by Liz Talley
“You’re just saying that so I’ll sleep with you again.”
He wiggled his dark eyebrows, his eyes glinting with mischief. “Sleep? I don’t think so… and is it working?”
She reproduced his earlier move and lifted a shoulder. “Maybe.”
His expression turned serious. “In all seriousness, I’ve never felt this way so fast… and that’s not a line.”
And that made her smile because she couldn’t have said it better herself.
“So are you hungry?”
“Starving.”
“Why don’t I go downstairs and grab the French bread and the wine?”
“Sounds like a plan.” He tucked his arms behind his head. “’Cause I have more things I want to do to your delectable body, but I’ll need sustenance first.”
A delicious shiver ran through her. “In that case I’ll be quick.”
“And grab another condom from my jeans?”
“Oh, so you’re just gonna lie here and let me wait on you hand and foot?” She slid to the edge of the bed.
“You wore me out.” His smile was smooth as Belgian chocolate.
“A kiss before I go?” She leaned forward.
Thirty minutes later, she finally made it downstairs.
Lucas watched Addy’s bare backside sway as she left the room and nearly applauded at the beauty of the woman. Seriously. That kind of wonder deserved accolades. Standing ovations. Encores.
Damn, who could have imagined his little florist had been brimming with such pent-up desire. He’d never seen a woman so consumed by passion. The revving of that engine had been heady to watch and made a man feel almost honored to hold a woman who poured every piece of herself into making love.
She’d been so beautiful, so absolutely primal. Raw and almost untouched, though he knew it wasn’t true. But still, it had felt that way… like he’d awakened a long-slumbering sex goddess.
Pushing himself up, he looked about her bedroom. Simple, organic. Very Addy.
Heavy curtains with swirling velvet loopy loops hung to the polished wood floor. The bed was a simple metal bed with clean lines and light blue bedding. Landscapes hung on the wall and a cluster of fresh flowers sat in an antique-looking vase on the dresser. The nightstand held a weird-looking white dotted lamp and a stack of books.
He rolled over and picked up a book.
Surrender To Me.
The cover bore a mussed-looking woman straddling a man wearing tight tan trousers, cowboy boots and a hat almost identical to his own. The man’s shirt was open, baring his chest, and the pocket had a star pinned on it. The sheriff.
Lucas thumbed through the book.
Whoa.
He snapped the book closed with a snort.
No wonder she nearly came when he touched her. Her reading material might as well be a drum of propane. All Miss Addy needed was a match.
Or a willing man.
Addy came back into the room, holding a tray on which two glasses clinked. She kicked the door shut with a bare foot, and thankfully she hadn’t put on any clothes. Her jiggling breasts fired a hunger inside him.
Speaking of matches…
He held up the book. “Interesting reading.”
Her entire body flushed pink. “Oh, I’d forgotten about those sitting out.”
“So now I understand why you wanted the boots on.” He beckoned her with a finger. “Now come on over here and show me how Sophie rode the Sheriff.”
Addy set the tray on the dresser and propped her hands on her hips. The sight of her rounded breasts, flat stomach and sleek thighs had him giving her a salute of appreciation. “I’m not acting out scenes from that book, Lucas.”
He gave her a devilish smile, lifting himself from the bed and pulling her into his arms. “So why did you call me Cade when I-”
“I did not!” she shrieked, laughing as he nipped her earlobe.
“Hmm, I don’t remember. We better try again,” he murmured, cupping her breasts and pushing her onto the bed.
“After we eat, of course,” she said, crossing hands over her breasts, her eyes taking on the school marm’s glint. “And I’ve not given you leave to call me by my given name, sir.”
Lucas played along, skipping over the delightful breasts hidden from him to her belly button. Ringing it with tiny kisses, he slid lower, brushing his mouth against her hipbone, before sliding his hands beneath her near-perfect ass. Her tiny gasp of pleasure was a ticket to paradise.
“If you say so, Sophie.”
