going to allow some soft-handed pretty boy to touch her, while he sat here by himself, polishing his wood.
'You know what? Serena is dangerous behind the wheel on any given day, but when she's in a hurry, she's downright frightening. You should really let her go, and stay here, with me. I'd really like to spend some time with you.' There, he'd said it. He felt like a complete weenie, but he was a man, and men said what they wanted. Consequences be damned.
'If you're sure?'
'Yes, I'm completely sure.'
'Okay then. I'd like to spend some time with you too. And talk about the cottage. Go ahead, Serena. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Have fun with Klaus. And maybe I'll set up something with Clay for another time.'
Like hell you will, Jack thought to himself, but grinned like an idiot as they followed Serena out to the porch and watched her walk to her car.
'Jay, if I don't hear from you tomorrow, I will be calling your mother, so get on this thing right away, okay?' Serena called, sliding behind the steering wheel.
'Yeah, yeah. Quit badgering me or I will develop selective amnesia on this subject, I swear to God.'
'Okay. Have fun, you two. Don't get any splinters.' Putting on her sunglasses, Serena smiled wickedly as she flipped the car into gear, and rocketed down the driveway. All in all, she felt like she'd accomplished a lot today. Both her match-making and her real estate plans were coming together, perfectly. If only her own personal life was so easy to control.
Chapter Five
'My car is parked at the Daily Grind on Third Ave,' Lacey said, darting a glance at Jack. His strong profile was barely illuminated by the truck's dashboard lights, and she couldn't tell if he was smiling or frowning. She really hoped he was smiling. It became brighter in the cab as they approached the city limits, but his expression seemed neutral to her.
They had spent an hour at the cottage, simply wandering around as Jack pointed out features that she'd missed on their whirlwind tour with Serena earlier. Then, they had spent another twenty minutes sanding the door Jack had been working on when they had arrived. He had simply handed her a sheet of sandpaper and demonstrated the proper technique as they stood companionably, side by side.
Lacey had half expected him to jump her bones the second Serena's car was out of sight, but he hadn't even touched her. She was totally disappointed. There had been something so intent about the way he had been watching her upto this point. She had felt a little like a particularly juicy rabbit being stalked by a famished wolf. And yet he had been a perfect gentleman, damn him and his mixed signals.
What did she have to do to get a little action from this guy? Maybe, like Barry, he thought she was boring. Well, she wasn't. She was a wild woman. She just needed to figure out how to go about being the aggressor without looking too desperate or slutty. Desperation was not sexy. Neither was clumsiness. And she was terribly afraid she was going to mess this up. Why couldn't he just lean over and kiss her? That would be so much easier.
'Do you mind if we take a little detour?' Jack asked, interrupting her thoughts.
'Not at all. I'm not in a huge hurry to get home.' She hoped he might suggest going to dinner. She was famished and a meal would prolong their time together. She was about to casually mention a Thai place she frequented when she noticed where they were.
They had just driven past the row-houses where they'd met, and Jack slowed the truck as they approached a building site that was fenced off and had a large 'Kingston Bros.' sign hanging from the gate. The old-fashioned streetlights revealed the frame of a large, roofless house. It stood on a wide, corner lot facing a green space containing a lovely path through a wooded area.
Jack turned off the ignition and pointed through the windshield with his keys. 'It's a construction zone right now, so we can't go in. But you see that corner? That just may be your new address in about six months. What do you think?'
Lacey didn't think anything. For perhaps the first time in her life, she just acted.
Instead of answering him or worrying about making a fool of herself, she slid across the bench seat and completely surprised him by turning his face toward her. Looking into his shocked eyes for a moment she leaned forward and kissed him soundly on the lips. It was really more of a peck to show her joy and gratitude than an attempt at seduction, but the result was the same.
Jack's response to Lacey's lips on him was immediate and enthusiastic. He threw his keys on the dashboard and lifted her onto his lap, angling her chin so he could deepen the kiss. His tongue licked at her lips sweetly and then thrust between them with gradually accelerating heat and force.
Suddenly they were making out in the cab of his truck like horny teenagers. The windows quickly fogged up, enclosing them in their own little sensual world and Jack took full advantage of the privacy. He slid his lips down her jaw to her throat where he nibbled at that sensitive skin until she gasped and tightened her grip on his hair. He shoved the shoulder of her blouse part-way down her arm and sucked at that spot where her neck meets the collarbone. She would probably have a bruise there the next day and the idea that she would be walking around with his mark on her pleased him.
Sliding his hand up her denim-clad leg, he made small circles on her inner thigh, and then slid his hand back up to her knee. He did this three times before momentarily cupping her between her thighs. He could feel her heat against his fingers and was overcome with lust when she reached down to capture his hand and keep it there between her legs.
He groaned against her neck as she shifted restlessly in his lap, and there was no hiding his state of arousal from her. He was painfully hard and impatient for relief, but no matter how much he wanted her, screwing in a truck on the side of the road was not good enough for their first time together. If he took her now, he probably wouldn't get another chance, and he could not let that happen. She'd almost slipped away from him once. So he took a deep breath and stopped moving his fingers against her mound. Removing his lips from her neck, he sat there with his face pressed against her sweet-smelling neck, trying to get his breathing under control.
'Jack? Is everything alright?' Lacey asked tentatively.
'Yeah. Everything is fine. My penis and my brain are just at war right now. It will be over in a second. Just don't move, okay?'
Lacey giggled and the motion made him groan. 'Umm, is it okay if I don't want your brain to win?' She asked, delicately licking the shell of his ear.
He angled his head towards her for a moment, chills running up his neck from the the feeling of her warm breath against his ear. But then he came to his senses and jerked his ear away from her marauding tongue. 'Probably not a good idea. Because if my brain loses, then you' re going to be spread-eagled, with your legs in the air and your jeans balled up on the floor faster than the speed of light. And 3 seconds after that, I'm going to be really embarrassed. So, Mr. Happy really needs to lose this battle today, but hopefully he will get a chance to fight another day. Alright?'
'Wow, what a tease your are, Jack. Don't I have any say at all in this?' She asked playfully, running a hand through the hair at the nape of his neck.
Easily, he lifted her off his lap and set her on the seat beside him. 'Lacey, I'm seriously begging you to stop. I like you, and I don't want to take advantage of you like this.' As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he knew he'd said the wrong thing.
Lacey glared at him as she slid back to the passenger side of the truck. 'Take advantage of me? What does that mean? I'm 32 years old, Jack. Not a silly teenage girl. If I want to boff your brains out in the front of your truck, then it's because I've been fantasizing about you for the past week, and I can't wait any longer. Not because I'm some poor lonely spinster who is too overcome with frustration to know what she's doing, okay?'
Oops. Damn it. He'd touched a nerve. But he really liked the part about her fantasizing about him for the past week. He needed to smooth this over, pronto. 'What I meant was, I took you here to show you the lot of land we were talking about earlier because I knew you would be excited to see it, and I thought I would probably get a hug out of it. And since I've been trying to think of a way to touch you all afternoon, I brought you here with my own perverted agenda in mind. That's what I meant by taking advantage of you. The whole frustrated spinster thing
