Neither one of them spoke, yet their bodies moved against each other in a sensuous caress, reminding them both of what had been painfully absent.
“Why were you questioning Doug about his sex life?”
“I didn’t use that word. I asked if he was seeing someone.”
“Why, damn it?”
“I’ve fallen in love with him, of course,” she insisted with a saccharine smile, her lovely eyes flashing daggers at him. “Oh, what does it matter?” She refused to voice her own insecurity when he’d been dancing with Anthia.
“It matters,” Charles said dryly. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to do nothing more than touch her while inhaling her special scent. Finally he said “I’m jealous. I can’t seem to help it. I don’t know why you’re so upset. You’ve given me plenty of practice. For years you’ve thrown man after man into my face. What the hell do you expect from me?”
Her voice was brimming with emotion when she said, “It seems as if we’ve made a mistake... too much moonlight and too many candlelit dinners.” Diane walked away from him, not bothering to see if he was following. She paused at their table long enough to ask Anthia, “Would you care to freshen up?”
Anthia blinked in surprise, but didn’t hesitate. She nodded, picking up her purse.
“Please, excuse us, gentlemen.” Diane swept by her husband, head held high.
They had to thread their way through the crowded ballroom and into the hallway. Neither spoke until they reached the ladies’ room.
It was Anthia who asked, “Is something wrong?”
“Yes,” Diane said, standing in front of the long mirror above a row of sinks. “But that’s not why I asked you to join me.” Diane waited until a woman finished with her hair and left and they were finally alone. “This is about my husband. He’s no longer available.”
Anthia’s dark eyes went wide with shock. “I-I-I-I’m not...”
“You are, and we both know it. Look, I know what it’s like to have to make it out here alone. I also know that men like Charles seem like an easy way out. I’m letting you know up front, you’ll be making a serious mistake by going after my man. You see, you have to go through me to get to him, and I’m not about to move out of your way.”
Anthia nodded, respect shining in her eyes. Her voice was edged with defensiveness. “What do you know about raising a child without a man? You probably come from the same cushiony place that he does. You think I don’t know those are real diamonds and rubies glimmering on your ears, girlfriend? You paid more for that dress than I paid for rent this month.”
“We’re talking about money. Yes, it does make life easier, but never enough to make you happy. I should know. I’ve been on my own since I was your son’s age. I know what it is to wait tables, to go to bed so tired you can’t see straight. I also know what it takes to get ahead in life. Yes, I’ve finally made it. I didn’t trade on my looks. I used my brain, girlfriend. I put myself through college. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” Diane paused to make a point. “I married Charles for one reason. I love him. I’m not interested in the money. It just happens to come with the package.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“You don’t have to,” Diane shrugged. “If you’re interested in doing more than taking phone messages, call me. There are grants out there for folks willing to work and study. Last semester I taught business courses at night at W.C.C.C. Call me any time. I’ll hook you up with the right classes.”
“You willin’ to help me, after...”
“...You made a play for my man?” Diane shrugged. “We all need help from time to time. Besides, you and I understand each other.”
Anthia laughed. “You’ll scratch my eyes out if I look at him too hard, right?”
“You got it,” she said, taking a lip liner and lipstick out of her purse. “Tell me, what do you think of Doug Henderson? Kind of cute, don’t you think?”
“Fine,” Anthia giggled.
“And single,” Diane supplied, with a smile.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
The two discussed the man’s attributes as they repaired their make-up. Diane’s demeanor was calm when they returned, her anger and disappointment pushed to the back of her mind.
Charles was in conversation with Dexter and Jeff. He sensed Diane’s presence even before he saw her. She was breathtaking. He loved her so much that she made him ache with longing, while at the same time she infuriated the hell out of him. When she refused to meet his gaze, he simmered with frustration. Her smile was warm and generous to everyone except him. For the next hour and half, Charles circulated with Diane at his side, concentrating on securing financial backing for the community center. As the evening drew to a close, both Charles and Dexter considered it an astonishing success.
Charles’s heart jerked in his chest when he felt Diane’s soft breath close to his ear. “It’s late. Can we leave soon?”
He nodded. Her earlier declaration weighed down his spirit. They had hardly seen each other this week. He’d been impossible to live with. He didn’t even recognize himself in the angry man he’d become. She was right... he was so caught up in his own jealousy, his own fear, that he’d forgotten everything else. He was embarrassed by his loss of control on the dance floor.
Doug Henderson! Where was his mind? She had just met the man. Charles had no cause to accuse her of anything. She wore his ring and she spent her nights in his bed. Jealous fool! If he didn’t start thinking with his head he’d lose her. Their marriage license didn’t come with a guarantee.
