Tap Dance (8 page)

Oh. My. God.

"Ram…" I whispered again. 

I had no words for what I was feeling but honest to goodness, if a gal could come from just words then I just had a mini-gasm. 

Right there on that stone bench in the little park by the library.

We broke our gaze again and I had my eyes on my feet, trying but not succeeding in my effort to calm down.  My hands were gripping the edge of the bench as I watched my feet.

"What's that you're doing,
Pyari
?"  I saw Ram was looking at my moving feet.

Then I saw that his feet began to move, mirroring mine.

"Shuffle, ball chain, stomp, shim-sham, shuffle, ball chain, stomp," he said softly as he watched my feet as his performed exactly the same moves.

I couldn't help it. 

I started laughing really hard.

And then I heard him join in, his own laugh coming from deep inside his chest. When we finally got control of our laughter, I was able to ask.

"Beginning tap?  You, the big Kahuna of the Grantham Police Department, knows how to Tap Dance?"

"I was sent to classes when I was young.  It was a skill that Mataji insisted that all young English boys acquired at my age.  Which I've since found that her knowledge in
several
areas of English boys and their subsequent upbringing was completely off the mark."

He looked down at his feet before raising his face again.

"Think we are going to have to do a Pinky Swear again,
Pyari
.  I can't allow this knowledge  to become public.  It would completely destroy any credibility I may have in this town if they knew I could Tap Dance."

Pinky Swear. 

Oh. My.
God
.

I took a deep breath before turning my body towards him and raising my right hand as I placed my left hand over my heart. 

"I, Marianne Louise Gibson, do so solemnly swear that I will never, ever tell another living soul that our gorgeous, sexy and hot Police Chief knows how to Tap Dance."

I saw the heat in his gorgeous brown eyes before I carefully turned my eyes away.

I made a fist and extended the pinky finger of my right hand out to him.  And gazed at him, feeling his pinky finger crossed with mine and we curled them around each other.

"Pinky Swear," he whispered.

"Yeah, honey, Pinky Swear," I whispered back and watched his eyes flare at my words.

He twisted our hands until he was holding mine, palm to palm.

I glanced up at him but he was still looking at our hands.

"I need to ask you something, Marianne.  And if you feel that it's none of my business, please feel free to say so."  His voice was quiet and he was still looking at our hands, watching the movement of his thumb as he rubbed against my skin.

"Okay.  Shoot." I said equally as quiet.

"Shoot?" I saw his small smile before he spoke again.

"This thing with Paul…"

"Paul and I don't have a thing."

"I heard you were dating.  Then when he came to the house…"

"Paul and I have gone on a couple of dates, but it's really casual.  Not like…"

"Not like, what?"

I couldn't look at him as I completed my sentence, a sentence I really didn't want to say out loud.  Especially to him.  But, if we were going to move forward (and I wanted that so very badly) he needed to know.

"Not like how it is between us, Ram."

"And how is that,
Pyari
?"

I was quiet for a couple of beats as I gathered my courage to say it.

"How I ache to have you worship my body so I can worship yours right back,"  I whispered finally looking into his eyes.

And heard his groan as he closed his eyes.

"Enough," he said wrapping an arm around my waist to slide me across that stone bench until I was pressed up against him. 

"Kiss me,
Pyari
.  Kiss me hard enough to last until the next time I'm with you," he whispered fiercely.

Nobody had to ask me twice. 

I totally forgot we were in a public place in that little park by the library as I put my heart and soul into my kiss with Ram.

Unlike the kiss in the car, this meeting of our mouths was fast, wet, hard and deep. 

Ram devoured me like a starving man at a banquet table.

And I matched him stroke for stroke, our tongues dueling as our mouths fused.

Just like the car kiss, this one seemed to last forever. 

Unending. 

Stoking the fire between us.

I couldn't get close enough and dropped one hand so I could pull myself closer.  But I must have dropped it down farther than I realized as my palm came in contact with the hard ridge in his pants. 

When contact was made, he flinched and broke apart from our joined lips.

"Oh, God, yes," he moaned and moved his hips to press harder against my hand.

I felt him slip his hand underneath my coat and stroke my breast, zeroing in on my hard nipple.

It was my turn to moan, though I tried to be quiet about it.

But it was my moan that seemed to break the spell of the moment and Ram began to move himself away.

When he was in his place and I was in mine, I saw that he was sitting with his elbows on his knees and he was looking at the ground.

"I want you in my bed tonight,
Pyari
."

"Absolutely, Ram," I replied without having to think about it.

"Come to me at 9:00."

"I'll be there."

He rose from his place on the bench and began to move away, but not before shooting me a look over his shoulder that included a grin.

I felt that grin clear down to my curled toes.

Chapter Nine

The remaining time at work that afternoon lasted for fifty years.  I was making so many mistakes with my entries that I basically only got about a quarter of my work for the day done.

That's not like me, at all. 

I'm usually on the ball, on top of my game.  Whipping through the tax forms and logging entries into the client's program for their business' on-going taxes.

But not that afternoon.

Oh,
hell
, no.

I couldn't seem to settle and caught myself crossing and re-crossing my legs often. Bouncing my top leg like no tomorrow.

