The Woman I Love: Book One (The Woman I Love Series 1)

by G S Binkley

  Perking up considerably. “I did, didn’t I?” Her mother confirmed her own approval, giving her daughter a wink too. “What next?”

  “Ducks.” Derek piped up.

  Rolling her blue eyes in surrender, Dani remembered her mother’s words about the family outing. “Ducks it is then.” A short pause. “Again.”

  Derek splashed the water in the duck pond much to the vendor’s dismay, but he was helpless to do anything when Lacy flashed him an endearing smile when she asked permission that he swore actually curled his toes. Of course, he would never admit that out loud. What would the rest of the carnies think?

  A few rides later that included the scrambler, the ring of fire and the flying fisherman’s boat, the newly formed family was ready to call it a day. Even Dani admitted to being all tuckered out. Derek rested his sleepy head on his mother’s shoulder, arms wrapped securely around the little rubber duck while Dani latched onto Gage’s right hand since the other one was dutifully carrying the giraffe.

  After the short walk to the boat in the dark, they carefully negotiated the slippery dock lit only by a few lanterns. Gage settled Dani down on the back seat.

  “I’m tired.” She declared, laid down and closed her eyes, but not before claiming the giraffe as her bed partner.

  Lacy stepped over the gunwale onto the boat. She laid her son on the other padded bench, pulling out a couple of extra shirts from her bag then covered both her children.

  Gage fired up the engine then started to get out of the boat, but was stopped when Lacy grabbed her shoulder. “Here. Let me.” She jumped out of the boat, unleashed the ropes attached to the dock, flipping them back in the boat. As she raised her foot, it slipped on the side of the boat. Unbalanced, Lacy fell forward into the surprised and delighted arms of the writer, knocking them back onto the captain’s seat.

  When hopeful blue met welcoming green illuminated by the lanterns, both knew the pivotal moment had arrived. They felt the crackling current of energy running between them, pounding on the door as loudly as Lacy’s heart thundered against her chest. She begged admission into the entryway of Gage’s heart. Zeroing in on the luscious targeted lips before her, any doubt in the star’s mind crusaded past emotional and social barriers long standing, crumbling like the wall of Jericho.

  For Gage, a riot of sensations cannoned through her fully alert tingling body. The gaze in Lacy’s penetrating blue eyes threatened to steal Gage’s breath away. What she had long desired, poised a finger’s width away, and on the verge of receiving as breaths mingled in delicious anticipation of fireworks primed to ignite at the sweet touch of their lips was at hand.

  The tenderness of the kiss was staggering. Warm lips brushed against inviting ones in a dance so intoxicating they would both swear later they heard a harp play and blue birds soared high into the sky creating a vortex in which the two would be lovers lost themselves. Savoring the sensual kiss of the writer’s lips, Lacy’s mouth lounged there for what she hoped would be eternity, soaking in the depth of love she felt course through her body, filling it to the brim.

  Suddenly, sensing they were being watched, Gage began the unbelievable task of bringing their first kiss to a close. While in retreat, Gage stole kiss after kiss, each shorter than the one before, but not in its intensity.

  Swallowing hard, Lacy gasped. “That was nice.” Allowing her head to rest against Gage’s flushed face.

  The deep breath she took shuttered through her body. “Nice?”

  “Mmmmmm.” Lacy moaned. “Very nice.”

  Shifting her head around covertly, searching for an intruder. “Well, that’s a step up, I guess.”

  Lacy repositioned her forehead; laying it against Gage, nose touching nose. “I’ve never been kissed like that before.”

  “Baby, I need some clarification here…good or bad… and I need it now.” Gage insisted, waiting on baited breath for the verdict.

  “Very good.” Ducking her head back down to capture the writer’s lips again. “Very, very good.” She stole another kiss, although Gage would gladly give them away free of charge. “As a matter of fact…” Lacy dropped her voice to its lowest register. “That’s the best kiss I’ve ever received.”

  Just before Gage reclaimed the star’s inviting lips, she smiled. “Now you’re talking.”

  The shadow lurking near the boat dock slipped away having seen enough. Now I have you right where I want you.

