“What?”
“You are not good cop. You’re…you’re rogue cop. Oh! You’re Dirty Harry! That was so wrong and so embarrassing. And you made me like it.”
“Laura Leigh,” he growled, “if you stand up and take your dress off, expect things to get a little dirty.”
“That was a lot dirty,” she harrumphed.
He was on her in a flash, his broad body aligning all major body parts perfectly while his hands secured her wrists over her head. “Oh, it was dirty,” he said. “And I think you’ll agree that nothin’ about it was nice,” he growled.
“And you probably didn’t feel completely safe,” he said, rocking his erection against her. “And from the words that came out of that sexy little mouth,” his voice softened just a touch as he smiled his approval, “I’m fairly certain you did not find it boring.”
He released her wrists, wrapped his arms around her back, and rolled her on top of him.
“There will be no kicking me to the curb at summer’s end, Laura Leigh,” he warned before he staked his claim with a rough, passion-filled kiss.
Eventually, Lolly pulled her hands up to capture his face beneath hers. “You’re completely dressed,” she whispered onto his lips.
“An insurance policy.”
She pulled her head back and blinked. “For what?’
He laid his head on the ground. “So I won’t get carried away.”
“Don’t you want to make love to me?”
He stared at her––his expression stony serious. She could feel his hands skimming up and down her sides as she waited for a response. Finally his hands moved over her back and she felt him shift slightly.
“I’ve wanted to make love to you since you were eighteen years old,” he said quietly.
“Wha––? You said you saw me on my twenty-first birthday and decided to ask me out.”
“That’s true.” He tilted his head and ran his hands over her back. “But the idea started on your eighteenth birthday. You were at our house, and you had on a tight pink shirt and some very low-riding jeans. There was a lot of skin showing,” he smiled. “You and Darcy were having dinner with us and told my parents that you were meeting a big group at the movies. Which was complete bullshit by the way.”
“Oh My God. How do you remember?”
“I mentioned the low-riding jeans, right?”
“Brooks. You paid zero attention to me and Darcy back then.”
“I paid zero attention to Darcy. You, I had my eye on.”
“Well, why didn’t you just ask me out?”
“Lolly. I was twenty-five. It would have been slightly frowned upon. Besides you were heading off to college and I was already starting work. It wasn’t the right time. But when I saw your name on the guest list for the engagement party, I remembered.”
“Remembered?”
“Remembered your eighteenth birthday. And your twenty-first birthday. After biding my time, the perfect opportunity finally landed in my lap.”
His hands had drifted down to her naked rear end.
She crawled up his chest and kissed him on his lips. “So why are your clothes still between us?”
He moaned. “That’s a conversation we’re going to have another time.”
“When?”
“Well. For starters, sometime after you stop kissing Vance.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
“I can’t believe you are holding that against me,” she said as she pushed herself off his chest and rolled onto the quilt. She stood, swiping her dress up and pulling it over her head. Muscled arms came from behind and pulled her back against him.
“I’m not holding anything against you,” he said into her hair, rocking her gently from side to side. “I swear, I’m not,” he promised. “I just need you to be sure it’s what you want.”
He spun her in his arms and tucked a finger under her chin. “I intentionally left the condoms at home so tonight wouldn’t be about sex. And then, well….” He ran his hand over the top of his head. “Things just got away from me. Keeping my clothes on was the only way I could protect us both.”
“Well, had I known that, I could have at least…touched you.”
He smiled and slipped in a quick kiss. “If you’d touched me, I would have lost control.”
“Oh, you mean you might have surrendered to desires of the flesh and done any number of embarrassing things?” She threw up her hands and turned a half circle. She pulled up her hair, indicating he should zip her up. “The truth is, Brooks, I haven’t had much experience with this sort of thing.”
“Strange how I don’t find that particularly upsetting.”
“All you have to do is touch me,” she said, her voice trembling, her face flushed with heat. “My God! What you made me do. What you had me saying.”
