Love Me Tonight

by Gwynne Forster

  “Unless you want me to find my way to your room tonight, ease up, will you? This atmosphere is sufficient to lull me into a stupor without the lure of your body moving against me,” he said.

  “I’m sorry, hon. When you’re this close, my brain seems to take a vacation.”

  He rubbed her nose with his index finger and then kissed her mouth. “I know I can’t get my birth certificate, because I doubt Mom put my name, hers or Sparkman’s name on the certificate filed with the recorder of deeds. But if I can get Aunt Cissy’s sister-in-law to file an affidavit that includes the information she gave me, I may be able to get some kind of legal document. At least, I hope so. That, along with DNA tests, should be sufficient. It won’t be perfect, but it will be better than what I have now.”

  She wrapped her arms around him. “Oh, honey. I…want this so much for you.”

  “Thank you,” he said softly. She moved her head from its comfortable place on his shoulder and stopped dancing.

  “Judson, we’re the only ones here. They’ve…they left us.”

  “They didn’t want to interrupt whatever we were experiencing. In any case, I doubt they were thinking about us.”

  “You’re right. I sure wasn’t thinking about them. Let’s sit here for a while. The moon’s shining like daylight. If we knew this place better, we could go for a walk.”

  He locked his arms around her and rested her head against his shoulder. “Maybe we can do that tomorrow night. I love you, woman.”

  “And I love you. But I’m going to bed, because the temptation to be indiscreet is too compelling. Kiss me good-night.”

  In a second, he had his tongue inside of her. His fingers plied their magic on her body, roaming until they found her breast. “No,” she said. “It would be more than I can tolerate knowing you’re sleeping in the room next to mine. I, too, am human, and I’ve got too good a memory to expose myself to that. Good night, love.” She pulled away from him, pulled off her shoes and sashayed up the stairs.

  He walked over to the bottom of the stairs and watched the sight of her swinging hips. He waited until he heard her door close, checked the lock on the front door, extinguished the lights and dragged himself up the stairs.

  He wasn’t often ill-tempered, but if he gave into his mood right then, he’d send his fist straight through a wall. He stripped, stepped into the shower and turned on the cold water full blast. Thank God his room had its own bath. After a punishing ten minutes, he dried off and crawled into bed.

  “A lot of good that cold shower did,” he grumbled and started counting sheep.

  After an hour of that, he gave up. She’d wanted him as badly as he wanted her, but she left while she could do it gracefully. Funny thing. When they were alone and had privacy, he always had to be the one to stop.

  Hours later, the barking of a dog made him want to curse. He opened his eyes, saw streaks of daylight through the blinds and got up. If he’d slept for a single minute, his body didn’t feel like it.

  Judson dressed, found his way out of the back door, looked around and, seeing a path, headed down it. Jogging. After a half-mile run, he stopped suddenly at the sight of a woman slowly backing up as if afraid to move forward and just as scared to turn and run. He made it a point not to alarm her, but moved closer to determine the nature of the threat. He got close enough to see that the woman was Heather wearing a green jogging suit.

  He could also see that one large and three smaller animals blocked the path, and quickly determined that she had intercepted a family of raccoons. He called to her.

  “Turn around and walk away, Heather. They won’t attack you if you don’t threaten them.”

  As if the sound of his voice was all she needed, she swung around and ran to him. He caught her in his arms. “I’ve never been so glad to see anybody in my life,” she said, clutching him to her.

  “It’s all right now. Couldn’t you sleep?”

  “Not a single wink.”

  “Neither could I.” He tipped up her chin with his index finger. “I need to kiss you.” He slipped his tongue into her mouth and sampled every crevice, let his hands roam over her, caressing the flesh that he loved so much to touch, and hugged her. When she trembled uncontrollably, he picked her up, carried her into the thicket and pressed her against the smooth trunk of a witch hazel tree.

