EYES ON YOU

by Lily Robins

  Hard pressed to find the right words, Roman replied, “I’m glad that was just a thought you had...and I’m going to kiss you right now, Ms. Wentworth…and cast that horrible idea you had to the four winds.”

  With the lightest of touches, Roman kissed her lips.

  *****

  They arrived for dinner at Justin’s, the premier restaurant of the city. As they wound their way to their table, Roman smiled in acknowledgement at several fellow diners who he knew, wondering what they were thinking as he followed closely behind the most beautiful woman in the room. He helped her remove her coat, and moved her chair in for Jess to sit down.

  Once their food came, having not eaten anything but a bowl of cereal all day, Roman ate his filet of beef, potatoes au gratin, and salad with gusto. He even had two yeast rolls and two glasses of wine. Jess had ordered the same as he had, equally enjoying her dinner. They began playing a game with each other that they dubbed: Tell Me Things That I Don’t Know about You.

  Jess began. “My parents lived in Boulder until my older brother and I were well out of college. My dad passed away a few years ago, my mother’s remarried, and she and her husband travel a lot.” Roman asked if her mother managed to see Aden and Molly in between travels, and Jess answered, “Not often.” Roman looked intently at her to ascertain if that disturbed her, but Jess shrugged as though her mother’s detached stance toward her family was not a concern for her.

  Roman said: “My father and grandparents escaped from Germany when he was less than a year old. His family were Jews, but my mother is Protestant. Guess who won that one?”

  After only a moment’s thought, Jess replied, “Your father.”

  Roman laughed and said, “Technically, he won, but my mother reared us to believe that there is something good in all religions. However, I no longer believe that, and neither does she.”

  Jess said, “Since many denominations have become politically active and tend to believe right-wing propaganda, I’m in agreement with you and Julia.”

  Roman smiled while saying, “Ms. Wentworth scores several points for the home team! But, we would go our separate ways, after tonight, if you were to reveal that you’re a right wing activist.”

  She laughed. “You put that little caveat in there…”

  Roman whispered, “I’m a liberal-minded Jew-boy who wants to share a night with you, regardless of your political persuasions.”

  Her smile, her eyes—everything on her face, radiated enchantment at how he was teasing her.

  Steering him back to the game, she said, “My brother’s name is Carson Wentworth and he’s a real estate developer in Florida.” Roman raised his brows as if to ask for more, and Jess added, “He and his wife, Sandy, and their kids, hope to visit with us this summer. Carson is fifty-four and Sandy is thirty-five.” Roman’s brows shot further upward, causing Jess to laugh out loud again.

  Roman took a large swallow of his wine before confessing, “If we don’t get out of here soon, I’m going to do something that will get us arrested. And I’m not kidding!”

  *****

  “Those might be trees,” she said, attempting to make out something—anything—after he turned into his driveway.

  “A grove of white pines,” he said. “Lots of them are around the house too.” He carefully maneuvered the vehicle around the curve in the narrow road, relying on the fog lights to deter him from driving into one of the tall trees. At last he reached the short straightaway, and then pulled up to the house, where he had left an outside light on that was barely visible in the heavy mist.

  “This could be lovely,” she said, “if only I could see something.”

  He chuckled as she kept trying to make out anything through the fog. Roman walked around the Navigator, opened her door, and steered her to the side door of the house. Inside, he turned on a lamp while ushering her inside, and she stopped to take in the living space before saying, “They do make curtains, you know.”

  One of the last things he had done that afternoon was put up a bed sheet over the double windows in the living room that had been bare since he had moved in. Unfortunately, he hadn’t managed to hang the sheet that well.

  “Really?” he asked with a straight face. “Primitive guys like me aren’t into such niceties. But, I’ll have you know—I swept out my cave today.”

  She kept a pleased look as she took note of the hundreds of books on the shelves in his living room, looking at how he lived here, and she warmly said, “I’m very impressed. This is sort of how I imagined your private domain would look.”

