TIS THE SEASON...FOR ROMANCE (WESTMORELAND/MASTERS/JEFFERIES)

by Jackson, Brenda

  For a moment he thought she wasn’t going to answer and then she said, “Can I be honest with you?” she asked, as they still held each other gazes.

  “Yes.”

  “I really don’t know. But I do know I can’t accept another Ron. The thought that I’ll get back into a relationship like the one I just got out of, actually frightens me.”

  “I don’t think you have to worry about that happening.”

  She drew in another breath and asked, “Why are you so sure?”

  “Because I know for a fact that experience is the best teacher and most people who’ve had a bad experience with anything usually don’t go for a repeat. That’s not the case in all situations but nine times out of ten it is.”

  He paused and then added. “And I would like to go on the record to say that I’m nothing like your ex Barbara. I consider myself a one-woman man. Gail and I met my first year at the FBI academy. She worked there as an administrative assistant while taking classes at Howard. Five years later we were married and we were together for twenty years. There were some highs and lows like there are with any marriage, especially during the time I was out in the field and she was practically raising our son Antron alone. I made my family a top priority by taking a teaching position at the FBI facility in Denver and other than harsh weather that would hit at times, life was good.”

  Barbara nodded and then said, “I guess you can say that I considered myself a one-man woman. I got pregnant with Courtney in my last year of college. Ron and I married and I graduated and even went on to obtain my masters degree. Life was good, at least that’s what I thought until I found out about the other women. And then there were the babies he fathered, as well as that one time I actually walked in on him with another woman in my bed.”

  “Yet you stayed with him.”

  “Yes, I stayed with him mainly because I loved him and my mother had raised me to believe that no matter what a husband did, you stayed and made your marriage work.”

  “And now?”

  Her lips turned up slightly into a smile. “Like you said, experience is the best teacher. I’ve learned from my mistakes. I won’t be helping another man make child-support payments.”

  Rick returned his gaze to the road thinking that he had a lot of work on his hands where Barbara was concerned but he was convinced she was worth it. She had erected barriers around certain aspects of her, but they were barriers he intended to tear down and the first thing he was determined to do was to make her acknowledge the fierce attractive between the two of them.

  Six

  The trendy restaurant that sat on Sampson Lake was filled to capacity, and Barbara was glad Rick had made reservations in advance. It had been quite a while since she had been here and could remember the night she, Courtney, Peggy and Sonya had come. It had been a girls’ night out with dinner and a movie.

  “Thanks,” Barbara said when they were shown to their table and Rick pulled out her chair. The sensual scent of his aftershave almost gave her an adrenaline rush. She couldn’t believe she was responding to him this way. She wasn’t a twenty-something-year-old girl but a fifty year old woman who was past the stage of getting excited over a man, or sniffing one out, which was what she felt she was doing each time he got close. Ron’s cologne never had this kind of effect on her.

  After placing glasses of water in front of them, their waiter presented them with menus. Barbara marveled at the vast selection of lunch entrees. She glanced up from looking at the menu to find Rick staring at her. She cleared her throat before taking a sip of her water and then she said, “Everything looks delicious, doesn’t it?”

  Holding her gaze he said in a deep, husky voice. “Yes, everything looks delicious.”

  Barbara took a deep breath and forced herself to breathe. Was she imagining things or had he alluded to something decadent? Okay, there was no denying there was a pretty strong sexual attraction between them. It had been hard getting through dinner and the movie on Saturday, but she had been married to Ron long enough to know she was not a woman who elicited strong sexual urges in a man.

  “What have you decided to get?” she asked after concluding that the silence at their table had stretched much too long.

  “I think I’ll try their baked tilapia with sweet potatoes and a salad. What about you?”

  She smiled. “That sounds delicious and I think I’ll have the same.”

  When the waiter came to take their order Rick provided him with their selection. She enjoyed hearing the sound of his voice and recalled how soothing and relaxing it had been during the investigation when he’d asked a series of questions. It hadn’t had the harsh, accusing tone of the one belonging to his partner.

  She thought about that time during the investigation, when Ron’s life had barely hung in the balance and the police hadn’t a clue who had wanted him dead. It had been a difficult time for her after finding out about her husband’s ultimate betrayal and knowing that no matter what, she had to continue being the dutiful and caring wife until his condition improved. It was only when the doctors had assured her he would live, although there would be some permanent disabilities, had she walked away.

  When she had strolled out of his hospital room that day she had done so with the resolve that she had been a good wife, but that he had been an asshole of a husband and that she hadn’t deserved what he’d done. But still, that hadn’t kept the doubts at bay, hadn’t kept the what ifs from rearing their ugly head.

  “So how have things been at work this week, Barbara?”

  She loved the way Rick said her name and found herself answering, telling him how busy she’d been in the past three days and how she and her staff were getting ready for the lighting of the Christmas tree which drew a large number of people to Universal Studios.

  She felt comfortable talking to him. He was an easy person to hold a conversation with, and when he began talking, telling her about one of the cases his son was working, she didn’t have to force herself to be drawn into the discussion. She went easily, naturally and was genuinely interested in what he had to say.

