This Winter Night Read online

  They kissed as the credits rolled. Lauren’s lipstick was nearly gone as they’d kissed so much during the movie. She loved the taste of him. Clean, fresh and inviting. Kissing had not been a big part of her life lately. She realized now that she and Adam hadn’t shared a memorable kiss for a couple of years before their divorce. She should have known the love had gone out of their marriage when he’d stopped kissing her the way he used to.

  Colton looked deeply in her eyes after the kiss ended. He seemed to have sensed a change in her. “What is it? Am I too rough?”

  “No,” she was quick to reassure him. “I’m enjoying myself. I’m just trying to shake some memories.”

  He hugged her close. “It’s going to take time,” he said gently. He frowned. “Was he abusive?”

  Lauren didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she gave the question some thought. Adam never hit her but he was sometimes verbally abusive. He wanted her to stop working and support him in everything. He said his wife didn’t need to work. He was her job. She should be like the wives of other rich men they associated with, women who were content to decorate their houses, attend social functions and look beautiful on their arms. These wives were happy to be at their husbands’ beck and call. In return they wore designer clothes, lived in lavish mansions and spent money like it was going out of style. Marriage was a compromise, Adam used to say. And Lauren wasn’t willing to compromise. She told him she hadn’t spent years in college to simply let her degree gather dust.

  She’d been raised to be an independent woman, not to depend on a man for everything. What kind of role model would she be for their future daughters if she were a sycophant with no backbone whatsoever? The subject of children was another bone of contention between them. Lauren wanted them. Adam didn’t. He had been raised by a single mother who struggled every day to put food on the table. His no-good father hadn’t contributed a cent to him and his two sisters’ upkeep. If Lauren had known Adam didn’t want children, she wouldn’t have married him. There were quite a few revelations he laid on her after their wedding. Another was his obsession with youth. He was ten years her senior. She assumed their age difference was enough for him. But he insisted that she dress like someone barely out of their teens. She refused to do that, as well. He wanted her to get breast implants. She believed her breasts were fine just as they were. Nothing she did seemed to please him. Then she found out that at forty he’d found a twenty-two-year-old mistress. That was the last straw. Lauren filed for divorce.

  “No,” she finally answered Colton. “He wasn’t physically abusive, but it became impossible to live with him after a while.”

  “I know you don’t feel comfortable talking about what went on in your marriage, and I’m not going to press you,” said Colton. “But I want you to know that if you do feel like you want to talk to me at some later date, I’ll be there for you.”

  He got up and reached for her hand. She smiled at him as he pulled her to her feet and said, “Dinner time, Miss Gaines.”

  Because they were unable to go out for groceries Colton had improvised with what was in the refrigerator and the pantry. He made a chicken and broccoli stir-fry with canned chicken breast and frozen broccoli seasoned with onions and peppers over a bed of rice. Lauren couldn’t figure out how he’d done it, but it was delicious. He’d found half a bottle of white wine in the refrigerator and served the two of them with a flourish.

  He sat down across from her. His gray eyes danced with good humor. “My dad used to say it’s better to eat a bowl of vegetables with someone you care about than a sumptuous feast with someone you hate.”

  Lauren squeezed his hand across the table. “You Riley men really do know your way around a kitchen.”

  “Eat up,” Colton coaxed her. “We need to be at the club by nine.”

  She insisted on washing the dishes while he went into the living room to set up “the club” by moving aside the couch and rolling up the rug that covered most of the hardwood floor.

  When she heard Ray Charles’s distinctive voice singing, “Night time is the right time...” she went into the living room to find Colton waiting for her with open arms.

  Because they didn’t want to leave each other’s arms they slow-danced their way through Ray Charles’s greatest hits, even when the tempo picked up. Her head was on his shoulder, his strong hands on her back, his touch sending delicious sensual currents throughout her body.

  She tilted her head up and looked him in the eyes. Should she tell him that he was her first affair? She wanted him to know that this time had been special in case they came to their senses and decided not to see each other again once they returned to Raleigh. No, she told herself. It would make him feel self-conscious. So she didn’t say anything. She would let him think she was as sophisticated as he was. This kind of situation was obviously not new to him. He was one of Raleigh’s most eligible bachelors, after all.

  An upbeat Ben Harper song filled the air and Colton said, “I see you like alternative rock.”

  “He’s not an alternative rocker,” Lauren defended her favorite musician.

  “Sounds like alternative rock to me,” Colton said.

  “I’ll have you know that Ben Harper is a Renaissance man. He’s adept at many styles of music. He’s rock, yes, but he’s also rhythm and blues. I would follow him anywhere.”

  “Do I detect a slight crush on Mr. Harper?” Colton asked playfully.

  “Maybe,” Lauren admitted, equally as playful.

  “You’re a groupie?”

  “I am not,” she denied, appalled. “I just buy all of his CDs and go to any of his concerts that are within a hundred miles of Raleigh. But I wouldn’t call myself a groupie.”

  “No, baby, you’re definitely a groupie,” Colton teased. Then he bent and kissed her forehead. “That’s okay, though, I’m not jealous, much. There’s one thing I’ve got going for me that Ben Harper doesn’t.”

