Whetted Appetites (15 page)

     Sometimes, it would be nothing more than a sweet, simple kiss.  Sometimes, their kisses were so intense; it left their lips swollen and ready for more.

     Some days, they were completely satisfied walking in the park, hand in hand.

     Just spending time with each other left them content for the day. 

     Waiting to make love was a great idea and they knew that come Friday, it would be time to let go of those pent up desires and give in to carnal passions.  But waiting was half the fun.  Slipping into bed with someone so quickly pretty much ruined it.  Why not let the anticipation develop so hot that they could easily burn each up in those wild flames?  Jump in too soon and the fire dies much too abruptly, in her humble opinion.

     With Dalton, she was sure to be licked by the tongues of passion.

     Tomorrow, she would find out just what kind of heat Dalton had.

     Friday morning was bright and beautiful.  Victoria went for an early morning jog.  The day was cool and there were still drops of dew clinging to the leaves and petals of the sweet-smelling flowers.  It was such a gorgeous day she opted to run an extra mile.

     After finishing up in record time, Victoria pulled the ear buds from her ears and stretched on her porch before going in and showering.  

     Victoria hummed to herself as she prepared breakfast thirty minutes later.  She poured her cup of coffee as her eggs finished poaching.  She put a sliced banana, a few large strawberries and a handful of toasted almonds on her plate.  She grabbed a slotted spoon and laid the eggs beside a piece of toast, mindful not to break the yoke she so carefully prepared. 

     At four-thirty, Victoria prepared a luxurious bubble bath and pampered herself for tonight.

      Victoria opened the door twenty minutes before six o’clock Friday.   

     “You look great,” she said, observing him in his black pants and dark green shirt.  It complemented his luminous green eyes, reminding her of a panther on the prowl.

     “Thank you.”  Dalton gave her a warm smile as he entered her home.

     Victoria led him to her kitchen, where delicious smells emanated.  She placed two long stem champagne glasses on the counter.  “Would you like a drink?”

     He looked a bit uncomfortable at her question.  He didn’t want to be rude, but he didn’t know if he wanted to have a drink or not.

     Victoria furrowed her brows.  “Is something wrong?”

     “No.  No.  You didn’t.  It’s just that…..”

     “Just that what?”

     Dalton sucked in a breath and plunged in.  It was now or never.  “My father was killed by a drunk driver when I was young.  He was coming home from work.  The driver ran a red light.  My dad was just going through the green light when he was hit from the driver’s side.  The driver was going over fifty miles an hour in a twenty mile an hour zone.”

     Victoria put a hand on her mouth, the look of horror in her eyes.  “I’m so sorry, Dalton.”  She put a comforting hand on his shoulder.  “I wouldn’t have even suggested a drink had I known.”

     “It’s not your fault,” he said softly, trying to put her at ease.  “I told myself that one day I would try a drink; that I could be responsible about it.  I just haven’t worked up the courage yet.”

     “You have nothing to be ashamed of.  The drunk driver should be the one that feels the guilt,” she said with conviction and compassion. “I have iced tea, juice, water and sodas if that’s what you prefer,” she suggested.

     Dalton’s shoulders sagged in relief.  “Iced tea would be great.”

     “Coming right up.”  Victoria got a tumbler, filled it with ice and tea and handed it to him.

     “Thanks.”  Dalton took the glass and sipped.  “It smells wonderful in here.”

     “I’m glad you think so.”  She pointed to a bar seat.  “Have a seat.”

     Dalton watched Victoria move about the kitchen, getting everything ready for the dinner.

     “Do you need any help?”

     Victoria turned and smiled seductively.  “I remember what happened the last time you offered your services.  If you’re going to give a repeat performance from Saturday, then I would love some help.”

     Flames lit Dalton’s eyes.  They darkened with desire.  “Only if you promise to moan and cry out when you come.” 

     Victoria walked up to Dalton, snaking her arms around his neck.  “Oh.  I think we can arrange that.”

