Chapter 36-Icing on the Cake
"A Little Sex, A Little Scandal"
Amanda surveyed her new shorter haircut in the mirror and cringed slightly. What had she been thinking? She sighed. She knew exactly what she'd been thinking. Lee Stetson in a big one-track way. It had been right after his uncle had left town again. Lee had come creeping into her back yard as usual, seemingly on a mission, by the look on his face and not the work-related kind. They hadn't said a word to each other, had just fallen into each other's arms, once again making love in her back yard with her on top. Amanda shuddered at the memory of it. Afterward, he'd looked at her in such a way she'd been sure that he was about to open up and tell her how he felt. He cupped her face lovingly, run his fingers through her hair said, "Amanda, I love..." he had paused then obviously chickened out and finished with, "...Your long, dark hair." So irritated with his cowardice, she'd yanked herself out of his arms and stormed into the house in a huff, hearing him calling after her, "What the hell is wrong with you?" as if it weren't obvious. The new 'do had come the next day and she was already regretting it. She recalled vividly the thoughts that had run through her mind when getting it done; He can't say he loves me, but that he loves my hair. We'll see what he thinks without the long hair. She sighed again and forced herself to stop staring in the mirror. She had a lot to do today.
That evening after her ordeal with being run off the road, the dead man and the arrogant Detective Tuggy not believing her, she went to the one place she thought she could find someone to believe her, someone she trusted to help her only to be stunned at Lee's greeting when he opened the door. He'd obviously been expecting someone else, a woman named Randi. She wasn't about to let that deter her from her mission though. She took a deep breath and launched into her tale, the parent-teacher night, the murder, the maroon hatchback, all of it. She got a small sense of satisfaction at Lee's eyes widening in concern at hearing that they'd chased her. At least he still cared about her safety. That was something, but then she couldn't help noticing that he kept glancing at his watch.
"I'm sorry...I...thank you very much. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude," Amanda said, though she felt more like this other woman, whoever she was, was the intruder. Since she'd been in his apartment, she couldn't help noticing how neat the place looked compared to when they'd made love just a week ago amid a pile of his clothing waiting to be taken to the dry cleaners. In fact, the place looked spic and span as if he'd tidied it up for his date, something that he hadn't done for her when she'd agreed to be his date for his dinner with his uncle. She didn't know whether she should feel insulted that he'd cleaned the place for this other woman, not for her, or flattered that he felt comfortable enough with her that it didn't bother him if she saw his place a shambles.
"Now, hold it," Lee said. "You didn't intrude." The truth was that he'd been thinking of her just a moment ago when digging the ice bucket currently in her arms out of his closet and found her tattered panties inside from their wild encounter on his dining room table. He shifted awkwardly as the memories of that night assailed his thoughts and glanced at his watch again, "I...um...I'm just waiting for..."
"Randi, baby," Amanda interjected, burning with curiosity about who this woman was to him that he was calling her "baby." He'd never called her that, although to be fair he'd called her sweetheart that night in the bowling alley when it wasn't part of a cover assignment. She wondered if this date was his retaliation for her cutting her hair. She knew he'd been bothered by it as the first time he'd seen it he asked her bluntly what the hell she'd done.
"Yes," Lee answered as he tried to shake off the nagging memories of his passion-filled nights with the woman in front of him. He was still irked by the fact that right after he'd told her how much he loved her long hair; she'd gone and hacked it off. Didn't she get that he'd been trying to confess his feelings for her? His uncle had told him to either get serious about her or let her go and he'd been trying, albeit awkwardly to do just that, for once believing that the colonel had given him some good advice.
"Oh, well, is...um...Randi, a person that you'd like to impress?"
Lee nodded awkwardly and said, "Yeah, possibly." To be honest, he wasn't sure. Randi was beautiful, sure, but did he really want to impress her? No, the only woman he cared about impressing was the one standing in his living room now, but she'd made it clear that she couldn't be more unimpressed with him. Dating Randi had been a different type of following his uncle's advice when he couldn't get through to Amanda, he'd decided to try to move on, but still couldn't shake the intense feelings he had for her.
"Well, then you should probably take the price tag off this bottle of champagne," she said glancing down at it with a look of disdain. She couldn't resist adding another little dig, knowing that he'd done all this for another woman. "It was a bargain," she said as she thrust the bucket at him.
