Chapter 15

Late that evening, Lee and Rheza were relaxing in the living room area of the hotel suite. They'd taken off their coats but were still in their suits. Their ties were loosened, and they each had rolled their shirt sleeves up as they enjoyed the smooth taste of a very old scotch, talking, and laughing about nothing in particular, like two old friends.

The elevator doors opened as Amanda's voice could be heard throughout the suite as they walked closer to the men.

"Penny, I still can't believe you did that."

Penny caught a glare from Rheza. "What did you do, darling?"

"Nothing, dear. I didn't do anything wrong," Penny explained as she bent down to greet him with a kiss.

Amanda did the same to Lee. "You did more than nothing. You paid for my wedding dress."

"You found a dress? That's great. Can I see it?" Lee asked with a hopeful glint in his eyes.

"That's all you got out of that, Lee?" Amanda chastised as Lee sheepishly shrugged his shoulders. "The dress was not inexpensive, and Penny paid for it when I was changing."

"Amanda, I told you, it's my wedding gift to you. I know how much you loved it and it was made for you. Please don't be upset with me?"

"Penny, I'm not upset with you. It's just something I wasn't expecting. When I commented on not knowing how I was going to afford the dress, it wasn't a cry for help."

"I know that, Amanda. I just wanted to do something nice for my friend."

Amanda lowered her head as if she were embarrassed for making Penny feel bad. "I'm sorry, Penny. I really appreciate what you did. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, can we relax a little before we head off to bed?"

"Yeah. What took you ladies so long? Rheza and I have been here for a couple of hours."

"Well, sweetheart, let's see. We were at Kleinfeld's until almost four. Then we did a little window shopping for the wedding."

"Oh, and don't forget the actual shopping we did for the honeymoon," Penny interjected with a wink.

Lee looked at Amanda with raised eyebrows. "I think I want to hear more about that."

Amanda playfully slapped at his arm. "Behave, would you?" Lee pulled his arm quickly out of the way and stuck out his tongue. Amanda snickered, "Then we noticed it was getting late, and we hadn't eaten yet, so we stopped and got something to eat. And then we came back here. You two weren't the only ones that had important things to do." They all chuckled at Amanda's comments.

"Oh, darling, you'll never guess what Lee did for us," Rheza excitedly announced. "He got us all tickets to go see a Yankees baseball game tomorrow. They're playing the Boston Red Sox, and the seats are right behind home base."

"You mean, home plate, Rheza," Lee corrected.

"Yes, home plate. I'll get it eventually."

Penny and Amanda turned their attention to Lee. "How'd you pull that off, sweetheart?"

"I called in a—."

"Favor," Amanda finished for Lee. "There seems to be a lot of favors being cashed in this week." Lee smirked at her as she fought a yawn. "I don't know about you, but I'm tired. This has been a very long day, and if we're going to be up later tomorrow night, I think I'm going to call it a night."

"That sounds like a great plan, Amanda. We'll see you in the morning," Penny agreed.

They all raised from their seats and went their separate ways. Lee grabbed his suit jacket from the back of the sofa and tossed it over his shoulder, while his right hand held Amanda's against his back, and she trailed behind him. Closing the door, Amanda leaned against it and admired the view in front of her.

"Is it new?" Amanda questioned.

"Is what new, honey?" Lee responded while laying his jacket over the back of the chair in the corner.

"Your suit. It looks really good on you."

Lee rotated to face Amanda. "Yes, it is new. And from your inability to speak earlier this afternoon, I assume you like it."

"Yes, very much so." Amanda's eyes slowly scanned down and back up his body. "It was all I could think about this afternoon." She pushed herself off the door and sauntered closer to Lee.

"Oh really? Let me make sure I have this correct? All you thought about was me when you were trying on wedding dresses."

"Most definitely."

"And what about your shopping spree for the honeymoon?"

"Absolutely. I also kept imagining you taking things off me."

Lee's hands reached for her hips and pulled her close. "You wouldn't want to give me a little preview, would you?"

"Not of the outfits, but I can give you a preview of the wedding night." Amanda's eyes explored his tie as she grabbed a hold of it. "This color really makes the blue specs in your eyes pop." Amanda slid it slowly from around Lee's neck as his hands explored her backside.

