A NIGHT ON THE (RADIUM) TOWN
ZAC STARED ACROSS the table at Bessie.
She wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary, simply looking over a menu, but he stared anyway. He couldn’t help himself. He was absolutely fascinated by every move that she made.
It was easy to forget that his girlfriend had grown up as a society girl when the majority of their relationship had taken place in the back country of Tulsa, along the river. Wasn’t much society to be had when you were reading books to each other underneath a shade tree or sharing lunch over the counter of a feed store. The truth was, Zac wouldn’t have had it any other way. But it dawned on him, once they had walked in the door of the restaurant, that they had never been out in real, actual society together before. He didn’t think about how he would sit across from her as she sat with her spine stick stiff in her chair, gazing at the way her swept-up hair exposed her slender, graceful neck, and the way the pin in her hair glinted against the light of the chandelier that hung above them.
When he picked her up for their date, he grew instantly weak in the knees. She looked like an angel, her champagne-colored dress brushing the floor. Covered in golden swirls, the dress hugged her slender figure, exposing her beautiful arms, the neckline plunging to a V right above her breasts, careful not to show any cleavage. The modesty was completed with a short, sheer shawl with matching golden swirls and, paired with her now honey hair, she looked as if she’d just stepped down from the clouds of heaven rather than the second floor of her farmhouse.
At the dinner table, however, the shawl had been carefully draped across the back of her chair and now he was afforded the luxury of the view of her silky smooth skin, skin that he was sure smelled of the familiar melon and honey that he loved so much.
The truth was, he’d been too afraid to test the theory, fearing that touching her might taint his perfect image of her. He wasn’t worthy of her. Even in his best tuxedo, regardless of the fact that it had served as the costume for his act, he didn’t feel like he was worthy of her. Again, after several years of being away from society, it wasn’t quite as easy to jump right back on the wagon.
Speaking of being away from society, he had to smile inwardly. On a normal day, normal being that he hadn’t just come home from a somewhat fruitful tour and all he would have in his pocket was a quarter and a penny to rub together of leftover feed store money, Zac would be sweating bullets right now. On a normal day, he couldn’t afford to even think about taking Bessie to a restaurant where they would wear tuxes and evening dresses and they certainly wouldn’t be sitting in a restaurant, looking at a menu full of dishes they could barely pronounce. But tonight, he could. He could do it this one time because she deserved it. She deserved to be treated like the lady that she was. He could do it because he’d seen Burt earlier that day and had gotten his job back at the feed store, so he could start adding that little bit of money to the money he would be saving after tonight.
Oh, Burt. Poor old Burt. That was a different subject entirely.
Zac would still be destitute after tonight. Unless the economy changed anytime soon or unless he was lucky enough to have a job that paid a little better fall into his lap like Isaac had, Zac had to stash away every little bit he could get his hands on.
But not tonight. Tonight, there wasn’t a care in the world to be had.
“Zac?” Bessie’s voice interrupted his thoughts and he forced his eyes to focus on her. “Are you all right? Do I have lipstick on my teeth?”
Zac smiled, the warmth filling his heart. You could put the girl in the middle of high society, but you couldn’t turn her into a high society girl. He loved it. “No. You look absolutely perfect.”
She blushed and murmured a quiet thank you as she lay her menu down. “Have you decided what you’re ordering?”
Bessie hadn’t objected to this date. It surprised him a little that she hadn’t, but it meant a lot to him that she hadn’t, as well. It meant a lot to him that she seemed to understand, did exactly as he’d asked her to do, and allowed him to confidently be her man tonight and take her out on the town like a real man should. It meant a lot that she allowed him to be prideful.
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, I have. Did you find something you like?”
Bessie grinned, a smile so beautiful that it could take down the hardest of criminals. “I did, thank you. You know, it’s so different coming to a restaurant like this and not hearing that they only have hash.”
Zac smiled back at her. “Is that so?”
“Mmhm,” she nodded. “Daddy stopped taking me and Mama to these types of places because, after awhile, hash was all they had. So he started taking us to the diner where we could at least get a hot dog and a soda pop. You know, I don’t understand why those restaurants don’t just change their menu. I’d dress up like this for a hot dog and a soda pop any day of the week. They taste just as heavenly as steak or lamb, if you ask me. And much better than hash.”
Zac’s smile turned into a chuckle and a nod. “I’m inclined to agree. Are you saying that I should have taken you to the diner in that beautiful dress instead?”
“Well, I would have enjoyed myself just the same. Though it is very beautiful here. I have to be honest, I’m surprised Claremore even has such a restaurant.”
Claremore, Oklahoma. That was where he had taken her. Thirty miles outside of Tulsa, nearly an hour car ride. Why so far, she had asked? Easy: because nobody knew Bessie that far away from Tulsa. And if nobody recognized Bessie, then they couldn’t run off and tell her daddy that Zac had checked her into a hotel once their date was over. She hadn’t argued with that answer. In fact, she had actually giggled. He thought he detected a little mischief in that giggle.
He loved it.
“You know, I’ve been here before,” she offered after the waiter had come and gone with their order. “It’s the only other place I’ve been besides Oklahoma City.”
“That so?”
“Yep,” she nodded. “Several years ago I had…very troublesome belly pain and the doctor couldn’t figure out what was wrong. So my parents brought me to Claremore. For a radium bath.”
Zac fought the urge to snort. The radium baths were Claremore’s claim to fame. The bath houses were all over the small town, even earning one area the name, Radium Town. People came from all over because Claremore basically turned their discovery of sulphur-filled springs into a carnival act. “Come one, come all, bathe in our radium, come out cured!” Oh, yes. They boasted that their radium baths cured anything--anything—that ailed you. In fact, the hotel that he was taking Bessie to tonight even offered radium baths. Zac thought the entire thing was a crock. Isaac argued differently. He argued that according to science, the minerals found in the water possessed healing qualities. Zac argued that it was still a crock. His stance never changed.
“How did that work out for you?” He asked, with more amusement than he’d intended.
She shrugged a shoulder. “I’m not sure, really. All I know was that it was very warm and very smelly. I remember the smell made my stomach worse and the heat made me vomit. But, then, after I vomited my stomach was fine.” She paused and she giggled. “I guess in a way you could say it did the trick but I’m not sure that radium had anything to do with it.”
With a pause, the pair of them simultaneously looked down at their water glasses and it was then that Zac realized that neither one of them had touched theirs. Bessie arched an eyebrow. “Do you think that…all the water in Claremore is…radium water?”
Zac decided that he’d rather not test the theory. Within seconds, he waved their waiter over. “Excuse me, do you have beer?”
* * *
The Hotel Will Rogers was only three years old.
It became the only other claim to fame that Claremore had besides the radium baths. It was a tall, rectangular structure, magnificent for such a small town, and was six stories high with a ballroom and a coffee shop.
What was charming about the hotel was its impeccable service. As Zac pulled up in the car he shared with his brothers, the valet was there immediately, opening his and Bessie’s doors and inquiring about their luggage. Zac never even touched his or Bessie’s small suitcases, as the valet was already pulling them out of the backseat and the grin on Bessie’s face was a mile wide as she hiked her dress up off of the ground while another valet helped her step up onto the curb.
Rushing around the car, Zac was ready with a tip and an offer of his elbow as to relieve the valet of his duties of helping Bessie and, standing a little taller, he escorted his lady love into the hotel lobby.
The lobby was more colorful than Zac had expected. Walking across black and white checkered marble, the walls and the columns in the middle of the room boasted multi-colored Spanish style designs. A few sofas and armchairs littered the waiting area in an assortment of red and green colors and the indoor balcony showed another lounging area on the second floor above them. Bessie’s voice was barely above a whisper. “Why, this is just lovely.” And, for the first time, she looked at him with uncertainty in her eyes.
He merely smiled. “It is, isn’t it? It’s not the loveliest of hotels I’ve ever stayed in—after all, I was just in the Plaza in New York a couple of weeks ago. But this one is nice. It has charm. I’m happy to hear that it’s to your liking.”
He wouldn’t let her believe that this date might be too steep for him. And he wouldn’t let her forget that he knew a thing or two about the good life. He’d lived it for himself and was, once upon a time, even richer than her daddy was.
The only difference now was that the judge was still getting paid and Zac wasn’t.
But that was neither here nor there.
At the front desk, they were met with a concierge in a red leisure jacket and white gloves. “We’d like a room, please.”
The concierge glanced over the pair and arched an eyebrow. “One room or two?”
Zac arched an eyebrow right back at him. “One.”
“All right,” he replied stiffly. “One room, two beds—“
“One bed,” Zac corrected curtly.
“Zac, it really doesn’t make a difference,” Bessie whispered.
“May I ask the occasion?”
“No, you may not ask the occasion,” Zac spat suddenly. “I’m spending money in your establishment, are you always this inquisitive of your guests?”
