by Linz, Cathie
“See what I mean about finesse moves?”
“Mmmmm.”
He opened her legs like a book, pressing her knees apart before bending down to read her with his wickedly talented mouth. He gently overcame her initial reservations, showing her how much gratification could be had. He was a masterful instructor, tutoring her step by step until Julia was totally steeped in desire, almost drugged by the intense need.
He took his time, building her anticipation, lifting her from one delicious plane of erotic sensuality to the next. She didn’t realize he’d taken a swipe of whipped cream from her cup of hot cocoa until she felt the coolness on her overheated and ultra-sensitive skin. Her gasp of surprise was quickly followed by a moan of delight as he lapped at her like a huge jungle tiger.
Each time she thought she couldn’t feel more, he did something new to make her mind and body melt. Each time Luke’s rough tongue rubbed and licked her clitoris, she flew apart in his arms—not once, not twice, but time after time.
Finally lifting his head, he looked down at her flushed face. “But me, I’m more of a straight shooter.” He undid his jeans and shoved them and his briefs out of his way. She eagerly sat up to help him roll on a condom from his jeans pocket. Then he tugged her closer. “Yeah, I’m more of a straight shooter to get the balls in the hole.” One thrust and he was deep inside her.
Excited and totally aroused again, she grabbed a pool stick with one hand.
“You gonna hit me over the head with that?” Luke growled, holding still within her, filling her.
“No.” She slid the stick behind his back and took a tight grip on both ends with each hand. Using the stick, she tugged him even closer. “I’m going to use it to keep you doing exactly what you’re doing.”
“Exactly?” He flexed. “You mean you don’t want me experimenting? Faster?” He pumped two, three times. “Slower?” He pulled out almost completely and then smoothly slid back in.
“Yes, oh yes!”
Julia dropped the pool stick and clenched her hands against his bare muscular butt.
He gripped her bottom, parting her cheeks and taking her to another planet as he yanked her closer.
He rocked her back and forth, timing his movements, building their pleasure to a point of almost painful ecstasy.
She came with a powerful orgasm that clenched and released, clenched and released, over and over again—rolling over her like a drumbeat, vibrating throughout her entire body from her womb to her fingertips.
It took several minutes before either one had enough breath to speak or energy to move. “Do you get the appeal of pool now?” Luke murmured.
“Mmmm.” She trailed her fingers over his bare hip. “But you may have to show me again, demonstrate a few of those finesse plays again versus the straight-shooter method. I can’t seem to decide which I prefer.”
“Well, we can’t leave you undecided now, can we?” Luke tugged her closer, yanking off her skirt and panties entirely and tossing them out of his way. “Remember, it’s all about ways to sink the ball in the hole . . .”
That exhilarating, darkly seductive night was one Julia would always remember . . . forever etched in the very depths of her consciousness.
Chapter Fifteen
Julia sat in the guest’s chair in the library director’s office, proud of the fact that she wasn’t squirming in discomfort. Not that the chair was that uncomfortable, but the disapproving stare Frasier was giving her didn’t make for the best of mornings. “I understand there was an . . . incident at Maguire’s recently involving you and Mr. Maguire.”
The pool table? Julia tried not to panic. How could anyone know? They’d been alone. The doors to Maguire’s had been locked, and there were no windows in the back room.
How did they know she’d been wickedly wanton? Was it written on her face? A giant “S” for Scarlet woman . . . for Sensually Saturated and Sexually Satisfied woman? Or a giant “W” for Wanton?
“Supposedly it took place during the dinner hour.”
No way! Like she’d make love in front of a crowd. Julia might be loosening up, but she wasn’t crazy.
“You uh,” Frasier cleared his throat. “You are alleged to have informed the diners that you and Luke were . . . uh . . .”
Julia heaved a huge internal sigh of relief and then resumed her position of strength. No squirming.
“Yes?” For once, she didn’t step forward to make things more comfortable.
“Well, that you two were . . . seeing each other.”
“Is there a law against that?”
“No.” Frasier was the one who squirmed in his high-backed chair. “Of course not. It’s just that Alice said you both caused a scene at Maguire’s, and she worried about it reflecting badly on the library as a result.”
“Alice wasn’t there.”
“No, but a friend of hers was.”
Julia decided it was time to stop beating around the bush. “Frasier, are you happy with my work here at the library?”
He was clearly taken aback by her question. “Of course I am. The patrons all love you. We’ve got more people coming in making interlibrary loan requests, book requests, more interest from the community than ever before.”
“And I welcome that interest. Except where it comes to my personal life.”
“Yes, well, this is a small town. It’s difficult to avoid gossip. Naturally, Alice is concerned—”
She stopped him right there. “Do you realize how intimidated most of the staff is by Alice? She terrorizes people. You know this kick she’s on about the uniforms for library staff? Everyone hates the idea of being forced to wear green polo shirts every day.”
“Green is our mayor’s favorite color . . .”
“Then let him wear the shirt!” Julia was really getting aggravated now.
Frasier removed his glasses and rubbed them clean with a tissue. “Well, I thought the staff might prefer not having to worry about what to wear to work every day . . .”
