“The bedroom,” he implored, pulling her by the hand. He opened the door to the laundry room and peeked out before turning toward her with his index finger over his lips, making her chuckle.
The two naked adults tip-toed quietly across the great room to the master suite, the high probability of getting caught by one of her daughters a disturbing thought. When they were behind closed doors, Jessica was relieved and watched as Tim rummaged in the bedside table and clumsily ripped open a foil pack. Swiftly, he sat on the bed and rolled a condom on before looking up at her with animal magnetism.
“Where were we?” he growled, lying across the bed and motioning her to come forward.
Jessica licked her lips and strode forward with confidence, eager to resume where they had left off. Straddling his immense frame, she allowed him to impale her sweetness, the fire reigniting and threatening to consume them both.
Chapter Fourteen
Jessica squinted in the bright sunlight, shading her eyes with her hand as she watched the swim instructor work with baby Jo-Jo in the shallow end of their pool. It was remarkable to see her eleven-month-old flip onto her back without any help and calmly lay still on top of the water. She seemed to enjoy her lessons, never causing a fit. Jessica stayed out of her line of sight but offered quiet encouragement from the sidelines.
“That’s my girl,” she whispered proudly, stepping back under the shade of the porch with her arms crossed. It was hard to fathom little Jo-Jo was on the cusp of her first birthday. They would have to start planning a special party soon—a celebration for her tiniest child. Sweat began to trickle down her neck. It was way too hot to be outside unless you were in the pool, but that wasn’t an option right now. Jessica headed back inside the air-conditioned house.
Her friend, Elizabeth, sat at the kitchen table and contentedly filled in a flower in a girlie coloring book with a pink crayon. Jennifer, Julia, and Jill were preoccupied, seated on the overstuffed couch, going through a pile of picture books they had picked up from the local library earlier. The quiet, cool house was a nice change.
“Tell me more, Jessica,” Elizabeth beckoned. “I can’t believe your mother saw him in your house holding your baby. Did she come undone and embarrass you in front of him?”
Jessica couldn’t help but notice her friend’s recent manicure matched the shade of pink in the crayon. Glancing at her own pitiful nails, she sat down at the table and took a sip of water, keeping her voice low so her daughters wouldn’t hear. “Mama wasn’t nice. She called him a Neanderthal.”
Elizabeth stopped coloring and looked up, her flawless makeup face plastered with a humorous grin. “A what?”
“A Neanderthal. That was the first thing that came out of her mouth. I think the entire situation shocked the heck out of her.”
“Obviously. Did Tim stay or did she force him to leave?”
Jessica leaned back in her chair and ran her finger around the edge of her glass. “He pretended to leave, and then he came back. It was pouring down rain, and we were both soaked.”
“Wait, how did you get wet if you were inside with your mother?”
Jessica sighed, aware of a slight burgeoning of heat in her belly. “He left his keys and shoes in the bedroom. I had to take them out to his truck after Mama left…”
“Whoa, Whoa, Whoa! Wait a minute!” Elizabeth interrupted, holding up her hand. “Why were his keys and shoes in yourbedroom?”
A giggle escaped Jessica’s mouth as her eyes darted to the couch where her three daughters sat quietly with large books in their laps. Leaning forward, she motioned for Elizabeth to do the same. “We kind of got together that afternoon before my parents brought the girls home…”
“I knew it!” Elizabeth erupted loudly, causing the girls to look their way.
“Shhh, keep your voice down!” Jessica hushed.
With pursed lips and one strong eyebrow raised, Elizabeth shook her head. “It’s about time you got together with a real man. How was it?” Her eagerness for details was unrelenting.
“Mmmm. It was … incredible.” Her eyes closed and the memory of skin on skin caused her breath to hitch.
“I’m so happy for you! Does this mean you’re going to make things official and tell me who he is?”
Jessica opened her eyes in a panic. “No! I mean, not yet. He’s not ready for that. We’re still getting to know each other, and we’re taking things slow. Believe me, when I can, you’ll be the first to know.”
Elizabeth puckered her lips and nodded. She picked up the crayon and started to color again before interrupting their quiet pause a few seconds later. “I have a brilliant idea.”
“Oh, god…”
“You need to ask him to the Gala—as yourdate!”
“What? No, I couldn’t… the neighbors know him as a worker in the area, and my parents and Stephen will be there. Remember? Stephen is still on the board. I don’t want Tim to feel uncomfortable.”
“Oh, come on, Jessica. You’d be taking a stand against your parents and Stephen once and for all, letting them know you are in control! You decide who you’re gonna date, not them. Wouldn’t it be a delicious moment to see the looks on their faces when you walked in with a guy like Tim on your arm? He’s so big and commanding.” Her friend’s eyes were about to bulge with excitement. “And screw the neighbors! Everyone is so uptight and cliquey—you could show them outright how to be decent and kind. And how to have a good time with an over-the-top scrumptious specimen of a real man!”
Jessica was sure Elizabeth was having flashbacks from reading one of her infamous romance novels, obviously imagining Tim as her leading man. She chewed on her bottom lip, mulling over the idea. “I don’t know…”
