“Love you too, Mom.”
I disconnected the call and heard the beep of an incoming text. I pulled my phone out of my purse and looked, even though I was pretty sure I knew who it was from, and saw two texts from Jack.
Jack: Love you. xoxo
Jack: I miss you. Hurry back.
The smile that hadn’t left my face all morning widened. I guess I shouldn’t have worried about looking needy.
Me: I miss you, too. At my house. Screw the gym and the housework. Getting my clothes and the groceries and I’ll be back soon. Everything in the vicinity of my lady lips is all aquiver. xoxo
I picked up my purse and got out of the car. I hadn’t even reached my steps when he responded.
Jack:
I was still laughing as I walked into my house and my phone beeped again.
Jack: And bring the macaroni and cheese.
Me: Yes, sir. Do you need anything else?
Jack: Just you.
I felt a warmth that started around my heart and then spread to every part of me – right down to my very soul. I regretted every second of every day I had spent away from his side and I just knew we would never be apart again.
Me: You’ve got it. Always. See you soon.
After hurriedly changing into clean clothes, packing up the macaroni and cheese, and racing through the grocery shopping, I was finally pulling out of the parking lot of the grocery store when I spotted a silver BMW convertible pulling out behind me. I might not have paid attention, except that I had seen that same car, parked on the street a few doors down, when I came out of my house earlier. I had noticed it then because I thought it was a nice-looking car but I had never seen it in the neighborhood before.
I signaled and he followed me into the left-turn lane. I was beginning to feel a bit nervous and checked the rearview mirror to see who was driving the car. Between the sun and the tinted windows, I couldn’t make out anything but the vague outline of the driver, gender unclear, who seemed to be alone in the car.
I left him behind when I made my turn and he was stopped by traffic, but a block later I spotted him again, two cars behind me. I didn’t want to make too much of it – it could just be coincidence – but I hadn’t forgotten the danger that might be lurking, so I turned onto a side street to see if he would follow me. He did.
Shit. I wasn’t nervous anymore – I was flat-out scared. I took a couple more random turns and he followed me every time, hanging back, but still visible.
I circled around the subdivision I was in and pulled back out onto the main street. And when he followed, I did what my dad had always told me to do if I was ever in this situation: I drove to the police station.
I made a right turn into the parking lot of the police station and watched the BMW drive on past. I pulled into a parking space and sat there for ten minutes, shaking, while I carefully inspected the traffic going by and the cars in nearby parking lots, but he seemed to have disappeared.
When I was feeling a little calmer, I called Jack and tried not to freak him out. Of course, he freaked out anyway. He was insisting I should stay where I was and he would come and get me but I felt whatever threat there had been was gone.
“Jack, really – I’m sure everything’s okay now. I only called to let you know what was going on…just in case.”
“Jesus. Don’t say that.”
“Look. I’m fine. I don’t see him anywhere. And if I do, I’ll drive right back here and go in and talk to the police.”
“Shit. I shouldn’t have let you go off by yourself. That was stupid. I’m coming to get you.”
“No, don’t. I’m leaving here right now and I’ll stay on the phone with you all the way back to your house. Okay?”
He sighed into the phone before agreeing and I drove off. Just in case the guy was still around, I took a circuitous route, not wanting to lead him to Jack’s house, but I never saw him behind me and I finally relaxed completely. Ten minutes later, I was right where I wanted to be – back in Jack’s arms.
Chapter 28
I was perched on top of the bar in Jack’s basement wearing nothing but a sheer black bra and a matching thong. I was overheated – and not only because I had just finished stripping, at Jack’s request, while Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance boomed out of the speakers.
I wasn’t the sexy, sultry type and I didn’t even try to be. He sat in a chair and grinned while I played it for laughs, singing to him and shaking everything I had in his face. I rubbed myself against him and licked his neck, dancing away from him and wagging a finger whenever he tried to touch me.
