Dream Lover by Té Russ Read Free Book Online

her dress up slightly, so she would not step on the dress with her incredibly high heels, he realized the skirt of the dress had a split that went all the way up to nearly the top of her thigh.
    For him the earth stood still and there was nothing but the two of them in the room as they moved towards each other like magnets. As he got closer, he looked at her face. She had just a touch of make up on. Her lips were a glossy red. Strawberry. He'd smelled it on her lips the other day. Her hair was also straight. He couldn't recall a time in all the years they'd known each other to have seen her hair in any other style except for the big natural curls. With it completely straight, it reached the middle of her back. They met on the stairs about half way for both of them. He was speechless.
    Clearly she was beginning to become uncomfortable, as she began to fidget. “Geez, Johnny!” she whispered. “Will you please stop looking at me like that?”
    He shook his head as if to clear out his mind. “Look at you like what?”
    “Like...like you want to take a bite out of me!”
    He released a strained chuckle, feeling a tightness in a place down low.
    “Well, baby that's exactly how you look. Absolutely delectable.”
    She let out a shaky laugh.
    “Can you breath in that thing?” he asked still bewitched by her.
    “No,” she said. Little did he know, it was not the dress that was causing her respiration issues at the moment. No man should look that good in a tux. It had to be against the law or a sin or something.
    He couldn't help himself. He reached out to her and grazed his knuckles against her shoulder. Her cocoa brown skin was simply glowing.
    She shuddered briefly and then seemed to come back to the reality of them not being the only two in the room. She flashed him bright smile. “So Mr. Parker, I hope you plan on escorting me down the rest of these stairs. I would hate to fall in these shoes.”
    He gazed at her a minute longer then said, “Sweetheart you should know by now, that I'd never let you fall.”
    He turned on the stairs to guide her the rest of the way down. His hand lightly touched her lower back, and then his eyes grew wide. He discreetly leaned back and his gut clenched when he realized her entire back was out.
    “My God woman, you are going to be the death of me yet.”
    She gave him a smile that was meant to look innocent, but was the most seductive smile he'd ever seen.
    “I told Lila this dress was too much.”
    “Well, I definitely hope the older men have good pacemakers.”
    She tried to look shocked, but couldn't help but laugh and she hooked her arm through his. “Come on and let's get this thing over with.”
     
    Lila smiled as she watched the events that had just unfolded on the staircase. It seemed her little plan was coming together better than she anticipated. A blind man could see the two people staring at each other were helplessly in love. Even if they could not see it yet themselves. They were now moving around the room talking to people. She'd picked the perfect evening for the ball.
    The fact that a thunderstorm was on the way had not kept the people away, and she'd planned it that way. She knew a certain friend of hers had quite a fear of thunderstorms. As if on cue, the thunder began outside.
    She looked over and saw Liz flinch ever so slightly. Only the most observant people would have noticed. Or a man who was madly in love with her. He held her around her waist just a little tighter, squeezing her hip to let her know there was nothing to fear, and she instantly relaxed. Lila walked over to the stairs and signaled for the orchestra to stop for a moment.
    “Ladies and gentleman, welcome! I'm so glad so many of you could make it out to this wonderful event for a very good cause, despite the dreadful weather. The children's hospital will be able to do a lot of good things with your donations. In the room to the left, there is a silent auction going on. So go and take a look at