  “I heated up the place after I realized it was sixty degrees in here.” He helped with removing her coat, laying it over the couch near her books. Before he turned on some music, he asked if she’d like some wine, and she said yes. Retrieving a bottle from the frig, he opened it, poured glasses half full, and handed her one. Automatically, they touched their glasses, and he said, “To you, Jessica Wentworth.”

  Before sipping from her glass, she said, “I like that you privately call me by my maiden name.”

  The song, Latch, by Sam Smith, began playing. He took his jacket off and then took her into his arms. Slowly, he began swaying with her while caressing her back. As they gently moved together, she told him she liked the song that was playing, and lifted her arms up to caress his face, looking up at him with sparkling eyes and a smile.

  In the bedroom, the blinds were closed, and he turned on a lamp, as they took their shoes off. He said, “Let me undress you.” Starting with her sweater, Roman carefully lifted it over her head. She wore a lacy bra, which he unhooked and removed, revealing her bare, lovely breasts. He sat on the edge of the bed to caress them and to gently suck her nipples, showing great tenderness and obvious admiration for this enchanting part of her body.

  “I’m on the pill,” she murmured.

  The possibility of having to use what he had purchased earlier that day was dismissed from his semi-coherent mind. He took off her slacks, slipped off her panties, and found that she was moist between her legs as he lowered himself to his knees. He was starving for the taste, and the feel of this woman who so entranced him. She lay partway on the bed, parted her legs, and began emitting soft sounds of pleasure, heightened moans of arousal, while gently caressing his head. Unwilling to stop, he orally stimulated her until she had a long and gratifying orgasm.

  When he finally stood up, she helped in removing his clothes, and began caressing and kissing his erection until he reluctantly backed away. Roman gazed into her face, wanting to reveal all that he could by his expressions, the depth of his feelings for her. She responded by revealing her own, kissing his face, his ears…his neck…and his shoulders.

  He sat up in the bed, she folded her legs around him and slowly settled down on him. The feeling of being swept up together, to a higher plane, made small utterances of ecstatic pleasure all that either of them could manage. He held her in his tight embrace, nuzzling his face in her hair, sharing intense kisses with her, until they both leaned backward, she to grasp his thighs, he to press his arms into the bed. They gained a synchronized rhythm that slowly grew more rapid, their breathing grew faster and heavier until...his orgasm—and hers— erupted into shuttering waves of pleasure that crested, lasted, and took their breaths away.

  CHAPTER 22

  Her smile was as enchanting as the rest of her. Jess wove her fingers though his hair, and when he settled back onto the bed, she slowly dismounted and laid between his legs to caress his chest and abdomen, obviously liking how his hairy body felt to her. She kissed his chest, his nipples, and his abdomen, gently moving her head and allowing the hair there to brush across her face, savoring the feel of him. The lingering moments of their lovemaking remained too stunning to be interrupted by spoken words. As their heartbeats began slowing, and their huffs of exertion became less arduous, Roman placed his hands on her soft back and head, finally murmuring, “This grin on my face? I’m speechless.”

  He awoke some hours later, fin
ding her eyes fluttering open too. At some point, she had moved beside him, and had brought the bedcovers up and over them. Drowsily, Roman smiled at her, noticing that their arms and legs were tangled together, and she muttered, “Am I dreaming this?”

  “I thought I was,” he murmured, holding her face and kissing her. Romantically, he smiled as he incongruously admitted, “I’ve got to pee.”

  Smiling, she said, “You go first.”

  Both used the bathroom and when she returned, he slowly allowed his eyes to take in the whole of her. While pulling her down into bed, he said, “You’re so damn beautiful, Ms. Wentworth. What’s that fragrance you wear that drives me totally bonkers?”

  “Amazing Grace,” she said. “The body wash.”

  “Hmmm,” he rumbled. “Very nice. Now where did we leave off?”

