“Thank you. I know that in my head, but sometimes it’s nice to hear someone else say it.”
They were quiet then. Only the sound of the tires rolling over the road and the whoosh of the air-conditioner pumping the cab with cool air to fill the silence.
Jody pulled up in front of Luc’s house and took a deep breath as she switched off the engine. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Dan sending her home as soon as they got back. The gesture was nice, and she appreciated it, but she couldn’t shake the feeling he was being overly nice because of what had happened yesterday. They should clear the air. Needed to clear it. If they didn’t, working together and moving past the shift in their relationship, would be impossible.
She didn’t want to give him the wrong impression. There was no room in her life for a man, she didn’t need the added complication another person would bring. She’d finally gotten to a point where she was happy with her life—content. Okay, if she were honest, she’d admit the sex had been amazing. Better than amazing. And she’d certainly been shown what she was missing, but she wasn’t the type to have a no-strings affair, and she didn’t have it in her to attempt another serious relationship, not now, possibly not ever.
A tap on the window made her jump, and she looked over to see Luc standing on the curb watching her. Pulling the keys from the ignition, she steeled herself to face her brother and hoped to hell he wouldn’t be able to tell she’d had sex with Dan. She’d barely opened the door when he started talking.
“Cassie has the girls distracted.”
“Okay.” Jody had no idea where he was going with this.
“I thought you might need a moment to talk before you turned back into super mum.”
She smiled. His uncanny ability to judge her moods had always bewildered her. “Talk about what?”
Luc shrugged. “Anything you don’t want to say in front of the girls.”
“Thanks, but I think I’m good.”
“Are you sure?” He studied her for a moment. “I can take Cassie’s place and send her out here.”
Jody loved her brother, but there was no way she’d discuss her sex life or her confused emotions about Dan with him or her boss. She patted Luc’s arm. “I’m fine. Let’s go in and I’ll get those girls out of your hair so you and Cassie can have some peace and quiet.”
“Actually, it hasn’t been that noisy. I think Cassie makes more noise than the girls put together.” He slung his arm around her shoulders and led her along the path. “We’ve had a great weekend and I’m beginning to see how much I missed when they were little. Why didn’t you make me see more of them?”
Jody couldn’t help but laugh. “Lucas Wilhelm, you were terrified of them. Neither of them could move without you freaking out.”
He had the grace to colour up. “Well, they were tiny. Hell, compared to me they still are.”
“Here’s the thing.” They stopped on the front step. “When they were little they didn’t need more of your attention than you gave, but now that they’re older and their father really isn’t around, I’d like you to have a bigger role in their lives. They have Dad, but they need a good male influence as well as a grandfather, and I’d like that to be you.”
“You know I’d do anything for you and those two.”
She smiled and stood on tip-toes to kiss his cheek. “I know, and I thank you for always having my back.”
“Anything for you, Budgie.” He grinned as he used the nickname he’d given her as a child because he said she chirped like a bird.
Jody slapped his arm. “C’mon, let’s go inside.” She followed him in, but she couldn’t help wishing he wasn’t the only good male role model in the girls’ lives, which totally went against her earlier thought of not needing a man in her life. No doubt about it, Dan had her brain going haywire. And if she didn’t sort out her emotions soon she’d be in all kinds of trouble.
Chapter Ten
Dan stretched out on his couch, phone in hand. Undecided about calling her, he’d hovered his thumb over Jody’s number for the last hour. He wanted to check she’d picked up the girls and returned home safe. Which he really had no right to wonder. Only he did worry and he knew he’d give in to the urge to ring her eventually. Checking the time, he figured if he didn’t do it soon he’d wake her up.
Giving in to temptation, he pressed the call button and brought the phone to his ear. It rang four times before she answered.
“Hello?” She sounded out of breath.
“Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“Dan?”
“Yeah.” What other guy did she expect to call her? “I wanted to make sure you got home safe.”
“Oh, well, we did.”
“Good. I’m glad.”
Silence filled the line.
“Right, well, I bet you have things to do…” He shouldn’t have rung her.
“Actually, you caught me just getting ready for bed.”
X-rated images filled his head. He’d seen her in her pyjamas. He’d seen her out of them too. His throat and mouth suddenly dry, he swallowed. “Oh, um, I should let you go then.”
“No, it’s okay.” Did she answer a little too quickly? A little breathlessly?
“I don’t want to keep you up.”
“You’re not. I was going to read for a while.”
“Anything interesting?” Dan wanted to know what type of book held Jody’s attention.
“Not to you I wouldn’t think.” Her words held a smile.
“How do you know that? We might have the same taste in reading material.” He hoped they did. It would give them something in common as well as something to talk about.
“It’s a romance novel.”
“Is it one of those that are all the fad at the moment?” The genre escaped him, but he knew the books were full of sex. His sister read them. “You know, the ones with explicit sex in them.”
“Um…”
He could almost hear her blushing. “It is.”
“Ah, maybe.”
“Read a racy bit to me.”
“W-what?”
“Read me something hot.”
“No.”
“Aw, c’mon, just a paragraph,” he coaxed.
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because.”
“Because why?”
