“Our way does take courage but no one is without faults so it evens out the playing field.” Trinity looked positive about their idea. “The people who have signed up so far seem excited about it. Baring your soul can be freeing.”
Lacy was skeptical. She just couldn’t imagine people drawing attention to their faults. Of course, no one could hide the fact that they were overweight or bald or had a stutter, but telling someone you couldn’t have an orgasm would be a bit much. “I wish you all the best of luck.” She laid the brochure down like it had grown hot in her hands. “Well, I guess I’d better get to work. If you need anything, please let me know.” She encouraged them as she went out the door, looking back at the women and not where she was heading.
“Oops, easy, girl.” Strong hands grabbed Lacy around the waist. “Where are you off to in such a hurry?”
Lacy jumped at the warm, electric contact. She knew that voice.
Jake.
Her heart fluttered, her knees went weak and all of her girl parts woke up and took notice. “Excuse me, I was just going back to work.” Lacy was just about to make her escape when he stopped her.
“Hold on, Miss Allen. I need to ask you something, but I need to speak to these ladies first.”
Lacy hugged herself, watching the guy who’d lately invaded her dreams on more than one occasion. Jake Knight was the golf course manager and a sexier man existed nowhere on Earth. What did he want with her? The moment she posed that question to herself, she knew what she wished he wanted—a date, a kiss and hours of mind-blowing sex. Not necessarily in that order.
“I wanted to stop by and tell you three that I can take you for a round about four tomorrow. How does that sound?”
“Perfect!” Marnie exclaimed with a smile. Jake looked at the other two and they both nodded their agreement.
“Great, I look forward to it.” He wore a simple T-shirt and jeans, but Lacy thought he was perfect. She tensed, still wondering what he’d have to say to her. He started toward her, but stopped and picked up one of the brochures. It seemed all four women froze, waiting to see what his reaction would be.
“Can we sign you up?” Trinity asked.
With a raised eyebrow and a smirk, he replaced the slick pamphlet back on the table. “No offense, but I wouldn’t touch this with a ten foot pole.”
“Why not?” Marnie asked. She was a hopeless romantic.
“Simple.” Jake threw them all a killer grin. “I’m allergic to love.”
Cody snorted. “I bet you’re not allergic to sex.”
Jake held up his hands. “Guilty. I love sex, but I don’t believe in love. No one I know has ever been happy in a long-term relationship. And it’s my opinion that you shouldn’t start something you can’t finish.”
“Ah, a cynic.” Trinity smiled. “I guess we’ll just have to take you on as a special project.”
Lacy couldn’t help but smile at the panicked look he got in his eyes. “Uh, no thanks. We’re golfing together, but I’m not signing up for dating advice. Got it?”
Lacy hung back, waiting to see how this would all play out. She was just glad they were focusing on Jake and not her.
Oops, spoke too soon.
“You and Lacy both need our help.” Cody crossed her arms and gazed at the two. “In addition to this endeavor, I teach physics at LSU. I did my doctoral thesis on electromagnetism. Once I get an idea in my head on the need to draw two objects together, I just can’t let it go.” Her dry, matter-of-fact delivery scared the bejesus out of Lacy and Jake.
“I don’t need...” Lacy began.
“I don’t want...” Jake spoke at the same time.
All three partners of The Right One broke out in laughter at the faces of their potential ‘victims.’
“Calm down,” Trinity assured them. “We don’t do anything without permission.”
“Well, I’m not giving it,” Jake spoke sternly. “I, for one, can get my own women.” He took Lacy by the arm. “Let’s get out of here.” He grabbed the hot little honey and took off as if the devil himself were at his heels.
Women in groups made him nervous.
But now that he had this one alone, he couldn’t help but notice her perfect figure and sweet face. Lacy wasn’t a pushy person, not like some women. She was a lady. Trying not to be obvious, he took in her flared hips, a waist he could span with his hands and high, full breasts that made his cock swell. Add to that a wealth of luscious curly dark hair which hung to her waist and the overall effect was dynamite.
