Lucky Break (10 page)

But now she knew there was no such thing as distance.

And if she didn't feel his hot touch on her body, she was going to explode. “Jason…”

Without warning, a loud, disgruntled
meow
reminded them of their priorities.

With a regretful glance at Jason, she started to head for the kitchen but he held on to her hand.

“What were you going to say?” he asked, his voice rough. “I need you to tell me.”

She licked her lips. “No more games. I know I said all work, no play, but I can't do this anymore.” Her voice cracked at the confession, but she'd finally admitted her feelings out loud.

“Thank God.” His relief was clear.

But once again, she had to make sure he understood her intentions. “As long as you know I'm leaving in a few weeks, we can pick up where we left off in the barn.”

Unable to stop herself, she ran her thumb over his stubble-roughened cheek, inhaling his scent, waiting for his reply.

He kissed her hard and fast, sealing the deal.

B
EFORE
L
AUREN HAD
a chance to think about what she'd just agreed to, Jason sent her to the kitchen, and by the time she returned, he'd enlarged the hole. With the treat, they finally rescued the troublesome feline.

Jason had scratches and claw marks on his hands, but the smile on Lauren's face made up for them.

“I'll get the holes patched first thing in the morning,” he promised. There were too damn many to fix them all tonight. “I'll seal this big one shut now, though. I wouldn't want Trouble here to climb back in.”

The cat, grateful to have been rescued, curled up in Lauren's lap on the couch in the family room and refused to budge. “Do you hear that? Jason's worried about you,” Lauren said as she stroked the cat's head in a calming, rhythmic motion. “His little heart is still beating so fast,” she murmured.

So was Jason's.

He settled into the seat beside her, his eyes never leaving hers. Now that they'd agreed on what was to come, the energy around them kicked up a notch and anticipation filled the air.

“Don't you think it's time to name him?”

She grinned. “I think you just did, right, Trouble?” Lauren laughed.

Trouble suddenly sprang off her lap, apparently deciding he'd had enough affection for the night.

Jason was just beginning. He slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

“What are you doing?” she asked, a husky murmur in her voice.

“Picking up where we left off in the barn,” he said, sealing his lips hard on hers.

With a groan, she gave in to their mutual desire, threading her hands through his hair and kissing him back just as greedily. But kissing wasn't enough and didn't last long. She reached for the bottom of his shirt and pulled it off, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

She inhaled deeply and let out a low moan. “You smell good.”

Everything inside him reacted to her words, including the part of him that needed to join with Lauren now. He wasn't surprised at the urgency between them. They'd been pushing this aside for
too long. So although he'd like to take her into the bedroom and make love to her slowly on a comfortable mattress, he knew this wouldn't be the time. At least the couch was better than a scratchy blanket on a hard barn floor.

She shed her shirt next, then removed her bra, baring her breasts for his hungry view. He dipped his head and covered one breast with his lips, pulling the rosy nipple into his mouth. She tasted so hot and sweet, he wanted more. He grazed the tight bud with his teeth, then soothed the gentle bite with long laps of his tongue.

She arched her back in response, thrusting her chest forward and her breast deeper into his mouth. Her wanton, eager response excited him, making him want her pleasure far more than his own.

With his free hand, he covered her other breast, treating her to a thorough massage before focusing his attention on the waiting nipple. Too soon, she was writhing beside him, squirming in need, her soft sighs causing his groin to tighten with building pressure he didn't know how long he could control.

He didn't need to worry.

Lauren's urgency matched his. She stood and quickly unzipped her jeans. He did the same. He turned, naked, ready to reach for her, but she
placed her hands on his shoulders and lowered him to a sitting position on the couch.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Taking control.” She swung her legs over his and lowered herself onto his lap, not yet joining their bodies but teasing him with the possibility.

He wrapped his arms around her and placed his hands over her soft buttocks, caressing both cheeks until she began to rock her body over his. “Don't think I don't know what you're doing,” she said, her voice low.

