Friendly Persuasion Read online

  She hadn’t mentioned it to Ross yet, knowing he’d bristle. She’d let Siegel talk to him first, though she had put together a quick résumé to remind Saul of all Ross had to offer S&S.

  She leaned against the back of the cab seat to soak up the precious moments of the last fantasy. The rain-polished streets seemed magical, with taillights and streetlights glowing red, green, yellow in smeared haloes of color like a holiday display. Ross spun his web of Phoenix tales, letting her see things through his eyes, making ordinary places seem mysterious, fascinating, fresh.

  The windows hummed open. “The desert offers a lot,” Ross said, “but it’s subtle and full of surprises. Take rain. It can be a soft sun shower or a fierce flash flood that tears through washes like a burst dam. Breathe it in.”

  She inhaled deeply, loving the way the air was thick with moisture. She’d been so annoyed with Ross’s lateness that she’d forgotten how much she loved rain—so rare in the Valley that each shower was an occasion to celebrate.

  “That spicy smell is creosote,” Ross explained, “otherwise known as greasewood. Practical and magical. Used as a sealant, in cosmetics and herbal remedies. Some herbalists consider it to have mystical properties.”

  “So lovely,” she said on a sigh. Little flicks of rain struck her like wet sparks.

  She saw they were near Papago Park, driving past the smooth red stones with their Swiss-cheese caves and holes.

  “That’s the Tovrea Castle,” Ross said, pointing out the mansion on a hill, built deliberately to look like a birthday cake with saguaro cactus on terraced landscaping as the candles. “They say if you wish on the castle at sundown, your wish will come true twice over.”

  “Really?” she asked.

  “And what would you wish for, miss?”

  That this would never end. That they could just keep driving their taxi around forever. “I don’t know,” she lied.

  He was quiet for a long moment. “Maybe we both have the same wish.” Had he read her mind? Did he want to work out a way to keep on? “Sometimes two strangers and their secret wishes can be…intimate.”

  Right. He was talking about their game, not their future. Good reminder. She leaned back and watched the scenery go by, wistful but relaxed, loving the flick of rain on her cheek.

  They headed across the Tempe Bridge, its looping white lights making it seem like an entrance to a fairyland, then backtracked under the bridge to a deserted stretch of road where Ross parked on the shoulder.

  She was almost sorry they’d stopped. She was so happy riding with Ross in the rain, talking about the town they both loved, letting him open her eyes to the subtle things she often missed but he never did.

  But when Ross climbed into the back seat with her, bringing in the smell of rain and creosote, and her heart started pounding in that familiar way, she was glad they’d pulled over.

  Ross tossed his cap onto the front seat and looked at her. “You’re so pretty.”

  “Is my mascara all over?” She rubbed under one eye, but he stopped her hand.

  “You’re beautiful. How many times do I have to say that?”

  “You make me feel that way,” she said, cupping his jaw with both hands, her chest tight with emotion.

  “I just say what I see. You know that.”

  She did. She loved his honesty.

  He cupped her face, too, and they just looked at each other, breathing each other’s breath in the dark, warm cocoon of the cab. The rain tapped gently on the roof and moist air billowed in from the open windows. An occasional raindrop touched Kara’s skin, giving cool delight. Over Ross’s shoulder, the lights from the bridge winked and gleamed, their reflections softly brilliant on the wet tarmac.

  They should be exchanging fake names and talking through her fantasy, but tonight was their last time, so Kara was in no hurry to get into the game. Ross seemed okay with the delay. It was almost as if he knew tonight was different.

  “Do you know your wish?” Ross asked, speaking in character.

  You forever, she wanted to say, not as a lonely cab fare, but as Kara, rain-damp and full of feelings that had nothing to do with a sexual fantasy and everything to do with the tender, amazing man holding her face in his hands.

  She couldn’t do that, so she kissed him, reminding them both why they were here. Ross caught on. Fast. She welcomed his mouth, like the desert welcomed this rare rain, and lost herself in sensation.

