With or Without You (3 page)

The limo pulled away from the curb. “Anywhere special you’d like to go?” a detached voice spoke through the speakers.

“Ever been to L.A.?”

She adjusted on the seat, but no matter what she did the dress wouldn’t cover more of her legs. In fact the more she fidgeted with the hem and brought attention to her thighs, the more his cock twitched. He remembered having those thighs wrapped around his hips, buried deep in her hot, honeyed sheath as he had the best one-night encounter of his teenage life. A night he never forgot, even if the memories were fuzzy. And perhaps fate had unintentionally given them an opportunity to repeat.

“Of course. I brought Brianna to Disneyland when she was little. And anywhere is fine,” she said.

“To the beach,” Matt said to the driver.

“Can he hear you?”

He shrugged. “Probably, doesn’t matter to me. I’m content sitting here. I want to know about you.” Matt reached for the bottle of chilled champagne. “Would you care for a drink?”

She nodded and then turned her attention to the window. “My life is boring. You said Chicago? I’ve never been. How long have you lived there?”

“Pam and I settled there after medical school.”

“Pam?”

“We’re divorced. About five years ago. Rebecca lives with her mother—”

Her eyes snapped to his. “You have kids?”

“A daughter—she’s fifteen going on thirty.” Matt leaned into her and handed over a half-full glass of champagne. “A toast.”

Her fingers trembled slightly when they brushed against his. “To surprises.” Her mouth tilted into a quirky smile. “Life is never what you expect.” She tinked her glass to his and then drank. Not sipped, but upended her flute.

He raised an eyebrow.

She smacked her lips and handed the glass back. He still hadn’t sipped his. Instead of taking her flute, he grabbed the bottle and poured her another two inches of golden bubbly.

“To second chances.” He tinked their flutes again. Only this time she didn’t guzzle her champagne. Her fingers stilled. With each inhale he could see her nipples press against the silk of her dress. Quick shallow breaths told him she was either nervous as hell or as turned on as he was.

Memories of that night continued to flash through his mind. Maybe they were coming back to life for Tessa too.

His eyes remained locked to hers as he sipped his drink. Flavors exploded on his taste buds. Effervescence tingled his mouth. The sweet, chilled elixir slid down his throat.

Tessa visibly swallowed and her small pink tongue peeked out to touch her bottom lip. Maintaining eye contact, she lifted her glass and drank. Matt reached forward and took the glass from her fingers.

“Thanks.” Using her fingertip, she wiped a droplet of champagne from the corner of her mouth. He’d like nothing more to suck her finger clean and to use his tongue to taste champagne from her lips.

She glanced around the interior of the vehicle. Her discomfort was visible. Granted, it had been a lot of years, but they weren’t exactly strangers. As the show reminded them both, they were former lovers.

She turned away from him. “I don’t see how we’re supposed to sightsee from inside the limo.” She scooted close to the window and gazed out at the downtown buildings. “Just look at how dark the windows have been tinted. You can hardly see out.”

Matt moved to her side of the bench. Her shoulders stiffened. He leaned in close behind her and whispered in her ear. “The tint is to keep people from seeing inside.” Exotic floral scents tickled his nose. Her skin was warm and her hair was as soft as it looked, like spun silk. “I’m sorry.”

She shifted and his lips grazed her skin close to the base of her neck. “Why?” She glanced at him over her shoulder. Hot breath fanned against his face. She was close enough to kiss. Lips slightly parted, a bit breathless, pupils dilated in the darkened vehicle.

Blood thrummed through his veins and his heartbeat pounded in his ears. “Because I’d forgotten how beautiful you are.”

Her eyelids fluttered and lowered. When she lifted her gaze to his once again, her eyes were heavy with desire. “Matt?” Her hand rested on his chest.

“I want to kiss you.”

Chapter Three

A dozen different emotions warred in her head.
He wants to kiss me
. Well, she wanted to jump his bones. An imaginary string between her nipple and clit was strung so tight that slight contact with either sensitive region would have her spontaneously breaking apart.

