by Calista Fox
Liza liked him instantly, despite his hesitation over her ensemble. He had warm brown eyes surrounded by lots of wrinkles. His smile was genuine and his handshake was just right—not too strong as to overpower her, silently putting her in her “little misses” place. Yet not the least bit limp. Although it was a confident gesture, it was also a friendly one. Not at all the politician handshake Liza was accustomed to or expected given his wife’s earlier pretention. Perhaps that had been for Lydia’s sake, to remind the reverend’s wife that being the mayor’s wife trumped her. Liza decided she liked Emelda as much as she liked her husband.
“Would you care to join us for coffee?” he asked as he released Liza’s hand and returned to his seat.
“Glass of wine would be better,” Jack said.
“Couldn’t agree with you more, son,” the mayor mumbled.
Jack continued on, keeping his tone level. “Perhaps on a night when it’s not outlawed. As it is, Jess and George are waiting for us.”
The devil on Liza’s shoulder taunted her to look behind them to see if the Bains had overheard their exchange with the mayor and his wife, particularly that last part. The angel on the other shoulder helped her to resist the urge, difficult though it was.
Her mother may be the most frigid woman on the planet next to Lydia Bain, but she had taught Liza good manners.
“Well, then,” the mayor said. “Another time. Enjoy your dinner.”
“You too,” Jack said.
They pressed on, just barely skirting the wide brim of Emelda’s hat. Ruby had taken an alternate route when she’d abandoned them. Not as if they didn’t know where they were headed.
Jess and George were already sharing one side of the corner booth when Liza and Jack finally arrived.
“Sorry we’re late,” Liza said as she scooted into the same seat she’d occupied yesterday.
“Don’t worry about it,” Jess said with her usual smile. “George had a glass of Scotch at home before we came, so he’s in a good mood.”
“Don’t let the reverend hear you say that,” Jack grumbled.
“Even the mayor seemed nonplussed,” Liza commented. “So how’d this whole ‘no booze on the Holy Day’ law get passed, anyway?”
Jack crooked a brow. “These are God-fearing Christians, darlin’. Who’s gonna publicly choose booze over Christ?”
“Good point,” she said. “Still…seems a bit tyrannical, don’t you think? Whatever happened to good old fashioned democracy? A ballot with an anonymous vote?”
“Something we’d like to see,” George admitted. “But Reverend Bain uses the strategic tactic of guilting the sinners into seeing his way in person. Can’t do that with a written ballot.”
“I see what you’re saying.” Still, as Liza’s eyes scanned the crowded dining room, she swore she saw more distaste than pleasure on the faces of those sipping water, coffee and tea with their meals.
“What about revenue?” she asked. “I mean, Jack’s place loses money because of the alcohol ban. What about the grocery stores? The restaurants?” Talk about screwing with a town’s economy! “Think of the profits Mike and Ruby are losing when this place is wall-to-wall with people and the waiting area is overflowing into the street. They could be serving beer, wine and cocktails with dinner and to those waiting for a table.”
“You’re preachin’ to the choir, sweetheart,” Jack said, his voice tight.
She understood his frustration. Empathized with it. “So he uses God against you all. Not very Christian, if you ask me. And, hey!” she added, a thought occurring to her. “What about during Sunday service? What does he offer the repentant sinners? Kool-Aid?”
“Oh no,” Ruby chimed in as she appeared at the table to take their orders. “That’s wine. Holy wine, ‘cause we wouldn’t want to offend God with Kool-Aid.”
“Well, this is just plain ridiculous,” Liza said. Her stomach growled—loudly—distracting her. “Whatever Mike is making us for dinner would go nice with a bold red.”
“You said it, sister,” Ruby concurred. The others nodded their heads in agreement. “So you want yours to go?”
Liza smirked at her. “And miss your sunny disposition? Not in a million.”
Ruby chuckled. “That’s the first time anyone’s taken me over hooch. And that includes my husband, I regret to inform ya’ll.”
Everyone laughed. Liza said, “He’s probably just worn out from feeding all our hungry mouths.”
“He wasn’t too worn out last night,” she said with a wink, leaving mouths gaping. She turned to Jess and asked, “What’ll it be, honey?”
Liza noticed Ruby wasn’t the only one working the floor and she was pleased the restaurant owner had chosen to wait on their table. Not that they were going to be a fussy group. Jess inquired about this evening’s special and Ruby barely got the words “Lasagna Bolognese” out when Jess said, “I’ll have that.”
“Make it two,” George said.
“Three,” Jack chimed in.
Ruby sighed. “Why did I even bother paying to have menus printed up?”
Liza toyed with hers, flipping it open. As much as she’d had her heart set on the special, she had a feeling something more adventurous awaited her. “I’ll venture outside the box,” she said. “Italian sausage and peppers.”
“That’s Mike’s specialty, honey,” Ruby said. “He creates his own combinations. Tonight’s is parmesan cheese and roasted garlic rolled into the sweetest, spiciest Italian sausage you’ve ever tasted.”
Liza felt another orgasm coming on. “I’m in for one hell of a treat.” She handed over her menu. But she really didn’t want to miss out on the lasagna, either. Turning to Jack, she asked, “Will you allow me to nibble?”
