The_Amazing_Mr._Howard (22 page)

She reached for the glass, her sexy smile returning. “Thank you.”

He started to turn to walk back to his chair. “Wait,” she said, and patted the couch. “Sit with me.”

Blood surged through his veins at the prospect of being near her. Taking a deep breath, he strolled to the couch and sat beside her, so close their kneecaps brushed. He was struck by the paleness of her skin and her hair the color of an autumn sunrise through the leaves of a red maple. Surely Lefebvre would have loved to replicate her beauty on canvas. She could have been his new Chloe. Typically, he gravitated to women with darker skin that contrasted against his, but with Jennifer, he would make an exception. She sipped the wine and ran her tongue over her upper lip to capture a stray drop. “Very nice.”

He crossed his legs to conceal his growing arousal. “So, why did you need to see me?”

She took another sip and set her glass on the end table. “Van Adams has gone behind my back to the Board of Trustees.”

“As I expected.”

A series of wrinkles formed on her brow as her eyes narrowed. “They are going to cut your position.”

One of the buttons on her blouse had worked loose and she wasn’t wearing a bra. Tiny freckles decorated her breast like points of interest on a map. He longed to travel the road that led to her soul. To know her completely, every inch of softness, and every secret taste her body concealed.
This is madness. She is not here for that. No, she came as a friend.

He forced himself to sigh, believing some kind of response was in order. “I knew this day would come.”

She leaned forward and placed a hand over his. “Aren’t you upset?”

He stared at her hand, reveling in the warmth she gave, and then into her eyes. “Perhaps it is time I move on.”

She blinked several times. “My God,” she said, the words passing like a gust of wind. She flattened a hand against her chest. “What’s happening to me?”

Most traits associated with vampires were pure myth, the product of overactive imaginations, but the power of seduction was in fact a skill shared by nearly every vampire, whether male or female. If a woman maintained eye contact with him, she soon would be under his control as if hypnotized. He glanced past her toward the front door.

I should make her leave before it is too late for both of us. She deserves more than I can give her.

She lunged forward and kissed him. Pulling back, she swallowed hard. “I can’t believe I did that.”

He looked at the door once more, his mind telling him to make her leave while he unbuttoned her blouse. He worked his hands inside the silky material and feathered the blouse back and off her sloping shoulders. She trembled as he brought his mouth to her breast, his lips and tongue tasting with gentle urgency. His hands unfastened her skirt. Pulling back, he brought her skirt and panties with him. He spread her legs and worked his way upward, fingers exploring the softness of her flesh. Eyes closed, she arched her head and moaned.

As his tongue traveled a path along her thigh like a serpent homing in on its prey, a single thought repeated in his mind.
I should have taken a Viagra.
He longed for the days when he was young and physically fit, with everything in good working order. At his age he found moving his tired old bones around a confined space taxing.

As if sensing his discomfort, she asked, “Should we go to the bedroom?”

Sweet Mother of God, I’m about to fuck a saint. He stood and held out a hand.

Inside his room, he gestured toward the bed. “Make yourself comfortable.” She stretched out on the mattress with a purr. He dashed off to the bathroom.
This is madness.
His hands trembled as he opened the pill bottle. After swallowing the Viagra, he felt renewed and hopeful. If he could just engage her in a half hour of foreplay everything should work as required.

He returned carrying a lit candle, which cast a flickering glow over the darkness. She waited with open arms. A quiver of doubt tingled down his spine. Thirty minutes, he reminded himself, in thirty minutes, everything will be fine.

“You seem nervous,” she said.

He pretended to dismiss her with a chuckle as he placed the candle on the headboard. “Are you not nervous the first time with someone new?”

“Not really.” She wiggled up against him. “I can’t wait to feel you inside me.”

And you will in twenty-nine minutes.

“We are not teenagers. We should take our time.”

“Maybe we should hurry through the first round.”

I am about to step into the ring with Ali and my pill is guaranteed for one round only
. “We have all the time in the world,” he said, stroking her face. A tiny grimace revealed her frustration.

“Then let’s start making good use of it.”

