Passion's Price (16 page)

“That don’t mean it took the plane twenty-four hours to get from Baltimore to Memphis, unless maybe you were flying on a Boeing 799.”

“Boeing hasn’t made any such plane, Maggie.”

“That’s just the point. In fifteen years they’ll make one that can stay in the air indefinitely. I suspect there’s no point in asking how things are with you and Mike, since you been so busy, you couldn’t call. He ask you to marry him yet?”

She hadn’t expected that question. “No. We’ve only known each other a few months.”

“Yes, but from what I saw, a lot of water went under that bridge since you met that man. Remember that if I’m giving you ice cream for free, you ain’t gon’ volunteer to pay me for it.”

“If I’d known you were at your pulpit, I probably
wouldn’t have called. Getting married isn’t my worry right now. So far, Mike is everything you think he is. See you tomorrow. Oh, yes. Tell my siblings hi.” She hung up. Maggie was off the mark. Her problem was what
she’d say
if he did ask her. “I’m a young bird, who’s just begun to fly.”

She didn’t realize that she had dialed Boyd’s number until she heard his voice. “Hi. This is Darlene. How are you?”

“I’m fine. I hope you’re making the most of the day. It’s beautiful out. A perfect autumn afternoon. How’s Mike doing?”

“He’s in his room resting, and I am, too. He said he’s planned a full evening.”

“I was going to ask why you weren’t resting together, but I don’t suppose that’s any of my business.”

“I’d thought along those lines, but… Well, this was his idea.”

“Hmm. Darlene, if you’re in love with Mike, be careful. He’ll give you the world if he can get it. But be straight with him. You’re impetuous, so you’ll make mistakes. That tough veneer of his developed from deep pain, but there’s still a lot of softness in him, and because he cares, that’s what you’ll see in him. He loves you, but he won’t forgive easily. Keep in touch.”

“Thanks, Boyd. I will.”

She dialed Mike’s cell-phone number. “Hi, hon,” she said when he answered. “What time do you want us to leave home?”

“Five-thirty. The boat sails at six-thirty.”

“I’m getting excited. I’ve never been on one of those boats.”

“I understand they’ll have three bands tonight, country, blues and jazz, and there’s a room with an old-fashioned jukebox, sort of like a nightclub. It should be fun.”

“As long as you’re there.”

“You know how to make a man feel ten feet tall and bulletproof. And after what you did to me last night, my feet may never touch the ground.”

“If you don’t want what’s coming to you, you shouldn’t be so sweet. See you at five-thirty.”

“That’s and hour and a half from now.”

“Lieutenant Detective Raines, I can tell time. Bye.”

“May as well go for broke tonight,” she said to herself as she dressed. Her red-silk chiffon left very little to the imagination. Every time he looked down, he’d see her naked breasts. And from beneath her breast to three inches above her knee, the dress fit her like a high-fashion glove. She let her mother’s diamond pendant hang in the valley between her breasts and the matching earrings at her ears. Her hair hung below her shoulders, and a few strands fell on the side of her face. Her favorite perfume, black satin sandals and a tiny black satin bag completed her armor. He waited for her at the edge of the foyer, where he could see her when she left her room.

“If I was smart, I’d keep you right here,” he said, greeting her with a hug and a grin. “You look exquisite
and absolutely tantalizing. It may be cool on the boat—do you have a shawl?”

“Thanks for mentioning it. I’d forgotten.” She dashed back and got a black velvet stole. “You look wonderful in a tux,” she said when she got back to him, “but you always look great.”

She almost felt his pride as they walked up the gangplank and into the
Memphis Showboat.
He didn’t move his arm from her waist until he seated her at their table. But he couldn’t know that she was at least as proud to be with him, for every woman they passed, no matter her age, gave him a long look. He was the epitome of male energy and authority, and he was hotter than any man had a right to be.

“We’ll have drinks here, dance if you like and go to the dining room for a seven-thirty meal.”

“I’m in your capable hands. This space is beautiful, and we can see the Memphis skyline from our table.”

“This is the bar,” he explained. “What would you like to drink?” She told him white wine, and he ordered a vodka comet for himself. Then, he dropped a coin in the jukebox near their table, and Louis Armstrong began to sing “When It’s Sleepy Time Down South.” He held out his hand, opened his arms, and she was immediately lost in them, as he led them in a slow, sexy two-step.

