BANKS Maya - Undenied (Samhain).txt (10 page)

She reached for his hand, curling her fingers around his like an excited kid and hurried toward the zoo entrance.

“Do you know I’ve lived here for ten years and I’ve never been to the zoo?” she asked after he’d paid their fees.

He grinned. “I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been. I’m just a big ole kid at heart.”

“Ohhh, I want to get ice cream,” she said right before she let go of his hand and strode toward the vendor’s hut.

Chuckling, he followed behind her.

She chose chocolate, and he got vanilla. As they started to walk away from the little shop, he reached out and took her hand, sliding his fingers over her palm and downward until they intertwined with hers.

She looked over at him and smiled then tightened her fingers around his. She licked at her cone, her tongue swirling around the ice-cold treat. It was an exercise in torture because he could too easily imagine that delectable pink tongue circling his cock just like it circled the tip of the ice cream.

He thrust the cone toward his mouth, hoping the cold would put a stop to his hot, lusty thoughts.

“Let’s go see the monkeys first,” she piped up. “They’re always the most entertaining. I’d just as soon skip the reptiles.” She gave a delicate shudder.

“Snakes don’t do it for you?” he teased.

“The only good snake is a dead snake,” she muttered.

He laughed. “Well, on that we agree. I once shot a water moccasin out of the backseat of my patrol car. Got wrote up for destruction of city property.”

She gaped at him. “You’re kidding!”

He shook his head. “Nope. No idea how it got in there, but I damn near flipped the car when I looked in my rearview mirror and saw it slithering across the backseat.”

An all-over shudder wracked her body. “I think I’d need therapy after that.”

“Some might argue I needed therapy long before the snake incident,” he said with a grin.

She rolled her eyes but laughed and shoved an elbow into his side.

They acted like goofy teenagers out on their first date. They held hands, traded ice cream and laughed at the antics of the zoo animals.

By the time they made their way back out to his truck, they were flushed from the heat, but Payton glowed from head to toe.

“Have a good time?” he asked as he started the engine and turned the air conditioning on full blast.

“The best!”

“Want to go back to the hotel, grab a shower then get something to eat?”

“Mmm, only if I get to choose the place,” she said, flashing him a sideways look.

“Bear in mind the fanciest thing I brought was a pair of unfaded jeans and a newer T-shirt,” he warned.

“Oh, I think you’ll be fine. There’s a casual place a few blocks from my apartment. It’s small, intimate, a little dark, and they have the best jazz band on the weekends.”

Small, dark and intimate sounded real good to him right now. He wanted to be closer to her. Wanted to touch her and enjoy the feel of her in his arms.

He couldn’t ever remember enjoying himself as much as he had the past two weekends. He was at a loss to explain why, but nothing in his past compared to the reality of Payton.

Being with her made him feel happy. Carefree. In a way no one else made him feel. He was comfortable. At ease. He loved the way she lit up, the way she expressed delight over the smallest things. He found himself wanting to do things to make her smile, because God, she had a gorgeous smile.

He watched her from the corner of his eye as he drove out of the zoo parking lot. Then he eased his hand over to take hers. She turned to him and smiled, and he swore he went positively weak. Their palms brushed and she clutched his fingers with hers.

They made a quick run by Payton’s apartment to get a change of clothes for her and then they headed for the hotel.

There they showered together, and he made love to her against the shower wall, the warm water cascading over their bodies. Afterward, he dried them both off and they dressed for dinner.

It only took a few minutes to drive to the club, and as Payton had warned, it was small, housed in the very end of a tiny strip mall.

They walked into the darkened interior, and Wes looked around appreciatively at the wooden tables adorned with flickering candles. There were at most, ten, spaced out in front of a diminutive platform that must serve as the stage.

To the right a bar with three stools lined the wall, and a waitress wearing a slinky black dress stood arranging drinks on a tray.

Payton looked down at her watch. “We have about fifteen minutes before the band will start. Time enough to sit down and get our food.”

He nodded and let her lead them to a table on the far right of the room. She chose a table that afforded them the most privacy while still able to view the stage.

