Elusive Echoes (24 page)

Sean chuckled. "Better than you thought I
could. Admit it."

She turned to take him in, looking him up
and down, unsurprised by the need to temper the hunger he stirred
within her. He should be exhausted. He'd been up before the sun,
worked all day and then all night with her, refusing to go up early
even when they'd had only a couple of customers left. Yet he looked
like he could go another couple of hours. Where did he get his
energy?

"You were better than I thought you'd be.
But Ricky's shift ended about six hours ago." Mel walked slowly
toward Sean, holding his gaze. Her heart raced with the intensity
she saw. When she stood in front of him, she reached up to touch
his cheek. "You should be asleep on your feet."

Sean glided his hand upward along Mel's arm.
He eased her toward him and continued exploring, over her shoulder
and down along her spine until she was fitted against him. "Do you
know what I need?

Mel wiggled. "Yes, I think I do know what
you need." She looked up and smiled. "Is my new waiter looking for
a little bar sex?"

Flames rose from the embers in his eyes. He
moved against her, just a little, enough for her to know he wasn't
immune. He pushed one hand into her hair and he gently tugged her
head back, exposing her face to his intense scrutiny. She met his
searing look with heat of her own. His breath hissed and he dipped
his head to touch her lips with his.

He tasted so good, his lips warm and
comforting. And she realized her feelings had passed merely being
in love with him. He was her constant, her steadying influence. He
was the one person who had been and would be there for her, the one
she would come back to no matter where life took her.

He turned them so she was pressed against
the bar, then lifted her up onto it in one swift move. He watched
her face as he allowed his hands to roam along her denim-covered
legs, stopping just above her knees. The pause held her on the
brink, made her heart ache for him.

His smile was gentle. His eyes held a glint
of awe. "You'd do this, wouldn't you? If I asked, you'd make love
with me right on this bar."

She lifted a shoulder, keeping her eyes
locked on his. "At the moment, I'd do anything you asked of me,"
she said very softly, trusting him with all of her.

The jukebox lapsed into silence. Sean went
silent, too. He looked at her for several long moments, almost as
if he was seeing her for the first time and was trying to memorize
her face. Finally, he laid his head against Mel's chest, his arms
stealing around her waist. He drew a deep, shuddering breath.
Standing back, he slid her off the bar and set her gently on the
floor.

He used his fingertips to graze her cheeks,
watching her with a half-smile. "Melanie," he murmured.

She tilted her head and smiled back, feeling
suddenly shy. "Sean?" His mood was strange tonight, but in a good
way.

"I want to get married."

Mel blinked. A smile tugged at her lips. "We
are getting married." Fluttering butterflies began a dance in her
stomach.

Sean shook his head. "I don't want to wait
until January." He dipped his head and slid his lips along hers,
teasing them both before he claimed her mouth with gentle
persuasion.

Mel's heart did a flip-flop. He'd said he'd
wait until she was ready. Why did he want to push things up? She
skimmed her hands over his chest, bringing them to rest on his
shoulders, leaning back to catch his eyes. His heart was right
there. It blew her away to see so much love on one person's face.
And it was all for her.

"I don't understand. Why?"

The glow in his eyes faded just a little and
his smile faltered. Mel stretched her hand and used her thumbs to
caress his lips. Her own smile still in place, she pushed the
corners of his lips upward. "Is it because—I mean, are you worried
I might be pregnant?"

His lips lifted into the smile she wanted.
"No." But he pulled back a ways and glanced downward then up to
look her in the eye. "Not worried at all."

"Then why do—"

He swallowed her question with another kiss,
tender and sweet, and packing more punch than the hottest caress.
This time when he drew back, Mel's thoughts tumbled over one
another in an incoherent mishmash.

"I love you, Mel. It's that simple. I love
you and I want to be with you. I want to lie down next to you at
night and wake up next to you in the morning. And I want to do it
as your husband."

Finally, a coherent thought formed a word.
"Okay."

Sean's lips twitched. The soft glow from the
track lights over the bar made his hair look nearly white. "Is that
okay I can love you? Or okay . . . something else?"