  She loosened the strings on her jogging pants, dropping them to the ground, and hooked her legs around his hips. Within seconds, he began to storm within her, nearly out of his mind with a passion such as he’d never felt and that threatened to overwhelm him. She started throbbing around him, and he told himself to control it, but when her vagina began squeezing his penis and her moans rose higher and higher, he emptied the essence of himself into her. At that moment, he knew she could have him on any terms she cared to dictate.

  He picked up the jogging pants and helped her get into them and held her close to his body. “Are you all right, sweetheart?” he said. “I mean, did you feel it?”

  “Did I ever! Oh, Judson. I’ve never experienced anything like that.”

  They walked slowly, arm in arm, in the direction of the house. “Neither have I. I don’t think it was because I needed relief. I know how to handle that. But it was such an intense emotional need. It was you, and I know of no other way to explain it. I needed you.”

  “I don’t think I’ll ever understand it,” she said. “I ached for you in the very pit of me.”

  He expelled a long and heavy breath. “It settled something for me.”

  “And definitely for me.”

  He looked up at the house and saw a light in the kitchen window. “Someone’s in the kitchen. Do you feel like going in now?”

  “Yes. Thanks. I’m all right,” she said.

  He took her hand, opened the kitchen door and saw no one. “I’ll stay here,” he said. “Why don’t you go on to your room and get comfortable?” He washed and dried his hands, found the coffeepot and a can of coffee, and soon the aroma of perking coffee filled the room. He poured a cup, added some milk. Seeing a television atop a storage bin, he turned it on to distract himself, sat down and began to sip the hot coffee. He’d drunk half a cup and sat lost in his thoughts when Drake walked in.

  “Good morning. Say, it’s early. Couldn’t you sleep?”

  “Good morning. The room is perfect. The mattress on that bed was made for me.”

  “But—”

  Judson smiled. “But, heaven was next door.”

  Drake fingered his chin, poured a cup of coffee, sat down and looked at Judson. “And heaven said no way, not here.”

  “You got it!” Judson exclaimed, protecting Heather’s modesty.

  “You’re gonna have to do something about that.”

  “As soon as I get this business about Sparkman settled, I will.”

  “Let’s hope she doesn’t lose patience.”

  “She’d warn me. Heather doesn’t know how to be coy or treacherous. I’m not planning to live without her, but I have a compulsion to get this business straightened out before I ask her to marry me.”

  “Don’t ever let her think that marrying her is contingent upon your resolving who your parents are, because she’s accepted the matter as it is.”

  Chapter 11

  Heather showered, dressed in jeans, a sweater and boots and walked over to the window in her room that overlooked the bay. She didn’t remember ever having been so incautious and so reckless as an hour earlier when she’d made love with Judson in the open where some other early riser could have happened upon them. But at that moment, she’d felt that if she hadn’t had him, she would have died. And what an awesome, mind-blowing feeling it was when he’d gotten into her and she’d finally exploded all around him.

  She saw no point in thinking and worrying about the control he had over her; she should have worried about that months earlier. If marriage proved to be his terms for keeping him in her life, she’d marry him. She took a deep breath and exhaled it. That was silly, a chi
ld’s way of thinking. She was not going to fool herself any longer. She wanted him, and she’d negotiate the terms if she had to.

  Her gaze caught Drake and Pamela as they walked hand in hand along the pier to Russ’s boat. Lovers. All of the Harrington men loved their wives and showed it. And their women exuded not only contentment but happiness. Maybe… She wiped the dampness from beneath her eyes. Could it happen to her with Judson? He’d taught her to need him, and not only for the complete sexual satisfaction that he gave her every time, but for himself. At the sound of music she loved, she wanted to dance with him, and only him. If she enjoyed food, she wanted him to taste it, and if she found anything beautiful, she wanted him to see it. Why hadn’t she acknowledged that to herself weeks ago, and when had she begun to want to share everything with him?

  “I’ve been so focused on my career that I almost let something maybe even more important sneak past me,” she said to herself, shaking her head as she left the window and started down the stairs where she knew she’d face him…and the others. Her mind told her to skip down the stairs, but she couldn’t do it. The last person she’d ever been able to fool was herself.

