What Matters Most (24 page)

“I thought you couldn’t swim,” he said after nudging her to the edge of the pool.

“I took a class at school, but I never tried to swim on my own. I only learned the breaststroke.”

He pinned her between himself and the cement wall. “You’re practically naked. Suppose those little strings holding this thing up break?”

She braced her hands against his chest. “If that happens, you’ll remove those skimpy swim trunks that don’t hide a thing and give them to me.”

“You’re too fresh. Kiss me.”

“Jack, there’re a lot of people watching, and Tara’s probably looking straight at us.”

“I’m not moving till you kiss me.”

She pressed her lips to his and quickly removed them. “You have to behave, Jack. If you don’t, these people won’t like me.”

He appeared to think about that. “Okay. I’ll swim along with you. If you get a cramp, scream.”

“I don’t know what’s gotten into Jack,” Melanie said later to Alexis as they stood together munching on tiny crab cakes and sipping white wine.

“I do,” Alexis said. “Three other men here have their women with them, and he wants it clear that he has his woman with him.”

“But I’m not his woman.”

“Not yet, but give it a few more hours. That man means business, and from where I stand, you ought to mean business, too. He’s a great guy.”

Melanie looked at her hostess, a woman of whom she grew fonder with the passing hours. “Jack has finer qualities than you could guess. I’ve never known anyone like him and, in spite of my reservations about the differences between us, I’ve decided to stop being stupid. I…I need him.” Her voice quivered as she realized how deeply she felt it.

Alexis’s arms slid around her. “Let him know that, and you’ll be a happy woman.”

“Is anybody talking about me?”

Melanie turned around and found herself in Jack’s arms. “You behave yourself.”

He looked at Alexis and flashed his trademark grin. “Am I out of line, Alexis?”

“Not in my view, but when it comes to that, I don’t think I count. You two come with me.” She led them through the front door and around the side of the house to a flower garden in the center of which stood a white trellis that supported a swing.

“Telford and I used to sit there and make out,” she said, pointing to the swing. “We’ll have dinner in thirty-five minutes.”

“You look so beautiful in that jumpsuit,” Jack said. “What kind of material is that?”

She knew why he asked, but didn’t allude to it. “It’s silk jersey. I didn’t want to be overdressed, so I figured this was somewhere in between.”

“It’s perfect, and you’re stunning in red.” He traced his fingers through her hair. “I like it down like this, but I know it’s best to have it up when you’re working.” He put his arms around her. “Melanie, do you think you can stop pretending there’s nothing between us and let’s see if we have anything going for us? I mean the basis for a permanent relationship. You must have thought about it. I’m not seeing other women. Will you…I mean, can you agree not to see other men?”

She’d promised herself that she would give him a chance to tell her how he felt about her, so she snuggled closer to him. “All right. Does that mean I can tell you when I want a kiss?”

He held her away from him and gazed into her face. “Whenever you need a kiss or…if you need me, period, find a way to let me know it. That’s all you have to do. Do you understand?”

She didn’t answer, but moved back to him, stroked his cheek and nipped his chin with her teeth. Within a second, his tongue danced in her mouth, and his hands roamed over her body heating her almost to boiling point. She loved him so much that she wanted to scream it aloud, as he thrilled her with promises of a deeper and more satisfying loving.

The garden lights blinked, and Jack looked at his watch. “Alexis is precious, isn’t she?” he said, referring to the reminder. “Five minutes before dinner.” He flicked his index finger across her nose. “I hate the thought of four other men looking at you in this getup.” He stood and extended his hand to her. “I’m actually hungry. Come.”

“I’m properly dressed, Jack. Everything’s hidden.”

“It may be hidden, but it sure as hell is well-outlined.” He took her hand and walked with her to the house, rang the doorbell and looked down at Tara when she opened the door. “My mommy said you were enjoying some privacy. What does that mean, Dr. Ferguson?”

A grin circled his lips and spread over his face. Anyone could see that he adored Tara as he lifted her into his arms. “It means we wanted to talk to each other. You promised to play the piano for me when I came back, so don’t forget.”

“I won’t. I like to play.”

