Promises, Promises

by Sandy Loyd

  As Judith came apart underneath him, he joined her, pouring himself into her in an earth-shattering climax.

  When Dev could think again, he rose up on his forearms. His gaze locked on her serene expression as she lay with her eyes closed.

  “Judith, you have some explaining to do,” he said.

  She opened her eyes to answer, but Dev brought a finger to her pouty, swollen lips, moving it slowly back and forth, stilling her response. “But not tonight. We’ll sort it out in the morning. Tonight is mine, you promised.” He captured her mouth for another heated kiss. Leisurely, his lips explored, even as his tongue stroked the inside of her mouth, keeping his pace slower this time.

  Dev was in no hurry…wanted to thoroughly discover her secrets with his hands and mouth. Eventually, his lips wandered tenderly over her, his hands shoved into her hair giving him access to her lovely face, her elegant neck, and her enticing breasts, all the while he continued stroking her insides with a slow, sensual rhythm.

  When she moaned in ecstasy, Dev’s resolve melted. He couldn’t keep to his slow pace.

  “Feel what you do to me, Judith,” he whispered urgently, brushing moist lips across her neck to her ears. “I can’t get enough of you.”

  Waves of pleasure washed over him, as the words and the thrust sent Judith into another crashing orgasm. Only this release was much more powerful than her others and her contractions grabbed him. He struggled for control, pulled away to go deeper, but he couldn’t hold on, exploding with a violence he’d never experienced before. The orgasm seemed to go on forever, the pleasure so fierce. When it finally ebbed, he collapsed on top of her, unable to move. She had taken everything. He had nothing left to give.

  It took infinite moments before he could think again. Knowing he was a heavy weight, he turned to his side, moving with her because he couldn’t stand the thought of pulling away. His breath caught at the back of his throat, held by emotion, when he opened his eyes and noticed tears streaming down her face.

  His hand touched the moisture before he kissed the wetness, tasting it. “Why the tears? No regrets, I hope?”

  “Oh, Dev.” Her tears flowed faster. “It was beautiful. Thank you.”

  “Ah, Judith, what did I ever do to deserve you?” he said, disturbed by her sincerity.

  He placed a kiss on her forehead and his hold tightened.

  Finally, he released her and climbed out of bed. He padded into the bathroom where he found a washcloth. After rinsing it with warm water, he returned to gently wash proof of her virginity from her.

  His humble act of servitude seemed to bring on more of Judith’s tears. Emotions swirled through him as he finished, leaving him raw and shaken. He tossed the cloth behind him, climbed into bed, pulled her to him, and held her close.

  “Try to get some sleep, princess,” he whispered before kissing her cheek.

  She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

  Dev lay awake for a long while, thinking. The puzzle of Judith was starting to make sense but he had many more questions, and she was going to answer them. But he wouldn’t get his answers tonight.

  ~

  Sunlight cascaded through the opening in the drapes when Dev woke up next to Judith’s sleeping form. He watched her in awe for endless seconds before hopping out of bed and heading to the bathroom for a quick shower.

  He let her sleep. After all, he’d kept her pretty busy during the night.

  Just the thought of the time spent in her arms had him hard and ready to go at it again.

  Damn! He hadn’t been this horny since high school. He laughed over his randy thoughts and turned on the shower.

  He didn’t need more right now. He needed to talk. And to talk, he needed a break from her to clear his mind.

  Judith a virgin? He’d been astounded. He hadn’t dealt with one since his junior prom with Patty Sue Henderson, a hot little cheerleader he’d dated. He hadn’t been much more experienced. It was one of those memories that never faded with time, and the thought still brought a smile to his face after all these years.

  She was married now with two kids, living only blocks from where he grew up. He knew this because she kept in touch with Maggie. Maggie always brought her up, in an attempt to make him feel guilty about not doing his part in giving her grandkids.