"Oh, good catch," Lee said as he glanced down at it.
"Anytime," she said her voice dripping with sarcasm as she hurried to the door wanting to escape before his date arrived. Too late, she thought as she opened the door to find herself face to face with the bimbette in question. She should have known that she'd be blond and leggy. "Oh, hello, Randi," she said with a sneering smile on her face and felt the need to also get in a little dig at the woman whom Lee had gone to so much trouble for. "You'll like the wine," she said with a quick backward glance at Lee before adding, "It's very good," then pushed past her into the hall.
As she left, she heard Lee, saying with fake enthusiasm, "Randi, come in, come in," When she noticed that the door hadn't immediately been closed, she couldn't help pausing in the hall to see how she'd react and how Lee would handle it.
She smiled in smug satisfaction when she heard the blond tart say, "What is this, a rotation system? Am I the evening edition?" Gotcha' Amanda thought.
Lee stammered awkwardly, "No, she was just..."
"Let me guess, you're just friends," Randi said in a pouty tone.
"Yes, yes," Lee said feeling his confidence fading at the stern look his date was giving him. "Oh, you look gorgeous tonight. You really do," He said hoping to dig himself out of the hole that he was in.
Amanda cringed a little at the just friends bit, and hearing what was obviously the sound of kissing, but then had to smile again when she heard Lee's date say, "And you're on thin ice." Good, Amanda thought with a firm nod as she finally headed down the hall to leave once Lee had closed the door.
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Once the case had been closed and Lee had protected her from yet another attack on her life, Amanda had wanted to show him her appreciation, but found herself once again standing awkwardly at Lee's front door as he waited for Randi to arrive.
Lee glanced at his watch and said, "Uh...Amanda...what are you doing here?'
"Oh, I'm sorry," Amanda replied. "I guess it isn't a very good time, is it?" though she couldn't help smiling inwardly that she may have thwarted another attempt of Lee's to get closer to the other woman.
"Uh..." Lee said.
"I'm sorry," she said again, though truthfully she really wasn't. She'd chosen that particular time of night to show up at his place in an attempt to remind him where his heart really belonged.
"No, no...Uh...the time is fine..." Lee stammered. "What's that?" he said with a nod to the cake plate in her hands.
"Oh...uh..." she said as she whipped the dishtowel she had covering it off to show him."It's...uh...it's just a little cake that whipped up for the mother of the year contest." She couldn't help smiling at the smile that crossed Lee's face upon seeing it. "I thought that I would give it to you as sor of my way of saying thank you for being the only one who believed me." That much was true, but she also wanted to bluntly remind him of the last time they'd share cake in his apartment and how it had led to them making love, not once, but twice in his dining room.
They conversed about the case and the mother of the year contest, and just as Amanda was about to leave, she ran headlong into Randi who was just arriving. At seeing Amanda there and her once again greeting her as if she knew her, the angered blond said, "That's it!" and stormed off.
Lee made a half-hearted attempt to explain, but gave up when Randi kept walking.
"Oh, gosh, I'm really sorry," Amanda said. "And you have your candles and your...Well, she misunderstood," though she knew deep down that the other woman hadn't misunderstood a thing.
"Yeah, yeah, I guess so," Lee said knowing that there was no misunderstanding. He knew that every time he was with Amanda, no matter how hard he tried to fight it, to hide it, his feelings for her were visible on his face. He glanced down at the cake in his hands, smiled his dimpled smile at her and said, "You want some cake?" making his true meaning perfectly clear.
Amanda chuckled at the look on his face and knew without a doubt in that look that his dates with Randi had been just that, dates and nothing more. "Sure," Amanda said as Lee ushered her into his apartment and closed the door behind them.
Lee set the cake down and said, "Just let me get a knife to cut this with."
"Forget the knife," Amanda said as she stripped off her coat, dropping it and her purse to his couch. When Lee turned to look at her, she closed the gap between them and planted a firm kiss to his lips and pushed him backward toward the couch to remind him of their encounter of the week before.
