Deconstructing Lila (Entangled Select) (8 page)

A blush crept up her face and spread across her checks, giving her pale complexion a glow. She smiled and waved, and headed in their direction.

“Hi, Threasa. How are things at the ranch?” Stupid icebreaker, but Casler needed some help with his mouth shut like his lips were glued together.

“Going okay at the moment. Just needed to get some copies of these specs. I need some work done in one of the barns.”

“Well, you know we’d help you out and cut you a friend price,” he told her.

Threasa glanced at Casler, but still he said nothing.

“It would have to be a real friendly price for me to be able to afford Reverie Construction,” she said, laughing.

“I could do it during my down hours,” Casler interjected, surprising them both. Jake had been hoping he’d chime in. He hadn’t thought the man so dense he couldn’t take the hints Jake had laid out for him.

The statement caught Threasa off guard and she gaped at him while the silence stretched out among the three of them.

Jake considered returning his attention to his blueprints to give the two of them some semblance of privacy. He hadn’t seen a more awkward couple since his days in high school.

“Well, ah, John, that’s a real nice offer,” she said, flustered and looking anywhere but at Casler. “Let me think about it and I’ll let you know.”

“Whatever. Just thought I’d offer. I got plenty to keep me busy.”

He pushed past her, and Jake watched him walk out the front door and head in the opposite direction of their work truck.

Casler did not take rejection well.

“Oh, I hope I didn’t offend him, Jake,” Threasa said, clearly upset over the idea she had. “I just meant I wasn’t sure if I could afford it. I need to check with the bank to see if they’ll extend my line of credit.”

“Don’t worry about him, Threasa. His bark is way worse than his bite. He’ll warm up to it and see the light.”

Threasa gave him a puzzled look and said good-bye, leaving Jake to consider his own words.

Yeah. Talk about seeing the light
. That described his relationship with Lila and what he needed to do to convince her to give up this idea of converting the Goodwin building and making a move back to Hannington.

Lesson Number Eight
—

Sometimes, taking charge in the relationship will get you what you want. Even if it does not, your man will notice the effort.

Chapter Ten

L
ila watched Steve Ann drive away with Granny strapped into the passenger seat. With the toilet broken and Granny off to the doctor, she was left behind to meet Jake. Alone. In the house where they’d first made love as teenagers. In her old room, on the very bed she’d slept in since coming back.

Did she smell a setup? Lord, she loved her Granny. The woman played matchmaker, guardian angel, and endangered landmark protector all at once.

The anticipation of being alone with Jake broke her out in a sweat.

Glancing down at the fire ant mound at the edge of the curb, the Bombshells’ advice from yesterday rang in her ears.

Seduce him
.

Racing back inside, she jerked open her closet and examined the neatly hung rows of shorts, skirts, blouses, and pantsuits.
What to wear?
She wanted to look sexy and experienced. Jake had already seen the young, green girl she’d been in high school.

She stood frozen, realizing for the first time none of her clothes were appropriate for catching a man. It simply wasn’t the image she portrayed back in Dallas. Educated, chic, and experienced, yes. But sexy, available, and ready for an afternoon romp? No.

Pulling out the dresser drawers, she prayed for something better. The only thing remotely sexy was a pair of thigh-highs. She wasn’t quite ready to meet Jake at her Granny’s front door in nothing but thigh-highs.

Oh, but definitely later. If they got to later.

Besides, what if he looked her over and said, “No thanks?”

Throwing the terrible thought from her mind, she scurried out of her skirt and camisole. She had fairly nice legs, tan from the hot Texas sun. She needed something showing leg, arousing, but practical in the heat.

Granny said she’d boxed some of her old clothes up and put them on the top shelf in the closet. She had no idea what it might contain, but surely she’d find something. Hell, better yet, a T-shirt a couple sizes too small would be perfect. She’d even be stylish. That and no bra.

She struggled with the box, spilling the contents onto the bed. Sure enough, several pairs of old Levi cutoffs and some faded T-shirts tumbled out.

The doorbell rang.

Lila glanced at her bedside clock. It had to be him. She grabbed the first pair of shorts on top of the pile and wriggled into them, covering her pink lace thong.

They still buttoned.
Thank God
. Her rear wasn’t that big.

Giving her reflection a cursory glance in the mirror over the dresser, she unhooked her bra and tossed it into the closet.

Which T-shirt? Did it matter?

The doorbell sounded a second time.

She pulled a faded blue one from the pile and shoved the rest of the mess onto the floor on the other side of the bed where it wouldn’t be seen.

Just in case. In case they needed the bed.

Stopping in front of the mirror, she tousled her hair, put some shine on her lips, and added a smile. And vowed to keep the talking to a minimum. They needed sex to break the ice. Talking could come later.

