Happy Hour: From the Black & White Collection (11 page)

She briefly toyed with the idea of packing a sexy nightie, but dismissed it, knowing full well Jamie

preferred her naked.

She was about to leave her bedroom when she caught sight of him lounging in the doorway. He

looked perfectly at home in her room and it struck her that no man had been in her bedroom in nearly six years.

“Let me see what’s in your bag.” His voice was laced with the commanding tone that had her instantly

going wet. Suddenly she was regretting she hadn’t thought to throw a few extra pairs of panties in.

“Why?”

He shrugged. “I have a feeling you might have missed some of the essentials.”

She looked at him, confused, and then opened her bag to double check. “Toothbrush, comb, some

makeup, extra clothes. It’s all here.”

Jamie shook his head and she thought for a moment he looked disappointed. “Where do you keep

your toys, Grace?”

Rather than waiting for an answer, he crossed the room to her nightstand.

“Toys?” she asked.

He turned to look at her. “You’re a grown woman with an amazing sex drive. There’s no way you’ve

spent the last six years without a man and not taken care of those needs by yourself.” He pointed to the drawer of the nightstand, but he didn’t open it and she was touched that he respected her privacy. “Are they in here?”

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Happy Hour

She shook her head. “Under the mattress,” she whispered, amazed she was revealing her secret hiding

spot. There was no way she would leave her toys anywhere Maddie could stumble upon them easily.

He grinned and lifted the mattress. She fought back her blush when his eyebrows rose slightly.

“Damn, Grace. You don’t mess around, do you?”

She rolled her eyes and tried to act nonchalant. “There’s nothing that shocking under there.”

He reached down and pulled out her favorite vibrator, as well as the large dildo she’d impulsively

treated herself to after Cheryl dragged her to a sex-toy party. Unfortunately, she’d never had the nerve or desire to use it. Sex alone wasn’t so satisfying that she attempted it often, plus she was always worried about Maddie hearing her.

Jamie also picked up the fur-lined handcuffs—still in their package—that she’d won as a door prize at

the same party. There were some scented massage oils that Cheryl had given her for Christmas a couple of years ago after nagging her about her lack of dating. Jamie threw all of it on top of the bed and it wasn’t until he lowered the mattress again that she realized his smile was gone, replaced by a frown.

“None of this has been used,” he said.

“That’s not true. The vibrator—”

“Dammit, Grace. You’re a grown woman with needs just like anyone else. Why would you deny

yourself even that little bit of happiness?”

She shrugged and chuckled. “I’m a forty-year-old woman, Jamie. Sure, I like sex, but—”

He quirked one eyebrow and she corrected herself.

“I
love
sex with you. By myself, not so much. I’m not a young, horny guy, driven by my hormones.

Most nights, I’m too damn tired to bother. And I know you won’t like this, but after a while, it is possible to not even miss it.”

He put his hand over his heart in a gesture that implied she’d stabbed him. “I would always miss sex,

Grace. I can see we have a lot of time to make up for.” He reached for her overnight bag, adding the toys in with her clothes.

Her anticipation regarding the coming night rose another level and she was surprised to realize she

was looking forward to being alone with Jamie in bed. While the threesome experience was wonderful,

mind-blowing, it had shown her she was, at heart, a one-man woman.

“Ready?” he asked. She nodded and they left her house together.

Jamie stretched and tried to remember when he’d had a nicer Saturday. After picking up some

clothing at Grace’s house, they’d hit the grocery store for salad fixin’s to go with the chicken he’d

barbequed and a couple of movies. Just before dinner, he’d pulled her pants down, bent her over his kitchen table, and teased her with her vibrator until she came. Throughout the entire meal, he’d been stiff as a pike

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remembering the sounds of her cries as she climaxed. She had a voracious sexual appetite and he loved

trying to sate her hunger.

