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“And I never knew a schoolteacher could be so tempting.”
“You’re changing the subject.”
“I know. Pirates can be single-minded sometimes.” In truth though, he didn’t need her physically, at least not tonight. Their meal and conversation had helped drain some of his rage and anguish. She’d been the balm his spirit had been craving seeing that red sky.
They finished the meal and he asked, “Will you come sit in the gazebo with me?” He wasn’t ready to end their time together. “Being with you has helped make a terrible day bearable.”
She whispered, “Yes.”
So, they sat side by side, and as the moon rose they talked about everything and nothing: favorite books, the dates of their birthdays, the dog the LeVeq boys once had that kept eating Julianna’s shoes. They purposefully avoided talking about last night’s violence and the fire, and that pleased them both. Val was telling him the story of her sister’s first attempt at making an apple pie, and how Caro used salt instead of sugar to sweeten the apples, when snoring sounded. Looking over she found him asleep. After the night he’d had coupled with moving debris most of the day, she was surprised he’d stayed awake as long as he had. It took her giving him a few spirited shakes to wake him up.
“I’m sorry,cheri. Didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”
“It’s okay. Come on. Let’s go inside.”
He ran his hands down his face, got to his feet, and walked with her back to the house. Reba had left a few lamps lit before retiring to her suite off the kitchen, so they doused them and climbed the stairs by the moonlight streaming through the windows. At the top of the staircase, he looked down at her and said softly, “Thank you for the company. I needed it and... you.” In the silence he drew a slow finger down her cheek, then leaned down and kissed her gently for a long lingering moment. And what was intended to be a parting instead ignited the embers lingering from their last passionate encounter and the kiss deepened. Drake hadn’t intended for this to happen but something about her nearness, her scent, the heat of her satin-like lips and skin, rose inside, bringing with it an unrelenting desire to do more than let her go to her room. She was like a balm to the hate that destroyed his dreams, and the lure in her seemed to banish it. He healed himself on her lush mouth then bent low to brush his lips over the sweet curve of her jawline while his hand began to explore her small frame. He mapped her spine, lean torso, and skirt-shrouded hips. He dropped his head to treat himself to an already berried nipple through the thin fabric of her blouse, and her soft gasps hardened him further. Buttons were undone, her shift lowered, and his hot mouth claimed her. He licked and dallied, making her arch for more, and he obliged soundlessly. He worshipped a finger over the skin above her breasts, then fed wickedly on first one and then the other, while boldly moving her skirt up her legs, exposing the plain, knee-length drawers.
Val had lost all sense of time and place. Her entire being was focused on his pleasuring. When he whispered boldly, “Hold your skirt for me,cheri,” she grasped fabric rucked up around her hips, and wantonly widened her stance to allow him to sensually explore the warm damp vent hidden between her thighs through the slit in her drawers.
“So wet for me,” he growled softly. When his finger slid inside her flesh, she welcomed it with a growl of her own and her hips responded to the languid enticing rhythm that began. They rose, sought, and a featherlight croon slipped from between her lips. A second finger joined the first, increasing the heat, and she rode both scandalously. Her orgasm gathered and spread, tempting her to succumb, but that would end the brilliant pleasure he was gifting her with, and she was too greedy for that. He withdrew, circled dewed, masterful fingers over the stiffened pulsing bud that made her woman, before reintroducing with a sweet force that made her shatter and cry out soundlessly against his hard chest to keep from being heard. He eased her back to herself with soft kisses against her lips and gentle strokes between her now-boneless thighs. In the quiet that followed, she opened her eyes. Filled with all he felt for her and still resonating with what he’d made her feel, she leaned up and cupped his bearded jaw. “Thank you for the pleasure.”
He turned her hand and placed a kiss in the center of her palm. “Good night,cheri.”
“Good night, Drake. Sleep well.”
The following morning, Val’s mood was somber as she and Drake stood with Cole and Lenny at the bustling New Orleans train station. Their leaving felt like a chapter closing on her life. Although this next chapter brimmed with unlimited possibilities, she was going to miss Cole, very much.
“I’m only a train ride away,” he reminded her. “Conductor said barring any issues, we should be there in a month or so.”
She hugged him tightly. “Godspeed.”
She repeated the hug with Lenny.
When she stepped back, Cole told her, “Try and stay out of trouble.”
She smiled through her unshed tears. “I’ll do my best.”
Cole looked to Drake. “Counting on you to keep her safe, LeVeq.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect her as much as she’ll allow.”
Cole laughed. “Spoken like someone who knows her well. Please give your mother our regrets for not staying long enough to meet her. No disrespect intended.”
“I will.”
The train whistle blew, signaling imminent departure. Val said to them, “Take care of each other.”
They nodded. She knew she didn’t need to worry but felt better having said it. Even though they were discreet, she was sure there’d been some distressing incidents they hadn’t shared with her about navigating life together, so she hoped California would be all they hoped it would be. “Put me on your subscriber list and mail me your first issue.”
“Will do.”
She watched them walk to the waiting train and her heart ached seeing the trouble Cole had ascending the stairs to the car. He looked back and waved a final goodbye and Val wanted to bawl. “I’m going to miss him,” she said.
Drake gently eased her in against him. “You’ll see them again.”
She was sure she would. The knowing made her feel a bit better, but the sadness remained. As she and Drake made the walk back to the buggy, the voice of the old fortune-teller whispered inside.You will lose a love, reject a love, find a love.
