Sweet Salvation (16 page)

“That’s better,” Stacy said, somehow managing to keep a straight face, “because I’m through being the butt of your jokes.” She bent and quickly scooped up two snowballs and hurled them—splat—hitting Marc and Jessie dead on. Out of ammo, she whirled and climbed quickly up the hill. Jared laughed as he followed. He caught up midway, called her a ‘naughty little imp’ and, tucking her under his arm, carried her to the top like a sack of potatoes.

They waited, wrapped in each other’s arms, their silly grins telling the story of their happiness. Their friends slogged up behind them, dragging the much heavier, now snow-packed toboggan in their wake. When they crested the top, Jessie bent over, hands on her knees, sucking wind. Marc, not the least bit winded, patted her on the back.

“Phew,” she cried when she finally caught her breath and stood, hands on her hips as her breathing slowed.

“You gotta start hitting the track with me, girl,” Stacy said as she watched her friend slowly recover.

Jess shook her head. She put both hands on her chest; although her coat was thickly padded, it was impossible to hide the impressive chest beneath. “The girls and I don’t run. I’d herniate something.”

Stacy heard a snicker behind them, but she ignored it. Walking up to Jess, she offered her advice. “Just strap ‘em down like I do.”

Another snicker had them turning to look at their men. Jared smiled, shaking his head, his hands raised in defense of his innocence. “Not with a ten-foot pole, babe.”

“Smart man,” Stacy smiled as she blew him a kiss. She put her arm around Jessie’s waist and together they started toward the little shack near the parking lot that sold hot beverages and snacks. The guys followed, falling in behind them.

Jessie still shook her head. “I’ll go with you, but I’m walking.”

“I found a really good sports bra that helps.”

Jessie snorted, “Said Kim Kardashian to Dolly Parton.”

This time it was a snort from behind them, and much closer. They stopped and turned; although both guys walked behind them, only Marc was the recipient of two raised feminine brows. He tried to look innocent, but he failed miserably.

“Hey, I’m a breast man!” Marc looked at Jessie with a gleam in his eyes. “You know I take the girls seriously,
cara
. Your boobs are no laughing matter to me.” He said this straight-faced, not actually denying anything.

His protest had Jared turning his head and smothering a grin, letting his friend flap in the wind by himself.

“Hm…” She looked at Stacy pensively. “I hate exercise. We could swim. That’s aerobic and low impact.” Shifting her focus to Marc, she aimed a finger at his chest and warned, “No jokes about built-in flotation devices from you.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a wink, then looked at Jared and grinned. Dismissing the goofy men, the girls hugged, putting any hint of controversy or conflict behind them, while the men looked on indulgently, Marc a little mischievously. At last, they made it to the door of the Snack Shack where they piled in, seeking warmth and a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

Despite the cold and the near-death experience, they’d all enjoyed the clear, bright winter’s day, but the activity and fresh air had worn them out. Figuring to take their hot drinks to go, luck was on their side. Just as they walked in, a table opened up and they grabbed it. While the girls thawed in front of the rustic hearth with its roaring crackling fire, the guys waited in line.

The couples cuddled on the picnic-style benches sipping their hot chocolate, the whipped cream mustache-ing their upper lips.

Jared, whose arm wrapped around Stacy, pulled her back, plastering her against his chest. He hugged her tightly and whispered in her ear, “I love you, baby.”

Angling her head, she smiled up into his handsome face. “I love you too, Jared. What’s the big grin about?”

“I’m happy and I was thinking about coming here one day with our kids.”

“That will be so much fun. Except…”

“Except?”

“I thought maybe we could leave off the spanking.”

“Hmm…” Jared demurred, contemplatively. “I don’t know if that’s wise. You might take out some innocent tubers or something. Maybe I’ll just give you a pre-emptive one before leaving the house, to keep you on the straight and narrow.” Stacy groaned at his pun, hearing Jess snickering at the last bit.

“Don’t encourage him, Jessie; besides, that was the problem today. That evil saucer only knew two directions—straight and narrow.”

“That’s because you don’t know your left from right. If you hadn’t zigged when I said zag, we’d have gone off to the side and we’d have been none the worse for wear.”

“Yeah, and I wouldn’t be sitting here with sore buns.”

“That’s on you, sweetheart,” Jared murmured. “Not the saucer.”

