The Taming (The Black Thunder Series) (31 page)

“I got it,” said Kate as she wiped the fresh tears from her eyes.

“Good,” Jack nodded. “Now let’s go to the lake.
”

Twenty-One

Sun Worshipping and Drunken Fools

I
t was a beautiful day at the lake, and the sky was a cloudless perfect shade of blue. Jack laid the blanket under the E-Z Up, then set the chairs beneath it. He hauled over the ice chest like it was nothing, setting it on the blanket. As he bent over, Kate goosed him. It was unexpected and he jumped, dropping the cooler. Kate giggled then scurried off to the shoreline, dipping her feet into the lake.

She walked back planting her damp toes onto the blanket
then stripped off her shirt and shorts. Jack’s jaw dropped as he saw her curved figure in the tiny bikini. She looked smoking hot, and a proud smile gleamed across two cheeks, knowing she was all his. Just then, two young men walked by and looked at Kate. He could tell by their expression that they thought so, too. The smile fell from his face and was replaced with a frown.

“What are you looking at?” he growled at the two men as his eyes seethed an angry green
. The men took one look at Jack and hurried past their blanket. Jack released a short snort and nodded his approval seeing them high tail it down the beach.

Kate pulled her chair into the direct sun and flopped back into a reclining position
. She closed her eyes and basked in the hot blaze caressing her skin. A shadow cast over her face. She opened her eyes and saw Jack standing over her.

“Did you put any suntan lotion on, baby?” He asked with bottle in hand.

“I will after a bit,” she answered.

“No, you’ll put some on now,” he ordered
. She reached for the bottle, but he pulled it back. “I’ll do it.”

Jack knelt beside her and poured a thin line across her chest
. With slow deliberate movements he spread it around covering the top of her breasts and in between her cleavage. He moved to her shoulders and arms, slathering it over her skin. He rubbed some on her neck, face, then over her ears.

“You’re enjoying this way too much,” said Kate as he moved to her belly
. The thin stream of lotion was cooling to her heated skin and it tickled a little as he stroked it over her abdomen and sides. She giggled and grabbed his hands.

“See, I bet you didn’t know I could make you squirm in other ways,” he said with a hint of mischief.

“Are you done yet?” Kate wanted to lay back and enjoy her sun worshipping.

“I’m halfway there,” said Jack as he moved to her legs.

She lay back and closed her eyes. He started with her foot then ran his hands up her leg covering her in white cream. He reached her thighs and lingered by her bikini line. Jack was sly, slipping his finger under the clad material and touching her in the place he liked best.

“What are you doing?” Kate opened one eye and lifted her head
. “There are children on the beach, you know!”

“I couldn’t help myself,” he grinned a boyish smile
. “Besides, no one saw me.”

“Just finish putting the lotion on me,”
she said then lay back and closed her eyes.

Jack moved to her other leg and repeated the process massaging the lotion to her feet, her calf, and moving his way up her thigh
. A slow mischievous grin twisted his lips as he was about to repeat the same performance.

“Jack,” Kate bellowed her warning with eyes closed like she knew what he was going to do before he did it.

“All done,” said Jack as he patted her leg and stood. “I’ll be under the canopy if you need me.”

“Fine, now go,”
she ordered. “You’re blocking my light.”

Jack moved under the canopy and flopped in the chair
. He reached over to the cooler and grabbed a beer. He stared out at the lake and saw a speed boat race by. Several children stopped playing in the water and waved to the driver. He waved back then turned the boat making a U-turn, creating an accordion of waves as it glided toward the shore slapping a stream of water on the children from its wake.

“Kate, are you sleeping?” he called to her.

“No,” she sighed.

“We should have brought music so it would give me something
to do instead of twiddling my thumbs,” he hinted wanting her to get up.

“My cell phone along with my headset is in my bag,” she told him
. “Plug it in and listen to my music.”

Jack grabbed her bag and rummaged through it
. He found her phone and headsets then plugged it in, flipping her phone on.

“Which one plays music?” he asked glancing at the multitude of confusing apps on her phone.

Kate opened her eyes and raised her hand above her brow, shielding the glaring rays from the sun. “You’ve never used a cell phone before?” She gave him an odd expression.

“
Of course I have,” he stated. “But I don’t need all these new-fangled options. I have a plain cell phone, that’s it.”

“Hit the button on the bottom right that says
music
.”

Jack hit the button and an array of songs appeared
. “Got it,” he said and searched through her music library. Kate closed her eyes once more and relaxed. He went through the library of her tunes. Half the artists he never heard of and the other half were way too girly for his taste.

“Don’t you have any country music on this thing?”

“I’m not into country,” she said refusing to open her eyes.

“How can you not be into country when you live in Virginia City
?” He thought the idea was absurd.

“I may live in Virginia City, but I’
m a Californiacator at heart.”

“That’s true, you are,” he laughed
. Jack placed the plug in his ears and hit a random tune. Soft sounds filtered through his senses playing a melody that sounded more like nature calls than music.

  He chose another song and harp music began to play
. Jack scrolled through her tunes and settled on a pop song that was way too girly for his liking.

“Your taste in music sucks, baby,” he said aloud.

Kate opened her eyes and glared at him. “I heard that,” she frowned.

“Go back to sleep, I wasn’t talking to you
.” Kate shook her head then closed her eyes.

As Jack listened to some weird go-go bland playing in his head, he scrolled through her phone
. He found her pictures and with the touch of his finger flipped each picture across the screen.

