Roundabout Road (Saving the Sinners of Preacher's Bend Book 2) (20 page)

Jake slowly withdrew with a sly grin on his face, then
reentered her body swift and sure, drawing out the next taken breath from her lungs.
The darling man seemed intent on torturing her until she begged for mercy. And she
would, in time. Jake could always get her to beg. Liddy was beginning to learn
this the hard way, by taking the required baby steps demanded of her.

Yet she knew by the end of this night, he’d be the one
actually begging for mercy. She had a few tricks up her sleeve she hadn’t shown
him yet. A few tricks she hadn’t shown any man, ever.

Thank goodness no one could hear them, or see them, or
catch the sound of her climactic screams as her insides fisted hard and fast,
drawing every ounce of her nerve endings to the surface.

Jake tried to smother those screams by placing his
mouth over hers and darting his tongue inside. Apparently he’d wanted no one to
hear his name called out.

This only created more ecstasy, more ‘Oh Gods!’, and a
lot more sweat.

He then burst with his own climax, the man’s essence
drowning out all coherent thought inside her head.

“Jesus, Liddy!”

“You can say that again.” She traced her finger over
his bottom lip, smiling.

“I do believe I will. Jesus, Liddy! That was
incredible.”

“How incredible?”

“So damn incredible I think the stars dimmed.”

Jake really had a great grasp for the right words at
the right time. Liddy thought they’d drained the moon of battery power on that
last shared climax.

He dropped every bit of his dead weight directly on
top of her, but she didn’t mind. This man was the love of her life. Liddy knew
he was only gaining strength for another round of delicious sex. After all,
they had all night.

Five minutes later, she could feel his cock pulsating
between her legs, hardening again, and signaling it was now her turn to show
him what she had in store for the remainder of their evening.

She gently pushed him off her, rolled Jake onto his
back, then maneuvered her body on hands and knees until she was straddling his
calves, and her face was at the heat of his hardening sex. One quick smile sent
up the length of his body, she tipped her head down and sunk her mouth over his
cock.

Jake’s body jumped as her lips wrapped around him. His
hands reached for her head, and his fingers threaded through her hair as her tongue
danced and circled the full length.

“Good God, Liddy!”

She’d wondered for a few brief seconds if perhaps God
wasn’t closing his eyes on this particular ace up her sleeve. If not, she had
other ideas mulling in her head; things Jake and she had never done before, but
were certainly about to try.

“Fuck Liddy, don’t . . . stop.”

She couldn’t even if she had wanted to. Jake had her by
the hair and was holding her head in one place, holding her mouth onto his sex.

She circled its wide width in slow motion with her
tongue, then drew up and down the length with her lips held as tightly as
possible. It didn’t take long for Jake to come, but she’d wanted to be over him
and sinking onto his shaft, not having it blown into her mouth.

She’d mistimed her abilities.

“Fuck, Liddy. I told you to stop.”

“No, you clearly said
don’t
stop,” she politely
corrected.

“But you know I wanted to do this when inside you.”

“You were in me,” she said, smiling.

“I meant . . . in you. Not inside your mouth.”

“You’ll get your chance, Jake. Just wait.”

“Wait? Dear Lord, Liddy, I haven’t any strength left.
Are you’re trying to kill me?”

Somehow she didn’t think he was all that close to the
grave; the man smiling as if the devil had earned his due.

Liddy moved so she was now straddling his hips. Jake’s
cock under her ass was a little limp, but soon it would be hard again and she
would be more than ready for him when this happened. Until then, they were
going to kiss and touch and rekindle what they once had. Remind themselves of all
the good that had been between them when they’d first met.

They were about to embark on a lifetime of new
memories, and all those that had ever been bad between them were going to be
locked away; drowned, if at all possible.

He picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles.

Liddy bent forward and kissed the man.

Chapter Twenty

“You’ve been avoiding me.”

“No, I haven’t!”

“Then why is it you’ve been in town for a week, and I am
only now getting to see the whites of your eyes?” Julia Hillard asked.

Liddy sheepishly looked away. Stubborn Humphrey pride
refused to fold.

She then turned her gaze back, very slowly, and
answered, “Okay. So maybe I have been avoiding you,” while setting her fork on
the table to lean back in the booth.

“Why?” Julia asked.

Rachel moved out of earshot to get another customer’s
order, giving Liddy the opportunity to tell Julia the truth.

“Because I wasn’t at all certain on how you would
react to seeing me again. I was afraid of my past ghosts.”

“Why would you be afraid of me? I was your best
friend. Still am, if you’ll have me.”

“Under the circumstances, I kind of thought my not
calling you for ten years would’ve been the final nail in the coffin of our friendship.
I wasn’t so sure my pride could take such a huge hit if you’d told me to ‘go
fuck myself’.”

“It wasn’t the damning nail. And you should have
called,” Julia warned. “And when, pray tell, have I ever told you to ‘go fuck
yourself’?”

“Never.”

“Exactly.”

“But if I had called, you would have then told Jake
where he could find me,” she admitted.

