Chapter Ten
If it weren’t for the minutes ticking away on the digital clock on her microwave, Dawn would swear time just stopped. But at last the loud ringing of her cell phone snapped her out of the hypnotic state she had been in as she sat on one of the tall stools at her kitchen counter and stared at the time. She grabbed her phone from her lap where it had been lying for what seemed like forever. It was a number she didn’t recognize. She drew in a big breath and pushed the answer button.
“H-Hello?”
“Hello, beautiful.”
It was a voice she would recognize anywhere now; his voice—so deep and seriously sexy. There it was again. She was pretty sure now the intense feeling of light-headiness she just experienced at the sound of his voice was what women in olden times had been talking about when they said someone made them swoon.
“Hi,” she replied in a voice that sounded high-pitched to her ears. “Mateo, right?” No way did she just say that? After last night? Seriously? Just kill me now.
A soft chuckle came from the receiver. “I hope you weren’t waiting for someone else to call. I could be the jealous type where you are concerned, Miss Malone.”
“Oh, no. Just you.” Thank goodness, he could not see the heat she could feel flaring up in her face right now. Unless something drastic happened to change things, ever since last night, Sluts R Us and everything it entailed, was reserved just for Mateo Two Moons from now on. “I—I—”
Gratefully, he saved her from embarrassing herself any further. “Can I see you tonight?”
She tried to clear her throat as quietly as possible, and attempted not to respond like a total idiot. “Yes.”
“I’ll pick you up in about thirty minutes, then, if that will work for you. Dress casually. I thought we’d go for a drive.”
“It sounds perfect,” she answered in a tone of voice a bit more natural. Just perfect, like everything else that concerned this man. “See you soon.”
“Not soon enough.”
The phone receiver went silent. But Dawn’s excited childish squeal filled the quiet room. Should she change into something more date-suitable? Maybe not, she determined as she glanced down at her clothes and decided she was the right kind of casual for an evening drive. Just a squirt of her new desert-themed cologne, another touch of lip gloss, some mascara and she would be good to go. Mateo might as well see her in her usual weekend attire anyway, since she hoped he would be seeing her day—and night—for the rest of her life.
But thirty minutes was way too long to wait to see him again. It would be nearly dark by the time he got here. If he arrived just a little earlier, they could have ridden off into the sunset together. She gave her head a shake and shrugged in defeat at the mushy way her mind was working lately.
She heard the big truck coming before she saw the headlights shining down the street. The roar of the engine sounded powerful, sort of like the driver, she thought as her excitement grew. Should she wait for him to come to the door, or should she just race out to meet him on the sidewalk? She should probably wait for him to come get her.
She quickly backed away from the window. Mateo seemed to be an old-fashioned guy. Maybe it was because of his Native American heritage. The idea of being a bit old-fashioned with a man like Mateo was very appealing. And swooning was always appropriate with old-fashioned type guys, right?
She held her breath as she waited until she heard the knock, then she forced herself to wait a moment longer so he wouldn’t know she was just standing there waiting for him. When she did open the door, his perfect smile—those glistening white teeth between those tempting lips she couldn’t wait to kiss again—were the first things she saw.
“Hello,” he said in a voice that sounded like a soft caress to Dawn’s ears. His gaze never left her face, and once again, she noticed how his smile appeared to be as much in his dark shining eyes as it was on his mouth.
“Hi,” she said as an instant smile parted her lips. She could just stand here and stare at him forever and all would be perfect in her world.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Oh-oh yes,” she stammered trying to find her brain. “Well, unless you would like to come in for a drink or beer or something?” She realized she said the last word in a lower tone—something? More like a suggestive invitation. Did he notice?
One thick brow lifted in a suggestive arch. “I would like to come back later for—something.” His tone mimicked hers. “But first I thought a moonlight drive might be nice since there is going to be a full moon tonight. I have a six-pack of beer and some sandwiches in the truck for the ride.”
She gulped much too loudly. Something was still on her mind as she gave her head a weak nod.
