Page 173 of Wicked Fantasies

“Troy,” she whispered.

He bent forward. “Kiss me,” he murmured. Their lips touched. They’d kissed a million and twelve times in their lives, but this kiss, gentle and sweet and innocent, reminded her of their first. It was in this parking lot after the dance and she could still remember the excitement she felt when Troy Wainwright offered her a ride home. They’d gotten into his car and before he started the engine, he’d turned to her and said the exact same words.

Kiss me.

The request and the action had taken her breath away that night and she was feeling the same lightheadedness now as she had then. As soon as the memory entered her mind, she pulled away with a gasp and looked around. If she wasn’t mistaken, this was very nearly the same parking spot.

“Our first kiss.”

He grinned, pleased she’d remembered. “Yep. Right here. In front of the school.” He turned on the radio and slid in a CD. Pushing Play, he pointed back down to the photo album as the sounds of Fleetwood Mac drifted through the speakers.

For the first time, her gaze traveled from the picture on the left page to a letter protected under the plastic film on the right page. It was written to her in Troy’s handwriting.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“Read it.”

Faith,

You and I have known each other nearly our entire lives, traveling the same path through elementary, middle and high school. While we were acquaintances through those early years, I feel like I never really knew you, never saw you until the night of our senior prom.

Betsy Jordan coming down with the flu was probably the best thing that ever happened to me, even though I didn’t realize it at the time. I remember how pissed off I was after her mother called and said she couldn’t go to the dance with me. I almost stayed home that night, but my mom insisted I put the rented tux to use. You know my mom— waste not, want not.

I came late and by the time I got there, that dickhead, Travis had left you sitting all alone. I knew you all had been dating, so I was surprised when I saw him with Amber. I can still remember the look on your face as you watched him dancing with that other girl. You were so pale and yet, so strong. I could see how hard you were fighting not to cry, to hold on to your dignity. It was like a light went on inside me. I’d passed you in the hallways for years and never really looked at you, but that night, you were the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen and I wondered why in the hell I’d never noticed it before.

I was nervous as shit when I walked over to you and asked to sit down. You smiled at me and I felt like somebody had punched me in the gut. Talk about an instant attraction. We talked and laughed and after awhile, we started dancing. The last song of the night was “Landslide” and I took you in my arms and we slow danced while Stevie Nicks sang. After the dance, you said I could drive you home and we had our first kiss in the parking lot. I fell in love with you that night even though I was too stupid at the time to know it. When I dropped you off at your house, I asked if I could call you again and you said yes. I smiled the whole way home, thinking about you.

Even after all this time, I only have to think about you and I smile.

Love, Troy

Chapter Two

As Faith looked up from the page, she couldn’t hold back the tears streaming down her face. He took the photo album from her hands and placed it on the dashboard. Unhooking her seatbelt, he pulled her into his arms.

“Shhh. This is supposed to be a celebration. No crying allowed,” he teased as he cupped the back of her neck, holding her head to his chest.

“It’s happy crying.” The words were muffled by his shirt, but they still produced a quiet laugh from him.

“Oh well, happy crying. That’s okay then.”

She pulled away a few inches so that she could see his face as she spoke. Stroking his beloved, familiar cheek, she leaned closer, kissing him again. “I love you,” she whispered against his lips just before the kiss deepened. Troy’s arms tightened around her and she was overwhelmed by the passion behind his hold. It had been years since he’d kissed her with such fervor, such need. Her body responded to him, her nipples puckering beneath the cotton T-shirt, the juncture of her thighs going moist.

Pulling away to gasp a breath, she grinned. “You are getting so lucky.”

He laughed, rubbing his nose against hers in a gesture as familiar as his kisses. “I’m counting on it. But it will have to be later. Right now, we need to get going. Few more stops before I cash in on thatgetting luckypromise.”

He moved her back into her seat, pulling the seatbelt across her chest. His forearm grazed her taut nipples and she sucked in a breath, her eyes narrowing when she saw him grin. He was seducing her and doing a damn fine job of it. If anyone had told her yesterday, she’d be reacting to her own husband like a sex-starved woman, she’d have laughed and claimed it impossible.

After so long together, their roles had evolved gradually over time until they settled into their now-comfortable pattern. The lust of their honeymoon phase had shifted away from red-hot lovers after the first couple of years. For a few years, it seemed like they were roommates rather than a couple and at times, they’d felt more like coworkers whose job it was to raise two kids. Lately though, they’d simply become best friends.

While they still had sex regularly, the act itself wasn’t the explosion of bodies coming together in a flash of lightning and earth-shattering thunder that it had been in their younger years. Nowadays, it was a slow, smooth glide that slaked their needs and brought them closer in a contented, easy way.

However, at this moment, there was nothing she wanted more than to unhook her seatbelt and ride her husband’s lap in the middle of the high-school parking lot, and she didn’t give a damn who saw her.

Troy started the car and pulled back on to the street. His smug expression proved he knew what she was thinking. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Shame on you, Faith. You know, it’s all coming back to me now. You always were impatient when it came to sex.”

She crossed her arms and shot him a dirty look. “And you were always a tease.”

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