Space in His Heart (25 page)

Thinking of her
exquisite expression at the moment he took her to climax, he felt
himself grow hard again.

He let a strand
of her hair play through his fingers for a moment, wondering if the
erotic sensation would pass.

“Deke?”

“Hmmm?”

“Did you really
think she was boring?”

He laughed and
turned on his side so that their bodies lined up against each
other, warm flesh touching top to bottom.

“She’s no
Jessica Marlowe.” He had to kiss her again, just one more time, a
slow and deep expression of the emotion that was tugging at his
heart, pulling him deep into dangerous and foreign territory.

* * *

The sun blazed
high over the river and sneaked through the cracks of the
plantation shutters before Jessica heard the shower and turned to
the empty spot where Deke had been in her arms all morning. She
ached for him already, stretching like a satisfied cat as she rose.
She grabbed a short robe from a chair in the corner and slipped it
on before she visited him in the bathroom.

The shower
curtain was closed and the room was filled with steam and heat.

“Good morning,
Commander,” she said, just loud enough to be heard over the
water.

He opened the
curtain a crack and grinned, covered with water and magnificently
naked. His wet arm reached out and went straight for the tie on her
robe. “I was just thinking about you.”

He grinned and
tugged, opening the silk panels with one easy movement and making
her squeal in surprise.

“Don’t get
modest now, sweetheart.” He pushed the material off her shoulders
and put his hands under her bare arms to lift her into the tub.
“Come here.”

The pounding
shower soaked her while his soapy hands lathered her, stopping to
concentrate on particularly appealing areas and taking her back to
the sensual weakness she’d felt just a few hours ago. He covered
her with slippery caresses that made her laugh and gasp until the
water splashed in her mouth. Then they dripped back to the bed and
depleted each other once again.

“I guess we
need some nourishment to keep this up,” Deke mused as they lay
together. “Got anything?”

“Eggs. Cheese.
Water. Chocolate.”

“All the
essentials. Take me to your kitchen.”

Deke delivered
two perfect omelets, complete with sautéed mushrooms and gooey
Swiss cheese.

“Amazing what a
stove can do in the proper hands,” Jessica commented as she savored
the taste and the expansive view of the river. The latter was made
even more appealing by the man lounging comfortably across from her
in a pair of sexy white Calvin Klein boxers and an oversized Dash
Communications 10K tee shirt Jessica normally wore for running.

“It’s too bad
you didn’t have shallots.” He pointed his fork toward her, making
her laugh. “Don’t laugh. Shallots are serious business in an
omelet.”

“What meal is
this, anyway?” She looked at her wrist for a watch that wasn’t
there. “Breakfast, lunch or dinner?”

“I have no
idea. Looks like it’s about three by the sun. Could be any of the
above, I guess.” He narrowed his eyes and shot her a sexy smile. “I
don’t really care. Do you?”

While
Jessica put their dishes in the dishwasher, Deke sat on the floor
of her living room, going through the few CDs she’d brought from
Boston. Suddenly, the soft strains of an old Van Morrison song
filled the tiny house, and she smiled at his perfect choice. Then
his arms were around her, turning her to dance to
“
Tupelo Honey.
”

“
I love
this song,” he said as he moved her in a small circle around the
galley kitchen
.

I love this man.
She looked up and found his mouth and tasted the mushrooms
and cheese with a bold and inviting kiss.

He sang
the words of the love song to her, dancing and guiding her a few
feet into the living room where they dropped to the sofa. Slowly,
he unbuttoned the silk pajama top she wore and eased his way down
her tummy with a stream of delicate kisses. She
sighed
as he reached her
panties,
closing
her
eyes in anticipation of what his tongue would do to her.

Then she heard
the knock at the door.

“Someone’s
here.” Surprise cracked her voice.

“You have every
right to ignore it. This is America.”

She inched up
the sofa. “Where’s your car?”

