Carved in Stone (17 page)

“These pieces are very sensual. This particular one fits my hand just like it was made specifically for me,” Will said, purposely keeping his voice low so only Jessica could hear.

“Too bad. It’s already sold, or at least I think it is,” Jessica informed him, forcing the words out of her suddenly dry throat. “What is Michael’s middle name?”

Jessica watched Will stroking the glass and had to stifle a groan at the sight of his hand moving on it. Her imagination had no problem mentally shifting his touch to her body instead. In fact, she had been thinking about him touching her all day even though she had tried hard not to do so. Adam hadn’t proved to be as much of a distraction as she had hoped.

Will didn’t feel even a little bit of remorse ratting out his own son to prevent having to tell Jessica about the rest of his life. Tonight he preferred to talk to her about her art while she was in the mood to talk to him. Will decided he would just have to confess later. It wasn’t like he was going to have to lie.

“His middle name is William. His full name is Michael William Larson,” Will said carefully, running his palm down to cup the bottom of the piece and then back up to the top.

“I was guessing that,” Jessica said hoarsely, unable to look away from what Will was doing. “Michael is the high bidder on
Blue Blaze
.”

“Not surprising. My eldest son is a somewhat secret patron of the arts and has exceptional taste,” Will said softly, liking the pink flush creeping up Jessica’s neck and face. “I really like the realism you’ve put into the pieces. They’re irresistible because of it. The only thing that would make them more realistic is if they were heated.”

When Will brought his palm up this time, his slipped his middle finger inside the symbolic entrance bored through the center of glass.

“I can’t seem to touch the end of this tunnel with my longest finger. How deep does it go?” Will asked, schooling himself to look inquisitive and to keep the grin off his face.

When he finally looked directly at Jessica, Will saw her breathing was erratic. If the woman wasn’t about to implode with arousal, he’d eat his new boots.

Jessica started to take two steps toward him, but the math teacher stopped her with a hand on her arm. Grinning at her frustrated look, Will removed his finger and hand from the art and turned it back around to face the general public.

When he looked back, Jessica was scowling at the man who was touching her. Will couldn’t have been happier with the situation, especially when he heard the man asking if she was okay and commenting on her face being flushed.

Maybe she should feel more guilty, Jessica thought, looking at Adam, whose face was the picture of concern for her. Then she looked at Will, who had covered his mouth to hide what she knew was a self-satisfied grin. Will had been intentionally trying to seduce her. Hell, he
had
seduced her.

Not only had Adam not even recognized Will, he also hadn’t noticed what Will was doing to her art. He was too busy avoiding even looking at the table.

It was the last straw in her relationship with him.

“Adam, never interrupt a woman on the verge of a climax,” Jessica said, suddenly tired of being nice to even a good-looking man who was never going to understand her. “Look, I know you’re bored silly here. Why don’t you go on home? I’ll catch a ride with someone.”

Will burst out laughing then, drawing both their gazes. “I’ll be happy to do it. I’ve been wanting give you a ride since I met you.”

Jessica looked at Will, a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth. She looked back at a resigned Adam but didn’t feel a bit of remorse for what she was about to do. It was way past time to move on.

“Mr. Williams is a neighbor of mine. His son is showing his art here and is the highest bidder on one of my pieces,” she said, explaining away Will’s innuendo.

Will watched the math teacher sigh in resignation, kiss Jessica’s cheek, and walk off dejected. He felt a little sorry for him but couldn’t help feeling proud of himself.

“Just so you know, you won’t shake me off as easy as your boy-toy,” Will warned, smiling at her.

“Just so you know, I lied about the climax to embarrass Adam into leaving,” Jessica told Will, turning her expression into a regretful grimace.

“Give me five minutes alone with you, and you’ll never lie about a climax with me again,” Will promised, narrowing his gaze on the pulse beating madly at her throat.

“Five minutes? That’s a little rushed don’t you think?” she asked.

“Not after a month of foreplay,” Will stated. “But don’t worry, once isn’t going to be enough. I promise we’ll both get there before the evening is over.”

Jessica reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out the packet she’d carried with her like a talisman. “Fine. It’s time to put up or shut up as they say. You better be serious.”

Will bit his lip to keep the shout in, took a deep breath, and walked to stand in front of her. “Why is that in your pocket? Were you planning to use it with someone else?”

“No,” Jessica told him sincerely. “I was carrying it to remind me of your request. You know, like carrying garlic to ward off vampires. I figured your condom would ward off other men putting a move on me until I could figure out what to do about you.”

She reached out her fingers and tucked the condom into the pocket of Will’s now very tight jeans. Jessica couldn’t help gloating a little over his discomfort and for finally giving him the condom back.

“If you don’t put out this time, Everett Williams, I’ll probably kill you,” Jessica warned.

Will snorted, leaned down, and once again put his mouth firmly over Jessica’s to shut her up. He didn’t use his hands until Jessica threw her arms around him and clung. When his arms came around her, all his thinking narrowed to just wondering how soon he could be with her.

“I’m ready to find the nearest broom closet or bathroom,” Will told her, lifting her to her toes and leaning back with her until she was pressed on him everywhere. “I need to be inside you and I need it now.”

“Sorry.
Now
doesn’t work for me. I still have two pieces of art to sell. How about my hotel room in three hours?” Jessica asked. “I was never intending to return home with Adam. I planned to rent a car and visit the art museum tomorrow. I was trying not to ruin his evening too early.”

“You were right to cut him loose, Jessica. You were never going to be happy with a man that afraid to touch a vagina,” Will said on a laugh, which caused her to pull back and almost step out of his arms.

