Perfect Morning

by Marcia Evanick

  She felt it had been childish of Jason to remove her bodily from the backyard. To be relegated to the kitchen in charge of potato salad and iced tea had seriously injured her pride. Of course, sticking out her tongue and making rude noises at Jason’s retreating body had boosted her pride back up.

  She assigned Charlie to be the assistant chef in charge of barbecuing. Pure happiness shone in the girl’s eyes. As Charlie and Tiny walked toward the backyard, Riki couldn’t help grinning like an idiot.

  If the amount of leftovers was a sign of how much everyone enjoyed themselves, the barbecue was a success. There weren’t any. Riki had to admit that Jason’s secret sauce was sensational. She’d also coneeded he was the better chef, since no firemen showed up for the feast.

  The only odd thing that happened was Charlie’s behavior. She seemed delighted to help Jason cook the chicken. That in itself was a breakthrough. Charlie had never been delighted about anything until Jason showed up. What really raised Riki’s eyebrows was that Charlie practically climbed on Jason’s lap to eat her dinner.

  Jason smiled at her and piled more potato salad on her plate. Riki realized he didn’t understand the significance of Charlie’s actions. For that matter, Riki herself was having a hard time trying to decipher them.

  Thinking of Charlie and Jason, Riki decided she had better get her mind back to the present.

  She still had to say good night to Jason without a recurrence of last night’s kiss.

  She opened her eyes. Jason was drinking his coffee and looking out at the peaceful night. She shifted her gaze to the mountains in the distance and thanked God for seeing her through another day. With seven kids, she figured it paid to keep in touch with the “higher” help.

  Jason sipped his coffee while he studied the woman sitting quietly beside him, Riki. How could one woman be so complicated. She was a mother, a member of a church, an upstanding citizen, a coach. Now what kind of woman coached a boys’ T-ball team, just because nobody else would, especially when she was terrified of the ball? She also did most of her own furniture refinishing, and had an outrageous sense of humor. Most importantly, she was a very passionate woman. The kiss from the night before was still fresh in his memory. Yes, sir, Riki was a very passionate woman.

  He turned to her.

  “So how did I do today?”

  Riki was so startled, she almost spilled her coffee. The quiet night and cool air had helped her relax. She’d been nervous all day with Jason. After the way they had parted last night, she hadn’t been quite sure how he would act. So far, he had been a perfect gentleman. After clearing her throat to remove the huskiness, she replied, “Fine.”

  “Just fine?”

  At the hurt in his voice, she giggled. “No, Jason, you were wonderful. Thank you again for helping with the boys’ T-ball practice. I can’t tell you how much it means to them.”

  “My pleasure.” “You really shouldn’t have bought everyone ice cream afterwards. I’m afraid they’ll think they’ll get it after every practice.”

  “I’ll try to curb my generosity the next time.”

  “Jason, wipe the silly grin off your face.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Suddenly her expression changed from the teasing smile to a doubtful frown. “Jason, something isn’t right.”

  He straightened the chair he was leaning back on. His feet hit the wooden porch at the same time as the front two legs of the chair. “About what?”

  “Charlie.”

  “What’s wrong with her?”

  Jason’s voice was lower and harsher. His concern was evident, and so was the authority. This was the side of him she had only guessed at, but had known was there.

  “Nothing’s wrong with her. Don’t worry. I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just that Charlie is reacting differently than I figured.”

  “How?”

  “I expected her to be shy, leery of you. You’re a stranger to her. You show up on our doorstep one day, and the next she’s accepted you as part of the family.” Riki slowly shook her head.

  “Well, I am her father.”

  “She doesn’t know that. She thinks her father was killed in the car accident.”

  “Maybe she likes me?” There was a hopefulness in his voice that Riki couldn’t miss.

  “Oh, I know she likes you. I just can’t figure out why.” She knew she was baiting him. She just couldn’t seem to help herself.

