Eddy studied her calmly her for a second. “I’m sure the attendant can help you with that.”
“I want you to get it!”
Eddy saw a man and woman approaching. She hadn’t met the girl’s parents but from the facial likeness she assumed that’s who they were.
“Come, Natalie,” the woman said.
“I’m waiting for her to get my wrap.”
Eddy had seen her attack Rhine and the crazed performance that led up to it. Even now there was an unhinged look in her teary red eyes. “As I said, the attendant will get you your wrap.”
“And as I said, you get it. I’m your better. Do what I say!”
“Natalie!” her mother gasped, sounding shocked.
Natalie ignored her and snarled at Eddy, “You’re the reason Rhine is lying, aren’t you! What kind of voodoo did you put on him to make him deny his race!”
Her father took her by the arm. “Come, Natalie. Let’s go home.”
“I want an answer!”
But her parents were already dragging her to the door while she raged and screamed the entire way.
Eddy resumed sweeping.
On the ride home after the ball, Rhine said to Eddy, “That wasn’t so bad. They only called me a dirty Black bastard a few times.”
“And how dare you play us for a bunch of fools, twice,” Eddy added. She knew he was hurting from having to endure what he had, and she hurt for him.
“Natalie put on a particularly ugly performance, however. She’s convinced I’m lying about all this.”
“I saw. I had a particularly nasty run-in with her when folks began making a beeline to the door.”
Rhine looked away from the reins for a moment. “What happened?”
“She demanded I retrieve her wrap in a tone I didn’t much care for, but I was polite. She accused me of putting a voodoo spell on you to make you denounce your race. Her parents finally dragged her off, but she acted almost unhinged, Rhine.”
“Hopefully she’ll calm down at some point, but the evening’s over—all of it’s over, and I’m glad.”
Eddy still worried about future repercussions and knew he did as well.
When they drove past the boardinghouse, she said, “Speaking of unhinged. You just drove past the house.”
“I know. Not taking you home yet. You have a date with the moonlight, remember?”
Eddy laughed. And without being asked began to undo her buttons.
They were in the desert when he finally stopped the carriage. The moon, full in a cloudless sky, bathed the surroundings in soft cool light. The night was breezy.
He turned to her and said, “Now...”
Eddy’s senses began to rise.
His finger gently traced a slow fiery line across the skin bared by the open halves of her blouse then over the rise of her breasts above her thin shift before he leaned down and licked the tip of his tongue against the trembling nook of her throat. “Your sweetness is so much stronger than their hate.”
She dissolved. His hot mouth trailed lazily up to her lips, and as he coaxed her onto his lap the kiss deepened and she caught fire. The rest of the encounter was a blur of sensation fueled by pleasure from his hands and lips. He boldly bared her breasts to the moonlight and after treating them to a series of tantalizing tributes left them berried and damp. Her skirt was raised, her drawers removed, and she didn’t care. Magnificent touches plied her core with a boldness that made her thighs part and her hips rise in ardent response. He played, dallied, and circled until she was wet with wanting and gasping his name.
“Are you ready to come?” he asked in a voice as dark and hot as the night.
Eddy didn’t want to, even as the forceful orgasm began building she wanted the pleasuring to continue, but the only word she could form was, “Please...”
“On our wedding night, I’ll please you with my tongue and kisses... here.” The sultry promise and the brazen way he plied the tight bud at the gate of her soul sent her over the edge and she exploded with a long shuddering cry.
Watching her ride out her orgasm made Rhine want to settle himself between her lovely little thighs and have at her until neither one of them could breathe. The sight, coupled with the feel and tastes of her had him insane with desire. He was as hard as a railroad tie, but he wanted to wait for their wedding night before loving her completely, and he would even if it killed him.
Moments later when she was back inside herself, he smiled down and said, “Now, I can take you home.”