Darci’s lips parted, granting Steed’s seeking tongue the access it demanded. Moans of pleasure rumbled in her throat. Steed’s skillful hands explored her body, along the curves of her hips and roundness of her backside.
Steed buried his face in the crook of her neck. His arms tightened around her. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“I missed you, too, but if you hold me any tighter I might be spending more time away from you.” She squirmed against him, barely able to move. “I’ll be at the hospital in traction.”
His grip loosened. “I’m sorry. I’ve really missed you.”
She dragged the back of her hand against his cheek. She didn’t mind Steed’s whiskers, but she loved when he shaved. Add the treat of seeing him in a suit…He looked downright edible. “I’m glad you missed me.” She pecked his lips and escorted him into the living room. “So, do you want the revamped grand tour? Things have changed a bit since your last visit.”
“Not yet. The only thing I’m interested in looking at right now is you.” He took her hand and slowly twirled her around. “You are so beautiful.”
Steed smiled, but Darci detected distraction in his eyes. “What happened today?” she asked.
“My girlfriend came back from a trip to New York,” he said, caressing her cheek.
“You know what I mean. What’s going on? You’re in a suit, and you seem a little down. Bad news about the promotion?”
“No news yet, and if I seem down it’s because it’s been a crazy day. But seeing you makes everything okay.” He kissed her hands. “How about that tour.” He drew a deep breath and smiled. “My keen sense of smell detects the aroma of green peppers.”
“They don’t call you ‘Detective’ for nothing.” Darci laughed. “They’re stuffed. My mother’s recipe.”
“Smells delicious.”
Darci walked to the kitchen. Steed followed. “I hope they taste as good,” she said.
“I’m sure they will.”
“Even if they didn’t, I bet you wouldn’t say so.” Darci checked the peppers and then shut off the oven, deciding to let them stand for a while.
“Me?” He pressed his hand to his chest. “Am I one to hold back on my feelings?”
“Honestly?”
“Absolutely.”
“I don’t know,” Darci said.
Steed followed her into the living room and to the couch. “You think I hold back on my feelings?” he asked, cozying next to her.
“It depends. You totally evaded my question about what’s bothering you, but that aside, most things you put out there without hesitation. That’s you being tactless.”
Steed frowned. “I’m not—”
“Yes, you are. But that’s not even the point. There are times when I think you want to tell me things, but you stop just short. You allow me a little peek inside of you, and then you close the curtain. Sort of like an emotional flasher. You open up yourself and show me everything and then,” she snapped her fingers, “just like that, you close up.”
“Sometimes it’s better not knowing things.”
“You can’t say that to a reporter. It makes us all the more anxious to know what’s going on.”
“Ignorance is bliss, Darci.”
“And knowledge is power. I won’t force you to talk, but know when and if you’re ready to unload, I’m here for you.”
“You’re here for me.” Steed shook his head. “Considering the way we started, it’s amazing we’re together. What’s even more amazing is I can’t—I don’t want to imagine my life without you in it. Darci, I—”
Darci closed her hand around his. Her heart rate increased tenfold. Was Steed about to say the words? The words she felt resided in her heart and grew bigger and stronger with every passing second. “You what?” she prompted.
His ringing cell phone broke the moment. He looked down at the glowing blue display. “It’s the station. I need to get this.” He excused himself to the back hallway.
Darci fell against the couch, feeling certain when Steed got back, his near confession would be a thing of the past.
* * *
“Yes, just put a copy on my desk and Malena’s. Thanks, Jackson.” Steed placed the phone in his pocket and checked his watch. Ten minutes. No more interruptions tonight and absolutely no thoughts of work—as hard as that might be. On his way to the living room, he spotted Darci in the kitchen.
He slipped his arms around her waist and settled his chin on her shoulder as she added chopped tomatoes and cucumbers to a wooden bowl of salad greens.
“Is everything okay at work?” she asked.
