Love Me Tonight (17 page)

“She told me to sit down and let her cook, because it's me birthday. I didn't realize that she'd know what to do in a kitchen. Judson better know how lucky he is.”

“Oh, but I do.”

She swung around, and her gaze landed on Judson in a pair of black jeans and a red T-shirt. She wouldn't have been more surprised if all of her hair had dropped on the floor. The man was sex personified.

“Never let a man catch ya with yer guard down, Heather,” Henry said, his voice tinged with laughter and his eyes twinkling.

She closed her mouth, went to a drawer that contained eating utensils and looked at Judson. “You and Telford set the table. The knives and forks are in here.”

His laughter could be heard over most of that big house. “Yes, ma'am. Come on, Telford. She wasn't joking.”

She heard Telford say “You bet she wasn't” just above a whisper. “The sight of you all of a sudden got to her. I take it you don't usually wear casual clothes.”

“No. When I see her, I'm usually buttoned down.”

“Good morning. I'm sorry I overslept, but Marc—the baby—awakened me twice during the night. I'll set the table,” Alexis said, looking as fresh as a soft ocean breeze.

“The boys are doing that,” Henry said. “Where's—”

“Hi, everybody,” Tara said, entering. “Happy birthday, Mr. Henry. Ooh. I see waffles. Thanks for my necklace, Miss Heather. How did you know it's my birthstone?”

“I didn't. I bought it for you because it looked pretty.”

“You can thank Miss Heather for yer breakfast, Tara.”

Heather hadn't been in the breakfast room before, and she fell in love with the wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling window that let her feel that she was eating in the garden. They gave her kudos for the breakfast, and afterward, Judson and Telford straightened the kitchen and breakfast room. She had four hours until lunch.

“I hate to be away from you this morning,” Judson told her as they walked back to her room, “but it's an opportunity to see how far the brothers will go with me in this search. Telford told me last night that he went to Atlanta to trace Sparkman's steps there and discovered that a much younger woman visited him for a week but never came back. That fits with what Aunt Cissy told me. Somehow, somewhere, I'll get what I'm looking for.”

“You are so much like them that they're accepting your kinship to them, or at least that's my take on it.”

“Mine, too, but I need to prove it. If only my mom had put her name as birth mother on my adoption papers.”

“Who's name did she put?”

“I wrote it down, but I knew it was a fabrication. By the time I saw the adoption papers, I suspected that Mom was my birth mother. I'm going to check and ask Aunt Cissy about that name. Have a good time at lunch with the Harrington women. We'll meet this evening.”

She opened the door to her bedroom.

“I'm not going in there, sweetheart. Damned if I feel like holding you and gazing at a bed while I do it.”

“Oh, honey. You're a master at self-control, and I've
seen you exercising it. So, come on in here. I need a kiss.”

He stepped inside, fastened her body to his, and with one hand on her shoulders and the other on her buttocks, he swirled his tongue across the seam of her lips, made his way inside and possessed her, searching and anointing every crevice and every centimeter of her mouth, firing her until she slumped against him.

“It's all right, sweetheart. I came on a little strong there, but that's the way it is with me right now.” He hugged her to him, stroked her arms and patted her shoulders as if trying to ease her discomfort.

“It's okay,” she said. “See you this evening.”

 

Heather didn't think she'd ever had so much fun as she had with the Harrington women at lunch that day. She had never engaged in girl talk, nor had she an inkling of the amusing takes on men and life that intelligent, mature women could express. Pamela's dry wit and Velma's wicked, sharp tongue contrasted with Alexis's loving appraisal of people and life.

“Don't bother comparing yourself to Alexis,” Velma said. “She's a Quaker, and she doesn't even swear when she spills hot coffee on herself.”

“Don't tell her that,” Alexis said. “She'll think I'm saintly.”

“Don't worry,” Velma said. “She'll wise up. By the way, Judson Philips is a catch and only a stupid woman would pass him up.” She winked at Alexis and Pamela. “Does Heather look stupid to you?”

“Not to me,” they said in unison.

“Listen, girl,” Velma went on. “He's got the looks, the style, the manners and the profession.”

“Right,” Pamela put in. “He loves you, and if it swings right in the hay, go for it.”

“Don't I have to love him?” Heather asked with laughter in her voice.

“Oh, that's not in question,” Alexis said. “We watched the two of you. You're crazy about each other.”

“Yeah? I wonder what the men are telling Judson about me,” Heather said, letting them know she could hold her own. The women hooted.

“Are you all going formal tonight?” Heather asked.

“Not formal. Just dressy,” Alexis said. “A dressy street dress or something on the order of what you wore last night.”

“Thanks,” Heather replied. “I think I guessed right.”