     Dalton lowered his head and planted a firm kiss on Victoria’s lips.  He slid his tongue in to mate with hers.  He tasted something sweet and delicious.  Had to be chocolate.

     He lifted his head, seeing her eyes cloudy with lust.

     He was in for it once she got him into her bed, naked and reaching out for each other with pleading eyes.

     “As much as I’m looking forward to dinner and seeing your friends, I can’t wait for the dessert.”  His voice was raspy and low.

     “I’ll just bet.”  Victoria removed her arms and went over to the stove to check on her pasta.

     Dalton sat back down.  “So.  Tell me about your family.  What do your parents do for a living?”  He figured he needed to make small talk or else he would make wild love to her right on the kitchen floor.

     Victoria turned around slowly.  She paused before answering, not sure how much she should tell Dalton this early in the relationship.  “Are you sure you want to know?”

     “Why not?”

     “We’re not exactly what you would call a close knit family.”

    He shrugged.  “I’m sure all families have their ups and downs.”  Like his family.  Barely getting by.

     Victoria cocked her hip on the counter.  She would tell him.  Hopefully, he wouldn’t run out once she was through.

     “My father is an investor with a big firm, Lowder, Shultz and Bradley.  My mother…..she’s…um…she is more like an investor’s wife.  Hosting parties.  Going on trips.  Like an ornament on the arm of my father.

     “She has a weird view of what the world should be like.  As far as she’s concerned, money has a lot to do with a person’s character.  New money doesn’t qualify.  It has to be old money or nothing.  She’s wrong.”  She leaned her head to the side.  She noted Dalton’s uneasiness.  “What is it?”

     “Your mother actually thinks like that?” he asked incredulously. 

     She nodded.  “I wouldn’t worry too much about it.  It’s twisted, I know.  You don’t have to worry that she’ll judge you.  Sad to say, she judges people by the kind of job they hold.”  She pointed to him.  “You’re the president of your own company.  But me?  I wouldn’t care if you worked at McDonalds.  The guys she has set me up with were awful.  She only sets me up with them because of their occupation.  She can’t see past their wallet to find that they’re conceited and hoity-toity.  I couldn’t stand them.  They thought they could impress me by their wealth.  That doesn’t matter to me.”  She shivered, remembering Travis and his convoluted demeanor.  Though, she didn’t tell Dalton about him.

     “So I won’t be meeting her anytime soon,” he stated.

     “Why would you let it bother you?” she asked, puzzled.

     “Because I don’t come from money, Victoria.  I’m what she would call, ‘new money’.  I don’t come from her type of society.  I had to work since I was a kid to get here.  My family didn’t have a lot, especially after my dad died.  We barely got by even with my mom’s multiple jobs and me working odd jobs,” he explained carefully.  Since they were in the early stages of their relationship, Dalton felt that he could only shed so much light on this particular subject.  He simply couldn’t go into further detail about the help his family received to keep from going hungry, to keep the electricity on and to see that they had clothes for school.  He would offer her a more thorough look into his past when he felt it was the right time.  He wasn’t lying by omission; he just knew that he needed more time with Victoria before he opened up on such a sensitive matter.  

     He was still surprised that admitting that much didn’t make him feel disconcerted.  Victoria would find out sooner or later.  He preferred later until he was convinced that their relationship had stamina.

     Victoria took a seat beside Dalton.  “You think that matters to me?  Look at me.  I work for a living.  Yeah.  I could have taken a different route like my mother.  But I didn’t want to be like her or her friends.  They’re not just vain and snobby.  They’re the worst persnickety bunch I’ve ever met. 

     “Melissa and I did everything the hard way getting ‘The SweetTooth’ opened.  I didn’t accept a penny from my parents for it.  Okay, my dad paid for my college tuition.  But I suspect that that’s what parents do.  After that, I wanted to make it on my own.  I didn’t want to be known as a moocher. I didn’t want to be some guy’s wallflower.”