When they stopped to drop the Jenkinses off, Charles was surprised to hear Anthia and Diane arrange to meet for lunch the following week.
“Warm enough?” he asked as he guided the car back into traffic. The streets were busy in spite of the lateness of the hour.
“I’m fine, thank you,” she said frostily.
It was worse than he’d suspected. Not only was she hugging the door, but she seemed to be fascinated with the passing scenery. Sighing, he put on an Aretha Franklin tape. Soon music filled the void. Charles concentrated on his driving, assuring himself that they would talk once they were home.
Yet he couldn’t help speculating over what she’d meant when she’d said they’d evidently made a mistake. Was she regretting their marriage? How had she put it? Oh, yeah, too much moonlight and too many candlelit dinners. What had she meant?
By the time Charles parked the car in the circular drive and they entered the house, Diane still hadn’t said a word. He watched as she walked past him toward the staircase.
“Nightcap?” He stood at the entrance to the family room. Diane didn’t so much as glance his way. She shook her head as she began mounting the stairs.
“Di! We have to talk about this.”
“Not tonight. Perhaps in the morning.”
“Now,” he said, a bit more sharply than he’d intended.
“We said it all on the dance floor. It’s late and I’m tired. I’m going to bed.”
“You might have said it all, but I haven’t. I’d appreciate it if you came into the family room and shared a nightcap with me.”
“At the moment, I’m not interested in sharing a damn thing with you, including a bed.”
Charles swore. “Oh, yeah, that’s really going to settle a hell of a lot, isn’t it?”
He jerked open the door to the family room and disappeared inside. His suit jacket sailed into one of the empty armchairs near the fireplace. He’d be damned if he’d follow behind her like a sheepdog in heat!
She hadn’t really planned on joining him, but after she showered and moisturized her skin with scented lotion, she realized he was right. They needed to talk. She pulled on a yellow lace slip of a gown and the yellow silk robe.
Charles wasn’t in front of the fireplace, where fresh logs rested in the grate ready to be lit. His outer things had gone the same way as his black silk socks and briefs—into the armchair. The only sound in the room came from behind the glass doors that led to the indoor swimming pool. Diane hesitated before stepping down the two shallow steps onto the blue-and-green tiled flooring. The vertical blinds on the surrounding glass walls were closed against the spring night. The only light came from overhead.
Her heart pounded with trepidation as well as appreciation as she watched her husband’s long, powerfully muscled frame glide through the water. She stayed where she was for some time before she slowly crossed to one of the emerald-green canvas chairs and perched on the edge, where a towel was draped over the back.
She didn’t have long to wait. Charles spotted her from across the length of the pool. His eyes never left her as he swam to the edge. He used his powerful arms to push himself up and out of the pool. A stream of moisture cascaded down his long, bare body. Diane caught her breath at his brown perfection.
He ran his gaze over her. The fluid fabric clung rather than concealed the softness of her body. Her nipples were pouting against the fabric. Her pink-painted toenails peeked out from beneath the hem of her robe. Her small feet were bare.
They stared at each other, neither making the effort to shatter the electric silence that hung like an invisible curtain between them. Without speaking, Charles reached for the towel and began toweling himself dry. When he was finished, he casually looped the towel low on his slim waist.
Hiding her trembling hands in the pockets of her robe, she refused to stare at the wide expanse of his chest or the width of his shoulders or the thickening of his manhood beneath the towel.
Taking a deep breath, she asked, “What did you want to talk about?”
Charles surprised them both when he pulled Diane into his arms.
“What are you doing?”
“What I should have done days ago,” he said, his mouth covering hers in a hot, hungry kiss. “Feel, baby. Feel how much I’ve missed you, how much I need you.” He explored her soft lips with his tongue until she sighed, opening for him. His tongue slid into the warmth of her mouth, filling it as he longed to fill her body with his sex.
“Chuck…” she whimpered, when he briefly lifted his mouth from hers. “We must talk.”
“What I must have is you.” He lifted her into his arms and carried her through the house. “It has gone on too long.”
“This will solve nothing.”
“It will solve everything,” he grumbled, mounting the stairs two at a time, not stopping until he reached their bedroom. The lamps were lit.
“Charles!”
He kissed her until she swallowed her protests and moaned with the urgency of unfulfilled desire. Her small hands caressed the long line of his back. Diane pressed soft kisses across his wide chest.
Charles quivered with the force of his need and the intense pleasure of having Diane back where she belonged. He wanted her so badly he hurt from it. Unable to wait a moment longer, he undressed her. His hands weren’t rough, but they weren’t tender, either.