He’ll be a wonderful father,
Melanie thought and heard herself telling him so.

He put Tara down, and his smile disappeared along with his light mood. “I’m longing for that day, Melanie.”

What could she say? That she longed to give him a family? She squeezed his fingers and remained silent as they followed the little girl to the dining room. Russ said grace, Henry and Alexis served the food, sat down and she saw firsthand the wonder of having a large, loving family. It wouldn’t do to cry, so she tried to focus on the good things that were happening to her.

“How is it that you said grace, and everyone expected you to do it?” she asked Russ. Her question drew a round of laughter.

“’Cause he doesn’t want
me
to say it,” Tara said. “Uncle Russ says my grace is too long.”

“Right,” Russ said. “If you don’t like the way somebody does something, do it yourself.”

And so it went, a full hour of camaraderie and love. “I missed a lot growing up without siblings and a real family,” Melanie said to Jack later.

“So did I, Melanie, and being here with these folks brings it home to me forcibly. You think that we have vastly different backgrounds, because I grew up in wealth and you had a life of poverty, but in other important respects we had a lot in common. I wasn’t physically abused, but I was ignored most of the time. We both lacked a warm and loving family life. My mother loved me, and after she died, I was alone. Did you bring a wrap of some kind? Let’s join the Harringtons for coffee and cognac or something and then take a walk.”

“I’ll settle for coffee and port. Cognac’s too strong for me.”

“It seems like a nice evening,” Jack told Telford as the two of them stood together sipping after-dinner drinks. “I presume it’s safe for Melanie and me to walk outside?”

“Safe from humans. You could encounter a snake or a deer, so stay on the road. The moon’s high, and you can see far into the distance.” He walked to the foyer, got a key and gave it to Jack. “Tomorrow’s Saturday, so we eat breakfast around eight. If you need anything, Melanie, just let Alexis know. Have a pleasant walk. Good night.”

He waited while Melanie went for a shawl. As he watched the movement of her hips, free and easy, he made up his mind that it was time they made love. And he didn’t believe she’d worn that sexy jumpsuit to entice the Harringtons. When she returned, he took the stole from her, wrapped it around her shoulders and left the house. “I’m so glad you suggested we walk out here,” she said. “It’s idyllic, a fairyland. Imagine living here all the time!”

He wanted to tell her that he could give her that and more, but he didn’t think it was time. “You wouldn’t be lonely out here in the country?”

“If I were with the right person, I could live anywhere. Living out here wouldn’t tax me one bit.”

“It’s a far cry from Southwest Baltimore.” A raccoon and three small ones crossed in front of them, taking their time, as if they owned the road.

He stopped, pulled her close to him and realized that her breathing had quickened. His libido responded to it, and he locked her in his arms. “Open up to me, Melanie,” he whispered, surprised at the urgency with which he uttered the words.

When her lips parted, he swallowed her breath and went into her, crushing her to his body. Groans poured out of him and, stunned by his fierce longing for her, he attempted to break the kiss and lower the tension. But she held on to him.

“I need it,” she moaned. “I need you. Don’t you know I need you?” Frissons of heat plowed through him and his blood ran hot through his veins. He told himself to be careful, to move slowly and to take it easy. But he didn’t want that, he wanted her. He had long since tired of fighting the sheets on his bed every night, of longing for her, needing her while she refused to admit that they belonged together.

“You’re telling me you need me?” he asked, because he had to be sure she knew what that meant. She nodded.

“I…You know I’ll always be there for you? Always.”

She seemed impatient. “I know that, Jack. You’ve shown me in so many ways.”

“I want you to need me in every way a woman can need a man. Do you understand?”

“Yes. I do,” she whispered.

He wanted to pick her up and run with her. If only they were at his own house. With his arms around her, he headed back to the house. Drake and Russ had taken their wives and gone home, but the others would still be up. Well, he’d have to work around it. He saw the note when he opened the door. “Wine, champagne and glasses are in the bar in the family room; crackers, cheese and grapes in Melanie’s suite, just in case you get hungry. Love, Alexis.”

So Alexis had it all figured out, did she? Well, he was definitely not going to disappoint her. He handed the note to Melanie. “I have to go up to my room. Either wait here, or I’ll see you later. Would you rather have champagne or wine?”