  “Some women think I’m handsome.” Now there was a definite growl to his voice.

  “I’m sure some do, but don’t you think Charlie is a little young yet to get her head turned by a pretty face?” Riki’s voice was pure sugar.

  “Some women like their men rich.” The growling was louder.

  “I guess buying the whole team ice cream can be counted as rich to some. You will have your work cut out for you, though, if Charlie learns that money isn’t everything.”

  “Some women like their men experienced.”

  “In what?”

  He slowly stood up and set his coffee cup on the porch railing. He turned to Riki and removed her cup from her hands.

  Riki couldn’t look away from him. How could so much soul-burning desire be contained in one pair of silver eyes? she wondered. “In knowing,” he whispered, “how to make a woman’s body come alive during lovemaking.”

  Her gaze lowered to Jason’s mouth, and her mouth went dry. Her whole body was coming alive and he hadn’t even touched her. She could feel her breasts swelling and her nipples hardening. There was a strange sensation in the pit of her stomach, not unlike the one she got from riding a roller coaster. The sensation was drifting lower as Jason was leaning closer. She knew she didn’t want to get off this ride.

  Her tongue darted out to moisten dry lips. “I think we got off the subject.” It was a last-ditch effort to prevent the inevitable. Her voice was low and husky, and she couldn’t stop staring at his lips.

  “And what do you like in your men, Riki?”

  She said the first thing that came into her mind. “Roller coaster rides.”

  She barely had enough time to draw a breath before Jason’s lips covered hers. The kiss started out hungry, and his tongue plunged into her mouth. Her arms circled his neck, and she pulled herself deeper into the kiss. She wasn’t sure who moaned. She thought it was Jason, but it could have been she. Last night’s kiss was no fluke. Her reaction was the same – total surrender.

  Jason’s mouth left hers to blaze a trail down her throat. She arched her back to give him better access. He must have adjusted the arms on the recliner, because she found herself slowly sinking backward. His mouth made its way back up to her waiting lips, after a slight detour to a very sensitive spot behind her ear.

  This time when their lips met there was tenderness and warmth. The passion and hunger were still there, just not as primitive. Riki found herself lying side by side with Jason on the lounge chair and couldn’t figure out who was holding whom closer. Jason was placing kisses down her throat toward the V in her blouse. As he undid the first button, she couldn’t prevent the small purr that escaped her lips.

  As the second button came undone, she pulled his shirt from his jeans and caressed his bare back. She could feel warm skin and hard muscles as her hands slid upward toward his shoulders. His fingers were on the third button as his lips traced the lace of her bra. She instinctively arched her back, and he growled. The fourth and last buttons were undone with undue haste.

  Jason raised his head to see how Riki was reacting. The look in her eyes set all his doubts to rest. She saw his concern and smiled, her hand moving from his back to his chest. She could feel the rapid beating of his heart and the heat of his body. She leaned over and kissed his neck. His breathing became more labored and his hand trembled as he found the front clasp of her bra. The bra came undone the exact instant their lips met.

  The hunger was back in full force, with the tenderness lying in the background. Their tongues met and dueled. No one won, but
no one lost. Jason broke the kiss, sliding his mouth downward. The feel of Riki’s unconfined breasts crushed against his chest was more than he could stand.

  He gently pushed the blouse and bra aside as he gazed at her. The light from the kitchen window spilled in a soft glow onto the porch. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of her breasts. One word came to mind as he raised his head to smile at her. “Perfect.”

  Riki barely heard the softly spoken word before his mouth took her nipple. Her back arched, her breath stopped, and the roller coaster whirled down a hill. Jason’s tongue circled the aroused nipple, then he sucked gently. The force of the roller coaster was making it hard to breathe. She pressed closer to him as she tried to draw air into her lungs. His mouth left the hardened nub, and he trailed moist kisses down her body. Her hand went to the back of his head to try to bring him back. He obeyed, rubbing his cheek against her. The slight abrasion of his beard heightened her desire. As his mouth settled on her other nipple.

  her hand left his head and slowly trailed down his side.