“
In the
driveway.” As her eyes widened in horror, he shook his head.
“In
my
driveway. I’m
a trained military professional, Jess.”

The doorbell
rang. “But who could be here?” she demanded.

He closed her
top button. “You could always ask.”

“Jess? You in
there?”

Oh, shit.
Stuart.

Chapter
Nineteen

“Oh my God. I
think he called before.” Jessica sat up and pulled her panties back
in place. “I—I didn’t answer the phone.”

Deke smiled and
slipped her second button through its hole. “You were busy.”

Another knock.
She jumped from the sofa and stood frozen, staring at Deke. He
started to laugh. “You want me to hide?”

For a moment,
she considered it. Then shook her head and held up a finger to her
lips. “Just be quiet,” she whispered and he started to laugh again.
“Please, Deke.”

He nodded and
reached up to tug at her top. “Don’t forget the last two
buttons.”

She looked down
at her half-undone top and underpants. Dear God. Stuart was
here.

“Just a second,
Stu,” she called out. “I’ll be right there.” With another glare at
Deke, she dashed to the bedroom, grabbed a pair of shorts, and
pulled them on.

W
hen she
came back
, Deke still sat on the sofa,
watching her like she was performing in a sitcom.
She slipped around the wall that blocked the living room from the
doorway.

Opening
the
front
door a
crack, she feigned a yawn and a sleepy wipe of her eyes. “Late
night.” She smiled guiltily. “What’s up?”

Stuart frowned
and glanced at his watch. “It’s four thirty, Jess. You okay?”

She nodded and
fake-yawned again. “Just tired. I decided to take a nap. Is
something wrong?”

He glanced
beyond her, obviously waiting for an invitation in. She leaned
against the doorjamb and offered none.

“Well, I called
earlier. Didn’t you get my message?”

She shook her
head.

“
You
haven’t seen the
Times
?” He
couldn’t hide his surprise as he stuck a newspaper in her hand.
“Have you been online? The AP photo has him front and
center!”

She couldn’t
quite match the enthusiasm in his voice, but she tried. “Oh, that’s
great.” She glanced at the picture of Deke and Sydney Lynn in front
of her. “I, well, I actually haven’t seen the coverage yet.”

“I can bring
the rest of it tonight,” he offered.

“Tonight?”
Jessica frowned at him.

“Did you make
other plans?”

She had no
idea. Her only plans included sex. A lot of it. “Ah, well…”

“You didn’t
forget tonight is the Colonel’s New Year’s Eve party, did you? I
think you’re expected to be there.”

New Year’s Eve. Of course. New year, new
decade, new millennium.

New
man
.

Behind
her, she heard
that very man stir.
Oh God, let him stay put. She inched the door
closed. “I—I guess I’ll try and drop by.”

She saw
him glance beyond her and her heart stopped
. She was
terrified
that she would
turn and see Deke in boxers and
her tee shirt
,
grinning
from ear to ear. Stuart had to have heard the same noise she did.
She didn’t dare look.

“By the way,”
Stuart said. “Nobody can find Deke. Jeff said he’s called him all
day, but no answer. Think he’s still with Miss Hollywood?”

“Who knows?”
She shrugged with enough nonchalance to beat Sydney for an Oscar.
“They seemed to hit it off last night.”

Stuart started
to say something, but she held up the newspaper. “Sorry. I gotta
go. I’ll see you later, okay?”

He nodded and
his gaze dropped a little. “Sure, Jess. See you tonight.”

When she closed
the door, she thought her legs would surely buckle under her. Only
then did Deke come around the corner. They stared at each
other.

“Did you forget
about the party tonight?” he asked, amusement tugging the corners
of his lips.

“I was
preoccupied.”

“You could be
my date.”

“I could
not.”

“
Then
we’ll have to just throw knowing glances across the room.
You don’t just blow off the We Survived Y2K party at the
Colonel’s.”
He smiled and
stepped closer to her and tugged the collar of her
pajamas.