There was an overabundance of pictures sporting grade school age children taken in a classroom along with several of Kate and her
students. There were beach pictures of Kate in her skimpy bikini with several of her girlfriends. He liked those pictures, but overall they were pretty boring.

Jack moved to her contacts and the phone numbers of her friends and perhaps family
. He was glad most of the names had pictures attached to them. He scanned through them until he came to a male name. Jack frowned and looked over at Kate.

“Who’s Charlie?”
He called to her again as he stared at the older gentlemen’s face.

Kate opened her eyes, looking rather annoyed
. “That’s my dad,” she said. “And why are you going through my phone?”

“Why do you call your dad Charlie?” he asked ignoring her question.

“I don’t know, we’re not that close,” she said. “I’m lucky if I hear from him once a year.”

“That’s too bad,”
he said. “What about your mom?”

“What about my mother
?” She frowned.

“Is she in here?” he asked.

“I think so.”

“You think so
?” He gave her an odd look.

“We’re not close either,”
her frown deepened. “I haven’t talked to her since-” Kate thought for a moment thinking back. “-Since my marriage ended.”

“Why not?”
He asked though he saw it was a subject she didn’t like to talk about.

“Let’s just say my mother is a very judgmental
person.”

“Well, that sucks,” he stated matter-of-factly
.

“Not really
.” She leaned back and closed her eyes. “It’s better that way.”

“I’d like to meet her sometime,” said Jack.

Kate laughed and rolled her eyes behind closed lids. “Trust me you don’t want to meet Marnie St. Clair. You think you’re a control freak? You’re an amateur compared to her.”

“I’m not a control freak!”
He protested.

Kate eyes opened into tiny narrow slits, “Really?” She glared at him.

He winked at her and she closed her eyes for the umpteenth time.

Jack continued to scroll through the names, swiping his finger along the phone’s screen
. He came to a face that looked familiar. His eyes narrowed as he enlarged the picture and looked at the professional man with dark hair and neatly trimmed beard. Jack frowned and looked at Kate. “Who’s this guy Paul?” he asked knowing full well who he was. Kate didn’t answer him right away. “Kate?” He asked again not letting it rest.

“He’s my ex,” she finally answered.

“He looks sneaky, I don’t like him.” Jack scowled.

“He is sneaky.” She conferred.

“Why do you still have his number in your phone?” He gave her a wary look.

“I don’t know,” she said
. “I forgot it was even in there.”

“You want me to delete him, or better yet I think I’ll call that jerk and tell him he didn’t know what he was throwing away
. Maybe I’ll rub his nose in the fact that I’m wetting your panties in ways he never could.”

“Don’t you dare call him, Jack,” Kate bolted upright in her chair
. She was so nervous he wouldn’t listen. When Jack got it into his head no one could talk him out of it.

“Relax, baby,” he laughed
. “I won’t call him but I am going to delete him from your phone.”

Kate breathed a sigh of relief and la
id back down. “Delete him,” she waved her hand in the air. “I don’t care.”

Jack may not have known how to work the phone, but he quickly learned how to delete that guy from her contact list
. He turned off her phone and placed it along with her headsets back in the beach bag.

“I’m bored,
Kate.” He stood from his chair. “Let’s go swimming.”

Kate resigned to the fact she was not about to enjoy a quiet moment soaking up the sun
. “All right, let’s go swimming,” she said rising from her lounge chair.

Jack took her by the hand and led her down to the lake
. They waded into the water until it crested above their waist.

“It’s warm,” said Kate a bit surprised.

“It always is this time of year,” said Jack as he sunk himself below the surface.

He popped up and shook his wet hair like a dog, splattering Kate
.

“Dive under, baby.”

“I will,” she said with some hesitation. She saw the gleam in his eyes as Jack stepped toward her. He lunged for her sailing above the water’s edge, grabbing her around the waist. He took her with him as he slapped against the water like a whale, dragging them both under. Kate released a squeal right before he submerged her. Jack freed her and she popped up out of the water, quickly returning her feet to the sandy bottom. She slicked back her hair just as Jack poked his head through the water.

“Let’s go deeper, baby,” he said taking her hand.

“Let’s not,” she resisted.

“Why not?” he pleaded, swinging his arm about her waist, and pulling her close
. “Come on, it will be fun.” He started moving her to the deeper end of the lake. Kate flung her arms around his neck and held on tight. “What’s the matter?” he said feeling the strangle hold she had on his neck.

“Jack, I
-,” she paused. “I can’t swim.”

He
stopped moving and looked at her. “How is that possible?” he asked staring into her crystal clear blues. “You’ve lived by the water all of your life.”

“I’m a sun-worshipper,” she stated
. “I never learned how to swim.”

“Well, I gotcha baby, and I promise I won’t let go,” said Jack as he moved deeper into the lake.

Kate wrapped her legs around his waist and held on tight. “Jack, don’t go out any further.” She was getting nervous seeing the shoreline grow further away. “What if it suddenly drops off? We’ll both drown.”

“It’s not going to drop o
ff. Shit-” Jack lifted his feet from the bottom, dipping them lower into the water. Kate gasped and held on for dear life. Once more his feet touched bottom. He stood and started to laugh at his little game.

“That’s not funny
.” She slapped him on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” he tried to contain his laughter
. “I couldn’t resist.”

“Take me back,” she demanded.