“Sounds like fun,” Jane said, smiling at the Greek god statue Walter was. She had to look for him through the dim shadows cast in the room by the bathroom light she’d left intentionally burning. She wanted to see him as clearly as she could tonight. She wanted to memorize what he looked like until the vision of him lived inside her.
“Stay with me,” Walter pleaded, dragging her sheet-clad body across his lap. “I need my sheet back anyway. The weather is changing. I’m getting cold chills.”
Jane laughed at Walter’s teasing, unwrapping the sheet and throwing it over both of their heads while she freed the rest of herself from it. Walter slid down until he was lying completely under her.
“Jane, I really do love you. Are you ever going to believe me?”
She let Walter’s declaration wash over her, pretending for just a few moments that he really might know what he was saying. While she pondered the possibility, her lips moved across every row of muscle until they finally dropped to explore what was in his lap. She took her time with what she found there, drawing out every lick and nuzzle, pleasing herself as much as him.
Walter was squirming and thrashing around by the time she finally took him into her mouth. His guttural cries of sexual anguish pounded inside her as loud as any jungle drum. Her determination grew. She set all the other concerns aside while pleasing the man who had already spent an incredible amount of his time and energy pleasing her that night. When Walter was done but still panting, she slowly kissed her way back up his body to lie peacefully across his chest. Contentment spread and warmed her on the inside. His arms weaving tightly around her and pulling her closer were the perfect response.
“Jane, you are truly the most amazing woman in the world,” Walter said finally.
“Thank you, Walter. That’s what you should always tell a woman after oral sex. It makes her feel appreciated instead of like a skank,” Jane said wisely, chuckling at her own honest statement.
When she caught herself reliving the moment of walking in on Nathan with some woman other than her on her knees over him, it wasn’t hard to understand what thoughts the negative term had leapt from. In Walter’s inexperienced hands were both the heights and depths of loving, but she would rather have nothing with any man than to risk being hurt again.
“Advice noted for all future dealings of this sort. So have you felt like a skank often?” Walter asked, listening carefully to her answer.
“Some, but I’ve never felt that way with you,” Jane replied. “Never with you.”
“Thank God,” Walter whispered sincerely, running his hand over her hair. “Right now, I’m ready to go beat up on whoever made you feel that way. I’ll take your brother along with me. He can scare them into standing still while I pound them into the floor.”
She laughed at Walter’s fingers gently massaging the back of her neck while he made violent plans to beat up her mental torturer. The offer held a certain appeal, but wouldn’t change all the humiliation she had tolerated while trying to save her marriage.
“I appreciate the offer, Walter Graham. More than you know,” Jane said, her throat tightening with tears she wasn’t going to let fall. There would be plenty of time for them later.
Jane felt Walter pulling her higher until he could tuck her by his side. Then he threw one massive arm and leg across her, trapping her next to him. He fell almost instantly asleep, with no lines of worry marring his still unwrinkled face. It was hard not to start weaving dreams around what his body language meant, so she closed her eyes and worked to blank her mind.
Somewhere in the last couple of hours she had spent with Walter she had begun to believe that he had truly never meant to hurt her. It was good to feel forgiveness come at last, but that didn’t mean she was in good enough emotional shape to deal with being Walter’s learning curve. His gaze full of disgust and disbelief that day in the fire station had made her feel just as bad as any of Nathan’s scathing remarks about her lack of expertise. Taking on the insecurities and the doubts of the younger man beside her was simply more challenge than she could handle with all the other things going on in her life.
But she was grateful for this evening, grateful for one more night in his arms. No matter how many men the future brought her, she was never going to completely get over this one. He’d taken from her and he had given, more than he even knew.
Chapter 20
The next morning when Walter woke up, he could tell Jane was really gone because all his senses were flat lined over her lack of presence. There was no use in getting up to look. He was not going to find any grumpy, adorable woman with wild bed hair in his kitchen. He would not be hearing her humming because of great sex while she made her coffee.