The butterflies quickened. She was going to
do this! "Okay, I'll marry you tonight if you want to run away with
me."

His tender smile widened into a huge grin
and he gathered her against him so tightly, he lifted her feet off
the floor. He twirled them both, and then set her down again. "Hold
that thought, Sweetness, and let's get up to your place."

She hurried to finish locking up, then
driven to act by urgent desire that still could surprise her with
its intensity, Mel grabbed Sean's hand and pulled him through the
kitchen to the rear exit. Her hands shook as she locked the door
and pulled it closed. Then they were on the stairs to her
apartment.

She cast a glance back at him as she led the
way. She had one foot on the top step, when Sean's hands settled on
her rear end, giving her a light push.

"Oh!" Mel leapt forward onto the deck,
turning with a laugh bubbling from her throat.

When she turned, she bumped into him. His
ardent kiss stole her breath and set her mind to spinning again. He
walked her back against the closed door, pressing her there with
his body, while his hands began to wander. When icy fingers snuck
beneath her blouse and teased the bare skin at her waist, Mel's
shrill squeal echoed across the parking lot.

"Oh! That's cold!" And it tickled. And it
was making her shiver but not with the chill.

She wiggled against him, trying to avoid
those freezing fingers, but only managed to push his hands higher,
to the bottom of her ribs.

Laughing hysterically, she dropped her key.
"You're in trouble now, mister." She gave him a gentle shove and
bent to retrieve the dropped key.

When he caught her around the waist from
above, she shrieked again, falling limply into his hold.

"Gotcha!" Sean hoisted Mel over his
shoulder, laughing when she struggled.

"Put me down, troglodyte!" She smacked
ineffectively at his rear end.

He turned around, dangling her in front of
the door. "You can keep slapping at me or you can unlock the door
with that key you're holding and let us in." Her own derriere was
well within his reach, perched as she was on his shoulder, and he
gave it a gentle pat.

She fumbled with the lock, her excitement
and the cold making it difficult to work her fingers.

Finally, key and doorknob turned, and she
pushed the door open. Sean carried her through, kicking the door
closed behind them, then waited while she turned the lock. He aimed
straight for the bed.

"Put me down." Mel wiggled. "You are so
getting put in time-out."

Sean's biceps bunched as he lifted her off
his shoulder. He dropped her onto the bed, smoothly following her
down and supporting himself over her. He dipped his head and took
her lips, sliding his tongue against hers.

She moaned, filling herself with his taste
and texture.

He surfaced briefly, rubbing his lips
lightly across her cheek to whisper in her ear. "So you're gonna
put me in time-out, huh?" Then he took her earlobe into his mouth,
using lips and tongue until she fisted her hands in his hair and
arched against him, unable to do more than hang on for the ride he
was taking them on.

She gasped as he moved to her shoulder and
sank his teeth in lightly, then quickly sucked away the sting.
"Maybe not."

His busy fingers wound themselves into her
hair, tugging gently until her neck arched, exposing her tender
skin to his kisses.

"
Maybe
not?" His lips teased, then
hovered.

Mel squirmed, trying to move into his touch
but he wasn't budging. "Are you sure about that time-out?" he
murmured, working running his thumb along the sensitive place just
beneath her ear.

"Okay." She moaned and fidgeted against his
hand.

"Okay what, Sweetness?"

"Okay, no time-out."

He trailed kisses along her neck, stopping
at the base of her throat. His voice was no more than a seductive
whisper. "Do you trust me with you, Mel? Trust me to do anything I
want?"

Mel nearly exploded from the inside out at
the thoughts his words painted into her overheated brain.

He shifted and met her eyes. "Well?"

She looked back, saw the naked hunger in his
gaze. Her pulse slammed against her throat. She wasn't afraid of
him, never would be. But this was a side to him that she'd only
just met a few days earlier. It was like kissing a stranger when he
got like this. Except it wasn't a stranger. It was Sean. Her Sean.
But it was always different, always exciting. And she wanted him
right now more than she wanted her next breath.