“Baby,” he whispered over her bare shoulder. “If you had any idea what hearing you say those things does to me.” He sucked in a breath. “And maybe I coaxed you into doing something you haven’t done before, but that’s because I was so into it. I was right there with you every step of the way. There’s no need to be embarrassed.”
She turned into his arms and spoke directly to his chest. “It was amazing. I’m just sorry you…got nothing.”
“I don’t know about that. I had the voice recorder on my iPhone turned on.”
“You did not!” She pushed him away.
He stepped back and laughed. “Only because I didn’t think of it until now.”
“Thank God for that.”
During the drive home, Lolly reviewed the evening’s conversations. It took her a while to work up the courage to reopen the proverbial can of worms. “Why don’t you just ask me not to play tennis with Vance?”
“That would certainly make it easier on you. Make it easier on me too, no doubt.”
When he didn’t say anything more, she realized why. “You’d never do that would you? Is that a good cop thing?”
“Lolly,” Brooks sighed. “Either you’re going to fall for Vance or you’re not. You may as well figure it out sooner rather than later.”
Her gut twisted. “So this is a test.”
“It’s not a test.”
“Really? It seems a little bit like a test.”
“I’d never tell you who you should or shouldn’t play tennis with. I’d never try to run your life like that, nor would you stand for it over any length of time. I trust you. I trust Vance. Sort of.”
“Sort of?”
Brooks pulled his truck into Lolly’s drive and turned off the ignition. “If I were Vance, I’d be hard pressed to keep my hands off you,” he said as he picked her up and pulled her onto his lap. “I’ve told him in no uncertain terms that for as long as you are willing to date me, you’re mine and he should respect that.”
“So you’d give him an ultimatum, but not me?”
“Do you need one?”
“I don’t think so.”
“I’m happy to hear it.”
He kissed her then. Distracting her. And the disconcerted feeling she’d developed eased and didn’t rear its head until a few hours later.
Chapter Fifteen
With the night sky falling around them and Hale’s arms circling her securely, Genevra drifted into a state of bliss. And then things improved from there.
“I gathered from our dinner conversation that you’ve never been to Europe,” Hale said quietly. His arms shifted her against him as she laughed.
“Hale, I’ve never been out of the state, much less the country.”
“I realized this evening when I couldn’t remember the last time I swam in my own pool that I’ve been working pretty much non-stop for a lot of years now. If the two of us were to ever plan something like a honeymoon, I would take a full month off. We could tour Europe. And not like the kids do with backpacks and Eurail passes. We would do it Four Seasons style.”
Genevra blinked a couple times and then tilted her face to the side s
o she could see him. “Hale? Are you asking me to marry you?”
“Only if you’re going to say ‘yes.’”
“Oh! Okay.” They both grinned at each other. “We need to tell Lolly we’re dating first. Tomorrow. First thing.”
“Second thing.”
She smiled. “Okay, second thing.”
“And then on Monday, we’ll tell everyone at your place of business that we are not only partners, but that we are dating as well. And we’ll ask them to keep it confidential. Which means by the Fourth of July the entire town will know about us.”
“Oh, Hale, that’s perfect. We’ll make July Fourth our first public date.”
“I’ll reserve a large table at the Club. We’ll get Vance and Lolly to invite their friends to join us. We’ll take my mother, and you can include whomever you’d like.”
“Everyone who is going to have something to say about us will already be there.”
“Right. That means the brothers-in-law can each take a swing at me, or they can all jump me at once. Either way, all the messy stuff we’ve been eager to avoid will all be over and done with by the end of the night.”
“Hale. You really have no clue, do you?”
“I assure you, I don’t.”
“If you’re serious about marrying me, then you best plan on a very large affair. Because after we make an appearance on the Fourth of July, the only way we’re ever going to get our lives back is to invite everyone to the wedding.”
“And then take a month-long honeymoon.”