Sex with Jennifer was like trying to fuck a lascivious tiger. It was all he could do to hang on as she rolled him around the bed. “Jennifer,” he said, glancing at the clock and noting he still had twenty minutes until the pill kicked in, “if you do not slow down, my heart will explode.”

“Don’t worry, Professor. You’ll do fine.” She winked and slid down his stomach. The tiger latched on as if lunging for a steak.

He suppressed a scream as she went to work, and melted into the sheets as his resistance faded. She was a magician with her tongue. If she were a prostitute, he would double her fare because she made him feel that good. She suddenly sat up and raised her hips. Before he could protest, she took hold of him and positioned herself for entry. He glanced at the clock.
Damn, fifteen more minutes to go.

Too late.

He slid inside her with a soft “oh Lord” whispering from his lips.

“That’s right,” she said, her hips grinding around and around like a machine that couldn’t be turned off.

Blood surged into his member and he thanked God for the miracle workers at Pfizer. This was one old vampire who would last through the first round. After that, he could promise nothing.

He grabbed hold of her buttocks, silky soft and firm. Something caught his eye. He squinted. Leslie stood at the foot of the bed, arms folded over her chest, staring at him with an exasperated look.

Am I hallucinating? What is in that pill?

Then it hit him. He grabbed the tiger by her waist and tossed her onto her back.

“Hey,” Jennifer said and punched his arm. “What was that for?” She followed his gaze to the end of the bed. “Oh shit.”

“You were supposed to drive me to the airport,” Leslie said, her voice hollow and without emotion.

He rolled off the bed and hurried to her. Taking her elbow, he steered Leslie away from the bed. “This looks bad, yes?”

Her gaze traveled to his erection. “Not to Jennifer.”

He massaged the back of his neck, his attention shifting between the two women. Jennifer sat up on the bed, the sheet pulled only to her waist, her breasts exposed and inviting.

She is doing that on purpose.

The women maintained eye contact. Any second, he expected them to be at each other’s throats. “I am sorry, Leslie.”

“Liar.”

He reached out to touch her cheek and she pulled back. “Please, listen.”

“Hey, you don’t owe me a damn thing.”

He grabbed her arm and turned her away from the bed. “I will not apologize for doing what comes naturally to me. I am a man who likes to make love to women. Jennifer showed up to tell me the board is going to let me go. After that, human nature kicked in and here we are.”

“You couldn’t even wait until I was gone to replace me in your bed.”

“Never replace.”

She raised her face to the ceiling, hands raised, as if seeking divine intervention. “Spare me the bullshit.”

“Every woman brings a unique talent to the bed. Some, like Jennifer are wild and impulsive. You on the other hand knew how to find pleasure and make it last. I say this with complete honesty. You are the best lover I have ever had.”

“And you probably told her the same thing right before I walked in.”

Jennifer slid off the bed and approached with an exotic sway of her hips. Leslie’s eyes widened as Jennifer’s naked body pressed against her. “What are you doing?”

Jennifer laid a finger against Leslie’s lips. “No words.”

Leslie blinked several times. “What?”

The tiger moved with lightning reflexes, arms encircling its prey, mouth pressed against the mouth of its victim. Leslie pulled back and blinked several times. “Wait a second.”

“We both know you want this,” Jennifer said, her words drawn out in a sexy whisper.

Leslie twisted against the tiger’s hold, a mumbled protest squeaking from her throat, then relaxed. The tiger and its prey joined in a flurry of kisses and probing hands. They stumbled toward the bed, Leslie’s clothes flying off like a kite with a broken string. He strolled over to his chair and sat, not that they noticed. As he watched them entwine, he couldn’t help but think God was a ninny hammer to believe Eve needed Adam for anything more than his semen. If Lilith had wandered back into the picture, she and Eve would have managed quite nicely without Adam around.