But there would be consequences to encouraging further intimacy between them. No, it wasn’t smart. Yet his full, nicely plumped lips were so close. The sweet champagne scented his breath. On the stage, his kiss had curled her toes. Now, sitting next to her, the heat of his body warmed her. His hand, resting on the seat next to her leg, created an unexplainable anticipation.

What the hell? When was the last time she’d done something reckless? Okay, she’d done some stupid things in her life so that probably wasn’t a good argument. However, if she kissed him she ought to go to dinner too. So a limo ride, a kiss and dinner, but no further. Tomorrow morning she’d be on a plane home to Utah and he lived two thousand miles away from her. With the decision made, she turned her head and closed the distance between their mouths.

Oh damn, he wasted no time melting any shred of resistance she might have had. Soft yet firm pressure parted her lips. His tongue boldly entered her mouth and stroked the hot tissues within. Swirls of colors blended behind her closed eyelids. Her back was to his chest. Gentle fingers caressed her cheek. He nibbled her lips then sucked them gently. She moaned and hesitantly slipped her tongue into his mouth.

Matt growled and pulled her closer. His fingers tunneled into her hair as he positioned her head for deeper penetration.

Wild thrusts of tongues were followed by sucking and kissing. Matt’s hands never strayed from the skin exposed by her dress. He trailed his fingers up her arm and across her collarbone.

Before she recklessly grabbed his hand and placed it on her breast, she broke the kiss. “You’re a better kisser than I remember.”

“Kiss me again and maybe we can find out if everything about us is as good as I remember.” His eyebrows rose over passion-clouded eyes and a smile played on his lips.

Tessa’s cheeks heated. Before she could offer a reply the limousine came to a stop. A moment later the driver opened the door.

Tessa slid across the seat and swiveled her legs out the door, thankful for the timing.

“Somehow I think you’re happy for a reprieve.”

She didn’t tell him he was right. She didn’t have to after the way she’d scrambled out of the vehicle.

Tessa turned her face to the ocean. A cool, gentle wind tickled her lips. Gulls squawked and soared a few feet above the cresting waves. One curl after another churned the water, frothing white roared to the shore, crashed against the spongy beach and sucked back out to sea. The sun dipped low on the horizon, partially hidden behind the endless sea.

“Do you want to take off your heels and walk to the water’s edge?”

“Yes, but not in this.” She fingered her dress.

Matt dropped to his knee. “I like what you’re wearing.” His finger circled her ankle then he slipped off her shoe.

“Thank you.” She did want to feel the sand squish between her toes.

He slipped off her other shoe, trailed his fingers over her calf, then stood.

A gust of moist ocean breeze wafted up her dress. She laughed and plastered her arms to her sides to keep from exposing her bottom. “Are you sure this is a good idea? I’m liable to indecently expose myself.”

He grinned. “Then I’d say this is a brilliant idea.”

Matt handed the limo driver his suit coat and her shoes. When he turned back to her the wind lifted a lock of hair from his forehead. He smiled and she couldn’t tear her eyes from the lips that had wreaked havoc on her senses a few minutes before. She wanted more of the same. He’d always been attractive, but the man he’d become took her breath. Strong shoulders, tapered waist, filled out rather than the lean boy he’d been.

An ache pulsed in her center. It had been a long time since she’d had the weight of a man between her thighs. Not a need any man could fill. Her body craved Matt.

Tessa drank in the salty scent of the sea. The warmth of Matt beside her chased away the chill in the air. They walked toward the water. Sand slid between her toes with each step. A gull squawked, skimmed the surface of the water then soared over the crest of the white-capped waves.

She stumbled when Matt put his hand on her lower back. The movement brought him closer. If only it were possible to forget her life and drown in this moment. Brianna flashed in her mind. That was all it took to remember why Matt remained forbidden. It was twenty years too late for them.

“Let’s sit over there.” Matt pointed to a bench near the wooden lifeguard tower. There were only a few other people on the beach, couples taking romantic strolls along the edge of the surf. Tessa glanced at Matt. Wasn’t that what they were doing?

“Here.” Matt brushed sand off the bench then they sat. After a moment, Tessa relaxed. It was impossible not to with the hypnotic rhythm of the waves and the tangy taste of the ocean on her lips.

