“Cody, it’s Uncle Finn. How are you guys holding up?”
He switched the phone to his left ear. “Uh, okay, I guess. The girls are fine. Viv made dinner for us and now she’s reading them bedtime stories.”
“Good. Thank her for us, will you?”
“Of course.”
“We’re going to stay here at The Seacrest with Fritzi until the flood waters recede. They’re predicting most of it will be gone by tomorrow midday.”
“Good idea. It’s not safe to navigate around all that junk floating in the water, anyway.”
“Agreed. We almost got capsized by a floating Volkswagen on the way over here.”
“No kidding?” Cody said.
“No kidding. Scared the hell out of me. But we made it and as long as you guys are doing okay, we’ll stay put for a day.”
“We’re fine.”
“Cody? Are you okay? I mean, about losing Rudy?”
Cody fell silent for a minute. “Not really.”
“I understand. You two were pretty close.”
“Yeah.” Cody sighed, then straightened, uncomfortable with the topic. “Well, I’d better get back to the dishes. I have no idea when the gas will run out for the generator.”
“Okay. Fill up some extra thirty-gallon trashcans with water tonight so you’ll have plenty for the next few days in case the power doesn’t come back on, okay?
“Sure thing.”
“Cody?”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks for being there for us. Libby and I really appreciate it.”
“No problem. See you soon.” He hung up and finished the dishes, stacking them in the rack to dry. After tending to the horses, he came back in and found Viv standing in the doorway of the girls’ room.
“I guess we wore them out. They’re asleep, all of them.”
“Really? Even Sylvia? She’s usually the last holdout,” he whispered.
“Even Sylvia,” she smiled. “So, where are we going to crash? I’m beat.”
“We’ll stay upstairs. You can have my uncle’s room, and I’ll stay in the guest room.”
She cast a sideways glance at him. “Okay.”
Is she disappointed? Would she rather stay close to me? He shook himself and laughed at his wishful imagery. What an idiot I am.
They climbed the stairs together, separating at the top of the landing.
“Will you be okay?” she asked gently. “About Rudy?”
He nodded. “I’ll get there.”
“Okay. Well. Good night.”
He watched her longingly as she padded toward the other end of the hall. “Good night, Viv.”
Chapter 35
Vivian ran her fingers along the bedclothes she’d hung over the bathtub railing. “Ugh. Still wet.” She was about to hang them back up when she remembered the important papers she’d zipped into the bathrobe pocket. Realizing they were probably ruined, and in spite of how angry she was at Uvi, she decided it would be best to fish them out and lay them on a table to dry.
Carefully, she pulled a sodden mass of pulpy paper from the pocket, followed by the passport, which although slightly wrinkled, was still legible in its plastic laminated cover. She separated the wet documents, careful not to rip them, and opened the passport.
There he was. Mr. P stared at her from the photo, smiling up with that insouciant grin, as if everything in her whole universe hadn’t just been practically drowned in Hurricane Delilah’s wake.
She shook her head and laid the passport on the bathroom counter. Leaning down, she scrutinized it. Was it ruined?
No. She could still make out his name, address, and the expiration date.
With a start, she read it aloud. “Expires in 2016? How’s that possible?” She gawked at the date again, realizing she’d read it right. But if it were a current document, how could Mr. P be traveling abroad?
Could he have lost this one and applied for a replacement?
She frowned. That didn’t make sense. The passport had been right out in the open, in the drawer where Uvi obviously kept all her important papers. So how could he have lost it?
“Strange.”
She searched beneath the sink and found an unopened pack of new toothbrushes. After brushing her teeth, she jumped in the shower for a quick rinse—she didn’t want to waste the power to pump water for a longer shower. She dried off and redressed, realizing that maybe Cody would like a fresh toothbrush, too. Choosing a blue one, she wandered down the hall past the girls’ room and headed for the guest room.