  Heather walked toward the kitchen with a slower gait than was normally her wont, for she hated the thought of engaging in meaningless, friendly patter at a time when she was experiencing something akin to an epiphany. As she reached the dining room, Judson came to meet her with his arms open, and she walked into them.

  “Are you okay?” His fingers brushed gentle strokes over her back.

  “You know, I like these people so much, but right now, I don’t want to be here. I want to be alone with my thoughts. Do you understand that?”

  “Yes, I do. But let me tell you something. Kindness is one of the things the people in this family share. Be yourself, and they’ll understand. I’m sure they’ll all accept it gracefully if you don’t want to talk. Come back here with me. I’m helping Velma get breakfast.”

  “Where’s Henry?”

  “You have to ask? Henry and Tara are fishing.”

  In the kitchen, Velma greeted her. “Good morning, Heather. I hope you slept well. Judson’s helping me with breakfast. You just sit over there and keep us company.”

  “Good morning.” So Judson hadn’t told them that she’d already been out. She took a good breath and relaxed. “Can’t I at least set the table?”

  “Thanks, but Judson did that. We’re probably going to have fish for lunch because Henry and Tara will try to catch every fish in the bay. I packed the crabs on ice to take back with us. Drake said it’s too cold to swim up here, so if you want to swim, Russ will take the cruiser down to Cape Charles. For some reason, it’s much warmer down there.”

  “I don’t especially want to swim.” He looked at Heather. “Do you?”

  “No,” she said, but it was hardly the truth. “Is Tara good at fishing?”

  “Absolutely,” Velma said. “The way she trails behind Henry, she couldn’t miss.”

  Judson dipped the bread into the egg batter for the pain perdu.

  “We’re having French toast?” Heather asked, excited, because she loved it.

  Judson stopped with the spatula dangling in the air. “My dear woman, this is nothing so simple as French toast. I’ll have you understand that I’m making pain perdu as it should be made, complete with cinnamon, butter and all the other necessary ingredients.”

  “Really? Impressive, Mr. Philips,” Heather said.

  The three of them rocked with laughter. Velma dialed Russ on her cell phone. “Honey, would you please haul Henry and Tara in here? Judson and I are ready with breakfast.”

  “What about Alexis and Telford?” Judson asked. “Where are they?”

  “With Tara out of the way, you can guess,” Velma said, and added, “Makes me think I’d better not start a family till the fire dies down a little bit.”

  Surely the sound she heard wasn’t the hand of Russ slapping playfully on Velma’s backside. “I’ll be back in a minute,” Russ said. “Tara’s going to be furious with me for bringing her in here now. She’s as much of a fishing addict as Henry is. Be right back, baby.”

  Velma drained two rings of sausage and put that, along with a pound of cooked bacon, on a large patter. “I’ll take that to the dining room,” Heather said. She met Alexis in the hall, her color high and her eyes sparkling. No one had to tell Heather that Alexis was still flushed with passion.

  “You’re just in time for breakfast,” she said to Alexis. “Velma and Judson are cooking like we’re all a bunch of hard-working ditch diggers.”

  “Is there anything for me to do?” Alexis asked her.

  “No and not for me, either. Russ went out on the pier to get Henry and Tara, and I’m not sure where Drake and Pamela went.”

  Within the next ten minutes, the brothers, their families and Henry found their way to the dining room along with Heather and Judson. After his usual tease with Tara, Russ said the grace. He tapped the side of his glass, and the rest of the family laughed.

  “Those who didn’t help with breakfast,” Russ said, “can clean the kitchen. By nine-thirty, I want us to be on the boat. I’m thinking of going down to Norfolk where Henry and Tara can fish for Spots. Telford and I can try for some striped bass and bluefish.”

  “What will you do?” Heather asked Pamela.

  “Read, provided Alexis and Velma don’t want to play pinochle. Do you play?”

