The Awakening Read online

  “Anytime,” he said pleasantly. “I’ll show you, tell you, whatever you want.”

  “Very, ah, kind of you.” She smiled weakly and looked at the dirty platters on the ground. All she had to do was say she wanted a different kind of lunch and he’d take her away in that little yellow car of his and then his hands would—

  “You ready to go back?” Hank said.

  “Yes,” she answered, swallowing and starting to rise.

  Hank put his hand on her arm. “You want to tell me what happened between you and Taylor the day you lost the bet? What happened to cause him to be repulsed by you and to punish you with calculus?”

  “I’d rather not talk about it,” she answered.

  “Maybe I could help you prevent its happening again, but I can do nothing if you don’t tell me what went wrong.”

  She didn’t like to remember that afternoon. “I kissed him. He was standing in front of me and I stood on tiptoe and kissed him.”

  “Just like that.”

  She didn’t know what he meant. “What other way is there? We had that awful wager, and I thought I was doing it for the ranch, because you said you’d leave if I could make Taylor show passion, so I kissed him. How else was I to do it? If I kiss you, you—” She stopped. “You understand what I mean.”

  “I understand perfectly. You acted like a schoolgirl and he no doubt treated you like one.”

  “Schoolgirls don’t kiss their teachers. Or perhaps your female students do.”

  “Never, but if one did, I’d treat her just as Taylor did you.”

  “Oh,” she said, feeling that all the pain of the last few days really was her fault. “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

  “Come on, let’s go back. We can spare a few minutes and I’ll show you how to seduce a man. The proper way to do it.”

  She hesitated.

  “I thought you wanted me to teach you about being a modern woman.”

  “I had motion pictures in mind or maybe that you’d teach me to tango.”

  “Reva knows about men. I’ll bet if Reva kissed Taylor he wouldn’t punish her with calculus.”

  Amanda felt her ring finger with her right hand, meaning to feel her engagement ring, but she found she’d left it at home again. Reva had helped Taylor choose her ring. “Let’s go, Dr. Montgomery,” she said. “I’m not good at many things but I am an apt pupil.”

  He watched her pick up the tray of dirty dishes and walk toward the back of the restaurant. So far he hadn’t found much of anything that she wasn’t good at. Grinning, he followed her. He had a lesson to teach.

  Chapter Fourteen

  They walked across the dusty, hot street of Kingman in silence. Amanda found she couldn’t speak in anticipation of what was to come. It was just a lesson, she told herself, a lesson she could transfer to Taylor. After all, it was Taylor she was interested in, wasn’t it? Taylor was the man she’d loved for years. Taylor was the man she was going to marry. She needed to learn how to change herself in his eyes from a child to a woman. And Dr. Montgomery was kind enough to teach her.

  “In here,” he said, opening the door to the broom closet.

  “Here?” she asked.

  “Only place private. Come on, we’ve been away too long as it is.”

  She had the distinct impression he wanted to get this duty over with. The problems of the people upstairs were of course much more important than hers. She stepped inside the closet and he locked the door behind her.

  Hank turned a big bucket upside down and sat on it. “First of all, you’re at a disadvantage if he’s standing, because he’s taller than you. Wait until he’s sitting down, then you have the upper hand. Now, pull the string and kill that light and come sit on my lap.”

  “But—” she began.

  “Pretend I’m Taylor. You can do that better in the dark. Amanda, if you want a schedule after you’re married, then don’t learn what I have to teach you. It’s up to you.”

  She pulled the string on the light and the room was absolutely dark, but Dr. Montgomery’s hands found her and guided her to sit on his lap.

  “Amanda! What are you doing? You should be studying your Latin.”

  “Yes, I—Oh, I see, you’re Taylor.”

  “Pretending to be,” Hank corrected. “Amanda, if I were me, I’d put my arms around you like this,” he said, his arms caressing her back, “and my hands would do this.” He ran his hands down her arms, his thumbs touching the sides of her breasts. “And I’d kiss you like this.” He kissed her softly, lingeringly, in such a way that made her remember last night. Her arms went around him, her tongue entwined with his. She moaned when his hand cupped her breast. Sitting, he’d said. People could make love while sitting down. She turned more fully toward him.

  He pushed her away. “But I’m not me. I’m Taylor.” Hank was swallowing and he was painfully uncomfortable. She was going to drive him mad. “Taylor would sit here like this.” He put his hands beside his thighs, not touching her. There was a little light coming in around the door and he could see enough of her to again realize how beautiful she was. There seemed to be less sadness in her eyes. “Now what are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know. With you I don’t have to do anything. You always seem to be ready.” She could feel how ready he was now, against her left thigh. Her heart was still pounding, but he seemed to be so cool and unaffected by their kissing—well, maybe not all of him was unaffected. “I guess I would kiss him,” she said, leaning toward his lips, but he turned his head away.

  “No, start more subtly. Here, kiss my neck a little and maybe use this hand to unbutton a few buttons and this one you can put in my hair.”

  “Oh,” she said, “I see.” This was the easiest assignment she’d ever had. His hair was soft and clean and seemed to twine around her fingers. The buttons of his shirt opened easily, and she slid her hand inside to touch his bare flesh. “Like this?”

  “Exactly,” he whispered.

  She put her lips to his neck. Hot, smooth skin with just the faintest trace of whiskers. She touched her tongue to his whiskers. His skin tasted good.

  “Ear,” Hank said, and could hardly hear himself above his heart’s pounding.

  Amanda thought she was maybe getting the hang of this. She put his earlobe in her teeth and pulled it gently. He moved his hands from his thighs to hers. She ran her tongue around the rim of his ear, her breath warm against it. “Am I doing all right?” she whispered.

  “Fine so far,” he managed to say.

  She began to get creative as she kissed his temple then his eyes and down his face to his cheeks. She had unbuttoned most of his shirt now, and she wanted to feel her bare breasts against his hot, dark skin, feel the hair of his chest against her smooth skin.

  “This ear?” she whispered, and used her tongue to caress his left ear. She had to stretch across him a bit and her breasts felt so good where they touched him. She wanted to open her dress and feel his mouth on her.

  She kissed his lips. As if she were dying, she kissed him, plunging her tongue into his mouth, ravishing him, attacking him, sucking at his lips, biting his lips; then her mouth and teeth bit at his jawline, down his neck. Her hands began tearing at his clothes.

  Hank quit playing a game. He turned her to straddle him, treating her as if she weighed nothing, as he shoved her dress up over her hips. Her tap pants tore at the crotch so that she was bare against him, the cloth of his trousers against her soft inner thighs and her engorged womanhood.

  His left hand clamped down on the back of her head, turning her so he could invade the deepest recesses of her mouth while his right hand unbuttoned his trousers, his knuckles caressing her. She rubbed against the skin of his hand.

  Someone started trying the doorknob.

  “I think it’s locked,” Reva said from outside. “You have the key or does Hank?”

  “I think there are some keys upstairs,” Joe said. “I’ll go look.”

  “I’ll go with yo