Macy’s Awakening (11 page)

She dressed in a light summer top that was so sheer her nipples showed right through, and a short denim skirt with no panties underneath. Pink lipstick to make her lips look kissable, a little smoky mascara, and she was ready to knock Jerrod off his pedestal of self-control once and for all.

Her plan was to make him a yummy roast chicken dinner and have it waiting on the table when he got home. They would eat together leisurely, giving him plenty of chances to notice her nipples peeking at him, and if she dared, she might even give him a flash up her skirt. He’d be helpless to resist her then. Wouldn’t he?

But when she came downstairs to the patio, she saw the kitchen door standing open. A glance outside the gate showed his car parked there. He was already home. So much for dinner waiting on the table.

“Jerrod?” She wandered through the kitchen and down the hall.

“Yeah? I’m home a little early. Just changing clothes,” he called down from his bedroom.

Macy stood at the bottom of the stairs, chewing her lip, trying to decide. Was it now or never? Taking a deep breath, she climbed the stairs and walked into Jerrod’s room. He was standing shirtless, caught in surprise. She’d forgotten how broad and muscular his chest was, how sculpted his shoulders and arms were. Her pussy clenched as her eyes roved over him.

“Macy!”

“Hi, Jerrod. How was your day?” She walked toward him with her hands on her waist, letting her hips sway just a little. She saw his eyes move over her, taking in the sheer blouse and short skirt. He backed up a step or two, laying his shirt on the bed.

“Uh. I was about to come find you. Thought maybe we’d go out for dinner tonight. I have something to tell you.”

She came to a halt. The serious look on his face made butterflies suddenly dance in her tummy. Her plan of seducing him flew from her mind.

“What?”

“You want to know right now? Not over a cut of the city’s finest prime rib?”

“Right now, please.”

As he told her about Egan Jones and what his accomplice girlfriend had told the police, a huge sense of relief bubbled up inside her. She was going to be exonerated! She was going home!

She rushed forward and threw her arms around Jerrod, not caring that he didn’t hug her back at first. Her only thoughts were of home.

She pulled back and looked up into his face. “Thank you so much, Jerrod.”

“I haven’t done much. Portland’s finest did all the leg work.”

She shrugged, grinning. “Maybe, but you believed in me. And you kept me safe.” Her voice quivered a little as it dawned on her what this meant. Her time with Jerrod was almost over. A little lump formed in her throat. Her hand went to her mouth.

He was staring down at her, his expression somber. He cleared his throat. “I’m going to miss you.”

“Oh.” She felt tears pushing against the back of her eyes. The lump in her throat got bigger. They both went silent.

And then with a broken groan, he took her in his arms. His mouth crushed down on hers, his tongue questing with desperation between her lips. She opened to him, whimpering softly as he laid her on the bed. His big, warm hands stroked over her breasts.

“Did you wear this top just for me?” he asked, sitting back to rake her with his avid gaze. His fingers caressed and kneaded. “You know how I love the perfection of your sexy titties, Macy.” The buttons seemed almost to open by themselves, and she felt his hot lips searing her flesh, drawing her eager nipples deep into his mouth. He’d never used that word—titties—with her before. She liked it. It made her feel naughty in the best way. She writhed on the bed, wanting him to touch her in other places. And then he did.

His hands roved up her thighs, smoothing upwards, lifting the hem of the short skirt and pushing it away, baring her. For a moment she felt uncertain. Her eyes stayed on his face, watching for his reaction. Would he like the way she had shaved down there? Leticia had promised her that shaved pussies turned men on.

“Oh, Macy. Oh, baby.” He stared at her bare pussy, his eyes lighting up. “Did you do this for me?”

She nodded shyly, pleasure furling through her as he petted her there. “Do you like it, Jerrod?”

In response, he bent and kissed her on her newly naked mound. She squirmed as the kiss turned into more, his tongue foraging with bold strokes between her folds. Lovely spirals of arousal lifted her hips off the bed as slippery moisture trickled from within her. He pressed his face against her body, using his tongue in a new way; pointed and hot, it found its way into her ready opening. She cried out and spread herself even wider for him, her restless fingers grasping and tangling in his hair.

