by Janice Sims
Cherisse teared up. “Are you sure? Because I love you, too! I think I fell in love with you in Montana.”
“Montana?” Harry said, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice, but failing. “I fell in love with you in Montana!”
Tears rolled down Cherisse’s cheeks. “Why didn’t you say anything then?”
“Because I figured you wouldn’t believe me. You’re such a sensible woman, Cheri. Look how you’ve raised Danielle on your own. It seems like everything you’ve done since you got up the nerve to leave Charlie has been methodically thought out. You came back to Denver because you knew your mother would welcome you and would be a built-in babysitter for Danielle. You put yourself through college with your eye on the head nurse position. You’re a formidable woman, baby. I figured you would not believe me if I said I loved you after knowing you for only three weeks! So I gave it a few more weeks, hoping that by then my proposal would be more believable to you.”
Cherisse sniffed. “Yeah, I’ve been sensible. I had to be sensible. I’d married my childhood sweetheart without knowing him well enough and toughed it out for nine years. I figured I’d better be sensible about the rest of my life’s decisions. Danielle deserved at least one dependable parent. But when I met you, Harry, I realized that my sensible way of life could sometimes be put on the shelf in favor of red-hot passion!
“That’s what you made me feel again, Harry, the passion that had been missing in my life! I love you like crazy and I look forward to spending the rest of my life loving you.”
Harry, big tough Harry, sniffed back tears. He pulled her into his arms and they lay in bed holding one another. “So, New Year’s Day?” he asked softly.
“That’s less than two weeks away,” said the sensible Cherisse.
“The resort’s available,” said Harry.
“We’re going to shock everybody we know by getting married so quickly,” Cherisse warned.
Harry grinned. “Believe me, we’re not going to shock anybody, least of all our mothers. Your mother can tell how I feel about you, and my mom knows because I told her I loved you. And Danielle has been trying to hook us up from the beginning. The only person who’ll be shocked is Charlie.”
Cherisse laughed. “I forgot about Charlie.”
“How can you forget about a man who wants you back?”
Cherisse snuggled closer to him and looked him in the eyes. “You don’t really believe Charlie was serious about a second chance, do you?”
Harry frowned. “Didn’t you believe him?”
“If I can make myself clear,” Cherisse began, “I believe he thought he was serious, but deep down I think it was just a cry for forgiveness. I never forgave him for choosing gambling over me and Danielle. I believe in some screwy way Charlie thought that if we were a family again all of his sins would be forgiven.”
“Makes sense,” Harry agreed. He kissed her forehead. “How about a shower and then I have a couple of things I want to share with you.”
Cherisse readily agreed. “A shower sounds good. And just for future reference, I’d like the chance to freshen up a bit before, you know…”
“You mean before I kiss you down there?” Harry asked, looking amused. His fiancée wasn’t as wanton as she’d seemed a few minutes ago.
Cherisse looked embarrassed. “Yes, down there.”
“You bathed before dressing,” Harry said. “A woman’s natural scent is not offensive to me, darling. I find your smell, your taste totally pleasing. I enjoyed you tonight.”
Cherisse grimaced. “You must think I’m a prude.”
“No, I think I’m going to have a good time teaching you to enjoy your body more, because I’m definitely going to enjoy it.”
He pulled her up from the bed and playfully spanked her bottom. “Come on, I want to see just how turned on you can get in the shower.”
The luxurious bathroom was huge with a deep tub and a walk-in shower. The floor was heated and, best of all, the towels were thick and plush and there were two comfortable-looking terry-cloth bathrobes with the hotel’s logo in gold lettering on the breast pockets hanging on double hooks behind the door.
Cherisse pinned her hair up and stepped into the shower stall, followed by Harry, who turned on the water. “Hot, warm, lukewarm?” he asked.
“Warm,” said Cherisse.