Marc chuckled and three inquiring heads turned his way. “Sorry, I was just pondering a pre-emptive strike. The visual of the future Mrs. Dr. Jared Baker with two hot buns on a saucer and two kids in tow, is too funny.”

“Don’t picture my wife’s buns, bud, hot or otherwise,” Jared stated politely.

Smacking Marc’s arm again, Jessie wasn’t as cordial as she shushed him. “I second that. Imagine two kids on a saucer, instead. I think that’s sweet.”

A warm feeling washed over Stacy as she pictured two dark-haired, green-eyed little boys. Looking up into the gleaming green eyes of their daddy, she whispered, “I think it sounds like heaven.”

The harsh blare of the alarm clock roused her from a deep sleep. It was early on Sunday morning and she tried not to disturb Marc, who was still sleeping behind her. Reminiscent of a 70-year-old woman, she couldn’t suppress the groan that stole past her lips as she rolled out of bed. Her hamstrings and glutes screamed in agony. The afternoon of sledding had done a number on her legs and her butt was tight and achy too. She bent forward, attempting a few toe-touches in hopes of stretching out the tightness. Unfortunately, the pain continued to radiate from her sore posterior to her stiff Achilles tendons. She couldn’t help the moan that accompanied her decrepit calisthenics and she inadvertently awakened Marc from his peaceful doze.

“Jess? It’s still early.” Rustling noises behind her were followed by warm hands cupping her abused butt. Sounds of satisfaction told her he was getting an eyeful as her short nightie rose up to play peek-a-boo with the skimpy pair of panties she wore beneath it. “Mm, baby, hold that pose.”

“You’d think by the way my rear end hurts that I was the one who got spanked yesterday.” Jessie looked back at her fiancé, who was now caressing and kneading her full globes. “Ung…” she groaned; the massage felt good, in more ways than one.

“Come back to bed and I’ll massage all your aches and pains away, sweet thing.”

“I can’t. I’m working today, remember?”

Marc growled in frustration and flopped back on the bed, an arm covering his eyes. “These weekend shifts are getting more and more frequent, Jess. What happened to your Monday through Friday schedule? You were only supposed to work once every fourth weekend.”

“The hospital is short staffed. You know how it is. As the nurse manager, I have to make sure my floor is covered.” Walking to the closet, she grabbed a set of scrubs and then headed to her chest for underwear. “You wouldn’t like it if your surgical patients went without proper post-op care, would you?”

“No, but I also don’t like it when you work three weekends in a row and I barely ever see you.”

“Uh—it’s four. I’m on the schedule next weekend too.”

“Dammit, Jess. I’ll be on call the following weekend, which will make it five. I don’t get it. You don’t even have to work. Why don’t you stay home and take care of me?” A long arm snaked out and grabbed her hand as she passed, pulling her down onto his chest. His hands went to her bottom and pulled her in close, aligning their hips as Marc ground his heavy erection into her soft lower belly. “We could start on those babies we talked about,
bella mia
.”

“Marc.” His name, breathed in complaint with very little heat, didn’t deter the passionate embrace. His lips grazed her throat, nibbling and licking as they moved along her sensitive skin—distracting to say the least, but when his fingers found the elastic of her panties and dove inside, her mind was delightfully diverted. As he palmed a warm cheek fully in each big hand, squeezing and massaging slowly, she wanted nothing more than to stay in bed with him all day. The long rigid proof of his arousal was pressing firmly into her. It felt freakin’ fantastic. How could she possibly leave him? Was she nuts? Still, she’d committed to working this shift—maybe she needed to be committed, instead.

“Marc,” she sighed, breathless with desire. “I can’t think when you do that. I promised Elaine I’d be there by nine o’clock to relieve her.”

“What about my relief?” For emphasis, he rocked against her in a rhythmic imitation of exactly what kind of relief he had in mind.

“You haven’t been on shift for sixteen hours. Marc, please.” Jess pushed against his chest and finally, grudgingly, he released her. Her hands trailed across his chest as she sat back on her heels, reluctant to break contact and go.

“Don’t think this is the end of this discussion. We talked about this before you took that promotion, Jessica. Both of us agreed we would put us first, careers second. Jared and I took on Ben as a third partner in our practice specifically to have more free time to spend with you girls. We’ve scaled back. Stacy has cut back too. You are the only one who hasn’t followed through on the deal.”

