One More Knight

by Kathleen Creighton

  “So, what did they arrest you for?”

  Unfortunately Lori the waitress arrived with their drinks just in time to catch that. She gave Charly a nervous look as she set two sweating long-necks on the tabletop, accepted the bills Troy gave her without dallying, for once, and hurriedly scooted away.

  Charly waited until she was out of earshot, then lifted her bottle, tilted it toward his in a mock toast and recited with lip-smacking relish, “Reckless driving, operating a motor vehicle without a license and open-container violation.”

  He paused in the process of tucking his wallet away to give a low whistle. “All that without even bein’ drunk?”

  “That’s right.”

  He was shaking his head as he picked up his beer. “Sounds like you might be needin’ a lawyer.”

  “I am a lawyer.”

  The bottle halted just short of his lips, and his eyes leaped to hers. “No kiddin’?”

  She couldn’t seem to shift her gaze away from his mouth. Hers had gone dry as dust. She drank some beer and licked her lips. “It’s the truth.”

  There was a long pause, and then they were both laughing-real laughter, husky and mellow. Troy didn’t know which felt better in his belly, that or the beer.

  “You feel like telling me what did happen?”

  “It’s a long story.” Her eyes stared straight into his, a dark, lost look he took as a personal challenge.

  “I’m not goin’ anywhere,” he murmured. And knew right then and there that he wouldn’t be. For better or worse, he was committed to this mission.

  Granted, his life had been pretty tame lately, but right now he was feeling more keyed up and alive than he had in months. This woman was turning out to be a real surprise, as full of tension and secrets as a Baghdad bazaar. Intriguing and tantalizing as a pair of beautiful eyes beckoning above a veil. He was developing a real curiosity about her, a growing itch to know. He wanted to see what was behind that damn veil.

  But it was obvious she wasn’t going to show him, not yet. She frowned, suddenly edgy as a caged wolf, and said, “Hey, you don’t happen to have a cigarette on you, do you?”

  “Hell, no.” He said it in surprise; he hadn’t pegged her as a smoker. “Those things’ll kill you.”

  She was out of her chair before he’d finished it, heading for the bar. He didn’t try to stop her, just picked up his beer and lazily drank while he watched her edge her way in between a couple of guys who were sitting there nursing their Bud Lights and puffing away like chimneys. He could feel his jaw muscles tense as he watched her: the supple bend and sway of her body as she spoke to the two men; the way her hair brushed her neck when she tilted her head and smiled; the way her head fell back and her breasts pushed forward when she laughed.

  He watched her take a cigarette from a proffered pack, tap it once on the bar and then put it between her lips, watched a flame sprout and her head dip close to a masculine hand. She lifted her head, her lips pouting around the cigarette as she shook back her hair. Her hand touched a masculine shirtsleeve.

  He had to remind himself to breathe as his gaze followed the slender line of her hand and wrist, down her forearm, past the bend of her elbow and upward to the gentle curve of her biceps. He had a sudden, vivid image of Officer Baylor’s thick fingers wrapped around that smooth, naked arm.

  His mouth had gone bone-dry. His eyes burned in their sockets. He shook himself and drank, but the beer tasted like ground glass going down.

  “Ah, that’s better,” Charly said with a breathless laugh as she dropped into the chair across from him. She picked up her beer and took a swig, then a quick drag from the cigarette. And erupted in a fit of coughing.

  Troy watched her struggle for a while, then silently reached over and took the cigarette from her fingers and stubbed it out in the ashtray.

  She glared at him in outrage. “What’d you do that for?”

  “Come on, you don’t want to be doin’ that.”

  For a moment or two he could see she was thinking about arguing the point. Then she propped an elbow on the tabletop, rubbed wearily at her forehead and closed her eyes. “I haven’t smoked in years,” she said in a soft, tense voice. “It’s this damn town. Look at me-I’m here what, six hours? Seven? And it’s like I’ve lost twenty years of my life. I might as well be sixteen again.”