  She liked him and by the end of their meal decided that he wasn’t a hard man to like. But then she wondered if she was ready to get involved with anyone, and she had a feeling a man like Rick would want an involvement. He’d told her he was a one-woman man and she had a feeling what that entailed. He preferred settling down and spending time with one person instead of doing a lot of random dating. Was dating one man exclusively something she needed to do after coming out of such a disastrous marriage?

  The one thing that she would admit was that if he was someone to date exclusively, he definitely wasn’t a bad prospect.

  * * *

  “Thanks for lunch, Rick. It was nice. In fact it was so nice a part of me doesn’t want to go back to work,” Barbara said as they walked out the restaurant.

  “Then how about playing hooky with me.”

  She glanced over at him when they reached his car and from the expression on his face she saw he was serious.”

  “Play hooky?”

  “Yes. It’s a beautiful day for boating. My boat is ready whenever you are,” he said with a smile.

  An image of her lounging around on a boat out on the waters with Rick flowed through her mind. Being out on the water was always relaxing and she had wondered just how comfortable she would feel being out on a boat with such a handsome man. She’d discovered at lunch that Rick had a way of reminding her of the fact that she was a woman.

  “Take a look at me. I’m not dressed for boating,” she said.

  Too late she’d realized that she had given him an excuse to let his gaze do a total and complete perusal of her from head to toe. She felt the heat of his eyes on certain parts of her body and they seem to linger in certain places.

  “I personally like what you’re wearing, but it won’t be a problem for me to take you home to change clothes.”

  Barbara nibbled on her lower lip not believing she was actually conte
mplating such a thing. She probably had a lot to do when she got back to the office. In truth, she needed to work late tonight to finalize a report or two. For the life of her she couldn’t remember the last time she just took off work just for the sake of doing so. Unless she was sick – almost to the point of death – she went to work.

  “You’re serious aren’t you?” she decided to ask.

  “Yes, I’m serious.”

  He was. His eyes and expression pretty much stated as much. And then she did something she hadn’t done in years. She gave into an impulsive whim. “Okay. Let’s go boating.”

  * * *

  A half-hour later Rick was pacing Barbara’s living room while she was upstairs changing her clothes. He glanced around. She was right, this was a huge place for one person and he could understand her wanting something smaller.

  On her way here from the restaurant, she had called her secretary and rearranged her schedule. Luckily she hadn’t had any afternoon appointments. When he had suggested going boating with him, he hadn’t been sure she would do so, but now a part of him was glad she had.

  He glanced up the stairs when he heard her and his breath caught in his throat. She had changed into a pair of jeans and a pullover sweater. It was a casual outfit, an appropriate one to wear to go boating. But what caught his attention and held it, was just how good she looked in the attire. She had even pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

  “I hope I didn’t take too long, Rick.”

  “Any time you took was well worth it,” he said and meaning every word. No matter what clothes she wore, he thought, desiring her was easy. She was a woman that men, young or old, would give a second glance. It was his profound opinion that Ronald Andrews hadn’t been too bright in not appreciating what he had.

  “Ready to go?” he asked, remembering he was suppose to take things slow with her when what he really wanted to do was cross the room and pull her into his arms and kiss her. The thought of doing so fascinated him. Made him long for things he hadn’t thought about in a while.

  “Yes, I’m ready.”

  At that moment he did cross the room, but it was only to take her hand into his and lead them out the door.

  * * *

  The mid-day sun beating down on the horizon cast beautiful colors of orange and gold over the blue waters. It was a breathtaking sight. But nothing in Barbara’s opinion could be as breathtaking as the man she was with. The man who had enticed her away from work to come with him to enjoy life and have some fun.

  “More coffee?”

  She glanced over at Rick, paused a moment before shaking her head. “No thanks. At some point later I’m going to need to go to sleep and drinking coffee in the afternoons keep me awake. But I see it doesn’t bother you.”

  He shrugged his shoulders. They were shoulders she hadn’t realized until now just how broad they were. They would probably be heaven for a woman to lay her head against them while she slept. Barbara couldn’t believe her thoughts had actually gone there.

  “No, it doesn’t bother me. I’m used to it,” he said, breaking into her thoughts. “It became a habit while working on the night shift. In a way I much prefer sleeping in the day and prowling around at night.”

  She nodded. “When we met I assumed you had been working during the day time.”

  “I was. With retirement looking me in the face I figured I needed to transfer back to working days again. It was hard at first and usually I was a grouch.”

  “Now I find that hard to believe since around me you were always a gentleman and nothing like the aggressive detective. A Lieutenant Colombo you were not.”

  He laughed and Barbara thought the sound was rich and she felt a shot of adrenaline laced with desire enter her body. In protest to her thoughts she glanced back over the lake. It was a beautiful day to be out on the water and the sun shining brightly in the sky was in contrary to the November weather of last year. It was pretty close to eighty degrees and it was hard to believe Thanksgiving was only a few weeks away.

