Champagne Romance (Romance Novel) (4 page)

It mattered not to Swan that Slater was
handsome and gorgeous as she could only touch and feel. Obviously,
she was not impressed with his “bear like” activity of the night
before wrestling match. He realized that a little more finesse was
probably required in this situation. Let’s face it---a LOT more
finesse was probably required.

Adjusting to the situation and changing
tactics, Slater cleared his throat, signifying his presence, but
unsure of what to say next, which was rare in itself. So, he ran
his forefinger over his sexy lips thinking and waiting as he had
often had to do when situations called for it.

Slater was not a stranger to waiting and
evaluating a problem. He had often had to do just that when he was
under difficult circumstances in enemy territory with his commando
unit. His buddies called him Ace for two reasons: he always
delivered the enemy and he always scored with the ladies. Hoping
that Swan would make the first move, he waited.

Swan had a miserable night. She’d had visions
of dreadful monsters that haunted and chased her from the past.
They had insisted on intruding and producing a mini-nightmare. Her
eyes were red and swollen from a night of sobbing combined with the
terrifying situation of the plane crash, blindness, and a strange
man that brought conflicting emotions. It was a lot for her mind to
cope and comprehend.

Slater prayed that more tears were not
forthcoming. As luck would have it, Swan reached out to him. His
heart did a little leap of anticipation. He had to remind himself
that this was not a signal for him to “jump her bones”, but merely
a need for some security from another human being. Her tiny pink
tongue flicked over her luscious lips. Sloan stifled a moan.

“
I need you,” she whispered.

A second invitation did not need to be
issued. Slater was at her side in a flash. He reminded himself that
her key word was “need” not “want”. He felt exonerated and if he
really evaluated the situation, he also felt contrite and a little
relieved.

“
I’m sorry,” he replied. Where did that
come from? He’d rarely, if ever, said those words in his entire
lifetime. “Watch it, Tiger, you’ll soon find yourself falling for
gorgeous Red.”---an ignored inner voice injected as another voice
replied, “Too late.”

CHAPTER 9

By evening, Swan and Slater had fallen into a
quiet companionship and unbeknown to Swan a micro-courtship had
also begun to take place. All this holding, light touching, and
soothing quiet talk was uncharacteristic for Slater. For him, it
was unchartered territory. Not really a sacrifice as he was finding
out, but since he was a bit of a louse, he hoped that it would help
gain him the advantage for his ultimate goal of something that he
wanted--- and no doubt about it, he wanted Swan.

Slater always liked his tumbles lusty and
spontaneous. There never was a need for a plan. But, he knew that a
change of tactics was needed “big time” if he were to have this
woman and he would have her. However, over the course of almost a
week, Swan was becoming more than “just” a woman to him than he was
willing to admit even to his subconscious. Helplessness combined
with a woman’s dependency was new on his radar, raising raw
protective emotions that had never surfaced before in his entire
thirty-three years of life. It was a new and conflicting experience
that he wasn’t about to take time to dwell upon at this moment.

Swan had been lost in her thoughts thinking
about her reaction to Slater the night before with his aggressive
tactics of a fully aroused male. She was not terribly surprised
that she had reacted with such hysterics from such a forceful man
as a distant memory had jumped up from the past, intruded, and did
a repeat preview of an awful scenario from long ago. She wanted to
get over it. She needed to get over it.

“
Are you a patient lover?”

Slater froze, hoping this was an indication
that things were gaining momentum in his favor. At that moment he
would have said, “Yes” to any required positive answer.

Swan’s red hair fanned around her face like a
halo. It blended into the fox fur making it difficult to
distinguish between the wild and the domesticated, much like the
white mate of the dark devil outside. In his haze, the analogy was
lost totally on Slater as well as the increased howling that had
begun to escalate into the wintry night. It should have alerted him
to the danger that was taking place outside the cozy one room
motel; however, because of the drama unfolding inside, Swan and
Slater were completely oblivious to the drama unfolding
outside.

“
Make love to me.” Huh? Slater couldn’t
believe his ears. “Just be patient,” she said so softly that Slater
had lean closely to those luscious lips to hear the quiet
words.

“
Babe,” he pulled her against his
muscular chest, “we have all the time in the world.”

Slowly, Slater tipped Swan’s rose colored
lips to his. He was exhilarated that she was letting him taste her.
They were every bit as good as they looked. Reaching under the fox
fur for the warmth of male and female, his hand hovered over her
breasts letting her anticipate the pleasure that was to come. One
finger slowly lowered and began to circle her right nipple. He
continued this assault back and forth between her two breasts
before he got the response that he wanted. Then he proceeded to
introduce Swan into the addiction of worldly love in the cozy
cooler of the severed 707 tail. He persisted with his slow dance of
making love for the rest of the night. He was indeed a patient
lover. It wasn’t long before his coaxing and coaching urged Swan to
become an active participate. By morning, their lusty lovemaking
had escalated to steamy and sizzling as it threatened to melt their
icy igloo and turn their temporary tin tent to mush.

CHAPTER 10

Slater was a happy camper. He smiled down at
his surprisingly passionate Red that had given to him the most
precious gift that any woman could give. That pleased him. It was
quite obvious that he had pleased her as well. More emotions were
jumping around inside him than had ever surfaced in his lifetime.
Fortunately, he didn’t have time to dwell and evaluate what he was
feeling.

The sense of eminent danger made Slater’s
adrenaline jump to full throttle as his body jerked and he suddenly
took a giant leap to the hole in the window of their makeshift
shelter. He scanned the frozen tundra frowning. It was
mid-afternoon--a dark and gloomy day. What he saw outside on the
snowy landscape made him more than a little exasperated with
himself for underestimating his satanic enemy of the timber
wolf.

