Somebody's Lover (9 page)

He could hear the hitch in her
breath. She wanted it. He had to get her to do it for him. It was more
important even then making love to her last night. Last night, she’d wanted
finality. Tonight, he saw a chink in her armor.

“Think about how it felt to have me
inside you, on top of you. How hard you came. How good it was. So damn good.”

Taylor had lost her voice.

“I can still taste you. You were so
fucking sweet and hot.”

Jace was right. This was exactly
why she’d called. To hear his voice. To remember the way he’d made her feel.
She couldn’t give up those sensations now that she’d discovered them. And this
wouldn’t hurt anybody. It was the phone. Merely his voice, the memory of his
touch, and her own fingers caressing her nipple. No one ever had to know.

She pulled her shirt up, exposing
herself.

“More, Jace,” she whispered.

“Tell me what you’re doing.”

She closed her eyes and pinched
lightly. “I feel you take my nipple in your mouth. You suck and I feel it all
the way down between my legs.”

“I’m kissing my way down your
abdomen, licking your belly button.”

She dipped her finger into her
belly button, her hand following his voice.

“Spread your legs, baby. Let me
feel how wet you are.”

She felt his quickened breath in
her ear as if he were right there. Dipping her fingers, she found herself
dripping, ready.

“Oh God, Jace, it aches when you
touch me like that.” She moaned for him.

“I wanna use my tongue on you. I
wanna make you come.”

She caressed her clitoris, arching,
her fingers biting into the phone. “Please make me come.”

“Put your finger inside yourself.”

All the way in, then she slid
deliciously back out, with a soft murmur. “I’m so wet and slippery. Does it
turn you on when I touch myself, Jace? Does it make you want to take your cock
out?”

“It’s already out, baby. And I’m so
fucking hard listening to you. Have you ever come over the phone before?”

She twisted in the bed, spread
herself wider as if he were lying between her thighs. “No.”

“It’ll blow your mind,” he
whispered. “Keep playing. Rub all that sweet juice over your pussy.”

She didn’t think she’d ever been so
wet or so hot. Her hips moved, rising to meet the push of her fingers. She
couldn’t talk, couldn’t breathe, could only moan and writhe and never let go of
the phone, listening to his soft whispers, his hot words.

“Come on, baby, come for me. Come
now. Oh, Jesus. I can’t hold it. I need to fuck you. Aw, Christ. You don’t
know.”

She came as he did, in an explosion
of color and light behind her lids. Jace cried out, his voice wrapping around
her, part of her, inside her. She bit her lip to hold everything inside, a soft
moan sliding out anyway, even as she gathered in every sound he made, gathered
them all to her heart.

Then the phone went dead.

Her body quivered and quaked. Why
had he hung up without even saying good-bye? Taylor rolled over, pulled her
knees to her chest, and hugged the phone. She was still so wet and hot and
needy. Needing Jace.

What was happening to her? How
could she keep doing such crazy things? Maybe it was best that he’d cut off so
abruptly. Next thing, she might have been begging him to come over. Just
playing with him on the phone wasn’t enough.

She knew better than to promise
herself she’d stop. He’d proven to her that she couldn’t.

* * * * *

Jace lay there, filling his chest
with great gulps of air.

God, I love you, Taylor.

He was so fucking crazy in love
with her.

Crazy enough to shout it to the
world. And to her over a goddamn phone line. He could only thank God he’d
managed to disconnect before he’d completely let loose.

He’d been in love with her almost
half his life. He was more than used to the idea. But it was too soon for
Taylor. She needed more time to accept. He could wait. He would have to because
he’d just made a deal with the devil. His silence in return for her body, but
not her heart. At least he’d have time to work on her. Until he was as
important to her as her next breath. Until she couldn’t imagine life without
him. Until she was as addicted to him as he was to her.

Until he was sure she could forgive
him for having caused Lou’s death.

Jace touched Taylor every chance he
got. Her elbow as she stepped out of the house carrying the plate of
hamburgers. Her fingers as she passed the coleslaw. Her thigh with his as she
sat next to him at the picnic table, something he’d engineered.

