LavenderLaceTrilogy_Bundle

by Lynn LaFleur

  He came out of the bathroom and returned to the bed. Placing his hands on either side of her, he leaned down for a soft kiss. “You want coffee with your pie?”

  “Just water.”

  “Okay.” He kissed her again, longer this time. “Don’t cover up.”

  “I won’t.”

  Once he left the bedroom, Molly stretched her arms over her head. Her breath caught at the nice ache between her thighs. Sex with Julian had been amazing. It had been so hot when he’d come on her breasts. A guy had never done that with her. She’d wanted Julian to climax that way so she could see his cock jerk, watch his cum splatter on her skin.

  Her pussy clenched with the memory.

  She fluffed one of the pillows and moved her head to a more comfortable position. He hadn’t officially asked her to spend the night with him, but she’d told him she wasn’t in any hurry to leave. She didn’t have to be at work until one tomorrow afternoon. That gave her plenty of time in the morning to make love, have breakfast, shower and make love again before she had to go home to get ready.

  She might walk funny in Nordstrom tomorrow, but it would be worth it.

  “Why are you grinning?” Julian asked. He walked toward the bed with two saucers in one hand and a glass of water in the other.

  “Am I grinning?”

  “Just like a woman who has been thoroughly loved.”

  “I have definitely been thoroughly loved.” She laughed at his smug smile. “Don’t let the compliment go to your head.”

  “No beating on my chest, I promise.” He set the glass on the nightstand and held out one of the saucers to her. “There’s more pie if you want another piece.”

  Molly stuffed a pillow behind her back and leaned against the headboard. She took her first bite of the creamy concoction and moaned from pleasure.

  “Oh God, that’s better than sex.”

  Julian scowled at her. “I beg your pardon.”

  Molly giggled. “Okay, it’s better than most sex.”

  “I’ll accept that.” He took a bite of his pie. “Yeah, it turned out really good this time. I had trouble with the recipe the last time I made it.”

  His comment made Molly wonder how many women he’d cooked for. A lot, probably. She had no right to ask about former lovers, yet the question still popped out of her mouth. “Do you usually cook for your girlfriends?”

  “There haven’t been that many girlfriends, Molly.” He blew out a breath while he set his empty saucer on the nightstand. “I’ve dated and I’ve cared deeply about a couple of women, even lived with one of them for three months. Things didn’t work out.” Turning toward her, he rested one arm on an upraised knee. “My parents are still very much in love after thirty-five years of marriage. I know what’s supposed to happen between a man and a woman, the kind of deep feelings there has to be to make a marriage work. I won’t settle for anything less.”

  “Your parents sound wonderful,” she said, barely above a whisper.

  “They are.”

  The last bite of pie stared back at Molly. She and Shawna had both longed for parents who loved them, who would be there for them no matter what. Instead they had a father who died when Molly was eight and a mother who turned to bourbon in her grief. It didn’t matter that she had two daughters to rear. Lydia Ross had preferred drinking over making sure her daughters had something to eat or clean clothes to wear.

  There was no way she could get that bite past the lump in her throat. She set the saucer on the nightstand.

  “Would you like to talk about why you were so upset after you talked to your sister?”

  She didn’t answer his question because she wasn’t sure what to say. She’d love to talk to Julian about her parents. He was so kind, so understanding. But this was the first time they’d been together. She didn’t want to cry on his shoulder and make him sorry he’d invited her here. Or even worse, decide he never wanted to see her again.

  He cradled her chin and turned her face toward his. “I’d like to help if I can.”

  Concern filled his eyes, along with compassion. Molly opened her mouth, ready to spill everything. At the last second, she closed it and shook her head. “I’d rather talk about happy stuff.”

  “Okay,” he said after a moment’s hesitation. He touched her hair, curled a tendril around his finger. “Do you work tomorrow?”

  She nodded. “My shift starts at one.”

  “When do you get off?”

  “Nine thirty.”

