Chapter 4

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a woman literally fall at my feet,”Jon said, chuckling. “That’s a first for me.”

“Yeah, well,” Valerie countered, “I don’t think I’ve ever actually swooned.” She chuckled herself. “Of course, to keep your ego in check, please do recall I said I’d drunk an entire bottle of wine.” She fished around in the basket and came out with the proof. Jon laughed and took the bottle from her looking at the label.

“This is one of my favorite wines,” he said, looking at her closely. She was a pretty woman, younger than him, but he wouldn’t put her much past 37. She wore no makeup, and simple, tasteful jewelry. Her hair was a bit windblown, and there was a rosy tint in her cheeks that was very cute on her. Her clear green eyes reminded him of the colors of Ireland, one of his favorite places to be. A man could get lost gazing into those clear, emerald pools.

“I’ve got more, if you’d like a glass,” she said, her heart pounding. Where the hell did that come from? “You’ll have to use my glass, though, or,” she looked at him and saw a spark of interest in his eyes that made her lose her train of thought.

“Or?” he prompted.

“Or, you could come up to the house and I’ll get you a fresh one.”

“I’d like that. Very much.” He stood and held a hand out, which Valerie took, and pulled her to her feet. He reached down for the basket as Valerie grabbed the blanket and radio. They looked at each other for a long moment, not saying anything. Finally, Jon cleared his throat. “Um, lead the way?”

Valerie flushed red to her roots. “God, I’m sorry. I’m just finding this surreal.” She shook her head, trying to clear the cobwebs from it. “Follow me.”

She led Jon to the porch. To the right of the front door was a cozy tableau: two rocking chairs flanking a low table. All were painted white, and weathered a little by time. Valerie dropped her stuff to the floor in front of the table and dropped into one of the rocking chairs. She reached for the basket in Jon’s hand. Their hands touched, and for some reason, this contact sizzled. Valerie chalked it up to the wine. Maybe she wasn’t as sober as she thought. Valerie laid out the remains of her picnic on the table, and handed Jon the bottle of wine and an opener.

“You do the honors,” she said. “I’ll go get a fresh glass.”

“Hurry back,” he said. Why the hell did he say that? He shook his head as Valerie gave a little jump and disappeared into the house. Jon expertly uncorked the bottle, letting the wine breathe. He helped himself to one of the decadent chocolate-covered strawberries. He moaned to himself as the heady flavors mixed on his tongue. He sighed happily. This is exactly what she tasted like, he thought to himself. He closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair, rocking gently in time with the pounding waves, and smiling. This was the most relaxed he’d felt in some time.

The squeak of the door startled him – he looked over to see Valerie had come back with two clean glasses, and a plate of breads and soft cheeses to go with the spread already set.

“You didn’t have to feed me,” he said. “The wine would have been fine.” He took the glasses from her, and began to pour. He looked up to find Valerie sitting there, next to him, smiling. “What?”

“You’re a guy, I figured you must be hungry,” she said, teasingly, and motioned for him to lean in to her. “Then I noticed: you couldn’t help but to dive into my berries.” She reached out a finger to the corner of Jon’s mouth, where a trace of chocolate still remained. She swiped it onto her finger, showed it to him, and slowly brought her finger to her mouth. She licked the chocolate from it delicately, sending little shocks straight to Jon’s cock.

He watched as she licked all traces of the candy from her finger. Without a word, he selected another berry from the box, and held it out, showing it to Valerie. He took a bite, purposefully getting chocolate on his face. She leaned forward a little, the rocking of the chair making her unsteady. She once again reached out a finger to swipe the chocolate from his mouth. This time, Jon captured her wrist and brought her finger into his mouth. She closed her eyes at the contact, all but moaning out loud. Jon drew his chair back a little, making her falter again.

Valerie smiled. “What?” she said, concentrating on not falling out of her chair.

“I’m trying to see if you’ll fall at my feet again,” he said huskily.

“All it takes is a kiss,” Valerie said, her own voice a whisper.

Jon put the strawberry down on the table and stood. He pulled on Valerie’s hands until she was standing in the circle of his arms. He oh so slowly inched his head toward hers. When their mouths were a breath apart, he stopped. “Maybe I don’t want you to fall on the floor.”

“Then you’d better hold me tighter,” she said, stretching her tongue out to trace his lips.

Jon’s arms tightened around Valerie and he sipped from her lips gently. He leaned back to smile at her. “You taste like chocolate and wine. A very potent combination. Very sexy”

Valerie blushed. She was out of practice with the whole seduction game. She could handle the flirting, but anything else was beyond her. Her body knew what to do, however. It had been a long time since she had this intimate contact, and she craved it. She angled her hips into Jon more, pressing against his now very obvious erection. He hissed at the contact and drove his hands into her hair, angling her head for a deep kiss.

Valerie wrapped her hands around his waist and held on for the ride. She really would have fallen at his feet again; her knees were weak. She hadn’t felt this alive, this wanted, since before her husband -- well, since before. She wasn’t going to analyze this, she was just going to go with it.

“Valerie,” Jon said, breaking the kiss.

“Hmmmm?”

“I’m more than a little attracted to you.”

Valerie smiled, and pushed into him a little harder, making his eyes go wide. “Oh really? I hadn’t noticed.” She chuckled a little at his reaction. “Really, I could tell.” She kissed him lightly, and looked at him. “I am very attracted to you. It’s been a long time since I felt that way about anyone.”

Jon smiled and kissed Valerie again. Deeply. “What should we do about it?” He was toying with the earrings she wore, simple dropped pearls.

By way of answer, Valerie took Jon’s hand, and led him into the house.