Connie sniped at her kids, Mitch
seemed sullen and uncommunicative, Mom chattered at Taylor’s boys, and David
and Dad engaged in a heated discussion regarding the proposed bond measure for
sewers to replace septic systems in their water district.

No one noticed as he put his hand
on Taylor’s knee under the plastic tablecloth, then slid up to the edge of her
shorts. Dangerous, but sometimes women liked a little danger. He slipped down
to stroke her inner thigh.

For a moment, she squeezed her legs
together, then she stepped on his foot. Satisfied with her reaction, he let go
and bit into his burger. Even the simple act of eating made him think of her,
his mouth on her sweet pussy.

“Basketball anyone?” David climbed
off the bench. “Rina needs practice with dribbling.”

Rina, Mitch’s youngest, was doing
fine with dribbling, splashes of mustard down her white shirt and a glob of
coleslaw at the neckline. Connie scooped away the offending splotches, then
patted her daughter’s behind and sent her after her uncle and grandpa. Mitch
followed, as did Jamey and Brian.

“I’ll finish making the fruit salad
for dessert,” Taylor said as she lifted her legs over the bench seat and stood.

“I’ll help clean up before I go out
and play.” Jace wanted an excuse to trail Taylor into the kitchen.

He stacked plates, heaped
silverware, and shoved empty cups into each other. Damn, he felt good. It was
pathetic what a little hope could do. And last night on the phone had given him
hope. He wanted to hear Taylor moan again, drink in the sound of her pleasure,
her hitched breath as she came. He wanted to touch her all over.

Connie dragged two lawn chairs over
to the side of the backyard basketball court. “You want to watch, Mom?” she
called.

His mom looked at him, then the
leftover barbecue mess. “Go ahead,” he told her. “I’ll take care of it.”

She rose slowly, then rested both
palms on the table. “Tell Taylor to call us when the fruit salad’s ready.”

Yes. A few minutes alone in the
kitchen, a soft word, a touch. Taylor would be crazy, and the salad would be
late.

“Sure, Mom.”

Taylor stood at the counter slicing
bananas when he entered. “I thought only the grilling was man’s work,” she said
without looking at him.

He dumped the load of plates by the
sink. “Oh, I think a man’s work is far more than flipping burgers. Especially
if he wants to keep a woman happy.”

She gave him a sideways glance,
then pointed with the tip of her knife. “Put the cutlery in the dishwasher and
throw the plates in the garbage under the sink,” she said, then added,
“Please.”

He closed in on her. “I’ve got a
better idea. Why don’t I show you my boyhood room?”

“Not,” but she smiled as she said
it. “I’ve seen your boyhood room. Two twin beds, one for Brian and one for
Jamey when they sleep over.”

“Ah, but have you laid down on one
of them?”

“No, I have not. Now start loading
the dishwasher or I’ll call your mother and tell her you’re not pulling your
weight.”

She started peeling an orange, the
citrus scent wafting up from her fingers as he leaned in to blow lightly
against her hair.

“I’ll load after you lay down on
the bed with me. Five minutes, then I’ll let you up.” He dragged his thumb down
her bare arm, his finger brushing the side of her breast.

She drew in a breath and stopped
slicing oranges. “Five minutes? What can you do in five minutes?”

He circled her ear with his tongue,
then whispered. “I can make you come. Twice.”

She shivered and held onto the edge
of the counter. “Oh God, Jace, this is idiotic. We can’t go to your room.
Someone could walk in on us.”

Dammit, he didn’t care. He moved
behind her, rubbed his cock in the crease of her ass. “I’ll lock the door.”

“It doesn’t have a lock.” This
time, she held onto the counter with both hands.

“I’ll put a chair under the
doorknob.”

“No. It’s too risky.”

“Sometimes the risk can be worth
it.” When she didn’t respond to his underlying message, he cupped her breasts.
He worked her back and front, rubbing her nipples until they hardened against
his fingers, and pressing into her bottom, letting her feel how damn hard he
was. For her.

Outside on the basketball court,
there were shouts of triumph and squeals of laughter.

“Or,” he murmured, “I could put my
hand in your shorts and make you come right here.”

