The Bride Takes a Powder (14 page)

Bernice and Ollie came by with cups
of coffee and water. "Thanks," she said. Straightening, she rubbed
her lower back with a fist as she sipped the hot brew. Gazing around for a
moment, she saw Mike closer to the river with the teenagers. They were resting
too. He slapped several of them on the back, and she could see he was thanking
them. Many of them exchanged tired smiles and high-fives with him.

His folks handed him a cup of
coffee too. He took a moment to glance over at her. Even through the back
breaking work and the pouring rain, she felt the promise of him, the warmth of
his affection. She felt like she belonged in this town. But all she wanted to
do was fall into a hot bath, then a bed, then fuck Mike to death. She lifted
her cup in a silent salute, and he did the same. Then the break was over.

And then things got worse. Where
before it had been raining heavily and blowing, now it became a deluge with
blasts of wind sheeting water into her face. She had to pull the slicker hood
as far down as possible in order to be able to even see the ground. Wanting
Mike and the rest of the people there to accept her as one of them, she'd be
damned if she'd let anyone see she was in trouble. But she was scared. This was
way more than anything she'd experienced before, and it was extraordinarily
dangerous. Spreading her legs against the power of the wind, she braced herself
and kept shoveling.

What felt like many, many hours
later all the sand was bagged. She massaged her lower back and gazed along the
banks of the river on both sides all the way past the resort to the east then
west to the park and highway. Sandbags were stacked and lined up to protect all
the buildings.

"You okay?"

She sagged back against Mike, then
straightened quickly. He was undoubtedly exhausted himself. "I'm fine."

"Ready for some rest? We've
done all we can. The sandbags are higher than the flood stage from twenty years
ago. We should be safe now."

"Yeah, but I'm not sure I can
walk very far." When she tried to take a step, slippery mud underfoot
spilled over the tops of her shoes dragging them down and almost sucking them
off her feet. Risking a glance up at Mike, in that moment of inattention she
felt her foot slide sideways, tried to catch her balance with the other leg and
tripped over a row of knee-high sandbags bordering the river. It all happened
so fast. She didn't have time to scream before she hit the water and went
under.

Cold! Water over her head. She
opened her mouth in shock but was oddly aware enough not to breathe in, knowing
she'd likely die. Just when she feared she might die, strong hands tugged an
arm and yanked her out of the river. Then strong arms enveloped her, but she
was in shock at the rapidity of it all. Back on shore and on her knees in the
mud, she bent at the waist. All she could do was gasp for breath and cough
water out of her lungs.

"Get it out!"

She finally heard a voice,
something other than the roar of wind and water.

"You're safe now. Cough it up!"
He steadied her with an arm around her shoulders holding her upright.

Still struggling for breath and
shivering with the unrelenting cold and wet, she clung to Mike. He opened his
slicker, sacrificing his damp shirt to shelter her against his body. He wasn't
much warmer, but he was a little drier. She hooked her fingers in his belt
loops and hung on for dear life.

"We've got to get you inside,
honey. Get you dry."

Through exhausted, traumatized
eyes, she watched people heading away from the river, most of the kids going
into Ollie's. She vaguely remembered his folks had offered free burgers and
fries to all the workers.

"I'm taking you home."

"Oh Mike, shouldn't we help
your folks with all those kids?"

"You're a good woman, Norah
Ballard." He gave her a devastating smile. "I'm so proud of you for
helping out. But no. You need to get dry."

She opened her mouth, but nothing
came out. What could she say? She'd wanted to be part of this effort. Maybe
there was a reason her eyes had opened and she'd seen the sign at the exact
moment the train clattered past.
You've
Come Home.
She let her gaze roam the river edge again, at all the hard
work. It wasn't pretty, but it would protect the town. She was pretty proud of
herself too. And she knew that tomorrow she'd probably not be able to walk.

Inside the bar was bedlam. The kids
and adults should have been exhausted after all the hard work. There was a hum
of voices then that was drowned out by the jukebox. But he didn't give her a
chance to stay long, bundling her up the stairs to his apartment above the bar,
and marching her right into the bathroom.