“Cody?” She peeked into the bedroom and found him huddled on the bed on his side. “I don’t mean to intrude,” she stammered. “I…I just thought you might like a toothbrush.”
Hollow-eyed, he raised his face to hers, croaking his answer. “Uh. Yeah. Thanks.” He sat up and reached for the toothbrush. “Be right back.”
She heard him brushing in the adjoining bathroom, and waited for him to return.
Waited for what?
He came back with a weak smile. “Thank you.”
She nodded, but didn’t speak.
He went back to the bed and dropped onto it, leaning back against a pile of pillows. With a long shuddering sigh, he raised sad eyes to hers. “Thanks again.”
She went to his bedside, leaning down to impulsively hug him. “Are you gonna be okay?”
His face fell. “I’m not sure. Would you stay a while?” he asked softly.
It didn’t sound like a ruse to her. It sounded genuine. She sank onto the bed beside him and took his hand. “Sure I can. Push over.”
Cody slid sideways and plumped up more pillows. “There you go.”
She settled back and looked at the blank television screen on the bureau. “Now all we need is power to watch some great old movies. That would be so nice.”
He emitted a hoarse chuckle. “Yeah. Like ‘Terminator.’ I love Arnold Schwarzenegger.”
She smiled sideways at him. “I was thinking more like ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’.”
He rolled his eyes. “Chick flick.”
She dug an elbow in his side. “So? I’m a chick, right?”
He met her eyes, serious now. “Yes. You are.”
She flushed and looked away. “Okay. So what do we do for entertainment? Got any good books in here?”
He pointed to a shelf crammed with paperbacks. “Take your pick.”
She got up and perused the collections. James Patterson. Dick Francis. John D. MacDonald. Agatha Christie.
With a fond smile, she chose Along Came a Spider. “This is a good one.”
He nodded. “Read to me?”
She hesitated, then agreed and opened the book to chapter one. What harm could it do? With a deep breath, she began to read.
Vivian woke in the dark to the sound of soft snoring. She froze for a minute, trying to orient herself.
It’s Cody. Beside me in bed.
She listened to the sounds of the house. A child giggled in her sleep. A horse whinnied from the barn. Cody moaned in his sleep and then cried out.
“Cody,” she whispered. “It’s okay.” She reached for him and he turned to her, drawing her into his arms.
“Vivian.”
“Yes. It’s me. It’s okay.”
His lips reached for hers, and before she knew it he’d rolled on top of her, kissing her as if he’d devour her. She felt a shudder of desire run through her, from her head to her toes.
She kissed him back.
The muted power of sleep made her lose all sense of right and wrong, and in spite of the little voice whispering “no” in her subconscious, she reached her arms around his back and pulled him close. “Cody.”
He buried his head in her neck, kissing and licking her skin hungrily. One hand reached down and parted her legs, and without any sense of remorse, she let him reach a finger under her shorts and touch her. Her private parts slicked with sudden dampness.
Before she knew it, Cody had sh
ed his tee shirt and shorts, and with a hunger that started deep in her belly, she reached around to caress his bare bottom with both hands. Firm and soft at the same time, she stroked him, loving the feel of the rounded muscle beneath her fingers.
“Take these off,” he said with a husky growl, reaching for her shorts. He unbuttoned them and lowered the zipper, probing inside again with his fingers. “Oh, God. Please take them off, Vivian.”
She wiggled out of them, feeling such need overcome her that she was possessed now with desire, overwhelmed with a longing to consume him, to envelope him, to own him.
He ripped her tee shirt upward, lowering his mouth to her bare breasts. “Vivian. Oh, God. Vivian.” He sucked on one breast and then the other, rolling his tongue lightly across her nipples until they stood hard and erect beneath his lips. He slid one hand beneath her bottom and angled her hips up, positioning her to his liking. Without a second’s hesitation, he slid two fingers inside her, stroking and rubbing her with his thumb until a roar of need filled her, making her growl with a craving for more.