After they’d cleaned up the dishes, she made him sit through
Bridget Jones’ Diary
, which wasn’t as bad as he’d thought it would be and he made fun of her obvious infatuation with Colin Firth. His movie

pick,
The Hangover
, had just ended and Grace, who was lounging against his chest on the couch, was still giggling.

“The sad part about that movie is I can see you, Trey and Lucas doing all of that.”

“Trey insists that the first guy to succumb to the death he refers to as marriage is getting a Vegas

bachelor party.”

Grace grinned. “The harder they fight, the harder they fall. I can’t wait to watch Trey get knocked on

his ass by the woman who claims his heart.”

She started to rise, but Jamie pulled her closer, not ready to give up the comfort and warmth of their

positions. They’d wasted the entire day in utter laziness, watching movies, having the private picnic in his back garden, and Jamie wished he could do the whole thing over again tomorrow and the day after and the day after that.

A quick glance at the clock proved it was only nine o’clock. Despite the early hour, all he could think about was getting her back into his bed. She was a comfortable companion and he couldn’t help but wonder why she’d never remarried.

Before he could think better of it, the question left his lips. “How come you never dated after Drew’s

death?”

Grace took his question in stride, shrugging lightly. “Actually, I did try dating once. About a year

after Drew’s accident. Don’t you remember? His name was Bill and he was a realtor. We went out a few

times.”

Jamie felt the niggling of a memory. “I sort of remember that, but it wasn’t anything serious and I

don’t remember it lasting very long.”

She nestled closer, taking one of his hands in hers, idly toying with his fingers. “Oh no, nothing

serious. Maddie was thirteen and at the beginning of her teen angst years. She strongly disliked Bill.”

“You stopped dating the guy because Maddie didn’t like him?”

Grace shook her head. “I don’t think it was Bill she disliked as much as the idea of me being

unfaithful to her father’s memory. Maddie adored Drew. She was the epitome of a daddy’s girl and she had Drew wrapped around her little finger. She was devastated by his death.”

Jamie frowned. “Maddie wasn’t the only one who’d lost someone, Grace. Don’t you think you

deserved the chance to try to find some happiness?”

“I think there’s a difference between an adult losing a spouse and a child losing a parent. Maddie

needed me. She needed me to be stable, strong, consistent and reliable. She’s my daughter and there’s

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Happy Hour

nothing I won’t give her if I’m able to. Bill came along too early in the grieving process for Maddie. I can see that now. My little girl was broken and I wasn’t about to do anything that might scatter the pieces she was struggling to glue back together.”

“That was years ago. Don’t you think it’s safe to say the hurt healed a while ago?”

Grace sat up and he didn’t stop her, knowing she wanted to have this conversation face-to-face. “Time

moves so quickly and it’s easy to fall into routines, patterns. By the time Maddie was old enough to accept the idea of a man in my life, I wasn’t in the mood to go look for one.”

Jamie laughed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I was old enough to know I didn’t want to prowl around the nightclubs searching for Mr.

Right, which limited my choices to colleagues and available fathers of my students. Neither of those

choices seemed right.” Her words pierced his heart a bit until she added, “I never, in my wildest dreams, imagined this weekend.”

“Didn’t Maddie try to fix you up with Rhonda’s father?” Jamie asked.

“Ugh. Have you met Mr. Scott? There’s a reason he’s been divorced three times. Infidelity seems to

rank at the top of that list.”

“Ah, I see.”

She leaned forward and kissed him gently, her tongue lightly running along his lower lip. “Twenty

questions over?”

He wasn’t finished talking about her feelings toward a relationship, but her kiss managed to scatter his wits and he decided they’d have plenty of time for talk later. The image of her pile of barely used sex toys floated through his mind and just like that, his cock stole all the blood supply from his brain.

“Let’s go upstairs. I want to tie you to my bed and do all sorts of naughty things to you.”

She licked her lips and he was struck again by the realization he wouldn’t have to hold back with her.

He watched Grace respond to his words with heated interest and he knew she was a kindred spirited—

adventurous and up for anything.

