"Yup."
"Who's your light of love this week?"
"None of your business, Grampa. I've already gotten the third degree from Mom and Pop. The next thing I know, it'll be Chip bugging me with questions."
"Well, we're all waiting for you to find the right one, my boy. You're not getting any younger, you know."
"Come on, Grampa, I'm only twenty-seven. I've got lots of time to find a wife, okay?"
"Just so, I s'pose, but I got married at nineteen and your father at twenty."
Grampa slapped a gnarled palm on the wooden arm of the rocker. "But okay, Jake, have a good time."
Jake descended the front steps and strode to the Corvette parked at the rear of the house. He knew the Miradale's Quik Economy and Butcher Emporium stayed open until six o'clock. He'd have time to pick out a good steak and the rest of the fixings for dinner with Roxanne Diamond. Town Liquors was right next door. He'd ask Bud Hollister for a good bottle of red wine to go with the meal. Jake crossed his fingers mentally, not sure what the night foretold. He'd have to play it by ear. But, he'd always been a pretty good pitchman. He'd know when things were going in the right direction.
* * * *
When Jake came down the path alongside the house carrying the packages, Roxy was waiting for him on the front patio. She had brought out china dinner plates, a platter, and stainless steel cutlery along with plastic-covered bowls piled with red potato salad, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes. Everything was spread on a square, glass-topped table surrounded by four cushioned chairs tucked beneath it. She'd even thought to bring the steak sauce.
"Nice, Rox," he said smiling, looking approvingly at what she'd done. Putting down his purchases, he asked, "Can you get us a couple of wine glasses while I start the grill? It will take some time for the charcoal to burn down." He pulled a head of lettuce from one of the bags. "And a big bowl for the salad." Next came the loaf of French bread. "Oh, and some butter, huh?" He grinned at her almost sheepishly. "I guess I forgot some stuff."
"I'll bring out a tray. You sure you didn't forget anything else?"
"Some salad dressing, a really sharp knife, and a big fork."
"Jake, why don't you leave me a list while you're at it?" She laughed, shaking her head and rolling her eyes, and went back into the house to get the items he asked for.
After he dumped the charcoal into the grill and ignited the bricks, Jake uncorked the wine with the corkscrew he'd purchased at Town Liquors. Bud had suggested he open the wine first, to let it breathe. Jake and his brothers were beer drinkers, and he didn't know much about wine.
He sauntered to the edge of the flagstone patio and looked out over the lake. It was beautiful at this time of evening. The wind had died down, and the sun hadn't lost its glow yet. It would in another hour or so, then the sunset would be spectacular with its reds, oranges, and purples fading behind the hills. The sounds around the lake were muted; most residents were probably having dinner after the day's busy activities. Mirror Lake seemed lazy, too, not breaking the surface with a ripple. The few sounds Jake heard came from the buzzing of insects and a few frogs that honked, deep-throated, from the weeds at the far end of the cove.
When Roxy returned and placed the tray on one end of the table, Jake went over to fill two glasses with wine. She took the full glass although she'd vowed she wouldn't drink. Somehow, she had changed her tune from the time she'd gone to get the tray to when she'd taken down the glasses from a shelf. She felt under stress, thinking about her evening with Jake. Maybe one glass of wine would calm her, soothe her anxieties—maybe even allow her to enjoy the evening.
"It's beautiful here, Roxy," Jake commented. "If it were me, I'd never leave." She went to stand beside him and gazed out on the water.
"I've always felt at home here," she replied. "I can't say I liked Texas that much even though I was born and grew up there."
"What about New York? Do you like living in the city?"
"I live in the Village, Jake, only because it's convenient to where I work. If I had my druthers, I'd live here. But the commute gets to you after a while. My dad hated the trek into New York every day."
She turned the wineglass in her fingers, looking down. The ruby red wine did a little dance in the glass. "When I was in college, my father took a small apartment in the city and only came home on weekends. Maybe that's why my parents are on the verge of breaking up." She glanced up at Jake and saw puzzlement and concern fluttering behind his lashes. She wondered why she was telling him this now of all times.