“Oh God! Jerrod. Wait. Wait!”

He pulled away and stared at her with raised brows.

“I don’t want to come yet. I want to—” She paused, feeling shy as her lips hesitated around the unfamiliar words. “I want to come with you inside me.”

“Whatever you want, Macy girl. We have all night.” He grinned like a kid in a candy store.

She took a deep breath. “But first I want to—I want to suck on your c-cock.” She felt herself blushing.

His grin got wider. “Darlin’, I’d be more than happy to let you do that.”

Chapter 11

The next week seemed to disappear in a heady rush. On Wednesday Jerrod met with the prosecutor and the detectives, learning that Egan Jones had finally made a full confession, clearing Macy completely. Jerrod prepared a motion to dismiss and on Friday they got their five minutes before the judge. The sharp whack of his gavel officially set her free.

It was a bittersweet moment, and as he stood in the aisle of the courtroom with Macy’s arms around him, feeling silent sobs wrack her body, it was all he could do not to break down himself.

The last few nights had been like something from a dream. He had cut his schedule back to the bare minimum so he could leave early every day and come home to her. She would be waiting, freshly bathed and scented, sometimes in his bed, sometimes at the foot of the stairs. Once on the kitchen counter without a stitch on. They would make love, eat a little supper, take a shower or soak together in the hot tub. Then make love again until the late hours of the night. They’d expanded their repertoire, and Macy had proved to be an excellent student. There wasn’t anything she shied away from trying, and her talented mouth had found its true calling when she would eagerly devour his throbbing cock.

To say he was happier than he’d been in years was a vast understatement. Maybe happier than he’d been in forever. He was almost afraid to really ponder the extent of his joy in Macy’s arms. Because Sunday was just around the corner, and Chuck would be here to collect his daughter and take her home. Three hundred miles away. Where she would return to school in a few weeks for the fall term and no doubt forget all about him.

Oh, she insisted she’d never forget. She promised she’d email and call and come back for a visit over the Christmas break, but Jerrod knew better. Real life had a way of catching up to fantasies, and that’s pretty much what they were living right now. He’d been lucky enough to get a rare second chance to fall in love with a beautiful, sexy woman, and he’d finally taken it. He was savoring every moment like the treasure it was. But he had no illusions about it lasting once she headed out his door.

They planned a special day Saturday, with breakfast at their favorite café. This afternoon they would visit the Japanese Garden, something Macy had wanted to do since she came to Portland. Followed by a sumptuous dinner atop the tallest building in the city.

And one last night in each other’s arms.

Jerrod smiled fondly across the café table as Macy toyed with her scrambled eggs. In her time at his home she’d attempted to please him by changing her morning habits to include breakfast, with limited success.

An unexpected rush of love for her welled up inside him, so fierce that he almost
had
to speak it. But to speak his feelings might possibly bind her to him, and that wasn’t what he wanted for her. Her whole life stretched ahead of her, with virtually unlimited choices. She was bright and articulate; there were any number of careers she might pursue. She’d told him that her dad was pressuring her to declare a major now that she was a sophomore, but Macy hadn’t made her mind up yet. That she was tinkering with the idea of pre-law pleased him to no end. She would make a fine attorney.

She looked up now and caught him watching. Her smile was sad.

“I’m going to miss this so much. I’ve never known anyone like you, Jerrod.” She sniffed, her beautiful eyes glistening with unshed tears.

He smiled back and covered her hand with his. He had to keep it together for her sake. He couldn’t let her see how this parting was shaking him to the core.

“You’re bound to meet dozens of men in the next few years, Macy. Don’t you dare settle for anything but the best.”

“But
you’re
the best, Jerrod,” she whispered.

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, savoring the satiny texture, afraid his voice would betray him if he tried to speak again.

They finished their coffee and strolled up 23rd Avenue past all the eclectic shops. Her hand clung tightly to his. At a trendy New Age bookstore they went inside and were immediately enveloped by the fragrance of candles and incense. They browsed, looking at books and CDs and jewelry. He found a polished rose quartz amulet on a silver chain and bought it for her, kissing her deeply after he put it around her neck. It glistened there like a pink teardrop against the caramel color of her skin.