“And then sneak back into town.”
“Why don’t the two of us sneak back into the house and I’ll acquaint you further with the master bedroom,” he whispered into her ear.
Wrapped in towels, the two of them padded across the pool deck on bare feet. As they entered the house, Genevra turned to Hale with a request. “You know that beautiful wine cellar you showed me earlier tonight? Why don’t you wander down there and take your time picking out something delicious.”
He bent his lips to hers for a tender kiss, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. “You want some time to yourself.”
“I do.”
“All right, then. I will take myself off to the wine cellar.”
He did that and then some. When Genevra stepped out of his luxurious marble bathroom twenty minutes later, she found candles emitting soft romantic light on a corner table and the bed linens turned down invitingly. On the upholstered bench at the foot of the bed, a tray sat holding a bottle of champagne chilling in ice, two fluted crystal glasses and a fresh-cut rose from the garden. Hale had showered and shaved and now paced the expanse of his bedroom wearing a black silk robe.
He stopped cold when he noticed her enter the room. His eyes searched her face and then took in all of her. His mouth dropped open as his gaze started again at the top of her head and drifted slowly down to her toes.
Genevra allowed herself to revel in his reaction as he took in the freshly-shampooed hair she’d left down and the low-cut lace bodice and gossamer fabric of the pale-pink baby-doll nighty that barely covered her thighs. She wasn’t sure he was breathing at first, but then she saw him swallow.
It took a long, long moment for him to find his voice, and when he spoke, his words came out in a rough, heart-melting whisper. “I would have endured the last twenty years of my life with far more grace if I had known I had this moment to look forward to.”
Tears sprung to her eyes. “Hale,” she choked. Strong arms engulfed her and she clung to him, unable to find the words to tell him all that he meant to her. Suddenly, she was off the floor and cradled in his arms, her choked sob turning into a choked laugh. Her hand flew from her mouth to his cheek where she caressed him with love and tenderness. This man. This man among men. She would do anything for him. Anything at all.
He grinned down at her. “Genevra, I’ve been so lost for so long. Hearing you laugh––feeling you in my arms––all the anger I’ve ever held is gone. It’s all gone.” He laid her head on his pillow and sat next to her. “I’m rejuvenated. I have hope and I’m excited. Life seems so good. There’s so much to look forward to now that you are in it.”
“Hale.” She took his hand and entwined their fingers, pulling him down to her. “Trust me when I say I have never experienced love like this before.”
Faces inches apart, they smiled like loons. “You’ll marry me then?” he asked.
“Without hesitation.”
He licked his lips, letting his gaze travel down to her plump and enticing cleavage. She watched as he bent his head slowly and kissed her right in the center of her chest. “You’re being too easy,” he said, moving his mouth to the right and placing kisses along the exposed skin of her breast.
“How so?”
He glanced up as she caressed his hair. “I’ve yet to give you an orgasm, and you’ve already agreed to marry me.”
“Well,” she sighed, “I figure if you can’t deliver, your crazy shower in there will take care of me.”
He laughed against her cleavage. “I refuse to be shown up by an inanimate object.” His hands slid the tiny straps off her shoulders and down her arms. “I really like this nightgown. I’d like to see it again. So I’m going to carefully remove it and toss it over there.”
Genevra lifted her arms from the straps and allowed him to roll the lace and chiffon down her torso, past her waist and over her hips. Hale pulled back onto his knees as he slid the lingerie from her legs, leaving her bare except for a tiny pale-pink thong. As he studied her body, she admired where his silk robe had fallen open.
He started at her ankles, sliding his hands up the outside of her legs while he extended his body at the end of the bed. His head came down at the juncture of her thighs, his lips landing right on the bull’s-eye of that pink triangle.
Genevra sprang up and grabbed his shoulders. “Hale!”
“What!”
“I’m not…you’re not….”
He squinted his eyes. “I’m not. You’re not. What?”
