by Sylvie Kaye
Hannah rode over with Eric while Jilly and her aunts followed in the big blue Plymouth, which smelled like a leaky muffler instead of a baker's dream like the BMW had.
After setting up a folding table, Jilly and Eric unloaded the car. He ducked out to call Zack, while she priced the delicious baked items that had her stomach rumbling with hunger.
When he returned, he steered Jilly toward the exit, calling out to the women, “You ladies are all set. Jilly and I are going for a bite to eat.” They darted for the door before anyone's aunt came up with anything else for them to do.
"I arranged with Zack to meet you at the entrance to the park.” Eric unlocked the door of the BMW and jammed Jilly into the front seat. The luxurious leather quickly swallowed up her rump. After trotting around and climbing in, he revved the engine and squealed out of the parking lot. “You have three hours. Give Hannah a ride home when you pick up your aunts. I have to take Ken to an art auction.” He glanced at his gold wristwatch. “In less than twenty-five minutes. I can make it if you jump out at the park when I slow down to around thirty miles per hour.” He grinned.
"Too bad I didn't pack my parachute.” Jilly checked her hair in the mirror on the visor.
"I bet your parachute's pink."
She snapped the visor shut and squeaked, “You peeked in my bedroom."
"When I went to the bathroom at your aunts’ house. I can't wait to tell Ken about it.” He laughed.
"I owe you one.” She shook her finger at him.
"You owe me for a pair of shoes. Your boyfriend spattered paint on them last night."
"He didn't?” Her eyes widened.
"Yeah. He also squeezed the life out of my hand when he shook it. Had a feeling he would've liked it to be my neck. I thought you said he was friendly. I think he's jealous. He barely muttered two words to me."
"Sorry. But talk about not talking, what happened to our Ken doll when he met my aunts?"
"I warned you he was shy. Because of his height, he prefers to meet people on his own turf, like at the apartment or his restaurant. That reminds me.” Eric flipped open the compartment. “Courtesy of Ken."
"Oh, no, not condoms.” Jilly snapped her eyes shut.
"To keep up your strength.” A small package landed in her lap. “Ken expects all the gory details from your romp in the park in exchange for the half a muff."
Jilly opened her eyes and unwrapped the ham and cheese muffaletta, ripping off a big bite, chewing ravenously, and talking at the same time. “This is delish."
"Never mind the food critique. Eat fast. We'll be there soon."
Jilly chewed faster. Thanks to a red traffic light, she was able to finish off most of the sandwich. As they approached the park gate, she unbuckled her seatbelt, tucked her handbag under her arm, and grabbed the door handle to be ready.
"Bye. Good luck.” Eric swerved into the curb.
Once Jilly hopped out, the BMW zoomed back onto the road with a toot of the horn. Her legs were shaky, but she'd landed upright. She hadn't looked for Zack before she leaped. Suppose he wasn't here?
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Chapter Sixteen
"When you date in secret you go all out.” Zack stood near the entrance to the park with his hands in his pockets and a silly grin on his face. “You never mentioned 007 was dropping you off. Bet you got a phone in your shoe heel.” He feigned a reach for her foot.
Jilly dug her heels in, but mostly for balance after Eric's quick drop off. “No phone and no crusader's cape either.” She smiled at him. He'd shown up.
"That's because you're too cute to be a crime fighter.” He tapped her nose, and she was on solid ground.
"And you're too cute to be a criminal.” She winked boldly to regain some semblance of control.
Swiftly, she matched her stride to his and they entered the park, strolling the grounds. She pointed out two trees in the distance. “Those are the infamous dueling oaks where many an affair of the heart was settled during the eighteen hundreds."
"There are nicer things to do under a shady oak to impress a woman. Especially if you've got a blanket.” He took her hand in his. Time didn't stop at his touch, but she didn't expect it to while he was on the move.
"Name a few.” She looked up at him with an aching want, wishing she had a blanket handy for a quick demo. Something about the man brought out her lustier instincts. His nearness and touch thrummed through her, heating her body and her desires. The flex of his thigh next to hers as they walked, the memory of his mouth on hers last night.