“That sounds perfect,” she murmured. Mateo Two Moons in the romantic glow of a full moon. That sounded—what had Chloe said?—Mateo-gasmic or something similar. Food or drink was not even necessary.
She grabbed her purse and let him wrap his arm around her waist as they headed to his truck. A deep sense of comfort washed through her body. They really were perfect together.
“Rock music, uh? Joseph Red Feather is probably way too tame for you,” he said in a joking voice after they had climbed in the cab of his truck. He motioned toward her shirt.
She chuckled. “I love all kinds of music. But I must admit, hard rock is one of my guilty pleasures. I would never admit it to my students, even though wearing this shirt probably makes me look like I’m trying to be one of them. So, this shirt is reserved only for very special non-school related activities.”
Soft laughter came from Mateo’s side of the cab. “I’m honored. I want you to take me to a rock concert, okay?”
“It’s a date,” she answered without hesitation. Add that to the list of endless things she could not wait to do with this incredible man. “So, where are we going tonight?”
He reached over the leather console in-between the seats and picked up her nearest hand. “There’s a lake about fifteen miles from here. I thought we could watch the moon rise over the canyon walls surrounding the lake. I didn’t want to share you with anyone other than the moonlight tonight.”
Swoon. Oh yes, those women in the olden days definitely must have known men like Mateo Two Moons, and that is how swooning came to be. Did they still make smelling salts, she wondered?
She almost said his plan sounded perfect, but she was fairly certain she had said that particular phrase a few too many times already, out loud, and in her head. But when she was with him, everything was perfect.
“I haven’t watched the moon come up for many moons,” she said instead. Oh God. She just should have said it sounded perfect. Now it sounded like she was making fun of his culture. “I mean—wow—I mean, that was a really stupid thing to say,” she gasped. Her hand went limp in his tight embrace. His hold tightened.
A hardy laugh escaped from him. “Stop worrying about offending me. I’ve gotten over the fact your people stole my people’s land away from us a long time ago.” He squeezed her hand again when she didn’t laugh with him. “Miss Malone, when I look at you I don’t see a ‘white woman’ or a woman of any race. I only see the woman I’ve been waiting to meet my entire life. I see the woman—the beautiful woman—I love and will spend eternity with.”
Her entire body went limp this time. Her brain turned to a glob of mush again. “Love?” she whispered, but continued to stare straight ahead. That four letter word—coming out of his mouth—was the sweetest sound she had ever heard. She didn’t want to look at him, because she was afraid she would start to cry again like she had last night.
She was so overcome with emotion she wasn’t even aware he pulled his hand away from hers, or that he stopped the truck on the side of the road, until he was leaning over the center console. With his hands gently turning her face toward his, she had little choice but to return his intense gaze.
“I know it’s probably too much, too soon, and probably way too overwhelming.” His dark gaze held her captive. “I felt it from the first moment I saw you, but I wasn’t going to say it, not yet, anyway. I’m sorry if I have I ruined everything by being so impatient to tell you how I feel. I just don’t want to waste one minute of our time together.” His voice was almost pleading, and even in the dim lighting in the truck cab, Dawn could see how desperately he implored her to speak the words he was hoping she would say.
She stared into those iridescent black eyes and lost all train of thought. Come back brain, I need you now.
“I have ruined it,” Mateo said in a low tone as he continued to hold her face captive in his hands and stare into her wildly blinking eyes.
“H-Hardly,” Dawn finally managed to gasp. She reached up and imitated him by placing her hands on each side of his face. “It’s just I was so afraid of the way I was feeling about you in the short time we’ve known one another. I worried if you knew how I really felt I would scare you off. But now—” She swallowed hard, thinking carefully about what she wanted to say.
“Yes?” Mateo asked in a worried whisper.
“I’ve never believed in love at first sight until two nights ago,” Dawn continued in a hushed tone. Her mind had graciously returned to a more natural state, and her heart was overflowing with undeniable love for this man. Now, if she could just relate her feelings to him without sounding like one of her twelve-year old students.
