Crazy for You (18 page)

“So what about all this herbal stuff you sell
in your store? Isn’t that mostly a hoax? Are you the snake oil
salesman?” He reached over to pull another strand of hair toward
him. He brought it to his nose and sniffed. “You smell good, by the
way.”

Tasha swallowed a huge dry lump in her
throat. For three days now, she had been pursuing him and he had
done just about everything to put her off. Now, all of a sudden,
the tables were turning. He was definitely sending some signals.
Those kind of signals. Good vibes were definitely strumming around
them. Then why did everything seem a little off center all of a
sudden?

Why was she breathing from deep in her
chest.

“Uh...herbal remedies. Well, no, they’re not
a hoax. It’s really very scientific, if you do your research. Herbs
have been around as long as man and man has been using them for all
kinds of medicinal and health purposes for millenniums.”

“For example?” He rubbed her hair across his
lips. Tasha’s libido leapt.

“For example...ah, well, a very good example
would be...for...contraception.”

“Contraception.” He repeated the word as he
dropped the piece of her hair; his eyes widened.

“Uh-huh,” Tasha squeaked as she flipped her
hair back over her shoulder. “For instance,” her gaze scanned the
land around them as she leaned up on one elbow. “Queen Anne’s
Lace.”

“Queen Anne’s Lace will prevent pregnancy?”
He eyed her suspiciously.

“So they tell me, I’ve never used it myself,
but I’ve studied herbs a bit and from what I’ve learned, a teaspoon
full of Queen Anne’s Lace seeds taken with a glass of water
immediately after sex will prevent pregnancy. Now, of course, I
don’t advertise that fact because the government would probably
come after me if I did, but there are known to be pockets of women
in rural areas, even today, who still use this method for
preventing pregnancies.”

“You mean, like in foreign countries?”

“I mean like in Virginia, North Carolina,
Tennessee. Appalachia.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I kid you not.”

“Amazing. So what else?”

Tasha shrugged. “Well, nutritionally, there’s
all kinds of things. Like, peppermint tea is really good for
headaches and to calm a jumpy stomach, chamomile is good for the
nervous system and also menstrual cramps, yarrow is great for the
flu and fevers, and sarsaparilla’s a good diuretic.” She paused for
a second before she went on. He seemed to be listening
intently.

“Bee pollen is wonderful for strength and
endurance,” she continued, “and if your dog has fleas an extract
made of pennyroyal mixed with water as a spray seems to work
miracles and is less harmful to the animal. Ginseng is good for all
kinds of things like blood pressure, the immune system, and stress,
not to mention that it is a mild sexual stimulant. But then, there
are many herbs which make that claim, Damiana, for one, Ho Shou Wu
for another, plus there are some other combinations that are
supposed to work wonderfully.”

She’d been picking at the bunch of grapes in
front of her as she spoke, and now, as the breeze lifted her hair
and a small insect buzzed, it was all but silent around them.
Contraceptives and sexual stimulants? Couldn’t she pick other
topics to talk about?

Tasha looked up at him.

“But I wouldn’t know about those, of course,
I’ve never tried them.”

“Uh...huh.” He uttered the two syllables very
slowly and leaned forward. “Tell me more.”

Her lips felt dry, really dry, and suddenly
Tasha felt her tongue scrap over both, upper and lower to moisten
them. When she did, she watched his eyes follow the trail of her
tongue, then his lips parted slightly and she felt his warm breath
against her cheek—they were that close. She was all trembly
inside.

“It’s hot.”

“Umm-hmmm,” he inched closer. “You can say
that again,” he whispered. His lips were barely centimeters away
from hers and Tasha’s heart was beating wildly. His eyes were all
droopy and bedroomy as he drew closer. She didn’t know if she could
stand it any longer. This wasn’t in the plan, was it?

She snapped her fingers loudly and jerked her
head back. “I’ve got a great idea. Let’s swim!”