I like to talk and laugh with my clients, knowing that taxes can be one of the most boring things you have to do or even a scary thing for some people. 

I like to joke with them which usually helps relax them. 

And a relaxed client is a forthcoming client.

But I couldn't put two sentences together that afternoon.

The afternoon before I
spent the night
with Ram.

Oh. My.
God
.

I may have been 'Suzie Professional' on the outside, but inside?  I was squeeing loudly as I twirled and swirled. 

I glanced at the time on the computer, but it was only five minutes later than the last time I checked.

"Are you alright, Marianne?"  Todd from Akron's Jewelry asked.

"Yes, fine thanks, Todd.  How 'bout you?" I replied trying to make my fingers work on the keyboard of my computer.  I was shaking so there were a lot of double letters and numbers that had to be immediately corrected.

"No, I mean, you don't seem like yourself."

Crap.

Busted.

Told you.  I get caught out all the freaking time.

"Just have a bit on my mind.  Maybe you should leave the reports with me and I can shoot them over to you tomorrow, if that's okay?"

"Ah.  Sure, I guess," Todd replied, looking at me funny.

And he had reason to since I had never, not once,
ever
needed an extra day to do Akron's quarterly taxes.

"Great!" I said and stood up.  I found the best way to get a client to leave was to stand up first and move them out of my cubicle.  I pumped Todd's hand just a little too heartily and caught his questioning look before I told him I'd see him tomorrow.

Finally, my day was over and I was out of there like a shot.

I tried to go the speed limit. 

I really did.

I tried not to rush through my shower or my getting ready routine.

I tried to eat the dinner that Aunt Estella fixed.

But I failed at all of them.

And, I was ready to go by eight o'clock.

Shit.

What was I going to do for a whole
hour
?

I sat with Aunt Estella and watched TV. 

Or rather, I pointed my face at the TV as my mind ran in circles around itself. 

Imagining, day dreaming, having thoughts that can get you arrested in three states and numerous foreign countries. 

At eight-thirty, I grabbed my coat, my keys and my small tote and kissed Auntie goodbye. 

It was only going to take me around ten minutes to get to Ram's, so I stopped by the grocery store and bought a couple of packages of Strawberry Pop Tarts because even if Ram had them on hand, you can never have too many.

I stopped about a block away from his house and chomped on a piece of gum really fast to ensure my breath was minty as I used the de-tangler to tame my curls.  Another coat of lip gloss and I was about as ready as I'd ever be.

I pulled my car into his driveway next to his truck.

Here we go, I remember thinking as I exited my car.

Honest to goodness, I couldn't take a deep enough breath.

*.*.*.*.*

Ram opened the door and watched as I made my way up the lighted walkway to the porch where I stopped.

"Hello Ram," I said my breathy voice giving evidence of my nerves.

"Hello Marianne.  Please come in," I heard him say as he opened the door wider.

I took a couple of steps in and remembered to take my shoes off in the entry way. 

From the way he was dressed, it looked like he had only gotten home just a few minutes before I arrived.  I did a discreet eye roam and noted that his boots were off and his uniform shirt was untucked. 

I don't know why having Ram's shirt untucked was so freaking sexy. 

But it was.

God, he was gorgeous.

He ran his fingers up my back as he stepped to my side.  As his fingers trailed lightly from my waist to my neck, I got a rush of goose bumps.

I swallowed as I caught on the thought that if my body was reacting to his simple touch this strongly, then what was I going to feel when he actually touched me on the
good
parts?

"Chai?"

"What?"

"Tea?"

"Oh.  Yeah.  Well, only if you're having some."  I had to swallow again.

"Marianne?" He asked, leaning down closer to my ear.

"Yeah, Ram?" I turned my head to his and our mouths were only inches apart.

And our eyes caught.

And held.

Without a word, Ram picked me up just as he had done at my aunt's house.  Picked me up and carried me down the hall.  The hall that led to the bedrooms.

He deposited me gently on the bed before turning on one of the bedside lamps that illuminated the room with a soft glow.

He stood in front of me as I sat on the edge of the mattress, my heart beating hard as I looked at him. 

"Are you scared,
Pyari
?" He asked softly, moving closer to me.

"No," I replied softly and added a head shake for emphasis.  I didn't want to be misunderstood.

"Are you excited,
Pyari
?" he asked as he placed a hand on each side of my hips and leaned over me until his mouth was just touching mine.

"You better believe it," I replied against his lips with a thick swallow.

He smiled at me as he moved to turn and sit down next to me.

"Me, too."

I smiled at his admission.

"Lie back," he instructed and twisted so that his chest was next to mine as I lowered myself down onto the mattress.  I felt, rather than saw, him prop himself up on one elbow as he brought the other hand up and he trailed his fingers over my cheekbone, running over the curve of my jaw before lightly outlining my lips.

I opened my mouth and licked his fingers.  I heard his quick intake of air before he bent his head to me, his mouth plundering mine.

Yes!

I raised my hands from his shoulders and threaded them through his thick hair, holding him to me as our lips and tongues continued to work their same magic as at the park.

Ram's hand reach for my breast. He ran his palm over and around it, learning it's shape before his thumb flicked against my hard nipple.