Love, Lust 'n Geology (1ST DRAFT)

Chapter 34: Parting is such ...

This chapter is dedicated to caryct, who's been a steadfast (& careful) reader of the novel, pointing out errors & offering invaluable advice (often solicited ;-) for its improvement via PM, (some of which I have yet to act on but which remains on my list ;-)! Thank u so much for ur help, encouragement & support, Cary :-)!

She is an author as well & has a novel on WP. Please check it out :-)!

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Chapter 34: Parting is such ...

Tom nuzzled Samina's hair, rubbing his cheek back and forth, revelling in the silky sensation. He liked the way she was clinging to him, her body pressed in against his, as if she loved him, needed him! He could hold onto her like this, if not forever, then certainly for a very long time, although one thing was likely to lead to another!

He nudged her forehead back with his chin and gazed searchingly into her eyes, a faint smile on his lips. Her own were large and wondering. And then she frowned and peering into his, murmured, "Tom."

"Yeah, baby?"

"Do you know that your eyes can be quite scary sometimes?"

Tom threw his head back and burst out laughing. "My eyes? Really? No one's ever said that to me before!"

And then, something untoward must have struck him, for all trace of humour left his face. His brows furrowed. Glowering at her, he muttered disdainfully, "Scary? That's not a very nice thing to say!" Raising his hand, which was quivering with tension, he hissed menacingly, "I'm going to have to punish you for that!"

Samina took one look at his hand, his rather large hand, which was, alas, now in the process of forming into a fist, and gulped. Oh, ... my ... God! She'd offended him! How could she have been so stupid? "I didn't mean, I didn't mean ..." she stammered fearfully, attempting to back away from him, not an easy thing to do when one is seated next to another in a closed vehicle. She vainly groped behind her for the door handle, but it was too far away, on the other side of the steering wheel. Still, she might be able to squeeze past and make a dash for it, or more like make an emergency holler to Chris, a loud one! Tom, meanwhile, closed the gap between them slowly, threateningly, his eyes blazing and locked onto hers, till they were nose-to-nose. "You mean like that?" he asked, breaking into a smile.

She giggled her relief. It was a nervous giggle - very nervous! - for in those few heart-stopping moments, it had dawned on her that if Tom really wanted to do something to her - anything! - just how easy it would be for him to do it! She petulantly slapped him on the shoulder in retaliation, once, twice, admonishing, "No, not like that! Not like that!"

Tom grinned and leaned back against his seat, unfazed by her blows. StudyingExamining her, he inquired quizzically, "Did I really frighten you?"

"No, of course not!" she replied, dropping her gaze at the lie.

"Are you sure? Cause it looked like you were gonna try and jump out of the truck!"

"I was just playing along," she remarked nonchalantly.

"Oh, good. So, umm, yeah ... how're my eyes scary, exactly?"

"Well, it's just that they're so light!"

Tom grinned and shrugged. "I got 'em from my Mom."

"Your Mom?" Samina noted, raising her brows. "Was she, ... I mean, is she very beautiful?"