No longer capable of speech, Mel nodded.

Sean stood, tugging Mel to sit on the edge
of the bed. Crouching in front of her, he held her eyes with his.
"I am so in love with you, I can't think straight. After tonight, I
can't stay here with you. Not until we're married."

Mel blinked. He'd surprised her again, and
yet . . . what he said felt right. With a tiny cry, she threw her
arms around his neck. "Please tell me you meant it that you want to
move our wedding date up."

****

Mel pulled a sweatshirt over her thin
T-shirt to stave off the October chill. "I'm going to have to break
down and call Foster's to top off my oil tank soon so I can turn on
the heat." She crossed to the kitchen and poured a glass of apple
juice, lifting the carton in his direction. When he shook his head,
she returned the juice to the fridge.

Sean lounged shirtless against a mound of
pillows, his hands laced behind his head. "Or we could generate
more of our own heat."

"Ha-ha. Probably not a good idea until after
we get to City Hall next week. I'm as human as the next person and
I like the idea of waiting." Mel took a sip of juice. She'd never
felt so cherished . . . or so safe. "You need sleep."

"Can't. Not sleepy." Sean reached under the
blanket and pulled out his T-shirt, slipping it over his head.

Mel laughed at his odd observation. "Where's
all this energy coming from all of a sudden?"

He stood up, snagged a couple of pillows and
the blanket, and headed for the sofa. "It's not sudden. I was
energized all night watching you work the bar."

"Huh! What's new about that? Every time you
come in I'm working the bar." She set her empty glass on the
counter and started across the room.

"Yeah, but you were giving me orders
tonight." He grabbed her lacey black and pink bra from the couch
and held the garment up to his chest. "Would have been worse if I'd
known what you had on under your blouse." He tossed it in her
direction.

Mel snagged her bra from midair and threw it
onto her dresser. "You are entirely too obsessed with my
undergarments."

Dropping the pillows onto the couch, Sean
followed them down, burying his face. He muttered something that
might have been, "You have no idea." But before she could ask what
he'd said, his breathing was deep and even.

****

Sean woke in the dark, wondering where he
was. As he came to full awareness, the lumpy sofa let him know.
Mel's apartment. He ached for her but the ache was beyond physical,
an exquisite pain he'd never known with any other woman. Life
hadn't been easy for them. Much worse for her, he reminded
himself.

He knew her worries weren't gone, and hadn't
even been forgotten. But just for a while, they'd put the worries
out of the way and enjoyed one another's company, joking and
teasing, settling into the same innocent manner they'd had as kids.
He'd had to sit on his hands, though, when she'd decided to get
more comfortable and reached beneath her T-shirt to unhook and
remove her bra without taking off her shirt, in that mysterious way
women possessed.

Aw, man. He'd take care of her the rest of
her life and pray her worries would fade and the bad memories would
heal. For Sean, it was simple. He loved Mel with what he knew was
the world's most perfect love. The innocent love of their childhood
had changed, become stronger. But it was still as permanent as it
had ever been. She was his center. Her smile alone turned him
inside out, but her love kept his feet steady on uneven ground.
He'd do anything for Mel. Anything.

But he was terrified that he wouldn't be
able to do the one thing she needed most. Help her right a mistake
she'd had no choice but to make when she'd been just a child. The
prospect of seeing those shadows in her eyes day after never-ending
day was killing him.

His eyelids felt heavy again, and he drifted
off to sleep to the sound of Mel's light snores. He should tease
her about that. The sound was such a comfort, though, he knew she
could snore like a chainsaw and he'd want to hear it every
night.

****

The smell of coffee hit Mel on the way out
of the shower and she smiled. Sean was awake. She opened the door
and bumped into him on the other side, holding a mug of coffee
aimed in her direction.

"Black and insanely sweet." He kissed the
tip of her nose.

Mel wrapped both hands around the mug,
enjoying the warmth against her palms. She took a sip, then
another, closing her eyes as the syrupy liquid began to work its
magic.