Perfect Morning Read online

  Six

  By dinnertime Jason had barely finished the side of the house. Every few minutes he felt Riki’s gaze on him and he always returned the fascinated looks. She had the most provocative eyes he had ever seen. They seemed to bewitch and entice him. They promised paradise. He came to the conclusion that Eve must have had emerald eyes and that they had held that look when she offered Adam the forbidden fruit.

  Riki couldn’t remember what she cooked for dinner, but since no one complained she guessed it was all right. She did remember looking into silver eyes and seeing a hunger that matched her own. Everything was going to be fine, she thought. Jason had understood her message. He’d showed up for dinner freshly showered and shaved. She couldn’t decide if she preferred him shaved or with a five o’clock shadow. He was dressed casually in jeans and a striped polo shirt that clung to his chest. He seemed to push around the food on his plate as much as she did. Did that mean he was nervous too?

  Before dinner Riki had showered and washed her hair. After applying just a trace of makeup, she’d brushed her hair until it shone. She’d pulled on her sexiest pair of panties and tight-fitting jeans, and was relieved to see she didn’t look bad for a mother of four. She slipped on an emerald green silk blouse that matched her eyes, sprayed on her favorite perfume, then took a last glance in the mirror and undid another button. What the heck? This was war. She was no Dallas beauty. She had to fight fire with fire.

  All Jason could think about as he pushed his peas from north to south on his plate was. My lord, she doesn’t have a bra on. Every time he looked up he couldn’t fail to read the message in her eyes. Tonight was the night. All her uncertainty was gone. She was a woman who knew what she wanted and she was out to get it. He was all for that, except there were seven children in the room with them. Why didn’t kids go to bed at a decent time?

  When Charlie hugged him good night again, it almost snapped his control. Everything was finally coming together, he thought. His daughter was starting to trust him, the woman he was falling in love with was willing to reach for him as a man. How lucky could one guy get? Patience was the key to both women in his life. Just a little while longer and everything he wanted in life could be his. Slow and easy, Jason, slow and easy.

  When he had finished tucking Charlie in, he met Riki in the hall. With a look of affection and something else that was hard to define, she whis- pered, “Why don’t you go down to the study and fix us both a drink? I’ll be right there.”

  He watched her hips sway as she walked into her bedroom. Knowing that he couldn’t follow her into that room didn’t help matters. A drink was in order, especially when he thought of the big brass bed in Riki’s room.

  He was on his second drink when Riki entered the study. He wasn’t sure what to expect when she came down. He wouldn’t have been surprised if she had slipped into something more comfortable. Her attempts at seducing him were only endearing her to him more. When she returned with no visible change, he decided that wasn’t the reason.

  He would have changed his mind if he had seen Riki staring at the mint-colored teddy. Should she or shouldn’t she? she’d wondered. She was supposed to be a mature adult. This would be the first time she would make love to a man who was not her husband. Yet what if she had been reading Jason wrong? What if he had changed his mind and did not want her anymore? Wouldn’t she look like a fool standing there in a teddy? Did men really like teddies? He seemed to find them fascinating on the clothesline. She hoped they looked better on her. Oh, the hell with it all, she decided. He would get her as she was. If he wanted her out of these clothes, he could just take her out of them.

  When she entered the room, Jason handed her an apricot brandy, then calmly sat down in one of the wing chairs. Taking her cue, she sat in the other chair and sipped her drink. Okay, Riki, old gal,she told herself, this is it, the big time. Do something. The only thing she could come up with was to stare at Jason.

  Jason glanced at Riki and could barely drag his eyes away. The hunger was there along with the need. She was his. All she had to do was say something to release him from his promise.

  The tension in the room was electrifying. The hair on the back of Jason’s neck was standing on end. This was the night. He could tell by looking into Riki’s eyes. She wasn’t going to say no, and she wasn’t going to regret it in the morning.

