Alluring Seduction (Bayou Stix)

by Turner, Skye

  This new more affectionate Jessie is strange, but I like it very much. Turning my hand, I thread our fingers. He tenses for a second before relaxing and squeezing my hand. “Oh, I’ve made noises with you that have never been heard before.” I laugh.

  He grins wolfishly at me. “I know. I love the noises you make.”

  Blushing furiously, I sputter out, “God, shut up.”

  He laughs heartily and pulls our hands up. He sucks my finger into his mouth, rolling his tongue around it thoroughly, and then kisses the top of my hand. My heart races and my stomach starts jumping. Lord, he affects me.

  We chat about the wedding, the townhouse, and what we’re doing tonight on the way down to New Orleans. We have to stop for gas once and Jessie is surrounded by grinning teenage girls at the pump. He’s so great with them. He smiles and smirks and takes iPhone photos with them before signing a napkin they find in the glove box. The door is open, so I hear the conversation. At one point, one of the girls looks into the car. I wave and smile. She asks him, “Is that your girlfriend?”

  He looks over at me and smiles before turning back to her. “Yes, it is.”

  She sighs and says, “She’s beautiful. You look amazing together.” She blushes and says, “And I really like your hair like that. I mean I liked it before, but I like it shorter. It’s very sexy!”

  He chuckles and says, “Blue cut it for me. She did awesome, huh?”

  They all agree and stare at me. It’s very unnerving.

  Jessie finishes up and gets back in the truck and we head out, waving to the still staring girls who are also tapping away furiously on their phones. He doesn’t say anything and neither do I. Finally he asks, “Was that ok?”

  I look at him with a question on my face. “Was what ok?”

  “My girlfriend. You are, right? Is it ok that I told them that? Because right now, I’m sure those pictures are being tweeted all over the world.” He’s not looking at me. He’s gripping the steering wheel and staring straight ahead.

  Leaning over, I kiss the corner of his mouth. “I’d say it’s ok. If we’re going to be living together, I guess I’ll be your girlfriend.” I laugh. “Besides, you’re the one with the reputation to uphold.”

  Growling at me, he smirks. “Yeah, well… Lexi called me a reformed manwhore.”

  I bust out laughing, “Bradi called you a whore too.”

  “Damn, that’s not nice.” He chuckles, before suddenly looking uneasy. “I think I told you once my dick wasn’t your business. Do you remember that?”

  Swallowing, I decide to just be honest. “Yeah… I remember that. I remember everything you’ve ever said to me.” I smirk. “But for the record, you’re dick is very much my business now.”

  Chuckling he says, “Yeah, I’d say so.” He looks over at me. “You know I wanted to pull you into my room and throw you against the wall that night?!”

  My brow rises in surprise and my head tips to the side. “I doubt that. Skank Barbie had just left in a huff.”

  “Skank Barbie?” He guffaws. “Woman, you are too much. But she did, yes. She was pretty pissed at me.”

  “I heard. I believe ‘asswipe’ was the term she used.” I snicker and have to cover my mouth.

  His cheeks darken under his scruff. I want to run my tongue over it. “Uh huh, yeah, well I did kick her out of my room…”

  I laugh at his embarrassment. “Funny, that seems to be a habit of yours. You kicked me out too. But then you followed me across state lines after getting your ass kicked.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Rub it in.” He’s rubbing circles on the top of my hand and I can’t seem to catch my breath. “I did not get my ass kicked though. I gave as good as I got.” We stop in front of a building. I hadn’t even been paying attention to where we were going; I was so focused on our conversation. Putting the truck in park, he turns to me. “Blue. I am so sorry about that. I flipped out and I reacted badly. From day one, you’ve always gotten under my skin, and I always seem to do the wrong things with you. I’m sorry. You-You’re the only woman I’ve ever come after… Ever.”

  Smiling, I lean in as my heart swells. I capture his mouth in a sweet kiss and whisper against his lips, “I know that, Jessie.” Rubbing my nose against his, I say, “You are so forgiven.”

  He smiles and brushes his lips against mine softly before he sweeps his tongue in and claims my mouth as his own.