"They took a month's vacation to decide if they're going to stay together. If not, this place will be sold." Roxy looked down again at her glass of wine and raised the warm, red fluid her lips. "Damn. I sure hope it works out."
When she didn't continue, Jake prodded, "What about you, Rox? You told me you were divorced. When did that happen?"
"About a year after Grady and I—that's his name—got married. We met in college, lived together for two years. When we got married, we realized we weren't compatible after all."
"Umm? Well, I guess it happens," was all he said.
She creased her lips with a small smile and changed the topic. "Jake, go check on the coals. I'm getting hungry. I only had yogurt for lunch, and it's seven o'clock."
"Aye, aye, Captain Bly," he said, keeping the conversation light.
Jake had donned a cherry red polo shirt and beige Dockers for their date. With that deep tan, that shiny ebony hair, and those strange-colored eyes, he was as handsome as a Spanish don.
God, I could eat him up, she thought, her gaze following him.
Roxy wore a plain, loose top and a long, flowing, flowered skirt. She had slipped her bare feet into flat sandals. It was still warm, and she wanted to be comfortable. If a breeze came up later, she could always throw on a sweater. To add a bit of allure, she made up her eyes and lips, and added a pair of dangling earrings.
She wandered to where Jake was checking the coals. "Are they ready yet?"
"About ten minutes, I think."
She hesitated then plunged ahead with her own questions. "What about you, Jake? No one special?"
"Nope. I'm free as a bird. No one's waiting in the wings, either."
"That so? What about your brothers?"
"Them, too."
"Well, with your family's good looks…"
"You're not bad looking yourself, Rox. Don't you know that I always thought so?"
"Was that why you were always staring at me?"
"Er, yeah, I guess so."
He felt a little embarrassed because he recalled he did stare at her a lot in the high school halls. When it came to Roxanne Diamond, lots of the older guys—and the younger ones, too—leered at her delicious, nicely rounded boobs and her sweet twitching ass.
Maybe he had worn his heart on his sleeve for her most of his senior year, but she'd never let on she even liked him. So, okay. That was one mistake he wouldn't make again. He may have had adolescent longings for her—the "first crush" sort, not the forever kind. But now what he felt was lust—pure, uncomplicated, tear-up-the-bed-sheets lust.
"I still like what I see, Roxy," he said. "You haven't changed that much."
"I guess old habits hang on, so we're in agreement for once, Jake." She laughed up at him, and took a bigger swallow of her wine. She was surprised to see she'd drunk three-quarters of the sizeable glass. She blinked her eyes several times. Already she could feel heated sensations moving through her veins. Her cheeks felt flushed. Wine, it seemed, especially red wine, had an odd reaction on her libido; it left her uninhibited, wanting to do crazy, wild, raunchy things under a canopy of darkness.
"Better get the steak going, Jake," she giggled. With him coming on to her, she wasn't sure what might happen.
The steak was done to a "T," and the rest of the meal tasted just as good. Roxy loaded the dirty dishes on the tray after they finished eating, while Jake made sure the fire in the grill was out. He juggled the leftovers, bringing them through
the basement entrance up the stairs to the kitchen.
"Put them in the sink, Jake. I'll do them later."
As she turned toward the sink, he sneaked up behind her with his hands full and snaked them around her, gently placing the balloon glasses into the hot water to soak.
Roxy put down what she had in her hands as his rough workman's palms rubbed along her arms and up to her bare shoulders. She paused like a deer caught in a car's headlights. He bent and nuzzled the spot between her shoulder and neck. She let him; she even bent to the side so he had better access to her sensitive skin.
He turned her to face him, her buttocks resting against the sink's cabinet.
Slowly, Roxy raised her hands, surrounding his nape, and pulled his head down toward her. In seconds, he smashed her tight against him, pressing them together like pages in a book. When she looked up at him in the dim glow of the tiny nightlight she'd turned on earlier, she had a pretty good idea where the rest of the evening was going. But she didn't want to rush anything. This time she wanted him to take his time. She wanted to know what it felt like to be fucked by Jake Plummer, once and for all.