“Did you ask them?”
“That was Alice’s job.”
Julia just gave him a look.
“Okay, point taken,” Frasier admitted. “No one is going to cross Alice.” He replaced his glasses and gave her a perceptive look. “Except for you.”
“Alice and I tend to have a different viewpoint on things.”
“I had noticed that.” Frasier’s voice was dry. “Can you at least try not to rock the boat for the next few weeks? Rumor has it that the BST committee may be visiting incognito very soon.”
“BST?”
“Best Small Town.”
“Right.”
“And it wouldn’t do for them to find the town librarian in Maguire’s declaring details of her personal love life in front of everyone.”
“Especially when that love life involves the town’s rebel, right?”
Frasier nodded. “Well, there is that, yes. Just think about what I’ve said, okay?”
No, it wasn’t okay with her. None of this was. Alice, the green shirts, the gossiping, the lies her mother told her.
Julia was getting fed up.
She’d always been kind and agreeable, steady and thoughtful. Ask anyone. Julia had never been one to rock the boat.
But now she wanted to stir things up, to steer that boat in a new direction.
“I don’t need to think about it, Frasier. I haven’t done anything to deserve this interrogation about my personal life, and frankly I resent it. I’ve done everything possible to give one hundred and ten percent to this library, but if that’s not enough for you . . .”
Frasier looked panicked. “It is enough. I know Alice is difficult. Believe me, I know.”
“Then please keep her off my back and out of my personal life. Just think about what I’ve said, okay?” She deliberately repeated his earlier words back at him.
As she walked out of Frasier’s office, she was amazed at herself and what she’d just done.
I am a wronged librarian, hear m
e roar.
Thankfully, things got better after that, turning into one of those memorable days that made her glad she’d chosen this career path. She was working the desk, dealing directly with patrons, one of her favorite things to do anyway.
Julia dealt with one question after the another—information on the most popular baby names, the best route for touring the Cinque Terre in Italy, ways to select the best digital camera, how to get rid of spider mites. A hassled mom with a toddler wanted a book dealing with potty-training. Carla from the bank wanted a book on coping with menopause. Lena from the post office wanted a self-help book with a cure for “the need to please.”
Mystery buff and Anglophile Edith the high school teacher was having the “devil of a day” and wanted an armful of cozy mysteries. She also warned Julia that she’d assigned a term paper on the Restoration period in English history, so there would be a run on those books. Edith looked like she might be tempted to warn Julia about Luke again but wisely decided against it.
After Edith came Tanya, who worked in Phil the dentist’s office as his receptionist and was always in a hurry. She followed the smash-and-grab method of pulling science-fiction paperbacks from the rack, as well as a few new releases that Julia quickly handed her as she raced by. Tanya then rushed them to the circulation desk, where she’d been known to check out the same book more than once by mistake. “I hate it when I do that,” she’d told Julia a few weeks ago. “I’ll start reading it and two pages in I’ll realize I read it before and it wasn’t all that great the first time around.” But Tanya had yet to find a way to slow down enough to change her library experience.
More questions came in rapid succession from other patrons, until by the end of the day Julia felt like a knowledge-brimming goddess of wisdom and information. She should have been wearing that T-shirt Patty had gotten her after the last ALA conference—LIBRARIANS MAY NOT KNOW EVERYTHING... BUT THEY KNOW WHERE TO FIND IT.
Oh yes, Julia was definitely feeling the power.
So you’d think she’d be able to find information about her own father. But no such luck, despite checking out books with titles like Missing Persons. Luke’s friends hadn’t had any luck tracking down her father yet, either. No one named Adam had officially registered for that Ethics class, but he might have audited the class or gone under someone else’s name for some reason.
The bottom line was that newly revised Julia wasn’t giving in, and she wasn’t giving up.
“You want to do what?” Algee blinked at him, the overhead lights at Cosmic Comics reflecting off his cleanly shaven head as well as his diamond stud earring.
“You accuse me of being sappy, and I’m gonna have to punch you,” Luke warned him.
“As if I’d ever do such a thing. I think it’s a sweet Valentine’s Day idea.”
Luke glared at him.
“Well, it is.”
“Forget I said anything,” Luke growled, glad the store was empty.
“Come on, man. Can’t you take a joke?”
“No.”
“Okay, fine. Be that way. Hi there,” Algee greeted a customer aged ten or thereabouts who’d just walked in. “Can I help you?”
“Yeah. Is Batman an orphan?”
Once that was cleared up, and the kid bought twenty bucks’ worth of comics, Algee returned his attention to Luke. “I think it’s cute that you want to do something like that for Julia.”
“Cute?” Luke growled.
Algee’s dark eyes twinkled. “Adorable?”
Luke wore his war face, the one that made grown men tremble with fear. It made Algee grin with glee.
“Forget I said anything,” Luke ordered.
“No way. I can help you out. You’re planning to do this Monday night, when Maguire’s is shut, right?”
“That was the plan, yeah.”
“That’ll work. You’re gonna need visual bling-bling.”
“Huh?”
“Decorations.”
“I can manage on my own,” Luke said.
