Rock Kiss 01.5 Rock Courtship(17)
Jack and Valerie were high school sweethearts. They’ve been with each other since back when he was an electrician doing gigs on the side and she was a beautician. She still cuts his hair, and he still fixes her electrical appliances when they short out. They don’t do the industry circuit except for the odd event where, according to the attached article, they “like to dress up and party.” They arrive together and they leave together.
I can also tell you they continue to laugh at one another’s jokes and hold hands like teenagers. Long-term relationships are possible. It all depends on the people involved. I can work hard. I know you can work damn hard. You’re also relentlessly stubborn and I say that as a compliment. Turns out so am I where you’re concerned.
I figure that gives us as good or a better shot than most of making it.
On to the other parts of your memo: I’m glad you think I’m sexy. And I am encouraged. Extremely encouraged. As for oral skills—I have my share, though you might have to give me some pointers the first few times so I can learn what makes you scream and come on my tongue. I wouldn’t mind instructions from you. I’m easy like that.
Conclusion: I believe I’ve proven that neither the issue of faithfulness nor the fact I’m a client is an insurmountable obstacle. I await your response—and any pointers you’d care to share in advance.
Chapter 5
Thea was helping her mother in the garden when Marjorie ran out with her phone. “Thea!” her sister called out. “You got a message!”
Glancing guiltily at her mother even as her heart gave a great big thud of a beat, Thea said, “I left it inside like I promised.”
Lips pursed into a smile, Lily’s eyes danced. “Go, look. You’ll burst into flame if you don’t.”
“I’ll turn it off next time.” Thea stripped off her gardening gloves with hands that trembled, her breath coming fast and shallow.
“Don’t think I won’t hold you to it.” Lily’s smile deepened. “But not this trip. Not when you’re waiting for messages from this young man who makes you act as giddy and as silly as Marjorie and Ella.” Piercing love in her expression. “I’m glad to see the sparkle back in my girl’s eyes—and the flush back on her cheeks.”
Those cheeks burning, Thea took the phone, then stared at her little sister until Marjorie threw up her hands and stalked back inside. “I didn’t peek!” she yelled over her shoulder before giving herself away with a giggle. “I couldn’t figure out your password!”
The instant Thea confirmed the message was from David, she made her excuses to her mother and walked through the garden, past the bougainvillea-shaded table and the frangipani tree and down a gentle slope to the stream that ran through the back of her parents’ property. Anticipation hummed through her, the excitement stronger than anything she’d ever before felt.
Sitting with her back to another papaya tree, her T-shirt and capris perfect for the balmy weather, she opened the message and began to read. The deeper she got into the memo, the more grateful she was that she hadn’t tried to read it near her mother and sister. Because the gloves were definitely off.
God.
Thighs clenched tightly together and teeth sinking into her lower lip, she fell back onto the grass and stared up at the exquisite blue of the sky until her skin cooled down, her pulse no longer askitter.
Thea had always found David sexy. Even when she’d been happy with Eric, she’d admired David in an abstract way. She’d been in a relationship, and unlike her worm of an ex, Thea had taken the commitment seriously. Still, there was no law against appreciating a delicious package of man when he walked into her office with a smile that had always struck her as shy at the edges. However, beneath it was a calm, solid confidence that was incredibly attractive.
What she could’ve never predicted was that he’d have this lusciously dirty streak. It made her wonder exactly what he’d whisper in her ear if they did ever end up in bed. Shivering at the thought, she started to read the memo again. Her breath was coming in short pants by the end. It took her over ten minutes to calm down this time, the mental visual he’d created—of what he’d like to do to her in her office should she give him the green light—making her so damp and sticky between her thighs that she had to sneak into the house and change her panties.
That done, she gave herself strict instructions to stop replaying the erotic fantasy in her head and returned to the garden. Of course, the order was far more difficult to follow than it had been to give, and Lily scolded her several times when Thea almost pulled out a flower instead of a weed. “Sorry, Mama,” she said and gritted her teeth in a vain effort to control her wayward mind.