He sat up in bed, covered now by the sheet he’d stolen back from her, and mourned.
Jane was all around him. Everywhere he smelled. Everywhere he looked.
She had been truly loving again last night. It had been like their first time again. Her arms had held him close and she had willingly given him the gift of her body over and over again.
But if it had been as great as he thought it was, then why wasn’t Jane still here this morning? What was he missing?
***
“Throw away everything I asked you to keep from the crazy women. I was being a nutcase,” Walter said.
“Already done. Daniel told me about the brother showing up to harass you over your mistake,” Amanda said with a smile. “Glad to see your head back on your shoulders this morning, Walter. I was worried there for a little bit.”
“Yeah, well, Daniel knows a lot but don’t forget who signs your paychecks,” Walter said, grinning back.
Amanda giggled. “By the way, Brenner and his team are back and hard at it this morning. Seems they were here and working at six. I came in to a slew of complaint calls. Better tell him to dial the start time back to seven-thirty.”
Walter laughed. “No. The residents need to get used to the noise for a while. We have some ground to make up with the project.”
Amanda nodded. “So. . .how are things between you and Jane? You seem in a very zen-like mood this morning, better than your usual even. Made any ground up with her?”
Walter shook his head, his smile fading, but his intention to win her back was still in place. Last night just made him more determined “Ask me again some other time.”
Amanda sighed and nodded.
***
“What’s the deal with the suits, Walter? Did you end up sleeping with the photographer after all? I thought you liked older women, not older men,” Eric declared, checking out the perfect lines of the athletic cut suit he was wearing. “Dude, I hope he’s not expecting me to do that too. Now I wouldn’t mind a go with the lady friend you pissed off the other day. She was nice looking.”
“Next time I’m going to leave you in the burning building,” Walter replied. “And Jane is off limits. I screwed up and I’m fixing it.”
Clinton rolled up in the wheelchair. “How you going to do that, Romeo? You went off on her over her brother. Lame, Walter. Very lame.”
“Et tu, Brute?” Walter said to Clinton, who might actually have read some Shakespeare.
His head whipped around looking for the whistleblower about his misdeed. “Damn it, Daniel. Did you have to tell everyone?”
Daniel nodded as he walked up to Walter. “Of course. Why? Was it a secret? This is a seriously nice suit. Do we get to keep them?”
Walter scowled at his ex-best friend before he went to look for Ames. He found the photographer in the main lodge, changing lenses on six different cameras.
“They’re dressed, but it’s going to be like herding gorillas. You might have to beat on your chest to get their attention,” Walter said.
Ames grinned. “I’m glad to get you alone for a minute. I have some good news. Or at least I think it’s good news. Your publicity shy parents might not agree with me.”
“What’s that?” Walter asked, nervously adjusting his cuffs. He’d lea
rned to let them slide long on his hands so that in the poses they would look just right.
“Bartoff intends to take their ad national. Now they want unlimited rights to the bent leg shot with the watch, and another seven shot folio of their choosing. This time they want some casual too,” Ames said, draping cameras around his neck.
“Casual? Like what. . .me in jeans and a polo?” Walter laughed. National meant more royalty money. That was appealing to him. It meant he might get to install solar panels in the parking lot over the winter. By spring, North Winds would have both solar and geo thermal power.
Ames pointed to the door with his head and started walking in that direction. “Casual as in t-shirts, jeans, and I don’t know yet. They’re sending over a list. We’ll look at it together. Anything you’re not comfortable with doing?”
“No shirtless shots,” Walter said. He wasn’t shaving his chest. Jane liked him like he was.
Ames nodded and smiled. “We can work around that.”
Walter laughed when Ames cupped hands around his mouth and let out a Tarzan-worthy call. He was still grinning when he felt the light tap on his shoulder.
“Walter Graham?”
