Temptation Ridge (Virgin River #6)(86)

“Shelby, we’re na**d and just had unbelievable sex—death threats right now are rude. Mind your manners. Tell me the perfect line.”

She was quiet for a minute. She chewed on her bottom lip a little, thinking it over. Then in a very soft voice she said, “You’re all I need. To be happy.” Then she lifted her eyelids and connected with his eyes. She smiled shyly. “Just a line. Writing screenplays or romantic novels was once on my to-do dream list.”

He ran his hand over her honey hair. He kissed her temple. “Shelby,” he said softly, “I think you’re all I need to be happy.”

She looked at him for a long time. She smiled into his eyes. “In my fantasy, he doesn’t say ‘I think.’” Then she laughed and said, “So—did your mother convince you to go to Phoenix for Christmas? She said she was going to try.”

“I might go—but for two days. I’m not doing this five-day thing again. I can’t take it when we’re back together. You almost killed me.” He grinned. “Do you realize you went from self-conscious little virgin to aggressor? Shelby, you’ve come out of your shell. Way out.”

“Maybe you brought me out, ever think of that?”

“You must’ve been ready.”

“Oh, I was ready,” she said. She put a hand against his cheek. “For you.”

It was the Saturday following Thanksgiving and Walt wasn’t sure he could remember ever lying in bed with a na**d woman in the middle of the afternoon. When he was a young man, not only was the army working him to death, the first baby came along soon after he and Peg married and from that point on their lives were entwined with family and the demands of a military officer’s life. When he became a general, he also had an aide and some household staff. It wasn’t that they were inhibited, neither of them were, but the second they tried something as daring as showering together, one of their teenagers would come home unexpectedly and bang on their door, yelling, “What are you doing in there?”

There was definitely something to be said for being consenting adults of a certain age. He chuckled to himself.

“Something’s funny?” Muriel asked, nuzzling closer.

“Yeah. You and me. Stealing sex in the afternoon with a couple of lazy dogs sleeping at the foot of the bed. This is good, Muriel. Good. And I’m glad there are no ceiling mirrors.”

She laughed at him. “Me, too. Let’s not think about what we must look like.”

“Maybe not what we used to look like, but you still have the body of a girl. You do.”

“Know what I like best about you?” she asked. “Your intelligence. Even though you’re a liar, you know exactly what to say.”

“Well, this might be the wrong thing to say, but I’m going to say it anyway. I haven’t had sex since Peg died. Until you.”

She tilted her chin up, looking at him. “Walt, I haven’t had sex since before Peg died.”

“Really?” he asked, surprised. “That’s amazing. You’re made for sex.”

She frowned. “There was probably a compliment in there somewhere.”

“I’m serious. You’re a wonderful lover. Partner. That’s not too encroaching, is it? Partner?”

“It doesn’t cross the line, but it rushes right up to it.”

“You don’t want to think of us as casual….”

“I don’t,” she said. “Casual is coffee or drinks. Intimate is—”

The phone rang in her bedroom. She rolled away to pick it up and Walt grabbed her arm, pulling her back. “Intimate is what?”

She smiled at him. “Very, very nice. May I answer the phone now?”

“Any of your close friends or family members dying?” he wanted to know.

“Not to my knowledge.”

“Then how about we don’t—”

“Walt, I’m answering my phone,” she said, rolling away from him. “Hello?” she said into the phone. “Hi, Jack, what’s up? Oh really? Is his name Mason? Yes, you can give him directions, he’s my agent. And Jack—thanks for asking first. That was thoughtful of you. He could be anyone, you know.” When she rolled back to Walt, she just sighed. “A man in a funny hat driving a Bentley just showed up at Jack’s asking if he knew where I lived. Mason.”

“What’s he doing here?”

“Hell if I know. But I suspect he’s got some big idea or script or something and thought if he pressured me in person, it would make a difference. It won’t.”

“Why’d you tell Jack to give him directions?”

“All right, now listen. Mason can annoy me with his focus on my career even after I’m trying to get away from movies, but he’s been a good and loyal friend for over thirty-five years and—”

“And an ex-husband,” Walt pointed out.

“We hardly notice that,” she said. “Seriously, I owe Mason. He’s gotten me out of some tight spots. My business can get real complicated. And he might get a little zooped up over projects that aren’t all they appear to be, but if he ever sees that something isn’t going as it should for my career, he steps in like a lion and gets it handled. So let’s get dressed and be cordial. Hmm?”