“I’ve been wanting to rip this dress off of you all night,” Niki said, running his hand up her thigh.
Stacy crossed her legs and trapped his hand between her thighs. “Is that right? Well, why don’t you do something about it?”
Niki smiled mischievously and set the glass down on the side table and stood up. He pulled Stacy to her feet and threw her over his shoulder and reached in his pocket and tossed a twenty down on the table. Stacy was laughing and screaming as he carried her out of the bar and through the courtyard to their room. When he got inside, Niki set Stacy down and he tackled her onto the bed and they rolled off the other side and landed with a thud on the floor. They were both laughing hysterically, and Jason banged on the wall.
Stacy tried to get up but she was laughing too hard and Niki wouldn’t let go of her. He was lying on his back and she was sitting on top of him and he reached up and pulled the straps off of her shoulders and pulled her dress down to her waist.
“Nice bra,” Niki said.
“I thought you’d like it.”
“I do. But I like what’s in it better,” he said, unhooking the bra and flinging it up on the bed. He ran his hands over her breasts and moaned, then pulled her down on top of him and ran his fingers down her bare back.
“Oh, that feels so good,” Stacy said, and she relaxed to dead weight on top of him. “Am I squishing you?” she said, into his neck.
“Uh uh,” Niki said. He massaged her back with the tips of his fingers and then she sat up and unbuttoned Niki’s shirt, but he held it closed.
“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” he said, and Stacy laughed. She pulled her dress down further exposing her scar and Niki opened his shirt and they compared bullet wounds.
“Mine’s better,” Niki said.
“No way.”
“Get that dress off,” he told her, and he got up and tossed Stacy onto the bed. He took off his pants and kicked them onto the floor then pulled Stacy’s dress off and threw it on a chair. He took off her shoes one at a time and tossed them in different directions, then he pinned her to the bed and started kissing her neck, tickling her. Stacy was laughing and squirming underneath him and Jason pounded on the wall again. Niki laughed and banged back.
Niki brought his mouth to hers and kissed her hard. Stacy pulled him closer and she wrapped her legs around him and they topped off the night with their best romp yet. When they finished they were both wet with sweat.
“So much for not exerting yourself for two weeks,” Stacy said.
Niki pulled Stacy over to him and squeezed her. “I can’t get close enough to you.” She snuggled into him and Niki reached over and turned off the light then banged on the wall again.
“We’re finished in here,” he yelled, and both he and Stacy laughed.
“Good night, Niki. I had a really good time tonight.”
“Me too.” He kissed Stacy and pulled her closer and they slept in each other’s arms for what was left of the night.
Everyone slept late the next morning and Eli and Carlos came down to the French Quarter and the group met at Brennan’s for lunch. Holly and Stacy were sitting next to each other and when Jason got up to talk to someone, Stacy moved her chair closer to Holly’s.
“So, how was it last night?” Stacy asked.
“It was great,” Holly said. “I’m in serious like.”
“Well I have a great idea, but I haven’t brought it up to Niki yet. I think we should all go to the island when we leave here.” Stacy looked over at Niki, and he and Eli were watching them.
“What are you conspiring about over there?” Niki asked.
“Nothing,” Stacy said innocently.
“Bullshit, Trent,” Niki said.
“You guys want to check out a cemetery after we leave here?” she asked, changing the subject.
No one was enthusiastic, but Carlos was adamantly against the idea. “Not me,” Carlos said. “Too many ghosts in one place.”
“Oh, come on Carlos. Nothing’s gonna happen,” Stacy said.
“You go in my place. You know, San Antonio has a lot of ghosts,” Carlos said, taking a bite of food.
“Yeah, I’ve heard a lot of stories,” Stacy said. “Like the Onion House and the Witte Museum and the Menger Hotel.”
“There’s an ancient burial ground in a flood plain where the ghosts gather early in the morning. There are so many of them you can actually see their breath,” Carlos said.
