9
MORNING GLORY
Sunshine peeked through the closed window blinds, and Justine awakened with a smile. Darrius was still snoozing next to her, but instead of shaking him awake, she tried something else. Her first instinct was to re-ignite a sleeping giant with a great kiss. But that would be too typical. She found the small kitchen and began to brew a pot of herbal tea—one of his, the Galloping Stallion’s brew, since that’s just what he had been to her all night long.
Before it began to whistle, she removed the kettle from the stove, poured two steaming cupfuls and carried them and tea biscuits on a tray back to him. To her surprise, he was awake and awaiting her. He took the tray, allowing her to sit, and then handed her a mug. “Your brew woke me up.” He sipped it. “Yes, the Stallion’s Brew. It’s sweet, like you.” Watching her sip it, he smiled. “I see you like it. It lit your lips like—”
“Like you did last night?”
“Exactly. One thing, though. I didn’t serve Teepee Tales tea last night. I fooled you.”
“Yeah? What was it?”
“Indian Love Tea. Did you like it?”
“Couldn’t you tell?” She caressed his cheek. “But it wasn’t the tea that made me make love to you.”
“What, then?”
“The stars, the moon—karma. It was…meant to be.”
“I agree. Lean over here.” He gave her a tiny tongue bath, one just big enough to hold her until he could do more.
A slow withdrawal from her lips was the best he could do without starting a sensual fire again. There were things that had to be done that day, and though he would have loved making love to her again, he couldn’t. They sat in silence, holding hands and thinking back on what they had shared—midnight heat and morning glory.
Justine’s body still tingled from him, still shivered from the mere thought of making love to him. She brought his hand to her lips, kissing it. “Was it really good for you last night?”
“I’d never done it like that before. I’ve never had that type of calling.” His expression turned solemn. “What’s most important is whether you are comfortable with things. We can never go back to being casual acquaintances. I can no longer be just the man who gave you a lovely bracelet. I only want what’s good for you.”
“What’s good for me?”
“Yes. It’s important to me.”
“I wouldn’t have visited you last night if you weren’t important to me, Darrius.”
A slow smile crept across his face. “Then you admit to coming here for more than just pictures, music and tea?”
“What can I say?” She took a few more sips of her tea. “It’s your fault, anyway, for calling me here from my safe office in San Francisco.”
“You willingly came.”
“Touché, Mr. Red Sky.” She smoothed his chest, feathering the small trail of hair down the middle of his stomach. “What’s in store for us today?”
“I have to work. I won’t have sales help today, and I open at eight-thirty.”
“I have to go back to Red Rock for more photo shoots.” She looked at the Kokopelli wall clock. “That gives us almost three hours.”
His fingers traced her sensitive areola, making the nipple pucker against his finger. “Three hours to clean up, get you some clothes and eat.” He took her hand. “Let’s get today’s tasks completed. And tonight, if you’re not busy, maybe we can go back to Red Rock. I can give you more information on the Koshari, show you some caves—lower ones. Would you like that?”
“Is there enough room in those caves to make love? That would really be a good story, but only for us.”
Darrius threaded his fingers through her tangled hair. “You live for danger.”
For the first time in her life, Justine was glad to admit to falling for him, even if she had only met him a few days ago.
* * *
He pulled up to the Best Western and parked at the entrance. “Grab what you need. You can shower at my house while I make you breakfast.”
“I’d like that. Maybe you can shower with me.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
“I like tempting you. It’s rewarding—know what I mean?”
“If you don’t get outta here—”
“All right, give me a few minutes. Wanna come in and wait?”
“Too tempting. I’ll stay out here.”
The few minutes he had to wait, he tried everything to take his mind off her. Every song on the radio was some kind of love song; her scent lingered in his truck. There was no getting away from Justine; even if he cut off his own head, his body would still crave her. What to do? What to do?
Thoughts of her kept him quiet, still, even on the way to his house. She would occasionally ask why he was so quiet; he would only smile and run his hand over her thigh. Instead of going back to the store, he drove home where she could shower and then do some work on his laptop if she wanted to. He would make them a nice breakfast, getting their day started the right way.
As he prepared her breakfast, he knew she was in his shower splashing around nude, wet, warm, and he wanted to be with her, sharing her space.
* * *