  If she didn’t stop staring at him he’d go out of his mind. Her eyes were begging him to do something, but he couldn’t. He’d promised her he wouldn’t kiss or touch her unless she asked. He might be a perverted, deprived sexual maniac who couldn’t control his primitive urges, but above all he was a gentleman. And gentlemen do not break their promises.

  He finished his Scotch in one gulp and stared blindly at the far wall. He kept repeating silently, Don’t look into her eyes. Don’t look into her eyes.

  Riki couldn’t look away from Jason. He was gorgeous. And he was trying so hard not to pressure her. He was adorable, considerate, breathtakingly handsome, and come morning she would know him totally.

  The decision was made. All she had to do was say four simple words, make love to me. Now how hard could that be? She was a grown woman with an extensive vocabulary. Say it, old gal. Say those sweet, blessed four words to end the torment.

  “Jason.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

  Jason’s jaw clenched together. His knuckles turned white from the grip he had on the arm of the chair. Still he didn’t take his gaze off that wall. He knew that if he turned and looked at her, he wouldn’t be able to stop. He’d throw her on the floor, with or without her consent. This was too important to them both. What if he misjudged? What if he was reading the message in her eyes wrong? Lord, not another cold shower.

  “What?” he asked. His voice was harsh, due to thoughts of cold showers and sleepless nights.

  Riki jumped at least two feet off her chair. Her mouth opened but no sound emerged. What went wrong? she wondered frantically. Why was he angry with her? Couldn’t he tell that she wanted to make love, couldn’t he see it in her eyes? He always seemed to read her soul when he looked into her eyes. Why not now when she needed him to? Please, oh please, mouth, work. Say those words.If only Jason would look at her, it would be so much easier. Why was he staring at that wall like he wanted to commit murder? Why wouldn’t he at least turn around?

  Riki knew she couldn’t say those words. Not that she didn’t want to. She wanted Jason more than anything in the world. She could feel her breasts swelling with need. Her stomach did a full gainer with a half twist and liquid fire started to burn between her thighs. Her breathing became rapid and shallow, and still the words didn’t come.

  Her mind was screaming the words, but he wouldn’t look at her. She couldn’t say them without his help.

  Impasse.

  Riki old gal, the ball is in your court. Don’t blow your foul shot. Do something. If you can’t say it, show him.

  She took note of his stiff back and the lines on his face. He looked like a marble statue. The beating of his pulse and the flaring of his nostrils were the only signs that he was indeed flesh and bones. What would he do if she threw herself on him? Probably wring her neck by the looks of things. He’d been waiting for her to say she wanted him, and she couldn’t. He had every right to wring her neck. He had the right – That was it. She’d write it.

  At Riki’s sudden movement, Jason stiffened more, waiting for something, anything. What he was not waiting for was Riki scrambling to her desk to write something down. Write something down? Good lord, what in the hell was she doing? Didn’t she know what was going on here? Couldn’t she feel it? He was going out of his mind.

  She turned and hesitantly walked over to him. Her hand was shaking as she held out the piece of paper to him. He took the note and glanced up at her. Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut. He looked at the note clutched in his hand and his heart stopped beating. There in the worst possible handwriting were four simple words. “Make Love to Me.”

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nbsp; His head shot up and he grinned with relief and delight. Riki’s eyes were still shut. He stood and walked over to the door.

  Hearing Jason’s movements Riki opened her eyes and turned deadly pale. He was leaving. He was walking out the door. Why didn’t the floor open up and swallow her? Why didn’t a tornado take her to the Land of Oz? Where in the hell was Auntie Em when you needed her?

  He stopped in the doorway and slid the sliding doors dosed. When she heard the click of the lock, she took her first breath since handing Jason the note.

  Jason turned around, crossed his arms over his chest, and leaned against the doors. His casual stance was a fake. He was so wound up he was ready to explode, but dammit, he wanted to hear her say it. “Riki, say it.” His voice was low and husky.

  She took one look at the man she loved and whispered, “Please make love to me.”

