Heart's Reward

by Donna Hill

  “Hmm. You’re right.” She looked at him, tipping her head to the side. “I suppose I never looked at it quite that way.”

  “I have the ear of the folks on the ground and I pass their message along to those who matter. I work really hard at getting people what they want.” He waited a beat. “What do you want, Melanie Harte?”

  She was thoughtful for a moment. “For a long while I thought that all I wanted was to make everyone else happy, follow in the footsteps of my grandmother and my mother. It filled my days, my thoughts, and…many of my nights.” She took a sip of wine, then placed the glass on the coffee table. She curled her feet beneath her. “I’ve watched so many relationships bloom and grow into something beautiful. I watched from the sidelines for years. And it made me happy. It really did. But recently I realized that although it made me happy, it didn’t fulfill me. It was as if I was on this never-ending beautiful rainbow, but there was no pot of gold at the end for me.” She turned her head and looked into his searching gaze. “And then there you were.” She smiled shyly. “I have a confession to make.”

  “Do I want to hear it?”

  “Just listen.” She scooted closer. “When you were being set up for your dates, even though I knew the women were perfect for you, I secretly hoped that they wouldn’t work out because if they didn’t, even if I couldn’t be with you I still could be in a way because you would keep coming back to try again.”

  “We wasted a lot of time avoiding what was on our minds. But I totally understand the dilemma you were faced with. To you, you’d violated your ethics. And I know how important your business and your reputation are to you. I admire that, even though it did get me kicked to the curb.”

  They both laughed.

  “I’m sorry about that.”

  “I’m sorry about a lot of things, too. Like jumping to conclusions about you and Rafe Lawson.”

  “You’re kidding!”

  He shook his head and told her about the day he’d driven into town and saw them together. “My very vivid imagination took over from there.”

  She laughed softly. “Rafe did have his own agenda, but it wasn’t about me.”

  “My agenda is about you,” he said, his tone so low it was barely above a whisper. “All of it.”

  “Is it?”

  He cupped her chin in his palm and drew her close. “Every inch of it.” He took her hands. “Tonight is going to be about new beginnings.” She tried to see beyond the depths of his eyes to get a hint at his meaning. “Claude Montgomery. I work for Senator Lawson,” he said with all due sincerity.

  The corners of her mouth tugged upward. “Melanie Harte. It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard wonderful things about you from my brother.”

  “Would you like to dance?”

  “I’d love to.”

  He brought her to her feet and guided her to the center of the living room. She moved into his arms as if it was the most natural place in the world to be and rested her head against his chest. He held her close as they swayed to Leela James’ sultry rendition of “A Change Is Gonna Come.”

  …it’s been a loooong, a long time coming but I know a change is gonna come. Oh yes it will.

  They held each other, moving together in perfect harmony as the music switched from Leela to Luther to Kem to the Whispers.

  Melanie felt as if she’d been transported. It had been so long since she felt this kind of peace. Claude had the power to soothe her in a way that she couldn’t explain. It was his own sense of assuredness that radiated around him.

  “This is what I’ve been searching for,” he said softly against her hair. “This sense of calm.”

  She looked up at him. “It’s like you’re reading my mind. I was thinking the same thing.”

  “Were you thinking about this too?” He lowered his head and tenderly brushed his lips against hers, and the contact, as always, was a shock to his system, an awakening as if he’d been jerked from sleep.

  Melanie linked her fingers around his neck and savored the pleasure of his mouth against hers. Lightly she brushed her tongue across his lips, tapping the doorway for entrance. He opened for her in a way that she longed to open for him—hot, wet and inviting.

  The music swirled around them and even though the air was on full blast it could not compete with the heat that they stirred in each other.

  Claude tightened his hold on her, sealing her body to his, the hard throbbing between his legs seeking a home between hers.

  Melanie shuddered with pleasure as his tongue dipped and cut a hot trail along the cord of her neck, sending shimmers of delight racing through her body. She clung to him, pressing her want against his need.

