All She Ever Wanted - Barbara Freethy [94]
"Not if that was it," she complained.
"We're just getting started." His hand moved to her inner thigh, promising, teasing ... "You're so warm," he purred, his mouth moving over to her ear as his fingers slid between her legs. "Even hotter down here." She swallowed hard, every nerve ending in her body on fire. It was too much.
She turned over on her side, letting her fingers run through the fine dark hair of his chest. "My turn," she said, cupping him with one hand. He was hard, ready, and as his breathing quickened, she sensed the game had just moved ahead a little. And she was happy about that.
"Uh, Natalie, if you want to go slow—"
"Who said I did?" she asked against his mouth. "I want you now, Cole. I'm taking charge. Do you have a problem with that?"
"No problem," he muttered as she pushed him back against the mattress.
She put one leg over him, then straddled his body, moving as slowly as she could up and down his body, teasing him with her breasts, her mouth ...
"Enough," he said, putting his strong hands on her waist. "I need you."
"I need you," she whispered, as she took him into her body with a satisfied gasp of pleasure. And for a while all was right with the world.
* * *
Laura sat at her kitchen table late Wednesday night staring at the two place settings that had yet to be used. The steaks she'd broiled two hours earlier had long gone cold. The baked potatoes were wrinkled and soft. The lettuce in the salad had turned brown. It was after eight thirty and Drew had not yet arrived home, nor called. She'd checked the airport an hour earlier to learn that his plane had landed on time at five forty-two. Where the hell was he?
She'd become her mother, Laura thought with a sad sigh. Closing her eyes, she could see her mom sitting at the empty dining-room table in her expensive Atherton home, her beautiful china filled with the homemade dinner she'd lovingly prepared for a man who hadn't bothered to call and say he'd be late—again. Her mother would wait and wait, finally turning off the lights and going up to bed, where she would cry into the night.
Laura had married Drew determined to have a different life for herself. She'd thought he would be her lover, her husband, her best friend, the father of her children, the man of her dreams, and most of all, her companion. She'd known he was ambitious and determined, but she'd never believed that he would put everything before her—or that he would cheat on her with another woman.
Was he cheating? Or were his frequent absences, his secrets about something else entirely? Like maybe a best-selling novel?
The clock ticked relentlessly loud, each beat making her feel increasingly more frustrated. Getting up, she walked over to the phone and picked it up, debating her options. She could call Drew for the fifteenth time or leave it be.
Before she could decide, the phone rang in her hands, making her jump. "Hello?"
"Laura, it's Drew."
She let out a breath of relief. "Thank God. I've been so worried. Where are you?"
"I'm still in L.A."
"I thought you were coming back tonight."
"Something came up. I won't be home for a few days."
The uneasy knot in her stomach grew bigger. "Why not?"
"I can't go into it right now, but I need you to give me some time and some space. Can you do that?"
She hesitated. "I don't think I can, Drew. Why are you being so secretive?"
"I'm working on a very private matter. I can't go into it, not even with you. You have to trust me."
Laura wanted to trust him, but how could she? There were too many unanswered questions. And it was about time she started asking some of them. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Drew, I found an itinerary for Garrett Malone in your pocket. Did you speak to him?"
Silence met her question. She knew he was angry. She could feel it.
"I can't get into that right now," he said tersely. "I have people coming in for a meeting. We'll discuss it later."
"I'm not sure it can wait.