“There!” she exclaimed. “Will this do?”
His hand slid over the softness of her beneath the blanket. “It’ll do.”
“Let’s go, then. The game is about to start.”
They managed to reach the living room with a minimum of bumps and contortions, and those, she was sure, were contrived by the coach. But if he wanted to watch the game, the game it would be. Daniel held her beside him as he headed for the set, pressed the proper buttons, then turned her around and collapsed on the sofa, dropping the remote control switch on the table nearby.
“There,” he panted in exaggerated exhaustion. “Sit here…no, this way …a little to the left…”
Nia twisted and squirmed against him, following his directions even as she wondered whether he knew what he was doing. But he had to know; that was no ghost of passion she felt in him.
“There I am,” he grinned, pointing to the set as the pregame show commenced. Nia followed the direction of his finger and failed to notice that it instantly disappeared beneath the blanket. “Hmmm, I look like I’ve gained weight.”
“You always look heavier on television,” she chided, feeling his warm touch inching its erotic way around her body.
“I don’t know,” he bent his head to nibble at the tip of her ear, “maybe I should grow a beard.”
“Don’t you dare,” she gasped as that stealthy hand slid sensuously over the firming swell of her breast, moving slowly back and forth with maddeningly precise effect.
“Why not?” he asked innocently as he lowered his other hand to her thigh.
“Because…your very slight five o’clock shadow…is sexy.” He was sexy right now and she wasn’t even looking at him. But her body tingled at his touch and she inched further back against him. “There you go.” She eyed the set, from which he suddenly disappeared. “That was quick!” The camera moved back, then closed in on the sportscaster.
“It always is,” he murmured between soft samplings of her neck. “These professional athletes aren’t all that bright, you know. Don’t expect any coach to sustain an intelligent conversation for very long. Two minutes is about his limit.”
“Two minutes?” She squirmed as the fingers of his lower hand crept to the inside of her thigh. “Is that all?”
“Um-hmmm.”
Now there were two sportcasters in colorful conversation, their headphones and mouthpieces solidly in place to ensure that the roar of the crowd was no more than a background accompaniment to the commentary in progress.
“Are you listening, Dan?” she moaned, slowly losing track of reality. She certainly couldn’t hear what the television said—the roar of blood through her veins was far too loud for that.
“Listening?” he asked blankly.
“The show…you wanted to watch.” She looked up over her shoulder at him, then slowly swiveled in his arms. Behind her, the crowd grew quiet.
“Hmmm…so I did.” He smiled, but he only watched Nia now.
“I love you,” she whispered, aglow from within. “I always will.” Their eyes were locked together in visual mating, in total understanding.
Deafened to all but their syncopated hearts, they barely heard the soulful opening strains of the national anthem, slow and full-bodied as it wafted into the air. His hand trembling, Daniel traced the softness of her features one by one. The gentleness of his touch matched the adoration in his eyes, and Nia exulted in them both. When his thumb brushed her lips they parted eagerly, to be rewarded moments later by the richness of his kiss. It was a kiss filled with promise, a kiss filled with love. Above all, it was a new beginning.
Blinded by passion, and lost in their love, Daniel groped for the remote control and switched the television off.
About the Author
BARBARA DELINSKY, a lifelong New Englander, was a sociologist and photographer before she began writing. Readers can contact her c/o P.O. Box 812894, Wellesley, MA 02482-0026, or via the Web at www.barbaradelinsky.com.
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Praise for Barbara Delinsky
“Delinsky is an expert at portraying strong women characters.”
Booklist
“Delinsky is one of those writers who knows how to introduce characters to her readers in such a way that they become more like old friends than works of fiction.”
Flint Journal
“Delinsky is an engaging writer who knows how to interweave several stories about complex relationships and keep her books interesting to the end. Her special talent for description gives the reader almost visual references to the surroundings she creates.”
Newark Star Ledger
“Delinsky’s prose is spare, controlled and poignant as she evokes the simplicity and joys of small-town life.”
Publishers Weekly
“Delinsky steers clear of treacle…with simple prose and a deliberate avoidance of happily ever after clichés.”
People
“Delinsky delves deeper into the human heart and spirit with each new novel.”
BookPage
“Barbara Delinsky should touch even the most jaded of readers.”
Chattanooga Times
“Delinsky creates…a remarkably beautiful story.”
Baton Rouge Advocate
BOOKS BY BARBARA DELINSKY
FICTION
An Accidental Woman
The Carpenter’s Lady
Coast Road
Fast Courting
Finger Prints
For My Daughters
Gemstone
An Irresistible Impulse
Lake News
Moment to Moment
More Than Friends
Passion and Illusion
Rekindled
Search for a New Dawn
Sensuous Burgundy
Shades of Grace
Suddenly
Sweet Ember
Three Wishes
A Time to Love
Together Alone
Variation on a Theme
The Vineyard
The Woman Next Door
A Woman Betrayed
A Woman’s Place
Within Reach
NONFICTION
Uplift: Secrets from the Sisterhood of
Breast Cancer Survivors
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
FAST COURTING. Copyright © 1983 by Barbara Delinsky. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of PerfectBound™.
PerfectBound™ and the PerfectBound™ logo are trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
Mobipocket Reader July 2005 ISBN 0-06-087678-6
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12
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