Love in the Air (21 page)

Janelle smiled immediately and quietly nodded to Kay. Kay’s face broke into a wide, happy grin. She had the other woman’s approval. Janelle knew what had happened and she was giving her blessing to the pair. Kay was glad. Somehow it mattered very much to her to have Janelle’s sanction. Kay’s fingers tightened on the muscular arm she held and she nodded her head to Janelle, communicating to the kind and gentle woman that she was deeply in love with Sullivan Ward and would never again hurt him.

Janelle read the message and seemed satisfied.

When Kay caught herself wondering if the laughing, friendly gang around the table would ever break up, Jeff rose, pulled his cap onto his head and announced, “It’s late but if you guys will all stay right where you are, I have to run across the street to the station and do my show but I’ll be back just as soon as it ends.”

Everyone laughed. Sullivan seized the opportunity to say, “Kay and I have to go, too.” He pushed back his chair, cut his eyes to her and added, “We need some rest.” He was rising, reaching for her coat.

“Sullivan.” Janelle opened her handbag, bringing out a set of keys. “The Mercedes is parked in the underground lot of the building.”

Sullivan took his keys. “Thanks, Janelle. Appreciate it.” His eyes swept around the table. “See you all tomorrow.”

“Yes,” Kay echoed. “And thanks for this welcome home; it was fun.”

Sullivan and Kay crossed the street with Jeff, said goodbye and took the elevator to the underground garage. Sullivan transferred their luggage from Jeff’s van to his Mercedes, crawled behind the wheel, winked at Kay, patted her knee and said, “Your place or mine?”

Kay laughed, slid over to him and said, “I hate decisions.”

Sullivan smiled at her, took her left hand and placed it on his sinewy thigh. “Then for the rest of this day, you’ll not have to make any.”

Kay sighed, spread her fingers on the hard, male limb, feeling the pull of the muscles beneath the fabric of his pants as he pressed his foot down onto the gas pedal, easing the powerful car out of the covered garage and onto the busy streets. They said nothing driving to Sullivan’s apartment. They listened to Jeff’s afternoon show on the car radio, laughing uproariously over almost everything he said. Even as they did, both knew that the laughter was much, much more than appreciation of the wit of their old friend.

They were happy lovers. The world, cold and frozen though it was in Denver, was incredibly beautiful. Life was sweet. Everything was funny. Sullivan and Kay were still laughing when they stood outside Sullivan’s front door, Kay jiggling the key in the lock, Sullivan standing behind her, loaded down with luggage.

Once inside, the laughter subsided and finally ceased.

Sullivan dropped the suitcases to the floor, drew off his gloves and hurried to build a fire in the grate. Kay, leaving on her coat, found the thermostat and shoved it up to eighty degrees. She stood shivering before the tall glass windows, watching Sullivan pile piñon logs atop one another. Soon flames shot high into the air and Sullivan came over to Kay.

Rubbing his hands up and down her arms, he said solicitously, “Cold, sweet baby?”

“Hmm.” She nodded. “Freezing.”

Sullivan pulled her close, lifted a hand to her chin and tipped her face up to his. “Think I can warm your blood?”

Kay tilted her head. “Like to try?”

Sullivan grinned, slowly pulled her coat apart, slipped his hands inside and lowered his mouth to hers. “Yes,” he said, his voice low and husky, “I want to warm you. To build a fire inside you.”

His lips touched hers in a slow, unhurried kiss. Inside the coat, his hands went to her sweatered back and he gently urged her body against his. Kay’s hands hung loosely at her sides as she let Sullivan take complete charge. She let him mold the soft contours of her body to his solid length. She let his mouth move leisurely upon her lips, warming, awakening, persuading.

It was glorious.

Like clay in the hands of a master sculptor, Kay was his to touch and smooth and mold into his own creation. He did just that, expertly changing the shivering woman into a heated, naked work of art.

The transformation was done with love and patience by the artist. When his masterpiece was stretched bare and beautiful before him in front of the roaring fire, Sullivan disrobed and made love to the lovely, living creation. Indeed, he became a part of the priceless art object.

Sullivan and Kay were back on their early-morning radio show the very next day. Working together had always been challenging and fun. Now there was an added dimension to their relationship and the dim control room fairly crackled with electricity on that cold, dark morning.

