She didn’t want to think about their nights together, the warmth and hard feel of his body as it lay atop hers, or the sounds she’d heard in the pitch-black of their hotel room: sounds of their heavy breathing, their moans, groans, and passionate cries. And she refused to think about their mornings and waking up to the brightness of his eyes that still glowed with wanting and inner fire.
Raven picked up her glass to take another sip of her wine. The tingling warmth of the liquid that flowed down her throat matched the tingling warmth that flowed through her limbs and pooled at her core whenever she remembered Linc making love to her.
For the first time in four years she suddenly felt unbearably hungry, but it wasn’t food that her body craved.
Sitting across the room at the crowded bar, Linc watched as Raven took another sip of her wine. His steady gaze watched as she lifted the glass to her lips, slightly tipped her head back, and arched her neck. Never before had observing a woman sipping her drink been sensuous enough to send involuntary tremors of arousal through him.
“Do you want a refill?” the bartender asked, intruding on Linc’s thoughts. Linc noticed the man wasn’t Flint and remembered that Flint only moonlighted a couple of nights of the week and Friday wasn’t one of them.
“No, thanks, this is it for me tonight.”
“You’re planning on sticking around, aren’t you?” the bartender asked.
Linc glanced over at the table where Raven was sitting alone. “Possibly. Why?”
“It’s Sixties and Seventies Night. There’s bound to be a lot of dancing going on.”
Linc nodded. A delicious thought drifted through his mind. It was one of him holding Raven in his arms while he danced with her to a very slow tune, with the heat of his body pressing against hers long enough for him to savor the contact.
“In that case I’ll definitely be sticking around.”
An upbeat selection of sixties and seventies music filled the club as one singing group after another took the stage. First it had been the Commodores, then the Delfonics, and now the Dells. A large number of people crowded the dance floor. Most of them were couples, and others were in groups. There were even a few bold singles dancing anything and everything from swing to the bump, to the whatever-you-want-to-call-it current style of dancing.
Raven smiled as her gaze took in the entire scene. People were really enjoying themselves, as was evident in the laughter and rousing conversations surrounding her. She looked across the room and her gaze came into contact with Linc’s. She had seen him earlier sitting at the bar, but other than lifting his glass in a silent greeting to her, he had kept his distance. In a way she was glad, but another part of her felt the least he could do was come over and say hello. Then she could thank him for the gifts he had sent and in a nice way ask him not to send her anything else.
She turned to the stage when the Dells came to the mike and the announcer said they were about to do one of their slow numbers. The dance floor crowd suddenly began thinning out when the groups and singles gave way to the couples.
“I want every man who has a special lady here tonight to use this opportunity to take her into your arms on the dance floor,” the announcer said, smiling. Raven watched as more couples began heading forward.
“Raven?”
At the sound of her name, Raven turned and saw Linc standing next to her table. Stunned, she looked at him and watched as he reached his hand out to her. “May I have this dance?”
She tilted her head up, considering his request, knowing she should say no and reinforce her stand that there could not be anything between them. But instead she nodded, placed her hand in his, and stood. He led her to the dance floor.
Raven knew she was a goner the moment he took her into his arms. When he placed his arms around her, she inhaled sharply as their bodies began swaying in time to the music.
“You look good tonight, Raven,” he whispered softly in her ear, tightening his hold on her.
“Thank you,” she replied in a voice so low she knew he probably had to strain to hear it. “And thanks for the gifts, Linc.”
“You’re welcome.”
“But you’re going to have to stop sending things for the sole purpose of recapturing memories of our time in Daytona.”
“No, I don’t,” he said.
He heard her release a long sigh before saying, “You weren’t this way before.”
He leaned back and met her gaze. “What way?”
“Aggressive.”
He smiled. “Thank you.”
She frowned. “It wasn’t meant to be a compliment, Linc.”
His smile turned into a chuckle. “Yeah, I know.”
Deciding to drop the subject for now, Raven pressed her cheek against his hard chest as they continued to dance to the slow music. She drew in a deep breath when he pulled her closer to his body and wrapped his arms around her more securely. Her body, so close to his, made her feel every hard part of him. Their movements were slow, charged, stimulating. By the time the last lyric had been sung and the last note played, a moan of pure want had arisen in her throat. She forced herself to swallow it.
“I have to go,” she said when he escorted her back to her table. Her voice was trembling.
“I’ll follow in my car to make sure you get in OK.”
“That’s not necessary. I’ve been going in after dark by myself for quite awhile,” she said sharply.
Slowly he smiled. “I’m sure you have, but I prefer doing it anyway.”
Raven frowned. “Fine. Do whatever you want.”
Linc’s arm closed around her shoulder as they walked out of Leo’s. He wished he could take her up on her offer to do whatever he wanted, because his body was aching and, more than anything, he wanted to make nonstop love to her tonight.
“Lincoln Corbain is going to be the death of me,” Raven said to herself in a low, deep growl of anguish as she looked in her rearview mirror to see the lights of the car following close behind her.
