Risking the Vine (Romancing the Vine Book 1) (16 page)

Chapter 14

Birds chirped and tweeted outside Jac’s bedroom window, bringing her awake with their sweet song. She nestled into the pillows, pulling the quilt to her chin to ward off the late September morning chill seeping through the open window. Clutching her phone to her chest under the covers, she fought off disappointment.

Luke hadn’t texted her since the previous morning. Nor had he responded to the text Jac had sent him late last night when she’d missed him like nobody’s business. Even though they’d only been together in her bed once, it felt large and cold and empty without Luke in it. Phantom sensations of his hard body curled around hers tickled, an itch she couldn’t seem to reach.

She was positive he’d call or text overnight. Things must have gotten rough in the bargaining meeting.
Poor man
. If the nurses stayed the course on their sick-out, Luke would most likely be in the trenches helping out. Because that’s what a team player did. Unfortunately, his dedication to the team might result in their plans for tomorrow night being delayed.

Sleep had remained elusive, despite the great physical effort she’d expended during the afternoon’s Wine Country Shootout. As predicted, Belinda and Sally had won the event, despite an instance of friendly fire on their team. After she’d plugged Sally squarely between the shoulder blades, Belinda delivered a profuse apology with a fat dose of contempt curling her lips.

Jac had dodged the ‘Team Lady Lawyers’ bullet. Or cork, in this case. Even FIG and company had been on the prowl to defeat Belinda. The woman had been dauntless in her efforts to win.

Jules had seemed to really enjoy her role on Jac’s team. Her infectious giggle hadn’t stopped Jac from thinking how much Luke would have relished the contest. Her cheeks crinkled in a smile as she daydreamed about how he’d ease the pain of losing to the lady lawyers.

A sweet, tingling ache took up residence between her thighs.

She jumped as her phone vibrated against her chest. Hoping it was Luke responding to her text, she pulled her hand from under the covers.

No such luck. Just a text from Bella.

I believe I’d rather be buried in slimy frogs than go into the office today. How soon are you coming back
?

Once she moved, Jac was going to miss her daily doses of Bella’s offbeat sense of humor. She hadn’t broken the news of her imminent departure to her friend yet, although she suspected Bella already anticipated the outcome of Ted’s duplicity. Anger fought to replace Jac’s happy imaginings about Luke.

I’m not having it.

Shutting down all lingering thoughts of MedServices, she jerked the covers away and rose from the bed. The cool floor under her toes grounded her; helped her focus on getting through the last morning of team building camp. Only one more exercise, one more luncheon, and then freedom.

Happy anticipation kept her moving as she readied herself for the day, spending the upcoming evening talking to Jules and Marcus uppermost. She had a lot to learn and she couldn’t believe her luck in finding a ready source of information in Jules. The woman and her knowledge and experience were gifts from the gods.

As she walked into the shower, she thought it was too bad the boon didn’t come with an unending supply of cash. Jac gritted her teeth and rehearsed the conversation she would need to have with Rowena about pitching in to pay the unexpected tax bill. She’d spent last night building a spreadsheet of her finances. She was in good shape, as long as she sold her condo for a profit. Her parents would lend her the cash, or at least co-sign a loan for the remaining funds.

While she showered, her phone chirped with another incoming text alert. Leaving the water running, she hopped from the tub, reaching for the phone. Her wet feet slipped on the floor and she braced herself on the vanity. Dripping and naked, she snatched the phone from the counter, hating herself for feeling desperate to hear from Luke. How had he wormed his way into her heart so quickly?

A quick scan showed it was a text from him. Her heart galloped as she swiped her way into the message screen.

Missed you last night. Talks broke down around midnight. Going to resume today. Working with a skeleton medical staff so I’ll be filling in where help is needed. Tell Jules her program works. I’m Team Bedpan today. Next session scheduled for Sat. AM
.

This didn’t bode well for their plans Saturday night. The phone chirped with another text from him before she could respond to the first.

The way things are going you might not be the only one handing in a two-weeks’ notice
.

Jac typed in an answer, mumbling aloud as her fingers flew over the keyboard. “Oh no! That bad? Sorry I’m not there to make you feel better.” She pressed send and snorted. “This would be easier if we just talked.”

