Jack was more aroused mentally than he'd ever been. Physically everything was working as it should, but his mind knew that this time there were no barriers between them. Nothing to stop her cunt from grasping his cock with secret muscles only he would feel. It was close to a religious experience and he found himself in awe of the way their bodies fit, the way their moves mirrored each other and the way mutual pleasures were shared without a need for words.
As the sun rose and lightened the sky, Jack fulfilled Cora's desires and Cora gave back everything she had to Jack.
They reached orgasm together and Jack filled her, exploding inside the contracting heat, flooding her silken spaces with his seed.
Afterward, as he softened and slipped free on a little river of their shared fluids, she sighed.
"You're a dangerous man, Jack Brandon." Cora's eyelids drooped. "I could get used to this."
He smiled as he cuddled her close once more. "Me too."
Chapter Six
"Shit." Cora tumbled from the couch onto the floor as she awoke with a jump. "Shit, it's morning." She poked Jack as she rubbed her knee. "Why didn't you set an alarm or something? What time is it? Ow." She straightened slowly and put a hand to her back. "Damn. Every muscle in my body is sore."
Jack chuckled and folded his arms behind his head on their shared pillow. "I'm not even gonna move for a bit. I'll probably have the same aches and pains. But it was worth it."
She shrugged and tried to hide her smile. "Yeah, when you put it like that. Okay, I have to go get dressed. I need to go home and I have to be back here tonight. I'll pick up the costumes after my shift's over and take them back on Monday..."
Her voice tailed off as she looked at Jack's expression of surprise. "What?"
"You're going to work tonight?"
"Well yeah," she snorted. "It's my job."
"But I told all three of you to take tonight off."
Cora sighed as she buttoned her shirt and hurried into the tiny bathroom to take care of an urgent need. She washed her hands and bemoaned the lack of underwear.
The rest of her clothes were in the ladies' room, but at least she didn't have to creep around the club rooms stark naked. She went back out.
"Jack, I love this job, don't get me wrong. And last night was...well beyond anything." She paused. "This morning too."
He smirked.
"However, the reason I took a second job still exists. I have a goal, a financial obligation. I'm gonna meet it."
"I know."
"What do you mean, you know?" She leaned in to the bathroom once more and ran her hands through her hair. Then cursed. She needed a real shower.
"The IRS bill. I know."
Turning, Cora stared at him. "You do?"
"Yeah. Heard you talking about it not long after you started working here."
"Oh." A bit unsettled by his revelation, she decided to shrug it off. "So you understand why I'll be in tonight. You know what they say...never fuck with the Mafia or the IRS."
He looked smug. "You don't have to worry about either of 'em, unless you've got something going on with one of the five families that I don't know about. If you have, we'll go to the mattresses..."
"What are you talking about?"
A sinking feeling was crawling around in Cora's belly. Ordinarily she would have said she was hungry, but this was...different.
"The mattresses? It's from The Godfather."
"I know. The other."
"Your IRS bill? It's paid off, honey."
Her jaw dropped but no words came out. She felt her brain come screeching to a halt and could do nothing but stare at him, lying there, barely covered by a sheet and looking all self-satisfied.
"You can thank me if you like."
She found her voice. "What did you do, Jack?"
He stretched. "Paid it for you, darlin'. Last week. I couldn't stand the idea that every night you were working so hard for Uncle Sam. I wanted you to work for you."
Slowly she processed this statement. And something inside her shriveled into nothingness, leaving her feeling empty and with a stupid urge to weep.
"That was very kind of you. I don't suppose it occurred to you to mention it to me or ask me first?" She straightened as a lick of heat swept through her, blurring her vision for a moment or two. Ugly notions swept over her mind. "Or were you planning on using it as a bribe last night if I wasn't as willing to put out for you as you thought?"
He sat up in a hurry. "Cora. What the fuck are you talking about? That's shit..."
