French Quarter (14 page)

The strange tone of his voice warned her she should probably be feeling a little frightened of him, but anger was the emotion that filled her at the moment. “I don’t know why
you
persist in thinking I would stay with you. The truth is, Todd, this isn’t just about the strippers and the lying. The truth is…I don’t love you anymore.” She shook her head in reflection, then spoke quietly. “I don’t know if I ever really loved you. And I’m pretty sure you don’t love me, either, or there wouldn’t
be
any strippers or lying.”

His back went rigid and his eyes filled with rage. “Don’t say that!” he barked. “Don’t say you never loved me! Who’s lying now, Elizabeth? We both know you love me, we both
know
that. And I won’t tolerate this sort of insubordinance.” He’d started moving toward her as he spoke, grabbing her arm. “Tell me you love me. Say it. Now.”

My God, he really
was
a madman. How had she not known? He hovered over her as she tried to calculate the smartest way out of this.

“Look, Todd, I don’t mean to hurt you,” she began, speaking gently, “but—”

“If you value your right hand,” a commanding voice suddenly said, “you’ll remove it from her arm right now.”

She looked past Todd to see Jack a few feet from the doorway, wearing an expression that said he was deadly serious.

Todd looked up, and blessedly, released her from his grasp. “Who the hell are
you
?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m her new boyfriend.” He looked past Todd to Liz. “I thought you might need some help gettin’ your stuff. I saw your friend, Lynda, out in her yard and she said I should come over.”

Clearly neither Jack nor Lynda thought she could take care of herself with Todd—and maybe they were right. She couldn’t have been more relieved to see Jack. “Um, thanks. Yeah, I guess I could.”

Jack took a menacing step closer to Todd, who appeared nervous but was trying not to let it show.

“Listen, you shithead. You and Liz are over. Finished. History. And if I find out you do
anything
to bother her, you’ll answer to me. And I promise you won’t like it.”

Todd swallowed visibly, but didn’t answer.

Jack looked to Liz, then her duffel bag. “Is this it?”

“For now,” she said.

He picked it up and used his other hand to grab hers. “C’mon.
Allons
.”

She followed him down the stairs and out the front door.

Only when they’d passed the row of hedges that separated Todd’s driveway from Lynda’s yard did he stop walking and look at her. “Are you all right?”

She nodded, feeling much calmer now that he was here.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m fine. But…thank you. What made you come?”

He cast a disparaging glance toward the house she’d shared with Todd until the last few days. “Call it a P.I.’s instinct. Like I told you before, I had a bad feelin’ about that guy. My gut just told me maybe I should come over and make sure he wasn’t givin’ you any trouble. And it looked like I showed up right on time.”

Liz let out a sigh and admitted the truth. “I suppose you’re right.” Still, she struggled to look strong—because she wanted to
be
strong. “But now that I’m out of the house, things will be fine.”

Jack continued looking skeptical. “The more I think about it, I don’t know that I like you livin’ right next door to him. The guy seems a little unhinged to me.”

Liz simply shook her head. “He doesn’t even know I’m staying with Lynda. Now that you showed up, in fact, he probably thinks I’m staying with you. So even though I’m right next door, that shouldn’t be an issue. Todd and I tend to come and go at different hours, and Lynda even has an extra space in her garage where I can park my car, so he won’t see it.”

Jack didn’t look the least bit won over, his expression still stern. “Are you listenin’ to yourself,
chere
? Havin’ to worry about hidin’ your car and makin’ sure he doesn’t see you comin’ or goin’? Maybe you should come stay with me.”

Chapter 6

Liz was both touched and stunned at the suggestion. Yet even as wonderful as the invitation sounded, it didn’t seem feasible. Despite how intimate they’d gotten so quickly, they’d only known each other a few short days. To move in with him seemed like…trapping him. She didn’t want to put him in the awkward position of having to continue their relationship when the time came that he’d rather cool things off.

