Dancing in the Dark (12 page)

“This is pretty back here,” she said, admiring the patio and boxed garden filled with spring perennials.

He took a gulp of coffee. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“Yes, I did. And you need a friend right now.”

He sighed. “I do. I’m going to fight this, Charity. The board hired me over Mitchelson’s objections. I think he’s pushed this to show me he’s still in control. I’ll have to show him
why
I was hired. I’ll get this resolved to everyone’s benefit.”

She smiled. “I have no doubt of that.”

He leaned forward, closing the space between them, and kissed her lightly. She knew it was meant to be kiss of gratitude, but something indefinable passed between them. It was all wrong, but she couldn’t stop it.

He lifted his head and stared at her for a long moment. “I need more than a friend. I need you.”

His mouth claimed hers again.

Charity’s lips were soft and yielding and exactly what Jake needed. After the battle with the board that morning, he felt almost shattered inside. Only Charity could heal him.

His tongue flicked inside her mouth, circling hers, tasting the slight bitterness of her coffee and her own natural sweetness. He touched her cheek with his free hand, the silky, flawless skin that radiated so much warmth. Her warmth. No other woman could ever do what Charity was doing so naturally now. She was smart, she was beautiful, she was velvet over steel, and she touched something ancient inside him.

His hand threaded through her hair, and he loved the way the strands wrapped around his fingers. The kiss went on and on for endless minutes. His blood quickened, his spirit renewed. He finally eased his mouth from hers and took a deep breath. “I want you, Charity.”

A kaleidoscope of emotions passed across her face. He couldn’t read any of them and that was more scary than an immediate rejection from her.

She sighed and smiled, then took his coffee cup and set both his and hers on the floor. Leaning back against the seat, she slid her hand around his tie and tugged him toward her, whispering, “I’m not going anywhere, Jake.”

His mind reeled with the implications, and he brought his lips back down to hers. The kiss was fierce, their mouths ravenous to taste the other, the long denial over. He pulled her to him, her breasts crushed against his chest. Her arms curved around his shoulders, her fingers raking his back as desire flared hot between them. Her tongue twisted and turned restlessly against his. Her breathing quickened sensuously, the sound blocking out all others to his ears.

He kissed her face, her hair, her throat, taking her in and imprinting every inch of her on his mind. Her fingers clenched and unclenched in his hair. She made little moaning sounds as his hands slipped inside her blouse and his lips found the curve of her breasts above her bra. He pulled the blouse from her skirt, sliding his hand around her waist to the bared flesh of her back. Her skin was cool, yet his palm burned with the touch.

Her fingers fumbled with his tie, pulling it loose, then sliding it out from his collar. She unbuttoned his shirt, her knuckles grazing his chest. Each touch singed him as she pressed her hand against him, teasing the hair on his chest. His breath caught in his lungs at the sensations she caused. He spread quick, nipping kisses over her breasts, finally freeing them with a snap of the bra’s front closure. He pushed the material away and gazed at her in wonder. Her nipples were
tight points, beckoning for him to kiss them. He obliged.

Charity went wild in his arms, her hands pressing his face even more to her satin flesh. He nuzzled first one nipple, then the other, ringing them with his tongue before he took them into his mouth. She was like honey, sweet and nourishing, as generous in her response as he’d known she would be. Every touch, every movement, drove his own need to the point of sanity.

“Charity,” he whispered, pulling away from her breasts to kiss her mouth. He kissed her again … and again.

“Jake.” She ran her hands over his chest and shoulders, pushing the shirt down his arms.

He couldn’t think straight when she was doing that. Yet he knew he had to. “Let’s go upstairs. I can’t … protect you here.”

Charity stilled, realizing what he was talking about. If she ever could stop what was happening between them, it would have to be now. Yet she could no more do that than she could have walked away from him when he had been hurting so badly. His compassion had broken all her resistance in one innocent swoop. He had needed her, needed her intimately, and she couldn’t ever remember a time when a man had been so honest with her. But to go to his bedroom with him … She would be crossing a last indefinable boundary between them. The only way she could still keep a piece of herself for herself was to stay there. Whatever happened afterward to her heart, she would always cherish this.