  Troy got to his feet and kicked back his chair. Her eyes and mouth opened simultaneously, but before she could ask the questions he could see forming in her eyes, he reached across the table and wrapped his fingers around her upper arm. He’d prepared himself in advance for the jolt, but there was still a growl in his voice when he said, “Come on, let’s you and me dance.”

  It was a reckless thing to do, and he knew it. And he had an idea, from the way she was looking at him, that she knew it, too. Her eyes locked on to his, darkened and held as she lifted her head in full acceptance of the challenge he’d thrown at her. Then she rose without a word. The muscles in her arm quivered and pulsed beneath his fingers as he guided her around the table. And beneath his belt buckle, his belly did likewise.

  Their bodies brushed and bumped together as they wove their way through the tables to the crowded dance floor. To Charly it seemed like part of the dance…his hand on her waist, her shoulder against his chest, his body heat merging with hers. She could feel his breath in her hair, feel her own pulse beat in her throat and belly and wherever he touched her. And then they were on the dance floor, surrounded by music and moving bodies and gentle darkness, and with one slow turn, he gathered her into his arms.

  Gathered her in. Yes, that was what it felt.like. So gentle and sure. She felt enfolded, surrounded, cocooned and protected; never had she felt so utterly and completely possessed. She wondered why such a notion didn’t terrify her, why instead she should feel a sense of safety and happiness like nothing she had ever known. As if she belonged here. Right here, in this stranger’s arms, on this murky little dance floor, in this noisy bar that reeked of cigarettes and stale beer and sweat and sawdust. She never wanted to leave.

  She couldn’t feel her feet. Didn’t know any longer what song was playing, what the beat was, what steps they were using. And didn’t care. He filled her senses-all of them-with his body, his hands, his heat, his smell. When she swallowed, she could taste him. With her eyes closed she could see the smooth flesh beneath her fingers. Her skin tingled, prickled and caught fire, as if with a raging fever. And yet she shivered.

  He murmured something she couldn’t hear as his arms shifted subtly, further enfolding her. Everywhere they touched, she could feel his heat flowing into her…and hers into him. It’s only dancing, she thought. But her heart hammered, drowning thought. Her throat moved convulsively. She felt parched…famished. The warm, moist hollow at the base of his throat tasted like manna from heaven; the tapping of his pulse against her lips was like the patter of raindrops on her thirsty soul…

  Troy felt her lips move on his throat, and his stomach clenched. The muscles in his back tightened as he arched, drawing her body into his. She lifted her arms and slid her hands upward to meet behind his neck, kneading and stroking the taut cords, inviting them subtly to relax…let go. He could feel her breasts pillow against his chest, feel the pebbly brush of the nipples as if there were nothing but sweat between them. His thoughts began to flicker like a malfunctioning fuse.

  With one of the last flares of lucidity before reason deserted him completely, he realized that his fingers were tugging at the silky knit fabric of her top, unconsciously seeking a way to the greater softness that lay beneath. His hands tightened, then grew still. He thought, What am I doing? What in the hell am I doing?

  The inside of his chest felt as if an avalanche were taking place there. He cleared his throat and rumbled, “Looks like our food’s…uh, maybe we’d better go eat before it gets cold.”

  There was a pause, during which he thought about saying, “The hell with it,” and walking out of there with his arm wrapped possessively aro
und her and her body plastered up against his side, and not stopping until they were locked inside one of the rooms at the Moanin’ Springs Motel. He thought about it, with all the healthy male impulses in his body yelling “Yeah!” and egging him on.

  It was hard saying no to those impulses, especially since they hadn’t had much to yell about lately. He wasn’t sure he’d have been able to, either, if just then she hadn’t let her breath out in a long, slow sigh and pulled back from him just enough so he could look down and see the fall of dark hair across her pale forehead, the blackbird’s-wing arch of her eyebrows, the shadows her lashes cast across her cheeks. Just enough to remind him who it was he was holding in his arms. Who it was he’d been on the verge of making love to in the middle of a crowded dance floor. Enough to make him feel dishonorable and ashamed. Hell, he was supposed to be rescuing this woman, not seducing her.