  She looked up at him with a challenge in her eyes. “What’s that?”

  “I’m here,” he said simply.

  She laughed. “That’s a good point.”

  He placed her hand on his chest. She could feel the steady thud of his heart against his rib cage. “When you touch me my heart sings.”

  She looked deeply in his eyes. She knew this was only a fantasy. Their emotions were heightened for different reasons but it all added up to the same thing. They were comforting each other in their time of need. That’s all it was. Yet, in this moment, it felt so real. In her present emotional state she could see herself loving him forever. That was why complete strangers got married in wedding chapels in Vegas and regretted doing it the next morning, she thought wryly.

  She’d abandoned her shoes during the movie and now she had to rise to her tiptoes to kiss him. Colton breathed a satisfied sigh and let her in. He couldn’t remember kissing a sweeter mouth. And the things she did with her tongue made him harden in a matter of seconds. He didn’t even believe she was aware of her effect on him.

  Her eyes were drunk with passion when they surfaced for air. “I want you now,” she said. She’d turned into a tigress. Her golden-hued eyes told him in no uncertain terms that he was hers tonight. She would not be denied.

  He followed her to the bedroom with his eyes on the sexy sway of her hips in the little red dress she wore. The hem was hitched up high and revealed her long, shapely legs. In the bedroom, she turned to him and unbuttoned his shirt. He let it drift to the floor after it was past his shoulders. Her sultry gaze met his. “Admit it, you knew I was a sure thing tonight,” she teased.

  “A boy can only hope,” Colton breathed. His erection was straining against the confines of his jeans. Lauren noticed the bulge.

  She touched him and smiled. “You were a master of self-control today,” she complimented him. “As I tried to concentrate on work, all I could think about
was making love to you.”

  “Ditto,” Colton assured her.

  That was all the small talk they could manage. Colton quickly removed his jeans, briefs and socks. Lauren loosened the folds of her sarong and Colton peeled the dress off her body. She wasn’t wearing a bra and had on flesh-colored panties beneath. At first glance she appeared as though she were naked.

  Colton kissed her shoulders as he pulled her closer to him. He cupped her breasts, after which he began rubbing her nipples between a thumb and forefinger of each of his hands. Lauren sighed with pleasure and languidly arched her back.

  Colton took turns licking each nipple until she felt weak in the knees. She stood in front of him only in her panties. He raised his head, his lips wet from licking her nipples. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he pulled her to him. He kissed her belly, ran his tongue around her belly button and then stuck the tip of his tongue inside, which caused an interesting sensation within Lauren.

  When he began pulling down her panties, Lauren stayed his hand. “Last night, you pleasured me. Tonight, I treat you.”

  “I’m grateful for the offer,” he said with a smile, “but the feel of your mouth on me would be more than I could bear right now. Even the thought of that...” He gestured downward with his gaze.

  She followed his line of sight. His penis was even harder than it had been earlier.

  She took his advice and she let him remove her panties and coax her onto her back on the bed. Colton ran his hands along the insides of her thighs, enjoying the view. Her curly black thatch hid a pink jewel of a clitoris. He bent and sought out the pearl.

  Lauren startled at the initial touch of his tongue on her but soon relaxed. A delightful sense of letting go washed over her and then pure sexual pleasure. Honestly, she didn’t know whether she was coming or going. It felt so good. Could something that felt this good be wrong?

  As his tongue worked its magic, his hands gently massaged her hips, which heightened her experience that much more. His large hands squeezed and squeezed. A sexual explosion spread out from her feminine center to the rest of her. Her thighs trembled with the release, and a satisfied sigh escaped her lips. She was his.

  Colton got up and put on a condom. Returning to her, he got on his knees on the bed and straddled her. “Open up for me, baby, and wrap those beautiful legs around me as tightly as you can.”

  She was a quick study and performed splendidly. With each thrust his pleasure increased. He felt as though he were climbing higher and higher to heaven. Lauren met each thrust with a push of her own. Her insides quivered. The power within Colton was transferred to her and for one incredible moment they were in sync. She once again scaled the peak and met him up there. They collided and sparks flew. As they came down together, their pelvises pressed so close together they could have melded in the heat of the moment, all she could think was, if this wasn’t love, she didn’t know what was. And that was the crux of the problem. The reason she was up here in the first place was because she hadn’t known what love was and had married the wrong man.

  She could not make the same mistake twice. That was why she knew that once she and Colton were back in Raleigh, she would not seek him out. She had to get her head straight first.

  Colton, on the other hand, knew that he wanted to see her again, and as often as possible. He had never met a woman quite like her. He would pursue her with every ounce of his being.

  Chapter 5

  The next morning they didn’t make a big production out of saying goodbye. They made love upon awakening, showered separately, dressed and had a quick breakfast. Then Colton walked across to his family’s cabin to make sure the storm hadn’t caused any damage. Satisfied, he returned to Lauren’s place. They did think to exchange business cards, and each of them quickly scribbled their personal cell phone numbers on the backs of them.