“The bottom line is,” she raged on to herself, “the man is not going to get next to me. I refuse to let him do that. I have plans and dreams that don’t include him. The sooner he realizes that, the better.”
Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “If the reason he’s following me is because he thinks he’s going to get another kiss off me like he did a few nights ago, well, he has another thought coming.”
Her heart pounded when she pulled into the driveway of her apartment complex. “I won’t let him kiss me; I won’t,” she chanted to herself as she parked her car and got out with her door key in her hand. She wasn’t surprised when he parked next to her and got out. But she was surprised when he said, “I’ll wait right here until you get in. Flip the light switch twice to let me know you’re inside and things are OK.”
Raven frowned. He wasn’t going to try to talk his way inside her apartment? He wasn’t going to try to kiss her good night? Well, that was just fine with her. That’s what she wanted anyway, wasn’t it?
“Raven?”
She looked over at him. He was leaning against his car staring at her. “What?”
“Pleasant dreams.” His words came with that megawatt smile that could always cause extreme sensual heat to settle in the lower part of her body, like it was doing now.
She fumed as she walked to her door. Pleasant dreams? In order to dream, one had to sleep, and there was no way she was going to get any sleep tonight.
Glaring at him one last time, she unlocked her door and went inside. And as he had asked her to do, she flipped the light switch twice.
Raven had undressed, showered, and gotten settled in bed when the phone rang. She looked at the digital clock on the nightstand, then back at the phone, wondering if it was Linc. She then thought there was no way it could be him because, as far as she knew, he didn’t have her number. She picked up the phone.
“Hello.”
“Took you long enough.”
Raven smiled at her si
ster’s impatient voice. “I was wondering who would be calling me this late. How are things going, Falcon?”
“They’re going. You OK?”
Raven shifted her position in the bed to find a more comfortable spot. “Yeah, I’m OK. What about you?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Have you heard from Robin lately?”
Raven frowned. Actually, she hadn’t, at least not this week, and that was unusual. Robin was the one who made it her business to keep in touch on a rather frequent basis. “No, I haven’t. You?”
“She called and left a message on my answering machine a few nights ago saying she’s doing OK and to tell you she’s been busy but will call you this coming week. I guess she wants to get us to finalize the details for her birthday party.”
Raven smiled, shaking her head. Of the three of them, Robin was the one into birthday celebrations big time. “Yes, I suppose.”
“How are things at work?”
“They’re fine, and before you ask, he’s doing OK, Falcon.”
“I have no idea who you’re talking about.”
“Don’t play dumb, Falcon. You’re too smart. Besides, being coy doesn’t become you.”
There was a long pause. “I miss him, Raven. It’s been a year tonight.”
Raven sighed upon hearing the pain and loneliness in her sister’s voice. She also had heard the occasional sniffing that indicated Falcon had been crying. “Yeah, I know. I thought about it this morning. It was the week before Robin’s birthday last year that John asked you to marry him.” She decided not to tell Falcon that John had not come into the office at all today. Chances were he had remembered, too, and the day had been just as miserable for him as it had been for Falcon.
“And I turned him down,” Falcon finished. “But I did the right thing. I know I did.”
“If you really believe that, then everything will eventually be all right, Falcon,” Raven said softly, not knowing what else to say.
“Of course it will be. I think I’ll have enough money saved in another year to get things started with the company I plan on opening.”
“Oh, Falcon, that’s wonderful.”
“I can’t wait.” There was another pause. “That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it, Raven? It’s about working hard and fulfilling our dreams. Everything else can wait. Nothing else is important.”
Raven sucked in a deep breath as she heard her sister’s words. She let it back out slowly. Leave it to Falcon to always remind her of what came first with them. “You’re right, Falcon,” she said softly. “Nothing else is important.”
Eight
Raven had just finished tying her shoelaces when there was a knock on her door. She frowned. It was just a little past six in the morning. She wondered who her early-morning visitor could be. She doubted it was Erica, although she had an open invitation to go running with Raven whenever she wanted. Some people weren’t morning people, and Erica fell into that category.
Upon reaching the door Raven took a quick glance out the peephole.
Linc!
She immediately opened the door. Given the fact that she didn’t get any sleep last night and she blamed him for it, Lincoln Corbain was the last person she wanted to see. “Wh-what are you doing here?”
Raven almost stammered on her words as she looked at the man standing in her doorway. A new kind of awareness pumped furiously through her veins. Oh, she had awakened in a bed with Linc before so she knew all about his sexy-as-sin early-in-the-morning look. And during their week together he had mostly worn tank tops and shorts, so she was well aware of the fact that he had a gorgeous body. But he must have gotten into some bodybuilding program since she’d last seen him. The man looked absolutely stunning in his well-fitted see-how-fine-the-brother-really-is running outfit. Just looking at how he looked made a burning sensation sizzle from the tips of her breasts down to her middle. There it stopped. His body was so taut, so firm, so tight, so unbelievably built. There was not a flabby place anywhere on him. Her gaze automatically went to his midsection. She sucked in a deep breath. Lincoln Corbain was well endowed. As she continued staring, she began remembering one particular morning while they were in bed together, sliding her fingers beneath the waistband of his shorts to feel just how well endowed he was.
