“Good. And I’m not leaving.” She gave him a belligerent stare. “I know what I want and I’m not walking away.” She was hoping he would take that as a hint to what she was wanting, but she heard him groan before he walked out of the room. She wasn’t sure what that meant. She didn’t realize he was thinking there was no way she could be in love with him and wanting to marry him.
She debated following him or going ahead and fixing his dinner. She decided she had pushed hard enough for now. So, she started busing herself preparing the fried chicken and baked potatoes. Once she had the potatoes in the oven and the chicken started, she washed her hands and started working on the salad.
After the hour was up for the baked potatoes, everything else was ready and she went looking for him. She found him in his bedroom, laying on the bed, asleep with his arm laid over his face, shading his eyes.
She hesitated only a second, and realized she wasn’t done pushing after all. There was a part of her that knew she shouldn’t do what she was thinking about, but a stronger part of her wanted to way too much, and just took over. She kicked her flip flops off, so she didn’t wake him when she crossed the room, and she was standing beside the bed before she fully realized she had made a decision.
She had put her right knee on the edge of the bed and swung her left leg over him, and was straddling him before he even knew she was in the room, but his reaction was instant. So instant in fact, she had to struggle to keep breathing.
He sat up, and caused her to shift, bringing her into more precise contact with his body where her hips were straddling his. They both groaned at the same time.
He was almost growling. “What are you doing? Why are you in bed with me?”
She couldn’t answer. She just stared at him. She had gone all but limp. The look on her face must have done something to him, because he flipped her over on her back, causing her to gasp, and rose up over her, supporting himself on one arm. He brought her legs up beside his waist with her knees bent and her feet flat on the bed, and pressed her more firmly into the mattress with his body, the feel of him causing her to moan as her eyes rolled back in her head and closed.
When he brought his mouth down over her parted lips, she could hear a growl rumble deep in his chest. As soon as his hand came up under her shirt and unhooked her bra, she knew she had pushed too far. She had no idea how to stop him, and she wasn’t even sure she wanted to.
When his hand moved around her body, her back arched, pushing her tender flesh into it. When his calloused fingers rubbed against her sensitive peak, she moaned and bit at his lip. She knew it was too late. It was out of her hands. Their dinner was totally forgotten.
Chapter 4 – Wednesday, July 18
Lisa woke the next morning to find herself alone. She looked over at the clock, and panicked. It was already eight. “Crap. I’m late for work.”
She threw the covers back and jumped up and started searching for her clothes. She’d have to go home and change before she could go to the hospital. She was sure they wouldn’t approve of her shorts and tank top at the ER reception desk.
She couldn’t find her underwear, but she didn’t have time to keep looking, so she just threw her shorts on with the rest of her clothes and grabbed her flip flops off the floor and ran for the door. She grabbed her purse off the end table on her way out the door.
She made it to work by eight twenty. She was only twenty minutes late. That wasn’t too bad. Because she wasn’t in the habit of being late she got off with a warning.
When four o’clock rolled around, she was so glad to get out of there, there wasn’t words to express how she felt. It had taken all her energy to stay focused on her work all day. She kept remembering last night. Several times one of the other girls had asked her if she was feeling okay. They said she looked flushed.
She had managed to find someone to come in an hour early for her. She needed to talk to James, but she didn’t feel like it was a good idea for them to be alone. She didn’t think they needed to be doing that anymore until they got this worked out. She’d have to go to the garage and talk to him. Luke would be there, but she should still be able to talk to him privately.
*******
When she walked into the garage James had his back to her. He was caught by surprise when Luke asked, “Hey, Lisa, you think you can pull the thorn out of his paw? He’s been a complete bear all day.” He had been taking a drink out of a foam cup when he heard her name. He crushed the cup out of reflex, raining soda down all over his work boots.
“All I can do is try, but I’m the one that put the thorn there to start with.”
