She tapped the top of his hand when he started after the cake.
“Ouch.”
“I believe you have a sweet tooth.”
“I think you are sweet.”
“I think you might flatter the cook in order to get your way. It’s time for the colored sugar.” Laura Jo picked up the food coloring she’d left on the other end of the counter. “We’ll need three bowls.”
Mark went to a cabinet and brought those to her. Laura Jo put granulated sugar in each of the bowls and added yellow coloring to one, purple to another and green to the last one. She mixed until each granule had turned the color. She sprinkled one color over a third of one cake. In the middle section another and on the last third another.
“Do you know what the colors stand for?” Mark asked.
“No self-respecting citizen of Mobile wouldn’t know. Purple is for justice, green is for faith and gold for power.”
“You are correct. Can we have a slice now?” Mark asked, sounding much like a child begging at his mother’s side.
“You want to eat it while it’s hot?”
“Why not?”
“I’ve just never had it that way. I’ve always waited until it’s cooled.”
“Well, there’s a first time for everything.” Mark pulled a knife out of a drawer and sliced a hunk off the end of one cake. Picking it up, he bit into it. “This is delicious. Allie is right, you do make the best cakes. I’ve never had one better from a bakery.”
His praise made her feel warm inside. She cut a small section and placed it in her mouth. It was good.
“Hey, look what I found.” He held up a baby.
“You knew where that was.”
“I did not,” he said in an indignant tone. “Just good luck.”
Laura smiled and placed the items she had brought into bags. She needed to leave before she was tempted to stay longer. Being with Mark had been far more enjoyable than she’d found comfortable. What if he tried to kiss her again? Could she handle that?
“What’re you doing?” Mark asked.
“I’m packing up.”
“You don’t have to go.”
“Yes, I do. Do you have something I can wrap one of these cakes in? Allie will be expecting to eat some tomorrow.”
Mark opened a drawer and handed her a box of plastic wrap.
She pulled out a length of wrap and started covering the cake. “Do you mind if I take your baking pan? I’ll return it.”
“I don’t mind,” he said in an aggravated tone, as if he knew she was dodging the issue.
“Are you running out on me, Laura Jo?”
She refused to look at him. “No, I’ve been here for hours and I was more worried about wearing out my welcome.”
Mark took the wrap from her and put it on the counter. “I don’t think that’s possible. I believe you’re running scared.”
“I’m not.”
“Then why don’t you go to the dance with me on Tuesday night?”
“I’ve already said I can’t.” She reached for a bag and put the rest of the items she’d brought in it.
“I think it’s ‘I won’t.’”
“Please, Mark, just leave it alone. I’m not going to change my mind. It’s not because of you but for other reasons.”
“Care to tell me what those are.”
“I’d rather not. I need to be going.” She pulled the bags to her.
“I’m a good listener.”
“That’s not the problem. I just don’t want to talk about it. Now, I need to go.”
Mark took them from her. “I’ll get these. You can get the cake. I’ll walk you to your car.”
Laura Jo was a little disappointed that he hadn’t put up more of an argument to her leaving. Had her refusal to open up about why she didn’t want to go to the krewe dance put him off? Wasn’t that what she wanted?
“I need to wrap your cake up before I go and clean up this mess.”
“Don’t worry about doing that. I’ll take care of it. Theresa will be in tomorrow.”
“Theresa?”
“My housekeeper.”
Just another shining example of the fact they lived in two different worlds. “Well, I’m not going to leave anyone, including a housekeeper, this mess.”
“I’m not surprised. It’s in your nature to see to other people, make it better for them. Who makes things better for you?”
She hadn’t ever thought of herself in that context but he might be right. She wouldn’t let him know it, though. “I don’t need anyone taking care of me.”
“We might be perfect for each other because I’m no good at doing so,” he said in a dry tone.
What had made him say that? He was always taking care of people.
She went to the sink, picked up the cleaning cloth and started wiping off the counter.
“Leave it.” Mark said, taking the cloth and placing it in the sink. “I’ll take care of it.”
Laura Jo then picked up the cake and headed for the front door. Mark wasn’t far behind. When they reached the car, he opened the front passenger-side door and placed the bags on the floor. He then took the cake from her and did the same.
She went to the driver’s door and he joined her there. “Thanks for helping me with the cakes.”
“Not a problem.” Mark reached into his pocket and pulled something out.
Laura Jo could just make out with the help of the light from the porch that he was rotating the baby between his index and thumb.
“We had a deal.”
Laura Jo had an uneasy feeling. Where was he going with this? “We did.”
“I would like to collect now.”
Every nerve in her hummed. Something told her that she might not like his request. “Just what do you want?”
Mark’s lips lifted, giving him a wolfish appearance. He took a step closer, coming into her personal space.
Heat washed over her. She looked at him. In the dim light she couldn’t see his eyes clearly but she felt their intensity.
“I want you to kiss me.”
“What?”
“I want you put your hands on my shoulders, lean up and place your lips on mine.”
He said the words in a form of a challenge, as if she would refuse. She’d show him. Placing her hands on his chest, she slowly slid them up and over his shoulders.
