Plum Girl (Romance)

by Winters, Jill

  "Oh... I know, but... see... well..." Lonnie stumbled feebly. He'd hit a nerve. The truth was, she did sometimes feel guilty about her lapses as a good Catholic girl.

  "With all the work Lonnie does at the law firm," Margot interjected quickly, "it's hard for her to have a regularly scheduled mass time. Honey"—she looked at Lonnie enthusiastically—"tell Thomas about the time you were Mary in the Christmas play!"

  "You mean when I was nine?"

  "Her Sunday school teacher asked her specially if she'd play Mary," Margot explained, ignoring Lonnie's question.

  "Really?" Thomas replied.

  "It was because I had the longest hair in the class," Lonnie said honestly.

  "It was not," Margot corrected, and turned her attention back to Thomas. "The teacher thought she was the most perfect one for the part. Because she was so expressive and articulate."

  Margot went on. "She's always been like that. Just so expressive and creative and bubbly." Lonnie stared at her plate with a pained frown that could've come from sucking lemons.

  "Like the time she dressed up as the Cookie Monster for her cousin's birthday party..."

  Oh, no, not the Cookie Monster story! Lonnie had made the entire Kelley family take blood oaths that they'd never mention that again! She'd barely been thirteen; she'd been young and stupid. Aunt Christy told her the kids would get a kick out of it. How was Lonnie supposed to know years later she'd still be trying to live it down?

  That was it. If Margot got out the snapshots of Lonnie in the big, hairy blue suit, with her permed mullet creeping out of the top, she was out of there!

  "...well, the kids just loved it! And Lonnie went around passing out cookies and growling..." Kill me. Kill me now. What was next? The story of her first period? This was brutal.

  "Mom, it's actually getting late. I've got to get going soon." Lonnie made sure to keep her tone polite and even, so her mother couldn't later claim she'd been rude. Or at least so her mother wouldn't have as much to act righteous about when she later claimed she'd been rude.

  "Honey, wait, we haven't had dessert yet." The last time Margot encouraged Lonnie to have dessert was when she'd tried to convince her that canned pumpkin squash with a pinch of Sweet'N Low really wasn't all that different from pumpkin pie.

  "I think I'll have to pass. I'm full." She pushed up from the table, cleared her place, and took her dishes into the kitchen. While she was dumping her uneaten casserole into the garbage disposal, she heard Thomas telling Margot that he had to be heading home himself. Big surprise. Couldn't her mother see that there were absolutely no sparks between them?

  No, of course not. According to Margot, sparks were "overrated." But all Lonnie had to do was think about the excitement she felt when she was near Dominick, and she knew her mother was wrong. Sure, she understood that the hot thrill of a relationship wasn't forever, and passion fizzled over time. Still, was there something wrong with wanting it, at least in the beginning? If she and Thomas went to bed tonight, they'd both fall asleep before they got their clothes off.

  "Are you sure you won't take some leftovers?" Margot called out the door, as Thomas walked to his car. "Bye, bye! Thanks again for coming!" Lonnie leaned in the archway, watched her mother wave good-bye to her dream son-in-law... and primed herself for one hell of a confrontation.

  "Well," Margot said calmly, "that's that, I guess." She moved briskly into the dining room to clear the rest of the dishes. Hmm... Interesting. If Margot wasn't angry that Lonnie had been withdrawn during dinner, that could only mean one thing: she knew Lonnie had a case to be furious, so she was avoiding opening up any kind of discussion. Undoubtedly, Jack had warned her against the whole idea, and now she didn't want Lonnie coming down on her, too. Unfortunately, that was just too damn bad!

  She went into the dining room, where her mother was gathering up the casserole dish and serving spoon, and averting her eyes obviously. Finally, Lonnie sucked in a breath and said with stony fierceness, "Mom, what you pulled tonight was probably the most out-of-line thing you've ever done. You manipulated me, you embarrassed me, and you embarrassed Thomas. And you had no right."

  Margot's eyes widened in tortured bafflement. Ever the martyr. "I was just trying to help. Don't start on me, all right? I've got a headache." She started to push past and go into the kitchen, but Lonnie blocked her.

  "I'm not done yet."