“I don’t think they meant any harm, Jake. Matchmaking is their business.” Walking side by side with Jake Knight was making her sweat. He was one perfect specimen of manhood.
“Probably not, but they’re dangerous. I could feel the noose tightening around my neck.” He laughed. “Whew!”
Jake’s obvious discomfort about being set up made Lacy uneasy. She hoped to high heaven he didn’t think she put them up to all that.
Meanwhile back in the conference room, Cody waited until they were out of earshot, then looked at the other two conspiratorially. “Jake and Lacy would be perfect for one another. We have got to get them together.”
Back down the hall, much to Lacy’s chagrin, she experienced both relief and dismay when all Jake wanted from her was access to some original blueprints of the site that he’d been told were in her office. She dug in the ancient file cabinet until she found what he was looking for. Then, without further ado or a backward glance, he all but ran from the clubhouse. She couldn’t really blame him, all that talk of love and romance made her nervous too.
Since she’d split from Stephen over a year ago, she hadn’t been on even one date. Several men had asked her, some she had met at Willow Cove during different functions, but she wasn’t ready to jump back into the dating game. Not until she’d assured herself she was properly prepared to do so. And to Lacy, properly prepared meant capable of giving and receiving pleasure.
If Stephen was right and there was something wrong with her, she wanted it fixed before she humiliated herself again. The only problem was she needed experience and it was hard to get experience if she never let a man close enough to gain any.
If she had her druthers, as her grandma used to say, Jake would be where she’d get that experience. But he’d shown absolutely no interest in her. In all the time she’d been at Willow Cove, he’d really spared her no more than a sideways glance. To put things in perspective, they hadn’t really had too many chances to interact. Oh, she’d heard a lot about him. And everything she knew was good. He was a hard worker. Jake was wearing more than one hat at Willow Cove and many people wondered why someone as well trained and successful as Jake had returned to the small course in the backwoods of Louisiana. He was a golf course architect, which meant he had a civil engineering degree. Jake also had training in environmental studies, agronomy and golf course construction, of course. And he was PGA registered with a five handicap. So Jake was busy overseeing the course addition, managing the day to day operations of it and still found time to play a few rounds of golf with select members and visitors. He wasn’t considered to be one of the golf pros, but he was more popular than they were.
Of course, she knew all of this because she had access to the company computer and more than a passing interest in him. And Lacy liked everything she’d learned. He treated his employees with respect. Heck, she’d even seen him rescue a baby rabbit from getting crushed beneath the heavy machinery. A little girl had hit him up in the hallway for a donation to some charitable cause one day and when he’d gone down to his knees to speak to her, then gave her ten times what she was asking for, Lacy knew he was a man in a million.
For the last few months, the construction had kept him on the far side of the property. A trailer house had served as the mobile office at that time, but now that they were working on the sections closer to the clubhouse, Jake had moved his operations into the main office. Still, no matter how many times they ran into each other in the hall or th
e cafeteria, he’d made no move to get to know her, much less anything that would indicate he was sexually attracted to her.
Which was a damn shame.
Cause she sure was sexually attracted to him.
*****
The weekend went by uneventfully for Lacy. She worked most of the time, even on Sunday, her day off. Lacy’s job at Willow Cove was fun but it was demanding. And now it was Monday. She hated Mondays. “Oh no, here they come,” Lacy muttered to herself as she waved across the parking lot to her two co-workers. “I wonder what kind of sexploits I’ll hear about today.” Lacy couldn’t say that she didn’t enjoy listening to Denise and Kay recount their sensual encounters, but it did make her sad to realize what she was missing. “Hey, girls,” Lacy said in greeting as she approached her two friends.
Denise Bush worked in the business office, ‘counting the beans’ as she put it when they’d first met. Kay Simmons was over the spa, where they offered everything from face scrubs to deep tissue massages. “Lacy, you look a little tired this morning. Did someone keep you awake all weekend?” Denise asked with a smirk on her face, knowing full well what Lacy’s answer would be.