“Have you ever been restrained in bed?” he asked, pleased that he’d been able to introduce her to so

many new experiences already.

She shook her head.

“Good. I have a feeling you’re gonna like this.” They rose and Jamie took her hand, leading her

upstairs to his bedroom. She was quiet and he suspected she was worrying about the bondage. He didn’t

say anything more as they entered his room, giving her time to decide. If she was completely against the idea, he wouldn’t do it. He pulled off his T-shirt as he turned to look at her. She was standing at the foot of his bed, her hand loosely gripping the corner post of the footboard.

He fought to restrain a groan as she looked at him with heavy-lidded eyes that studied him from head

to toe. He decided to up the ante and the heat, so he pushed his jeans over his hips, kicking them off. He’d

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Mari Carr

gone commando all day, so with the removal of two pieces of clothing, he was completely naked, while she stood before him fully dressed. He placed his hands on his hips and let her look her fill.

Last night they’d spent the evening trying everything a threesome had to offer. Tonight, Jamie

intended to dedicate some time to the sexiness of just looking and touching.

“You’re really beautiful,” she said at last and he grinned, shaking his head.

“Grace,” he started, but her light laughter stopped him. She walked closer, until she was standing right in front of him.

She ran a single finger down the center of his chest. “I can’t help thinking it. Your body…” Soft

strokes accompanied her words as she explored his pecs, the brown disks of his nipples, his abs. She

stopped short when her fingers would have brushed his cock and her gaze rose to his face.

“I love your face. So kind and expressive.” Again, her fingertips followed her words, caressing his

cheek, his jaw, his brow. “Your eyes are so blue, so bright. I feel like I could get lost inside them and never want to be found again.” Her index finger trailed along his lower lip, and as he watched, she

subconsciously moistened her own lips.

“Kiss me,” he whispered. The softly spoken comment was a demand and a plea, wrapped into two

simple words.

She rose on her tiptoes and brushed her soft lips against his. Neither of them opened their mouths or

tried to deepen this kiss. For this moment, they were content with this simple, pure, almost chaste touch.

When she pulled back, he let her go, curious to see what she would do next. Her gaze dropped at the

same time her hand engulfed his erection. He sucked in a harsh breath, surprised by the firmness of her grip after her too-soft touches on the rest of his body. He wondered briefly why he was letting her do this, play with him. It wasn’t like him to simply wait and watch.

He suspected she was trying to find her way as well. She’d admitted last night she hadn’t had sex in

years, hadn’t seen a naked man. In some small way, he thought she was trying to reacquaint herself with all the particulars of the male figure. He grinned, aware he was an all-too-willing model.

Her hand stroked his flesh and he gritted his teeth in a fight to stave off the inevitable explosion. He’d been rock hard and hurting since fucking her with the vibrator before dinner. He hadn’t taken his own pleasure then, foolishly thinking it would be better to let the anticipation build. Now he was seriously struggling to keep from blowing over a simple hand job.

“Get undressed, Grace. I want to touch you. See you.”

She smiled and obeyed, removing each piece of clothing leisurely, seducing his senses until he felt the urge to growl like a wolf and claim her as his mate. Once she was naked, he decided it was time to take over. Expand on Grace’s limited experiences. Let her see what it would mean to be involved with him.

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Happy Hour

Gripping her hands, he pulled her until her back rested against the upright corner post of his

footboard. Leaning into her, he kissed her as he positioned her hands behind her back, around the post.

“Don’t move,” he murmured as he broke the kiss.

Her eyes, which had been closed, opened slowly and he could see she was lost in a haze of desire. He

retrieved the handcuffs and other toys he’d discovered under her mattress and her lips parted with a gasp.

Tossing the massage oils, dildo and his tube of lubrication on the bed, he opened the package containing the cuffs.

“You said you trusted me.” He’d cherished those words since she’d uttered them. She nodded,

reaffirming them and he grinned.