“I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at myself.” He didn’t even turn his head to look at her. He was afraid if he did, she’d see just how much he wanted a repeat of last night. It had been the most amazing experience of his life, but she had just come in there to wake him up, and he had lost complete control. He had taken something from her that wasn’t his to take.
“Why?” she asked, sounding confused.
“I’m the one that did it.” She could hear the irritation, thick in his voice.
“The way I remember it, I was there, too. I’m the one that crawled in bed with you. It seems like to me, it would be more my fault than yours. I should have realized there was a chance of it happening. I wasn’t thinking.”
He slammed the lid shut on the toolbox he had been digging around in. “Don’t try to shoulder part of the blame. This is my fault.”
“If you’re going to be that way about it, then it’s my fault, entirely. You had warned me I needed to leave. Then, instead of leaving, I found you and ...,” she hesitated, getting embarrassed.
“Come on. Say it.” She sucked in hard. He had turned around to look at her. His eyes were on fire. More with passion, than anger. “It’s too late to be embarrassed about it now. Once the eggs are broken all you can do is scramble them.”
“Fine. I followed you to your bedroom and crawled up and straddled you while you were asleep. I caught you with your guard down. You had to process all that emotion and desire the moment you woke up. You lost the battle. It wasn’t fair for me to put you in that position. I didn’t think my decision through,” she said, turning pink from a combination of embarrassment and remembered passion. “I knew how passionate your kisses were. I should never have crawled in bed with you. Maybe, deep down, I was looking for it to happen.”
“What did you do, James?” Luke asked, sounding astonished. When their voices had started rising, they had got his full attention, and now he seemed unable to turn away, despite feeling like they really needed privacy for this conversation.
James threw the wrench he had in his hand across the garage, and bounced it off the wall. “You weren’t there to beat the door down.”
Luke’s mouth dropped open, then after a few seconds, snapped shut. “What are you going to do now?”
“Hey. Excuse me. I’m still here. Can you two try to remember that?” Lisa asked, irritation in her voice.
*******
When Lisa walked into her mom and dad’s house, she was immediately intercepted by Mindi and Jenny. Luke must have told Mindi about the conversation she’d had with James. Before she even made it all the way through the batwing doors to the kitchen they had turned her around and walked her back out to the living room.
“What happened?” they asked together, with expressions crossed between concern and amazement.
“I know we tell Mom and Dad everything, but I’m not ready for them to know this.” Mindi could tell Lisa was about to cry, and wrapped her arm around her shoulder, and gave her a comforting squeeze.
“Okay. Let’s go outside,” Jenny suggested.
“Why don’t we take a walk? We can walk up the driveway to the road, and farther if we need to,” Mindi suggested, hooking her arm through Lisa’s.
They walked back outside and started up the driveway. Mindi waited till they got a little way away from the house before she said anything. “From what Luke told me, you two h
ad sex last night.”
Lisa went scarlet. “Wow! Why so blunt?”
“Sorry. Luke’s tendency to say it like it is, is starting to rub off on me,” Mindi said, shrugging her shoulders with an apologetic expression. “He’s just more practiced at it, so it doesn’t come off quite so crass. He’s better at choosing his words. Anyway, did it happen or not?”
Lisa looked up at the sky, knowing she was going to have to tell them. She just wasn’t sure she was ready to. “Yeah, it happened. Boy did it happen,” she said, starting to glow red all over again.
She had spoken so quietly, Mindi had to ask her to repeat herself. Lisa looked her in the eyes and nodded. She was unable to say it aloud again.
“Well, was it any good?” Jenny asked with a grin. Lisa just got even redder and closed her eyes, unable to speak.
“Judging by the look on your face, I would say it was.”
Lisa tried to speak, but the words got stuck in her throat, and she got, unbelievably, redder. She was remembering the way it had felt to be in his arms all night. When she finally managed to force the words past her lips, it came out rough and jagged. “Jenny, if you want me to be able to talk about this, you can’t ask me those kinds of questions.” Jenny caught her meaning, and had a hard time stifling a laugh.
