“You always this much of a pain in the ass?”
Letting out a giggle, she nodded. “Yep, just ask my cousin, Mitch.”
Shaking his head, Lance unlatched the screen and stepped onto the porch, not inviting her inside. “Just don’t make this a habit.”
“Look, I only came by to tell you that I need more of your sea glass artwork. It’s sold really well and I’d like you to bring more.”
Nodding, he said, “I’ll have some pieces for you by the end of the week. I’m working on something new, but it takes a while.”
Eyes sparkling, she beamed up at the quiet, ex-soldier friend of Mitch’s. “I can’t wait to see it!” Stepping forward, she placed her hand on his arm but removed it quickly as she watched him flinch. “Lance, I wish you’d let me pay you for the pieces.”
“Materials come from the sea…don’t cost me nothing but time and I’ve got plenty of that,” he replied.
“Okay, well, I’m doing what you said. I’m keeping track of the profits and then donating them to the American Legion.
Nodding sharply, he said, “Fine.”
“Your work is really selling well and, if you want, I could spread the profits to another organization as well…like…uh…maybe Semper Fi Fund or Wounded Warri—” His jaw tightened and she caught the tic in his cheek. “Or not,” she rushed.
Turning back to the front door, he said over his shoulder, “Is that it?”
Forcing a grin to ease the tension, she teased, “Yes, unless you want to invite me in for a cup of tea?”
A rare chuckle came from deep within his chest as he shook his head, disappearing back inside his house.
Hopping back on her scooter, Jillian blew out a deep breath. Cursing her unintentional insensitivity, she drove back toward town wondering about the iconic recluse. I wish I could find just the right woman for him, but I’ve still not found anyone right for Oliver. Deciding she was a better shop owner than matchmaker, she putted down the gravel road.
*
“Girls’ night!” Katelyn shouted, entering Jillian’s house. Seeing Tori, Belle, and Jade already there, she grinned as she handed off the bottles of wine she brought from the pub.
“Come on back!” Jillian shouted from the kitchen, still plating the food she had prepared. With Mitch and Tori’s wedding looming, the girls needed a night to plan, so they sent the men off to Finn’s while they worked on details.
Avoiding the late season mosquitoes outside, the women piled into the living room. Katelyn and Tori ended up on the sofa, squishing Belle in between them. Jade took one the chairs and Jillian plopped onto the floor, leaning back against the other chair. Setting her plate on the coffee table, she grabbed a pad of paper.
“So, what’s on the agenda tonight?” she asked, looking over at Tori, who had just stuffed a cocktail shrimp in her mouth.
Trying to chew, Tori grunted instead. “Fwowa.”
“Are you trying to say flowers?” Jillian laughed.
Swallowing, Tori blushed. “Yes, we need to decide on flowers.”
“Baytown Floral usually does the weddings around here, but I’ve heard there’s a shop just outside of town in North Hampton that does really gorgeous arrangements for weddings,” Jillian said. “I used them for the Galleria event.”
“I know the owner,” Belle said. “She’s the niece of one of my co-workers at the nursing home. She’s really nice and I’m sure would love the business.”
“Good. Write her name down on the list,” Tori said. “We’re going to have the ceremony at the Sunset Restaurant and the reception will be right there also. I honestly won’t need many flowers for the ceremony, since the focus will be on the sunset behind us.”
“Did you decide on food?” Katelyn asked.
Sucking in a deep breath, Tori shrugged. “There’s no way I can afford a sit-down meal for everyone, so it’ll just be a reception with finger food.”
“I think that’s fine!” Jade responded, her green eyes settling on her new friends. “So many people spend so much on weddings and half the time they can’t really afford it.”
Giving a little shrug, Tori said, “The Sea Glass Inn is doing well but I’m not rolling in money and I’m not going to ask Mitch’s family to help; they’ve had a ton of medical bills with his dad’s heart attack and recovery.”
Katelyn snorted as she said, “And we know how much the police chief makes! Mitch really took a pay cut when he left the FBI to come be our chief!”
“I think simple weddings are the most beautiful,” Belle declared, setting her plate down on the coffee table.