While Slater was making love and glorifying
in his expertise as the great Romeo, the situation outside had
exacerbated to a high level of extreme danger---the black devil had
called in his troops much like the great General Patton. His
strategy plan was almost human in his execution.

“
Son of a bitch!” Slater estimated the
wild troops to be approximately fifteen in number. They were
surrounded. Each canine predator was closing the circle and was
intent on devouring the prey inside the igloo. They reminded Slater
of Zulu warriors, not particularly in a big hurry, but enjoying the
thrill of making their intended victims squirm and anticipate their
death as they knew their quarry wasn’t going anywhere. Their
tactics also made it easier to catch a running prey, not that
Slater had any intention of trying to out run an animal capable of
the top speed of 40mph.

Black Satan sat on tense hunches with his
deadly mate mystically at the top of the embankment and appeared to
be orchestrating the entire attack. Slater swore as he was given
only a few seconds to prepare for war. Fortunately, those precious
seconds were valuable and productive. He checked the security of
the opening, which he suspected might be the most solid attack. He
placed a stick with a hot ember on one end in Swan’s right hand,
and grabbed his makeshift knife before the first wolf came charging
through the small window entrance as if a decision had been made
that this was the weakest point. His advantage was that they could
come only one at a time through the small open port. If any got
through before he was able to kill each first in line, he would be
at a decided disadvantage.

The entire wolf attack lasted almost a full
ten minutes as six vicious carnivores tried to enter the makeshift
igloo. By the time it was over, four bloody timber wolves lay
scattered lifelessly on the icy terrain and two others had
retreated to lick their wounds. Slater had not survived the attack
unscathed either as more than one fang had made contact with his
forearms. The wounds were not life threatening, but none-the-less
needed attention and hurt like hell.

Quickly wrapping each arm with makeshift
bandages and with the help of Swan, Slater prepared for another
attack. A large fire below the broken window was of the utmost
priority. Now that the Canes lupus had drawn the blood of their
opponent, they would be back to try to finish the job. The smell of
blood and injured prey would excite the warrior wolves even more
and regrouping would not take long. He only hoped that he was up to
the task of defending his small fort one more time or as many times
as it took to discourage the savage beasts.

CHAPTER 11

Bear and Dog had been scouting each crevice
of the Colorado Rockies snow covered mountains for almost a week.
It looked like one big glacier down there. They were not new to
this painstaking procedure. They were experienced and well-seasoned
troopers who had seen war in almost every zone and in the most
demanding of climates in the world. They were good at what they
did. They knew that if anyone could survive the jet disaster, it
would be Ace. That possibility was becoming leaner every day. They,
however, would not be satisfied until they saw his final parts in a
black body bag.

Another big storm was headed their way. Big
dark ominous clouds were hovering in the distance. Time was running
out. If the wreckage of the 707 were not discovered today or
tomorrow, it was liable to be buried so deep in lethal snow that
any hope of discovery would be camouflaged until spring over six
months away.

Barrett gripped the chopper’s steering and
continued to zigzag over the frozen earth below. Barrett was
nicknamed Bear because he looked like one--big, burly, and
ferocious if the situation called for it, which in his previous
business had been often. He was now a family man that made small
private jets and helicopters for our American government. He liked
married life. Why wouldn’t he? He was married to a beautiful, tall,
long leggy actress with skin the color of coffee and cream, which
was why she went by the name, Mahogany.

Mahogany was “Magdalena” on one of the
national soap operas. She got the job when a director noticed her
as she was performing for the USA troops at Christmas in Baghdad.
That was Bear’s first encounter with his future wife. He
immediately decided that she was going to be the one for him. She
had the look of royalty with her fine features and exotic, slightly
slanted, gray blue eyes--fit for a sultan just like him he
decided.

Mahogany and Bear complimented each other and
their courtship was very short. Although they had two preschool
children, Lilly and Magnolia, who each had inherited the same
tendency of their mother to become great beauties, she continued to
work for the pure joy of entertaining. Bear understood that need
and approved of her desire to be an active working woman; however,
their growing family and each other were their top priority.
Fortunately, the flexibility of their chosen professions gave them
the opportunity to devote their time to both married life and the
complexity of being a family.

Dog was named for his tenacious ability to
sniff out the enemy and attack before they knew what had happened.
He now worked for the government as a private secret agent. Dog had
his own computer company. He had accounts all over the world. It
made it easy for him to melt in and out of countries when the job
required it. He enjoyed the undercover work. He never revealed his
real name.

Dog had a variety of mistresses in several
well-traveled countries. He was quite capable of satisfying each in
spite of the demands of his business that needed his constant
expertise. All women were thrilled to welcome his attentions no
matter how frequently or infrequently were his visits. Three of his
mistresses had his children, a total of five in all--three boys and
two girls. They were each well provided for financially with homes
that had spectacular views, swimming pools, and tasteful, but
homey, decor. They were strategically placed in locations of the
world to provide the necessary private retreat and security. It was
a life that satisfied him without any feeling of regret. He needed
the freedom. It was also important that any paper work did not
point directly to family ties that might endanger his offspring or
special moms.

Bear and Dog had worked with their buddy,
Ace, on numerous occasions and under many complex circumstances.
Each man would gladly lay down their life for the other and on more
than one hot conflict; they had all had to prove that theory. They
remained brothers in body and soul. Their Rambo days were over
except for an occasional secret assignment that required the
expertise of seasoned veterans. They were always more than happy to
jump at the chance for camaraderie and excitement. Their private
special missions over the years provided enough wealth to enable
each soldier to retire in their early thirties, but the thrill of
danger continued to lure them into explosive situations on
occasions much to the chagrin of their loved ones.