by Lynsay Sands
Jane sighed, but tried to ignore her body's clamoring. He'd awoken an appetite in her, but it wasn't for sweets.
"Oh, look. I asked for a variety and they really came through. Cheesecake, some other cake, and some other cake and some kind of...er...yellow kind of cake."
Jane chuckled and leaned up on her elbows to peer at the tray. "What's in the pitcher?"
"Chocolate sauce, I think."
"Probably for the cheesecake," Jane explained when he looked confused.
"Maybe." Abel grabbed a slice of cheesecake and the pitcher and moved back to the bed.
"Want some?" He poured some sauce over the slice, used his fork to cut off and scoop up some of the dessert and sauce, then offered it to her.
Jane grimaced as the chocolate dripped off, landing on her breast, but opened her mouth and accepted the offering. "Mmm." She closed her eyes to savor the flavor--but they popped open again when a moment later he licked the spilled sauce away, paying special attention to her nipple.
Excitement quivered through Jane, and she bit her lip as he straightened. He appeared completely unmoved. Cutting off another bite-sized piece of cake, he offered it to her. Another pebble of chocolate syrup dripped onto her chest before she could take the morsel into her mouth, and Abel bent to her breast again to clean up.
Jane was finding it difficult not to arch into his attentions as he laved her breast, and was aware that her breathing was becoming quicker and shallower. But once again, Abel looked unaffected as he straightened back to the dessert.
"Isn't it your turn?" Jane asked a bit breathlessly when he held out another bite.
"Me?" The fork tipped slightly, and this time the entire piece landed on Jane's breast. "Oops. Guess this one's mine."
Jane moaned and dropped slowly back onto the bed. The bit of cake had slid down over her breast to her stomach and Abel was meticulous licking up every last trace. She was quivering uncontrollably by the time he finished.
"More?" he asked in a husky voice.
Jane opened her eyes to see him offering another forkful of the heavenly cheesecake, but she shook her head. This wasn't what she was hungry for now.
"Guess I'll have to eat my dessert alone," he said with an unconcerned shrug.
Jane closed her eyes again, thinking he was a cruel man to tease her this way. Then something cold splashed her skin.
"What?" she gasped, half sitting up in shock. He was pouring chocolate onto her straight from the pitcher. Not a lot, but a trail from one breast to the other, then down the center of her stomach to her belly button.
"My dessert," Abel explained mildly. He set the pitcher on the bedside table and urged her back on the bed. "Cheesecake is a girly dessert. I prefer Jane a la chocolat."
He bent to one breast, then paused and looked up to solemnly say, "Don't worry, I'll eat every last bit."
And he did, concentrating first on one breast, then following the chocolate trail to the other. No other part of him touched her but his tongue, and somehow that made it a more erotic experience. Every nerve in Jane's body concentrated on his movement across her skin.
She was panting lightly and clutching the cloth beneath her hands by the time he began to follow the trail down her stomach. The path ended at her belly button, but he didn't, and Jane cried out, her hips bucking upward as if released from a spring as his head dipped between her thighs. He had barely found her center when Jane's passion overtook her. Stiff as a board she went, crying out and nearly rending the quilt they lay on as wave after wave of pleasure poured through her and she found release.
Chapter Nineteen
Abel was no longer in bed when Jane woke. She rolled onto her back, relaxing when she spotted him standing by the window in a hotel robe, a cup of coffee in hand. His hair was wet; he'd obviously showered, but he wasn't drinking the coffee, just holding it and staring out the window. She suspected he wasn't seeing anything outside, was just worrying over his sister.
Their moment of magic away from the real world was over, she realized, and she could have wept. Jane didn't want it to be over yet. She wanted more, just a little. And she would have it, she decided. Sliding from under the sheets, she walked to Abel naked. He wasn't aware of her presence until she threw her arms around his waist. Abel placed his free hand over hers as she pressed her cheek against the terry cloth of his robe and hugged him.
"Good morning," he said.
