Morgan slapped the ball of pastry dough down onto the floured breadboard and with rolling pin in hand, quickly and expertly coaxed the dough into a perfect circle. Since dawn, he’d been turning out pie crusts like a one-man assembly line for the sweet-potato pies he was in charge of making. He hadn’t missed a beat, but his mind was on Dina. She must have been pretty rattled to have thrown out such a ridiculous challenge. No way was he going to turn down something like that. He was guessing it had popped out of her mouth before she’d had a chance to think about the consequences, and now she had to ride the tiger. She was across the room working on the corn bread. She seemed to be pointedly ignoring him, but every now and then her simmering gaze would lock with his and he’d inwardly smile. The Queen of Broadway had stuck her foot in a trap and he was enjoying watching her fury at the fact that it was her own damn fault.
By noon, Dina swore she’d watched the mixer revolve so many times she was bordering on motion sickness. Morgan with his eyes flashing mischief every time she glanced his way wasn’t helping her mood. She forced herself to keep her mind on her work and not on the kiss she’d stupidly set herself up to give him later.
By nine o’clock that evening they were finally done for the day. All the dinners had been picked up or placed in the refrigerator for delivery. The hired help had gone home, leaving the place to the two families and their guests. Dina removed her batter-splattered chef’s coat and dragged off her hairnet. “Lord, I don’t ever remember this day being this much work.”
Jas nodded. “Company was smaller back in the day. I’m whipped, too.”
They were interrupted by the entrance of the grinning Rick, who, after nodding a greeting to Morgan washing utensils in the large sink, said to his fiancée, “I had fun, Jas.”
The weary Jas laughed. “Shut up. If you had been back here with us doing real work instead of riding around in the van all day, you wouldn’t be saying that.”
He walked over and placed his arms lovingly around her waist. “Then how about I make up for being such a slacker by fixing you a nice hot bubble bath when we get back to the hotel?”
They’d gotten a suite at one of the hotels downtown for the night. The bridesmaids were rooming there, as well. The intimacy of the scene made Dina smile and look away, only to find Morgan watching her. He was famous for his bubble-bath offers, too, and he seemed to know that she was remembering. She turned her attention back to Jas and Rick just as Grace Todd entered. Grace was as short and stout as her children were tall and lean.
“We old folks are going home. Awesome job today you all. Thanks.”
Morgan said, “Remember I’m cooking dinner tomorrow so you go home and put your feet up.” The love in his voice was plain.
Grace smiled. “Gotta love a son who looks out for his mama.”
Dina could hear the love in her voice, as well.
Dina’s parents entered. They looked weary, too.
Lynne said, “We’re out of here. Dee, do you want to ride with us?”
“She’s riding home with me,” Morgan replied before Dina could open her mouth.
“Okay, then,” Lynne said, grinning “We’ll see you later.”
As the parents waved and called out goodbye, Grace and Lynne shot Dina a knowing grin, which made her sigh. They’d never sink to meddling in their children’s lives but it was understood that they were hoping she and Morgan worked things out.
Dina and Morgan were now alone and the only sound in the room was the water he was running, mingled with Dina’s own thoughts.
“Be ready to go in a minute,” he assured her.
“Okay. I’m going to grab my coat.”
“Can you bring mine?”
She returned with the coats and her purse.
After he set the alarm and locked up, he walked her outside and over to the lone car in the parking lot. Night had fallen and the wind was cold and brisk. Snow would arrive any day.
As he drove away from the shop, the interior of the car was cold and Dina shivered inside her plush black coat. When he didn’t take the customary route to the house, she asked, “Where are you going?”
“Been a long day. Feel like driving to unwind. That okay with you?”
She looked over. “Sure.”
There was no way for her to back out of the box she’d put herself in, so she decided to enjoy the ride and deal with the kiss she’d promised him when the time came.
They were riding west on Jefferson toward downtown. They’d grown up in the Jefferson Chalmers area and the east-side streets were as familiar as their names. He reached up to the visor and unclipped a sleeve of CDs and handed it to her. “Your choice.”
The overhead lamp came on so she could see, and once her decision was made he plunged them back into half-lit darkness. The mellow sounds of a sweet saxophone soon filled the silence and he told her, “Great choice.”
While he drove and the music played, she split her attention between the view out her window of Detroit at night, and Morgan.
“I saw Freeman Jones today,” he told her.
“Did you punch him in the face?”
He laughed softly. “No. Told me to tell you, ‘hi.’ He has his own construction company.”
“The nine-year-old in me still hates his guts. That day he stole my glasses I wanted to fillet him like a piece of salmon. Everybody knew I couldn’t see past my nose without those ugly old specs, and he had the nerve to snatch them off my face and run away laughing.”
“I think he liked you.”
“I think I wanted him killed, but you saved the day.”
“Yep. Ran him down. Kicked his butt and got them back.”
Dina thought that might have been when her feelings for him began to blossom. Even though he hadn’t seen her as anything other than his godsister until they were both in their twenties, she’d been in love with him most of her life.