She heard his relieved sigh. She drew in a quivering breath. Her heart thrashed in her chest. This moment in time, this first moment when they were professing their love for one another, felt so magical it didn’t even seem real. It was almost like a dream, only this one was beautiful and filled with promise and love. Please, please let this dream last forever.
He didn’t give her a chance to say the rest of the words spinning through her mind as his lips descended on her mouth in a tender kiss. She returned his kiss with a depth of emotion that made her heart ache in her breast. When the kiss that sealed their declaration of love ended, they pulled apart and continued to gaze into one another’s eyes.
As hard to believe as this all was, she knew there was no use trying to make sense of any of it anymore. In barely forty-eight hours, the life she previously lived was behind her, and from this moment on, every breath she took would be for Mateo Two Moons and the future she knew they would share.
“We should probably get to the lake if we want to see the moon rising over the canyon walls,” he finally said as he reluctantly released his loving hold on her face.
Her head nodded in agreement as she let her hands slide away from his smooth cheeks. For a moment longer he continued to stare at her with such an obvious look of love upon his handsome face, she couldn’t breathe.
There was no denying he loved her as much as she loved him. A tender grin curved his mouth as he finally turned away from her to focus on driving the rest of the way to the lake.
It was full-on nighttime engulfed in total darkness outside of the cab of the truck, but at this moment, Dawn was certain they were riding off into the sunset.
They drove in silence for the few remaining miles, with only the sounds of the mystical guitar music playing on the truck stereo. Words were not necessary since the most important four letter one had already been spoken. As they pulled into a secluded cove beside the lake, a slight breeze was blowing over the glassy-topped water, causing mini ripples that mimicked tiny waves along the surface of the water.
Mateo parked his truck close to a towering rock wall located several yards from the sandy shore of the lake. There were no other vehicles or people in the entire area.
“Perfect timing,” he said as he jumped out of the truck and rushed around to open the door for her.
Yes, perfect. She seriously loved being an old-fashioned kind of girl, she thought as she took his hand and allowed him to help her out of the truck.
“I’ll grab the blankets,” he announced as he reached into the back seat and pulled out a six pack of beer and a couple of folded woven blankets. “Hungry?”
She shook her head and smiled. “Not yet, thanks. But I’ll take one of those beers.” Once again, she was impressed with this man; he even remembered her favorite beer.
“It’s really beautiful here,” she said glancing around and nodding her head in approval. “This is a very romantic spot.” She reached out and took the beer bottle he had opened for her. “I bet you’ve brought a few girls here over the years,” she added in a teasing tone of voice.
A quick chuckle was his only reply. He spread one of the brightly colored Indian blankets out on the ground, sat down, and patted the empty spot next to him. “Want to hear about all the girls I’ve brought here in the past, or would you prefer to make me forget all about them?”
The indisputable tone of his voice made Dawn’s limbs turn to rubber. She responded by rubbing her hand up and down her beer bottle in a sexually suggestive gesture. “I think we can wipe all those past memories completely out of your mind.” She slid down to the ground next to him and set her beer in the sand off to the side of the blanket. She had something else in mind to rub and she needed both hands to accomplish the task.
As she eagerly unsnapped his jeans, he leaned back without a moment’s hesitation on the blanket to give her easy access. Her eager fingers slid his pants zipper down. His erect cock flagged out from between his open zipper like a glorious beacon.
Commando. Yes!
It was so convenient, and damn, it was so seriously hot, she thought as her pussy throbbed and everything between her legs grew saturated with impatient and blatant desire.
Lowering herself, she took his inflated cock in her sweating hand. It was hard as stone beneath the smooth silken skin that moved slightly under her gentle stroke. She took a deep breath and leaned farther down. Her entire body was trembling as her lips gently encircled his member. The heat from him radiated inside her mouth as she opened wider to accommodate all of him. She heard him moan as she let her sodden tongue lavish and tantalize him with unadulterated devotion. Her other hand tenderly held his balls, massaging gently, sensually. They moved in unrestrained rhythm within the cradle of her cupped palm.