When they sat, another waitress in a similar dress as the other server he’d seen walked up with a broad smile.

“Payton! It’s good to see you again,” the waitress exclaimed.

Payton smiled back. “Hey, Laura, how are you?”

“I’m great. Did you go to Brenda’s wedding last weekend?”

Payton nodded. “Laura, I want you to meet someone. This is Wes Hoffman. He and I knew each other from high school.”

Wes fidgeted in his chair, bothered by the introduction. Why, he wasn’t sure, but it made him seem like nothing more than a passing acquaintance, a catch-up session with an old friend.

And maybe that was what it was.

“Hi, Wes,” Laura said brightly, a warm smile lighting her face.

He gave her his best killer smile. “Very nice to meet you, Laura.”

Her eyes widened appreciatively before she cleared her throat and turned back to Payton. “You guys going to eat?”

Payton nodded.

“What’ll you have to drink then?”

“I’ll take a glass of the house wine,” she said then looked over at him expectantly.

“I’ll take whatever beer you have on tap.”

“Okay, I’ll get your drinks right out,” Laura said before she walked off at a brisk pace.

Wes looked at Payton in confusion. “But we didn’t order food. Or get a menu even.”

She laughed, the rich, husky sound floating over him. “They only serve one thing here. Prime rib, medium rare, with a house salad and baked potato. For dessert they serve pecan pie.”

His mouth watered. “They’re speaking my language.”

“Somehow I imagined you wouldn’t object to steak,” she teased.

“I need the protein,” he protested. “You’ve worn me out. No telling how much muscle I’ve lost.”

Her cheeks looked decidedly pink in the soft candlelight, but she only smiled and winked. “There are worse ways to get your exercise.”

He burst into laughter. “You got that right.”

A minute later, Laura returned with their drinks and a few minutes after that, the band began setting up. By the time they got their food, the first strains of music filled the room.

He stared at Payton as they ate, watched how she focused in on the musicians, how she seemed to enjoy every aspect of the experience. She was obviously a person who derived pleasure from even the simplest things. Their trip to the zoo had delighted her, and she’d spent the entire afternoon with an exuberant smile on her face.

He’d found himself wanting to do more, using any excuse to make her light up.

“Let’s dance,” she said, looking over at him, her blue eyes glowing in the dim light.

And here again, he wanted to do whatever would put a smile on her lips. He wasn’t a dancer by any stretch of the imagination. Two left feet didn’t exactly cover his lack of grace. But if she wanted to dance, then he’d dance. He’d use any excuse to get close to her, press her body to his.

Wes stood and held out his hand to her. She took it and stood in front of him. Without a word, he pulled her into his arms right there by the table.

The haunting sounds of the slow melody worked its magic as they melted in to each other. Payton closed her eyes and leaned her cheek against his hard chest as he rested his chin atop her head.

Their own little corner of the universe. No one watched them, not that she cared. They swayed and moved in a tight circle. Had there ever been such a perfect day? Not even last night when he’d gone to such lengths to give her a perfect evening. The sex was good, no, make that fantastic, but it was today that squeezed her heart. Two people laughing and

carefree, comfortable with each other. Was this what it felt like to be in love?

Her body went tense for a moment. He sensed the change in her because he pulled away to look down at her, confusion registering in his expression.

She forced herself to relax and give him a reassuring smile. But her heart beat with a resounding thud, hammering against the inside of her chest like a prisoner trying to escape.

Love. Did she love him? Could she be in love with someone she’d for all practical purposes only met a little over a week ago?

Or did the feelings they’d once had for each other come into play? She frowned against his chest. No, they didn’t count. Yeah, she’d had a major crush on Wes at sixteen, but they’d only gotten together the one weekend when they’d had sex. No boyfriend/girlfriend stuff as teenagers are wont to do.

Yes, she’d had tender feelings for him then. But love? What the hell had she known about love then? And she certainly hadn’t spent the last twelve years pining for him. Hell, she hadn’t even thought about him except when conversations with her girlfriends came up about old boyfriends/lovers.

That could only mean that whatever connection they had now accounted for the warm, fuzzy feeling inside her.