"Want some coffee?" she asked, innocently, fooling with the longish hair lying on the back of his neck.
"What?" The surprise on his face was evident as his eyebrows jumped skyward. His look was almost laughable. "Roxy? I thought…"
She pushed hard against his chest with both hands. "I think I want some. You know, to top off the evening," she said, managing to move around him and reaching for the coffeemaker.
"Shit," he grumbled under his breath.
She heard what he said but paid him no mind as she pulled out a paper liner and a can of ground coffee. She almost had to nudge Jake away from the sink to get to the faucet to fill the glass pot. She took down two mugs from a shelf and set them on the counter. "It'll be ready in five minutes. Maybe we should finish the couple of dishes meanwhile."
"Roxy…"
"Shh, Jake. Don't be in such a hurry," she chided, her mouth spread in a tiny, seductive smile.
He read the promise in her eyes and lips and grabbed a dishtowel from a hook next to the sink. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry."
When the coffee was brewed and poured into two mugs, Roxy led the way into the great room and plopped down onto the comfortable couch facing a view of the lake. She patted the cushion next to her. It was close to 10:00 p.m. Lights still blinked in houses along the shoreline like faceted jewels strung on a twinkling necklace.
Jake slid his bulky length down next to her, putting one arm behind her on the couch's back. Moments later, he hugged her close and leaned over to nuzzle her cheek. She still held a half-full mug of coffee in her two hands. "Thank you, Jake," she said, her voice soft and warm. "The evening has been wonderful."
"It's not over yet, Roxy. There's more to come, sweetheart."
"Why did you call me 'sweetheart,' Jake?" She leaned away from him, looking along her shoulder at him. "Actually, we've never even been friends."
"That was my mistake, Rox. I should have…"
"No, it was my fault, Jake, not yours. You always made me nervous."
"Who, me? Little old me?" His voice cracked while his grin widened. "I don't believe it."
"Oh, it's true all right. You scared the stuffing out of me in high school, Jake, with that hard, male body that other girls kept talking about and hoped to get close to. That's why I stayed away from you. I knew if I didn't, I'd be in big trouble." She paused briefly. "Well, you see what happened that night of my party. I pretty much threw myself at you."
He laughed deeply and put down his coffee mug. He took hers from her hands and placed it next to his on the coffee table. Then he threw both arms around her waist and pulled her half onto his lap where she landed on his thighs. She didn't struggle. He was convinced she was a willing prisoner.
God, this feels so good. HE feels so good, she thought. She could feel the rush of heat in her veins sizzling hotter. Jake was big, so masculine, his alluring male body pasted against hers, his brawny arms holding her tight. He exuded a potent aphrodisiac just being Jake Plummer.
"I never forgot you, Roxy. I tried to catch you unawares, anywhere, and make you take notice of me. Maybe make love. But I never got the chance until the night of your party. To tell the truth, I feel the same way now."
They stood up, facing each other, but paused. "Relax," Jake murmured next to her ear. "I won't hurt you again, I promise."
Exciting, unremitting desire tugged her toward him, growing stronger every second. She was suddenly aware of an incredible jolt of sexual tension igniting low in her nether regions. Electricity sparking like live wires along her nerve endings brought the onset of scramble-your-brains sensations she never felt with anyone but Jake before or since. She braced to take control. Silence reigned for long moments. When she looked up at him, she said, "Do it right this time, Jake, but take your time."
He leaned down and scooped her up into his arms. She squealed, but only for a second. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her to her bedroom.
Chapter Seven
Held in his arms, Roxy fought an urge to nuzzle him the way he had done her. Maybe lick around the edge of his ear to tease him. But, by the time the thought reached her mouth, Jake had pulled off a decorative bedspread, exposing the cool sheets, and deposited her on the bed.
"Let me undress you, Roxy. It was too dark in the boathouse to really see you, and I want to admire what I see when your skin is unveiled." He reached over and turned on the bedside lamp.
"No! Jake! It's too bright. Turn on the nightlight. Over there," she said, pointing to an outlet under a window.
He did what she asked, turned back, and yanked off his red polo shirt.
