Fire & Desire (Hero Series) (7 page)

Seven

“Hmmm,” he moaned, eyes closed.

“Is it really that good?” she asked.

“Yes.” Trevor could hear the hissing sound of the word as it
exited.

“Honestly, Trevor, you sound like it’s the best thing in life.”

He opened his eyes and looked directly into Tiffany’s. “Very few
things can compare.”

“I’ve had it before, and I don’t remember it being that great,”
she said with disbelief.

“Maybe it was who did it. It takes time to learn how to get it
just right.” Trevor moved closer and set the speared meat before her. “Here,
taste.” Waiting patiently until she parted her lips, he slowly slid the
delectable morsel into her mouth.

He watched Tiffany’s eyes close instantly. “Hmmm.”

The sound of Tiffany’s enjoyment caused his heart to race.
Everything within him wanted to reach out and brush his thumb across her juice
glistened lips. “I told you it was good.”

She opened her eyes. The candlelight flickered in her gaze as she
smiled. “I have to admit you are right. That is the best piece of steak I’ve
ever tasted.”

Moving his seat back around the table, he gestured toward
Tiffany’s plate. “How do you come to a place called Hoof and Claw and get a chicken
salad?”

“I try to eat healthy, my days are so busy most of the time I miss
a lot of meals. It’s my way of not doing any further harm to my body.”

“That only counts at home. When you’re out, you’re supposed to
indulge.” He finished his steak and began on his lobster tail.

“Not when you’re out as much as I am.” Her forehead creased as she
spoke, and he heard a trace of discontent in her voice. No matter the façade
she put on, Tiffany wasn’t completely happy with her life.

“If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, do something else.”

“I enjoy working with my father. It just gets taxing juggling time
between him and my own business.” Tiffany began picking through her salad.

“What’s your business?”

She propped her fork against the salad bowl. “Consulting. I plan
and coordinate parties and events.”

Trevor didn’t miss the gleam of excitement that lit her eyes as
she spoke.

“You’re a busy lady.”

She leaned back in her chair and rotated her shoulders to maintain
her posture.

Years of etiquette school
, Trevor thought, watching her settle herself in the seat.

“The consulting business is run heavily by my business partner,
Josephine. You may remember her from the party. Sometimes I feel guilty because
I do a lot of the preliminary, but she does all of the hard work. I guess it’s
more important that in the end we’re both always there to get the praise.”
Tiffany bowed her head and reclaimed her fork again.

“Did you want dessert?” he asked as he watched her sift through
the remainder of her salad.

“No, thank you. I’m afraid I may make the same poor choice as I
did with dinner.” She raised her head with a humorous smile on her lips. “Or
worse, I’d have to listen to you do an encore.”

He laughed and signaled the waiter. “We could always make it a two
part harmony. Your small part wasn’t so bad. It needs a little fine tuning, but
it’s all right for starters.”

“I’ll work on it.”

Trevor watched the playful rolling of her eyes.

You’d better watch yourself, man. She could easily get under your
skin.

Clearing his throat and his thoughts, he asked, “How about a nice
walk to digest some of this food?”

“Sounds good to me.”

~ML~

“When was the last time you rode a merry-go-round?” he asked as
they came upon the ride in the park at the end of the harbor.

“I can’t even remember. I think I was twelve.” Excitement danced
in her eyes.

Trevor liked the whimsical smile that graced her lips. He silently
admitted to himself there were many things about Tiffany Selina he liked.
Trevor felt a slight twinge of delight as Tiffany genuinely smiled. The smile
he frequently witnessed her using for the press was so plastic.

“Would you like to ride it?”

She hesitated, her features encumbered by indecision. “I think I
would.” She turned to him with a radiant smile.

He walked over to the attendant who appeared to be around sixteen
years old. “How much for two tickets on the carousel?”

“Actually, I was about to close up for the night.” The kid flipped
the OPEN sign over on his ticket stand to CLOSED.

Trevor leaned toward the teen conspiratorially. “Listen,” he whispered,
“I have a beautiful woman with me, and it would totally make her night if I
could get her a ride on this.”

He took a twenty out of his pocket and handed it to the kid.

The teen snatched the twenty and slid it into his front jeans
pocket. “Look, I have to catch up with my ride home, but I’ll start it and you
can ride until I come back.” The teen shook his head. “My boss will fire me if
he finds out I left it unattended and something happened.”

Trevor raised his right hand toward the kid. “I give you my word I
will look out for it.”

The teen still looked unsure as he held the entrance rope for
them, but he nodded his head and let them on.

“Your chariot awaits.” Trevor assisted Tiffany onto the ride with
all the flare of a seventeenth century prince.

They chose to sit in a carriage type seat with two benches facing
each other inside. Their knees brushed as they got comfortable in the small
cart.

It was clear to Trevor the builder probably hadn’t intended it to
fit two adults, but they both adjusted to the accommodations of the secluded
seat. Covered from any viewing eyes, he and Tiffany looked out at the park as
the ride began to twirl.

“I should be back in a few minutes,” the kid yelled as he jogged
away.

Neither one of them responded to the teen.

Trevor watched as Tiffany leaned her head back against the wall on
her side of the seat, closed her eyes and looked at peace.

Unwilling to disturb her solitude, he took pleasure in the sight.

He remembered that her golden brown skin was smooth as cream. A
perfect match to her honey speckled eyes. He fantasized about holding and
touching her skin, how she tasted and what it was like to align his body with
hers for a brief moment. The subtle sent of raspberry she wore was driving him
crazy. He would be lying to himself if he said he didn’t want that again, but
for a longer period of time.

