Fanning the Flames Page 4

  “Another?” he asked, gesturing toward her drink.

  “I probably shouldn’t,” she said, but she tossed back the last sip and gestured for another glass.

  Jake laughed and when his arm brushed hers, she didn’t move away. A few minutes later, as he slipped his wallet into his front pocket, his fingers touched the bare thigh she’d pressed close to his hip, and he didn’t move away, either.

  Chapter Four

  JAKE WATCHED LAUREN return from a quick talk with Sophie. His head buzzed, and not from the beer he’d had. She smiled a little shyly as she approached. “Can I bother you for a ride home?”

  Jake sat straighter. “Sophie’s not taking you?”

  “I want to skip out early and I hate to interrupt her fun, but I can stay if it’s a big deal.”

  No. No, it wasn’t a big deal. He’d only had one beer and he’d love to drive Lauren home, whether that meant just a drive or more. But he felt like a player as he gave her the honest answer. “It’s no problem at all, but I walked. My truck is at my house, though. It’s just around the corner, if you wanted to come over...”

  “Sure!” she answered, grabbing her purse from the bar.

  Jake pretended he wasn’t surprised by this turn of events and moved quickly toward the saloon door to hold it open for her. “It’s two blocks. Are you okay in heels?”

  She tossed him a smile. “Oh, I can walk just fine in heels.”

  “I see that,” he said, unable to help himself. Her curves were delicious and he could still feel the ghost of her thigh under his fingers, so damn soft and warm. And now she was coming to his house. Just so he could grab his keys and give her a ride home, though. Not for...any other kind of ride. He assumed.

  But just the idea of that possibility was enough to heighten his senses. Her shoulder bumped companionably against his as they strolled and talked. She laughed up at him, her eyes so warm and happy, and Jake’s heart twisted with a pain that felt sweet and right. He’d been avoiding her all these years, trying to forget how much he’d always liked her. How well they’d always gotten along as friendly acquaintances. At a Christmas party nine or ten years before, they’d spent an hour talking about horror novels and how they were nearly always ruined when made into movies. He’d forgotten that conversation, but he remembered it now. Her laugh. Her sharp mind. The way she touched him when she was making a point.

  But no matter if he’d found her attractive before, he hadn’t let himself think of her sexually. Still, just admitting that was a condemnation. That he’d always had to stop himself from thinking about her that way.

  But tonight...tonight was a very different animal. Tonight the temptation of something forbidden transformed warm friendship into something sharp and dangerous. He’d known her as a friend, now he wanted to know her differently. Know her body and her needs and what made her gasp. What made her wet.

  The stunning thought of Lauren wet—wet for him—hit Jake square in the gut, and the shock radiated out from there. He felt his cock starting to swell, and was half-horrified, feeling like a teenage boy walking a girl home and knowing her house was empty.

  “This is it,” he said roughly, gesturing toward his front porch. “I just need to grab my keys. Unless you’d like to come in for a drink?”

  “Sure,” she said again, just that easy, as if she was letting this unfold naturally instead of torturing herself about it. Well, shit. Maybe he should try that.

  It wasn’t until he was opening the door that he remembered Annabelle. His arm stuttered to a stop, but the rest of his body was still moving forward, and he nearly nailed himself in the forehead with his own front door. Dammit.

  Hoping he didn’t look as awkward as he felt, Jake forced himself to push the door open, and sighed with relief when he saw that all the rooms were still dark. Annabelle wasn’t home. She always left a trail of lights on like she was still five years old and afraid of the dark. It was nearly ten o’clock, so Annabelle was likely spending the night with Kevin. That evidence of adulthood had been hard for Jake to accept up until tonight. Tonight he was damn glad for Annabelle’s relationship.

  “I’ve got Scotch. It’s nothing too fancy, but probably better than what they serve at the saloon.”

  As he turned on lights, Lauren wandered over to look at the old pictures of Annabelle on the living room wall. “She’s getting married in a few months,” he said as he handed Lauren a Scotch and sipped from his own. “To Kevin. From the station.”