Suddenly, Bessie’s arm slid through Zac’s and she smiled sweetly across the counter. “Please excuse my husband, he’s exhausted. It’s been a long day. I told him he didn’t have to take me out to that fancy restaurant tonight, but he insisted and now all that food has plum worn him out! You see, we’re on our honeymoon. We’re just passing through, we’re on a road trip to Las Vegas.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “One bed will be just fine. As it happens, we already consummated the marriage two nights ago.”
The concierge’s face turned as red as his jacket and he quickly began fumbling through the books in front of him. In awe, and with quite a bit of shock, Zac slowly turned his head and gaped at his girl. Bessie offered him a wink in return. He had never been more impressed, or more proud, in his entire life.
“All right,” the concierge spoke up, his tone much more jovial than before. “If you’ll sign here, your room is on the fourth floor, number 52. You picked the perfect night to check in, if you’re not too tired, there’s a lively jazz band playing in the ballroom tonight. That’s located on the second floor. On the sixth floor are the radium baths and the massage parlor. Would either of you be interested in a bath or a massage?”
Before Zac could object, Bessie was clearly having too much fun speeding up the process. “No, thank you, I think there will be more than enough bathing and massaging to go around behind our own closed doors.”
Zac nearly blushed, himself.
Within seconds, a key was shoved into Zac’s hand. “Congratulations on your nuptials, please enjoy your honeymoon. Thank you for choosing the Hotel Will Rogers.”
In the elevator, the couple burst into a fit of giggles. “Bessie, you little minx,” Zac whispered. “You nearly embarrassed me down there!”
“You were going to embarrass the both of us if I didn’t speak up. Throwing yourself across that counter was not going to do us any favors.”
“Our purpose for being here was none of his business—“
“Oh, Zac, darling, the party in the ballroom sounds like such a lovely time! Can we please attend?”
Darling? That was a new one. And he loved it.
The way she stared up at him, dreamily, he knew there was no way he could deny her. And so he nodded and he swept the backs of his fingers along her silky cheek. “Of course. Anything you want.”
The hotel room was nice, but it wasn’t nearly as luxurious as the Plaza in New York City. What made this room the best room Zac ever stayed in, however, was the fact that Bessie was staying in it with him. He admired her as she looked around in awe, the gold on her dress glinting off the light. What he wouldn’t give in that moment to peel that dress off of her beautiful body and claim her as his once again. Moreover, what he wouldn’t give to live this moment forever, the two of them alone, with no one to answer to. What he wouldn’t give to have the opportunity to whisk her away like this for good and marry her and start their lives together. This night could be them. It could be their future.
It was almost surreal, standing in the room in that moment as he tipped the bellhop and saw him on his way. He was standing in a reality that he had once known but had been next to impossible when he’d met Bessie. A reality that he was sure he would never see again. But, yet, here he stood and with the means to treat Bessie like a high class judge’s daughter, even if it was just for one night. Even if it wasn’t exactly their future.
He would take what he could get. He was used to it, after all. Taking what he could get had been his life for the past three years. Taking life for granted had become a thing of the past. Time was too precious now. Seconds, minutes, hours…every spare moment mattered. He vowed to make this night worth every one of them for her.
Basking in the realization that they were finally alone, completely bellhop-free, Zac made his way across the room where Bessie stood at the window, the curtain gently drawn back so that she could observe the view. She looked absolutely exquisite as she stood there and he couldn’t resist wrapping his arms around her and breathing in the melon and honey scent of her hair. He’d missed her scent so much. He never wanted to miss it again.
Snaking his arms around her slender waist, he barely had the courage to press her against his body for fear that he wouldn’t be able to make good on her request to attend the party in the ballroom. Leaning into her ear, he whispered softly, “Have I told you how unbelievably stunning you are tonight?”
He didn’t have to see her face to feel the heat that radiated to her cheeks. “Several times, as a matter of fact,” she breathed just as softly. “When you picked me up at my house. In the car on the way to Claremore. In the middle of dinner. Again on the way to the hotel…”
He chuckled lightly in amusement. “All right, all right. So I haven’t said it enough, then, I apologize.”
“Zac,” she giggled. Then she turned around and met his eyes with her angelic hazel ones. “Thank you. How many times have I told you how devastatingly handsome you are tonight?”
She didn’t have to. He’d noticed the looks she was stealing all night. The once-overs, the longing glances…he even caught her licking her lips once. She wouldn’t dare believe that one was lost on him. He had to admit, he was quite dashing, dressed to the nines in his black and white tuxedo and white gloves. Back when he and his brothers were famous in vaudeville, this was his daily wardrobe and his hair was much shorter, trimmed above his ears. Now, though, he’d carefully slicked it back and secured his long locks into a tie at the nape of his neck. He knew that if it were up to Bessie, his hair would be flowing wild and free along his shoulders. He had to at least look the part of a civilized man if he was going to take her out on the town like this. Besides, if it were up to him, he would be wearing next to nothing all night and Bessie would be throwing herself helplessly all over him.
His self-confidence aside, however, he smirked at her and dared pull her closer. “I could hear it a time or two more.”
Her beautiful face broke into a grin, illuminating the room with more light than a bulb could ever provide. “I’ve never lain eyes on a more heartbreakingly gorgeous man in all my life.”
“Oh, baby, that’s it,” he teased, his smile hiding behind hooded eyes.
“You’re so…incredibly sexy,” she whispered.
Now she had his attention. All of his attention.
“In fact,” she continued to whisper seductively as she fingered his lapel. “Nothing would be sexier than to have you whisk me across the dance floor to the latest, most romantic jazz tune.”
At that, he scowled. “Nicely done, Miss Harlow. I suspect you’re ready for me to escort you downstairs now.”
She giggled again. “Why, yes, that would be lovely!”
As he tucked her arm tightly under his, he lifted his chin and straightened his spine as he led her to the door. “Very well, then. But once your feet have exhausted, we do what I want for the rest of the evening.”
“Poor baby,” she taunted lightly. “I suppose it’s a good thing that I’m a very agreeable person.”
“Is that so?”
“Oh, yes, absolutely,” she nodded. “Because once my feet have exhausted, I certainly don’t plan to have them anywhere near the floor—or even the bed sheets, for that matter—until morning. Did you have other plans?”
Yes. Yes, he did. To take that statement right there and lead her right back inside their room. She was lethal with that tongue all of a sudden. Oh, so very lethal. He decided he liked this new comfort level in her self-expression that she had with him. And as soon as she’d gotten her fill of the ballroom, he’d show her comfort in their bed like she’d never known before, that was a guarantee.
THE HOTEL WILL Rogers had a lovely ballroom. Or as lovely as Bessie could imagine, she supposed. She honestly had nothing to compare it to. She did know that it was much lovelier than the dance hall that Tulsa held its socials in. The Will Rogers ballroom had beautiful, shining hard wood floors, a couple of nice, crystal chandeliers which were, admittedly, a bit demurer than the ones in her grandparents’ home, and thick, burgundy drapes hung from the tall windows that lined the left side of the room. The ballroom was rectangular in shape, with the band playing on a small stage at the head of it, and the walls lined with small cocktail tables, surrounded by wicker chairs. All over the room, partygoers laughed and conversed and swept each other across the dance floor as a lively jazz song filled the air. Waiters walked around in vests, carrying trays, and Zac was quick to snatch two bubbling glasses off of one as a waiter breezed by them.
Waving the crystal flute under his nose, his eyebrows raised subtly. “Well. Good old Willie doesn’t seem to mind breaking a rule or two in his hotel, does he?”
“Is that right?” Bessie mused as she observed her own flute.
“Oh, yes,” Zac smiled as he sipped his. “Doesn’t mind at all.”
The bitter liquid danced on Bessie’s tongue in the same way her favorite grape Nehi did and she decided that that was at least enough to keep her interested in the beverage.
As she occupied herself momentarily with examining the fascinating way that the bubbles rose from the bottom of the light amber-colored liquid, Zac’s hot breath tickled her ear in a way that sent delicious shivers down to her toes. “It’s champagne. Have you never had champagne before?”
Turning to face him, she smiled up at him, sliding her free arm around his waist and pulling her body dangerously close to his. “I never even smelled an alcoholic beverage until you came along. You and…and all your bad influences and corruption.”
“Bad influences and corruption?” He murmured seductively. She couldn’t keep her eyes off of his lips as he spoke. “How about all of the ways you’ve corrupted me?”
Bessie laughed a laugh of now genuine amusement as her grin widened. “Me corrupt you? How on earth is that even possible? I know nothing about everything.”
