She followed behind him, trying not to show how acutely aware she was of the feel of her smaller hand in his larger one. She sniffed deeply as they reached the dining room, desperately trying to get her mind on the food.
“Smell's good,” she said.
“You hungry?” he asked.
“Starving,” she said with a smile.
* * *
“Pizza's my favorite,” Thom said.
“Me too,” Aaron said. “And chicken, and burgers.”
“And ice cream,” Thom said with a grin.
Jay chuckled. “All the food groups then.” Typical kids, he thought. Alex had gone to the bathroom, so he thought he'd play mom. They each had a couple of slices of pizza, and he doled salad out onto each of the plates.
“We don't eat no green stuff,” Aaron said taking a bite of his pizza.
“Well,” Jay said carefully. “If you'd like to have a swim, I'd like you to try at least a bite.” He frowned when the both boys were about to tuck into their first slice of pizza before Alex had sat down. “And you know what would be really nice? If we waited for your Mom to come back before we started eating.”
“How come?” Aaron asked, his pizza still mid-air while he decided whether or not to stop eating.
“It would be the polite thing to do,” Jay said.
“Manners,” Thom mouthed pointedly.
Aaron dropped the pizza on his plate immediately.
Jay almost burst out laughing. Thom had obviously not forgotten that he told them to bring their manners if they wanted a swim. He didn't blame them. A night swim was a pretty big deal for kids.
“They don't eat salad,” Alex said apologetically as she sat down. “I probably should have mentioned that.”
“They've agreed to try some,” Jay said giving Aaron a pointed look. He was pushing a piece of lettuce around the plate with his fork like it might bite him.
“I don't like that stuff,” he said as he finally put a small piece on the edge of his lip. “It's gonna make me barf.”
Thom did put a piece of cucumber in his mouth and chewed it, but it didn't look like he was set to swallow it any time soon.
“They really don't like it,” Alex said nervously.
“They agreed to try it,” Jay said, trying to send her a message with his eyes.
“I don't force them to eat what they don't like.”
“Can I have a word with you in the kitchen,” Jay said, steering her out before she could object. He didn't want to undermine her in front of her kids.
“I don't force my children to eat what they don't like,” she hissed as soon as they were out of earshot.
Jay held his hand up to stop her rant with one hand while he closed the door with the other. “Slow down!” he whispered back. “I wasn't forcing anyone to do anything. I was just encouraging them to try something new.”
“Aaron gags when you force new foods on him.”
“Uh huh,” he said, then launched into a fit of gagging noises that nearly had her going out in sympathy, for real.
“Oh, that is so gross,” she said.
“Yes it is,” Jay said completely recovered. “And really easy.”
Alex rolled her eyes. “Pizza's getting cold,” she said.
“Tell you what. How about a bet.”
“Oh?” Alex said with a grin.
“If they don't eat anymore salad, then I will do whatever you want me to do for you for a week.”
“And if by some miracle you win and they've actually eaten some more?”
“Hmm,” Jay said with an evil grin. “Have dinner with me. Just you and me.”
“Okay,” she said with a smug smile.
* * *
“Did you get sick from the salad too?” Aaron asked Jay when they returned to the table.
“No. No, I was just playing a game with your Mom,” he said, giving Alex a sideways glance.
“Oh,” Aaron said. “I tried this stuff when you was in the kitchen, and I don't like it.”
Jay looked at the little boy's plate. There was definitely more than a few bites missing. “Well, it's good to see you ate some,” he said.
Realizing Jay was on to him, Aaron sighed. “Well, it was still yuck,” he said.
“It wasn't bad.” Thom said, putting a slice of cucumber into his mouth.
“Told you,” Jay said ruffling his hair. “Good man!”
Not about to let his brother get the better of him, Aaron poked some lettuce into the dressing and then into his mouth.
“Wow, Aaron! I'm impressed!” Jay said before turning his hundred watt grin on the small boy, who was looking pretty pleased with himself.
“Thom's right. It's not that bad,” Aaron said.
Jay wiggled his eyebrows at Alex, and she rolled her eyes but she was smiling. It appeared she'd be having dinner with him after all. She didn't look very upset about it either, he thought happily.
* * *
“You comin’ in, Mom?” Thom called out from the pool.
“Yeah, Mom, you gonna swim with us?” Aaron asked. “Please?”
“Come on, please?” Jay pleaded.
“Please, Mom?” Thom asked.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Alex said. All eyes were on her. She felt embarrassed now when she thought of taking off her dress. Maybe she shouldn't have, well, gone to so much trouble. Would he notice? Did she want him to? She wouldn't have wanted him to see if she hadn't!
Alex's face was so heated it felt like a big red ball that wouldn't even fit through the dress she was trying to pull over her head. It did, however, slip off easily, and there she was in a bikini, standing in front of a man. She hoped she looked okay. Her belly was surprisingly still flat, considering she'd had two children, but she'd always thought her legs were a little heavy. It was the short person's curse to have heavy thighs and a rather large butt.