"It's forgotten," Lee said as he felt himself being propelled backward landing on his sofa and her taking advantage of it to settle herself astride him. "Amanda," he groaned as he felt her hands sliding inside his partially open shirt caressing the bare skin beneath. She worked the remaining buttons of his shirt loose, yanked it from his pants and pushed both it and his jacket down his shoulders, but was halted by the cuffs of his shirt.
"Let me," Lee said as he quickly undid the two buttons completing the job that she'd started. He then tugged at the bottom of her sweater and pulled it over her head, and then began working on the buttons of her blouse, quickly exposing the lacy bra beneath it. He gazed at her for just a moment, his eyes drinking in the sight of her partially bare body in front of him and then quickly unhooked her bra, sliding it down her arms before capturing one breast in his mouth and the other in his hand while his other hand found its way under her skirt.
"Lee," Amanda hissed at his touch, throwing her head back and cradling his head against her.
Lee raised his head to look at her for a moment searching her eyes to be sure this was what she really wanted. He knew by her reaction to him dating Randi that he'd hurt her. "Amanda..."
Amanda placed a finger to his lips to silence him and said, "Don't, Lee. Just touch me."
"No," Lee said firmly. At seeing a pained expression cross her face, sputtered, "I...I mean, not yet. I need you to know that Randi..."
"I get it, Lee. You don't have to-"
"Yes, I do. I don't think you do get it," he interrupted. "Randi didn't misunderstand a damn thing. I...uh...I just thought you should know that." When Amanda smiled at him, He slid his hands to her waist and lowered her to the floor, resuming his exploration of her lithe body with his mouth and his hands.
Amanda sighed at Lee's touch on her skin, the flickering of the candles sending sparks of light across his exposed torso above him. The idea that she was partaking in a romantic evening that he'd set up for another woman should have been abhorrent to her, but instead if filled her with a sense of exhilaration that she'd ruined his chances with her, not once, but twice. That fact that she was the one in his arms now with her with a heady sense of satisfaction that she knew would only increase as he made love to her, all thoughts of the other woman forced out of his mind by her presence. She pushed on his chest to encourage him to roll over onto his back and once he complied, she began trailing warm, wet kisses across his torso, while she felt his hands at the zipper of her skirt, sliding it down, then moving his hands back up to caress her back. That didn't last for very long though as she soon worked her way down to his stomach, pausing for just a moment to work his belt loose, then moved on to free him from his slacks, taking all of him that she could into her mouth.
"Oh, God," Lee cried out as Amanda suckled him greedily as if she wanted to devour him whole. He'd been tickled when he saw that she'd brought him a cake, but who needed a cake when being with her was the icing on the cake? "OH!" he cried as she pulled back just enough to flick her tongue against the tip of him before taking him fully into her mouth again. His hands unconsciously flew to her head and he found himself startled that he could no longer run his fingers through her hair the way that he used to. He knew that she'd cut her hair just to spite him, but it didn't matter anymore. She was here with him now and despite that fact that he'd basically rubbed his date with another woman in his face, here she was, doing things to him that he knew the mother of the year committee would have been horrified by. If those prudes couldn't handle her hectic life, they'd definitely have a problem with this. He soon felt himself nearing the edge and moved to stop her, wanting desperately to be inside her when that happened, but she slapped at his hands and relentlessly continued until he felt himself exploding into her mouth, his hands clenching in what was left of her hair as he cried out her name. Through his ragged breathing, heard Amanda let out a sigh of contentment just before she released him with a loud pop. She then gazed at him with a Cheshire-cat-like grin. "What?" he gasped out still trying to catch his breath.
"Nothing," she said with a shake of her head, but still smiled smugly at him.
"I don't like the way you're looking at me," Lee said as his breathing began to slow.
"Why? You enjoyed yourself, didn't you?"
"Very much," He said in a hoarse whisper. Too much, he thought as he wondered how Arlington's mother of the year candidate could set him on fire and make him lose his mind the way no other woman could.
"Then what are you complaining about," Amanda said as she pulled herself from him and rose to her feet reaching for the champagne bottle that sat on his coffee table and plucking if from the ice bucket. She glanced at it and said with an amused expression, "No bargain champagne this time?" she said as she popped the cork and poured two glasses.
"Oh, shut up," Lee said with a chuckle as he pulled himself to his feet, straightening his pants as he accepted the glass Amanda offered him.