“That’s exactly it,” he replied, lowering his voice so that his words were meant only for her. “Look at you. The judge’s beautiful, young, innocent daughter. The daughter I snuck out of her father’s house. The daughter I deflowered before marriage in her father’s barn. The daughter I gave her first smoke and drink to and caused her to pay me back for it in the most…devilish way. The daughter who stole my heart away with no intent to return it. The daughter who drove me absolutely insane for the entire month I was out of town. The daughter who makes me want to take her away in the middle of the night and never look back. The daughter who makes me do things and feel things and want things I’ve never dreamed of before. You see what you do to me? You make me do terrible…deplorable things.”
By the time Zac had finally clasped his luscious, champagne-coated lips together, Bessie was lost. In his eyes, in his mouth, in his words…in love as well as lust. Definite lust. “Zac,” she whispered. “Let’s skip this party. Let’s consummate that imaginary marriage for the rest of the night until there’s nothing left of my mind.”
Zac’s eyes darkened as he searched her face for a moment, his grip around her waist tightening. Then he straightened his spine and looked around the room over her head. His expression brightened, much to Bessie’s disappointment. “Nope,” he replied cheerfully. “You wanted to dance. So we’re dancing.”
She had no way of knowing if the scowl she imagined on her face actually surfaced in real life or not, but she knew how conveniently exhausted she would be after the couple of dances she’d just silently compromised with.
Defeated, Bessie turned around and observed the crowded ballroom. She couldn’t help but wonder what such occasion called for this celebration. The fact that it was Saturday? Did all hotels do this? Who knew it was this easy to find a party? Despite her longing and her need to be alone with Zac, she couldn’t deny the energy she felt radiating around the room. She grinned happily as she watched the couples dance, drink, and be merry and suddenly she wanted nothing more than to partake in the fun.
Sipping her champagne once more, she turned to address Zac as she felt his hand slipping gently across the small of her back. “Do all hotels celebrate like this?”
He shrugged a shoulder as he observed what she observed. “I’ve been in hundreds of hotels. They like to entertain their guests. I can’t say every hotel does this. To each their own.” Then he pointed across the room with a wink. “Look over there. Your favorite.”
Following his finger, her eyes landed on a long buffet table, elaborately decorated with a vast variety of refreshments surrounding the most decadent, three-tiered chocolate cake Bessie had ever seen.
Her eyes lit up for a second before she suddenly remembered the last time she had chocolate cake. And she hadn’t told Zac. Oh dear, there was so much Zac didn’t know that lie in the pages of the book full of letters she had written to him but couldn’t deliver.
She should have brought it along tonight.
She entertained the idea of keeping it to herself until he could read it, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. While she’d been completely sober and absolutely without intention to be untrue to Zac when she’d had chocolate cake with Robert Clayton, she still felt that she owed it to Zac for it to come from her own lips. After all, it was very brave of him to be honest with her the moment he returned home. If he hadn’t told her at all, she would have never known. Same as if she didn’t tell Zac about the college boy, he would never know that, either. But she wanted to always be completely open and honest in their relationship. No secrets, even temporary ones.
And, so, she turned around and she looked up into his gorgeous brown eyes, her face stricken with worry. “Zac. I need to tell you something.”
In an instant, his expression clouded over and the storm brewed in his eyes. Sucking in a breath, she decided not to beat around the bush. “I wrote you letters. Lots of them. I keep them in a book, along with some sketches, that I wanted to give you when you came home. It’s everything I wanted to write to you, and more, if I could have delivered the mail to you. I documented everything, absolutely everything, it might take you hours to read it.”
The storm left his face and his lips turned up into a warm smile. “You made me a present? I made you one, too.”
As much as she would have loved to inquire about what he’d made for her, she couldn’t think about it at the moment. “Yes,” she nodded thoughtfully. “And in one of those letters I described my trip to the University of Oklahoma with Millie. And, um, on the trip, Millie and I attended a party. And…I met a boy there.”
Oh, no. Zac’s face was clouding over again. Worse than that, it was like Armageddon might burst out of him at any moment. Bessie’s heart pounded and she swallowed hard. “His name is Robert Clayton and he’s the quarterback of the football team. I met him because I was trying to cut myself a slice of chocolate cake, but the knife was missing. He helped me. And then we took our cake and we had a nice conversation. But that was all. It was a friendly conversation. I told him about you. I told him I already had a boyfriend. And he respected that. Even said that you’re a lucky man. But that…that’s the last time I ate chocolate cake. And that one across the room reminded me of it. And I wanted to be honest with you the same way you were honest with me. And so…that’s what happened. Please don’t be upset.”
He stared at her for a moment, his expression startlingly unreadable. Then he straightened his spine and looked above her head, stoically, around the room. He was upset. She’d ruined the evening. Absolutely ruined it. She felt her bottom lip begin to quiver.
Finally, he looked back down at her and his expression calmed a little. A tight smile crossed his lips and he assured her, “I’m not upset.”
“You are,” she whispered with a nod.
He shook his head in response, his smile widening. “No. I’m not. And he’s right, I am a lucky man. You met a friend and you had a conversation. You’ve never met an enemy. That much, I know.” With his free hand, he swept his thumb softly across her cheek. “But he’s a lucky man, too. Because he got to share cake and conversation with you. I can’t be upset at that. Only envious.”
Bessie was mesmerized by his words. By his touch. She could argue that Billy was also only a friend, but she decided to stop while she was ahead. After all, she was finally reunited with the love of her life after a long, brutal month and chocolate cake awaited her across the room. It would be the best chocolate cake she ever put in her mouth.
“Zac,” she whispered as she melted into the hand that now cupped her cheek. “I love you so much.”
“I love you more,” he replied softly.
Then her eyes met his earnestly. “But I also love chocolate cake.”
At that, he burst into a hearty chuckle. “All right, sweet girl. Let’s go see what that cake’s all about before you imaginary divorce me.”
On the walk over, she hated that she secretly questioned whether or not he really wasn’t upset or if he was just keeping it in so they could enjoy their evening. She tried not to let it bother her. She wanted to have fun, as well, and she vowed to keep a smile on her face for the entire evening, no matter how much his reaction ate at her.
After a heavenly slice of chocolate cake and two more bubbly flutes, Bessie was feeling more than joyous as she and Zac learned to Lindy Hop for the first time between dancing the Charleston and the Balboa and, by the time Bessie was overtaken by an endless fit of giggles, she finally gave in to her poor aching feet and let Zac know that it was probably time to go.
“Are you sure?” He asked her with a smile.
“Are you sure you’re not upset with me?”
He blinked at her, bewildered. “Why would I--? I told you—jeez, am I that bad?”
Her head was swimming but she ignored it. “Your face. When I told you—“
“I’m not upset,” he assured her firmly. “We’re having a great time. If I were upset, would we be having a great time?”
“No,” she mused. “I suppose not.”
“Now,” he grinned mischievously. “Let’s go and get you off of those poor, aching feet. I’ll show you how upset I’m not.”
Warmth instantly spread up through Bessie’s body and into her cheeks. Suddenly, they couldn’t get out of that ballroom fast enough.
* * *
When they had returned to their room, she was still feeling loose from the champagne. Not loose enough to ignore her aching feet, but loose enough to want to mold herself to Zac at the very first opportunity. But first and foremost, her shoes.
By the time she had lay her clutch down on the table next to the bed, she removed her sheer shawl and draped it carefully over the back of the armchair that sat across the room. Then she retreated back to the bed, flopped herself down on the side, and sighed with relief. Her feet nearly sang.
And so did her heart as her eyes landed on her love as he removed his tuxedo jacket and his bowtie. He looked like an angel as he stood there, basking in the glow of the low lamp light. To be truthful, Bessie had no idea if it was inappropriate or not to dress or undress in front of one another. But Zac seemed to have no problem with it as he continued along his path, unbuttoning his shirt and unfastening his belt buckle.
She wasn’t aware of how fascinated she had grown with is movements until his rich voice cut through the air like a knife through butter as he peeled the shirt back off of his strong shoulders. “Bessie? Are you all right?”
He knew better than to ask. She knew he knew better. But she found her breath as it caught in her throat and she blinked her eyes to keep her mind alert. “I’m fine,” she nodded. “Everything’s fine.”
He looked like every bit of the way she might imagine the Greek gods that she’d studied in school might have looked. Dare she say he had grown in muscle over the past month, his skin as smooth and his form as solid as the marble that the statues were said to be carved out of. She always dreamed of seeing these statues, but now she didn’t have to anymore. She had one right here in front of her, in the flesh.
Who would he be, she mused as his naked form sauntered across the room toward her. Adonis. Oh, most definitely Adonis. A god so beautiful that he was fought over by Aphrodite and Persephone, practically since birth. Bessie may not have understood much by the way of Shakespeare, but Greek mythology was full of love stories that never ceased to put her under a spell when they talked about it in school.
But Zac was Adonis. Her own, personal Adonis. And Bessie was absolutely no Aphrodite, but the way he was currently looking at her, staring her down like he might devour her in an instant, she suddenly felt like ten times the woman Aphrodite was.
