by Donna Hill
“It’s really coming down,” she breathed, wiping water from her face.
“You really hung with me,” Alex teased. “How’s the ankle feeling?”
She gently massaged her lower leg. “Not bad actually.”
“Good. You should probably soak it when you get in.”
She nodded. “I will.”
“How’d you like the show?”
She beamed with delight. “It was incredible. I’ve listened to Ashford and Simpson for years on the radio but to be less than ten feet away from them…wow.” She shook her head in awe. “I never knew that they wrote for so many other artists.”
“Yeah, how ’bout that. They wrote for all the major singers.”
“It must be really interesting to be with someone for so many years and have a common bond like that and both of you absolutely love the same thing and work at it together.”
“It takes work and determination to hold a relationship together. Both people have to want it as much as the other.”
“Seeing a couple like that who are still together after all these years gives me hope,” Alex said.
“Hope?”
“Yeah, that one day I’ll have the same thing.” He glanced at her.
“You really want the traditional wife, two-point-five kids and the white picket fence?”
He chuckled. “Quiet as it’s kept I’m a traditional guy at heart. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved my freedom, the great women that I’ve shared parts of my life with. But at some point, I’d like to put all the running behind me.”
“How do you think that will change if…Charisse decides to keep the baby?”
Alex brought the car to stop in front of her hotel. “I’ll have to find a way to deal with it, and make sure that my child has a place in whatever life I wind up living.”
“You wouldn’t marry her?” she pressed, needing to know the answers.
He put the car in Park, unfastened his seat belt and turned in his seat to look right at her. “One thing I do know and will always believe, a marriage is between two people who love each other, who have the same goals and values. I’m not in love with Charisse. I never was and to marry her because of this child would be the worst thing for the both of us. If she decides to go through with it, I’ll be there for her and the child all the way, but marriage…” He shook his head.
She appreciated his honesty, she thought as he helped her out of the car. But was she ready for baby mama drama? Charisse and the baby would be an integral part of their lives for the rest of their lives—if she and Alex decided to pursue a relationship together. But she’d really grown to care about Alex and the kind of man that he was. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to toss it all aside—at least not just yet.
She turned to him when they reached the front door of the hotel. “Do you want to come up for a little while—dry out?”
“If you don’t mind a little wet company.” He smiled.
“Not at all.”
“Try to make yourself comfortable,” Kelly said. “I’ll get you a towel.” She left to go into the bathroom.
Alex went to the bar and fixed them a drink while he waited.
“Here you go.” She handed him a towel and he gave her the drink.
“Hope rum and Coke is good,” he said, taking the towel and wiping his face.
“Perfect.” She took a sip then put it down on the counter. “I’m going to change. Sorry I don’t have anything to fit you.”
“I’ll be okay.”
“Actually,” she remembered. “There is a terry robe in the guest bathroom. You can put that on and I can call room service to take your wet things and get them dried.” She opened the door to the adjoining suite and took the robe from the hook in the bathroom then brought it out to him.
“Thanks.”
“You can change back there.” She pointed in the direction she’d come from.
He nodded and headed off to change.
While he was gone, Kelly called room service then disconnected the hotel phone. The last thing she wanted was a call from David, checking up on her. By the time Alex returned with damp clothes in hand, room service was knocking on the door.
“I’ll take those,” she said. Alex handed her the clothes and she went to the door. “Can you get these dried for me?”
“Of course, Ms. Maxwell. They should be ready in about an hour.”
“Thank you.” She closed the door and turned around. Her breath stopped short in her chest. When she looked at Alex she knew he had next to nothing on beneath that robe. Her mind went on a quick, wild excursion.
“You really should soak that ankle,” he said, cutting into her fantasy.
“Oh, yes, I should.”
“Why don’t you sit down and put your foot up. I can take care of it for you. Just tell me where everything is.”
“There’s a basin under the sink in the bathroom.”
“Be right back.” He pointed a finger at her. “Now sit.”
“Yes, Doc.”
Kelly went into her bedroom and changed her wet clothes. She put on a long skirt and T-shirt and returned to the living room. Hearing Alex in the next room felt so comfortable and so right as if he always belonged there. She sat down on the couch and stretched out with her drink, feeling utterly content.
“Hope it’s not too hot,” Alex said, returning with the basin of water. He came over to the couch and set the basin on the floor. “You look relaxed.” He smiled.
“I am,” she said in a dreamy voice.
He stared at her for a moment, all sorts of warm thoughts running through his head. He cleared his throat. “Uh, let’s get that ankle in the water before it gets cold.”
She lifted her leg and gently swung it over the side. Alex took it in his hands and unfastened the Velcro strips on the brace. She drew in a deep breath when his warm fingers came in contact with her bare skin. He glanced up at her. Their eyes met as his fingers gently massaged her leg then put her foot in the warm water.
“How does that feel?”
