AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The doorbell rang. She was here. He hurried to the door.
Stacey stood on the stoop looking adorable. Her hair was down and swung freely around her shoulders. The slight breeze lifted a few strands and blew them across her face. She brushed them away. The simple but feminine dress she wore fit tightly to her body then flared out around her hips. It was a short one this time that showed an amazing amount of her breathtaking legs. A pair of almost-not-there sandals were on her feet. Her smile gave her both a vivacious and beautiful appearance. He was completely captivated.
Cody pulled her inside and took a deep inhalation of her peach scent before he kicked the door closed. He kissed her with all the pent-up passion he’d been tamping down all day. Her arms came around his neck and she leaned into him. When they broke apart they were both breathing heavily.
A buzzing came from the kitchen. He released her and hurried down the hall. “I have something in the oven.”
She followed. “You’d better not burn my supper.”
He pulled the hot pot out of the oven.
“It smells wonderful.” She was the one who smelled like heaven. He had to get a grip on himself or he’d be groveling at her feet.
“What do we have there?” She tried to look in the pot when he removed the top.
“Brennan pot roast.”
Pursing her lips, she nodded. “I feel important. Not just pot roast but Brennan pot roast.”
“Are you making fun of the cook?”
“I’d never make fun of someone feeding me.” She smiled amiably at him.
He gave her a narrow-eyed gaze. “Good, because you’d have to watch me eat and do without if you had been. Why don’t you go on out on the porch while I finish up here? We’re going to eat out there.”
“You don’t need my help?”
“I’ve got it. I’ll be out in a minute.” He stirred the beans in the pot on the stove. When he went to join her she was standing at the rail, looking out at the ocean as if she was contemplating a puzzling problem. He placed their plated meals on the table.
She turned to him. “This looks amazing.”
He held her chair for her.
“The girls would love to see you now.” She sat.
“I can hear them giggling. They’re not used to their father romancing a woman.”
“Are you romancing me?” She studied him as if she couldn’t believe herself worthy of his actions.
“I like to think so. That was the plan.” He took his seat across from her.
Their meal was slow and easy. They talked of movies they had seen, places they had been and their favorite meals. Cody enjoyed every minute of it. Stacey was intelligent and engaging, in his eyes the perfect dinner guest.
Stacey placed her fork on her plate. “Uh... I’ve been thinking.”
His chest constricted. About what? “I’m not sure I like the sound of that.”
“I’d like to take a walk on the beach.”
Relief eased the tension in his shoulders. He had been afraid she might want to call a halt to their relationship.
“Then come back and show you just how sexy I think you are.”
His manhood immediately sprang to life. He could forgo the walk for the latter but he would go along with her plans. Anything to keep her in his arms and bed for as long as possible.
* * *
The last few days and nights had been the most amazing, exhilarating and fascinating Cody had ever known. Stacey was everything he’d ever dreamed of in a woman. She was as exciting and entertaining in bed as out.
They worked side by side during the day, exchanging small smiles when nobody was watching. In the evening they had dinner and then sat on the porch until after dark. Hand in hand they would climb the stairs to his bedroom. Stacey satisfied all his desires and more. She continued to surprise him. Aggressive and demanding at times, she could be just as tender and giving at others.
Today those days and nights of heated pleasure would end. His mother and father were bringing the girls home. He expected them at any moment. Their return was bitter-sweet. He had missed his girls but tonight he would miss Stacey too. His heart was made even heavier by the fact that in just three days Stacey would be gone for good.
Their lovemaking the night before had been slow, deliberate and utterly poignant. Stacey seemed as aware their time together was nearly over as he was. A sick feeling filled his gut. He had to start adjusting, accepting it must end. Now he was waiting at the ferry for his family to arrive. So why did it feel like part of it was still missing? That idea he refused to examine. It would get him nowhere.
He hadn’t asked Stacey to come along, believing them being together to meet the girls might send them the wrong message. Before he’d left the clinic he had told her he was leaving to meet the ferry. She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes and she said, “I’ll see to things here.”