Diane was a mass of raw nerves as he licked the hard elongated tips of her breasts, circling, tonguing each in turn, savoring her sweetness before he took a nipple deep into his mouth and sucked. She cried out from the pleasure, sending shock waves racing to every cell in her body. The pleasure only accelerated as he palmed the damp curls between her thighs, rhythmically squeezing her softness, then stroking his long fingers over the fleshy folds. Diane didn’t think she could bear much more. Charles didn’t hesitate to caress the hidden layers of softness or worry her ultrasensitive nub. He stroked her as he continued his hot attention to each breast.
“Please... I need you... now.”
Charles had no intention of denying either of them. He repositioned himself and slowly penetrated her heat, filling her completely. Diane cried out, unable to contain the thrill of once again having his demanding strength deep inside.
He loved her with each steel-hard thrust of his body, his hands palming her breasts, gently tugging the hard tips. Charles increased the pace while Diane clung to him, responding to his power... his maleness. Their release was raw, quick, and simultaneous ... sheer joy.
It was a while before Charles recovered enough to disengage himself. He lay on his side, facing her. Diane had barely caught her breath when she slowly opened her eyes to his persistent gaze.
His voice was gravelly when he said, “I have to know if you meant what you said. Have you decided our marriage was a mistake?”
“I never said that.”
“Then what were you talking about on the dance floor?”
Diane sighed, not able to meet the force of his dark, questioning eyes. How could she explain, when she wasn’t quite sure herself what she meant? She had been so miserable this week. All the bright, glittering dreams of a new life together were disappearing like autumn leaves on a dark, windy night.
“I know I rushed you into marriage...”
“Chucky, I wanted it as much as you did.”
“Then why?”
“I was upset and I was hurt. I have no regrets about our marriage.”
Charles swallowed the fear. Tilting her head back until he could look into her eyes, he said, “You scared me.” Rather than being the angry declaration he’d intended, it was released from his throat in a raw whisper.
“I’m sorry.”
“You own my heart and I can’t get it back. I gave it to you unconditionally a long, long time ago.”
“I married you because I love you. Why can’t you believe that?”
He frowned, concentrating. It took him a while before he could put his feelings into words. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Diane, he said, “My intellect tells me one thing while my emotions tell me something entirely different. Di, we have a history. Sometimes, it’s difficult to separate what’s happening now with what happened then.”
“Are you saying you can’t forgive me for those earlier mistakes?” Yes, she had deliberately tried to make him jealous, and she’d succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. It had proved to be worse than unleashing a hungry bear.
“I can’t forget it.”
“That’s not fair! You know what you thought about me wasn’t true. You know I never slept with any of those men.” Her vision blurred as tears filled her eyes.
“Diane, for years you went from one man to the next. There was always some poor sucker waiting to get next to you,” he growled impatiently, despite the pain he saw in her eyes. He had to finish. “When that phone rang Sunday night, it brought back all those bitter memories. You’re a married woman. My woman.”
“I know that.”
“Oh, really? What about Doug?”
“How can you ask that? I’ve done nothing wrong. You’re punishing me because of how I hurt you in the past.” Charles stared at her, wondering if that was what he had done. Finally, he said, “I never looked at it quite like that.” His brow, came together in a heavy scowl. “I guess I didn’t think... I just reacted. I’m sorry. I’ve let this thing go on and on.” He stroked her cheek, then whispered, “Maybe if you weren’t so damn beautiful, I wouldn’t have to worry.”
Diane reacted as if she’d been struck. “I can’t help how I look!” Her thoughts instantly flew to Lillie... the beautiful whore.
“Baby, I was teasing. Don’t pull away. This is about how I feel, knowing that so many men find you attractive. I can’t seem to forget that I was the one you once pushed out in the cold. You’re right. It should stay in the past.” He sighed.
“This isn’t your problem. It’s mine. I’ve been so jealous that I haven’t been thinking straight.”
Diane lifted her hand to his cheek, roughened by the late-night stubble. She caressed it, her eyes brimming with tears. “I love you. Don’t you know that yet? We belong to each other.” She encircled his neck, lifting her lips to his.
“Oh, baby... baby,” he groaned, crushing her softness to his hard length. He ravished her sweetness as one lengthy kiss flowed into the next. When the kiss ended he buried his face against the place where her shoulder and neck joined his tongue heating the tender skin. “I’m sorry,” he whispered huskily. “Forgive me.”
Her smile was radiant. “I love only you. I have no room in my heart or in my life for another man. You, my darling, are my lover... my friend... my husband,” she said snuggling even closer.