A woman. Bessie felt like a woman. She realized she’d grown up some over the past month, but she never realized just how much she had grown up until this moment. Until Zac’s want and his desire burned in his brown eyes, a want and a desire meant only for her. She’d never felt so powerful before.
Power quickly melted into powerlessness as he sank down onto the bed beside her and ran his hand gently up her bare arm. The chills rippled through her body so deliciously that she thought she might reach her goal right that second. She hadn’t realized how much she craved him, how much she needed him, until that moment.
Without a word, he leaned over and reached both of his arms behind her back, carefully pulling the zipper of her dress downward until it stopped. Ever so delicately, he pulled the sleeves down her arms and, before he uncovered her chest, he dipped his head down and helped himself to a taste of her collarbone, an act that lit up the very pit of her belly and caused her to suck in a gasp made of pure pleasure.
“You’re so beautiful,” his hot breath whispered onto her skin. “I’ve waited in agony for this moment for so long. I thought it would never come.”
Standing from the bed, she allowed the dress to fall down her arms and she shimmied it over her waist and let it drop to the floor. Now all that was left between them was her white, silk chemise that Zac was already sliding up her thighs as she stepped out of her dress. Sitting back down next to him, she obediently raised her arms above her head so that he could slide the undergarment off of her and now she sat, as vulnerable as Zac was, face-to-face, as his hands explored her bare skin.
“Oh, Bessie,” he whispered as he took her in with every sense he possessed. “Bessie, I want to do something. Something that we’ve never done before, something that might…seem a little strange at first, but I think you’ll like it once you get used to it.”
The moment was terribly in danger of losing the romance as Bessie felt her eyes widen. Try something new? There was more? Couldn’t they just stick with what they knew—and what she knew she liked? It had been a month since she’d seen him, did they have to be adventurous now?
Her face must have given her away because now Zac smiled. “You know I would never hurt you. You trust me, don’t you?”
Uncertainly, she nodded.
The backs of his fingers brushed her cheek as love filled his eyes. “You’ll like it. And I want to do it. Because, Bessie, I—I have to have every last inch there is of you. I can’t wait any longer.”
“The more you talk, I can’t decide if I’m excited or afraid,” she whispered.
His grin widened into one more devious as he guided her backward onto the bed and hovered over her. “Excited. Be very excited.”
Before she could object, he had spread her legs apart and lowered himself down her body. Her mouth dropped open in shock at the location of his head and she swore this could not be happening. She was milliseconds from closing her legs and shutting this entire operation down when his hot, wet tongue trailed between her thighs and her eyes rolled in the back of her head and she collapsed back onto the bed. It was nothing like she'd ever felt before, and she couldn't stop her hips from rolling into him.
The pleasure was so good, it made her want to cry in frustration. Frustrated because she felt like there wasn't a sufficient enough way to express herself. When she thought it couldn't feel any better, Zac inserted two fingers inside her and hooked them into a location that sent her entire body into another universe.
As his fingers worked her inside and his tongue worked her outside, Bessie was losing her religion at lightning speed. With one hand tangled up tightly in his hair, she grabbed a handful of her breast with the other one, and called out words and phrases that she wasn't even aware she was familiar with. She'd never said such deliciously vulgar things in all her life and, in the moment, she didn't regret a single one of them.
She was reaching her finish and she didn't want it to happen. She wasn't ready yet. She breathed at him to stop and shoved him away from her, barely giving him any time to readjust back on the bed before she was rolling him over and climbing on top of him. She ignored the bewildered look in his eyes, completely wrapped up in her own pleasure, and she lowered herself onto him as he lay on his back and she rocked her hips into him, suddenly bringing herself back to reality. "Is this okay?" She whispered.
Zac smiled, heavy-eyed, and bit his lip. "You do anything you want, baby. Anything you do is good."
That was all the instruction she needed. It took her a moment to get her bearings, but once she found what felt good, she became ruthless. Letting her head fall back, she closed her eyes and she rolled her hips into a rough grind into him, feeling him all the way inside her. She loved the way he felt inside her. He filled her up, he made her feel whole and sexy and powerful. The more she thought about this, the more she wanted and the harder she rocked, feeling him hit a spot that nearly hurt, but felt incredible.
Zac's hips bucked underneath her, nearly finishing her off, as his body moved and he sat up to meet her. His knees bent behind her, he braced himself with one of his arms while the other one wrapped tightly around her lower back and pulled her into him. She looked down at his face as he looked up into hers, his jaw slack with pleasure as he pulled her forcefully into him, stroke after stroke, thrust after thrust. When he began to rock his hips underneath her to match her rhythm, she took handfuls of hair in both of her fists and crashed her mouth down onto his. Ripping her mouth away, she held onto his hair for dear life, pulling his head back and riding him rougher and harder than she ever thought she could.
Within moments, she was nearly screaming her orgasm into the air, calling out Zac's name. He came soon after, his eyes concentrating on the union of their bodies, biting his lip as he growled his release with his favorite four-letter word. Calming down, Bessie released the death grip she had on his hair and she kissed him gently, parting his lips with her tongue as he sat up more comfortably and wrapped his arms around her. They both poured with sweat and she could feel the sweat tickling her skin as it trickled between her breasts, but she didn't care. All she cared about was his rapid heartbeat against hers as it slowed to a normal pace and the sound of his breathing as he took in the needed air.
He stopped kissing her and he smiled as he nudged his nose against hers, bringing reality crashing down on her. Reflecting on what had just happened, guilt washed over her entire body. She had used him. She had completely used him for her own pleasure and didn't even think about his...
"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to be so selfish just then."
"Selfish?"
Bessie nodded. "I didn't mean to make it all about me, I just got caught up in the moment--"
Zac smiled in amusement, looking up at her face as he leaned back on his arm again. "You just screwed my brains out, that's what you did," he said, catching what was left of his lost breath. "Thank you."
Shyly, she covered her chest with her arms and her eyes darted around in thought. "I did?"
Zac grinned as he let himself collapse back onto the bed. "Your modesty astounds me." Then he lifted his head and looked up at her. "Well don’t just sit there, come here."
Climbing off of him, she slid into the bed beside him, lifting the covers over her as far as they would go. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she nestled into the side of his body, fitting into him like a perfect puzzle piece. Between her current comfort and the relaxation of her body after all the excitement, she didn't want to move and all she wanted to do was sleep.
They were silent for a moment before Zac turned his face into her and whispered, "I've never felt anything like that before."
Bessie's eyes widened in confusion and she swallowed hard. "I find that a little hard to believe."
"It's true. It's one thing to have great sex, but it's a completely different thing when your heart's involved. It's...making love with you is unlike anything I've ever felt before. You're the only one I ever want to make love to for the rest of my life. I know you don't...you know, have any experience other than me, but I hope to make you happy enough so that you don't ever start to wonder."
Bessie smiled, her eyelids heavy, as she let her finger trail around his chest. "I love you, first of all, so I'm surely not going anywhere. But rest assured, you've certainly made sure that I'm not ever going to want to, either. I am happy, Zac. I could never be unhappy with you."
"Good," he groaned as he rolled over and threw the covers over their heads. Wrapping her in his arms and pulling her naked body against his, he nudged her nose with his again. "Because I love you, too. And I don’t ever want this night to end, but I can’t wait to wake up with my arms wrapped around you in the morning."
Bessie couldn’t help herself as she giggled. “Until we have to go and repent it all at church.”
“Right,” Zac’s raspy voice replied in amusement. “I’ll repent many things, I’m sure, but this will certainly not be one of them.”
"Zac--"
“Lying is a sin, you know,” he continued to grin. “So if you’re honest and say you’re not going to repent this tomorrow either, you won’t be on the first train straight to hell.”
She couldn’t help her own devious amusement. “You and I are sharing a seat on the first train to hell right now because we’re not married. As a matter of fact, we reserved that seat over a month ago, if you remember.”
“Ah, but we haven’t. Because I will marry you someday. And since we’re going to be married anyway, there’s no real sin committed. Only thing missing is a piece of paper.”
“And a ring.”
“Patience my love. School, then marriage, then the ten or so babies you’re going to give me.”
“Ten?” She squeaked. Then she sighed. “We need to talk about me and…and school.”
“I agree.”
“Do we have to right now, though? Can we just enjoy each other tonight without the heavy conversation?”
He tightened his arms around her and kissed her forehead. “No. We don’t have to talk about it tonight. Right now I just want to hold you and never let go. This is the happiest I’ve ever been. I love you so much, sweet girl.”
With that, Bessie's heart melted into a puddle in her chest and she gave in without another word. Nestling close to him again, tangling her legs with his, they fell asleep together, completely enveloped by the covers and each other, neither aware of how exhausted they were until they were woken by the morning light.