She drew in a deep, slow breath and whispered,
“In my bag.” She sank down onto the window seat, knowing it could accommodate them. The thick cushions supported them. “I keep … protection in there, just in case. I want to be here, Jake, in the sunlight, where it’s warm and good.”

He didn’t bother with any questions. Somehow he found her purse and the small packet inside. He came back to her with a kiss of devastating intensity. They helped each other out of their clothes. When bared flesh touched bared flesh, her moan of satisfaction and hunger matched his. His hands were everywhere, stroking her thighs, her woman’s flesh, their strength tempered with tenderness. The glass was cool against her side, his body hot as he bent over her. She stroked his thighs, delighting in the feel of the rough hair tickling her skin. His mouth was like a blaze on her, igniting her blood until it ran hot and thick through her veins.

He caressed her, driving her higher, further into ecstasy’s flame than she ever meant to go. She touched him in kind, until he was groaning with his need for her. Whatever she had imagined Jake would steal from her with his touch, never to be retrieved, she hadn’t been even close to the reality. It didn’t matter where their lovemaking happened. She was in love.

The realization brought panic, then confidence. She kissed him with renewed fervor, caressing him with knowledge and wonder, wanting to drown him in her so that he never emerged again. Murmuring in her ear, he pressed the packet into her hand. When he was ready, she cradled him in her thighs, loving the feel of his body, warm and solid and real,
on hers. She buried her face in his shoulder and wrapped her legs around his hips, not wanting the feeling to end.

She gasped as he plunged inside her, the invasion shocking and sensual. He pressed his face into her hair, his hands knotting in the tresses, and held her for long minutes. Just held her. No words were spoken and yet things were said. Finally, he raised his head and gazed down at her. He kissed her gently, then again, and again. Long, lingering, drawn-out kisses that slowly intensified the passion between them. At last they moved together in counterpoint. Charity clung to him, straining against him, the ancient rhythms catching her in their intricate emotions. They moved faster and faster and higher and higher until she thought her body would break. And then it did.

Satisfaction spasmed through her, flooded her. She dug her nails into his shoulders, trying to keep from shattering in the onslaught. Jake cried out and thrust into her one last time. She went gladly with him into the velvet darkness.

Eventually she resurfaced. Jake was collapsed contentedly on top of her, his face buried in her neck. He held her close to him as if he wouldn’t ever let her go. She had the oddest feeling that the world had tilted on its axis, never to be righted again.

“I think my backside is getting a sunburn,” he murmured against her skin.

She ran her hand up and down his back in a light caress. “It’ll be cute.”

“Cute!” He raised his head. “I don’t want to be cute. I want to be sexy.”

“Too late.”

He chuckled. “I was afraid of that.”

It didn’t matter, somehow, that he hadn’t said “I love you,” or that she hadn’t said the words either. This free and easy companionship had its own building blocks for her.

“Charity,” he began, his expression growing serious.

“Shh.” Reaching up she touched his cheek, then pulled him down for her kiss.

“Do you suppose anyone saw us?”

From the other side of the kitchen Jake laughed as he watched her frowning out the window. She had put on his shirt as a covering. The shirt had never looked better. Neither had she, except when her face was a mask of ecstasy. No woman was more beautiful then. He didn’t know why she’d made love with him, but he wasn’t about to question his good fortune. Pouring more coffee, he said, “I doubt we were seen. I haven’t noticed anybody myself since I moved in. Anyway, it’s too late now.”

She turned, grinning at him. “How’s your backside?”

“Warm.” He rubbed the seat of his pants, all he was wearing.

He brought the coffee over to her. She took a sip, the faltering afternoon sun sending red-gold glints along her skin. He reached out with his free hand and touched her cheek. “Thank you.”

She smiled. “I think I’m late getting back to work.”

He put his arm around her and pulled her to his
side. She felt good there, as if made for it. “I guess I’ll have to dock your pay.”

She laughed. “The explanation ought to be interesting.”

He chuckled with her, then the amusement faded to a comfortable silence. Finally, he asked a question that had been burning in his mind. “Do you have regrets, Charity?”

“No.” Her answer was instantaneous, and very reassuring. “No regrets.”