  “That’s kind of late to have dinner.” His thumb brushed the sensitive skin beneath her ear. Molly shivered and her nipples pebbled. “Maybe you could come over after work for wine or coffee.”

  “Yeah, I could probably do that.”

  He continued that mesmerizing caress beneath her ear. “You told me earlier you aren’t in a hurry to leave. Is that still true?”

  Molly nodded.

  “Will you spend the night with me?”

  “I’d like that.”

  Dropping his gaze to her breasts, he touched one firm nipple with his other thumb. “Are you cold?”

  Cold? He had to be kidding. One little touch from him and Molly felt as if she was on fire. She shook her head.

  “Just wondered, since your nipples are hard.”

  He looked back at her face. Molly’s clit began to throb when she saw the desire in his eyes. She glanced at his cock to see it was stiff and ready to fill her again.

  “My nipples aren’t the only thing that’s hard.”

  He replaced the thumb beneath her ear with his lips. “Is that okay with you?”

  She shivered again at the feel of his warm breath against her skin. “Yes,” she whispered.

  He softly kneaded her breast as he nipped and sucked up and down her neck. Molly’s eyes rolled back and she drew in a shaky breath. Heat rushed through her body, her heart stuttered in her chest. She tunneled her fingers into his hair and pulled up his head so she could kiss him.

  He gentled the kiss when she would have devoured his mouth. He held her nape, his other hand still caressing her breast. Light, nipping kisses mixed with tender touches. Molly wrapped her arms around his waist and simply absorbed the pleasure running up and down her spine.

  She went willingly when he lowered her to the bed. He broke their kiss only long enough to don a condom. He kissed her again as he slipped between her legs. One thrust buried his cock deep inside her.

  He continued to kiss her lips, her cheek, her neck, while he moved inside her. Molly slid her hands over his back and butt and met every one of his slow thrusts. When she tried to move faster, he looked at her and shook his head.

  “No. Nice and slow this time. I want to feel your body tremble when you come.”

  Interlocking their fingers, he held her hands next to her head. Molly could do nothing but obey him. She stared into his eyes, accepted the easy pumping of his cock into her pussy, the glide of his damp skin against hers. He moved in a way that brushed her clit with each plunge into her wet channel.

  The orgasm didn’t gallop through her this time, but enveloped her in warmth and pleasure. She continued to stare into Julian’s eyes when she felt his body tighten, heard the low raspy groan in his throat. Once he stilled, he kissed her so sweetly that tears sprang to her eyes.

  “You have quite an effect on me,” he said after their kiss. “I haven’t come three times in one night in a long time.”

  “Me either.” She playfully scratched his ass. “I liked it.”

  Julian chuckled and kissed the tip of her nose. “I think you might be a naughty lady.”

  “Is that bad?”

  “No way. I love naughty ladies.”

  He kissed the tip of her nose again, then her lips. “Are you ready to get some sleep?”

  “Definitely.”

  “Okay.” He slowly pulled out of her body. “I’ll be right back.”

  Molly rolled to the middle of the bed while he went into his bathroom. What an incredible evening. Good f
ood, great sex, amazing guy. Amazing, sexy, wonderful guy, who wanted her to spend the night and see her again tomorrow evening.

  If this was a dream, she hoped she never woke up.

  Julian came back and traveled through the room, blowing out candles. Once the last candle had been extinguished, he walked to the bed. “Do you have a preference which side you sleep on?”

  “My left.”

  “Me too. Scoot over.”

  She did and he climbed in beside her. He pulled up the covers, then tugged her into his arms, her back to his chest. She felt his lips touch the top of her head.

  “Goodnight,” he whispered.

  With a soft sigh, Molly closed her eyes.

  Chapter Seven

  Molly drained the last of her latte and went back to work on her laptop. She was in the middle of a pivotal scene regarding her killer and hoped to finish it before Marci and Twyla arrived.

  Warm lips on the side of her neck sent a shiver through her body. She looked over her shoulder to see Julian grinning at her.

  “Good morning,” he said, his voice husky.