She barely even looked at herself in the mirror these days. There hadn't been time enough to go buy something else. If she'd gone swimming with the boys at all, it had been in this pool, not on a public beach, and her old bikini had sufficed. She hadn't been trying to look good or to attract a man. Was that what she was trying to do now? Maybe. She thought of that afternoon in the bath. Geez. Was that wrong? It had been three years. She knew to the day how long it'd been, her mom and her sister kept reminding her. They never stopped telling her how badly she and the boys needed a man in their lives. How she needed a man in her life and in her bed, her sister had added whenever they were alone.
“Mommy, please?” Aaron called.
“I'm coming,” she said. “Just give me a minute, honey.” To build up enough courage to walk across there practically naked, she thought. She couldn't remember ever being this nervous. Jay probably wouldn't be interested in her when he got a good look at her. She had baggage, and it wasn't just on her giant ass. She glanced at him a little shyly. He was a looker. His hair was dark and cropped fairly close to his head. There was such a sparkle in those eyes, and they were a glorious, soft blue. Then there was the stubble that had tickled her when he kissed her, and not just her face. His abs were rock hard. She wondered what it'd be like to run her hands down that hard belly.
“Ooohhh!” she screeched as she felt a cool splash of water.
“Penny for them?” Jay asked from the edge of the pool.
Alex panicked for a split second, and then she ran and dove into the water so he wouldn't see. Wouldn't see her panic or the X-rated thoughts that brought it on.
* * *
“I'm c…c…cold, Mom,” Thom said, shivering after half an hour of swimming.
“Me too,” Aaron stuttered.
“Okay,” Alex said. “Time we went home.” She wrapped each of the boys in a big towel.
Jay found himself feeling strangely disappointed. “You sure?” he said. “They could get dressed, and we could rug them up in the living room with a movie.”
“Please?” Aaron shivered.
“Can we, Mom?” Thom asked through cha
ttering teeth.
“You sure you're not sick of us yet?” she asked.
“I'm sure,” he said pointedly. “Now let's get these boys inside and warmed up.”
* * *
“This is a nice blanket,” Thom said, pulling the warm patchwork quilt around him tightly.
“So's this one,” Aaron said. “It's real warm.”
“My mom made them,” Jay said. “It's kind of her specialty. Now what are you two going to watch?”
“Do you have Spiderman?” Aaron asked.
“No, but I have a Harry Potter one, I think.” Jay hunted on the shelf to see what movies he had that would be suitable for kids.
“I don't like Harry Potter,” Aaron whined.
“Harry Potter's cool,” Thom said.
“Not to me!”
“He's tired, Thom,” Alex said.
Jay came up with a different movie that he hoped would pass muster. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid?”
“Yes!” both boys said together.
“Wine?” he whispered, not wanting to disturb the much sought after peace after the movie started.
“Please,” she said.
“Let's go out on the patio where we can talk,” he said, carrying the bottle in one hand and two glasses in another.
* * *
So what do you do for a living?” she asked. “Here in the city I mean.” She realized that she knew very little about him. Except for the fact that he'd grown up on a ranch.
“I'm an author,” he said. “I write crime novels with a twist.”
“Really,” she said. “What's the twist?”
He grinned. “They're crime novels…”
“I think we established that,” she quipped. “It's the twist I'm interested in.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I see the smart ass apple doesn't fall very far from the tree.”
“Language!” she said with a giggle. The wine was helping her to relax and let her guard down, and she was starting to enjoy herself. “Now stop hedging. The twist.”
“They're crime novels with a romantic thread of sorts.”
“Oh,” she said. That wasn't what she expected.
“My heroes are take-charge kind of guys,” he said carefully.
“Well, I guess that would be expected of cops and sheriffs. Crime-solving type people usually are,” she said. “And the heroines?”
“They're usually strong and sassy. The type to get into trouble at every turn.”
Alex suddenly had a weird feeling in the pit of her tummy. One that she couldn't explain. It was like a foreboding, but not. She had no idea what he was going to say really, and yet she was excited to hear it. “Oh,” she said. Okay, that was lame. The man was telling her about his very interesting career, and all she could say was ‘oh’, for the second time. She'd have to come up with something other than that, she thought. “So, your hero arrests the bad guys and saves the heroine right?” she asked.
“Yep. Right before he takes her over the knee for a good old fashioned spanking for putting herself in danger.”
“Oh,” she said, her eyes like saucers. Okay, that ‘oh’ was intentional, because there just wasn't any other word that came to mind. Flashes of the fantasy she’d had while relaxing in the bath immediately sprung to mind, and she started to choke on her wine. She coughed and splattered in a very unladylike manner, and then when she finally got herself under control, she got lost in a fit of the giggles.
Chapter Three
Well, she took that well, he thought. It may not have been the best time to tell her what he did. Well, not all of it. He may have blown his chances, but what the heck. It was done now, so he may as well go ahead and tell her the rest. Jay ran a hand through his hair while he tried to find the words that wouldn't send her catapulting through the door with a child under each arm.
“You are serious?” she asked in awe, when she realized he didn't join in her laughter. “I mean, I believed you at first, but then when you got to the spanking part.”
