Page 61 of A Chance at Forever
“I forget to act like a gentleman when we’re together.”
It occurred to Victoria that she didn’twanthim to act like a gentleman, then shame coursed through her. Such wanton thoughts thrust her into a heap of trouble with Alan. Trouble that could cost her everything if it ever came to light.
She squashed the darkness threatening to overwhelm her joy. “You’re the perfect gentleman.” Victoria caressed his rugged face. “Now, tell me about the game. I want to hear the details.”
Rusty gripped her hips. His eyes sparkled like emeralds. “Tori, I wish you could have been there. What happened last night was truly spectacular. I’ve never seen anything like it since I’ve been coaching at Marysville. The Brentwood Cougars played slowly in the first quarter and gave us a twenty-eight to zero advantage. The boys thought they had an easy victory on their hands until the second quarter. The Cougars dominated the game from that point on. Their strategy was to make the team feel too secure, then take the ball and run. I’ve never seen a football move so quickly down a field by one player. Their secret weapon was a small junior nicknamed Cheetah, who ran like one. He left my guys looking around and trying to figure out who had the ball.”
Victoria chuckled. “What did you do?”
“During half-time I told them it was time to hit hard and fast and keep the ball away from Cheetah at all costs. We changed our plays, and up until the final nail-biting two minutes, the teams were neck and neck. Then they scored a touchdown, putting them ahead at forty to thirty-five. At that point I thought we had lost for sure. But one of our guys caught an interception. The clock counted down, and I wasn’t expecting a good outcome. Then a miracle happened. Troy spotted Jake Jordan in an opening and threw a pass the likes of which could rival pro-ball.”
Rusty shook his head. “I swear I don’t know where he got the strength or the energy. The kid had been sacked twice, and I could tell he was exhausted. Yet, he saw the opportunity and grabbed it. Jake took off down the field and gave us the winning touchdown. Final score: Brentwood Cougars forty, Marysville Bears forty-two.”
“Oh, Rusty, I’m so happy for you and the boys. You must be extremely proud of the team.”
“I am. Would you like to hear what I believe was the real deciding factor?” His warm hands moved up her ribcage to her neck, and she shivered. The expression on his face mesmerized her.
She nodded her head, and he removed a crumpled piece of paper from the pocket of his jeans. “The humor I found amusing, but I took seriously the words you wrote at the end of the note. You promised you’d be here waiting with open arms to comfort or congratulate me, and it’s time I collected on that promise.”
He brought her head down to meet his upturned mouth in sweet, intoxicating kisses.
After long moments of stealing each other’s breath, Victoria lifted her head and whispered, “Congratulations, baby. I know you’re tired. Want to skip the Halloween party tonight? We could curl up on the couch with cups of hot apple cider and a bowl of popcorn and watch scary movies while we hand out candy to the neighborhood kids.”
“Mmm…I like the sound of a cozy Halloween night at home. But what about our costumes?”
“Oh, we can still dress up. I’m curious to see yours.”
Rusty laughed and rose with her from the Adirondack chair. “Likewise. See you around seven? I’ll spring for pizza.”
“Perfect.”
Arms entwined around each other they ambled toward Victoria’s back porch and kissed one more time before parting until later that night.
CHAPTER 18
Victoria slipped aflowing Greek goddess dress over her head and adjusted it. She loved the way the material draped her figure. Using a hot curling iron, she created long ringlets and swept them up and away from her face. Then, she added a laurel wreath around her head. Gold hoop earrings dangled against her neck. After she pushed a gold band up her arm and stepped into a pair of sandals, she studied her reflection in the cheval mirror standing in a corner of her bedroom.
“Not bad,” she said aloud to Bud, who watched her getting dressed. He thumped his tail.
As she tied the gold-braided rope around her waist, Rusty called from downstairs, “I’m here with pizza!”
Bud bounded down the staircase ahead of her. Victoria descended slowly, gliding like a goddess.
When she saw Rusty’s costume, she stopped dead in her tracks. He was dressed as a Greek warrior. His bare chest arrested her attention, and she followed it down to his god-like, absolutely perfect abs. The short leather skirt, the fake armor, the gold bands around his muscular forearms created such a sensual image that Victoria’s heart slammed into her chest and her blood raced through her veins.
Maintaining her self-control, she placed her hands on her hips and demanded, “Okay, Rusty Sinclair. Who told you?”
“Uh, told me what?” His eyes shone with a seductive green light as they roamed over her body.
Enthralled by the expression on his face, Victoria faltered. “Well, um, who told you I said you looked like a Greek god? Was it Mia?”
He set the pizza on the kitchen table next to a scary Jack-o-lantern lit by a candle. Rusty chuckled. A deep throaty sound that sent her senses spiraling again.
“Nope. She kept your secret.” He moved toward her until they were barely inches apart. “You look divine tonight. Every bit the goddess I imagine you to be.”
Their costumes provided little protection against the sweet heat rising between them. Rusty’s hands wandered up and down her back and held her close to him as his mouth possessed hers. Soon, his lips traced a fiery path down her neck and into the hollow of her throat. Her pulse beat fast, and a soft moan escaped from her lips.
Rusty placed a kiss at the corner of her mouth. “Tori, it’s becoming nearly impossible to resist you.”