"You did a shitty thing. Of course I want my bill gone. But I was taking care of it myself. To have you do it is...well, I don't know how to describe it." She turned away, unable to look at him. "Yes I do." She rethought her words. "You've made me feel like a whore, Jack."
"No--I--"
"Yes. A woman bought, fucked and paid for." She opened the door. "Don't follow me. Don't speak to me. Don't ever touch me again. I quit. And you'll get your money back as soon as I can manage it."
With some satisfaction she slammed the door to his little sanctuary and ran to the ladies' room, throwing her clothes on as fast as she could, and praying there'd be a cab somewhere outside.
She heard his footsteps on the floor above as she ran for the front door, fastening her jeans as she flew down the stairs. She didn't want to see him, to have him try and talk his way out of this. She just couldn't face him. She heard him call and then cut off the sound by dashing out into the dawn and darting down the quiet road onto Newbury Street where she hoped she could catch a taxi.
The fates were with her, an empty cab rolled past looking for a fare, and it wasn't until she was four blocks away from Goggles and Cogs that the tears began.
*~*~*~*
"It's been nearly three weeks, Livvy. Where the devil is she? I'm worried sick." Jack ran anxious hands through his hair as he looked across the table at Cora's best friend. She and Dane had come to the club at his urging, and Jack had made no secret of the reason. He wanted Cora. "I've left a thousand messages. Texted her. Emailed her. Done everything but send up smoke signals."
Livvy stared at him steadily. "I told you before. She called in to work and said she was taking her vacation. A sudden decision. She had nearly a month coming, so there was no problem. She has closed up her apartment as well. She told me she was going away, that she needed time to think. We've gone over all this several times Jack. I've heard nothing since."
He glared at her, wishing he could see inside her brain. He damn well knew Cora would've shared everything with her friend before she left. Livvy wasn't exactly lying to him but she wasn't telling him all the details.
"Don't give me that evil eye. Doesn't work. Dane does it much better and it still doesn't work." Livvy sighed. "Let's face it, dude. You fucked up so badly that if castration were legal, Cora could have done you with a butter knife and gotten an award for it."
He winced and crossed his legs. "Jesus. Tell me what you really think, why doncha?"
"I think you're an asshole of the first order."
"Well that's blunt." Jack blinked. A burst of laughter from the club distracted him for a moment or two but then he looked back at Livvy. "Just for paying off her fucking tax bill? And it was with that stupid bachelor party bonus, Livvy. It was her money. I knew what she'd do with it, so I did it for her and saved some interest."
She thought about that. "Look, I'm not sure how to explain this so you'll understand. First off, when it comes to people's finances you're on dangerous ground. Money, bills, payments, outstanding debts...whatever...they're very closely linked with things like pride and self-esteem."
He snorted.
"Don't do that. I've decided to talk to you because I think you might be a redeemable asshole so don't blow it." Livvy pointed a stern finger at him. "Women are especially susceptible when it comes to stuff like this, because there are still jerks out there who think we can't survive without their assistance. They figure we're helpless, can't deal with anything in
life...from a hammer to a mortgage...unless a man's there to do it for them. It's an endless fight. If you don't believe me, I shall merely refer you to the Equal Rights Amendment and the ongoing battle for ratification. It's just a fucking sin that we haven't..." She caught herself. "Sorry. Hot button issue."
He nodded. "Okay, sure. I can see that. I understand. But it's not relevant to me and Cora. I've never treated her--or any of the women in my life--as subservient or helpless. Or with any lack of respect."
"On the surface it may not seem that way." She lowered her gaze and stared at her hands for a few moments, as if trying to come to some sort of decision. Finally she looked back up into his face. "Okay. I'm going to tell you a couple of things, Jack. Maybe I'm betraying a confidence, but I think fundamentally you're a good person. Dane says you're okay people and his opinion matters a lot."
"Uh, thanks. I think."
