Valentine Wishes (Baxter Academy Book 1)

by Jane Charles

  “Shit!”

  Jackie blinks up at me. “What?”

  “I don’t have condoms.” Shit! Not that I’m going to let it stop me from doing anything for her.

  “Next to you.” She grins. “Top drawer of the nightstand.”

  “Really?”

  “Just part of the toiletries I picked up at the store.” She grins up at me, very pleased with herself.

  I grab one out of the box, tear it open then slide the condom over my cock. Jackie is watching me the entire time and her breath fluctuates again. She isn’t the only one with breathing and pulse issues.

  Once it’s secure I look down at her. Where to begin? A feast is laid out before me and I’m going to delight in every morsel. Leaning forward I brace my hands on the side of the bed and kiss her. Long and deep. Short and breathless, before nibbling on her jaw, ear and neck, making my way to that perfect coral tip.

  Jackie bends her legs, putting her heels at the corner of the mattress and lifts herself before snaking a leg around my hip. I’m glad that she’s eager for me to get in her, but I’m not even there yet. I didn’t get a chance to enjoy her body before and I’m not going to rush through it this time.

  I nibble on one nipple and then the other as Jackie presses her pussy against me. It’s nearly torture not to just have done with it and thrust inside her warm, tight heat, but I’m going to do this right and savor everything.

  Gently I push her hips back against the bed and continue my tasting south. Her stomach muscles tighten and she giggles.

  “Sensitive much?”

  “I’m ticklish,” she grounds out.

  “Well let me see if I can fix that.” And lift her hips so her legs are over my shoulders and drop to my knees. Parting her folds I slide my fingers into the wet heat and draw it back before I lean in and taste, then lick.

  The hidden pearl of womanhood swells beneath my tongue and I lap at it while mimicking the rhythm with my fingers. Her moans matching each thrust. Her thighs tightening, her stomach muscles contracting until she lifts her hips off the bed and cries out.

  That was quicker than I anticipated and I bring her back down until her hips are resting again on the bed and stand. She’s panting and looking up at me.

  I lift her hips again, step forward and thrust. Jackie moans and arches and I end up taking a nipple in my mouth as I plummet over and over. Her walls tighten around me and I find her nub again. I can’t hold off much longer but I want to make her come again. Just as she squeezes me and screams again, I thrust as deep as I can and fill the damn condom hoping to hell it doesn’t break.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Brett is lying next to me, his hand on my stomach and we are both panting. Holy crap that was something. I was never really into oral sex. I didn’t mind giving it to a guy, I just didn’t get into it being on the receiving end. Well, until now.

  “That was nice,” he finally says

  “Yeah, it was. You’ve got talent.”

  “Research.” He laughs.

  “Really?” Did I really want to know what kind of research? How many girls had he done that too?

  I shut down the question immediately. None of my business. He is here with me right now.

  “I heard a very important conversation between my two older sisters,” Brett explains. “I think their exact words were, “he didn’t even know what a clit was, let alone where to find it.”

  I burst out laughing because I’ve thought the same thing a few times.

  “I was thirteen and this seemed to be very important to my older sister, so I decided this was the one thing I had better figure out.”

  I have to laugh again because he’s so serious and I can imagine a thirteen-year-old Boy Scout researching the clitoris. “Exactly how did you do that?”

  “Mom had a copy of the Joy of Sex at the back of her closet.”

  “You didn’t!” He went through his mom’s closet?

  “She had a lot of stuff back there, all covered in dust so I figured those weren’t being used anymore.”

  Kind of sucks for his mom. “So, you took it?”

  “Yep, read every page.” He grins. “I wasn’t going to be that guy a girl complained about not knowing what a clit was or where to find it. Then, I had to make sure I knew what to do with it when found.” He gets all serious on me. “I was very proud of myself.”

  “Well, Boy Scout, if they had a merit badge for that activity, you earned it in spades.”

  He leans over me. “Just so you know, feasting is one of my favorite activities.”