  “I heard. Congratulations.”

  He waited for her to sit on the couch before following her lead. “Thanks. They grow up fast.”

  “Mm. Sometimes it didn’t feel all that fast to me. High school homework, Little League practice...”

  Jake choked on a laugh. “You know what? You’re right. Everyone says it goes fast, but some of Annabelle’s teen years dragged on for a damn long time.”

  “I’ll drink to that,” she said, then made a little noise of pleasure. “That is nice Scotch. I’m glad you invited me in.”

  “Is that all it takes to make you happy? Mid-priced Scotch?”

  She laughed, but as her laughter died away, her eyes snapped with heat. “No, actually. It takes more than that to make me happy.”

  Her voice had gone low and warm, and regardless of worry or guilt, Jake was damn sure not going to miss that hint. “Lauren,” he said, setting down his drink. “Are you drunk?”

  “I’m a little buzzed.”

  “How buzzed?”

  Her gaze slipped down to his chest. “Buzzed enough to tell you that I love watching you run without a shirt on.”

  “Oh.” That blasted all thought from his brain and left him blank for a moment.

  “You’re really sexy. I shouldn’t tell you that, but I’m buzzed and I really want to tell you.”

  “Lauren—”

  “Because you walk around without a shirt like it’s no big deal. Like you don’t even know. And Jake? It’s really, really...” She reached out her hand slowly, fingers brushing over the fabric of his shirt. “Distracting.”

  His chest filled with a strange, hot mix of pride and arousal and embarrassment as her fingers snuck beneath the edge of his shirt to touch the bare skin of his collarbone. Her eyes looked greedy as she watched her fingertips stroke his skin. She caught her bottom lip with her teeth, turning it even pinker and leaving a hint of moisture when she smiled. “I’m not drunk, Jake,” she said, and that was all he needed.

  He curved his hand around her neck and carefully drew her closer. “Then I’m going to kiss you,” he murmured just before his mouth touched hers.

  She sighed against him, the whisper of her breath teasing his mouth as he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. He angled his head and her lips parted just enough so he could feel the heat of her. He tasted her. The briefest taste. Teasing. Her neck arched against his hand as she melted a little closer. One more brief taste then, loving that her tongue touched his as if she couldn’t wait another moment.

  But he wanted her to wait. He loved that part, so he pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth, then her jaw, then her neck. Her long, pale, arching neck, which he’d looked at a hundred times tonight, thinking of how soft it would feel.

  He opened his mouth against her skin and her breath quickened. When he sucked gently, her voice cracked over a sigh.

  “I’ve been staring at your neck all night,” he whispered. “You’re so beautiful.”

  “Oh,” she sighed, turning her head a little, even as her hands reached for the buttons of his shirt. She worked a few free and then her hand pressed to his bare chest as he groaned.

  He couldn’t quite believe that she wanted to touch him so much. That she thought he was sexy. He was just a forty-six-year-old guy with graying hair and a bad shoulder. But her hand slid along his chest like she n
eeded to feel him, and when he scraped his teeth against her neck she gasped and her hand rose to grip his hair.

  “God, yes,” she said. He wasn’t sure if she pulled him down or he eased her lower on the couch, but he was over her then, kissing her, their mouths pressed hot together, her tongue demanding more, more. Her greedy hands pushed his shirt half off and, God, her touch drove him mad. The way her hands explored, alternately smoothing and clutching at him, as their tongues found a sweet rhythm.

  Her knee rose to his hip, and his hand was on her pale thigh again, but this time there was nothing tentative about it. His whole palm was against her, his fingers stretching to hold as much of her as possible. Her muscles moved beneath her skin, tightening as she urged his hips closer.

  She moaned as he settled tighter, and he moaned too at the feel of her pressed to his cock. Fuck, he hadn’t been this hard this fast in so long he couldn’t remember. He still felt like a damn teenager, but she seemed to approve. Her hips tipped up as if she wanted him inside her already.