ZAC STARED ACROSS the table at Bessie.
She wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary, simply looking over a menu, but he stared anyway. He couldn’t help himself. He was absolutely fascinated by every move that she made.
It was easy to forget that his girlfriend had grown up as a society girl when the majority of their relationship had taken place in the back country of Tulsa, along the river. Wasn’t much society to be had when you were reading books to each other underneath a shade tree or sharing lunch over the counter of a feed store. The truth was, Zac wouldn’t have had it any other way. But it dawned on him, once they had walked in the door of the restaurant, that they had never been out in real, actual society together before. He didn’t think about how he would sit across from her as she sat with her spine stick stiff in her chair, gazing at the way her swept-up hair exposed her slender, graceful neck, and the way the pin in her hair glinted against the light of the chandelier that hung above them.
When he picked her up for their date, he grew instantly weak in the knees. She looked like an angel, her champagne-colored dress brushing the floor. Covered in golden swirls, the dress hugged her slender figure, exposing her beautiful arms, the neckline plunging to a V right above her breasts, careful not to show any cleavage. The modesty was completed with a short, sheer shawl with matching golden swirls and, paired with her now honey hair, she looked as if she’d just stepped down from the clouds of heaven rather than the second floor of her farmhouse.
At the dinner table, however, the shawl had been carefully draped across the back of her chair and now he was afforded the luxury of the view of her silky smooth skin, skin that he was sure smelled of the familiar melon and honey that he loved so much.
The truth was, he’d been too afraid to test the theory, fearing that touching her might taint his perfect image of her. He wasn’t worthy of her. Even in his best tuxedo, regardless of the fact that it had served as the costume for his act, he didn’t feel like he was worthy of her. Again, after several years of being away from society, it wasn’t quite as easy to jump right back on the wagon.
Speaking of being away from society, he had to smile inwardly. On a normal day, normal being that he hadn’t just come home from a somewhat fruitful tour and all he would have in his pocket was a quarter and a penny to rub together of leftover feed store money, Zac would be sweating bullets right now. On a normal day, he couldn’t afford to even think about taking Bessie to a restaurant where they would wear tuxes and evening dresses and they certainly wouldn’t be sitting in a restaurant, looking at a menu full of dishes they could barely pronounce. But tonight, he could. He could do it this one time because she deserved it. She deserved to be treated like the lady that she was. He could do it because he’d seen Burt earlier that day and had gotten his job back at the feed store, so he could start adding that little bit of money to the money he would be saving after tonight.
Oh, Burt. Poor old Burt. That was a different subject entirely.
Zac would still be destitute after tonight. Unless the economy changed anytime soon or unless he was lucky enough to have a job that paid a little better fall into his lap like Isaac had, Zac had to stash away every little bit he could get his hands on.
But not tonight. Tonight, there wasn’t a care in the world to be had.
“Zac?” Bessie’s voice interrupted his thoughts and he forced his eyes to focus on her. “Are you all right? Do I have lipstick on my teeth?”
Zac smiled, the warmth filling his heart. You could put the girl in the middle of high society, but you couldn’t turn her into a high society girl. He loved it. “No. You look absolutely perfect.”
She blushed and murmured a quiet thank you as she lay her menu down. “Have you decided what you’re ordering?”
Bessie hadn’t objected to this date. It surprised him a little that she hadn’t, but it meant a lot to him that she hadn’t, as well. It meant a lot to him that she seemed to understand, did exactly as he’d asked her to do, and allowed him to confidently be her man tonight and take her out on the town like a real man should. It meant a lot that she allowed him to be prideful.
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, I have. Did you find something you like?”
Bessie grinned, a smile so beautiful that it could take down the hardest of criminals. “I did, thank you. You know, it’s so different coming to a restaurant like this and not hearing that they only have hash.”
Zac smiled back at her. “Is that so?”
“Mmhm,” she nodded. “Daddy stopped taking me and Mama to these types of places because, after awhile, hash was all they had. So he started taking us to the diner where we could at least get a hot dog and a soda pop. You know, I don’t understand why those restaurants don’t just change their menu. I’d dress up like this for a hot dog and a soda pop any day of the week. They taste just as heavenly as steak or lamb, if you ask me. And much better than hash.”
Zac’s smile turned into a chuckle and a nod. “I’m inclined to agree. Are you saying that I should have taken you to the diner in that beautiful dress instead?”
“Well, I would have enjoyed myself just the same. Though it is very beautiful here. I have to be honest, I’m surprised Claremore even has such a restaurant.”
Claremore, Oklahoma. That was where he had taken her. Thirty miles outside of Tulsa, nearly an hour car ride. Why so far, she had asked? Easy: because nobody knew Bessie that far away from Tulsa. And if nobody recognized Bessie, then they couldn’t run off and tell her daddy that Zac had checked her into a hotel once their date was over. She hadn’t argued with that answer. In fact, she had actually giggled. He thought he detected a little mischief in that giggle.
He loved it.
“You know, I’ve been here before,” she offered after the waiter had come and gone with their order. “It’s the only other place I’ve been besides Oklahoma City.”
“That so?”
“Yep,” she nodded. “Several years ago I had…very troublesome belly pain and the doctor couldn’t figure out what was wrong. So my parents brought me to Claremore. For a radium bath.”
Zac fought the urge to snort. The radium baths were Claremore’s claim to fame. The bath houses were all over the small town, even earning one area the name, Radium Town. People came from all over because Claremore basically turned their discovery of sulphur-filled springs into a carnival act. “Come one, come all, bathe in our radium, come out cured!” Oh, yes. They boasted that their radium baths cured anything--anything—that ailed you. In fact, the hotel that he was taking Bessie to tonight even offered radium baths. Zac thought the entire thing was a crock. Isaac argued differently. He argued that according to science, the minerals found in the water possessed healing qualities. Zac argued that it was still a crock. His stance never changed.
“How did that work out for you?” He asked, with more amusement than he’d intended.
She shrugged a shoulder. “I’m not sure, really. All I know was that it was very warm and very smelly. I remember the smell made my stomach worse and the heat made me vomit. But, then, after I vomited my stomach was fine.” She paused and she giggled. “I guess in a way you could say it did the trick but I’m not sure that radium had anything to do with it.”
With a pause, the pair of them simultaneously looked down at their water glasses and it was then that Zac realized that neither one of them had touched theirs. Bessie arched an eyebrow. “Do you think that…all the water in Claremore is…radium water?”
Zac decided that he’d rather not test the theory. Within seconds, he waved their waiter over. “Excuse me, do you have beer?”
* * *
The Hotel Will Rogers was only three years old.
It became the only other claim to fame that Claremore had besides the radium baths. It was a tall, rectangular structure, magnificent for such a small town, and was six stories high with a ballroom and a coffee shop.
What was charming about the hotel was its impeccable service. As Zac pulled up in the car he shared with his brothers, the valet was there immediately, opening his and Bessie’s doors and inquiring about their luggage. Zac never even touched his or Bessie’s small suitcases, as the valet was already pulling them out of the backseat and the grin on Bessie’s face was a mile wide as she hiked her dress up off of the ground while another valet helped her step up onto the curb.
Rushing around the car, Zac was ready with a tip and an offer of his elbow as to relieve the valet of his duties of helping Bessie and, standing a little taller, he escorted his lady love into the hotel lobby.
The lobby was more colorful than Zac had expected. Walking across black and white checkered marble, the walls and the columns in the middle of the room boasted multi-colored Spanish style designs. A few sofas and armchairs littered the waiting area in an assortment of red and green colors and the indoor balcony showed another lounging area on the second floor above them. Bessie’s voice was barely above a whisper. “Why, this is just lovely.” And, for the first time, she looked at him with uncertainty in her eyes.
He merely smiled. “It is, isn’t it? It’s not the loveliest of hotels I’ve ever stayed in—after all, I was just in the Plaza in New York a couple of weeks ago. But this one is nice. It has charm. I’m happy to hear that it’s to your liking.”
He wouldn’t let her believe that this date might be too steep for him. And he wouldn’t let her forget that he knew a thing or two about the good life. He’d lived it for himself and was, once upon a time, even richer than her daddy was.
The only difference now was that the judge was still getting paid and Zac wasn’t.
But that was neither here nor there.
At the front desk, they were met with a concierge in a red leisure jacket and white gloves. “We’d like a room, please.”
The concierge glanced over the pair and arched an eyebrow. “One room or two?”
Zac arched an eyebrow right back at him. “One.”
“All right,” he replied stiffly. “One room, two beds—“
“One bed,” Zac corrected curtly.
“Zac, it really doesn’t make a difference,” Bessie whispered.
“May I ask the occasion?”
“No, you may not ask the occasion,” Zac spat suddenly. “I’m spending money in your establishment, are you always this inquisitive of your guests?”