  “Good morning.”

  He rounded the table and sat in the chair opposite her. “I see you’re already hard at work on your book.”

  “I am.” Molly had arrived at Jennie’s Java the moment the door opened this morning. She’d put on earphones to drown out Shawna’s music and written past midnight last night because the words had been flying out of her fingers. She had to be at work by nine thirty and wanted as much time as possible this morning to write.

  Great sex had really inspired her.

  He snitched a piece of her muffin and popped it in his mouth. “How’s it going?”

  “Incredible. I can’t type fast enough.”

  “Do you want me to leave you alone?”

  “You won’t be here long anyway.”

  Heat rushed to her cheeks when she realized her words could be misunderstood to mean she didn’t want him here. “That didn’t come out right.”

  She felt better when she saw the humor in his eyes. “I know. And you’re right. I start my new job at eight. I have enough time to grab a coffee and muffin to go.” He motioned toward her ceramic cup. “Do you want a refill?”

  “I’d better not. I’ll be bouncing off the walls if I drink any more.”

  She wrote another half page before Julian joined her again. He sipped his coffee, looking at her over the rim. “I missed you last night.”

  His words sent warmth from her head all the way to her toes. She’d spent Saturday night with him too, but had gone home early Sunday morning because his family planned to visit. “I missed you too. Did you have a nice time with your family?”

  “Yeah, it was great. Of course, Jill wanted to rearrange all the furniture since I didn’t do it right.”

  Molly laughed. She hoped she had the chance to meet Jill someday. She sounded like a character.

  “Mom cooked enough food for ten people. I have lots of leftovers.” His eyes narrowed in that “I want you” look she already recognized. Her heartbeat quickened. “Want to come over for dinner?”

  She nodded. “What time?”

  “I get off at five, but I might work later since it’s my first day. How about seven?”

  “I’ll be there.”

  Wrapping his half-eaten muffin in a napkin, he grabbed his coffee cup and stood. “I’m outta here. Don’t want to be late my first day on a new job.”

  “Good luck.”

  “Thanks.” He leaned over and kissed her softly. “See you later.”

  Molly propped her elbow on the table, rested her chin on her fist and watched Julian walk out the door. She sighed. She still had trouble believing her good luck in meeting Julian. He was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

  She worked until three today. That would give her time to run some errands before she went to Julian’s apartment. She thought about making another trip to Lavender Lace. She liked the way Julian’s eyes had turned hot when she’d taken off her clothes Saturday night and exposed her teal lingerie. She’d bought two sets of matching bras and boyshorts plus the olive camisole on her first trip to Lavender Lace. Maybe she should surprise him tonight with a different sexy bra and panties set.

  As soon as the plan formed in her head, Molly knew it wouldn’t work. Lavender Lace was closed on Monday. No problem. She had Tuesday off. She’d go then and take her time shopping for the perfect lingerie to make Julian’s eyes bug out.

  Marci came in the door, followed by Twyla. Her friends would pump her about Julian. She saved her work and closed her laptop, knowing there’d be no more writing this morning.

  Marci slipped into the chair Julian had vacated while Twyla went to the counter. “Well?”

  “Well what?” Molly asked, even though she knew exactly what Marci wanted to know.

  “How was your date with Julian?”

  “Don’t you want to get your coffee?”

  “Twyla’s getting it for both of us.”

  “It wouldn’t be right to say anything until Twyla gets here.”

  Marci huffed out a breath. “You’re cruel, do you know that?”

  Molly grinned. “Yeah.”

  Twyla came to the table with two large ceramic mugs of coffee. “Don’t you say one word until I come back,” she said sternly to Molly.

  “I won’t.”

  Twyla looked at Marci. “The muffin of the day is cream cheese apricot. Is that okay?”

  Marci glanced at the crumbs on Molly’s saucer. “Is it good?”

  “Scrumptious.”

  “I’ll go with that. Hurry! I want to hear about Molly’s date.”

  “Hey, Twyla, get three,” Molly said. “We can share the third one.”