Matt leaned his head back and closed his eyes. His chest expanded with a deep breath. And then he chuckled.

“Care to share?”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “I’m just trying to put myself in your shoes.”

“I’m not wearing any and you don’t want the ones in the limo. They aren’t very comfortable.” She looked down at her feet and rotated one of her ankles.

He winked. “I wouldn’t have anything to wear with them.”

She joined him in the chuckle.

He sat straighter and in the process pulled her a bit closer. “When I walked out on that stage I expected to see Heather Krump. For a split second I wondered if she’d changed that much.”

Tessa did laugh at that. “Then you didn’t keep in touch with her over the years?”

He shook his head. “My sister still corresponds with a few classmates through email.” He inhaled as if he was going to elaborate, but then he didn’t.

“Why haven’t you?”

“I’d gone to an out-of-state university. I met Pam my first year. She was on the fast track right along with me. We went on to attend the same medical school. She’s a pediatrician. Anyway, once we started dating, I didn’t make much time for my friends back home.”

“I didn’t see your name on the list of those going to the reunion.” She’d looked. The website had current pictures of the alumni. There were several classmates she’d wondered about. Now she was lying to her conscience. Curiosity had eaten at her wondering how he’d changed over the years. Damn, but she liked what the years had done.

“No, I won’t be able to go. Actually, I really didn’t have any desire to see the old group.” He picked up her hand and studied her fingers. “I would’ve missed out on seeing you.” He raised his eyes to hers.

“Well, we didn’t hang out in the same cliques.”

“No, you were in drama club and debate. I was on the baseball team and in the chess club. But I remember you from a couple of classes.”

Drama and debate. She hadn’t thought he knew she existed, yet he remembered the clubs she belonged to. The night of the dance had been the first time she’d ever been alone with him—ever said more than a passing hello. Which is why she felt like a slut the day after their incredible night. She’d silently lusted after him for the entire senior year. At the first opportunity she’d slept with him…and then never spoken to him again. She shivered with the knowledge.

“Cold?”

She shook her head. “No, hungry.” Now that she knew she hadn’t been a blip on the radar and that he’d actually remembered her from high school, no way was she bowing out of the date with a headache. A team of construction workers could be pounding in her head and she’d still go. It was important. She wanted to learn as much as she could about Matt Toler in the next couple of hours.

After getting back into the limo, Matt noticed that Tessa seemed more relaxed. She didn’t stiffen when he sat next to her and her hands were softly resting on the seat rather than clenched in her lap. He wondered what he’d said to make her take her guard down.

The driver took them to the hotel provided by the show. Matt exited first and then took her hand in his, helping her out of the vehicle.

They walked through the elegant lobby, past the reservation desk to the bank of elevators. He watched her survey her appearance in the mirrored elevator doors. With a flip of her fingers, she fluffed her hair then smiled at him in the reflection.

“Do you want to go to your room to freshen up before dinner?”

“I’m ready,” she said. “Unless you need to go to your room.”

He would like to take her to his room as much as he’d like to take his next breath, but he didn’t think her thoughts traveled in the same direction.

They took the elevator to the thirtieth floor.

“We have reservations,” Matt said to the hostess. “Matt Toler and Tessa Brooks.”

She smiled brightly. “Wonderful. The show has taken care of everything. We’ve put you at our special VIP table.”

“This is beautiful,” Tessa whispered as they followed the hostess to their table.

Nestled in the back of the restaurant, the cozy corner offered the most amount of privacy. From their chairs they had a perfect view of the Los Angeles skyline. Towering buildings with lighted windows too numerous to count stretched into the glowing night sky.

“It’s so strange not to see stars.”

Matt held her chair while she sat. “It’s the same in Chicago. The city’s lights are too bright and the smog is too thick.” He sat to her right so they could both see the skyline.

“When Brianna was little, I went to school during the day and worked at night. I’d take my breaks outside and watch the stars.”

Matt popped the cork of the bottle of chilled champagne compliments of the show. “So it was just the two of you?”

She nodded when he positioned the bottle over her glass. “My mom helped me with babysitting. But I was with her every spare minute I had.” Tessa picked up the menu. “Everything looks delicious.”