“Monday lunchtime is busy?” Parker asked. He’d have thought that would be one day of the week that would be quiet, coming on the heels of the weekend.
“Because the restaurant in town, Lusty Appetites, is closed on Mondays.”
“Jackson mentioned the roadhouse only opened a couple of years ago,” Parker said. “What do the owners of the town restaurant think of the competition?”
Jenny sighed. She opened her eyes and smiled at Parker as he set her right foot down, tucking it in close to his leg, and picked up her left.
“I don’t think either Angela, my boss, or Kelsey Benedict, another of your cousins-by-marriage, who owns Lusty Appetites, considers each other as competitors.” Jenny closed her eyes and moaned again, and this time that moan was accompanied by the tiniest little shiver.
Parker met Dale’s grin with one of his own.
When Jenny sighed, he got that grin off his face. She opened her eyes and then continued on with her conversation. “Some Mondays, Kelsey comes in for lunch herself. She either sits with Angela or Laci or even Patrick, our chef. I think the consensus is there’s enough business for both of them.” Then she looked at Parker. “That general lack of the need to compete—I’d have to say that’s standard operating procedure, as far as the folks in this area are concerned.”
“So there’re no flaming assholes for us to beware of?” Dale had asked that without any edge at all.
Jenny’s response was to chuckle. “Living in Lusty? Not a one that I’ve ever heard of. Passing through the roadhouse? Sometimes, yes. And there have been a couple of times, at least since I’ve been in the area, when someone who clearly had no business being in the neighborhood came and caused a stir.”
“What happened then?” Parker asked.
“The town more or less circled the wagons and saw to it justice was served. And it doesn’t seem to matter who—man or woman—was the server.”
“That sounds like a couple of stories worth hearing.”
Jenny opened her eyes, met his gaze, and grinned. “I can tell you what I know, but you should ask Ari about them. Only, maybe do so when Jackson and Cord aren’t in the vicinity.”
Jenny giggled then, and Parker felt himself fall in love with her, right then and there.
Chapter Six
Parker lifted her left foot gently then placed a kiss smack-dab on her previously tired and sore, but now totally soothed, arch.
Jenny couldn’t remember a time when she’d felt so pampered. While she’d reclined on Dale’s lap, he’d run his hand up and down her left arm, his fingers giving a gentle massage, shoulder to wrist. Pure heaven.
“Thank you, Parker. That felt so good.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Wanna smooch?” Dale’s question brought a giggle from her. Looking from him to Parker, she understood that “no” would be an acceptable answer, except for one thing.
She damn sure wanted to smooch.
“Yes. How do we do this?”
“You just let me settle you here on the sofa between us, and we’ll take care of everything else.”
Dale suited his actions to his words. She nearly complained about missing his heat. And then Parker moved in closer, and she had the heat of them both surrounding her.
“You’ve had a long day, and you’re headed for another, tomorrow.” Parker angled himself beside her so he was facing her, with his left arm over the back of the couch. He reached out and used his right hand to gently turn her head so she was facing him. “We’re not going to give in and try to seduce you tonight. We do, very much, want to make love with you. But later, when you’re ready. For right now, we want to kiss you and touch you. If you like what we’re doing, we’ll take it to a light second base. But no home runs, not tonight. That’s a promise.”
“Y’all make me wish baseball was my game.” Jenny was already aroused. She’d know, after tonight, just how much these two Montanans got her—and got to her. Keeping Parker’s gaze, she flirted shamelessly, in her mind, by licking her top lip.
Parker’s eyes widened, and she wondered if she only imagined the increase in the heat of his body, pressed so close to hers. Then his smile, slow and sweet, kissed his lips just like she wanted to. “Damn, woman, I love that sweet little ‘y’all.’” Parker lifted her chin then laid his mouth on hers.
When she’d tasted him outside earlier, she’d had to fight to keep her eyes from rolling back in her head. This time, she didn’t worry about that at all. Instead, she absorbed his flavor, cherished the warm, wet slide of his lips over hers, and when his tongue slid against her own, she opened wide so her tongue could meet his in this salsa of seduction.
There could have been sexy Latin music playing, for all of the rhythm and the emotion of this oral dance. Kisses had never been like this for her. She’d received her first kiss from Jimmy Lucas in third grade, and it had been so gross she hadn’t tried again until her senior year of high school. Even with her low expectations, that kiss hadn’t been anything to write home about, either. Neither had the ones she’d experienced in college. Not even Jerry Peters, the sophomore to whom she’d given her virginity, had ever given her any really good kisses.
How could she have known what she had been missing all these years? How could she have known the fault was in them, and not her?
“Stay with me, baby.” Parker’s words, pressed against the corners of her mouth, pulled her back from the morass of her embarrassing past life.
“I’m just discovering that kisses are sexy and delicious.” God, Jenny, could