  “I do, but it’s been a while.”

  “Good,” Pamela said, “they can play with you.”

  “Suppose she wanted to play with Judson,” Henry said. When the group laughed, he said, “Clean up yer minds.”

  Heather played pinochle, fished and, after Russ’s captain dropped anchor near Cape Charles, she finally got a chance to swim that afternoon. But, although the water cooled her body, it did little to reduce the fever for Judson that still raged within her. And that longing for something elusive remained after Russ delivered them to her apartment on Sunday afternoon.

  “I’m not going to stay,” Judson said. “I have some work to do that’s urgent, and if I stay even for a few minutes, I won’t want to leave. Please understand. I’ll never forget this past weekend and my time with you, sweetheart.” He kissed her so quickly that she hardly experienced it. Minutes later, she was alone.

  Heather stared at the front door, frustrated as her anger began to furl up. She walked from one end of the dining room to the other and back again, picked up a crystal bowl, raised her arm to throw it and laughed. Just because she’d decided that she wanted Judson didn’t mean everything should go her way. “Oh, hell!”

  She pulled out a chair in the dining room and phoned Scott.

  “Say there, Heather, girl. Where’ve you been?”

  She told him as much of the weekend’s events as she thought he needed to hear.

  “So where’s my buddy?”

  “Judson went home to take care of some urgent business. I doubt he knows how I’m feeling. I tried to show him, but he’s fixated on Fentriss Sparkman.”

  “Hold it, Heather. You sound bitter and for no reason. How would you feel if you had to tell your kids you didn’t know who their grandparents were? He’s worried about it since he was seven years old, and that’s an awful burden for a kid. He didn’t mind being adopted, and he loved Aunt Bev and Uncle Louis, but he didn’t know who he was. Be patient, Heather.”

  “I know that, but if you have a garden and you don’t tend it properly, the flowers wither.”

  “Don’t get dramatic on me. You mean the minute you decide you want him, you think he should kneel at your feet? You’re smarter than that, Heather. Judson loves you, and you know it. Instead of standing on the sideline, jump in and help.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I have, and I would if he’d let me.” Frustrated, she changed the subject. “When are you going to Lithuania?”

  “In a few weeks. This is something I’ll love you for forever. I definitely wouldn’t
have been in line for it for another three years at the least.”

  “With your personality,” she said, “you can’t miss rising to the top at State.”

  “You’re a sweetheart. Be sure and give me notice enough to get back here for your wedding.”

  “You’re nuts.”

  She hung up. “Why do I always feel better after talking with Scott?”

  Because he neither pampers you nor lies to you. He tells you the truth and you know that’s what you need to hear.

  She answered the telephone, certain that she would hear Judson’s voice. “Hello.”

  “Hello, Heather. This is Pamela. How about lunch tomorrow? I meant to ask you during the weekend, but it kept slipping me. Is twelve-thirty good for you?”

  “Perfect. Shall we go back to The Grill?”

  “That’s what I had in mind. See you tomorrow.”

  “Okay, and thanks.”

  She jotted the place and time in her pocket Week at a Glance and went to the refrigerator to look for the makings of supper. Seeing nothing interesting, she took a quiche lorraine from the freezer and heated it in the microwave oven. With that, a bottle of beer and a mobile phone, she made her way to the living room and sat down to eat and watch the Ravens.”

  When the phone rang, she could see his caller ID.

  “Hi, Judson. I just sat down to supper. Are you okay?”

  “More or less. Somehow I got a feeling that you might be distressed about my leaving you.”

  “That’s one way of putting it, but I got it under control…at least for now.

  “I’m glad. I’d like to give Scott a party before he goes away. I thought a dinner for about twenty people would do it.”

  “Twenty people? Judson, that would be at least a hundred dollars a person plus three hundred for the waiters and another couple hundred for the maitre’ d. A cocktail party for fifty at a good hotel would be cheaper.”

  “That’s true,” he said, “but I don’t really like cocktail parties.”