“Wonderful.” Her eyes drifted closed.
He massaged her foot in the water, running strong fingers along her instep, up her ankle and calf—up and down, up and down. Kelly moaned softly and leaned further back against the pillows.
“Yes, right there,” she sighed when his thumbs pressed against the insides of her calves.
His eyes rose up her legs. She reached down and took his hands raising them higher up her leg until his hands embraced her thigh.
“It’s all right,” she whispered.
His eyes met hers. He rose up on his knees. She held her breath. The pads of his thumbs were at her waist, rising slowly to the underside of her breasts.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded her head. He got on the couch next to her and took her face in his hands. He leaned forward until his mouth was inches away from hers.
“Kiss me,” she urged.
And he did, slow and tender as if she would break. Blood rushed to her head and she felt warm all over. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close. He reached behind her and loosened the clip that held her hair in place letting it fall in waves around her face and shoulders.
He kissed her cheeks, her neck, slipping down to the crests of her breasts as his hands eased beneath her shirt. She drew in a sharp breath when his fingers toyed with her nipples that grew hard beneath his touch.
With a sudden urgency he leaned back and pulled her shirt over her head.
“I want to see you.” He unfastened her bra and marveled at her beauty before taking one firm nipple in his mouth, his tongue playing maddening games with it.
Kelly’s head spun. Her body shuddered as waves of p
leasure coursed through her. She pulled his robe away from his shoulders, baring his chest, and ran her hands along his warm taut skin, memorizing every inch.
Alex left one breast and went to the other then let his mouth trail down her stomach. She moaned in delight as her stomach quivered from the tiny nips from his teeth. He fumbled with the front button of her skirt. She pushed his hands away and undid the button then pushed the skirt down over her hips.
He leaned away from her, his eyes running up and down her near-nude body.
“You are so perfect,” he said. And when he said it, she believed it. She felt beautiful.
Alex stood then reached down and lifted her into his arms, cradling her like a baby. “Not here,” he said, kissing and nibbling her as he walked toward her bedroom.
Once inside he gently placed her on the bed and unfastened the belt of his robe letting it drop to the floor before he joined her. For a moment he laid on his side, facing Kelly, simply taking her all in, stroking her body with his hands and eyes.
She reached up and caressed his cheek, a soft smile of invitation framing her mouth. She moved closer to him and felt his erection press against her thigh. She wanted to feel him, totally. She took him in her hand and stroked him feeling him pulse and throb in her grasp. His soft groans of pleasure only stirred her own rapidly rising longing. She drew his mouth to hers, her tongue dancing erotically with his.
“You can’t keep that up,” he hissed from between his teeth.
“Like it?” she taunted.
“Almost too much.” He eased her onto her back until he was above her. He kissed her long and deep holding on to those moments of prelude for as long as he could. He wanted to remember it all, every touch, every breath, every sigh.
Kelly shifted her body beneath him until he rested between her thighs. His erection pressed right up against the wetness of her folds and she moaned with anticipation, instinctively raising her hips against him.
Alex grabbed her hips in his hands and rose up on his knees. “Look at me.”
Kelly opened her eyes and when she did Alex pushed inside her as deeply as her body would allow. Her back arched and a cry caught and held in her throat.
For a moment, he didn’t move giving them a moment to experience the newness of their union. Then nature took over and he began to move slow and steady, in and out of her.
Kelly wrapped herself around him, not wanting an inch of space to separate them. The sensations that Alex created in her body left her breathless and she wanted to absorb them all. His hands and mouth were everywhere. Her body was on fire. He whispered in her ear, telling her how wonderful she felt, what she was doing to him, how good it was. Her head spun.
“Oh, girl,” he groaned. “Just like that.”
She rotated her hips. “Like that?”
He looked down at her with a smile of delight on his face. “Yeah, like that.”
She felt like liquid fire, he thought as the powerful sensations rolled through him. He wanted it to last all night long but if she kept doing what she was doing to him it would be over soon. He didn’t want it to stop.
It was more exquisite than she’d imagined, more intense. Alex was making love to her, to her body and her mind. That had never happened to her before. His every touch ignited a new thrill that rushed through her. And his tender words of adoration kept the fire lit. She wanted to give him her best, all of her. She wanted to make him feel as incredible as she did.
Then a warm tingling sensation began in her feet, shimmied up her legs, her thighs, played havoc in the center of her stomach and shot to her head only to reverse course and build with intensity in her pelvis. Her insides began to quake with every move Alex made. She whimpered helplessly as her entire body became one exposed nerve and the shock waves of bliss had her dizzy, crying out for more, yet needing to be released from the sweet torture.
“Come to me, baby,” Alex whispered in her ear, as he thrust in and out of her, each move building with urgency.
“Hutch!” She dug her nails into his back as white light popped behind her eyes and her body shuddered as if electrified with volts of joy.
