Summary:  Adam hopes to have a wonderful night with a special lady in this light romantic story.

(2,365 words)  Rating = T

Rosalie Series:

Four Corners, Dreams, Turbulence, and Trouble
Date Night
Witch’s Sham

Date Night

Deciding on a steak dinner before going home, Hoss entered the restaurant and saw Adam and his lady already seated. He thought it would be downright impolite not to stop by and say howdy. Adam was surprised but invited Hoss to sit with them. A bottle of wine was delivered to the table just as Hoss sat down.

“Boy, that’s some of that new California wine they started serving here. I been meaning to try some.”

Ever gracious, Adam asked for another wineglass and poured for Hoss as well as pouring two others. There was time to talk about the ranch, about what had been happening in town recently, and what entertainment was due to arrive now that the winter snow and ice had melted into a distant if still unpleasant memory. Hoss noted that Adam was dressed in his new white shirt with a tie and his black pinstripe trousers. Freshly shaven, he smelled faintly of bay rum and his hair was neatly combed. The lady was dressed in a fine dress and was wearing the gold necklace that Adam had given her at Christmas. He searched his memory but couldn’t think of any special occasion that would cause the two of them to be so well dressed in the middle of the week. He was sure that if there was a grand party that he would have heard about it even if he wasn’t invited. Then he noted the extra special attention Adam was giving his lady. He touched her hand on the table and wrapped her fingers gently in his. He looked at her even when he was talking to Hoss. Then Hoss knew. Adam was hoping to get lucky tonight. His older brother had a way of charming the ladies with a few words and his gentlemanly behavior whenever he wanted. This lady had been getting his special attention for quite a long time. It made Hoss blush a little realizing that he had stepped into the middle of a seduction.

“Hoss, are you all right? You look a little flushed.”

“I’m fine, Adam. I just decided that since Hop Sing was gone and I’d be getting home late that I would grab a steak dinner here. Now I gotta get going though. I’d like to be home before everybody goes to bed.” Then Hoss blushed a bit more because he had talked about people going to bed. He had to get out of there before he embarrassed himself or ruined his brother’s plans. “Well, thanks for the wine, and I’ll be going now.”

“Good night, Hoss. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Waving a hand in acknowledgement, Hoss headed out as fast as he could without looking like he was escaping. Adam smiled a little because he knew that Hoss had figured it out. He turned back to his date and looked across into her eyes.

“How about dessert?”

“I’m afraid that dessert might make me bust out of this dress.”

With a grin, Adam replied. “Then I shall order dessert.” He paused to let her smile and shake her head. “To go so we can eat it later. I was thinking that a carriage ride would be nice. Just the two of us. We could stop when we find a nice place and have dessert.” His eyes roamed over her when he said dessert leaving no doubt in her mind what he planned for his dessert. Nevertheless, he ordered dessert to go and they waited until a small basket was brought to the table. “Thank you. I’ll bring the basket back tomorrow. I have some business in town.”

“That will be fine, Mr. Cartwright.” Their waiter scooped up the payment that Adam had set on the table and which included a generous tip. “And thank you, Mr. Cartwright. Ma’am.”

Standing, Adam pulled out her chair and offered his arm. It was clear that there were some women in the restaurant who were jealous. Their dreamy looks as they watched Adam be so attentive disappeared when they returned to look at their husbands who obviously took their wives much too much for granted. Outside, Adam helped her up into the carriage before climbing in himself. He had driven much too fast to town and decided that a more leisurely pace was the next order of business. Once they were clear of town, he pulled the reins halting the team of horses. He turned to her and brushed his lips gently across hers.

“That was sweet.”

“I’ve been wanting to do that since dinner. First there was Hoss and all the people in the restaurant. Then there were all those people hustling and bustling in the streets. Now it’s finally just the two of us.”

“Just that hint of a kiss for me?”

Smiling, Adam wrapped an arm around her shoulders and another around her waist pulling her to him. He brushed his lips over hers again but didn’t pull back. Instead he gradually increased the pressure of the kiss and probed her lips with his tongue until she opened to his passionate kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and twirled her fingers in the curls at the back of his neck. He kissed her and then trailed kisses across her cheek and down her neck. He stopped there and pulled back.

“We should keep going. I don’t want to sit here in the road until someone comes along. There are much more secluded spots up ahead for us to kiss.”

His voice was husky and she smiled with the knowledge that she could such an effect on him with only a few minutes of kissing. Of course, her body was tingling with desire for him as well. She wrapped her arms around his left arm and leaned into him as he grabbed the reins with his right hand and snapped them to get the horses moving again. She felt his warmth and snuggled in even if the evening was quite warm. It was nice to feel his hard body against hers. As they talked softly about their plans for the future, she found it amazing that they thought so much alike. Finally she stopped talking and relaxed as she enjoyed being close with him. He began to sing softly to her then. It was one of the old folk songs that he liked so much. His voice made his chest vibrate as he sang. About a half hour later, he turned off the road and headed down a trail with which she was not familiar. In fifteen minutes, they came to a small cabin and she looked up to his face as if to inquire what the place was.

“It’s an old line cabin we don’t use much any more. I thought it might be a nice place for us to spend some time together.” Adam pulled the team to a stop in front of the cabin. “Just wait a few minutes while I give the horses some water and grain. Then we’ll go inside.”