“And would that had been such a bad thing, Liddy? It
would have saved a whole lot of people a whole lot of heartache. I, included on
that long list.”

“I know. Point taken. I’m a jerk. I should be
horse-whipped. I’m the worst friend in the whole world.” Her sigh was heavy toward
what could not be changed. “At the time . . . I was confused. And hurt. I was really
scared about what to do. Leaving seemed like the right thing to do; the only
thing I could do—except kill the bitch. But I would’ve probably maimed Jake unintentionally,
then
killed the bitch.”

“I would have helped you through the rough patch. We all
would have helped you get through it.”

“I know that now, but I hadn’t wanted to get through
it back then. I’d wanted him to suffer as I’d been suffering.”

Liddy caught sight of Jake making his way toward the
Café, frowning to her thoughts. She knew Jake suffered the most. His scars were
hidden deep. And she could also see Julia was wondering how to bring up the
past, without bringing about devastating consequences to their friendship or
their future—if they even had a future.

“No one would’ve ever had to suffer,” Julia said.

“I know. Really, I do.” Liddy’s eyes trapped to the swaggering
man. Crown to heel he was even more handsome today than yesterday.

She dared not wish for tomorrow until she could settle
her longing for him right now.

Jake was happy. Liddy was happy. Life was good.

“Did he, um, did Jake ever tell you . . . ,” Julia
started.

“Yeah, I know all about you and him dating,” she told
her, reducing the humiliation to at least tolerable.

Julia’s eyes widened. “And you’re not mad at me? Hate me
even? I would more than understand if you want me punished.”

“Yes. I was mad, but I’d never be able to hate you, or
punish you for something you couldn’t control,” she reminded Julia. “And believe
me, all one has to do is look at Jake and one loses control. But I was more
than mad at myself, and I took out my frustrations with this wretched place by
locking those frustrations inside of me, where they could do the most
damage—and had. I can’t blame either of you for what happened. It was my fault for
not being here. You and he were lonely. I understand.”

“It never went that far, Liddy. I don’t even remember
what his kisses were like.” Julia’s face turned beet red while telling her
this. She added, to appease her delicate conscious. “Trust her. He wouldn’t let
it go anywhere.”

“Well I should certainly hope not!” Liddy chuckled
out. “He was a married man.” Her brain suddenly stuck in the only gear of ‘
is
a married man’
, she couldn’t help but add, “And don’t you dare tell me
you’ve forgotten what his kisses were like. I’ll believe it hadn’t gone
anywhere, but I’ll not believe you could forget that man’s lips.”

“Okay. So I haven’t forgotten. But I will. On my honor,
I’ll forget every square inch of him.”

“But you just said . . .”

Julia held up her hand quickly. “I said I’ll forget. I
didn’t say I hadn’t looked.”

They both allowed a small giggle over the minor slip. Each
then watched Jake move through the doors and walk toward their booth.

“Good morning, ladies,” he smoothed out from his devilish
tongue.

“Good morning, Jake,” they offered in unison, giggling.

Liddy could see Julia dart a glance at Jake’s lips,
but it didn’t bother her anymore.

Jake slid her over to sit down without invitation,
stabbing one of her pancakes, and then shoving it directly in his mouth.

“What’s got you two very lovely ladies giggling so early
in the morning?” The man possibly frustrated by how women within his life could
keep so many secrets from him.

“Nothing,” they again spoke in unison.

Swallowing the piece of stolen breakfast, he added,
“Then I suggest you get your sweet, tempting ass over to Reverend Mohr’s and
pick us a date.”

He lifted up her hand to graze a lingering kiss across
her knuckles. A kiss that sent tingles all the way to her toes.

She’d kept her left hand under the table; Julia not
wise to the fact, until now.

“A date? For what?” her dear, forgiving friend harped
out, shoving her plate forward. Her eyes slammed into Liddy’s for the answer.

“For our wedding,” Jake supplied, grinning shamelessly
at the red hair, red-faced woman.

“You’re getting married?” Julia gasped. “I mean . . .
married again?”

“Yep, just as soon as she picks out the date.”

“Oh! This was wonderful news.” Julia added. “Damnit!
Lidia Rose Humphrey-Giotti. We’ve been sitting here for ten minutes and you did
not think to tell me this news before now?”

“I was waiting for Jake.
Then
I was going to
tell you,” she promised.

“But unless she gets her gorgeous rump moving, she
could be waiting for quite a while,” he concluded. “This town is going to get
pretty full with a rodeo coming our way. There won’t be much room to spare. If my
wife doesn’t go over today to see Reverend Mohr, ASAP, we might not be getting hitched
for at least another two weeks.” A wink made at her face to say this wouldn’t
sit well with him. “And I, for one, won’t wait two weeks. That’s just too damn
long.”

“You will have to wait, if that’s what the good
Reverend says,” Julia declared. “Exactly how does one go about getting
remarried
if you’ve never been
unmarried
, might I ask?”

“I’m not sure. But I do know this time it will be for
keeps,” he told their mutual friend.

Liddy smiled at his face. “Yes, it will be, Jake. This
time it will be for keeps.”