  Jake pushed her dress higher, reveling in the heat of her raw curves. He told himself to slow down, take his time, make sure this wasn’t a mistake, but it felt like something they’d both been waiting for and had no patience to resist.

  When he stroked up her hip for the third time, Lauren reached for him and guided his hand lower. His fingers slipped into her panties. “Oh, fuck,” he breathed when he found her wet heat. Lauren cried out as his fingers brushed her. When he touched her clit again, she threw her head back and pushed against his hand.

  Jake braced a hand next to her head and raised himself so he could slide his fingers deeper and watch as her face melted with lust. This was a new Lauren, a Lauren he’d never even imagined, and she was beautiful.

  “Jake,” she urged. “God, you feel good. Just...” He stroked her slowly and her hips worked in time with him. “Yes. Just like that.”

  He felt slightly stunned by her response. By the harsh catch in her breath and the soft whimpers that urged him on, and the sweet abandon on her face as her nails dug into his wrist. When he pushed two fingers deep into her, Lauren cried out and pressed him even tighter to her. He thought she’d come, but no. When he stroked her again, she was still needy and wild, her clit a tight bud under his fingers.

  His wife had been more gentle. Nearly silent. A sweet, easy partner who’d blushed when he’d teased her about sex. But Lauren...Lauren was fighting for her pleasure, back arched and nails digging and every breath a plea for more. He’d give her more.

  He lowered himself to kiss her, burying his hand in her hair to hold her still as he dragged her panties down. She kicked them the rest of the way off, and then he pushed his fingers into her again. “You’re so fucking wild,” he murmured as she writhed under him.

  She kissed him with tongue and teeth and lips as he fucked her with his fingers, her hips meeting every thrust. God, he needed to fuck her. He needed to hear her make those noises for his cock instead of his hand. Needed her pushing up to meet his thrusts, taking him deeper, urging him to do it harder, faster, more.

  She seemed to have the same thought. Her hands reached for his belt and scrambled to unbuckle it, but as he freed his fingers, he slid over her clit and Lauren cried out and bucked against his touch.

  “Oh, fuck,” she screamed, her hips working, working as she came. Jake gave her what she needed, circling her clit over and over, watching her face as she let go. She was beautiful and wild. He could watch that every day.

  She shook beneath him. Her panting breath filled his ears. When she finally opened her eyes, they were dark with shock. “Jake,” she said simply.

  His heart thundered. The hand he’d twisted into her hair shook.

  “My God,” she sighed. “That was so good.”

  Lust and pride swelled inside him, but when he kissed her, he tried to keep it soft and careful. His attempt at calm failed when her knuckles brushed his cock and he hissed in near pain.

  Lauren smiled against his mouth. “Not quite as good for you?”

  “Oh, it was damn good. I’m completely satisfied.”

  Laughing at his lie, she cupped his erection and stroked. Despite the torturous barrier of his jeans, Jake moaned at the pleasure.

  “That doesn’t sound like satisfaction. Maybe we should take care of that.”

  She unfastened the last buttons of his shirt and pushed it open, her hands spreading over his chest and down his ribs. “God, you’re gorgeous.”

  He said her name, shaking his head in denial, but he couldn’t say more than that. His heart beat so hard that it shook his chest and made it hard to breathe. She ducked her head and licked one of his nipples, and he was shocked at the pleasure that zinged through his body. No one had ever done that before, and when her teeth pressed into him, he jerked in shock and watched her smile against him.

  Her hands roamed down his sides, around to his back, up his spine, and then slid slowly down to his hips. Finally, she reached for the fly of his jeans, and Jake hung his head so he could watch her hands work the button free, then the zipper. The whole world narrowed down to the slow work of her hands. He held his breath.

  Finally, she reached into his briefs and curled her fingers around his shaft, and Jake groaned.

  “Oh, my,” she breathed, sounding happy with him. Thank God.

