by Joanne Fluke
“Okay, you win.” Brad grinned at her as he lifted her back up to the ledge and draped a friendly arm around her shoulders. “I didn’t sweep you off your feet. You knocked me off mine!”
Marcie giggled. “Told you so!”
“Are you cold?”
Brad seemed concerned, and Marcie laughed. “How could I be cold in a hundred-and-ten-degree Jacuzzi?”
“You’ve got a point. Maybe we should just stay here forever.”
“I don’t think that’s terribly practical.” Marcie giggled again. “But I don’t want to get out. Do you?”
“No. Not yet. But let’s fortify ourselves for later.” Brad reached over to get their brandy snifters and refilled them. “But go easy on this stuff, Marcie . . . or I might try to take advantage of you.”
Marcie took the glass from his hand, and swirled it around the way Mercedes had done in her last movie. She felt very sexy and more than a little tipsy. “You really don’t have to worry about that, Brad.”
Brad turned to look at her, and Marcie sighed. His eyes were so deep, and they promised so much. Why not take a chance and say what she really felt, for the first time in her life? What did she have to lose?
Marcie set her glass down carefully. Then she turned so her breasts were brushing up against his chest. “You can’t take advantage of me, Brad. That assumes an unwilling partner. And I’m definitely willing.”
CHAPTER 14
There was one brief moment when she wondered if she was doing the right thing. And then the moment passed and his arms were around her, lifting her up from the water, carrying her up the staircase. She felt lighter than air, and she watched from the height of his strong arms as the stairs disappeared under his bare feet. The carpet had a lovely paisley pattern she’d never noticed before. Perhaps she would paint it someday. But then, why bother, since it already existed right there on the stairs?
No towels. She’d left them on the edge of the Jacuzzi. And no robes. They were still draped over the redwood box, the sleeves as empty as cornhusks after the corn had been carried off to the kitchen.
But they weren’t going to the kitchen. They were going to her bedroom. No, she was wrong. They were going to his. How sensitive he was! She didn’t want anything to remind her of Mercedes tonight, and he had read her mind.
But they’d left the brandy glasses out on the patio, and she wanted another sip. Just one, so she could wash away the bitter taste of sleeping with her sister’s husband. It was a good thing she didn’t mind hand-me-downs, because he was secondhand from Mercedes. But she wouldn’t think about that. She’d never minded hand-me-downs before, and he was brand-new to her.
The Jacuzzi was probably lonely, bubbling away without them. But then, his bed might be lonely, too, and she sighed as he placed her there. Wet bathing suit on the sheet. Too bad they didn’t have towels. But then he was stripping the bathing suit from her glowing, tingling body and she lost the train of her thoughts.
His lips were hot. Hot lips. Like the character on M*A*S*H. But Hot Lips had never felt like this with Frank Burns. She’d stake her life on that! His tongue was hot, too. She heard a gasp that came from her own throat.
A thought flashed through her mind. She couldn’t remember if there was a danger. But it wouldn’t be a danger. It would be a blessing. A baby to love. A baby of her own to take the place of the sister she’d lost.
And then that thought faded into a warm soft glow as she ran her fingers through his hair. Substantial, like a heavy fur coat brushing against her body.
She must have made a sound because he covered her mouth with kisses, whispered pretty things in her ear, told her to relax, to let him take care of her. Yes, she wanted that. She wanted someone to take care of her. Always. Forever.
Her legs were spread like two pillars of alabaster. The Song of Solomon. She remembered that from Bible school. But she shouldn’t be thinking about that now. It was terribly sacri . . . sacri . . . fice. She was his sacrifice. He was her god. And he would consume her with his fire.
There was something heavy over her face. A pillow? And then the fire swept down, and she felt the warm wetness of surrender. Total giving in a cantata of lust. A lyric of passion. A blaze of pure, sweet brilliance, so intense it drew her breath away. And then the patterns sang, and danced, and cavorted behind her eyes. If she could only paint the swirling, bursts of neon joy, she would be Michelangelo!