“I should certainly hope so. Having one Jake Giotti on
the loose for ten whole years was more than Preacher’s Bend could handle.
Having him on the loose
again
will just about do this town in.” Julia’s
thoughts had come out uncensored. “Besides, Debra has been gunning for two
whole hours to put the both of you back inside that holding cell. Something
about indecent exposure late last night down in the abandoned quarry. Or, so
the story goes. You two didn’t go down there. . . Oh, God! You didn’t
, did you
?”
She eyed the two of them seated opposite her with what looked akin to shock.

Liddy simply figured how in the world could Julia be
shocked about it? Julia knew them. She and Jake did things they weren’t
supposed to do, all the time. That was the one constant that hadn’t changed
about her and him.

Julia then shook her head; must have figured there
were certain things about them she didn’t want to know, past what never would
change.

“Let me be the first to warn you there are cameras
down in the quarry. Ceril put them in when there’d been a rash of kids getting
out of hand and underage partying. What you might or might not have thought
about doing down there, will be, or has been caught on tape. There are video
surveillance cameras in the police station, too.”

Both their eyes widened quickly at this terrible news.
“There are?” they said in unison.

Julia’s grin grew by leaps and bounds. “Why? Did the
two of you do something in that holding cell that you shouldn’t have done? Put
a little heat in the kitchen? A little sausage in the bun?”

The heat crept to Liddy’s face. “Um, sort of,” she
supplied. She caught Jake’s muttering it wasn’t a ‘little’ sausage.

His face then turned as white as a ghost right in
front of her as she tipped her head toward his and whispered, “You said there
were no cameras in the police station, Jake.”

His answer came back in a matched whisper. “Ceril must
have put them back in. He told me he’d removed them. Honestly. I would not have
. . . we would not have . . . Jesus, Liddy . . .”

The darling man was unable to finish his thoughts, yet
Liddy knew his mind was racing at how he would now have to ask Ceril for the
tapes of those seventy-two hours before they got into the wrong hands.

She sat next to him, gasping at her own mental
reckoning of those seventy-two hours.

“Oh, this is bloody priceless!” Julia giggled. “Debra
Wesley and Ceril Berken will now have a sex tape of the two of you going at it
in their holding cell. Isn’t that a hoot? I hope to God you kept on at least
some of your clothes.”

Jake cleared his throat. “Ah, not exactly. And not
just one tape, I’m afraid,” he offered.

“Multiple tapes, from multiple times,” Liddy continued
with, “in every way, shape and form, and we were completely nude.”

Julia Hillard’s eyes widened. She then started to
laugh so hard tears rolled down her face.

A slow turn of her head, Liddy eyed her husband with
utter dread. They joined in on that laughter, minus the tears, at a much slower
pace; while a restaurant of early morning customers stared at them and wondered
if they’d completely lost their ever-loving minds.

“Do you know what this will do to your reputation, Mrs.
Giotti?” Julia asked.

“Extend it?”

“Um, no, not quite what I was going for.” Julia was trying
as best she could to compose herself. “You will never get the opportunity to
call Theodora Rosebud just
Theo . . .
ever again. And you, Jake? I won’t
even begin to tell you what that vile, old woman will do to you if ever she
finds out you’d made a sex tape while locked in our police station.”

“But it was a sex tape with my wife!” he blurted out—
loudly. “How much of that can she hold against me?”

“This is Theodora Rosebud we are talking about. That
old hag will hold it against you for . . .Damn, she might just do it this time for
forever. I should know. She’s still pretty sore about what I did twelve years
ago. The woman has absolute memory recall. Nothing slips by her, nothing is
ever forgotten. I actually wonder if she keeps a daily log of our activities to
be used against us at a later date. I’ve heard gossip running about that this
could be true.”

“Today is Sunday, right?” Liddy hastily interrupted.

“Yeah, why?” Jake moved his attention onto her.

Liddy, at that very moment, was staring out the
window. “Is there a back door to this place?” Her head then turned to Julia.

“Yeah. There’s an exit over there.” Julia pointed at
the clearly marked exit sign behind the counter.

“Good . . . because here she comes!”

Three sets of eyes darted toward the large picture
window of Rachel’s Café; with matching groans accompanying the sight of one
very old, very angry Mrs. Theodora Rosebud headed their way.

“Does she know about you two tying the knot again?”
Julia asked.

“No. Not yet. I only put the ring back on her finger
last night,” Jake said.

“Then I would suggest, for the betterment of all, you
be the first to inform the old hag. Mrs. Rosebud doesn’t look to be in a very forgiving
mood. I’m sure she’d found out about the quarry incident. She just came from
the police station.”

Jake hung his head, waited his fate, flaring his
nostrils as the door to the café pushed open.

“Jake and Laura Giotti!” Ms. Rosebud barked. “Care to tell
me why it is I am the last person to know about you staying together?” Her
heavy strides brought her closer to their booth. Each one emphasized with the
pounding of her cane on the crumb-filled floor.

“You’re not the last. I am,” Julia offered, with any
hope to take some of the wrath off of them by way of a lie.

“Did I ask for you to answer this question, Julia Margaret?”