She could hear the distraction in his voice and knew he wasn't back with her yet. That wasn't good enough. She let her hands drift down and slid one inside his robe to find and caress him, and knew only then that she had his full attention.
"We have to get back," he protested. His voice was husky.
"Soon," she assured him, surprised at her own breathlessness. Just touching him and anticipating what was to come was exciting her. She continued to fondle him until he was completely hard, then took the forgotten coffee away with one hand and led him back to the bed.
"You forgot," she said as she paused beside the bed. Releasing him, she pushed the robe off his shoulders, allowing her breasts to brush his chest as she did.
"What did I forget?" he asked, trying to catch those breasts.
Jane evaded him and pushed him backward onto the bed.
"You had dessert last night, but I didn't," she announced. Picking up the half-empty pitcher of chocolate sauce still sitting on the bedside table, she smiled.
"Jeeez." Abel's eyes dilated as she dribbled it over him.
------
Lydia Ensecksi was mounting the stairs to the front door when they pulled into the driveway of the Goodinov house some two hours later.
"Back to the real world," Abel said dryly.
"No rest for the wicked," Jane responded. Sliding out of the car, she felt more than ready to handle Lydia this morning; she felt reenergized, alive, happy, hopeful. She could have handled ten Lydias at the moment.
"I was just coming to look for you," the blonde called as she started back down the stairs toward them.
"We had breakfast out," Abel explained as he walked around the car.
"And dessert," Jane said lightly. She reveled in the quick flicker of desire in Abel's eyes.
"That sounds nice. Where did you go?"
"Jamestown," Abel responded easily, answering without really answering. "I'm surprised to see you at home today, Lydia. It's Monday, a workday. I thought you'd be in San Jose."
"Oh, I took a couple days off," she said as she reached them.
"So, why were you looking for us?" Jane asked, eager to move the conversation along. She had to get rid of the woman before the way she was rubbing her hand up and down Abel's arm could drive Jane to do her bodily injury. "Or was it just Abel you were looking for?"
"No. Both of you. Dirk and I were hoping you'd come over for dinner tonight so we could get to know each other better." Her voice dropped as she added the last part, and her gaze was focused solely on Abel, communicating just how she'd like to get to know him.
Horizontal and naked, was Jane's educated guess. Not in this lifetime, she swore, but she smiled brightly and lied through her teeth. "That sounds great'"
"Yeah," Abel agreed.
"Good," the blonde purred. She closed the last bit of space between herself and Abel so that she was giving him the full-body press. Abel glanced at Jane and saw something that turned his expression wary. But his voice was bright as he said, "Well, we'd better get that breakfast in to Gran before it gets cold."
"Breakfast? Surely she'll have eaten already. It's nearly noon."
"We all slept in late today." Managing to disengage himself, Abel moved around the car. "Can you get the garage door for me, Jane?"
She knew he was just trying to get her away from Lydia before she committed some violence; there was no breakfast for Gran. Jane moved to do as he asked, though. She pushed the button to open the garage door for him. Abel immediately drove the car inside and parked; then Jane promptly pushed the button to close it.
&nbs
p; "So, come over at seven o'clock," Lydia called, bending to look through the closing door.
"Will do." Abel stepped out of the car. "Later."
The moment the door closed, he took Jane's arm to lead her to the elevator.
"It's only one floor, Abel." Jane laughed. "Why don't we take the stairs?"
"Because I want to do this." He pulled her into the elevator and into his arms.
"Oh," Jane breathed when their kiss ended. Abel smiled into her face. "You looked ready to commit hara-kiri on poor Lydia."
"Hmm."
"You don't have to be jealous," he announced in rather smug tones, obviously enjoying her dance with the green-eyed monster. "I have absolutely no interest in her. You're the girl for me."
"Yes, I am." Jane shifted against him, feeling his semihard state. "Just like you shouldn't be jealous of Dirk."
That killed the smile on his face and his budding erection. Abel's expression turned testy and he opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when Jane burst out laughing. She imitated the tone he'd used just moments before to say, "You don't have to be jealous when Dirk is hanging over me. I have absolutely no interest in him. You're the guy for me."
