The depths of his words almost made Olivia groan. She turned to make sure she was still alone in the ladies" room. "And I want you, too," she whispered into her cell phone.
There was a pause. And then he said, "Meet me. Tonight. Our place."
Olivia inhaled deeply. Meeting him later wouldn"t be a problem, because her father was a sound sleeper. She knew it would be their last time together for a while. Her brothers would be arriving sometime tomorrow. She could pull something over on her dad, but fooling her brothers was a totally different matter. "Okay, I"ll be there. Later."
She then clicked off her cell phone.
"Did you enjoy yourself tonight, Libby?"
Olivia glanced over at her father as they walked up the stairs together. "Yes, I had a good time, and the food was excellent."
Orin couldn"t help but chuckle. "Yes, it was good, and I was glad to see you eat for a change, instead of nibbling."
When they reached the landing, he placed a kiss on her forehead. "Good night, sweetheart. I"m feeling tired, so I"m going on to bed. What about you?"
"Umm, I may stay up a while and paint. Good night, Dad. Sleep tight."
He chuckled. "I will."
As soon as Olivia walked into her room and closed the door behind her, she began stripping out of her clothes, eager to get to the Saxon Hotel and meet Reggie. Going to her closet, she selected a dress. She felt like going braless tonight. Within minutes she was slipping her feet into a pair of sandals and grabbing her purse. Opening the door, she eased out of her room, and within seconds she was down the stairs and out of the house.
She couldn"t wait until she was with Reggie.
Reggie stood when the door to the hotel room opened and Olivia walked in. Without saying anything, she tossed her purse on the sofa and then crossed the room to him. The moment she was within reach, he pulled her into his arms and swept her off her feet.
On other nights he had stamped his ownership all over her body, but tonight he wanted to claim her mouth, lips and tongue and locked all three to his. At the party she had been so close, yet so far, and he had wanted her with a force that had him quaking.
He pulled his mouth back. He was moving toward the bedroom when she began wiggling in his arms. "No. Here. Let"s make love in here."
The moment he placed her on her feet, she went for his clothes, pushing the shirt off his shoulders and greedily kissing his chest. He was tempted to tell her to slow down, to a.s.sure her that they had all night, but he knew that they didn"t. She would need to leave before daybreak.
Her hands went to the buckle of his pants, and he watched as she slid down the zipper before easing her hand inside to cup him. He threw his head back and released a guttural moan as sensations spiraled through him, almost bringing him to his knees. And when she began stroking him, he sucked in a deep breath.
"I want this, Reggie," she said as she firmly held his shaft.
"And I want to give it to you," he managed to say, slowly backing her up to the wall.
When they couldn"t go any farther, he reached out and pulled down the straps of her dress and smiled when he saw she wasn"t wearing a bra. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were bared before his eyes. He licked his lips. "Are you wearing anything at all under this dress?" he asked when his mouth went straight to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.
"No."
"Good."
He lifted up the hem of her dress and planted his hand firmly on her feminine mound. "And I want this."
Taking a step back, he tugged her dress the rest of the way down, and the garment drifted to the floor. His gaze raked up and down her naked body. "Nice."
He then removed his clothes, and, taking a condom out of his wallet, he put it on. Then he reached out and lifted her by the waist. "Wrap your legs around me, Olivia. I"m about to lock us together tightly, to give you what you want and to get what I need."
As soon as her legs were settled around his waist and his shaft was pointing straight for the intended target, he tilted her hips at an angle to bury himself deep inside of her and then drove into her. She arched her back off the wall, and his body went still. Locked in. A perfect fit. Silence surrounded them, and they both refused to move.
Flames roared to life within him, and he felt himself burning out of control, but he refused to move. Instead, he held her gaze, wanting her to see what was there in his eyes. It was something he couldn"t hold in any longer, but first he wanted to see if she could read it in his gaze.