“Jeez, now you sound like the girls when I can’t think of a reasonable explanation when I say no to something.” She laughed, the sound echoing down the line and tightening Dan’s groin.
“C’mon. Just one little bit. Pretty please.” He put as much pouty whine into his voice as he could, hoping to convince her to read him something.
“Fine. Give me a second to find a good spot.”
He could hear her moving around and imagined she was crawling into bed. The idea alone had his pulse racing and his cock growing thicker. She was silent for so long he began to wonder if she’d changed her mind and was waiting for him to hang up. “Found a good bit yet?”
She cleared her throat. “Yeah.”
“Hang on. Let me get comfy.” Dan popped the button and lowered the zipper on his jeans. “Okay. Go.”
“‘Harley leaned back on the bed and spread her legs. The view her position gave Todd had his eyes widening and his pants bulging. She knew what he’d see. She’d made sure there was no hair to hide her cunt.’”
“Fuck. Say that again.” Dan shoved his hand in his pants and pulled out his throbbing cock.
“S-say what again?”
“Cunt.” He squeezed his eyes shut as he stroked his hard-on. “That sounded so fucking hot coming out of your mouth.”
“I’d prefer to just keep reading.”
“Does it get hotter?” Dan slowly dragged his hand up and down his length.
“I-I think so.”
Jody sounded a little breathless and he closed his eyes and pictured her in the position she’d described. He almost swallowed his tongue when he thought about her pussy stripp
ed of hair. “Keep going,” he urged.
“‘Todd came towards her, stripping his shirt over his head as he did. The muscles in his chest rippled and her cunt wept with joy. If his chest looked that good she couldn’t wait to see his cock. “Lose the pants,” she demanded. He stopped beside the bed and did as she asked. He’d gone commando and his magnificent rod sprang free and slapped against his washboard abs. She licked her lips. She’d taste him first, then when he’d blown his load down her throat she’d make him eat her out until she screamed his name, yanked on his hair and came all over his face.’”
Dan groaned. His balls tucked up into his body and pre-come oozed from the slit in his cock. “Stop. Shit. Jody.” He wasn’t sure what he was trying to say.
“W-what?” She was breathless and he could only imagine how wet she was from reading that passage.
“Hearing you read that is so fucking hot. I’m close to blowing my load, only there isn’t anyone to share it with.”
“Oh…” Her breathy little sigh sent a shiver over his skin.
“Talk to me.”
“You mean read more?”
“No. Tell me what you want me to do to you. Tell me what you’d make me do if that was you and me in that scene.”
She was quiet so long Dan didn’t think she was going to grant his request. And when she did finally speak, he had to strain to hear the words at first.
“I’d want to lick you while you licked me.”
“Man, I’d love to do that. Sixty-nine is my favourite number.”
“I’ve never done that before.” Her words whispered through his ear.
“Never?” What the hell was wrong with the guy she’d married? “Next time I get you in a bed we’re doing that first.”
“Oh. That won’t—”
“I’ll lie on my back with you on all fours facing the other direction and I’ll lick you from front to back and front again. Over and over until your pretty pussy is dripping all over my face. Put your hand on your pussy, Jody. Are you wet for me right now?” Dan tightened his grip but slowed his strokes so he didn’t come before he could convince this amazingly innocent woman to indulge in a little phone sex with him.
“Um…”
“Are you wet?”
“Yes,” she hissed, and he visualised her fingers sliding through her slick folds.
Fuck. “Play with you clit, Jody, pretend it’s my tongue circling and flicking and driving you crazy with lust.” Dan’s breathing grew jagged when she panted in his ear. “Are you playing with your cunt, Jody?” He used the word from her book, prayed it would make her hotter, because this whole thing had him so close to coming his eyes were about to cross.
“Y-yes.”
He heard the hitch in her breath, heard the little whimpers he remembered from Saturday and knew she was close. “Use your other hand and slide two fingers inside that clasping cunt for me. I’m not there to do it so I need you to do it for me.”
She moaned and gasped, and Dan closed his eyes and stroked his cock harder. Faster. They were nearly there. Just a little more and she’d go over and then he’d follow.
“Do it harder. Faster. Fuck that wet cunt with my fingers, Jody.”
A muffled cry tore through the phone line and he could picture her biting her lip to keep the sob of pleasure from breaking free.
“Oh, God.” Her voice shook and he could hear her thrashing about. It was all he needed to go over.
With a growl, he came. Hot spurts of come coated his hand as he milked his cock with a punishing grip. When the last pulse left him, he sagged into the leather cushions and listened to Jody’s breath settle back into a normal rhythm. Neither of them spoke. It wasn’t necessary when they could hear the other breathing. How long they lay there, he couldn’t say. It could have been seconds, minutes or hours. Time didn’t matter when they’d connected in such an intimate way. And no matter what she said or did, Dan knew she trusted him.
To do what they just had, to be open enough to have phone sex with him, showed him more than anything else that she was letting him in. He still had a long way to go, but he was making progress and that was all he cared about. As long as they kept moving forward they could go as slow as a snail and he’d be happy, because they’d be doing it together.