  “I guess I should feel guilty about suggesting that you play hooky and hang out with me, but I don’t,” Rick said.

  Barbara smiled. “And you shouldn’t. One thing I know about being in management is to make sure that you have capable people working for you. When you need to get away you can do so without worrying about whether the office can function effectively without you.”

  She glanced back out at the waters. Being out here with Rick reminded Barbara of just how little free time she’d allowed herself to relax and enjoy life over the past years. Especially with a man. She couldn’t remember the last time she and Ron had spent quality time together, just the two of them alone, if for no other reason than to recapture what used to be. It was a sad thought that when she assumed they’d been doing that very thing in Hawaii, it had been a lie.

  She pulled in a deep breath deciding she didn’t want to think about what happened in Hawaii. It didn’t matter any more. She was beyond that.

  “Could you pass me another cookie, Barbara?”

  Her heart jumped. She hadn’t been aware Rick had moved to stand close to her. “Sure,” she said, leaning over to grab the box. On their way to the docks he had stopped at a pastry shop and grabbed a canteen of coffee and box of assorted cookies.

  “Here you are,” she said, handing the box to him. He took it from her and instead of opening it up to get a few cookies out, he placed it aside and turned his attention to her.

  “I like your hair like this.”

  She chuckled. “In a ponytail? It doesn’t take much to please you, does it, Mr. Blair?”

  A smile touched his lips and it was the kind of smile that had heat oozing from her every pore. “The question that’s buzzing around in my head is just how much it will take to please you, Ms. Andrews.”

  And before Barbara could pull in her next breath, Rick leaned over and lowered his mouth to hers.

  Seven

  Barbara’s mind allowed her one second to think about what was about to take place. But the moment Rick’s lips touched hers, she stopped thinking at all. Instead she began feeling, and the sensations that started flowing through her sent sparks of arousal escalating all through her body. Locking her tongue around his while he greedily mated with her mouth seemed as natural as breathing.

  When he’d taken her mouth she hadn’t resisted, hadn’t put up any amount of protest. She practically did what she was doing now, which was to deepen the kiss with a willingness on her part that equaled his. And then she felt his strong arms wrap around her waist as he pulled her closer to him.

  The kiss in her opinion was fiercely hot, hotter than any she’d indulged in before and it had her responding in a way that shocked even her. And he was using his tongue in her mouth in a way that demanded she think of nothing but him and how he was making her feel. Purely sensual.

  She could feel his aroused body part pressing against her and gloried in the realization that he wanted her. And she hadn’t had to do extensive coaxing to put him in the mood. His desire for her seemed natural and she could only appreciate that as her desire for him began escalating to the point where she could feel a deep stuttering in her heart.

  He slowly released her lips to press his mouth to her throat, take the tip of his tongue and trace a heated wet trail down the column of her neck. Instinctively, her head fell back and she could feel all kinds of heated sensations flare deep in her belly. At that moment she knew she could truly say that she’d never been kissed like that before. Not with such passion, such intensity and such greed. For the first time in her life she felt like a woman who was wanted. A woman who was desired. A woman who was appreciated.

  “I like the way you taste,” he told her bluntly.

  She couldn’t help but smile. To be told that was another first and it propelled her to be just as bold. “I like the way you taste, too.”

  She stared up at him, taking in the chiseled perfection of his features. He’d told her that he was fifty-five and in
her opinion he was one good-looking, well-built fifty-five year old man.

  He reached out and ran the tip of his finger down the side of her face. “How about another date this weekend? A friend of mine in Ocala owns a horse ranch and I go there sometimes on the weekends to ride.”

  She blinked at him, surprised. “You can ride?”

  He laughed softly. “Yes, I can ride. When I lived in Denver I owned several horses. Can you ride?”

  “Yes, my mother made sure Peggy and I took riding lessons while growing up. I like riding, although I haven’t done it in years.”

  He nodded. “So will you go spend a day in Ocala with me? We’ll leave early Saturday morning and return late that night.”

  She couldn’t stop the smile that touched her lips. “Yes, I’d love to go to Ocala with you on Saturday.”

  He smiled before pulling her into his arms and kissing her again.

  * * *

  “How did your date last weekend go, Dad?”

  Holding his cell phone to his ear, Rick stepped inside his house and pushed the door shut behind him. “The movie was great and the company was even better. In fact, Barbara went boating with me Wednesday and tomorrow I’m taking her to Ocala to Sid’s place to go riding.”

  “Sounds like you’re enjoying yourself.”

  “I am,” Rick replied.

  A short while later he hung up the phone feeling real good about how his week had gone. After taking Barbara boating on Wednesday they had talked on the phone for hours last night.

  She had shared more about herself. She had decided to work three more years for Universal Studios and then retire and spend her time doing volunteer work either at the hospital like he was doing or by visiting area public schools to promote reading. She also shared how she and Peggy had established several scholarships in their mother’s name to make college affordable to some of the area students who otherwise wouldn’t have a chance at higher learning. And she was hoping that in a few years Courtney and Lake would give her a grandchild to spoil.