Sunday afternoon was usually for laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, and running three miles, but that particular Sunday afternoon turned into a gift—unexpected, out of the blue and wrapped in a satin bow of pleasure.
For the entire afternoon, Addy and Lucas lounged around talking, touching, and reveling in the small cocoon they’d created in her bedroom. They’d sipped wine, nibbled on delicious French bread, and ate fried chicken right there on her bed… and she didn’t even worry about the crumbs when Lucas had laid her back and made love to her a third time.
For a moment in time they were isolated from kids who spilled things, dogs that peed on rugs, and the truth of the world in which they lived. Addy didn’t think about her past or her future. Just the sensuous, enjoyable present in Lucas’s arms.
And she loved every precious second of lying beside him, discussing favorite TV shows, the best New Orleans restaurants, and the places he’d traveled and photographed. She’d never had a better first date, but then again, she’d never spent an entire first date naked either.
But eventually they rose and tugged on the clothes Addy had scooped up on her return back to the room.
Lucas tossed Surrender to Me onto the bed. “No more Sophie, Sheriff Cade McGarrity, and hot Texas sex.”
“This had nothing to do with a book,” she teased, running a brush through her hair.
“So why do you read this stuff? It’s almost silly. No man says that when he’s coming,” Lucas said, tapping the book as he reached for his shirt.
“It’s not silly. It’s about two people falling in love. And you may not yell what Cade yells when you come, but you did say some pretty sweet things in my ear.” She smiled, pulling her hair into a low ponytail.
“You believe love like in those books is real?” His question was a crack of the gun. Heavy. Serious.
She jerked her head. “Don’t you?”
“What’s written between those pages is a woman’s fantasy. The whole concept of romantic love is flawed and overrated. Those feelings Sophie and Cade have is a lust thing. Sex. Not love.”
She snapped the elastic in place on her shoulders. “Is that what this is between us? Two people acting on lust?”
Lucas stilled, and she could see on his face he didn’t know what to say. A cornered dog didn’t look as scared as Lucas did at the moment. “Uh, I’m sure whatever my answer is it won’t be right.”
“No, I want to know. I can’t imagine someone not believing in love.”
Lucas glanced away. “I believe in love, but not the whole true love, one person for one person, meant to be kind of crap. That doesn’t exist in my book. Maybe at one time I thought it did, but I think I forced that feeling.”
“So your parents aren’t in love? Ben and Courtney? Millions around the world? They’re all duped?”
He glanced away. “I don’t know. I’m not them.”
“Hmm,” she said, studying him in the fading light of the afternoon. Lucas looked spooked.
He tugged on the cowboy boots he’d kicked in the corner. “Honestly, I haven’t thought about this much. I haven’t had to.”
“Oh,” she said, tossing her brush on the dresser. “I have thought about it. I’ve always believed one day love would find me, and I would just know. I’ve never pushed it, and if I never found it, I suppose I would be okay, but I always thought one day love would walk in.”
His eyes met hers, and something moved between them. Addy didn’t know exactly what it was, bu
t it was something. And it worried her because she’d never thought that once love found her, the feeling wouldn’t be returned.
“We better get downstairs. I think I heard a car in the drive.” He scooped up his hat and shot out her bedroom door like a scalded cat.
“Chicken,” she called, trying to find the lightness that had briefly fled. She shouldn’t have pressed him. Wasn’t any of her business what he believed.
“You know it,” he yelled back, his boots thumping down the stairs.
He didn’t believe in love.
Or did he?
Cryptic answer from a forthright man. But should it matter to her?
No.
But it did because she’d started falling toward love with a man who said he’d never go there.
Sure, he’d murmured he’d never felt the way he felt about her, but how did he truly feel?
If it wasn’t love and wasn’t lust… then what the hell was it?
Addy picked up the dishes and followed Lucas down the stairs. She found him in the kitchen rinsing out the wine glasses. Silent, thoughtful, and not so charming anymore. The sound of children laughing and doors slamming met her ears.
