Faded Cotton (Erotic Romance) (10 page)

The incredible smell of fresh baked biscuits,
and fried chicken, made his stomach growl. He was up, quickly
ditching his suit in favor of some open leg sweats and a tank; he
descended, barefoot, down the stairs.

The dining room housed a long farmhouse table
with black, worn arrowback chairs. Supper was laid out on the
island of the kitchen. Laurel had already filled her plate and was
sitting as she had before, at the end of the table looking out
toward the deck.

Derrick sat down to her left. She looked at
him blankly with a bite of biscuit in her mouth. When he didn’t
move, she shooed him away with her hand.

“Help yourself,” she said dryly. He looked at
her in amazement. Laurel continued her dinner in silence. Finally,
out of hunger, he shoved back hard, and got up to fill his own
plate.

“You need to get something straight, Mr.
Jones; I’m not your maid, personal chef, server, hooker, chauffer
or any other damn servant you are used to. Tonight, you’ll do the
dishes and you better be up for breakfast by seven-thirty in the
morning or you’ll miss it.”

She pushed away, put her plate in the sink
and moved to the living room. Resting in the soft leather loveseat,
she drew her feet up beside her. She flipped through channels to
find a baseball game, and did her best to ignore the man in her
kitchen.

__________________________

Since her cell phone was dropped purposefully
into the Mississippi after being crushed, Laurel looked at the time
on the watch Jake had given her. “I think that’s a good place to
stop for now, Jen. It’s a long story, but if you are going to see
me as anything else other than criminal, I guess you probably need
to hear the whole thing.”

Laurel opened the invitation for dinner
again. “Well at least
you
will be dining with a gentleman,”
she smirked. “Jake is an ass.” They both chuckled.

“Aww, come on. He’s a guy!” Jen chuckled
softly.

“Dang. Why does everyone let him off the
hook?” She knew Jen didn’t know the whole story.

Jake received a cool, but cordial reception
from Laurel when they met for dinner. She had to admit, the guys
had gone above and beyond with the arrangements. It grated her
though.
He
grated her. He’d said he was sorry, and she knew
he meant it, but the wound was deep, even if it was old. Just being
around him made it raw. What was he trying to prove?

They’d almost made it through dinner when she
snapped.

“Candlelight on the lanai,” she started in a
mocking tone. “If I didn’t know better I’d say somebody is trying
to get laid.”

“Can’t blame a guy for trying,” he grinned,
his eyes sparkling. He’d fired right back, trying to make light of
the accusation. Jake hoped somehow to defuse the situation before
Laurel started throwing things again.

Jen and Adam looked at each other a little
nervous and then both, smiling, burst into laughter. “Okay, so we
don’t have any more property damage for me to report, can you two
get a room already?” Adam mischievously attempted to fan the
flames.

“Adam! Really?!” Laurel’s jaw dropped and she
bolted up, her napkin falling to the floor.

“Look, I know the entire story. I’m good with
it, really. Shit, I look just like him. I look just like Jess,
except for the hair! Did you think I wouldn’t figure it out
someday? I miss Dad and I know you do too, but you have to—,”
Adam’s throat was tight, “—you have to move forward with your life.
You need to be happy; Dad would want you to be happy. He loved you
that much.” Adam took a breath and looked between them, “You loved
Captain, uh, my father, —Jake.” Adam stumbled with the difficult
words, but was determined. “You loved him, once; I don’t think you
ever stopped Mom. It’s obvious you still care and so does he.
Please, just stop burying yourself in pain. Give him a chance!”

Laurel, for once, was speechless. She knew
Adam was right, but was still mad as hell, and shocked that he knew
the truth.

She waivered with the candlelight, feeling
the walls of life closing in to crush her. Everything was fuzzy for
a minute. She had been holding her breath for too long, and she
gasped to gain her bearings so she didn’t pass out. Her eyes were
like torches. She was furious with Adam, and with Jake.

Attempting to set herself on solid ground,
she slashed at Jake, “Jake LeGrande, it has been twenty-five
years,
and in case you haven’t noticed, my give-a-damn’s
busted
!”