  His sudden intake of breath proved he was just as aware of her hand stroking up and down his thigh as she was. His own hands were not idle. One was caressing her back as the other slid over her hips. His hand was moving in a sensual rhythm that matched the gentle sucking of her breast. The roller coaster hit another dip. He raised his head to look into her eyes, and the heat of his passion seemed to burn into her. “Riki?” he asked urgently.

  She knew the question without being asked. She also knew the answer. She loved roller coaster rides, and she had never been on one like this before. “Please.”

  He growled low as his lips settled on hers. His hand moved to the apex of her thighs, and the roller coaster hit another dip.

  “Mommy?”

  The roller coaster slammed to a screeching stop. They both froze as the sound of Billy-Jo’s voice penetrated the night.

  Four

  Riki had no idea how she managed to stand up, her legs were trembling so badly. She tried three times before she finally hooked the clasp on her bra, and with shaking hands managed to button her blouse. She had never felt so humiliated in all her life, necking on the back porch at her age. Who was she trying to kid? It was more than necking, a lot more. Damn, she had been about to let Jason Nesbit, a perfect stranger, make love to her on her porch.

  Thank heavens Billy-Jo hadn’t opened the door. How do you explain that one to a two-year-old? Hearing Billy-Jo call her name again prompted her to move. She couldn’t look at Jason, even if her life depended on it. Staring at the screen door, she cleared her throat. “Good night, Jason. Breakfast is at seven-thirty tomorrow because the children have school.” She hoped she sounded more in control than she felt. She opened the screen door and stepped inside. She thanked her lucky stars that Jason was at least a gentleman. Not many men would allow a woman to leave without some type of comment.

  Jason came out of his shock with a jolt. Riki had just wished him good night and slipped into the house. What in the hell had come over him? He had never acted like that with a woman. Not even when he was sixteen and had “Lusty Lois” in the backseat of his father’s car. Taking a deep breath, he heaved himself into a sitting position and straightened his clothes. With elbows on his knees and his chin resting on his palms, he stared off toward the mountains.

  What had gone wrong? he wondered. Everything had been fine. He had never had so much fun, or laughed so hard. He had been unsure around the kids in the beginning since he had only limited experience with children. His own nephews and niece had seemed to grow up overnight. He saw them occasionally for family dinners. His sister Stella was constantly on him about taking a vacation and slowing down. Maybe she was right. She was thrilled about Charleen and had wanted to fly up with him to collect her. He had explained about Charleen’s not talking, and how Mrs. McCormick and the social worker from Texas had agreed it might be better if he became a friend first.

  Riki, he thought. That’s what had gone wrong. Nowhere in his mind had he ever considered what Mrs. McCormick was like, besides being capable of caring for his daughter. Charlie was his only reason for being here. Why couldn’t he devote one hundred percent of his time to Charlie, instead of trying to get Riki into bed?

  Good lord, that sounded cheap, both of himself and of Riki. He was a grown man who should be able to control his libido, not some lascivious teenager. And Riki was definitely not his type. She didn’t play games. She wasn’t part of the flash-and-dash group he was used to. The women he dated knew the score before the game was played.

  The only score Riki knew was in T-ball, for cripesake.

  It wasn’t that she was unsophisticated or a country bumpkin. She was down-to-earth, warm, and vividly alive. She not only met life head on, she actually went out looking for it. She was as foreign to him as toboggans are to Dallas. Maybe that was the attraction for him – to confront the unknown, to boldly go where no man had gone before. Riki was the last frontier. Now he was sounding like Captain Kirk.

  Jason forced himself to consider his options.

  The first one was the safest. He could pretend the whole thing hadn’t happened, avoid Riki like the plague, make friends with Charlie, and leave for Dallas as soon as possible.

