Everyone had stacks of poker chips, but the biggest raccoon had the most. His masked face and bright eyes were almost hidden by his pile of chips. All the supplies must have been gathered by the raccoons over the years, swiped from campsites or unguarded backyards. Dorcas didn’t know a lot about the game, but the basic requirements had apparently been met— chips, cards and a playing surface.
On the ground next to George lay a mound of shiny gold pieces. The raccoons seemed to be paying their way with necklaces, bracelets and rings. From this distance Dorcas couldn’t tell if the jewelry was valuable or not.
If she had to guess, she’d say it was all costume jewelry they’d found or stolen. George wouldn’t realize that trading his gold pieces for a fake ruby in a gold-plated setting wasn’t a fair exchange. He’d probably rather have something colorful.
As the play continued, George turned to the big raccoon seated on his left. ‘‘Are you serious, dude? You’re actually gonna raise my ass?’’
The raccoon chattered an answer Dorcas couldn’t understand. She’d studied raccoon years ago, but this southern Indiana dialect confused her.
Isadora sat up straighter on her tree stump. ‘‘I say that raccoon is dealing from the bottom of the deck.’’
Chattering angrily, the raccoon rose up on his hind legs and stared at Isadora with his bright eyes.
‘‘Oh, yes, you are.’’ Isadora lifted her chin. ‘‘I taught your ancestors how to play, and you look just like the one who was a big, fat cheater. I’ll bet cheating runs in the family.’’
Dorcas’s jaw dropped. Isadora had played poker with the raccoons back in the 1800s? No wonder the game was so entrenched in the Whispering Forest.
The big raccoon continued to chatter his protest, even holding up his little black hands as if to prove his innocence.
‘‘I don’t believe you.’’ Isadora pulled something out of her sleeve.
Dorcas gasped. It was a small wand, and Isadora was pointing it at the raccoon.
‘‘No!’’ Dorcas rushed across the road toward the clearing. ‘‘Put that away now!’’
Isadora gave her a glance of disdain. ‘‘Says who?’’
‘‘Says me.’’ George reared up to his full height and shot a flame that knocked the wand right out of Isadora’s hand.
‘‘Ouch!’’ Isadora shook her hand. ‘‘That hurt! What in Zeus’s name do you think you’re doing, shooting off your mouth like that?’’
George breathed on his claws and polished them on his chest. ‘‘Just protecting the creatures of the forest,’’ he said with studied nonchalance. ‘‘Pretty cool, huh?’’
Isadora turned to Dorcas. ‘‘Are you going to let him get away with that?’’
‘‘Absolutely.’’ Dorcas beamed at George. ‘‘That was terrific. Good for you.’’
George gave her a sly grin. ‘‘Think it’s worth a professional case of poker chips?’’
‘‘I need to talk with you about the poker, George. I—’’
‘‘There’s nothing wrong with the poker.’’ Isadora’s voice was tight with fury. ‘‘It’s the cheating raccoons I’m talking about. In my day I kept them honest. Walking around hairless for a few days never hurt anybody.’’
‘‘Who’s going to end up hairless?’’ Ambrose crossed the road looking harried and out of breath. ‘‘What did I miss?’’
Dorcas decided to focus on the positive. ‘‘George being a hero. He saved one of the raccoons.’’
‘‘What raccoons?’’ Ambrose put his hands on his knees while he caught his breath.
‘‘The four who were—’’ Dorcas glanced around the clearing and discovered the raccoons were gone, along with their baubles, the chips, the cards and . . . George’s pile of gold pieces. ‘‘They took everything except the kerosene lamp!’’
‘‘Of course they did.’’ Isadora walked over and picked up her wand. ‘‘I told you they needed to be taught a lesson, but you and your friend George wouldn’t let me. This wand better not be damaged or someone will be billed for it. This is not a cheap wand.’’
Dorcas gazed at the bare ground where the gold pieces had been. ‘‘George’s missing treasure isn’t exactly chicken feed, either.’’
‘‘Hey, there’s more where that came from.’’ George gazed eagerly at Dorcas. ‘‘Do I get the poker chips? Huh, huh? Do I?’’