 

That evening, Heather and Judson arrived at the hotel along with Alexis, Telford, Henry and Tara at a quarter of seven. Silver and blue balloons and streamers, bouquets of red and white roses, and a
Happy Birthday, Henry
banner decorated the room. Judson's hand never left her but was on the ready at her arm, at the small of her back and occasionally around her waist. In a dark blue suit that complemented her navy blue velvet pants and mauve pink velvet tunic, he looked stunning to her.

“You look wonderful,” he told her.

“So do you.”

Her tongue bathed her top lip, and when something
akin to a fire leapt into his eyes, she realized what she'd done. “Sorry. That was subconscious.”

“And all the better for it,” he answered. They walked over to the buffet table, which was laden with a great variety of dishes and lined one end of the room. The bar stood at the other end.

By seven-fifteen, the room was crowded. First Telford, then Russ and finally Drake offered testimonials of their love for Henry and their appreciation for his importance in their lives. Then Tara walked over to the piano, announced that Henry gave her her piano and played Brahms's
Waltz in A-flat Major
for him to resounding applause.

“My daddy said everybody can eat now,” Tara said when she finished.

“I didn't realize that Tara was going to play the piano,” Judson said to Henry.

“She told me she wanted to give me something that her parents didn't buy, and asked could she play for me. I told Tel that if she couldn't come tonight, I wasn't coming either, but I never told him she was going to play the piano.”

“She's a wonderful little girl.”

“She's me very heart.”

Telford stood with Alexis shaking his head as if in awe. Suddenly, he rested his glass of lemonade on a table, put both arms around his wife and kissed her. She took him in, and her face glowed as she kissed the man she loved.

Heather sucked in her breath and looked away, only
to see the passion in Drake's eyes as he gazed at his seemingly hypnotized wife.

“Love doesn't end with marriage,” Judson whispered to her and gathered her close and began to dance. “Marriage should make it stronger. I know that, owing to your childhood, you don't really trust it, but I believe it's up to the two people who share it to cultivate it and make it last. What I saw in my mom and dad really was beautiful. Up to the time of his death, he worshipped her, and she soon followed, because she didn't want to live without him.”

She made herself look at him. “I hope you're right. They're all lovers. Look at Russ and Velma. All they need is a bed.”

“Does it bother you?”

She shook her head. “In one way, it's reassuring. In another, it makes me wonder if I've done the wrong thing with my life. Until I knew you, I put romance on a back burner. We're around the same age. How did they understand life better than I did?”

“Don't think like that. Providence dealt them a good hand, and it will deal you one. You only have to open your eyes and your heart.”

A
s they prepared to leave the Harrington house that Sunday morning, Heather and Judson stood at Judson's car with Telford, Alexis, Henry and Tara. “It's been many a year since I met people who touched me so much,” Henry said, “and I know I speak for the whole family. I can't thank you enough, Judson, for me fishing gear and me camera. As soon as Tara prints them out for me, I'll send you the pictures I took at me party.”

Alexis slung an arm around Heather. “You were sweet and so thoughtful to bring Tara that beautiful necklace. She's a good child, but if she hadn't been able to wear that necklace last night, she'd have had a hissy fit. Fortunately for all of us, it went beautifully with her dress. I had to give Velma one of my sachets. She loves Dior as much as I do.”

“Are you coming back soon, Miss Heather? Please ask Mr. Judson to bring you back,” Tara said.

She hugged Tara. “Thank you, Tara. You made me feel so welcome.”

“We'd better get on the road, sweetheart.” He turned to the group. “Leaving here isn't easy. I hope to see you all soon.” They exchanged hugs and kisses, and Telford grasped Judson in a brotherly embrace.

“Drive safely,” Telford said, and they headed back to Baltimore.

Heather waved as they drove off. She'd never had a weekend like that one, and told Judson as much. “It was wonderful,” she added. “Pamela and I are meeting for lunch next Thursday. She's a newscaster at WRLR.”

“I didn't know that,” Judson said. “When is she on?”

“She's on camera live four to four-thirty. They run her taped segments at six o'clock.”

“I'm glad she works in Washington, so that the two of you can lunch occasionally and get to know each other.”

“Oh, I am, too. Are we going to see each other tonight?” she asked him. “I…uh…I mean—”

He stopped at a gas station, filled the gas tank and got back into the car. “Please don't qualify it,” he said. “I need to know when you want to see me, just as you need me to tell you how I feel about you. Knowing that you love me, that you care for me and want me gives life an entirely new meaning. I was going to ask you if we could spend the rest of the day together. We could get some food at one of the take-out places, play
some music and enjoy each other's company. I've been looking at you for the past two days, and I've seen a big sign that said ‘Be careful about touching. Everybody's watching.'”