Suddenly, Bessie’s arm slid through Zac’s and she smiled sweetly across the counter. “Please excuse my husband, he’s exhausted. It’s been a long day. I told him he didn’t have to take me out to that fancy restaurant tonight, but he insisted and now all that food has plum worn him out! You see, we’re on our honeymoon. We’re just passing through, we’re on a road trip to Las Vegas.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “One bed will be just fine. As it happens, we already consummated the marriage two nights ago.”
The concierge’s face turned as red as his jacket and he quickly began fumbling through the books in front of him. In awe, and with quite a bit of shock, Zac slowly turned his head and gaped at his girl. Bessie offered him a wink in return. He had never been more impressed, or more proud, in his entire life.
“All right,” the concierge spoke up, his tone much more jovial than before. “If you’ll sign here, your room is on the fourth floor, number 52. You picked the perfect night to check in, if you’re not too tired, there’s a lively jazz band playing in the ballroom tonight. That’s located on the second floor. On the sixth floor are the radium baths and the massage parlor. Would either of you be interested in a bath or a massage?”
Before Zac could object, Bessie was clearly having too much fun speeding up the process. “No, thank you, I think there will be more than enough bathing and massaging to go around behind our own closed doors.”
Zac nearly blushed, himself.
Within seconds, a key was shoved into Zac’s hand. “Congratulations on your nuptials, please enjoy your honeymoon. Thank you for choosing the Hotel Will Rogers.”
In the elevator, the couple burst into a fit of giggles. “Bessie, you little minx,” Zac whispered. “You nearly embarrassed me down there!”
“You were going to embarrass the both of us if I didn’t speak up. Throwing yourself across that counter was not going to do us any favors.”
“Our purpose for being here was none of his business—“
“Oh, Zac, darling, the party in the ballroom sounds like such a lovely time! Can we please attend?”
Darling? That was a new one. And he loved it.
The way she stared up at him, dreamily, he knew there was no way he could deny her. And so he nodded and he swept the backs of his fingers along her silky cheek. “Of course. Anything you want.”
The hotel room was nice, but it wasn’t nearly as luxurious as the Plaza in New York City. What made this room the best room Zac ever stayed in, however, was the fact that Bessie was staying in it with him. He admired her as she looked around in awe, the gold on her dress glinting off the light. What he wouldn’t give in that moment to peel that dress off of her beautiful body and claim her as his once again. Moreover, what he wouldn’t give to live this moment forever, the two of them alone, with no one to answer to. What he wouldn’t give to have the opportunity to whisk her away like this for good and marry her and start their lives together. This night could be them. It could be their future.
It was almost surreal, standing in the room in that moment as he tipped the bellhop and saw him on his way. He was standing in a reality that he had once known but had been next to impossible when he’d met Bessie. A reality that he was sure he would never see again. But, yet, here he stood and with the means to treat Bessie like a high class judge’s daughter, even if it was just for one night. Even if it wasn’t exactly their future.
He would take what he could get. He was used to it, after all. Taking what he could get had been his life for the past three years. Taking life for granted had become a thing of the past. Time was too precious now. Seconds, minutes, hours…every spare moment mattered. He vowed to make this night worth every one of them for her.
Basking in the realization that they were finally alone, completely bellhop-free, Zac made his way across the room where Bessie stood at the window, the curtain gently drawn back so that she could observe the view. She looked absolutely exquisite as she stood there and he couldn’t resist wrapping his arms around her and breathing in the melon and honey scent of her hair. He’d missed her scent so much. He never wanted to miss it again.
Snaking his arms around her slender waist, he barely had the courage to press her against his body for fear that he wouldn’t be able to make good on her request to attend the party in the ballroom. Leaning into her ear, he whispered softly, “Have I told you how unbelievably stunning you are tonight?”
He didn’t have to see her face to feel the heat that radiated to her cheeks. “Several times, as a matter of fact,” she breathed just as softly. “When you picked me up at my house. In the car on the way to Claremore. In the middle of dinner. Again on the way to the hotel…”
He chuckled lightly in amusement. “All right, all right. So I haven’t said it enough, then, I apologize.”
“Zac,” she giggled. Then she turned around and met his eyes with her angelic hazel ones. “Thank you. How many times have I told you how devastatingly handsome you are tonight?”
She didn’t have to. He’d noticed the looks she was stealing all night. The once-overs, the longing glances…he even caught her licking her lips once. She wouldn’t dare believe that one was lost on him. He had to admit, he was quite dashing, dressed to the nines in his black and white tuxedo and white gloves. Back when he and his brothers were famous in vaudeville, this was his daily wardrobe and his hair was much shorter, trimmed above his ears. Now, though, he’d carefully slicked it back and secured his long locks into a tie at the nape of his neck. He knew that if it were up to Bessie, his hair would be flowing wild and free along his shoulders. He had to at least look the part of a civilized man if he was going to take her out on the town like this. Besides, if it were up to him, he would be wearing next to nothing all night and Bessie would be throwing herself helplessly all over him.
His self-confidence aside, however, he smirked at her and dared pull her closer. “I could hear it a time or two more.”
Her beautiful face broke into a grin, illuminating the room with more light than a bulb could ever provide. “I’ve never lain eyes on a more heartbreakingly gorgeous man in all my life.”
“Oh, baby, that’s it,” he teased, his smile hiding behind hooded eyes.
“You’re so…incredibly sexy,” she whispered.
Now she had his attention. All of his attention.
“In fact,” she continued to whisper seductively as she fingered his lapel. “Nothing would be sexier than to have you whisk me across the dance floor to the latest, most romantic jazz tune.”
At that, he scowled. “Nicely done, Miss Harlow. I suspect you’re ready for me to escort you downstairs now.”
She giggled again. “Why, yes, that would be lovely!”
As he tucked her arm tightly under his, he lifted his chin and straightened his spine as he led her to the door. “Very well, then. But once your feet have exhausted, we do what I want for the rest of the evening.”
“Poor baby,” she taunted lightly. “I suppose it’s a good thing that I’m a very agreeable person.”
“Is that so?”
“Oh, yes, absolutely,” she nodded. “Because once my feet have exhausted, I certainly don’t plan to have them anywhere near the floor—or even the bed sheets, for that matter—until morning. Did you have other plans?”
Yes. Yes, he did. To take that statement right there and lead her right back inside their room. She was lethal with that tongue all of a sudden. Oh, so very lethal. He decided he liked this new comfort level in her self-expression that she had with him. And as soon as she’d gotten her fill of the ballroom, he’d show her comfort in their bed like she’d never known before, that was a guarantee.
THE HOTEL WILL Rogers had a lovely ballroom. Or as lovely as Bessie could imagine, she supposed. She honestly had nothing to compare it to. She did know that it was much lovelier than the dance hall that Tulsa held its socials in. The Will Rogers ballroom had beautiful, shining hard wood floors, a couple of nice, crystal chandeliers which were, admittedly, a bit demurer than the ones in her grandparents’ home, and thick, burgundy drapes hung from the tall windows that lined the left side of the room. The ballroom was rectangular in shape, with the band playing on a small stage at the head of it, and the walls lined with small cocktail tables, surrounded by wicker chairs. All over the room, partygoers laughed and conversed and swept each other across the dance floor as a lively jazz song filled the air. Waiters walked around in vests, carrying trays, and Zac was quick to snatch two bubbling glasses off of one as a waiter breezed by them.
Waving the crystal flute under his nose, his eyebrows raised subtly. “Well. Good old Willie doesn’t seem to mind breaking a rule or two in his hotel, does he?”
“Is that right?” Bessie mused as she observed her own flute.
“Oh, yes,” Zac smiled as he sipped his. “Doesn’t mind at all.”
The bitter liquid danced on Bessie’s tongue in the same way her favorite grape Nehi did and she decided that that was at least enough to keep her interested in the beverage.
As she occupied herself momentarily with examining the fascinating way that the bubbles rose from the bottom of the light amber-colored liquid, Zac’s hot breath tickled her ear in a way that sent delicious shivers down to her toes. “It’s champagne. Have you never had champagne before?”
Turning to face him, she smiled up at him, sliding her free arm around his waist and pulling her body dangerously close to his. “I never even smelled an alcoholic beverage until you came along. You and…and all your bad influences and corruption.”
“Bad influences and corruption?” He murmured seductively. She couldn’t keep her eyes off of his lips as he spoke. “How about all of the ways you’ve corrupted me?”
Bessie laughed a laugh of now genuine amusement as her grin widened. “Me corrupt you? How on earth is that even possible? I know nothing about everything.”