She looked at him, and he could almost see her mind working. “Let’s celebrate.”

“What’ll we celebrate?” he asked, testing her.

“Being together.” She reached up and kissed his mouth. “I thought you were going to your room.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He couldn’t get up the stairs fast enough. She’d all but told him that she had plans for them, and his whole body began to throb in anticipation.

“He knows where to find me,” Melanie said to herself and headed for her room. She brushed her teeth and rinsed her mouth, freshened up and dabbed in strategic places a few drops of the perfume he’d given her for graduation. She used it sparingly, and she knew she’d have that bottle, though empty of the precious fragrance, for as long as she lived. She flipped on the radio to an easy-listening music station seconds before she heard his soft knock. She rushed to open the door.

“This place is so quiet you could hear a mouse,” he said and placed the champagne in its iced bucket on the table beside the snacks. “Alexis thinks of everything,” he said and frowned. “What’s that song?”

“Something by Gershwin. Oh, I think it’s ‘Love Walked In.’”

A grin flashed across his face, and his eyes sparkled, making her weak in the knees. “Is that what I did?”

“I haven’t had two glasses of champagne in my entire life,” she said, ignoring his question. “This will probably make me giddy.”

“It’ll make you warm and cuddly, and that’s the way I like you.” He handed her a glass of champagne, poured one for himself and clicked her glass. “Here’s to us.”

“And here’s to the wonderful man who changed my life.” She sipped the bubbly wine.

He put his glass on the table and looked at her with eyes that seemed to grow darker with the passing seconds, eyes as turbulent as a storm. “Do you think I’m wonderful?”

The moment had come, and she had to let him understand that she knew it. She rested her glass beside his and looked him in the eye. “I know you are. At least to me.”

He was in her room, and he’d be a gentleman to the end, so knowing she had to make the first move, she stepped closer with her arms open. He went into her arms, wrapped her so close that air couldn’t get between them, and she parted her lips for his kiss. His body trembled when he plowed into her, lifting her from the floor. One of his hands gripped her buttocks and the other held the back of her head as his tongue darted here and there in her mouth, testing, sampling until she captured it and sucked on it until his groans filled the air.

Her hot blood rushed to her loins and, out of her mind with need of him, she put his right hand on her left breast and rubbed frantically. He needed no further encouragement, but freed her breast, lifted it and took it into his mouth.

“Oh, Jack,” she moaned. “Jack, I can’t stand this.”

“Do you want me?”

“Yes. Yes. I’ve wanted you for months.”

He locked the door, unzipped her jumpsuit and let it fall to the floor. “Oh, Melanie, you’re beautiful.” He ran his hands over her body, nude but for a tiny bra and a G-string, threw back the covers, picked her up and laid her on her bed.

“Are you going to regret this?” he asked, the words tumbling out of his mouth as if he didn’t want to say them.

“Never!”

She watched him strip at breakneck speed and place one knee on the bed. “Do you trust me?” he asked her in a voice so soft that she strained to hear it, and it moved her that he could be so overcome with emotion.

She opened her arms. “More than anyone else I know or have ever known.”

He stumbled onto the bed and nearly fell into her arms. “Sweetheart, love me. I need you to love me.”

“I do. I always have.”

He kissed her lips and began a scorching assault on her body, kissing her eyes, her ears, neck and shoulders before returning to her breast. He kissed her until she thought she’d go mad waiting to feel him inside her, and when her body urged him to join them, he ignored her and continued his onslaught until she nearly sprang from the bed in anticipation of his goal. He reached the ultimate prize and tormented her with the kisses of an expert until she grabbed the pillow and covered her mouth to muffle her screams.

He made his way up her body. “Take me in, love.”

At last she had him inside her. He was hers for those few minutes, if never again. Suddenly, he unleashed his power, and she couldn’t think. Stars raced above her, lightning cracked, wind seemed to howl and the sun burst into flames. He was in her, over her, under her and all around her until at last she exploded in ecstasy and flew with him to the sun.

“I love you. I love you so much,” she said, flung her arms wide and gave herself to him.