"A picnic on a blanket.” He smiled down at her.
"Right.” She swatted at his arm, but held tight to his hand.
They took one of the hiking paths, the plush grass cushioning their footsteps. The hot, stifling air had changed to a refreshing breeze and cooled her flushed skin.
Once they trekked down the trail, the lagoon glistened up ahead. Shrouded by huge live oaks dripping with moss, a glimpse of blue shimmered in the late day sunlight. The reflection both dark and glittery at the same time. She and Zack stopped near the rim of the bank, watching a swan arch its long neck and swim amongst the water lilies.
Closing his eyes, Zack held his face up to sky. “Can you feel the surge of energy from the nature around us? In the rustle of the leaves, the ripple of water, the rays of the sun. The trees stretching up to the sky while their roots grip the earth for support.” His voice sounded reverent, but his mouth looked sinful and desirable. Want flooded through her, thick and hot.
She closed her eyes to shut out her fiery need and focused on trying to sense the nature around them. “I can feel the energy.” She did, too. Strange but she never had before. “We're very much like the trees, aren't we?"
"We both vibrate energy only at different levels."
"I meant we're both reaching for the stars while holding tight to what we have."
He squeezed her hand, his voice low. “That's pretty profound."
Nearly all of her ideas were deep when she got this close to Zack. But most of those penetrating thoughts were more physical than cerebral, especially when his hand held hers like a cherished gift and his lulling voice talked in hushed tones.
As they stepped back beneath the secluded canopy of an enormous gnarled oak, a hint of wisteria wafted on the air.
"Can you imagine interacting with all of this energy?” he asked.
"You mean you, me, and nature?” She stretched her arms out to encompass the surrounding greenery, the clumps of feathery palms and the banana trees secluding them from passersby.
"Uh-huh,” he said.
"I can imagine it, but I don't know that it's possible."
"Want to give it a try?"
When she stared into his mesmerizing eyes instead of concentrating on his lush mouth anything seemed possible. She nodded.
"Concentrate on our lips and nothing but our lips."
She thought she'd been doing that.
Zack's eyes hooded as he lowered his head and their lips met. The caress of his mouth felt warm and sensuous. The earth moved and the sky spun. She closed her eyes before the water in the lagoon parted.
Heat and excitement raced through her veins. She knew this kiss was different, more special than any kiss that came before or might come after.
This moment was special. She held her breath wanting to hold onto it for as long as possible. This exact time and place, this blending of energy with the grassy earth beneath her feet, the dizzying sky above her head, and the feel of Zack's tantalizing mouth on hers might never occur again.
The kiss went on and on, then stopped. Sort of dissolved. She opened her eyes, and blinked, and Zack came into focus. “Our energies were pretty active,” she mumbled, confused by the intensity of the kiss.
"Want to try again, while we concentrate on our hearts?"
His low, rumbly voice made her want to try just about anything with him. Deep sea diving, hang gliding, making it with him here in the grass. She preferred the last
one.
Concentrating on hearts surely meant hugging. Kissing and hugging with Zack, with only nature as their witness, was certain to evolve into an even more energetic proposition. Blanket or no blanket, she was going for it.
"My heart's ready.” She waited, steeling her heart to sentiment but opening her very pores to his sensuality.
When he wrapped his arms around her waist, she stood on tiptoes and cradled his neck with her forearms.
"We have to get closer so that our hearts align.” He pulled her up against his hard chest.
Their eyes met and held. His heart beat against hers, fast and loud at first. Hers thudded in response. His eyes twinkled and smiled. When she smiled back, his heart seemed to relax, the thumping becoming more rhythmic. Hers beat in harmony.
"I feel heat.” She whispered so as not to break the spell.
With each beat and with each breath, a glow of warmth spread throughout her body. From her toes to her brain, she melded with the universe. With her feet touching the ground, sensations of safety and security anchored her while her mind soared and reached for the sky. Yearnings and dreams, unimagined until now, involving Zack and the future, streamed upward, ever upward.
