Emma covered her mouth to stifle a yawn as her eyes drifted closed. “I’m sorry. I’m so tired all the time. I don’t want to sleep through our wedding night.”
“It’s okay, Angel, we have the whole rest of our lives together.”
He never dreamed he could love anyone so much. He’d give anything to confess his guilt to Emma, but it wouldn’t change anything. It would be the height of selfishness to hurt her just to clear his conscience.
As Emma nodded off, he reached over and stroked her hair. Too bad life wasn’t like a DVD. He would rewind to that day for an instant replay, and when Phil issued his challenge, Alex would tell the asshole to go fuck himself.
Miraculously, news of the sordid incident had never gotten back to his dad or the other coaches. Or maybe they’d chosen to ignore it. Unfortunately, half the football team knew what had gone down that day.
For the last eight months, it had been like having the sword of Damocles hanging over him while he waited for one of those goons to thoughtlessly run off at the mouth. Greg’s slip of the tongue this afternoon had dropped the razor-sharp tip of that sword too damn close to Emma’s heart.
Chapter 13
The caterer’s vans finally pulled out of Jake’s driveway a little after nine-o’clock. He blew out a relieved breath as he trudged back to the house. Where had Maggie gone? Had she gotten a guest to drive her home?
Soft crooning floated into the kitchen from the family room as he strolled in the back door. He gazed across the expanse of the house to where Maggie sprawled on the overstuffed sofa in the family room, guzzling bubbly straight from the bottle.
What an absolutely phenomenal idea. It would feel stupendous to become numb for a while after the day he’d had. Throwing the wedding of the decade for the kids hadn’t put so much as a crack in Emma’s icy reserve.
He tugged off his tie and tuxedo jacket, tossing them both over the back of a stool at the breakfast bar. After pulling another bottle from the fridge, he pushed the cork out and flinched at the loud pop.
Swigging straight from his own bottle, he strolled through the dining area into the family room and flopped on the sofa next to Maggie.
“Cheers.” She held up her champagne. “Is everyone gone?”
“Uh-huh,” he murmured, taking another long drink and wiping his mouth.
“It’s too soon.” A curtain of blonde hair fell over her face as she sobbed into her palms. “I’m not ready for her to leave home yet.”
“Is any parent ever really ready?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her. “It’s my theory God purposely made teenagers obnoxious to help parents cope with their kids moving out.”
“Except, God didn’t give me an obnoxious child. He gave me a sweet, agreeable daughter.”
That was debatable. Before Emma had caught Jake kissing her mother, he would have agreed. Now, he wasn’t so sure.
Maggie pressed her cheek into his chest. “All afternoon, I’ve been thinking about how lonely my mom must’ve felt after I left.”
Considering the funk Maggie was in, it wouldn’t help to mention Katherine had also had to deal with the guilt of driving her daughter away.
“Emma’s my only real friend. I’m so furious with Dan right now.”
After another long swallow, Jake rubbed his nose in Maggie’s silky hair. She smelled so incredibly sweet—like a summer garden. “What’d flyboy do to tick you off?”
“Every time we moved away from our friends, he insisted we were enough for each other. Now he’s left me to grow old alone.”
Brushing his lips over her forehead, Jake chuckled. “You have years before you’ll reach the top of that hill, Rosebud. Stop worrying about heading down the other side.”
“I hate the idea of living alone. I’ve never done it.”
“Me, neither.” He rested his chin against her head while he took another big gulp. “I’m not looking forward to the emptiness of this place come fall. I may just sell it.”
“No. You can’t do that. You love your house.” She dripped the last few drops from her bottle onto her tongue. “I was gonna buy a little place for Emma and myself this year. I guess there’s no point now. My entire adult life revolved around her and Dan. I don’t know what I’m going to do now.”
Clearly she was suffering from a major case of empty nest syndrome. “You need to develop some hobbies.” He pointed at her empty bottle. “Did you drink that entire thing?”