  He stepped into the shower and his mind switched to Judith. A significant question came to mind. How was it possible that she’d never had sex when she’d dated Paul for so long? While his friendship with Paul wasn’t on the same level as James’ friendship, he knew the guy well enough to know he was a normal heterosexual male. Sex usually followed after dating a certain period of time. So how had Judith kept Paul at arm’s length?

  If it had been him, there was no way she’d have held him off all those years. He was too much the predator. True, Judith had given him one hell of a run, but he would never have stopped chasing until he got his prey. Last night was proof. Though it took him ten years, he finally caught her.

  Hot, steamy water sluiced over him as he thought about their time in the gazebo, another memory that had never faded. His interest in Judith had never abated. Even after a decade, he still desired her.

  If he was going to be completely honest with himself, desire wasn’t the real reason he took on his quest for revenge. He simply couldn’t accept the fact that she hadn’t been as affected as he. And now, all of his notions of what happened ten years ago came apart in his mind, reshaped with what actually may have happened. He closed his eyes and put his head against the tile. A hollow sinking feeling grew as reality hit him like the water pouring onto his shoulders. He’d totally misread Judith back then. She’d been a virgin. How could he not have known? All the signs had been there. He’d just ignored them.

  Hell, he’d misread her hesitation in his current seduction. Her actions all fell into place and made sense to him now. Suddenly he felt totally and completely unworthy of her. He vowed to find a way to make it up to her because he could not, would not live without her. Not now, especially after last night. Last night only increased his resolve to marry her.

  Cold water brought him back to the present. He turned it off and grabbed a towel.

  Naked, he padded into the bedroom. Judith was still dead to the world, so he tried to be quiet. He rummaged through his bags for a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. After donning them, he went about the room picking up the pieces from last night, putting his suit on its hanger and stashing his studs and cuff links in his shaving kit. He then went into the outer room and laid Judith’s dress over a chair.

  He snatched up the phone to order coffee and requested breakfast for two be served ten minutes after the coffee arrived.

  Dev let Judith sleep until room service delivered the coffee. He headed for the bedroom and put the cup he poured for her on the bedside table. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he kissed her into wakefulness.

  “Rise and shine, beautiful, the day’s growing old,” he said, once he released her lips.

  Judith smiled, took her time stretching, and after lying with her eyes closed, she finally sniffed.

  “Is that coffee?” She opened her eyes and sat up. “Good morning.” She stretched again before picking up the coffee and taking a sip. “Did you sleep well? I sure did.”

  Dev stood. “Good enough. Come on, breakfast will be here in ten minutes. Get a move on. Shower’s free. I’ll wait for you out there.”

  “My, aren’t we grumpy today,” Judith said over her shoulder on the way to the bathroom with her cup.

  “Please hurry, we need to talk.”

  “Okay, I’ll hurry. Thanks so much for the coffee. That’s a sure way into my heart,” she said as she shut the door.

  Fifteen minutes later, the bathroom door opened. Naked, Judith walked over to her bags. She grabbed a ribbed t-shirt with spaghetti straps, panties, and skimpy athletic shorts. She wasn’t wearing a bra.

  Dev sat at a table laden with food and watched her get dressed from the other room.
He swallowed hard and swore under his breath. Keeping his mind on the conversation they needed to have would be a challenge.

  He thought briefly about asking her to wear something a little less distracting, but quickly changed his mind. It would be much easier to get her naked with no bra after their talk.

  She jumped at the sound of his voice when reaching for her socks and tennis shoes.

  “Don’t bother with those…they’ll just be one more thing to take off later.”

  She looked over and their gazes locked through the doorway. He watched a slight pink rise on her cheeks.

  Damn, she’s beautiful!

  Dev kept his focus on her as she walked barefoot toward him, her face flushed from obvious embarrassment at having been unknowingly spied upon while dressing. He probably should feel guilty, but he didn’t. She fascinated him. He planned to notice everything she did from now on.

  Visibly maintaining her usual calm reserve, she veered around him to the other chair.

  His hand shot out and caught her.