A combination of energies flowed in rapport yet in opposite directions. But she didn't have time to analyze the conflict. Their lips met again, like before, except with their hearts touching, attuned, beating in agreement. A wild sensation, an even wilder notion to put any trust into.
Hearts were breakable. She edged away but he held her tight.
Heat radiated from her heart, their hearts, to her lips, and then his, and then theirs. Throbbing hearts to pulsing lips. Pulsing hearts to throbbing lips.
Their breath mingled and intermingled. Heartbeats meshed and intermeshed. Pulses coursed in a vortex of confusion. Mentally, she pulled away from the entanglement. Uniting hearts were acts she didn't put much faith in. She wanted him, but physically.
Right now before his tenderness changed things between them. Right here on the green grass under the blue sky and billowy white clouds. Here hidden beneath the trees.
Private enough to give the passionate dreams she'd been having about her and Zack a satisfying, climactic ending for once. And finally cool her escalating desire for him.
They'd joined lips and hearts, surely the next body parts to join would be the vital, lower ones. But she didn't rush him. His mouth on hers was stirring. Even though she wanted to grind her hips into his, she restrained herself. So far nothing below the chest was touching. She didn't want him to think she was fast when she was merely time-impaired.
So she waited. She'd give him ten minutes, twenty, a half-hour tops to finish his experiment. But she didn't have all night.
At last he loosened the hug. When he unlocked his lips from hers, he said, “I felt the energy flow for the longest while and then it seemed to slip away. We lost the connection somehow."
"It was probably me. I started wondering about the time."
He glimpsed his Mickey Mouse wristwatch. “We have almost an hour before we should leave.” His eyes met hers, gray and intense.
Enough time to make her dreams come true.
"How about we sit over here?” As she sank back against a mossy tree trunk, she slipped her sandals off and curled her toes into the thick grass.
"Did I mention I know foot reflexology?” His gaze fell on her bare feet.
"I don't recall the subject coming up during any dinner conversations, but I can check with my aunts.” She grinned up at him. He was so dreamy and doable, right here in the waning sunlight, hidden from the hikers’ path. His powerful body radiating sexuality. Hers reacting with an achy want.
The muscles in his arms and legs bunched as he sat down next to her. “Put them up here, smarty.” He patted his lap.
She'd rather put her head in his lap, so much easier for kissing. But she swung around and plopped her heels onto his thighs.
Could he hit her G-spot, or U-spot, or C-spot from there? She willingly indulged him. His hands anywhere on her body were a start.
After a few tickles from him, followed by a few giggles from her, he got around to the more serious work of rubbing her feet. Oh well, if worse came to worse, she'd take her still sexually frustrated body home on her well-satisfied feet.
His strong fingers kneaded her soles with steady, rhythmic movements, and tension drained from her. Rubbery and melting, she sighed when he rubbed each toe with entrancing strokes.
"Hmmm, so it is true. The feet are an E-zone."
Then things took an interesting upward turn. He massaged her ankles. His motions gentler, more sensual than therapeutic. His hands moved even closer to consummating her dreams when he petted her calves. She squirmed, inching forward until his roughened palms were on her thighs, stroking, soothing, leaving her hot and moist. Soon she was draped across his lap, purring like a petted kitten, anticipating the graze of his fingers on her innermost lips, firing her up to do some petting of her own.
She scratched her fingernails lightly on his scalp and the nape of his neck. She kissed small, sucking little kisses underneath his jaw and onto his Adam's apple. Beneath her lips his throat throbbed with his simmering pleasure.
She peeped an eye at Mickey Mouse and groaned. At this rate, if any action took place, it was going to end up being a quickie.
Even so, her feverish fingers started in on the buttons of his colorful cotton shirt. She massaged his chest and nipples until he groaned low in his gut. Good. He was eager and ready. The hard, hot, zipper of his fly poking at her spine verified the fact further.
Finishing off the buttons on his shirt, she moved to the snap on his jeans. He stilled her hand and looked into her glazed eyes. “I wanted our first time together to be special."
