Behind the Curtain - Page 103

“I’ll just go and look for her—” she told Asher and Rudy as she led them into her living room.

“Tahi!” Rudy bellowed, making Laila start before she ever got to the hallway. “Get your butt out here, girl.”

Laila heard something drop heavily onto the floor in the vicinity of Tahi’s bedroom.

“Tahi, it’s me. Everything’s okay,” Laila called anxiously, all too aware of how shocked Tahi would be hearing a man yelling at her in their condominium. A few seconds later, Tahi came rushing into the living room wearing a robe with a towel wrapped around her head.

“Laila? What’s—” Her brown eyes grew to the size of saucers when she focused on all three of them standing there. Rudy started toward her.

“Rudy Fattore?” she exclaimed. A huge grin broke across her face. Rudy grabbed her hand.

“None other. Come on, woman. What are you doing? Put on your dancing shoes. Let’s go have some fun,” Rudy urged. Much to Laila’s amazement, the two of them started a two-step at the exact same moment. Tahi laughed out loud as Rudy spun and dipped her so energetically, her towel fell off her head.

Laila glanced up at Asher, her grin widening when she saw the amusement and warmth gleaming in his eyes as he watched the other two. For a moment, it was like nothing had changed since that summer eight years ago.

And yet . . . everything had changed. Now they were free . . . free to spend a sunny autumn day together. Free to dance. Free to laugh. She put her arms around Asher’s waist, hugging him close. He held her tight in return. Turning her nose into his sweatshirt, she inhaled his scent, feeling his hardness. His strength. She listened happily to Tahi and Rudy laughing and catching up in sporadic, breathless phrases while they kept dancing. Asher’s hand cupped the back of her head, and she looked up at his handsome face.

Free to love?

A lump formed at the back of her throat as she stared into his eyes. His head dipped, his mouth brushing hers. Maybe? At least for these sweet, precious moments they were free . . . perhaps even for that.

• • •

That Sunday was one of those days that would remain forever vivid and happy in her memory. It was a beautiful October day: crisp and cool, but warm in the sunshine. The trees in Lincoln Park were a riot of yellow, gold, red and orange. They had

lunch at Zizi’s and then walked over to the zoo. Afterward, they strolled through the park and came upon a little Oktoberfest. A band was playing oompah music interspersed with some modern covers. Asher and Laila sat in the grass and watched as Rudy led Tahi in a bouncy polka.

“Rudy better watch it, or he’s going to yank her arms off,” Asher joked.

Laila grinned. “I’d forgotten how much fun they had together in Crescent Bay. I haven’t seen Tahi smile and laugh so much in years.”

He took her hand in his and rested it on his jeans-covered thigh. He wore a pair of sunglasses, so she couldn’t see his eyes. “You’ve been smiling a lot today. Just an observation.”

“That’s because I’m happy. I’m with you,” she murmured. His sunglasses blocked much of his expression. She, on the other hand, knew her heart was on display in her eyes. She couldn’t help it.

His smile faded slightly and he leaned forward. Their lips met and clung.

“What do you say we ditch those two and go back to my place? I don’t like sharing you. I want you all to myself,” he muttered next to her lips a moment later.

“No, we shouldn’t.” She noticed his frown and laughed. “You said you’ve hardly seen Rudy since he’s come to Chicago. It would be rude.”

“I only have so much time here, Laila. I care about Rudy a lot, but I won’t let him stand in the way of us being together.” She leaned back a few inches, studying every precious line and rugged angle of his face. What he’d said, and the seriousness with which he’d said it, had sobered her. “I suppose I’m being selfish. Again,” he said.

“No, I wasn’t thinking that,” she whispered.

“Will you spend it with me?”

“What?”

“Will you spend as much time with me as you can before I leave for London?”

She hesitated. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to—she wanted to be with him with every fiber of her being. It was his putting it so explicitly into words. Maybe she’d been imagining it would be easier if they’d just fallen into it all, spending every hour they could together impulsively, just letting it unfold without a plan. That way, she wouldn’t have to deliberately think about how it would feel when they had an ocean separating them.

“I’m not sure that’d be wise on our part,” she whispered.

“Do you think I don’t know that?” he asked, his mouth going hard. “This isn’t about wisdom. I thought you got that eight years ago. This is about us, and what happens when we’re together. This is about the way you make me feel. I come alive when I’m with you. Sometimes I wish it weren’t true, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is.”

She opened her mouth, stunned and moved by his customary blunt honesty but entirely unexpected declaration of feeling. His mouth covered hers again. She clutched onto his jacket, feeling herself being swept away by him.

Tags: Beth Kery Erotic
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