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Chapter Fourteen
After a memorable night in Royce’s arms and a whole day spent together at his family home, Susan wondered how she would go back to living without him. He’d spent the night lavishing her with love, caresses, and kisses, and the day pampering her with attention.
Lying in bed, her cheek on his solid chest she listened to his heartbeat and planted kisses on his flesh as he combed and curled her hair around his fingers.
Damn it, she didn’t want to leave their safe haven. Her eyes filled with tears, and she collapsed crying against him.
“Susan, what’s wrong, babe?” He lifted her chin, staring at her.
“I can’t live without you. When will we be together again, Royce?” She sniffled and hiccupped.
“I’m all yours, babe. I’ll call you every day, several times, and I’ll stop by your office in the middle of the week. We’ll be together again soon, I promise.”
Knowing Royce got upset when she mentioned Kasem, she carefully avoided his name. Yet shouldn’t they do something concrete—anything—to fix her problem?
“How long should we wait for time to fix the mess in my life?”
His eyebrows gathered. “What is the deadline you and Kasem have set for a final decision?”
“The last time we talked, we saidin two months,which was as vague as possible.”
“Two months would bring us to December first, right?” His stern expression assured her he was studying her cut-off date seriously.
She shrugged. “Possibly.”
“Well then, if by December first, Kasem hasn’t come up with a solution you like, I’ll have a talk with him, and solve the problem my way.”
Fear knotted inside her. “Your way? Can you explain what your way will entail?”
“In due time. For now you’ll have to trust me.” He checked his watch. “We’ll have to leave in an hour. Let’s not waste our time on idle talk.”
He rolled her under him and squeezed her against him, covering her face and mouth with hot kisses that made her forget everything but him. He made love to her, slowly and thoroughly, branding her with his passion, as he was signing his name on every inch of her flesh. When they convulsed and collapsed, groaning and moaning, he kept her in his arms until they recovered, and then moved away from her.
“I love you, babe. I’m sorry but we have to leave now, before it gets dark. Give me a smile and then get ready.”
“I’m happy.” Satiated and cheerful, she smiled. “I’ll never forget this weekend.” Her first weekend as a loved woman.
Humming like a carefree sparrow, she hurried to the bathroom, showered, and got dressed in the sweat pants and blouse she’d worn here. After pulling her hair back with a barrette, she applied her makeup and packed her things into her bag.
“I’m ready,” she said, and realized Royce was nowhere to be seen. He’d removed the sheets and pillow cases and folded them at the foot of the bed for the cleaning lady to wash. She looked around and smiled, etching into her memory his boyhood room, her alcove of love. On second thought, she dug her phone out of her pocket and snapped several pictures.
Downstairs, she found he’d cleaned the fridge and put the perishable leftovers back into her cooler.
“Ready?” he asked.
She chuckled. “I’ll never be ready to leave this place, but let’s go.”
He set their bags in the back of her SUV and drove silently. Two streets before reaching her house, he stopped beside the main road.
“You drive home. That way your mother won’t ask too many questions. I’ll catch a cab.”
“Isn’t ridiculous at my age to be still questioned by my mother this way?”
“No need to fuss about it. By December first, we’ll change all that.”
He winked, jumped out of the car, and circled around to her side. Gathering her in his arms, he kissed her. “See you soon.”
She settled behind the wheel and started the car, as he grabbed his bag from the back of the SUV. She waved and drove away, recapping her weekend of love, the memorable nights, their unexpected shower together this morning, their lunch followed by an endless nap, and their open-hearted chats.
