Soft Sounds of Pleasure

by Eden Connor

  "It used to look like pumpkin… poop." Jonah shot her a mischievous look as the group stood back to admire the massive piece of furniture while Mrs. Pearls and Pumps wrote out her check. Lila put an arm around him, giving him a squeeze, accepting his olive branch. She grinned in triumph at Colton over his head when he hugged her back so hard she lost her breath.

  "It sure did," her customer's husband agreed with a chuckle. "I'm so glad we decided to have it restored."

  Lila winked at his wife as she accepted her payment, glowing from the compliments Mr. Pearls and Pumps lavished on her as he inspected the work she'd done.

  There had been a few moments when she had wondered if she'd bitten off more than she could chew, but the finished job seemed more than worth her efforts and Lila allowed herself to bask in the glow of a job well done. Her glow grew as she listened to both the couple as well as Jonah and Colton explain to Dan and Eric just how bad the piece had looked when Lila picked it up.

  In their driveway as they returned to the trucks, Dan asked how in the world she had managed such a large job alone.

  "It's a sin to paint over a piece of fine wood furniture," Lila declared with a laugh. "There should be a special circle of Hell reserved for people who do it. Whenever I strip off the paint and liberate the wood, I like to pretend those souls get out and move on their way in the afterlife. Keeps me from giving up on the project."

  "Charlie said something like that to me once, about you, Lila." Colton suddenly spoke up. "He told me when you saw potential in something, you never quit, even when your project happened to be the screwed-up guy looking back at him in the mirror. It was the day after his team won State."

  "I remember that," Dan added. "Charlie said that was why he decided to join the Corps rather than take that scholarship. He said watching you never give up on his dad had taught him a lot, and while the attitude had helped him on the mound, he figured there were more important things he could do with a never-quit attitude than play a game when his country was at war."

  Be safe, Charlie. Lila prayed silently, staring in surprise as comprehension melted her anger toward Charlie the way the chemical had done the orange paint. I forgive you for following your heart.

  Impulsively, she hugged Dan. "Thank you for telling me. I never knew why he didn't take the scholarship. I always thought he was punishing Pete in some twisted way for getting hurt, by walking away from Pete's dream for him."

  "You're a good woman, Lila," Dan said gruffly, returning her hug. "Colton's a lucky bastard you let him and the kid hang out with you."

  "Hey, where's my hug?" Colton demanded, pulling her way from Dan. "I brought it up."

  "You get a kiss," she answered, uncaring whether Mr. and Mrs. Pearls and Pumps saw the public display of affection taking place in their driveway as he gave her one of those kisses that made her forget her own name.

  On the way home, she sprang for steak dinners for her helpers, ignoring their teasing about her driving when she mentioned buying a trailer.

  "I fear for the mailboxes on your road, Lila." Eric shook his head as he cut into his steak. "I'm going home and put some extra concrete around mine tonight, just in case."

  Since she'd been described as a bad driver longer than she'd been called a cougar, Lila figured she could live with that.

  * * * *

  "Get something to drink and sit down at my table to do your homework," she told Jonah when they got back to her house. "Colton and I are going fishing."

  "Yeah, I bet," Jonah said with a leer. "How come you never wanted to fish before?"

  "Young man, do I need to get my soap for that dirty mind of yours?" Lila asked, a grin nevertheless twisting her lips.

  "No, but tomorrow night I expect fish for dinner," the kid answered with a grin of his own.

  "You can't handle homework you claim you've already done before," Lila shot back, "but now you want to take on menu planning?"

  * * * *

  Colton laughed all the way to the edge of the water. Since they hadn't stopped for rods and tackle, he doubted very much she planned to fish. Yet for the first time, she didn't appear to mind if Jonah knew their relationship was sexual. He figured some wall inside her had gone up in flames at the school as she'd battled for the kid's future, taking no prisoners along the way.

  As she'd obviously done for Charlie.

  He figured that meant something too.

