Feel Like Makin' Love (Rock and Roll Trilogy #3) (17 page)

Finally, unable to control himself
any longer, he ran his hands under her hair, drawing her to him. Wherever he kissed, she felt fire. She pushed back to rid herself of the shirt.  Wearing nothing but the pearls, heels, panties, and a seductive smile, she scooted closer and felt him pressed against her.

“
I can’t wait any more, Carlee. I want you.”

A
s he slid with her to the edge of the sofa, she kicked the shoes off. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he carried her to the bed.

He shed his pants whil
e she waited. When he joined her she slid closer, and he reached for her.

“
No, Matthew; this is my seduction...”

~ ~ ~

Andy had reservations for the evening at Ronnie Scott’s. Geni spent a day at Harrods – without him – and shopped until she found a cocktail dress that the sales assistant said ‘enhanced her assets.’ It was black and revealed
just enough,
she thought. She found a rhinestone necklace that the sales assistant suggested was ‘perfect for the neckline of the dress,’ and then found strappy black shoes. She found herself anxious about the evening and decided to stop in the lingerie area and found something
perfect
for under the dress.

This was a
‘first date’ for them, and Andy wasn’t sure who was more excited. Geni asked him to dress in the second bathroom so she could focus on herself and not be distracted by the handsome man who would be her date for the evening.

She did her m
ake-up and twisted her hair in a chignon. She slipped into the chemise that she’d chosen for under the dress and suddenly feared the ‘getting naked’ part that she knew would come later. They’d made love, but to that point ‘naked’ happened in the bed. She hadn’t undressed in front of him. She hadn’t showered with him; she knew what his naked body felt like more than the sight of him.

Everything
she’d chosen for the evening was sexy but not over the top. She didn’t want anything that would make her uncomfortable or embarrass her.
I’m not a young woman
, she thought.

She
added the finishing touches and stepped out of the room to the dining room, where Andy waited.

“
Wow,” Andy said.

“I’m never sure what ‘wow’ means,”
she laughed using a phrase he’d said to her several times in their time together. “You are pretty ‘wow’ yourself.”

He pulled her into his arms, kissed her forehead and
said one word, “Beautiful…”

“
I’m not sure about that, but I feel good in this.”

“Shall we go?”

It was a cold evening, and she’d found a classic wrap instead of a coat when she’d been shopping. Andy wrapped it around her, and she reached for her clutch, but he took her hand before she picked it up. He kissed the back of her hand and then her forehead again. He grabbed the clutch, and they exited to a waiting limousine.

They dined, enjoyed good
jazz music, drank champagne, and danced. And with each slow, mellow, jazzy selection played, Andy’s fingers traced circles on her back as he held her, nuzzling her neck.

As the waiter made his way around serving champagne for the arrival of midnight
and a new year, Andy slid his chair closer to Geni and slipped his arm around her. “I can’t wait to see what you’ve got going on under that dress.” He chuckled when he felt her quickly turn to look at him - saw the blush on her cheeks even in the dimly lit room. He ran his fingers up her neck, leaving a light touch and a gentle massage.

As the host of the evening raised his glass
and began the countdown, Andy pulled her closer. “7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3…” he nuzzled her cheek and whispered in her ear. “To us, Happy New Year, Geni.”

She closed her eyes, melted into his arms
.

~ ~ ~

Carlee woke in the middle of the night, curled into the hollow of Matthew’s body, his arms wrapped around her, one hand rested on the flat of her belly as he held her. When she moved, he pulled her tighter in his arms and rubbed his hand from her belly to her breasts.

“Are you awake?” she whispered.

“Mmm hmm…” he replied. “Can’t stop thinking about earlier,” he whispered in her ear.

“I want more,” Carlee said turning in his arms
to face him.

He leaned up on his elbow to look at her.
“Now?” he asked, hopeful.

“Yes,” she whispered against his chest leaving him breathless. “I want more of that Charlotte Russe cake – now,
” she laughed, and it was a throaty, seductive sound.

“Before or after?” he asked.

“Oh, dessert always comes
after
…” 

~ ~ ~

When Geni woke the next morning, Andy was sitting with his back against the headboard, shirtless, legs stretched out with a cup of coffee watching her.

“Someone can’t handle champagne,” he laughed and pointed to the cup of coffee waiting for her on the table on her side of the bed.

“Can too,” she grumbled, followed by a laugh and then rubbed her temples. “Whewww… What a fun night. I haven’t had that much fun in a really long time…”

“Yes,” he said with a smile, watching her, “it
was
fun. I can only hope it was as enjoyable for you as it was for me.”

She blushed, sitting up to join him for coffee.

“Probably ought to take a look at this before your phone starts ringing,” he said showing her the screen on his tablet. It was a photo of the two of them leaving Ronnie Scott’s.
Andy Stevens’s Mystery Woman
, the caption with the picture read.

“Wow, does it ever stop for you?”

“Only when there isn’t anything interesting to take photos of,” he chuckled. “I’m sure there will be more, now. Can you handle it?”

“I reckon,” she said in that southern twang that he loved
. “I’ve been in every paper in northeast Florida and southeast Georgia. I reckon I can handle
People
magazine.

He smiled, remembering
; that was the thing Beth hated most about their life.

“What time is it?”

“Just after ten,” he replied.

“Oh my, I haven’t slept past 7:30 in years!”

“Maybe you weren’t as crazy as you were last night in years,” he laughed.

“Stop,” she laughed. “I wasn’t crazy.”