I had managed to gracefully rid myself of my jeans and shoes, never missing a step – and I laughed out loud at how tickled my parents would be to discover all of the money they’d spent on twelve years of dance lessons was being put to such good use.
As the song was ending, I straddled Jack’s lap and kissed him aggressively. His hands were all over my ass and he returned the kiss just as aggressively until it wasn’t so much a kiss as a hot battling of tongues. I rubbed myself up and down against the hardness straining the fabric of his jeans and was so turned on I couldn’t think of anything but getting him inside of me.
When I unzipped his jeans and freed him, he stood without breaking the kiss and supported my weight with one arm under my ass and the other across my back. My hands were in his hair and my legs clenched around his waist - and I continued to rub against his abs, desperate for friction - as I held on.
Jack kicked a stool out of the way and set me down on top of the bar. I tightened my legs and pulled him in even closer. Marvin Gaye started singing Let’s Get It On and Jack’s hands slid up my face and into my hair as he gently pulled his lips away from mine.
“Slow it down, baby,” he whispered against my temple. “We’ve got all day.”
I whimpered in protest but then he was kissing me again - slowly, seductively, sweetly – and I fell easily into the rhythm and the emotion of his kiss. I slid my hands beneath his shirt, pushing it up, needing to feel his skin against mine. He raised his arms and allowed me to take it off of him and drop it on the bar before pulling me tightly against him and bringing his mouth to my ear.
“I’ve always wanted to eat your pussy while you were sitting on this bar,” he murmured into my ear.
God! There was something about the changed timbre of his voice when he said those kinds of things that made my whole body shiver, and I nearly climaxed on the spot. “Well, don’t let me stop you,” I said.
He was smiling when he turned his head and licked across my jaw and down my neck. His hands moved up my back and unhooked my bra and he slowly slid the straps down my arms as he kissed his way down to my breasts.
I arched back, thrusting my breasts forward and tangling my hands in his hair. A movement at the patio doors caught my eye and I yelped, slapping my hand across my chest to catch my falling bra.
Jack jolted and pulled me to him protectively before twisting his neck and looking towards the door. “Jesus Christ,” he muttered. He grabbed his shirt from the bar and pulled it down over my head. I slid my arms in the sleeves and straightened into it as Jack zipped his erection back into his pants with a wince. He gave me a quick once over to be sure I was covered before turning away from me. The silence in the room was deafening when a click of the remote stopped the music and he walked away to let Finn in.
I slid from my seat and snagged my jeans from the floor, moving behind the bar to yank them on. I crouched down out of sight and reached under Jack’s shirt to re-hook my bra, peeking up over the top of the bar just in time to hear Jack say, “Jesus Christ, Finn – didn’t your mother ever tell you to call before stopping by?”
“Hey, I tried. And I also rang the doorbell twice.” He stepped inside and glanced over at me. I straightened up from behind the bar, not wanting to look as if I was hiding – even if I was - and felt myself blush. Then he looked back at Jack and smirked. “
Just friends, huh?”
Jack gave him a scathing look. “Things change. What do you want, Finn?”
“I’ve got some information for you.” He strode over to the bar and plopped himself down right in front of me. “Hey, Angie,” he said with a wink.
“Hey, Finn.” If my greeting was less than enthusiastic, it was because I was mortified, wondering exactly how much he had seen before I had seen him. Another blush heated up my face and I wasn’t able to look him in the eye.
Jack came around the bar and stood next to me, his arm around my waist and a possessive hand on my hip. “Do you want a beer?” he asked Finn.
“No, thanks. This isn’t going to take long. I’ve just got a few questions about this information I have then I’ll let you two kids get back to what you were doing.”
I blushed again, then blew out a breath and told myself to get over it. People had sex all the time. So what. In Finn’s line of work, he probably saw a lot more of it than the average person. I imagined him skulking about in the darkness, hiding in bushes and peeking in windows, camera at the ready, as he tried to catch cheating spouses in the act. The vision made me giggle and two sets of questioning eyes turned in my direction.
