Author's Note: Thank You so much to everyone who has taken the time to send feedback and/or leave comments. It means so much. Thank you also for your patience in waiting for this chapter. I hope it is to your liking. As always, the disclaimer is listed below.
This is a romantic story with erotic themes, story being the key word here. If you aren't looking for something with a deeper theme, you would be better off reading elsewhere. If you like a good tale then read on. Please send feedback good or bad! It is always appreciated. Thanks and enjoy!
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Saturday afternoon found me sitting in the balcony of an old Chinese Theater downtown. Cale had talked me into a classic Kung-Fu film festival.
Normally I would be at home catching up on errands I hadn't had time to deal with during the week.
Alone.
I snuggled in closer to Cale.
"Oh, so you thought you could defeat me."
I giggled at his deliberately horrid accent.
"You didn't know I was a master of the palm of five snakes."
As bad as his pseudo-commentary was, it was better than the subtitles flashing up on the screen.
"You have no honor and your Mother wears combat boots."
I snorted.
"That's so old Cale. You're showing your age."
He reached over and tangled his hand into my hair, rubbing his thumb over the back of my neck. He leaned in and whispered into my ear, his breath warm against my skin.
"You weren't complaining about my age last night."
He grinned, the movement slow and lazy.
I shivered at the memory he evoked.
Sticking my tongue out at him, I reached over for a handful of popcorn.
He raised an eyebrow.
"You dare disrespect me? Beware, the consequences could be grave."
He was still using his Kung-Fu dub-over voice. I put on a mock serious face.
"Oh?"
He nodded solemnly.
I grinned.
"You think you could make me pay?"
That glint came into his eyes.
"Oh, I know I could."
I shivered. Damn. I found myself looking forward to the penance he would determine for my so-called lack of respect.
I winked at him.
"I think I could handle myself."
He arched a brow, and just like that, the game was on.
I reached back over into the bucket of popcorn, which was resting between his knees. I ate the buttery kernels slowly, and then proceeded to lick the butter off of my fingers, moaning softly as I did.
I thought he would choke.
I smiled sweetly and picked up the drink we were sharing. Locking my eyes on his, I slid the straw into my mouth and sucked the drink up, pausing once or twice to lick my lips.
This time he did choke.
I gave him a smug smile.
The glare he responded with promised all sorts of delicious retribution.
The rest of the afternoon was spent teasing each other mercilessly. An 'accidental' brush here, a grope there; innuendo so heavy it could anchor a ship. By early evening, we were both as tightly wound as the night before.
Foreplay should come with a warning label. Caution: Do not attempt to operate machinery while in a state of abject arousal. My eyes felt heavy. OK, so other parts felt heavy too. My body had become this pulsing, throbbing mass.
I felt like a horny teenager around him, only sex had never been this intense back then. It was like I had grown into my sexuality over the years and my body was showing its whole hearted support and appreciation.
I turned to look at him while he drove. His eyes were still on the road so I took a moment to drink him in under the faint light of the dashboard and the occasional streetlight that brightened and then dimmed the cab of the truck.
He was so very beautiful. I longed to trace every line of his face with my fingers, memorizing each plane. A lock of hair had fallen down over his forehead making him look boyish. I couldn't resist the urge to reach up and brush it out of the way.
He smiled and leaned over to plant a soft kiss on my lips. I pulled back and looked around, realizing we were in a parking garage. In my fixation on him I hadn't realized that we had reached our destination.
"Where are we?"
I didn't recognize the place. Of course, one parking garage is pretty much like another.
"I thought we'd try my place tonight."
I licked my lips.
"What about my clothes?"
Those dark eyes held me immobile.
"You won't be needing them."
His voice was husky, and caused warmth to spread low in my belly.
"Mmmm. So I get to see the bachelor pad?"
He chuckled.
"I don't know about bachelor pad. There's no revolving bed or anything."
I laughed.
"That's a real shame."
His eyes crinkled at the edges.
"I think we'll manage."
He climbed out of the truck and came around to help me down; another old-fashioned gesture. He placed his hands at my waist and lifted me down. As my body slid along his I decided that there were definite benefits to an old-fashioned kind of guy.
I felt my skin warm and my breathing become shallower.
"Mmmm. A girl could get used to this."
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in closer. I rested my cheek against his chest and listened to his heart pounding within. I sighed and pulled out of his arms. I grabbed his hand and looked up at him.
"If there is any such thing as a perfect day, then this was it."
He brought his hand up to my cheek and brushed a thumb over my lower lip. His eyes were like were like the night sky, dark and intense.
"The day isn't over yet."
I turned my head and placed a light kiss on the palm of his hand. I was wrapped in warmth at the promise in his words.
He leaned down and brushed a soft kiss over my lips. Somehow it was much sexier than the heated and frenzied moments of last night. He was still a man completely aware of his charms. I wondered how he could maintain his control when all he had to do was touch me and I was lost.
He took my hand and led me inside.
I awoke during the night to the feeling of Cale's arm wrapped around me. His hand was making lazy trails across my stomach. I sighed and nestled back into his arms. I was exhausted and more contented than I ever remembered being.
Why hadn't any of my past relationships been like this? The question snuck quietly into my head.
The answer was simple, and it hit me like a blow from a heavyweight boxer. I sobered from my lust induced intoxication instantly.
They weren't Cale.
I was awestruck by how the events of the last twenty-four hours had managed to change my life. Already, the idea of going back to my solitary existence seemed positively alien to me. I couldn't clearly remember what it had been like without Cale in it and I wasn't sure I wanted to.
It was like everything before yesterday was a fading dream and this was reality.
It scared the shit out of me.
Hello? Remember the runaway train? Well it was still flying out of control, and I was terrified that any time now it would crash, and all that would be left of me was a broken mass of flesh.
I didn't want to think at all. I just wanted to live this waking fantasy and forget about the consequences; forget that there would be an aftermath I had to survive.
Cale tightened his hold on me. It was a soothing gesture, as if he knew I was troubled and in need of the comfort.
He nestled closer and placed a soft kiss on my shoulder. I felt another one of those blows to the gut.
I realized that it would be worth it. I would willingly put myself through a train wreck if it meant I could have this man, even for a little while.
Well hell. So this is what it was like. I had friends who had gotten married and settled down with the whole white picket fence in the burbs and I had never understood the attraction. I saw it clearly now.
Cale was right. The consequences were grave indeed, but for much more than the banter we were throwing back and forth earlier. The bitch of it was he had no idea of the magnitude, the scope, of the thoughts and emotions running through my head. I should have taken solace in the fact that he wasn't going to suffer like I inevitably would, but somehow it didn't comfort me.
The morning brought pleasant smells again, and I dragged myself into the kitchen searching for the source of the tantalizing scents. Cale was just finishing the last of a stack of pancakes. Was this guy for real?
"So, have you always been the domestic type?"
He didn't even turn around.
"My Mother insisted I be able to take care of the basics. The rest I picked up because it relaxes me."
He didn't see me shudder. I thought cooking was a revised form of medieval torture.
He carried a platter over to the kitchen table and turned to me.
"Coming? I happen to know from a reliable source that you've worked up an appetite."
I grinned and joined him at the table.
As we sipped our coffee, I found myself staring off into space, my thoughts from the night before creeping back in to haunt me.
"Why so serious?"
His voice pulled me out of my reverie, and I managed a smile.
"Sorry, just lost in thought."
His gaze searched mine.
"Not happy ones from what it looked like."
I looked at him, really looked at him, this man I was falling so fast for. I reached up and rested my palm against his cheek. This time the smile was genuine.
"Just chasing away the nightmares."
