‘‘Annie?’’
‘‘What?’’ She cleared her throat and glanced away.
‘‘Are you okay?’’
‘‘I—I’m fine.’’ She pretended great interest in her surroundings. ‘‘So where is everybody?’’
‘‘It’s usually slow this time of day. The kids come in during their lunch hour and again after school. Since nobody was around, I went upstairs to throw in a load of laundry.’’
‘‘Oh.’’ She hadn’t stopped to think about him living upstairs, but of course he would. Billie had done the same thing.
Annie wondered about that load of laundry and whether it included the blankets they’d used last night and the clothes he’d stripped off and dried by the fire. No doubt.
She’d never forget the softness of that blanket he’d loaned her and the sensation of wrapping it around her naked body. That blanket had been a type of foreplay.
He continued to gaze at her as if he might be remembering all that, too. ‘‘I guess you need to log on.’’
‘‘Yes.’’ She needed a hell of a lot more than that. She needed him to slip his hard drive into her software.
Until she’d seen him standing there, she’d been able to convince herself that a sexual relationship would only complicate an already dicey week and create future problems for both of them. Now that they were eyeball to eyeball, she didn’t give a flip. Complicate away, baby.
Instead of helping her get set up, Jeremy remained where he was. ‘‘I forgot about the bachelor and bachelorette parties tonight.’’
‘‘Me, too.’’ She wished he’d touch her, wished he’d kiss her until she couldn’t see straight, but anyone walking by would be able to glance in the café’s large windows and catch all the gossip-worthy action, so that was a bad idea.
Yet maybe he’d thought of it, too. He lifted his hand as if he might reach for her. Instead he massaged the back of his neck. ‘‘Do you have any spare time late this afternoon?’’
She shook her head. ‘‘After I finish my story I have to help decorate Maggie’s house.’’ Jeremy would have a bed upstairs. More condoms, too. Then again, she’d have to strip down in broad daylight, something she hadn’t done for any man since she’d gained weight.
‘‘Decorating shouldn’t take too long,’’ he said.
‘‘Well, there’s something else I have to do first, actually. I promised to provide a couple of games. I’ll have to make them up, because I doubt any store in town would sell them.’’
His eyebrows lifted. ‘‘What kind of games?’’
‘‘The usual.’’ She needed to get her mind off sex and onto her duties as the matron of honor. That would solve a host of problems. ‘‘I have to dream up twenty items a bride needs on her wedding night. Teams compete to see who produces the most using the contents of their purse. Then I have to get some butcher paper and create a pin-the-penis-on-the-man game . . .’’ So much for keeping her mind off sex.
Jeremy cleared his throat. ‘‘How long will it take to write your story?’’ The heat in his eyes said he wasn’t thinking about newspaper work.
‘‘About an hour.’’ As she met the fire in his eyes, her heart beat faster. Maybe his upstairs bedroom was dark. At the very least he’d have a shade or curtains he could pull over the window. ‘‘But then I have to work on the games and have them over at Maggie’s by four.’’
‘‘What if I helped you with the games?’’
That made her smile as she imagined him cutting out paper penises. ‘‘That’s a generous offer, but I—’’
‘‘There’s nothing generous about it. I want you to come upstairs with me,’’ he said softly.
The urgency in his voice caused her body to hum in anticipation. Say no. But she didn’t want to say no. ‘‘Jeremy, that’s crazy. It’s the middle of the day . . . and the café is still open.’’
‘‘No, it’s not.’’ Breaking eye contact, he walked over to the glass door, reversed the sign from OPEN to CLOSED, and clicked the lock.
His simple gesture was enough to soak her panties. She loved it when a man took charge. Until yesterday, she hadn’t seen Jeremy as a take-charge kind of guy. What a difference a day made.
Megabyte lifted her head, whined and started to get up.
‘‘No, Meg. Stay.’’
The dog flopped to the floor again.
‘‘If you close during the day, won’t you be questioned about it?’’ Annie felt an obligation to put up a little more resistance. Going upstairs with Jeremy was an irresponsible thing to do when she had places to go and people to see. And she still wondered if either of them would be fine with ending everything when she left for Chicago.