Waiting patiently, she admired Adam’s physique especially those well-rounded buttocks when he bent to put a pail of water beside the horses. She watched and appreciated the view until Adam returned and helped her down from the carriage and escorted her inside. She was surprised at what she found. There was a white tablecloth on the table with two chairs wrapped in white sheets with a bow at the back of each chair to hold the sheet in place. There was a vase of fresh flowers on the table and a bottle of wine resting in a bowl of ice with two long-stemmed glasses beside it. But what caught her eye almost immediately was the small box of Ghirardelli chocolates. She looked up at Adam and he inclined his head as if to tell her to go ahead and sample the chocolate. It was all the invitation she needed. After opening one of the foil wrapped chocolates, she popped it into her mouth and savored it. She felt Adam step up behind her and wrap his arms around her and then he nuzzled her neck. Her dress had a deep neckline and he ran the fingers of his right hand softly along the lace that decorated it. She turned her head toward him and he kissed her again as he had when they had been in the carriage starting very gently but increasing the pressure and intensity until the kiss was deep and passionate. He tugged the sleeves of her dress down off her shoulders and kissed down her neck to her shoulder and then turned her toward him as he kissed her again and then trailed soft butterfly kisses down the other side of her neck to her other shoulder. She began to unbutton his shirt and he paused to let her do that and then run her hands over his bare chest.

“Turnabout is fair play, don’t you think?

Adam unbuttoned her dress down the back and then slid it down until it pooled around her feet on the floor.

“Now your turn.”

She pushed his shirt off his shoulders and pulled the tails from his trousers. They took turns then disrobing each other and spending time kissing and touching as they did. Soon Adam guided her to the bed and they made love on the lavender scented sheets. It was still warm and they didn’t need any covers, but after they had finished with pleasuring each other, Adam stood and lit the small sticks in the fireplace before he poured glasses of wine and brought them back to the bed. He sat back against the headboard with a glass of wine as she reclined against his chest and sipped from the other glass.

“That was wonderful. I love you.”

“I love you, Adam. I love you more than I thought possible to love someone.”

“We’ll finish the wine and the chocolates. Then I suppose I have to get you home. They’ll be wondering where you are.”

“Yes, but we have at least another hour before we have to leave. Perhaps we could find something to pass the time?”

She had a devilish look in her eyes that made Adam grin. It had been exactly what he was thinking, but he hadn’t wanted to be too pushy. He wanted the night to be something special, but if she wanted another round of lovemaking, he was more than willing to comply. An hour later, Adam helped her dress even as he dressed. It was much simpler for a man especially because in the heat, he wore nothing under his trousers. He went outside to make sure the horses and carriage were ready, and then returned to be sure the fire in the fireplace was out. He handed her box of chocolates.

“You can have the rest as we ride. I know you love them.”

“You love them too.”

“No, I like them. You love them.”

She smiled and nodded. Less than a half-hour later, Adam paused the carriage as he looked at the house up ahead.

“Almost have you home. How about one more kiss to sweeten the night?”

She leaned into him and they kissed slowly and sensuously. He broke the kiss after several minutes.

“If we kiss any more like that, I’ll have to take you back to the line cabin and then you’ll be really late getting home.”

With a smile, she wrapped her arms around his left arm again and leaned into him. “Take me home then. Adam, this has been a very special night.”

“Yes, very special. I look forward to the next one.”

She nodded and sighed in contentment. Adam steered the carriage down the hill and stopped in front of the house. Almost as soon as he did, the front door opened and Joe came out.

“I’m so glad to see you. Those two tired me out. I don’t know how you do it every day all day. Annie is in bed and hopefully she’s asleep. William is sitting in his bed looking at his picture books and asking every question known to mankind. He wants to say goodnight to you.”

“Thank you, Joe. It was so sweet of you to give us a night to ourselves. With you here, we could relax and have a very pleasant evening.”

“Rosalie, you’re welcome, and I’d say anytime, but I’m going to need at least a month to recuperate.”

“Hmm, a month seems just about right. Adam, doesn’t once a month sound good to you?”

“Very good, but perhaps we could have Minnie take the next night, and then perhaps Pa could take the next one.”

Joe looked so relieved that both Adam and Rosalie chuckled. “You know, you two do look so happy together. It almost makes me think that maybe I ought to get married and settle down.”

“If you do, Joe, we’ll be sure to repay your babysitting services.”

“Wait a minute. I didn’t say anything about kids. I just thought it would be nice to have a wife.”

Adam couldn’t help the smirk that followed that statement. “Joe, if you have a wife, kids kind of naturally follow. It’s the way of things.”

“Well, we’ll see. Now I’m heading home. I think I’ll go right to bed when I get there.”

Rosalie went inside as Adam took the carriage to the stable to take care of the horses. Both couldn’t remember the last time they had felt so relaxed, and they thought that date night was the best thing that Ben had ever suggested that they do. They planned to have more of them. Once William was asleep, they got the basket from the restaurant. Before they went to bed, they were able to enjoy the dessert that Adam had ordered in the restaurant. That night as they did every night they were together, they slept comfortably in each other’s arms, but they were smiling even more as they fell asleep because they had been able to be more romantic than they had been able to be in years.

Next in the Rosalie Series:

Witch’s Sham

Tags:  Adam Cartwright