Foolish Notions (26 page)

She closed her eyes and mumbled. “I
always do.”

* * * * *

Sitting at the bar balancing her
checkbook, Samantha realized that her day had gone by like a
beautiful dream. The night with James had left her invigorated and
feeling like a completely new woman. It had been a while since she
felt so alive. She had reawakened at seven, in his bed, and had taken
a long hot shower in his bathroom. It felt good, she admitted, but
she didn’t dwell on it. She took it at face value. She hadn’t
felt this good in a long time; there was no reason to analyze it.

Marie had received great news when she
went in for her last check-up. Her cancer had responded so well to
the treatment they weren’t going to do surgery. In fact, they
couldn’t even see a shadow on the last MRI. How could the day
possibly get better? She heard the front door open, then close, and
her heart trembled in her chest. She wanted to rush to the door and
greet him but knew she shouldn’t. Instead she allowed her body
to quietly respond to him as she remained seated.

James walked in with his arm draped
around his mom’s shoulder. His smile grew when he saw Samantha.
“Mom said her doctor’s visit was great.”

Samantha glanced up. “Yes, isn’t
it wonderful news?”

“I think a celebration is in
order,” he said.

Marie looked over at him when he
released her from the tight embrace. “My thoughts exactly. I’ve
already made plans.”

An expression of surprise crept across
James’s face. “Really? What are we doing?”

Marie looked from her son to Samantha.
“I’m not sure what the two of you are doing. However,
Helen is picking me up in fifteen minutes.”

Concern etched its way into his face.
“I really—”

Marie cut in. “James, don’t
tell me how it’s not good for me to go out. I went to the
festival and I’m fine. Besides, I’ve stayed home all this
time to please you. I’ve finished my treatments and the doctor
says I’m healthy enough to get back to normal activity.”
She looked over to Samantha. “Right, Samantha?”

“Yes, but he did say do
everything in moderation for the first few weeks.”

James tossed his coat over the back of
the recliner. “Where are you going?” He winked. “I
hope it’s not bar hopping into the wee hours of the morning.”

Marie smiled, happily. “I don’t
know if you remember but I happen to be somewhat of a card shark.”
She clapped her hands and rubbed them together. “My poor
canasta partner has been on a losing streak since Louise filled in
for me.” Her eyebrows shot up candidly. “Do you realize
what this is doing to our overall points?”

James shrugged, after taking out his
cuff links and placing them on the edge of the counter. “I’m
afraid I don’t.” He rolled up his sleeves.

Marie dug around in her purse and found
her lipstick. She moved to a massive mirror on the far wall. “Well,
let me put it to you this way: If I don’t get back in it we
aren’t going to make the TOC at the end of the year.”

Samantha looked puzzled. “TOC?”

“Tournament of champions,”
Marie replied, before pressing her lips together and returning her
lipstick to her purse.

“Of course.” Samantha
looked over to James, exchanging smirks with him.

“There is a spaghetti feed down
at the Rotary Club, so we’re leaving early.” She looked
at James and pointed a finger at him. “Don’t lecture me
about all the germs I might come across. I will disinfect everything
I come in contact with. Thanks to those little wipes you got for me,
it will kill ninety-nine percent of them.”

James’s gaze narrowed at his
mom’s patronizing tone. His intention had been purely directed
on her health, not on inconveniences. “I’m serious
about—”

Marie pulled out the little square
packet of wipes from her purse. “I know how serious you are,
Son. I think I hear her now.”

She blew them a kiss and left. “Don’t
wait up for me.”

When his mom disappeared, James came
from behind. “Almost finished?”

“Yep.” Samantha punched
several more numbers into the calculator and wrote quickly. She
dropped the pen and closed her checkbook. “Done.”

“You have enough money in there
to take me out tonight?” He nibbled on her ear as his arms
encircled her.

The contact was easy, intimate, and it
drove her wild. She turned around in the chair and faced him. “Does
a night of bar hopping into the wee hours sound inviting?”

He noticed that her hair was down.
Reverently he buried his hands in it. Starting at the crown, he
combed his fingers aimlessly down its length. “Unless you have
a better idea.”