“We’re talking about food, right?” he countered with a wicked glint in his eyes.
“Yes,” Liza said, trying to fight the inevitable heat his mere presence—not to mention his sinful gaze—sparked. “Just a sample.”
“More than happy to share with you, darlin’.”
She had to look away, because she was smiling like an infatuated schoolgirl. They’d shared plenty these past few days. Thinking about all those erotic moments made her blush even deeper.
Unfortunately, as she tried to get her riotous emotions under control, her gaze landed on Lydia, who was watching their table a little too close for comfort.
What was that woman’s problem?
Knowing she wouldn’t get the answer she sought at that moment, but deciding to press Jack about it later, she jumped into the conversation at the table.
Several topics later, their meal arrived and silence ensued. Then they gave up their table for another group that had been on the lengthy waitlist. Obviously tourists, as the locals clearly knew Mike and Ruby’s was the place to be—and required a reservation if one was to eat at a respectable hour.
They stepped outside and George said, “I’d suggest we go for a cocktail somewhere, but…”
“Actually,” Liza said, “I don’t mind if we call it a night.” She was beat. “Are you okay with that?” she asked Jack.
He grinned down at her. “You said something about a massage and a hot bath earlier, so…” He let his voice trail off as he grinned at her.
Her stomach flipped. “Jack,” she said, trying to sound shocked over his audacity in mentioning something so private in front of Jess and George. But of course she wasn’t. Couldn’t say the idea was too far from her mind either.
Jess said, “So I’ll see you tomorrow morning around eight?”
“Be there with bells on.”
Jess gave Liza a quick hug, startling her. “I’m so glad you came to Wilder.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Though, in her exhausted state—both physical and emotional, because she’d responded in a way she hadn’t imagined to the people who were actually kind to her—Liza wondered if she was getting in over her head.
Planting seeds she wasn’t quite ready to cultivate…
&
nbsp; Chapter Sixteen
They went their separate ways and Jack helped Liza into the cab of his truck. When he pulled up to the cottage, she waited this time for him to round the vehicle and open the door for her. She knew he liked doing that. She could give him that one, she thought with a smile.
They walked up the pathway and crossed the porch. She unlocked the door and turned back to him. Jack propped a forearm against the doorframe and leaned in to kiss her.
“Hmm, that was nice,” she said on a sigh when he pulled away. Her arms wrapped around his neck, she whispered in his ear, “I’m still interested in that bath. You game?”
“If it’s what you want.”
She smiled at him. “You already know what I want.”
He groaned.
She rushed on. “But I could use a little de-stressor. A nice, hot soak to warm me up and relax my muscles.”
His blue irises deepened in color. “Whatever you want,” he repeated.
Taking his hand, Liza led him into the bathroom. While the water ran in the oversize tub that sat beside the glass-enclosed shower, she turned to Jack and went to work on the buttons of his black dress shirt. She stripped his clothes off slowly, running her hands over his body as she discarded the material and revealed his hard muscles and smooth skin. He watched her enjoy touching him. Her fingers glided over the defined ledge of his pectoral muscles, one nail scraping against a nipple, causing him to suck in his breath.
She smiled as she leaned toward him and kissed his warm flesh. Her lips trailed over his chest to the other nipple and she licked it, then sucked on it.
Jack’s hands gripped her hips. “Thought we were taking a bath,” he said in a tight voice.
“We are,” she whispered back as she flicked the nipple again with her tongue.
“Liza,” he said in that warning tone of his.
Her hand smoothed over the front of his dress pants, gliding along his erection. Jack groaned and she let her fingers slide lower until she cupped his balls.
“I like making you hard,” she told him in a soft voice.
“And you’re damn good at it.” He let out a low growl as she stroked him through the loose material at his crotch. “Problem is, I want to act on it.”
“Patience,” she whispered as she moved her hand back up to the waist of his pants. She unhooked his black leather belt, released the button and slid the zipper down its track. It made an erotic sound against the flow of water behind them. “Bath first.”
Yet she knew she was testing his restraint. His long fingers wrapped around her biceps as she pushed his pants and briefs down his legs. Her hands were back on his chest, then his abdomen. They moved around to his shoulder blades as Jack’s head dipped and he captured her mouth in a scorching-hot kiss.
But she didn’t let him keep the lead. Instead, her tongue swept over his and pushed deep into his mouth. It was exciting, exhilarating. Jack let her take charge, let her guide them. It seemed to turn him on as much as it did her.
“You like this,” she whispered as her mouth slid from his, her lips grazing his jaw.
Jack groaned. His sooty lashes fanned out against his tanned skin and his hands moved from her arms to tangle in her hair. “Kiss me again,” he said.
How could she refuse him? Even if she was the one in control, she still understood the value of compromise. And, really, not kissing him was like giving up oxygen permanently.
She pressed her mouth to his, gently at first. Then as she felt his chest rise and fall a little more sharply, she traced his lips with her tongue before nipping playfully at the corner of his mouth.
He grinned. “Nice touch.”
“I’m not done.”