She was vaguely aware of his fingers entangled in her hair as he discarded the hair clip she had used to hold the long tresses on top of her head. The freed mass of hair fell over her face and spread out over his sculptured abdomen.
Her lips sucked with more dedication and his torso moved in tempo with her sucking motions. Small droplets of his fluid leaked into her mouth as she relished his unusual manly taste, a delectable flavor she could not even begin to describe as it slid effortlessly down her throat.
Eventually, she had to cease the erotic act for a second to catch her breath. The fervent groan that escaped from Mateo again only served to increase her desire to finish what she started and give him even more pleasure. For the first time in her life, she didn’t even mind swallowing. Wow. What this man did to her. But before she could continue, he reached down and gently pulled her up so she was lying on top of him.
His kisses entertained her mouth as he slipped his hands between their bodies and unsnapped her jeans. He began to push them—along with her baby blue G-string panties—from her hips. They parted only long enough so he could kick off his boots and they could both remove their denim jeans the rest of the way.
Her flip-flops had already fallen off her feet sometime during the initial round of foreplay. Neither of them, it seemed, wanted to waste any more time with the dispensing of clothes. She pulled her T-shirt over her head, and as soon as she had tossed the shirt to the side, he was unhooking her bra. Her freed breasts were held tenderly in his palms as he lavished each one with kisses and teasing nips, switching between one attentive nipple, then the other.
She reclined back on the soft blanket, thoroughly enjoying the individual attention he was giving each breast again tonight. She could so get used to living in this fantasyland. Overhead the ebony sky began to fill with sparkling clusters of stars. Could they just stay here forever and never return to the real world? Because this was the way it was meant to be when they made love—as wild and free as the untamed Arizona night.
When he was finished ravishing her breasts, he slid up her body until his thick rigid shaft was situated between her legs and he was able to slide into her. She clasped her legs around his waist and they made slow easy love, moving in tempo with the gentle sound of the water lapping against the shoreline. A deepening sense of bonding enhanced their ardent love-making, created by the love they both confessed to one another...a love that would last forever and beyond.
The first glow of the moon peaking just barely above the tops of the high canyon walls looked enormous and mysterious. Snuggled in Mateo’s strong embrace under the second blanket he brought along, her head rested on his muscled chest. His raven hair and her pale blonde hair were entangled in wild profusion. Their naked bodies concaved and melded together almost as intimately as if they were still making love. The only sound other than their soft satisfied breaths was the rhythmic sounds of the rippling water in the lake.
Dawn was still in awe of the fact she was here in this amazing place, with this perfect man, and he seemed to love her as much as she loved him. Perfect no longer seemed significant enough to describe the way she was feeling about life right now.
“Happy?” he asked in barely more than a whisper.
A soft sigh escaped her mouth. “I’ve never imagined I could be this happy.” He began to stroke her hair tenderly. The night fell back into silence.
As the enormous moon began inching higher above the peaks of the stone cliffs, the entire landscape lit up in its soft silver glow. The shadowy waters of the lake hosted a million sparkles along its crest and the sandstone canvas of the surrounding canyon walls were streaked in shades of rich rust, pale tans and browns.
Dawn was lost to the wonder of it all. The more she saw of Arizona and the natural beauty of the desert and surrounding areas, the more she fell in love with this place she now called home. It was almost as beautiful as Colorado.
In that instant she decided that someday she was going to take Mateo to Colorado. The image of him standing among the tall shadowed pines of her home state created an image that took her breath away. Yes, she was definitely taking him to Colorado someday.
Time seemed suspended as they continued to lounge on the sandy shore. They made love again, relishing in the exploration of each other in the most personal ways. She was certain there was not one inch of one another’s body they did not know intimately by the time they were through making love on this second night of unequaled passion.