‘‘I’ll tell anyone who asks that I had wedding business to take care of.’’ He took her hand and smiled. ‘‘Technically, that’s true. I’m bonding with the matron of honor.’’
‘‘I shouldn’t do this.’’ But she allowed him to lead her toward the stairs, anyway. His grip was insistent, his hand warm and his touch electric. Her whole body wanted to party down. ‘‘We should be concentrating on the wedding.’’
Jeremy took off his glasses and hung them on the end of the railing. Then he tugged her up to the landing, where they were hidden from view. ‘‘I’d rather concentrate on you.’’ He backed her against the wall and kissed her with a fierceness that would make an alpha male proud.
A girl could do worse. Annie kissed him back with equal ferocity. In no time they were gasping for breath and tearing at each other’s clothes, right there in the stairwell.
Jeremy pulled his mouth away from hers as he stripped her sweater over her head. ‘‘I’ve been going insane from wanting you. I think of you every minute. ’’ The sweater dropped to the stairs.
‘‘I’ve been thinking of you, too.’’ She fumbled with his jeans, popped the snap and pulled down the zipper. Specifically, she’d been thinking of what was hiding behind that zipper.
‘‘I’ve been dreaming of your breasts.’’ After unhooking her bra, he let it fall and claimed her with both hands. She leaned into his caress and he groaned. ‘‘Damn, you feel so good.’’
‘‘You, too.’’ She slid her hand inside his briefs and wrapped her fingers around his penis. So silky smooth, yet so filled with power—the power to make her go off like a bottle rocket.
He closed his eyes with a low moan.
‘‘Do you like that?’’ She stroked him and felt him tremble.
His reply was husky with need. ‘‘Oh, yeah.’’ He sucked in a breath and squeezed her breasts. ‘‘Stop.’’
She did. When a man sounded choked up and ready to come, a wise woman backed off if she wanted more fun and games. Annie definitely wanted more fun and games.
He stood very still for a moment, his breathing rapid, his jaw tight, and his fingers flexing as he cupped her breasts. Slowly his eyes opened, and his gaze smoldered. He looked like a man on the edge. ‘‘We’d better get upstairs.’’
‘‘Okay.’’
Giving her a quick, hard kiss, he released her breasts and grabbed her hand. ‘‘Come on.’’
They ran up the rest of the stairs like a couple of kids. She barely registered the contents of his living room as they dashed through a doorway on the left. His double-sized sleigh bed looked like a very nice antique, but she wouldn’t have minded an inflatable mattress on the floor, so long as they were naked on top of it.
The only negative was the sunshine filling the room. He must have read her mind, because immediately he crossed to the window and pulled a cord. Wooden blinds clattered to the sill, muting the light. Much better.
‘‘I don’t want to take a chance anyone can see in,’’ he said. ‘‘But we need more light.’’ He walked back to the doorway and hit the switch, which turned on both bedside lamps.
Annie reached over and turned it off again. ‘‘I like it better dark.’’
He turned to her. ‘‘But I can’t see you as well.’’ Stepping closer, he drew her into his
arms. ‘‘My eyesight’s bad enough in good light, but—’’
‘‘Forget the light.’’ She insinuated her hand inside his briefs again. She loved playing with her favorite action toy, but she also wanted to distract him. ‘‘It doesn’t matter. We don’t have much time, anyway.’’
He grasped her wrist. ‘‘If you keep that up, time won’t be an issue.’’
‘‘Short fuse?’’ She wound both hands around his neck and teased him with kisses.
‘‘Damned short. I should have more control than I had last night. Instead I have less.’’
‘‘I’ll take that as a compliment.’’ She kissed him again, this time using her tongue in ways that made him groan and start working on her slacks.
But when she tried to return the favor by trying to take off his jeans and briefs, he gasped and backed away. ‘‘I’d better do that.’’
‘‘Good. It’ll be faster.’’ And faster was what she wanted. Backing toward the bed, she kicked off her shoes and finished taking off her slacks and panties.
He stood immobile, watching her. ‘‘You look . . . incredible.’’
