by Joanna Blake
Jackson Delancey was a real son of a bitch.
But damn, the man could kiss.
"So?"
"So what?"
"You like him."
I shook my head adamantly.
"No. No I do not."
"He's very handsome."
I shrugged.
"And he was staring at you all night. I could practically see the sparks."
"Trust me Case, there were no sparks."
"Uh huh. Sure. So where did you guys disappear to then?"
I looked at her, handing her a glass of water. She took it wordlessly and waited. I handed her her pills one at a time, using a little teacup so we didn't get our germs all over them. It was best to minimize her risk for infection. The damage to her body included a severely weakened immune system.
We'd learned that the hard way.
The best thing was to not wear shoes in the house, wipe down handles and doorknobs regularly and wash our hands. We had so many hand soaps and creams it would make your mind spin.
But it worked. Casey's body needed time to heal, not fight off every cold and flu that made the rounds. And she was getting better, slowly but surely.
"I'm waiting."
I handed her another pill.
"He took me on a detour."
"He did? What happened?"
"I asked him to take me back and he did. That's it."
"That's definitely not it."
"Take your pill."
She grinned and took her pill. Then she wheeled herself into the bathroom. I helped her into the tub and started to leave.
"Come on Ange. Sit and tell me. I never hear any gossip."
I sighed and perched on the toilet seat. After I wiped it down of course. We used a lot of wipes in this house. Most people would say we were neurotic. But it was so important to protect her as much as we could. That included keeping me healthy too, so I didn't pass anything onto her.
"Fine. He kissed me."
Casey squealed and splashed the water.
"I knew it! How was it? He's gorgeous Ange admit it."
"He's an oaf! He totally manhandled me!"
She was laughing as I frowned at her.
"I wouldn't mind being manhandled now and then."
"You are a bad girl, Casey."
She nodded happily.
"Yes I am. So, did you kiss him back?"
"Not the first time."
"The first time? How many times did he kiss you?"
I chewed my lips, thinking.
"Three times. And I slapped him three times."
"You didn't!"
I finally smiled. It was kind of funny when you thought about it. It had been like slapping a brick wall. Even his face had muscles.
"I did."
"That's not like you Ange."
I sighed. It really wasn't. I don't think I'd ever slapped a man before in my life. I was a pacifist. In the past I would have just avoided someone I didn't like. That's just what I would have to do with him.
It's too bad the man lived right next door!
"I know but he was so damn arrogant! He just grabbed me out of the blue. Then he suggested we sleep together so we could get back to disliking each other with that out of the way."
Now Casey was cackling like a witch. I watched her with a sour look on my face. Eventually I started laughing too.
"Well at least he's- practical!"
She leaned back and sighed dreamily.
"If only Prince Charming would come along and make an offer like that to me someday..."
I threw a loofah mit at her.
"You are an ass sometimes you know that."
She nodded sleepily. She'd only been in the water a few minutes, but I could tell it was time for her to go to sleep. Even just going out to dinner took a lot out of her.
"Okay, enough excitement for today, let's get you in bed."
A half an hour later she was settled and sleeping soundly. Meanwhile I was wide-awake. I didn't drink wine very often. You would think it would help you get right to sleep. Instead it was keeping me up for some God forsaken reason.
It wasn't just that either. It was him. Jackson Delancey was wreaking havoc with my peace of mind.
My fingers slid over my lips again and again. I could still feel him. For some strange reason I almost thought I could still smell him! He'd smelled like evergreen and leather. It was very manly and very appealing. I'd never smelled anything so delicious in my life.
This was ridiculous! I didn't even like the man! I extra didn't like him!
Finally I gave in and turned on the light. I did some unpacking in my room, careful not to wake Casey. By the time the sun was starting to light up the sky I was ready for bed. I glanced at my alarm. If I lay down now I could get a few hours sleep before Casey got up.
The next thing I knew someone was banging on the front door.
Chapter Nine
Jackson
I'd gotten up early as usual. I'd wolfed down my breakfast, finished before anyone else even made an appearance. Mrs. Garretty handed me a basket on the way out the door.
"What's this Mrs. G?"
Her soft blue eyes twinkled at me.
"It's not polite to go calling empty handed."
"I'm not going empty handed."
I held up my tools. She rolled her eyes at me affectionately. She'd been a mother to all of us over the years. I loved her dearly, even if she was meddling.
"Not the same dear. Here, take this to go visit your lady friend."
Seemed like everybody had a vested interest in getting Angelina and I together. Especially me. Of course, they might stop helping if they knew I just wanted to screw her six ways from Sunday.
I had no intention of settling down. But I had amended my plans a bit.
I lay awake half the night carefully planning my attack. I didn't just want one night. I wanted casual sex, as much as I wanted, on demand, indefinitely. After the way she'd kissed me back, I knew she'd be a real wild cat in bed.
She'd kissed like a sophisticated city woman. She hit like a bantamweight. I just need to keep her too busy in bed to go around slapping me again.