His hands went to her waist, tightening around her.
“Remember this is my kiss,” she admonished him.
He eased his hold but didn’t release her.
Going up on her toes, she took her time, bringing her lips to his. The tension across his shoulders told her Mark was working to restrain himself.
Taking his lower lip between her teeth, she gently tugged.
He groaned.
She let go and smoothed it over with the tip of her tongue. Slowly she moved her lips over his until she almost ended the contact.
At Mark’s sound of resistance she grinned and moved her mouth back to press it firmly against his. She didn’t have to ask for entrance, he was already offering it. Her tongue met his and danced but he soon took the lead. She’d been caught at her own game. It felt wonderful to have a man touch her. It had been so long. For Mark to be the one made it even more amazing. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she gave herself over to the moment. She wanted more, so much more.
* * *
Mark gripped Laura Jo’s waist and pulled her closer. He pressed her back against the car. His hand slid under the hem of her shirt and grazed her smooth skin until his fingers rested near the prize. Wanting to touch, taste, tease, he had to remove the barrier. Using the tip of his index finger, he followed the line of her bra around to the clasp. When he hesitated Laura Jo squirmed against him. She wanted this as much as he did. Flicking the clasp open, he moved his hand to the side curve of her breast.
He released her lips and gave a small sound of complaint. Placing small kisses along her neck to reassure her, he skimmed his hand upward to cup her
breast. His sigh of pleasure mingled with hers. He tested the weight. Perfect. Using a finger, he circled her nipple then tugged.
Her hips shifted and came into more intimate contact with his ridged manhood. He’d been aware of his desire for Laura Jo for a number of days but it had never been this overwhelming.
He pushed her bra up and off her other breast. Her nipple stood tall, waiting for his attention. That knowledge only fueled his desire.
Laura Jo cupped his face and brought his lips back to hers. She gave him the hottest kiss he’d ever received. Heaven help him, if she could turn him on with just kisses, what could she do to him in bed?
She ran her hands under his shirt and across his back.
When her mouth left his to kiss his cheek, he pushed up her shirt, exposing her breasts. He backed away just far enough to look at her. “Beautiful.”
He didn’t give her time to speak before his lips found hers again and his fingers caressed her breast. Thankful for her small car, he leaned her back over the hood. Her fingers flexed and released against the muscles of his back as she met him kiss for kiss. Standing between her legs, the heat of her center pressed against his. He pulled his mouth from hers. It went to the top of her right breast, where he placed his lips. Laura Jo shivered.
“Cold?”
“No.”
His chest swelled with desire. What he was doing to her had caused the reaction, not the metal of the car. He lowered his mouth to her nipple and took it. Using his tongue, he spun and tugged. Laura Jo bucked beneath him.
Her hand went to the line of his pants and glided just beneath. She ran her hand one way and then the other before it returned to stroking his back.
She wasn’t the cold fish she wanted him to believe she was. She was hot and all sensual woman. He smiled as he gave the other nipple the same devotion.
He wanted her here and now. In his driveway. On her car. But that wasn’t what Laura Jo deserved. He wasn’t that kind of man. She certainly wasn’t that type of woman.
“Sweetheart, we need to go inside.”
Mark saw her blink once, twice, as if she were coming out of a deep dream. She looked around as if trying to figure out where she was. He saw the moment she came back to reality and his heart dropped.
“Oh, God.” She sat up and gave him a shove.
He stepped back and let her slide off the car.
She jerked her shirt down, not bothering to close her bra. “I have to go.”
“No, you don’t.”
He stepped toward her and she stopped him with a hand. “I can’t do this.”
“Why not?”
“Because it is wrong for me on so many levels.” She climbed behind the wheel of the car. “I’m sorry, Mark.”
She couldn’t have been any more sorry than he was. He stood there with his body as tight as a bike spoke, wanting to reach out to her. Laura Jo didn’t even look at him as she started the car and headed out the drive.
It wasn’t until the car stopped about halfway down that he knew she hadn’t been as unaffected by what had passed between them as she’d acted. She had wanted him, too.
Guilt filled him. He had no business pursuing Laura Jo if he had no intention of the relationship going beyond what they had just experienced. He couldn’t let it be more. He’d already proved he would run when the going got tough. Could he trust himself not to let them down, like he had Mike?
As her taillights disappeared, he turned and walked toward the house. All he had waiting for him tonight was a long, cold shower. He needed to stay well out of Laura Jo’s life.
* * *
Laura Jo opened the door early the next morning to let Allie, Marsha and Jeremy in. Before Laura Jo could say hello, Marsha announced, “We’ve got a problem.”
“Bigger than the one we already have?”
“Yep.”
“Come on into the kitchen and tell me what’s happened.”
Marsha followed her while Jeremy rushed ahead and took the chair next to Allie.
Marsha sat in the other chair while Laura Jo got a bowl from the cabinet and placed it in front of Jeremy. She then sat down. “Okay, let me have it.”