Abel managed a twisted smile and shook his head, then pressed the button to close the elevator doors. Making the contraption take them to the first floor he announced, "You have a cruel heart, woman."
"Yep, and I'm gullible too. It's all part of my charm," she said airily. Abel laughed and followed her out of the elevator.
"My! You two seem happy this morning. Had a good time, did you?"
"Gran!" Jane stopped short, blushed, then rushed forward to hug her relative, only to back off when Tinkle sat up and bared her teeth in greeting. She took the handles of her grandmother's wheelchair.
"We had a marvelous time. Abel took me to the Willow Steakhouse in Jamestown. You should have seen it, it was lovely. And the food! I had chicken Jerusalem. It was yummy."
Jane was no fool; she chattered happily away about the restaurant as she pushed Gran and Tinkle through the kitchen and up to the dining room table. She managed to describe the restaurant, Jamestown, and her meal in minute detail, neatly eliminating the possibility for Gran to ask any embarrassing questions. She put on water for tea and puttered about under the amused gazes of both Abel and her grandmother.
"This is how she always avoids embarrassing conversations," Gran told Abel confidentially. "Any time she becomes a chatterbox, she's avoiding something."
"Thanks for the pointer," Abel said solemnly.
"I have a lot more if you'd like them."
"Please." Abel took the chair next to her, settling in to hear all his woman's secrets.
"She hates to ask for help," Maggie Spyrus explained. "Janie's very self-reliant. She'd rather break her back trying to move something than ask anyone else. And while she's sweet and very giving, she hates being forced to give. If the giving becomes an expected thing, it becomes a burden and she resents it, then lets it eat her up inside until she loses her temper and explodes." The old woman nodded as she said that, then added, "And she's stubborn as a mule and testy when she's hungry, so you'll want to keep her fed. But don't feed her too many dairy products. Her system can't handle it, and she gets cranky with--"
"Gran!" Jane had stopped chattering long enough to actually hear what she was saying. She'd been semiaware of the conversation taking place, but too busy feverishly thinking of what to say next herself to pay attention. Now it was all sinking in, however, and she turned to her grandmother in horror.
"Yes, dear?" Maggie innocently petted her beloved Tinkle. "What is it?"
"You--"
"So, you're back."
Jane turned her attention to Nancy, who had just entered the dining room. She looked tired, and Jane felt a moment's guilt that they hadn't returned sooner as Abel wanted. It didn't last long. Nancy's natural charm soon washed it out of her.
"Get me a cup of tea and sit down. I want to talk to you," the nurse/spy snapped, and Jane felt her temper rise.
"That's another thing," Gran pointed out to Abel.
"She doesn't like to be ordered around. It goes with the independence thing, I think. She likes to rule herself. And that look on her face right now? That unattractive, squinty-eyed 'die, bitch' scowl? That's a good indication that you may as well get out the rain gear, 'cause the weather's going to get stormy."
Abel burst out in great guffaws, and even Jane felt her lips tugged reluctantly with amusement. " 'Die, bitch' scowl?" she asked. "I've never heard you curse before, Gran. California is having a bad effect on you."
"Well, Janie, dear, I do try to avoid vulgarities." She shrugged. "But sometimes the description just fits so well, no other word will do."
"If you three are finished?" Nancy asked with weary impatience. Jane decided to give the woman a break; she was obviously exhausted. She'd forgive the snotty attitude. Again.
"Sit down, Nancy. I'll get out some cookies too. You can have some while you talk," she said, doing a little ordering around of her own. Surprisingly, Nancy sat.
Jane brought the tea tray to the table, poured four cups, and set a plate of cookies in the center of the table. "Now, what do you want to talk about?"
"Unless he's a deaf-mute--and none of the information we have on him suggests that--Robert Ensecksi isn't in that house."
"Yes, he is," Jane insisted. "Josh and Dirk were talking about it."
"Did they actually say 'Robert Ensecksi is in the house'?"
