by Noelle Adams
Before she could let that thought fester, they were getting out of his truck, and he was taking her hand as they walked in.
She liked how it felt. A lot. Not just the warm, strong grip of his hand, but also how it felt to be really with him this way, for everyone who saw them to know they were a couple.
With Arthur she’d felt like an expensive accessory, a sign of Arthur’s alpha maleness, his ability to land an attractive younger woman. She didn’t feel that way with Rob, and the difference was jarring.
She felt like he actually wanted to be with her. With her.
All of her fears were just silly. Everything was different with Rob.
The place was pleasant and kind of folksy, with a lot of local arts and crafts on shelves and hanging on the walls. There were quite a few tables fit into a small space, but it all looked very comfortable. Near the front there was a small stage where she assumed local musicians sometimes performed. There were microphones and speakers set up, as well as a couple of instrument cases.
As the hostess showed them to their table, Rob waved and nodded at three different tables.
“Do you know everyone?” she demanded with a laugh.
“Not everyone. But I was born in this county, and I’ve lived here all my life. And there aren’t actually that many people here to meet.” He was smiling at her over the candle on the table, and she couldn’t miss the appreciation in his eyes. He was really glad to be here with her. He was pleased and proud that she was his date.
He was proud.
The waiter handed Rob the wine list, but Rob handed it over to Allison after the young man had left. “You can choose the wine. Anything you want.”
“But what do you want?” she asked, scanning it and surprised by how good a list it was for such an out-of-the-way restaurant. “I want you to like the wine too.”
“I don’t care. I’ll drink anything. It’s your birthday. You pick. We can even get that expensive champagne if you want.”
It was a sweet gesture, but Allison gave a little shudder as she looked to the bottom of the list. “No, thank you. Arthur always drank that.”
“Then we’ll definitely get something else.”
Allison found a midpriced merlot that she liked, and they ordered that with their entrées and appetizer. Rob had been right about the food. It was surprisingly good, and Allison kept making comments about how delicious it was and how she never would have guessed it from the outside.
“I told you not to judge,” Rob told her with a fond smile.
“I really wasn’t judging! I just…didn’t know.”
She could tell from his expression that he was having a good time, and she thought her face was probably conveying that she was too. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this way—like the world was brand new, like it was full of fresh starts, like what had happened in the past wouldn’t necessarily dictate what happened to her in the future.
Maybe it was the wine, but she was giggling and feeding Rob bites of her scrumptious chocolate mousse at the end of dinner. He was looking at her like he genuinely believed she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
She might have just melted away completely if a big man with a long, unkempt beard hadn’t come over and clapped Rob’s shoulders with both hands. “Rob West,” the man said with a very strong mountain drawl. “It’s been a long time.”
Rob turned around, blinking when he saw who it was. “Malachi!” He stood up and shook the man’s hand. Then he turned to Allison and introduced them. “Allison, this is Malachi Beardsley. We used to know each other from around, although I haven’t seen him in years. And Malachi, this is—”
“Your honey. That much is obvious.”
Rob shot her a quick, apologetic look, as if he thought she might not like being called his “honey.” She actually thought it was kind of cute, and she was still trying to process the irony of a man with a beard like that having the last name of Beardsley.
She managed to say hello in a mostly articulate way. It looked like Malachi wanted to stay and chat, but he was called up by the long-haired man in overalls who had just stepped onto the stage and picked up a banjo.
“Got to go,” Malachi said, giving them a quick wave before he went to join the overalls man and another guy with hair in a ponytail. “Music starts at seven thirty.”
“Oh, I guess we’ll get to hear some of it,” Allison said, turning her chair slightly as the musicians started to pluck and tune their instruments.
“I’m not sure it’s going to be the kind of music you’re used to,” Rob said, cocking one eyebrow at her.
“What do you mean? What kind of music is it? Folk music or something?”
“Eh. More like…bluegrass, with some country mixed in. Wait and see.”
Allison watched with interest and then understood immediately what Rob was talking about. She’d never heard the song they played, and she couldn’t understand all the words, but it seemed to be a story about a hunting dog who’d gotten lost somewhere in the woods. The music was quite interesting, though, and the men obviously knew how to play very well. She was smiling as she looked over to Rob.
“Don’t tell me you like it,” he said, looking at her closely despite his teasing smile.
“It’s different. It’s interesting. I kind of want to hear more.”
The second song she liked even better, but their coffee and dessert were done, and she was wondering if they should give up their table. There was probably another reservation at eight, and she didn’t want to be rude.
She was just turning to Rob to suggest they think about leaving when the song finished and Malachi spoke into the microphone. “We have a treat tonight. A really talented musician who has long since forsaken his guitar. Maybe we can get him to join us for a song.”
Allison looked around, interested in who this was, when she realized the three guys in the band were all grinning at Rob, who looked like he’d been caught in oncoming headlights.
“Rob West,” Malachi continued, confirming her conclusion. “Come on up and sing a song for us.”