“Aren’t you the comedian tonight?” His attitude was too cocky for her, too sure of her giving in to what he wanted, so she gave him a glare.

“Anyone could see the math teacher was never going to appreciate your art. Trust me, you don’t want to tie yourself to a relationship like that,” Will said, his voice becoming hard and tight, all teasing gone.

Pulling her back into his arms more strongly, Will leaned into her and put his mouth on Jessica’s neck, uncaring of the attention they were drawing. He hoped the onlookers were learning a little something watching an older couple make out in public. Will was not letting Jessica go again until she knew for sure how he felt about her. He’d suffered all day and wasn’t planning to repeat that mistake.

“I didn’t send Adam away because of my art, Will. I sent him away to be with you,” Jessica said at last, accepting at last that there was no reason not to be honest about her desire for him.

“Good. I’ll stop teasing and tell you something more serious then. We need to make a stop on the way to your hotel. I meant what I said earlier. One condom is definitely not going to be enough for us,” Will whispered in her ear, pulling her hips to his.

“No. It probably won’t be, but let me go for now, Will,” Jessica whispered back, noticing the immediate cooling in his eyes. She reached out and clasped one of his trembling hands in one of hers, which was shaking as well. “A man with the nerve to wear an earring ought to be confident enough to handle a request for little personal space.”

Will sighed and nodded, took a step away, but kept her hand in his.

“Can I play with your vagina to pass the time?” he asked, pleased when her face flushed a deep red at his suggestion.

Jessica stuttered when she tried to talk, and ending up laughing. “If you touch any of my vaginas again, I’m going to scream in frustration. I want you to touch the real thing bad enough as it is. I didn’t create them as sex toys. They’re a—”

“—
celebration of the feminine
. Yes, they certainly are that, but they’re also sensuous and begging by their very nature to be touched, almost as much as the real ones do,” Will said on a sigh, not bothering to fight the grin when Jessica crossed her arms again. “You are a cruel woman. I guess I’ll just have to wait until Michael brings
Blue Blaze
home. Then you won’t know what I do to it.”

Jessica smacked Will in the chest before walking over to talk to someone else looking at her art.

***

By the end of the evening, Jessica ended up selling two of the three pieces she had shown.
Blue Blaze
went to Michael as the highest bidder.
Pink Cloud
was bought by a woman who planned to display it in her guest bathroom to shock her friends.

Normally, Jessica would have been giddy about the success of selling two of only three pieces of art. Instead, she was focused on the man seated next to her, dizzy with the anticipation of being intimate with him.

Will and his new look were more than her willpower could handle resisting, so she pushed her remaining reservations about getting more involved aside. Her daughter Brooke had been right. There was never going to be a man after Will until there had been Will. It was like a scientific fact of their attraction to each other.

“I wondered what you drove other than the bike,” Jessica said, smiling at the amount of head room in the pick-up truck. “I never figured you for a truck guy, but this is as nice as a car inside.”

“I realize it’s not very efficient or particularly kind to the environment. I’m hoping they make a hybrid big enough for me soon,” Will said, steering the truck into the parking lot of the hotel Jessica had indicated. “I just can’t drive a compact car. You should see Shane trying to fold himself into his tiny sedan. It fits him like a clown car, but he says he gets great mileage.”

Jessica laughed as she imagined the blond giant she met driving a small car. “I admire young people for caring enough to suffer. I used to be that way when I was young. I think I outgrew it when I turned forty. I realized comfort was important to me and that I didn’t mind paying for it.”

“I hear you,” Will said, turning off the truck. “Are we bringing your vagina in with us?”

“Well, I kind of thought you and I would both be going to the room together,” she said on a low laugh, “oh—you meant the last art piece.”

Will laughed. “You knew damn well what I meant.”

“I knew damn well you were teasing me,” Jessica countered.

“When was the last time you necked in a truck?” Will asked, laughing. “Because I’d really like to kiss you right now.”

“Hmmm…that would be never,” Jessica commented.

Will flipped up the console between the seats. “Scoot over here, then. I’ll give you a little preview of my skills.”

“Gee, I don’t know, Will. I’m not sure you’re the kind of guy I can trust,” Jessica said, grinning.

“I am absolutely trustworthy about the important things,” Will said seriously. He reached for her and dragged a laughing Jessica across to him. “It’s smart of you to worry about the next hour or two, but I’ll try to be a gentleman for as long as I can.”

“Well, what would be the fun in you doing that?” Jessica protested, turning her knees toward his in the seat.

Will put a hand between her knees and rubbed between them. “Tell me if I do anything you don’t like, okay?” He ran his hand up a little higher on one thigh, thrilled when both of her legs loosened to let his hand go even higher.

Jessica groaned at Will’s slow exploration. “If I don’t scream
stop
at any point, consider you have my blanket permission to keep trying other things.”

Will laughed against her mouth, licked her lips and nibbled as he moved his hand higher and higher. He ran his fingers over her underwear, feeling physical evidence of her arousal with a thrill he’d all but forgotten. Damn, he wanted this woman.

“Time to take this indoors, Jessica, unless you want me to investigate the inspiration for your art right now. I already want to pretty damn badly,” Will told her, pressing on her damp underwear with a hard knuckle just to make his point. “I want to see the source for your art. And then I want to experience it over and over again.”

“Will,” Jessica called, her voice hoarse. “I want you to stop now.”

“You and your lying,” Will chastised softly, the excited look on her face inspiring him. “I warned you about having to suffer the consequences.”

His fingers tugged at the top of what he quickly discovered was a fairly small piece of fabric and then delved down to where he could finally slip two fingers inside her. “Much better than
Blue Blaze
—much, much better. I definitely like the original version best.”