  "Wha—? Lonnie, I told you I have a headache and I don't want to fight."

  "Mother, shut up!" Margot's eyes bugged out in horror, and Lonnie took advantage of her shock. "Do not ever interfere in my love life like that again, do you understand me? Yes, you gave birth to me, and yes, that gives you certain rights. But you do not have the right to control my life. And you do not have the right to make whatever hurtful, passive-aggressive comments you want! I'm a grown woman, and I think I've earned some respect by now. If you can't give me that, then I'm not going to visit you at all!"

  Lonnie turned on her heel and stormed toward the front door. "Wait!" Margot called after her. "Wait!" she cried again, and captured her daughter's hand just as it was turning the knob on the front door.

  Margot expelled a breath and said, "Honey, I just want you to find a nice man who will treat you well. What's wrong with that?" There was no way her mother was that obtuse. She just didn't have any arguments to cling to at the moment. Margot continued. "I just want you to find a nice boyfriend—"

  "I have a nice boyfriend!"

  "What? Oh, no—you're back together with Terry?" She looked queasy just thinking about Terry and the lack of husband potential he represented.

  "No, I'm not with Terry," Lonnie said. "I have a new boyfriend. But he doesn't have anything to do with this." She let out a heavy, frustrated sigh. "This doesn't change anything that I just said. If Dominick dumps me tomorrow, that doesn't make your insane, lunatic meddling okay. Do you get that?"

  "You never mentioned a Dominick before—"

  "Mom."

  "What, you have a new boyfriend, and you don't even tell me?"

  "Because I can't tell you! Because of this. This—what you did tonight! You just put all this pressure on things. You make it impossible to just feel safe—to just feel good enough. Why, Mom? Why do you have to do that?"

  Margot stared silently for a moment, with her mouth agape, before she responded. "I—I don't make you feel good enough? You're my jewel. You're perfect, and you make me so proud."

  Some of Lonnie's anger receded as she realized that her Machiavellian mother was just never going to get it. She said wearily, "Mom, just tell me you're not going to do anything like this ever again. Please."

  "Okay. Yes. I promise." Margot paused, and then must have realized that Lonnie expected more in the way of an apology. "Really, honey, I'm sorry if I embarrassed you tonight. I honestly thought it would go better."

  "It doesn't matter what your intentions were. That's the point," Lonnie stated firmly. "I don't want you interfering like that again. Ever."

  "Okay, okay."

  "Mom. Ever? " Lonnie wasn't letting her off the hook that easily.

  Margot hesitated half a second, and then relented. "Yes, fine. Ever." Lonnie sighed, and her mother moved closer, opening her arms for a hug. "I won't do something like that again..."

  Lonnie hugged her back. "Okay, Mom."

  "...without telling you."

  "Oh, Lord."

  "I'm sorry, honey. I just love you so much, and... I just love you so much."

  Lonnie left half an hour later, after her mother finished grilling her about Dominick. On the way to her apartment, she engaged in some sappy, romantic fantasies. She called him just as they were turning X-rated.

  " 'Lo," he answered.

  "Hi."

  "Hey! Are you home yet, or—"

  "Get over here now."

  "What—? Is everything okay?"

  "Yes. I just want you here. Now."

  "Um... okay."

  "I want you. Now." She started burning up just think
ing about it, and she could swear she heard him swallowing on the other end.

  "Should I bring anything, like some wine, or—"

  "Bring some condoms," she ordered.

  "I'll be over in ten minutes."

  "You live twenty minutes from me."

  "I'll be over in ten minutes."

  Lonnie jumped in the shower. Afterward, she only had time to throw on jeans and a sweater before she heard a knock at the door. She didn't give a thought to her appearance; she was too excited. The disastrous dinner with Thomas Ellabee had reinforced all her feelings for Dominick.

  With wet hair, bare feet, no bra, and a racing heart, she went to answer the door.

  Chapter 20

  Dominick barely made it through the front door before Lonnie was kissing him and pushing off his coat. He made an unintelligible sound of surprise, which quickly turned into grunting. Wrapping one hand around her waist, he used the other to slam the door shut. She backed him against it and plunged her tongue into his mouth, running her hands under his navy sweater and up his bare back. His skin felt smooth and hot and wonderful as she moved her hands through his soft chest hair. He was kissing her hard, sucking her tongue, and rubbing her breasts.