“I’ll never take it off,” she said, beginning to cry again.

They went back home to change clothes before their planned jaunt to the garden. As they crossed the patio, she reached for him and threw her arms around him. They stood without moving for several minutes as the fountain played beside them and Peter came out to greet them. She looked up at him through teary eyes and he bent and kissed her, putting all his unspoken emotions into the kiss.

And that’s how Chuck found them

They turned at the sound of the wrought iron gate swinging open.

“I knocked on the front door but no—
What the hell?
” Chuck roared, shock and rage turning his face a deep purple color.

Jerrod pulled away from their embrace and stepped in front of Macy, shielding her from her father’s wrath.

“What the hell, Jerrod! What are you doing kissing my baby girl?” Chuck advanced toward them, his hands balled into massive fists.

Jerrod tried to regain his composure, coherent words deserting him. It was Macy who spoke up from behind him.

“It’s okay, Daddy. I’m an adult.”

“The hell you are. You’re nineteen, Macy. Nineteen! Do you know how old this joker is?” His finger stabbed toward Jerrod’s chest. “And he’s white besides!”

“Whoa, Chuck. Now hold on.” Jerrod’s own blood began to boil. “There’s no reason to bring race into this. That has nothing to do with our feelings for each other.”

“Feelings?” The man looked like he was about to explode with rage. “How dare you, Preston? How dare you?”

“Daddy, Daddy, wait.” Macy clung to her father’s arm, attempting to calm him. “You always told me race didn’t matter, right? It didn’t matter with you and mo—”

“Your mother and I had our share of bigots to deal with. I want better for you.”

“But that was twenty years ago. And this is Portland. People are more accepting here.”

He stopped and stared at her for a long moment. “You don’t live in Portland, Macy. You live in Medford. Remember? It’s a whole different world.”

“But I—”

“Go get in the car.
Now
.” Chuck’s arm shook with restrained fury as he pointed toward the gate.

“But my things!”

“I see you have your purse. Preston will ship everything else. You’re not spending even one more minute here. Now get!”

Looking back over her shoulder at him several times, Macy finally slipped out of the gate and disappeared, leaving Jerrod facing her livid father.

“Chuck, I—”

“Save it.”

“Listen, will you?” Even as he protested, Jerrod knew there was really nothing to say. He was well aware that he’d breached several unwritten rules, rules about race and age differences, rules about clients. Rules about not fucking an old friend’s daughter.

Chuck waited, glowering, his huge body tensed and menacing.

Finally Jerrod said all there was to say.

“I’m sorry. Really sorry. But I do love her.”

“Oh, great. That’s the last thing I need, to have some middle-aged pervert drooling over my little girl, thinking he’s in love.”

“She’s a woman, not a girl,” Jerrod said softly.

Chuck stared at him, speechless. Then his shoulders slumped. “You have my address. Send her shit UPS, will ya? And fax me your invoice.” Then he turned and stalked out of the yard.

* * * *

“Hello, Verna, may I speak to Mr. Preston, please? This is Macy Wilson calling.” Macy’s hand shook as she held her cellphone against her ear. This was the eighth time she’d tried reaching him since she’d gotten home Saturday night. He wasn’t answering his home phone or his cell, but surely he would take her call at the office.

“I’m sorry,” the woman said, “but Mr. Preston is in court all day. I’ll give him a message that you called.”

“Thank you.” She clicked her phone closed and slipped it carefully into her pocket, then opened the door of the portable toilet and made her way across the lot to the construction trailer where her father’s temporary office was. He’d insisted she couldn’t stay home alone today, and had offered to pay her an hourly rate to do some filing and organizing for him. With him constantly coming and going, she hadn’t dared to make her call in the trailer. How would she handle it if Jerrod called back while her dad was close by?

Even as she wondered and held on to hope, her heart told her that Jerrod would not return her call. She knew his reasons. He’d enumerated them to her a dozen times. She should find men her own age to date and fall in love with, men who were at more of a starting place in their adult lives, men she could someday make a family with.