Amanda tossed his tie across the room and started to unbutton his shirt. Lee pulled at the bottom of her blouse and asked, "So what exactly happens in this preview?"

"You'll just have to be patient and see." Amanda continued to undress Lee

Once Amanda had Lee's shirt unbuttoned, she quickly unfastened his pants and lowered the zipper. She glided her hand inside his boxers. She raised an eyebrow when she felt him already reacting to her touch.

"Well, well, well, Mr. Stetson. The baseball game may not be till tomorrow, but it seems you're ready to play the game tonight."

"Yes, Mrs. King, I am. Are you ready to throw the first pitch?"

"Do you think you can handle it, big fella?"

"I can handle anything you'd like to throw at me."

A devious smirk appeared on Amanda's face as she released Lee and pushed him back onto the bed. "Well then, batter up."

Enticed by her continuing the baseball analogy, Lee was more than happy to keep it going. "Play ball!" he cheered as Amanda's favorite dimples appeared.

Amanda slipped his shoes off, removed his socks, and tugged on the hems of his pants. Lee raised his hips to allow the fabric to be pulled from his body easily.

Tossing the pants off to the side, Amanda stepped back and toed out of her shoes. She flicked the button on her jeans and retracted the zipper. Shimmying out of her jeans, she made quick work of her blouse.

"Manda!" Lee's eyes bugged out at what stood before him. There she was, his Amanda, in a cherry red lacy bra with matching panties. "I like your uniform. Is it new?"

"Why, yes it is. Thank you for noticing." Amanda strolled up to the edge of the bed and placed herself between Lee's knees. Bending slightly, she ran her fingers up the length of Lee's legs, stopping at the waistline of his boxers. Goosebumps followed her hands like a wave making its way to the shore. With two fingers on each side, she slid them down, releasing him from its restraints.

Crawling onto the bed, Amanda straddled Lee and began to expose his taut chest. He could feel her heat on his skin.

Sitting up, Lee extracted his arms from his shirt and immediately wrapped them around Amanda's back. His fingertips explored her soft silky skin as if he was reading braille. Amanda arched in response as a small gasp escaped her lips.

Lee's fingers reached the back of her shoulder blade and slid her bra strap down her arm. He examined her skin by lightly licking with the tip of his tongue, then blowing softly so he could watch her fine hair rise to the ceiling.

Amanda's fingers found the nape of Lee's neck and drew him closer as he began to place butterfly kisses all the way down her chest. "You're so beautiful, Manda. So perfect."

"Oh, Lee. I need you."

Lee slid his hands down to Amanda's butt and reached his long slender fingers between her, pulling the lacy material to one side.

They both moaned as their bodies fused. Leaning back, they gazed into each other's souls as their rhythm began to fall into sync. There were no words needed. Connected on such a higher level, they always knew what the other was feeling just from the love and desire they saw in one another's eyes.

Unhurried for the need of completion, the two lovers reveled in their time together. Enjoying the new sensations that seemed to emerge every time they made love. It was always like their first time. The love these soulmates felt was unlike any other they'd ever experienced, and they knew it would never be duplicated with anyone else.

Fate had brought these two together, and nothing was going to tear them apart.

Lee tucked Amanda's sweat-drenched hair behind her ear and ran the pad of his thumb under her eye. "I love you, Manda! What's mine is yours and always will be."

"I love you, too, Lee! Always and forever."

"Oh, Manda," Lee cried as he felt his stomach tighten. The two crashed together. They leaned against each other to brace themselves from falling over, due to pure exhaustion.

Once stability came back to their extremities, Amanda raised off of Lee, crept up to the head of the bed, and collapsed onto the pillow. Lee soon joined her and pulled the covers over them. As Lee held Amanda, their breathing slowed, and soon that was in sync as well.

Amanda breathlessly spoke, "I guess I'm not a very good pitcher, after all."

Lee raised his head slightly and questioned Amanda, astonished, "What do you mean? That was unbelievable."

"Yes, it was. But it only took one pitch for you to hit a homer."

They chuckled as Lee shook his head in amusement and kissed Amanda on her cheek. Laying back down, he pulled her close. "Good night, my love."

"Good night, sweetheart."