Chapter 6

Amanda placed the silverware on the table as she checked her watch again. Beef Wellington was in the oven on low with the baked potatoes wrapped in foil. The bottle of red wine was open and breathing on the table, dessert chilling in the oven. She sighed happily as she looked over the table. Joe had asked to take the boys for the night to celebrate after they returned from the bank. Dotty announced she and Curt were taking a quick flight to Pittsburgh to pick up some repair parts and she wouldn't be home until the next morning. She punctuated her explanation with a wink as she ran out the door, carrying a small overnight bag.

Amanda was lost in thought when Lee quietly snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She yelped in surprise, spun around and exhaled loudly. "Lee!" she admonished him, "Don't do that!"

"What? Did you forget how I used to greet you by the window?" he teased, linking his hands together behind her back.

Amanda rested her hands on his chest, "No, I didn't forget. As a matter of fact, I was thinking about that when we were cleaning the other day." She leaned forward and brushed her lips against his.

"Dinner smells delicious. Where is everyone?" Lee kissed her back.

"Mother is flying with Captain Curt tonight and Joe asked to take the boys for the night. I'm not sure who was more excited, him or the boys," Amanda explained.

"Really? What prompted that?" Lee tilted his head in surprise.

Amanda pushed up on her tiptoes, kissed him again and said, "We had a good day at the bank. The closing should go through by the end of the week and he and Carrie can start moving in anytime they want. He wanted to celebrate with the boys tonight. To be honest, I think he's trying to butter them up, so they'll help him move."

Lee looked around and saw the table set, the wine bottle on the counter and inhaled again. "Beef Wellington, wine…why Mrs. Stetson, I'd say you've set the scene of seduction for this evening." He leaned down and peppered a few kisses along the column of her neck as she pressed her body closer to his.

"Maybe," she teased. "Or maybe I just wanted to celebrate a successful move and transition into the new house, new routines."

Lee chuckled, "Well, I wouldn't say it's been successful just yet. I mean it's only been what… ten days. The boys have been late for school twice thanks to me."

Amanda closed her eyes, shook her head and whispered, "That explains the phone call."

"What are you talking about? The phone call…" Lee questioned her. He had no idea what she was talking about.

Amanda took a deep breath and said, "I got a phone call from Jamie's teacher asking me if everything was all right at home. He said Jamie was late and seemed a bit out of sorts. I explained to him we just got married and moved and well, I think maybe we need to sit down with the boys tomorrow night."

Lee released Amanda and stepped back. He nervously ran his hand through his hair as he said, "You think this is all too much for them? Did we move too soon?"

Amanda put her hand on his forearm to stop his nervous movement. "Move too soon, no I don't think so. I think it's just a transition we have to get through, that's all. Now, stop worrying. Dinner is just about ready, and I want to hear about your day," she said soothingly.

Lee kissed her lightly one more time then moved to the sink to wash his hands. He got two wine glasses from the cabinet and poured each of them a glass as Amanda started to take their dinner out of the oven. Taking a sip, he hummed happily as the bold liquid danced across his tongue. "Well, you didn't miss anything at the meeting. Just the usual, who just arrived in the country, who's been deported, who's on the newest watch list. Billy asked me to give him an update on what we know so far on this case." He stopped talking long enough to help Amanda carry their wine glasses to the table. He held her chair for her as she sat down before finding his own. "Amanda, dinner looks… this is perfect," he declared. He sliced into the steaming Beef Wellington and took his first bite he sighed happily. "I don't know what I've done to deserve you."

Amanda leaned close to him and kissed him again as she said, "And what have I done to deserve you." They finished dinner between kisses and feeding each other, the teasing continued even as they cleared the table and Lee loaded the dishwasher as Amanda packed up their leftovers and put everything in the fridge. When the last dish was loaded, Lee trapped Amanda against the kitchen island and kissed her sensually. Amanda melted against his lean frame and he scooped her up into his arms. Amanda wrapped her legs around his waist, kissing his neck fervently, allowing him to carry her toward the stairs. Before Lee could begin the climb, she dropped to her feet and taking his hand, pulled him gently to follow her. Their bedspread was already turned down, the dim lamp beside the bed on, soft music playing.

"My, my, my, Mrs. Stetson. You really planned this, didn't you," Lee teased between kisses as he gently tugged her shirt out of her jeans. Amanda didn't reply, she simply mimicked his actions, pulling his dress shirt from his khaki's. She unbuttoned his shirt with nimble fingers as he attempted to unbutton her jeans.

"Having a little problem, Mr. Stetson?" Amanda whispered huskily, pushing the starched material off his shoulders.

Lee laughed deeply, "If you'd stop moving it would make things much easier. What's gotten into you?" He finally managed to slip the button through the hole and push the zipper on her jeans down as Amanda's lips found his collarbone. Groaning loudly, Lee pushed her jeans over her hips to puddle at the floor at her feet. He gripped her satin clad bottom tightly as he moaned again, "Manda."

Amanda was busy removing his clothes, not caring if anything landed in a wrinkled pile. As soon as his pants were in a puddle similar to her own, she slipped her hand into the waistband of his boxer shorts. She wrapped her hand around his hardness, drawing a sharp inhale as Lee instinctively dropped his head back. "Manda, what's going on?" he groaned again. He took a step back to give them space, his chest heaving.

Amanda smiled, bit her bottom lip and gently pushed him onto the bed as she shook her head and whispered loudly, "Nothing if you keep talking." She straddled his legs and covered his muscled chest with wet kisses. Finally, Lee grasped her shoulders and flipped her onto her back. He teased her remaining undergarments off with nipping kisses and his teeth, quickly covering her body with his own. He was poised at her entrance when she wrapped her legs around him once more. "What are you waiting for?" she panted in anticipation, her brown eyes almost black with desire.

"I love you," he stated softly before plunging into her hot, wet passage. Minutes later, Amanda cried out sharply as he quickly brought her to the brink of pleasure. He pushed her higher as he continued his onslaught of strokes combined with loving words. Her body tightened around him, her hands clinging to him as she exploded in his arms seconds before he flooded her core, their hearts hammering, gasping. Rolling to his side, he started to tease, "Well, if this is what a Wednesday night can look like…" but the loud shrill of the phone ringing beside the bed effectively cut him off.

Reaching over, Lee grabbed the receiver, dropped it then using the cord, scrambled to pull it up onto the bed. "Hello?" he exhaled loudly.

"Scarecrow!" Billy's voice barked through the phone. "We have another senator that's on his way to General. Get to his home, see what you can find."

Lee groaned loudly as he shifted onto his side, "Ok, Billy, we're on our way. What's the address?" He jotted down the location and looked over his shoulder at Amanda, now laying on her back, her arm slung over her eyes. "We'll be there in about an hour."

"An hour? What do you mean an hour?" Billy shouted into the phone.

Lee closed his eyes, willing his heart rate to slow down as he exhaled slowly, "We'll get there as soon as we can. We're just finishing up dessert."

"I don't give a damn about your dessert, Scarecrow. Just get down there," Billy barked once more. Lee could hear him muttering, "Damn dessert, what the hell is this world coming to?" as Billy hung up the phone.

Lee dropped the phone onto the cradle and rolled back over to face Amanda. "We have to go to work. Another senator was poisoned."

Amanda opened her eyes and replied, "Well, his timing couldn't have been any better. A few minutes before…" she trailed off as she shook her head.

Lee chuckled, "A few minutes before and I wouldn't have answered the phone. Don't worry about that. Go, take a quick shower. I'll get some coffee made. This could be a long night."