She winked at him. “Passion flares highest when you can't do anything about it. When you walked into the Harrington kitchen in those tight black jeans and red shirt, I nearly swallowed my tongue. Unfortunately, both Henry and Telford caught my reaction.”

He turned the key, started the motor and drove off. “There was nothing unfortunate about it. Every man likes for other guys to know that his woman wants him.”

“I'm not your woman,” she joked.

“You're not a woman who can be convinced with words.”

“You have other means of convincing me?”

He flashed a wide grin. “Sure I have. Don't you remember?”

“I won't dignify that with an answer.”

“The real reason is that you don't have one.”

At their favorite take-out shop, they bought enough food for lunch and dinner and went to her house for a leisurely afternoon. “Who takes care of your dog when you're away?”

“I have a dog sitter. Rick doesn't like kennels, so I leave him at home.”

They put a tablecloth on the living-room floor, spread the food there and had a picnic while they listened to Buddy Guy play and sing the blues. “I've never done this before,” she said. “It's fun.”

“Anything I do with you beats what I do with anybody else,” he said, and after they ate, he put the food and used utensils in the kitchen, came back and stretched out on the floor with his head on her lap. Absentmindedly, she let her fingers play in his hair and at his nape while they listened to Duke Ellington's “Satin Doll.”

He turned on his side, put his arms around her and kissed her belly. He pushed up her T-shirt just enough to kiss her bare flesh. Shudders ricocheted through her as he adored her with the sweet torture of his tongue. She caressed his head, and when his lips drifted lower, heat shot through her, and she shifted her hips because she couldn't help it. As if he didn't know the effect of his kisses, he pushed her T-shirt higher and fondled her breast while his tongue wreaked havoc inches below her belly.

She told herself not to let him see how his maneuvers affected her, but he lifted her hips, spread her legs and buried his face in her center. It was too much. “Judson, stop teasing me.”

“What do you want me to do? Don't you want me to love you?”

“Oh, honey. I want you to get inside of me and make me feel the way you make me feel and stop playing with me.”

“I'm not playing with you. I adore you. I want to make love to every centimeter of you inside and outside,” he said, easing his fingers into her pants and under her bikini panties and letting them dance.

Taking him by surprise, she rolled him over, straddled him and took off his belt. She stared down into his eyes,
not sure that she hadn't gone too far, but the hot, shining lights in them encouraged her, and she pulled down his pants and his cup, finished getting out of her own pants and bikini, got back on him and took him into her. She began to move, and he sucked a nipple into his mouth and moved up to her with rapid strokes. Almost at once, the heat started at her feet and moved up her legs until her thighs quivered, the pumping and squeezing in her vagina shook her to the core and she lost control.

“Honey, I can't stand this. It's… I'm going to die.”

“You won't. Tell me you love me.”

“I love you. I love you so much.”

“Tell me that I'm your man.”

He slowed down.

“Yes,” she conceded. “You are. Honey, give it to me. I need it.”

“Who's your man?”

“Oh, Lord. You are. You're my man.” Screams erupted from her throat as he turned on the power and she exploded around him.

 

He'd tried to postpone the moment when she would possess him completely, thrilling him as no woman ever had as she squeezed, pinched and throbbed around his penis. But she exploded so violently around him that he was helpless to hold back.

“Baby, I love you. You're mine. Mine,” he moaned and splintered in her arms.

She had her head on his shoulder, but he moved it so that she could see his eyes. “I don't want another man to touch you. Not now. Not ever.”

She gazed down at him. “And I don't want you to put your hands on any other woman.”

He couldn't help smiling, because he'd known that she'd say that or something like it. “Not to worry, sweetheart. You've hooked me.”

She hugged him. “You blackmailed me.”

“It was a moment of truth, baby, and you told the truth. You're my woman, and I am your man. Period.”

They stayed that way for a long time, not speaking. Holding each other. His belly began to pinch him, and he moved her to his side. “I never thought I'd be happy with my back pressed to the floor,” he said, getting up. “I'm getting hungry. Let's see what's left to eat in there.” He dressed, went to the kitchen and made sandwiches of the sliced ham, Gruyère cheese, tomatoes and bread.

“Any mayonnaise in here?” he called to her.

He heard her padding to the guest toilet. “Look in the refrigerator. And please fix a lot. I'm starving.”

They ate the sandwiches, drank beer and sang along with Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and Luther Vandross as the CD changed. “Do you think you could tolerate having me around all the time?” he asked her, taking a last swig of beer with his head resting against her shoulder.

“I don't know. I just started thinking about it.”

