CHAPTER ELEVEN
"I like the white one. It really shows off your tan." Rick watched as Marie turned in front of the mirror, inspecting the white sundress. She looked sweet and sexy at the same time.
"But I don't have any shoes to wear with it."
"We'll buy you some." She'd been so depressed the day after their conversation about lovemaking that he'd told her they'd go shopping tonight and to the beach tomorrow--and even Sunday, if the sunscreen worked.
She went to him, looping her arms about his neck. "Thank you," she said, raising her lips to his.
She seemed to have recovered, Rick mused as he watched her try on white sandals half an hour later. He never would have believed he could enjoy shopping, but he loved watching her discover new styles and new toys. He'd bought her a pocket calculator on the way to the shoe store.
They were going to Teri's for dinner the next evening, and Marie showered and put on her new white dress and sandals when they got back from the shore. "How do I look?" she asked Rick when she joined him downstairs.
"Beautiful." She was even darker than she'd been yesterday when she'd tried on the dress, and the contrast the dress made with her hair and skin was striking.
"I can see where you two have been," Teri said when they arrived at her townhouse.
"Yeah. Doesn't Marie's tan look great?"
"Yeah--I wish I tanned that prettily."
As she'd promised when she'd invited them, Teri had made a Chinese meal. "House rules: you have to spend at least 15 minutes using chopsticks," she told them as they sat down to dinner. "After that, you can have a fork if you want."
Marie had eaten in Chinese restaurants in 1927, so she managed with the chopsticks. The meal was enjoyable, but she couldn't keep her thoughts from wandering to Rick. His neck looked so warm and inviting. She wanted to bury her face in the crook of his neck and shoulder. Did he like being kissed on the neck as much as she did? Just the memory of his kisses made her heart race.
They had coffee and dessert in the living room. "What a pretty sculpture," Marie said, admiring a small porcelain garden filled with flowers and a water wheel.
"Clap your hands," Teri told her.
"What?"
"Clap your hands."
Marie did so, and music played as water began to make the water wheel turn. "Oh! It's a fountain! How does it work?"
"It runs on battery, and it's sound-activated."
When the music and water stopped, Marie clapped her hands again. "How clever!"
"Where did you get it?" Rick asked his sister.
"Target."
Marie smiled at Rick. "Can I go with you when you buy it for me?"
Rick chuckled. "What makes you think I'm going to get it for you?"
"I know you." She took his hand, squeezing it. "He spoils me terribly," she told Teri and Jeremy.
When Marie excused herself later in the evening, Teri didn't waste a second. "This really is serious, isn't it?"
Rick smiled, shrugging. "There are some problems, but yeah, it's serious."
"Good. I like her."
It was nearly midnight when they left. "Thank you for the little fountain," Marie told Rick as he unlocked her car door.
"I haven't bought it for you yet."
"But you want to. You decided to as soon as I admired it. Thank you." She linked her arms around his neck, smiling into his eyes and then raising her face to kiss him.
His hands wandered over her back as he returned her kiss. "Wow," he murmured, resting his forehead against hers. "I predict our house is soon going to be full of all kinds of knickknacks and gadgets."
Smiling, she pulled him closer for another kiss. He was constantly thinking of her, buying her gifts and designing adventures for her. Sighing, she leaned into him as their kiss went on.
Rick was lost. She held nothing back in her kiss, making him hungrier for more. He pinned her to the car, pressing his body full length against hers.
Marie gasped, her fingernails digging into his shoulders. She would never have dreamed that being pinned beneath Rick's body would feel so incredibly . . . incredibly . . . She moaned, letting her head drop back against the roof of the car as he began kissing her neck.
"I love you, Marie," he whispered, nuzzling her ear. He raised his head, wanting to see her face. And then he realized that Teri's porch light was on and that she was probably watching to see when she could turn it off. Stroking Marie's hair, he pressed a final kiss to her lips. "I think we'd better go."
"Hmmm?" She ran her hand up his neck and into his hair.
"We need to go home. Teri--" He caught himself. Marie would be embarrassed if she thought Teri and Jeremy had seen them kissing.
"Mmm." She kissed him again.
Rick returned her kiss and then gently disengaged her arms. "It's getting late. We need to get home." He helped her into the car.
"I think I like 1927 cars better than 2011 cars," Marie said as Rick slid behind the wheel.
"Why?"
"I could sit right beside you in a 1927 car."
"You have a good point." As soon as he'd pulled out of the driveway, he took her hand. "Did you have a good time tonight?"
"Mmm." She leaned over and kissed his cheek.
Rick was glad that the trip home was long enough to give him a chance to cool down. If they'd been alone at home instead of leaning against his car in his sister's driveway, he would have had a hard time stopping.
So when they got home and Marie put her arms around his neck, obviously ready to pick up where they'd left off, he held her away. "We need to talk about this."
She kissed his chin. "About what?"
"Kissing. Touching. Let's sit down."