There was an abundance of touching and playful kissing between the pair as records spun and cassettes unwound. When they weren’t kissing, they were laughing. Everything seemed outrageously comical as their spirits soared. Love had conquered and its warm glow made the cold winter day appear brighter, the music prettier, the coffee more palatable, their well-timed patter more humorous.

A lengthy record played on the turntable. Kay, her chair turned to Sullivan’s, leaned forward to say, “When do you look for the rating book?” Kay was looking into his eyes and saw a puzzling flicker in their dark depths. It immediately vanished and Sullivan smiled.

“Be any day now, Kay.”

“You’re surely not worried about it, are you?”

“No.” His answer was a little short, the tone of voice a bit brusque.

“Sullivan,” she questioned, her eyes narrowed, “is something wrong? I thought you were very optimistic about our expected ratings. Why the—”

“Sweetheart.” He smiled, lifted a hand up to cup a cheek. “I am positive that our show will get a very high rating. There’s no doubt in my mind.”

“Then I don’t understand.” She studied his face. “When I brought it up you—I don’t know—” she lifted her slender shoulders “—you looked worried.”

“Darling,” Sullivan laughed easily and leaned closer. “You’re imagining things, I assure you. Now give me a hug before this song ends.”

Relaxing completely, Kay smiled, threw her arms around his neck and pressed her cheek to his, supremely happy. She never saw the look of doubt filling the expressive black eyes of the man she loved.

Sullivan clasped her to him and silently battled the small tight core of fear expanding in his abdomen. He was sure they’d get a good book. Positive. And that entire broadcasting industry would know of their success.

Would he lose her again?

Sullivan bit his bottom lip, closed his eyes and tightened his embrace.

That very morning, during the nine o’clock news break, an out-of-breath, excited Jeff Kerns, hurried into the control room. Sam Shults was right behind him, grinning from ear to ear.

The familiar blue and white Arbitron rating book was clutched in the blunt fingers of Sam’s beefy right hand. Sullivan saw it first.

Sam lifted it high, shook it at them and announced, “It’s here, kids. Just came in.”

Kay swallowed and grabbed Sullivan’s hand. His dark, smooth face was devoid of expression, but she saw a muscle dance in his lean jaw and his fingers gave hers a brief squeeze. Evenly, he said, “Out with it, Sammy. Are we the hottest team in radio or not?” An easy smile lifted the corners of his full mouth.

“Sullivan, Kay—” Sam Shults, looking from one to the other, proudly confirmed “—it’s even better than we’d hoped for! I mean your morning show pulled a whopping sixteen share…more than our wildest expectations. Congratulations to you both. You two are an unequaled hit. No one else came close.”

He leaned over the control panel to shake Sullivan’s hand. He handed the rating book to Sullivan, gave the beaming Kay a kiss on the cheek and said, “The champagne will be cooling in my office. Come on in as soon as your show ends.” The stocky man turned and went to the door. Pausing there, he turned and said, “I’m just delighted, kids. About the fantastic ratings and about everything else. You know what I mean.” Sam’s face pinkened.

“No, we don’t know, what else?” Jeff was his usual devilish self. “What are you trying to say, boss?”

Sam Shults shook his head, made a dismissive gesture in Jeff’s direction and left the room.

“So.” Jeff turned his full attention to Sullivan and Kay. “How about that book?” Sullivan was already back in his chair, bent over the columns of figures denoting audience shares. “I even came up one percent. But best of all, K10S took the gas. I mean we sucked ’em right up our tail pipe in every time slot. You guys must have taken nearly all of their previous audience.”

Sullivan continued to study the book before him. Kay, her eyes alight with happiness, leaned over his shoulder, following the movement of the dark thumb hurriedly sliding down the columns of telling numbers. “Did we, Sul? Did we take our biggest competitor’s listening audience?” The sound of her tinkling, happy laughter filled the control room.

“Sure did, honey.” Sullivan never looked up. “You stole ’em all.”

“No, Sul,
we
stole them.”

Sullivan’s dark eyes lifted from the book. “You’re sweet, but in last spring’s rating book I didn’t—”

“Damn you, Sullivan,” Jeff cut in, while Kay looked worriedly at Sullivan’s hard, handsome face. “Man, you’re crying with a loaf of bread under each arm. What the hell would it take to make you happy?” Jeff shook his head and added, “I’m going to get a head start on the champagne. See you guys later.”