“I’m full of ideas,”
she teased softly. Her fingers slid around his mouth, enticing him.

“I like the sound of that.”
His voice dropped. “I love being able to touch you whenever I
wish.” His hand found the nape of her neck.

“I can see that.” She
smiled. “I also think part of it is that you like to have your
way.”

He stroked the area that throbbed with
her very life. “I’m used to having my way.” His
lips touched the area where his hands had just been. “Besides,
I’m good at it.”

“So you say.” She was
watching him carefully. He looked as if he would eat her alive. She
pushed at him. “This is the first time we’ve had the
house alone. How about I make dinner? We can eat in that gorgeous
dining room you never use.”

He reached out and let his fingers
glide between the valley of her breasts. “You know what I would
love to do to this area right here? Kiss every inch of it.” He
glanced up at her. “Slowly.”

Samantha pulled his shirt from his
slacks. Her hands moved evenly over the soft cream material, undoing
one button at a time. Feather-light fingers ran across the dark hair
on his abdomen. “You know what I would love to do to this area
right here?” She bent down and ran her tongue around the rim of
his navel, swirling it gently as she did.

James’s head filled with
beautiful thoughts as her lips traced over his skin. “Tell me.”

Her voice was deep and sexy when she
spoke. “Fill it with a hearty dinner.”

He smiled as he opened his eyes and
looked down at her. He had an appetite but it wasn’t entirely
for food. “Food wasn’t quite what I was thinking.”

All seduction vanished as she became
serious. “I’m starved. I haven’t eaten since lunch
and that was some tasteless substance at the hospital cafeteria.”

“Since lunch?” He pinched
at her waist. “I don’t want you to wither away.”

She scowled. “I just might.”

“Do I have time to take a
shower?” He looked at his watch.

Samantha nodded and began to pull items
from the cupboards and refrigerator. She stacked them neatly on the
counter. “But don’t linger.”

James swatted her on the butt,
playfully, as he left. “If I linger long enough will you come
in after me?”

“No, I’ll just eat your
portion of dinner,” she yelled over her shoulder.

Twenty minutes later Samantha had
dinner cooking and the table set. She took a few floral arrangements
from the living room and placed them between the white tapered
candles she had just lit. Dimming the lights, she went back into the
kitchen to toss the salad.

The wine glasses she retrieved from the
hutch were an exquisite cut of solid crystal. She filled them with
merlot. When James walked into the room he caught her off guard. He
looked so tall, powerful, and elegant. She took in his essence and
then had to remind herself to breathe when she realized she was
holding her breath. She exhaled. Why was it when he walked into a
room it was if he owned everything in it? No one should have that
much confidence.

“Why are you looking at me like
that?”

“You can be intimidating at
times.” She handed him a glass of wine as she took in his
extraordinary scent. It was the same scent that had lingered on her
skin all day, making it impossible for her thoughts to be on anything
other than him.

James took the wine and placed a kiss
against her hand. His eyes rested possessively on her. “Do I
intimidate you?”

She blinked. “Sometimes.”

“Why?”

“You’re so intense.”
Everything about him was intense. When he loved, it was powerful;
when he was angry, it was destructive; and when he cared, it was done
with endless compassion. He screamed intense.

“You make me that way.”

Her mouth curved. “You had it way
before you ever met me,” she corrected.

He shook his head. “I had nothing
until I met you.” He traced his fingers over her face. “Dinner
smells wonderful.”

She had almost forgotten about it. She
turned. “Wait until you taste this.” She pulled a tray
from the oven and used a spatula to slide off a dozen stuffed
mushrooms. She put three of them on a small plate and handed it to
him. “They’re hot.” She turned to the sink to rinse
a few dishes. “That’ll have to hold you over for a little
while.”

James bit into it, and then rolled it
around in his mouth when it started to burn. “I think I’ve
died and gone to heaven.”

She turned. “Didn’t you say
that last night?”

“I actually experienced it last
night.” He moved to her and pressed his lips to the back of her
head. Nuzzling her hair with his nose, he took a deep breath.

