The more she thought about it, the more she realized that her relationship with John had mostly been on the surface, not very deep. John had never read her poetry, seldom cooked for her, and rarely hugged or kissed her. Yet, she thought he had been in love with her and she with him. They held hands at the movies or at the park, but that was about it. She wondered now, why she had held onto him as long as she had. She seemed to be in love deeper with Spencer than she had ever been with John, and she and Spencer weren’t even that close. She pondered this oddity until Spencer came back with his water. She actually looked forward to spending more time with him. Especially as compassionate and tender as he’d been so far.
Spencer set his water on the end table and turned off the ceiling light and dimmed the table lamp so he had just enough light to read by. He sat back down and helped Kate lay down across the sofa, her head resting on a small pillow on his lap so he could rub her hair. He propped his feet up on the table, and held the book in one hand while he played with her hair with the other. Kate lay under a blanket and under his mesmerizing spell.
She was too tired to fight it. She let Spencer’s voice and fingers dance over her, sending tendrils of pleasure all over her tired body. She hadn’t felt like this since she and John were together months ago. It seemed like a lifetime. Maybe it was okay if she fell in love with Spencer. How could she resist his charm?
Kate tried listening to the poems by Frost, Keats and others, but it was his voice she enjoyed most. To her it had always been a soothing masculine voice, but hearing him read her poetry was almost intoxicating. Spencer’s voice sounded similar to Sean Connery’s. No wonder Sarah had fallen asleep. If Spencer kept this up any length of time, she would be next. She lay still, not saying anything and letting his reading wash over her. Every once in a while there would be a pause when he sipped his water or turned the page. They sat close, the blanket over their laps and she leaned her head against the sofa back, her eyes closed. This was something she could get used to. Soon she zoned out under Spencer’s spell.
Sometime later Kate woke up and felt something solid on her arm. She removed the heavy book from her arm, and set it on the coffee table. She gingerly turned toward Spencer who was snoring softly. Poor guy. She sat up and kissed Spencer on the forehead before laying back down, but facing Spencer so she could watch him sleep. He had a look of total peace on his face. Kate reached up and lightly stroked his cheek, which felt stubbly. She had mostly seen him clean-shaven, a requirement to being active duty. Except for their adventurous trip a couple weeks ago, she hadn’t seen any facial hair on his face.
Spencer stirred and Kate held her breath with her hand in mid-air. He peeked an eye open and looked at her. Her face grew hot as she realized she’d been caught.
“You don’t have to stop,” he whispered. He pulled her hand back up to his face, kissing each fingertip before moving it back to his cheek.
“Are you comfortable?” She sat up and stretched.
“Very.” He pulled her over and kissed her cheeks, then her nose and finally her lips. They pulled apart and he stretched along the sofa, pulling her down with him. She lay down in his muscular arms, content with the idea of being near him knowing that his tender touches and kisses were opening her heart again to love. Perhaps to real love this time.
Her head rested on his shoulder, her hand across his chest and his arms around her with one hand on her hair and the other lightly stroking her back. She lightly fingered the collar of his shirt front, remembering her reaction to his hairless chest when he had been sick. She longed to run her fingers along his smooth, strong chest and the acknowledgment sent a jolt through her. She was falling hard and fast. She better watch herself. Even with John she hadn’t felt near this level of desire.
Spencer had a way of knowing what she wanted even before she did and jumped in to help with Sarah with no hesitation or question. She had known him long enough to trust him with most things, but could she trust him with her heart? Would he take advantage of her knowing she was on the rebound? How far would he go? Kate and John had never slept together, but they had been tempted more than once. Now, this was the second time she and Spencer had spent the night together, though not intimately. The night Spencer told her about Sarah’s existence seemed ages ago.
All these thoughts swirled in her head before she finally let them go and fell asleep, with Spencer’s hand rubbing her back. She heard him whisper, “I love you, Kate,” right before falling back to sleep.
****
Until next time,
Michelle
HeirForceNovel 