Raven swallowed. That same moan that had threatened to erupt from her throat last night when she’d been in his arms while dancing was threatening now. She returned her gaze to his face and saw that he had been watching her ogle him. She cleared her throat. “I asked what you’re doing here, Linc?”
His eyes bored into her in a way that seemed to touch every feature on her face. “I thought I’d go running with you.”
Raven frowned as she searched her mind in response to what he’d just said. Fairly certain she had never mentioned her early-morning weekend activities to him, she asked, “How did you know I go running on Saturday mornings?”
“Erica mentioned it to Ben, and since Ben knew I also go running early on Saturday mornings he mentioned it to me.”
She narrowed her gaze on him. “So you just assumed it would be OK to join me?”
“Yes,” he said, giving her a seductive smile. “That’s about the shape and size of it.”
Instinctively, when he said those words, her gaze went back to his midsection, remembering another time he’d used those same words. She inhaled sharply as she tried to get her mind back on track. She looked back up at him. “I think you assume too much, Linc.”
He studied her for a moment. “And what else is it that you think I assume?”
“That you can pick up where we left off four years ago in Daytona.”
He cocked his head as if considering her words. He then said, “The only thing that I’m assuming and what I know for a fact, Raven, is that you prefer I left you alone. But I can’t do that.”
“And why not?”
Linc smiled. “I’ll tell you some other time. You ready to go running? I promise to be good company.”
You’ll be more company than I need, she thought to herself. “If you want to tag along you can. Just as long as you keep up.”
Linc let out a smooth chuckle. “I was going to give you the same advice.”
“How about something to drink?” she offered after they returned to her apartment from their jog a couple of hours later.
“Water will do fine, thanks.”
Linc followed her into the kitchen and sat down on one of the stools at her breakfast bar. “Nice place.”
“Thanks.” Raven went to the refrigerator to get him a thirty-two-ounce bottle that she always kept on hand full of drinking water. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she had enjoyed Linc’s company while running. He had kept up with her pace, and they’d engaged in steady conversation most of the time without losing a beat.
He had told her that he had gotten into a fitness program right after law school and still went to the gym at least twice a week. He enjoyed keeping his body in shape by working out. She’d been tempted to tell him that in her opinion he was doing a super-nice job of it.
She walked back over to the kitchen counter and handed him the bottled water. She watched, fascinated as well as magnetized, as he uncapped the bottle and, tilting his head back, took a huge swallow of the clear liquid.
Raven’s gaze was drawn to the muscular expanse of his neck, and she watched as the water flowed down his throat, making his Adam’s apple move. Her body ached to go over to him and take her tongue and lap up the water that was missing his mouth and running freely down his neck. She stood there and watched as he consumed all thirty-two ounces of the water without stopping to take a breath. Amazing.
When he finished he licked his lips and smiled at her. “I guess I was thirsty. It’s like that with me sometimes. When I get ahold of something I want bad, I almost become addicted to it.”
She nodded as her heart thumped erratically. She thought of the many times they had made love in Daytona. Had he become addicted to her that week? If s
o, what had been her excuse? Had she been addicted to him as well?
“What are your plans for the rest of the day?” Linc’s question broke into her meanderings.
“I’m going to edit an article I’m working on about Leo’s.”
Linc’s brow rose. “You’re doing an article on Leo’s?”
“Yes. It’s an article about the revived popularity of supper clubs. I chose Leo’s as my subject since I know the Hardcastles personally.”
Linc nodded. “How about dinner and a movie later?”
Raven had known that sooner or later he would get around to asking her out. And just as she’d been prepared for the question, she should have been prepared to give him an answer of “no.” But for some reason she held back. She told herself that it would just be a movie and dinner. No big deal. She hadn’t been out to a movie in ages, and besides, she would have to eat sometime. As long as she remained in control of the situation there could be no harm in it. She had learned by Falcon’s mistakes. The harm came in falling in love, and she had no intentions of doing that.
“Dinner and a movie sounds nice as long you understand that there’s nothing between us other than friendship, Linc.”
He stared at her quietly. “You want us to go from being former lovers to just being friends? Is that what you really want, Raven?”
“Yes. I won’t go out with you otherwise. It’s a friendship thing or nothing. No more sending me stuff to remind me of our time together in Daytona. What we shared then is in the past and I want to keep it that way.”
After a brief moment he nodded slowly. “If that’s the way you want it, then that’s the way it will be. Will seven o’clock tonight be OK?” he asked as he stood to leave.
“Yes.”
He leaned down and instead of giving her the heated kiss she had come to expect, he tenderly brushed his lips against her cheek. “I’ll see you later, friend.”
She nodded and drew in a deep breath, knowing she was getting just what she’d asked for, a platonic relationship with him.
Some Like It Hot Page 6