“Cody.” She reached down for him and shivered with desire, drawing him toward her. “Oh, God. I need you so badly.”
He gently removed her hand from his organ and clamped her wrists above her head with one fluid motion, fixing his eyes on hers in the dim light of the moon. “I love you, Vivian Wood. Are you sure about this?”
She uttered a low growl. “Don’t stop. Please.”
With a deep groan, he placed the head of his organ over her moistened tissues, rolling it in small circles against her opening before pausing slightly, then sliding inside her in one magnificent thrust.
Vivian gasped. He felt huge, and her inexperienced body barely stretched enough to accommodate him. But once she grew used to the enormous size of him, to the feeling of being stretched to her limits by his hard shaft, her tissues seemed to loosen and moisten again, allowing her to enjoy the tightness of his thrust, to push back against him, to savor the cycle of movement like nothing she’d experienced before.
This was different from the time she’d given up her virginity to Robbie, the popular quarterback in high school. He’d eagerly entered her before she was ready. It had hurt. And it had been over before she’d had a chance to tell him to stop. The two subsequent times with him hadn’t been any better. She’d never had an orgasm and until she’d experimented with her handheld device, she’d not known how good it could feel.
No. This was quite different from that awful experience, and she lost herself in the feeling of it, almost too far gone to think, to care, to breathe. Cody continued to massage her breasts, to kiss her deeply, to thrust his tongue against hers. She felt her body melt into his as she took him deeper inside her, as if she were joining flesh and becoming one with him.
In an impossible welling of pure sweet sensation, she felt herself rise, rise, rise to a peak of feeling unprecedented in her lifetime. Rolling waves of pleasure surged through her, taking her higher and higher to the heights of titillation that didn’t stop, that broke over her like surf on the beach. She cried out, and in the distant background, heard him echo her shout of ecstasy.
He flopped down on top of her, breathing hard, his heart pounding against her chest. She lay exhausted beneath him, laughing from the sweetness of the experience, but it soon turned to tears. She cried against him, holding him tightly to her.
“Oh, Cody.”
“Did I hurt you?” he whispered.
“No,” she wept, then laughed again. “I don’t know why I’m crying. I think it’s just too much to process at once. It was unbelievable. I’ve never felt this way.”
They lay in each other’s arms for a long time, touching and stroking each other’s skin. He ran his lips over her face, kissing her eyes, nose, cheeks, and lips. “Vivian,” he murmured again.
She reached her hands up to his face, cupping it. “You’re so beautiful.”
“Shut up and kiss me, woman.”
He muffled her protests with more kisses, and before long she felt a stirring within her. Again, her body rose up to meet his, and in an impossible joining that felt even more intense than the first time, they made love fast and hard.
She rolled to her side afterward, panting. “I should hate you. For what you did with Uvi.”
He spooned her, reaching around to knead her breasts. “But you don’t.”
“No. I don’t. I think I love you, Cody.”
“You’d better. Because you’re going to be stuck with me.”
She turned her head to kiss his lips. “You’re sure? In the morning, you’ll feel the same way?”
He laughed. “Yes. Even in the morning.”
She rolled toward him. “What do we do about Uvi?”
He frowned. “When the water subsides, we’ll face her. We’ll tell her that we’re together now. And that we quit, pure and simple.”
She smiled, but then felt a niggle of worry hit her. “What about money? How will we live?”
He touched his forehead to hers. “Don’t fret over it. I’ll figure something out.”
They lay in each other’s arms for another long period of time, talking about everything and nothing.
“Cody?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“I found something weird in The Seacroft.”
“What’s that?”
“A passport for Uvi’s husband.”
“For Mr. P?”
“Yes.”
“So, what’s the big deal?”
“It’s a current document. Doesn’t expire until next year.”
He drew in a breath. “What the hell?”
“That’s what I thought. How could he be traveling when his passport is at home?”
“There must be some explanation.”