“What’s funny?” Finn asked.
“Oh. Nothing at all, really. I was just wondering if your work put you in this position often. You know, looking in windows and catching people in the act?”
Jack snorted and Finn laughed. “Actually, yes. It’s just not usually so easy. Most people close their blinds.”
“A good tip,” I said, looking pointedly up at Jack.
He squeezed my hip and kissed my forehead. “I’ll try to remember that,” he said.
“Thank you,” I said primly and he and Finn both laughed.
“So what’ve you got?” Jack asked as we turned our attention back to Finn.
Finn pulled a small notebook out of his jacket and flipped through it. “I’ve been keeping an eye on Heather’s house, but I haven’t seen her leave it. And the blinds are always closed.” He winked at me again before continuing. “I found the owner of the house. Guy by the name of Paul Gaines. Is that familiar to you?”
Jack and I looked at each other, then shook our heads. “No, never heard of him,” Jack said.
“Okay, well, he lives down the street from his rental property so I went to talk to him. Older guy, probably in his late seventies, and very talkative. He told me only Heather’s name is on the lease but she has a boyfriend who works out of town. Said he shows up every couple of months, stays for a week or so, and then leaves again. Said his name was…” he paused and looked down at the notebook. “Robert Tierney. Does that name mean anything to you?”
I shook my head again. “No, not me.”
“Me neither,” said Jack.
“Well, I’m not really surprised. If she’s using a fake name, he probably is, too. Mr. Gaines said there was something about the guy he didn’t like. Said he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but the guy made him nervous. He also said he’s in town right now.” He gave a significant look to Jack.
“Shit,” I said. Chances were good that this Robert Tierney was back because he had been told the money was gone. And I didn’t expect he was going to be too happy about that.
“Have you seen the guy?” Jack asked.
“Not yet, but I’ve got someone else watching the house for me when I can’t be there. I’m sure he’s going to show up soon. We’ll try to get a picture when he does and see if you recognize him.”
“Did the landlord happen to mention what kind of car he drives?” Jack asked.
“No, but I can find out. Why?”
Jack explained what had happened earlier with the silver BMW and Finn jotted down a few notes as he questioned me about it. “Okay,” he said as he closed the notebook and put it back in his pocket. “I’ll let my guy know to keep an eye out for that car and I’ll do the same. In the meantime, Angie, I’d strongly suggest you stay here as much as possible and don’t go anywhere alone.”
“She won’t,” Jack said.
“No. Definitely not,” I agreed. The earlier incident had scared me enough to ensure I wouldn’t be taking any unnecessary chances.
Finn stood up. “Well, I’m out of here. Places to go, windows to peek into.”
I smiled at him and Jack laughed as we came around the bar and walked him to the door. Finn turned and shook Jack’s hand, and then mine. “Have fun,” he said with a wide grin. And then he was gone.
Jack locked the door and closed the blinds before turning back to me. “Coitus Finnteruptus,” he deadpanned.
I grinned, then pulled off his shirt and tossed it at his bare chest. “Correction,” I said. “Cunnilingus Finnteruptus.”
Jack was right behind me and we were both laughing as I ran across the room and got my ass back up on the bar.
Chapter 29
Later in the afternoon, we were lazing about in the middle of Jack’s bed, eating macaroni and cheese out of large bowls and regaining our strength. Jack was completely naked, but I didn’t like to eat with my boobs hanging out, so I was wearing his tee shirt again.
My phone rang and I twisted around and slithered across the bed on my stomach, stretching my arm to place my bowl on the nightstand before hanging over the side of the bed to dig the phone out of my purse.
“Jesus,” Jack said. I smiled and pushed my bare ass a little higher in the air and wiggled it before coming up with the phone in my hand and sitting back down.
I looked at the display and answered it. “Hey, Nate.”