  Breaking the kiss, he lays his forehead against mine and stares at me with something I hope is what I think it is in his eyes. We have a silent conversation. He smiles, takes my hand, and pulls me across the seat and out of his door. We head towards the house hand in hand.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Jessie

  Walking up the small cobblestone path to the front door, Blue and I take in the townhouse. It’s just as magnificent in person as it was online. It’s in the French Quarter, but off of the high traffic streets. Bourbon Street is four blocks away. It’s two stories and has a brown wrought iron balcony off of the rooms on the second floor that faces the street. There’s a small porch and a vine covered gate to the side that leads to the back and the courtyard. It’s painted a sage green with white trim around the columns, windows, and front door. The front door is the same rich brown as the balcony. I see Blue’s eyes light up as she takes it in. There are no trees because we’re in the Quarter, but I can see a few small ones over the top of the gate leading into the courtyard.

  We knock on the front door and are immediately greeted by a bubbly older woman in a light pink suit. She gestures us in and we look through the house. It’s fully furnished and magnificent. Four rooms on the bottom, including a living room, formal dining room, open kitchen, and a sun room that opens onto the courtyard. There’s also a half bathroom. The top floor has two bedrooms and a sitting area with two bathrooms. I love it!

  As we walk through the house, the real estate agent is chattering on about this and that, but I’m not listening. I’m watching Blue’s face. Every room makes her smile and I can tell when she really likes something, because she unconsciously squeezes my hand. Finally, we head into the courtyard.

  I grin as we walk through the vine covered brick archway and hit the private garden. It’s amazing. Blue gasps and catches her breath as she takes in the beauty. The entire courtyard is cobblestone but there are crepe myrtles and a few fruit trees in the yard. There are flowerbeds all around the perimeter and in the center of the yard surrounded by benches is a magnificent lion fountain.

  Looking at her, I see the wonder in her eyes. “Do you like it, Blue?”

  Her hands clasp her chest and she takes a deep breath and looks around again before meeting my eyes. “Oh, Jessie. This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen! The house is amazing, but this… oh my God, this is breathtaking. I love it. But it’s your house. Do you like it?”

  Taking a hold of her hands, I lean in to kiss her. This courtyard is so romantic; I can’t curtail the feelings inside of me. “No, Blue. It’s our house. It will be our house. So, should we buy it?” She doesn’t speak and the agent noticing our bent heads and quiet conversation walks a bit away to give us some privacy. Pulling her with me, I sit her on one of the benches beside me and look around. “Blue? Are you ok?”

  She looks at me and smiles. “Oh yes, we should definitely buy this house! Like right now.” Wrapping her arms around my neck and fisting my hair, she slants her mouth to mine. My knees get weak. Thank God I’m sitting down. Leaning back after breaking the kiss, she says, “Jessie… I love you.”

  I get lightheaded and lose my sight for a second.

  What did she just say? Did Blue say she LOVED me? Does she mean that? Or is the excitement of the house getting to her? Fuck… what if she does love me? Hell yes!

  My silence makes her nervous, so she rushes on. “It’s ok, Jessie. I’m sorry I said it like that. It’s very soon. Well, not really, since I’ve been in love with you forever, but too soon to tell you. Let’s forget I said anything, ok?” She
’s grabbing her own hands and tangling her fingers. “Shit! Shit, I need to shut up now.”

  My pulse is racing and I grab her hands. “Shut up, woman.” Her eyes widen at my tone and I see the panic rushing over her face. Kissing her nose, I hold my hand up to stop her from rambling anymore. “I mean it, stop!” I just look at her. I can feel her hands shaking and her desperate attempt to pull them away. I pull back and hold them tighter. “You love me?”

  She sighs, but then looks right at me. “Yes. I’ve probably loved you since I first saw you, Jessie. I’m sorry…” She tries to pull her hands away, but I hold them tight. “I didn’t mean to say it, but I did mean it. I do mean it. I need to learn impulse control. I… I’m…”

  Kissing her shuts her up. Looking right into her eyes, I say what I’ve been feeling and been too scared to confess. “Blue, shut up. Let me talk.” She frowns but stays silent. “I knew as soon as I touched you in the elevator that something was different with you. I’ve felt things for you for years, but I didn’t know what it was. And we were always at each other’s throats. You make me feel shit I’ve never felt before. I asked you to move in with me. I’m going to buy this house with you… for us… I might be slow, but I’m not stupid, woman. I love you, too!”

