Rock Me Gently (10 page)

“You are a man of many talents,
Jase
.”

He inhaled sharply thinking she’d put two and two together and guessed who he was.

“I think you should give up your day job and take up singing. You have an incredible voice.”

He relaxed, realizing he’d introduced himself to the minister as Jase.

“That’s what I gave up to be a teacher.”

“What?”

“I told you, I moved around a lot. I sang. In a band.”

“No way, you did not.”

He grinned slightly. She really had no idea. “Yeah.”

“When? For how long? What made you quit? Would I have heard of you? Is that who people keep mistaking you for? It’s not a mistake, they know you?”

“Whoa, wait. That’s a lot to answer. I don’t know if you’d have heard of us. We went by a lot of different names in the beginning.” That was the truth. But as they got to be more well known, and because he was the front man and did most of the lead vocals and yeah because of his looks, people just associated the rest as his band and it just became The Jase West Band. Like when you hear Bon Jovi you automatically think Jon. Van Halen you think Eddie, not even David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar. “And you know what made me quit. I had a, what is it women say? An ‘a-ha’ moment? I didn’t want to do it anymore. I looked in the mirror one morning and I didn’t even recognize myself. I needed a change. I needed to clean up and grow up.”

“Okay, so what kind of music?”

“Rock.”

“So you went from rock band to school of rock?”

“Yeah, I guess I did.”

“Must have been some epiphany,” she commented as they pulled up in front of her house.

He jumped out and ran around to get her door. Again, he stood in front of her, not allowing her room to think.

He pushed his glasses up onto his head. Placing his hands on either side of the car’s roof, he trapped her. “So, I’m gonna run home, change, put the Bugatti to bed and I’ll be back to pick you up. Put on your hikin’ boots, baby.” He kissed her cheek. Once. Twice, moving closer to the corner of her mouth. When his lips finally touched her there she turned her face into his and allowed herself to kiss the roughness of his cheek. Then she ducked under his arms and took off up the driveway. She didn’t turn back but he made sure that she heard the screeching tires and the roar of the powerful engine speed down her street. Yeah, he wanted to go fast today.

Chapter Six

Lainey changed, putting on a loose-fitting, but frilly white peasant blouse and a pair of beige short shorts. Undoing the loose braid she fluffed her hair with her fingers, scrunching it then finally letting it fall loose around her shoulders in kinky waves. She reapplied some blue eyeliner and mascara, then pinched her cheeks going for the
au naturel
look instead of applying blush. She knew that her face would flush when Jason came back around anyway. 

Taking the cooler from the basement she then rushed back into the kitchen and began to throw together sandwiches. When she acknowledged the fact that she was excited to be spending the day with Jason, the horny little butterflies were back with a vengeance. It had been a long time since she’d felt this way. 

After rinsing some grapes she tossed them into a plastic container. Unsure if he liked mayo or mustard, she threw those both up onto the counter to take along. She made a large pitcher of lemonade and was stirring it with a long wooden spoon when she heard the knock on the door.

“Come in,” she yelled pulling her blouse off each shoulder.

“Are you always so trustworthy? Any sexual deviant could walk in and take advantage of you.”

“Well, I was expecting a certain pervert so I wasn’t worried,” she teased, admiring the tight white T-shirt hugging his chest and muscular biceps along with the snug-fitting dark shorts.

Pushing his dark glasses up onto his head, he raised his eyebrows at her. “Are you referring to me?” he asked in all innocence. He followed her to the counter. 

“Oh, look at you,” he breathed. She looked over her shoulder at him, as his gaze started at her ankles moving slowly up over her. He wrapped his large hands around her hips. “Sexual deviant, right here. I knew you’d have fantastic legs. And the shorts… Geez woman, how am I supposed to walk around with you all day with that amazing ass in those tiny shorts?” Removing his hands from her hips, he then started at her wrists, skimming his palms over her arms all the way to her shoulders. She inhaled sharply when she felt his lips skim her shoulder. Moving her hair, he continued over the back of her neck and onto the other shoulder. “Mmm, creamy sweet shoulders. Yeah, I’m just gonna be indecent all freakin’ day.” He flattened his body against her back, pushing her slightly forward so that her butt stuck out and he rubbed his erection over it, leaving her in no doubt as to what he meant. “As if I haven’t been since the day I met you.” Goose bumps rose all over her body and her heart pounded.

“Oh you have not,” she said, straightening her back out along his chest. Awkwardly, she raised her arms reaching behind them to clasp her hands behind his neck. He wound his arms around her waist and held her to him. 

“You feel good,” he mumbled against her neck, then trailed his palms over her ribs. Lainey arched her back in anticipation, then thrust her chest out as he wrapped his hands around her breasts. She sighed, loving the feel of his hands on her.

“Mmm,” he hummed. “Nice.” He kneaded her breasts. Her nipples hardened against his palms. He plucked them with his fingers, making them even stiffer, sending delicious little waves of sensation lower. His hips took on a rhythmic thrust, grinding hard against her ass. “Do you have any idea what I want to do to you?” he breathed.

“Ohh, I
think
I do.” Surprisingly, she wanted him to do them—and even more shocking—she wanted to do things to him. Sensuously, she wiggled her bum against him. He shoved her so that her chest flattened out against the counter. He grabbed her by the hips, lifting her backside level with his hard straining cock and he ground against her enthusiastically.

As he reached around and fumbled with the button of her shorts, the phone started to ring.

“Ahh, fuck me!” he cursed, pinning her.

“Church did nothing for you, did it? Let me go, I have to get that, Jason, it might be Jilly.”

Reluctantly, he released her. Lainey answered breathlessly, “Hello?”

“Hey, Mama.”

