Cafe in the Park (Siren Publishing Classic) (11 page)

* * * *

Emily saw the huge golden cat as she stood and turned to the noise it made landing on her roof. It must have been racing along, but when it saw her, it dropped to the floor of her roof garden. She was crying because of Chris. She’d been shocked and hurt by him holding the woman who clung to him. He’d look solicitous, hiding in the shadows. She wouldn’t have seen him but for the revolving dance floor spotlights.

The huge cat crouched. It moved toward her, but she wasn’t afraid now. She saw the way it cowered, saw it turn its head, and knew this meant it yielded to her. As her initial terror left her, her heartbeat slowed. She’d read that about some animals, not looking at the one that it confronted, showing the superiority of the other by slinking slowly away. In fact, now she was calmer she remembered seeing it in action. A foreign tabby had invaded the downstairs cat’s territory. On the street outside, they had stared each other down, and then one had turned in slow motion and slunk away.

Emily couldn’t believe the size of this animal. It had to be an escaped creature from the city zoo. It was close now. She’d read not to run from cougars on the rangers’ websites. Was this a cougar? She listened to its purr. It purred like an engine, deep in its chest.

Emily took the most enormous risk. She bent and put out her hand. She stroked the cat on the head, between its ears, with careful, long strokes. The cat’s purr deepened. It didn’t move at all. Emily stroked down its beautiful, white face and then along its silken ears. She whispered to it.

“Hello there. You don’t have to be afraid. You’re beautiful. Where have you come from?” She stroked the cat again, enjoying the thickness of its fur. Slowly it turned its head to her hand, and pushed its nose gently into her palm.

Delight made her smile. “You like that. I’ve seen you before. Do you escape from the zoo somehow and go for a run in the night? You’re so tame. Your fur is so soft. It’s comforting. I’ve just seen the man I love with another woman. I don’t have anyone to tell. What are you? A cougar? You can open your eyes. I’m not a threat. If you only knew, if the zookeepers hadn’t tamed you, you could kill me with one bite, I bet.” She stroked down the mountain lion’s massive shoulder, but it didn’t lift his head. It stayed flat to the floor.

Emily moved her hand away slowly. “I’ll go inside now, and let you go on with your nighttime naughtiness. Although, given the absence of news reports about mauling, I doubt you do anything but run in the night.”

The cat opened its eyes and stared at her.

Emily gazed back at the beautiful shade of emerald green reflected in its eyes. The sight reminded her of something, but she was too excited by the encounter to remember what.

She moved slowly away and backed off the cat.

The animal remained prone.

Emily whispered to it. “Goodnight, cougar.” She reached her door and went inside.

* * * *

Chris soaked up the tenderness in her touch as she stroked him. His heart thudded in his chest in case she took flight, and in terror, called the police. He ached to comfort her, tell her he loved her, only her, forever.

He waited until she’d closed the door, and then in an enormous leap, cleared her building and ran away. Her words echoed in his head as he raced home.
The man I love
…
with another woman…

Art had left the balcony window open. Chris could see it as he approached the house from the rocky outcrop. He crouched, took aim, and leapt onto the balcony. He shifted as he entered his sanctuary.

The perfume from Emily’s forgotten bra sent his stomach clenching. Art must have hung it on the balcony door handle. Chris picked it up and rubbed the lace against his cheek.
Emily.
Her sadness on the roof garden ate him up. The loss of her company that night made his whole body ache with longing.

He went to the low table by the leather sofa where they cuddled the previous night, and he pictured how they’d sat together. There was a cell phone there. Chris owned a few. He knew Emily’s number by heart, having learned it at the café where they initially met. He called her.

The ringing seemed to go on forever, and then she answered.

“Emily, let me explain. The woman, she’s someone I knew long ago, long ago, and she was hassling me. Please, Emily…” Chris pleaded for her understanding, for her belief.

Her voice was a whisper as she answered. “It looked as if you knew her very well…I couldn’t take it.”

“Can I come over? You left so quickly. Please let me see you.”

She sighed and Chris waited, hardly breathing.

“I do want to see you. Yes, come over.”

Chris smiled, warmth flooded back into his empty heart and he let out a breath.

“I’ll be there soon.”

* * * *

Chris bounded up the stairs to Emily’s apartment. He’d dropped into an all-night market and found the best flowers he could for her. A bunch of white roses and some other delicate white flower surrounded by tiny green leaves that he thought pretty. He took the gaudy cellophane off in the store and binned it. The flowers were bound with dark string. He held the bunch now with a trembling hand. Nothing had ever been as important as assuring Emily he loved her. Chris rang the bell.

He counted the heartbeats it took for her to open the door. He read hope in her eyes, and took a step forward.

“Emily, thank you for seeing me. This is the worst thing…I can’t tell you how sorry I am that this happened.”

She held out a hand to him to have him come farther inside.

Chris took it and brought her fingertips to his lips. He pulled her closer, craving her kiss. He didn’t have to wait.

Emily pressed close, offering her lips.

The kiss connected them again as nothing else could.

He let go of her hand to hold her head, deepening his kiss, trying to tell her how much he loved her. Soft lips, the feel of her nose against his, her cheek, her tongue meeting his, his breath leaving him, his eyes closed as lust mingled with love and hardened his cock.

When he stopped to breathe, she smiled, her face still close to his. She took his hand again and led him down the hall to the kitchen. “Thank you for the flowers. They’re beautiful.”

Finally, Chris gave them to her. He inspected the stalks, hoping he hadn’t crushed them as he held them, forgotten, when he’d kissed her.

