by Mimi Barbour
“Aurora Morelli, you are the woman I’ve searched for all my life and I will never stop loving you. You are buried so deep in my heart, darlin’, you are my heart. I promise I will always be the man you want me to be. I promise.” The last words he whispered. Seconds later, Aurora had him in her arms and no one could have forced them apart.
The preacher’s words, spoken in with authority, boomed loudly. “Mr. and Mrs. Kai Lawson, I now pronounce you man and wife.”
Soon everyone rushed to congratulate the two lovebirds whose identical expressions were equally ecstatic. Lisa swore she saw relief in Kai’s expression and while she hugged him in acknowledgement of his being a newly married man, she also patted his back to soothe his obvious nerves. “You did good!”
He laughed a little louder than necessary and admitted. “I’d rather face a crazed killer with a gun than have to go through anything like that again.”
Lisa laughed and winked at him before stepping aside for the next person in line.
When it was her turn at Aurora, Lisa wrapped her arms around the smaller woman and they swayed from side to side. “You were brilliant, partner. My makeup’s ruined because of your… your heart wrenching words.”
Aurora pulled back in order to see Lisa’s face and she winked. “The hard part’s over. We’re hitched! Now we can go have fun and dance the night away.”
Lisa couldn’t help the frown. The thought of dancing with the man who turned her world upside down every time she was in the same space with him made her want to run and hide. As if the fear were visible Aurora shook her slightly.
“No way, Lisa! I want my friends to enjoy themselves tonight. It’s important to Kai and me that we have this party. Please be nice and have fun. Take pity on Jeff and at least dance with him once.”
Chapter Eleven
Dance with him? Man, she was all over the dude. Lisa couldn’t believe her reaction to him after a few little drinks. Not that Jeff seemed upset. On the contrary, if his behavior was anything to go by, he loved every minute she stayed in his arms. When Cory had asked her to dance, Jeff released her for as long it took the music to end and then reclaimed her and wouldn’t let loose.
Maybe it was the fact that he’d taken off his suit jacket and tie then opened the top buttons on his white silk shirt that made him seem more approachable. Or it could be that he’d smiled at lot and his eyes were engaged, not just his lips.
Of course, drinking vodka shooters all night hadn’t hurt. They’d annihilated her reserve and made it possible for her to open herself. She still had a problem talking with the guy but every drink had made it easier to release her inhibitions and enjoy the charmer’s attentions. His arms held her with a sureness that warned of his abilities as a lover. His eyes sucked her into a sexy world of promise. And his attitude of ownership warned her they’d progressed way past the point of no return.
***
Jeff couldn’t believe that he’d finally gotten close to Lisa, to the woman who disturbed his nights with arousing dreams since the bank incident. As soon as she’d arrived at the chapel, he’d lost his ability to think with any modicum of intelligence. One look and he was a goner.
He knew he had a serious problem when envy of a three-year-old, allowed to bury his hands in her rioting curls, had attacked unexpectedly.
She’d arranged her hair to be loose around her beautiful face and the multitude of springy curls were a man’s pure delight. She’d also done something weird with her eyes. Shimmering green shadow highlighted the brown depths, replacing her normal big-eyed simplicity. Her greatest attribute had been emphasized and were driving him crazy.
Her black dress, a complete turn-on, fitted snugly in all the right places. Some kind of silky material that looked great with the spiky glittering heels adding inches to her height. He liked a tall woman who had the class to be proud of her body. In fact, the whole picture affected him to the point where he needed to control the urge to haul her to the nearest bedroom, lock them inside and throw away the key.
At the beginning of the evening, she wouldn’t even look at him. Thanks to Noel’s help, he’d wiggled his way in. When the time came for the child to leave, they’d had to coerce him into releasing Jeff and go with his babysitter. Ham used persuasion, Mattie tried a bribe, but Lisa, ignoring everyone else, firmly whisked the child into her arms and laid down the law.