Amada laughed in return and said, "So, what should we drink to?"
Lee shook his head, utterly amazed by her. There she was, standing before him in just her panties and her heels after just giving him the most mind-blowing orgasm of his life and she was asking what they should drink to?
"How about your new haircut," Lee said pointedly.
"I thought you hated it," Amanda said. She knew she hated it and wished that she hadn't let a moment of blind fury make her do something that she now regretted.
"I don't know," Lee said as he reached for her with his free hand, twirling one of the tight curls around his finger. "It's kind of cute. I think it's starting to grow on me." He cringed as he realized that he'd unintentionally made a bad pun out of his comment, but the truth was, he still wasn't too fond of her shorter 'do. It was Amanda that had started to grow on him and long before tonight.
"Grow on you?" Amanda questioned with a chuckle. "Oh, Lee, that's really bad."
Lee couldn't help but laugh. He'd already known that she'd jump on his choice of words. "No pun intended," he said sheepishly as he sipped as this champagne.
"Uh-huh," she said in a disbelieving tone.
"So, how about this cake, huh?"
"Yeah, sounds good," she said.
"Be right back," Lee said setting down his glass for a moment then hustling to the kitchen. He quickly returned with a knife for the cake to find that Amanda was now sitting with her legs tucked under the coffee table, her heels now kicked under, her back propped against his couch and that she had removed the glass cover from her home-baked cake. "Here we go," he said. "You know, I really oughtta' do something with that one," he said gesturing to the sad-looking half-frozen concoction looking forlorn next to her nearly-award-winning one. The bigger difference he know though, wasn't that it was homemade versus store-bought. It was that she poured just as much TLC into her baking as she did everything else in her life. She loved life, loved her children, loved her mother, and deep down he knew she loved him, so why was it so hard for him to tell her that he loved her? He knew why. He knew that the day that he said the words, being the loving person that she was, she'd immediately say them back and as much as he longed to hear those words from her, that would open up a whole new set of concerns. It would mean they were committed, that he'd have to face the real possibility of attaching himself to someone else and potentially losing her, a thought that was more terrifying to him than all the horrors he faced on the job.
"File thirteen," Amanda suggested with a soft chuckle as she looked at the frozen cake disdainfully. Never in her life would she have thought of serving something like that to a guest in her home.
"Good plan. Yours is much more appealing," Lee said with a pointed look at her to tell her that he wasn't just talking about the cake, wanting her to know that Randi hadn't meant anything to him as kicked off his shoes then knelt next to her and cut into the cake she'd brought. "Oh, you know what, I didn't bring any plates."
"We don't need them," Amanda said as she took the knife from him, cut off a small piece of the cake and held it out to him, not caring that she'd get covered in chocolate.
Lee's eyes lit up at the suggestive look in her eyes and leaned in to take a bite of the offered cake. "Mmm," he said. "Very good."
"You like it," Amanda said.
"Mm-hmm," he said as he swallowed the mouthful of cake and then reached for her hand. "In fact, I think I need another taste," he said pulling her fingers into his mouth and sucking the chocolate from them causing her to squeal in delight a shiver ran up her spine.
"You know, I think I need to try I myself," Amanda said in a seductive tone as she leaned in toward him. "You've got a little right here," she added as she kissed him softly, nipping at his lips as she licked the chocolate from them.
"Mmm," Lee moaned against her lips as he clasped the back of her head, deepening the kiss. They kissed for a long moment before both were too breathless to continue.
They pulled apart to catch their breath, staring at one another and then after a moment, Amanda said, "If you really like my cake that much, you should have some more," as she reached for more.
"I think you're right," Lee said, his eyes dancing as he knew they were both talking about more than the cake.
"Good," Amanda said. This time, however, she didn't feed it to him. Instead, she took the cake, running it from her neck and down to the valley between her breasts all the way to her navel.
Lee's eyes widened as he watched her. The more he got to know her, the more he found how much she was still a mystery to him. He'd never have imagined in a million years that Amanda would be up for playing with food, but if that was what she wanted, he would be happy to join her. He pushed the coffee table away from them, lowered her to the floor, and nipped at her neck, lapping up the chocolate frosting. "Sweet," he murmured against her skin as he worked his way downward, the sweetness of the frosting mingling with the saltiness of her skin, delighting in her soft sighs and whimpers until there was no trace of the chocolate left on her. He then pulled her fingers back into his mouth, licking them clean as well.