“In a flood plain? Where are you talking about?” Stacy asked.
“The highway runs right through it now. The one that goes from the airport downtown,” he said.
“Highway 281. You mean the Olmos Flood Basin?” Stacy asked in disbelief.
“That’s it. Haven’t you ever been past there in the morning? It will be a crystal clear day without a cloud in the sky, and there will be a thick fog sitting on the ground in that whole area beside the highway.”
“Yeah. I see it all the time,” Stacy acknowledged.
“It’s not fog. It’s ghost breath.”
“Oh, please!” Stacy said.
Carlos threw his hands in the air. “Believe what you want, but it’s true.”
Stacy turned to Holly. “Let’s go shopping instead,” Stacy said, and Holly nodded in agreement.
They split up after lunch and Holly and Stacy went shopping and the men went off in their own direction and they met up at the hotel late in the afternoon to get ready for the wedding. Stacy was wearing a long backless emerald green dress with a slit up the front and a matching shawl. She rummaged through her cosmetic bag and pulled out a diamond drop necklace just as Niki came in.
Stacy’s eyes lit up when she saw him. “Hi! Will you help me?” she asked, handing him the necklace.
Niki looked her up and down. “Hubba hubba,” he said, and Stacy laughed out loud.
She turned around so Niki could put the necklace on her. “Are you excited about Charlotte’s wedding?” she asked.
“Not really. But I’m excited to show you off,” he said, kissing her neck. He put the necklace on her and she turned back around. “You’ll be the prettiest one there,” he said, checking her out. The green in her dress made her eyes look incredible and Niki was mesmerized, staring at her.
“Hello,” Stacy said, waving her hand in front of his face. “Are you okay? You’re zoning.”
“I just can’t believe I’m with you. You are so pretty, Stacy.”
Niki took her hands in his and kissed her lightly on the lips and Stacy put her arms around his waist and smiled at him.
“Are you getting sentimental on me?” Stacy asked.
“Hell no. You might accuse me of being sweet again.”
Stacy laughed. “What’s wrong with sweet?”
“It doesn’t fit with my image,” Niki informed her, running his hand up her back. “I’m not going to be able to keep my hands off of you tonight. You wore that dress just to torment me, didn’t you?”
Stacy laughed again. “I am so in love with you Nikolas Lautrec.”
Jason knocked and poked his head in the door.
“The limo’s here.”
Stacy, Niki, Holly and Jason piled into the limo and drank champagne on the way to the church. The wedding was being held at Trinity Church and when the limo arrived, there was a line out the front of the church of guests waiting to be seated. The four were seated in the front row and shortly after they sat down, Niki’s mother was seated.
The church was packed and Charlotte was standing at the back of the church waiting for the Wedding March to begin. The organist played the first notes and Charlotte started down the aisle with her father. Niki squeezed Stacy’s hand as he watched his little sister moving towards the front of the church. Lillie looked over at Niki and smiled. She could tell what was on her son’s mind and she wondered how long it would be before he announced his engagement. The ceremony was short and when it was over, the preacher presented the newly married couple to the congregation and
everyone applauded.
The reception was held in a Mediterranean style courtyard at a posh restaurant, and it provided as romantic a backdrop for a reception as Stacy had ever seen. There was an incredible selection of food and drink, and the band played everything from disco to rock and roll, to jazz, and the blues. By the end of the night, Stacy and Holly had them playing show tunes and they were up on stage with the band singing songs from Oklahoma, South Pacific, and the Sound of Music. It was a blowout party and everyone danced until the band quit playing at 1:00 a.m. It was after 2:00 when the last guests left, and Niki, Stacy, Jason, Holly, Eli and Carlos were the only ones left at the reception.
A Frank Sinatra CD was playing on the sound system and they were all sitting at a round table laughing and visiting. The song The Way You Look came on and Niki stood up and offered his hand to Stacy.
“May I have this dance.”
“This is like my favorite song!” she said, and Holly winked at Niki.