With Tiffany’s head tilted as she relaxed, the expansion of her
neck appeared available for a lover’s kiss. His eyes continued to travel down
her body. Today, she wore a pale orange sundress, which fell in soft folds
around her legs, stopping just below her knees. A slight breeze from the moving
carousel ruffled her dress. It allowed him to get glimpses of her inner thighs.

He noticed the smoothness of her legs.

“Tiffany, would I be out of line in saying that I find you very
sexy?”

Her eyes fluttered, then opened. “Yes, you would.” Something
flickered in the depth of her eyes and disappeared.

He leaned in closer to her. “I mean no offense, but it’s the
truth.”

“Trevor…”

“What…Tiffany?” He loved saying her name and watching the quick
leap of her pulse at the base of her neck. “You can say whatever you want to
me. I don’t pull any punches. I just give it as I see it.”

Tiffany bowed her head briefly, raised her head again and looked at
him. “Look, Trevor…I
know
it’s part of your job to flatter women and
make them feel special while they’re with you.”

He ignored the anger that wanted to rise. “Tiffany, you didn’t
hire me, and I’m not on a job. Regardless of what I may or may not do professionally,
when I’m on a date—”

“Trevor, this is not a date. I don’t want you to get the wrong
idea of what is happening here.”

Trevor refused to move back and give her space. “So what is
happening here, Tiffany? You tell me.”

She averted her gaze away from him and looked out over the moving
view of the park and exhaled. “It’s dinner, Trevor. Just dinner.”

He reached out with a gentle finger under her chin and brought her
face back around to look at him, eliminating any confusion. He was attracted to
her. More than he had ever been to anyone.

“Tiffany, is dinner truly the only thing that is happening here?”
Trevor’s finger slowly moved down her neck.

“Yes…” she uttered.

“Are you sure?” His finger continued past the modest V-neck of her
collar.

“Trevor, I can’t get caught up in a situation with you.” A
pleading tone danced in the texture of her voice.

He could hear what she was saying and would have been easily
convinced, but the trembling he felt from her body told the truth.

“Too late.” He placed both of his hands lightly on her knees and
leaned in until their lips almost connected, his fingers flexed against the
silky texture of her skin.

“Why?”

“Because you’re already there…” He brought their lips together.

The first few moments of the kiss continued without much
participation from Tiffany.

“Tiffany, I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want.”
Trevor’s hands began to make seductive circles on her knees where his hands
rested. “All you have to do is tell me to stop.”

Looking her deeply in the eyes as his hands journeyed up her legs.
“Say it, Tiffany,” he whispered, then dragged his tongue slowly across her
bottom lip. “Tell me to stop…” His hands slid under the edge of her skirt on
the side of her thighs.

Trevor’s memory served him well. Warm satin were the words that
came to mind.

“Trevor…” Tiffany’s hips squirmed on the mini bench seat.

Their words seemed to entwine themselves in the minute space
between their lips.

“Yes.” His hands ventured around the tops of her thighs, “Want me
to stop…” then shifted between her legs and tenderly pushed them apart.

“Trevor…”

Leaning away from her mouth, he murmured, “Tiffany, let yourself
go…if only for tonight.”

In the quivering of her voice, her internal battle was evident. He
knew he wasn’t playing fair, but he was willing to pull out all the stops to
get what he wanted…Tiffany.

“I can’t.” Shutting her eyes, she leaned her head back against the
wall.

Her lids were squeezed tight, her eyebrows pinched together,
making her feelings of defeat clear. Trevor refused to allow her to walk away
from their evening together with it.

“Should I stop then?” He slid a finger beyond the lacy edges of
her panties.

“Trevor…” Shocked, she snapped her legs together and trapped his
hand in the middle of them.

Her wetness bathed his fingers as he caressed the stiffening bud
of her desire that yearned to be touched.

Tiffany’s head rolled along the partition. “Ohhh
…
”

“Stop?” he threw out the question one more time, waiting to hear
her verbally acknowledge her decision to let go. Trevor slid the same finger
inside her moist heat while his thumb made pressured circles on her clitoris.

Helplessly, Tiffany spread her legs open wider. “Don’t stop,
Trevor, please don’t stop.”

“With pleasure.”

He observed the play of emotion across her face in the dim light
of the chariot. He briefly thought about all the other times. “No interruptions
this time, baby.”

As if she needed that small amount of encouragement, Tiffany’s
hips began to meet his hand play. She bit down on her lip as if to keep the
vocal sounds of her enjoyment down, even though her moans permeated the air.
Trevor couldn’t be sure, but a big part of him sensed what she experienced was
a first for her. It was somehow connected to the complete unguarded rapturous
expression on her face. As if she hadn’t learned over the years of experience
how to school her features and control her response. A look of pure pleasure.

He glanced down, the high rise of the hem of Tiffany’s dress
around her waist gave him an unobstructed view of her wide spread legs and the
recreational activity of his hands. In another place and time, he would’ve been
buried deep inside of her, to feel her body quake around his shaft when she
reached completion.

Then he noticed the tremors of her body begin to intensify. He
knew the end would be near for her. He adjusted the pressure and rate of his
hands and led her toward her peak.

When the climax finally overtook her, he kissed her. Tiffany’s
hands firmly held his head in place, which he assumed was more for support of
the shock waves than anything else.

“Sorry, sir, but I have to lock up now.” The kid yelled from his
ticket booth.

In the dimness of the carriage, they broke apart and Trevor
readjusted Tiffany’s clothes and legs as the carousel slowed. Moments later, it
came to a stop.