“That’s exactly it,” he replied, lowering his voice so that his words were meant only for her. “Look at you. The judge’s beautiful, young, innocent daughter. The daughter I snuck out of her father’s house. The daughter I deflowered before marriage in her father’s barn. The daughter I gave her first smoke and drink to and caused her to pay me back for it in the most…devilish way. The daughter who stole my heart away with no intent to return it. The daughter who drove me absolutely insane for the entire month I was out of town. The daughter who makes me want to take her away in the middle of the night and never look back. The daughter who makes me do things and feel things and want things I’ve never dreamed of before. You see what you do to me? You make me do terrible…deplorable things.”
By the time Zac had finally clasped his luscious, champagne-coated lips together, Bessie was lost. In his eyes, in his mouth, in his words…in love as well as lust. Definite lust. “Zac,” she whispered. “Let’s skip this party. Let’s consummate that imaginary marriage for the rest of the night until there’s nothing left of my mind.”
Zac’s eyes darkened as he searched her face for a moment, his grip around her waist tightening. Then he straightened his spine and looked around the room over her head. His expression brightened, much to Bessie’s disappointment. “Nope,” he replied cheerfully. “You wanted to dance. So we’re dancing.”
She had no way of knowing if the scowl she imagined on her face actually surfaced in real life or not, but she knew how conveniently exhausted she would be after the couple of dances she’d just silently compromised with.
Defeated, Bessie turned around and observed the crowded ballroom. She couldn’t help but wonder what such occasion called for this celebration. The fact that it was Saturday? Did all hotels do this? Who knew it was this easy to find a party? Despite her longing and her need to be alone with Zac, she couldn’t deny the energy she felt radiating around the room. She grinned happily as she watched the couples dance, drink, and be merry and suddenly she wanted nothing more than to partake in the fun.
Sipping her champagne once more, she turned to address Zac as she felt his hand slipping gently across the small of her back. “Do all hotels celebrate like this?”
He shrugged a shoulder as he observed what she observed. “I’ve been in hundreds of hotels. They like to entertain their guests. I can’t say every hotel does this. To each their own.” Then he pointed across the room with a wink. “Look over there. Your favorite.”
Following his finger, her eyes landed on a long buffet table, elaborately decorated with a vast variety of refreshments surrounding the most decadent, three-tiered chocolate cake Bessie had ever seen.
Her eyes lit up for a second before she suddenly remembered the last time she had chocolate cake. And she hadn’t told Zac. Oh dear, there was so much Zac didn’t know that lie in the pages of the book full of letters she had written to him but couldn’t deliver.
She should have brought it along tonight.
She entertained the idea of keeping it to herself until he could read it, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. While she’d been completely sober and absolutely without intention to be untrue to Zac when she’d had chocolate cake with Robert Clayton, she still felt that she owed it to Zac for it to come from her own lips. After all, it was very brave of him to be honest with her the moment he returned home. If he hadn’t told her at all, she would have never known. Same as if she didn’t tell Zac about the college boy, he would never know that, either. But she wanted to always be completely open and honest in their relationship. No secrets, even temporary ones.
And, so, she turned around and she looked up into his gorgeous brown eyes, her face stricken with worry. “Zac. I need to tell you something.”
In an instant, his expression clouded over and the storm brewed in his eyes. Sucking in a breath, she decided not to beat around the bush. “I wrote you letters. Lots of them. I keep them in a book, along with some sketches, that I wanted to give you when you came home. It’s everything I wanted to write to you, and more, if I could have delivered the mail to you. I documented everything, absolutely everything, it might take you hours to read it.”
The storm left his face and his lips turned up into a warm smile. “You made me a present? I made you one, too.”
As much as she would have loved to inquire about what he’d made for her, she couldn’t think about it at the moment. “Yes,” she nodded thoughtfully. “And in one of those letters I described my trip to the University of Oklahoma with Millie. And, um, on the trip, Millie and I attended a party. And…I met a boy there.”
Oh, no. Zac’s face was clouding over again. Worse than that, it was like Armageddon might burst out of him at any moment. Bessie’s heart pounded and she swallowed hard. “His name is Robert Clayton and he’s the quarterback of the football team. I met him because I was trying to cut myself a slice of chocolate cake, but the knife was missing. He helped me. And then we took our cake and we had a nice conversation. But that was all. It was a friendly conversation. I told him about you. I told him I already had a boyfriend. And he respected that. Even said that you’re a lucky man. But that…that’s the last time I ate chocolate cake. And that one across the room reminded me of it. And I wanted to be honest with you the same way you were honest with me. And so…that’s what happened. Please don’t be upset.”
He stared at her for a moment, his expression startlingly unreadable. Then he straightened his spine and looked above her head, stoically, around the room. He was upset. She’d ruined the evening. Absolutely ruined it. She felt her bottom lip begin to quiver.
Finally, he looked back down at her and his expression calmed a little. A tight smile crossed his lips and he assured her, “I’m not upset.”
“You are,” she whispered with a nod.
He shook his head in response, his smile widening. “No. I’m not. And he’s right, I am a lucky man. You met a friend and you had a conversation. You’ve never met an enemy. That much, I know.” With his free hand, he swept his thumb softly across her cheek. “But he’s a lucky man, too. Because he got to share cake and conversation with you. I can’t be upset at that. Only envious.”
Bessie was mesmerized by his words. By his touch. She could argue that Billy was also only a friend, but she decided to stop while she was ahead. After all, she was finally reunited with the love of her life after a long, brutal month and chocolate cake awaited her across the room. It would be the best chocolate cake she ever put in her mouth.
“Zac,” she whispered as she melted into the hand that now cupped her cheek. “I love you so much.”
“I love you more,” he replied softly.
Then her eyes met his earnestly. “But I also love chocolate cake.”
At that, he burst into a hearty chuckle. “All right, sweet girl. Let’s go see what that cake’s all about before you imaginary divorce me.”
On the walk over, she hated that she secretly questioned whether or not he really wasn’t upset or if he was just keeping it in so they could enjoy their evening. She tried not to let it bother her. She wanted to have fun, as well, and she vowed to keep a smile on her face for the entire evening, no matter how much his reaction ate at her.
After a heavenly slice of chocolate cake and two more bubbly flutes, Bessie was feeling more than joyous as she and Zac learned to Lindy Hop for the first time between dancing the Charleston and the Balboa and, by the time Bessie was overtaken by an endless fit of giggles, she finally gave in to her poor aching feet and let Zac know that it was probably time to go.
“Are you sure?” He asked her with a smile.
“Are you sure you’re not upset with me?”
He blinked at her, bewildered. “Why would I--? I told you—jeez, am I that bad?”
Her head was swimming but she ignored it. “Your face. When I told you—“
“I’m not upset,” he assured her firmly. “We’re having a great time. If I were upset, would we be having a great time?”
“No,” she mused. “I suppose not.”
“Now,” he grinned mischievously. “Let’s go and get you off of those poor, aching feet. I’ll show you how upset I’m not.”
Warmth instantly spread up through Bessie’s body and into her cheeks. Suddenly, they couldn’t get out of that ballroom fast enough.
* * *
When they had returned to their room, she was still feeling loose from the champagne. Not loose enough to ignore her aching feet, but loose enough to want to mold herself to Zac at the very first opportunity. But first and foremost, her shoes.
By the time she had lay her clutch down on the table next to the bed, she removed her sheer shawl and draped it carefully over the back of the armchair that sat across the room. Then she retreated back to the bed, flopped herself down on the side, and sighed with relief. Her feet nearly sang.
And so did her heart as her eyes landed on her love as he removed his tuxedo jacket and his bowtie. He looked like an angel as he stood there, basking in the glow of the low lamp light. To be truthful, Bessie had no idea if it was inappropriate or not to dress or undress in front of one another. But Zac seemed to have no problem with it as he continued along his path, unbuttoning his shirt and unfastening his belt buckle.
She wasn’t aware of how fascinated she had grown with is movements until his rich voice cut through the air like a knife through butter as he peeled the shirt back off of his strong shoulders. “Bessie? Are you all right?”
He knew better than to ask. She knew he knew better. But she found her breath as it caught in her throat and she blinked her eyes to keep her mind alert. “I’m fine,” she nodded. “Everything’s fine.”
He looked like every bit of the way she might imagine the Greek gods that she’d studied in school might have looked. Dare she say he had grown in muscle over the past month, his skin as smooth and his form as solid as the marble that the statues were said to be carved out of. She always dreamed of seeing these statues, but now she didn’t have to anymore. She had one right here in front of her, in the flesh.
Who would he be, she mused as his naked form sauntered across the room toward her. Adonis. Oh, most definitely Adonis. A god so beautiful that he was fought over by Aphrodite and Persephone, practically since birth. Bessie may not have understood much by the way of Shakespeare, but Greek mythology was full of love stories that never ceased to put her under a spell when they talked about it in school.
But Zac was Adonis. Her own, personal Adonis. And Bessie was absolutely no Aphrodite, but the way he was currently looking at her, staring her down like he might devour her in an instant, she suddenly felt like ten times the woman Aphrodite was.