She reached out blindly to grasp something solid, something real. But she was floating in a cloud of desire. Nothing was real. Emotions were never concrete. And all that mattered was finding release.
And then the breath left her body in a sudden burst of blinding fluorescence, and her mind floated free. At last. At last. At last she could rest.
It might have been hours, it might have been minutes. She was too contented to care. But his voice called her back from that peaceful place, and she turned her head to look at him.
“Marcie? Are you all right?”
He was covering her with a soft blanket and tucking the pillow under her head. And then his arms were around her, and she was resting her head on his shoulder.
“Oh, yes. I’m wonderful!”
“You certainly are.” He laughed, a nice rumbling sound she felt against her cheek. “Get some sleep, honey. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
Time had no meaning, and she opened her eyes as he lifted her and carried her into the room. And then the blankets were around her again, and she snuggled into their warmth. She made a soft sound of protest as she heard the connecting door close. He had left. She was alone. But she was too tired. And too sleepy. And too happy to care.
“Come on, Aunt Marcie . . . it’ll be fun!”
Rick grinned and grabbed her hand. And then Trish grabbed the other. Before Marcie had the presence of mind to object, she was in line at Space Mountain.
Marcie turned to look at Brad, who was bringing up the rear of their little group. Trish had brought two friends, a redhead with freckles named Megan, and Kumiko, a pretty dark-haired Japanese girl. Rick’s friends were Mike, a husky boy who looked like he’d grow up to be a football player, and a very thin, aesthetic-looking boy with glasses, who’d told Marcie his real name was Arthur, but all his friends called him Doc.
“What’s the matter, Marcie?” Brad grinned at her.
“Uh . . . nothing. Is this a roller coaster?”
“Sure is. Do you want to prove what a chicken you are, and bail out now?”
“I’m not a chicken!” Marcie glared at him. “I just . . . uh . . . I’m not all that fond of roller coasters. And my feet hurt. Maybe I’ll just sit over there on that bench, and wait for you guys to—”
“No, Aunt Marcie!” Trish gripped her hand again. “You promised to go on any rides we wanted today. And after we get off the roller coaster, Brad will massage your feet like he used to do for Mom. Right, Brad?”
“Good idea, Trish. I’d be happy to massage your Aunt Marcie’s feet.”
Brad gave Marcie a devilish grin, and Marcie knew she was blushing. “Yes . . . well . . . thank you, Brad. But they don’t hurt quite as much as they did a while ago.”
“You’re going then?”
Rick looked pleased, and Marcie didn’t have the heart to disappoint him. “Yes. Of course, I’ll go. If you really want—”
“We do!”
Trish and Rick spoke at the same time, and then they all laughed. Marcie sighed and accepted the fact that she was cornered. There was no way she could back out now.
“Who wants to go in the front?” Brad herded them all up the ramp.
“We’ll go!” Rick motioned for his two friends to join him at the front of their group. “Trish and Kumiko and Megan can ride behind us. And then Aunt Marcie and Brad can take the next one, okay?”
Brad nodded. “Come back here, Marcie. And don’t worry about a thing. They’ve only had one accident at Space Mountain. And that was the . . . let me see . . . It was a party of eight—six kids and two adults.
Isn’t that right, kids?”
“But none of the kids got hurt.” Kumiko giggled as she took up the story.
“That’s right.” Doc nodded solemnly. “I remember reading about that.”
Mike grinned as he turned to look at Marcie. “The man was fine. Only the lady fell out. But they fixed the roller coaster after that happened.”
“Thanks a lot.” Marcie joined in the laughter, but she could feel her knees starting to shake. She’d told the kids that she wasn’t fond of roller coasters. That was the truth, but it was also a gross understatement. She was terrified of them.
The children started kidding one another as they entered the building, but Marcie shuddered. It had been designed to be eerie inside, with dim blue lights glowing in the half-darkness. As they approached the ramp, an employee asked them if anyone wanted to bail out now, before they actually climbed the ramp. Marcie was tempted, but she wasn’t about to give way to her fear. She told herself that it wouldn’t be so bad. She’d shut her eyes and pretend she was somewhere else, somewhere safe, and she wouldn’t open them until the car stopped.
