Jay threw himself across the bed. “Home,
sweet, home,” he said, rolling onto his back.
Leslie hovered beside the bed, her curvy
silhouette outlined in the shadows. A
slice of moonlight seeped though a crack in the curtain and shined upon her
face. She swiped a forearm across her
head as she glanced down at him. “Whew, I’m glad that’s over,” she said, and
tucked a stand of hair behind her ear. “You’re quite a handful.”
“So I’ve been told.” He smiled and reached
for her.
She shook her head. “Whatever,” she said
taking a few steps back. “I probably should go.”
“Relax. What’s your hurry?”
Leslie tilted her face and stared. “You’re
talking awful straight for someone in your condition. How much did you say you
had to drink, anyway?”
“I didn’t say.”
He rested on his elbow, “Come on, stay and
talk to me. Please?” He patted a spot beside him. “Tell me again why you were
at the Bull Pen?”
Leslie sat stiffly on the edge of the bed
for a minute and then flopped backwards across the mattress. “I told you
already. I was looking for you.”
Their skin touched when she lay beside him
on the bed. Her hair fanned out beneath her and she gazed upward to the ceiling
fan. The golden locks of hair smelled like sweet perfume and he was thankful
for the darkness.
“Looking for me? Any particular reason?”
For her to go into the Bull Pen meant one of two things, either because she wanted him, or because she needed him. A big difference.
During the few months he’d lived in
Sleeping Falls he’d grown used to being needed for things, like fixing an air
conditioner in ninety degree temperatures at ten-thirty at night. He didn’t
mind because with the job came a lot a satisfaction. People relied on him. It
made him feel… worthy.
But the idea of Leslie wanting him
definitely messed with his head. Left him curious…and hopeful.
She rolled onto her side, reached up and
stroked his cheek. “I’ve got a confession.”
“Let me get my collar.” He grinned as he
grabbed the bed pillow to stuff behind his head.
“I’m serious, Jay.”
“So am I. You think I’m a saint. But
honestly, the direction of my thoughts is purely sinful.”
“I had no idea Madame Luella was your
mother. The way you pass yourself off as perfect, I was beginning to think you
didn’t even have one.”
“Everyone has a mother.”
“Yeah, well, for all I know you were crafted
out of steel like those damned yard ornaments. Hard and unbending!”
Despite his aching disappointment, he
still wanted her. “No sense denying that
fact,” he said and grabbed her hand to place it on his hard erection. “I don’t
know what kind of thrills you’re looking for, Leslie. Or if everything’s just a
game to you. But I’ll play.”
Surprisingly, her hand fingers curved over
him, her fingers softly massaging the ache between his legs. With a groan, he
rolled onto his side. The need to feel her skin against his sent a surge of
heat through him.
Passion scorched like fire in his veins,
flames so fierce he could hear his own heartbeat pounding in his ears. He
buried his face alongside her neck, dropping kisses from her earlobe to the delicate
curve of her shoulder as his hands slid beneath her shirt. The silkiness of her
skin teased his fingers and he probed beneath her bra and cupped her
breasts.
“You’d better decide quickly if you’re
staying or not. I can’t guarantee how much longer I’ll play nice.”
Leslie’s arms came up around him. “What
can you guarantee, Jay?”
“A damned good time,” he said, and rolled
on top, pinning her to the mattress.