The song ended and Wes returned her to her chair just as Laura brought dessert and refilled their drinks. They ate in silence, and she knew she was being unnaturally quiet, but she couldn’t wrap her brain around her almost epiphany. Because really, she wasn’t about to admit to herself that she could very well be in love with him yet.

“You’re quiet,” Wes murmured as he pushed aside his saucer.

She smiled, just a little shakily. “Just enjoying the night. The day. The weekend. It’s been fantastic.”

He leaned forward, taking her hands in his. “It’s not over yet. I plan to take you back to the hotel…” He raised her hand to his lips, inserting

the tip of her index finger in his mouth, laving his tongue over it. “…and make love to you all night.”

She sucked in a mouthful of air and tried to calm her frazzled nerves. Nerves? She wasn’t nervous. She was anxious. Anxious to get the hell back to the hotel.

“I thought you needed to leave tonight? Don’t you work tomorrow?”

He nodded. “I do. Have to work, that is. But I thought I’d get up early and drive in tomorrow morning. Which gives us tonight.” He paused and gave her a sexy grin. “That is, if you’re interested.”

She met his gaze head-on. “I’m interested.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” he asked as he stood.

What indeed.

Chapter Eleven

Consumed. There was really no other word for it. His entire thought process was a study in a curvy brunette with blue eyes and a killer smile.

Wes sat at his desk filing his latest report, cursing the fact that it was only Monday. Did it make him a pussy that he was counting the hours until he could see Payton again?

With a disgusted sigh, he acknowledged that it probably did, and furthermore, he could give a flying fuck about that.

He checked his cell phone for the hundredth time, just in case she’d called and it hadn’t rang. She probably wouldn’t call until after work anyway.

“Hey, man, we’re all going to Jake and Ellie’s after work,” Jeremy said from the door. “You gonna come?”

Wes stared up at his friend lounging against the doorframe. “Yeah, sounds good. I’ll be there.”

“Good. You haven’t been around much lately. We were starting to wonder if you’d found better company.”

Wes snorted. He wasn’t going to walk into that trap. “I’ll be there,” he repeated.

“Jake wanted me to ask you to get a case of beer on your way over. The girls are taking care of the food.”

“Yeah, sure, no problem. I’ll go home and change then head on over.”

Jeremy nodded and ducked out. Wes sat there a long time pondering Jeremy’s innocent statement about better company. The more he thought on it, the more bothered he was.

He hadn’t lied when he’d told Payton that he enjoyed a simple life. Beer, good times, a job he loved, a town he loved and good friends. His friends had found happy relationships, but things hadn’t changed. They were still hanging out together, living a few miles apart. Payton didn’t live here, wasn’t a part of his circle. A relationship with her beyond sex would entail change for at least one, if not both of them.

The thought of his life changing made him uneasy. He’d always imagined that when he got ready to settle down, he’d do so with a local girl. Just like Jake, Luke and Jeremy had done. Then life would go on as usual only he wouldn’t go home alone anymore.

Payton… Well, she didn’t seem like the kind of girl willing to give everything up to move to a Podunk town for a guy on a city cop’s salary.

Nor are you asking her to, dumbass. Way to get ahead of yourself.

But the fact remained. She had a successful business. One she’d built herself. She’d put a lot of time and sweat into her agency. There was absolutely nothing he could offer her that she didn’t already have. There wasn’t anything his town could offer her. As convinced as he was that he didn’t want his life to change, didn’t want to leave the niche he’d created, he knew she had to be equally determined not to give up her life either.

It shouldn’t bother him, them being at opposite ends. But it left a hollow ache in his chest. A morose feeling he couldn’t get rid of no matter how hard he tried to convince himself that he should be looking at this as a temporary relationship. Sex. Good times. A little fun. Nothing more.

He had to get a grip. Being this tied up in knots over a girl… Well, it sucked. It was no way to live.

His cell phone rang, and he yanked it up to stare at the LCD. He was annoyed it wasn’t Payton, but even more pissed that he’d reacted like a lovesick moron.

Cool it, dude. Seriously.