The woman doing the tapping was tall, polished to a gleam, and smiling. She was also wearing a press ID.
“You must be Stephanie Sawyer,” Walter said, extending a hand for her to shake.
“That’s right.”
Walter smiled as she moved closer and tucked her microphone under her arm with the boom facing out. It was a great trick and the casualness probably threw most of her prey off balance. He’d bet her cameraman was rolling footage for ‘practice’ right now too.
He remained in place and quiet while Sawyer openly checked him out. Thinking about Regina Logan’s unflattering description of the woman brought a grin to his face. To agree to do his interview onsite at North Winds, the media woman was obviously looking hard for the next big thing that would boost her career. It made him wonder though what in the hell the woman had done to the sex therapist to earn such animosity. He hoped he never made Regina Logan mad at him.
“So it looks like you’re shooting calendar stills at the moment, Mr. March. When can we get set up for the interview?” Stephanie asked, smiling as she shifted her microphone.
Walter smiled back. “My grandfather will be with you shortly.” He turned away to look, but didn’t see Harrison anywhere.
“So. . .is Morrison Fox’s daughter going to be here? She was the flipper on your project in the beginning, right?” Stephanie asked, digging in her purse for her mirrored compact.
“Her name is Jane,” Walter said. “But I doubt she’ll be attending.”
“Really? Why? I figured she must be really involved since your architect wouldn’t shut up about her. Unless. . .are they dating by any chance?” Stephanie asked bluntly.
Walter felt the smile slide off his face, but forced himself to pick it back up. Brenner still had a thing for Jane, even though the architect knew damn well what the situation was between him and her. The other man had become a master at hiding his interest and sometimes Walter even forgot about it. He wondered if Jane had any real interest in him back. God, he hoped not. So that’s what came out of his mouth.
“I really hope Jane is not dating Brenner. That would be very awkward for me, considering I’m in love with her myself,” Walter said.
“Are you kidding? Mr. March is in love with an older woman? That must be breaking some hearts around town,” Stephanie joked.
Walter shrugged. “It’s complicated. You know how relationships are,” he said, watching to see if he had gained media interest with his statement.
“So how much older than you is Jane?” Stephanie asked.
Walter shrugged again. “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter to me.”
Stephanie snorted, looking at the blond giant with new eyes. “So do you date older women often, Walter Graham?”
“No. Just Jane,” Walter said. “If I can ever convince her that she’s the only one I want, I’m going to ask her to marry me.”
“Marriage is a serious step to take. How does ‘just Jane’ feel about you?” Stephanie demanded.
Walter looked down, letting himself remember Jane kissing her way into his lap. When he raised his head, he wasn’t surprised to see the reporter’s eyebrows rise as well. Lust for Jane was undoubtedly clouding his expression.
“I don’t know how Jane feels,” Walter said. “But I’d like to find out. See you in a bit, Ms. Sawyer. Got to round up my fellow gorillas—I mean, firemen.”
***
Lydia picked up the remote and turned the sound up as far as it would go. The interview had been terminally boring, but sometimes Sawyer dropped a cliffhanger at the end.
“Here comes the end—she’s back now,” she said. All the people in her living room crowded around the TV.
“Why are we watching this? I hate reality TV,” Morrie said.
Lydia gave him a look. “It’s not reality TV. It’s Walter and Jane.”
“Nothing has been said worth hearing yet,” Morrie declared, dragging Lydia and the remote into his lap.
“Stop it. . .ssssh, she’s talking finally,” Lydia said. “Look. It’s the Mr. March photo behind her. She’s going to do it.”
“I’d like to thank my special guests for being here today. Before I go though, I have some bad news to deliver. This is for all the single ladies of Falls Church. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but I found out today that Mr. March of the 24th Street Station calendar is definitely off the market. We have an interview coming up next week with Mr. March—aka the yummy, hunky, Walter Harrison Graham II. The interview is about his work on North Winds’ eco renovations, but I think you’ll agree this snippet is the real scoop. Here it is right now, straight from the fireman’s hot lips to your ears, ladies. Get your tissues ready.”