“Ground rules for tonight: let’s not talk about work, unless it’s yours.” He smacked a kiss to her cheek and stole a cucumber slice from the bowl. “I saw your promo today. You looked incredible.”
“I forgot they were scheduled to air today. It was weird shooting those spots.” She continued to chop cucumbers. “It’s been weeks since I accepted the job, but I’m still uncomfortable with this.”
“You shouldn’t be,” he said, swiping another cucumber and popping it in his mouth.
“I can’t help it. I stole Kenny’s job.”
“Warwick is dead, Darci. You didn’t steal anything from him.”
“It’s not that simple for me.”
“I know. I’m not making light of your feelings, it’s just…I don’t want you to beat yourself up. Warwick’s death wasn’t your fault.”
She wiped her hands with a dry dishtowel. “Can we make an adjustment in your rules for tonight?”
“Sure.”
“Let’s not talk about work or Kenny, okay?”
Steed nodded. “Agreed.”
Darci swatted his hand as he went for another cucumber. “The garlic bread is almost ready, so if you don’t fill yourself stealing from my salad bowl, we’ll eat in about five minutes.” She placed the bowl in the refrigerator and removed a bottle of red wine. “I thought we could eat in here. Is that okay?”
She led them to the breakfast nook on the far side of the kitchen. A beautiful view of the starry night sky presented a perfect backdrop to the candlelit round table for two.
“This is really nice, Darci.” Steed picked up the corkscrew and opened the wine. The setting was perfect—romantic and comfortable. As romantic and comfortable as the words about to fall from his lips before he got the call from Jackson. I love you. Smiling, Steed poured them both some wine. “A toast,” he said, handing her a glass. “To us.”
Darci clinked her glass to his. “To us.”
* * *
Following the delicious dinner and two servings of Miss Sophie’s peach cobbler, Steed shooed Darci to the living room to relax while he cleaned up the kitchen. Twenty minutes later he returned to the living room. Darci sat curled on her couch reading a booklet of some kind.
“What’s got you so absorbed?” he asked.
“This,” she said, picking up a square box from the floor. “Do you know anything about BlackBerries?”
“You’re not talking about the fruit, are you?”
She laughed. “No.”
“I know a little about a lot.” He sat beside her and took possession of the do-it-all cell phone. “Warwick gave you this?”
“Yeah. He wanted to make sure he could reach me at all times to brag about his wonderful trip to Rio. He was going to stop in New York on his way to Brazil to teach me how to use it.”
“Yes, my sweet Darci is electronically challenged.” Steed pressed a few buttons on the keypad. “This is top of the line.”
“That was Kenny. Nothing but the best for him. He had to make sure pictures of the country and details of his conquests could come through from thousands of miles away.”
“He bragged about his women to you?”
“I was his best friend. To Kenny, I was like one of the guys, except I’m a girl. He told me everything.” Sadness darkened her once-happy face. “He would have told me if…Nothing.”
Steed set the BlackBer
ry on the table and brushed his finger against her cheek. His heart went out to her. She was trying so hard, but she was far from accepting Warwick’s suicide. He feared she never would. And if she knew about this fingerprint thing…Living with unanswered questions had dogged him since his father’s death. But he’d dealt with his pain alone, shutting out his mother and sister and being stoic, until Nana broke down his defenses.
Even after that, he kept people at a distance, never wanting to get too close. Feelings hurt, and he didn’t want to hurt anymore. Grieving for his father had consumed most of the room in his heart, and he didn’t want to make room for anything else. But Darci had found her way in. His wildest dream and worst nightmare rolled up into one beautiful, infuriating package. A package he loved with all his heart and wanted to take care of, to help with her pain—this seemingly unending pain.
Just how close was she to this guy?
The green-eyed monster that lived in him and twisted in his gut almost every time she mentioned Kenny’s name demanded he get an answer to that question. “You two were just friends? Nothing more?”