  Ross slid his hand under her skirt and traced the line of the teddy the way that always set her on fire.

  “Oh,” she rasped, loving the flames licking through her on familiar pathways.

  “Is this your wish?” he asked. “That I touch you here?”

  “Oh, yes.”

  He tugged at the snaps, which he knew were there since he’d picked out the item, and then his fingers found their way to the warm wet place they belonged. “I know you like that,” he murmured, “because of the way you’re breathing now, and you always turn red right here.” He kissed her neck on the spot.

  She should remind him that they were supposed to be strangers to each other—a cabdriver and his world-weary passenger—but his intimate knowledge of what aroused her was too wonderful. She no longer cared about protecting the game or obeying the rules. She wanted to hear every precious word he said, to memorize every look, every intimate glance so she could remember later when she was alone and lonely.

  “And right before you come, your eyes go cloudy, the tip of your tongue sticks out just a little, and your face gets this amazing light, like you’ve never had anything this wonderful happen to you before.”

  “I never have,” she murmured.

  “Then I know it’s time to do this.” He made a quick circular stroke.

  “Oh. Oh. Oh.” It was starting now. She’d climax too soon. She stopped his hand.

  He chuckled softly. “I know. You want to come with me inside you. Don’t worry.”

  She didn’t worry at all. She knew everything would work perfectly, the way it always did.

  She reached to unzip his pants. These were the jeans with the zipper that stalled a little. She bent it to the left and eased the tab down. There was Ross—warm and velvet and hard as steel. She gripped him the way he loved, squeezing and sliding with the pressure that made him groan and push into her.

  “You know me so well,” he said, letting her stroke him, while he watched. Then he slid a hand under her blouse to tease her nipple. Her hand on him stilled as she was swept away for a bit. But he always catered to her. This time—this last time—she would focus on him first.

  “I want to taste you,” she said, and maneuvered herself into the space between the seats to take him into her mouth.

  He grasped her hair and whispered words of pleasure.

  She slid her lips up and down, loving the delicious blend of rain-wet air and his salty taste and the soft-hard length of him. She listened to his breathing, its fits and starts telling her what felt best, though she already knew it by heart.

  When he was close, she redoubled her efforts, but he lifted her up to kiss her mouth. “I want to watch you come,” he said.

  “You first,” she said, trying to return to him.

  “Stay up here,” he said, his eyes teasing, even as he held her firmly by the shoulder.

  “Uh-uh,” she said, laughing but trying to wrestle out of his grip. “Ouch.” She banged her shoulder on the back of the driver’s seat.

  “Get up here, woman,” he commanded.

  “No!” she said, almost laughing as they wrestled for dominance in the who-climaxes-first struggle. “Ouch. That hurts.” Her skin had gotten pinched between his elbow and the seat.

  “Hold it right there!” An official male voice commanded from outside the window.

  Kara yelped and they both froze and looked up. A police officer sheathed in a raincoat was looking in the window from a few feet away.

  Ross couldn’t believe this was happening. He made sure Kara was covered before he saw
to his zipper. “What is it, Officer? Am I parked illegally?” He hoped that was the only unlawful thing they’d been doing.

  “Keep your hands where I can see them and step out of the car,” the cop said.

  Ross did as he’d been told, holding his hands out, open-palmed, feeling like a criminal. This was surreal. Like their arrest fantasy, only not at all fun. He took a fleeting look around to see if, by chance, they were being videotaped for some reality cop show, but the only person in sight was this stern-looking patrolman, who motioned him away from the car and, keeping one eye on him, spoke through the open door to Kara. “Are you all right, miss?”

  “I’m fine, Officer. We’re both fine.” Kara scrambled out of the car. “Is there a problem?”

  The cop looked from her to him, assessing their honesty, then frowned at Ross. “Let me see your license, registration and proof of insurance, please.”

  “Sure, sure, no problem,” Ross said. He fumbled around in the cab until he found where Roger kept the official papers and handed them with his driver’s license to the policeman.

  The cop examined his license. “Are you Ross Gabriel?”