He sat up straight. Why in hell had he asked her that question? Angry at himself and hurt as well, he retorted, “Well, don't spend too much time on it. Life is short.” The words had barely left his mouth when he felt the change in her, and he was sorry. She didn't lash back, didn't say one word. Maybe that was because
she realized she'd hurt him. But he didn't think so. For the first time, she'd had a taste of his temper, and she didn't like it. He cleared away the results of their picnic and walked back to the living room where she sat in seemingly deep thought.

“I precipitated that, Judson, but I spoke honestly. Perhaps I shouldn't have. I'm sorry. Let's leave it for now.”

He stood gazing down at her. Finally, she looked up at him, but she didn't speak. “For the first time in my life, I'm vulnerable to a woman. I never realized how tender it makes one feel. I imagine it's the same with you. We have to talk about this later. I can't deal with it more right now.”

They stood at the door looking at each other until, unable to bear any longer the distance between them, he drew her into his arms and held her for a minute. “I'll call you.”

“All right. Drive carefully.”

 

He opened his front door, and Rick jumped all over him “At least you love me,” he said to the big German shepherd.

“He's been very unhappy this afternoon, Mr. Philips,” the young boy who was Rick's sitter said. “I didn't know what to do, so I put his leash on him, went to the park and sat with him there for an hour. He was much happier after we came back.”

“I imagine he was. You're a sucker for Rick's shenanigans.” He paid the boy. “I'll call you in a couple of days. Are you saving your money for school?”

“Yes, sir. I'm going to Morgan State in January.”

“Great. If I can help, let me know.”

After unpacking and putting his clothes in the laundry bag, he called Scott. “Judson here. You were always a pretty good detective. From what I've told you, what is your guess as to why Mom and Fentriss Sparkman didn't get married?”

“How's it going, man? How was your weekend? I want you to know that I covered for your girl.”

Heather hadn't told him she'd asked Scott to do that. “Thanks, buddy. I'll do the same for you.”

“Don't be so flippant. I could've been sent to most any place on the planet.” Scott's tone turned more serious. “I think your mother's mother got in between them, and I'm just about sure from what you've said that he never knew she was pregnant.”

“I'm thinking that, too, because he went back to Hagerstown several times looking for her, the last time not long before he died, according to Telford's calculation.”

“You need to see if she left any evidence in Hagerstown. Have you searched your basement?”

“Yes. I'm convinced that she didn't leave any information about her past in our house, because she didn't want my dad to find it.”

“I think you're right, Judson. Maybe you need to do some more sleuthing in Hagerstown.”

“I'll give that some thought. Hang in there.” He hung up and got ready for bed, but he didn't feel right. After what he'd experienced with Heather that afternoon and evening, he didn't feel like passing the
night without getting things in order with her. After he got into bed, he phoned her.

 

She barely had the energy to get out of her clothes. After a haphazard shower, she dried off and crawled into bed. Maybe a man didn't want honesty when the truth hurt his ego. Would he rather that she lied? She loved him. Oh, how she loved him, but he'd better learn that she could teach herself to live without him. He'd made love to her as if she were the most precious thing on earth, and when she could no longer tolerate that, he'd gotten into her and sent her almost out of her mind. And yet…

Wait a minute. Didn't I do the same to him? He felt secure enough to ask me that question, and what did I say? Oh, Lord, why did you make the human male so fragile?

As she reached for the phone, it rang. “Hello.”

“Hello, Heather. I can't leave it this way. Your reply hurt me, but you answered honestly, and I…I guess I have to work harder on our relationship. If I've been remiss in any way, tell me. And I apologize for my sharp reply. I'm mature enough to know that striking back only worsens things.”

What she'd said to him was true. If she followed her heart, she would never be out of his sight, but she wanted to succeed in her career, and she wanted that badly. But did she want it more than she wanted him? She could count on her brain and her intellectual ability, but could you count on love? Her father had worshipped her mother, and what had she done? Linda Tatum had married Franklin Tatum after breaking off with a good-
for-nothing lover. It hadn't worked. In the end, she had left her husband and her daughter and gone back to the man who she had known could ruin her life.

Judson said that his parents loved each other, but his mother deceived her husband every day of their marriage. Was that love?

“When the phone rang, I was reaching for it to call you,” she said. “I'm certain of my feelings for you, but you know I come with baggage. My mom left me and my father and went back to her lover. My father thinks I shouldn't blame her, but I do. Please bear with me.”

“I also come with problems, sweetheart, but they don't interfere with my love for you and my trust in you and your love for me. I know you may not want to settle for a man who's unsure of his parentage, and—”

She interrupted him. “My goodness! Is that what you think? I don't believe I'm hearing this. Judson, you can't be serious. What I see
in
you far outshines what I see when I look
at
you. Whoever your birth parents were, they gave you more than your share, and your adoptive parents cultivated that beautifully.”

“Thank you. What you think of me means more to me than I could begin to tell you. Heather, give us a chance, will you?”