‘‘Thank you,’’ she said softly. The compliment warmed her, although she had to remember he couldn’t see very well. ‘‘But one of us isn’t undressed yet.’’
Never taking his attention from her, he stripped down, and it was her turn to stare. Yes, she’d experienced his very fine equipment up close and personal, but his magnificence made an even greater impression as he stood in front of her today. When she’d first glimpsed his considerable endowments, she hadn’t known whether he knew how to use them.
Now she knew exactly how well he could manage, and that prior knowledge made her bold. One step back and her legs grazed the wooden rail of the sleigh bed. Lowering herself to the mattress, she lay back and held out her arms.
In the stillness of the room, she could hear him swallow. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest as she anticipated the pleasure they could find with each other. ‘‘I want you,’’ she murmured.
‘‘I want you, too. And I want desperately to see you better.’’ Reaching behind him, he turned on the bedside table lamps.
Without stopping to think, Annie grabbed the edge of the comforter and pulled it over herself.
‘‘Hey.’’ He crossed to the bed and sat down beside her. ‘‘Are you really that shy?’’
She let out a little wail of frustration. ‘‘I’m lumpy.’’
‘‘That’s sure not what I remember from last night.’’
‘‘It was dark. Very dark.’’
He framed her face with both hands and leaned down to kiss her forehead, her eyes, her cheeks, her mouth. And as he kissed her, he began to talk. ‘‘I’ve had so many dreams about you. So many wet dreams, if you must know. I finally have you in my bed, but not for long. And I’m greedy. Touch, taste and smell are wonderful, but I want the visual, too.’’
‘‘That’ll ruin your fantasy for sure.’’ But her resistance was melting. Adulation could do that.
‘‘You can’t possibly ruin it. I was the class geek. You were Miss Dairy Queen. I never thought I’d have a moment like this, but I do. Let me have it all. Please.’’
She let him ease the comforter away. Maybe it would be all right.
Jeremy sighed in obvious pleasure, and within seconds she realized it would be more than all right. It would be outstanding. Jeremy began to worship her body in a way that Zach never had.
He stroked her and murmured words of praise, licked her skin and moaned in delight, kissed every inch of her and described how he would make her come, and come again. Then he followed through.
Jeremy loved her with a fervor she’d only read about in books. She’d never been given three orgasms within ten minutes, never felt so much like a goddess that she lost all her inhibitions. With a man like Jeremy at the helm, she’d be willing to have sex under the lights of an operating room. He made her feel perfect.
And when finally he rolled on a condom and pushed deep inside her, her joy was so complete she thought she might levitate. She came again—again—and he followed quickly afterward with a hoarse cry of ecstasy. He deserved that ecstasy, she thought as she held him tight. He also deserved a woman who wouldn’t bolt once the weekend was over. Too bad that wasn’t her.
Chapter 11
Dorcas and Ambrose finished up a late lunch at the Hob Knob and stepped out into the sunshine.
Ambrose put on his leather motorcycle jacket but left it unzipped. ‘‘I might have to invest in denim for the summer.’’
‘‘How about investing in a real motorcycle for the summer?’’ Dorcas had given this some thought and had decided she would be fine on the back of a Harley. It was tootling around on the back of a red scooter with a top speed of forty-five that set her teeth on edge, especially when Ambrose insisted on dressing like a big bad biker dude.
‘‘I like the scooter,’’ Ambrose said. ‘‘It’s all we need for getting around Big Knob. A motorcycle would be overkill.’’
Dorcas rolled her eyes. She’d always assumed that every man secretly lusted after a Harley. She, however, had to marry the one guy in America who thought scooters were perfectly adequate. It was so terribly European of him. In Europe his scooter might have been cool, but in the great U.S. of A., it was not. Riding on the back of it, Dorcas felt like a dweeb.
She’d continue her campaign for a Harley and hope Ambrose would finally give in. If not, she might have to figure out a spell that would make the scooter look like a Harley. It would still only go forty-five miles an hour, but at least it would look stylin’ on the streets of Big Knob.
‘‘As long as we’re in town,’’ Ambrose said, ‘‘I’d like to check for messages on MySpace. It’s so nice out, let’s leave the scooter where it is and walk over.’’