That frustrated Lisa, and caused her voice to come back strong. “You know, Jenny, I had an advantage. I am in love with him.”
“Okay? What’s that supposed to mean?” Lisa just gave her another frustrated look and shook her head.
“What she’s trying to say, Jenny, is if you ever want the same kind of experience, you need to tell Mark yes, because he is the only one you are ever going to be in love with. You know, the Townsend curse. Or blessing, depending on your perspective. He is your only one.”
Jenny just gave Mindi a dirty look, but when she looked at Lisa, she could tell that was exactly what Lisa was saying.
“Fine. Can we get back to the program already in progress here?”
Mindi just looked at Jenny like she was crazy, and then turned back to Lisa. “I guess his reaction afterwards wasn’t too great?”
“No. He was angry at himself. I wish he was angry at me. That I can fix,” Lisa said sounding desperate. “But he’s blaming himself. Even though it’s more my fault than his.” Lisa looked up at the sky and breathed a sigh. “Considering what I did, you would think he’d blame me.”
“What did you do?” Mindi asked in a soothing tone, still trying to comfort her sister.
“I went over to check on him, and cook him dinner,” Lisa said with her head bent, starting at the very beginning of the evening.
“Okay. That really screams, do me baby,” Jenny said with a laugh, causing Lisa to give her another dirty look.
“This is something new she does. You remember the other night? Just talk around her.” Mindi looked around Lisa to glare at Jenny. “I suspect she hasn’t said yes to Mark yet, like she really wants. At this point, even she should realize the man is truly in love with her. No man in his right mind is going to pursue the same woman for three years if he’s not in love with her. She really needs to think about what you just said about the advantage of being in love.”
“Mindi, not now. We have more immediate issues to discuss,” Jenny said, trying to divert the attention back away from herself. “Go ahead, Lisa. I’ll try to behave myself, but I make no promises,” she said, holding up her hands.
“Well, he kissed me, and then told me I had started something he didn’t think he’d be able to stop himself from finishing.”
“Well, that should have given you a hint,” Jenny blurted out, unable to help herself. Lisa gave her sister another dirty look, and trudged on.
“He told me I needed to leave. I guess I was thinking more on the big picture than the immediate, and I told him I wasn’t leaving.”
“Yeah. It was your fault,” Jenny said, this time being sarcastic.
This time when Lisa looked over at her, she asked, “Do you ever shut up? You need to let me finish the whole story before you go appointing blame. Trust me, I’m more at fault here than he is.
“No. I really don’t shut up, but I’ll try for your sake. Go ahead, finish your story,” Jenny said, looking serious for a change.
“He disappeared, and I finished cooking. It took about an hour. When I went looking for him, he was asleep on his bed.” Lisa’s cheeks were starting to turn red again, and she was feeling a need to fan herself that had nothing to do with the July heat.
“Oh, boy. Your fault.” This time, there was no sarcasm.
“It gets worse. I couldn’t seem to help myself, but I crawled in bed with him and straddled him. That’s when he woke up, and boy did he wake up. Like instantly. All of him.” Lisa’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head, leaving very little doubt in Mindi’s and Jenny’s mind what she had meant.
This time Lisa looked over at Jenny, waiting for an off-color remark. “Sorry. I’ve got nothing this time. You’ve actually left me speechless. I have no idea why the man would think it’s all his fault.”
“He asked me what I was doing and why I was in bed with him, but I was sort of stunned. Before I could come up with a response, he had me under him, and I really didn’t want to stop him. I remember the comment you made to Jenny about feeling like Luke was trying to devour you. I can relate to that.”
“How many times?” Jenny asked with a smirk, back to her usual self.
“What?” Lisa was shocked by the question, and just looked at Jenny like she was crazy.
“You know what I mean,” Jenny said giving her a look that said, don’t try to pull my leg. “You don’t look like you’ve had much sleep. So, don’t tell me it was only once.”