Tasha jumped to her feet, hesitated only a
fraction of a second, then turned to jog off down the beach. As she
did, she first peeled off her T-shirt, tossed it aside, then kicked
off her low-cut canvas sneakers as she jogged. Her faded denim
cut-offs came next—she wiggled out of them, hopping first on one
foot and then the other. Last, but certainly not least, she slid
out of her skimpy panties and kicked them backward toward Andrew.
All the while, she was telling her pulse to please kick into a low
gear and her pituitary gland to stop sending those signals to her
hormones. She was ready to explode.

After all that, she splashed her way into
thigh-high water, and dived in.

Twenty-six

The Lake

Naked, at last

Andrew stood.

Watching her skip down to the lake, peeling
off her clothing as she did, he felt his libido surge into action.
Who was this woman? How in the world did she worm her way into his
life and his heart so quickly? And she was in his heart—he was a
goner. Not ever had he felt such a physical reaction to a
woman.

Dragging his hand up to his glasses, Andrew
lifted them off his face and gently laid them on the blanket. He
stepped forward. Then again. With each step he hurried a little
more, his body taking over the actions of his brain, forcing him
into longer strides to get closer to her. He wanted damn close to
her. In fact, he wanted to be inside her.

With his fingers fumbling with the laces of
his shoes, he stumbled down the beach, tripping once, twice,
tossing his shoes over his shoulders. His purple socks followed. As
his hands lifted to his waist and he wrestled with his zipper of
his shorts, he felt a torrent of desire deep within him that urged
his clumsy, shaking fingers on. With jerking movements, he
successfully lowered the fastener, hastily stepped out, and left
them in a pool at the water’s edge.

All the while, he watched the back of Tasha’s
head as she bobbed in the water halfway out to the dock. Every once
in a while, she would dive under, allowing him a glimpse of her
fully rounded little rear. Within seconds, he hit the water,
leaping in with a splash until he could dive into the cool
depths.

Underneath, he swam as well as he could until
his lungs nearly burst. The soft, cool water caressed his naked
body, but did absolutely nothing to put out the fire raging within
him.

And for that he was thankful. He had a better
idea of how to put out that fire.

With aching muscles and bursting lungs, he
broke the surface not far from Tasha with a churning of water. She
turned as she treaded the water and looked at him, eyes wide, a
questioning expression on her face. Her long hair, silky and shiny
from the water, was slicked away from her forehead, floating about
her shoulders. Her lips parted and he urged himself closer to
her.

As he floated nearer, he reached out to touch
her cheek, but she threw her arms backward and kicked away from
him, the same expression on her face. Then suddenly, she broke out
into a smile—a wicked smile, and Andrew felt his passion soar. He
wanted her, dammit, and he wanted her now. And he’d bet his last
client that she wanted him just as badly.

Kicking to propel himself closer, he
deviously smiled back, only to get a face full of water splashed
off the heels of Tasha’s feet.

Okay, so that’s the way we’re going to play
it, huh?

Then she disappeared under the water. For
what seemed a small eternity, the water became calm and quiet about
him. He treaded the water slowly, glancing about him to search for
something, anything, to indicate where she was...that she was all
right. That she was coming back to him.

“Tasha,” he whispered, but only the breeze
heard him. Finally, he turned fully in the water, his eyes
frantically searching. “Tasha...?”

Then he felt her. Softly, gently, her hands
found his thighs, his waist, his chest. As if in slow motion, she
arched her body like a mermaid’s and pushed herself up toward the
surface of the water, sliding, caressing against him all the way.
Andrew tossed his head back as she ascended and squeezed his eyes
shut in ecstasy at the desire that rippled through his body. Then
he clasped his arms around her after she broke the surface, letting
his palms glide over the smooth skin of her back.

Slowly, he dragged his gaze down to her face,
searching her soulful eyes rimmed with water-spiked lashes. His
hands framed her face, pulling her closer. Her hands rested on his
shoulders. Her breasts, flattened against his chest urged him to
pull her even closer, closer until his fingers slid down her arms
to grasp her waist, tugging her body into his.

Tasha’s legs raked against his thighs as she
treaded the water beneath them, but then suddenly, as their bodies
met fully, as if by instinct, she grasped his shoulders tighter and
wrapped her legs around his waist, shifting him even closer into
the cradle of her thighs.