The tiger rolled and fought for position, only to surrender to the will of its new master. They merged and flowed like lacey curtains swimming in a summer breeze. Hands brought pleasure to places only a woman could understand, tongues massaged flesh and produced quivers and sighs. He looked past them to the clock. His thirty minutes had long expired. Soon, he’d be as worthless as an abandoned dream. But wait… the activity on the bed stopped and the women considered him with hunger in their eyes. Jennifer slid off the bed with a grin. “Come along, Professor, we haven’t forgotten about you.”

She took his hand and pulled him to his feet. His penis wavered between erection and total melt down.

I could take another pill. It’s not like it is going to kill me.
“I should use the restroom first.”

“No, you’re not getting away from us.” The tiger’s paw took hold of him and his blood surged.

She brought him to the bed where Leslie waited with open arms.

The weaker sex indeed.

He closed his eyes and surrendered to their will. They poured over him like the waves of a warm sea and he floated into a state of euphoria.

***

They drove in silence. Leslie stared out her window, a smile on her face. The night fell hard about them, darkness spreading like spilled ink over the passing scenery. In the glow of approaching headlights she appeared younger.

“What are you thinking?”

She turned toward him, her smile remaining. “You and Jennifer aren’t going to miss me.”

He would miss her, but the thought of Jennifer in his bed did soften the blow. “You enjoyed yourself, did you not?”

She looked down at her lap and nodded. “That wasn’t my first time with another woman.”

“I know.”

Her left eyebrow arched. “How?”

“You talk in your sleep.”

She settled against the seat with a sigh. “What are you going to do if the college lets you go?”

He tried to forget about the situation with Van Adams by thinking of dark jungles and mating tigers and secrets carried to the grave. The secrets that made a person what they were, the interesting side of a personality kept out of view, locked away for the private pleasure or pain of their owner. To Hell with Van Adams and the Board of Trustees. He weaved around a slow moving car. A sign announced the exit to the airport in one mile. “I will find a way to pass the time.”

“With Jennifer.”

“Perhaps.”

She chewed her bottom lip as she thought. “You can still move to Florida.”

He offered a smile. “I am still invited after tonight?”

“We have a history.”

“You want me for more than sex?”

She chuckled softly. “Honestly, you are more interesting out of bed than in it.”

He was no Casanova, but he wasn’t prepared to hear her say it.

“Oh don’t pout,” she said. “You’re not half-bad for a man your age.”

“Your words are so comforting.”

She laughed again. “Yeah, well, after tonight I might expect more from you in the future.”

Did they have a future together? He’d never settled down with a woman longer than a couple of years after Sophie died. How could anyone compete with a wife who greeted him each morning with a cup of steaming coffee and raised skirt? Still, of all the women he’d known, Leslie was the only one he would consider joining in a serious relationship. The sex was nice, but he loved her for her mind. She somehow managed to stay ahead of him most of the time. She was a Rubik’s Cube whose colors never matched no matter how hard he tried to make it happen.

“I have charged windmills my entire life. Perhaps this knight needs to retire.”

“I can’t imagine you retiring.”

“That is why I said perhaps.”

He pulled up in front of the terminal. “I can park and walk in with you.”

“I’m not one for good-byes.” She opened the glove box and pushed the button for the trunk. After retrieving her bags, she leaned inside the car. “I probably should hate you for what just transpired, but I can’t.”

“You can thank Jennifer for that.”

“No, I can thank you.” She gave him a peck on the cheek and pulled away.

When she disappeared through the terminal doors, a familiar ache settled into his heart.

Willard awoke with a headache, which was still better than waking up next to Doris. After popping two aspirin, he shuffled into the bathroom to take a shower. The warm water cleared his mind and he went through his schedule for the day. He’d need to pick up the kids after school. They’d probably want to visit their mom in the hospital, unless he came up with a good excuse for them not to go. He could say she was too weak and looked so bad after surgery he didn’t want them to be scared by her appearance. That wouldn’t be a lie. She
always
looked bad.

As he slipped on his shoulder holster, he almost wished someone would give him the excuse to use his gun. A piece of dry toast washed down with lukewarm coffee and he was out the door. He stared across the street at the Mason’s house and then at his watch. It was still early. He could drop by and check on the kids. “Nah,” he said, unlocking the car.