“Not in public,” he laughed again.

“Stop it!”

“Do ya think it’s too early to call Matt and Carlee to wish them Happy New Year?”

“Probably, but let’s do it anyway!” she said with a mischievous
laugh.

“I’m gonna have to fill you up with champagne again
soon,” he laughed. She scrambled over top of him and off the bed to go to the bathroom instead of walking around the bed.

“Geni,” he called out. She turned and looked over her shoulder. “You’re naked.”

“I know.”

“I like it.”

“I know,” she said and rounded the corner.

~ ~ ~

When Matthew woke, Carlee was on her side, her naked body curled against him. He was still a moment thinking… remembering their evening, and a smile crept across his face. She’d been totally carefree, happy…
and sexy as hell,
he thought.

“Happy New Year,” he said leaning to whisper the words in her ear
, nibbling on her earlobe.

“I hope so,” she whispered back in a sleepy voice.

Matthew sat up and looked around the room - clothes were strewn everywhere. The middle-of-the-night cake plate was on the floor, and wine glasses sat empty on the bedside table on Carlee’s side.

“Oh my!” Carlee laughed sitting up. “We had fun last night!”

“I’ll wake up every morning of the rest of my life praying that sexy seductive Carlee returns.

She giggled and slithered her
body up his, pressing a kiss to his lips. “She will, but she thinks it’s better that you don’t know beforehand; she’s kinda fond of the element of surprise!”

At that moment the phone rang. “Hello Papa!” she said when she answered.

“You sound good!” he replied.

“It was a good evening,” she said and flashed Matthew a grin. “We had a lovely meal and the most scrumptious dessert…”

When she looked at Matthew again he knew she wasn’t talking about the cake.

“Got coffee?”

“Not just yet, we’re just waking up.”

“Well get it going
; Geni has a cheese Danish, and we’d like to come up.”

“Sure, come on – give me fifteen minutes
or so; you know I’m still moving a little slow.”

Matthew covered his mouth to keep from laughing.
The only ‘slow’ he’d experienced the night before was the lingering seduction. He darted from the bed, running to the living room, grabbing up clothes and shoes. He then ran to the kitchen, quickly putting dishes in the dishwasher and started the coffee.

Carlee was laughing as
he came back to their room. He pulled on jeans and a t-shirt, grabbed sweats for her, and flopped on the bed beside her. She started to get up, and he moved to hover over her body. “I need five minutes with you before they get here.”

“I don’t know what you think you can do in five minutes,” she laughed.

“Don’t challenge me,” he grinned. He rolled to his left and opened the drawer in the table. He handed her an envelope, and when she looked at him, she saw joy on his face.

She ripped the envelope open
and scanned the contents. “Oh my goodness! Matthew!” She threw her arms around his neck. “Oh my goodness!”

“I know. It’s not the final deal, I have to see the
Esquire, but it’ll be close one way or the other.”

“I’m so proud of you!” she said and started crying.

“Us, Carlee, not me. I don’t know that any of this photography stuff would have happened without you – the Butterfly Camp book, Tuscany and the field of poppies… It’s kind of surreal.”

“Six digits!” she laughed through the tears.

“Oh, but you gotta read the fine print. They want more. Not sure exactly what that means, but I get first shot at future ads; that’s part of the deal.”

“Are you gonna tell them?” she asked wiping her eyes, just as the knock came at the door.

“I’ll have to now, with you and them big ole tears in your eyes,” he smiled. “Come on.” He took her hand, and together they walked to the door, Carlee still clutching the paper in her hand.

“Good morning!” Andy said wrapping her in a hug. “You look tired, dark circles under your eyes…”

“Oh! I didn’t wash my face!” she laughed and turned to go to back to their room. “When I fell in bed last night it wasn’t even a thought in my mind.” She looked at Matthew and winked.

“I’ll be right back.”

“No, stay,” Geni said. “I think I just wiped my make up off with one of those wipes. We got in so late…”

“
But I didn’t brush my teeth either! I got up too quickly. I’ll be right back.”

She walked back to the bedroom, still holding the paper in he
r hand. As she departed, Andy turned to Matthew, “Has she been crying? Is everything OK?”

“Everything is good –
very good, actually. We’ll tell you when she gets back.” He went to the kitchen and poured coffee while Andy took a seat at the table. Geni watched Matthew and thought she saw a special kind of glow on his face and wondered what was going on.

Carlee returned a few minutes later and joined them at the table. “Is this OK
, or would you rather sit in the living room?”

“This is wonderful!” Andy noticed the paper she still held in her hand and waited.

Geni was in the kitchen to help Matthew and opened the fridge to get the coffee creamer. “Oh my! Is that a Charlotte Russe?”

“It is!” Carlee said. “Matthew had the most wonderful dinner for us last night and, oh my goodness, the best dessert ever!”

Matthew watched Carlee and stifled a grin, but felt his cheeks redden. “We’ll take that over too, Mom,” he said.

She grabbed plates and forks and went to the table
. As she put the cake down, she noticed that there were finger swipes in the filling. She looked at Matthew. He, in turn, looked at Carlee.

“Busted. I saw it in the fridge and had to have a taste. I’ll cut my piece from that spot
. It was soooo good,” she said and her eyes rolled back in her head.

Andy watched; the two of them had that look – that ‘cat th
at ate the canary’ look he’d seen before from them. A closer look showed a glow on Carlee’s face like he’d never seen before, and he remembered the night that he’d shared with Geni and knew.