  “Let’s just start over,” she invitingly said.

  *****

  Faint light shone through the bedsheet that was hanging from the living room’s windows. Jess took it down and was momentarily assaulted by the first rays of the sun beginning to burn off the dense fog.

  “You live on the Atlantic side of Whittler!” she exclaimed.

  “The water’s just below,” he said, admiring how she looked in a robe of his she had found that swallowed her. She had run her fingers through her long hair, and she still looked about thirty—even in the morning light.

  Jess looked out to what she could see from the sides of the windows, trying to get a fuller view of the property. “It’s so shady here. There are lots of huge trees. You live in such a gorgeous place.”

  “I was lucky to find it,” Roman agreed, pleased by her reaction to where he lived.

  She sat down on the couch with him, tucking her legs beneath her. Sipping her coffee, she announced, “I’m going down to Boston on Tuesday.”

  “You’ve found an attorney?”

  “An old classmate and friend of mine who does corporate law. Barry Ramos.”

  “Has he helped you with legal matters before?”

  “The firm he works with—another attorney there helps negotiate the deals on my books. And yes, I use him for other things. I called Barry last Thursday, and he’s looking into the status of Galaxy Investments, so that I can hopefully get a fair price for my interest in the firm.”

  “You don’t want to hang on to it?”

  “Not a chance,” Jess firmly acknowledged. “Gary left his controlling portion of the company to me. I think it was his way…of making amends.”

  “How long do you think you’ll be gone?”

  “I’ve made a list of things for Barry to do—maybe I need to spend the night.”

  “Do that so that you’re not driving home late,” he advised. “And let me help with the kids.”

  “I was going to ask Ruth…”

  “Allow me,” he insisted. “Mona and I can do that with ease. She’s excellent with herding.”

  Jess smiled at him. “I wouldn’t ask you…”

  “You didn’t,” he said. “I volunteered.”

  “And you’re brave to take the risk to your sanity,” she said with another big smile.

  “I’m awesome with letting kids run all over me,” Roman said as he stood up from the couch, pulling her up with him. “Back to the moment at hand, interesting things have been known to happen in a shower.”

  “Hmmm,” Jess murmured as she placed her arms around his waist and smiled tantalizingly up at him.

  “I’ll never be able to get enough of you,” he said.

  *****

  When he took her home, the reluctance he felt of letting go of her was stunningly strong, but he knew that she had to pick up the kids. Their time together had been intensely romantic, and something so thrilling that he knew he would never be the same again. Jess had been just as hesitant as he to allow their time alone together to end.

  After he had walked her to her door and told her that he would see her later, she had smiled that glorious smile she had for him and had deadpanned, “I’ll hunt you down if you don’t.” He had laughed with her, noticing how her throat bobbed as if she were swallowing down her feelings for him, a process that seemed to be as painful for her as it was for him. He knew in his heart that what they were developing as a couple was something far deeper and much more significant than what had transpired during their intimate night together.

  Roman drove by his mother’s to pick up Mona, and felt the weight of parting with Jess only partially lift. Mona began performing her happy dance, her claws wildly tapping on the floor and all of the rest of her wiggling in utter glee at seeing him.

  “I was only gone for a few hours,” Roman reminded her. “You stay overnight with Gramma all the time.”

  Julia laughed at Mona, aware that the dog knew very well to whom she belonged. “Dogs love the people who care for them—you know? And once they do, they don’t ever not love you.”

  “And you,” he said with emotion, glancing up from where he sat.

  Julia smiled at her son. She was a very wise woman, not asking him how his date had gone with Jess. Instead, she said, “The fog’s lifting and the wind will blow away what’s left of it.” Maybe his mother’s intuition had satisfied her wish to know, and she had realized that he was in a pondering mood that he tended toward when he had something important on his mind.