Olivia stared back at Reggie. She saw desire, heat and longing. She felt him planted deep inside of her. But it was his gaze that held her immobile. In a trance. And she knew at that moment why she kept coming back, kept wanting to be with him when she knew that she shouldn"t.
She loved him.
The result of that admission was felt instantly: her body shivered. In response, Reggie, she noted, never wavered in his relentless stare, and then he spoke in a deep, husky voice. "I love you."
She immediately stifled a deep sigh before reaching up and placing her arms around his neck and saying, "And I love you."
Reggie"s lips curved into a smile before he leaned down and sank his mouth onto hers as his body began moving, slowly, then fast, in and out of her with powerful thrusts, stirring pa.s.sion, fanning the fire and then whirling them through an abyss of breathless ecstasy. Over and over again, he made love to the woman he loved and captured her moans of pleasure in his mouth. And when she shattered in his arms and he followed her over the edge, he knew he wasn"t through with her yet.
They had just begun.
He tightened his hold on her, and on weak legs, he moved toward the bedroom. For them, time was limited tonight. Their pa.s.sion was raging out of control. But moments ago they had let go and claimed love, and when they tumbled onto the bed together, he knew that tonight was just the beginning for them.
"Wake up, sweetheart. It"s time to go."
Olivia lifted her eyes and gazed up at Reggie. He was standing beside the bed, fully dressed. "What time is it?" she asked sleepily, forcing herself to sit up.
"Almost four in the morning, and I got to get you home," he said.
She nodded. Although they had driven separate cars, it was the norm for him to follow behind her and see her safely inside her house. Excusing herself, she quickly went to the bathroom, and when she returned moments later, he was sitting on the edge of the bed.
He reached out his hand to her. "Come here, baby."
And she did. She went to him, and he pulled her down onto his lap and kissed her so deeply and thoroughly, she could only curl up in his warmth and enjoy. When he finally lifted his mouth from hers, he gazed down at her lips.
"You have beautiful lips," he whispered softly.
"Thank you."
His gaze then moved to her eyes. "And I meant what I said earlier tonight, Olivia. I love you."
She nodded. "And I meant what I said earlier, too. I love you." She didn"t say anything else for a minute, and then she added, "Crazy, isn"t it?"
"Not really. My dad met my mom, and they were married within two weeks. Same thing with my aunt and uncle. Westmorelands believe in love at first sight." He paused for a second. "This changes everything."
She lifted a brow. "What do you mean?"
"No sneaking around."
She wondered why he thought that. "No, Reggie. It changes nothing." She eased out of his arms and began getting dressed.
"Olivia?"
She turned to him. "My father is still running against you, and the election is not until the end of next month and-"
"You would want us to sneak around until then?" he asked incredulously. When she didn"t answer, he said, "I want you to meet my family. I want you to attend my family reunion with me in Texas in a few weeks. I want you by my side and-"
"I have to think about my father. He would not want us to be together," she said.
"And I told you in the beginning, this doesn"t involve your father. You are a consenting adult. You shouldn"t need your father"s permission to see me."
"It"s not about his permission. It"s about me being there for him, Reggie. I owe my father a lot, and I refuse to flaunt our affair in front of him," she persisted.
"And I refuse to sneak around to see you any longer. That"s asking a lot of me, Olivia. I love you, and I want us to be together."
"But we are together, Reggie."
He was silent for a moment, and then he said, "Yes, behind closed doors. But I want more than that. I want to take you out to dinner. I want to be seen with you. I want to do all those things that a couple does together when they are in love."
Olivia sighed. "Then you will have to wait until after the election."
They stared at each other for the longest time. Then Reggie said quietly, "When you"re ready to let nothing get in the way of our relationship, our love, let me know, Olivia."
Then he turned and walked out of the hotel room. As soon as the door closed behind him, Olivia threw herself on the bed and gave in to her tears.