“I think we’d better stick to the fast tunes,” he said with a half smile.

“If we’re smart, we’ll confine our dancing to country music and Cotton-Eyed Joe.”

“We’ll do all of it. I want to dance with you to George
Strait’s song by that title, to Buddy Guy’s “Early in the Morning,” and to Duke Ellington’s “Satin Doll,” country, blues and jazz. I hope you feel rested.” She laughed, because his romantic charm put a zing in her steps and a song in her heart.

And so the evening went. She’d never been happier or felt more cherished. On the ride home, she snuggled close to him in the taxi, not wanting more than air between them. At his apartment door, he unlocked it, picked her up, carried her across the threshold and once they were inside let her slither down his body. How could her longing for him have increased with the minutes since she stepped into the tub of bubble bath that afternoon?

She gazed up at him, saw the heat in his eyes and ran the tip of her tongue across her lips. He lifted her to fit him, and when she undulated wildly against him, he picked her up and took her to his bed.

She lay against him, spoon fashion, her naked breast filling his left hand, and his right hand flush between her thighs. Streaks of sunlight filtered between the blinds, reminding him that she would soon leave him. He leaned over and sucked her right nipple into his mouth, guaranteeing him a warm reception. Soon thereafter, she was thrashing beneath him, clutching and stroking his penis. Rending him to helplessness as only she could do.

“Darlene. Darlene, I love you,” he cried as he spilled
himself into her. He’d given her all that he had, and she held him to her as she’d never done before.

“I’m yours. Only yours,” she said.

He looked down at her. “Don’t go back to Frederick. Stay here with me. Marry me, and let’s build a life together.”

As if he’d poured cold water on her, she sat up and bounded out of the bed. “Stay here? Are you serious, Mike? I can’t stay. It’s never occurred to me.”

He sat up and tried to fend off the bolt of lightning she’d pitched at him. “Let me get this straight. You know I love you. You say you love me. You make love to me in a way that guarantees I won’t want to be away from you, and it has never occurred to you that I would want you to stay here with me, that I’d want you for my wife?”

She put on his robe, but she didn’t sit down. “But you know I have responsibilities. I’m a professional, and I have to act like one. It’s out of the question.”

Mortified, he slid out of bed, showered and dressed. “I assume you’ve packed,” he said to her from the hallway. “I’ll be ready to leave when you are.”

She’d hurt him, and she was sorry, but when he thought about it seriously, he’d see her side of it. She dressed, finished packing and telephoned Boyd. “I didn’t realize your plane left so early,” Boyd said. She told him what, in essence, had happened. “He’s hurt, but he’s a gentleman, so he’ll take me to the airport.”

“Hogwash! He’ll take you because he loves you. What airline are you flying on?”

She told him.

“I’ll be there in an hour.”

They drove to the airport in stony silence. Once there, Mike put Darlene’s bag on the scales at the ticket counter and looked at her.

“I told you about the major disappointment of my life. It was nothing compared to this. Be seeing you.”

A loud gasp escaped her as he turned and walked away. He’d finished it. But how could he? She wanted to call him, but the words stuck in her throat. Her heart seemed to have dropped to the bottom of her belly. She turned to look for a seat and saw Boyd coming toward her.

“He’s gone,” she said. “He finished it. I thought he’d be mad for a while, and then we’d be like always.” She licked a tear from her top lip. “Boyd, he means it. He’s through.” The tears wet the front of her dress, and she wiped her eyes with the tail of her sweater.

“You said you told him that staying with him, marrying him, had never occurred to you. What kind of a fool do you think he is?”

“I was talking about staying here, not about marrying him.”

“You want him to move to Frederick, where he won’t have a job? Think it over.” He handed her an envelope. “Don’t open it until you get home, and guard it very, very carefully. Call me when you get home.” He
kissed her cheek and left. She put the envelope in her pocketbook. She felt dead on the inside.

How could he have been so blind? She’d worked him over Friday and Saturday nights to make him putty in her hands. Did she think he’d follow her to Frederick like a puppy, live in her big house and let her take care of him? His head felt as if it would split. He got home, made a pot of coffee and sat down to drink it. The phone rang. He hadn’t planned to answer it, but he saw Boyd’s ID and lifted the receiver.