And it seemed dangerous for
her
, too—for her heart. With each passing hour, she was forced to realize she was developing real feelings for Jack. She’d originally thought—perhaps even hoped—that her new sexual awakening had been
only
about sex, had allowed her
not
to get emotionally involved, but it wasn’t true—she cared for him, a lot. She still had no idea how long he’d want their affair to continue, but when the time came for it to end, it would be a hell of a lot easier if she
wasn’t
living with him. Having to pack up her things and leave would be much more painful than just saying goodbye—or as Jack would phrase it,
au revoir.

“Jack, that’s very generous of you, but don’t worry, I’ll be fine at Lynda’s.”
And this way I’ll save myself some awkwardness and heartache in the end.

Jack struggled for what to say as he peered down into eyes made emerald by the bright March sun overhead. One part of him wanted to persist, get her as far away from her former fiancé as possible, and get her closer to him. But apparently he was the only one of them having those kinds of emotions here, experiencing a real connection, and maybe, all things considered, that was best. After all, he couldn’t believe he’d so easily asked her to move in with him. He’d never lived with a woman before. He’d never even wanted to.

He supposed it was time he face facts: this woman was different.

In the short time he’d known her, he’d witnessed in her so many elements: the ability to be both strong and tender, wild and innocent. At least he had the feeling she’d started out somewhat innocent, even if that had changed over the past few days. She was everything he thought a woman
was supposed to be: gentle, provocative, kind, and…hot as hell. All that and they laughed together, too.

Would she control him in the way his father had warned against? Hell, maybe she already was. Didn’t she consume his thoughts, night and day? And if she left him now…well, he wouldn’t think about that.

“
Mais
, whatever you think is best,” he finally replied.

What he
would
think about, he decided, was Todd. He definitely didn’t trust the sleazy guy now, and if he found out the jerk so much as
looked
at Liz again, he’d have to take some kind of action.

“I gotta take off,” he continued, “but I’ll see you tonight. Despite all the fun I’ve been havin’ with you,
chere
, I still got a job to do.”

She tilted her head. “On Saturday?”

“My work isn’t exactly nine to five.”

“Ah, I forgot.” She grinned. “I hope I haven’t kept you from any late night stakeouts.”

“Darlin’,
you’re
the only thing I want to stake out lately.”

* * * * *

Early that evening, Liz stepped out of the shower at Lynda’s house, looking at herself in the mirror as she patted her skin dry with a towel. Her cheeks appeared slightly flushed, her lips perhaps more naturally colored than usual. Her breasts felt achy and her nipples stood erect, pink and swollen, above the concave of her waist. Backing up slightly, she studied her pussy, thinking of Felicia’s bare, smooth cunt hovering above her, then grinding into her, last night. How incredibly raw and real and sexual it had looked without any hair hiding it. How prettily on display.

Reaching for the bag of toiletries she’d carried into the bathroom, Liz found shaving cream and a pink disposable razor. A sense of arousal gripped her, her cunt almost quivering inside, anticipating what she was about to do.

Spraying a white ball of foam into one palm, she gently smoothed the cream over her pussy in a sort of U-shape, deciding that, like Felicia, she’d leave a thin strip of hair above her slit. The look of Felicia’s cunt had pleased and excited her so much that she wanted to do hers exactly the same way.

She’d never have dreamed shaving could be an erotic experience, but the knowledge that she was preparing herself for Jack, along with the sensations spiraling through her sensitive flesh, left her practically dripping by the time she’d carefully shaved herself bare but for a thin triangle of tawny pubic hair extending up from the very top of her cleft. After removing the excess bits of shaving foam, she reached down to let her fingertips glide over the outside of her pussy—she felt smooth, slick, and sexy for Jack. Then she looked at it in the mirror, letting the sight of her freshly-shaven mound send a thick bolt of excitement through her.