“Hey, baby, what’s up?”

“You sound out of breath, you okay?”

“I’m fine, I was just down in the laundry room and had to run up the stairs to get the phone.”

“Liar,” Jason accused softly. “
Church did nothing for you
,” he mimicked.

She stuck her tongue out at him. Then pointed to the sandwiches and at the cooler, indicating that he should put them inside.

“I was hoping I’d catch you. I figured you’d be back from church by now. Did you go this morning?”

“Yes, I did go to church this morning and you’ll never guess who I saw there.”

Jason hesitated before placing the grapes into the cooler and looked over, surprised, she guessed, that she would tell Jill about him, possibly smoothing the way to make it easier for her to accept him being around.

“Who?”

“Mr Westlake.”

“What? Really? He doesn’t seem like the church-going kind.”

“What does that mean? The church-going kind? He seems nice to me.”

“He’s nice and all, I just…I don’t know.” She paused. “You’ve been running into him a lot lately, huh? You had coffee with him and now he shows up at church?”

“I ran into him at the coffee shop, Jilly. It wasn’t a planned meeting. How’d you know about that?”

“Everyone at school saw you with him and couldn’t wait to tell me all about it.”

“Why didn’t you mention it then, if it was bothering you?”

“It wasn’t, until now that he keeps popping up wherever you are.”

“Would that be so bad? You suggested it yourself.”

Jason’s eyes widened slightly at that little statement.

“Yeah, I know. It’s just weird. I’ve never seen you with anyone else. And he’s my teacher.”

“You see your dad with other people all the time. And Mr Westlake won’t be your teacher forever. We talked about this.”

“Yeah, I know, but it’ll just be different to see you with someone else. I just never pictured you with anyone but Dad.”

“I never pictured it either, Jilly.” Until now.

“And who knows, he might not be around forever either.”

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing. I just mean Dad changes girlfriends so often that I can’t keep track.”

“But I won’t be like that, Jilly. You know that.”

“I didn’t mean you. Westlake might be just like Dad, you don’t know. The way he looks, you know he’s gotta be a player.”

“No. You’re right. I don’t know.”

“Everything okay there, Jilly?” Lainey asked. She didn’t want to hear that right now. She had enough of her own doubts hounding her.

“Yeah, things are good, I just wanted to let you know that my flight has been delayed so Dad’s ‘flava du jour’ is going to drive me back this afternoon.”

Having Jason around was doing wonders for her, Lainey thought. It didn’t even hurt for a change that Thad was with yet another woman. She didn’t care. This was a good day.

“Okay. Why isn’t Dad bringing you back?”

“He has a game today, Mom.”

“Oh, right, duh, it’s Sunday.”

“Well, one good thing while you’re crushing on Jay-son…” She said his name as if she were teasing one of her girlfriends. “You’re forgetting all about old what’s-his-name.”

“What
was
his name?” Lainey laughed. Forgetting felt good.

Jill giggled too. “I better go. We’ll talk when I get back. I’ll see you later, Mama. Love you.”

“See you later, baby, I love you too. Bye.”

Jason sealed the lid on the cooler. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, Jill’s flight was delayed so she’s getting a ride back.”

“Oh, does that mean you need to stay close to home?”

“No, we can go.” Lainey saw the disappointment register on his face that they were not going to finish what he’d started. But she was going to try to get to know him before she jumped right in with both feet. “She won’t be home until later. Unless you don’t want to be seen riding around in my car after ‘
going fast
’ in your Veyron.”

“Who said we were taking your car?”

“Oh? What’d you bring this time? An RV?”

“Not quite,” he said, picking up the cooler.

Lainey slipped on a pair of canvas shoes, then followed him out. Soon after she locked the door behind them, as he placed the cooler in the back of a black Hummer H3.

“What, gold-plated too flashy for you?” she asked.

“I will have you know just as I am easy without being cheap. I am flashy without being ostentatious.”

“Or gaudy,” she added, as he helped her up into the H3.

After hopping into the driver’s seat, he started the engine. Lainey looked around. She’d never been in a Hummer. She noted a beat-up old guitar case in the back. “I’m beginning to think that this ‘little’ band you were in was a little more prolific than you are leading me to believe.”

“We did all right,” he answered. “So, where are we headed? You have a spot that you like to hike?”

“I like Marsh Stone Park.”

“I know where that is. ‘Bout, what, twenty minutes’ drive?”

She nodded and sat back to watch the scenery go by.

“I was surprised that you told Jill about me.”

“I just kinda wanted to feel her out, I guess.”

“Does that mean you might keep me around for a while?”

“I might. She seemed to think it was kinda strange that you keep showing up where I am.”

He reached over and flipped on the radio.

“The coffee shop wasn’t just a coincidence,” he confessed.

“It wasn’t? You said Mr Valentine suggested it.”

“He didn’t. I overhead Jill tell her friends that you stop there every morning before you go to work. So I thought maybe I’d accidentally bump into you.”

“Why?”

“I told you, because I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Didn’t you think about me too? Maybe just a little?”

“I thought you were very handsome,” she allowed.

“That’s not what I asked. I know what I look like and I know what other people think of me…”

“Humility, again,” she quipped.

“So you thought I was good-looking, so what? So does seventy-five percent of the population, but is that all you thought?” She didn’t think he was trying to sound conceited. He knew he was gorgeous. It was just a fact. “You didn’t think anything else? Like I was a jerk? You hated my suit? You thought I was too young to be a teacher? Too old?”

“Well, that first night, after the interview, I did ask Jill why she didn’t warn me that you were tall, dark and smoldering hotness. I was a little thrown. You were not what I expected. But I told you that. I tried not to think of you that night.”