Mistletoe Magic (9 page)

“I’m sorry I don’t feel like going out tonight.”

“We didn’t make definite plans,” Melissa said. “And it’s nice to curl up and watch the fire.” She gazed into the flames burning in the brick fireplace before them, then turned her head toward the decorated tree in one corner of the room. “Your Christmas tree is pretty to look at too. When did you put it up?”

“Last night.” Rafe nuzzled her soft cheek, cradling her shoulders in the crook of his arm. The ivory silk of her antique blouse felt slippery beneath his fingers and he noticed the lacy edge of an undergarment revealed by the garment’s low neck—as well as a few inches of creamy flesh. Repressing his natural reaction to her innocent sensuality, he said, “As far as going out, I promise I’ll make it up to you. I’ve had one heck of a work schedule the last few weeks. I wouldn’t ordinarily ask a date to casually drop by my place.”

“What do you usually ask women to do?”

“Well,” Rafe began jokingly, “it might be too naughty to tell.”

“You’ve been doing naughty things with other women?” Melissa pouted.

Rafe laughed. “You don’t need to be jealous. I’ve rarely gone out with anyone more than once or twice in the past two years. I couldn’t find a woman I wanted to see more than that. And, despite your former ideas about me being a swinging single, you know I’m a regular homebody. I’d rather lie around on a couch and talk than go to some club.”

“And order out for pizza, right?”

“Yeah, but I plan to take you to a dozen places next week when we both have more time.” Melissa had told him she’d be on vacation from her job next week.

“I enjoy seeing you in any situation.” Melissa gave him a feathery kiss that, despite his state of exhaustion, made his pulse race. He kissed her in return, then nestled his head against hers.

In reality he’d like nothing better than to fill his stomach with food and retire for the night—with Melissa beside him. Then they could have the pleasure of waking together too. Of course that was impossible since the kids would be coming home with Louise later on. And Melissa would probably be offended if he suggested it. No woman liked to go to a man’s house and go straight to bed. Rafe didn’t want to rush her; he was hoping to build her trust before they became intimate.

“Did you see Gretta’s paintings tonight?” she asked.

Rafe yawned. “I wasn’t paying much attention, but she showed me some wild-looking stuff. Those kids have so much energy. We stayed up late last night decorating the Christmas tree—it was our last evening alone before they leave. And they’ve kept me going all week with their jabbering and packing. They’re both so excited about going to see Nicole, they’ve hardly been able to sleep. I only hope it turns out all right this time.”

“They had some problems their last trip?”

He thought it was time he explained a few things about his ex-wife. “Nicole’s always had difficulty knowing exactly what she wants. She skips from one thing to another. Since the divorce she’s had several jobs and moved twice. Last summer the kids came home early when she had to move to a different city because of her newest career plans. They were very upset.”

“It takes children some time to adjust to a divorce.”

“I guess so.” Rafe didn’t want to tell her how nervous the approaching trip had made him. Part of his present fatigue was due to his worry about his kids and the journey that would take them so far away from him. “At least I can count on Hank to take good care of his sister.”

She gazed at him earnestly. “It’s none of my business, but have you ever thought of getting back together with Nicole?”

Why was she asking him a question like that? “Are you kidding? We married too young and were never suited for each other in the first place. She wanted to party and jump from interest to interest. I wanted to nest. I’ll be happy if she can settle down and make a permanent place for the kids to stay when they visit her.”

Had she asked about his ex-wife because she was getting serious about him? Rafe was afraid to ask, but he was hopeful. Although they hadn’t known one another very long, he was sure he could get serious about Melissa. But even so, he was taking things slowly. Tending to be intense when his passions were aroused, he didn’t want to scare her away.

Half reclining against the thick upholstered back of the couch, he felt his eyelids start to droop. “Rafe?” His eyes blinked open when Melissa pulled herself up and placed her arms around his neck. “I’m sure everything will turn out okay. I have a good feeling about it.”

“Going to do some fairy magic?”

Instead of answering that question, she produced another kind of magic by placing her mouth on his. Lashes lowered provocatively, she gave him soft, exploratory kisses. His sluggish blood sped up when her small tongue slid over his half-open lips and her palms moved inside his shirt to caress his bare chest.

Accepting her mouth eagerly, he turned to fold her into a more complete embrace. She melted against him with a drawn-out sigh. The expression of satisfaction aroused him even further. Becoming aware of each sweet place their bodies touched, he deepened their kiss and placed one firm hand against her hips, drawing her closer.

Running a questing hand over her silky blouse, he felt her warm flesh quiver underneath. His exploring fingers slipped inside the blouse, several of its tiny buttons unfastening of their own accord. Beneath the lace of her camisole, he felt her nipples spring to life, hardening at his touch. Lovingly, he moved the material of the undergarment aside, then broke their kiss. She made a slight sound when his mouth moved to her breast.

Suddenly he heard a loud buzzing. He tried to ignore it, but the intrusive sound reverberated again and again.

“The doorbell!” Rafe exclaimed angrily, normal consciousness penetrating his passionate haze. “Damn! Is that the pizza already?”

“Probably. Aren’t you hungry anymore?”

He gazed into her clouded eyes. “I’m hungry all right, but I want a lot more than food now.”

“Me too,” she murmured. They stared at one another, hair and clothing disheveled. Rafe reached out to draw her close again.

But the doorbell continued to ring. Cursing, Rafe got off the couch to slip on his shoes. Glancing-back at Melissa reluctantly, he hurried down to the floor below.

Tucking her stockinged feet beneath her, she took several deep breaths to get herself together, then began to straighten her blouse. It was then that she heard it. In the quiet of the living room, underlying the gentle sound of the fire’s crackling, there was a faint but definite whirring or humming. Was an appliance running somewhere in the room? Fastening a button, she looked around. The sound was definitely nearby. In fact, it seemed to be coming from below.

