Carved in Stone (24 page)

“I don’t like drama, and I haven’t been jealous since high school. If you genuinely wanted your ex, you’d be with her and not with me. If you were doing us both, Ellen would have followed you over here because I can tell your ex-wife would hate sharing,” Jessica said, taking another bite before finishing. “Since I don’t believe either of those is the case, I see no reason to be in a killing mood. Now, if the woman tries to brag to me about making you get it up, just know I’m going to thank her for sending you to me already primed and tell her everything we did in great detail.”

Jessica’s words were terse, but Will clearly heard the truth of her intentions in her voice. It would be mildly satisfying to see Ellen get that embarrassed, he thought. Then what Jessica had said finally hit his brain.

“Ellen did not prime me, damn it. If anything, she made me ashamed of myself. She’s a married woman and she’s not the one for me any longer. It was old habit and it lasted all of five seconds. I shook her off,” he said firmly, taking another bite of his food and chewing forcibly.

“Will, you don’t have to be upset. I believe you’re the innocent in this,” Jessica protested with a short laugh.

“Don’t you even care that I let her touch me?” Will asked. “If Adam had touched you intimately at the art show, I’d have at least wanted to break his damn arm.”

“Let me get this straight. You actually want me to make you feel worse about what happened than you already do?” Jessica asked in return. “You want me to do this even though I know full well Ellen was the villainess in what occurred?”

“Yes,” Will began, then changed his mind after hearing how ridiculous it sounded. “No. I’m not sure. What would you have done if I had given in to her?”

That got a full belly laugh out of Jessica. She could see it had taken a lot of nerve for Will to tell her what happened with his ex-wife. The least she could do was stroke his ego about it, she thought wickedly.

“If you had given in to your ex, I’d have had to kill you both, and then coerce an old lover to help me bury your bodies in my back yard. I’m really glad you didn’t let that happen,” Jessica said, blowing him a kiss across the table. “I like what you did do much, much better. Today was extraordinary. I have to admit it was much better without the condom. I haven’t let a man know the real me in years.”

“Damn it, Jessica,” Will said, his face flushing with arousal because he wanted badly to be inside her that way again. “You are certainly not like other women.”

“No, I’m not,” she agreed. “I’ve been telling you that all along.”

Jessica got up from her chair and walked to his. Surprising him, she grabbed the bottom of his ladder-back chair and turned it sideways so she could straddle his lap. Pulling the gauzy shirt over her head and from her body, she let it drop to the floor until she was happily naked from the waist up. “I’m too honest to be like other women, but there are advantages to being with a woman like me. Want to hear me tell you in detail what I want next from you?”

“You have no idea how much,” Will said, cupping her breasts in his hands, closing his eyes with how good it felt.

Okay, Will decided, his hands happily full of the moaning, aroused woman of his dreams. He was done being a regular guy. He just wanted to be Jessica’s guy, whatever the hell that meant. Eyelids drooping, Jessica leaned into his hands, humming with pleasure as he cradled and massaged her breasts. He was infinitely grateful that what he did seemed to please her.

“What do you want?” Will asked in a rough whisper, squeezing firmly until her eyes opened and held his.

“First, I want to fill up the gigantic clawfoot tub that lured me into renting this old creaking house and soak with you until we relax. Then I’m going to wash away the memory of your ex’s hands on you and replace them with a much better version of mine doing wonderful things to get you in the proper mood. Then I’m going to bend over that cast iron tub which is bolted to the floor and let you do what we didn’t get to do today because we were too damn anxious,” Jessica said, putting her hands over Will’s as he massaged. “I’m tired of just thinking about how great it’s going to be.”

“I swear you make me harder than the stone I carve,” Will said, letting go of her breasts and pulling her tightly against him. He reached sideways to the floor and picked up her shirt. “Look—put this back on and let’s finish dinner first. I can wait a little longer. It’s a perk of being my age.”

“
Your age?
Don’t kid yourself,” Jessica said, sliding off Will’s lap and standing. “You make love with ten times more enthusiasm than any man I’ve ever known of any age. I find myself daydreaming all the time about what you’re going to do me next.”

“Okay, that’s the official limit of my patience. Damn it, Jessica,” Will said, laughing and grabbing her hand. “Being with you is already like being a kid again, and I guess I’m still making up for a year of nothing. Come on, let’s go take that bath. We’ll warm up food later.”

He tugged her along behind him and led her up the stairs to the bathroom.

***

An hour later, with only her knees now submersed in the warm water, Jessica gripped the rounded edges of the cast iron tub to brace herself as Will thrust steadily and firmly from behind her. Her arms began to shake with the effort of holding her body up as she felt the first wave of a devastating climax roll through her.

“Harder,” she demanded, her voice echoing off the bathroom walls. Will laughed roughly, but still responded to the authority in her request, surging against her hips to meet her demand.

“Jessica,” Will said, sliding his hands around her thighs and up the insides of them to cup her. “I can feel you going over. Let go now, baby. Please let go. I need you to—oh God—yes. That’s it.”

Her scream of release bounced around the room and Will shook violently as he found his own release at the same time. He was trapped inside Jessica, held there by the sheer animal force of their joining. It was unquestionably the best sex he had ever experienced, and the pleasure lasted longer than he’d even known was possible for a man. When it was done, he was dizzy.

“Are you okay?” Will asked finally, wrapping himself completely around Jessica from behind, pulling her upright and back against him. He pulled her hair to one side, and lovingly kissed her neck. He palmed a breast with one hand and held her stomach with his other. “I’ve never—my God, I have no words for how much I like what we just did. It was truly a spiritual experience.”

“I’ve certainly never had an orgasm last that long.” Jessica said, relaxing against Will as he held her, her hands on his arms. He made her feel so feminine, so yin to his yang.