"Cora didn't have the easiest of childhoods. Dancing and dance lessons were, from what I can figure out, her escape. Because at home, she was a latch-key kid with a single mom. Said mom was one of those helpless women..."
Livvy made little quotation mark gestures with her hands as she wrinkled her nose in distaste.
"Urgh. Gotcha." Lights were going on in Jack's brain. Yeah, he'd seriously fucked up.
"Yep. Lots of helpful uncles or whatever, a couple of almost step-fathers, and all the time hearing how a woman needed a man around to make it all right. To make things work. To make a woman...a complete woman."
"Jesus. Hard to believe these days."
Livvy nodded. "Agreed. Funnily enough, it wasn't money they were handing over to Cora's mom, since she was okay financially. It was the to be happy and whole, you gotta have a man kind of thing. It's a miracle that Cora is as grounded and wonderful as she is. She's super smart and very particular about her independence. She wanted to go do part-time data entry in Andover, for God's sake, to pay off her damned tax bill."
"I'd like five minutes with the dumbass accountant who got her into that mess in the first place." Jack absently cracked his knuckles.
"Don't do that." Livvy shuddered.
"Sorry."
"But yeah, I'd like a shot at him myself." She shrugged. "However, that's over. This mess you've created--well, it isn't over."
"I didn't mean to, Livvy. I truly wanted to do something nice for her." Okay, that was just flat out whiny, but there wasn't any other way to say it. He was being honest. Pathetic, but honest.
"I believe you. And I think, if you give her time, Cora will believe you as well. But for her to react like this...I have to ask you something." She stared at him intently. "When you two spent the night together...was it...special?"
He felt the color rise into his cheeks. "Livvy, I know she's your friend. But I've made it a habit never to discuss the details of my sex life with anyone."
"I'm not asking idly. If you were just another guy to Cora, she probably wouldn't have cared. She cares, Jack. She cares about this and it's hurt her more deeply than I've ever seen anything hurt her in the years I've known her."
"So..."
"So logically, there's something different about you. Something that makes her vulnerable to you and what you did."
"Oh."
Aware that he was being closely observed, Jack did his best to maintain a blank expression, even though his mind was replaying that night--as it did at regular intervals. He could still recall the feel of her skin and the scent of her body. He could still see her eyes darken as she neared her release or hear her tiny shrieks of pleasure as he made her come again and again with his hands or his mouth.
He could taste...
"Ah. Now I get it." Livvy's amused tones interrupted his erotic idyll. "You two. Together. Magic."
Jack sighed and folded his arms on the table in front of him. "Livvy, I had no idea two people could connect in ways like that. I had no clue, even after all these years, that making love could be both soft and explosive all in the same second."
"She's a special lady, Jack."
"You have no idea how special she is to me." He gazed at Livvy. "Even I didn't realize how special she was until she ran away from me. I miss her like crazy. I want to see where we can go together. To see what lies ahead. If that magic, as you call it, will always be there or if it'll grow into something else."
Her expression softened, a slight change that encouraged him.
"I want to touch her again. To look at her again. To take her home and make her laugh, and introduce her to my family. I want to date her." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Jesus Livvy, listen to me. I sound like I'm seventeen. Maybe I should ask her to the prom."
Livvy stood and smiled. "Maybe you should."
"Kinda hard since I don't know where the hell she is or how to reach her."
Livvy paused, then gave a slight nod. "You might try taking a walk along Revere Beach tomorrow. Late afternoon. I hear lots of folks like to spend their vacations near the ocean. And you should make sure you explain the details about bonuses and the IRS. After you kiss her."
She turned with that and headed back toward the music and Dane, leaving Jack with something he hadn't had for three weeks.
Hope.
*~*~*~*
The air had that summer fragrance--a mix of sea breezes, cotton candy and suntan lotion. It was unique and Cora knew that even if she'd been blindfolded and driven in a dark sedan for twelve hours, she would be able to place it if she smelled it.