  “In the flesh,” he said, hoping humor would lighten the moment. It didn’t.

  “This is a Class A license, Mr. Gabriel. You need a chauffeur’s license to drive a cab.”

  “It’s my friend’s cab, actually, and—”

  “This is my fault,” Kara said, stepping protectively between Ross and the officer. “I asked him to borrow the cab so we could, um, drive around. I have a thing for taxis.”

  Ross watched blush shoot up Kara’s face to her scalp. She was embarrassing herself to get him out of trouble. His heart warmed. The rain had flattened her hair so she looked sleek as a seal and her face gleamed in the reflection of the bridge lights. They should make love in the shower next, all wet and slippery….

  “Did this man threaten you in any way?” the cop demanded of Kara.

  “Oh, heaven’s no. He’s my boyfriend.” She put her arm around Ross’s waist, stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek, her lips tense with anxiety.

  He’s my boyfriend. Ross felt himself grin like a loon at the cop. “That’s right, Officer. She’s my girlfriend. I’m her boyfriend. We’re boyfriend and girlfriend. Absolutely.”

  The cop stared at him for a few beats, then turned to Kara. “You’re telling me that your boyfriend here borrowed a cab because you have a thing for them? What kind of thing? Never mind…I don’t want to know.”

  “It was completely my idea,” Kara continued.

  “And he wasn’t forcing himself on you?”

  “No. Not at all. We were changing positions—” She stopped speaking, her eyes wide at how that sounded. “I mean getting more comfortable…I mean…”

  The cop shook his head, completely disgusted.

  “If we were doing anything illegal we didn’t realize it,” she continued.

  “Ignorance of the law—”

  “Is no excuse,” Ross chimed in. “We know.”

  The cop frowned. Uh-oh, he’d stepped on the guy’s line. Was he looking to get arrested?

  The cop sighed wearily. “Wait here.” He walked toward his cruiser, probably to see if Ross was wanted in another state for taxi crimes. What was he going to do if they got arrested? He wouldn’t let Kara go to jail, that’s for sure. But he wasn’t looking forward to fighting off a boyfriend for himself, either.

  Kara gripped him tightly around the waist. “I’m so sorry. This is my fault. I’ll pay the ticket,” she said.

  The ticket? How would she feel about posting his bond? “I’ll take care of this. Don’t worry.”

  “I mean it. This was my fantasy and if I hadn’t been so noisy…”

  “I love when you’re noisy. And I was the one who opened the windows.” He kissed her, loving the feel of her mouth. He should be freaked. He might spend a night in jail—standing up with his back against the wall—or at least get slapped with a huge ticket and maybe get Roger into a legal hassle, but all he could think about was the fact that Kara had said he was her boyfriend and he didn’t feel like taking a plane to Canada.

  He actually liked the idea. Wanted her to say it again, in fact. He was still pondering what that meant when the cop swaggered back to them.

  “Here’s how it’s going to go down,” he said. “I’m going to give you a break on the lewd and lascivious behavior, since you obviously chose this spot for privacy,” he said, giving Kara a look. “And I’ll let the parking in a no-parking zone go, too.”

  “Thank you so much, Officer Reynolds,” Kara said, reading his badge quickly. “That means a lot to us.”

  “Yeah. Thanks for the break,” Ross added, starting to walk Kara to her side of the car.

  “Hold on now,” the cop said. “We’re not done here.”

  So Ross stood in the rain while the cop wrote up a ticket for expired plates and handed Ross his copy. The ticket would be voided once the plates were renewed, but Roger wouldn’t be happy about the required trip to the DMV.

  “My advice to you,” the cop said, leaning in the window to speak to Kara, “is to be more careful about the games you play.” Then he stood and spoke to Ross, “And, for God’s sake, keep it off the streets.”

  “You got it,” Ross said, and climbed into the driver’s seat. The rain had freshened the subtle scent Kara wore and he was figuring out where they could go to make love when Officer Reynolds spoke again. “You’re not planning to drive this vehicle, are you?”

  “Excuse me?” Ross said.