Lacy ran a soft hand over her long dark hair, suddenly conscious of the spiral curls that made her look more like a mother goose character than a sexy woman. Damn, she knew she should’ve spent more time straightening it this morning. “Well, I—” She didn’t enjoy admitting how boring her life was compared to these two.
“Oh, hush up, Denise,” Kay interjected. “She’s just razzin’ ya, Lacy. You know better than to listen to her.”
Lacy decided to go ahead and answer, she didn’t want either woman to get the idea she felt sorry for herself. “I mostly worked. There are two weddings coming up, an oil company is holding a conference and the Fourth of July party, of course.” Denise and Kay got along very well and Lacy often felt like an outsider in their presence. “How was your weekend, girls? Did you do anything exciting?” Lacy ventured, prepared to feel out of place as usual.
A devilish twinkle made Denise’s eyes light up. “Oh, you know, same ol’ same ol’.”
“What are you hiding, girl?” Kay lightly slapped Denise on the arm. “You look like you swallowed every canary in the world.”
Denise tried her best to stifle a grin, but it crept across her face quickly. “It wasn’t a canary I swallowed.”
Kay burst out laughing. She knew right away what Denise was referring to and Lacy joined in. Even if she didn’t have the sexy stories to share like Kay and Denise did, Lacy liked having the company and always learned things, adding some of their naughty experiences to her mental wish list of erotic adventures she wanted to try someday.
If she ever found a way to make the right guy notice her, that is. Okay, she mentally chided herself. Jake...she wanted Jake to notice her.
“What did you and Ronnie get up to this weekend?” Lacy asked, eager to hear all the lascivious details. Carefully, she walked up the steep stairs to the clubhouse. It had rained the night before and there were a few slick spots she had to watch out for. On both sides of the path flowers bloomed in profusion. The water in the big fountain sparkled like it was filled with diamonds as a few rays of scarce sunlight danced on the waters. Two life-size bronze cranes were the focal point on the water feature. Lacy didn’t stop to admire them, but she did give the pair a fond glance. If she was ever lucky enough to have a home of her own, Lacy wanted something similar. Just the thought of sitting out in her yard, listening to the music of the water flowing, maybe holding hands with her husband as the kids played ball nearby...now that was a dream worth having.
“Hot is not the word, girlfriend.” Denise cleared her throat as she began to recount her tale, but a group of golfers all dressed in argyle strolled past them and she stopped, not wanting them to hear what she said. They offered the men a polite smile.
“Looks like it’s gonna rain,” Kay said to the passing foursome, pointing at a sinister set of clouds which hung threateningly over the azure waters of Toledo Bend Lake.
“Gonna be a quick round, I guess,” one of the men offered in return.
“Make sure to drop by the spa after. Get those aching muscles rubbed down.” Kay was always hustling, always trying to get the customers over to the spa for a massage after a round of golf.
“Speakin’ of rub downs, I’d give a pretty penny to get my hands on him.” Denise sighed. Kay and Lacy followed her eyes to see what she was gawking at.
Jake was standing on the first tee, talking with a group of golfers.
“Be still, my heart.” Kay fanned herself. “Why can’t he dress like that all the time?” The bleached blonde actually licked her lips as she took in his muscular, well-toned body.
Jake normally wore a pair of khakis and a crisp golf shirt, but today he was dressed down, getting his hands dirty directing the construction crew. Schmoozing guests and giving golf tips was part of his job, but Jake was not the type to stand back and just supervise when there was work to be done. Gesturing with his hands, Jake was explaining something about the construction underway just off to the left of the first fairway. He must have gotten there by the crack of dawn, because in the early morning sun the ladies could already see the dark patches of sweat on the back of his gray shirt. The sleeves had been cut off at the shoulders, giving any woman lucky enough to be near a good look at his sculpted biceps.