Jillian smiled at the dark-haired beauty, knowing Belle had grown up in poverty and, even now, did not make much money as a nurses’ aide. “I think you’re absolutely right,” she declared.
“Next,” Katelyn announced, “bridesmaid dresses!” Turning toward Tori, she asked, “What hideous, obnoxious, poofy concoction have you decided for us?”
Belle gazed wide-eyed at the women as they burst into laughter. Seeing her discomfort, Jillian assured, “Don’t worry, Belle, Tori’s not insulted. We always used to joke that when we got married, we’d make each other wear awful dresses.”
Smiling shyly, Belle said, “I can’t imagine any bridesmaid dress would be ugly. You’d have to feel like a princess in a fancy dress.”
“Hmph,” Katelyn grunted. “Let’s just prove you wrong.” She pulled her iPad out of her bag and googled ugly bridesmaid dresses. The girls crowded around, hilarious laughter combined with snorts abounded, as they showed Belle just how ugly a fancy dress could be.
Holding her stomach, hurting after laughing so hard, Jillian asked, “Okay, we’ve seen what we don’t want, but what have you decided on?”
Tori took the iPad and pulled up several pictures of what she had been thinking of. “I want the dresses to be pretty but not over-the-top.” Oohs and ahhhs followed as the girls all viewed the dresses and voiced opinions.
Leaning back against the sofa cushions, Katelyn took in the empty plates and three empty wine bottles. “Looks like a good planning session, girls. So what else is on the agenda?”
“When are you and Grant going to make it official?” Jade asked.
Startled while sipping her wine, Jillian coughed as she jerked her head away from the others to avoid spraying them. Catching her breath, only after Katelyn leaned forward to pound her on the back, she choked out, “Us? We just started dating not too long ago!”
“Yeah, but you were in love for years and years…just like Mitch and Tori,” Belle said. “I remember you two in high school—”
“That was a long time ago,” Jillian said. “I admit, he stays over a lot, but we’re nowhere close to getting engaged.”
“Oh,” Belle sighed, and Jillian could have sworn the woman sounded despondent.
“Shouldn’t waste time,” Katelyn declared and Jillian shot her a look, wondering when her friend was going to take her own advice.
“You know…I’ve been thinking about trying to set up Oliver with one of you,” Jillian remarked, nonchalantly.
Katelyn rolled her eyes. “Not me and the mild-mannered artist!”
Jillian hated to admit Katelyn was right and shifted to survey the other two women. Belle’s wide-eyed look of fear counted her out, so she turned toward Jade.
“Uhhh, I don’t know about a blind date,” Jade responded.
“Well, keep an open mind and let me know,” Jillian said, draining the last of her wine.
“Who’s ready to open another bottle?”
Hours later, the sound of heavy footsteps on the front porch carried over the music. As Grant entered, he shook his head chuckling at the sight of the five tipsy women, dancing and giggling in Jillian’s living room. Glancing over his shoulder, he called out, “Glad y’all came. Looks like you’re needed.”
“Jesus, Tori,” Mitch laughed, stalking over to his fiancé. “I thought you girls were wedding planning?”
“We did,” she giggled, snuggli
ng into his arms.
Brogan and Aiden followed, having come to take their sister home but instead finding Belle with a sloppy grin on her face sitting in a chair and Jade still dancing. “Looks like we’ve got driver duties tonight,” Aiden called, reaching down to pluck Belle from her chair.
“We’ll get Jade and Belle home safely,” Brogan promised, as he guided both Jade and Katelyn out the door.
With goodbyes all around, Grant closed and locked the front door. Before he turned back, Jillian’s arms snaked around his waist, plastering her front to his back.
“Mmmmmm, I’m glad you’re home,” she purred, her fingers undoing the buttons on his shirt.
Twisting in her arms, he turned around and chuckled at her smiling face. “Babe, how drunk are you?”
Pouting slightly, she said, “Not much. Why? Won’t you do anything if I’m drunk?”
Chuckling, he shook his head. “Oh, I’ll fuck you, sweetheart. I just want to know if you’ll remember it in the morning.”