  Molly wondered if Twyla broke a speed record in buying three muffins. She pulled her chair up to the table and leaned forward on her folded arms. “What happened? And don’t leave out any detail.”

  She couldn’t resist teasing her friends a little longer. “You should try the muffin. It really is scrumptious.”

  Marci drummed her fingertips on the table. “You are five seconds away from being seriously hurt.”

  Molly laughed. She loved to tease her friends. “Okay, okay. I don’t want to be seriously hurt. The evening was beyond incredible. Julian lives in a wonderful apartment on the fifth floor with a view of Puget Sound and the Olympics. He made this delicious chicken dish with a lemon sage sauce for dinner. His mother is Italian and he got the recipe from her.”

  “So he’s a good cook?” Marci asked.

  “Oh yes. He even made dessert, a ricotta chocolate pie that was so creamy, it melted on my tongue.”

  Twyla and Marci groaned.

  “After dinner, we watched Star Trek 4 and ate popcorn. Then…” She looked at each lady and fanned her face. “Oh. My. God.”

  Twyla grinned. “I guess that means the sex was good.”

  “A-ma-zing.” She ticked off the times with her fingers. “Three times Friday night, twice Saturday morning, twice Saturday night, once Sunday morning. There would’ve been more Sunday but I went home ‘cause his parents, sister and two nephews came to see him.”

  “Eight times and you can still walk?” Marci asked with a grin.

  “I soaked in the bathtub for a looooonnnnng time last night.”

  Molly laughed along with her friends. Marci and Twyla had shared information about their blossoming relationships with Keefe and Daniel. Molly liked that she could finally share something too.

  “I guess I made it sound like all we did was fuck the entire weekend.”

  “Nothing wrong with that,” Twyla said, grinning.

  “True, but we did so many other things. He took me to Pike Place Market Saturday afternoon. I haven’t been there in years. We spent hours walking around. We bought this incredible crusty bread and clam chowder for lunch that was so delicious, it should be illegal. Then we went to see the new Johnny Depp movie.”

  “Was it good?” Marci asked.

/>   Molly nodded. “Very. Julian and I both enjoyed it. After that we went to The Chowder House for dinner. I swear I had an orgasm while eating the salmon.”

  “I felt the same way when Keefe and I went there two weeks ago.”

  “But do you know what was the most amazing thing about the whole weekend?”

  Marci and Twyla shook their heads.

  “We talked. I mean, we really talked, about growing up and our jobs and our hobbies and our dreams. I learned the first night at his apartment that we both love Star Trek movies. We have so much in common, it’s almost scary. He wants to parachute out of an airplane, just like I do. How cool is that?”

  “He sounds perfect,” Marci said, smiling gently.

  “I haven’t even seen him yet,” Twyla said with a pout. She turned to Marci. “At least you’ve seen him. You know what he looks like.”

  “He’s very cute.”

  “That isn’t good enough. I need to meet him. We should all get together for dinner. What are you two doing over Thanksgiving weekend?”

  “Thanksgiving is out for me. Keefe and I are going to Oregon to visit my sister. We’ll be back late Saturday. What are you doing for Thanksgiving, Molly?”

  She thought of her mother’s invitation to visit over the holiday. Shawna had brought up the subject again this weekend. Molly’s answer had been the same—a very firm no. Her stomach always tightened at the idea of being in the same room with Lydia Ross. Molly simply couldn’t do it. “I’ll probably spend it watching the football games. I work Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”

  “What about Shawna?” Marci asked. “Won’t she be with you Thursday?”

  “No. She’s going to Everett to see our mother.”

  Silence, for about ten seconds before Twyla spoke again. “You aren’t spending the holiday with your mother?”

  Molly shook her head. “And before you ask any more questions, I’ll tell you I don’t want to talk about it. End of discussion.”

  She’d only known Marci and Twyla for two months, but they’d grown close in a short time. She could tell they both wanted to pump her for more information about her mother. That subject was off-limits, even to her closest friends.