  Lonnie broke the kiss and lowered her head, sticking it half under Dominick's sweater to run her tongue on his chest aimlessly, wildly. He gripped her hair, willing her not to stop, and she ripped his pants zipper open. She was still kissing and licking his chest when she thrust her hand inside his boxers. She reached low to grip his testicles and heard Dominick's head thunk against the door. She lifted her head and saw him leaning back with his eyes closed and his mouth open. As soon as she started stroking his penis, he was breathing hard, and his eyes shut tighter.

  His shaft was thicker than she'd anticipated. It made her hotter. She held on to him tightly, moving her hand up and down, until Dominick's breath was coming in pants. "No... no more," he whispered. "We... need a bed." She couldn't agree more, pushing all her anxieties about sex—built up over four long years—out of her mind. Until she'd met Dominick, she hadn't thought about what she'd been missing, or how ready her body was for that kind of intimacy again.

  Lonnie took her hand out of Dominick's boxers, nodding hazily, and pushed his sweater up. He pulled it over his head and whipped it off in less than a second. When she ran her eyes over his fully naked chest, she lost herself again, and started nuzzling his neck, then sliding down his body to nuzzle his stomach and the open vee of his fly. She sank to her knees and with both hands, pulled his pants and boxers down enough to fully free his erection. As she ran her tongue along his shaft once, he let out a strained groan and tangled his hands into her hair. Then she slicked her tongue over the tip, and he made gruff sounds like he was on the brink of control. Lonnie wondered where the hell her control had even gone at this point.

  He clasped his hands around her upper arms, and brought her back up to look at him. He looked aroused and mindless, but his tone was teasing. "That wasn't exactly what I meant by 'no more.' " She laughed and hugged him. He wrapped both arms tightly around her, hitched her up until her feet rested on top of his, and started walking them over to her bed. Lonnie couldn't believe she wasn't protesting about being too heavy to carry, but for some reason, doing that with Dominick seemed needless and out of place.

  The next thing she knew, she was on her back, arching and twisting, as Dominick snaked his tongue down her throat and over her breasts and worked both his hands beneath her panties. Her sweater had been lost somewhere on the walk to the bed, and her jeans had gotten tossed, too. He sucked on one of her breasts and slid a finger beneath her underwear and inside her. Instantly, she shuddered and arched up for more. He pushed his finger deeper, then slid in another, and she cried out. Both fingers moved inside her... deeper, deeper... until he pushed in a third, and she screamed, feeling unbelievably stretched, overheated, and desperate for him to go on and on.

  "I can't wait," he breathed unevenly. "God, you're so wet.... You're so hot." Frantically, he hooked his thumbs in the strings of her bikinis and yanked them down. Lonnie couldn't even form any words, she was too hot and wanted this too much. She felt the bed tip, and realized Dominick was standing to shuck off his jeans and boxers completely. He climbed back onto the bed, crawling over her, with his tongue trailing up her body along the way, until he came to her face. Then he kissed her, and all she could do was moan and try to kiss him back with the same strength. She felt worn out and weak and they hadn't even done it yet. She also felt sweaty and frantic for more.

  He broke the kiss to tear the foil of the condom wrapper with his teeth. She looked up at him with her eyes half closed. "Yes... yes," she whispered helplessly. He snapped it on and moved her legs so they straddled him, and he sucked on her neck while he pressed into her. Lonnie jolted at the unexpected pressure; only the head of his erection made it in easily. Dominick pushed himself harder into her, but didn't get very far.

  Lonnie snapped out of her lusty haze when she realized what was happening. She was too tight for him; they weren't going to be able to make love after all. So much for going with the flow. So much for getting carried away with passion. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment as Dominick was grunting with each push but still not going anywhere.

  He spoke first. Lonnie was dreading whatever he was about to say. Probably he'd try to lighten the mood with a joke about how it'd been a while for her. Damn it, she knew how long it had been, and the last thing she felt like doing was switching gears from passion to chitchat. She wanted this to be hot and thrilling. She wanted to make him feel good, not elicit his emotional support. "Oh, God, " he whispered. "You're so tight. I might come before I'm even inside you."