When they made the left onto the bridge that led to Belle Isle she smiled inwardly. The Isle, as the locals called it, was a large island in the middle of the Detroit River. The grounds had been designed by the same man who plotted out New York City’s Central Park. It was a favorite spot for picnicking, watching the annual summer fireworks and for couples. With the headlights illuminating the way, he drove slowly and she silently looked across the black strip of the river at the lights of the city of Windsor, Ontario on the other side.
“When was the last time you were out here?” he asked.
“Years, for sure.”
“We came out here a lot back in the day.”
She nodded. Dark clouds raced across the moon. She concentrated on the views to keep from remembering all the kissing and other sensual activities they’d engaged in back then.
“Are you warm enough?”
“Yes. Thanks.”
Morgan looked over at her by the low glow of the lights from the dash and wanted to take her in his arms and slowly sample the taste and scents of her, but he had no intention of rushing this. He’d let her call the tune.
Dina wanted to get this kiss challenge over with because the longer she was with him the more she feared she’d enjoy being in his arms. His presence had been working on her senses all day and no matter how hard she tried to keep it at bay, thoughts of him whispered and her body wanted to answer. “Okay. Let’s stop and do this so I can go home and go to bed.”
“Sure.”
She thought he flashed a knowing smile but the shadows made it difficult for her to see him clearly. He found a spot and eased the car onto the grass near the shore. They were risking a ticket if the police drove by and saw them parked on the riverbank, but it offered a clear view of the water. He left the engine running so they wouldn’t get cold and set the brake.
“So,” he said. The jazz played softly in the dark.
“Lean over.”
He complied slowly, but before she could say or do anything he brushed his lips invitingly against her jaw, then her chin, and Dina remembered just how good he was at thi
s. The soft opening moves continued as he greeted the plane of her cheek, the expanse of her forehead and then the shell of her ear. “I’ve missed you…?.”
She dissolved. Way too good.
His hand came up to cup the back of her head and gently moved her mouth to his. She responded instantly and without thought to the intensity that shot through her like a flame. She’d wanted to be distant and controlled, but he was melting her barriers like an ice cube on a hot stove and all she could do was moan. Next thing she knew he was dragging her across the seat; the steering wheel dug into her back until it magically tilted up and she was on his lap kissing him back passionately. Her arms snaked around his neck and his tongue tasted hers. A fever seemed to grab her and all she wanted was more.
While they continued to drown themselves in kissing, his hand began a slow tour inside of her black coat. Her nipples blossomed and called and his expert fingers answered, leaving them taut with wanting, and her breathless.
“More?” he asked against her lips.
“Damn you, yes,” she whispered back hotly.
He kissed her hard and pushed up her sweater so his hand could take command of her breasts through the lacy covering of her bra. He pulled the cups down and his mouth helped itself to bare nipples, and Dina almost orgasmed there and then. He was every bit as scandalous as he’d been four years ago, if not more. Holding her nipples between his fingers he tugged erotically then flattened them against his palms. She was hot, no getting around it, and all she wanted was him.
“Backseat,” he whispered.
It was a tight fit but neither cared. Lust, longing and passion ruled, and Dina couldn’t undo her jeans fast enough. He dragged his own jeans down, sat and placed her atop his lap so she could ride and he could watch her eyes close as he filled her.
She came almost instantly. It had been so long since she’d been loved so well, and the force of it rocked her so hard she cried out and moved on him like a woman possessed.
He wasn’t much better. The reality of having her hot little body moving on him with such uninhibited abandon made him want to take her this way until the sun came up, but her sheath was too hot and her hips in his hands too soft so he surrendered with a shout and came with an orgasm that left him shuddering.
Afterward, the only sound in the car was the harshness of their breathing. They clung to each other in the silence and then Dina lifted her head and looked into his eyes.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” she said softly.
Using a finger he traced her kiss-swollen mouth with the gentleness of a lover. “I know but it’s too late now, so where do we go from here?”
“I don’t know.” Even as she responded, she could feel him lustily hardening inside her again, and her greedy body wanted another round.
As if reading her mind, he began to stroke her slowly. “You were saying?”
The silent lure of him invited her to join in. “No fair. I can’t think.”
“Good.” He moved her sweater out of the way and helped himself again to her breasts held up for his pleasure by the cups of her pulled-aside bra. Teasing and playing until she drew in a halting breath, he slid a hand down her bare back and hips and moved her to his rhythm. This time it was slower but no less intense. He eased a hand down between their bodies to make sure she stayed ripe, and all she could do was close her eyes from the spreading bliss and ride. She reminded herself again that this wasn’t what she’d been after, but he had her so hot and bothered, wanting to be loved by him this way until the end of time was what her body craved.
By the time the second orgasm rose and exploded, they were going at each other like two teenagers too far gone to stop.
They did stop, however, in response to the headlights flooding the backseat from a car parked behind them, and the insistent sound of someone knocking at the fogged-over windows. Panicked, Dina left his lap in a flash. They quickly did up their clothes.
“Detroit Police!” they heard and the absurdity of the situation made them both grab their mouths to keep from laughing aloud.