Dorcas sensed Ambrose’s attention focused on her. With gold pieces missing, he’d expect her to be tough. She crossed her arms. ‘‘You’re supposed to be guarding that treasure, George, not gambling it away.’’
‘‘I’m not gambling it away!’’ He drew himself up with an indignant snort. ‘‘I might be a little behind, but give me a few more nights and I’ll win it back plus the jewels. Just watch. I’m gonna clean out those raccoons.’’
Dorcas felt a headache coming on. She wanted to believe that George was making progress, but he seemed to take one step forward and two back. As for Isadora, she was more liability than asset right now. She’d helped create this poker problem in addition to letting Dee-Dee stay in the lake, even knowing she’d be trapped there for life without a partner.
Isadora pointed her wand at a small forest plant and made it bloom. ‘‘I guess the wand’s working. Now that you guys broke up the poker game, I might as well go back to that dumb party.’’
Dorcas turned to her. ‘‘Before we head back, let’s set a time to get together and brainstorm ideas for taking care of Dee-Dee’s problem.’’
‘‘That stupid lake monster?’’ George belched loudly. ‘‘Who cares about her? Do you think my scales are turning a little more gold? I think they are. Take a look, Dorcas.’’
‘‘Excuse yourself, George,’’ Ambrose said.
‘‘ ’Scuse me. What do you think about my scales? Can you see how the gold is spreading? I’ll bet that lake monster doesn’t have any gold on her.’’
‘‘No, she doesn’t.’’ Dorcas chose to grab whatever opportunity presented itself. ‘‘She’ll always be the same color. Drab old black.’’
‘‘Except in the sunlight her skin gets iridescent and it’s really pretty,’’ Isadora said. ‘‘You can see purple, and blue, and—’’
‘‘But she can’t be out in the sun,’’ Dorcas said quickly. ‘‘So nobody will ever see that. Once you turn all gold, George, you’ll be beautiful.’’ With a quick glance she tried to enlist Ambrose in the cause. ‘‘Right, dear?’’
‘‘I’m not sure beautiful is the word,’’ Ambrose said.
Dorcas groaned.
‘‘I’m thinking magnificent is the term we should use.’’
Ah, she did love her husband.
‘‘Magnificent,’’ George said. ‘‘I like the sound of that.’’
‘‘Blah, blah, blah,’’ Isadora said. ‘‘I’m leaving before I hurl.’’ She started across the road.
‘‘We’re right behind you.’’ Ambrose beckoned to Dorcas. ‘‘Let’s go,’’ he said in a low voice. ‘‘She’s armed and dangerous.’’
‘‘Go ahead. I’ll catch up in a sec.’’ Wanting to leave George with positive thoughts, she turned back to the dragon. ‘‘I can hardly wait until you’re all gold,’’ she said. ‘‘That was wonderful what you did, sticking up for the raccoon.’’
George looked doubtful. ‘‘Yeah, but maybe Zorro was cheating. That’s not cool.’’
‘‘Zorro?’’
‘‘That’s what he calls himself. Then we’ve got the Lone Ranger, Batman and Spiderman. You know, masked dudes. Those are all heroes, so I didn’t think of anybody cheating. Maybe I should have let Isadora turn Zorro hairless.’’
‘‘No, you did the right thing.’’ Dorcas patted his arm. ‘‘And I do see the gold spreading, so that proves it. Now, I have to go.’’
‘‘What about my poker chips?’’
Dorcas lowered her voice in case Ambrose was still within hearing distance. ‘‘I’ll look into it.’’
‘‘Righteous.’’
&nb
sp; As Jeremy headed out the front door holding Annie by the hand, he kept expecting someone to call them back, but nobody did. They made it down the front steps of the porch without incident. So far, so good.
‘‘Let’s go sit in the Suzuki,’’ he said. It wasn’t the coziest spot he could think of, but he wasn’t prepared to go off into the woods without a blanket.
‘‘How about my car instead?’’
‘‘Why?’’
She tugged him in that direction. ‘‘It’s closer.’’
‘‘Good reason.’’
‘‘And it has a bigger backseat.’’
That comment had an immediate effect on his penis. He hadn’t come prepared with condoms, but they could have a boatload of fun even without those little raincoats. He felt inventive.
