"Uh-huh, we'd spend all night looking for a place to park."

I opened the door and watched Hailey's legs as she slid across the seat. We didn't talk much on the half-dozen-block ride, but Hailey entwined her fingers with mine and looked at me with an unguarded intimacy that I'd not yet seen in her before.

"Do you feel like everyone is watching us?" I asked, hiding behind my menu.

1.

*Hailey's eyes twinkled as she took a sip of her wine. "They're all looking at my gorgeous date."

"I could argue that point."

Hailey shook her head as she set her gla.s.s on the table. "Did you ever notice how we always seemed to run into each other at the apartment especially after we first met?"

I shrugged. "I always thought it was cosmic timing."

"I can see the street from my window. I used to sit in front of it and watch for you, then Fuzzy and I would make a mad dash down the stairs."

I sat back stunned by the revelation.

Hailey made a face. "I realize now that I've said it that I sound like a stalker."

"Not at all. It's a sweet surprise."

"Ladies, have we decided?" the waiter asked as he came to our table.

Hailey winked at me. "You go first."

"Promise me you won't order only a salad because I don't want to look like a pig," I said with a grin, then ordered the crabmeat Karen. She impressed me when she ordered the filet mignon Charlemond.

"I know, I'm drinking red wine with a crustacean." I raised my gla.s.s. "I'm uncivilized."

Hailey grinned back at me. "I would've done the same thing."

She leaned closer and lowered her voice. "Screw propriety."

"A rebel, I like that in a woman."

Hailey ran her finger lightly around the rim of her gla.s.s as she looked across the table at me suddenly serious. "You've torn down every defense I have," she said with a slight smile.

"I've torn down a few of my own in the process."

"You know what I find irresistible about you?" She drummed her fingers on the table as I gave her a questioning look. "You're just you. There's no pretense, no smooth-sounding lines, just a woman honestly offering her heart and hoping that it will be taken by someone who'll cherish it."

"The woman I want to give it to keeps running away." I smiled.

10.

*"Not anymore," Hailey said seriously. "There are some opportunities too sweet to pa.s.s up."

Salads were placed in front of us, our winegla.s.ses topped off.

"Thank you," I said, but my gaze was locked with Hailey's. "So this means we'll have a second date?" I asked when the waiter left us.

"I was kind of thinking it would mean breakfast." Hailey took a sip of her wine as her meaning sank in.

"I think my crabmeat would enjoy a ride in a doggie bag."

Hailey threw back her head and laughed.

I barely tasted my salad. The crab was delicious, but my appet.i.te for it had gone right out the window as I thought about what this night would bring. Hailey fed me pieces of her steak, and I shared the crab. I knew that Hailey was as ready as I was to leave when the waiter asked if we wanted dessert. "Just the check, please," she said with a smile, but something behind her eyes burned hot. I took that as my cue to call the cab.

The ride home seemed infinitely longer than it took to get there. I thought I would be nervous, but I wasn't. I felt longing and desire that I thought only happened in books and movies. I wanted to touch and be touched. To share a part of myself that I realized I'd never truly given to anyone else. I'd had s.e.x and called it making love, but as I sat next to Hailey, it dawned on me that this was how it was truly supposed to feel. Like two halves merging together to make a whole. I would give as much as she desired and take as much as she allowed.

Hailey squeezed my hand as we stepped into the elevator.

"As bad as I hate to say this, I'll forgive you if you want to back out now," I said, watching her intently. "We're about to cross a line that for me is going to make being just friends again impossible."

"I know, but I think we've crossed that line already." Hailey squeezed my hand tighter and held it as if to say she wasn't backing down and wouldn't let me, either.

I watched as Hailey's hands shook slightly as she put her key in the lock and pushed open the door. Fuzzy greeted us with a

11.

*doggie smile, even though the movie had ended and was showing the scene index over and over. Hailey gave her a scratch behind the ears before she popped the DVD out and put in Grease. Fuzzy walked over to me, expecting the same treatment. I scratched her behind the ears and rubbed her chest and gave her a wink.

Fuzzy grabbed her sheep and settled back down on the rug as Hailey took my hand and led me to the bedroom. As I closed the door behind us, she stepped into the bathroom and washed her hands. I watched as she looked at herself in the mirror and exhaled a long breath. Her eyes met mine in the reflection.

I stepped in and reached around her to wash my hands. She took them between hers and rubbed them with soap. It was a luxurious feeling to feel her slippery hands move against mine, something so simple was torturously sensual. Her gaze locked onto mine when I leaned down and kissed her bare shoulder. Her sigh as her eyes fluttered shut made my knees weak, and I leaned heavily against her. She pushed back against me as she fumbled with the faucet and cut the water off.

The only sound then was her breathing as I kissed my way to her neck and softly bit into her skin. She leaned her head forward as her hands gripped the sink. I felt like I was dreaming as my hands slid down her hips, leaving wet marks on her dress. I pulled back slightly and kissed down her back as my hands slid down her thighs until I touched her skin. It was warm and smooth against my mouth, and her thighs were hot to my touch as my fingertips grazed against them while I pulled the dress higher.