“What is it with these questions of yours?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe I’m looking for a vicarious thrill. I can’t seem to stop myself,” Jenny said, shrugging her shoulders. “It may be related to the stress of constantly turning Mark down. So, how many times?”
Lisa looked up at the sky once again, and mumbled, “Three. He finally let me go to sleep sometime around three this morning. That’s why I was late for work. He didn’t wake me before he left. I woke up right at eight.”
“So, it sounds like he waited till this morning to be mad at you,” Jenny said with a smirk.
“He’s not mad at me. He’s mad at himself.”
“Whatever. He still waited till this morning.”
“It’s not his fault I wouldn’t get up and put my clothes on and leave. I stayed there. I couldn’t make myself go. I felt like if I left, it would all become a dream.” Lisa got a far off look in her eyes. “He woke me up after the first time to eat. He had brought the chicken and the salad to the bedroom. I think he was refueling. Because the second we were done eating, we started in again. He said he had been fantasizing ever since I kissed him the first time. That’s why he had been avoiding me. He said he didn’t think he could stop himself.”
“Sounds like he was right about that. Apparently, you couldn’t stop yourself either,” Jenny said, smirking again. “So, are you not ashamed of yourself?”
“It’s not that simple.”
“What do you mean?” Jenny asked, giving her a puzzled look.
“I’m afraid he’s never going to want to talk to me again.” Lisa sounded like she was about to cry.
“Hey, buck up there. It’ll all come out right in the wash.” Jenny put her arm around her sister and hugged her close.
“God, I hope so. It would be impossible to go back to the way things were. I’m terrified I’m going to lose him.”
“Hey, it’ll be alright,” Mindi said with a smile, just wanting to make her sister feel better. “He loves you. You just need to tell him how you feel.”
“Hey, can you explain something to me? What did James mean when he told Luke he wasn’t there to beat the door down?”
Now it was Mindi’s turn to blush. “There was this one day that we got really close to going too fa
r. I think James could tell by the look on Luke’s face, that if I followed him, and I did, he had no intentions of trying to stop. It was the same day Mom sent him up to wake me up and he found out I sleep naked.” Mindi heard Jenny stifle a laugh and gave her a dirty look. “He gave us a few minutes, then followed me, and proceeded to bang on the door, loudly. I thought he was trying to knock the thing down. I think he would have, if Luke hadn’t unlocked it.”
Lisa just shook her head, unable to stop herself from grinning. “I’m sore. Can we go back to the house?”
“You know why you’re sore, don’t you?”
Lisa just rolled her eyes. “Jenny, don’t start.”
The three sisters made it back to the house in time to help their mother start cooking dinner. Their conversation temporally forgotten, they pitched in and dinner was well on the way to being done before anyone else walked in to help.
*******
Luke was still planning on staying with them until Tracy was caught. So, when he walked in the door, no one was surprised to see him. But when James walked in behind him, Lisa dropped the bowl she had in her hand. Thankfully, it didn’t have the salad in it yet, but it shattered on the hard tile floor. Jamie looked up at her daughter, then over at James with a puzzled look on her face. When she looked back at Lisa, she furrowed her eyebrows at her. “Are you okay?”
All she could manage was to croak out, “Peachy.” That only caused her mom to eye her harder.
She didn’t ask anymore though, which left Lisa with the suspicion she would have to explain later. “Would one of you two, please, get the broom and sweep up this glass before one of the smaller children come in here and get cut?” she asked, looking at James and Luke. “Thankfully, that bowl was from the local department store for nine ninety-nine. I would have been far more upset if it had been one of my grandmother’s bowls Mom gave me when Carl and I was married.”
“I’ll get it.” James seemed nervous, and didn’t appear to want to stand idle while Jamie scrutinized his facial expressions, so he went and got the broom and dust pan from the broom closet.
Oh, Baby! (The Townsends Book 2) Page 4