Not being able to stand the physical
closeness of their bodies any longer without releasing some of his
pent-up passion, Andrew captured a fistful of her hair with one
hand and with the other held her back. His lips descended on hers,
and she took them. Crushing, biting, bruising, neither stopping for
a breath of air. They took of each other as if it were their last
dying breath, their last chance at passion. Tasha’s fingers kneaded
his shoulders and his neck, pushing him into her. His tongue
penetrated her mouth, drawing out the sweet unbridled, honeyed
passion he’d searched for all his life—but had never known.

Yes, he had never known this.

Then his legs, weak from treading water to
keep them both afloat and from the passion that had totally
overtaken his body, gave out. Soundlessly, their shoulders, their
necks, their faces slipped beneath the surface of the lake, lips
mingling, hands searching, until their lungs could stand no more.
Finally, breaking free of each other, they propelled their bodies
toward the surface, Tasha breaking the water’s calm first, Andrew
following. As Tasha swam for the dock, Andrew’s body followed
automatically, his arms churning the water to get to her; his brain
reeled with the thought that the simple absence of her body against
his was the most painful thing he’d ever experienced in his
life.

****

Tasha tried once to hoist herself up on the
wooden deck, but the muscles in her biceps and shoulders had turned
to jelly, so she slipped back down into the water. Again, she
reached for the dock, tensed her muscles and pulled with all her
energy. This time, she achieved success. With Andrew closing in on
her fast, she rose out of the water, stepped across the warm wood
as water sluiced in droplets from her nude body making intricate
patterns across the weathered lumber. Finding a smooth spot, she
laid down, careful to avoid splinters, tossed back her hair and
head, and propped herself up with her two elbows.

Smiling, she turned toward Andrew as he, in
one swift motion, hoisted himself up onto the dock. In a few
strides, he was at her side, also dripping—and magnificent. Looking
up at him, all her convictions were confirmed. He was a delicious,
breathtaking hunk of human male—with water glistening like oil off
his wide, only slightly tanned, chest, blue eyes penetrating her
very gaze as she perused his body, narrow hips and waist, thighs
that didn’t quit, and...oh my, yes...he was definitely all male.
She felt her lips part with a gasp and her eyes widen in
anticipation of the continuance of what had started in the
lake.

Andrew raked his gaze over her, then silently
slipped down beside her, supporting his head with bent elbow.

****

They were alone.

Andrew liked the idea of not sharing Tasha
with the others. Thank God she’d found this place and convinced him
to come with her.

Alone. And naked.

He let his gaze trip over her body, lingering
once in a while in places.

She turned her face up to him. The words that
came out of her mouth and slipped off her tongue threw him for only
a second. “Ever been in love, Andrew? I mean, really in love?”

He watched as her questioning stare turned
into one of apprehension. He could tell by the look in her eyes
that she wasn’t sure of the sanity of asking that question.

For a moment, he let the question linger in
the air. Love? Why had she spoken of love? Were her feelings that
strong? Did they go beyond the simple desire to possess his body
for an afternoon, or a couple of days? Did his? Was it, perhaps,
love?

Idle chatter, he told himself. Knowing Tasha
as he did, he always could expect the opposite of the norm. But
what if...? What if she did want to speak of love? Of their love,
if that, indeed, existed?

He decided then and there to be
straightforward with her. No matter what the reasoning behind her
question, he owed her the straightforward truth.

“Yes. A while back. I was in love with
someone.” He met her stare head on.

She turned to him them, adjusting her lithe
body on her right side to face him. Her eyes sparkled. “Tell
me.”

Swallowing the dry lump in his throat, Andrew
felt his eyes narrow, contemplating her curiosity. Then he decided
to tell her. The passion between them moments earlier was waning,
but he had no doubt it would take only seconds for it to explode
again. It seemed important that they talk. That they discuss the
past. Who knows, it might even be important for their future. If
that notion at all existed.

“I was engaged. Once. Three years ago. And
yes, I was in love with her.”