"Oh, it is. I never energized with anyone before. That was real special.” She held his stare while she jerked the snap open. The clock was ticking away.
"I wanted us to have atmosphere."
"What better atmosphere? We have nature and natural resources and natural lighting.” With each natural utterance she edged the zipper of his fly down. “We can look at the sky and clouds."
"I thought we'd work up slowly to a mind-blowing orgasm through tantric—"
She kissed his mouth and muffled whatever he had to say while she worked her hand into his pants. He moaned a last weak protest when she wrapped his hardness in her fist.
That's when he finally made his move. He grabbed her in his arms and laid a purely sexual lip-lock on her that had been worth the wait.
"Forget slow for now.” She tugged at his shirt.
Soon clothes flew and hung at half-mast. His jeans were around his knees. Her shorts dangled from one leg. His shirt was wrapped around his arm like a colorful sling. Hers was off, but her bra was pushed up under her chin, threatening strangulation, which would take longer than this was going to take so she dared to risk it.
The only thing completely on was his latex protection.
At long last he penetrated her, filling her, replacing her aching need and loneliness with pure pleasure.
She moaned. It had been so long. He was so long. Hard and hot, too. He pumped, bucking his hips with power and drive. Still she helped his naked butt along with her hands, coaxing him faster, deeper.
"Hurry,” she murmured.
Grinding pressure, body heat, garbled whispers, and, then finally, satisfaction. Her orgasm washed over her in spastic waves followed by gasps of breath that matched no one's rhythm but her own.
He held her to him, the texture of his cheek smooth and fresh-shaven, the smell of aftershave and sex mingling with their body heat. She flicked her eyelids open. She'd forgotten to look at the sky or the clouds.
Later in the church's parking lot, Zack dawdled over murmured parting words. He leaned against the fender of his truck holding Jilly by the waist, certain she'd dart.
He wasn't ready to let her go yet. Their lovemaking had been hurried and yet he felt he'd connected with h
er, if only for a brief moment before time had run out on them.
She felt so right, so perfect in his arms, he wanted to keep her there for as long as possible. Being inside of her had been the closest he'd ever felt to anyone.
An unexpected jolt zapped him from his mellow afterglow, separating him and Jilly. Arms laden with bakery boxes, a tall woman crashed into them, rushing through the parking lot.
"Excuse me. I think I may need new glasses. Mine seemed blurred all of a sudden.” Her eyeglasses hung off the tip of her bulbous nose.
"Here let me, Mrs. Crumbly.” Jilly reached out and adjusted them.
"Thank you. I can see now.” The woman blinked like an owl. “Oh, it's you, Jilly. You'd better see to your aunts. They're having a difficult time inside."
Without a word, Jilly took off toward the church basement. Zack followed hot on her cork heels. His skills might be needed. He knew CPR and had handled emergencies at the job sites.
As soon as they entered the green linoleumed hall, he spotted Aunt Gloria. Her back was as stiff as one of Aunt Vinny's over-starched lace window panels. Another elderly lady, who stood nearby, appeared to have had the starch wrung right out of her. Flustered, rumpled, and wet, she looked like she'd been flushed through a downspout.
As Jilly jogged closer, he kept up, even though she waved him off. Now was not the time to worry about her aunts questioning why Jilly had left the bake sale with Eric and returned with Zack. Whatever had happened might require his aid. Amidst the yeasty, bakery-tinged air, they squeezed by the sales tables, abuzz with voices and milling people.
Nothing.
He saw nothing but a too sweet-faced Aunt Vinny seated on a folding metal chair, crocheting lace. Aunt Adele stood guard over her. Why did Aunt Vinny need a guard?
"Is everyone all right?” Jilly glanced around.
"Yes.” Aunt Gloria hrrmped.
Zack picked up an overturned chair and a pie pan globbed with fruity filling. While he chucked the filling into a trash bin Jilly handed him a roll of paper toweling from beneath the table. He ripped off several pieces and mopped up a slice of shortcake floating in a pool of water near the front of the table.