  Her gorgeous blue eyes fill with shock and tears and she grabs my face and almost knocks me off of the bench as she launches herself at me. “You love me? You love me?! Are you sure?”

  Laughing, I wipe her tears and kiss her again. Then getting serious again, I state firmly, “Yes, I love you. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. But now, how about we buy this house so we can get rid of the agent?!”

  She smiles so brightly the sun dims. “Of course. That is a brilliant idea!”

  Blue

  Jessie loves me. We bought a house. Jessie LOVES me. We’re going out tonight to see his friend play after spending the whole afternoon signing paperwork. This is so fast, but it feels so right. I am so happy. Nothing can rain on my parade right now. Now, I need to get ready for our date. Jessie Adams is ALL mine. Life is good.

  I walk out into the living room of the place Alec rented for the weekend to find Jessie texting Jude.

  He stops when he hears me and looks up. I’m wearing skin-tight teal skinny jeans with black booties and a black scooped neck top. I’ve done my eyes up in a vibrant teal eye shadow and left the rest of my face neutral with pink lip gloss on my mouth. My hair is sexily styled and I have on shoulder length silver dangly earrings.

  I can tell he appreciates the view as he blinks and takes in my appearance with his mouth slack. What a way to make a woman feel sexy. He twirls his finger to have me turn around. I do.

  He groans. “You are too sexy for your own good. Dear God, please don’t let another man touch you tonight, or I’ll go to jail.”

  Chuckling, I saunter over to him. Jessie makes me feel so sexy. I’m not nearly as self-conscious of my curves when he looks at me like he’s looking at me now. Wrapping my arms around his neck and leaning my head back, I whisper, “No one else gets to touch.” I love that even with me wearing heels, he’s still a tiny bit taller than me. His hands snake under the hem of my shirt and he stops with startled eyes as he feels the boning on my waist. He attempts to pull my shirt up to see what I have waiting for him later tonight. Shaking my finger at him, I chuckle. “No. You have to wait until later to unwrap your present. I spent too much time to look like this to stay in.” Laughing, I untangle myself from his arms. He’s trying to grab me and pull me back. “No, what are you wearing, I need to see now. What is that?”

  Patting his cheek, I reply “A corset.” His eyes bug out and his mouth drops open as I turn on my heel and call over my shoulder as I walk to the door, “You coming? We’re going to be late.”

  His eyes are on my ass the entire time, though his mouth is still agape. I can’t wait to see if Bradi is right about my purchase. I’m pretty pleased with his response without even seeing it on me. Right on Bradi.

  Muttering under his breath as he adjusts the bulge in his jeans, “She’s trying to make me insane. I swear I’m going to kill someone tonight if they even look too long. Damn woman is making me nuts!” He grabs his keys and slips his leather jacket over his shirt.

  Giggling in delight, I walk out the door.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Jessie

  As Blue and I walk through the doors of The Rusty Nail, my eyes cut through the smoke and low lights and I see Rich is already on stage. I’ve been promising him to catch a show, but until now, it hasn’t been possible. She takes a look around the bar, taking everything in. I love the atmosphere of the bars in New Orleans. I love the town of New Orleans. I love how at any given time a celebrity can be sitting by a local at the bar or tapping their feet to the band on the stage and everyone is just hanging out.

  The Rusty Nail is a favorite of mine. The wood paneled walls with the long bar and the stage in the corner gives a warm, welcoming feel while still being hip. Personal photos are behind the bar, on the walls, next to the taps and liqueur bottles. It’s an amazing representation of NOLA and I’m glad I brought Blue here. Grabbing a table in the corner, I sit her down. Leaning in I ask, “What do you want to drink?”

  She looks at me with glee-filled eyes and responds, “Whatever. Something good.” She winks. Shaking my head I head to the bar to get our drinks and order beers for the band.