Harry adjusted the temperature and grabbed a thick washcloth and squeezed some of the milk-and-almond body wash onto it. “You first,” said Harry and moved aside so that Cherisse could step under the spray. He gently rubbed the washcloth over her back, her shoulders, her chest, slowing down when he got to the intersection of her thighs. Cherisse closed her eyes and stood with her back to him and her hands pressed to the tiled shower wall, legs slightly spread.
“Your skin is flawless,” Harry murmured. “How did you escape getting scars being so active in sports?”
“Oh, I have scars,” Cherisse told him. She turned around to face him and pointed out an inch-long scar on the inside of her right arm. “I got that from another player’s cleat when I was sliding into home and his shoe connected with my arm. I played on the boys’ baseball team.”
“Why the boys’ baseball team?” asked Harry. “The girls didn’t have a softball team?”
“Yes, but I wanted to play baseball, not softball, and my mom was feisty enough to go up against the school board to make sure I got the chance to do it. I played for two seasons. Then I moved on to girls’ basketball.”
Harry kissed her scar. “My tough little Cheri,” he said softly as he dropped the washcloth, backed her against the wall and kissed her breath away.
Sinewy muscles rubbed against soft, fragrant skin. Her breasts were crushed against his hard chest and Cherisse spiraled into a state of arousal to rival any she’d ever experienced. Making out in the shower was something new to her and she wondered why her other two lovers had not thought of it. Why she had never thought of it.
Harry raised his head. “Now you’re loosening up.” Looking deeply into her eyes, he said, “Tell me your fantasies, sweetness. I want to hear what you dream of doing with the man you love.”
Cherisse’s female center throbbed at the sound of blatant sensuality in his voice.
The possibilities were endless. She was a woman who had not had a man make love to her in more than six years. She had a lot of desires to satisfy. “I want to make love to you in unusual places,” she breathed, her heart pounding with excitement. “Not someplace we might get caught, I’m not that freaky, but in your office with the door locked. On the deck of a boat under moonlight…”
“Outdoor sex,” said Harry contemplatively. “I’ve never done that before, too afraid of photographers with telephoto lenses.”
Cherisse laughed. “Yeah, that would be embarrassing.”
“The beach?” asked Harry.
“Sand getting in my hair? No thanks.”
“Ever did it in a hammock?”
“No, but it’s worth a try.”
Harry laughed. “So basically you are a missionary-style woman, sex in the bedroom with the man on top.”
“Harry, what good does it do talking about sex when you could be demonstrating it?” Cherisse said suddenly, bending to pick up the washcloth Harry had earlier dropped and rinsing it out under the spray.
“I want to know what you’re used to so I won’t shock you,” said Harry. “It’s obvious I’ve had more experience than you’ve had.”
“You’re an ex-football star, Harry. Of course you’ve had more experience than I have. You’ve undoubtedly had more experience than the average man, let alone a woman who has had only two lovers in her entire life!”
“That’s all?” Harry asked, brows arched in surprise. “Darling, you’re thirty-seven.”
“Don’t even tell me how many lovers you’ve had, Harry Payne. I don’t want to hear it. And, yes, only two for me because I married the first guy I ever made love to and the next man I loved got killed. That didn’t exactly m
ake me want to go out and have sex with a lot of other men!” Cherisse stated emphatically.
“Okay,” said Harry mildly, a smile on his lips. “I’m not complaining about your lack of experience, I’m just surprised by it. You’re almost a virgin.”
“You know,” Cherisse said, “‘almost a virgin’ would make a good book title but it doesn’t describe me. I like sex. I just don’t go around having it with every Tom, Dick and Harry! Now, turn around and let me wash your back.”
“Yes, dear,” said Harry and turned his muscular back to her.
Cherisse’s righteous anger faded as soon as she saw his butt. She could bounce a quarter off that baby! She didn’t pick up a washcloth with which to rub his body down, she used her hands. Harry just smiled.
Harry had planned ahead. He’d ordered a repast for them that included cold spicy crab legs, fresh garden salad, crusty rolls and fresh fruit—Cherisse’s favorites—and for dessert, rich double chocolate cake. Champagne had been left chilling in an ice bucket by the hotel’s staff.
