“Well, at least this is a respectable job,” she went on, turning her attention back to me. “You won’t be wearing those awful new uniforms?”
“No, Gran…,” I said, straightening her quilt. “No, not for this one.
But we have another… a much bigger event coming up. We’ll have to wear them then…” I heard the uncertainty in my own voice and forced myself to sound more confident than I felt. “Gran… I’ve been wanting to tell you…”
“How do you expect to ever meet a nice young man and settle down?” she went on, cutting me off. “Always working downstairs… and then dressing like a tart when you’re out serving.” She shook her head disapprovingly. “You should be trying to find a husband… thinking about a family of your own. You’re not getting any younger, you know.”
I bit into the side of my cheek and counted to ten. Slowly… steadily… before I answered. “Yes, Gran,” I said, finally. “Of course I think about those things, but I enjoy working… and so do Reese and Tammy. We’re learning, and challenging ourselves. It feels good to succeed.”
I sat down beside her and held my breath for a moment, forcing myself to stop. All my life, I’d had to explain myself to her, and I didn’t like how it felt. Sure, I thought about marriage and kids… someday. But I was only twenty three. And I hadn’t really lived much in those short years. I wanted fun and excitement… Chase had been right. I did want to be the girl behind the bar… so long as he was the man behind me…
“I have a date tonight,” I blurted out. “His sister is the woman who’s throwing the bridal shower on Sunday. We’re going to dinner and I’ve asked Mrs. Williams to take care of your dinner and getting you settled at bedtime.” I was talking too fast and I knew it. “You wanted me to meet a nice man and I have,” I added, jutting out my chin. “He owns his own business and he’s been very kind to me…”
“Well, I’m glad you finally got around to telling me yourself,” she grumbled. “I was beginning to think Reese was the only one I could count on.”
“Reese…?”
“She told me you had a date with a young man and that you’d be heading over to her place afterwards… that you two have so much work left to do. Something about a complicated cake design. She said you’d be working so late that you might as well stay the night at her place.” She patted my hand sharply, approvingly. “That’s fine, I suppose, if the work just won’t wait.”
“No…,” I said slowly, blinking. “This design is the biggest challenge we’ve ever taken on…”
“Alright then,” she said, nodding and pushing the tray of half-eaten breakfast aside. “You have my permission. Find that deck of cards before you go running off…
And I want to meet him when he picks you up,” she added, as I carried the tray to the door. “I’m not so old and sick that I’ve lost the ability to judge a man’s character for myself.”
“Say thank you…” Reese smiled evenly as I came down the stairs, and put her tube of pink frosting aside.
“The hell with that,” I answered back, wrapping my arms around her neck and giving her cheek a noisy kiss. “How about a raise and my undying gratitude?”
“How about time off after the Sutton party?” She grinned, her brown eyes teasing. “I could use about a week on the beach and seven delicious mornings of sleeping in…”
“Done,” I smiled back. “Along with a raise. And god, do I owe you for this…” I tied on my apron and set to work making white frosting rosettes on a parchment covered tray. “I think you might have just bought me an evening I won’t ever forget.” I felt that familiar, deep throb of anticipation inside and let out an unsteady breath. “With Chase… and without anyone to answer to at the end of the night… I can’t thank you enough for that, Reese.”
She picked up her tube and smiled at me again. “You work too damned hard for someone so young. You deserve to have some fun for a change… I know you like him, Em. And he certainly seems into you.”
I blushed and smiled against my best intentions as she went on.
“But remember, you two only just met. Let him get to know you… and find out who he is, underneath the obvious six three and gorgeous…
You know what they say, honey,” she said, looking at me with affection, “If you can’t be good,
make sure bad is really, really worth it.”
21
Chase
“I don’t mean to sound like such a basket case, Chris.” Amelia’s voice sounded ragged, exhausted. “I thought I was handling things… But then this whole photo spread came out with another story. And the press just won’t leave it alone,” she said, her voice breaking. “Cliff told me it was only one time… with that… with her… But the article, the pictures… I trusted him, Chris. And I believed his lies. I even thought there was a chance we could make things right again…” She broke off, sobbing softly. It felt like my heart was breaking inside my chest…
“Lia… my god, honey… I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.” I paused, waiting for her to collect herself, sick inside that men had the power to wound women this way… down so deep that some of them never recovered. I felt heat, and shame… and my anger swelled.
“I’ll have the story crushed before morning,” I told her. “I know it doesn’t help with what you’re going through. And I know you may not be able to hear this right now…,” I stopped, listening to her sniffle and cough. “As much as it hurts, this has to be better than living with a lie, Amelia. He was never good enough for you, not even before all of this…”
“I believed him… when we got married, and he said he had changed,” she said quietly. “I wanted to believe in him… I thought that he loved me...”