Darci expelled a sharp breath and pulled back. Annoyance and glee prominent in her dark eyes. “No, we weren’t just friends. We were best friends. We had a closeness that’s rare between a man and a woman. And no, Steed, it did not include sex.” She nudged her elbow in his side. “Happy now?”
Steed smiled. “Actually, yes, I am.” He kissed her cheek. “I’ll be honest with you, Darci, I was jealous.”
“No!” she said in feigned, overly dramatic surprise.
“C’mon, Darci, you’re so passionate when you talk about him, it’s no question you love him. I couldn’t help wondering how much you loved him.”
“I loved him a lot, and I always will. And although I find it endearing, you have absolutely no reason to be jealous.”
“That’s nice of you to say, but I love you, Darci. And a guy can only take so much of his woman going on about another man, even if that man is dead, before he gets…”
Her midnight eyes lit up. A big smile turned her lips. “What did you say?”
Steed grunted. What indeed? He hadn’t planned to say the words cloaked in a fit of jealousy, but they’d been said, and he couldn’t say he was sorry she finally knew. “I said I love you. And I do. I love you very much.” He brushed his finger against her nose. “Is that being wide-open enough for you?”
“Steed.” Darci scooted onto his lap, eliciting an immediate flow of blood to that part of his body. “I love you, too.” Her arms slinked around his neck and her soft lips settled on his and parted.
Steed’s hands trailed the curves of her body and up to her breasts, filling his open palms with the warmth of her firm, full mounds. His thumbs flicked her hardened peeks through the thin material of her dress and bra. She moaned softly, shifting against his growing arousal. It was all he could do to keep from crying out loud. Steed tore his lips from hers. Passion and longing filled Darci’s eyes as he unbuttoned his shirt and she lowered the straps to her dress and pushed it halfway down her body.
The contrast of her lacy white bra against her supple bronze flesh turned him on even more. His lips grazed the swell of her breasts as he loosened the hooks of her bra and dropped it to the floor. He pulled back, marveling at the cone-shaped mounds of flesh. “So beautiful,” he murmured, leaning forward to tease and taste the distended dark tips. Darci’s arms curled around his neck as she writhed against him, inciting his need for her all the more. Desperate to be one with her, Steed lowered her to the couch and reached for the button of his slacks.
“Steed, stop!” Darci shot up, placing her hands on his chest. “I’m sorry. I can’t do this.”
Steed glanced down at the intense knot in his pants. She couldn’t be serious. “Why?” He pressed her shaky hand against him. Her breasts rose and fell from the pounding of her heart. Taut nipples puckered under his gaze, silently screaming for the attention of his lips. She wanted him. He could tell in her kiss and her every touch on his skin. Even her beautiful eyes said so. Her words said “I can’t,” but her eyes and actions said “I want to.”
“Can’t you feel how much I want you? How much I love you?”
Darci jerked her hand away and pulled up the straps of her dress. “I do, but I can’t. I’m sorry.” She scurried to the far end of the couch and tucked her feet under her bottom.
“What is it, Darci, is it not a…a good time?”
“No, it’s not a good time, but it’s not the reason you’re thinking. It’s not that time of the month.”
Steed pulled on his shirt. “Then what is it?”
Darci wrapped her arms around her shoulders. “I, uh…I…”
Steed edged toward her, feeling her tense up the closer he got. Since they started seeing each other, things had never progressed beyond some hot kisses on the couch. He figured her grief played a part, but tonight was different. Things had progressed to more intimate touching and exposure of flesh from other than a few of his loosened shirt buttons. “Darci, what’s wrong? You can tell me anything.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Try.”
“Steed, I…” She released a breath.
“Just tell me. It can’t be as bad as you think. I mean, what are you gonna say, you’re really a man or you’re a virgin or something?” He laughed.
She didn’t laugh back. Steed’s heart dropped. “My God, Darci, you’re not a man, are you?”