Her behavior reminded Jeff of his mother and the attraction grew from pure lust to his now being interested in her heart’s thoughts. He’d looked for a companion like his mother all his life. Go figure she’d be a woman so unlike the librarian his father had married. Except she had the same generous nature, cheeky humor and the ability to make everyone around her feel at ease.
As the evening progressed at the pub where Aurora and Kai had organized their after-wedding party to be held, Jeff couldn’t seem to leave her alone. She was popular and had been stolen from him by every guy there. Being Lisa, she never refused anyone. He was getting tired of sharing.
“Hey man, quit glowering at Ham. He’ll be her new partner at the department for the next while. It’s important they have a good rapport.” Kai mocked him in a teasing way.
Jeff liked that he and Kai had become friends. He’d tried not to be offended when Aurora and Kai had refused his offer for Cascades to be the place for them to hold their wedding, of course free of charge. He’d swallowed his disappointment when they’d also declined to use his Chateau in Monte Carlo in place of the camping trip they planned as a honeymoon in the wilds of the Yukon. But when it came to Lisa, his sense of humor and normal perspective seemed to go missing.
At that moment, Lisa threw back her head and giggled at something that Ham said. The image of this beautiful woman laughing without restraint, open and loving, caught at his gut and cut off his air. He muttered under his breath, “She’s gorgeous.”
Something in his tone must have snared Kai’s notice. His voice hardened. “And off limits.”
“You got that right,” agreed Jeff.
“I meant for everyone. She’s a nice girl, not a plaything.”
“Who’s playing?”
Lisa arrived back to the table before Kai could reply. Jeff scooped her back where she belonged in his arms and started two-stepping around the room with her tucked close. If he had his way, she’d never leave them again.
All evening he’d wanted to kiss her but he knew once he started, it would be impossible to stop. Each time their glances had become mesmerized, caught by each other’s hunger, he’d seen the same awareness in her sultry gaze. He knew when a woman wanted him and this lady gave off all the right signals. Now at the point of discomfort, his body ached for the time when they could be alone.
Chapter Twelve
As the evening drew to an end and folks were starting to leave, Lisa was happy for Jeff to take control. “You’re coming with me, Lisa.”
Not one to play games, she nodded. “Yes, okay. That’s fine.”
He smiled at her confusion and the arm he’d used to keep her by his side tightened around her waist. “The car will pick us up in five minutes in case you want to say your goodbyes.”
A glance around the room proved that not to be necessary since the few stragglers still there were all swaying to a slow beat alone in their own little worlds.
‘Kai and Aurora already left so I won’t bother the others.”
“Right.” He guided her out into the hot, moonlit, Vegas night, his hand on her back like that of a gentleman. God, she hoped he’d lose that notion before the night ended. All she wanted was to attack him with all the hunger he’d stirred up from an evening of touches and lustful gazes.
Once in his limousine, Lisa finally got to taste the man and he quickly became addictive. At first his lips teased but it soon became apparent they’d passed the playful stage. Ragged breathing replaced sighs and after her first moan broke lose, Lisa pulled away knowing she’d never last the trip to his place if they didn’t call a halt.
He bo
dy throbbed with desire and she couldn’t stop the trembling that had seized her any more than she could stop breathing.
After Jeff had his driver drop them off close to his private entrance, they entered his elevator. Alone again, he stroked her hair, playing with it as if he were entranced. At one point, she felt him bring a handful to his lips. “It smells wonderful. No wonder Noel likes to hide his face here.”
Lisa tried to answer him. However, her throat was so dry; she couldn’t trust her voice so she licked her lips and nodded.
He watched her mouth and it was as if she’d pushed him too far. He gathered her against his strong, heated body and used his lips to devastate the last of her shyness.
Once they entered the apartment, he didn’t stop manipulating her with strong arms and his experienced mouth. Even while he’d guided her around the luxurious joint, he’d kept up the tender assault.
Although they’d danced so many dances earlier that being wrapped in his arms had begun to feel like a safe harbor and not a frightening, soul-wrenching place to Lisa, in this atmosphere everything changed. It became even more magical.