“Manage, maybe. But excel at pulling off an incredibly memorable occasion?” Algee made a rocking motion with his hand that indicated the answer to that question was doubtful.
“What are you now, a party planner?”
Algee fixed him with a stare. “Do you want my help or not?”
Luke made the same rocking motion with his hand.
His friend was not offended, his thoughts clearly already on possibilities for the event. “You’re gonna surprise her with this, though, right?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s good.”
“I’m so glad you approve,” Luke drawled.
“Hey, you came to me for help.”
“A momentary lapse in judgment on my part.”
“Ha-ha.” Algee slapped him on the back with a force that would have made most men stumble.
“I should have asked Adele,” Luke muttered.
“She’s doing the cooking for this event, right?”
“Uh, I guess.”
“You didn’t think of food, did you?” Algee shook his head. “I’m telling you, that’s why you need my help with this project. The devil is in the details.”
“Fine. You can help. But lay off the cute or sweet adjectives when referring to me.”
“You got it. So what have you done about the music?”
“Not much yet.”
“Man, you’re hopeless, you know that?”
“I don’t have much experience with this kind of stuff.”
“You need a theme.”
Luke frowned. “A theme?”
“Yeah. I’ll be in charge of that, too.”
“A Harley theme would be good,” Luke suggested.
Algee stared at him with pity. “Hopeless, man. You’re just hopeless. But never fear. Big Al is here.”
Julia had no idea what Luke was up to, but she knew he was up to something. She’d catch him conversing quietly with Adele, and they’d stop the minute they saw her. Or Luke and Algee would be off whispering and then deny they were doing anything other than talking about sports.
Valentine’s Day was coming up, and Luke had invited her to dinner at Maguire’s—just the two of them on Monday night when the place was closed. A romantic evening she’d never forget, he’d promised her—which made her wonder if he had plans involving more pool lessons in the back room.
“Wear something special,” he’d told her.
Did that mean Victoria Secret thong and a Wonderbra? Exotic lingerie?
Wanting further clarification, she’d asked, “Special?”
“Your best dress.”
“Okay.” She didn’t really have one, but she quickly went out and bought a stunning little black number. Well, it wasn’t that little. It covered her nicely, the hem of the skirt falling demurely to her knees. But the material draped across her body the way really expensive outfits managed to do without looking tacky. The wrap-around bodice showed just the right amount of cleavage, and the antique Victorian garnet necklace and drop earrings she wore added a nice touch, as did the velvet cape she added.
She was surprised when Luke picked her up in a black Lincoln Towncar, looking sexy in the dark suit he’d worn for Christmas.
“I borrowed the car from Algee,” Luke explained as he held open the passenger door for her. “I couldn’t really pick you up with the Harley. It’s too cold.”
Before starting the car, he said, “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks.” She felt as nervous as a teenager during the short drive to Maguire’s.
Just as they were about to enter the pub, Luke told her, “Close your eyes.”
“Why?”
He gave her a look.
“I won’t be able to see if my eyes are closed,” she explained.
“I’ll guide you in. Now close them and keep them shut. No peeking.” He walked her inside, keeping his arm around her waist as he removed her velvet cape. “Okay. Now open them.”
She did. Her jaw dr
opped. “What is this?”
“Welcome to your senior prom.” Luke slid a wrist corsage of white carnations over her wrist as the sound of Vanessa Williams singing “Save the Best for Last” filled the room. “Algee informed me that proms have a theme, so we went with ‘Paint the Town Red.’ ”
“You sure did.” The dining room at Maguire’s had been completely transformed. They were standing beneath a ten-foot-high red-and-gold corrugated star that welcomed them to the magical room where twinkle lights added extra sparkle. Starry gossamer banners soared from the floor to the ceiling, creating a starry-night effect. Red cardboard lamp posts created a walkway to a spotlit table in front of a backdrop of a city skyline.
Julia was totally overcome. “Is this what your prom at Serenity Falls High looked like?”
Luke shrugged. “I never went. I didn’t have the money or the inclination. I hated that kind of pep-rally, school-spirit classmate crap.”
She turned to face him. “If you hated it so much, then why . . . ?”
“Because I thought you’d like it. You sounded so sad when you said you’d missed your prom because you moved.”
“I did always wonder what it would be like,” she admitted.
“Now you’ll know.”
“I can’t believe you did all this.”
Frankly, Luke couldn’t believe it either. He’d thought a little crepe paper tossed around would do the trick. Instead, this had turned into a huge production, and he’d gone along with it all.
Why? Why had he done all this? Julia was supposed to be a distraction. She wasn’t supposed to drive him to distraction.
He couldn’t even use the excuse that he’d done this to get her into bed with him. They’d already had sex. A lot of sex. Awesome sex. It only made him want her more, not less.
That left Luke feeling very unsettled when he let himself think about it, which wasn’t very often. He had a lifelong track record of ignoring stuff he didn’t want to deal with. Why change now?
A sudden flash of light from his left had Luke going on automatic pilot, reverting to his law enforcement days. Some things you never forgot. Like not standing in an open doorway because the back light frames you as a perfect target.