“No, it wasn’t quite full. As I told you last night, I’ve never imbibed much.” She waved at his champagne. “Don’t forget, you still have to take me home.”
“Ooops. I think you’re a little late in pointing that out.”
“That’s just peachy.” She tossed up her hands and let them fall into her lap. “Now, what do I do? Is there a taxi service in town?”
“Nope. You’re stuck here for the night. Or at least until my blood alcohol level drops.” He turned and cupped her cheek. “You don’t really want to go home to the empty condo, do you?”
“No. You’re right about that.” She fanned her face with her hand. “You know it’s gotten awfully warm.”
He popped open the buttons down the front of her light blue jacket. “Of course, you’re hot. I don’t know how you kept this on all day. It was eighty degrees in the shade.”
“I didn’t have much choice. The top on this dress would get me arrested in some countries.”
“Really?” He cocked his head and smiled. “Let’s have a peek.”
She kicked off her heels and wobbled as she hauled herself to her feet and shrugged off her jacket. As she revealed the swell of her breasts overflowing the low-cut neckline of her dress, his breath hitched in his chest. “I see your point.”
The silk sheath stuck to her curves as if she’d been dipped in paint. He groaned inwardly as she slowly turned to toss her jacket over the recliner. The plunging back exposed an expanse of milky skin from the nape of her neck to well below her waist. He squirmed in his seat, noting the sexy dimples just above her derrière. She had to be practically naked underneath.
“You know what they say about ignorance being bliss?” Jake stood and strolled in a full circle around Maggie. “It’s a good thing I didn’t know what was under that jacket all day.”
“Why’s that?” Her eyes widened as he stepped closer.
“Because I would’ve spent every second aching to do this.” He flicked open the large pearl button on the halter and slid her bodice down, exposing her creamy breasts. His tongue raced around his mouth pleading for a sample of her pink swollen nipples.
He bent her back over his arm and suckled her, swirling his tongue around her crests. Damn she tasted good.
She writhed in his embrace as he skimmed his hand up her thigh, under her short skirt. His breath caught against her breast as his fingers encountered elastic lace at the top of her stockings. His fantasy just got better and better.
The blood pounded in his ears as he slid his palm upward to silky panties and kneaded her bottom. “No cotton undies anymore, Rosebud?”
Groaning softly, he nibbled a greedy path up her neck to her lips, capturing her mouth in a consuming kiss, sweetened by the champagne they’d drunk. Her whimpers and eager panting said she wanted him as much as he ached for her.
He had to have her. Right here, right now.
Her dress bunched around her waist as he cupped the cheeks of her fanny in his two hands. Lifting her against his erection, he pressed her back to the wall, trembling.
What the hell was wrong with him? Somehow he’d unconsciously landed himself smack dab in the middle of one of the dreams that had tormented him for nineteen years.
Grinding his mouth into hers, he slipped his hand into her skimpy underwear and discovered her panties were held together by two slender satin ribbons.
He tried to shove them down, accidentally ripping the sides. “I’m sorry, Baby,” he murmured into her neck and tossed the silky scrap aside. “I’ll buy you new ones.”
He crushed her against the wall and ground himself against her moist heat. This particular fantasy had always ended too damn fast. He didn’t want it to be over that quickly.
Nuzzling her neck, he whispered, “Not here, Maggie. Let’s go in the bedroom where we can take our time and do this right.”
While he carried her to the master suite, her legs locked around him, she stripped her dress over her head and dropped it in the hallway. He set her on her feet in his room and yanked at the buttons on his shirt while she fumbled with his fly.
He gently lowered her to the gray satin spread covering the king-size mattress and finished tearing off his clothes, gazing down at the erotic picture before him. She lay on her back, wearing nothing but her sheer stockings, her hair tousled, and her lips puffy from his kisses.
Damn. His fantasies had never been this good.