After shutting off the shower, she wrapped a towel around her body. As her finger hovered over Luke’s callback number, the phone rang.

Connecting the call with a laugh, she greeted Luke. “Great minds. I was just about to call you.”

“I needed to hear your voice. Texting is fine, but a little distant, don’t you think?” he asked.

She sat on the edge of the tub, the cold porcelain shocking against her bare behind. “I’m sorry things aren’t going well with your talks. Wish I was there to help.”

“I wish I was there with you.” His voice, low, smooth, and seductive, wrapped around her senses.

Her breath shortened as heat raced along her nerves. If he were here, she wouldn’t be showering alone. Her voice was breathy as she replied, “Yeah, here would be better.”

“Did I wake you?”

“No. I was just in the shower.”

Luke’s groan scattered her already jumbled wits. “So you’re warm and wet.”

Oh, God, yes
. And she just got wetter at that voice in her ear. “Um . . . yeah.”

“I’m hard just thinking about having you in the shower. Or on the Oriental rug on your floor. Or my bed. Or yours.”

Jac stood. She couldn’t believe she was going to do this. “Hmmm. How about my bed. What would you do to me there?”

Luke didn’t respond immediately. His breath rushed in her ear, fast and shallow. “Are you there? On your bed?” he croaked.

“On my way. Give me a sec.” She yanked open the bathroom door. Cool air slapped against her heated skin as she left the steamy confines. Pulling the covers back on the bed, she stood beside it. “Okay, I’m by the bed. I’m just wearing a towel. Should I drop it?”

“Yeah, baby. Take it off and toss it away.” His strangled voice came through the phone.

Jac released the towel, each nerve ending firing as the soft cotton slid down her body. She kicked it aside. “I’m naked now.”

A soft thud came over the line, as if he’d dropped the phone. She could hear fabric rustling. Finally his voice returned, seductive and powerful. “Me too. Get on the bed. Lay on your back, baby.”

“One sec.” Jac grabbed her ear buds and pressed them into place before plugging the cable into her phone. This was one instance where hands-free was a requirement. She clambered onto the bed, giddy excitement building in her system. Bunching the pillows together, she propped herself on the pile, the sheets cool against her bare back as she nestled in. She lifted her knees and spread them, a low, sexy pitch to her voice. “Okay. What would you do if you were here?”

“I’d touch you. My hands would knead your breasts.”

Jac molded her flesh the way Luke had last time they’d been in this bed together. The heat in her palms drew her nipples taut. A sweet, pins-and-needles sensation traveled from their hard peaks, then lodged, thrumming and alive between her legs. She let her eyes drift closed and purred in the back of her throat.

Luke groaned. “Baby, next I’d pinch and tweak your pretty pink nipples, teasing them until you begged for more. My mouth would be hot and wet around them.”

Raising one hand to her mouth, she licked her fingers and lowered them to trace around one sensitive crest. She squeezed and massaged the other breast. When she dug her heels into the soft mattress, her hips rose in time with each tightening of her fingers. She gasped, “Oh, God, Luke. What’s next? Tell me what you want me to do next.”

His words came as a low rumble. “I’d slide my hand down, exploring every inch of you until I found my target. I’d stop to play with your navel and that pretty patch of cinnamon hair, just hinting at a touch on your clit. Will you touch yourself for me, baby? Slowly. Tease your skin until need sparks in your sweet pussy.”

“I need to touch myself the way you would.” She whimpered as she trailed her fingers past her ribs, tensing and flexing them over her flesh. She dipped her forefinger into her bellybutton and made a circuit around the perimeter before continuing south. Flattening her palm, she slid her hand into the soft, springy hair at the apex of her thighs.

Her breath quickened as she teased her fingertips over her clit. An ache so sweet pulsed to life, shooting energy, electricity, to the base of her spine and upward. One hand on her breast, the other cupping her mound, she moved in a syncopated rhythm that sang to her soul. She moaned, the sound needy in the quiet room.

Luke groaned. “Jac, are you wet? I think you must be.”

“I’m ready for you, Luke,” she whispered. “So ready. Are you holding yourself? Are your fingers tight around your cock the way my pussy would be? Tight and stroking?”