  “And you do it so very well.”

  Last night was amazing. The sex and then sleeping with Jackie. Today, I might as well be impotent. She left to meet Ashley for breakfast, like she does every Friday morning in the summer, but I can’t go. I’ve never gone and it would be suspicious if I do now. I called Greg and Ingrid when she left and I know they will be at the diner too. Probably following her since they were at the entrance to the park, waiting, when I called. Still, I should be the one watching and protecting her. Instead, I’m left to wander around this house and make my own breakfast.

  Not that I mind doing that. I’ve cooked for myself for years, but it isn’t enough to keep me busy and my mind off of Jackie not being with me.

  “Hey!” Theo says as he comes in the back door.

  “Hey!” I answer.

  He’s got his camera around his neck. It isn’t much different than the one I use at crime scenes. “Want to do me a favor?”

  He eyes me suspiciously. “What?”

  “Show me how to use that thing better.” Then I tell him how I want to get better pics of crime scenes and wonder if he has any tips.

  “Sure thing, FBI man.” Theo grins at me and then steals the bacon off of my plate.

  “You know, I can make you some.”

  “That’d be great.”

  I throw more bacon into the skillet.

  “And while you are cooking, you can tell me about your intentions toward my sister.”

  I turned around a looked at him. “Is this the dark ages? Intentions?” It sounds like something I’d read in one of those damn historical romance novels.

  “Hey, dude. She’s my only sister and I don’t want you fucking her over and breaking her heart.”

  I get that. “Don’t worry, I’m not fucking with her.”

  “Seriously.” Theo comes to his feet. “I need to know that you aren’t going to hurt her. I need to know that she is going to be okay.”

  There’s an edge to his voice that I can’t quite figure out. I set the fork aside and turn to him, looking Theo in the eye out of respect. “I like your sister a lot. Probably more than like,” I admit. “It’s a new relationship and we’re just getting to know one another. But, I promise, I have no intention of hurting her or messing with her. We will either be or both decide we are not meant to be.”

  “No games.”

  My jaw tightens and then I relax it. He’s only watching out for Jackie. I get that. I have four sisters. “I don’t believe in games and the moment someone tries them with me, I’m out the door, so I can promise I am not playing any with your sister.”

  He stares me down, studying me, and then nods his head and takes a seat.

  “We good?”

  “We’re good.” He nods to the stove. “Now finish my breakfast.”

  I shake my head and go back to cooking. I get that Theo is worried, but something doesn’t sit right and it’s bugging me. My gut churns but I can’t quite figure out why or what I’m missing. “Scrambled or over easy.”

  “Scrambled, and more bacon.”

  Maybe after breakfast and while we are taking pictures I’ll figure it out.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  I shut and lock the door behind me, glad to be back home. I’m so jumpy and could barely eat anything. Ashley, on the other hand, was cool and collected, like she always is. You think I would have relaxed when she introduced me to the new employees at the club,
but even having Greg and Ingrid sitting at the back of the diner didn’t help and I kept watching the door each time it opened, afraid one of the suspects was going to walk in.

  They never did.

  Now I just want to throw up.

  “Brett?” I call out when I get home.

  Silence greets me. The hair stands up on the back of my neck. I step further inside and look up the stairs.

  “Brett, are you in here?”

  Nothing.

  Where the hell did he go?

  Instead of going up, I walk toward the kitchen. Dishes are in the sink, soaking but not washed. “Who did he have breakfast with?”

  I look around. What if the creep came here?

  Brett wouldn’t have had breakfast with the guy, he would have shot him first.

  Shadows fell outside the kitchen window. It was probably Brett, but I pulled the long knife out of the drawer anyway and stay rooted in the kitchen as the door handle slowly turnes, and then the door opens. I clenched the handle of the knife so tightly that I’m being to lose feeling in my fingers.

  “You can put that down.”

  I blinked to see Brett and then Theo coming through the back door.