Mesmerized up to this point, unable to talk with any degree of intelligence, she’d just allowed the evening to flow without her controlling anything. And she was quite happy to let that state continue.
Situations like this, her being alone with men, happened quite often, but unlike Aurora and Ham’s suspicions, she never allowed her male friends past a certain limit. Meaning the bedroom was off limits to all but a very few who were special and that hadn’t happened to her in a very long time. She would admit to having a soft heart. If fellows wanted a shoulder to cry on or a friend to listen to their problems, she’d confess to that weakness, but no more.
Now here she was about to make the biggest mistake of her life and she was powerless to stop the inevitable. Hell! The man owned a Vegas casino and she owned a two-year membership to the gym. He had a black book, most likely a three-ring binder, and her life was committed to a three-year-old boy who’d become more important than breathing. This dude was so far out of her league, she still hadn’t managed more than a few sentences in conversation like “Excuse me, I have to go to the ladies room” being one and “sure, I’ll have another shooter.” Who the hell did she think she was fooling?
Only thing she knew for sure. He wanted her. His eyes had driven her into a frenzy of need and his experienced hands couldn’t seem to stop touching. Lit with intense cravings past anything she’d ever known, caught up in this dangerous lust spell, Lisa hungered for him to be inside her and knew it would happen.
Pulling himself out of her arms with obvious reluctance, he spoke, his voice sounding gruff. “Where’re my manners? Would you like another drink or maybe some coffee?”
“Sure.” She watched his mouth form into a wondrous smile and found herself smiling back.
“So! What will it be? Coffee or a maybe a glass of wine?”
“Oh, right. You need to know which.” She giggled nervously, nodded and stared at his hip-hugging pants. Freakin’ hell, he’s very aroused!
His muscular body delighted her. As a businessman, he should be flabby around the middle, have thinning hair and pale unhealthy skin from working indoors all day long. On the contrary, Jeff was just the opposite and could be a model for any outdoor working man. He had thick hair almost her color of darkish auburn. His eyes were a wondrous grey that right now smoldered with hunger and he had a face any woman would love to wake up to in the morning.
Seconds passed and he said. “Made up your mind?”
Words failed her. Shaking her head negatively, she had only enough brain cells left to reach out with her arms.
Taking his cue, Jeff scooped her up and headed into his bedroom, an area bigger than Central Park, decorated in dark blues and cream, her two new favorite colors.
When he went to speak, she put her hands over his lips. Floating on the brink of drunkenness and ecstasy, she wanted nothing to spoil the coming hours. Hell, if she didn’t know better, she’d suspect him of being nervous.
After his constant attentions, stroking and rubbing their bodies together on the dance floor, and the earlier lovemaking in the car and then the elevator, she had a fire in her belly and had no intention of letting it fizzle now or passing out rain-checks for later. It would be tonight or never.
As he laid her on the bed, she imprisoned his neck and kissed him for the first time without his prompting. It seemed to make him crazy. He covered her, moaned and returned her embrace with a passionate response. His tongue snuck inside to play with hers in a cheeky way that made her smile.
Rising to balance on his elbows, he looked down and his hands went straight to the mass of curls surrounding her head and shoulders. He stroked and played with the bouncy waves, pulling and releasing to watch them spring back into place.
“So beautiful”, he murmured the words, delight conveyed by his smiling eyes.
“You like my hair?”
“Very much.”
“Me too.” And for the first time ever, she truly meant it.
“And I like that you’re here with me.” He kissed her lightly between the words, making her laugh. Watching her reaction, his playful look changed, overcome by an expression of passionate heat and incredible need. He stared deeply into her eyes, making his way past her shyness straight into the warmth of her soul. That’s when all coherent thought disintegrated.
Soon their naked bodies writhed together in a dance as old as time. Holding her hair aloft, his lips sought out every inch of her neck and shoulders, then worked their way down to her sensitive breasts. The minute he sucked the nipple into his mouth, her body began creating waves of rapture that would most likely be the best orgasm she’d ever experienced.
