Page 89 of Married With Lies
It doesn’t hurt that he’s obscenely gorgeous and outrageously sexy and I’m absolutely dying to see him naked.
My suitcase thumps as I drag it down the stairs. Peggy’s apartment is empty except for her six cats and a burning candle. I blow the candle out and find her outside, planting tomato seedlings in her garden.
At the sound of my suitcase wheels, she looks up and brushes dirt from her gloved hands. “You’ll be cold later,” she says.
“It’s warm,” I argue. “The summer solstice is next week and I do have a sweatshirt in my suitcase.”
Peggy shakes her head and rise from the dirt. She walks briskly past me and I know I’m meant to wait right here until she returns.
The sounds of the ranch filter this way on the slight breeze. There’s a deep bark from The Doghouse. Then laughter from the paddock where Wylie and newly arrived Bluebell, whose owner recently died, are being led around inside the perimeter of the fence. Overhead, the cloudless deep blue sky stretches to infinity and the air smells of cut grass.
With a deep inhale of the perfumed air, a sense of contentment reigns. The scene is everything I’ve pictured and it’s nearly perfect. All I would need to make it more perfect is to have Cale standing beside me.
Peggy opens the side door and a black kitten named Sally tries to make an escape. She’s gently picked up by Peggy and returned to the house, a wise move considering hawks fly over regularly. In her hand is her latest granny square cardigan.
“Wear this.” She drapes it over my shoulders without waiting for consent.
The chaotic sweater features at least seventeen different colors and not one of them matches the green in my dress.
I slip my arms through the sleeves anyway. “Thank you. I’ll be back on Monday morning but Gus said she’s standing by if you need anything. And of course if there’s any kind of an emergency I can return immediately.”
“There won’t be an emergency,” Peggy says with complete confidence. Her mane of silver hair is coiled around her head in a thick braid. She’s one of the few adults who needs to look up to see my eyes. “Do you have condoms?”
If I’d been eating or drinking I would have spit out every ounce in shock. “PEGGY!”
She shrugs her bony shoulders. “My hands are full. I have no time to take care of an infant.”
“There won’t be any infant because there won’t be any…never mind.”
I’m sure my face is flaming. I feel as if I’ve been caught with my hand in the cookie jar. Naturally, I’m hoping for a whole of ‘never mind’ to happen this weekend but the entire ranch doesn’t need to hear about it.
As for condoms, I should have thought of that. But they’re hardly difficult to find. Cale probably has some stuffed in his wallet. Or else the resort surely has a gift shop where they can be purchased.
Peggy is already done with the conversation and on her way back to her tomato plants. “Remember what I said,” she calls before plunking back down in the garden dirt.
However, the telltale crunch of tires puts an end to all talk. A gleaming black SUV turns through the open gate and my heart starts thudding.
Cale is here. I can see him behind the wheel. He’s wearing sunglasses and he’s not alone. There are shadowy shapes in the backseat. I just assumed the rest of his traveling partners would proceed directly to the resort. Apparently not. I’ve never been required to welcome the mafia to Bright Hearts before. Except for Cale, and of course he doesn’t count.
But nothing can dampen my excitement over seeing him again.
The game face isn’t happening. I’m far too happy as I bounce up and down on my toes, waving with wild enthusiasm as the wide sleeve of Peggy’s granny square cardigan flaps on my arm.
Cale brakes to a stop halfway up the driveway and exits. His sunglasses are off and he’s grinning and I’m already running to him, although first I nearly trip over my own suitcase. Hopefully nobody saw that.
Cale jogs to meet me halfway and I fly into his arms. Good thing he’s strong enough to absorb the impact.
“You’re here!” I squeal, devouring the feel of his body.
My knees get hooked on his hips. My hormones kick into overdrive. One deep inhale and I’m drunk on his aftershave. It feels natural to brush my lips over the pulse of his neck. It’s fast, his pulse. Maybe faster than mine. Cale tightens his hold on me and moves his head in search of my mouth.
This kiss is different. Every other kiss was a performance. Oh, I enjoyed them all. A LOT. But we were still kissing for the benefit of other people. We were still playing make believe.
Cale uses his tongue and demands access to mine. He can have it. He can have everything. We can go upstairs right now and I can get the answers to some burning questions.
What would sex be like with him?
Overwhelming, for sure.