Forever Kind of Love (7 page)

Gotta
go,

Teen off to dinner with Darla and her boy
toy,
shoot me now, gag!

****

Now -
Roni

She still couldn’t believe he’d offered her a job.
When she’d heard him say it she’d had to bite her lips to keep from shouting
out “yes” right there and then.

Roni
was worried. If she
and Taylor did hook up, she couldn’t work with him. That would be wrong.
Right?
If they didn’t, then she really couldn’t work with
him. That would just be like pouring salt into an open wound. No thank you.

Smiling up at the waiter of the quaint little
Mexican place, much like a cantina really,
Roni
thanked
him for her margarita. She was only going to have one, which given the size of
the thing, amounted to about four. But she had water on the side to keep her
head as clear as possible and she planned on eating a healthy amount of food to
help counteract the effects of the Tequila.

“
Roni
?”
Taylor said her name softly.

Jerking her attention up from the table, she
blinked at him. He had a bemused expression on his face and must have said her
name a couple of times.
Son of a bitch.
Groaning
internally,
Roni
lifted a brow in question. No way
was she opening her mouth just yet.

“You okay?” he asked.

Nodding, she reached across the table and squeezed
his hand. When she went to draw it back, he didn’t let go. Startled, she looked
into his eyes. What did he want from her? Damn it, she’d always had trouble
reading him and it was no different now.

“If you’re all tense about the offer I made, don’t
be. It was just a thought,
Roni
. I won’t be upset if
it’s not your cup of tea. Hell, it’s not mine either, but at least you’d know
what you were doing, unlike me.” He chuckled.

Shit. He thought she was that worried about what
he’d said? “It’s not that, I love that you offered, Taylor. And I will,
honestly, think about it. But I wasn’t
kidding,
I did
mean it when I said this night is for us and only us.
Nothing
outside to interfere, okay?”
Maybe she was pushing too hard, fuck, she
sucked at this stuff.

“Okay,” he nodded. Lifting her hand, he pressed a
kiss to her palm.

Shivering slightly with the brush of his soft and
yet firm lips to her skin,
Roni
clenched her thighs
together at the wicked look he shot her. Clearing her throat, she shifted in
her seat and sipped her drink, his look only getting more sinful by the moment,
like he could read her mind. Oh hell, that would be bad, very bad.

Finally, she couldn’t stand it and sighed. “What?”

“What what?” he threw back.

Narrowing her eyes on him she felt the urge to
growl. “What the hell put that look on your face, Taylor? And before you ask
what look, it’s the one that says you’re having naughty thoughts.”

In an instant his face went perfectly innocent,
practically angelic. He’d always been good at that.
Switching
up facial expressions fast.
“I have no idea what you are talking about,
Veronica.”

Liar.
Taylor only used her
full name when he was fibbing. “Uh-huh,” she said.

Then, because she was feeling a little naughty,
too, she decided to just ask. “So you weren’t sitting there imagining me
naked?” she said, taking a very slow sip of her margarita. Wrapping her lips
around the straw and sucking, before lightly running her tongue over it and off
the end.

She watched him the entire time and noticed the
jolt, like he’d been shocked, when she played with the straw. Very useful
information, she thought with an inner smirk.

“Uh,” he managed, his voice sounding raw.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” she said, stroking the
straw now, nice and slow with a little squeeze at the end. His eyes were
riveted to what she was doing. Oh, this was just getting better and better.

Then his eyes narrowed and he shot her a look.
Pasting on an innocent look, she batted her lashes at him and he threw his head
back to laugh. Grinning, she waited until he calmed down and lifted a brow in
question.

“Yes, I was thinking about you naked, except for
the heels,” he admitted.

Oh, now that was hot.

“Ever since I saw you at your house and you went
into your kitchen, I’ve been imagining it.”

Fucking hot.
“And, what else?” she asked, curious now.

He shifted in his chair and wrinkled up his nose.
“Really?
You want me to admit to my depraved and highly
inappropriate thoughts about you? Here?”

“Yup,” she nodded firmly.
Most
fucking definitely.

That earned her a glower that smoothed out to
resignation. “All right,” he muttered.
Leaning in, he wiggled a finger.

Moving to meet
him so they were only a couple
inches apart,
Roni
turned her head slightly so she’d
hear him easily.

“I imagined stripping you down to just your shoes
and watching you walk up the hallway. I’d grab you, spin you around, and pin
you to the wall. Then I’d...” He trailed off.

No!
Argh.
“Then?” she
asked, her voice way too breathy. God, she was wound tight.

He slid a finger over her hand and up her arm, then
back down. “Then I’d slam my cock into your wet pussy and fuck you until you
screamed again and again.”

Letting out a shuddering breath, she turned her
head to meet his eyes. Staring at him, unblinking for a long time, she
whimpered. She hadn’t meant to, not out loud, but it was out there and couldn’t
be drawn back.

“You like that thought, do you?” he asked softly.
His finger making the same trail up her arm and back down.

Since her tongue seemed to have swelled and tied
itself up in knots, she just nodded.

Smiling, he leaned back and laced his fingers with
hers. “Good. Maybe we’ll get around to that at some point tonight.”

Her eyes went wide as she flopped back in her seat.
Holy mother of God.

