Divine Grace (26 page)

And…redirect!

“Teresa, which do you think Grace would like better? The amethyst set, with the ring you just showed me added to it, or the pink topaz set?”

Teresa smiled and proved what a good friend she was to Grace. She glanced at Angel for a split second and made her pitch.

“Honestly? Buy the topaz, along with the silver earrings she likes for your surprise today, and come back for the amethyst for her birthday. She will look beautiful in both.”

Angel chuckled. “Jack, that was quite a sales pitch. Do you work on commission, Teresa?”

“Yes, Angel, I earn a commission on all my jewelry sales,” Teresa said.

She laid one small hand on top of the other and added, “I can lay the amethyst aside for you if you’d like to think about it for a day or two.” It was then that Jack remembered Grace telling him that Teresa was a single mom with a small son to take care of.

“Can you wrap them up for me, Teresa?”

“Which ones?” she asked with a grin. “The topaz?”

“No. You’re a good saleslady. I’ll take them all. You’re right. She’ll be beautiful in both. Don’t wrap the amethysts, though. I want to show those to Adam and Ethan tonight. Angel, I left my wallet in the SUV. Why don’t you stay here and talk to Teresa while she wraps the other pieces for me, and I’ll be right back.”

Angel grinned and nodded as Jack sauntered off, too pleased with himself.

As he walked away, he heard Angel say, “I noticed you don’t wear a ring. Is there a man who spoils you the way Jack does Grace?”

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Way to go, smooth operator.

Grace was going to flip over the jewelry. So was his wallet, but it was worth the cost to hear Teresa’s soft, negative reply as he moved out of ear shot. “No, there is no one.”

He took his time as he went to the truck, opened the SUV, checked his cell phone for missed calls, piddled around looking for a stick of gum, found one, popped it in his mouth, wadded up the wrapper really, really good, patted his back pocket where his wallet had been all along, and went back inside the store to close the deal. Angel
had
to have her phone number by now.

He walked back in, spying them at the counter over the racks. Angel was leaning against the counter, chatting easily with her. She had a slightly dazzled, but happy, look on her face, and her cheeks glowed. When Jack returned to her counter and handed her his debit card, she turned her full attention to the sale. She glanced every so often at Angel, who never took his eyes off of her, ogling her soft, rounded curves when she turned her back to him to use the register. She returned with the slip for him to sign and gave him his copy.

She brought a small, handled shopping bag to the counter along with the boxes. She placed the amethyst set and the amethyst ring in the shopping bag. She wrapped the pink topaz necklace earring and ring set and the silver earrings in pretty paper and placed them in the bag as well. She handed him the bag and said, “I know that Grace will love them. She deserves a nice man like you to spoil her.” She glanced again at Angel, whose eyes never left her.

“Thanks for all your help, Teresa. I really appreciate it.” Jack shook her little hand and stepped away from the counter. He pretended not notice as Angel softly said good-bye as well. He returned his wallet to his back pocket, satisfied with a job well done. It was well worth it to see the interest and intensity in Angel’s eyes, to see the chemistry that had developed in that short conversation they had shared while he’d gone on his goose chase.

Grace was going to be thrilled. Mom would be so proud.

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As Grace climbed the front steps, Jack came out the front door. She showed him the two lightweight bags in her hands, which contained a loaf of bread and a carton of eggs. She smiled up at him and shook her head.

“This is all Ethan will let me carry.”

Jack chuckled as he stood there looking unassumingly sexy. “We enjoy doing things for you, darlin’. Get used to it.”

Oh, gosh, twist my arm.

“It’s not what I’m used to, but I’m trying. Did Ethan tell you I’m cooking y’all supper tonight?”
Yep, we’re gonna eat, and then I’m going to
have y’all for dessert.

“Yes, I’m looking forward to it.”

“I hope you like chicken. I promised Ethan I would keep it simple.”

He gave her a wolfish grin filled with lust and heat. Her panties were damp in a warm flash.

He grinned irresistibly, with a wicked little twinkle in his eyes. “I’ll eat
whatever
you feel like serving me.”

She paused and looked up at him, started to walk past, then gasped and turned to look at him again, her jaw popping open in shock
. Oh, mama mia!

Two could play that game. She grinned back at him and blushed. “I can’t make up my mind between quick, hot, and spicy, or slow, rich, and creamy.” She licked her lips provocatively as she added, “I guess it will be a surprise for everyone tonight.”

“Does this mean we’re talkin’ dirty over dinner?” Ethan asked as he carried grocery bags up the steps, having overheard them. “Because I’m all in for that.”

Jack brought the rest of the bags in, still chuckling. He helped Ethan put away the groceries while Grace got started with the sauce. She chopped several green onions and threw them in a skillet with a little olive oil, added

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a crushed garlic clove to it, and set it on medium heat. She opened a couple of cans of crushed tomatoes and added them to the skillet. She put Jack to work slicing Roma tomatoes for the salad and kept Ethan busy making a pitcher of iced tea and setting the table.