Sucking in a quick gasp, her sex clenching at his words, she promised, “I’ll remember. I’ll remember every moment.”
Giving a rebel yell, he bent low and threw her over his shoulder, taking the stairs two at a time. She giggled as she bounced, glad she had not consumed more alcohol or she would be, quite possibly, throwing up behind him.
Tossing her on the bed, he toed off his boots while jerking his t-shirt over his head. While she pushed back her hair from her face to get a better look at his sexy muscles and washboard abs, he shucked off his pants and boxers in one swift movement.
“Wow,” she stated, wide-eyed. “You’re naked.”
Bending over the bed, he crawled up her body until his face was right above hers. “You don’t miss much, do you?” he joked, kissing her hard, plunging his tongue into her warmth. She opened up underneath him, barely noticing his hands on her sweater.
Pulling away from her, she mewled in discontent, her hands still grasping for his shoulders.
“You’ve got too many clothes on for what I have planned.”
Grinning, she said, “Let’s see if I can get undressed as fast as you did!”
Grabbing her sweater from him, she jerked it upward, only to have it catch on her necklace. Her entire head disappeared in the material as her arms waved above her head in a trapped dance.
Laughing, Grant snuck in and planted a wet kiss on her bare stomach.
“Aughh, I’m ticklish!” she screamed, trying to blindly wiggle away while still tangled in her clothing.
“Not so fast,” he said, his hands moving to her waist. Unfastening her jeans, he slid them down her legs, kissing as he exposed the silky skin.
“Grant,” she whined, “this is weird. I’m trapped up here and you’re messing around down there!”
“Kind of like one of those romances you read where the guy ties the girl up, right?” he quipped. “You know, this could be better than my handcuffs.”
“Grant! I can’t breathe and my necklace is cutting into my ear! Get me out of this!”
Taking pity on her, he moved up to her head, managing to untangle the necklace and remove the shirt trapped on her chin. Kissing her red face, he smiled once more. “You are fuckin’ adorable.”
Huffing, she tried to pout, but his fingers deftly unsnapped her bra while his kisses continued down her body. Lifting his mouth just long enough to say, “I’ll take your bra off in case you get tangled again. Don’t want these beauties trapped,” he quickly began nuzzling her breasts.
A stinging retort died in her throat as he latched onto one nipple and with one suck, knocked all other thoughts from her mind, her sex growing wet with anticipation. She groaned as his mouth left her breasts, her hands trying to pull him back to her chest.
“I’ll be back, baby,” he promised, his lips sucking and licking over her ticklish tummy as she squirmed. Continuing down, he shifted his body between her legs, nudging them apart with his shoulders.
No longer able to reach his body, she slid her fingers through his hair instead, dragging her nails lightly over his scalp. His tongue licked her sex before his lips sucked her clit, working her into a frenzy. Panting, her hips jerked off the bed, pressing upward.
One large hand pressed down on her tummy to keep her still, while the other hand worked between her legs. Slipping first one finger and then another inside, he felt her inner walls clench as he stroked her deeply. He paid attention to her breathing and knew just when her body was about to explode. In a brilliant triple-play, he moved his hand from her stomach to her breast, tweaking a nipple as he sucked her clit, with the other hand still working her sex.
With her screaming his name as her body bucked off the mattress and her inner walls grabbing at his fingers, he grinned at his success. Lapping the juices, he loved the taste of her…the feel of her.
“God, you’re beautiful,” he mumbled as his mouth made its way back up to her lips, his body towering over her.
Jillian was not sure she could move. Ever. At least not in this lifetime. Or maybe the next. The combination of alcohol and major orgasm almost knocked her out. Almost. Until his lips made their way to hers and she tasted her essence on his tongue.
With renewed vigor, she rolled, flipping him to his back, straddling his hips. “Mind if I take a ride, cowboy?”
Looking up at Jillian’s naked body sitting over his, her breasts swaying gently with the motion and his hand spanning her waist, his voice caught in his throat as he tried to speak. “How’d I ever get so lucky to have another shot at you?”