“Maybe he did, honey. I hope that he did,” I sighed. “Maybe it’s just that people can’t change who they really are inside. Maybe it’s not even fair to hope for…”
She made a soft, painful sound in her throat and I heard the chime of the doorbell in the background. “Oh… god… what time is it?” she asked, blowing her nose. “Shit… shit… I forgot all about it. That’s got to be Emily… We had a meeting to go over a few loose ends before the bridal shower.” I heard rustling sounds. “And I’m an absolute mess…”
“You’re always beautiful, Lia,” I said, meaning it. “And Emily will understand… trust me. Go answer the door and make yourselves a pot of tea or open a bottle of wine. I’ll be there in less than twenty minutes, sweetie. Just don’t let her leave before I get there.”
I made a single call to my lawyer on the way to the car. It didn’t fucking matter what it cost, or even that the story was already out. I’d do whatever I had to do, to keep my sister from being hurt any more than she had been already. I shot the car into gear, the tires squealing, the sound echoing off the concrete walls of the parking garage.
I took off for Lia’s condo, praying that Emily really would understand. I was supposed to be picking her up for our dinner date in only a few hours… Now I wasn’t at all sure what the evening had in store. I sure as hell didn’t want Amelia to be alone, not tonight. And maybe it was better anyway… to cancel the dinner with Emi. At least this way, I could do it in person, and she’d see for herself I wasn’t just brushing her off. She and Amelia had seemed to hit it off, after all. Maybe this was the best thing all around…
But as I drove, I couldn’t help but let my mind wander, to the evening I’d planned for us. I’d intended to take her up to the cabin and throw a couple of steaks on the grill. Nothing fancy… Just a simple meal and some conversation. I had no intention of taking the attraction between us any further. But it was probably for the best, not to test my resolve. I also couldn’t stop thinking how privacy would allow me the freedom to explore all of her. And never, in all my years of barely-hidden, half secret/half public sex had I ever been with a woman who I’d stripped down to nothing but bare skin. Even with Anna, my single short-lived college romance. I’d touched over the clothes, under the clothes… reaching for the most sensitive p
laces and pushing us both over the edge. But I’d never had all of a woman… up against all of me, with nothing to hinder, nothing to conceal… I simply hadn’t ever needed that before. Sex had been for the win, for the climax… not for the experience.
I’d never wanted more. And until now, I’d never felt that anything was missing…
22
Emily
“Of course I understand, Amelia,” I said, handing her a tissue. Her eyes were rimmed with red and swollen. There’s not a woman alive who doesn’t understand the kind of sadness she wore on her face, and my heart ached for her. She hadn’t given me the whole story, but then she didn’t need to. I could see the details in her eyes. A husband who had hurt her… simply because he couldn’t control his baser desires…
“But I’ve ruined your dinner with Chris,” she said, her voice catching with emotion. “He said you two had plans tonight… and I…, and I…”
“And Chase is the kind of man who has his priorities straight,” I said, as comfortingly as I could. “You haven’t ruined anything. We can go out some other time. Right now, I’m glad to know he’s the kind of man who knows his place is here with you tonight.” I smiled and put a kettle of water on the stove for tea. “If you like, I could whip up something for you two right now, before I go. I’m pretty good in the kitchen,” I added, trying to tease a smile from her too.
She reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze. But instead of letting go, she held on. “I can’t remember the last time Chris had a date,” she said kindly, taking a deep, shaky breath. “I’m glad he found you. He’s a good man,” she added, squeezing my hand again. “And he’s needed someone like you for a long time…”
She wiped her eyes and stood up, sniffing, but doing her best to smile. “Now, I think I’ve got some chops in the fridge… and a bottle of wine… I know how to throw a pretty decent salad together, if you can handle the rest.” She smiled even though her eyes were still bright with shiny tears. “Then we can all have dinner together.”
“I think she’ll finally sleep now,” Chase said quietly, coming up behind me as I ran a sinkful of water for the dishes. “I can’t thank you enough for being here with her… for making dinner… for understanding…” I added soap to the water and watched the silky lather build beneath the rising steam. Chase’s warmth was close behind me and I could feel a delicate shiver run up my spine.
“It was lucky we’d made the appointment,” I said, wiping a plate with the sponge and handing it off to him for rinsing. His wet fingers brushed mine. “I’m just glad you were already on your way. She needed you,” I said. “And you were really there for her. She seemed so much calmer by the time she went to bed.” He shifted his weight and his shoulder brushed mine. It was heavy, solid… comfortingly strong against mine.
“She’ll be fine,” he said softly. “Better still, once she’s divorced that asshole husband of hers. He told her he was willing to try to save their marriage. He’d promised he’d never touch another woman again… and then that fucking story comes out…”
“All the more reason she’s so lucky to have you,” I soothed. “She needs to know all men aren’t like Cliff.” I dried my hands on a terry cloth towel, screwing up my courage. Then I turned to face him… and put my hands on his chest. I could feel smooth, hard muscle under his shirt and it made me bolder. “Good men like you give all of us hope,” I said, looking up into the depths of his turbulent grey eyes.