She rocked into him. “But we haven’t survived
it yet.”

“
Just how
long do you think you can hide this?”

She shrugged.
“As long as it lasts, Stockard.”

He flipped the
button open. “That could be a while.”

* * *

They’d stayed
together until the very last possible moment, when Deke left
Jessica’s house and promised to behave when he saw her at the
party. Of course, after the Colonel greeted her at his door, the
next person she saw was the one she’d spent the day making love to.
As he promised, the sexy smile melted her from across the room.

“You finally
got dressed.” Stuart’s comment made her jump.

“Sorry if I
seemed a little out of it, Stuey. Rough night at the premiere.”

He smiled and
handed her a stack of newspaper clippings. “But the coverage is
awesome. Good work.”

“Has Deke seen
these?” she asked casually.

“I don’t think
so. He just got here. And he sure ain’t sayin’ where he’s been all
day.” Stuart flashed an evil grin.

He knew
.
She
put the papers on an end table with her evening bag.
“Let the poor man have some
privacy. We’ve invaded his personal time enough.”

“We sure have.”
Stuart laughed, leaving her to wonder just what the heck he knew or
didn’t.

She
deliberately avoided the stare she felt from across the room and
went through the living room to the patio. She wasn’t cut out for
subterfuge.

At the patio
door, she accepted a glass of ice water from someone working a bar.
Then the scent and feel that had become achingly familiar over the
last twenty-four hours invaded her senses.

“
You look
good enough to eat,” he whispered in her ear
, almost
skimming her hip with his hand. “A lady in black.”

She turned and
offered her most distant social smile. “Hello, Deke. How nice to
see you.” She took a sip of water.

One hand on the
doorway, he leaned close to her ear. “Come home with me tonight. I
want you again.”

She swallowed
the water carefully to keep from choking. She tried to communicate
fury with her eyes but knew he’d never believe her. “Please,
don’t.”

“I’ll behave,”
he assured her. “Just say yes. So I can count every minute until
midnight.”

“You will
anyway,” she said with a satisfied smile. “It’s New Year’s
Eve.”

He was
never more than ten feet from her and Jessica wondered how many
people noticed. When the entire party packed into the family room
to watch the sights and sounds of Times Square just before
the calendar changed to 2000
,
she wasn’t surprised that he was right behind her, leaning against
a bookshelf with his hands in his pockets.

The deafening
din of conversation and laughter mixed with horns and noisemakers
blended into a countdown chorus at ten seconds to twelve. Somewhere
around five seconds, she felt powerful hands slide onto her waist.
At two, he tugged her into him and she could feel every masculine
inch of him against her back. As the bells rang and the hollers of
celebration reached a crescendo, he turned her around and gathered
her up in an embrace.

“Happy New
Year, Jessie.” Without giving her a chance to respond, Deke pulled
her into a deep and sensual kiss that lasted long after most others
had completed theirs. His lips parted, seeking her tongue,
promising more and more. For one blissful instant, she simply
didn’t care who witnessed their mutual and public display. She
didn’t care what price tag was attached to this moment.

This kiss was
worth whatever it cost.

* * *

Deke never
dreamed he’d find the study of toes—pink-tipped and appealing as
they might be—more interesting than the Bowl games. But they were.
Along with every other inch of the enchantress who distracted him
from his New Year’s ritual of football marathons. They awoke at his
house on New Year’s Day as close as two bodies could be and managed
to stay that way all afternoon. He’d normally hunker down with the
games, but instead, he missed every play. For toes. And legs. And
curves that didn’t quit. And that incredible laugh each time he
touched something new.

He tried
to figure out what down it was—good God, what
quarter
it was—but then she’d picked up a copy of
Jane’s Encyclopedia of Aviation and started making fun of his light
reading. He
had
to torture
her for that.

When the phone
rang, he cursed yet another interruption.

But he sprang
to attention at the sound of Colonel Price.

“Happy New Year
to you, sir,” Deke greeted him.