She elbowed him back, then rounded,
holding the knife in front of her. “Back off, bud. Or I’ll have to slice up
your little banana.”

“Little?” God, he wanted her, that
smile, her laughter against his lips, her body in his hands.

“Very little.”

He held up his hands. “I’m wounded
immensely.”

She jabbed with the knife. “Back
three more steps or you’re in big trouble, buster.”

He backed up until his butt hit the
kitchen table. “Playing with a knife is dangerous.”

“I’m not playing.” She feinted once
more, her eyes sparkling.

If he could get her to go back to
his room with him...

“What the hell?” David slammed the
kitchen screen door behind him.

“He refused to load the
dishwasher,” Taylor said, recovering quickly, but her eyes had gone wide, and
Jace read her thoughts. Almost busted.

Part of him wanted David to have
caught him fondling Taylor’s breasts and ass. At least they’d be out in the
open then, and Taylor would have to make a decision.

He might have gotten her to agree
that it wasn’t over between them, but acknowledge their relationship out loud?
It was too soon. At this point, he was sure she wouldn’t make the choice he
wanted.

“Loading the dishwasher is woman’s
work. I cooked the hamburgers. Tell her, David.”

A tick of silence. David had
forgotten how to tease. He’d forgotten how to smile. Then, surprisingly, he
said, “I cooked the burgers. You just watched. Better load the dishwasher,
buddy, or she might cut off the family jewels. Women can be sensitive about
things like that.”

Jace looked at him. Damn. His
brother had made a joke.

Taylor pointed the knife at David.
“Dad cooked the burgers. You have to load the dishwasher while Jace gets the
rest of the dirty dishes.”

The door opened again, this time it
was his mom.

“Mom,” David said plaintively.
“Taylor’s trying to make us do the dishes. Tell her we cooked. It’s a rule we
don’t have to clean up if we cook.”

Taylor’s lips twitched. Mom’s
didn’t. She was good at playing possum and hiding expressions when she wanted
to.

“Finish the salad, Taylor. Both of
you boys get the rest of the dishes, and I’ll load the dishwasher. Men suck at
loading.”

David laughed. Everyone looked at
him, but he didn’t seem to notice anything was different. “You can’t say
suck
,
Mom. That’s a bad word.”

“Suck. There, I said it again. I’m
the mom, and I can say anything I want.” Then she flapped her hands and moved
aside. “Now get on with you two.”

David pushed Jace out the door
ahead of him. “See what you got me into, asswipe.”

“
Asswipe’s
a bad word. I’m
telling Mom.”

“Not if I beat the crap out of you
first.”

Damn. They hadn’t had fun like this
in three fricking years. Taylor was good for him. She was good for all of them.

Everything was going to work out.

* * * * *

Merciful heavens, this was awful.

Should she talk to Jace, ask him
what was going on? Evelyn never interfered in her sons’ lives. If Connie came
running with some nitpick about Mitch, Evelyn remained neutral. She wouldn’t
choose her daughter-in-law’s side against her son, but she wasn’t about to do
it in reverse either.

What would she say to Jace anyway?
Are
you making a mistake? Is she going to hurt you? Are you going to hurt her? Are
you in love with her, or is this some meaningless fling?

Can you ever mean more to her
than Lou did?

No. She couldn’t ask any of her
questions. The answers terrified her. As did the thought of having to tell
Arthur what she’d found out. Goodness knows, she couldn’t do it. It was better
not to ask.

Evelyn had watched them all
afternoon. Jace couldn’t keep his hands off Taylor. He couldn’t take his eyes
off of her either. Then he followed like a hound dog when she went into the
kitchen.

No one else had seemed to notice,
except perhaps Connie. If Connie mentioned her suspicions to Mitch...well,
Evelyn didn’t know what he’d say or do.

And that scene in the kitchen, oh
my heavens. She’d wanted so badly to laugh with them. The family laughed and
played with the kids, they all enjoyed that, but between themselves, when the
children were off being children, all the gaiety seemed to have died when Lou
died.

But David had laughed. He’d
actually laughed. And joked. Like the old days. Before Lou died.

She should have been delirious. It
should have signified her family was on the mend.

Instead, she feared worse times
were coming.