“Marcie? Are you all right?” Brad slipped an arm around her shoulders and tipped her head up so she had to look at him.
“Yes. I’m perfectly fine.”
“You don’t look so fine to me.” Brad looked very concerned. “In fact, you look suspiciously green around the gills.”
“It must be the lighting.”
Marcie drew in a deep breath, and let it out again in a shuddering sigh. She was glad they were in semidarkness so Brad couldn’t see how frightened she really was.
“Look, Marcie . . . I know we railroaded you, but you really don’t have to do this. See those men over there in the white space suits? I can ask one of them to take you back outside.”
Marcie shook her head. “No, Brad. I’m fine, really. And the ride doesn’t last that long . . . does it?”
“I think they said it was a minute and a half.”
“That long?” Marcie swallowed hard. “I thought it was only . . . uh . . . a couple of seconds. But I won’t back out, Brad. I promised to go on this ride, and I will!”
Brad grinned at her. “That’s the spirit! Actually, this roller coaster is rather tame. It doesn’t do a loop, like the one at Magic Mountain. I don’t think we go upside down at all.”
“Oh. Good.”
Marcie swallowed again. She could hear screaming in the distance, and she felt like screaming, too. Actually, she’d felt like screaming all morning, even on the drive to Disneyland. She wanted to scream at herself for being such a fool.
She’d managed to avoid Brad at the breakfast table by coming down late, after a cup of coffee in her room. She was terribly embarrassed about what had happened last night, and she really hadn’t wanted to face Brad. She knew she’d thrown herself at him, practically forced him to make love to her, and she wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t have an ounce of respect left for her.
Thank goodness, Brad was a gentleman! He’d been his usual kind, courteous self, when he’d driven up in the beautiful Rolls limousine. It was as if last night had never happened. But she knew it had. And the tension inside her had been building all day. She felt guilty. And embarrassed. And terribly nervous, as she anticipated the awkward encounter that would eventually occur between them. That was why she’d been avoiding Brad. She wanted to delay that encounter until she could find exactly the right words to explain her unacceptable behavior.
Naturally, she’d insisted that the twins ride in the front seat of the limo with Brad. She’d said it was part of their birthday treat, and they had been thrilled. And when they’d arrived at Disneyland, she’d surrounded herself with the twins and their friends, so she wouldn’t be alone with Brad. She’d managed to hide behind a protective wall of children all day, but that was about to change. When they climbed into the roller coaster, she would be alone in a seat with Brad.
Marcie wished she were more liberal. It was true that she’d lived with her boyfriend in college. And they had certainly been lovers. But it had been more of a trial marriage between two people who had thought they might make their relationship permanent someday. Last night hadn’t been like that at all. She’d taken advantage of Brad’s grief and thrown herself at him. And he was probably just as sorry it had happened as she was.
The screams got much louder as they neared the top of the ramp, and Marcie did her best to ignore them. Trish and her friends had turned around to talk to Brad, and she was very grateful she didn’t have to take part in their conversation. It was difficult to act as if nothing were wrong, when her whole system of values was in jeopardy.
She caught a glimpse of the roller coaster as it sped by overhead. The girl in the front seat was laughing, her hair whipping from side to side, as the car hurtled around a hairpin turn. She didn’t look at all frightened, and she reminded Marcie of Mercedes.
Mercedes had always been a thrill-seeker. Even in grade school, she’d been the one to try daredevil stunts on her bicycle while Marcie had watched helplessly from the sidelines, wringing her hands and praying that nothing would go wrong. And here she was, trying to take her sister’s place. She was wearing Mercedes’s clothes, acting in Mercedes’s movie, and sleeping with Mercedes’s husband.