“I’ve been cold and distant.” Charles had suffered a string of sleepless nights while he’d lain beside her, watching her through the night, aching for her comforting warmth.
“Yes, you have,” she murmured kissing the highly sensitive base of his throat. “I’ve missed you so,” she whispered caressing and smoothing his wide chest.
“I’ve missed you more,” he echoed. “Do you know what you put me through each night?” he chuckled.
“What did I do?”
“Even in a king-sized bed, you always managed to find me.”
“That’s because you are so deliciously warm, my love.”
He lifted a brow, laughing. “Really? Warmth is the reason you rubbed your sexy behind against my shaft until I was as hard as a steel rod?”
“I didn’t!” she blushed.
“You did... you do," he amended hugging her close “Diane, no one ever made me feel the way you do. Wild and crazy in love, blind with jealousy. You drive me nuts.”
“You drove your own self nuts. If I wanted Greg why would I have married you?”
“Good point.”
“Greg is a friend... nothing more.”
“I want our marriage to work.” His voice was husky with the intensity of his emotions. He was pained by the possibility of her regret, yet unwilling to hide from it There could be no secrets between them. “I hate fighting with you, baby.”
“Me, too,” she insisted. “I love you so much.”
Charles stared down into her eyes for a time as if he could find all the answers in their lovely depths.
“Show me.” Charles’s mouth settle on hers in utter persuasion, as if she needed to be encouraged to open her lips to the exquisite stroking of his tongue. “I need you...” he whispered. “Let me...” he managed, before he claimed her mouth yet again and again, “... show you how badly I’ve missed you.”
He gathered Diane even closer, thrilled by the feel of her warmth pressed against his arousal, her breasts wondrously soft on his chest She felt good... so good. As he kissed a path down her neck, she trembled with desire. When he retraced the same journey, only this time with the wet rough surface of his tongue, Diane shivered in response. Her soft, fluttery moans blended with his deep, throaty groans as excitement flared, bursting into red-hot need as he urgently filled her.
As hard as he tried to control the need, the obsession, to thrust vigorously within her, his body took over his mind and he gave all he had to give. Diane accepted him gladly and matched each pulsating thrust with a purely feminine tightening. Charles lost it then ... he poured out his love... he gave her his all and in doing so sent them both into a wild, incredible release, hers an instant after his.
It was later, as she nestled against him, her lids heavy with sleep, that she recalled how frightened she’d been that night in the condo. She’d been terrified that the caller might be her mother. She hadn’t been able to think clearly. Perhaps if she had, she’d have been able to defuse the situation before it had exploded into such a full-scale argument.
“Di?”
“Mmm.”
“We’re building a new life together. And I’m not saying that we shouldn’t maintain old friendships. I don’t want you to think I’m trying to control you. But I want our relationship to come first. I won’t accept second place with you ever again. That I couldn’t tolerate.”
“Honey, you’re the most important part of my life.” Charles swallowed the lump in his throat, kissing her tenderly.
“I need the same commitment from you.”
“You already have it,” he murmured.
“No, I don’t. Aren’t you forgetting the community center?”
“What about the center?”
“It takes so much of your time. I want us to spend more time together. Charles, you leave in the morning before I’m awake. I know it’s so you can put in the time necessary to keep the business thriving. What about us? We don’t see each other all day long, and when you get home, I’m asleep. I never saw you this week. I didn’t get to tell you about the bridal shower Heather gave me. Nothing.”
“This week was an exception. We had late-night basketball playoffs. Besides, I was angry. I stayed away until I knew you were asleep. I’ll do better. I can try to make it home by ten... ten-thirty.”
“That’s still not much time for us. Do you have to go to the community center right after work? Can’t you come home and eat dinner here with me? I need you.” Diane was trembling. She’d never felt so vulnerable.
Charles felt her tremor and heard the worry in her tone. “Okay, dinner at six.”
Diane let out a happy giggle, placing a series of kisses on his jaw and down the side of his neck. Charles chuckled at the sweet brush of her soft mouth across his skin. She was like champagne—bubbly, playful, and thoroughly intoxicating.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you—my folks are eager to met you. We’re expected for Sunday dinner.”
“They know?” Diane asked with a sinking heart.
“Yeah. Eliz can’t keep a secret. Not to worry. It will only be Aunt Helen, Uncle Alex, Eliz, and her husband. Her kids usually spend Sundays with their grandparents.” He kissed the top of her head. “I can’t wait to show you off. Too bad your mother isn’t in town. Then both sides of the family could get to know each other.”
Diane forced herself not to shudder, her face hidden against his chest as she fought the terror invading her body.