“And gay.”
She put her hands on her hips and fired right back, “He’s not gay! Just because he doesn’t obsess about sex like you do, that doesn’t make him gay!”
Mitch shook his head. “You don’t get it do you? I didn’t used to obsess about sex until you came around. Now it’s all I can think about and until I can convince you that this guy you’re harping on and on about isn’t who you think he is, then your loyal little brain won’t let you relinquish the dream of some fake private detective who strung you along for some bizarre reason. So yes, we’re going out to this next place. And the next and the next until we find this fraud and clear up this idiocy.” He pulled open the car door and glared down at her. “So get in the car, Claire.”
She was tired of his intimidation tactics. And just tired overall. And hungry and irritated about this chase for a man who really did seem to be turning out to be a fraud and a liar. So she was feeling a bit ridiculous to be proven so wrong about a man she’d claimed t be an apparently unachievable ideal. Which hurt more than she wanted to admit. That hurt was turning into a need to assert herself and find some grounding, of which Mitch continued to sweep out from underneath her. “No! I’m not going any further until you agree to take me home.”
“We’re going to this next place. And we’re not stopping until we find this guy.”
“Then I’m not getting in the car!” she shouted at him.
In response, he walked around to her side, then pulled her against him, causing a gasp of surprise, and more than a little bit of fear, equaled by anticipation.
She tried to resist but that lasted for less than a fraction of a second. The moment he pulled her into his arms, her hungry body pressed against him, her arms reached up and wrapped around his neck and she groaned in satisfaction as she felt his hands against her back, then slide down to her bottom, pulling her more firmly against his own obvious need for her.
His mouth was like candy and she needed the sweetness more than breathing. When his tongue touched hers, she wiggled higher, wanting more of him, clinging to him. Frustrated sounds came from her because she couldn’t get enough of him but he knew what she wanted. When his fingers pushed into her hair and pulled her head back, giving him additional access to her mouth, she didn’t resist, wanting more of him as well.
Someone honking a horn blasted through her consciousness and she pulled back, staring up at him in astonishment. “We need to go,” she said softly, her knees weak and her entire body shaking in reaction.
He didn’t say anything as he slowly released her. His eyes, looking down at her, seemed to be just as on fire as her whole body felt. She didn’t want to stop, nor did he if the message he was conveying to her through his gaze was any indication. But there was nothing to be done about either of their needs right at the moment. The parking lot of an increasingly busy restaurant was not a particularly desirable location for what they’d begun.
On the way through the winding roads, Claire silently admonished herself once again for how faithless she was with Mitch. She tried to figure out why it was that she couldn’t control what she felt when Mitch took her in his arms when, all her life, she’d been the one to call a stop to any kind of lovemaking with her dates. She’d been careful with the men she’d gone out with, dating only men she had a genuine attraction towards. None of them came even partially close to how Mitch made her feel when he simply looked in her direction. And when he took her into his arms, his strong, powerful arms encircling her with such care and authority, she just stopped thinking and could only enjoy the blood singing through her veins. It was like he was a drug and she was the addict, the more he touched her, the more she needed from him. In this case though, the high just got higher and higher.
The rain started as small little drops initially as they were making their way through a stretch of tree covered road through the foothills of Virginia. Mitch didn’t even need to turn on his windshield wipers it was so sporadic. But after several minutes of the large drops falling down, the skies let loose and a torrent of rain barraged the sports car. Mitch handled the winding roads with expert ease, but that still made for some difficult driving and poor visibility. By the time they reached the small town where the manager of the last Italian restaurant they’d visited had told them they might find Gary, the rain was almost a complete sheet of water coming down from the inky black night sky and they could barely see a few feet in front of the car even with the head lights on.
The restaurant appeared more quickly than she’d thought, probably due to Mitch and his ability to find things without a map or any other sort of instructions, only his mysterious sense of directions that landed him exactly where they were supposed to be. The lights were on and the building looked more enticing than the interior of the Jaguar, although getting there meant becoming drenched since the only way to the front porch of the restaurant was through the rain. Mitch reached behind him and grabbed his jacket, handing it to her. “Here, put this over your head and race to the porch. I’ll be right behind you.”
Claire was touched that he was giving her his jacket but she immediately shook her head. “You take the jacket and I’ll meet you there. It’s your coat, I’m not taking it from you in this kind of rain.”
“Yes you will. And run fast because if you don’t, I’ll have to carry you over those puddles and we both know what happens each time we touch one another.”
Claire nodded her head, her eyes wide with the undeniable accuracy of what he was saying. She turned to the door handle and at the same time, pulled the jacket up over her head and released the door. With a deep breath, she stepped out of the car and started racing up the short pathway and wooden stairs to the front porch of the quaint little restaurant. She was halfway there when she felt a strong arm circle around her back. Mitch was right there with her, practically lifting her the rest of the way as they both raced through the rain up to the shelter of the porch.
By the time they were under the roof, Claire was laughing at how ridiculous they must look. She pulled the jacket off her head, sure that she looked just as bad as her black suede pumps but she was laughing as she looked up at Mitch. With the water running off his hair and face, he looked even more handsome which was an astonishing feat since he was basically the cat’s meow during the worst of times.