  The bartender is another friend of mine and we’ve spent some time together in the past. She’s a badass, but a killer mixologist. She meets my eyes as she mixes our drinks, before looking back down. “So, Jessie. This is the first time you’ve brought a woman like that in here. Who is she?”

  I smile at her teasing tone. “That would be Blue Delaney. My girlfriend.” I chuckle as she loses her grip on the bottle of liquor and almost drops it. She sets it on the bar and leans into me.

  “Your girlfriend?” She asks.

  Winking at her, I shrug. “Yeah, my girlfriend. As in I’m a one woman man now. Who the fuck would have thought that one out, huh, Kari?”

  She whistles and grins at me. “Who indeed?! Happy for you, Cha.” She looks over my shoulder and her grin widens. “That one looks like she has some fire in her. I bet she keeps you on your toes.” Leaning over, she kisses my cheek. She mutters as she gets back to the drinks, “Jessie Adams off the market. Women around the world are crying.”

  We chat a bit more and then she slides me the drinks and heads to the stage to personally deliver Rich’s drink after declaring our first round “On the house.”

  Blue is watching me as I get back to the table with a slight frown on her face. I set her drink in front of her and she looks at it. “What is that?”

  Smirking, I take a sip of my own. “The Rusty. It’s their signature drink. Taste it.”

  She takes a small sip. She nods her head to show she likes it, but then pierces me with her blue gaze. “Who was that woman who kissed you? I’m not trying to be jealous, but a beautiful woman just kissed you. I’d like to know who exactly that was.”

  I laugh. She glares at me and crosses her arms. Leaning over the table, I grab her face and kiss her. She looks at me with arched brows when I pull away. She wants an answer.

  Well shit, I guess this is it. Damn, I’ve been with a lot of women. I didn’t really think this through. Here goes nothing.

  Sighing, I press my palms to the table, but meet her gaze. “That’s Kari. A friend. I’ve known her a long time. We’ve only ever been friends. She was kissing me because I told her you were my girlfriend and she was surprised and happy for me.”

  “Have you had sex with her?” She boldly asks while holding my gaze.

  Shifting uncomfortably, I squeeze the table. “Well, yes. A few times. But it was just us having sex.” My foot is tapping rapidly under the table and my stomach is in knots. Why is telling Blue things she already knows so hard?! “Don’t get mad, but kind of like you and Jude.”

  She gasps and her lips compress into a so
lid line before she releases her breath and bites her lip. “Direct hit. Ok. I believe you.” She traces the top of her glass and looks at me under her lashes. “Jessie?”

  I’m staring at her, holding my breath. “Yeah?”

  “Does that bother you?” Her breath catches and I see her wipe her palms on her pants leg. “Me – that we – that I’ve had sex with Jude?”

  Blowing out a breath and taking a long drink from my glass before placing it back on the table, I reply, “I don’t like it. But, that was a long time ago and I know that you two have only ever been friends. I can’t say anything to you about who you’ve been with. Hell, look at me. You know I’m a ‘manwhore’ and you still want to be with me. And you haven’t been with a fraction of, ugh… of what I have.” I grab my nape and squeeze while pulling my lip ring into my mouth.

  “You were a ‘manwhore’. You aren’t anymore.” She leans over the table and I’m distracted by the lush breasts on display directly in my line of vision. I look up and catch the smirk on her face before she crashes her lips into mine.

  Whoa.

  Once I can think again, I adjust my jeans and shake my head at her. “I swear you’re a witch. If I didn’t know better I’d think you put the voodoo juju on me.”

  She laughs heartily and sits back down with her drink. “When in New Orleans…” Tipping her glass to me, she takes a sip.

  I catch the look shot at me from the stage and smile and shrug while raising my glass.

  They play for about another half an hour, then stop for a break. I ask Blue if she’d like to head out to the courtyard to get some air. She says yes and we head outside.

  “Wow, Jessie. This place is great. I’ve been to clubs all over the world and this bar is amazing. I love the ambiance. It’s almost like another world. I see why you wanted a house here. And to think, this was just over an hour from you growing up.”