“What would that be?”

“You don't like me being in charge, but tough.” She leaned forward and bit his earlobe, his most sensitive spot.

She'd remembered, he thought, shuddering as she continued to nibble on his ear. He laid his head back and groaned aloud. “I'm all yours.”

Her wicked laughter inflamed his senses as her tight nipples brushed against his chest, setting him on fire. She licked and kissed her way down his neck, his chest, his stomach, her tongue dancing over his skin, lower and lower until her lips settled
there.

He groaned raggedly, but she didn't hesitate as she pulled the entire length of him into her warm, wet mouth. He thought he'd died and gone to heaven. She made him her sole focus, drawing her
lips up his shaft, then back down, creating intense friction that increased both sensation and pleasure. He threaded his hands through her hair, cradling her head, while she brought him closer and closer to climax. His body tightened and his hips bucked upward, but she didn't seem to mind. She hit just the right spots, used exactly the right pressure, until finally his body exploded in the most intense, satisfying pleasure he'd ever had.

When his head cleared, he pulled her toward him for a long kiss.

“I take it you liked it?” she asked, pleased with herself.

He grinned. “Honey, you can take charge like that anytime. As long as you know when to submit.”

Her eyes darkened and she immediately slid to the far end of the couch, stretching out her long, lean body.

“How's this?” she asked, eyes gleaming as she extended her arm and crooked her finger toward him, beckoning him to come to her.

“Works for me,” he said, attempting not to show his surprise at the changes he was discovering in her.

She hadn't been as bold when they were younger, and most things they'd done had been firsts for her. Now she seemed more at ease with herself and her sexuality. He hoped that time had
brought the change and not experience. He didn't want to think about Lauren and other men. On the heels of that thought came another. He needed to make certain he was the only man she remembered.

Starting now. He reached for his jeans and pulled out the condom he'd replaced after the festival.

All single Corwin men were taught by their fathers to use protection, to avoid being tied to any woman and risk falling in love and invoking the curse. He'd always thought the assumption that pregnancy would lead to marriage and then love was absurd. Either the feeling existed or it didn't. Jason was pragmatic that way.

But he'd taken the lesson to heart for other obvious reasons, and he never went without a spare. With Lauren in town, he always intended to be prepared.

He slipped on the condom, then slid over her. Gazing into her eyes, he brushed his thumb across her damp lips, leaned forward and kissed her, sliding his tongue into her mouth.

She shuddered and wound her arms around his neck, pulling him close. His hips nestled into hers, and that quickly he was ready to go again.

“Jason?” she asked, her breath warm against his neck.

“Hmm?”

Her fingers tunneled through his hair. “I want you,” she murmured.

As if he needed more than her words to convince him, she rolled her hips against his. Warm, dewy moisture trickled between her thighs and he was lost.

He spread her legs, staring into her green eyes as he parted her with his aching member and thrust inside.

Lauren accepted him with a soft moan of pleasure. Nestled deep inside her body, knowing she'd already taken him in her mouth and given him that gift, Jason felt as if he'd come home.

The thought unnerved him before she rocked her hips and he couldn't think at all. He started to shift and realized the couch wasn't going to work well.

“We need to change positions,” he said.

She looked into his eyes and smiled. “Okay, let's do it.”

He grabbed her hips and maneuvered them so he was sitting, and she sat on his lap, her thighs on either side of his, completely impaled on his throbbing erection.

Gripping his shoulders, she rocked back and forth, her body joined tightly with his, the movement sending shocks of sensation through his groin and spreading outward. Thoroughly in control,
she rode him, gliding up and down, taking him into her body. All the while, he couldn't tear his gaze from her face. She'd squeezed her eyes shut in the throes of passion, the most incredible sight he'd ever seen. And when her orgasm took hold, she pressed him tighter between her slick walls, bringing him up and over the edge along with her.