  The movement unbalanced her and she landed in his lap. He nuzzled her neck.

  “Judith, don’t be embarrassed about anything we do together, especially after last night. You’re going to have to get used to it, because I like looking at you,” he said, right before his lips met hers.

  She wriggled to get away, but his hold tightened. Her body stiffened when his erection poked out from his boxers, prodding her soft buttocks. She stopped squirming. Dev smiled into her mouth, wondering how she could be so shy when she turned him on so easily.

  His thoughts dissipated when tentative fingers wrapped around his neck as her mouth opened, inviting him in for more.

  The kiss lasted until he felt his control weaken. He pulled away before he lost all restraint.

  He was breathing a little heavier and he quickly set her back on the floor.

  “Go sit down, and try not to distract me,” he said grinning. “We really do need to talk. First, have some breakfast and more coffee.”

  Judith sat as he lifted the lid off one of the plates in front of him and handed it to her.

  “I hope you like scrambled eggs and I ordered croissants instead of toast.”

  “You remembered,” she said, giving Dev a pleased look. “It looks and smells heavenly, thank you. I find I’m very hungry this morning.”

  Watching her, he shook his head. His grin returned as he picked up his fork and dug in.

  They ate in silence, each lost in thought.

  Finally, Dev couldn’t contain his curiosity anymore and he blurted out, “How, Judith?”

  She cleared her throat and glanced at her plate, stirring her food, clearly stalling. “How what?”

  “You know damn well what I’m asking.” His eyes pierced hers when she looked up. “And I should add, why didn’t you tell me?”

  Judith was silent for too many minutes. “Well, it’s kind of hard to explain.”

  Dev lounged in a deceptively calm manner. “We’ve got nothing but time, and I’m listening.”

  “I don’t know how.” She shrugged. “I guess you could say I just closed myself off to things and never allowed it to happen.”

  “But, what about Paul? How did you keep your relationship together for so long without sex? I’d never let you get away with it.”

  “Well, you’re right there,” she countered, grinning. “You didn’t.”

  He smiled. “You still haven’t answered my question. How?”

  “I don’t know.” Judith sighed. “All I know is I kept putting up obstacles and he kept accepting them. We kissed but it never got out of control. He never did and neither did I. Then we became good friends and enjoyed each other’s company.”

  Her hand went to her coffee cup and she fingered the rim. “Our relationship got comfortable. He became my shield, so I could keep others away. Finally, it ended before we made a terrible mistake and married. I love Paul and always will, but like a brother. I know by the time it ended, he thought of me as only a good friend.” She took a sip of coffee while keeping her gaze on her food. “I wasn’t very proud of the way I used him. He was my shield for so long, I think I kept him from finding what he wanted.”

  “And in ten years there was no one else?” Dev could only stare at her with a skeptical look on his face. He shook his head and said, “If I didn’t know better, I would find that very hard to believe. You’re an attractive woman.”

  “It’s true, so believe it. Now I have a question for you.”

  He put up his hand. “In a minute, I’m not through.”

  “What do you mean? What more is there? It’s pretty simple. No one else could ever compare to you. I never wanted to be hurt again, so I blocked everyone out. End of story.”

  “You never wanted to be hurt again?” he asked. “How were you hurt?”

  “I naïvely trusted you when I followed you into that gazebo. But it’s all in the past. Now answer me this.”

  “One more question,” he said, flinching at hearing how his actions had affected her. He never imagined he had hurt her. This was going from bad to worse. “And then it’s your turn. How old are you?”

  “Why?” Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

  “Today’s your birthday, and I have a present for you, but I don’t know how old you are.”

  “I’m twenty-eight,” she replied cautiously. “Okay, my turn to ask questions.”

  He quickly did the math in his head. More truth hit him as he said, “Ask away.”

  He’d nearly taken a seventeen-year-old virgin all those years ago and the thought sickened him. He closed his eyes…let guilt wash over him. Then, he heard her question, and groaned. He certainly wasn’t expecting it.