  Lila studied the shoreline and led him to a spot that wasn't visible from her kitchen table. She placed her hands on the waistband of his jeans. "You know a summons to the school is bad news, right?" she asked as she got the button open and eased his zipper down.

  Colton's smile was wolfish, his cock beginning to harden as he realized her intent. "Very bad news."

  "Did I overstep?" she asked, as she lifted him from his jeans.

  "I figure we had each other's back today," he said as he unbraided her hair. "I'll do the heavy lifting, Lila, and you can pad your body count while I watch and learn."

  * * * *

  "The only body on my mind is yours," she said as she knelt in the tall grass. "Hello, monster," she murmured affectionately as she stroked her lover's beautiful cock with both hands, twisting and massaging the entire length before tasting the welcoming drop glistening on the broad head. She sucked the perfectly formed head into her mouth, her tongue exploring the well-defined edges of the helmet-like shape, probing the sensitive area below.

  "Yes, suck me," he groaned. "I love how you do this."

  The power washed over her again, and she lost herself in the act, massaging the balls that often caught her admiring glance as he pulled up the front of his t-shirt and jerked it behind his head, leaving it wrapped around his arms while he tangled his fingers in her hair.

  She took him deeper, one hand still locked tight to her lips, her fist curling around his shaft. The falling dew chilled her butt cheeks and knees, a delicious contrast to the heat rising between them.

  As the bullfrogs began to bellow the bass notes of their evening song, she borrowed her rhythm from the cicadas as they rubbed their wings together, welcoming the onrush of night.

  A mockingbird joined the symphony, but this song was no love song; his mate had been found. His notes were those of a warrior's song, a warning to stay away from the lofty curve of grass-lined twigs that held the three or four speckled spheres that Lila knew would now comprise his complete concern.

  A father to be, protecting his unborn and his mate.

  Her lips brushed against the soft curls at his base.

  Colton began to thrust himself into her mouth, his gaze locked on her. His balls tightened, signaling he was close. His moans mingled with the cacophony by the water's edge; another bass dove for heaven, came up short and fell back to earth with a splash, and it must have been his undoing.

  Hot, salty spurts hit the back of her throat and she took all of him, swallowing as tears stung her eyes.

  "Stand up," he urged, helping her. One hand went to the back of her head to pull her close for his kiss. The other worked frantically at the waistband of her shorts until he got his hand inside her panties.

  Two large fingers slipped inside her easily, she was so wet. She moaned as her pussy pressed back in welcome.

  "I love… the way you get wet for me, Delilah." His thumb found her button and he strummed it as she rode his thrusting fingers. "The way you suck me."

  She focused on her need now as twilight pressed against her vision. It took little effort for her to come on his fingers. He captured her cries and held her close to his chest, still massaging her clit with the base of his palm. He waltzed her backward a few feet up the bank, hotly whispering that he intended to back up her against a certain tree in her side yard, out of sight of the big bay window of her kitchen where they could see Jonah sitting, but her heels caught something and they tumbled into the soft grass. He stripped off her shorts and panties, making her come twice more with his tongue until he hardened again.

  When she
was ready for him to let her go, they rearranged their clothes and headed for the house. As they walked up the ramp arm-in-arm, they saw Jonah's amused face lit by her back porch light as he lounged against the railing, arms crossed over his chest.

  Lila calmly tried to put the kid on the defensive. "I'll need to see that homework, young man, since you have time to loaf."

  "Fish weren't biting?" Jonah asked with a smirk. "I can see them hitting the surface from here."

  Fully dark now, the fingernail sliver of moon showed nothing except its own bright curve. Lila chuckled confidently. "No, you cannot. Think about this, though. How do you think I deal with a kid who lies to my face?"

  "Peace out, Lila," Jonah said, waving the first two fingers of both hands. He reached out, out suddenly, plucking at her hair. Lila glared at the sword of grass he waved under her nose. "Take him home," Lila ordered Colton, who was laughing helplessly as he held the screen door open for them.