Marcie sighed as the line moved forward. If Mercedes had spent a passionate night in a lover’s bed, she would have given him a morning kiss, thanked him for a wonderful time, and gone on with her life without the slightest feeling of guilt. Marcie just couldn’t do that. She wasn’t Mercedes, and she didn’t have her sister’s ability to take things in stride. Somehow, she had to find the courage to apologize to Brad for acting like a desperate middle-aged woman, tell him that she was thoroughly ashamed of herself, and promise him that it wouldn’t happen again.
“Isn’t this exciting? We’re almost there, Aunt Marcie!” Trish stepped back to grab Marcie’s arm. “I counted off the people in line, and you and Uncle Brad are going to be the first ones in the next car!”
“Wonderful.” Marcie forced a smile.
“Let me tell you what to do, Aunt Marcie.” Rick broke away from his group to join them. “When you get on, put your hands up above your head. And leave them that way for the whole ride. It makes you feel like you’re going to . . .”
“. . . fall right out.” Trish finished the sentence for him. “It’s even scarier that way.”
Marcie gave a shaky laugh. “Thanks for the tip, guys. I’m sure it’s a lot more fun, if you think you’re going to fall out.”
“Better get in line, kids. You’re almost up.” Brad came back to take Marcie’s arm. He lowered his voice as he asked, “Are you sure you want to go through with this? You’re shaking.”
“I’m positive. As a matter of fact, I can hardly wait.”
Marcie gave him a grin that was meant to be cheerful, but it turned out to be more of a grimace. Brad slipped his arm around her shoulders again, and he gave her a little hug. “Okay, let’s go.”
“This is it?” Marcie stared at the roller coaster that had stopped at the top of the ramp. “It looks like a rocket!”
Trish turned around to grin at her. “That’s why it’s called Space Mountain. Watch, Aunt Marcie. The whole side comes open to let you in. And then they close it again.”
A man in a white space suit pulled a lever and the side of the rocket opened up. The people ahead of them in line began to file in, two adults or three children for each seat.
“See you at the bottom, Aunt Marcie!” Rick and his friends got in the second to the last seat. “Don’t worry. We were only kidding about falling out.”
Trish waved, and her group got in the last seat. And then the rocket began to move slowly along the track, until it disappeared around a curve. Marcie heard a chorus of screams, and she knew the children had started their descent.
Brad gave a little bow as their rocket stopped at the top of the ramp, and the man in the white space suit opened the side. “After you.”
“No, you go first.” Marcie pulled back. “I want to be by the escape hatch.”
“It’s not an escape hatch. It locks from the outside.” Brad grinned as he got into the rocket, and pulled her in beside him.
Marcie closed her eyes the moment she sat down. But she was too curious to keep them closed for long. “It’s like a cage in here. I feel like a trapped squirrel.”
“No problem.” Brad gave her a big grin. “I’ll act like a nut.”
Marcie burst into laughter, and she laughed so hard, she barely noticed when the roller coaster began to move. It started off slowly at first, moving smoothly along the rail.
“Hang on, Marcie. Here we go.” Brad slipped his arm around her shoulders.
“Why, this isn’t so bad!” Marcie gave a big sigh of relief as the rocket went smoothly around a curve. “I wonder why the twins were scream—”
Marcie stopped in midsentence and gripped Brad’s hands. Since they were in the first seat, she could see the rail stretch out in from of them, lit dimly by the blue lights. But the track abruptly ended in what Marcie quickly realized was a steep drop. “We’re not actually going to go-oh, no!”
They reached the top of the incline, and Marcie bit back a scream. The roller coaster hesitated for a brief moment and then plunged ahead, dropping so steeply her hair lifted up off her neck.
Marcie screamed and threw her arms around Brad. Her eyes snapped shut. She couldn’t bear to look. And then, suddenly, they were lurching and barreling around a series of hairpin turns that made her gasp and cry out in terror.
They slowed again, and Brad laughed as he held her tightly. “Hey . . . it’s not that bad. I’ve been on faster roller coasters than this.”
“That’s . . . easy for you to say!” Marcie gasped and buried her face in Brad’s chest, peeking out at the rail. Now they were climbing smoothly again, but she knew the ride wasn’t over. “This is really . . . oh, no! Not again!”