They sat facing each other on the sofa, and Marie reached out to caress his face. "Couldn't we kiss and touch instead of talking about it?"
He took her hand from his cheek, squeezing it. "Don't you remember what we talked about? About how-how passionate kissing can lead to lovemaking?"
"But Rick, can't we kiss at all?"
He raised her hand to nibble on one delicate fingertip, trying to resist the nearly irresistible impulses that the frustrated desire in her eyes and voice stirred in him. "Not like we were tonight. Don't you understand, Marie? When our kisses get that hot, it's hard for me to stop. I don't want to stop. I want to make love to you."
Her face grew fiery, and she was silent for a few seconds, staring down at her hands. "I-I don't know what to say. I-I'm sorry."
"You don't have to be sorry. You just need to know exactly what's happening. What can happen."
She toyed with his fingers as she said, "I imagine you . . . that is, you've . . . you've . . . made love . . . before."
"Yes."
She was horrified when two tears spilled out of her eyes, and she tried to wipe them away before he could see. But he noticed right away. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" She shook her head, but he reached out to tilt her chin up. "What's wrong?"
She sniffed. "I don't like to think of your-your . . . touching . . . anyone but me."
He gazed at her for a moment. "I love you, Marie. And if you'd stay here with me, I'd promise you that I would never, ever touch another woman."
His words filled her with anguish. She could have him, but only if she stayed here. And she couldn't do that. She had to go home. To have Rick, she would have to give up her parents, her friends, her home. She loved Rick with her whole heart, but how could she . . . how could she give up everything she'd ever known?
Rick handed Marie his handkerchief. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'm sorry that you feel torn. But I have to tell you that I'd give anything in this world to have you stay here with me. I love you so much."
Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, and she laid her head on his shoulder. She dabbed at her tears with Rick's handkerchief, noticing that it smelled like his cologne. She was going to keep it and take it back with her. She'd remember every kiss
they'd ever shared whenever she smelled it. And grow hot as she remembered. Rick's kisses were unlike anything she'd ever imagined. She could have spent her whole life watching romances and still never have been able to dream of anything as exciting as Rick's kisses and touches. Rubbing her cheek against his shirt, she whispered, "Rick?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I tell you something that I maybe shouldn't?"
"What?"
"I really like it when you kiss my neck."
Chuckling, he dropped a kiss onto her neck. "Any other secrets?"
"Yes," she whispered. "When-when Davis . . . put his tongue in-in my mouth, I didn't like it. But you--with you, I like it." She twisted her head about to kiss his throat. "I think about you all the time. I think about kissing you and touching you--with your shirt off." She kissed him, her hands moving restlessly over his chest. Nuzzling his ear, she told him, "It's probably wrong for me to tell you these things. But I want to tell you everything. I want you to know how I feel."
Rick pulled her onto his lap and began devouring her mouth. If he didn't know better, he'd swear she was the most cunning seductress he'd ever known. Her innocence combined with her confession was a powerful aphrodisiac. She was so trusting and yet so passionate, her mouth as hungry as his, her hands caressing and clutching and clawing at his chest and shoulders and neck. Hadn't she understood a word he'd said?
Rick let the embrace go on for as long as he could. Then he ended it abruptly, setting her on the sofa and holding himself away from her.
"Rick," she gasped, reaching for him.
"No. No, no, no," he groaned, refusing to let her put her arms around him or kiss him.
"I want more, Rick. Please kiss me again."
His groan was deeper this time, and he turned away from her, dropping his head into his hands. "Please go to bed, Marie."
"But Rick--"
"Just go to bed. Please."
He didn't look up when she finally complied. He'd never known such ecstatic misery. He wanted her so much that, 20 minutes after she'd gone, his hands were still trembling.
Was he a fool? She'd begged him to keep kissing her. She'd been so caught up in their kisses and caresses that she probably wouldn't have stopped him no matter how he'd touched her. He could have made love to her. Yet he'd stopped.
But he couldn't regret that decision. She'd probably let him make love to her, but she'd be devastated when it was over. Her morals were deeply ingrained, and the guilt would eat away at her. He loved her far too much to put her through that.
But they couldn't go on like this. He'd always prided himself on his self-control, but living under the same roof with a woman he loved, a woman who begged for his kisses--that was too much. But he knew Marie didn't really understand. She thought that they could just kiss forever.
If only he could convince her to stay here with him. He was sure that she'd eventually come to accept the fact that she wasn't going to be able to get back home, but he was afraid they'd end up making love before she'd reached that point. And while making love on their wedding night would be a wonderful, earth-shattering experience for them both, he knew that making love before marriage would probably have disastrous results for her--and therefore for him. So he had to convince her to stay. And to marry him.
Sighing, Rick rose and went to take a cold shower. Marie's door was closed, and the light was off, so he assumed she'd done as he'd suggested and gone to bed.
Marie was in bed. Quietly crying into her pillow.