by Jane Jamison
“And I came here”—he whipped the hat off his head—“to ask you to have dinner with me.”
She opened her mouth to turn him down, not ready to go out again so soon after her last disastrous date. Daisy, however, didn’t give her the chance.
Daisy appeared as if out of nowhere to push on Alex’s back. “She accepts!”
Alex was on her feet with Jeff taking her hand before she realized what had happened.
Chapter Three
“Could you turn up the air conditioner?” Alex tugged at the collar of her shirt. She’d changed into a fresh cotton shirt before joining Daisy on the front porch, but suddenly she felt damp and sticky. She hadn’t felt this hot even while running after Mikey to keep him from tying the cat’s tail into a knot.
“Up as in colder? Or up as in less air?” Jeff reached over to fiddle with the knob on the pickup’s dashboard.
“Colder, please.”
He eyed her. “Are you as hot as I am?” Beads of moisture formed on his brow. “Weird. The temperature gauge says it’s seventy inside the cab.”
“I don’t know about that, but I’m burning.”
He flipped it to an even chillier temp then gripped the wheel with both hands. “Maybe it’s not the air, but the thing between us.”
“The thing?” Her mouth was suddenly as dry as a desert. The desert got even drier when he turned his see-right-through-you eyes on her.
“Come on, Alex. You know what I’m talking about.” He slowed down, pulled the truck off the side of the road, then turned to her.
“What are you doing?”
He twisted toward her. “Like I said. You know what I’m talking about.”
“No, I don’t.” Liar, liar.
She glanced around, aware of how alone they were. She didn’t know him, and yet her gut told her she didn’t have to be afraid of him. At least not in the bad sense of the word. He wouldn’t harm her body. But would he harm her heart?
He reached out to graze his fingertips along her cheek. The simple touch set up a chain of reactions that seared their way into her body, showing her that she’d only thought she’d been hot before.
“Jeff.”
He could’ve answered her in any number of ways, but he chose the one way that would take her voice away. His hand cupped her behind the neck and tugged her forward. She was more than willing to meet him halfway.
They came together, hard and fast, in a furious flash of need. She moaned as his mouth found hers. He bit her lower lip, pulling it outward in a slightly painful tug. His hand found her breast and cupped it. Her nipple pushed against the material separating them, aching for the feel of his skin against hers.
She knew she should push him away, knew it was insane to give in to the primal urge swirling between her legs, but she could no more have stopped him than she could’ve stopped the tornado that had blown through the town the week before. Instead she scooted closer, pushing her hip against him and letting him lean her back against the seat.
He yanked her shirt out of her jeans and slid his hand underneath. For a brief moment, she wished she’d worn better, sexier underwear. But she hadn’t planned on getting so close so fast.
He shifted his body to put half of his on top of her. One hand stayed behind her neck while the other roamed from her breast down to the growing wetness between her legs, then back up to play with the button of her jeans.
She wasn’t the type to have an impromptu sexual romp with a man, but she found herself silently urging him to take her jeans off. He groaned, a long, slow sound, and unzipped her jeans before yanking them down to her knees in one quick movement.
The old inhibition came rushing back as he took the heel of her flats and shoved them off. Her simple white panties glared brightly in the dimming light.
“No.” She grasped his wrists.
He blinked then narrowed his eyes. “Why? You want me. I know it.”
She couldn’t tell him the truth. What was she supposed to say, “It’s bad enough that you’ve seen my grandma undies. There’s no way I’m going to let you see all my flab.”
Instead, she fell back on a tried and true excuse. “I don’t even know you.”
He paused, considering her statement, but the glint in his eyes told her that he knew the real reason. “Bullshit. Maybe you don’t know me well yet, but if I have it my way, you’ll know me really well soon enough.”
“I don’t know what came over me.” She reached for her jeans, but it was his turn to take hold of her wrists with one hand and hold them against her chest. Her breathing quickened.
He put his face close to hers. His warm breath tickled her lips, enticing her to forget everything she’d said.
“No. Don’t. You want this as much as I do.”
When he dropped his gaze below her waist, she was sure she’d die from embarrassment. His next words, however, swept that away.
“You’re beautiful.”
Now it was her turn to call bullshit on him. “No, I’m not. I’m…”
I’m fat.
She almost said the words out loud. But what did it matter? He’d already seen how big she was.
“I’ll say it again. You’re beautiful.”
She wanted to believe him, wanted so much to make his words be true.
“Alex, I know you don’t think so, and that’s a damn shame. Because, girl, you are the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen.”
Now I know he’s lying.
Was he flattering her out of pity? Or was his end game, getting the fat girl to fall for his lines, his real goal? She put her hands against his chest and tried to shove him away.
He wouldn’t let her. “Stop it, Alex. Don’t fight me. You know you want this as much as I do.”
Wanting it wasn’t the problem. Keeping her heart safe was. She’d been in this position before, believing the words instead of remembering the pain that followed.
“I don’t know who made you feel less than you are, but he was wrong. Hell, he was a fucking idiot.”
Her chest rose and fell with her hard breaths. It hadn’t been one single man who’d taught her to hate her body, but a lifetime of men, mean girls, and even her mother.