“Tell me who she is, this long ago woman, because it looked as if she was quite current when I saw you.” Emily’s voice was low and kind, but Chris knew she still needed the full story. How could he tell her the truth? He couldn’t.

“Her name’s Veronique. I knew her years ago. Yes, I felt something for her at the time, but she left me. I haven’t seen her since and frankly tonight, when I saw her, all I could think about was you. How I love you. She leapt at me. I caught her instinctively. I tried to push her off me…” He watched Emily put the flowers in water and place them on the windowsill.

She turned back to him and grinned. “Push her off you. Do you want coffee? I’ll make some.”

Chris shook his head. “I’d rather hold you close, kiss you. Make love to you.”

She went into his arms.

Chris let the bliss her hug brought flow through him for a whole minute before he picked her up to take her to bed.

They nestled against each other. It was far into the night. Chris didn’t think he could move again, their lovemaking had been so special.

Emily kissed his jaw. She bit gently along to his chin and then kissed his mouth.

It brought a wave of melting desire and he smiled.

She settled back in his arms and traced her fingers along his face.

“I know this will seem incredible, but I had a visitor to the roof garden tonight, a cat. Not an ordinary cat, a mountain lion, I think. It’s not the first time I’ve seen it.”

His heart skipped a beat and he moved to look down into her face.

“A mountain lion? Surely just a large ginger cat.” His instinct to cover what he was took over.

Emily gazed up into his face.

The room was in darkness, but he could see her expression clearly, astonishment, puzzlement, indecision.

“What is it, Emily?” He moved again, to put his arm around her.

She reached her hand to his face. She caressed his cheekbone. “Your eyes. They flickered, green, a beautiful green, like the mountain lion’s eyes.”

Chris went cold with fear. “It’s probably the reflection from the clock.” He lay down quickly and stared at the ceiling. He’d forgotten that even a little light could start the flicker in his eyes. Along with his extra strength and heightened senses, this peculiarity developed, and he’d managed it for years.

He could tell Emily wasn’t convinced.

She propped herself on her elbow and after glancing at the digital clock, which had a glowing red display, she sighed. “Maybe it was this time. Did I upset you? I didn’t mean it in a bad way. You’re always beautiful to me.”

Chris pulled her to his kiss. He kissed her to drive away her doubt, to extinguish the ache that pestered in his heart at lying to her and she responded.

She kissed him until they made love again.

“You’re so sexy. The way you’re wet for me…” His voice throaty, he put fingers in and then out of her slick pussy. “Sit up, sit up, and watch me. Watch my fingers go into you, pump into you.”

She shuffled to sit, her eyes wide.

Chris flipped on her bedside lamp.

Emily blinked in the sudden flood of light, but it was low, and she looked into his gaze.

“Open your legs.” Chris held her thighs and moved them further apart. He watched her eyes darken, the tip of her tongue, moisten her lip quickly. It fascinated him into leaning in and kissing her. His eyes half closed, heavy with lust.
Fuck, I’ll never get enough of her.
He moved back and traced around her stomach with kisses, feeling her muscles jump under his mouth. He whispered, “Watch me.” He pushed his fingers into her wetness and slipped them into her pussy and out again until she writhed and tried to reach his body, but he knelt watching her.

“Chris.” Her whisper made him pump his fingers into her pussy faster as he gazed into her eyes.

“Tell me what you want.”

She didn’t answer, just gave a low moan.

He bent to lick at her inner thighs. He pulled his fingers from her and licked at her creaming pussy. He sucked on her clit and she bucked to his face. Her gasp, her low moans told him she was close to orgasm. Chris pushed two fingers into her, sucked on her clit, and stroked the spot inside her where he knew she’d convulse with deep sensation. Her groan, her pussy clenching on his fingers, the way her clit thrust up as he sucked gave him the hardest erection he’d ever had. He rubbed his face in her cream and breathed in the scent of her orgasm. She was his.

Chris took his fingers away, grasped her thighs to bring her forward, and fucked her. His cock coated with her cream slipped in long thrusts and he groaned with every one. He saw her watching him still, the way he’d asked. His stomach muscles clenched inward, and his orgasm ripped through his cock. It streaked from under between his legs, and he jerked into her as hard as he could, wanting to go deeper and make the orgasm last.
Harder, fuck her so hard.

The waves of orgasm died away. Chris took a deep ragged breath. He inspected her thighs where he’d held them apart to make sure he hadn’t bruised her. He bent to kiss her stomach and then lay between her legs, his cock still throbbing in her pussy. Her cream still on his lips, he licked them and savored the fresh spicy taste of her.

He sighed against her neck. “I am so in love with you. I love you more than I have the words to tell you. Please never doubt that, Emily.” Something, a strange premonition of sadness brought the words tearing from his heart. He nuzzled into her shoulder as she stroked his back and held him close.

Chris had to leave Emily early that morning. She was rosy with love, and her tender kisses filled him with longing to stay with her, but there were rehearsals arranged. Reluctantly, he left her.

She wasn’t going to be at the gig that night. She had to be up early the next morning for a staff meeting. They’d arranged to meet for her lunch break from work at Café in the Park,
neither wanting to wait until Monday night to see each other
.

He wouldn’t have another gig that week, and he intended to spend every night he could with her. As he drove home to catch up with Art, shower, and change, he considered how Emily had accepted his story about the green flicker in his eyes. The bedside lamp had added enough light to stop that happening as he’d made love to her, but her words, ‘this time’ nagged at him.
She’s seen the green glimmer before and never said anything. She’s seen the mountain lion…felt delighted by it.
Maybe things would be okay, but then what was that strange ripple of fear he experienced even now, as he reached home and parked his car.

I’m just afraid of losing her. I’m being an idiot.