She leaned her forearms on the sea wall and breathed it in. She was almost whole again--three weeks in her cousin's beachfront condo had done that for her. It had been three weeks of understanding what she'd done, working out why, dealing with it and learning how to live with the consequences.
Fortunately, the consequences hadn't included anything that might require a college fund down the road. Her period had arrived as promptly as ever. But the memories lingered on and it was the huge hole in her heart that needed to heal. Or at least scab over.
That had taken more than a few nights of tears and achingly empty body parts.
She'd learned things about herself on long early morning walks down the shore. She'd taken a few trips north up the coast road and prowled the tourist spots--Marblehead, Gloucester, Rockport, and even jumping onto Route 1, following it as far north as Maine for a day trip to the Kittery outlets.
All done on her own, with only her thoughts for company.
And yet Jack's presence was there. No matter where she went, what she saw, or how beautiful the scenery, there was always the sense that Jack was nearby. That she could share some of this with him and have him understand why the sight of the tide crashing into a million diamonds on an ancient rocky shore should make her eyes fill with tears of wonder.
She'd learned that perhaps she'd overreacted. That sometimes people do things just because they're nice people doing the right things. And she'd understood that one of her shortcomings was being over-sensitive about her independence.
She'd called her mother...something she didn't do a lot anymore, since she wasn't particularly keen on rehashing her youth or hearing about the latest gentleman caller. And she absolutely wasn't going to drive all the way up to northern New Hampshire for a visit.
But the conversation had been enlightening and helped her put recent events into a much clearer perspective. She realized, finally, that she wasn't her mother, and would never be. She, Cora, was her own woman, capable of making her own choices and decisions.
That awareness proved therapeutic and Cora felt a weight lift from her shoulders--a burden she never knew she carried until it had nearly broken her.
It might well have destroyed her chance at a real relationship though.
That was the thought uppermost in her mind as she walked down Revere Beach Boulevard and watched the vacationers pack up their bags after a long day of sand, sea and sun.
There were crying kids, little ones exhausted from their adventures. There were older ones trying to persuade mom a
nd dad to let them take home their bucket of treasures, which would stink to high heaven in another twenty-four hours. And there were the teens, many of whom hadn't paid attention to the brilliant sun, and were now sporting all the signs of what would be painful sunburns come tomorrow morning.
Cora shook her head. Tans came and went, but wrinkles went on forever. It had been her mantra ever since she realized at the age of twelve she'd never get that luxurious bronzed glow. She was a fair-skinned blonde. She'd learned to cover up and live with it.
She pulled her Red Sox cap down lower and walked on, breathing in the late afternoon warmth and watching some of the evening attractions light up early. There were a few little kiddie rides, a couple of restaurants, and the souvenir shops, staying open late in the summer. Not many people wanted t-shirts come January, so seasonal businesses had to make as much as they could from every tourist minute.
She heard the tinkling tones of a hurdy-gurdy, an old fashioned bit of whimsy that delighted kids and adults alike. If she remembered correctly, the last one she saw had a monkey on top of it--like something out of a movie or a Hollywood set.
She smiled at the memory.
Something else tugged at her memory...the tune. The hurdy-gurdy was playing a familiar melody.
She Was Only A Bird in a Gilded Cage...
Cora stopped dead and closed her eyes, listening, remembering...
She turned blindly toward the ocean, still lost in her own memories. She didn't hear the footsteps behind her or the indrawn breath of the tall man who came to a halt beside her.
"Cora. Sweetheart. Forgive me. Please forgive me. I'm not sure I'm worth a damn thing without you."
It was inevitable, she thought. The soft air, the sweet song--and Jack.
She turned, opened her eyes, and there he was. Looking at her with an expression of awe and anxiety, his face hollowed a little as if he'd lost weight. He reached for her, stopping short of cradling her cheek in his palm, as if hesitant to touch her.
Stripping Her Gears Page 6