The moon had been up for what must have been hours when he finally spoke of leaving. “Although I would like to stay here forever, I suppose I should get you home,” he said in a mournful tone.
She hated the thought of leaving here, or of being separated from him again, but she knew Monday morning would come far too soon, and she had another busy day at school ahead of her. “I have an Open House tomorrow night at the school,” she announced with a deep tone of regret, which surprised her, because ordinarily she looked forward to the first Open House of the school year.
She sighed heavily. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but for the first time I’m wishing real life wouldn’t get in the way of my fantasy world.”
“Do you think this is just a fantasy?” Mateo asked in a surprised tone as he secured his hair in a ponytail at the back of his head again. He then focused his full attention on Dawn.
“Well, it’s sure not my normal life,” she joked as she gathered her own long hair in her hand and held it over one of her shoulders so he could snap the back of her bra.
He helped her pull her shirt back over her head, then he tossed her the delicate blue panties she had been wearing earlier. She caught them in mid-air and stifled a giggle. Maybe she should copy his style and do away with unnecessary undergarments. She grew wet again with just the thought and considered seducing this gorgeous man one more time before they left. But she refrained. They had to go home sometime, right?
“Mine either. But it’s the most alive and happy I’ve ever felt.”
She glanced at him as she yanked her jeans over her hips, and nodded her head as a poignant smile curved her lips. “That makes two of us.”
As they headed back to the truck, Dawn wondered how she was going to be able to return to the common tasks of her regular life after the incredibly erotic and romantic weekend they spent together. She didn’t want to think about that, yet.
“I should have special-ordered a bench seat when I bought this truck,” Mateo said in a slightly aggravated voice as they drove back toward Apache Junction. “Then you could sit right next to me. You’re just way too far away right now.”
She chuckled and squeezed his hand, which always seemed to have a hold of hers when they were in this truck. A bench seat would be nice, and seriously redneck. It had been a long time since she had seen a vehicle that didn’t have bucket seats, but she wished Mateo had a bench seat right now so she could be snuggled up next to him with her head resting on his broad shoulder like in the old movies from the nineteen fifties and sixties. Then it would only seem natural to ride off into the sunset and live the fantasy forever.
“I’m not coming in,” he said when they reached her front door. He chuckled when he saw her lower lip protrude slightly. “What grade did you say you taught? First grade? I think your student’s habits are rubbing off on you with that cute little pouty frown.”
“This weekend went by way too fast,” she said in a tone that mimicked her pout. She wrapped her arms around his neck and let her fingers slide into the thickness of the long ponytail hanging down his back. Once again, she was tempted to lure him inside and back into her bed. But he was right, of course, this perfect weekend had to end sometime.
Mateo’s arms held her tight against his body as he leaned down and gave her a kiss filled with as much emotion and promise as seemed humanly possible at this moment. She returned his kiss, prolonging the inevitable for as long as she could without needing to breathe. How was it that his mouth always tasted so amazing? She needed to ask him what brand of toothpaste he used.
“You’ll call?” she asked instead as they finally pulled apart.
“Every night, my love,” he promised. He kissed his fingertips and touched them lightly to her lips then took a step backward. His brilliant smile lit up his dark shimmering eyes before he turned and walked away.
My love. How perfectly romantic. A happy sigh escaped from her parted lips.
She remained in her doorway until he had driven out of sight. A quote from Romeo and Juliet’s balcony scene popped into her mind; ‘Parting is such sweet sorrow.’
So sappy love clichés really were her natural state of mind now. And it was all Mateo Two Moons fault.
She walked into her quiet apartment, still tasting his last delicious kiss on her mouth. She ran her tongue over her lips hoping to savor every tiny remembrance of him. Tomorrow she would go to school like it was any other day. She would try to act like she was the same person she had been last week and she would pretend she hadn’t just spent the past couple of days in a state of erotic bliss so overpowering she found it hard to believe it really happened.
Tomorrow was seriously going to suck.