“That’s not fair. She’s a business major, Marc. I’m a nurse. I don’t have the luxury of going home at five o’clock every day. My patients need care 24/7, you know that.”

“Why won’t you come to work in our outpatient clinic? You’d have no weekends or holidays. We could have the same schedule.”

“But I like my job.”

“Bullshit! You complain about it all the time. What’s really going on here, Jessie?”

His eyes followed her as she stood. She looked down at his irritated face; damn, he was handsome, even when ticked. Sleep-tousled raven locks fell softly across his furrowed brow and he had a sexy scruff of black beard that darkened his features; his brown eyes, flecked with gold, appeared to glow in the early morning light. She followed his gaze, which was affixed to her chest, searing into her skin. Jessie glanced down and found what had caught his attention. During their embrace, one of her breasts had escaped the confines of her gown, the nipple tight, almost painfully erect. She quickly adjusted herself and once covered, she saw his eyes rise to meet hers. She couldn’t help watching as his hand slid down beneath the sheet. He gripped himself, fisting his full hard-on. She knew he was aching as painfully as she was. That she was leaving him needy made her feel guilty, but she couldn’t let Elaine down. As she watched the slow movement of his hand under the covers as he stroked himself, she wondered why it was okay to let Marc down, instead.

“I’m sorry, handsome, but I promised. It’s too late to get someone else.”

“Something’s got to give, Jessica, and damned soon.”

The threat behind those words had Jessie’s heart lurching. The use of her full name and his implacable tone warned her that his patience was near its end. She knew that the something that would have to give—more like, give in—would be her, but she simply couldn’t give in when it came to her job. It was her safety net. He didn’t know about that though, because she hadn’t explained. She was afraid he wouldn’t understand. It was on the tip of her tongue and she was about to spill, when her phone alarm went off. The words froze on her lips. Maybe it was good timing. There wasn’t time to get into this with him.

Glancing at the bedside clock, she grimaced. She was going to be late. “I’ve really got to go. Can we talk about this tonight?”

“You better believe we’ll be talking and then some, little girl.”

Uh-oh! He only called her ‘little girl’ when he was in his ‘I’m older and wiser so I know best’ kind of mood. It didn’t bode well for her backside at all. While she showered and dressed, she racked her brain for some kind of diversion or delay tactic for tonight. Maybe a minor emergency—oh, nothing life-threatening or painful—just something bad enough that Marc would be forced to put off their little chat and buy her some time to come up with some kind of reasonable explanation for her reluctance to quit a crappy job. Maybe she should just tell him the truth.
The truth will set you free, Jessica Lynn
. The voice of her conscience, sounding remarkably like her grandmother, practically echoed through the bathroom. Jessie rolled her eyes at her image in the mirror. Hallucinations, Jess, really? Commitment was beginning to look more likely by the minute.

When she exited the bathroom fifteen minutes later, she found Marc sitting on the side of their bed, waiting. At least he’d put on a pair of lounge pants. He was still bare-chested, but she didn’t have his blatant erection to contend with anymore. The man was hot; there was no question about that. Just last night, the mere sight of his body made her heart do flip-flops when he walked through the house stark naked.

“Come here, Jess. I want to talk to you before you go.”

Approaching cautiously, she noticed a muscle tic in his tense jaw, not a good sign. “Handsome, I’m going to be late. I only have to work until five o’clock. I’ll come home and make us dinner and we can talk more. I promise.”

“No, we have dinner with my folks tonight.”

Jess grimaced—she’d forgotten. “Damn!” she muttered under her breath. Wasn’t that just the icing on the cake?

“I heard that. You aren’t going to wiggle your way out of another family dinner. You missed the last one. Mom invited us weeks ago, so don’t start griping about it now.” He held his hand out to her, and although he didn’t repeat himself, silently, with that simple gesture, he demanded her presence once again.

Torn, she vacillated between obedience and duty. If she went to him, she wouldn’t be able to think straight. That’s the way it was with him. A subtle touch or brush of those hands was enough to spark her arousal. With close proximity, his delicious scent, the heat of his body, and his dominant masculine presence would swamp her senses and play havoc with necessary brain function.
Keep your distance, Jess, or you’re toast
.