could think about—his kiss, his touch, his rudeness!
“Damn you, Cody Marin,” she said aloud to no one.
She dried her hair until it fell around her face, then put on her prettiest nightgown. If she had to be alone, at least she didn’t have to be dowdy.
She looked into her full-length mirror. The filmy blue nightgown fell to just below her knees. It was so translucent, she could almost see through the fabric. She looked good. Seductive. Attractive.
He had wanted her. She’d felt it, and he’d said as much. His hands on her body had told her, his kiss had said it all. Yet he kept retreating. What it was, she decided suddenly, was a giant tug-of-war between herself and his life-style. Right now his life-style was winning.
Kelly wandered through the house. Tim’s picture caught her eye. She stared at it. Who was that man? She hardly remembered him now, and to tell the truth she wasn’t sure she wanted his picture watching her any longer. Picking it up, she walked quickly to Tammy’s room and put it on her dresser. He was Tammy’s father, and she wanted Tammy to hold fond memories. Even if those memories were half truths that she’d made up to protect her daughter from what her father had really been like. He was dead now. What would it hurt to pretend he’d been a better man than he really was?
She heard the sound of a car in the driveway. Oh no, she thought, closing her eyes. Don’t let it be Glenn. Don’t let it be Glenn ever again.
A car door slammed. She grabbed her robe and threw it around her shoulders. The doorbell rang and she called out, “Who is it?” ready to claim lateness or a headache or anything to keep Glenn out.
“It’s Cody.”
Her heart stopped, and when it started up again, it beat so loudly she had to cover it with her hand. “Cody?” she said, unbelievingly.
“Yes, it’s me. Are you going to let me in?”
Her fingers were trembling as she undid the lock and turned the doorknob, opening the door only a foot wide. “What are you doing here?” she asked, peering out, wide-eyed.
“Coming to see you.”
Cody stood on her porch looking dark and incredibly attractive, his black hair sweeping across his forehead, his black eyes deep and mysterious. He’d put on a corduroy jacket and his hands were in the pockets.
“I thought you said you weren’t coming.”
“I had to take care of something,” he said. “I didn’t know how long it would take, so I didn’t want to make you wait for nothing in case I couldn’t get back.”
“You’re too late,
” Kelly said defiantly, still holding the door only half open.
He stared at her for a moment, then reached out with deliberate challenge and gave the door a solid push. “Am I?” he said silkily as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
“Yes.” She was still backing away, clutching the robe around her. “I’ve already invited someone else over.”
Humor sparked in his eyes. He shrugged out of the jacket and draped it over the back of her chair, but his gaze never left hers. “Like hell you have,” he said softly.
Her breath was coming in short, irregular gasps, but she was desperate not to let him know how he was affecting her. “You really are sure of yourself, aren’t you?” she said tensely.
“Damn right.” With one graceful movement he reached down, took hold of the hem of his shirt and slipped it up and off, leaving his dark, bare chest gleaming in the lamplight, the rippled musculature breathtakingly hard and rounded.
Kelly backed away as he came toward her.
“Come on,” he said softly.
Resentment, excitement, outrage and joy swirled through her in rapid succession. “What do you mean, ‘come on’? You can’t just come in here like this and expect me to fall at your feet.”
He took two quick steps to each one of hers, then he’d caught her. “Why not?” he teased, slipping the robe off her shoulders and letting it drop to the floor.
Why not? She couldn’t seem to think of a good reason right now. Her heart was thumping and all she could see was the creamy dark skin of his chest.
But there was some reason she was supposed to be angry.
“What happened to Sugar?” she asked, suddenly remembering.
Something flared in his eyes. “I took care of that,” he said quietly. His hands had slipped beneath the straps of her nightgown, cupping her shoulders. They moved with slow, seductive power.
“Oh, really?” Kelly’s chin rose and she glared at him with all the ferocity she could muster. “Is that your style?” she demanded, voice wavering with emotion. “Can you really be so crass as to think I would accept you right after you’ve been with her?”