“Emi…, I…”
“I know, I know…” I stood up on my tiptoes to press a kiss along the stubbled edge of his jaw. “You told me you weren’t exactly an angel,” I whispered. “But everyone has a past.” I ran one fingertip along his bottom lip and felt my legs go weak underneath me. “You’re a better man than you give yourself credit for… You wouldn’t be so kind to your sister if it wasn’t already there inside you…”
He took me in his arms and crushed me, flattening my breasts against his chest and shaping his hands around my waist… the curve of my hip. He stared into my eyes with his own, his face in shadow, his eyes dark and intense. “You make me want to believe,” he said, his mouth inches from mine, “when I touch you like this…”
He took me, kissing me until there was nothing left inside me but the single, burning need for more. One huge, powerful hand cupped my ass, holding me while he pressed his erection into my belly. I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave in, pressing back, tilting my hips to get closer… his fingers moved down, between my cheeks to brush the most tender flesh of all…
“This shouldn’t happen…,” he said, breathing softly into my mouth as he spoke. “You think you know me…”
“I know what I want,” I whispered back. His tongue touched mine and it sent a jolt straight to my core. “This is all I’ve been able to think about…” I gasped as his hand found my breast and squeezed.
“We started something we didn’t finish…,” he said in a voice that set me trembling in his hands.
“I know this isn’t the time… or the place. Your sister’s house…”
He pulled back, pausing for a moment and leaving me straining against him. His eyes were hooded and dark with a meaning I didn’t fully understand, but he smiled, and my heart pounded in response.
“No,” he said, running one hard fingertip over my sweater, over my breast… down to the waist of my jeans. He flicked the button open with a deft movement and unzipped me. His hand slipped inside… in my jeans… under my panties and curved around my sex, cupping me warmly. My breath was catching hard and fast and he put his other hand over my mouth. My eyes shot to his… He was still smiling.
“You’re right, honey girl,” he said, his voice quiet, but sinfully intense. “This isn’t the time or place.” He moved his fingers until he could slip two of them inside me and he smiled wider. “And you’ll have to be quiet if you want me to give you what you’re aching for.” He stroked a spot inside that made me want to cry out. I was already wet, but what he did made me flood and his slippery fingers worked even faster…
“You’ll have to wait for my cock, Emi,” he said in my ear. His mouth was hot, his breath making me even needier. “I won’t fuck you here… as much as I want you. Not here…,
But soon.” He took my lip in his teeth and held me, silencing me with his mouth when my breath got too loud. His cock ground against my hip, straining for freedom… the way I was aching to take him… His fingers were relentless and I could feel my panties, soaked and hot… “But if you can stay quiet now,” he went on, “I can give you enough… just enough to make the wait nearly bearable…” He knelt down in front of me and smiled up from my open jeans. “Quiet, but just for tonight… Not next time…
Not next time…”
23
Chase
My cock was harder than it had ever been in my life. It pounded in my jeans, hot and demanding with the need for freedom… desperate to confine its furious length to the sweet depths of Emi’s needy pussy. But even I had my limits. I wouldn’t fuck her in my sister’s house. When I had her completely, I wanted her skin bared. Mine too. For now, I could only give her a temporary release from the need that burned bright in her lovely green eyes. Her sex was hot and full in my hand, demanding what I didn’t have the strength to deny her.
“In here.” I slipped my fingers out and caught the elastic of her panties with my fingertips. I drew her toward me, backing into the study, never letting her eyes leave mine. I reached around and turned the key in the lock, ensuring us a little privacy. As long as she could stay quiet enough...
“Shhh…,” I put my finger to her lips, the one that was still slick with her juices. Even in the dimmed light, I could see her eyes widen and feel her body shudder in anticipation. “Quiet… remember…,” I teased. “Walls are thin…”
I peeled her jeans down, just enough to bare her thin pink panties. She watched with enormous eyes as I pushed her gently back toward the big oak desk and opened a drawer. I pulled out a pair of scissors. She wa
tched like a frightened fawn, but bit into her lip, determined to stay quiet and let me continue. I kissed her softly as I snipped the thin lace at her hips and pulled the panties off her completely. I tucked them into my hip pocket and smiled sinfully, enjoying the shift in her expression… from confusion to understanding. “For me,” I said evilly. “For later.”
I kissed her, letting my hands roam over her full, round breasts, letting my thumbs tease her stiff nipples even harder. Everything in me wanted to strip her, to see her… to feel every inch of her. But this was risky enough, and I wasn’t sure how long she could keep her silence. I turned her away from me and bent her over the top of the desk. Her pale round ass was smooth and perfect. It would be so fucking easy just to…
“Fuck me…,” she moaned softly. “Oh, please… I can’t… I won’t… I need you inside me…,
Please…”
“You’d cry out,” I whispered back. “You couldn’t help it.” I ran a hand over her ass and felt my rigid cock pushing its way above the waist of my own jeans. “Just wait…”
I took her hips in my hands and spread her sweet cheeks. I pressed one hand to her back, flattening her breasts against the desk. Her feet were spread as far as her jeans would allow, the waistband tight against her legs. Only the tops of her creamy thighs were exposed, and above them was the swollen blossom of her center. She was slick and glistening and I leaned in to discover what I needed the most. Her sweet, delicious taste…
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