“Just, please. Come here and kiss me.” She tugged on his shoulders to move him up her body.
Not budging, Hale’s face went from confusion to curiosity. “Genevra, hasn’t anybody ever gone down on you?”
Her face blushed hot and red. “No,” she groaned, covering her face with her hands and flopping back onto the pillows. Hale followed her there, covering her chest with his.
“Genevra.” He laughed and then pursed his lips together to stop. “Okay. Just…. We’ll take it slow. Because I really think you’re going to enjoy it.” He pulled a hand away from her face and snuck in a kiss on her lips.
Both of them burst out laughing.
“Oh Hale,” she moaned, drying her eyes. “I’m sure I’m terribly inexperienced compared to what you’re used to. Jake DuVal was nineteen when I got pregnant with Lolly, and then he was gone. So I haven’t really done much more than fantasize about sex when it comes right down to it.”
Hale’s mouth opened. And then closed. Then opened. Finally he said, “Heaven help me. I have so many burning questions I’m dying to ask. None of which are any of my business. Genevra!” He stopped abruptly. And then he lowered his voice to a whisper, “Genevra, Genevra, Genevra. None of it matters. Nothing except for you and me and right now.” He started kissing the side of her mouth, moving by increments to her ear and jaw and down her throat as he spoke. “But there is…some very…important…information…I’m eager to know.” His mouth found a nipple and his hand a full breast.
Genevra stroked his short hair while closing her eyes, allowing her body to relax into the sensations his teeth and tongue and his––she sucked in a deep breath––hands were creating. “What’s that?” she asked as she arched her back.
“Every…single…one…of your fantasies.” His mouth moved to her other breast. His hands became rougher and her body reacted in response. “You like this?” he demanded.
“Yes,” she said. “I like this very much.” She fa
irly hummed.
Suddenly his face appeared over hers. “Genevra. Have you ever fantasized about someone going down on you?” He kissed her lips even though he sought answers.
“Yes,” she admitted. “It’s just that faced with the reality of it, I got a little squeamish.”
“Are you feeling squeamish now?” he asked as his erection stroked between her legs. When she didn’t answer, he took her mouth in a soul-empowering kiss, his tongue diving in and claiming. The sounds the two of them made heightened the emotional energy, the pace of play.
“Genevra, I want to use my mouth on you. I long to do it. Let me be the one to show you that pleasure. Allow me to make you come undone.”
He didn’t wait for a response but slid his body and his kisses down the center of her torso until his breath, warm and soft, panted over the sensitive skin between her belly button and the edge of her thong. “You smell good,” he said, his fingers running along the inside edge of the pink triangle. “I want to taste you, Genevra. I want to kiss you here.” His hands stroked up her sides and back down again. “Tell me you want me to do it,” he begged.
“Hale,” she whispered.
“Say it. Tell me.” He let his lips skim over the sensitized area the silk protected and she gasped. “You want this. I know you do. I owe it to you. Tell me, Genevra. Ask me to fulfill this fantasy.”
She licked her lips. “Hale. Yes. I want it. If you…yes…yes…Hale.”
She could feel him smile against her inner thigh. Felt him kiss her there. And then she might have heard him say he would make this good, but that was as things started to go woozy and become a little surreal.
Hale stroked both thumbs over the pink satin. His other fingers grasped the elastic at her hips and tugged it down her legs, quickly recovering his position. This time he stroked his thumbs over the dark curls covering her most feminine secrets and then let his lips press against the area gently at first and then with more intention. His tongue tentatively touched her clitoris, which brought Genevra’s hips off the bed. She let out a shallow gasp.
“That’s right, baby,” he said over the spot causing all the distraction. “Just let yourself go.” His hands slid down the inside of her thighs and underneath, pushing at her legs. His tongue licked its way up to her sensitive spot. Her legs tensed and a little ‘Oh’ slipped from her mouth.
Summer on Main Street Page 24