Olivia slowly walked out of the Saxon Hotel, with a heavy heart. She"d told a man that she loved him, and then she"d lost him in the same day. She had stayed in the hotel room and cried her eyes out, and now she felt worse than ever.
Crossing the parking lot, she stopped walking when she glanced ahead and saw Reggie leaning against her car. She stared at him, studied his features, not wanting to get her hopes up. Inhaling deeply, she moved one foot in front of the other and came to a stop in front of him.
They stood, staring at each other for a long moment, and then he reached out and pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
Moments later he pulled back slightly and placed his forehead against hers. "I love you, and I want you with me, out in the open, not sneaking around, Olivia. But if that"s the only way I can have you right now, then that"s what I"ll take."
Olivia felt a huge weight being lifted off her shoulders, but she knew it was at Reggie"s expense. He deserved to have a woman by his side, one that he could take to dinner, take home to meet Mom and invite to his home.
Leaning closer, she snuggled into his arms, close to his warmth and his heart. She knew that this was the man that would have her heart forever.
Ten.
"Y ou"ve been rather quiet, Libby. Aren"t you glad to see us?" ou"ve been rather quiet, Libby. Aren"t you glad to see us?"
Olivia glanced over at Duan and forced a smile. "Yes. I missed you guys."
"And we missed you," Terrence said, coming to join them at the breakfast table. "So why haven"t you been your usual chipper self the past couple of days?"
She sighed, thinking there was no way she could tell her brothers what was really bothering her. But she could tell them what Cathy had shared with her. "I"m fine. I"m just in a funky mood right now. It will pa.s.s soon," she said.
Her brothers had flown in yesterday for the barbecue to be held that afternoon. It was an event she wasn"t looking forward to, because she knew that Reggie would be there. It would be hard to see him and not want to be with him.
"There is something I need to talk to you two about while Dad is at campaign headquarters. It"s something that Cathy told me, and it might explain why Dad decided to run for the Senate."
Duan raised a brow. "What?"
She then told her brothers everything that Cathy had shared with her. She saw Duan"s jaw flex several times.
"I knew there was a reason I didn"t like Senator Reed," Duan said.
"Same here," Terrence said. His eyes had taken on a dark look, and she now understood why the sportscasters had dubbed him the Holy Terror when he played professional football.
"I think we should talk to Dad to make sure he"s entered politics for the right reason," Duan said. "If he did then he has our blessings. If he didn"t, then I think he should reconsider everything before going any further."
Olivia nodded. "I agree."
"And what do the three of you agree on?"
Olivia, Duan and Terrence glanced up. Their father had walked into the kitchen, and he had Senator Reed with him. Olivia looked at her brothers. "It"s nothing that we can"t talk about later, Dad," she said quickly. She then glanced at Senator Reed, who was looking at her oddly. "Good morning, Senator."
The man had a smug look on his face when he responded. "Good morning, Olivia." He then slid his gaze to her brothers. "Duan. Terrence."
They merely nodded their greeting.
Her father studied her and her brothers and then reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. "Can you explain this, Olivia?" he asked, tossing several photographs on the table.
Olivia picked them up and studied them. They were photographs taken of her in Reggie"s arms two nights ago in the parking lot of the Saxon Hotel. Several were of them kissing. "Who took these?" she asked, glancing at her father.
It was Senator Reed who spoke. "We have reason to believe Westmoreland himself is responsible. It seems you put more stock in the affair than he did. I was able to get these before the newspapers printed them."
Olivia glanced back at the photographs, and when Duan held out his hand for them, she handed them over to him. The room got quiet while Duan looked at the pictures before pa.s.sing them on to Terrence.
"Were you having an affair with Westmoreland, Libby? Knowing he is my opponent in the Senate race?" Orin asked his daughter, as if he was insulted by such a possibility.
Refusing to lie, Olivia lifted her chin. "Yes. Reggie and I met at the firemen"s ball two weeks ago. It was a masquerade party, so we didn"t know each other"s ident.i.ty."