"Stand there. I'm taking your
clothes off and putting you in the shower."

Robotically, she followed his
directions, lifting her arms when he told her to, lifting her feet so he could
pull off her shoes and jeans. She barely registered that he had her down to bra
and panties before they were off, and she was standing in the shower being
pelted by hot water. And she wasn't alone. A naked Mike still had hold of her.
Thank goodness because there was no way she could stand on her own yet.

He did everything for her. Washed
her hair, massaged soap into her skin, and even knelt at her feet to chafe them
clean and bring back feeling. She watched him wash himself, wanted to help but
she was helpless to move. Even though they'd made love, these actions seemed
more intimate. He lifted his arms to soap under them, he worked suds into his
hairy chest and the most private of all, he bathed his cock and balls. She was
exhausted and practically unconscious but not so much she didn't notice his
growing erection.

Does
everyone down in the bar know what we're doing?
The thought flitted through
her mind, then she really didn't care.

Stepping out of the shower, he
dried them both off, swept her into his arms, and carried her to the bedroom.
He tucked both of them between the sheets and yanked up the blanket. Then he
slid his arm under her neck, drawing her close to his chest. "Sleep,
sweetheart," he murmured caressing her cheek, then kissing her lips
softly.

"I—"

***

What
in hell is that sound?
The buzz-saw rumble was ear-splitting. Too groggy
still to think, she tried to roll over and realized she was secured by an arm
draped across her middle, fingers cupping a breast. Her eyes flashed open the
instant she felt the heat of arousal race through her body. Against her back, a
hard body blanketed her and a hot, even harder shaft prodded her bottom.

She giggled at another thunderous
snore.

Chapter Nine

Mike snuffled himself awake, felt
the wriggles of the woman in his arms. He groaned, pressing his lips on her
neck, nestling his morning woody against her soft ass. She had such a luscious
ass. "What're you laughing at, baby?"

"Your snoring." She
attempted to turn over, but he held her in place.

"I don't snore. You must be
mistaken." He knew she couldn't see his smile as he slowly walked his
fingers through the lush hair on her mound and into her sex to caress her clit.
She arched, moaning. God, she was already wet for him.

Lifting her thigh, he tilted her
back and slid his cock into her sheath. They both groaned at the same time. So
hot and tight, her interior muscles rippled and squeezed him in time to his
light pinches of her clit. They moved in concert, slowly and luxuriously. He
nipped at the curve where her neck met her shoulder. She pressed his hand,
keeping it steady on her clit.

So
sweet. I love you.

She started coming. The pulsations
brought him over the edge, and he came in a fiery rush, his cum flooding her
passage. It had happened fast, too fast, but he'd never felt so satiated, so
completely in love.

Lying soft and warm in his arms,
her body continued to milk his cock, her hips moving in a slow rhythm
accompanied by her little humming sounds. He couldn't help but smile at the
thought he'd satisfied her so deeply. "I'm falling hard for you, Norah,"
he whispered, his lips brushing her ear. She didn't respond to his declaration.
"You don't have to say anything back. I know you've been through a lot and
probably aren't ready for another relationship. I just wanted you to know I don't
do this with every woman. I don't say those words. Having you in my life showed
me how lonely I've been. Oh, crap, I'm sure I'm mucking it all up." He
rolled to his back, rolling her with him, and nestled her head on his shoulder.

"You're not mucking anything,
Mike. I've never felt this way about anyone else, especially…my ex-fiancé."

"But you were going to marry
him?"

"Don't remind me," she
replied bitterly. "It's a cliché, but I never knew what I was missing
until I met you. You know what we did that morning?"

"Yeah." Where was she
going with this?

"I've never done anything like
that before."

"What do you mean? Doggy
style?" He huffed a laugh at the happy memory.

"No. He and I only did it one
way. The regular way," she replied sheepishly.

"Oh, baby, have I got a lot to
show you! I'm not sure I'll survive you." He held her tighter when he felt
her try to rise.