Returning to her room down the hall, Liz chose a filmy dress with a loose, flowing skirt and thin shoulder straps, the fabric variegated shades of blue. She left off a bra and panties, and as she drove toward Bourbon Street she felt sizzling and sinful thinking about the one other thing that was missing, too. When she shifted in her seat, she could feel the faint sensation of her smooth cunt rubbing against her dress and basked in the feeling of bareness beneath the thin sheath. She even found herself wishing the dress were shorter so she could touch herself as she drove—she’d loved the sensual feel of her nude pussy against her fingertips earlier.

Soon enough, she told herself as she waited at a light, her cunt pulsing madly, Jack would discover her little surprise and give her all the touching and kissing and fucking she could handle.

* * * * *

As promised, Jack had spent the day hard at work on a couple of cases that had recently landed on his desk. He’d gotten a few leads on some stolen jewelry that the police had been unable to recover, but on the other case, an embezzlement, he’d hit nothing but roadblocks. And each time he ran into one of those damn roadblocks, it was all too easy to let his mind drift…to sweet Liz.

It had been satisfying to get some work done, but the hours went too slow. He’d wanted to see her. He’d wanted to peel her clothes off and get more of her. He’d wanted to suck on those luscious nipples and lick that lovely little pussy, all while she moaned and sighed above him.

Yep, looked like he had it bad, all right. The more time that passed, the less he could deny it—she was consuming him. And maybe he was a fool, but he didn’t even think about trying to fight it. Even as he thought he’d be smart to slow things down with her, a much bigger part of him, including his cock, knew he couldn’t resist his urges where Liz was concerned.

Of course, it wasn’t just his dick talking here. It was his heart, too. Damn, his
heart
? The woman had him thinking like a lovesick teenager, but there it was—his heart nearly burst in his chest when she came to mind. When he put that reaction together with what stood so rigidly between his legs, he couldn’t do anything but ache to see her again tonight.

Soon she would be here, he thought as he placed two filet mignons in a heated skillet, adding black pepper and a pinch of rosemary. He grinned to himself, hoping they could manage to eat the steaks before they dove on each other.

When he heard her delicate knock a little while later, he opened the door to find her looking beyond lovely in a soft, flowy dress that hugged all her curves deliciously. He let his hungry eyes feast on her luscious cleavage for only a moment before saying, “I best keep my distance from you, darlin’, or we’ll forget to eat—and you’re gonna need a good meal in you to keep your strength up before the night’s through.”

They dined outside on the balcony, and throughout the meal Liz flashed playful smiles that drove him wild, even when they were talking about things that had nothing to do with sex.

“How did your parents take the news about Todd?” he asked.

“Not particularly well,” she said, glancing up from her plate. “I think they’re in denial—but I half-expected that, so it’s no big deal. As for me, I feel free as a bird for the first time in…forever, maybe.”

He couldn’t help grinning. “Hmm. If you’re tellin’ me you
haven’t
felt free these last few nights together, I can’t
wait
to see how fun you are tonight.”

“It so happens,” she said, casting another of those provocative little smiles, “I have a surprise for you.”

“What is it?”

She tilted her head. “Now, it wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, would it? But it’s something you’ll find before the night’s over.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Sendin’ me on a treasure hunt,
chere
?”

“You could put it that way.”

They shared a bottle of wine over dinner, and Jack opened a second when they were through eating and he’d cleared the plates. She looked positively sumptuous lounging on his balcony, a glass of Chablis in her dainty hand.

And not that he wanted to keep bringing up Todd, but… “So you’re tellin’ me you’re really over your fiancé that fast,” he said, snapping his fingers. He grinned lightly and leaned forward. “No lingerin’ feelings, no sense of loss, no wantin’ to get back at him by havin’ fun yourself.” When she hesitated slightly, he added, “You can tell
me
, darlin’. I don’t mind bein’ the way you take your revenge, if that’s what any of this is.”