She rushed to the front door, kicking off her sandals as she reached for the knob. Jake had already backtracked to his truck when she came out onto the porch. “Hey, sorry about that. I was out back and didn’t hear the bell.”

He turned at the sound of her voice and his stride broke. His eyes narrowed as he took her in. Lila’s chest swelled with the intensity of his gaze and she thrust her breasts forward with a subtle arch of her back.

“Where’s Barbara?” His voice tightened. She noticed the growing bulge in his jeans. She felt her own response to his appraisal slide deliciously between her thighs.

“Doctor’s appointment in Temple. Steve Ann took her.”

He said nothing, but returned to his truck, grabbing the toolbox from the back. He climbed the porch and avoided her gaze. She noticed his white-knuckle grip on the handle.

Her control slipped. Brushing her off wouldn’t be an option this time. She stepped in front of his advancing body and was almost singed by the heat rolling off him. He stopped short of colliding with her chest.

Dammit. “Glad to see you, too.” She smiled, hoping to ease the tension and add some play to this experience. “Come in and I’ll fix some iced tea.”

His eyes shone like hard emeralds and she felt them pierce her here and there. Tension edged the corners of his full mouth. He swiped a hand through his dark hair, pushing it back from his forehead.

At least she got a reaction out of him. Not to mention how her body bent and bowed to get closer to his.

“I have to be back at the job site. I don’t have time for tea.”

He reached behind her for the handle to the glass door and Lila stepped into him as she turned, her breast and hardened nipple grazing his inner elbow.

A current of electric awareness shot through her. A lovely zing she hadn’t felt in forever.

Jake’s sharp intake of breath indicated he didn’t feel as immune as he seemed. The tiny clue bolstered her resolve and she followed him into the house.

J
ake stormed into the bathroom, slamming his toolbox on the countertop.

What the hell did she think she was doing? If she had any idea what he wanted to do with her body right now, she’d run the other way.

He’d been relieved when no one answered the door, providing him the perfect excuse to send a workman out later to fix the commode. But then she’d stepped out onto the porch looking like the old Lila. Her golden hair, loose and hanging in disarray around her shoulders. The rounded form of her breasts, outlined under the thin cotton of her shirt, and her tan thighs made his hands itch. He ached to open those thighs and lose himself between their soft, satiny skin. To drive into her until he had no sense of self, but only a sense of them. Together.

She glided in the bathroom behind him, bringing her soft scent into the tiny room, filling his nostrils with the remembered smell.

Much more of this and he would toss all of his resolutions he’d fought to make and sustain right out the window.

He concentrated on the contents of his toolbox to no effect. He’d forgotten what he needed to fix a toilet.

“You sure you don’t want anything to drink?” Her voice, husky and very close to his ear, kicked his blood pressure up a notch. He caught her gaze in the mirror over the sink as she stood next to him.

“Maybe I will have some tea.”
Anything to get her out of there
. He wanted to hold her and press her back against the tile wall, devour the warm scented skin of her neck, and slide off her shorts. And then he would fill her. Slowly. An inch at a time.

“Sure.” She disappeared down the hall and he breathed in relief, assessing his reflection. His fists were clenched against the sink, the knuckles white with strain.

He needed to get a hold of himself. Rekindling a relationship with his wife, even a sexual one, was not to their benefit. It would simply make things messy, more complicated, and highly dangerous. He didn’t need to go through another breakup with her.

And they would.

Hunched over the tank, he saw her out of the corner of his eye when she sauntered in, holding two icy glasses. Setting his on the counter, she claimed a seat on the edge of the tub, her back resting against the shower wall. From his viewpoint, he saw way too much leg for his comfort. Her clinging denim shorts ended right below the juncture of her thighs. He had an overwhelming urge to slip a hand inside her shorts, against the mound of hot flesh there, dipping his finger inside to test the heat. To feel the silky slide of wetness and know she was ready for him.

He turned his head away until he stared at white porcelain. “Don’t you have things to do? I don’t need a supervisor.” His voice sounded gruff even to his own ears.

“Nope. I thought I’d keep you company. Talk to you about this little project I want to do.”

He concentrated on the mechanics of the tank, ignoring the sultry invitation in her voice. “The Goodwins’ old place. Yeah, I heard about it. Bad idea.” He meant to end the conversation. If he could stop her from talking, it would make his job a helluva lot easier. Then he could make his getaway.

“Bad idea? You don’t even know what I want to do.” The tiniest bit of irritation trickled into her tone.

That was his Lila, hackles raised, ready to do battle, to fight an injustice. “It’s not like Dallas. There aren’t ready buyers willing to lay down a few hundred grand to restore some old commercial building and set up shop,” he told her.

