Love Me Tonight
Page 23
“If anyone in this room ever needs me, you only have to get a message to me. I regard you as my brothers and sisters.” His voice broke. “And I love every one of you.”
“This calls for a party,” Alexis said.
By five o’clock that afternoon, the party was going full sway and, happy though he was, Judson had to get away from it. His father had been a rich man, and though he was wealthy, the largesse of the Harrington brothers made him richer. But he was shaken equally by the love that they and their families showered on Heather and him. He remembered the basement, opened the door to it and went down there.
Almost immediately, he heard the sound of shoe heels on the steps and waited, hoping that it was Heather and not one of the other women. “I guess it’s overwhelming,” Heather said, when she reached the bottom of the stairs. “Judson, where did you go?”
“Over here.” He stood as she approached, opened his arms and brought her to him, restoring some of his sanity. “It’s almost too much in one day.”
“Do you want to leave?”
“That wouldn’t be nice, especially considering how much I appreciate it and how I feel about them. Can you imagine they gave me that building? My name is on the deed as the owner, and they did that before they had proof.”
“Now you have three wonderful cousins.”
“Yes. Wouldn’t you like to be part of this large and loving family?”
He felt her tense, but he was tired of being half a person. He dropped to his knees and looked up at her. “You know that I love you, and you love me. I’m tired of being without you. Will you marry me? I promise to be a good husband to you, loyal and faithful and a loving and caring father to our children.” She wasn’t looking at him. “In my whole life, I’ve loved no woman but you. Will you marry me?” he repeated.
“Judson, I—”
He was on his feet in a second. “Do you think the Harrington men and their wives are anomalies, the only happy couples on this planet? Do you believe that all other couples are miserable? Look at me. If you can’t trust me to be a faithful, loving and caring husband for the rest of our lives, baby, it’s over between us as of this minute.”
Horrified that he would leave her, she reached out, detaining him as he headed for the stairs. “What about my career and all that? Everything’s set for you, but not for me.”
He stared down at her until she felt goose bumps on her arms. “What do you take me to be? Haven’t I showed you that I have compassion for you and that I care about your goals and your wishes? Last week I asked you what you thought of a legal partnership between Philips and Tatum—in alphabetical order. You seemed surprised, and you haven’t answered me.”
“You mean, you and I practice law together?”
“Yeah. Think about it.”
“What will I do about Annie?”
“You sell your house, I’ll sell my house, and we’ll build our house. Annie can live with us. If she doesn’t like that idea, she can have an apartment rent-free in Beverly Apartments, or whatever she wants. Any more excuses?”
“Oh, honey, they’re not excuses, just concerns. I don’t know what I’d do if you walked out of my life. You asked me to marry you, and by damn, I’m holding you to it.”
He stared at her. “What?”
“You heard me.”
He picked her up, twirled her around and around, raced up the stairs and into the living room with her in his arms. Spontaneous applause greeted their ears.
“Did you hurt your foot, Miss Heather?” Tara asked her.
Judson put her down, but she had a sense of loss for his having done it. “I got carried away,” he said. “She just promised to marry me.”
“It’s about time,” Henry said. “I was about to ask ya about yer intentions.”
A round of laughter and applause, hugs and kisses followed. “Stay right where you are,” Drake said. “I’ll be back in fifteen minutes.”
Drake returned with half a dozen bottles of champagne, and the merriment began. “Spend the night,” Telford said, “and we’ll all go to church tomorrow morning as a family and give thanks that Judson’s dream came true. What do you say?”
When Judson looked at Heather, she smiled. “I’d like that.”
Alexis took Heather’s hand. “Come with me. Your room is waiting for you.”
“Where’re you going?” Judson called after Heather as the two women headed down the hall.
“She’ll see you at dinner,” Alexis said, somewhat airily.
After a dinner that featured roasted Cornish hens, they sat in the family room sipping espresso, and she marveled that both she and Judson as well as Alexis, Telford and Henry exuded a peacefulness and contentment that seemed to bind them together.
“Where will you marry?” Alexis asked Heather.
“I’m still in shock, Alexis, so I haven’t thought much about that, but probably somewhere near here. We’d like the family to be with us.”
“I’ve had an exciting day,” Judson said, getting to his feet, “and I don’t want it to end. But I’d better turn in if we’re going to church in the morning.” He looked at Heather. “I’ll walk you to your room.”
She hugged Henry, Telford and Alexis and walked down the corridor beside Judson with heavy steps. Was he really planning to tell her good-night at that door and leave her?
“Aren’t you going to ask me to come in?” he said, standing at the door, his tone wistful.
“I thought you wanted to go to bed.”
“You’re joking.” He walked past her. “Sweetheart, you amaze me. I’ve been dying to get you alone. Come here to me.”
She pushed the door shut, dashed into his arms and let herself feel his strength and the love that flowed from him to her. “Kiss me, baby.” The words seemed to seep out of him between pants for breath. “Ah, sweetheart, we’ll have a wonderful life together.” He locked her to him, hungrily, as if he couldn’t get her close enough.
As soon as she parted her lips and pulled his tongue into her mouth, he bulged against her, hard and heavy. She spread her legs and moved onto him, already eager to have him inside of her.
His hands roamed over her body, heating her, possessively claiming her, branding her. The blood raced to her vagina, and that familiar ache took hold of her until, increasingly frantic for relief, she undulated against him. Her unzipped dress fell to the floor. He pulled off her bra, sucked her nipple into his mouth and feasted like a baby while her moans escalated.
“Stop torturing me,” she told him, “and put me in that bed.”
But he continued to chart his own course. Frantic, she unzipped his pants and stroked him until he groaned uncontrollably, capitulated and took her to bed. Like a wild man, he stormed inside of her while she met him stroke for stroke and twist for twist until she surrendered herself to him in a powerful orgasm and cried out in relief. He collapsed in her arms. Totally spent.
“When are you going to marry me?” he asked, still locked inside of her.
“How about December eighteenth? That way, we can spend Christmas together.”
“That will be a perfect time for a warm-weather cruise,” he said, hugging her. “Sweetheart, you will never regret this. I’ll love you for as long as I breathe.”
Her face beamed in a smile. “And I will love you just as long.” She reached over and turned out the light.
That December, in Frederick’s Shiloh Baptist Church, Pamela Harrington walked down the aisle ahead of Heather, who held Henry’s arm as she walked to the altar to marry Judson Philips-Sparkman. Others there to witness their exchange of vows were Cissy, Annie and the Harrington families. As best man, Scott Galloway offered the wedding toast at the reception, the most elegant affair that Velma had ever created. Shortly after the toast, the bride and groom slipped away and headed for their honeymoon in the South Sea Islands.
LOVE ME TONIGHT
ISBN: 978-1-4268-6566-4
© 2010 by Gwynne Forster
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