Kay and Denise managed to tear their eyes off of Jake and get back to their conversation, but Lacy’s gaze lingered, looking Jake up and down greedily. A bit of jealousy swept over her, for some reason she didn’t like the other women lusting after Jake. In all of Lacy’s fantasies, Jake belonged to her.
“Anyway,” Denise said, snapping Lacy back to the moment. “Ronnie and I went down to the pond behind his place on Saturday and built a small bonfire.”
“How romantic,” Lacy commented wistfully. The last time she’d been on a date, Stephen had insisted she go to his work picnic and abandoned her after they’d arrived there. And the time before that, they’d gone out for burgers and somehow Lacy had ended up paying. Breaking their engagement had been the best thing to do, even if he’d done his best to ruin her reputation with his talk.
“It was romantic,” Denise admitted as they walked through the double French doors into the gracious Plantation styled lobby. “What he forgot to tell me was that he’d invited a couple of friends over to join us.”
“That must’ve ruined your night,” Kay said, stopping to finish the conversation with them before she turned left to go to the Spa.
Several guests nodded to them as they passed by. The aroma of fresh baked croissants filled the air. Lacy rubbed her stomach, wishing she’d taken time to eat before she’d left her condo.
“I didn’t like it too much.” Denise dug in her purse, finally fishing out her lipstick. “But I know Ronnie really regretted it.”
“Why?” Lacy couldn’t help but ask, firmly convinced that anything she envisioned wouldn’t even be close to what Denise had actually been up to. Her sensual stunts were legendary, at least in Lacy’s eyes.
“Well,” Denise whispered conspiratorially, pulling the girls to one side when it was obvious the desk clerk was trying to eavesdrop. “We’d gotten into a bottle of red wine earlier at dinner and I don’t know about you two, but wine gets this girl in the mood.” She twisted her hips in a quick dance move.
Kay chimed in. “Amen to that. Give me a glass of Chablis and I’ll be naked before I know it.”
“So what happened?” Lacy asked. She might not have anything to add to these conversations, but she could at least live vicariously through her friend.
“Come to my office, this is good. And not at all suitable for a general audience.” Denise led them to the bookkeeping suite. “My boss Harold is out of town at a conference, so we have the place to ourselves.” Pulling out chairs for the other two girls, she took it upon herself to pour coffee for them all. “So, Ronnie laid out a blanket for us to lie down on. S
itting by the fire having a few drinks and cuddling is damn romantic and I have to tell you, I was in the mood in no time flat. I had to have it and Ronnie wasn’t gonna stop me. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on him and, what do you know, my mouth wound up getting on him too.”
Kay laughed out loud.
“Denise!” Lacy scolded her. “Oh, my God.”
Denise shrugged her shoulders. “What? You asked.”
“You said Ronnie regretted it. What did you mean? There’s no way he could regret a blowjob.” Kay pressed for more details.
“Oh, he did, because it wasn’t long after I’d started in on him that we heard the cars pull up.”
Lacy put her hands over her mouth. “Oh, no. You had to stop?”
“Ronnie didn’t want me to, but I told him I wasn’t a damn porn star. He tried to convince me to sneak off into the bushes with him and just let everyone gather around the fire while I finished pleasuring him. And I have to tell you, I was tempted for a few seconds to do exactly what he wanted.”
“There’s something thrilling about getting it on when people are around, isn’t there?” Kay said mischievously. “But I’m with you, I love putting on a private sex show for my man, but not for his friends. What I do like is the idea of sneaking off but staying close enough that you can still hear everyone. It’s exciting to see how quiet you can be when you cum.”
Lacy listened while they talked. She wasn’t a virgin, but she might as well have been. Her sexual encounters with Stephen had been tepid, unsatisfying and she could count them on one hand with a couple of fingers left over. Growing up, she’d been raised in a pretty strict home and the things Denise and Kay talked about seemed exotic and forbidden.
Red Hot and BOOM! A Sizzling Hot Collection of Stories from the Red Hot Authors Page 14