  They walked back to their table in awkward silence. Charly felt intensely aware of her body’s shape, its every nerve, fiber and flaw, its every movement, pulse beat and tremor. She was certain he must be, too, certain he could see how wobbly her legs were, how flushed her cheeks, how quick her breaths, how jerky and uncoordinated her hands.

  And I don’t care, she thought. I don’t care!

  She felt angry and thwarted, like a child who’d just had a much desired toy cruelly snatched from her hands. For a few moments, out there on that dance floor, she’d felt safe, happy… oblivious. For those few minutes in Troy’s arms, she’d felt no pain. Felt nothing except the most elemental impulses of hunger, sexual need, desire. She wanted to go back to that place where the universe consisted of his body and hers and thought was an enemy, banished to the remote edges of consciousness. She wanted to go back there and, if at all possible, stay forever.

  “Looks good,” Troy commented, pulling back his chair. Obviously such thoughts and desires were far from his mind.

  Damn Boy Scout, Charly thought as she gazed with disgust at the plastic basket before her, at the hot dogs nested there in waxed paper, smothered in onions and that noxious chili. She resented them-and him-with a passion that made her stomach burn. I can’t eat this, she thought. I can’t. She sat down and instead picked up her half-empty bottle of beer and drank.

  Naturally Troy was already tucking into his hot dogs with good-ol’-boy gusto. It was such a revolting sight she couldn’t tear her gaze from him. Avidly she watched his supple fingers cradle and manipulate the bun and lift it gently to his mouth…watched his lips open and his teeth come down…watched his lips come together and the tip of his tongue appear to steal a morsel of chili that had stayed behind, leaving them glazed for a tantalizing moment before he touched them fastidiously with his napkin. And she thought about how they would feel…his lips, his teeth, his tongue. How they would feel on her lips. How they would taste on her tongue.

  “Better eat up,” Troy urged between mouthfuls.

  She pushed the basket away with a shudder. “I’m not hungry.”

  He shook his head. “Come on, now, you’ve had a long day. You need your strength.”

  Having already dispatched his first hot dog, he wiped his mouth with his napkin, then his fingers, dropped the balled-up napkin into his basket and pushed it aside. Then he reached over and picked up one of her hot dogs and held it toward her, cradled in both of his hands. “Okay, now, open up.” His eyes smiled into hers.

  He really does have the most beautiful eyes. It was Charly’s only thought as she gazed into them, lips parted, barely breathing. She could have sworn he wasn’t touching her, and yet everything she’d felt on that dance floor came flooding back-the heat and heaviness, the pounding pulses and shimmering nerves-as if she were still in his arms. She opened her mouth slowly, half-mesmerized, and took a bite and chewed without tasting. A lump formed in her throat that had nothing to do with hot dogs.

  Something warm oozed down her chin. He caught it with the back of his finger, then wiped the spot clean with the ball of his thumb, laughing softly, intimately. And she laughed, too. How could she not?

  “Good girl…ready for another? Yeah…” The words came from the back of his throat, like something erotic crooned in humid darkness amid tumbled sheets. Her own chuckle was a husky counterpoint, part of the same duet.

  She put her hand on his to help steady the dripping hot dog and leaned forward to take a bite, while he braced his elbows on the tabletop and bent his head toward hers. It was a small table; his face was very close to hers, so close she could feel his warm, moist breath when he laughed. It was strange, she tasted nothing, her chest felt tight and crowded, her belly coiled and pulsed as if aliens had taken up residence there. And yet when the last bite of the hot dog had been swallowed and the last dribble of chili dabbed from her lips, she was sorry.

  “There, now,” said Troy, leaning back and reaching for his own basket once more, “that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

  She shook her head and groped for her bottle of beer, lifted it unsteadily and drained the few swallows that were left. Troy asked her if she wanted another, but she shook her head. He told her she should eat her other hot dog. She muttered, “No, thanks, I’ve had plenty.” Plenty…and not nearly enough.