“Uuhh!!!” That was the last expression they
heard clearly.

Jake’s eyes followed her to see if he needed
to duck. He watched her snap around, stomping off to the beach,
kicking sand and cussing a blue streak, her dinner dress blowing in
the breeze. “Adam, son, I don’t know if she was ready for all
that,” Jake blew out a breath.

“I wasn’t ready for it either, but I’m glad.
I’ve known for years, or at least I figured I knew the story. I’m
glad I know the truth. I’m glad Jess knows, too. We’ve been like
brothers our whole lives, anyway.”

Adam turned to Jen, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean
for you to hear all that.”

Jake shot an apologetic glance to the younger
couple, shrugged, and trotted off to try to catch up with the still
ranting Laurel.

Jen saw Adam choke back emotion that
threatened to spill over. She covered his hand with hers not
knowing if it was comfort she wanted to relay, or to distract him
for her own purposes. Getting to know her handsome guard over the
last couple of days had Jen’s mind—and body—in high gear. She had
her own mix of emotion bubbling deep inside. Their eyes met, trying
to read each other. He stood, turned, pulled his fist to his belt
buckle, and offered her the crook of his arm. She glanced below,
flushed with heat, and then did her best to recover.

“Take a walk?” It was more of a command than
question. She nodded, quickly popped up from her chair and they
strolled toward the water.

Well away from the main house and center of
the compound, Adam realized the only light they had was the stars
and the reflection of the sea.

“It’s beautiful.” He reached for her hand
this time and found it slipped easily into his. “I can navigate by
the stars.”

“So are all of the guys I met SEALs?” He
brought his eyes from the sky to her. He worried about why she was
trying to change the direction of the conversation.

“Most. One guy is CID,” he replied.

“Hmm.”

Jen tried desperately to focus on the puzzle
of why she was there, but her focus was clouded by the gorgeous man
next to her. Taller than her—check. Smart—check. Gentleman—sort of.
Future—I think. Sexy—yes. Sexy as all hell. His golden blonde hair
military short, broad brow, chiseled nose, small cleft in his chin,
a strong neck she wanted to bury her face into and those shoulders,
oh, broad, strong, defined. As she took inventory, her eyes
wondered again and she thought about what else might be big about
him.
Take a breath
, she told herself.

He stopped her at the water’s edge and
motioned for her to slip off her sandals. He slipped an arm around
her waist as they righted and walked in just far enough to let the
waves lap their feet. She let him pull her closer, and she found
herself praying that he’d try more than an arm around her
waist.

To hell with it
. Jen turned to face
him, looked into his eyes, drew him in, and kissed him, hard. She
felt him hesitate.

Adam was fighting to maintain control. She
just had to go and break him, didn’t she? He snaked his other arm
around her, pulling her tight against him. Gently, he sucked in her
lower lip to savor it, toying with her advance, inviting more. She
returned a nip and a deep searching kiss. She slid a hand down and
around him to grab his hard butt in her hand and pull them together
even tighter.

The gentleman in him stepped aside, and he
showed her the fire that she had set within. Normally a man in
complete control, he saw no stop signs. Adam slid his right hand
down to grab her round rear, squeezing, kneading, feeling.
Gathering her thin dress up until his fingers touched skin, he
shuddered when he felt her bare, rounded cheek. He reached farther,
grazing the thin strip of lace barely separating her soft buttocks.
They groaned into each other, lips meeting in a searing kiss.

Jen knew she hadn’t felt like this before.
She wanted him. She’d wanted him the minute he’d cuffed her the
first time—gently. Her wet panties were evidence of what she was
thinking.

He smothered her in kisses, tasting her jaw
and the lovely neck he’d seen arched in the throes of her own
ecstasy the night before. Adam pulled his hand to the front of her
hip. She was nearly panting as he slipped his fingers halfway down
the inside of her thigh, so near her heated core. He slid his
fingers slowly back up to her center, stopping as he rested over
her heat. He gently tapped her slippery wet panties over her
hardened clit. Her knees buckled.

“So, you really do want me?”

