Chapter Twenty-Five

Sliding his long fingers through her hair, Richie loosened the band and tugged her ponytail out, letting the dark, silky strands flow over his hand.  He loved long hair on a woman.  She relaxed more fully into him and moaned softly as he lightly massaged her head.  As he toyed with her hair he felt her breathing even out and deepen.  His lips curved into a satisfied smile.  She had fallen asleep on him.  He also liked a woman who liked to cuddle. Tipping his head, he brushed his lips across the top of her head.

The movie played on unnoticed, white noise in the background.  He looked down again at the woman sleeping in his arms.  Her long dark eyelashes rested against a soft, creamy cheek.  He hadn’t been looking for a relationship.  Hadn’t thought he needed a woman in his life again right now.  But somehow, karma had known something he hadn’t and sent this woman to intervene in his life.  He was a big believer in karma, fate, luck, whatever you wanted to call it.  This woman had come into his life for a reason and he wasn’t going to question it.  He was just going to enjoy her for as long as he was destined to have her.

Carefully lifting his hip, he slipped his phone from his pocket and turned it on.  Holding it over them, he snapped a quick picture.  He was going to be away for nearly a month, he wanted something, even just a picture, to take with him, to remind him of what was waiting for him back home.

She moved against him, her knee eased across his hip, resting just below his crotch.  He wrapped his arm more tightly around her.  A warmth slid through him, easing his heart and soothing his soul. Sitting here in this dim living room with this warm, soft woman lying in his arms, he felt more content than he had in as long as he could remember.  He missed this; just being able to sit on the couch together and watch a movie.  He chuckled quietly and fluttered kisses across her forehead, even if one of them had fallen asleep.  He missed the normal, everyday things that he had taken for granted when he had been married.

His fingers wandered to the hem of her sweatshirt, finding their way to the soft, warm skin beneath.  He caressed her lower back lightly.  He had needed this tonight just as much as she had.

Shifting slightly, Stephanie blinked her eyes open and looked to the television.  The movie was still playing.  She couldn’t have been asleep that long.  Raising her head, she breathed in the warm, musky male scent that was all Richie.  She glanced up, his head was resting against the couch cushion, his eyes were closed.  She couldn’t help the quiet smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth.  He was still here.  He hadn’t turned tail and ran at her cranky behavior just a short while before.

Levering herself up, her knee slid higher, drifting across his crotch.  He started under her.

“Be careful with that knee, sweetheart.”

Looking up, his eyes were still closed, but he was no longer asleep.  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.”

He opened his eyes.  They immediately found hers, even in the dim light of the room. “S’okay, just don’t make any sudden movements.”  His lips curved into a smile.  “I’m kinda fond that particular part of my anatomy.”

Without thinking, she let go with the first words that came to mind.  “From what I understand, you should be proud of that particular part of your anatomy.”  As soon as the words passed her lips, she clamped her mouth shut and squeezed her eyes closed.  She was glad for the dark room. Hopefully her face wasn’t glowing with the heat she felt in her cheeks.  I can’t believe I just said that.

His eyes and his smile widened, this was the first time she made any mention of anything even remotely sexual in nature.  Even though emotionally she probably wasn’t in the best place tonight, he couldn’t let the opportunity pass them by.  “You’re a fan; I’m sure you’ve heard more than one story about me.”  He waited.  When she didn’t open her eyes or respond he stroked her jaw lightly with the pad of his thumb.  “You’re more than welcome to find out first hand, sweetheart.”

She shook her head and opened her eyes, silently damning Mother Nature and her impeccable timing.  “As ready and willing as I may be tonight, Mother Nature seems to have other plans for me this week.”  She leaned up and pressed her lips to his, “I’m sorry.”

His hand slid from her lower back to the curve of her bottom, pulling her more fully on top of him. “That’s all right sweetheart” he murmured in between kisses.  “That’s not why I stopped by tonight anyway.”  But he couldn’t help the excitement that surged through him. She hadn’t come right out and said it, but he knew it would be soon.  

Pushing back, she sat up and looked down at him.  Desire had darkened his eyes and, from her perch on his lap, she could feel the evidence of that desire pressing against her.  She smirked and rolled her hips.  “From where I’m sitting, I’m afraid I’d have to call you a liar.”

He chuckled and clamped his hands on her hips, holding her still.  “I have a beautiful woman on my lap, how would you expect me to react?”  He didn’t wait for her answer; he slid his hands up under the hem of her sweatshirt and gently tugged her back down on top of him.  It had been a long time since he had enjoyed fun, flirtatious banter.  Their mouths came together in a lingering tangle of lips and tongues.  His hand slid lazily up and down the smooth expanse of her back, slipping to the curve of her bottom, the back of her thigh, before wandering back to the gentle, enticing dip of her lower back.

Easing her mouth from his, Stephanie just looked at him.  He wasn’t Mark.  She stroked his stubble covered jaw with her fingertips.  No one would ever replace him, but maybe there was room in her heart for another man.  She hadn’t been looking.  Men weren’t even on her list of priorities when she moved out here.  But somehow, she managed to find one.  And he was as good a man as Mark had ever been.  She could see that in the way he looked at her, the way he had treated her since they first met.  She could trust him.  That much she knew.

Leaning in, she kissed him once more before slipping to his side.  She pulled the blanket up over them again and snuggled into him.  Reaching across him for the remote she started the movie up again.  “Why don’t we watch the end of the movie?”

He stroked her arm and pressed a kiss to her head.  He would have preferred to keep doing what they had been doing, but if this is what she needed, that was fine too.  “Whatever you want, sweetheart.”