"I used to dream about this, but I never thought it would happen," Hailey said. Her voice sounded shaky and breathless. It came out in a hiss when I pressed my hand against the dampness between her thighs. I wanted to be inside of her so badly as my fingers found the seam of her underwear. "Don't," she rasped as she grabbed my hand. "I want to be facing you when you touch me."I pulled my hand away and stepped back. I had to restrain myself from ripping the clasp of her dress open and taking her on the floor of the bathroom. Hailey spun around and pushed me roughly against the bathroom wall. Her mouth was on mine in an

12.

*instant as she pulled my belt loose. It landed with a clank on the tiled floor. She pulled away long enough to pull my shirt over my head, and her mouth found mine again.

I fumbled with the clasp to her dress as she unb.u.t.toned my pants and slid her hands around my hips. I shuddered as her dress fell to her waist, and she pushed her thigh between mine. Her hands pulled me tightly against her as the friction between my legs became unbearable. I broke the kiss, unable to breathe, and buried my face in her hair. I didn't want to let her go when she stepped away.

Hailey reached over my shoulder and turned off the light.

I watched her in the dim glow coming from the lamp in her bedroom as she let the dress fall away. My gaze went to her bare b.r.e.a.s.t.s first, then to her hands as she slipped her silky underwear down her legs and stepped out of them along with her heels.

I pushed at my boot heel with the toe of the other. I knew I was scuffing them, but I wanted them off. I wanted to be rid of every barrier between me and Hailey's warm skin. She grabbed at my hands when I started to slide my pants down. "Let me do it," she said as she knelt and pulled them away. She kissed and nibbled at the insides of my shaking thighs until I didn't think I could stand any longer. I fisted both hands in her hair and pulled her up gently.

The sensation of her mouth on mine and her naked skin pressing against me was more than I could handle. I pushed her away and held her at arm's length. "We're not going to make it to the bed if you don't stop."

She didn't say a word as she took me by the hand and led me into her bedroom. I couldn't wait to get her on her back so I could kiss and taste her. I groaned in frustration when I realized I was the one lying flat on my back with Hailey straddling me. With one hand in the center of my chest holding me in place, Hailey took my hand and slid it between her legs. I shuddered as my fingers slipped through the creamy wetness there. With her hand firmly holding mine, she controlled where I touched.

I could barely breathe with her balancing her weight in the center of my chest. I gasped when she easily slipped two of my

1.

*fingers inside of her and slowly glided them up and over her c.l.i.t.

"Please let me go," I begged when she pulled my hand away.

Hailey's eyes narrowed when she took my fingers and ran them over my own lips. She sucked in a deep breath when I sucked them into my mouth. The memory of the feel of her and the taste of her on my tongue left me stunned as she moved quickly down my body and buried her face between my legs. She groaned loudly as she pushed her tongue into me.

My legs trembled. I squirmed uncontrollably as her tongue would first push inside of me, then over my c.l.i.t. She wrapped her arms around my thighs and fought to hold me in place as I dug my heels harder into her bed. My cries seemed to echo off the walls of her room. I clamped my lips together tightly, trying to keep quiet and not sound like this was my first time, but with every stroke of her tongue, I lost control. She would take me to the edge until I felt my insides begin to contract and pull away.

When she did allow me to come, I wrenched the sheets from the corners of her bed.

Having an o.r.g.a.s.m never made me blissfully relaxed like some of my former partners claimed. It was like a surge of energy pa.s.sed though me that made me crave more before the last of the tremors faded. I had Hailey on her back before she knew what was happening. My mouth descended on her breast while my hand moved between her legs.

"Yes," she ground out as she dug her fingers into my shoulders.

She met me thrust for thrust and shuddered when I pulled out of her and encircled her c.l.i.t with my fingers. "Kiss me, Shannon." I did until she pulled away breathless. I listened to her breathing as I drove her higher, the erratic sound of it made me never want to stop. She gasped once, her body went rigid against me and held for a minute before she slumped back onto the bed.

"We'll go slower the next time," I said against the damp skin of her neck. I felt her laugh.

"I doubt it. Maybe after we've done it a couple hundred times."

I leaned up on one elbow and smiled down at her. "I'm not looking for anything serious, you know."

14.

*"The h.e.l.l you aren't," Hailey said with a laugh and flipped me onto my back. She kissed me sweetly. "I'm seriously crazy about you." Her words were accentuated by a whimper and a scratch at the door. Hailey groaned and rolled onto her back. "Fuzzy needs to go out."

"I'm certain that if you put a stool next to the door, she could jump up and turn the handle. The elevator would be a breeze after that."Hailey kissed me again and got up. "You stay right here. I'll only be five minutes, then I plan to take my time with you." She put on a pair of sweatpants and pulled her robe over her bare back.

I listened as the apartment door closed and hopped up.

Leftover steak and crabmeat would sustain us through the night.

When Hailey returned...I'd be warming it wearing nothing but a smile.

1.

Chapter 31.

New Orleans can be small at times.

It felt like a delightful case of deja vu. Hailey and I spent the morning eating breakfast in bed. Fuzzy lay across our feet gnawing on the new toy I bought her. Just like I'd imagined sans the newspaper. We alternated between watching movies and making love. Fuzzy was fine with the movies but went into the living room for the latter.

My phone rang for the umpteenth time where it sat in the pocket of my blazer, which landed on the floor in a heap the previous night. Hailey groaned as she stretched and looked at me.

"Are you ever going to answer that?"