  What in the hell was wrong with her? It seemed that when he was close to her, touching her, she was fine-more than fine. She was every dopey cliché you could think of-higher than a kite, drunk as a skunk, dizzy as a baby on a swing. And the minute he left her she felt…like this. Lousy. Like a baby, all right, a baby woken up too soon, wobbly and cranky and ready to cry at the drop of a hat. I don’t know how much more of this I can take, she thought.

  She watched while Troy polished off the last bite of his second hot dog and washed it down with what was left of his beer. When he said, “Well, if you’re not gonna eat that, you ready to go?” she nodded. He pushed back his chair and stood up, and she noticed that he didn’t try to help her with hers, or take her arm, or anything that might have brought him into close contact with her again. Miserable and disappointed, she wondered if he was deliberately avoiding it.

  He noticed that she was looking around for a rest-room sign, and leaned over and murmured, “I think I saw them up front, when we came in.”

  She muttered, “Thanks,” and pushed ahead of him through the maze of tables.

  The women’s rest room was deserted, but reeked of cigarette smoke. The glimpse Charly caught of herself as she slipped into a stall was something of an eye-opener to her. She looked like pure hell-bloodshot eyes in a pale, bloated face, hair hanging in lifeless strings, clothes that looked as if they’d been slept in-no wonder Troy didn’t care to get close to her. Who could blame him? She probably didn’t smell all that great, either.

  It felt good to wash her face and hands. Of course, there wasn’t much she could do about her hair-or anything else, for that matter. Her purse had vanished, and she supposed all her luggage was still in the trunk of the rental car, wherever that was. She would have to see about that tomorrow. Tomorrow. There were a lot of things she was going to have to see about…tomorrow. Like that other famous Southern belle before her, she pushed the thought ruthlessly aside.

  It was while she was mopping herself dry with paper towels that she noticed the vending machine on the wall-the kind that dispensed tampons and condoms. She knew most public rest rooms had them nowadays, but she’d never paid any attention to them before. This one she couldn’t seem to take her eyes from.

  Forget it, she told herself. I said, forget it. And her heart beat faster.

  Besides…well, of course, she had no purse. And therefore, no money.

  Which, she told herself, was just as well.

  Chapter 5

  July 3, 1977

  Dear Diary,

  I can’t believe what’s happened. My father is such a jerk. He never listens to me. He must really think he’s God. I mean, who does he think he is, telling me who I should go out with? It’s not his life!

  Okay. Here’s what happened. I told him I was going to
the Fourth of July picnic and fireworks with Richie, right? And he tells me I can’t go with Richie, because we’re going with the Stewarts, like we always do. So I tried to tell him I’m too old for that family stuff. I mean, I’m sixteen now, and this is like, a date. And he says, so what’s the matter with Colin? He’ll be your date.

  Colin? Yuck! I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love Colin. He’s practically my best friend in the whole world. I tell him stuff I can’t even tell Kelly Grace. We’ve been best friends since we were babies-he’s like my brother! I can’t even imagine kissing Colin. The very idea makes me feel sort of sick.

  The judge just doesn’t understand. And as usual he won’t even listen to me. He doesn’t care what I want. You know what? I think he has his heart set on Colin and me getting together so I can be a Stewart, which in this town is the equivalent of royalty. Is that the dumbest thing you ever heard, or what?

  Thought for the Day: I don’t think it should matter if a person is new money or old money, or how blue their blood is, or their skin, for that matter. The only thing that should count is how they feel in their heart.

  Troy was waiting for her when she came out of the rest room. He said, “Ready?” and when she nodded, held the door open for her without saying another word.

  Outside, the air was muggy and warm. The sky flickered like a silent-movie screen, and off to the west, thunder grumbled. A breeze gusted fitfully, stirring the trees and lifting Charly’s hair from her shoulders.

  “Thunderstorm,” she murmured, breathing in the smell of rain. Oh, Lord, she’d forgotten what it was like, rain in the summertime.

  Troy came beside her, glanced at her and then at the sky. There was electricity in the air, all right, but it seemed to him more of it was coming from her than from up there. “Yeah,” he said, “looks like it’s comin’ our way. Got your umbrella?”