Jen nodded slowly. It wasn’t a ploy to make a
run for it. She wanted him to run into her. She was losing control
and it felt too good to care. She wanted him to take control. The
heat that had built low, moving to the apex of her thighs, was now
shooting delicious waves of pleasure deep within her as his deep
kisses scorched her. Her nipples, longing to be touched, were now
taut under the thin cotton sundress. She leaned against him, giving
them away.

Adam groaned as he felt her pebbled peaks
brush against his chest. He dropped the hem of her dress to focus
on them, gently kissing a path between her breasts. He pulled back
to watch her face—her eyes closing as he pinched a firm nipple
between his thumb and forefinger. He gently hefted the fullness in
his hand, stroking the hardened peak with his thumb, and listening
to her soft gasps. Her lips parted in a gentle
oh,
and the
fiery glimmer in her eyes garnered a lazy, lustful grin from
him.

She felt him grow even harder through his
slacks, as he pressed against her again. Electric shocks blasted
her with heat. She hadn’t been handled like this in—forever. She
wondered if she might come right there against him, from the sheer
heat of their exchange. She had never felt that good in a man’s
arms before.

Suddenly, he took a deep breath and pulled
them apart, holding her at arm’s length.

“Jen Delaney,” he let out a regretful sigh,
“you are an amazing woman. You turn me on, baby, more than any
woman I have ever met. But....”

God—why did there have to be a “but”? Jen
dropped her head, closed her eyes, and waited for it.

He took a deep breath, threw his head back,
closed his eyes for just a moment, and blew out before he
continued. “But—I refuse to take advantage of you—of the situation
we are in.” She looked up at him with a wistful sigh.

“You’re not,” she said softly and drew him
back to her. They shared one more kiss, a long, languid, sweet
kiss. This time his hands were around her waist.

He pulled her forehead to his lips as she
nestled into his chest. “Not tonight baby, not tonight. You’re not
a one shot deal, you deserve more.” If he only knew how
that
had heated her.
More than once?
She agreed. She knew once
was not going to be enough with Adam MacClain. It was the “not
tonight” that bothered her.

They both allowed things to come from a boil
down to a simmer, although neither really wanted to. He held her
captive in his arms, not wanting to let go for what seemed an
eternity before he regained his sanity.

Adam walked Jen quietly back to the house and
back to her room, kissing her just inside the door, a long kiss
goodnight. This was going to give cause for a very long, cold
shower. He groaned as he walked out the door. He couldn’t see her
slide down the door, tears running down her face, head in her hands
in disappointment. “You blew it Jen,” she buried her head in her
hands.

This wasn’t her. Normally she was very calm,
cool, collected, and each action was carefully calculated. Why did
Adam have this effect on her? Tears over a man she barely knew?
She’d studied Stockholm Syndrome, was that it?
Pull it together,
damn it
. Sniffing and rubbing her eyes, she jumped up. The
case.

Jen Delaney had always thrown herself into
her work, especially when her personal life became too much or she
had someone she needed to avoid. It seemed to go hand in hand. She
usually had no life because of work and wanted to work because she
had no life. Being on call twenty-four hours a day, every day, all
year long, had become a way of life.

She needed to get off the island and back to
work. At least she could think at work. It was time to solve
puzzles, nothing else. She needed her files, note cards, tape, a
laptop, printer, intel, boards, and a room to work. Laurel could
talk Jake into it.

__________________________

Jen was escorted across the hall as she went
to check for Laurel later that evening.

She knocked, “Laurel, can I come in?” Jen,
still red eyed, told Laurel what she needed and why.

Changing the subject, as she often did,
Laurel inquired, “Adam do something wrong Jen?” She sensed that Jen
was upset.

“Yes. No. Not exactly. Really, he’s a perfect
gentleman. I’d rather not discuss it right now.” Jen was confused
by her own response. She was the one who had come on too strong,
she figured.

“Well he’s like his father and his dad, so I
know he’s not a
perfect
gentleman; but then we never really
want them to be anyway, do we?” It was more of a statement than a
question. Laurel gave her a knowing smile and a wink.