  The second option was an all-out hot-and-heavy affair. Grab the goods while the grabbing was good. Enjoy this extra benefit from the trip, and when Charlie had adjusted, take the first plane home. Only a couple of things stood in the way of that plan. The first was, he had never grabbed anyone’s goods before. He believed in giving because it made the getting that much better. The second obstacle was going to be the temptation to slit his throat every morning for the rest of his life.

  The third and final option was to calm down and take this one day at a time. There was obviously something between Riki and him, an instant attraction, chemistry. Chemistry? Now that was a joke. It was more like spontaneous combustion. All they had to do was touch each other and the flames erupted.

  There was no way he was going to walk away from her without exploring this phenomenon. First, he had to confront her and make her realize there was something between them. Second, he had to assure her he was not going to rush her. He’d let her set the pace. He only prayed that the pace she set would qualify for the Olympics.

  When Riki came back downstairs, she was startled to find Jason leaning against the kitchen counter, drinking a cup of coffee. So much for being a gentleman, she thought. Obviously he was waiting for something. Well, he was going to have a long wait. After tucking Billy-Jo back into bed, she’d given herself a lecture on the subject of men. First and foremost, Jason was dangerous. She had never met a man who had such an overwhelming effect on her body and mind. He had only to touch her and all her defensive walls came crashing down. It had taken her over two years to build those walls and in a matter of seconds Jason could knock them down, clean to the foundation.

  Riki never considered herself a promiscuous female, but since meeting Jason she was beginning to have her doubts. After Brad was killed, her main concern in life had been the children, especially the unborn child she was carrying. Moving to a small rural town had been her dream come true. She had been perfectly content to raise her four healthy children, and had been surprised by her reaction to Jake.

  When an old college friend got in touch with her about possibly taking Jake as a foster child, she was intrigued. After meeting Jake, intrigue turned to enthusiasm, and she brought him home as soon as possible. He was just starting to interact with the other children when her friend called again and told her the heart-wrenching story of Pete. She took him in as well. While Jake was quiet and undemanding from fear of rejection, Pete was the opposite. He was loud and demanding, always trying to be the center of attention. If he wasn’t in trouble, he felt no one cared.

  In the middle of one of their confrontations, Riki noticed the hearing problem. After several visits to a specialist, Pete was diagnosed as having an eighty-percent hearing loss. An operat
ion was out of the question, for fear it would cause permanent damage. The specialist was hopeful that with the current medical advancements, there would be a procedure in the near future that could restore part, if not all, of Pete’s hearing. In the meanwhile, there was a hearing aid. With Pete’s hearing restored to almost normal, his behavior improved dramatically. He started to interact with the other children, and seemed to favor Andrew.

  Riki found that Jake and Pete filled a void within her she’d never known existed. Not only was she surviving in this crazy world, she was helping two less fortunate children survive also. One day she realized it wasn’t enough for Jake and Pete just to survive. They had to belong. After a lot of soul-searching and many family discussions, she started the adoption procedures, and never looked back.

  About six months ago the Child Welfare Department called about Charlie. They assured her it was temporary, only until they located her father. They feared that placing her in an institution would cause the small girl to retreat further. Riki had to agree. Since taking Charlie into her home would in no way jeopardize the application for adoption of Jake and Pete, she opened her arms to the forlorn little girl.

  Tonight was the first time she ever regretted that decision. Charlie she could handle. It was the six-foot hunk with the hungry silver eyes that had her in a tizzy. How was she ever going to survive the next few weeks with Jason practically living in her house?

  Standing in the doorway of her kitchen and gazing at that perfect male specimen, Riki felt the first flicker of fear. The fear was not of Jason, it was because of him. While she was tucking Billy-Jo in, she’d sensed another void. This one couldn’t be filled with children or friends. Jason had opened this void, and only he could fill it.

  Jason read the fear in Riki’s eyes and muttered an obscenity under his breath. So much for the gold medal. He set his cup on the counter and picked up the other cup, holding it out to Riki.