~~~
Margie’s heart did the Macarena in double time as she stared up at Jake’s chiseled body hovering over her. He slowly rolled down her lace-trimmed hosiery, caressing the length of her legs, and tossed her stockings on the plush gray carpet beside the bed.
She wouldn’t have thought it possible, but his build had only improved with age. The dark springy hair on his chest had grown denser, and his shoulders had become even broader, making his hips seem slimmer by comparison.
Her gaze traveled southward, following the parallel row of muscles that ran from Jake’s chest, down his flat abdomen, to the ebony thatch between his legs. The definition in his body hadn’t diminished through the years—nor had the predatory glint in his silver eyes.
“You’ve never looked more beautiful, Maggie.”
Her attention riveted on his stiff penis, stirring her memory of the first time she’d seen him naked. She hadn’t been completely sober that night, either, but Jake had made her feel like she’d never felt before—or since.
She squeezed her eyes shut, mentally shoving away the image of Jake holding Roxanne in the yard earlier that evening. Margie should have her head examined for letting him make love to her. But she couldn’t pass up the chance to relive the incredible nights she’d spent in his arms all those years ago.
Somehow it ceased to matter that Emma resented Jake or that he obviously still loved Alex’s mother. Getting involved with him could only complicate things. But she missed Dan desperately, and it’d been almost two years since she’d been held and touched. She needed this.
Jake joined her on the bed and pulled her tightly against him, his spicy scent wafting around her. Flicking his tongue at her ear, he whispered, “For nearly two decades, I’ve dreamed of being with you again. Lie to me, Rosebud. Tell me you’ve thought about me, too.”
She clutched at the bunched muscles in his shoulders as his mouth blazed a hot trail down her throat. He stopped at her breast and drew the tip gently between his lips into his warm moist mouth. Every nerve in her tingled as he suckled her nipples. She dropped her head back and arched her body up to him. “Oh, yes! I dreamed of us just like this.”
His hand glided down her belly and cupped her heat as he dipped one finger between her folds, wringing a low whimper from her as he stroked her screaming flesh. He groaned against her breast. “You’re already so warm and wet. I’m dying to taste you.”
He kissed his way down her stomach, and she stiffened when he nuzzled the delta between her legs. What was he doing? His hot breath brushed the sensitive flesh of her inner thighs while he cupped her bottom and lifted her hips.
“Jake, Dan never....oh-my-gosh.” She held her breath, feeling as though she might pop with anticipation.
Lifting his head, he frowned. “Never?”
She thrashed her head. “I think he found it repulsive.”
“Then you’re in for a treat,” he murmured. “Because to me, it’s immensely appealing. Open up for me, Rosebud.”
Aching to have his mouth on her, she parted her legs and gasped as his searching tongue dipped into her feminine crease and flicked at the center of her excitement. Her thighs inexorably spread wider, and the tension in her built to an agonizing level.
“So? Do you like it?”
“Oh, yes.” She panted, squeezing her eyes shut. “Way too much.” If Dan had ever done anything like this, he might have really excited her. Maybe she was a pervert at heart.
Jake held her to his mouth while she bucked frantically beneath him, gripping the spread at her sides. After several moments of ecstasy, she shoved at his shoulders, gasping for breath. “Jake, please—my heart feels like it’s gonna stop.”
Chuckling, he lifted his head, “Then it’s good I’m certified in CPR.”
The room spun as he ignored her plea and resumed his sensual assault. Her excitement climbed until every nerve in her felt raw and exposed. If he didn’t stop, she’d spontaneously combust.
His hands slid up to her breasts and pinched her nipples just hard enough to make her gasp. As he tweaked them again, she arched up to his mouth and grabbed at his hair.
“Please, I’m gonna faint!” she shrieked as he replaced his tongue with his fingers.
Kneeling on the mattress beside her, he stared at her face, repeatedly stroking the swollen nub inside her. She didn’t have time to feel self-conscious under his scrutiny. Only seconds later, she shuddered through a fiery explosion of sensation and shattered into a thousand pinpoints of light as her body convulsed in ecstasy for several endless moments. She’d had orgasms before—but nothing that came even close to this.