Harry had lit the candle in the center of the table and poured the champagne by the time Cherisse came into the room, wrapped in one of the bathrobes. Harry was wearing the other one.
He held her chair for her. “We didn’t have dinner before the ball,” he said. “I figured you must be famished by now.”
Cherisse’s stomach had been growling off and on since ten o’clock. It was now nearly eleven. “I am. Thank you.”
“I ordered the spicy steamed crab legs you like,” Harry said. “Eat up.”
Cherisse did. The spices weren’t nearly as hot as she liked. She expected her eyes to water when she ate crab legs, but these had a nice delicate flavor and had fresh, succulent meat on them.
Harry had fun watching her lick those plump lips of hers.
Cherisse knew he was watching her and licked her index finger indolently, drawing it from between her lips with slow deliberation.
Harry’s groin grew tight. He looked down at his own untouched plate and picked up a cracked crab leg and began to methodically peel the shell away from the meat. “What do you think of announcing our engagement at the Christmas party?” he asked.
Cherisse gave it some thought. “All right, that would cover all of my friends and family but you would have to phone your folks.”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you?” said Harry. “My family will be coming here for Christmas. I invited them a few days ago and they’ll be here on the twenty-third. They’ll be staying until the first week of January.”
Cherisse swallowed hard and had to take a sip of her champagne to get the crabmeat to go down. All of sudden, her head was spinning. Harry Payne didn’t play around when he made a decision, did he? The next thing he would be telling her would probably be that he had already planned the wedding and all she had to do on the fateful day was show up!
“Today is the nineteenth, Harry. In four days your family will be arriving and you’re just telling me?”
“I wanted it to be a surprise, like the rest of tonight,” Harry told her, smiling as he tossed the crab leg onto his plate and rose. He went into the bedroom and came back out carrying what looked to Cherisse like a folded quilt. When he got closer, she saw that it was a quilt.
She loved quilts. Carefully wiping her hands on the cloth napkin, she rose as Harry placed the beautiful work of art in her arms. She carried it over to the couch, not wanting it anywhere near the food where something could get spilled on it, and sat down with it on her lap. She looked at Harry, her eyes questioning. “Where did you get this? It’s the most beautiful quilt I’ve ever seen.” She ran her hand over the delicate stitching. “See that design? Those are supposed to represent interlocking wedding rings.” Her eyes stretched. “This is a wedlock quilt, Harry!”
Harry smiled his satisfaction, walked over to her and sat down beside her. “You know your quilts. My mom will be pleased. She made it for me and my wife.”
Cherisse burst into tears. That was the sweetest, most dear thing she’d ever heard. His mother had made him a special quilt for when he got married. No wonder he doted on the woman.
Laughing softly, Harry put his arms around her. “I can tell Mom it’s a hit with you, huh?”
Too choked up to speak, Cherisse nodded. Harry kissed her cheek. “I love you.”
He rose again. “But the quilt’s not the only gift I have for you tonight, darling girl.”
He didn’t leave the room this time. He simply reached inside the pocket of the robe, withdrew a ring box and knelt on one knee in front of her. He opened the ring box and presented her with a five-carat white diamond solitaire in a platinum setting. “Asking you to marry me while we were having sex didn’t seem the proper way to go about such a solemn occasion.” He smiled up at her. “Will you be my wife? Will you let me love you and care for you until the day I draw my last breath?”
“Only if you’ll let me love you and care for you for just as long,” Cherisse said through her tears.
“Agreed,” said Harry happily.
“Then, yes, I will marry you,” Cherisse said and held out a trembling hand for Harry to place the ring on her finger.
Harry held her hand firmly in his while he slipped the ring onto her finger. Then he leaned forward and kissed her tenderly. Parting, he said, “You’ve made me a very happy man.”
Cherisse laughed and jumped into his arms, catapulting both of them to the floor, where she kissed him soundly. Once he could disentangle himself, Harry reached up to pull the thick, heavy quilt onto the floor and pushed Cherisse back onto its plush softness. “Let’s christen this baby.”