“No, but I am a virgin,” she confessed. “And I want to stay one until I’m married.”
CHAPTER 11
I’m a virgin. Hearing that blew Steed away, but that other part. I want to stay one until I’m married. Sterling High wasn’t a Catholic school, was it?
“Are you going to say something, Steed?”
“What do you want me to say?”
“Whatever you’re feeling,” she said.
Steed walked over to the fireplace. He fingered the pictures on the mantle. Darci and her parents. They would definitely be proud, if not shocked, to learn she hadn’t…He turned to her. “You’re a virgin?”
“Yes, I’m a virgin.”
“Darci, you’re gorgeous.”
“What are you saying? Only ugly women can be virgins?”
“No, it’s just…You’re thirty-two.”
“Only preteens can be virgins?”
“But you’re on television.”
“Oh, so only nuns can be virgins? We’ve covered looks, age, and career, is there anything left?”
“I’m just surprised. I would have never guessed in a million years you would say what you said.” He raked his fingers through his hair, exhaling deeply. “You’re a virgin.”
“How many times are you going to say that?”
“I don’t know. Until it sinks in.”
“Does it change things?”
He nodded. “Yeah, Darci, it does.”
“I thought so.” She left the couch and pulled open the front door. “There are no hard feelings.”
“Darci, close the door.”
“You just said…”
“I know what I said, just let me finish saying it.”
She closed the door and returned to the couch. Steed drank in her beauty as the soft lamplight bathed her face in a halo-like glow. She was more of an angel than he’d known.
“Steed, you’re staring.”
“Yes, I am.” He smiled. “I didn’t think you could dazzle me any more than you already had, but, lady, you are full of surprises. You’re already an impressive woman, but to hear you’re saving yourself—that’s incredible. There aren’t a lot of women like you in the world.”
“You make me sound like I’m perfect or something.”
He grunted. “Let’s not get carried away. I think an awful lot of you, Darci, but you’re not close to perfect. Even though I think you’re pretty perfect for me.”
“Then you’re okay with this?”
He clicked his tongue. “How can
I answer that?”
“I don’t know. Yes or no?”
“It’s not a yes or no answer.”
“Sure it is.”
“Maybe for you, but not for me. Your mind is made up on this situation, and you’ve been living with it for thirty-two years. You might waver a bit, like you did tonight, but in the end you’re going to stick to your guns. As okay as I am with this tonight, I can’t say how okay I’ll be if it got this intense again. Do you get my drift?”
“You’re not okay with this, are you?”
“Darci, I’m totally okay with you being a virgin. I’m shocked, but I’m okay with it. It’s getting used to what it means for me that’s the tricky part.”
“Are you sorry I told you?”
“I don’t know.” Steed drew a deep breath. He’d never had any significant relationships, just sexual ones. Sex defined the interest he’d had in the women he dated. But Darci wasn’t like the other women he’d dated. He loved her, and she was the only virgin he’d ever encountered. This made things very different. “I don’t know where we go from here,” he said.
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Before, I didn’t know about your—your status, but now that I do, I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. I can’t lie, Darci, I want you, but wanting you is like wanting a key to Fort Knox. I can’t have it.”
“Steed, it doesn’t have to be like that. I do love you, and things—things could change.”
“I would never want to put you in the position of going against yourself.”
“You wouldn’t, and you haven’t. I’ve never gone as far we had tonight, but I’ve never felt the desire to before now. I thought you should know about me, but I don’t want it to change anything between us. In New York, I didn’t get to church as often as I do now that I’m back home, but growing up it was a Sunday ritual. The concept of waiting became ingrained in me. Back in high school, I saw how lightly most of the girls and guys, especially Kenny, took sex. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. I have one virginity to lose. It’s a precious gift. And the only way I could ensure I would have no regrets would be to wait. So I’ve waited.”
Not Quite Right (Indigo Love Spectrum) Page 10