“I guess.”
“We’d better get some sleep,” he said, snuggling closer to her. “The girls will be up before the sun.”
“Okay. Good night, my love.”
“Goodnight, Viv.”
Chapter 36
Cody woke with Viv’s arm draped across his face. He slid closer, then placed his lips against her fragrant skin and kissed up and down the inside of her forearm.
The soft light of dawn played across the floorboards, casting the room in a rosy luster. He glanced at the windup alarm clock on the bedside. Five-fifteen.
She stirred, and he pulled her closer. “Morning, beautiful.”
Her eyes snapped open. “Um. What?”
“Good morning.”
She seemed to remember, relaxed, and breathed. “Oh. Morning, Cody.” Her cheeks grew pink and she drew the sheet to her neck.
“Hey,” he said gently. “You can’t be shy after what we shared last night.” He offered a dazzling smile. “Can you?”
“Sorry. I’m not used to… um… this.”
“It’s okay.” He laid his head on her, his heart filled with love. “I’m so crazy about you. You know that, right?”
He felt her nod, but was afraid she’d retreat again.
“Was it okay last night? I mean… you know.”
She giggled. “More than okay.”
“Good.” He moved up to kiss her lips. “I’m glad.”
“I have morning breath,” she said with a rush of words, pulling back.
“I don’t care,” he said, trying again.
“Let me brush my teeth first, okay?”
With a resigned sigh, he backed up a few inches. “Okay.”
She pulled the sheet off the bed to wrap around her, leaving him naked in the morning light. With a little laugh, she tiptoed to the bathroom down the hall, returning a few minutes later.
“Better?” he asked.
“Better,” she said, climbing back into bed and covering him back up.
“Now I feel like I have to do the same thing. You can’t be all fresh and minty and have me taste like dragon breath.” He stood, ignored her protests, and brushed his teeth until they shone. When he swaggered back into the room, her ey
es followed his every step. He almost felt like he should cover up, but then grinned at her. “Like what you see?”
She shoved him when he returned to their warm nest. “You’re so full of yourself.”
“People have told me worse,” he said, laughing. “Like I’m full of—”
She hit him again. “Stop it! The girls might hear you!”
He rolled his eyes and gave her a sheepish smile. “Sorry. You’re right.” He tugged her closer. “See? You’re really good for me.”
She pouted. “You mean because I stop you from swearing?”
He met her eyes with his. “No. Because of this.” He kissed her softly, tenderly, and made it last forever. He felt her melt in his arms. All tight muscles went limp, and after a while, she uttered a little moan.
“Cody.”
He couldn’t stop now, and prayed hard that the little ones didn’t wake up before they were finished. But he didn’t want to hurry this—no, he wanted to take his sweet time, build her up to a momentous climax, lay his head on her soft breasts when it was over, and never move from this spot.
He reached down and stroked between her legs, running his fingers lightly up and down her inner thighs and coming closer and closer to her feminine parts each time. She gasped and her belly quivered. Again, she said his name in a hoarse whisper. “Cody.”
She reached for him, ringing his organ with her soft fingers, slowly rubbing her thumb back and forth across the head. “I need you.”
His body responded, arching up and standing erect, ready for action, but he didn’t want to move too fast. He wanted her to ache for him with such intensity, such passion, such need that she would never be happy with another man. Never.
He cupped her face in his hands. “Do you love me?”
Her eyes squeezed shut and a huge smile spread across her lips. “Yes, yes, yes.”
“Forever?”
Her big brown eyes fluttered open. “Forever?”
He reached down and inserted one finger inside her, slowly wiggling it in circles. “Yes. I don’t want you ever loving another man. Just me. Forever. And ever. And ever.”
Hesitantly, then with more confidence, she nodded and smiled, kissing his ear and probing it tentatively with her tongue. “Yes, Cody. Forever.”
The Seacroft: a love story (Paines Creek Beach Book 2) Page 15