  “If I were ten years younger, I’d say here’s the floor, let’s go for it,” he whispered roughly in her ear.

  “Hmm, you and me both.” She tore herself away and grabbed his hand. “Can I interest you in my boudoir?”

  He grinned wickedly. “You can interest me in anything.”

  She pulled him toward her room down the hall, as they laughed, kissed and hugged like teenagers along the way. Claude pushed the door open and they tumbled inside, finding their way to the queen-sized bed.

  Melanie tugged at the bottom of his T-shirt and pulled it up and over his head. Her lips circled his nipples, then trailed a path down his chest to his belly, where she loosened the knot on his sweat pants and pushed them down over his thighs. He kicked them aside and focused all of his attention on her.

  To Melanie everything seemed to be in slow motion, and she captured every sensation, every image. His hands and mouth were like hot coals everywhere that they landed, searing her skin. When he slipped her bra off her shoulders and suckled her hardened nipples, she cried out with pleasure. His touch was feather light as it grazed across her exposed flesh, the sensations were so intense that it clouded her thinking.

  Claude eased her back against the thick pillows and began a slow and steady exploration of every inch of her. When he reached her navel, her stomach quivered. He went further, running his tongue along the band of her panties. For a moment she stiffened, but he soothed her thighs with long-loving strokes until she was pliant once again.

  He inched her panties down over her hips, along her thighs and her legs then tossed them to the floor. He began at her ankles, kissing and nibbling, working his way up to her inner thighs. Ever so gently he pushed her thighs apart and pressed his face longingly at her center. He inhaled the sweet scent of her that had his erection jumping at the new assault on his senses.

  He ran his wet tongue across the hard knot of her clit and felt it twitch and jerk in response.

  Melanie gripped handfuls of the sheet while he delved deeper, licking and teasing, driving her wild as her hips moved of their own accord, seeking out all that he had to offer.

  Her moans filled the air as he cupped her hips to pull her closer so that he could go deeper, gathering her essence. Her stomach muscles fluttered and jumped. Her inner thighs trembled. A blinding heat infused her as the pleasure built to a crescendo. Her hips lifted off the bed. Her head thrashed back and forth against the pillows. She tried to cry out but the feeling was so powerful and intense that it stole the sounds from her throat. Stars burst from behind her lids as the lava-like explosion began at her curled toes, jettisoned up her legs and erupted with such force that she felt her body soar to the heavens, among the moon and stars then slowly, exquisitely return to earth.

  Low moans slipped from her lips as Claude tenderly worked his way up her body, resting his weight between her parted thighs.

  He brushed damp strands of hair away from her face and ran his finger across her sleek brows. “Look at me.”

  Her eyes fluttered open and she floated into the depths of his dark eyes. He took her hand and stretched it down between them, wrapping her fingers around him. His eyes squeezed shut for an instant as the thrill of her touch shot through him.

  He focused on her again. “Put me inside of you. As much or as little as you w
ant.”

  “All of you,” she managed to say.

  “Then show me what you want.”

  She spread her thighs and bent her knees, keeping her fingers wrapped around him as she stroked him up and down. She brought the thick tip of him to her wet opening and they both moaned in anticipation. She bumped her hips against him, letting just the tip of him get beyond her doorway and then pulled away. She did it again and again, and each time she let him in a little bit further, letting him stay a little bit longer until she’d captured the length of him and she held him in place with the grip of her womanly muscle until he couldn’t take the sublime torture a moment longer.

  He slid his arms under her thighs and pushed them open and up around his neck, compelling her to now succumb to his will. She was totally helpless. Completely open. Absolutely ready.

  He wanted to rush. He wanted to plunge. He wanted to drive home his raging need. But he wanted it to last. This unspeakable ecstasy. So he took her slow and deep and steady, moving within her like the waves of the ocean, rising and falling and rushing to shore, then surging back.