As they moved around the kitchen, she noticed they were in constant contact with her, brushing up against her to get the pitcher, leaning around her to get a salad bowl, pressing against her when getting the salad tongs from the drawer, trailing a hand across her ass as they asked her a question.

She opened the large package of chicken breasts and heated olive oil in another skillet. Her hands were full, trying to season the chicken, when she felt Ethan’s hands slowly slide around her rib cage and up to her breasts, cupping them gently in his hands. She leaned back against him as he pinned her gently to the counter, his tall, hard body intoxicatingly warm behind her.

His lips slid along her neck up to her jaw line. All she could do was stand there and receive because her hands were messy.

“I love your breasts, Grace, did you know? They fill my hands, just slightly overflowing, begging to be nibbled on. I can feel your nipples through the fabric. They’re getting even tighter right now. Can I reach inside?”

She dreamily nodded, and he unbuttoned the top buttons of her shirt and slid his fingers inside her sheer ivory lace bra. He squeezed her breast gently, which drew a hot, rushing response from her pussy. He groaned softly, pressing his erection against her derriere.

“Yes, baby, so warm and lush.”

Grace was hardly aware when Jack took the platter with the chicken breasts on it and used a fork to place them in the heated oil as she stood there enjoying Ethan’s attention.

“Couldn’t you just feast on them, Ethan?” Jack asked as he moved the chicken around the skillet.

“That I could, Jack. Do you think Grace would like it if I did?”

“I think you would do it
just
the way she likes it. I’ll bet she’s warm just thinking about it.”

“Getting warm, Grace?” Ethan whispered then brushed his lips against her earlobe, sending a pleasant shudder up her spine.

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With a loud gulp, she replied, “Very. You say the sweetest things to me.

You feel so good holding me like this, but I can’t touch you. I need to wash my hands.”

Ethan released her slowly, and she moved to the sink. Jack came beside her, cupping one cheek of her backside in his hand as Ethan tended the chicken. She scrubbed her hands clean and shivered as the tip of Jack’s tongue tickled the outer edge of her ear. He nibbled her lobe, which made her giggle and shudder deliciously again. A soft wave of happiness wove itself into the currents of desire between them as she reveled in the easy way they allowed her to move from one man to the other.

“I love that sound, darlin’.” She turned to look up into Jack’s eyes and kissed him. Her hands slid up his chest as she gently undulated her pelvis against the bulge at his groin. He groaned softly and said, “I’m so glad you’re here, Grace, so happy you want us, this. I love you.” He leaned his forehead against hers.

Just then they heard the squeal of tires and a car engine rev as a vehicle flew past the ranch house. She glanced out the front windows in time to see Patricia’s car shoot down the driveway at top speed, barely missing Adam’s work truck as he returned home.

Jack sighed and shook his head. “Angel must have told her she’d worn out her welcome. He told me earlier today that he would. He also wanted me to tell you his decision had as much to do with her habits and behavior as with your presence here.”

She bowed her head a little. Regardless of how much she disliked the woman, she still hated being the reason she was now homeless. Jack slid his fingers into her hair and tilted her head back to look into his eyes.

“You are not responsible for her unhappiness, Grace. Please don’t be upset.”

“Because of me she has no home now. And Angel will be lonely.”

“Angel would not have sent her away empty handed. She will go to one of her girlfriend’s houses or show up at the home of whichever of the men she’s been hooking up with is most likely to take her in.”

“But I placed Angel in a very uncomfortable situation. He’s probably unhappy with me right now.”

Jack shook his head and grinned. “Your need for Patricia to be gone helped him more than it disappointed him. Now he will be free to find a

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woman who is worthy of him. As a matter of fact, he seemed mighty interested in one today.”

Grace giggled in delight. “Jack Warner, did you play matchmaker today?”

“I sure did, darlin’.” Jack grinned, winking at her.

Adam walked in the door, two shopping bags from Macy’s and a plastic garment bag hanging from his fingers. “I hope that female tearing out of here like a scalded-ass dog is a sign that she won’t be back unless it’s to pack up her stuff,” he said hopefully.

“Angel told her this afternoon she’d worn out her welcome at the ranch.

She can’t have been too surprised.” Ethan stole a peek in one of the shopping bags and grinned.

Adam’s eyes immediately found Grace at the kitchen counter, where she still stood in Jack’s arms. He laid the garment bag over the back of one of the chairs in the living room, put the shopping bags down, and lifted her up as she came eagerly into his arms.

“What have you been up to, big boy?” She wrapped her legs around Adam’s waist.

“Is it just me,” Ethan asked with a soft groan, “or is that move one of the sexiest things you’ve ever seen?”

She kissed Adam tenderly, then laid her head on his shoulder and smiled at Jack and Ethan.

“You mean the way she wraps those long legs around his waist? I could hammer nails with my cock right now just watching her. Feels good, Adam?” Jack asked.