  He got into his SUV and Lauren leaned in and briefly kissed his lips. “Safe trip,” she said warmly. “I’ll see you on Saturday.” She had made a promise and she intended to keep it.

  “I’ll look forward to it,” he replied lightly.

  He put the car in gear and drove off. Earlier that morning the snowplow owner had been true to his word and now the roads were navigable.

  Lauren stood and watched the SUV all the way to the county road turnoff. Then she went inside. She would be leaving shortly herself. Before returning to Raleigh, though, she would check up on Grandpa Beck.

  * * *

  “What were you thinking heading to the mountains when you knew they were expecting a snowstorm?” Virginia Beck-Gaines cried when she saw her daughter later that evening. “I was worried sick about you!”

  “I found out about the storm after I got there and I only came by here to give you an update on Grandpa,” Lauren said irritably. She and her mother were known to butt heads, but she was in no mood to get into it right now. She was tired from her trip. They were in the big kitchen of her parents’ five-bedroom house on the outskirts of Raleigh. The house sat on ten acres of land. Their closest neighbor was half a mile away. They liked their privacy.

  Virginia, called Ginny by her husband, was short and slender. Anyone who knew her joked that she stayed too busy to gain weight.

  She wore her long black hair with silver streaks in a twist at the back of her neck. Her caramel-colored skin was wrinkle-free except for the beginnings of crow’s feet. Half African American and half Cherokee, she had the high-cheekbones of her ancestors. Her daughters had inherited her bountiful hair and their various shades of brown skin were crosses between their mother’s golden brown skin and father’s darker brown shade.

  Her size belied her strength and her influence on her family. There was no doubt that she ruled the roost, even though the rooster was six-four and over two hundred pounds.

  “Ginny, would you let the girl get a word in edgewise?” Lauren’s father asked in her defense. “She’s safe and sound and that’s all that counts.” He regarded Lauren. “How is the old reprobate?”

  Retired general Alfonse “Fonzi” Gaines had been trying to ignore them by concentrating on his crossword puzzle, but no such luck. Fonzi was completely bald. He’d been shaving his head since his mid-forties when his hairline started receding. A disciplined ex-soldier, he jogged each morning. He had a weakness for his wife’s cooking so he had to stay active in order to maintain his trim physique.

  “He’s fine,” Lauren answered gratefully. “He’s got a family of twelve up there celebrating Christmas at the lodge. They’re from Florida. He says they were thrilled with all the snow. He had to nearly tie them down to keep them from going skiing the next day, but he explained that if anyone got lost out there they would freeze to death before rescue workers could get to them due to the road closures. That took the wind out of their sails.”

  “What is this I hear about your having a guest for the past two days?” Ginny wanted to know.

  Lauren had expected an interrogation. She wished she had sworn her sisters to secrecy. She calmly gave her parents the tame version of Colton’s visit. And the reason he’d dropped in.

  Ginny had a concerned expression on her face after Lauren had finished relating the tale. “I did read in the paper that Frank Riley had passed away. He was well respected in this town. I’m sure there’ll be a huge turnout for his funeral.”

  * * *

  On Saturday, Lauren arrived early for the memorial service with her sister Desiree, who had insisted on accompanying her. The two of them found a parking space as close to the church as they could get, which happened to be on the street because the church’s parking lot was already packed. On West Edenton Street, St. Paul AME Church was the oldest African American church in Raleigh. Inside, the pews were as packed as the parking lot. Lauren and Desiree, both wearing dark, tailored skirt suits, were able to squeeze into a pew in the middle of the church. Shortly after they
were seated the choir began to sing a mournful spiritual.

  Lauren strained to see if she could catch a glimpse of the family on the front pew, but she couldn’t see much. Women’s stylish hats blocked her view. She noticed the casket was closed and there was a poster-size photograph of Frank on an easel to the side of it. It was not a recent photo and she could easily see Colton’s resemblance to his father. They had the same color eyes and the same square shape to their jaw.

  An usher had given her a program when she’d walked through the door and she read it now. She saw that Frank had been the eldest son in a family of four children. He was survived by a sister and two brothers. He and Veronica had had two children, Franklyn Colton Riley, Jr., and Jade Veronique Everett. Jade had given them two grandchildren.

  Looking around the ornately decorative church that had been built in the Late Gothic Revival architectural style, Lauren noted several town officials, including the mayor in attendance.

  The stained-glass windows caught her attention momentarily. Bright sunshine streaming through gave the colors in them a kaleidoscopic effect. After the choir finished its selection, a minister took the pulpit and offered a prayer. Lauren’s heartbeat quickened when the minister sat down, and Colton walked onto the stage and began the eulogy. He had not mentioned he would be doing the eulogy. But then perhaps he’d been encouraged to do it after he’d gotten back home.

  He was a natural. At first his voice trembled slightly with emotion, but he soon got hold of himself and he went on to speak reverentially about his father. “Like most sons,” he said, “I resented my father giving me advice on how to live my life. I thought his suggestions were old-fashioned and were designed to ensure I would follow in his footsteps. Thinking I knew better than he did, I didn’t listen to his advice. I made my own decisions.