The Stakeout (June-July 1983)

Isabella felt Frank take her hand and she looked at him. She met his gaze and heard what he said. She was surprised to find that she was relieved to have him there with her. She didn’t want to be alone. She looked into his eyes.

“I was afraid...but I’m glad you’re here.”

It wasn’t often after his wife was killed that Frank felt attraction to a woman. He didn;t stop being a man after her death but he didn’t ‘think’ about such things often. He certainly was thinking about it now. And now Isabella Corsetti, the CIA agent ‘needed’ him. Perhaps just as much as he needed her right then. “Well, now that we got that straight,” he said as he lifted up the hand he held and began softly kissing her palm. Barely touching her at first and then applying more pressure with his lips. He smelled the blood and grime and even the antibacterial ointment on them but he didn’t really care right then about that. His other hand moved down to her thigh.

Isabella knew that she shouldn’t be doing this but she also knew that Frank wasn’t the guy everyone thought he was. She needed him as much as she knew he needed her. Tonight wasn’t going to be about anything but that.

She felt her breath and heartbeat quicken as he began to gently kiss her palm. He was much more gentle than she had expected him to be. As she felt his hand on her thigh she reached up and gently caressed his cheek.

Frank no longer really ‘thought’ about what he was doing. His body just did it and he placed the hand he held and kissed around to the back of his neck. He lowered his head down just below hers and he smelled her hair and her neck just below her jawline. He saw her throat swallow though he guessed that had to do with the heated anticipation that was growing between them by the second. He lifted up his head to look once more into her eyes.

“I jus want ya to know that I didn’t come here for this. But I don’t want ta leave now either” he said trying to remove the last bit of trepidation he knew she held in her to what was happening. Even as she looked at him he reached, took hold of her hips and slowly pulled her onto him. He tilted back his head and looked up into her large, dark eyes as if willing her to kiss him.

Isabella looked down at Frank after he pulled her on top of him. She could see him looking at her lips and she could feel the heat rising between them. She looked into his eyes.

“I know you didn’t Frank,” she said softly. She then paused a moment before leaning down and closing the gap between them. As soon as their lips met the passion rose tremendously between them.