Page 24 of The Playboy and the Widow
Cliff’s lips claimed hers in a fury of desire. His mouth slanted against hers in a full, lush kiss that spoke of fervor and timeless longing. The shaking inside Diana increased and she raised her hands to grip his shoulders just to maintain her equilibrium. Her skin was hot and cold at the same time.
Suddenly it all seemed too much. Using her arms as leverage, Diana abruptly broke away. Head bowed, she drew in ragged breaths. “Cliff, I...”
He wouldn’t allow her to speak and gently directed her mouth back to his. All the resolve she could muster, which wasn’t much, had gone into breaking off the kiss. When he reached for her again, unwilling to listen to any argument, there was nothing left with which to refuse him. His mouth opened wider, deepening the kiss, and Diana let him. Folding her arms around his neck, she leaned into his strength. He brought her against him possessively until her ribs ached and the heat of his torso burned its way down the length of her own. Cliff felt her body’s natural response to him and he groaned. At this moment he’d give anything to be anyplace besides a drive-in. He wanted to lift the sweatshirt over her head and toss it aside. The pain of denial was strong and sharp as he buried his face in the sloped curve of her neck. With even, steady breaths, he tried to force his pulse to a slow, rhythmical beat as he struggled within himself. It had been a long time since he’d experienced such an intensity of need.
The battle that waged inside Diana was fierce. She wanted to push herself away from him and scream that she wasn’t like his other women. There’d been only one lover in her life, and she wasn’t going to become his next conquest simply because her hormones behaved like jumping beans whenever he touched her. But the words that crossed her mind didn’t make it to her lips.
“Diana...” Cliff spoke first, his voice filled with gruff emotion. “Listen, I know what you’re thinking.”
“Don’t, Cliff, please don’t.” She twisted her face away from him, unable to form words to explain all that she was thinking and feeling. She felt both tormented and compelled by what was happening to them.
Cliff tensed, and his fingers dug into her shoulders.
“What’s wrong?” She lifted her head and bravely raised her gaze to meet his own.
“Don’t look now, but we’ve got an audience.”
“Joan?”
“And... others.”
“How many others?”
“Five.”
“All six of the kids are staring at us?” The hot flush that had stained her neck raced toward her cheeks and into the roots of her hair. She’d assured all the neighborhood parents that the drive-in movie was rated PG, and here she was giving them an R-rated sideshow.
“Six noses are pressed against the window, and six pairs of eyes are glued on us,” Cliff interjected with little humor.
“Oh, no,” Diana groaned, hanging her head in abject misery.
“Joan’s giving me the thumbs-up sign, Katie looks shocked and Mikey’s obviously thoroughly disgusted. He’s decided to cover his eyes.”
“What should we do?” Diana asked next, horribly embarrassed.
“Good grief, why ask me? I don’t know a thing about kids.”
His hold was tight enough to cause her shoulders to ache, but Diana didn’t complain. She was as much at a loss about what to do as Cliff was. “I think we should smile and wave, and then casually go back to watching the movie.”
“This isn’t the time to be cute.”
“I wasn’t trying to be funny. That was my idea.”
“If that’s the best you can come up with, then I suggest you turn in your Mother of the Year Award.”
“What?” Diana cried.
“We could be warping young minds here, and all you’re doing is coming up with jokes.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, I think it’s safe to assume they’ve seen people kiss before now,” Diana said, growing more amused by the moment.
“Hey, Mom.”
Joan’s shout interrupted their discussion. Forcing herself to appear calm and collected, Diana twisted around, painted a silly smile on her face and rolled down the window. “Yes, sweetheart?” she answered in a perfectly controlled voice. She was actually proud of herself for maintaining her cool. She prayed her expression gave away none of the naked desire she’d been feeling only moments before.
“Why are you arguing with Cliff?”
“What makes you ask that?”