  "Get your stuff together, brat, before you get us kicked out for good," Colton choked out, poised by the back door. "We'll pick you up tomorrow for the game around five-fifteen, sweetheart." He kissed her lightly on the lips.

  "What, nobody wants to check my homework?" Jonah asked sweetly. "It's Biology." He smirked.

  "Colton can, I'll just call your teachers," Lila said calmly. "In case you didn't get the memo, we're acquainted." She pushed his hair out of his eyes and sighed. "I'll be so glad when these bangs grow out past your ears."

  * * * *

  Jonah hastily packed his books. In the truck, he turned to Colton. "You ever win an argument with her?" he asked.

  "Unlike you, I make it a point not to antagonize her."

  Jonah seemed to think that over and nodded. "She's not like Mom. Mom screamed and cried, and she smacked me sometimes, but Lila actually scares me."

  Colton winced, swallowing hard. Sarah had run all the way across the country but had carried the worst of what she tried to escape with her, he realized. He realized too, what Jonah had labeled as fear was actually respect.

  Jonah spoke again. "Thanks for not yelling at me, Uncle C. I'll do better from now on. School's almost out anyway."

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Lila signed for the envelope and laid it on the kitchen table, just looking at it for a long time before she slipped a trembling finger under the flap. She knew what was inside. At long last, Pete's life insurance policy had paid up.

  Pete had told her many times what to do if she ever collected that money.

  She agreed with most of what he'd said.

  What was bugging her now was the way he'd simply assumed she'd continue to live in this house. Was that what he'd have done, if she'd been the one to go so young? Would he have brought another woman to live here?

  Probably, she decided. Pete hated to be alone so badly, he might well have been married again by now.

  She slowly opened the envelope, withdrew the check, and stared at the amount, struggling with the idea that Pete's worth—as a husband, as a father—had been reduced to some numbers. For no reason, their first date popped into her head. Pizza and a pitcher of beer. Pete hadn't been legally old enough to buy the beer, but the waitress hadn't checked his ID. She inked the large number carefully on a deposit slip and addressed and stamped an envelope, then gathered up her purse and sunglasses before getting in the truck to run her errands.

  First she stopped at the bank, to deposit the check, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw Van Westbrook's office door was closed. Her next stop was the funeral home, where they gave her a check for the balance left from the small policy she'd used as collateral for Pete's funeral expenses.

  She spared no expense at the florist, buying every red rose they had in stock. Perspiring in the hot, hushed air of the cemetery, Lila knelt and placed the heavy sheaf of flowers, tossing aside the hideous plastic ones that reeked of Joan before pulling the autopsy results out of her purse.

  In simple English, the report said that the experimental drug reacted badly with Pete's other medications, combining to create a toxic buildup that resulted in accidental death. Lila crammed the paper that had once seemed so vital to her into her purse. "Well, Pete, I told you so."

  Tears scalded her cheeks and sandpapered her eyes, and her long-awaited victory hung hollow in her chest because being right didn't change a thing. She was mad, though. Mad that Pete had put such blind trust in a man who wore a white coat but had far fewer reasons than Lila for wanting what was best for him.

  "You should have trusted me, damn you. But you didn't, so you left me and all I have now is a check that's supposed to make everything all right. Oh, and a house and yard that's too damn big, you jerk. They can call it an accidental death if they want, but I'll tell you what I think. I think you and that damn doctor conspired to kill you. I think you gave up, Pete. I think you knew what that drug was doing to you and you insisted on taking it anyway. You took the easy fucking way out and I'm pissed. I never quit on you, damn it, so what the hell gave you the right to quit on me?"

  She gave little thought to the passing time as she knelt on the perpetually perfected crabgrass, shaking with rage. The hot May sun burned her bare shoulders as she vented, beating her fists against the bronze rectangle that marked Pete as husband, father, baseball coach, and dead man. "And I told you not to drive so goddamn fast in the rain, you bastard."

  Her legs felt leaden as Lila left him there in the company of his granite-topped relatives and the detritus of her pain and walked away alone.