‘‘We can do that.’’ Dorcas didn’t even bother putting on her jacket, deciding to carry it over her arm instead. She fell into step beside Ambrose. ‘‘Maybe we can get an update on how Jeremy and Annie are getting along.’’
‘‘Whatever you do, don’t let on that you heard them last night.’’
‘‘I wouldn’t dream of it.’’ But if Annie happened to be around, Dorcas wasn’t above dropping a couple of comments about seeing something unusual in the lake. Good sex might make Annie happy, but it wouldn’t guarantee that she’d stick around in the same way a good scoop might.
‘‘I also think we need to invite Isadora to dinner,’’ Ambrose said.
‘‘Isabel,’’ Dorcas said in a low voice. ‘‘You can never tell who might be listening.’’
‘‘Isabel, then. But we need to talk to her and find out if she’s thought of a solution to the Dee-Dee problem. I wonder if Isador—uh, I mean, Isabel has any pull with the Wizard Council.’’
‘‘I wouldn’t count on it,’’ Dorcas said. ‘‘I think she’s a renegade.’’
Ambrose glanced over at the bronze statue on the square. ‘‘She doesn’t look like it in that pose.’’
‘‘I keep telling you, she doesn’t look anything like that statue, except for her face. She’s also a lot taller than that. Think Nicole Kidman with very short hair.’’
‘‘That’s why I want to have her over, so I can evaluate whether she’s going to be a help or a hindrance,’’ Ambrose said. ‘‘Did you mention anything about George?’’
‘‘His name came up, if that’s what you mean.’’
‘‘Did you ask her not to go out there?’’
Dorcas had a moment of uneasiness. ‘‘No.’’ And now she wished she had. A party girl like Isadora and a screwup like George would be a bad combination. Dorcas could easily see Isadora wanting to sit in on the poker games with the raccoons.
‘‘If you invite her to dinner tonight, we can outline our program with George and ask her not to interfere. ’’
‘‘I can’t invite her over tonight,’’ Dorcas said. ‘‘There’s Melody’s bachelorette party. I didn’t think they’d want me to come be
cause we’re so new in town, but they do and I said I would.’’
‘‘I completely forgot about that. I’m supposed to drop in at Bruce’s bachelor party, too. They’ve reserved the Big Knobian for it.’’
‘‘You mean it’ll be closed to everyone else?’’
Ambrose nodded. ‘‘It’s just for one night, though.’’
‘‘Yes, but that leaves Isabel with nowhere to go tonight. I can’t picture her staying home watching TV with Abe, and she just arrived, so she wouldn’t be invited to the bachelorette party.’’ The more Dorcas thought about that, the more she worried. ‘‘No telling what she could get into while everyone else is busy with the two parties.’’
‘‘You mean she might decide to pay George a visit.’’
‘‘Right. If I thought she’d spend the night talking to Dee-Dee, I wouldn’t be concerned. But I can’t see Dee-Dee holding her interest that long.’’
‘‘George would,’’ Ambrose said.
‘‘Oh, yeah.’’
‘‘I think you’d better find out if you can bring a guest to the bachelorette party.’’
Dorcas nodded. ‘‘I think so, too, although that does put her geographically closer to George. I’ll just have to keep an eye on her.’’ As they reached the intersection of Fifth and Second, she glanced across the street to the building that housed Click-or-Treat and saw a woman out front. She wore a spring suit of pale green and her gray hair was cut in a simple bob.
Dorcas looked over at Ambrose. ‘‘Isn’t that Lucy Dunstan, Jeremy’s mom, standing outside the café?’’
‘‘I think so. I don’t know her all that well.’’
Dorcas automatically checked for traffic before crossing the street. It was a habit from when they’d lived in Sedona and there actually was traffic. As she and Ambrose drew closer, she could tell that the person with her hands cupped around her face as she peered into the café was Lucy.
Lucy was only about five-two, but she had the commanding presence of someone much taller. Physically Jeremy had taken after his father, principal of Big Knob’s K-12 school. At six-three, Franklin P. Dunstan towered over his wife, but Dorcas had never doubted that Lucy held her own in that relationship.
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