Sadness covered the face that usually had a grin on it. “I need to prove it to you, don’t I?”
She shook her head and averted her eyes. She couldn’t stand to look into his any longer. Shame and anger welled inside her.
“Let me show you how amazing you are.”
He moved to the floor of the cab, taking her jeans along with him. Did she dare let him continue? Or should she stop him and lose the chance for him to prove her wrong? With the war raging inside her, she gripped the arm of the car door with one hand while she dug her fingernails into the leather seat with the other.
“This is a mistake.” She tried to sit up, but he pushed her back.
“No.” He moved his body over hers and took her face in his hands. “I’m going to keep telling you no until you hear me. I mean, really hear me.”
He was so earnest, so intent that she couldn’t have denied him anything. Instead, she nodded.
“I’ll never force you into doing anything you don’t want to do, but please let me show you how beautiful you are.”
He had to be playing her. Men, especially men who looked like him, didn’t bother with girls who looked like her. Sure, they wanted to have her, to give her a pity fuck, but they didn’t go out of their way to make her feel special.
Oh, how she wanted to be wrong. She didn’t respond, letting her silence be her answer.
He slid down her body, his tongue feathering soft touches over her nonexistent rib cage, over the swell of her stomach, then down one thigh. She shivered, unused to the tender touches.
Yet when he eased the hem of her panties away from the crease between her thigh and her mons, she inhaled. Somehow she managed to keep from grabbing his hands again.
His gaze caught hers and held them. The wicked gleam, tempered by the warmth beneath it,
took her by surprise. She was even less prepared when he flicked his tongue over the slit of her pussy. Lightning couldn’t have evoked a bigger response. She stiffened, her fingers digging in even stronger to keep her body from flying into space.
With gentle pressure, he pushed her legs apart then moved her panties aside again. He kept his gaze on her and lowered his mouth to her pussy. When his tongue swept over her clit, she cried out and found herself staring at the roof of the cab.
Emotions, overwhelming in their strength as well as their unfamiliarity, swamped her. She closed her eyes and spread her legs farther apart. She was giving in. Giving in to him. Giving in to her own need. But she couldn’t give him her heart.
Not yet.
It was a crazy, irrational thought, a dangerous thought, and she thrust it aside. Instead, she put her attention on the only thing she could trust. Only the here and now was important.
Slipping his fingertips under the top of the panties, he inched them over her generous hips and along her plump legs. Thankfully, the slide down from that was easier, quicker.
“If you believe anything in this world, believe this.”
He took a moment to look at her pussy, embarrassing her again, then came back to her face. And still his grin had not returned. It was like he was intent on making her understand that he was serious.
Keeping his gaze on hers, he dipped lower and pushed his mouth against her pussy again. She held her breath, letting the sensations pulse through her, taking her to the edge of her climax.
His tongue raked her pussy, in and out, circling then stabbing. She cried out, uncaring if anyone could hear them, uncaring that he might think her too loud. The sound of his tongue lapping her up made her quiver, and she finally let go of the seat and door, needing to feel his skin under her fingers.
She clutched his hair and held on, using him as her grounded base. One hand took hold of his and squeezed.
As though he’d taken her grasp as a sign to do more, he added two fingers, pushing them in and out of her pussy.
She’d had sex before. She wasn’t a virgin at her age, but she’d never had any man drink her juices. Instead, those encounters had been quick and hurried, without the tenderness she was experiencing now.
He took her with his fingers and his mouth, and for the first time ever, she gave of herself, released herself, became herself.
The sound of him drinking her was more beautiful than anything she could compare it to. She lifted her hips, giving him an easier go of it. Her legs trembled as he slipped his hand under her and played with her butt cheek.
Nipping, then sucking, he used his tongue, his teeth on her.
If she’d had control over her body, she would’ve made the wonderful sensations last longer. But it had been too long since a man had touched her so intimately.
She cried out, screaming at the top of her lungs when he found her G-spot. The rolling wave that so many of her friends had spoken about but that she’d never experienced came over her, threatening to blacken the world around her. She whimpered and held on, wanting it to end, yet wanting it to never stop.
He was holding his body over her again. She could smell the sweet aroma of her juices on him and sense his presence even though he held his body apart from hers. When he touched her face again, she opened her eyes.
The corners of his mouth tipped upward, a slight imitation of his effervescent grin. His eyes were as serious as before, and she waited, knowing he needed to speak.
“Do you know it now?”
She wanted to push the question aside, to blow it off with a sarcastic remark, but she couldn’t. Denying that she knew the question he was asking was impossible.
“Yes.”
I’ll try. Before reality comes back.
A smile brightened his face, then slowly died. “No, you don’t.”
How had he known? Was she that obvious?
His features softened with his disappointment. “It’s okay. You will.”
She licked her lips and saw how he watched her. “Don’t you want to…you know.” She flicked her gaze downward then back up, the daring temptress in her awakened.
She almost giggled at how hard he tried not to accept her offer. Still, a part of her was pleased when he turned her down. Did that mean he wasn’t in it for just a fuck? Or was his refusal part of a bigger scheme?