  His groans of pleasure, his need for fulfillment was so powerful that they set off another series of explosions within Melanie.

  She whimpered and trembled as her climax overtook her. She felt a sensation, from the soles of her feet to the top of her head. She was on fire. Tears slid from her eyes and Claude kissed them away and then her lips, his tongue doing to her mouth what his body was doing to hers. In and out. In and out.

  She offered up her aching breasts that she cupped in her hand and let him feast on their sweetness. And that was his undoing. He knew he was incapable of holding back a moment longer as the hot, slick fire inside her ignited the powder keg that stiffened and lengthened, shooting off a mind-blowing stream that rocked them both, dousing the firestorm until it smoldered into tiny embers waiting to be stoked once again.

  Claude lowered her legs as his weight eased down on her. He buried his face in her neck, too weak to move.

  Melanie tenderly caressed his back. She had no words to describe what had happened to her, to them. It was surreal. She didn’t know that the body could endure that kind of intense pleasure without breaking into a million tiny pieces. It was frightening in its power. And she relished every exhilarating moment.

  She pressed her lips to his neck and kissed him softly before drifting off to sleep with the fullness of Claude still resting inside of her.

  She wasn’t sure how long she’d slept, only that her dreams had been sweet and filled with visions of her and Claude. But something had awakened her, stirred her, incited her. Her eyes fluttered open and her body came alive. Claude was tenderly suckling her breasts, his fingers exploring her depths. Her breath caught when his finger found and pressed against the epicenter of her being. Her hips arched. The cords of her neck tightened. He pressed again, teased it, until she was one live wire and then he entered her over and again until they were spent and weak.

  They slept entwined until the sun rose on another day.

  Chapter 17

  The sounds of clanging pots and laughter stirred them from their satiated slumber. Claude groaned and covered his eyes against the sun, draping his other arm around Melanie.

  “Is that the kids?” she whispered.

  “Unless we have laughing burglars who like to cook,” he said, his voice still thick with sleep.

  “Oh God, how long have they been home? Do you think they heard me last night?”

  “Don’t worry about it,” he said, as he kissed the back of her neck. “The whole neighborhood heard you.”

  She gasped and swatted him on the hip. “Not funny. You could have been a one-man choir yourself.”

  He chuckled and nuzzled closer. “I’ll sing a tune for you any day, baby.”

  She couldn’t help laughing. Over her giggles she asked him how he planned to get out of there without anyone seeing him.

  “Now that’s a tough one. But since it’s my house, I can pretty much go and come as I please.”

  “Claude,” she said, dragging out his name into two syllables. “I’m serious. What will they think?”

  He pushed up to a halfway-sitting position and rested his head on his hand. “It’ll confirm what they already know…that I’m crazy about their aunt and I spent the night in her bed to prove it to her.”

  She huffed.

  “Want me to prove it again?” He slid his hand down between her thighs.

  “Stop it,” she said without much sincerity.

  “If you promise to be quiet…” he nibbled at her neck “…I’ll do it nice and slow.” He moved on top of her, spreading her thighs with a sweep of his knee.

  “You drive a really hard bargain,” she moaned.

  “But I thought you liked hard bargains…” He pushed deep inside of her, stealing the air from her lungs.

  When they emerged more than an hour later, Veronica was at the kitchen table finishing off a glass of orange juice and reading the morning paper.

  “Well, good morning, you two.” She beamed at them. “And how was your evening?”

  “Mine was incredible,” Claude said, before linking his arm around Melanie’s waist. He looked down at her and in his eyes he wanted her to see that it was okay.

  A slow, sweet smile moved across her mouth. “Yes, it was,” she said softly.

  “Well, amen,” Veronica answered enthusiastically.

  “You guys hungry? There’s food in the oven. We were going to head over to the hospital in about an hour.”