Allison gasped and covered her mouth with her hand as she stared at Rob. He was shaking his head and waving Malachi away, smiling but looking very self-conscious.
“Do you sing and play the guitar?” Allison asked him.
He shrugged. “I used to. Just something to do. I was never very good.”
“He’s saying he wasn’t very good,” Malachi said into the microphone, obviously set on goading Rob into getting up on the stage. “Let’s try to convince him to come up.”
The rest of the customers and the waitstaff were all getting into the spirit, clapping and calling out for Rob to get up there.
Allison gave him a little push. “Go on,” she said, a little embarrassed to be the center of attention but, more than that, really wanting to see what Rob could do onstage. “Go sing a song with them.”
Rob looked torn. “Are you sure?”
She really didn’t understand, but he appeared to be hesitating because of her. “Why wouldn’t I? I’d love to see this side of you. Please show it to me.”
Something in his eyes changed, and whatever it was, it made the decision. He stood up and shook himself off. When he got up to the stage, he took the guitar the ponytail guy handed him, and he shook his head at Malachi in amused reproach.
Malachi appeared very pleased with himself. “We’re going to have to go more mainstream with this one, since Rob here is so out of practice.”
Allison was ridiculously excited as Malachi started to play his fiddle, the first bars obviously signaling what song they were going to play.
Naturally, Allison hadn’t heard this one before either, but a lot of the other people in the restaurant must have because they clapped when the guys started to sing. Allison focused on Rob, who seemed to be quite good on the guitar. He had a warm, pleasant voice—nothing really exceptional, but she loved the sound of it. Loved it. Loved that she was finally getting to k
now this side of him—one that was so authentic and endearing and even sexy.
The song was something about a Louisiana Saturday night, but it sounded more like “Loos-iana”—and that was evidently the right way to pronounce it, since that was how the customers joining in were singing it too. It was an upbeat song, heavy on the banjo and fiddle, and the lyrics Allison caught made her snicker.
Rob was clearly having a good time up there. He liked the guys in the band, and he was having fun with the music. Every once in a while, he’d glance over to her, and he seemed relieved that she was still smiling.
It was like he’d thought she wouldn’t like to see him this way, as if she would be embarrassed or something.
She wasn’t embarrassed. She was delighted. It felt like she now knew him better than she had even five minutes ago. She wanted to know him more, deeper, and sometimes she felt like she’d never get past his strong, solid surface.
When the song finished, the restaurant broke out in cheers, and Rob handed back the guitar, punching Malachi on the shoulder on his way down. He looked sheepish and happy and a little embarrassed as he returned to the table.
Allison got up to hug him and she was surprised by how tightly he hugged her back.
The drive back from the restaurant took about forty minutes, so it was dark when they got home. They hadn’t talked much on the way back, but it was a pleasant kind of silence, not an awkward one.
She smelled her mulch when she got out of the car, and she gave Rob a little squeeze when she remembered what he’d done for her.
He brushed a kiss into her hair as they walked to her front door. His eyes were very soft in the light from her front door light as he stood and gazed down at her. “I don’t have to come in if you’re tired,” he murmured.
“Are you kidding? My birthday isn’t over yet.”
This appeared to be the right thing to say. He smiled and kissed her gently before she was able to unlock her door.
She sighed and toed off her shoes as she walked in, since she’d worn heels and her feet were hurting. She walked over to smell her flowers on her kitchen counter.
Rob came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her middle. “So did you have a good time?” he asked.
“I did. I really did.” She turned around in his arms. “I can’t believe you never told me before that you sing and play the guitar!”
“I’m really not that good. I did it when I was younger, mostly so I could hang out in bars and impress girls.”
She giggled. “Well, I was definitely impressed.”
“Really?”
“Why did you think I wouldn’t be? Did you think I wouldn’t like that side of you?”
He cleared his throat. “I don’t know. I thought maybe you wouldn’t like that kind of music, and it would remind you of how different we are.”
She felt a little stab of fear that what he’d said was true. They were really different. They came from different worlds. They enjoyed different things. They wanted different things out of life. So far it hadn’t been a problem between them, but maybe one day it would.
But maybe not. She pushed the thought away because there were more important things to think about right now. She reached up to stroke his cheek, which was just slightly stubbly. “I don’t care about any of that. I really liked seeing you up there. I like knowing that part of you.”
He tightened his arms around her. “Good. Then I’m glad I showed you.”
“What were the words of that song you sang? Something about a fiddle and a bow?”
Rob sang softly, thickly, the first lines of the song’s refrain. When he got to the line about kicking off your shoes and throwing them on the floor, Allison broke in to join him, since she remembered those words.
He chuckled and swayed her gently in his arms. “Dance in the kitchen ’til the mornin’ light. Loos-iana Saturday night.”
She was so overwhelmed with feeling that she couldn’t stand even the slightest distance between them. She pulled him down into a kiss.