“Yeah, baby. It feels so good. Move your fingers inside your body, the way I would, slow and easy.”

Jac slipped her index and middle finger inside her tight channel. Colors mounted behind her eyes, flaring and dancing with each stroke. She drifted her other hand down, found the nub between her folds, and stroked in time with the movement of her penetrating fingers. Luke’s breath rushed through her ear buds, whispering encouragement.

The only thing missing was the solid weight of Luke on top of her, the feel of his slick skin over hers as he thrust home. She whimpered as she imagined he touched her, loved her. A squeak climbed her throat as sensation built between her legs and sped over the rest of her body. She panted with need as she writhed on the bed, craving more. Craving Luke.

Tension strung her body tighter than a bowstring. Each movement of her hand between her legs strummed across the taut line leading from her womb to her brain.

Luke’s breath came hard in her ear, each guttural exhalation rasping through her. She timed the movement of her fingers and her hips with the sounds of his mounting passion. A thrill clamped down on her spine, sending tingles down her legs and up her torso to her heart.

Her climax rushed over her with undeniable heat and sensation. Driving her feet into the bed, she tensed, her buttocks arched, and drove her fingers deeper. The rippling of her inner muscles enervated her. She moved against her clit faster, drawing out the sweet agony of her orgasm, squeaking out Luke’s name as she fell over the precipice.

“Oh, God. Oh, Jacqui. Oh, fuck me!” Luke’s groan echoed harshly in her ear, prolonged and low.

Jac released a deeply contented sigh and relaxed against the pillow, languid, yet discontent. She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, one hand cupping her breast. The heat from her palm felt almost as good as Luke’s had. She missed the passion she should have seen on his face as he moved over her in the last throes of their joining.

Instead, she saw only weak, early morning sunlight slanting over the beige ceiling. “Oh, Luke. I wish you were here.”

Phone sex had been a poor substitute for the real thing with her college boyfriend. At least from that asshat’s point of view. Who could say whether Luke would find a warm substitute for Jac to occupy his bed? She’d seen the way other women at happy hour had tried to attract his attention. Temptation would abound.

Living almost a hundred miles from him almost guaranteed she’d end up with this hollow, empty feeling at least once a week. Would it be better to end it now, before she turned into a sad, needy woman who indulged in fantasies and masturbation for fulfillment? Her chest and cheeks burned and she covered her eyes, as if to hide from what she’d been reduced to.

“Oh baby. Me, too.”

His sincere tone slipped into her heart. She’d have loved to wake next to him this morning. Holding his body, cradling him between her legs. She clung tight to the image of him in her mind’s eye and swallowed the words she wanted to say. “Am I going to see you tomorrow?”

“Aw, baby. I’m going to have to improvise. We’ll be back at the table by nine. If I can get my boss to keep his mouth shut, we have a shot at settling this.” She heard rasping as if he’d scrubbed a hand over his morning stubble. “I helped in the emergency room last night doing what I could, considering I’m not medically trained. When my shift was over, I was at my desk until three this morning, running numbers.”

“Poor sweetie,” Jac cooed. She reached for the blankets and pulled them over her rapidly cooling body. Tucking them in, she slid lower in the bed, snuggling into the pillows. “You must be exhausted. Did you get any sleep?”

“An hour. Good thing I excel at power napping. And with the wonderful way I just woke up, I’m oddly energized.”

She laughed through a yawn. “Really? Because I could nap right now.”

“If I were there, I doubt you’d be getting a nap.” His voice was low, suggestive.

Renewed sensuous fire lit her up. “Luke, be serious.”

“I am, Jac. I’m very serious.” He hesitated. “If I can’t make it for dinner tomorrow, would you mind if I came by when we get through? It might be really late.”

“You are always welcome. I just want to see you.”

“I wouldn’t want it to seem like a booty call.” Luke’s sincerity couldn’t be doubted.

His concern touched her heart. “I wouldn’t think that at all. But it’s sweet that you’re worried.”

“Good.” He sounded relieved. “I get to work on the medical floor today. Maybe you could suggest a bedpan relay as a team building exercise. Jules and Marcus could probably make that work. Hey, did you hear from your cousin? About the farm?”