FOREVER MINE(42)
He let out a sigh when he saw that the rental car Rose was using parked in Sage’s drive way. Good, she was home. Not fully knowing what he would say, he knew he had to say something. Otherwise, things would continue to be strained and awkward between them and he couldn’t let that happen.
Moments later he was knocking on the door, trying to downplay the anticipation of seeing her again. Hadn’t he seen her just yesterday? Damn, what was wrong with him? Why was the thought of seeing her again sending his body in a tailspin, making heat course through him at a degree he hadn’t felt in years? If ever. He mentally shook himself, trying to get a grip on his emotions as well as his control.
He heard her call out on the other side of the door that she was coming and braced himself. He knew at some point she had looked through the peephole and had seen him. He wondered what she was thinking. She had to be wondering why he was there.
He heard the sound of the door opening slowly, and then she was there and he could see the surprise on her face. “Parnell?”
“May I come in?”
She looked at him as if she was having difficulty comprehending what he had asked, so he decided to repeat himself. “I asked if it would be okay if I came in. So we can talk.”
She looked past his shoulders and then back at him. “Where are the girls?”
“Mrs. Guthrie asked if they could go home with her after church to play with her little girl. She will bring them home later.”
Rose nodded. And then as if she’d made a decision about something, she stepped back to allow him entrance. He tried not to notice the outfit she was wearing, a printed ruffle-front, crinkled shirt that hung low over a tan skirt that stopped just short of her ankles. The wide leather belt around her emphasized her small waist, and she was wearing boots; a chocolate suede looking pair.
“I hope I’m not disturbing you,” he said, following her into the living room, liking the way the fabric of her skirt move whenever she did, in a fluid motion that he thought was sexy, definitely arousing.
She glanced over her shoulder at him before taking a seat on the sofa and said. “No, I was just about to read the comics.”
“Oh. You weren’t at church. The girls missed you. I promised I would check to make sure you were okay,” he said taking a chair across from her.
She waved dismissively. “Well, as you can see, I’m fine.”
Yes, he could definitely see that. “I’ll be sure to tell them.” Then after a brief pause he said, “But that’s not the only reason I’m here. I think we need to talk about yesterday.”
She shrugged. “I thought we did that already and you said I didn’t overstay my welcome.”
“And like I said yesterday, you didn’t. But I think our discussion should extend a little deeper than you overstaying your welcome, don’t you think?”
Silence stretched between them for a moment and then she said. “Okay, since you think there should be further discussion, I’ll let you go ahead and open it up.”
That was okay with him. The sooner they cleared things up, the better. “All right, then,” he said leaning forward. “I almost kissed you yesterday, at the zoo, in front of the girls, out in public . . . and I’m having a hard time dealing with it.”
She stared at him and then turned in her seat to face him fully and said. “And I would have let you kiss me, at the zoo, in front of the girls, out in public and I’m not having a hard time dealing with it at all.”
Parnell felt his mouth drop. In fact he could swear he actually heard it hit the floor. He leaned back, inwardly admitting she had definitely knocked him for a loop. “Okay, then. Can you tell me why we’re dealing with what almost happened on yesterday so differently?” he asked politely.
“I’ll be glad to.” She leaned forward. “To state it plain and simple, Parnell. You want me but you are too afraid to do anything about it.”
* * *
There. She had said it, Rose thought. Now let him deny it. He probably would, once he moved beyond the shock that was reflected in his face. She hadn’t expected him to show up here today. In fact, she would eventually have asked for forgiveness from God, for deliberately staying away from church because she wanted to avoid seeing him – at least until she got herself together and figured out a plan. But he had shown up, and invaded her space. He’d asked a question and she had given him an answer. Now she would like to see him deal with that!
“You think I want you?” he asked, as if forcing the words out from deep within his throat.
She flashed him a smile. “Yes. If you didn’t why would you almost kiss me yesterday, at the zoo, in front of the girls and out in public? Do you deny wanting me?”
“No,” he admitted.
“Do you admit to being afraid about doing anything about it?”
He raised a brow. “Anything like what?”
Rose thought on his question and inwardly admitted she had been handling him all wrong. It had taken the conversation she’d had with Sage last night to make her realize it. Before Sage had left for Detroit, Rose had been fired up as to how she would tackle her problem with Parnell. Her plan would be simple. She would present him with a business deal that he couldn’t refuse.
Well, he’d done just the opposite and had refused it. But Sage was right, she was a woman who went after what she wanted and usually got it. She had made the mistake by assuming she should use a different approach on him, one that matched his personality. She hadn’t wanted to overwhelm him so she had tried being mild-mannered when she had presented her proposal. But it seemed a mild-mannered woman wasn’t what Parnell needed. He needed a woman who could remind him of what it felt like to be a man. He needed to be overwhelmed.
“Anything you truly wanted to do,” she said, finally answering him. “For example. Here we are. We aren’t at the zoo. The girls aren’t around. And it’s just the two of us in a very private setting.”
She stood and placed her hands on her hips. “So why don’t we go ahead and do what we almost did on yesterday.”
* * *
Parnell stared up at her, and all it took was a quick study of her expression to know she was completely serious. He drew in a deep breath, deciding she had issued a challenge and he would take her up on it. He wasn’t afraid to kiss a woman and would admit to having kissed one or two since Becky, when Gabe’s mother had fixed him up on a couple of blind dates. But no woman had so much as created an ache with his testosterones. Hadn’t even come close. But he had a feeling that kissing Rose was really going to do a job on him.
He stood. “I haven’t done any kissing lately so I might be a little bit rusty,” he said, taking the few steps to come to a stop in front of her. And without waiting for a response he pulled her into his arms at the same moment that his mouth swooped down on hers.
Six
Rose’s lips parted on a startled sigh and that was all the opening Parnell needed. Funny, he thought, to feel like you were coming home to a place you had never been. To feel you were in heaven while right here on earth.
He knew that later, in the privacy of his bedroom, he would recall all of this. He would drag every single moment from his memory and relish every provocative detail – like the way his hands tightened around her waist, drawing her even closer to him; the way his mouth was ravenous, seemingly insatiable on hers; and the way his tongue latched onto hers, mingled and tangled with a possessiveness that actually had his heart feeling like it was leaping out of his chest.
And then there was the way she looped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with a hunger that matched his own. He knew without a doubt that he had never embarked upon anything so powerful in his entire life; never had he shared anything so profound. Passion begin rising to a peak that was destined to explode from a taste so addictive, he could only yearn for more. He wanted to draw back but instead he inched closer and became aware of his erection, full and hard, pressed against her.
He wanted to do more than kiss her. The state of his body was making that exceedingly clear, but a part of his mind was determined to keep it in check, fighting the temptation with everything he had. So he continued to kiss her, with everything he could, sinking deeper into her mouth, tasting as much of her as possible. Intensely focused on doing just that.
He felt her quivering in his arms and his pulse rate increased. He savored the pleasures her mouth was giving him, thinking it was so incredibly delicious and wondering why he had resisted such an enticement for so long.
He felt her trying to breathe through their locked mouths and he pulled back so she could draw in a quick breath, and then he was kissing her again, taking her mouth with a hunger that seemed perfect – stroke for stroke.
He pulled back again, but not before tracing a line around her mouth with the tip of his tongue in a seductive move that wasn’t really him. When had he gotten to be so aggressive? So possessive? So ravenous for a woman?
Those questions made him take a step back and he drew in a tight breath as he watched her eyes open, lock with his, and when he heard her breathing attempt to get steady, he had to think. He had to say something. Or else he would be pulling her into his arms for another kiss.