“No.”
She arched an eyebrow at him.
“Don’t get me wrong, I want to. But”—he searched her then—“this is enough for now. When you’re really ready, you’ll let me know.”
She was still trying to understand why he’d turned her down when she started tugging her jeans back on. She watched him with her peripheral vision as he wiped his face, then pulled the pickup onto the road toward town.
* * * *
“Sandwiches and Saddles. Cute name for a cute place.” Alex took in the small, cozy diner. Several patrons were at the circular wooden tables. No two chairs matched, but that made the eclectic appearance of the diner even more charming. Stainless-steel lights hung over the red leather booths that lined the wall directly across from the long counter behind which an older man and woman kept very busy.
“Yeah, we like the place. Bob and Lena opened the place years ago and have run it ever since. Other than hiring a teenager once in a while, they’ve always done all the work and the cooking. It’s not fancy, but it’s good.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” She glanced at the simple menu.
“I guess you haven’t made it into town much.” Jeff leaned on the back two legs of his chair.
“Not really. Other than having dinner at the mayor’s home, I’ve stayed busy with the Johnsons and trying to pull together an emergency plan. With the limited resources around here, that’s kept me awake and working most nights.”
“The mayor’s house, huh? Wow, you must be important.”
She loved his sense of humor. “Yeah, that’s me. Hobnobbing with all the movie stars and VIP political figures.”
“Hey, I was only half-kidding. Charlotte Pickerson doesn’t cook for just anyone.”
The older woman who had worked so tirelessly behind the counter scurried over to their table. “Let me guess. This must be Alexia Martin. I’ve heard nothing but good things about you, young lady.”
Alex shook the woman’s hand. “And you have to be the famous Lena, owner of this cute place.”
Lena beamed. “Owner, waitress, scrub woman, and everything in between. But what I wanted to say was thank you for helping folks out around here.”
Alex felt the warmth of the blush fill her cheeks. Why have I started blushing so much lately? “I wish everyone would stop thanking me. It’s my job, after all.”
“Pardon my French, sweetie, but that’s a load of bullshit. People like you do the work because of their kind hearts, not because of the pittance of money they get in return.”
“Which is part of why I brought her here, Miss Lena. She deserves the best food in Destiny.” Jeff sat forward and handed Lena his menu.
Alex noticed that many people in Destiny and the surrounding areas referred to their elders with the respectful term of Mister or Miss. It was strange that they used Miss instead of Missus for a married woman, but she assumed it was a Southern tradition. She thought they did it to keep from referring to a woman’s age. She’d have to remember to use the respectful terms, too.
Miss Lena took the menu while shooting him a look. “Oh, horse hockey, Jeff. You brought her here because she’s a pretty girl and you love pretty girls. You’re showing her off.”
Alex smiled, hoping that her true feelings didn’t register on her face. How many pretty girls did he love? How many had he brought to Sandwiches and Saddles?
“True enough, Miss Lena. But she’s special.”
The little devil in that part of her that couldn’t accept a compliment waved her hands to get her attention. “Don’t fall for his flattery.”
“Um, I’d like one of those juicy ham
burgers, please. The aroma of that and the fries are driving me crazy.”
A tiny woman, her mother, appeared next to the little devil. “Honey, you know better than to do that. Don’t ever eat in front of a man. Are you trying to call attention to your weight?”
“I’ll eat what I want.”
“I’m sorry?”
Oh, crap. Both Miss Lena and Jeff stared at her. “Oh, uh, nothing.”
Miss Lena gave Jeff a playful slap. “You take care of this one, young man. She’s a keeper.”
“I sure will. And I’ll have my usual, please.”
“Are you paying?”
Miss Lena’s bluntness surprised Alex, but Jeff took it all in stride.
“Of course. I wouldn’t let my date pay for anything.” Jeff made a face. “Why would you think any different?”
“Just something Kane said once.” Miss Lena patted him on the same spot where she’d slapped him. “Don’t worry. I know he’s just trying to get at you.”
Miss Lena ignored Jeff’s grumbles about Kane and turned back to her. “Alexia, when you come in on your own, you order whatever you want. On the house. But tonight, we’ll let Jeff pay.”
“Thanks, Miss Lena. And, please, call me Alex.”
The older lady winked. “Alex it is.” Miss Lena was off and scurrying back behind the counter, calling out their orders to Bob as she went.
“He eats with his mouth open, you know.”
Jeff’s pleasant expression died as his gaze slid behind her. “What are you doing here? And what the hell have you been telling Miss Lena?”
She twisted around to find Kane shifting to her side to take the chair next to her. His dark eyes twinkled with mischief and his incredible magnetism hit her hard in the core of her pussy. Again she was struck at the differences, yet similarities, between the two men.
Jeff to Kane. Like light to dark. Clear skies to thunderstorms. It takes one to appreciate the other.
“I asked you what you’re doing here, Kannal.”
Kane didn’t take his gaze off her. “A man’s got to eat. Food, that is.”
She would’ve sworn he could see into her soul as he added, “Among other things.”