  Neither could say who moved first, but in the next instant Riki found herself in Jason’s arms. The kiss started sweet and gentle, totally in conflict with the fierce embrace Jason held her in. Her arms instinctively encircled his neck, and she pressed her breasts against his chest.

  At the feel of her unconfined breasts Jason’s control snapped. His tongue thrust past her lips to nestle deep within her mouth, to lay claim to what was his. A small moan escaped her throat as her hips met the heat of Jason’s desire. His arms tightened to crush her breasts against him, until he could feel the hardened nipples through the layers of clothes that kept them apart. Then he slid one hand down to cup her buttocks and pull her closer to his aroused manhood.

  It heightened her desire knowing that he wanted her as much as she wanted him, and heaven knew how much she wanted him. She had never wanted anything more. She had dreamed of Jason, but none of her dreams lived up to the real thing. How could one body hold so much need, so much wanting, so much desire?

  She moaned as Jason released her lips to string a row of kisses to her ear. “Oh, Riki, my love, how I waited for those words.” He growled as his mouth slid down her neck, nibbling gently. His hand slipped around her hip, over her stomach, and up to cup her breast. She arched her back and pressed herself into his palm. Her head fell back, and her knees would have given out had he not been holding her.

  Jason lowered his head at the invitation and sucked the hard nub through the silk blouse. A jolt went through her as his teeth pulled the nipple farther into his mouth. His name escaped her lips in a pleading, “Jason.”

  He slowly raised his head to look at her face, to see if her reaction was anything like his. He saw her swollen red mouth and her flushed cheeks, but what really caught his attention was her eyes. Then were half closed with desire, and a flame was burning so brightly in them, it was almost out of control. The desire and passion he could identify, but there was another emotion lying just below the surface. It was there one moment and then gone the next.

  He lowered her to the carpet and tenderly kissed her forehead. Rocking back on his heels, he quickly discarded his shirt. “Darlin’, I need to feel you touching me.”

  Her hands went straight to his chest, running through the dark hair. She found his nipples, and at his sharp intake of breath a smile of female satisfaction lit up her face. He saw the smile and growled. “Yes, sir, darlin’, you have me hotter than a firecracker on the Fourth of July, but turnabout is fair play.”

  He swiftly undid all the buttons of her blouse.

  Her breath caught at his little-boy smile. A woman could fall in love with that smile, she thought. A woman would do anything to please that “little” boy.

  But would she please him? Going through three pregnancies, especially one set of twins, could play hell on a woman’s body. Riki knew her weight was good, but no amount of sit-ups would ever firm up the stomach. It still had a soft, rounded look to it. The stretch marks worried her the most. Granted, they had faded with time, but she could still detect the white lines. Jason had never seen his ex-wife when she was pregnant with Charlie. He’d have no idea what carrying a baby for nine months could do. No one had seen her body since Brad, and it was his children that had brought about the changes, so there wasn’t too much he could say.

  As though he were unwrapping a fragile gift, Jason slowly opened her blouse. His whole attention was on how the silk clung to her damp breast. With a trembling finger, he outlined one nipple, then the other. He raised his eyes to her. “They’re beautiful, darlin’.”

  Riki didn’t realize she’d been holding her breath until she let it out. She wrapped her arms around Jason’s neck and drew him toward her. “So are you, Jason.”

  “Beautiful?” At her nod, he chuckled. “Riki, darlin’, men are not beautiful.”

  “Yes, you are. You are also intelligent, sensitive, caring, and sexy.”

  Jason had to swallow the lump in his throat. Damn, she said the sweetest things. “Ah! Sexy. Now that I can relate to.” He placed loud smack- ing kisses on her neck, and she giggled. “Say ‘Uncle’ and I’ll stop using my wicked charms that are guaranteed to drive women crazy.”

  She arched her back to rub her breasts across his chest. At the stiffening of his body, she gently bit his ear. “I think crazy is the appropriate word here.” Her tongue came out to soothe the area she had just bitten. Feeling him tremble, she did it again.