A woman. Bessie felt like a woman. She realized she’d grown up some over the past month, but she never realized just how much she had grown up until this moment. Until Zac’s want and his desire burned in his brown eyes, a want and a desire meant only for her. She’d never felt so powerful before.
Power quickly melted into powerlessness as he sank down onto the bed beside her and ran his hand gently up her bare arm. The chills rippled through her body so deliciously that she thought she might reach her goal right that second. She hadn’t realized how much she craved him, how much she needed him, until that moment.
Without a word, he leaned over and reached both of his arms behind her back, carefully pulling the zipper of her dress downward until it stopped. Ever so delicately, he pulled the sleeves down her arms and, before he uncovered her chest, he dipped his head down and helped himself to a taste of her collarbone, an act that lit up the very pit of her belly and caused her to suck in a gasp made of pure pleasure.
“You’re so beautiful,” his hot breath whispered onto her skin. “I’ve waited in agony for this moment for so long. I thought it would never come.”
Standing from the bed, she allowed the dress to fall down her arms and she shimmied it over her waist and let it drop to the floor. Now all that was left between them was her white, silk chemise that Zac was already sliding up her thighs as she stepped out of her dress. Sitting back down next to him, she obediently raised her arms above her head so that he could slide the undergarment off of her and now she sat, as vulnerable as Zac was, face-to-face, as his hands explored her bare skin.
“Oh, Bessie,” he whispered as he took her in with every sense he possessed. “Bessie, I want to do something. Something that we’ve never done before, something that might…seem a little strange at first, but I think you’ll like it once you get used to it.”
The moment was terribly in danger of losing the romance as Bessie felt her eyes widen. Try something new? There was more? Couldn’t they just stick with what they knew—and what she knew she liked? It had been a month since she’d seen him, did they have to be adventurous now?
Her face must have given her away because now Zac smiled. “You know I would never hurt you. You trust me, don’t you?”
Uncertainly, she nodded.
The backs of his fingers brushed her cheek as love filled his eyes. “You’ll like it. And I want to do it. Because, Bessie, I—I have to have every last inch there is of you. I can’t wait any longer.”
“The more you talk, I can’t decide if I’m excited or afraid,” she whispered.
His grin widened into one more devious as he guided her backward onto the bed and hovered over her. “Excited. Be very excited.”
Before she could object, he had spread her legs apart and lowered himself down her body. Her mouth dropped open in shock at the location of his head and she swore this could not be happening. She was milliseconds from closing her legs and shutting this entire operation down when his hot, wet tongue trailed between her thighs and her eyes rolled in the back of her head and she collapsed back onto the bed. It was nothing like she'd ever felt before, and she couldn't stop her hips from rolling into him.
The pleasure was so good, it made her want to cry in frustration. Frustrated because she felt like there wasn't a sufficient enough way to express herself. When she thought it couldn't feel any better, Zac inserted two fingers inside her and hooked them into a location that sent her entire body into another universe.
As his fingers worked her inside and his tongue worked her outside, Bessie was losing her religion at lightning speed. With one hand tangled up tightly in his hair, she grabbed a handful of her breast with the other one, and called out words and phrases that she wasn't even aware she was familiar with. She'd never said such deliciously vulgar things in all her life and, in the moment, she didn't regret a single one of them.
She was reaching her finish and she didn't want it to happen. She wasn't ready yet. She breathed at him to stop and shoved him away from her, barely giving him any time to readjust back on the bed before she was rolling him over and climbing on top of him. She ignored the bewildered look in his eyes, completely wrapped up in her own pleasure, and she lowered herself onto him as he lay on his back and she rocked her hips into him, suddenly bringing herself back to reality. "Is this okay?" She whispered.
Zac smiled, heavy-eyed, and bit his lip. "You do anything you want, baby. Anything you do is good."
That was all the instruction she needed. It took her a moment to get her bearings, but once she found what felt good, she became ruthless. Letting her head fall back, she closed her eyes and she rolled her hips into a rough grind into him, feeling him all the way inside her. She loved the way he felt inside her. He filled her up, he made her feel whole and sexy and powerful. The more she thought about this, the more she wanted and the harder she rocked, feeling him hit a spot that nearly hurt, but felt incredible.
Zac's hips bucked underneath her, nearly finishing her off, as his body moved and he sat up to meet her. His knees bent behind her, he braced himself with one of his arms while the other one wrapped tightly around her lower back and pulled her into him. She looked down at his face as he looked up into hers, his jaw slack with pleasure as he pulled her forcefully into him, stroke after stroke, thrust after thrust. When he began to rock his hips underneath her to match her rhythm, she took handfuls of hair in both of her fists and crashed her mouth down onto his. Ripping her mouth away, she held onto his hair for dear life, pulling his head back and riding him rougher and harder than she ever thought she could.
Within moments, she was nearly screaming her orgasm into the air, calling out Zac's name. He came soon after, his eyes concentrating on the union of their bodies, biting his lip as he growled his release with his favorite four-letter word. Calming down, Bessie released the death grip she had on his hair and she kissed him gently, parting his lips with her tongue as he sat up more comfortably and wrapped his arms around her. They both poured with sweat and she could feel the sweat tickling her skin as it trickled between her breasts, but she didn't care. All she cared about was his rapid heartbeat against hers as it slowed to a normal pace and the sound of his breathing as he took in the needed air.
He stopped kissing her and he smiled as he nudged his nose against hers, bringing reality crashing down on her. Reflecting on what had just happened, guilt washed over her entire body. She had used him. She had completely used him for her own pleasure and didn't even think about his...
"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to be so selfish just then."
"Selfish?"
Bessie nodded. "I didn't mean to make it all about me, I just got caught up in the moment--"
Zac smiled in amusement, looking up at her face as he leaned back on his arm again. "You just screwed my brains out, that's what you did," he said, catching what was left of his lost breath. "Thank you."
Shyly, she covered her chest with her arms and her eyes darted around in thought. "I did?"
Zac grinned as he let himself collapse back onto the bed. "Your modesty astounds me." Then he lifted his head and looked up at her. "Well don’t just sit there, come here."
Climbing off of him, she slid into the bed beside him, lifting the covers over her as far as they would go. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she nestled into the side of his body, fitting into him like a perfect puzzle piece. Between her current comfort and the relaxation of her body after all the excitement, she didn't want to move and all she wanted to do was sleep.
They were silent for a moment before Zac turned his face into her and whispered, "I've never felt anything like that before."
Bessie's eyes widened in confusion and she swallowed hard. "I find that a little hard to believe."
"It's true. It's one thing to have great sex, but it's a completely different thing when your heart's involved. It's...making love with you is unlike anything I've ever felt before. You're the only one I ever want to make love to for the rest of my life. I know you don't...you know, have any experience other than me, but I hope to make you happy enough so that you don't ever start to wonder."
Bessie smiled, her eyelids heavy, as she let her finger trail around his chest. "I love you, first of all, so I'm surely not going anywhere. But rest assured, you've certainly made sure that I'm not ever going to want to, either. I am happy, Zac. I could never be unhappy with you."
"Good," he groaned as he rolled over and threw the covers over their heads. Wrapping her in his arms and pulling her naked body against his, he nudged her nose with his again. "Because I love you, too. And I don’t ever want this night to end, but I can’t wait to wake up with my arms wrapped around you in the morning."
Bessie couldn’t help herself as she giggled. “Until we have to go and repent it all at church.”
“Right,” Zac’s raspy voice replied in amusement. “I’ll repent many things, I’m sure, but this will certainly not be one of them.”
"Zac--"
“Lying is a sin, you know,” he continued to grin. “So if you’re honest and say you’re not going to repent this tomorrow either, you won’t be on the first train straight to hell.”
She couldn’t help her own devious amusement. “You and I are sharing a seat on the first train to hell right now because we’re not married. As a matter of fact, we reserved that seat over a month ago, if you remember.”
“Ah, but we haven’t. Because I will marry you someday. And since we’re going to be married anyway, there’s no real sin committed. Only thing missing is a piece of paper.”
“And a ring.”
“Patience my love. School, then marriage, then the ten or so babies you’re going to give me.”
“Ten?” She squeaked. Then she sighed. “We need to talk about me and…and school.”
“I agree.”
“Do we have to right now, though? Can we just enjoy each other tonight without the heavy conversation?”
He tightened his arms around her and kissed her forehead. “No. We don’t have to talk about it tonight. Right now I just want to hold you and never let go. This is the happiest I’ve ever been. I love you so much, sweet girl.”
With that, Bessie's heart melted into a puddle in her chest and she gave in without another word. Nestling close to him again, tangling her legs with his, they fell asleep together, completely enveloped by the covers and each other, neither aware of how exhausted they were until they were woken by the morning light.