We could screw when we wanted to, and dislike each other the rest of the time.
It was a perfect plan.
I just had to convince her of it.
Of course, casual sex did not mean I would allow her to be with other men. No, I'd keep her way too busy for that. Maybe I'd put a path in between our two properties. I could go back and forth at night as the mood struck me. From our house, right up to the back door of hers.
Yes, that was an excellent idea.
I just had to talk Angelina into it. I grinned as I drove over to her place. I hoisted my tools and the basket of food. Then I rang the doorbell, waiting expectantly.
Then I rang it again.
And again.
Seven minutes later the door opened. My eyes grew wide at the sight of her. Angelina stood in the doorway in a slinky, semi-sheer tanktop, slouchy pajama pants with fuzzy bunny slippers. Her gorgeous hair tumbled over her shoulders. Her face was still soft and unguarded from sleep.
She looked sexy as all get out.
But that wasn't even the best part. Oh no. That was below her neck. Her nipples looked like they could cut glass. I could see them clearly, as well as the outline of her perfectly round, bouncy looking tits.
BOOM
Just like that, I was erect.
"What are you doing here?"
I ignored her surly tone, my eyes glued to her chest. From her sharp intake of breath, she realized what I was doing too. I licked my lips appreciatively and she crossed her arms over her chest.
I smirked at her.
"Nice slippers."
She glared at me. We both knew I hadn't been looking at her feet. I bet those looked cute too. Especially if they were draped over my shoulders as I-
"Jackson, I said what are you doing here?"
I lifted up the basket and the tools.
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"I'm here to take a look at your... house. Did you forget?"
She stared at me, clearly not awake yet. She even let her arms drop. I used my peripheral vision to soak in those perky tits of hers.
I didn't want her covering up. My job would be much more pleasant with those jugs of hers on display. One might even say the day would fly by.
"Angelina? Do you want me to look at your leaks or not?"
She rolled her eyes and stepped aside, allowing me to enter.
"Take your shoes off."
"You're joking."
She shook her head vehemently.
"No, I'm not. No shoes."
I set my tools down inside the door and kicked my boots off. Thank God I didn't wear raggedy old socks like my brother Jake. Mrs. Garretty had a habit of raiding his sock drawer to throw the old ones away. He would grumble about it and we would all have a good laugh.
Jake had lived on the road for a long time. Elle said she was still working on getting him house broken. But not me.
No, I was not the sort of man to show up at a lady's house with nasty socks on his feet. My breath was fresh too. And I'd shaved. I wanted to be smooth when I got my face between her luscious thighs.
No woman wanted a man's mouth on her when he was scruffy.
Oh yes, I planned to put my mouth all over her. That was the way to get the upper hand. First I'd make her squeal with pleasure. Soon she'd be begging me to fuck her nice and hard. I would be more than happy to oblige her.
I watched as she padded into the kitchen, my eyes on her delicious looking ass. I'd like to spank that ass. Oh yes, I could picture her cheeks with some nice red marks on them.
I wondered how much they would jiggle.
"Do you always get up so late?"
She glanced over her shoulder at me, holding her finger to her lips. She spoke softly, indicating that I should be quiet. I did my best to walk softly, not the easiest thing for a man of my size.
"It must have been the wine. Casey slept in too, which is great. She usually wakes up a bunch of times. She needs all the sleep she can get."
I put the basket on the kitchen table.
"What's that?"
"I'm guessing it's baked goods. Muffins, that sort of thing. Compliments of Mrs. Garretty."
"Oh. Thank you."
As usual, she looked confused when I did something nice for her. I watched in fascination as she rubbed her foot up and down her other leg. She'd clearly forgotten how see through her top was. I tried not to stare too obviously. It wasn't easy.
Of course, working with a hard on wasn't the easiest thing to do either. Maybe I could convince her to take a little break with me before her sister got up. I grinned. A little light fucking with breakfast.
No, not a little. A lot. If we started now, maybe we'd be done by sundown.
"Can I get you something to drink?"
"Coffee would be great."
"Sorry, no coffee. I have green tea."
"Sure. I guess you did just move in."
"Yes but we don't have coffee around anyway. Caffeine is rough on Casey's system. I stick to her diet for the most part. It's easier that way."
Once again I was struck by her dedication to her sister. She might be a pain in the ass, but she was a good person deep down. That much was obvious.
I frowned a little. It was a lot more fun to think about hate fucking her when I thought she was a high-strung bitch on wheels. But even if she was a saint, I didn't want a relationship. I just wanted to take out my rampant lust on her delectable little body.
And make her scream.
My ego demanded that.
She was watching me I realized. I hadn't been staring at her tits thank God. I stole a quick glance when she looked away. I moaned out loud, feeling my cock bob in my jeans.
"What?"
I cleared my throat.
"Nothing. So, where should we get started?"
Angelina
I sipped my green tea, watching Jackson climb a ladder on the side of the house. He had pulled off his sweater and handed it to me. I was fighting to resist the urge to smell it.