After a long, shared shower involving wet hands and soapy bodies and, on Lauren's part, a distinct refusal to allow herself to delve too deeply into her feelings, her stomach grumbled. One hunger satisfied, another demanding attention.

“I'm starving,” Lauren said as she ran a brush through her hair.

“I worked up an appetite myself.” His eyes gleamed with a predatory satisfaction. “I think we've run through every place that delivers in both neighboring towns, so what did you have in mind?” He pulled his T-shirt back over his muscular chest.

“I don't mind picking up burgers from The Diner. I'll get a turkey burger. Cheeseburger and fries for you?” she asked, attempting to act as if her body still wasn't quaking from his touch.

“Perfect. In the meantime, I'll get started on that big hole in the wall.” He paused. “How about I call in the order ahead of time?”

“Thanks. That would be great.”

He reached for his phone and she noticed he was listening to voice mail first. He deleted the message, then turned to her. “What would you say to dinner with my father and uncle instead?”

She narrowed her eyes. “I'm pretty sure they invited you, not us.”

He shook his head. “The message was clear. They're having a late dinner at Uncle Hank's and would like
us
to join them. Gabrielle and Derek are going, too.”

Lauren raised an eyebrow, surprised. Wary. And a little nervous. “Why?”

“They didn't say, but I can promise you they won't treat you badly.”

“Gabrielle was nice the one and only time we met, but that was before…” She trailed off. Why go into the details of her family's actions. “Do
you
want to go?”

He studied her then nodded. “I do. You?”

“I just don't want to give your family the wrong idea about us, that's all.”

“What wrong idea would that be?” he asked, sounding more curious than upset.

Lauren turned to face him. “We're working together.”

“And sleeping together,” he said with a grin.

“They don't need to know the details. I just
don't want them thinking we're seriously involved.” She sat stiffly on the edge of the bed.

“You mean you don't want
me
to think that.”

“I'm just being honest, up-front.”

“Point made. I'll call my father and let them know we'll be there.” That muscle jerked in his jaw, but otherwise she couldn't read his expression.

Which she figured was just as well. She couldn't bear to know she'd hurt him as much as his words had hurt her. But her designs were debuting in Paris and she had a plan for her future. She'd been hurt badly once before. She couldn't handle it again. Keeping an emotional distance this time around was the safest route for them both.

 

A
MBER SAT
in the parking lot of Petco in Salem, holding her cell phone closer to her ear. “Are you sure Jason and Lauren are going to Hank's for dinner?” she asked Gabrielle.

“I'm sure. Thomas asked Jason and Lauren, and Hank invited Derek and me. So nobody will be in Lauren's house at eight. Did you pick up the mice?”

“I just left Petco. They're disgusting,” Amber said, shuddering as she glanced at the three baby mice sitting in the cage on the passenger seat.

“Oh come on, don't be a wuss.”

“Easy for you to say. You're not the one sitting
with Algernon times three staring at you,” Amber hissed. “I can't believe people keep these things as pets. Are you sure this is going to work?”

Amber and Gabrielle had come up with their first idea to keep Jason at Lauren's side, but now that Amber had the animals in her possession, she was getting cold feet.

“If you saw a tiny mouse in your house, would you let Mike leave?” Gabrielle asked.

“Good point. Still, this is crazy, you know that, right? Crazy as in ‘Mike and Derek will kill us if they find out we've been meddling in Jason's life' crazy.”

“It's only meddling if something bad happens as a result. The doorbell's ringing. They're here and I've got to go. So you do your thing.” Gabrielle disconnected the phone, leaving Amber to let herself into Lauren's house and leave the furry creatures behind.

 

J
ASON LIKED
having his family gathered around Hank and Thomas's rectangular dining room table with Lauren by his side. The brothers weren't any better cooks than Jason, so the meal of choice was from The Diner, the same as he and Lauren would have eaten anyway. He wasn't sure what the men's agenda was in having this dinner, but if it meant making Lauren comfortable with the Corwins, he was all for it.