  Brett took the knife and put it on the table before he pulled me close, hugging me tightly. “Nothing is going to happen to you. I promise,” he whispered in to my ear. When his arms were around me I believed him. But when they aren’t, I’m scared to death.

  “Let’s hang out with campers, look at some art work then have lunch with your aunt before I head to the fitness center, okay.”

  It sounded like a plan, though if I am going to be here, I should be working. Not that I’d be able to concentrate on anything. “Okay.”

  Ashley greets me with a smile as I walk in then leans in close. “None of them are here yet.”

  “Good,” I whisper back.

  “Self-defense demonstrations all afternoon and night,” she calls out as people walk in the door and then stop to sign in.

  I walk around the counter and sit behind a desk with a computer on it. Ashley ignores me for now. The plan is for her not to talk to me about anything until one of the suspects walk in.

  Greg and Ingrid are in the center of the room, putting out mats. At the far end are the weight machines and free weights. At the opposite end are the treadmills, cycles, and whatever else is needed for cardio. Normally, I’d be working on my cardio today, but I don’t want to get winded or tired in case we finally figure out who he is. Instead, I’m pretending to fix the computer while Greg and Ingrid try and drum up students for their classes that will never happen. They aren’t going to try too hard, or Jackie’s uncle will actually have to hire someone to teach them.

  Unless we don’t get the suspect right away. Then they could be teaching for a few weeks while I work on computer bugs.

  “So what are you doing again?” Ashley asks me as suspect number one stops at the desk to sign in. He barely looks up.

  “Jackie’s uncle wants me to install new software and try and figure out how the membership stuff works with the new accounting program.”

  The guy barely blinks and goes off to the locker room.

  Just because we didn’t get a reaction doesn’t mean he’s not the guy.

  We don’t say much and I play some games of Solitaire, but I’m making faces like I can’t figure stuff out. It isn’t like anyone can see the screen except me.

  I’m getting bored, I want to check on Jackie and I’ve got to pee. And there is not a damn thing I can do about any of them.

  “How’s Jackie’s grandmother doing?” Ashley asks and I look up to see suspect number one near the counter.

  “She’s getting out of the hospital later today but will be staying with Jackie’s aunt.” I answer absently.

  “So, it’s just her and Theo in the big house.”

  “Nope.” I look up and grin. “I’m staying there too.”

  The guy doesn’t even flinch. It’s like we aren’t even there. He’s not the one and a few minutes later he heads into the locker room.

  “What does Jackie’s grandma think about you staying in the house?” Ashley teases.

  I look up again. Suspect two is now signing in.

  “Not much. Of course, I’m in a guest room. Her brother also lives there, which puts a damper on any romance.”

  “Hey, how is Jackie doing?” the guy asks Ashley.

  “Okay.”

  “Miss not having her at the theatre this summer, but I guess it’s for the best with her grandmother.”

  “It was pretty scary,” Ashley says.

  “Yeah, that’s what Cheryl said last night when she told us she’d be out this week.” He grabs his bag off the desk. “Well, tell her I said hi next time you see her.”

  “Will do.”

  I watch as the dude wanders off. My guts not telling me anything about him, but that doesn’t mean anything.

  “There you are,” a nice looking woman in shorts and a t-shirt says as she walks up to the subject. “I was wondering if you’d get here.”

  He laughs and then kisses her. “A deal’s a deal. I try your circuit and you cook me dinner, right?”

  The smile the woman gives him is nothing but inviting.

  “Or, we could skip both.”

  It’s not him. He’s too busy panting over blue shorts and white-t.

  I sit back and watch Greg and Ingrid demonstrate some moves. And, she pins him and pins him good. I can’t help but grin. “Don’t think I want to go up against her.”

  Ashley tilts her head. “I don’t think I’d mind if he pinned me though.”

  “I’ll be sure and tell him,” I laugh.

  The front doors open and I go back to my pretending to figure out software.