  “Do you own the building on Hyde Street or does your company own it?”

  “What do you mean?” He was caught and dread exploded in the pit of his stomach.

  “To coin your phrase, you know damn well what I mean. It is a simple question. Do you own the building or not? I’d like a simple answer,” she said, her voice rising.

  “Yes, I own it.” He let out a long, remorseful sigh.

  “But why?”

  “Does it matter? It’s in the past.”

  “There has to be a reason.”

  “I misread things ten years ago. I leased with the option to buy the building to please you, hoping we could work on it together.” He shrugged. “When that didn’t work out, I ended up buying it, to lure you. For revenge at your slight.” He could lie, and smooth it over. Yet, he loathed the idea of starting a life together with a lie.

  “I don’t understand. You did it to get back at me?” She glanced into his eyes and he knew she saw everything in them. The guilt, the shame, and the sorrow. “It was a ruse from the very beginning?”

  “Please, Judith, I can explain—”

  “I was so easy, wasn’t I?” she said, cutting him off. “I just fell right into your plans. I can’t believe how stupid I was. And here I thought somehow fate brought us back together. But it wasn’t fate, was it? It was you. You planned it all. You bastard.”

  She jumped up and ran to her bags. She quickly put on her shoes without socks, then grabbed her purse and bag.

  “I’ll get the rest later,” she said, on her way past Dev.

  “Judith, wait! You can’t leave.” He moved to block her from charging for the door once he realized she was leaving. “Please, let me explain.”

  He grabbed her shoulders to stop her.

  “Don’t touch me.” She kneed him in the groin then shouted, on her way out of the room, “Just keep away from me!”

  “Goddamn it all,” Dev spit out, bowled over in pain.

  As soon as he could finally move, he ran to the door and yanked it open, but Judith had disappeared. He slammed his fist against the wall as realization hit. She’d run out on him again. Only this time she wouldn’t get away.

  Chapter 17

  Judith pounded on Kate’s door, praying she’d hurry. She glanced toward
Dev’s room to make sure he hadn’t followed.

  Agonizing moments went by before Kate, looking like she’d been dragged out of bed, opened the door.

  “Kate, I need you,” Judith said, her voice frantic. She brushed at the tears running down her face. Her gaze kept darting to the hallway. “Can we go somewhere and talk?”

  “What’s wrong?” Kate didn’t hesitate. “Come in.” She pulled Judith into the room and shut the door.

  “I don’t want to bother you and Paul.”

  “Hey, what are friends for? Besides, Paul’s still out cold. He drank way too much last night, and we danced until the wee hours.” She stopped and eyed Judith critically. “But enough about me, what’s going on?”

  “I need someone to talk to. I feel so horrible.” Her trickling dam of tears broke and she started sobbing, unable to control herself.

  “I’ve never seen you so upset.”

  Kate wrapped an arm around her shoulders and let Judith cry. When her sobs ebbed, Kate took Judith’s purse and bag and dropped them on the floor. She then tugged on her hand.

  Judith followed her to the sofa. Kate moved to the double doors leading into the bedroom and closed them quietly before sitting next to Judith.

  “Feel better?”

  “Yes, thank you.” Judith nodded, realizing she did.

  “Want a cup of coffee? I can order room service.”

  “No thanks, I’ve had enough.” Seconds ticked by as she sat, trying to figure out what to say. Finally, she blurted out, “Oh, Kate, I don’t know what to do.”

  “Well, I always say, just plunge in. You know anything you say to me is sacred. Maybe I can help. What happened?” Her expression turned questioning. “I can’t believe you and Dev are fighting, not after seeing you together last night. So, what gives?”

  “Appearances can be deceiving. We’re not really an item. He just wanted me to think we were, so I’d sleep with him.”

  “Wait a minute, you lost me. What do you mean, appearances can be deceiving?”

  “Dev was only pretending to be interested in me to get revenge for something that happened back in college.”