Stacy got up and she and Niki went out on the dance floor. Niki took Stacy in his arms and she leaned against him, closed her eyes and let the music take over. She had never been happier. They danced beautifully together and the others sat captivated, watching the two spinning around the dance floor like they had danced together all their lives. They were a strikingly beautiful couple and the way they moved together, they looked like something straight out of an old movie. The two looked into each other’s eyes, smiling, as they dipped and spun, and covered every inch of the dance floor. When the song ended, Stacy laughed and hugged Niki around the neck.
“Where did you learn to dance like that? That was amazing!” she said.
“Close your eyes,” Niki told her.
“Close my eyes?” she asked.
“Close your eyes,” he repeated.
Stacy was standing there in front of him smiling with her eyes closed and she reminded him of a kid at Christmas. He could just picture what their children would look like. He took her hand and slipped a ring on her finger. Stacy opened her eyes and her jaw dropped. It was an enormous emerald cut diamond in an antique platinum setting that had belonged to Niki’s grandmother.
“Oh my God!” she exclaimed, looking from her hand to Niki and back to her hand.
Niki got down on one knee and took Stacy’s hands in his. “I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you, Stacy. And I know we’ve had an unconventional beginning to our relationship and that we haven’t known each other long. But I can’t imagine my world without you in it,” he said. “I promise I will always love you and respect you, and I will always be faithful to you, if you will do me the honor of becoming my wife. Will you marry me, Stacy?”
Stacy was smiling down at Niki and she reached out and touched his face, tears welling up in her eyes. “I would love to be your wife. Yes, I will marry you, Niki.”
“Thank God,” Niki said.
Stacy laughed and threw her arms around Niki. He stood and picked Stacy up and spun her around.
“She said yes!” Niki yelled to the others.
Everyone stood up and cheered and they all gathered around to congratulate the happy couple. Stacy was showing off her ring while Eli opened a bottle of champagne and filled six glasses and passed them around. Niki put his arm around Stacy and she wrapped her arm around his waist, and Eli held up his glass.
“To Stacy and Niki, and a future filled with love and happiness and lots of laughing children.”
They raised their glasses in the air and clinked them together and everyone drank a toast to them. Niki and Stacy sealed it with a kiss.
“I love you, Niki,” Stacy said.
Niki looked into her green eyes and his stomach did its flip.
“I love you too, Stacy Lautrec.”
Want more?
Check out Advice of Counsel, a lighthearted and entertaining Mystery Romance/Romantic Suspense.
Advice of Counsel
by Debra Trueman
Young attorney Samuel Collins moves to the tranquil community of Hollywood Park, Texas, wanting nothing more than to be left alone by his nosy neighbors. But between the 4-year-old kid from next door and the 80-year-old widow from across the street, he quickly finds himself drowning in neighborhood hospitality. In no time, Samuel is representing neighbors on all sides in various legal matters, but when two of his neighbors hire him to revise their will to include one Landra Krally as a beneficiary, Sam smells a rat. He calls on his investigator friend, Niki Lautrec, to check her out, but when Samuel ends up dating the subject of his investigation, things get increasingly complicated. Samuel’s life, or death, may depend on the very neighbors he had hoped to ignore.
Available on Amazon in paperback: http://amzn.com/1479376558
and on Kindle: http://amzn.com/B00937920K
and through your local bookstore.
www.debratrueman.com
Acknowledgements
Thanks to my BFF, Holly Hagy, for being with me every step of the way when I wrote this book; to Michael Galo, Ruben Cantu, Mada Coffee, Susan Synek Nix, and Richard Rowland for letting me pick their brains or providing input about a certain aspect of the book; to my Editor, Faye Makarsky, whom I look forward to working with again; to Laura Wright LaRoche at LLPix Photography and Design for the cover design; to my sister, Pam Uhr, for the inspiration to finally get published; and to my family for being my family.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Back on Solid Ground Page 34