Kneeling over Cherisse, he loosened his robe’s belt and pulled it off, tossing it somewhere behind him, then he removed the sash around Cherisse’s waist and ripped open her robe, revealing her luscious naked golden-brown body underneath.
His semi-erect penis achieved hardness as soon as he laid eyes on her. She was a visual delight, long limbs and womanly curves, hair splayed out around her beautiful face, that beauty mark next to her sensually curved mouth winking at him. He bent and kissed her mouth, his tongue parting her lips. Cherisse kissed him back hungrily, rising from the quilt. Harry pulled her to him, their bodies warm and naked, hot and bothered, alive with sexual need.
Harry was about to impale her right there on the floor when he remembered the condom in his robe’s pocket.
He kissed her belly. “One minute, baby, I forgot the latex.”
Once the condom was in his hand Cherisse took it from him and placed it on his hard, throbbing penis. Then she pulled him down for a deep kiss as she opened her legs, welcomed him inside of her, and wrapped herself around him.
No words were needed as they achieved the right rhythm, hands caressing, and their mouths drank the nectar each freely offered, gently at first and then more urgently.
Bodies entwined, they somewhat resembled the yin-and-yang symbol, Cherisse’s body being a lighter brown than Harry’s, but both bodies together meeting in perfect synchronicity.
Harry had never felt this kind of exultation before and thought his heart might explode inside his chest, he felt such joy. How could he have known that a stranger he met on the balcony on a moonlit night would come to mean so much to him?
Cherisse ended up on top and Harry had to close his eyes against her intense beauty, afraid he would not be able to hold back the powerful climax he felt building within him.
Cherisse closed her eyes, as well, and threw her head back, riding him, feeling his penis rubbing against the sensitive walls of her vagina and worrying her clit until she thought she might scream.
She bent and whispered in his ear, “So this is what a little moonlight can do.”
Harry came in an instant because he knew exactly what she was referring to. The very thing he had been thinking only moments ago. How fate had brought them together that night on the balcony at Karibu.
At that moment, his love for her knew no bounds.
Cherisse came with a
loud moan, and Harry pulled her down to hold her in his arms while her body went through its spasms of release.
Chapter 15
On Monday Cherisse tracked down David Pedersen to tender her resignation. She was required by the terms of her contract to give six weeks’ notice. She admitted to some misgivings about quitting nursing. She had gotten her master’s degree when she was thirty, but she had worked as a registered nurse for a year prior to that. Would she miss the daily grind of the past eight years? No. However she would certainly miss the patients and the easy camaraderie she shared with her colleagues.
She finally caught up with David at lunchtime. She paged him, he called her and they agreed to meet in the cafeteria.
Cherisse got there before David and sat down at a table in the back, a salad and a tall glass of iced tea in front of her. She didn’t wait for David, but began eating. If he decided not to show up, she still had to get back to work on time.
He arrived about ten minutes into her salad, carrying a tray to the table and sitting down with a tired sigh. Cherisse thought the bags under his eyes were fuller than usual.
And his carriage wasn’t as erect as it normally was.
“Hello, Cherisse,” he said softly, looking at her with red-rimmed eyes.
Cherisse dearly wanted to ask him if he’d stayed up all night, but wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing she was in the least concerned about him. For three years he’d given her a hard time. Was she now going to try to end their association with tenderness and compassion? No. David wouldn’t accept it, anyway.
“Hello, David,” she said. She put her fork down and regarded him. “I’ll make this short. I’m quitting.”
David’s eyes stretched, but he didn’t say anything. He placed his stethoscope on the tabletop. The weight of it in his lab-coat pocket bothered him when he was sitting. Then he met Cherisse’s eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous, Cherisse. Where are you going? Has some other hospital made you an offer? Is that it? You’ll be swallowed up by bureaucracy in one of those places. Sure they seem nice at first, better pay, better benefits, but would you find satisfaction with them? The kind of satisfaction you get from challenging me at every turn?”