Morgan reached over and hit the button to partially lower the window. A white cop wearing Detroit blue stuck his head into the opening. He shined his big flashlight inside and Dina instantly averted her face. Morgan got the same treatment but met the cop’s smiling eyes with a smile of his own.
“We’re legal, sir,” Morgan said.
The policeman grinned. “I thought you were teenagers.”
“We used to be.”
The cop flashed the light on the highly embarrassed Dina again and paused. “Aren’t you Dina Caldwell, the actress?”
And before she could decide whether to tell the truth or not, he put Morgan under the light again and exclaimed, “I’ll be damned. Morgan Todd and Dina Caldwell out here necking like two kids. Are you two back together?” Dina sighed.
Morgan said, “We’re working on it, so how about a little privacy?”
“Only if I can get an autograph first. The wife’s not going to believe this! Let me go get something to write on.”
He left them alone for a moment and Dina said, “Good grief. By the time he gets done with his shift, everybody in the city’s going to know we were out here.”
“Could be worse. He could’ve hauled us in for indecent exposure and lewd behavior, and you were guilty of both.”
“Me?” she laughed.
The cop came back and stuck a piece of paper and pen in the window. “Can you make it out to, ‘Mike Jeffers, my biggest fan’?” he asked Dina.
She shook her head with amusement but wrote out what he wanted and signed her name. Morgan was next and when he was done he handed the paper and pen back to the officer.
“Thanks. Now, you two should probably head home. The Isle’s not as safe as it used to be at night.” Morgan nodded.
Jeffers touched his cap. “Nice meeting you. Especially you, Ms. Caldwell.”
“Nice meeting you, too.”
He drove off. Morgan looked over at Dina and an instant later they burst out laughing.
Later, he pulled up into her driveway. She didn’t regret their lovemaking. On one hand she wanted this to be a first step to reconciliation, but on the other hand she was still wary. She decided not to think about it until later. “I’ll see you, tomorrow.”
“Do you want to go to the parade in the morning?”
She smiled. “No.” Detroit’s annual Thanksgiving parade was one of the largest in the Midwest. “I’m hoping to sleep in and you’re doing the dinner, remember?”
“Then do I get a good-night’s kiss?”
“I think you’ve had plenty of kisses for one night, Morgan.”
“Party pooper.”
“I’ll see you in the morning. Oh, and so you’ll know. Arthur called to say he won’t be coming. Some kind of monetary crisis is going to keep him in Copenhagen until next week.”
That said, she got out of the car. He waited until she was safely inside before he grinned and backed down the driveway.
Lying in bed, Morgan thought back on the evening. Dina had been hot as an oven, and her first orgasm had happened so quickly it’d made him wonder how long it had been since she’d made love. The memory of their backseat interlude made him hard all over again and was a testament to how strong his feelings for her still were. Whatever he had to do to prove he could be trusted with her love again, he’d do. He didn’t want to go through the rest of his life without being by her side, but in a few days she’d be flying back to New York. Once she did there was no telling what might happen to the fragile bridge he was trying to build. If he just had more time he was sure he could solidify the connection, but as it stood, time was running out.
CHAPTER 7
As planned, Thanksgiving dinner was held at the Todd house, and Morgan’s menu was so spectacular his mother laughingly announced that it would be his job to cook the dinner from then on. It was a fun-filled day, even if the Lions did lose the traditional Thanksgiving NFL game, again. Th
ey played cards, ate dessert and talked about Rick and Jas’s wedding due to jump off in two days.
Dina spent the day trying to keep her body from calling out to Morgan and failed. That one hot taste last night had been so memorable it wanted more. Her mind didn’t think it was a good idea, but her body didn’t care. As she observed him over the course of the day, it got worse. She found herself watching the way he moved, observing his interactions with his mom and hers and being captured by the heat in his gaze whenever it met hers. He hadn’t gloated over her sensual downfall or boasted about it, not that he’d ever been that way, and she kept replaying his declaration that he wanted to be the man for her that he should have been when they were engaged. There wasn’t a woman alive who could shrug off such a powerful statement, and last night’s backseat whirlwind proved that she was definitely alive and well.
By day’s end, she decided to stop fighting the inevitable and take a closer look at the new-and-improved Morgan Todd. They’d meant the world to each other at one time, and in the face of him pointing the finger at himself as the cause of their breakup and offering her such heartfelt apologies and regrets, she owed him at least that.
Jas, Rick and the bridesmaids left for a concert downtown at the Fox Theater, and the parents rode out for cards and fun with their friends. The wedding was only two days away and Dina planned on spending the evening catching up on her rest in preparation for the marathon of activities that would begin in the morning. She stuck her head into the kitchen where Morgan was cutting himself a piece of pie. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“If I bribe you with pie and coffee, will you stay?”
They assessed each other in the silence. In spite of her earlier thoughts on needing rest, she knew she wanted to say yes to his offer so she took off her coat and sat down at the kitchen table. “So where are you heading after the wedding and the cake contest?”
“Oakland. There’s a piece of property out there that I have my eye on. I’m probably going to relocate so I can be closer to my school and the kids.”
“Don’t you tape in Florida?”