“They’re home,” he said.
“Yeah,” she said, setting the tray on the counter.
Reality wasn’t nearly as fun as hiding away with Lucas and making love beneath her percale sheets.
But reality was part of life.
And it had just knocked on an ending she hadn’t wanted for the afternoon.
Addy pushed open the back door to the sound of Chris jabbering about Charlotte making faces at the sea lions.
“Yeah, and you should have seen Chris’s face when that elephant took a dump,” Michael said, hauling Charlotte on his hip. “That was right before Miss Flora got lost.”
“Lost?” Addy cast a glance at her aunt who looked thoroughly bushed after a day spent with the children. A flash of guilt hit Addy. She hadn’t actually thought about the wear and tear on Flora… she’d been more concerned with playing sheriff and the buttoned-up school marm with Lucas.
Aunt Flora waved Addy’s concern away. “Not lost. I just forgot where the entrance was. No big deal.”
“But she cried,” Chris said, wiggling a rubber snake toward Charlotte who screamed as expected.
“I didn’t cry. I just got mad at myself.” Flora crossed her arms and gave Chris the look. Her aunt must have worked out a story with the kids, but Michael had squealed. “Nothing to worry about.”
Addy wasn’t so sure, but she was glad to see the kids home in one piece. “Where’s your friend?”
“She dropped us off. Had to get her grandson home because they had a dinner to attend or something like that. We all had fun.”
“And I was good,” Charlotte said, looking up at Lucas. “I didn’t call that kid weird or nothing.”
“Good girl,” Lucas said, giving her a high five before looking at the boys. “Well, what do you say to Mrs. DeMarco?”
“Thank you!” came the chorus as the kids turned toward the door and clamored back outside.
Lucas turned to her. “Well, I suppose I’m off to fix dinner. Thanks for lunch. Best fried chicken I’ve ever had.”
Addy tried not to blush but didn’t quite succeed. “You’re welcome. It was a nice afternoon.”
“Just nice?” he mouthed where Flora couldn’t see him.
Addy’s face grew warmer. “Very nice.”
Lucas poked his head back inside. “Thanks for taking the kids, Flora. Very decent of you to give me and Addy some time to hang out. I know the kids were probably glad to get away from me, too.”
Aunt Flora fawned like a schoolgirl under Lucas’s compliment. “Oh, heck, I enjoyed it, and you’d be surprised how much they talked about you. You’ve won over some kids.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Hmm, I’ll try and remember that when Chris is arguing with me on what to have for dinner.”
Turning to Addy, he asked, “A kiss before I go?”
She brushed a soft kiss against his lips, still feeling conflicted about his comments about love and lust, even as she was crystal clear on being glad about what occurred between them. No take backs. “Night.”
“Night, Addy girl.”
And then she closed the door, something inside her sinking as the click of the lock finalized her return to being the same Addy she’d been for the past fifteen years. Or sort of the same Addy.
“I didn’t get lost,” Flora said, petulance shading her voice. Addy’s aunt crossed her arms and assumed a defensive face that would scare the New Orleans Saints’ offense. Addy could see the woman craved the ensuing battle over her fading memory. And usually Addy would comply, but not tonight. Not after saying goodbye to what she’d had with Lucas… something she may never get again.
“You know, everything went fine, Auntie dearest. Let’s not overanalyze.”
“You aren’t going to start fussing and trying to talk me into going to the doctor and getting new medicine?” Aunt Flora cocked her head.
“Nope. Not tonight. Maybe tomorrow.”
“What the heck did that man do to you? I may need to hire him for a weekly session for you.” Aunt Flora pulled out a kitchen chair and sank into it.
Addy ignored her aunt because she didn’t want to acknowledge how much Lucas could change her. Today was an anomaly. Making love with Lucas wouldn’t happen again. And if it did, it couldn’t change her because she and Lucas were temporary. Turning on the hot water, she filled the sink and started on the dishes.
But Aunt Flora didn’t get the memo about her wanting to be left alone with her thoughts.