  ************************

  It was a long ride home in the cool, dark night as Gage guided the boat back to their cabin. The kids never woke on the trip so they easily put them to bed.

  It was inevitable that they would share a bed tonight and every other night if they had their way. Silently, as they readied for bed both lulled in deep thought. Unbeknownst to the other, sharing the same feelings about the kiss, the night, tomorrow and their future. Two roads had finally merged into one, forever linked.

  Slipping into bed, Lacy crawled into the writer’s waiting arms. Snuggling ever closer, Gage’s wandering hands had a mind all their own. They cuddled and kissed, lazing against each other allowing soft moans of pleasure to escape. Grabbing at Lacy’s white v-neck tee shirt, Gage suggested seductively. “Let’s take your clothes off so they don’t get in the way.”

  With Gage’s persistent hands roaming her body unchecked, Lacy replied seriously. “I don’t think my clothes are hindering your hands any.” A smile appeared briefly before she claimed the writer’s lips on the verge of objecting.

  Protest stymied before it had a chance to be verbalized, Gage savored the defeat, becoming a willing participant in her own remonstration’s demise. “I could do this forever.”

  Yes, forever. That idea brought a chilling effect. Lacy pulled away slightly, breathless from the last kiss. “Gage, sweetheart…..” The insistent lips that attacked the star’s neck distracted her momentarily. “Ahh…sweetheart, please.” Unrelenting hands glided over the curve of her full, firm breast, pausing just the briefest of moments caused Lacy to moan. Oh, God, that was nice.

  “What?” Gage asked weakly, leaving a trail of soft kisses down Lacy’s neck to her collarbone.

  “Sweetheart.” You are driving me to distraction, Lacy thought, powered by the traveling hands of the writer. “We need to talk.” It took all her effort, but she finally got it out.

  “Okay.” Gage said, but never stopped her sensual assault on the willing respondent.

  Lacy reasoned she had to do something and fast before things went too far. A plan formulated quickly. I’ve got one shot at this in order to get her full attention. Corralling every feeling she held for the writer presently making mad, passionate love to her, Lacy commanded the lips before her, claiming them fully and conquered Gage, kissing her to exhaustion, sapping every last bit of passion that had just exploded forth from the writer.

  Breathless and satiated, Gage fell back on the pillow, eyes closed, head spinning out of control. “Wow.” Escaped in a sated sigh.

  “Can we talk now?” Lacy’s own words weakly spilled forth, dizzied from the kiss herself.

  Gage’s only reply, a wicked smile as dazed eyes slit open, gazing at the woman she loved.

  “I’ll take that as a yes.” In spite of the look Gage sent her. A long moment passed as Lacy constructed her next words. “I think we should… maybe for now…”

  “Take it slow.” Gage supplied, propping herself up on her elbow, she pulled Lacy into a smothering embrace. Whispering in her ear, Gage said the words Lacy struggled to enunciate. “It’s the kids.” Her lips quickly nuzzled the enticing ear next to her mouth, nipping it, then Gage reluctantly moved back to look into concerned blue eyes.

  “Yes.” Lacy admitted. “And it’s me, too. This is all so soon after….” Her mind traveled the short distance over the last few days reclaiming the memory of David’s arrival, his declaration of love for Hayston Rawlings, her former co-star, and the divorce papers she’d so recently signed.

  “Take all the time you wan
t.” Gage assured her. “I’ll wait for as along as it takes.” The quick kiss punctuated the promise.

  “Thank you.” Lacy laid her head on Gage’s shoulder, draped her arm and long leg over the writer, closed her eyes and quietly whispered. “Goodnight.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  It was pure torture for Gage to drag herself out of bed the next morning. But when the other half of her soul slipped from their warm haven, the emptiness left behind motivated her to get moving. After all, the kids will be up soon. I guess it was silly of me to think we could just lounge around in bed all day. Gage tracked Lacy as she walked across the room, well out of reach, only to exit mumbling something about getting something to eat. That thought appealed to the writer in a very perverse way. Thinking of what she’d like to devour, Gage reprimanded herself. I have got to get my mind out of the gutter.