After Jeff had gone, Kay said, “Sullivan Ward, you just listen to me. We, and I repeat we, are a success. Not me. Not you. Us. The two of us together are a hit. We’re a team and it’s the team that pulled high ratings.”

Sullivan lifted his eyes to hers. Kay smiled, her lips parted, her eyes pleading with him. Sullivan felt his chest expand with love for this beautiful woman who was every bit as sweet as she was lovely. He smiled, lifted a hand up to slide his fingers into her hair at the side of her head and said in a deep, sure voice, “Kiss me, partner.”

Kay’s smile grew brilliant. “I will,” she breathed, slowly leaning to him. “And it takes us both to do that, too. Teamwork. Your mouth and mine.”

Sullivan chuckled and the sound of his deep laughter rumbling from his chest filled Kay with added happiness. Her lips touched his. Laughter ceased, but dark eyes, wide open, looked into hers as his mouth took command, kissing her with fiery abandon. Kay did her part, too. After all, it was a team effort; a feat impossible to perform alone.

The week following the arrival of the fantastic rating book was one of sweet, undiluted pleasure for everyone’s favorite radio team. Kay and Sullivan were together every moment, day and night, happily learning all the little idiosyncrasies of each other’s complex personalities.

Kay learned that Sullivan Ward always put on his socks and shoes before stepping into his pants. She thought it odd and extremely funny. She’d go into peals of happy laughter when the man she loved stood before the mirror brushing his hair, dressed in shirt, shoes and socks, his long legs bare.

She found that the very last thing he did before going to sleep was to comb his hair, a habit she found endearingly charming. The first thing he did on waking was to reach, bleary-eyed, for his first cigarette of the day. He liked black coffee, toast and three scrambled eggs for breakfast. Kay, sipping freshly squeezed fruit juice, watched him and wondered how anyone could eat anything at 4:30 a.m.

Kay learned that Sullivan Ward liked to lie on his long sofa in the evenings, with her stretched out beside him while he flipped from one channel to the next on the television, read a book, and talked to her all at the same time, remarkably following the plotline of the show they watched, comprehending the book he was reading, and never missing one word she said to him. He was a strange, complex, totally fascinating person, this man she loved so dearly. She looked forward to all the happy months and years it would take to fully understand him.

Sullivan, too, found there were many things he’d never known about the charmer now sharing his apartment. She was a sweet, talkative companion, but she said nothing for at least forty-five minutes after awakening each morning. He found this strange, since the moment he opened his eyes, he was awake and ready to discuss the day’s plans. It took only a couple of mornings for him to learn that Kay liked being kissed awake, but conversation was taboo. He didn’t mind. She was so irresistibly cute and warm when she woke up; silvery hair all tousled, her sweet, soft lips moving under his. What did it matter that she frowned if he asked her a question?

Sullivan also learned that he’d never fully realized just how lonely his life had been without this woman whose tinkling laughter was music to his ears. She came to his arms whenever he held them out to her, which was often, dropping whatever she happened to be doing to step into his embrace. She was his sweet, adorable Kay; his to touch and teach and treasure.

That’s how it would always be.

Sullivan and Kay were well aware that the unprecedented success of their morning show made their services infinitely more valuable. They’d discussed at length the amount of increase they planned to request at contract time.

Rating points of the magnitude they’d pulled meant much more expensive commercial spots in their morning show, which led to an increase of hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue for Q102. Since they were responsible for the value of the thirty- and sixty-second commercials shooting skyward, they were entitled to be momentarily rewarded and were well aware of it. So was Sam Shults. He’d already hinted at a figure he had in mind. Sullivan had smiled easily, knowing Sam Shults would offer far less than the amount he was authorized by ownership. Bargaining was all a part of the game. Sullivan Ward was good at it.

Sullivan and Kay, their air trick finished for the day, were seated in Sullivan’s corner office, Sullivan again going over with Kay what he thought they should ask for in the way of their salary increases. Kay, in her hand an envelope of photographs she’d taken on their Bahamas trip with the tiny gold camera Sullivan had given her, was nodding her agreement while she studied the pictures before her.