Jody figured she’d lost her mind. Why else would she have had phone sex with Dan? Phone sex. She’d never done anything so bold. Hours later, her body still hummed with the release she’d given herself but couldn’t take all the credit for. Reading the scene from the book had her so wound up it hadn’t taken much to push her over. And when he’d started to describe what they’d do together, how he’d lick her, well, even if he hadn’t suggested she touch herself she would have.
She glanced at the clock and groaned. Four in the morning and she’d barely slept. Disturbingly dirty dreams of her and Dan doing every single one of her secret fantasies kept waking her up in a frenzied state that had her breath harsh and her body aching. Tomorrow was going to be bad if she couldn’t manage a few more hours sleep. As it was, the alarm went off at six so she could shower and get ready for work before she dragged the girls out of bed and got them moving.
With a sigh, she threw her arm over her face. Hours ago, on the long drive home, she’d decided the thing with Dan couldn’t go anywhere. She had her girls, a job she loved and family and friends who filled her life with as much happiness as she needed. And then Dan had rocked her world—again—with a single phone call. The man was lethal to her sanity. Every time he was around or she thought about him she did something out of character—like having an orgasm in a parking lot for God’s sake.
Moaning, Jody rolled over and stared at the wall. The picture that hung there should remind her of all the reasons she should keep her distance. It was one of her favourite pictures of her and the girls. They were all laughing and happy, and it wasn’t until now that she could see the sadness of the image. Colin hadn’t been able to make the family-portrait sitting. Even back then, barely five years into their marriage, she should have walked away. Instead, she’d stuck it out for another five.
Hindsight was all good and well, but it didn’t change the fact that she’d wasted most of her adult life on a man who’d never loved her or the girls. Her biggest shame was she’d picked a man who couldn’t—or wouldn’t—connect emotionally to be the father of her children. She’d overcompensated for Colin’s lack of involvement over the years and she honestly thought she had a stronger bond with her girls because of that. Still, she wished they had an interested dad in their lives.
After another ten minutes of lying in the dark wide awake, Jody gave up on sleep and figured she’d catch up on things around the house that had gone undone over the weekend. She started with her bathroom and moved on to the girls’ one in no time. Heading for the kitchen next, she wiped down cupboard doors and counters, finishing with the stove. Opening the fridge, she decided to put a slow cooker on for dinner and quickly found some carrots and sweet potato to toss in with the steak she pulled out of the freezer.
While the steak defrosted in the microwave she chopped the veggies along with a couple of onions and threw them into the crockpot. She pulled the meat out before it was fully thawed and cut it into cubes. A litre of stock and a few herbs and spices and she turned on the power and switched the machine to low. By the time the girls got home from school it would be ready. She’d leave a note to ask them to turn it off and some money so they could walk down to the local bakery and get a crusty loaf of bread to go with it.
Satisfied she’d been productive instead of lying in bed mentally flipping through her messed-up life she smiled. Next she’d tackle the washing. It didn’t take her long to realise the washer was broken. Again. Last time it had been a coin caught in a hose. The machine wasn’t even a year old. She’d have to ring the repairman first thing tomorrow—no, today—and beg Luc to use his if she couldn’t get hers looked at before Wednesday.
Heading back to her room to get her phone, Jody wo
ndered what else she could do to occupy her until it was time to get the girls up. She grabbed her phone and went back to the kitchen where she opened her bag and pulled out the paperwork from the weekend and spread it out on the breakfast counter. Putting a memo in her calendar to ring the repairman, she quickly got to work finalising the weekend’s papers.
It took longer than expected because her mind kept wandering off on a Dan tangent every few minutes. The man had definitely taken over her thoughts in recent weeks. Ever since he’d laid that first kiss on her, she’d been helpless to stop her memory and imagination from bombarding her with real and dreamed-up pleasure to be found with him. He was trouble whether she gave in to him or fought against him.
Disgusted with herself for losing track of what she was meant to be doing yet again, she tossed down her pen and pushed her stool back with a screech. She’d grab a shower now. With any luck, the hot water would wash away all thoughts of a certain man and everything he made her feel.
The day had been tense. Dan hadn’t brought up last night’s phone call and neither had Jody. But for all the personal apprehension and strain between them, they’d worked together seamlessly and finalised the weekend’s job and locked the second date on the calendar. Dan had spoken to Mooney and emailed the questionnaire Cassie wanted the first group of employees to fill out. Those would be returned by the end of the week so now he could put the file away and call it a day.
Jody was on the phone and as he didn’t want to leave without talking to her and possibly heading out together, he waited. He couldn’t help overhearing her conversation and it didn’t take him long to work out her washing machine was broken and the repairman couldn’t fit her in until next week. When she hung up the phone with a sigh, he ventured over to her desk and rested his hip on the edge.
“I could take a look at that washer for you.”
She glanced up. “What?”
“Your washer. I worked for my dad all through my teens and he ran a repair business, so I’m pretty handy when it comes to fixing anything mechanical.” Dan smiled. He tried not to let his need to spend more time with her leak into his voice.
Catch 'n' Kiss (Are You Game?) Page 10