The muscles in his back snapped, freezing his spine as the powerful pulls of her insides sucked him in and sent him over the edge.
His full weight pressed her down as he buried his face in her neck, humming softly against her hot flesh. Slowly she lowered her legs and held him in her arms.
“I didn’t expect that,” he finally said.
“Neither did I.” The soul-stirring interlude replayed in her mind and body as it began contracting again.
He felt her need and his own grew in response. This time he moved slow and deliberate, deep and long, carving out his place in her body.
Kelly whimpered helplessly, her body no longer her own, but his to pleasure as he pleased.
He cupped her breasts, kneading them as he moved within her, setting off another flurry of delight.
They lay entwined with each other, their hearts beating in unison. Kelly closed her eyes then forced them open wanting to assure herself that it wasn’t all a dream. She stroked his back, feeling the muscles flex beneath her fingertips. She smiled. It was real. She closed her eyes and drifted off to a bliss-filled sleep, secure in Alex’s embrace.
When he awoke it was nearly two a.m.
“Oh man,” Alex groaned, peeking at the digital clock on the nightstand. He tried to sit up but Kelly was fast asleep nestled in his arms. He kissed the top of her head. “Wake up, sleepyhead.”
She mumbled something unintelligible and snuggled closer. Alex laughed. “I gotta go, sweetheart. I need to get home. I have surgery in the morning.”
“Hmm,” she mumbled and slowly opened her eyes. “What time is it?”
“Ten after two.”
She sat up and stretched. “Are you sure?” She peeped at the clock. “You really don’t have to leave you know. The hotel took care of your clothes.” Her eyes widened in alarm. “Your clothes! They probably brought them back and we didn’t even hear them.”
She started to get up.
“You can stay put. I’ll go check.” He got out of bed and went into the front room.
She heard the door open then close. Alex returned with clothes in hand.
“Now this is what I call service. They had them cleaned, pressed and hanging on a rack in front of the door.”
“Well since your hospital skills are in your head and not your apartment,” she said and yawned, “you can come back to bed. I can have the front desk arrange for a wake-up call so you won’t oversleep.”
He hung the clothes up on the top of the door and came to the bed. He looked down at her, the full length of her naked body drawing him like a magnet.
“I can’t guarantee that there will be much sleeping going on if I get back in that bed with you.”
She raised her arms to welcome him. “Is that a threat or a promise?”
“Both.”
“I like the sound of that,” she whispered.
Alex crawled in bed next to her to pick up where they’d never left off.
“Do you have a class today?” Alex asked as he stepped out of the shower toweling his face and hair.
“No, not today.”
“Want to do something later? Maybe I’ll fix dinner for us at my place.”
She beamed then frowned. “Can you cook?”
“Let’s put it this way, I won’t starve to death and I haven’t poisoned anyone yet.”
“That’s mildly reassuring.”
He put on his shirt and buttoned it. “I take that as a yes?”
“Sure. I’m game. What time?”
“Hmm. I have a long day today. Surgery, clinic and grand rounds at the hospital. I should be off around f
ive. Let’s say I pick you up around seven-thirty.”
“I’ll be ready.”
He put on his pants and shoes. “How do I look?” he said with a wicked grin.
“Not bad for a man who couldn’t find his way home last night.”
He crossed the room to where she was curled on her side of the bed. “Oh I found my way home, all right.” He leaned down and kissed her. “It was beautiful,” he said looking into her eyes.
“My sentiments exactly.”
He stepped back and smiled at her. “I’ll see you later. I don’t know if I’ll get a chance to call, but if I can I will.”
“Okay, but don’t worry about it.”
“See you later.”
After Alex left for work, Kelly dozed off for another hour or so. When she awoke it was a little after ten and she was famished. Easing out of the bed she reached for the phone to dial room service. She placed an order for a four-cheese omelet, hash browns, Canadian ham, wheat toast, orange juice and coffee. As she hung up the phone it hit her. Since she’d been seeing Alex she hadn’t had any of her eating episodes and she’d had no desire to purge her food. A smile of astonishment moved across her face. She was sure that the counseling sessions helped, but more importantly her self-esteem was at an all-time high. She couldn’t remember ever feeling good about herself and her prospective future. She’d always been at someone’s mercy. And now she felt that she’d finally gained some control over her life; from the learning classes, the counseling and finding someone who genuinely cared about her for who she was, with all of her warts and flaws and not for what they could get out of it.
Alex was successful in his own right. He didn’t need her name or notoriety to feel empowered. Never once did he feel “it was a good thing” to have a learning disability and that it was something she should ignore and hide from the world. He dared her to gain control over it and in turn control her life.
David fed on her weaknesses, her need to be protected. But she had been an enabler. No one can do to you what you don’t allow them to do. For years she’d allowed David to control her life, her thoughts, her actions, until she was only a shadow of a person.