  “This car doesn’t move until the registration is up-to-date. And then it will be driven by a driver with the appropriate license.”

  “Are you kidding me?”

  “Ross,” Kara said firmly, leaning across him. “We understand, Officer Reynolds. We’ll just call someone to come and get us.”

  The officer gave her a half smile. “A difficulty in the law. I’ll be driving off now. I advise you to take care of this situation immediately.”

  “Certainly. Thank you.” After the policeman turned away, she said, “We just have to wait until he’s gone and then take the cab back. He’s giving us a break.”

  “Right. A break.” Ross shook his head, but he knew she was right. They sat in the cab, the rain tiptoeing on the roof, and watched the officer climb into his car, spin it around and roar away. Probably to harass other lovers with expired plates.

  “Here’s how it’s going to go down,” Ross imitated in an officious growl. “That guy watches too much TV.”

  They both laughed.

  “Can you believe that?” Kara said. “We almost got three tickets!”

  “Tickets? We could have been arrested.”

  “No!”

  “Oh, yeah.”

  She kept talking about Roger’s registration, but he’d lost interest. He was too busy noticing how beautiful she was in the rain-misty light, her eyes sparkling with laughter. His heart filled with warmth and he remembered what she’d said that first made him feel this way.

  “You told the cop I was your boyfriend,” he said, leading up to it slowly.

  She laughed. “I know. Sorry. I completely freaked. And then you go and babble, ‘Oh, yes, Officer. We’re boyfriend and girlfriend. Absolutely,’ making it sound like a complete lie.” She laughed again.

  “Yeah,” he said. What if it isn’t a lie? He started to say that, but she kept talking.

  “I had to say something to make sure he knew you weren’t forcing me or anything.” She hesitated. Something flickered in her eyes. “That was all I could think of. Boyfriend and girlfriend…sheesh…” Her voice trailed off uncertainly.

  Here was his chance. How about if we try it? Be a couple? But it sounded lame all of a sudden. Maybe he’d just had some weird feelings there for a second, what with the trauma of nearly being arrested and all.

  They decided to drop Kara off at her apartment before he took the cab back to Roger and returned to her place, sinc
e Kara stubbornly refused to ride his motorcycle. He didn’t have a helmet for her, anyway, so he agreed.

  They made small talk on the way, but it was strained. Kara seemed preoccupied, too, as if there was something she needed to say. I completely freaked, she’d said, like them being a couple was so out there. That made him feel strangely empty.

  Why not kick it up a notch? Kara was smart and had a great sense of humor. The sex had loosened her up. And maybe the fantasies were the secret to keeping him interested. There was so much more they could explore.

  The problem with Kara and men in the past—besides the fact they were dweebs—was that she was the one who fell in love first. Not this time. He was right there with her on the love thing.

  If he told her all this, they could make love in her bed. For real. No roles or costumes. Kara and Ross unplugged. That picture pushed him past any doubts that remained. His heart began to rattle in his chest, more noisy to his ears than the cab’s engine.

  When Ross pulled up to her apartment, the cab rumbling loudly enough to wake everyone in her complex, Kara swallowed hard. She knew what she had to do. The near arrest had been a big symbolic exclamation point to her decision. Boyfriend and girlfriend. Saying that out loud had shot such a rush of longing through her she’d hardly been able to speak.

  This was it. If they stopped tonight, let her inappropriate feelings subside, they could preserve their friendship, which they both agreed was more important than this sexual adventure.

  Before long she’d be hanging at Ross’s place, regaling him with stories about her dates—with Baylor, probably—and he’d be doing the same for her. Just like the old days. The thought turned her heart into a solid rock of pain, but she turned to Ross. “We need to talk.”

  “Exactly what I was going to say.”

  That was odd. We need to talk were the four words men dreaded most. “I’ve had a wonderful time these weeks with you,” she continued, “but—”

  “Me, too,” he interrupted. “It’s been incredible.”

  “But the cop incident made me think…”

  “Me, too.”

  “Oh, good. Then we agree? We have to stop?”