There was a cut from the mostly female, giggling audience to a smiling Walter in a suit, standing near a tense, concerned looking Stephanie waiting for his answer to her question.
“So how much older than you is Jane?”
“I don’t know. It doesn’t matter to me.”
“So do you date older women often, Walter Graham?”
“No. Just Jane. If I can ever convince her that she’s the only one I want, I’m going to ask her to marry me.”
Stephanie turned back to the audience.
“So who is this older woman who has so obviously seen what’s under Mr. March’s dirty shirt? Turns out ‘just Jane’ is none other than Jane Fox, daughter of retired entrepreneur Morrison Fox. When I asked Walter how Jane felt about him in return, he said he didn’t know.”
Stephanie sighed and put her elbow on her desk, resting her chin in her hand. “Would you want to string this man along? Me, neither. Wouldn’t you want to work on having his love child instead? You would? That’s exactly what I thought you’d say.”
The applause from the audience rose in a crescendo as she straightened, swiveled in her chair, and looked dead on into the camera.
“So I send this call out to ask Falls Church’s newest cougar, Jane Fox, to come on the show and tell us how she really feels about her adoring cub. Sure he’s young, Jane, but as long as he’s legal, you might want to entertain his proposal. How about it, Falls Church? Should Jane say yes? Call in and tell us what you think. We’d love to hear from you. Or text JUSTJANE to 78374. Thanks for watching, Falls Church. See you all next week.”
Despite the number of people staring at the TV in shock, it was the pecking of a phone, and not Morrie’s swearing that drew everyone’s attention in the room.
“What was the damn number the split-tongued snake said? It took me forever just to type JUSTJANE in all caps. I really miss my old phone,” Regina said.
Ben stared at his wife. “You dropped your old phone in the toilet, Regina. That pretty much killed it, babe.”
Sighing, Morrie pushed Lydia off his lap and stood. “Honey, I need to go see my daughter.
Jane in meltdown mode is not a pretty sight. Elijah is not going to be able to hold her back if she decides to kill Walter. It’s going to take both of us.”
***
“What do you mean Jane didn’t get mad?” Morrie asked, totally surprised.
“Yeah, I was surprised too. I think it was the shock from Walter announcing he loved her. Well, she did get kind of mad over the cougar remark. She mumbled something about hoping Alex was happy now. Who’s Alex?” Eli asked.
“Not Alex. . .Alexa. Alexa Ranger. She’s Falls Church’s most notorious cougar,” Morrie said, wondering if he should go upstairs and see if Jane would talk to him.
“Well, Alexa Ranger was probably the most notorious one until today. Didn’t you see the cars lined up on the street outside when you got here? I’m guessing some of them are media people staked out and waiting for Jane to make an appearance.”
“Is she mad about that?” Morrie asked.
“She probably would be if she knew it was happening, but I’m not telling her and listening to the rant. I’m just going to walk out the door when she does and play surprised. She’s not able to hear anyone’s advice right now anyway. Every time I say anything, she takes my head off.”
“So what did you think of Walter? I know you tracked him down,” Morrie said.
Eli laughed. “I had to, Dad. Their blow-up was mostly my fault. Being a testy bastard is an easy habit to fall into and I haven’t broken it yet. But to answer your question, I liked his apology. It wasn’t fake. His pissed off attitude fell away fast when he finally figured it out. I never saw that brainiac thing you mentioned. I actually thought the man was a little slower on the uptake than his friend.”
“Don’t be fooled by his stupidity about Jane. He’s in love with her and it comes with the territory. Walter is smart. He’s finishing an MBA, taking care of his grandfather, and he bought North Winds from Jane,” Morrie said. “His father is a physicist and his grandfather owns a great deal of Falls Church.”
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