"Still like it?" she teased as his touch sent amazing sensations through her whole body.
"Oh, yes," Lee answered as he reached for the champagne bottle, "But now I think I need something to wash it down with."
This time it was Amanda's eyes widening as Lee, without waiting for a response, he tipped the champagne bottle, dribbling drops of it down her body. Amanda squealed as the cool liquid hit her skin, the bubbles making hear already tingling body, tingle even more. He then proceeded to lap up every drop, nipping, licking, and slurping at the bubbly, working his way down her body until he reached her navel, dipping his tongue into it to capture to drips of champagne that had pooled their. "Lee," Amanda sighed as she arched up against him. Lee raised his head for a moment, and then slid his hands under her bottom to raise her up enough to drag her panties down her long legs before tilting the bottle once more pouring more of the sparkling liquid over her thighs, her hips and between, before setting it aside again, then beginning anew at drinking it from her body, starting which each hip, before running his tongue down to first one thigh, and then the other, nipping at the tender skin of each of them while he delighted in Amanda whimpering beneath him. "Lee, please," she hissed.
Lee, in answer to her pleading, lifted her up onto the couch, her bottom on the edge of the seat, and parted her legs, planting one more soft kiss to each thigh, before delving into her with his tongue, alternating between dipping his tongue inside her and suckling her swollen nub with his lips. "Lee," she hissed again at his merciless teasing of her and cried out when he took her fully into his mouth, clamping down as he stroked her with his tongue causing her to cry out louder than before, "Lee!' as he body shook with the tremors of her release. Before she knew what was happening, she heard the rasp of a zipper and felt herself being pulled from her perch to straddle him and soon felt him filling her completely.
"Amanda," Lee groaned at the pleasure he felt at being immersed in her warmth again as she instinctively began to push against him to deepen their connection. How could he have ever thought that another woman could bring her the sense of completeness that she did? He grasped her hips pulling her down to meet him as he thrust up into her, delighted in feeling her sticky fingers gripping his shoulders, her legs locking behind his hips as they moved together toward the completion that they both craved. "Ohhhh," he groaned at feeling her tightening around him and calling his name as her second climax of the night hit her full force driving him to his own as he emptied himself within her, leaving them both shaking and gasping, trembling against one another and holding onto each other for dear life. When it was over, they just held each other silently while they bodies cooled down and when Lee felt he was cool enough to speak again, "You know, that cake should have won."
Amanda chuckled and said, "Oh, well, at least someone thinks it's a winner," as she kissed him lightly and attempted to pull herself from his arms, but Lee held her fast.
"No, don't," he pleaded. "Stay with me tonight."
"Lee, I can't. You know that I can't. I have children at home."
"Call home and tell your mother you have to pull an all-nighter in the editing room or something."
"I can't. Besides, she wouldn't believe me anyway. She stopped believing that story as soon as she knew about you."
"Then tell her the truth. That you'll be spending the night making love with me."
"And be subjected to the Spanish inquisition when I get home?" Amanda shook her head and said, "No, thank you. Look, I would love to stay. I really would, but I can't. The boys have school in the morning and I need to be there to fix their lunches, make sure they ear breakfast before they go, make sure their homework's done."
"I get it," Lee said as he released her.
"Besides, we'll have other nights together," Amanda said as she reached for her panties, then cringes as she realized how that sounded. That was good as saying come and get it any time you want. "I mean...I...at least, I hope we will."
"Count on it," Lee said as he straightened his pants again and watched her dress.
"Yeah," Amanda said as she quickly dressed, reached for her coat and purse, planted a quick kiss to Lee's lips and began to walk toward the door, but was halted by Lee's voice saying her name. "Yes?" she said.
"You don't need the mother of the year award to be a good mother," Lee said with a smile. It had just struck him in her words tonight in her protests about spending the night that it wasn't because she didn't want to be with him, but that she was putting aside her own needs for the sake of her children.
Amanda beamed at him and said, "Thank you," deeply touched by his words.