A sexy smile curved her lips as she leaned down, her hair draped around them. Kissing him lightly, she said, “I gave you just one more chance.”
With that, she lifted back, placing the tip of his cock at her entrance and moved down gently, easing his girth inside. The sense of fullness wrecked her as she threw her head back and groaned in pleasure.
Taking over, Grant lifted her slightly with his hands and began moving up and down inside. Plunging harder and faster, he felt his balls tighten quickly but wanted to make this last. Who am I kidding, this’ll never last…not with her hot body wrapped around mine! Forcing his body to wait, he dug his fingers into the pliant flesh at her hips, hoping he was not leaving bruises.
Falling forward, Jillian braced her hands on his shoulders, her long, blonde hair once more providing a curtain around their faces. She fought the urge to close her eyes, wanting to focus on his face as the friction built inside.
“You close?” he groaned, as though the words were pulled from his lips.
Unable to speak, she simply nodded, feeling one of his hands sliding forward, his thumb pressing on her swollen clit.
The tight spring coiled inside her exploded, sensations flying out in all directions of her body. The friction continued as he thrust upward harder and harder until, with a shouting moan, he emptied himself deep inside.
Boneless, she fell on top of him, hearing his breath leave his chest in a grunt. “Sorry,” she breathed, unable to say any more.
They lay still, his arms now wrapped around her back and waist as he attempted to catch his breath. Sweaty, tangled, spent. Just perfect, he thought. When he was able to move again, he brushed her damp hair from her forehead, running his fingers through the strands, pulling it away from her neck.
Realizing she was incapable of moving, he smirked as he shifted her slightly to the side. Reaching down, he grabbed the covers, pulling them over their cooling bodies. Making sure to tuck them carefully around her, he pulled her in closely to his side, her head resting on his chest.
Jillian opened her eyes, the moonlight barely lighting the room but still allowing her to see his profile. Moving her fingers lightly over his chin and jaw, she smiled as he faced her. “I love you,” she breathed.
“I love you, back, Jillian,” he whispered, watching as her eyes closed in slumber. “Thank you for my chance,” he said into the night, the beauty in his arms already sound asleep.
Chapter
26
“Got a minute?” Grant asked Mitch, walking into his office.
Nodding toward a chair, he motioned for Grant to sit down. “Sure, what’s up?”
“I’ve been following up on a hunch and figure it’s time to bring it forward.” Seeing Mitch nod, he continued, “Jermaine is too much of a kid and a greenhorn to be able to do anything on his own besides use drugs. If he’s running or dealing, he’s working for someone who’s telling him what to do.”
“Gangs use young kids all the time…a helluva lot younger than Jermaine,” Mitch pointed out.
“I know and I’m not saying he’s not involved. In fact, I think he’s very much involved, but someone close by is helping. I’ve talked to him and he’s not that smart.”
“So, what’s your hunch?”
Rubbing his hand over his jaw, he sucked in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. “I suspect his dad.”
Eyebrows lifting, Mitch asked, “What’ve you found?”
Grant appreciated Mitch not questioning his line of investigation, instead showing immediate interest in the possibility. “Dad just bought Jermaine a new car—an expensive car. When I talked to Jermaine, he said something that struck me as odd. He said that his dad was plenty proud of him. Now, I checked and dad paid nine grand down on the car—just staying below the amount of cash that would flag the CTR—and then within two months paid off the loan. He also keeps a separate bank account from his wife, which doesn’t mean anything in and of itself, but some significant sums of money go in and out. While the trailer they live in is nice, it reflects the money he makes at the railroad in Baltimore, not the amounts he has going into this personal account. Hesitating for a second, he added, “And that brings me to my next line of thinking…”
Leaning forward, his forearms on the desk, Mitch said, “Baltimore. Our old friend Stanley also received frequent payments of nine grand into a personal account.”
“Yep,” Grant concurred. “Dad’s right there on the main line of drug travel between New York and Florida, as well as Texas and California. He works for a railway. Could be an inside person who either receives or divvies out to runners for him to ship.”
Just One More Chance: Baytown Boys Series Page 22