“Mmm, a nice and warm welcome to come home to, baby.” He cupped her ass and pressed her pussy to his groin. She squealed when the position caused close contact with her clit, and the men chuckled.

She turned her head and whispered softly in his ear so only he could hear, “Just wait until after those test results come back, honey. Then I’ll give you a whole new definition of a warm welcome.”

She flicked his earlobe with her tongue and then nibbled lightly. She giggled delightedly when a very clear growl rumbled from his chest, setting off a flurry of pulses in her pussy. His strong arms squeezed her gently and then put her down. She drew him into the kitchen.

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“What are you up to, Grace? It sure smells good in here,” Adam said as he lifted the lid on the sauce, sending a fragrant cloud of steam into the air.

“I’m cooking supper tonight. Just something simple,” she said, turning a chicken breast. “I want to let this simmer for a while. You know what they say. Anything worth doing is worth doing
slowly
.” She looked straight at Jack, licking her finger after sticking it in the sauce.

“There she goes again with those sexy food innuendos,” Ethan said, tasting the sauce. She turned the heat off under the chicken breasts in the skillet and put the lid on to keep them warm.

“So how’s June?” Ethan grinned as Adam brought the Macy’s bags to the marble counter top.

Adam looked pleased with himself. “She was glad to hear everything was to your liking. She was happy to help me find some more things for you. I hope that’s okay, baby, that I went shopping for you. Next time I’ll take you with me, but I wanted to do this and knew that June would steer me right.” He watched her face as if he was worried she would think he was being presumptuous.

After going shopping at an expensive store for her?
Puh-lease!

Adam’s eyes were hopeful as he looked down at her and reached out to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. “Anything you don’t like, we’ll take back and exchange. June said that wouldn’t be a problem.”

She peeked in a bag playfully. “Whatcha got in there?”

She had him pull it out piece by piece and hold everything up to show her. Adam seemed to like her in bright, clear colors and jewel tones. There were jeans, dressy tops, casual tops, skirts, a couple of dresses in different lengths, and an array of bras, panties, thongs, and other lingerie, some of which made her positively blush—a black shelf bra, matching garter belt, and G-string. Wow!

“You’re going to spoil me.”

“That was my plan.” Adam kissed her again. “You haven’t seen the shoes yet.”

She squealed and clapped her hands. Adam had hit her hot button.

Shoes. There was a pair of dress boots with a very stylish heel trimmed with straps and buckles, another pair of elegant dress shoes in a silver strappy design, and a pair of the shiniest, kinkiest black platform Mary Jane pumps she’d ever seen with a half-inch platform and at least a four-inch heel and

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straps over the instep. Grace had never owned shoes like that but knew what they were called and what they would look good with. These were “fuck me” shoes, and she imagined wearing them with the shelf bra, garter belt, and G-string.

She lifted one out of its box and held it up in the light, turning it. She heard one of her men gulp audibly and glanced at them. Their eyes were on the shoe, but they weren’t seeing the shoe. They were imagining her in it.

Yeah, they knew what it would look good with, too.

Now that would be a fun evening
.

Wait till Charity got a load of these!

“I’m not sure I have the ankles for these, but I’ll give them my best shot, Adam. Thank you for everything, baby. I love it.” She smiled at his relieved look, kissing him sweetly.

They helped her carry it all back to her closet, and she put all of it away.

When she was done, it was time to put the chicken into the sauce and serve supper.

“We have something we want to show you and get your input on,”

Ethan said as Jack went into the office and brought back a sheaf of large pieces of paper and laid it on the counter. They served themselves from the stove and brought their plates to the table.

While there were no overtly sexual comments made, gradually over the course of the meal, the mood between the four of them changed. One would stroke her hand or arm occasionally, while another would gently caress her back. She couldn’t look into their eyes without seeing the desire and love shining there.

“What did you want to show me?” she asked as they cleared the table and wiped it clean. Jack brought the plans and the blue bag to the table. She recognized the logo on the bag and smiled. Jack laid the sheaf of paper on the table and opened it to show her architectural blueprints. Unsure of what she was supposed to be seeing, she looked up at Jack, confused.

“We are going to remodel upstairs into a master suite for you, with a large bedroom and sitting area, a combination dressing room and walk-in closet, and a master bath with large walk-in shower and king-size Jacuzzi tub.” She sat speechless as he pointed out what they planned to do upstairs then told her when they would start, how long it might take, and what
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elements they were going to need her input on. She stopped him when he mentioned a fireplace.

“A fireplace? In the bathroom? Really?”

“Sure, can’t you picture yourself lying in the tub, gazing into the flames from the fireplace? It would be open on the bedroom side of the suite, also, so that you could enjoy it from the sitting area as well. What do you think?”

“I think my men take spoiling me to not just another level, but another universe. You can afford to do this?”

“We wouldn’t do it if we couldn’t. But we want you to understand it’s all for you. Upstairs would be your space. We would hope to spend as many nights there as you’ll let us, but you can also have time totally to yourself, or with just one of us, that would be fine, too.”