Consumed with passion, his fingers found her moistness and he stroked her to where each ragged breath she moaned seemed connected with the climax growing, building, with a promise to be shattering. She guided him to join her and soon nothing existed except their sweating bodies working hard to create a release like none she’d ever known.
***
Jeff had her in his arms, in his bed and tucked firmly into his heart. He knew he should take things slow, woo her with his tenderness, maybe even forego the pleasures of her body in order to make more of an impact as a gentleman. Lisa needed to understand, that for him, their being together was a serious issue.
Good luck with that, man! All the woman had to do was giggle in her delightful way and every bit of animal instinct to mate took control. Jeff had to kiss her, no choice whatsoever, he had to. Stopping with one kiss couldn’t be endured and so their kisses led to him touching. With skin like silk what could a man do but stroke and never stop. Her sighs of pleasure goaded him on until every nuance of energy inside him was caught up in pleasuring Lisa so she’d never leave him.
Chapter Thirteen
Sick at heart, Lisa left Jeff in his bed, asleep. Sliding from his arms, out of his tender hug, she stepped into the dark loneliness. It had been the hardest thing she’d ever done but she didn’t have any choice. They had no future and it was best to cut off this affair before anyone got hurt.
Once dressed, she gathered all her belongings and then crept from the apartment like a thief in the night. Soon she wandered into the casino where even in the early morning hours mulish players still tried to beat the house. The music of the machines clinking and buzzing resonated around the large room and ramped up the horrible loneliness eating at her insides.
Everything inside screamed at her to go back. Not to leave the man who’d broken through barriers she’d erected years before to protect a vulnerable heart. Tears fought to escape but she held them back, promising herself she’d release them as soon as she got home.
An earlier case had brought her to this same hotel where she’d been stationed in the upstairs office full of monitors and watchful employees, so she knew the eyes-in-the-sky worked constantly. She suspected they followed her leaving. Might be her imagin
ation but right now, upset and sensitive, she couldn’t wait to be alone.
Winding her way past the mostly closed shops, restaurants and the butterfly sanctuary to the luxurious well-lit façade, she hailed a taxi and made good her escape.
Once home, Lisa closed the doors of her apartment, and determined symbolically that she’d also shut off access to the man she had no right to want. A man so far above her station that tonight had to be only a beautiful memory.
Lisa couldn’t deny that playing Cinderella had had its moments. The drinks they’d shared had helped her relax. Okay, maybe more than relax, since she’d drunk more than she ever had before. At least she’d managed to get through the evening without her crazy nerves eating her up.
Even though the man overwhelmed her to where she’d been powerless to carry on any kind of coherent conversation, the night had been like no other. It would be treasured as a highlight, a pinnacle of pleasure for the rest of her days.
Sadly, real life wasn’t a fairy tale. Three-year-old Noel had to be the only man in her world right now. She’d made a promise. And Lisa never broke her promises.
LET IT RIDE
Chapter One
Detective Lisa Jordan threw the file across the desk and forcibly shut down her disloyal mind that refused to stop thinking about the man she’d recently rejected. Irritated, her hands sifted through unruly curls refusing to be confined. Her attention shifted to the person who darkened her doorway.
“Hey Partner, you just can’t stay away from us, can you? I thought you and Kai were leaving tomorrow for your honeymoon? What’re you doing here today of all days?” Lisa put down her pen and placed her feet, crossed at the ankles, on top of the pulled-out drawer of her desk. Then she continued to poke. “Figured you’d need this time to pack everything you’ll want to have for baby Lilly in the wilds of the Yukon.”
Fellow detective, Aurora Morelli, straightened from leaning against the doorjamb and moved into the room. “Yeah, well, it turns out that Kai’s big idea of camping in the wildernesses is to take his dad’s monster 42-foot motorhome with every gadget you can imagine. Damn bus is nicer than our condominium. Lily will have plush carpeting and ceramic tiles to crawl on and even a small tub for her bath. Our princess will be coddled in every way her goofy daddy can come up with.”