Limp and exhausted, she gazed up at Jake in a surreal daze as he bent over her and the room faded away. Her eyes drifted closed, and his voice echoed from a hazy nebulous place far removed from her. “Maggie, Baby,” he murmured. “Are you okay?”
She dragged her heavy eyelids open. He smiled down at her as she reached up and touched his cheek, unable to speak. The way he’d focused exclusively on her pleasure simply made her want to treat him to the same kind of blissful torture. Finally, she found her voice and whispered breathlessly, “I had no idea it could be like that.”
~~~
Jake gazed into Maggie’s awe-filled eyes and brushed the hair back from her face. He’d gotten nearly as much pleasure watching her orgasm as if he’d come himself. He gently kissed her eyelids. “You’re incredible, Rosebud.”
Her hand crept down his belly and closed around his rigid flesh. He sucked in a sharp breath. The taste and musky scent of her, along with her soft mewls of delight, had left him ready to burst. “Baby, I don’t think you’d better do that. I’m so close to the edge I....”
She ignored him and cupped the weight of him in her palm. “Did you listen to me when I asked you to stop? You know the saying about what’s good for the goose?”
Kissing his chest, she caressed him and nibbled her way down his torso. A savage sound ripped from his chest as she dragged her tongue down the length of him. Her lips closed over him, and she drew him into her mouth. He was going to lose it if he didn’t stop her.
And he would. In just a few moments.
He propped himself up on his elbows and watched her make love to him with her mouth, his heart pounding like the high school marching band’s percussion section. Her gaze lifted to his, and she smiled. “I’ve never done this before, so you have to tell me if I’m doing it wrong.”
Sweet mercy, no. He panted as she sucked him. “If you d-do it any more....ahh, right, I’ll burst.”
When he approached the point of no return, he flipped her on her back and spread her legs. She gasped as he thrust into her hot tight sheath and gazed down at her, driving urgently into her slick passage. Her eyes held all the wonder he’d seen in them nineteen years before.
No dream, no other woman had ever equaled the way Maggie made him feel. They rocked together in the kind of harmony that usually comes after making love with the same person many times.
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The pressure built to a level where he felt like he would explode. She trembled and cried out, “Oh, Jake, it was never like this.”
Her body tightened in a series of spasms. He squeezed his eyes shut at the intense pleasure of her convulsing around him. He couldn’t remember a woman’s wet heat ever feeling so incredib—
Oh, shit. No wonder if felt so freaking good. She’d gotten him so excited he’d forgotten to put on a condom.
She hadn’t mentioned anything about birth control. Maybe she had it covered.
He grabbed her hips and tilted them up, thrusting into her at a furious pace.
Damn it. He couldn’t assume.
After one final plunge into her, he pulled back to withdraw before he came, except she clutched frantically at his hips and held him captive inside her while her body pulsated around him a second time.
“Maggie, no. Please, let me—oh, damn, no.” Groaning, he lost control and spilled his seed inside her with a violent shudder. “Oh, Sweetheart,” he murmured into her hair as he collapsed on her. “I’m sorry.” Taking her with him, he rolled to his back and held her on top of him while their chests rose and fell in synchronization.
He flipped off the light and tightened his arms around her, cringing inwardly at what he’d done. What the hell had possessed him to take her to bed? He couldn’t believe he’d let his pecker convince him to make an even bigger mess out of an already impossible situation.
His fantasy had always been to take her to the edge and leave her begging. Or to use her and walk away. He might just as well face the truth. He’d never wanted to please a woman more than he did her. He was incapable of shoving her away.
She’d been young and confused by what he’d made her feel in bed all those years ago. It had been too easy for her to mistake lust for love. He couldn’t fault her for that.
A Little Bit of Déjà Vu Page 19