Same Time Next Year (2 page)

And it kept him coming back here year
after year, to rediscover her and his feelings for her. He came back to lose himself
in the dark sweetness of having her like this, of taking enough from these rare
nights of passion to see him through another year of work, of children, of
mostly good, usually rushed, rarely life-changing sex at home.  

God
,
he was good
.

Gina shivered as Ty tugged the snug
panties down her legs, baring her cluster of tight red curls to him. To his
eyes, his hands, his mouth. His tongue. Her knees buckled as he licked into
her, and he laughed softly. “Sit down if you can’t take it.”

“I can’t. You kill me. Every time...”

“I know.” He leaned forward. Tasted
her again, another slick slide of his tongue. “Me too.”

She ran her fingers through his hair,
enjoying the feel of the silky strands, still thick and healthy. “I was thinking
about this... about you doing this... the whole way here.”

“And I was thinking about doing it.
Since I left home this morning. I sat in the office all day, with a perpetual
hard-on.” He chuckled, glancing up at her, a flash of hot blue eyes. “Just like
eight years ago. Sitting in that damn conference room downstairs, looking at
you, imagining what you’d taste like. What you’d feel like when I got you
naked.” He shook his head, laughing. “I couldn’t tell you a word anyone said
during that class. Or in the meeting this morning. You were all I could think
about. As usual.”

He leaned forward again. Gasping,
Gina fisted her hands in his hair and gave herself over.

They didn’t leave together in the
morning.

Regina White came down first. She was
wearing what she’d worn yesterday, and looked just as prim and proper as when
she arrived: her make-up all in place and her hair perfectly styled, with not a
wrinkle anywhere. No one who looked at her would have guessed she had just
spent the night having non-stop sex with the best-looking man Elizabeth had ever seen.

She was perfectly gracious when she
checked out. Smiled and said all the right things. Yes, her room had been
wonderful, thank you so much. She’d been very happy with the amenities and
service. Everything had been just perfect.

Yes, Elizabeth could just imagine.

The wedding ring was back on Ms.
White’s finger, she noticed, when Ms. White opened her wallet and paid her bill
with cash. “I’d like to reserve the same room for next year. The same night.”

“Of course.” Elizabeth made the reservation. And watched
Ms. White sashay out to the BMW, pulling her suitcase behind her, without a
backward glance.

Mr. Harrison came down just a few
minutes later, and if Ms. White looked polished and put together, he looked
rather the worse for wear, with his rumpled hair and wrinkled shirt and general
air of exhaustion. He managed another blinding smile at her, though, when he
paid his bill. With cash.

The wedding ring was back on his
hand, too.

“I’d like to reserve room 510 again a
year from now, please.”

“Yes, Mr. Harrison.”
Elizabeth made
the reservation.

And then he was gone too, out the
door and into the navy blue SUV waiting for him under the portico.

Gina beat the school bus home, but
not her husband. His car was already parked in the driveway when she pulled up
in front of the house.

She found him in the kitchen, his
head buried in the refrigerator. No doubt he was looking for a quick
pick-me-up. She wouldn’t mind a snack herself, after the night she’d had.

“Hi, honey.” She parked the rolling
suitcase beside the kitchen table. “I’m home.”

He straightened. Closed the
refrigerator door, with its kindergarten drawings and second grade progress
reports. “So I see.” His eyes wandered over her, taking in her prim suit, her
innocent eyes, her sweet smile. “Good trip?”

“Wonderful. You?”

“Couldn’t have been better.”

“Glad to hear it.”

His smile widened. “I think maybe the
new desk clerk got the wrong impression.”

She grinned back. “She did look
disapproving, didn’t she?”

He leaned back against the counter,
the collar of the white shirt unbuttoned and the sleeves rolled up to the
elbows. “It’s the names. You should have taken mine when we got married.”

“I had a business and a reputation up
and running in my own name. And I think it’s the wedding rings, anyway. She was
staring at mine. Or rather she wasn’t, because it wasn’t there.”

“Probably thought we were cheating on
each other.” He chuckled.

She laughed, too. “With each other.”

His eyes were warm. “I love you, Gina.”

She smiled. Walked over to kiss him.
Softly, sweetly. “I love you too, Ty. Always have, always will.”

His arms came around her, pulled her
closer. “It was a good night, wasn’t it?”

She snuggled in, put her head on his
shoulder. “It was fantastic. Just like every year.”

“But it’s good to be home.”

She nodded. “Yes, it is.”

His hands wandered south. “Think we
have time for a quickie before the school bus gets here? Been a while since we
used the kitchen counter for anything but cooking.”

Gina smiled against his shirt. “I
doubt it. I passed the bus on the next street coming home. In fact...”

Outside, there was the squeal of
brakes. A moment later, running feet pounded up the stairs, and voices rose.
“Mommy? Daddy? Are you home?”

“Here we go again,” Ty said, letting
his hands fall to the sides.

Gina laughed and stepped away from
him. “You wouldn’t want it any other way.”

And then the front door exploded in,
and the kitchen became a madhouse as two little boys greeted their parents as if
they’d been gone for weeks instead of just one night. 

“And they just walked out,” Elizabeth said, “big as
life and twice as innocent. As if nothing at all happened. Can you believe
it?” 

Her husband Jim shook his head. “Some
people, huh?”

Elizabeth
nodded. She turned on her side and
looked up at him. “That’ll never be us, right?”

Jim smiled. “Of course not, Lizzie.
Some folks just don’t know how good they have it. But we do.”

“We do.” She curled into his side and
closed her eyes. And as she drifted off to sleep, she couldn’t help but feel a
little bit sorry for Regina White and Tyler Harrison, who had to wait another
year before they could be together again. While she got to sleep next to the
man she loved every night for the rest of her life.

Want more romance? Check out this new release from Jenna
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