  Lacy, with a firm handle on getting breakfast ready, spun the knob on the stove, cranking the heat up under the pot of water in order to warm the oatmeal.

  Gage approached silently from behind, slipped her arms around the star’s slender waist. She pulled Lacy close to her, molding their bodies together. Lacy allowed herself a moment to savor this feeling of love permeating her entire being, closing her eyes. The writer dispensed a series of kisses on the actress’s neck then kissing her way up, slowly dragging the tip of her tongue along the edge of Lacy’s ear. A tantalizing tingle shot through the dark haired woman. After a brief stay playing with Lacy’s ear, Gage’s chin came to rest on the actress’s shoulder.

  Lacy clasped her hands on the arms circling her waist. “That was nice.”

  Gage perked up. “What is it with you? Everything is....nice?” Gage taunted with a serious edge of undercurrent flowing through her tone.

  Twisting around in the writer’s arms, Lacy touched Gage’s cheek, gazing deeply into the profound verdant eyes before her. “Would you rather I use great, wonderful, excellent, outstanding or…..what would you suggest?”

  “Sexy, sensual, superior, stupendous to name a few.”

  “Okay, you’re wanting something that starts with an ‘s’. It was…..” An impious grin crossed her face. “Super nice.”

  “You are wicked. You know that, don’t you?” Gage claimed the lips being offered, drowning in the delicious taste of heaven. Gage put all the love she had for Lacy in that kiss, aiming for something beyond ‘nice’ even if it was described as super. I’m thinking more like marvelous, out of this world, fabulous, awe-inspiring or……

  Breaking from the kiss, Lacy declared breathlessly. “Breathtaking.”

  That’s more like it. Gage reclaimed the star’s beckoning lips, spiraling, falling over the precipice into a seductive haze. Until. The boiling water bubbled over the pot, sizzling on the heat below, jerking them out of their revelry.

  Lacy twisted out of Gage’s embrace, grabbed the pot then sat it down on an empty burner. Rotating back around to the writer, Lacy revealed. “Apparently, I love you to distraction.”

  Her simply stated words shocked Gage to the core. She was about to proclaim the love she felt for the woman standing before her until soft footfalls could be heard from the hardwood floor in the hallway. They both stepped back awkwardly.

  Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Derek dragged the giraffe behind him into the kitchen. “Momma.”

  “Morning, honey.” Lacy swung her son up in her arms. “You hungry?”

  Barely holding onto the giraffe’s horn, Derek nodded, wiggling his friend. “He hungry too.”

  The sharp shriek of a whistle cut through the morning air. Lacy and Gage practically jumped at the noise of Dani’s whistle while Derek just giggled. “Good morning.” Dani announced, her voice a little raspy. “What’s for breakfast? Captain Crunch?”

  Gage placed a bowl of oatmeal before Dani, but said to Lacy. “I guess the captain here is planning an excursion today.”

  “Honey, what’s wrong with your voice?” The concerned mother felt her daughter’s forehead for fever.

  “Nothing.” Dani croaked. “Just a little sore.”

  “Mmmm. Maybe must be from all that bloodcurdling screaming you did in the haunted house.” Lacy said, giving her a cough drop. “Here.”

  Lacy hoped to find some time to talk with Gage about the recent developments between them, but they had to tend to the kids first. Maybe tonight. A silent exchange of looks between writer and star aligned them on the same wavelength.

  “Alright then. After breakfast, we’ll sail the high seas. Maybe go over to the public beach. Derek will like the playground they have there. Swimming, fishing, games later.” Gage was quickly filling up the agenda for the day.

  That’s it, Gage, a full day of activities for our young brood and they’ll be all tuckered out and go to bed extra early. “And if we need to…a long walk.”

  Dani scrunched her face. “A walk?” Then shrugged. “Okay, if we walk to the cave, that is.”

  Lacy cocked her hands on her hips. “No cave. We already did that.” She had no desire to make that trek again even though their last expedition brought them back safe and sound.

  Dani caved. “Okay, no cave. Jeez.” Unbeknownst to everyone in the room expect for Derek, a devious thought bloomed as a smile widened at the prospect. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Dani quoted her father. Of course, her father only used that affirmation when it came to his work.