He kissed her hair, content. She’d broken every one of her personal rules, and she’d done it for him.

“Jake, can you do anything for the people at work?” she asked.

“I tried, Charity. I argued all morning with the board of directors, but they aren’t budging.” He snorted. “They’re looking to save money any way they can. Health benefits are very expensive now, nearly fifteen hundred dollars per person annually. Multiply that by the hundreds of people Wayans employs.”

“But, Jake, the men there, they have dependents, children who need health care, new babies. Mary’s husband has heart problems. A private company will never accept them.”

“I know!” He stood and paced restlessly, not finding anywhere to turn from the truth. “I know. Don’t you think I told them all that?”

She rose and put her arms around him. “I know you did.”

He held her, grateful that she believed him and startled to realize that he had wondered if she would. Obviously, he still didn’t know her as well as he thought he did. “A lot of companies are eliminating health care.”

“That doesn’t make it right,” she said.

He nodded. “The worst part is, Charity, they left the health care for upper management.”

She stiffened and pulled away. “You’re kidding.”

“No. That’s how far their idiocy went.”

She muttered curse words he didn’t even think she knew, putting them in combinations that would have done a sailor proud. Then she rounded on him. “Dammit, Jake, that’s unfair!”

“Yes, it is,” he agreed mildly. “And that’s exactly what I told them. Do you feel like you just made love to a traitor?”

Startled, she stared at him, the anger draining out of her. It was easy to see he’d taken her by surprise. She stepped back into his arms. “No. You’ve played fair with us. I know how hard you’re working to get new contracts for the company.” She lifted her head, a funny expression he couldn’t define on her face. “Have you been teaching the board about this men’s movement, Jake? The whole thing smacks of unbridled machismo.”

He chuckled. “I’m innocent. Besides, three of them are women. There’s nothing more I can do today. Let’s go up to bed.…”

He began to turn as he said the words, then realized she wasn’t turning with him. He looked back, his arm still around her, and searched her gaze for an explanation of her hesitation.

“Charity?”

“I’d lose myself in your bed,” she whispered. “I’m not ready to do that.”

“What?” The words didn’t make any sense to him, yet they hurt like sharp knives plunging into his heart.

“I can’t.” Her expression was pleading.

“Okay.” He pulled her into his embrace again, stroking her hair, letting the strands encircle his fingers like trails of silk. Forcing aside his hurt and confusion, he reminded himself that an hour ago she had responded to his emotional needs. He could only do the same for her.

“It’s silly, I know,” she added.

“It’s okay,” he repeated. “I’ve been pushing you. I won’t hurt you, Charity.”

“Can you really promise that?” she asked. “Can anyone?”

“I can promise.” He knew it was true. And he knew another truth. He wouldn’t be the one to do the hurting if that time ever came.

It would be her.

“It’s late. I need to go.”

Even though she said the right words, Charity didn’t move. Her head rested on Jake’s naked chest and his chest hair tickled her nose, but she didn’t bother to shift herself. She couldn’t. Her body felt like contented jelly. The scent of him drifted along her senses, enticing her emotions with an age-old satisfaction of a mate found.

He tightened his arms around her. “You said you had to leave an hour ago, and look at how far that got you.”

“To the couch in the living room. It’s closer to the front door than the window seat.”

They both laughed.

“It’s not so bad here,” he said. “You’re getting closer to my bedroom too, you know.”

She knew. She tilted her head up. “I’m not there yet.”

“Hell, I have been. It’s no prize. You have funny notions, Charity Brown.”

“It’s my upbringing.”

“There ya go.”

She knew he didn’t understand, and even if he did, he’d still be hurt. What could she say to explain better? Nothing. She wished she were less wise and less cautious … and less confused.

Finally, when contented jelly began to turn to uncontented cramping, she disentangled herself to gather up her clothes. As she put them on, she said, “I really do have to go.”

He rose and nuzzled her shoulder, running his tongue along her skin. His hand reached around and covered her breast. For a long moment Charity gave herself up to the lazy sensations he was creating. Then she put his hand away from her. “Behave. I can’t go back to work
with
you, and that’s what I’ll end up doing if you keep that up.”