  He thanked God again when she stroked him. He couldn’t stop from pushing his hips at her, fucking her hand as she murmured something so softly that he couldn’t understand. He said her name again, still stunned that this was her beneath him, her hand around his cock, her mouth rising to his neck to make him groan again.

  He needed a condom. Now. He needed inside her.

  His mind was working so hard at that frustrating puzzle that he didn’t register a faint clicking noise from the other side of room until it was followed by the slamming door.

  Lauren gasped and Jake froze.

  “Dad?” Annabelle called.

  Blocked from view by the back of the couch, Jake and Lauren stared at each other with wide, horrified eyes.

  “Holy shit,” Jake whispered. The sound of keys hitting the counter was like a gunshot.

  He didn’t realize Lauren’s hand was still around his cock until she let him go and her warmth vanished with shocking speed. She pushed at his chest as his pulse sputtered with panic.

  “Dad?” Annabelle said again. Then, to someone else, “Maybe he’s in the shower.” Fuck! Kevin was here, too?

  Balancing on one hand, Jake managed to zip his jeans as Lauren shimmied her dress down from her hips while keeping her head below the back of the couch.

  He couldn’t button his jeans or fasten his belt from this angle, so he had no choice but to push up to his knees. He managed only the button before Annabelle’s head swung around.

  “Hey!” she said with a grin. “Did you fall asleep?”

  “Uh.”

  Kevin seemed to register the scene before Annabelle did. He closed his hand over her shoulder as his gaze jumped from Jake’s chest to the couch and then back up. “Maybe we should...” he said.

  Jake shrugged his shirt back onto his shoulders and started buttoning. “I was just—”

  Lauren’s hand pushed frantically at him, and he glanced down to see that she couldn’t get her dress fully down with his knees still spreading her thighs. She was open and exposed and Jake nearly leapt off her, hoping to rectifying the situation.

  When he stood, Annabelle’s confused smile finally faltered. Her eyes swept down, and Jake tried not to imagine what he looked like. Belt unfastened, shirt half-open, hair mussed from Lauren’s grip.

  He couldn’t begin to come up with a lie that would cover this.

  “Oh,” Annabelle finally said.

  Without a word, Lauren sat up.

  She might have been full
y dressed at this point, but she looked even more guilty than Jake did. Hair wild, cheeks flushed, mouth swollen and pink.

  Annabelle blinked several times before she gasped out, “Mrs. Foster?”

  “Hi, Annabelle!” Lauren said brightly, blinking in the light that poured from the kitchen.

  “I... Hi.”

  “We were just—” Jake started at the same time that Kevin began to say, “Should we, maybe...?”

  “Right!” Annabelle chirped. “Yes! Of course!”

  Lauren stood, still sliding her dress down to cover her thighs. Everyone’s eyes followed the movement. “It’s pretty late,” Lauren said, her voice still falsely cheerful. “I’d better go. Early day at the library tomorrow.”

  “Right,” Jake said, “Me, too. At the station, I mean. Probably.”

  She picked up her heels from where they’d fallen on the floor and slipped them on, flashing another too-wide smile at Annabelle and Kevin. “Anyway, it was nice to see you again, Annabelle. It’s been years. Welcome home. From college, I mean. Not from...tonight.” Her words ended on something that resembled a laugh.

  “Thanks, Mrs. Foster. You look really great.”

  Not one of them could think of anything to say after that. Lauren did look great, but she also looked like she’d just been screwed on the couch.

  Lauren suddenly nodded. “Okay, I’d better go. Have a good night.” She grabbed her purse from the coffee table and gave everyone a little wave. It wasn’t until the door closed behind her and plunged the room into awkward silence that Jake remembered she needed a ride home.

  “Shit!” he cursed. He skirted the couch to chase after her, but his shoe caught on the carpet and he nearly stumbled. When he followed his daughter’s gaze to the floor, he saw that the carpet wasn’t the problem. Lauren’s black panties were wrapped around the toe of his shoe.