  “Good. You three can take the Suburban. I’ll bring your aunt in my car.”

  “Thanks.” She rose from the table and took her cup to the sink.

  Melanie came beside her to pour a cup of coffee.

  “You look radiant, Aunt Mel,” she said quietly.

  Melanie turned to her niece. “I feel radiant,” she admitted.

  Veronica kissed her on the cheek. “He’s a lucky man,” she whispered in her ear before walking out.

  Melanie leaned against the counter and Claude came to stand beside her.

  “See that wasn’t so bad.” He smiled down at her.

  She glanced up at him and felt all girly inside. “No it wasn’t.” She drew in a breath. “How soon will you be ready to head over to the hospital?”

  “Give me about a half hour. I want to make some phone calls.”

  “Sure, hopefully there’s more good news today.”

  “There will be. Can’t you tell that the stars have finally aligned?” He kissed the tip of her nose and walked out.

  They certainly have, she thought, grinning inside as she watched him from the back. They certainly have.

  When they arrived at the hospital, Dr. Fleming was just coming out of Alan’s room.

  “Good morning, doctor,” Melanie greeted. “How is he today?”

  “He rested very well last night. We’re going to run some tests this morning and start him on soft foods. If he has a good day and night and the results come back the way I hope, I think we can discharge him tomorrow.”

  Melanie pressed her hands to her face to keep from screaming with joy. “Thank you, thank you.”

  The doctor genuinely smiled for the first time since they’d met. “You are quite welcome. He’s still in a weak state, so not too much excitement.”

  “Of course. Whatever he needs, whatever it takes.”

  The doctor nodded and walked off.

  The entire family melded together in a family hug, a hug that included Claude, each saying their own little prayer of thanks. Finally they separated, sniffing back tears of relief.

  “You all go on in. I’ll wait,” Melanie offered.

  The trio filed inside and Melanie and Claude walked over to the visitors’ lounge.

  “I guess you’re going to talk to Alan today about his new living arrangements.” Claude took a seat next to her.

  “Not looking forward to that. He’s going to want to be in his own house with his own thi
ngs.”

  “I’m sure that if he puts up too much of a fight, the State Department can arrange for whatever he needs if he goes home.”

  “Where is home for my brother?” she asked. “He lives out of a suitcase and never stays anywhere long enough to call anyplace home. Not really.”

  “He seems to like it that way. No roots, nothing to hold him down.”

  “Hmm. That’s going to have to change. At least for a while.”

  “I get the distinct feeling that you have no intention of taking no for an answer.”

  She crossed her legs. “You’re absolutely right. On this I’m not going to budge. Whatever he needs I’ll make sure he gets it…at home, with his family, where he belongs.”

  “The two of you are very much alike. Both of you have been consumed by your jobs.”

  She raised a brow. “I’d say that makes three of us.” She pointed a finger at him.

  He chuckled. “You’re right. And it took something major for each of us to see what’s really important. Living. Loving. Family.”

  The glow of a smile softened her mouth as she leaned toward him for a kiss.

  The intrusive sound of someone clearing their throat pulled them apart. They turned in the direction of the door. Vincent, Veronica and Jessica were grinning like Cheshire cats.

  Melanie slowly stood. “How is he?”

  “Asking for you,” Jessica offered.

  Melanie turned to Claude. “You want to come in with me?”

  “No you go. I can wait.”

  She walked toward the wall of grins and she would have sworn she heard her nephew ask what Claude’s intentions were toward his aunt. She shuddered with laughter.

  When she entered Alan’s room, he was sitting up eating a cup of Jell-O. He saw her and his eyes lit up. In only a matter of days he’d gone from wan and weak-looking to almost his old self. Although he still looked a bit drawn, he didn’t have that frightening sunken appearance like when she’d first arrived.

  Melanie hurried over to his bed, dropping her purse in the chair. She leaned over the rails and pressed her face against his, rejoicing in his warmth.