She didn’t respond. He didn’t need to turn and see the quiet anger brimming just under the skin. He felt it. And Christ almighty if it didn’t turn him on more.

“Does it have to be this way between us? Why can’t we talk to each other like normal people?” A hand glided up his back to his shoulder, making the muscles in his stomach clench with the effort to ignore the pleasure.

Her touch scorched him. Control slipped fast. He had to move out of her reach, before he turned and buried himself in her neck.

He stood, throwing his wrench into the red metal toolbox, and avoided meeting her eyes. “I’ll come back later to fix the rest. It should work for now.”

He fastened the clasps on the box with a firm snap and made to leave, but a tiny hand curled around his side and rested just above the zipper on his jeans.

His cock throbbed in his pants and the thrumming echoed in the blood coursing throughout his body.

The fissure in his control cracked wide open and he pushed his tools away, turning with lightning speed to face his wife. Her face softened and her lips parted. His resolve to avoid further emotional entanglement with Lila dissolved under the beauty of her face, flushed with passion.

He grabbed her around the waist, raising her feet off the floor until their lips met. He found acceptance and invitation without preamble in the contours of her warm mouth.

God, how long had it been? And why did he wait so long?

He crushed her against the wall, and her legs rose and curled around his hips.

She tasted like sherbet, tangy and sweet like summertime, familiar. He couldn’t get enough. He wanted all of her. Right now.

Jake moved his hungry mouth over her chin and down her neck. She cried out as he nipped the tender skin behind an ear, and the sound struck a chord within him. He growled low in his throat, the response ragged and raw like a man denied sustenance too long. He suckled on the smooth skin below her jaw and drank from the hollows of her collarbone.

His Lila
.
His wife
. Forever and always.

Her hands dug deep into his hair, pulling him closer. He needed to feel her naked, have her skin warm against his chest. The comfort of familiarity and the joy of rediscovery flamed his desire to a roaring bonfire.

He leaned back, pulling the tail of her shirt up over her breasts. He caught her hands in one of his, holding her captive against the wall while he reveled in the sight of her. He’d memorized every curve, every hollow on her frame after they were first married, and he wanted to reacquaint himself intimately with each one again.

Beautiful breasts, framed by strappy tan lines, enticed him to lower his head and sample the ruby nipples. Her narrow waist flared to welcoming hips, which rocked against his erection.

“Jake…” Her voice interrupted his perusal.

“Let me look at you, Lila—it’s been so long.” He heard the need in his own voice and wondered if she heard it, too.

She quieted, shivering when his hand slid up her rib cage, cradling a breast, reacquainting himself with the feel. He grazed the nipple with the back of his knuckles, watching her sharp intake of breath push the mound harder against his hand.

He lowered his mouth and took the peak inside, rolling the bud back and forth against the heat of his tongue. The sensation filled his mind with longing, forcing the thoughts of repercussions and recriminations further away, behind a locked door. Those could be dealt with later, much later.

“God, Jake. Please…” She was always impatient, wanting the feel of him inside her, rocking her higher and higher. He bit the bud gently and Lila pushed forward, grinding against him.

“Don’t stop,” she said.

He wove a wet trail with his tongue to the other breast, showering the twin globe with the same lazy, excruciatingly slow treatment.

His pleasure came from her response, and with each successive moan, she pushed him closer to the edge, making it more difficult for him to contain his own need. But contain it he would, driving her gratification higher.

When he finally lifted his head, he could see her panting. Her chest rose and fell in rapid succession.

Jesus
. They were dangerous together like this. He didn’t think their sexual attraction could flare up again so fast and so hot, but he’d been wrong. He’d lied to himself all these years, thinking it couldn’t be as good as he remembered.

And it wasn’t. It was far better. He had to stop. Now.

He released her wrists and pulled the shirt hem back down around her waist.

He read the confusion and then the accusation in her eyes.
Why couldn’t the moment last a little while longer?

But they couldn’t be together. He didn’t know how many days he had. No one knew if he was truly “cured,” not even the best specialists. Remission meant the cancer could come back at any time, and if it did, it would be worse the second time around.

No, he didn’t have the luxury of time to love this woman the way she deserved to be loved. She needed to move on, forget about him. Find somebody else to grow old with, somebody healthy.

He pulled away, instantly regretting the loss of her body wrapped around his. He adjusted his jeans, trying to give his painful erection and full balls some breathing room. When he looked up into her face, he could see it coming. She tried to hold it in, but the turbulent emotion built behind the calm expression. Her lips trembled and her eyes shone with suppressed grief.

He hated himself more at that moment than at any other time in his life. And what he was about to say next turned his stomach.