Taking her keys from her purse, Annie chirped the lock open. ‘‘Come on. In here.’’ She opened the back door before he could get to it and scooted inside.
The dome light came on, so he piled in after her and closed the door so they were once again plunged into darkness. Not total darkness, though, because the lights from the house cast a faint glow into the car’s interior.
What Jeremy saw when he glanced over at Annie made him gulp. She had her dress pulled over her head, revealing a virginal white lace bra and panties. And he’d thought he preferred black.
She pulled the dress all the way off and tossed it into the front seat. ‘‘Take off your jeans.’’ Her voice was sexy-soft and breathless. ‘‘We don’t have much time.’’
‘‘We don’t have much birth control, either.’’ Even so, he unfastened his belt. Oral sex was a damned good alternative, especially when they’d accomplished all the foreplay a person could want out on the dance floor.
‘‘That’s where you’re wrong.’’ She grabbed her purse from the floor, pulled out a box and tossed it to him. ‘‘I told you I won a prize.’’
And he’d won the jackpot. He was in the backseat with a woman who craved his body and was packing condoms. He lost no time shucking his pants. When he encountered the obstacle of his shoes, he yanked them off without untying them. If his feet protested a little, so what?
He threw both shoes and jeans into the front seat in a jangle of keys and loose change. His shirt followed, then his briefs. He left his socks on because he doubted that she’d have the time or inclination to suck his toes.
Sucking Annie’s toes had been his pleasure this afternoon, and he wouldn’t mind a repeat, but this promised to be what everyone referred to as a quickie. Jeremy had never had a quickie. He couldn’t remember a woman who had lusted after him so desperately that she’d settle for one.
Annie, however, had taken off her bra and was shimmying out of her panties. Jeremy thought he’d best get the condom box open. He tore it apart and ripped open one of the packets inside.
Once he had it on, Annie started to giggle. Not the type of reaction a guy looked for when he was going in for the big score.
‘‘You’re green,’’ she said. ‘‘Very green.’’
Even in the dim light from the house, he could see her point. ‘‘Then let’s get it out of sight.’’
‘‘I love it when you talk dirty.’’ She wiggled down onto the seat and made room for him between her thighs.
‘‘This is extremely unromantic.’’ But his penis was throbbing and threatening to detonate any minute, so he made like a pretzel and braced himself above her. ‘‘I haven’t even kissed you yet.’’
‘‘Kiss me now,’’ she whispered. ‘‘Then do me.’’ He followed her instructions, finding her warm, moist mouth in the darkness. She welcomed him with her tongue, which encouraged him to find that other warm, moist opening between her legs. Then he was lost. Connecting with Annie this way fried every brain cell he possessed.
Once he was inside her, he became so involved in the experience that aliens could have landed a space-ship right next to him and he wouldn’t even have noticed. All that mattered was Annie’s hot, pulsing center, where he searched for salvation. Thrusting deep, he celebrated the rhythmic moans that greeted him each time he buried himself to the hilt. All the while he kept kissing her, smothering her cries so that they wouldn’t be heard.
She loved this as much as he did, and he’d carry that knowledge forever. No matter what happened later tonight, or tomorrow, or the next day, he would know that right now, while he lovingly stroked her G-spot with his penis, there was nowhere she’d rather be.
During their dance she’d told him to think about sex. Now, during sex, he thought about their dance, which inspired him to use his hips in new and interesting ways. She responded by rising to meet him with such enthusiasm that he wondered whether the car had started to rock.
He didn’t care. Annie had invited him into the backseat, and he would make it count. Their bodies grew slick with sweat and her fingers dug into his hips.
Their soul-blending kiss ended as they both struggled for air in the final moments. As he felt her tighten around him, heard her breathing quicken, he increased the pace. There. He sensed her orgasm hovering . . . hovering . . . now.
The moment she came, he surrendered to the pounding in his groin and surged forward in a shuddering, monumental climax. A red haze swirled in his brain and gradually settled again as the quivering stopped. So this was a quickie. He could grow to like it.
‘‘Jeremy!’’ A guy’s voice penetrated his barely conscious, sex-drenched mind. ‘‘We need you, buddy! They’re gonna do some toasts!’’