Chapter Eight

February 16, 1996

Dear Diary,

I’m exhausted so this one will be short. It’s
really late, like nearly midnight now. I just got home from a night out with
Taylor. It was amazing. Like anything that guy does could be any less?

He took me for dinner and then we went dancing at
the community center, they were have a big band night. Who knew? While I was
reluctant at first it, was totally so much fun. When we left, we took a walk
under the stars and afterward, he brought me home.
Perfect,
absolutely perfect.
And I got another rose from him for
Valentine’s day
. I don’t think that anyone else could give
me a rose and make me feel this way. He’s it for me.

Anyway, I need to sleep so that’s it for now,

Exhausted teen saying goodnight.

****

Now - Taylor

It was absolute hell to just sit there and eat
after his admission to her. Taylor knew he wasn’t in it alone. They were both
eating, but he could tell she was a little distracted. Good, because he
definitely was.

Wiping his mouth, he set the napkin on his plate
and pushed it aside. He’d managed to eat everything he’d ordered. Shocking,
since he couldn’t honestly remember what he’d ordered.

Roni
dabbed at her mouth
and set the napkin down, her plate just as empty as his. The waiter swooped in
to clear the plates and paused to ask if they wanted dessert.

Roni
shook her head, so
he did as well. He still planned on torturing them a little longer and taking
her dancing. But he had a feeling that wouldn’t last very long.

Picking up his beer, he took a long drink of it
before setting the now empty bottle on the edge of the table. Again, the waiter
appeared out of nowhere. Declining a second one—he was driving after all—Taylor
asked for the check instead.

“You’re being very quiet,” he commented, hiding the
grin that wanted to take over.

“Not really, I tend to put my full attention to my
food when I eat. I like enjoying it in every way possible.”

He nearly snorted at that lie, but let it slide.
Roni
had a right to be nervous. Hell, he was nervous for
fuck’s sake. “I thought we’d go dancing for a bit. There’s a nice little place
just up the way that has a band, so we’ll get some real tunes to dance to
instead of the crap on the radio these days.”

The disappointment on her face for a second, before
she masked it, made him want to puff out his chest in triumph. “That sounds
wonderful. I can’t remember the last time I’ve danced,” she said.

“Well it should be fun. I checked their website for
tonight and
it’s
old school, like way older than
either of us. Sounds like
it’s
big band night, so it
should give us plenty of opportunity to talk as well.”

“Good.” She smiled slightly. Then she looked around
the restaurant. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go to the ladies room while
you wait on the check.”

Standing, he helped her from her chair. His mother
had taught him to do that. He squeezed her hand. “We won’t stay long, but I’ve
been thinking about dancing with you again and couldn’t resist.”

She stared up at him with those big green eyes full
of little flecks of yellow and nodded. “I remember the last time. I won’t be
long, promise.” With a brush of her hand to his chest, she set off across the
room.

Damn her and that ass wiggle. He found his eyes
glued to her ass and could have sworn she gave it even more sway. Shaking his
head, he took his seat and noticed all the other guys eyeing her up. Clenching
his hands into fists, he fought down the primal urge to bellow that she was his
and beat in some heads.

Lucky for all those assholes, many with their own
dates,
jerkwads
,
the
waiter
reappeared with the check. Digging out his credit card, Taylor paid for it on
the mobile debit reader and gave the man a healthy tip.

Pocketing his slip and the card, he stood when he
saw
Roni
returning. Smiling at her, he felt his heart
clench when she smiled back. Fuck, she had him tied up tight. Likely always
would.

Taking her hand he lifted her wrap from the back of
her chair and settled it around her shoulders. “Come on beautiful, let’s go
dancing.”

****

Laughing softly he spun her around in a lazy loop
and tucked her close. “No, I can honestly say I’ve never done anything that
wild.” They were talking about the wildest things they’d ever done. She’d just
asked him about base jumping.

“I have gone sky diving, just for the hell of it,
with some of the guys from my old unit. But never base jumping. That takes a
whole different level of insanity to do. You need a titanium pair to do that
shit. One wrong wind gust...” He made a face and shook his head.

“What about you?” he asked her.
“Anything
insanely idiotic that you’ve done since last we talked?”

“No, nothing insane.
Well, unless you ask Darla. Apparently my moving practically across the
country is insane. But really, if you had to live with that and the ongoing one-upmanship
of her and Trent’s sick relationship, you’d move, too. If I could have afforded
it I would have moved halfway around the planet.”

Squeezing her closer, Taylor rested his jaw against
her temple. “I’m glad you didn’t.”

“Me too,” she whispered back, squeezing his
shoulder where her hand rested.

Closing his eyes, he breathed in
Roni’s
delicate scent, a hint of cinnamon on her skin.
A little bit of spice, suited her.
Smiling, he moved her
slowly around the dance floor, letting the music guide them as he enjoyed the
light brush of their bodies against one another.

One slow song slid into another. The band knew just
what the clientele wanted and gave it to them.
Romance and
mood in the music.
Perfection.

Not as perfect as
Roni
in
his arms again. Only thing that would make it better would be her fully naked.
And there went his blood supply again.
Son of a bitch.

She must have felt his cock hardening against her
belly. Kind of hard to
miss ,really
.
Roni
made a little mewling sound in her throat.

Lifting his head he stared down into her eyes and
swallowed hard. “Let’s get out of here.”