  Perfect! He didn't think it was a lost cause, and he was still as turned on as she was. Now if she could just force her body to accept him.... She tried lifting her hips to drive him deeper, but it wasn't working; she was too tense. Oh, God, this is a disaster!

  Just then she felt Dominick's lips brush against her ear, and his breath was hot and wonderful when he whispered, "Just relax." He wasn't moving his body anymore, but just holding her exactly where she was, as he trailed his mouth over her jaw. He paused at the spot just below her ear and kissed her softly. She muttered, "I'm defective," but her heart wasn't in it because he was making her too hot to think.

  "Shh," he breathed into her skin, and licked a trail down the side of her neck. Half complying, she turned her head and sighed as he ran his tongue back up.

  "You feel so good... ," he murmured directly into her ear. "God, you make me hot." She was becoming more and more mindless with each husky word. "Oh, Lonnie... oh, baby... I want; you so much," he groaned, kissing her cheek and letting his lips linger there.

  More mindless.

  "Even if we don't get any farther tonight, you feel so good."

  More mindless.

  "Mmm... God, you make me crazy," and he slid his tongue in her ear.

  Completely mindless.

  She started writhing under him. Dominick slid his hand down and aroused her with a finger, even as his cock strained to be fully inside her. She cried out as he moved his finger in a circle and rocked his body into her. He was still whispering about how good she felt to him while he rocked harder. She gripped him and instinctively rolled her hips to bring him deeper. There was no pain, just incredible pressure, which now felt better than good.

  Before she even realized it, Dominick was fully inside her and moving. At first he was slow and controlled, but when Lonnie's hands moved to his butt and pushed him even closer, he picked up speed. He whispered in her ear, "Harder?"

  Breathlessly, she answered, "Yes... yes." He ran his hands under her knees and pulled her legs up to bring himself deeper. She gasped at the feel of him, and he thrust more fiercely into her. She broke into a sweat everywhere; she cried out, only vaguely aware of her own voice. He kept pounding—over and over—causing a friction that felt almost unbearably good. Losing control of her body, as it jumped w
ildly off the bed over and over, Lonnie urged Dominick on. "Oh, please... please don't stop.... Don't stop."

  Their bodies hammered into each other until the heat and friction were too much, and Lonnie came hard, screaming and not even caring. The second she was done, Dominick's hips jerked violently, bucking hard, and he pushed himself up on his hands. He let out a guttural cry, shuddered, and collapsed on top of her, panting.

  * * *

  Dominick was gently brushing his lips along the curve of Lonnie's neck as they lay in her bed with their arms wrapped around each other. She sighed and snuggled her body closer, and he tightened his hold on her. "I'm sure glad I came over tonight," he said in a low, teasing voice. She lifted her head to look into his eyes and smiled half dreamily. "Just to think that I could be home testing software right now"—he kissed her softly on her mouth—"instead of thinking about how I already want you again." He kissed her, this time more firmly, drawing her lower lip in and sucking it before he broke the kiss. Then he sighed and buried his head into the curve of her neck again. His rough stubble should've felt abrasive against her skin, but Lonnie found it as erotic and enticing as everything else about him.

  She rested her fingers in his hair. "I'm glad you're here, too," she murmured. "I wanted to do this for a long time." He lifted his head and looked into her eyes, his sexy grin in place.

  "Yeah? How long?" he asked, and brushed some of her hair back while his hand moved lightly back and forth on her cheek.

  "Um... a while." She smiled mischievously at him. "What about you?"

  "Since that first day we had lunch together three months ago," he answered without hesitation.

  "Did you think it wasn't going to happen?" she asked, remembering how tight she'd been.

  "No way," Dominick said.

  "Why not?"

  "I'd like to think I know what I'm doing," he said, grinning. "Besides, I knew if I didn't have you, I'd die. The anticipation was starting to kill me."

  "Really?" Lonnie pulled back to look into his eyes. She searched his face hopefully, because she wanted so much for him to tell her that the reality was even better than the anticipation. She wanted him to say that it had been shattering and unbelievable, so she'd know it wasn't just her. They had both been passionate and out of control, but maybe sex was always like that for him.