“You’re seriously not going to talk about my lapse today?”
“No, because I realize I can’t control your world any more than I can control mine. I’ve talked to you about seeing your doctor again, and I’ve talked to Mom. I’m not hog-tying you, Flora. Ball is in your court.”
“Your mother made an appointment for me next week.”
Addy swiped the counter with a paper towel and looked at her aunt. “Really?”
“Yeah, Phylis and I had a nice long talk yesterday while you were out with Lucas and the kids. She’s after me to move in with her and Don, and now I’m thinking she has a point.”
Addy stiffened. “What do you mean move in with them?”
“I’m getting older and so are you. For a while, you’ve been focusing on building your career. Sure, you’ve dated and have a few friends in that victim’s group you go to, but this isn’t a good life for you.”
“Says who?”
“Says your mother. Says me.”
“I like my life. I like living here with you. I don’t have rent, we split utilities, and we both have someone to depend on and keep us company. How has that changed?”
“But you’re stalled out, honey.”
“I’m not stalled out. I just had a man upstairs imprisoned in my bed for five hours. How is my living here with you holding me back?”
“Yeah, way to take charge, girlfriend.” Her aunt gave a fist pump.
“Jeez.” Addy rolled her eyes and tried not to turn the color of the dish towel. “I got laid. Big deal.”
“But that’s my point. You’re young, you should be living with a girlfriend… or a boyfriend. Not an old lady who can’t remember her name some days.”
“I’m pretty sure you haven’t forgotten your name.” Addy waved a hand in between her and Flora. “And I don’t want to live with anyone else. This works, and I don’t want Mom guilting you into thinking it doesn’t.”
“She’s not, but this is not just about you. It’s about me, too. Maybe I want to move, not with Phylis and Don, but into Crescent Gardens. Maybe I want to move out of this big drafty house that’s more work than it is pleasure. I’m in my late seventies, honey. All my friends live in that community. It’s safe and has great activities… and some hot older dudes. I’ve been thinking about this for a while now.”
Addy looked down to s
ee if the rug was still beneath her feet. “Why didn’t you tell me this?”
“Because you weren’t ready to hear it.” Her aunt gave a wry smile. “You have a sweet, mellow vibe, but underneath the whole Zen thing beats the heart of Attila the Hun.”
“Aunt Flora.” Addy tossed the red dish towel onto the counter and grabbed the chair opposite her aunt. “I’m not abrasive or inflexible. You could have talked to me about wanting to move to Crescent Gardens.”
“Well, you’re not flexible either despite all the yoga.” Flora cracked a smile and her blue eyes softened. “Honey, you’ve built this tidy world—work, gym, eat, sleep—with not much give.”
“You make me sound like a robot.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. But today is a good example of what taking a leap of faith brings you. When you allow someone in,” Flora said, waving a hand at Addy, “you can change. You wear something pretty and let your hair go wild and loose. Your face gets flushed from having a good time. I can tell this was good for you.”
“I’m not unopposed to breaking my habits or letting go of my ordered world a little bit. Your argument is backfiring.”
“I’m part of your ordered world. A safety net you can always use to pull yourself back from something that makes you uncomfortable. And not only am I a crutch, but I’m also the pothole you step in. You shouldn’t be taking care of an old woman.”
“That’s not true.” Addy reached over to Aunt Flora and took the hand spotted with age, the wrist with marbled veins splayed against papery skin. When had Flora’s hands aged so? “You’re so much more to me than an aunt. You know that. We’ve always been soul mates.”
Aunt Flora patted her hand. “Sure, we are, pumpkin. But I can feel change in the air, and I know it’s time for me to move along. And it’s time for you, too.”
“I don’t want to. I can take care of you, and Dad is putting in an alarm system. The guy is coming tomorrow. Look around. This is our home.”
“So what are you going to do, Addy? Become me?”
“No.” She shook her head, angry that Flora would think that’s a bad thing. “But what’s wrong with being you?”