He dragged in a shaky breath and brushed the damp hair from Annie’s face. ‘‘Ready to rejoin the party?’’
Chapter 15
Even though Annie had repaired her lipstick and combed her hair, she was convinced everyone at the party knew exactly what she’d been up to out in the car with Jeremy. He looked a little mussed, too, and she resisted the urge to reach up and finger-comb his hair back into place.
They’d made a decision not to go inside holding hands or act in any way that would give the gossips even more ammunition. But judging from the smirks and knowing looks as they walked back into the living room, there would be no killing this rumor. Annie didn’t mind so much for herself, but her impulsive behavior tonight could make life tough for Jeremy, and she regretted that.
Still, she couldn’t make herself regret what had just happened out there in the backseat of her car. She’d never been capable of quickie sex before, and she was proud of herself. She was also feeling really, really energized.
The music still blared, but the games seemed to be on hiatus while the guests tucked into paper plates piled with goodies from the Big Knob Market’s deli counter.
‘‘Grab a plate, you two,’’ Maggie called out to them as they walked into the living room.
Annie was starving, but three days before the wedding was no time to abandon her diet. Everything on the buffet table was loaded with calories. Not a celery stick in sight. She recognized Bradley’s famous chicken salad and baked-on-the-premises rye bread. And there were desserts—a cheesecake, a Black Forest cake and little individual éclairs that made her mouth water.
‘‘Let me get you some food,’’ Jeremy said.
‘‘No, that’s okay. I’m not hungry.’’
He gazed down at her, his gray eyes warm with admiration. ‘‘Annie, if this is about losing weight, I hope you realize that you don’t need to lose another—’’
‘‘No, no.’’ She waved a dismissive hand. ‘‘It’s not that.’’
He leaned closer and lowered his voice. ‘‘I love touching you, love holding you. It’s like sinking into soft pillows.’’
She groaned and sucked in her stomach.
‘‘I’m guessing from your expression that was the wrong thing to say.’’
‘‘You’d be guessing right. A girl doesn’t want to be thought of as pillowlike.’’
‘‘I meant it as a compliment.’’
She couldn’t help laughing. His confidence might be improving, but he still had g
eekish tendencies. ‘‘I know. That’s what’s so scary.’’
‘‘Come have some food.’’
‘‘No, thanks.’’ The entire Big Knob varsity football team couldn’t drag her over to the buffet table now. Pillows, indeed. ‘‘But you go ahead. There’s nothing pillowy about you.’’
‘‘Uh, okay, I will.’’ He backed away from her. ‘‘I still think you should—’’
‘‘Go eat.’’ She shooed him away and glanced around to see if Gwen was nearby. Gwen cared about Jeremy. Maybe she’d have some words of wisdom about this complicated situation.
Annie found her repairing a flower arrangement on a table between the two front windows. ‘‘I’ll bet you brought that arrangement.’’ Annie had seen some of those same flowers in Gwen’s shop the day before.
‘‘I did. Somebody bumped into them and knocked the baby orchids off-kilter.’’ Gwen fiddled with the arrangement some more and stepped back. ‘‘That’s better.’’
‘‘Can I ask you something?’’
Gwen glanced at her. ‘‘Sure.’’
‘‘Is it horrible for me to be involved with Jeremy when I don’t plan for it to go beyond the weekend? Because when I say it like that, it sounds horrible.’’
Gwen adjusted her glasses. ‘‘He knows that’s how you feel, right?’’
‘‘Yes. If anything, I’ve harped on it too many times.’’
‘‘Then it’s not horrible. He’s an intelligent guy and he has all the facts. He could call a halt if he didn’t like the odds.’’
Annie drew in a long, shaky breath and let it out again. ‘‘Isabel thinks I’m taking advantage of him because he used to have a crush on me. She thinks I’m using him for my own purposes. I probably shouldn’t listen, but what she said hit home.’’
‘‘And Jeremy could be using you for his own purposes. Maybe it’s liberating for him to have great temporary sex. You can’t have sex with a girl in Big Knob without strings attached. What am I saying? Ropes attached, like the kind they use to moor a cruise ship. You might be giving him a gift.’’
Wild & Hexy Page 16