“Hello, Boyd. What’s up?”

“I need to see you right now, Mike.”

“Be there in ten minutes.”

When he got to Boyd’s home, he didn’t stop at the living room but went directly to the kitchen, made a pot of coffee and took the pot along with milk and two mugs to the living room. He sat down facing Boyd’s favorite chair.

“What’s got you so riled up, man?”

“Darlene called me, and I went to see her off. She gave me her side of what happened. I can’t—”

“Hold it, Boyd. That woman took me into her body and turned me inside out, reduced me to putty, and minutes later, I have the temerity to ask her to stay with me and to marry me. What does she do? She bounds out of the bed and tells me it has never occurred to her. Don’t tell me about Darlene. Damn her. I’m human, and I hurt like hell!”

“Then why was she crying all over me? She wants
to marry you. She just didn’t want to remain here this weekend.”

“That’s not the way it sounded to me. She had time to clarify it, and she didn’t.”

“After I spilled my guts to the two of you yesterday morning, you’re both still acting like blockheads. I saw it coming. She’s crazy about you, so use some of your famous charm, for goodness’ sake. Don’t let that woman out of your life.” He handed Mike an envelope. “Whatever you do, don’t misplace this. It’s very important. Open it when you get home.”

“Thanks. I’d better go. This thing is hard to digest.”

“You have what it takes to turn this around, and I’m confident that you will,” Boyd said to Mike as he turned to leave the room.

Darlene walked into her house, pasted a smile on her face and went to the kitchen to find Maggie. A note attached to the refrigerator told her that Maggie was at a friend’s home and supper was on the stove. Greatly relieved at not having to lie about her weekend, she went to her room, began unpacking and saw the envelope that Boyd had given her. She sat on the bed beside a pile of clothing and opened it.

“What? Was he playing games?” He’d said it was important, so she scrutinized it. A puzzle, but she didn’t have the right pieces with which to solve it. At the bottom of what appeared to be an architect’s draft of a building, she read: “Solve this, and you will receive
rewards, both tangible and intangible, beyond your wildest dreams.”

She pondered it for over an hour. “The rest of this puzzle has been deliberately misplaced. Never mind—nothing beats me. I intend to solve this riddle.”

She spent most of the night looking for a key to the puzzle, but couldn’t find one. When she reached her office the next morning, she walked in, closed the door, sat down and telephoned Mike.

“Hi. This is Darlene. I hope you’re feeling better than me. Did Boyd give you an envelope containing some kind of architectural drawing?”

“Yes, he did, but I don’t have the right pieces. You got one, too?”

So Boyd had a plan for them.
Thank God,
she thought, because she certainly didn’t know how to solve their dilemma. “Yes,” she said out loud. “I spent the night puzzling over this thing. It can’t be solved with what I have here.”

“I’ve just come to the same conclusion. Uh…”

“What is it?” she asked, not bothering to hide her anxiety.

“Can you… I mean, would you come down here next weekend?”

“Earlier than that, if you ask me.”

“How earlier? Tuesday, maybe?”

“I’ll be there.”

“I’ll send you an electronic ticket, and I’ll meet you at the baggage carousel. Uh…where will you stay?”

“That’s up to you.”

“All right. We’ll see each other Tuesday.”

She hung up and telephoned Sam. “I’ll be away Tuesday and for the rest of the week,” she told him. She was junior, but she was still a partner, not the hired help.

“Be sure and leave your number in case we need to reach you.”

Fear gripped her when she saw Mike standing at a post beside the carousel. This was D-day. Would he forgive her? He didn’t smile when he saw her. Each bridged the distance between them slowly. She dropped her carry-on bag and held out both of her hands to him. He took them and stepped close to her.

“Did you say you’d never thought of marrying me?”

“No. No, I didn’t. I said I hadn’t thought of remaining in Memphis, of my living in Memphis, but I hadn’t had to think seriously about it. I’m so deeply in love with you, Mike, that I’ve hardly been able to eat since I left here.”

He got her luggage, took her hand and went to his car. He drove into town. “I want you to stay with me. Will you?”

She agreed that she would.

“I know we’re not quite back to where we were, but I also know we can make it,” he said.