Pursuing Mrs. Regrets - Ch. 19.2

Royal felt the change in the atmosphere as soon as he entered Delia green and blue themed office. Though she spoke to him in a professional tone, her voice was huskier than usual, she shook his hand longer than required at his arrival, and she kept looking at his lips throughout the meeting.

Deeming himself LL Cool J’s second cousin for the moment, Royal kept licking his lips to get Delia to look at them even more.

She did.

Unfortunately, that only told Royal that she still desired him. He already knew that. With the kind of chemistry they had, how could she not still desire him? Especially since it hadn’t even been three days since they last made love.

“Dr. Seeger, do you have any additional questions for me?” Delia asked as the meeting prepared to come to a close. She looked like she wanted to jump out of her skin by this time. Or rather jump on his skin.

“Yes, I do, Miss Valentine,” Royal replied, licking his lips one more time for good measure.

“Go right ahead,” Delia urged, sounding even huskier now.

“Do you love me?”

Delia’s eyes bucked. “I...I”

“Remember you’re a lover of truth,” Royal added, reminding her of her commitment to honesty as she struggled with her answer.

“Yes,” Delia admitted in a soft whisper, closing her eyes at the confession. She sagged in her chair, as if that answer had taken a lot out of her.

“Yes, to what?”

Delia took a deep breath, blew it out slowly and said, “Yes, I love you.” Her eyes were now wide open again as all hope of formalities were gone.

Royal moaned. Desire flared in his gray-blue eyes, causing them to darken almost to the color of his grayish-blue suit. His loins twitched and hardened as blood rushed below.

“I love you, too, baby,” Royal said, standing to his feet.

Delia gasped at the tent in his pants. “Sit back down, Royal. Please,” she begged. She’d only been saved a short time. She didn’t think she was strong enough to resist him if he actually touched her. And why oh why didn’t she leave her office door open?

Royal grinned knowingly. “You want me to be good, baby?”

“Yes. Please be good.”

Chuckling, Royal sat back down in the green cushioned chair. “I’ll be good…for now. But know this, Delia. I haven’t given up on us by a long shot. Which is the main reason I’m switching careers this year. I’m going to be an hotelier.”

“You’re leaving medicine? For me?!” Delia’s eyes were huge with shock.

“Yes, on both accounts. Doing so will take me out of the spotlight, keep you and your family out of the spotlight by association, and allow us to live normal lives…together.”

Delia’s eyes bucked again. The brilliant man had successfully uncovered her other reason for not dating him – concern for her family. He’d also successfully found a way around that reason.

“But you’re so good at everything you do that you’re probably going to blow up in the hotel business, too. Face it, Royal. You’re meant for the spotlight. I just want to crawl into the background and stay there.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have opened such a great store then. Because this is the busiest baby store in town. It was barely 10am when I arrived today and the place was already packed. Which means it’s only a matter of time before somebody is going to want to do a feature story on you. And you definitely shouldn’t have given birth to so many talented kids,” Royal countered. He’d come fully prepared for this confrontation.

“What do you mean by that? The part about my kids.”

“Well, from what you’ve told me of Junior, he’s a genius in the making. His face is going to stay in local newspapers once he starts entering contests and winning them. Then there’s Cuba and his music and Tess with her singing. Together they might even win a recording contract one day. The way I see it, your family is going to end up in the spotlight all on their own, whether you’re with me or not. I’d rather you be with me when they do.” Royal leaned forward and added, “So be ready, precious. Because the day I leave my current profession, I’m coming for you and we’re going to make love all night.”

Delia’s mouth opened and closed without a sound as she took in all that he’d said. It did wonderful things to her soul to know that he’d really listened all those times she talked about her kids with him. It did other things to her body to know the lengths Royal was willing to go just to be with her. Besides Jesus, no other man had been so sacrificial for her.

Jesus, Delia mused, suddenly remembering her conversion. She had to tell Royal that she was saved now. That she couldn’t be making love with any man without a marriage license based on what she’d learned so far in her new Bible. And that even though her family might generate some media coverage on their own, they’d probably be in the forgettable sections of the newspaper, not front page and center like he constantly was.

“Roy—”

Just then, the gray-haired store security guard burst into the office yelling, “Come quick, Miss Valentine! The teenager I just caught shoplifting just went into labor in the holding room!”

© 2008 by Suprina Frazier