Leaning over, Melissa inserted a hand beneath the couch and her fingers touched something cool and solid. Filled with curiosity, she grasped the strange object and pulled out a tape recorder. Quickly shutting it off, she traced the cord connected to the machine to the cushion beneath her. At its end was a micro switch. Although she wasn’t an expert in electronics, it didn’t take her long to figure things out. Obviously, someone had rigged up a clever spying device. The tape recorder had been set to run when she and Rafe sat on their usual place on the couch. The attached pressure-sensitive switch turned it on as their weight pressed against the cushions.

And Melissa knew who’d set the trap; it had to be Hank. She was sure the intelligent boy was capable of figuring out such a scheme. He must be watching her more suspiciously than she thought, wanting to hear what his father and his girlfriend were talking about—or doing. She was appalled at the idea. And he’d almost gotten away with it. Should she tell Rafe? she wondered.

Spontaneously deciding against it, and knowing Rafe would be back soon, Melissa took action to destroy the evidence. Rewinding the tape, she set the machine on record again. Then she placed the battery-operated device back under the couch where it would record over and thus erase the previous audio.

“Melissa?” Rafe stood in the doorway with the pizza box in his hand.

“Why don’t we eat in the kitchen?” she suggested, flushing slightly. That would be too far for the recorder to pick up their conversation.

“I guess we should. I’d rather continue with what we were doing but Louise and the kids could be home at any time.” He grinned wryly. After rising to kiss him lightly on the lips, Melissa led him into the other room.

While they ate the pepperoni and mushroom pizza, she once again toyed with the idea of telling Rafe about Hank, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. That kind of action was against her principles. What if she, an outsider to the family, started trouble between the father and son? Hank might just be going through a normal stage brought on by his anxiety about his parents’ divorce. Surely given time and love, he’d come around.

Hank certainly had better things to do than spy on his dad, Melissa thought, remembering all the toys and amusements she’d seen in the kid’s room. Where had he gotten so much stuff? She hoped Rafe didn’t indulge his son by buying him anything he wanted. Love that didn’t include discipline was never going to help the boy grow. Surely Hank had been wishfully thinking when he’d said he’d get his dad to buy him a computer modem. The boy probably did that a lot, she decided, recalling the day in the studio when his son had nagged Rafe for a video recorder. Had Hank already forgotten about that costly item?

Between bites of pizza she asked curiously, “Did you and Hank ever go to look at the video recorder he wanted?”

“No, but I bought him a new one for Christmas.”

“What a nice present,” Melissa said, almost gulping her food down the wrong way. “Expensive, though.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m going to give it to him when he gets back from California. Now he wants a modem for his computer too. I suppose being able to obtain data-base information would make it worthwhile and help him with his studies.

“You’re going to buy him one?”

“I’m thinking about it.”

Melissa grew quiet and willed herself not to intervene. The way Rafe chose to raise his children was none of her business—at least not at the moment. In the coming week she’d be on vacation from her library job and she was hoping since she couldn’t go home and had already told her folks as much, that she and Rafe could spend a lot of time together, certainly Christmas Eve and Christmas. Their burgeoning relationship should take on new and deeper dimensions, including the physical. Just thinking about the kisses they’d shared on his couch tonight was enough to make her toes tingle.

“Boy, am I tired.” Putting aside his plate, Rafe yawned again. “Now that I’ve eaten, I could fall asleep on my feet. Maybe a night’s rest will revive me. I’m glad the kids are taking a late-morning flight.”

“Should I leave now?” Melissa asked. Perhaps it was best, but she couldn’t help feeling disappointed. Although she’d already given up the idea of going dancing, she’d hoped they could spend more time together.

Rafe squeezed her hand. “Don’t go yet. I’ll drive you home after Louise gets back with the car.”

“But you’re so tired.”

“I’ll last an hour longer. Thinking about how much I’ll see you next week will give me energy.”

Imagining how she’d enjoy Christmas with him, Melissa smiled. Maybe he could help her put up a tree.

“In fact, you know, we could start our togetherness tomorrow.”

“What do you have in mind?” she asked eagerly.

“Why don’t we drive up the coast? Maybe we could stop at a nice country inn for a few days. All alone in the country. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

“Tomorrow?” Was that his Christmas plan?

“You’re on vacation now, right?”

“I’m on vacation from my library job, but I’m still working at the store until Christmas Eve—Tuesday. That’s the end of that position.”

“The kooky sugarplum fairy job?” Rafe frowned.

Melissa tried not to be annoyed. “Right, the kooky job that pays part of my rent.”

“Damn. I thought you had tomorrow off.”

“No, but I’m off tomorrow night, late Monday night, Tuesday night, and Chris—”

“But that doesn’t help our plans for going out of town. I have to be home on Wednesday when the kids will call.”

Was the most important thing to him being home on Christmas for his kids’ call? Why couldn’t he call them from wherever he might be? Gulping down the lump in her throat, she suddenly felt guilty. If she voiced her thoughts she’d sound like she was jealous of his children. But didn’t he care anything about spending the holiday with her? What did it matter if they went out of town? Being together was the most important thing.

“I don’t understand why you don’t look for a regular full-time job,” Rafe went on. “What would be so bad about it?”

“I have looked for a full-time job, Rafe,” Melissa said, annoyed that he was changing the subject instead of making plans for the holidays. “I simply couldn’t find one in my field. I’m lucky to have my library position.”

“If you had a normal schedule we could see more of each other.”

“You have a pretty strange schedule.”

“But that’s to be expected in my profession.”

“Well, I have a profession too. I’m a teacher who has to work library hours.”

“But it’s only part-time—”