     “If she found out about me, your mom would not like it.”  Dalton put his hand atop Victoria’s.  “I’m sorry.  I don’t want to offend you but your mother sounds a little uninformed about what money really means.  I mean, there are some great-spirited people who dig ditches but they’re happy with their lives because they have a loving family to go home to.”

     “You didn’t offend me.  It’s true.  My mother needs to change her ways of thinking.”  Victoria patted his hand.  “Let’s talk about something else.  Something better,” she urged.

     “Like what I plan to do to you when Melissa and Eric leave?” he asked, his voice a seductive whisper.

     Victoria’s mouth went dry.  His low, sexy tone made her panties moisten.  His eyes held the promise of a hot and wild evening.  And to think she pegged him as an un-wild man.  Boy, was she wrong and glad about it.  She planned on making it right.  Tonight.

     Her voice lowered to a husky pitch.  “Don’t you mean what
I
plan to do to you when they leave?”

     Dalton’s pulse skyrocketed.  He wondered how he was going to make the whole evening trying to contain a seriously painful hard-on.

     Melissa and Eric arrived at six thirty.  Victoria introduced Eric to Dalton.

     Both men sat in the living room while the women put the finishing touches on dinner.

     “How’s it going so far?”  Melissa wanted to know.  She whisked the homemade dressing in a bowl before pouring it in a bottle.

     Victoria plated the pasta and chicken on a large platter.  “So far so good.”  She hesitated for a minute.  “We talked for a while about family.  His and, unfortunately, mine.  My mom would freak.  Knowing her like I do, I bet my year’s salary on her reaction.”

     “Why?”

     “As she would say,” she mimicked her mother’s voice.  “Victoria, he doesn’t come from a well-bred family.”

     Melissa laughed.  “I thought he was the president of his very own company.  I don’t see how that would make her say that.  Besides, Dalton’s a great guy.  You’re dating him, not your mother,” she pointed out.

     “Precisely.  But, I think she picks these losers out because they fit
her
criteria.  They certainly don’t fit mine.” Victoria said as she carried the pasta and chicken dish to the table in the dining room.

     Melissa carried the salad and vinaigrette while Victoria got the rest of the food.

     Melissa stepped into the living room.  “Boys, it’s time to eat.”

     The four of them sat down to enjoy some food and conversation.

    After dinner, they sat down in the living room, savoring the end part of dinner with steaming cups of coffee and dessert.  Victoria caught Dalton’s surreptitious glances.  She saw the fire flicker when she dipped her strawberry into mound of fresh whipped cream.  For good measure, and a little tease, she slowly licked the cream from her lips, giving him a sideways, smoldering look. 

     When Melissa and Eric got up to leave a few minutes later, Dalton couldn’t help but feel a smidgen of relief that eased the tension in her shoulders.  That wasn’t the only thing tense but Victoria was the only woman that could relieve this particular issue.

     “Victoria, I had a spectacular time as always.  Dinner was perfect.”  Eric stretched out his hand to Dalton.  “Dalton, it was a pleasure meeting you.  Let me know when you’re available for tennis.”  

     Dalton shook Eric’s hand.  “Same here.  I’ll give you a call sometime next week and let you know when to meet at the courts.”  He walked over the Melissa and hugged her.  “It was nice seeing you again, Melissa.”

     “You, too, Dalton.”  She smiled and returned the hug.  She was glad that Victoria found this one.  She wasn’t fond of exchanging pleasantries with another man Mrs. Bradley beamed over.

     Melissa embraced her best friend and whispered, “Go get’em, girl.  It’s about time you had a man who knows how to treat a woman.”

     Victoria whispered back, “I will.  Thanks, Melissa.”

     Eric and Melissa walked hand in hand out the door, leaving Victoria and Dalton to their own devices.  Which was more than fine to Dalton.

     Victoria shut the door.  “Make yourself comfortable.  I’ll only be a minute,” she said, her voice laced with mystery and passion.