Me of all people. Sniffing a man's shirt. Not even my man either. Just a jerk who happened to smell intoxicatingly good.
This was ridiculous.
I was ridiculous.
I tried not to stare as his bulging muscles pushed against the thin cotton of his t-shirt. The man was exceptionally well built. Not just from the gym either. You could tell he earned those muscles the old-fashioned way. Through hard work and manual labor.
He looked like a cowboy, but the movie star version.
Clint Eastwood on steroids.
It was... distracting. To say the least. And I had things to do.
"Do you need anything?"
He grinned at me, looking over his shoulder from where he was patching the porch roof.
"I'm good."
"I'm going to get dressed."
He shook his head and turned back to what he was doing.
"Too bad, I liked the bunny slippers."
I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him. Casey was up now and reading in the sunroom. I'd set it up with one of the hepa air filters, a few houseplants and a comfy chair. I'd even strung some sparkling string lights shaped liked stars along the wall of windows.
After her tiny room in New York, she said it was her favorite room she'd ever had. Our folks' place had been modest growing up. So it felt nice to give her something that made her feel special.
I stuck my head in the room.
"How are you?"
She held her thumb up and went back to her book.
I climbed the stairs to the bathroom and turned on the water. I decided I would take a long hot shower and-
I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and screamed in shock.
My pajama top was see through. Not just a little either. My breasts were clearly visible through the sheer top. And Jackson had let me stand there all morning with my boobs hanging out!
No, not hanging- poking!
My nipples were like little ice picks, ready to cut a hole in my tank top. I growled and opened the door, ready to tear his head off. I was halfway down the stairs when I stopped.
If I did that, he would know I knew.
He would know he had gotten to me.
He would win.
I cursed and climbed the stairs again, shutting the bathroom door behind me. I would take a nice, short shower, put on ten layers of clothing and get on with my day.
I would be productive and calm.
I would not think about the fact that he'd seen my boobs.
I would ignore all his attempts to provoke me. No matter how hard it was. He would not get the best of me today!
Chapter Ten
Jackson
I was whistling as I climbed down the ladder. One job done. A couple more to go.
Surely by the time I was finished, Angelina would throw herself at me out of gratitude. I could just see the warm look of invitation in her eyes as she led me to her bedroom and submitted herself to me. I would say nothing as she disrobed and offered me her hot little body. I'd be gentle the first time. After that, I'd take her any way I wanted to.
Over and over again.
It would be hard, but I'd have to tell her I just wanted a fling. A hot, heavy, long-term fling with lots of sex and very little talking. She would give me what I wanted, and often, but without the ridiculous rituals of dinner and a movie.
She'd want more of course. They always did. And I'd be happy to service her whenever she asked, indefinitely. But that was it. Just sex. No strings attached. She would belong to me exclusively, but I would have the freedom to do what I wanted.
I doubted I would want to go out looking for other women with her at my disposal, but I wouldn't tell her that. Better to keep her on her toes. The more casual I kept it, the more eager she would be to please me.
She'd be upset. But that wasn't my problem. Making her scream with pleasur
e was.
I grabbed my kit and walked back into the house, kicking my boots off.
Angelina was in the kitchen, messing with a row of vitamins. I heard the blender go off and watched as she poured a large protein shake for Casey. I stood in the shadows and watched Angelina fuss over her sister.
I would make allowances for that, I decided. If Casey needed anything, I would provide it. If she wanted to see the horses, or go to town, or a carnival, I would take them.
But it wouldn't be a date. I would be quite firm about that. I let my eyes wander over to Angelina as she sipped the leftover shake from the blender. She had changed out of her adorable pajamas. Now she wore tight, worn in jeans and a cardigan over a tank top.
Sadly, this one did not appear to be even slightly see through.
She bent over the sink as she cleaned the blender. I admired the curve of her back and the soft swell of her hips. The sunlight was coming in through the window above the sink, making her hair look like molten gold.
"Hey Jackson!"
She stiffened at the sound of my name, but she didn't turn to look at me. I walked in, setting my tools on the floor. Casey smiled at me in a friendly manner.
An almost conspiratorial manner.
"How are you, Casey?"
She shook her head.
"Rough night. Really rough. I am going to go back to bed for a few hours."
Angelina turned abruptly.
"Why didn't you tell me? Do you need a pain pill?"
Casey swiftly shook her head.
"It's better now, I'm just tired. My mind was racing."
"Okay, let me get you in there and draw the curtains."
"Angie-"
"Yes?"
"Would you mind if Jackson did it?"
Angelina looked surprised but she nodded. I realized she would do anything her sister said. And for some strange reason, I got the feeling her sister was conspiring to get us alone together.
Or as alone as possible.
"Sure. I'll be here if you need me."
"Thanks Ange."
Angelina turned back to the sink and Casey gave me a sly look. Then she winked at me.
I suddenly decided that Casey deserved more than a carnival ride at the state fair. She deserved a medal. I knew she couldn't ride, but if she could someday, I was going to buy the girl a damn pony.