“I got an email from the city rep, saying that if we don’t get half the asking price in cash to them by the end of next week then there’s no deal,”
This was worse than Laura Jo had expected. “That only gives us five days, and three of those are holidays,” she groaned.
“I know. That’s why I’m here. Do you have any ideas?”
Laura Jo propped her elbows on the table and put her head in her hands. “No,” she said in a mournful voice.
“I do,” Marsha announced emphatically.
Laura Jo looked at her. “You do?”
“You have to go to the knewe dance. It’s our only chance.”
Laura Jo stood and walked to the sink. After last night, going to the dance had become less about her past and more about her reaction to Mark. She had been so tempted to throw all her responsibilities and concerns into the bay and find paradise in his arms. She’d been lying half-naked on the hood of a car, for heaven’s sake. The man made her lose her mind. She’d had to stop at the end of his drive in order to get herself together enough to drive. Her hands had still been shaking when she’d started across the bay.
She couldn’t stand the thought of losing the best chance they’d had in years to have a new house. But if she went to the dance she’d have to resist Mark, which she wasn’t sure she could do, and face her parents and the social circle she’d left behind. The one she spoke so negatively about. She would be going back with her tail between her legs and begging them to help her. No, she would be asking for help for the shelter. It had nothing to do with her personally.
“I’ll call Mark. If he hasn’t asked someone else to go, I’ll tell him I’ll go.”
Marsha joined her at the sink. “I wouldn’t ask you to do it if I thought there was another way.” She put an arm around Laura Jo’s shoulders. “The house is too perfect for us not to give it our best shot. I’d go but I don’t have the same influence as you or Dr. Clayborn have.”
“I know. I just hope it works.” Maybe going would not only benefit the house but give her a chance to lay some ghosts to rest.
“Me, too.” Marsha squeezed her shoulder.
What if Mark had already found another date? That thought gave Laura Jo a sick feeling. Then she guessed she’d be going to the dance by herself. Not only to face her past alone but to see Mark holding another woman. Neither experience appealed to her.
CHAPTER SIX
IT WAS MIDMORNING and Mark was at his office desk when the woman he’d been planning to ask to the dance informed him that he had a call.
Picking up the phone, he said, “Dr. Clayborn here.”
“Mark, its Laura Jo.”
Like he wouldn’t recognize her voice.
“If you don’t already have a date for the dance, I’d like to go after all,” she finished on a breathless note.
He’d thought of little else but her since those minutes outside his home. She’d kissed him so thoroughly, leaving him in need of not only one cold shower but two. Laura Jo had completely turned the tables on him with those hot, sexy kisses. He’d only hoped to kiss her one more time but instead he’d been left wanting all of her.
“No, I haven’t asked anyone else yet.”
After the way she’d left last night, something bad must have happened regarding the shelter for her to agree to go to the dance with him. He didn’t care, he wasn’t going to question the gift.
“So I’m still invited?”
“If you would like to go.”
“I would.”
“So what changed your mind?”
“They’ve moved up the timetable on the shelter house and I’ve been left no choice.”
“Well, it’s nice to know it isn’t because you might enjoy an evening out with me,” he said in his best serious tone.
He had to admit it stung to
know that she had no interest in being seen at the most prestigious event of the year with him. The only reason she had agreed to go was because she needed help finding funds for the shelter. She had made it clear on more than one occasion that she didn’t want to go, so he could only imagine how desperate she must be to pick up the phone and call him. She wanted that shelter enough to take this bold step. What impressed him most was that it wasn’t for her but for someone else.
“I’ll pick you up at seven.”
“Make it eight. I have to work the parade.”
That figured. When did she ever take time for herself? He was going to see to it that she enjoyed the evening out with him if it killed him.
“I’ll be there at eight, then. We’ll make a grand entrance.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. Bye, Mark.” With that she rang off.
* * *
“Laura Jo, stop fussing, you look beautiful,” Marsha nagged as Laura Jo pulled up on the dress that showed far too much cleavage for her comfort.
She’d found the evening dress at the upscale consignment shop downtown. Ironically, it was the same one her mother had taken all the family’s outdated clothes to when Laura Jo had been a child. Her mother would say, “Maybe someone less fortunate can use these.” Like people who were less fortunate cared whether or not they wore couture clothing.
“I’m only going to this thing to try to drum up funds for the shelter, not to have men staring at me. I’ll have to wear the green dress. Would you get it? It’s in my closet.”
Laura Jo hadn’t had time to look any further for a more appropriate dress. She’d taken the first one that was her size and looked suitable. She hadn’t even tried it on and had had no idea this one would be so revealing.
“Isn’t the dress formal?” Marsha said, as if she were reassuring a child having a temper tantrum.
“Yes, but I guess I don’t have a choice.” Laura Jo looked into the full-length mirror one more time. The plunging neckline left the top of her breasts exposed. Each time she breathed she feared more than that might be visible. For a brief second the memory of Mark’s lips pressed against her flesh made her sizzle all over. She inhaled sharply.
“Is something wrong?” Marsha asked.
She circled around and faced Marsha. “Don’t you have a pink shawl? I could put it around my shoulders and tie it in front. That would fix the problem.”
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