  “Mona, do you want to go for a walk?” he asked, not even getting the words out of his mouth before Mona’s floppy ears perked up, and she began doing her happy dance all over again, all around the kitchen.

  *****

  He dressed warmly in layers, and wore thick socks with hiking boots that he dragged out of the closet. He had eaten something for an early lunch, and now crammed an apple and a dog biscuit down in his parka’s pocket before putting on a hat with fold-down flaps to keep his ears warmer. The sun had indeed burned off the fog, but the wind was cold and cutting. Then, he filled a bottle with water from the filtering pitcher he kept in the refrigerator.

  And he got out his trusty walking stick from the small living room closet, something he hadn’t been able to use in months. As soon as Mona saw it, she knew, and she ran right to the door with her tail pumping ninety-to-nothing. “Let’s hit it,” he said with enthusiasm in his voice.

  They began by walking along the bluff, on a perpendicular course for a short while. There were occupied properties along the route, but anyone who happened to look out a window, or who was outside and happened to see Mona and him at the edge of their front yards would know him and throw up a hand to wave. Roman had been walking this island’s terrain for all of his life, except for the years that he’d been in Atlanta. Walking briskly near the jagged cliff’s edge, he and Mona trekked along the bend, where even more of the Atlantic Ocean came into view. The bluff was highest here, the northeast wind buffeting him, but he was taking the slower route down to the rocky water’s edge because of the fear of reinjuring his ankle again.

  He took long, measured steps, and Mona tried to slow down her bounding ones, but only by one measly hair on her head, often having to circle back to him, the dog a fast-moving force of nature. She actually preferred to run or gallop behind him, to try to keep him moving faster, unmistakably herding him to their destination. No matter how many times he reminded her that he wasn’t a hog, or a steer, Mona kept doing what her instincts told her to do. They had reckoned with the problem, Roman admitting to her that he, at six-five, with well-above-average pacing distance—was the slow poke.

  Eventually, as the land began to slowly descend, the trail appeared that would take them down to the beach, and Roman stopped for a breathtaking view of the ocean. This particular vista was the one he favored the most—although there were many others—the panoramic scene in this natural three-dimensional arrangement was something that Jess was going to love photographing. He had resumed slowly descending when Mona actually huffed out snorts of disapproval, having returned three times already to gently nudge him onward down the rock-strewn trail.

&nb
sp; Here, the trunks of the elms and red oaks leaned inward toward the land, the result of winter storms and fierce winds that buffeted them for months on end. Bare branches had not yet begun to show signs of any awakening to spring. It was still winter according to Maine’s standards and temperatures, but in another month, that would begin to change.

  At last, Roman got down to the beach, where Mona came running back to him, expectantly waiting, wagging her long tail. Much of the activity of the waves in the Atlantic occurred well before the water from them meandered toward the shore, the result of the many massive rocks that sat out beyond the beach as monolithic sentinels. On the beach itself, a wide expanse of dark sand, foam, clams, and layers of shells, smaller rocks and driftwood claimed spaces. He found what he wanted, a stick of driftwood that was sturdy enough to last a while, and threw it just as far as he possibly could. Mona had already turned around, engaging all four legs and paws into high gear, and was sailing along the beach, trying to catch the piece of driftwood before it hit the sand. She almost made it, being only a couple of seconds too late, and Roman told himself to hold back the thrust behind the heave just a bit. Mona’s goal was always to outrun the pitch. When she dutifully brought the stick back to Roman, he told her, “Good girl, Mona. Good girl.”

  CHAPTER 23

  He had just settled into bed for the night, had the television on, and a thoroughly-spent dog had settled on her pad by his bed, when Jess called.

  “Hi,” she said.

  “And hi to you.”

  “I missed you so much that I could barely stand it.”

  “That makes two of us then.”

  “You really know how to make a woman’s dream date come true.”

  He smiled into the empty space between his mouth and the phone, and she could sense his nearness. In an intimate way, he slowly said, “The pleasure was all mine.”