Her mouth was on his again, more firmly this time. She commanded the kiss, turning it into something hard and demanding that he responded to. One of Jack’s arms wrapped around her waist and he crushed her against his strong body, but held back just enough so that she could continue to direct their passion. She’d never done anything of the sort until this very moment. She’d always been so passive with Peter. Letting his moodiness dictate what may or may not come of a night together.
But it wasn’t nearly as intimidating or as difficult as she’d thought it would be. At least…not with Jack. Because her pleasure was as important to him as his pleasure was to her. And he wasn’t threatened by her.
Liza realized that now. She and Peter had been such sole and separate creatures, even when they were together, that it must have been strange for others to see them with each other. Trying to figure them out.
Whereas with Jack…
Her kiss turned wildly impassioned as she considered how they responded to the other in public as well as in private. He had no inhibitions and he didn’t care who knew they were together.
Even if it was fleeting, he seemed to like claiming her as his own.
And the feeling was mutual.
When she pulled away from him, she was breathless. She could hear the faint flow of water that told her the tub was almost full. She needed to turn the faucet off. Yet her fingertips were pressed into the muscles of Jack’s back and her body was melded to his.
“Water,” she said, barely able to find her voice.
He glanced over her shoulder at the tub. Then he detangled himself from her and turned the faucet off.
Standing on her own two feet was a bit difficult. Her hand shot out and she gripped the vanity as Jack turned back to her.
Liza let out a crazy little laugh and said, “Those damn weak knees again.”
His smoldering look could melt a block of ice in a nanosecond. “Let me help you with that.”
Suddenly, his hands clasped her waist and he hoisted her onto the granite-topped vanity. His deft fingers worked the buttons of her blouse and then he stripped away the satin material. Her lacy bra followed. He pushed her skirt up and she lifted off the counter so he could shove it up to her waist.
His eyes turned to saucers as he discovered that her stockings were of the thigh-high variety.
“Jesus,” he whispered under his breath. Possibly, his blood pressure shot up a few points.
He stared at her legs—and her pussy, which was covered with black lace—as if he’d never seen lingerie before.
“You do get the Victoria’s Secret catalog, right?” she asked.
“Sure, darlin’…” he said with a low groan. “But that’s just photographs. Paper. And no woman I’ve ever seen in real life has looked this damn good in next to nothing.”
She fought back a grin. “I find that hard to believe.”
“Oh I’ve dated a few southern belles, but…” He shook his head, let out another groan. “I swear to God I’ve never seen anything like you before.”
“There you go again,” she whispered as she reached for his neck and pulled his head to hers. “Saying all the right things that will land you in bed with me.”
He chuckled as his lips grazed hers. “God’s honest truth,” he said. “I may not worship on Sundays, but I don’t lie, darlin’.”
She believed him.
He kissed her in the way that only Jack Wade could. Until she was so hot she could barely stand the remainder of clothing on her body.
“Get me naked,” she said as she tore her mouth from his.
Jack didn’t say a word, just unzipped and slipped her boots off, rolled each stocking down her thighs and then reached for the thin straps of her thong at her hips. She lifted herself off the vanity again and he dragged the damp panties down her legs. Her skirt followed.
“Better?” he asked.
“You tell me.”
“I already did. I like everything off you.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“But again…” he said in a low, intimate tone. “Impossible not to act on it.”
He knelt before her as his hands spread her legs wide. His tongue swept over her sensitive pussy lips, making her squirm on the counter where she was perched.
“God, Jack,” she mutte
red. “You’re like a jumpstart to a dead battery.”
He chuckled, his warm breath teasing her moist skin, making every inch of her tingle. Her nipples puckered and her chest rose and fell sharply as his tongue licked her clit, slow and languid at first. As her breathing picked up, he suckled the swollen bud, then feverishly flicked it with his tongue until she was panting loudly and weaving her fingers through his thick hair.
“Christ, Jack,” she whispered. “You are so good at that.”
He pushed a long finger deep into her wet cunt, making her cry out. He continued to lick and suck her clit as he finger-fucked her. Her legs spread wider and her ass lifted off the counter. She pressed herself against his mouth, wanting everything he had to offer.
“That’s so incredible,” she said. “I’m going to come.”
He thrust a second finger into her cunt and her head fell back on her shoulders.
“Oh God, yes!” Fire roared through her body as that explosive sensation she was now intimately familiar with lit her insides. “God, that is so good!”
Her inner thighs quivered. Her stomach flipped. Her heart soared.
She desperately wanted to insist they go into the bedroom and fuck like bunnies all night long. But as her orgasm ebbed, Liza remembered she’d had something else in mind for the evening and needed to stick to her plan.
She already knew the Jack Wade that walked around town with his head held high, strong enough to say what was on his mind and defy the restraints others tried to place on him.
She already knew the Jack Wade who was a passionate, generous lover.
Then there was the Jack Wade who felt fiercely protective of those he cared about and deemed worthy. Including her.
But what about the Jack Wade behind all that? Who was he, really, and what thoughts consumed his mind?
Tonight’s bath was all about getting a little closer to the man she didn’t yet know.
Slipping off the counter as he stood, she said, “You test the water temperature. I’ll be right back.”