  He drew in a sudden breath. “I think sexy is the appropriate word.” His mouth locked with hers and his tongue plunged inside. Her arms tightened around his neck as she gently sucked on his tongue and raised her hips to meet the hard demand of his.

  A groan escaped his throat as he broke the kiss. His lips moved to find the sensitive spot behind her ear. “Are you protected?”

  As his warm tongue passed over the pulse in her throat, a shiver slid down her back. Protected? No, her heart wasn’t protected. It was definitely going to end up in a million pieces when Jason left. His tongue circled her nipple, then he sucked it into his mouth. No, her heart was not protected, and neither was her body. She had never felt anything like this, so this was ecstasy. His lips pressed a kiss in the valley between her breasts, then slowly slipped over to the other nipple.

  No, if she were protected an alarm would be ringing right now. Why this man? Why Jason? He was only in her life for a short time. Was ecstasy only hers for such a little while? When Jason left, he would not only take the ecstasy, he’d take her heart.

  His tongue circled and then dipped into her navel as he unsnapped her jeans. Protected? Good lord! What had she been thinking? Of course she wasn’t protected. It had never entered her mind to think about birth control.

  As Riki’s warm soft body froze in his arms, Jason raised his head. His eyebrows rose in question. “Riki?”

  She couldn’t meet his eyes, so she stared at the ceiling. “Uhhh, you’re going to have to use something. I’m not protected.” Her face changed from the delicate pink of desire to the beet red of embarrassment.

  Jason stiffened. She wasn’t protected. He was supposed to use something. Hell, he’d come to Virginia to get his daughter. He hadn’t come prepared for this. He should have thought of that. Hell, he’d been thinking of nothing but making love to Riki all week. Why hadn’t he thought of that?

  He looked at the woman lying beneath him, and saw the flush that started at her breast and rose to the top of her head. Taking a deep breath, he dropped a last kiss at the edge of the lace on her bikini underwear. Then, incredibly, he refastened her jeans and shifted his weight off her. He gently cupped her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. He was shocked to see unshed tears swimming in her eyes. He kissed the comer of her mouth. “Why the tears, darlin’?”

  “Why aren’t you mad?”

  “Mad?”

  “I’m no expert on the subject,” she said, her voice unsteady, “but aren’t you supposed to be mad or frustrated or something?” “Oh, I’m definitely something. And I’m frustrated and mad at myself. I forgot my Boy Scout motto, always be prepared.’ ” There was such a comical leer on his face, she had to chuckle. “That’s be
tter.” His finger traced the smile on her lips. “But the something I’m feeling is love. I’m falling in love with you, Erika.”

  She studied his serious face and could only detect honesty in that last statement. Her heart lifted. A soft, gentle understanding shone in her eyes as she replied, “Then I’m the luckiest woman in the whole world.”

  “Luckiest?”

  She reached up and feathered kisses down his throat. “Yes, because I know I’m in love with you, Jason.” She tilted her head back and their eyes met. In that instant Riki knew what it was like to look into someone’s soul. She also knew what it was like to let someone see into hers.

  The kiss they shared was sweet and gentle; it contained all the promises of tomorrow. The seed of love was planted. Now it needed time to grow. Jason’s hands slid over her silky smooth back and his embrace tightened. “Ah, Riki darlin’, I don’t mean to be a party pooper, but if you don’t put your blouse back on, I won’t be held accountable for my actions.”

  Her fingers trembled as she tried to button the blouse as fast as possible. Jason noticed the blush on her cheeks and gathered her close. He leaned his back against the desk and positioned her in his lap.

  Riki buried her face in his neck. Inhaling the aroma of his after-shave, she gently nipped at his neck. He trembled, and her fingers wandered from his shoulder to his chest. All those afternoons of watching him work outside without a shirt on hadn’t prepared her for the feel of his chest. She noticed the width and strength of it, and how smoothly the muscles moved with each movement he made. But she hadn’t noticed its warmth, nor the softness of the dark hair that lightly covered it.