  ************************

  The full day of activities did the trick. Two very tired children crawled into bed, safely tucked in, falling easily as sleep claimed them. Lacy and Gage returned to the living room intent on further exploring their feelings toward each other.

  Before even one word was spoken, the telephone rang. Gage shrugged, reached for the telephone and answered it. “Hello.” A brief moment passed before she handed the telephone to Lacy, sitting next her.

  Lacy grabbed it. “Hello.”

  “How’s my favorite client?” Arthur Graham asked, nervously tapping his pencil against the script he’d just finished reading.

  “Oh, hello Art.” Lacy mouthed ‘my agent’ to Gage. “We’re fine here. Having a great time actually.” The star said with a smile and a wink to Gage. Scooting closer, Gage wrapped her arms around Lacy’s shoulders. “What’s up?”

  “Not a thing. Just wanted to touch base.” Arthur said nonchalantly.

  “Ummm Hmm. Why don’t I believe that?” Lacy was always suspicious when her agent called ‘to touch base’. The underlining message usually meant trouble.

  “You’ve got my number.” Arthur cleared his throat. He knew Lacy, unlike other clients, didn’t like beating around the bush meaningless accolades. “I heard a crazy rumor.”

  “You mean the divorce.” Lacy stated simply.

  “What! What divorce?” The ball came out of left field and hit him squarely on his balding head. “Where’s David?”

  “In California, I’m sure.” Lacy wished she’d have waited for her agent to deliver his news before she had to undertake this subject with him. “He wants a divorce, brought the papers out here a few days ago. I signed. End of story.”

  “You already gave me the end, now I want the beginning. When did this happen?” Arthur was bordering on the edge of becoming frantic. It wasn’t that he liked David so much. Together they made a powerful couple in Hollywood and David carefully orchestrated Lacy’s career with his help. Of course, being married to one of the most beautiful women in the world who also just happened to be a great actress bode well for the up and coming executive.

  “At first, I’d have said it came out of nowhere when he showed up with the papers, but upon further reflection, I’d say it started around four years ago. Slowly but surely our marriage eroded along the way. And then there’s Hayston.” Lacy added.

  Hayston! Arthur Graham found out purely by accident about a year ago that David was having an affair with Hayston. He debated time and time again about telling Lacy, hoping that David would tire of the demanding actress. Arthur always pict
ured Hayston Rawlings sharpening her nails at the break of dawn before emerging from her dark abyss preying on anyone who could further her career. The twenty-three year old actress learned the Hollywood ropes quickly, coiling some of her own as she played the game with expertise.

  Silence on the telephone line prompted Lacy. “Arthur. You still there?”

  “Yeah, I’m sorry to hear that.” Arthur knew his thirty-year-old client was, even at that age, all too trusting. Lacy tended to take things at face value. “Are you sure it has to come to this?”

  “Is this about my career?”

  “No! I’m concerned about you, that’s all.” He assured her.

  “I’ll be fine. Divorce isn’t something new in Hollywood. It happens all the time.” Darting her eyes to Gage who locked onto the loving green gaze like a port in a storm. “Believe me.” A long slender finger traveled down Gage’s jaw line, sending shivers through her.

  “If you say so.” Sucking in a deep breath. “There’s something else. And it is about your career.”

  Lacy waited.

  “I got a call. Anonymous. But for some reason, it sounds legit. They knew where you are and described your kids. The caller said that you’ve…. you are engaged in….oh, hell, Lacy. They saw you kissing a woman and say they have pictures. And while this may not be new in Hollywood, it doesn’t happen all the time. Careers take a nasty and, may I say, hasty nose dive on something like this.”

  “Are they blackmailing me?” Lacy asked. At these words, Gage’s smiling eyes turned cold.

  “No. Said they thought I should know before the world did. Their words.” Arthur made a decision. “I’m here for you, Lacy. No matter what.”

  “Thank you, Art.”

  If Art had wanted her to confirm or deny this accusation, he didn’t ask. He respected her and stifled the question on the tip of his tongue. “I know you planned to stay there another few weeks, but it seems someone has been keeping close watch on your…..activities.”