  * * * *

  The salesman was rubbing his hands in glee after Lila wheeled the shiny new truck back onto the lot. Either he was thrilled to be out of the vehicle alive, or he needed a sale. She eyed his soggy shirt, tacky polyester tie, sweat-sheened face, and the desperate gleam in his eye. Both, she decided. He'd had someone look at her truck while they were on her test drive and she trailed him to the tiny cubicle that passed for his office, waiting patiently while he scratched out some figures. Once she had the paper in her hand, she gave him a hard look. "That's an insult on the trade-in value. I thought you wanted to make a deal."

  "Your truck is eight years old, Mrs. Walker, and the mileage is high." The salesman mopped his entire head with a handkerchief too tiny for the task as he leaned back in his cheap chair.

  "May I use your phone?" she asked politely.

  "Certainly," he said, pushing it across the desk. "Should I step out?"

  "Oh, no, please stay. I'm calling for you," she replied in her sunniest tone, her fingers tapping out a rapid tattoo that would summon the garage on his beige, push-button phone with the row of big red buttons along the bottom. Once she had Colton on the line, she explained her situation. "So," she concluded, "I was hoping you could tell this guy what's been done to my truck recently, in hopes he might get righteous on my trade-in value."

  Colton agreed eagerly, and Lila engaged the speakerphone, making careful notes as Colton rattled off the work he'd done in addition to the new belt she'd paid for.

  "Thank you, I'm sure this will help," she said, when he stopped talking. "See you later."

  "Uh, Lila, what are you thinking of trading for?" he asked.

  "We'll talk about it later," she promised.

  The salesman pretended to speak to a manager, the way Lila was pretending interest in buying his new truck. He came back with slightly revised figures, and she thanked him and left with his card. The manager at the service department around back flirted with her a bit as he prepared a written estimate for the list of repairs Colton had performed on her truck.

  Multiple missions accomplished, she headed home, stopping to look at a truck nearly identical to the one she had, but about five years newer. She spied it parked in someone's yard with a yellow "For Sale" sign in the window, and after a quick onceover, she decided she'd ask Colton to come look at with her over the weekend.

  She pulled past the post office and placed the written estimate and a check for that amount in the envelope addressed to Danie
l at the garage mailing address, savoring the bitter bite of the glue as she dragged her tongue slowly along the flap. Sealing the envelope with a sense of satisfaction, Lila dropped it in the blue-enameled slot marked for local delivery.

  She pulled out the check from the funeral home and decided to cash it, stuffing it back in her handbag to deal with later. The older gentleman had quoted a price for his used truck that was pretty close to that amount. Or it would be, by the time she got through negotiating.

  * * * *

  As soon as she'd recorded the last out Lila shot out of her seat, carelessly dropping the scorebook as she strode for the dugout.

  Colton followed in her wake. He couldn't quite figure out why, but she was pissed, he knew that much. She always sat quietly as people stood up to leave, adding up her numbers and making notes she gave to Reggie and chatting with the umpires. Not tonight.

  She surprised him by veering away from the dugout into the concession stand, scooping ice into an empty hot dog bun wrapper, which she fished out of the trash. Returning to his side, they waited for Reggie to get through his post-game talk, his brothers standing silently at their heels. As soon as Jonah approached, she gently placed the ice pack on his shoulder. "Great job, Jonah," she said, brushing at his sweat-soaked bangs, knocking his ball cap askew. Jonah didn't bother to straighten it. "How's that arm, kiddo?"

  "I lost the game," he said dejectedly.

  "No, that was done for you. The eighty pitches you should've been asked for were amazing." Lila's tone brooked no argument as she pre-empted Jonah's attempt to get his equipment bag, slinging it over her shoulder so hard it slapped against Eric. "Colton, give him the keys. This time Jonah, I mean get in that truck. Keep the ice on your shoulder, too."

  Colton tensed. The last time she'd sent Jonah ahead of them to the truck, she and Reggie had words.