“Hey. Listen, I only have a few minutes but I just wanted to call and thank you.”
“Oh, this sounds like good news,” I said, smiling. “So everything worked out the way you wanted it to?”
“Yeah. I talked to her as soon as I got to her house yesterday and you were right.”
“She feels the same?” I watched as Jack turned to put his empty bowl on his nightstand before walking on his knees over to me.
“Yep. And this is going to sound cheesy as hell, but she claims she’s been in love with me since she was seven years old.”
“What happened when she was seven?” I asked. Jack lifted my hair and started kissing the back of my neck. I jerked my neck away and swatted at him.
“She says she took a fall off of her bike in front of me and a couple of other kids. She banged herself up pretty good and was crying. She said the other kids were making fun of her, but I helped her up and took her home. And that was it. I don’t even remember it.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet. You were like her knight in shining armor,” I said with a sigh. Jack snorted behind me, his hands sliding up under my shirt, and Nate was laughing in my ear.
“Yeah, something like that. So anyway, we couldn’t really do a lot of talking because Matthew was around, but my mom’s taking the boys overnight tonight and I guess we’ll see how it goes.”
Jack was now pressed against my back with his hands on my breasts, massaging lightly and flicking my nipples with his thumb. I squeezed my elbows in tight to my side and tried to dislodge his hands, but he persevered.
“I’m so happy for you,” I said into the phone. “But, Nate?”
“Yeah?”
“Use a condom.” Another snort from Jack.
“Of course.”
“In fact, maybe you’d better double bag it.”
Nate was laughing as I continued. “And pull out, too – just to be on the safe side.”
“Thanks for the advice, Mom,” Nate said, still laughing. “But I think we’ll figure it out.”
“Okay. But Nate? Guess where I am right now.”
“Well, I’d guess you’re in Jack’s bed.”
“How did you know that?” I felt Jack smile against my shoulder and I twisted my neck to glare at him.
“Because when you were out this morning, he called me.”
“Oh.” I pouted at Jack. “He stole my thunder.”
“Yes, he did. But
I’m very happy for the two of you.”
“Yeah, thanks. We’re pretty happy, too.” My pout turned into a smile as I thought of Jack wanting to share his happiness the same way I had when I called my mother. I loosened my arms to let him carry on with his work under my shirt.
“I’m glad. But now I’ve got to go,” Nate said. “Talk to you soon.”
“Okay. Bye Nate.” I ended the call and dropped the phone over the side of the bed.
“You can’t possibly be thinking of going again,” I said to Jack.
“Can’t I?” he said into my ear.
I twisted out of his grasp and turned around to face him. A quick glance down his body confirmed he could indeed be thinking of going again. In fact, it seemed he was past thinking and well into the done deal stage.
“If I’m able to walk after this weekend, I’m going to be very surprised,” I told him. Then I shoved him onto his back and climbed on.
Thirty minutes later, I rolled off with a loud exhale. My arms and legs were splayed wide in a most indelicate position and my eyes were closed as I struggled to catch my breath.
“Whew! Wow. That was…that was…wow. Will you marry me?” I snorted out a laugh and brought my hand to my heaving chest.
I smiled when I felt Jack suddenly on top of me, lying between my spread legs and resting on his forearms. “Okay,” he said, his face inches from mine.
My eyes opened and looked into his. “Okay, what?” I asked.
“Okay I’ll marry you.”
I lifted my head and kissed him, then extricated my arms and wound them around his neck. “Jack, I was just kidding.”
“I know you were,” he said. “But I’m not. Marry me.”
My body stilled and I knew he was serious. “Um, don’t you think it’s a little too soon for that? I mean, we’ve been together less than twenty-four hours.”
He brought his forehead down against mine. “It’s been six years, Angie. There isn’t anything we don’t know about each other and I think we both know we’re heading in that direction anyway. I love you so much I can’t imagine spending even one day of my future without you. And I know you feel the same.”
Isn't It Time Page 26