"N-o-o-o," she said slowly. "Dirk just said, 'Tell him we shouldn't be late' or something." She saw the satisfaction on Nancy's face and added quickly, "But Lydia and Dirk were talking about talking to him when they came back from Leigh's party. Weren't they, Abel?"
"But she didn't talk to him, did she? I've listened to your tapes, Jane. There's complete silence after that, other than snoring. And there are no lights on anywhere."
"That just means that she went into the basement or something to talk to him," Jane insisted.
"There is no basement in the blueprints, Jane. She was probably talking to him on a cell phone near the side door. You neglected to put a camera or microphones there."
Jane groaned. Another failure on her part. If she'd set up the cameras better, she could have proved both that the robber had come from the Ensecksi house and that Lydia hadn't been talking to her father on a cell phone.
"Look," Nancy said. "I have listened off and on to silence from that house ever since arriving. There is no sign of anyone else being there, but Lydia and Dirk. When they were gone yesterday, the house was completely silent. The father is not there."
"Yes, he is," Jane practically shouted.
Nancy ignored her. "There is also no--"
"What about the man who broke in here yesterday?" Jane interrupted. "He came from the Ensecksi house."
"None of the cameras show him coming out of the Ensecksi house; he just appears coming around the corner of it."
"Well...according to the blueprints, there's a door in the master bedroom like there is here. He probably came out that."
"Perhaps. But we don't know for sure. And there is no sound on the audio tapes to indicate that he was ever in the house."
"Perhaps he was at the other end of the house, where they wouldn't pick him up. And why else would he break in here but at the Ensecksi command?"
"To rob the place," Nancy suggested dryly. "This is an expensive neighborhood, Jane. With lots to steal. He was maybe just a robber."
"Without a car?" she asked.
"He probably had a car waiting beyond the gate somewhere. The sheriff will find it eventually."
Jane felt frustration well up within her. Nancy had made up her mind. She wasn't even open to the idea there was something suspicious going on. Nancy would explain away anything she brought up. Still, Jane had to try. "What about Edie? They kidnapped her."
"You don't even know that for sure," Nancy said wearily.
"Of course I do," Jane snapped. "S
he took my tracking devices. I followed a transmitter all the way from Vancouver, narrowed it down to that hearse, and followed it to the Ensecksi house."
"Did you ever actually see Edie in that vehicle?"
Jane shut her mouth.
Nancy nodded patronizingly. "For all you know, Edie ran into Lydia while on her date and loaned her your tampon. It could be Lydia you followed all the way here."
"Lydia doesn't work in Vancouver. She lives here and works in San Jose."
"And Dirk works in Vancouver, but he's here right now. She could have been visiting."
"Then where is Edie?" Abel growled, suddenly speaking up.
"Who knows? She could be home by now for all we know. Has anyone called to check?"
Abel and Jane exchanged a glance; then he leaped to his feet and moved to the phone. Jane watched him for a minute, then turned back to Nancy. "What about the yellow dresses all these women wear? How do you explain an entire town of women in yellow sundresses?"
"Bad taste," Nancy said.
"And the Hawaiian shirts?"
"Really bad taste."
"There's no answer. She's not there," Abel announced, glaring at the nurse/spy.
Nancy shook her head and said, "Look. I know this is all terribly suspicious, yellow dresses everywhere, Edie missing, and all that. But B.L.I.S.S. has done an aerial scan of this whole area and there simply isn't any broadcasting equipment that could accomplish any mind-control scheme. You'd need a huge dish for this, and there isn't one here. There also isn't anything going on inside that house. Hell, they don't even talk to each other. Your microphones are picking up silence except for the occasional sound of footsteps. I've checked them, and they're installed properly. I can't recommend our people do anything on this information. I'll wait and watch and listen for another day or so, but then I'm going to recommend we close up shop and move on." She stood and left the room.
Jane glared at her retreating back, then turned to see dismay and fear on Abel's face. She reached out to cover his hand where it rested on the table. "Don't worry. We'll find out what's going on when we go for dinner there tonight. And even if we don't, we'll take bugs and spy-cams and place them around the house. We have time. We can do this."