Roxy's gaze lingered on his chest. Dark hair curled around his flat, brownish nipples, ran down the center of his washboard torso, and dove in an uneven line three inches wide beneath the waistband of his Dockers. She ached to touch his warm skin, curl her fingers through his crisp chest hair, tease his nipples, stick her tongue in his belly button, savor his male essence. Already she noticed the prominent bulge under his fly.
Oh God! It's starting. Her unruly need to seek satisfaction grew formidable, wildly flaring into the white heat of a bonfire.
As Jake sat on the edge of the mattress, half naked, Roxy reached out her arms to him. He held her off. "No. Me first," he said, grabbing the hem of her top and gently drawing it up and over her head. He reached back and unhooked her bra, letting the shoulder straps slowly slide down her arms, exposing her breasts. He took a long time gazing at her breasts.
She watched his fathomless pupils darkening almost to pitch black.
"I should have known you'd be beautiful, Roxy!" he exclaimed. He ran tentative fingertips over the soft, womanly flesh, touching her white skin where the sun hadn't tanned it. Gradually, almost reverently, he enclosed her tits in his big palms and kissed the valley between the round mounds. Next, looking down at them, he slowly, sensuously rubbed his callused thumbs over her nipples, never looking away as he watched them pebble.
Roxy jerked, forgotten sensations racketing through her, realizing Jake admired her breasts as he gently caressed them. Touching herself had never given her the same response. When Jake squeezed the prominent nipples between thumb and an index finger and kept doing it, she burst out in a soft moan of pleasure.
"Ah, I see you like that, Rox. It feels good, doesn't it?"
"Oh, yes."
"Do you want more? Let me suck on your nipples. They pucker like tiny pebbles."
"Please. I want you to, Jake." Languidly, she raised her arms over her head, making herself available to him, to his touch, his mouth. She fluttered on the edge of pain, aching with rampant anticipation.
Jake's lips felt warm, the sharp edges of his teeth cool, rough against her nipple when he nibbled around the prominent bud. He laved the hard cherry, teased circles around the pink aureole, then got down to work and drew hard on the peak. When
he finally pulled it fully into his mouth and suckled, he was like a babe feeding on a mother's milk.
"I don't want you to stop, Jake! Don't, please!"
Hearing her yelp demanding more pleasure from him, he shifted to the other breast and repeated the same thing. Moving from one side to the other, he watched her head tossing this way and that on the pillow.
Keeping his mouth attached, he adeptly unbuttoned the placket on her skirt, pulled the zipper down, and lifted her hips to slip the material from under her. When the skirt was yanked down around her knees, he moved up her body and plunged deep into her mouth, pressing his tongue aggressively between her teeth as he explored her taste.
Roxy kicked the skirt from around her ankles and opened her legs wider, permitting Jake to slide between them. Their tongues meshed in a passionate whirlwind of lust and desire until they were both panting and all but breathless.
She was the one who reached down to remove her panties.
Meanwhile, Jake sat up and kicked off his sandals. He unbuckled his belt, slid the zipper down, and pulled off both Dockers and his gray skivvies. His engorged cock sprang out ahead of him between his legs like a thoroughbred released from the starting gate, reaching to his belly button. He wrapped a palm around his cock, holding it taut.
The only cock that Roxy remembered seeing in twenty-twenty vision with the light on was Grady's. Otherwise, she had fucked in the dark with earlier lovers. Now, her eyes flared wide when she saw Jake's penis. It looked at least two inches longer than Grady's, and a hell of a lot thicker than any she had held in her hand. She sucked in air, a little nervous because of the size. Then she remembered. Jake had fit inside her before, even if his penetration had hurt the first time. She was glad she wouldn't have to go through that again.
"Why don't you tell me what you're thinking this minute, Roxy?"
Oh Lord, leave it to Jake. He must be reading my mind.
"Nothing I can tell you, Jake."
"If you're worried it won't fit, I promise it will as soon as you're wet enough. I'll go slow. I want you to enjoy every minute of this. But tell me what you want, what you like, what you want me to do to put you into orbit."
The Plumber's Helper Page 5
