Tap Dance (Dance Series)

chapter Eight



This time of year in the Rocky Mountains had precarious weather. Some days were picture postcard perfect, with the sun shining and a soft, almost, warm breeze that stirs the air.

It was precarious because it had been known to snow unexpectedly.

But I loved that.

I loved how you were never really sure how it was going to be outside from day to day.

Kind of like life.

But today was one of those perfect weather days and, rather than eat in the small break room in the office or even stay in one of the restaurants, I grabbed a sandwich and drink from Jill's Deli and went to the small park by the library to eat. I had a favorite bench, half-hidden by the Golden Currant and Sand Cherry bushes with a Wild Plum tree overhead.

I was not paying attention to anything really.

Enjoying my sandwich and the feel of the Spring sun against my skin.

Listening to the birds that were slowly coming back to our corner of Colorado.

Humming a little under my breath.

"Do you always sing when you eat, Pyari?"

My whole body stilled at the sound of his voice.

Oh God, his voice.

I was barely able to swallow before I turned to see him sitting next to me.

"Teresa told me where I could find you."

"You were looking for me?"

"Yes, to see if we could have lunch together."

Oh, God.

Ram Patel was the most gorgeous man I'd ever seen, and seeing him in direct sunlight only added to that opinion.

My eyes roamed over his face until I got lost in the depths of his brown eyes.

"Cat got your tongue?" he asked with a smile and I watched as his eyes roamed my face before meeting my eyes again.

"Ram…" I whispered, not able to get another word out of my mouth.

"Please, Pyari. Don't look at me like that and whisper my name." His soft voice almost sounded like he was in pain.

"Like what?"

"Like…" he broke the gaze and looked up at the trees before turning back. "Like you would let me worship your beautiful body like I'm aching to do."

Oh. My. God.

"Ram…" I whispered again.

I had no words for what I was feeling but honest to goodness, if a gal could come from just words then I just had a mini-gasm.

Right there on that stone bench in the little park by the library.

We broke our gaze again and I had my eyes on my feet, trying but not succeeding in my effort to calm down. My hands were gripping the edge of the bench as I watched my feet.

"What's that you're doing, Pyari?" I saw Ram was looking at my moving feet.

Then I saw that his feet began to move, mirroring mine.

"Shuffle, ball chain, stomp, shim-sham, shuffle, ball chain, stomp," he said softly as he watched my feet as his performed exactly the same moves.

I couldn't help it.

I started laughing really hard.

And then I heard him join in, his own laugh coming from deep inside his chest. When we finally got control of our laughter, I was able to ask.

"Beginning tap? You, the big Kahuna of the Grantham Police Department, knows how to Tap Dance?"

"I was sent to classes when I was young. It was a skill that Mataji insisted that all young English boys acquired at my age. Which I've since found that her knowledge in several areas of English boys and their subsequent upbringing was completely off the mark."

He looked down at his feet before raising his face again.

"Think we are going to have to do a Pinky Swear again, Pyari. I can't allow this knowledge to become public. It would completely destroy any credibility I may have in this town if they knew I could Tap Dance."

Pinky Swear.

Oh. My. God.

I took a deep breath before turning my body towards him and raising my right hand as I placed my left hand over my heart.

"I, Marianne Louise Gibson, do so solemnly swear that I will never, ever tell another living soul that our gorgeous, sexy and hot Police Chief knows how to Tap Dance."

I saw the heat in his gorgeous brown eyes before I carefully turned my eyes away.

I made a fist and extended the pinky finger of my right hand out to him. And gazed at him, feeling his pinky finger crossed with mine and we curled them around each other.

"Pinky Swear," he whispered.

"Yeah, honey, Pinky Swear," I whispered back and watched his eyes flare at my words.

He twisted our hands until he was holding mine, palm to palm.

I glanced up at him but he was still looking at our hands.

"I need to ask you something, Marianne. And if you feel that it's none of my business, please feel free to say so." His voice was quiet and he was still looking at our hands, watching the movement of his thumb as he rubbed against my skin.

"Okay. Shoot." I said equally as quiet.

"Shoot?" I saw his small smile before he spoke again.

"This thing with Paul…"

"Paul and I don't have a thing."

"I heard you were dating. Then when he came to the house…"

"Paul and I have gone on a couple of dates, but it's really casual. Not like…"

"Not like, what?"

I couldn't look at him as I completed my sentence, a sentence I really didn't want to say out loud. Especially to him. But, if we were going to move forward (and I wanted that so very badly) he needed to know.

"Not like how it is between us, Ram."

"And how is that, Pyari?"

I was quiet for a couple of beats as I gathered my courage to say it.

"How I ache to have you worship my body so I can worship yours right back," I whispered finally looking into his eyes.

And heard his groan as he closed his eyes.

"Enough," he said wrapping an arm around my waist to slide me across that stone bench until I was pressed up against him.

"Kiss me, Pyari. Kiss me hard enough to last until the next time I'm with you," he whispered fiercely.

Nobody had to ask me twice.

I totally forgot we were in a public place in that little park by the library as I put my heart and soul into my kiss with Ram.

Unlike the kiss in the car, this meeting of our mouths was fast, wet, hard and deep.

Ram devoured me like a starving man at a banquet table.

And I matched him stroke for stroke, our tongues dueling as our mouths fused.

Just like the car kiss, this one seemed to last forever.

Unending.

Stoking the fire between us.

I couldn't get close enough and dropped one hand so I could pull myself closer. But I must have dropped it down farther than I realized as my palm came in contact with the hard ridge in his pants.

When contact was made, he flinched and broke apart from our joined lips.

"Oh, God, yes," he moaned and moved his hips to press harder against my hand.

I felt him slip his hand underneath my coat and stroke my breast, zeroing in on my hard nipple.

It was my turn to moan, though I tried to be quiet about it.

But it was my moan that seemed to break the spell of the moment and Ram began to move himself away.

When he was in his place and I was in mine, I saw that he was sitting with his elbows on his knees and he was looking at the ground.

"I want you in my bed tonight, Pyari."

"Absolutely, Ram," I replied without having to think about it.

"Come to me at 9:00."

"I'll be there."

He rose from his place on the bench and began to move away, but not before shooting me a look over his shoulder that included a grin.

I felt that grin clear down to my curled toes.