“You're shocked,” he said.
“A little,” she said. “I guess I just expected you to do something more physical. More physical than writing.”
“Okay,” he said with a smile. She wasn't running away, so that was something, wasn't it? “Why's that?”
“You're kind of, well, you are very fit.”
“Thanks,” he said his smile growing. “I work out. Plus, like I said before, I just got back from my parents’ ranch.”
“So, a romance author, huh?” she said with a smile. “Different.”
“Maybe,” he said. “I like it. I like writing it, and they're not exactly romance novels. They’re crime novels, with some romance in them.”
“And spanking.”
“Yes,” he said. “You've heard of spanking romance, I take it?”
“Yes. Well, sort of. I have heard of it, but I don't really understand it. I've never really read one all the way through. I've read romances but not an actual spanking story.”
“Some people like a good spanking in a romance,” Jay said. “They find traditional romances kind of frustrating.”
“Oh?” she said. “How so?”
“Yeah, well, the hero forbids the heroine from doing something. Usually something dangerous or reckless. He threatens her with dire consequences. She totally ignores whatever he says. He catches her, saves her, and then the air is thick with tension.”
“Sounds about right,” she giggles.
“And then what happens?” he says. “She gapes in fear as he moves towards her menacingly.”
“What happens next?” she coughed, trying to get the croak out of her voice.
“He stands very close to her. Gets right into her personal space.”
“And?” Alex asked breathily.
“‘What am I going to do with you,’ he says. ‘I should take you over my knee and teach you a lesson you'll never forget.’” He could tell that Alex was affected. Her face was flushed, her eyes were wide and staring, and she could barely keep still. She was hanging on his every word.
“Don't stop now,” she said, when he paused.
He chuckled but continued. “‘You wouldn't dare’, the heroine says demurely, now that she knows she's in trouble.
“She doesn't argue back?” Alex asked curiously.
“Not usually, funnily enough. Not in the traditional romances. Sometimes, I guess. Anyway,” he continues. “‘You wouldn't dare’, she says.”
“And does he?” she asks.
“Nope. Grabs her in a firm embrace and kisses her punishingly… Seriously? You're really angry at someone and your gut reaction is to kiss them? How does someone kiss someone punishingly? You defy me and run off and try to catch an armed robber, and you're going over my knee. I will dare!” he said.
“Okay, then,” she said.
“In my books,” he clarifies.
“Are we just talking about your books?” she asked him, her eyes blinking nervously.
“What would you say if I said no?”
“I don't know,” she said suddenly, finding her non-painted nails very interesting. This was sort of an intimate discussion to have with someone you'd only just met. “I can understand the frustration you just explained,” she said. “I have felt the frustration you just explained, but why does the woman have to always be the one that needs to be saved?”
“She doesn't always. There are all kinds of relationships in the world, and there are other genres in spanking romance books, but that's what I write. That's what I feel.”
“Do people buy your books?” she asked.
“There are people who like to read that stuff. They find it, stimulating.”
“Stimulating?” she said a twinkle in her eye. “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Do you?” she asked.
“Do I what?” he asked, shuffling in his seat uncomfortably. Hell, yes, he wanted to say, but he didn't want to scare her off before they'd even had their first real date.
“Do you find it stimulating?” she asked curiously.
“I do,” Jay said without breathing. He sat nervously taking in the silence. She deserved some time to process this, but he wasn't finding it easy to wait. Was she thinking he was some kind of weirdo?
“So do I,” she admitted so quietly.
Well, he thought. That was the last thing he expected.
“Really?” he asked, relief washing through him.
“Yeah,” she said. “I find the fantasy of it, well, very titillating. But, and it's a very big but,” she giggled at her own pun.
“What's funny?” he asked.
“Not this,” she said. “It was something else I thought of.”
“Your butt?” he asked.
“Yeah. I get the sexy turn on part,” she had another gulp of her wine. “I don't know how I'd feel about being spanked for real. I don't like rules. Not for my kids and not for myself. They can be stifling.”
“But necessary,” Jay said.
“We manage,” she said.
“This might not be the time to discuss specifics,” he said. “We may just have to agree to disagree. For now.”
“Maybe,” she said. “You're talking about spanking your wife or girlfriend because she displeases you.”
“That's being flippant. I would not spank my wife or girlfriend if she wore a dress in a color I didn't like or anything silly.”
“What kind of things are we talking here?” she asked. “Give me an example.”
“Okay,” he said. “Say, I asked my wife or girlfriend a straight out question, and she lied to me.
“Why?” she asked. “Why'd she lie?”
“Doesn't matter why she lied. A lie is a lie.”
“Hmm,” she mused. “Give me another one.”
“Okay. Say we agree on a rule that she stick to a budget. She has money to do whatever she wants with, but she goes over that amount on something silly.”
“If her name is on the account, she can spend the money on whatever she wants.”
She was very cute in her indignation, he had to admit. He could see her standing in the corner trying desperately to talk herself out of trouble. “It's about deception and dishonesty.”
My House, My Rules Page 3