Samantha took a step back, pushing him
away with a gentle bump of her backside. “Will you let me
cook?”

He moved away and raised his arms. “By
all means.” He snatched another mushroom off the plate.

“Can you get the olive oil for
me?” Samantha asked as she lifted the lid on the huge pot of
boiling water. Avoiding a burst of stream, she dumped two handfuls of
pasta into the water. She moved back to the counter and began to dice
the mound of tomatoes; red, yellow, and green peppers; garlic; and
fresh basil she had just washed and let drain in a colander.

James retrieved the oil from the pantry
and handed it to her; somehow he refrained from kissing her. It was
almost becoming impossible to keep his hands off her. He plucked up
his wine and went into the living room to turn on some music. The
distance would do him good.

As he popped in the CD and pressed
PLAY, the music along with the aroma of the sautéing garlic
filled the room. He sipped his wine and watched Samantha move about
the kitchen preparing their meal. It was a domestic act that millions
of couples did every day, but somehow it seemed exclusive to only
them. He had thought he would never see her in his kitchen, their
kitchen, again.

Finding his way to the recliner, he put
his feet up and watched Samantha as she took a huge green bowl and
filled it with pasta. She moved to the stove, stirred a large pot of
simmering sauce, and brought the wooden spoon to her lips. “I
love to watch you,” he said.

Samantha looked up. “Did you say
something?”

“I love to watch you.”

Samantha licked the sauce off her lips
as an unexpected flare of heat erupted inside of her. Just the look
in his eyes made her so breathless she couldn’t speak.

James savored the moment before he
spoke. “I could never get tired of watching you.” He
smiled. “Don’t blush. It’s the truth.” He
crossed his feet at the ankles. “After last night, the last
thing you should be doing is blushing when I give you a compliment.”

“I’m not blushing. It’s
hot in here.”

“How hot?”

She tossed some fresh herbs into the
sauce. “Stop teasing me.”

“I only do it because you look so
cute when I do.” He took a drink and held it in his mouth for a
moment, enjoying the flavor. “You’re lucky I’m
across the room.”

The wooden spoon she was using dropped.
She retrieved it and looked toward him. “Not another word until
I’m finished cooking.”

* * * * *

“Let’s go for a walk on the
beach.” James looked down at his empty plate and pushed it to
the side. “I can’t think of a better way to end this
scrumptious meal.”

Samantha nodded in agreement. “Sounds
wonderful.”

James scooted his chair out and offered
his hand. He led her out of the house, across the deck, and down to
the edge of the water. He curved an arm around her waist as they
began walking the beach.

“Look at the moon,” James
said.

Samantha looked out over the ocean. The
moon was masked with an eerie orange haze. “If I hear a
werewolf cry, I’m running back to the house,” she
laughed.

James pulled her closer. “You
have no faith that I could protect you?”

“I have faith that my legs could
get me back to the house mighty fast.”

He picked her up and spun her suddenly.
His voice was a low teasing growl when he stopped. “Don’t
make me show you how manly I can be.”

She tucked her head under his chin and
laughed again. She knew how male James was. There was no need for any
type of demonstration. When next to him she felt like nothing could
touch her.

As James set her feet back on the
ground he said, “Let’s go for a dip.”

Samantha viewed her blouse and skirt.
“I can’t swim in this.”

James pulled her close. His fingers
slowly undid the buttons on her blouse. “I agree. I wouldn’t
want you to ruin your clothes.” He slid the material off,
leaving her in a lavender bra.

“You know that color is really
starting to grow on me.” He traced a finger over the soft lace.
The wind started to pick up. It covered their bodies in a cool, salty
breeze that swept across the ocean to them.

Samantha sucked in a deep breath as he
teased her nipple.

“What if someone sees us?”

It was dark and the beach was deserted.
“No one will see.”

He found the zipper at the small of her
back. The skirt fell to the sand, revealing a swatch of matching
lace. He hooked a finger through the string bikini underwear. Moving
his hand under the fine material and filling his hand with her
buttock, he gave a gentle squeeze. “Remember what I said this
morning?”