Rob kissed her back, gently but hungrily, until eventually they ended up against the kitchen counter, his hands all over her and her legs wrapped around his thighs.
“Oh God, Rob,” she gasped at last, trying to breathe despite all the pleasure and emotion surging through her. “If you don’t take me to bed right now, you’re just going to have to take me right here in the kitchen.”
He laughed softly and then reached out to swing her up into his arms. She squealed in surprise but wrapped her arms around him, kissing him again as he carried her into the bedroom.
He took off her clothes, kissing and caressing every part of her until he finally settled between her legs, both of them needy and aroused. They moved together in a slow, tender rhythm, never breaking out of their kiss, and Allison couldn’t remember ever feeling so cared for, so adored. She’d never known sex could be like that. Not just physical pleasure but a sharing of selves in the most intimate way.
She fell asleep in his arms afterward and for the first time was really wondering if there was some way to work out the differences between them so they could stay together for longer than right now.
Chapter 10
A week later Rob was throwing Allison down onto the bed in his room with a growly sound that made her squeal.
“When I said to make your move,” she said in an intentionally taunting voice, “I didn’t mean to do it like a caveman.”
She’d been called in to work the evening shift today because one of the weekend waitresses had called in sick. She was glad for the extra money, but she didn’t like work to cut into her weekend time with Rob, so she’d stopped by his place after she finished up at around nine thirty.
Rob had been watching baseball on TV, and it was apparently a close game. He hadn’t been particularly attentive when she’d arrived, so she’d sat in a leather chair, not saying a word until, during a commercial break, he finally realized something was wrong.
He’d made a fairly good attempt to apologize—considering he was still half watching the game. Fortunately there were only a few minutes left, so she had his full attention after that.
He did his best to woo her out of her righteous indignation, and soon she was just holding out on principle. Finally she’d told him that if he wanted something, he should make his move, and that was how she’d ended up scooped up, carried into his bedroom, and then flung down on his bed.
Truth be told, her heart was racing with exhilaration as he moved over her, propping himself above her on straightened arms.
“Then what did you mean by ‘make your move’?” he asked thickly. There was a fire in his eyes that excited her even more. She didn’t see this side of him very often, and she liked it.
“I meant, make your move like a…a gentleman.”
He choked on a laugh but managed to sustain his dominant tone and expression. “Too bad. No gentleman here.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“What do you want me to do?”
Her chest was rising and falling quickly, and she knew her cheeks were flushed. She was stretched out beneath him, and her hair was in her face. “Maybe you’re going to have to figure that out for yourself.”
He kissed her hard then—nothing sweet or gentle about it. And afterward he reared up and pulled open her blouse, yanking off a couple of buttons in the process.
She gasped loudly, clenching with arousal at the fierce move and the way he was staring down at her body. He pulled one of her breasts out of her bra and gave her nipple a quick lick. When she arched up toward him, he gave it a few sucks that made her moan.
He pulled out the other breast and gave it the same treatment until she couldn’t stay still. For some reason, even the simple stimulation was making her crazy.
“Now what do you want?” he murmured, eyeing her hotly, possessively.
“You tell me.”
He unbuttoned her pants and then yanked them down with her panties. He finally unclasped
her bra so she was completely naked beneath him, while he had on all his clothes. “I think you want this,” he said, moving lower on her body so his mouth was hovering over her arousal.
She gasped and pushed her hips up toward him. “Yes, please,” she hissed, not even caring if she sounded completely shameless.
He leaned down to tease her intimately with his tongue and then stroke her internally with two fingers. She was riding his hand, quickly approaching orgasm, when he smiled and withdrew his hand.
“Damn it,” she muttered, whimpering at the loss of stimulation. “I was close.”
“I know you were,” he said, giving her that same look of primitive power. He was aroused now too. She could see it in his face. She didn’t have to look at his crotch. “But maybe I want you to come in a different way.”
For some reason, his words made her clench again in pleasure. She writhed on the bed, desperately turned on and desperately wanting him to touch her. “All right,” she said hoarsely. “Then move me the way you want me. Take me the way you want to.”
She saw the fire blaze in his eyes, but he paused for a minute, checking her expression. “You sure?” he asked softly.
The brief question nearly sent her heart in overdrive as much as her body. “Oh yeah.”
“Then that’s what you’ll get.” He turned her body over and lifted her butt, sliding her thighs apart.
She gasped when she heard him unzip and then felt the tip of his erection at her entrance. “Now, Rob, please.”
He thrust into her, making her moan and then moan again when he pulled out slightly and pushed in even more.
She and Rob had tried a lot of positions, but he’d never taken her from behind before. She’d never said she didn’t want to, but she’d also never suggested it. It had been Arthur’s favorite position, and so it would never be her first choice. But this was different than with Arthur. Even the position. He hadn’t put her on her hands and knees. Rob had just raised her bottom. The penetration felt tight and she could feel Rob pressed behind her, and she wanted him so much she would come from anything.