"What do you mean survive me?"

"I suppose you'll go back to Chicago
now. There's no more reason to hide since Dunleith knows where you are."

"I wasn't hiding really."

"No?" He kissed the top
of her head.

"I was just escaping the
humiliation."

"I'm sure that it's died down
by now. You have a job and a home to go back to."

"Maybe I don't want to."

He stiffened, felt his heart beat
slow down. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know exactly. I've
grown…attached to…to here. To you."

He swallowed and his heart sped up.
Please don't have a heart attack now!

"I feel like I need to go back
to…um…sort out my life though."

"Yeah, you should get your
head straight, decide what you want now."

"What do you want, Mike? What
if I stayed here?"

He could hardly stand it. Her
fingers played with the hair on his chest and started to wander south. If she
kept this up, he'd tie her to the bed and never let her leave. But his better
nature burst into the conversation. "What if you went home first, figured
things out."

"And then came back?"

"Yeah." If this was all
he had of her, her warm breath on his skin, her soft body cuddled next to him…

"Would that be something you'd
want?"

He looked down and met her gaze. "Are
you asking my intentions toward you?" Her whole body brushed and vibrated
against his with her laugh.

"Maybe I am," she
declared.

"I've wanted you from the
minute I saw you, even after you rudely walked away from me after I saved you
from Axel."

She chuckled. "Are you
kidding? Like I'd do anything with that Neanderthal."

He brushed his thumb along the side
of her cheek. "Well, I didn't know."

She was silent. Then, "I could
have handled him."

"Such bravado I'm sure. But I
wanted to rescue you."

"I shouldn't be rescued
though. I should be able to take care of myself."

"Uh huh, but…well, maybe I
needed rescuing."

This time she lifted herself onto
her elbow to gaze into his eyes. "From what, Mike? You'll get your job
back. You aren't guilty of anything."

"Not that."

"What then?" She frowned.

"Life. I was just marking
time, going along with no real direction. I'm such a boring, ordinary guy that
you'd never be interested in." He pressed a finger over her lips when she
started to speak. "All I want to do with my life is teach. I don't want to
be an administrator. I don't want to run the town. I don't even need to be
rich."

"Nothing's wrong with loving
teaching. It's admirable."

"But not the same as being a
big city lawyer with ambition to win lawsuits and make money."

"After this week, I'm not all
that certain I want to do that any longer."

"Norah, I love you." He
met those light eyes sparkling with what he hoped was emotion, happy emotion. "I
want you to stay here but only if you're sure this is where you want to be."
He wrapped a hand around her nape and pulled her in for a kiss. She tasted
sweet, tasted right. Breaking the kiss, he added, "This is what I've been
waiting for. I hadn't been interested in another woman in a long time. Then you
come into my bar—of all the gin joints in all the world."

"You're one of the nicest guys
I've ever met."

"Nice," he fumed. "That's
code for boring and uninteresting."

She placed a palm on his chest over
his heart. "Not in my book."

He gazed at her. She was biting her
lower lip. What was she thinking? "Do you think you can care a little
about me or is it too soon?"

"I…um…it is too soon for me to
think straight. You're right. I do need to go back to Chicago to straighten out
my life. You're a really special man, Michael Banning. Not boring or
uninteresting at all."

"Whew, I'm glad to hear that,"
he whispered. Then he kissed her. That was all he did, just kiss her. If she
didn't come back, he'd go and get her. It had worked for Marc and Phoebe.

While they were dressing, he said, "Between
loading sandbags some of the kids talked to me about the cheating. They
actually know more than I do. They know which kids' scores were helped, and
most importantly they know which teachers did the score changing. They just don't
know who to talk to about it."

"Moira. They should go to her
and as soon as possible."

He nodded. "That's what I told
them."

***

Mike brooded at his station behind
the bar. He'd watched Norah drive off with Dunleith. She'd said she might as
well ride back with him, clean up the mess of the cancelled wedding, return the
gifts, and write notes. She would also re-assess her future.