  Ashley turns and speaks a little louder. “So, you’re staying with Jackie, her grandmother’s not there, but you aren’t sleeping with her.”

  I glance up. Number three is in the room. “I’ve got to respect her grandmother’s rules.”

  Ashley laughs. “Jackie did say you were a Boy Scout.”

  Number three looks up from signing in and his eyes sharpen. I’d bet anything it’s not him. The kid is couldn’t be older than sixteen, if that, and the only reason he’s not crossed off the list is because he has the productions and this club in common. Still, I have a hard time believing it’s him. He still has a face full of acne, lily white skin, skinny arms and chest. He doesn’t even look like he’s fully out of puberty. There is not one thing that is threatening about him. Hell, Jackie could probably take him in a fight and she isn’t that big either.

  “I can’t believe they told Bob these two programs were supposed to work together.”

  “Don’t try to get off the subject of Jackie,” Ashley teases

  “Oh, I’m always willing to talk about Jackie, but I promised Bob I’d figure this out.”

  Number three grabs his bag and practically stomps into the locker room. Somebody doesn’t like me being here. Or so I assume. If he’s the one after Jackie then he knows who I am. I still don’t think it’s him. “Crap,” I say a little too loud, but it gets the attention of Greg and Ingrid.

  “Sorry,” I say to Ashley but give a slight nod to the locker room.

  The locker room opens a few minutes later and Ashley doesn’t miss a beat. “I’m willing to bet Jackie’s in love,” she says in a singsong voice.

  If only that were true, but it’s way too early in the relationship to know if that’s happening. Though, it would be nice.

  “I’ve known her only a couple of weeks,” I remind Ashley.

  “She’s in love. You’re in love.” She laughs.

  Ingrid is tense, facing Greg, but I don’t think she’s looking at her partner.

  The phone rings and Ashley grabs it “Baxter Fitness and Recreation,” she says in her bubbly voice. The smile slips. “Hi, Dad.”

  In a heartbeat, I’m hoping the counter as Ingrid lunges for the scrawny red-headed kid. Really? It’s the
least threatening of the suspects. Greg pulls the gun from the workout bag sitting next to the mat.

  “He was just on his phone,” Ingrid says.

  The kid’s hands go up and he steps back.

  “Phone.” Ingrid demands.

  “You can’t take my phone,” he argues.

  “Probable cause,” Greg tells him as Ingrid grabs it from the guy.

  “What was the text this time,” Ingrid calls back to Ashley.

  I don’t take my eyes off of him. One move and he’s mine.

  “She isn’t in love. She’s merely insane,” Ashley calls back.

  Ingrid nods. “It’s Jackie’s number on the phone and it’s the same message.” She tosses it in a pocket and grabs the cuffs from inside of her bag.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “It’s over. It’s really over.” I know Brett has told me it is, but I really can’t believe it.

  “Gerald Dousch. This was the summer he was going to profess his love but you never auditioned.”

  “Who is he?”

  “Runs the spotlight, up in the rafters, rarely comes down,” Brett tells me. “Just sat up there and admired you. He was upset that you didn’t show up at the theatre and then he saw you that night. He was getting the courage up to approach you, but Seamus told you I was going to be late and then he heard your conversation with Ashley and couldn’t believe you were taking the asshole tea.” He grins. “Asshole, meaning me.”

  I can’t stop shaking my head. I’m not even sure I ever talked to Gerald.

  “He drove by while we were at the side of the road and when he saw us the next day, that’s when it all started to unravel for him.”

  “What’s going to happen to him?”

  Brett shrugs. “That’s all up to the State’s Attorney.” Then he frowns. “Dousch was getting ready to send one more text to you.”

  “What was it?”

  “Let me see. It was odd.” He grabs a small notebook from his back pocket then thumbs through the notes. “Here it is. All you have to do is crook your little finger.” He looks up at me. “Like motioning and he’d be right there?” He gestures with his index finger but his eyebrows are drawn together in confusion.