“Glad to hear the pleasure was mutual. I was just thinking the same thing myself,” Will said, laughing and vibrating them both. He’d always heard about two people becoming one, but he’d never come close until this moment. “The plus of aging for me has been longer orgasms, but I’ve never had one last a full minute before. I also don’t think I’ve ever felt so physically connected to a woman.”

“Well, I’ve never done this position before,” Jessica confessed. “It takes a lot of trust to turn away from a lover’s face, to trust someone behind you. I was never willing before you. I have to admit you are the most amazing lover I’ve ever had, Will.”

Will tightened his embrace, kissing her neck and leaving his mouth on her skin. “If we’re good together, it’s because I’m in love with you, Jessica Daniels.”

Jessica leaned back in his arms and closed her eyes. “All I can promise you is that I will be faithful until you get tired of me and send me away.”

“Then you’re going to be mine for the rest of your life because I am never sending you away,” Will warned.

Chapter 16

When his mother drove away to go to his brother’s house, Michael Larson was happy to be alone at last. His father was at Jessica’s still and likely wouldn’t be home until late Sunday. That left all Saturday evening and the whole next day for Michael to enjoy the peace and quiet of having his house all to himself. He loved his parents and was glad he was able to help them, but it was damn nice to be alone again even if was just for a couple of days.

In fact, Michael was happy enough not to feel bad for not having a date.

When he was three beers and most of a pizza even happier still, Michael was thinking he’d have an early night. The doorbell ringing jarred him from his relaxation but fortunately didn’t erase it. He looked at the clock, wondering who could possibly be visiting at eight-thirty on a Saturday night.

When he opened the door, he was shocked to see a very ill-looking Carrie Addison standing on his doorstep. It was all he could do not to catch her up in his arms.

“Michael,” she said in greeting. “I’m sorry I didn’t call. I didn’t know what to say—so I just decided to come see you instead. Can I come in and talk to you?”

Michael couldn’t help noticing the polite smile on her lips never quite reached her eyes.

“Sure,” Michael said. “You look wiped, Carrie. What’s up?”

“Do you mind if we sit? I’m not feeling well, and standing for too long makes it worse,” she told him.

“Sure. Come on in,” he said. He led her to the kitchen and turned on a light. “Is this okay?”

She sat in a kitchen chair without waiting for an invitation. “I looked up your personal information to get your address in case you’re wondering how I knew where you lived. I normally would never do such a thing, but I needed to contact you outside of working hours.”

“I don’t have a problem with you knowing where I live or with you contacting me outside of business hours,” Michael said dryly, taking a chair across from her. “You look seriously sick. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing that won’t be fixed in a few months,” Carrie said, looking out the darkened patio and seeing the shadow outlines of metal and the tools she guessed Michael used in his work.

She closed her eyes to keep from getting dizzy. The nervous anxiety she felt was making the nausea worse. When she opened her eyes again, it was to see Michael staring at her in concern.

Carrie could imagine this was what Michael had looked like standing outside her bathroom door the morning after while she had sobbed with regret for spending the night with him. A tear escaped one eye and then the other. She watched Michael stand up to come to her, but she shook her head and motioned for him to sit back down. Reaching into the napkin holder on the table, she pulled out a paper napkin and wiped away the tears.

“I’m pregnant,” Carrie said flatly. “And it’s your child. I hadn’t been with anyone for three months before you. There hasn’t been anyone after.”

“But you’re engaged,” Michael said in partial denial, the shock too great to take in. Carrie was having a child? His child? His eyes went to her stomach area, but of course she was as slim as ever.

“I was engaged. I’m not any more,” Carrie said quietly, another tear escaping. “I couldn’t marry one man when I was pregnant with another man’s child. And for the record, I’m not having an abortion. Tom asked, but I said no.”

“Carrie, we used protection every time,” Michael said. “Didn’t we?”

Carrie closed her eyes and nodded. “As far I can remember, yes. I recall we used a condom every time,” she agreed. “Michael, I don’t think you did this to me on purpose. I hope you know I certainly didn’t intend to get this way. As a habit, I stay on birth control and use condoms. Women using my type of prevention usually take months to conceive. I can’t explain how this happened. The test at the doctor’s office was positive and the reality of it is making me very sick. I’m just a little over five weeks along.”

“Can I get you something? Some water or a soda?” Michael asked, needing to stall and give himself a moment or two to absorb the shock that he’d somehow gotten Carrie pregnant.

“Ice water please,” she said softly.

He got up to get a glass from the cabinet and walked to the refrigerator in a trance.

“Look, Michael, I know it might be hard to believe you’ve been the only one for several months, but I hoped you might give me the benefit of the doubt because of our working relationship,” she said seriously. “I wouldn’t lie to you about something this important.”

He brought the ice water back to the table and sat back down across from her. “You can completely stop worrying about that. I believe you.”

Carrie stared at him in shock. “I—I know my behavior after we were together must have seemed insane to you.”

Michael nodded. “It did, but frankly you getting engaged again seemed more insane to me,” he said. “I couldn’t understand what I did so wrong that you wouldn’t even discuss what happened with me.”

“I was already engaged to Tom when were together. Tom and I were not—well, we were—waiting,” she finished lamely. “What I did with you was just truly a moment of weakness on my part. It was that damn piece of art,
Anguish
. Your art seduced me.”

“Well, I’m glad because nothing else had worked up to then,” Michael said harshly.

He felt chastised for his comment and his tone when Carrie turned her face away from him and two more tears ran down her face.

“Sorry. I wasn’t trying to be a smart-ass. Being with you was the most amazing first time I’ve ever had in my life. I haven’t been able to touch another woman since,” Michael said. “What did I do that night that was so horribly wrong?”