Treasure on Lilac Lane: A Jewell Cove Novel (18 page)

“Jess,” he murmured. “We need to reverse positions.”

Rick’s arm came around her and he rolled them over until she was sitting astride him, feeling rather exposed and slightly self-conscious about having to take the lead. But he put his hands on her hips and urged her just a little, and that was all the prompting she needed. Rocking against him felt so good that she quickly forgot any inhibitions and let her body take over until she was trembling all over.

When the orgasm hit she was unprepared for the force of it and she cried out, collapsing against his chest while her hips thrust against his, taking him over the edge with her until his head was thrown back against the pillows and he found the same fulfillment.

Their breathing slowed. The sweat began to dry, leaving Jess chilled. Reluctantly she slid off his body and disappeared to the bathroom.

She saw herself in the mirror and wide eyes stared back. Her skin was flushed and her hair a tangle of curls, tiny damp ones spiraling from her temples. Her lips were slightly swollen and she was naked as the day she was born. She’d been well and truly loved. So much so that she felt like crying, but she wouldn’t, not in front of Rick. He’d think she was upset when she wasn’t—she was simply overwhelmed with emotion.

It had been utterly fantastic. Freeing and beautiful. More than she’d ever imagined.

She’d been staring long enough, so she went back to the bedroom.

He was still on the bed, also still naked, and she felt a blush crawl up her face.

He grinned, a hint of a dimple forming on his cheek. “Getting all modest on me now, Saint Jess?”

She smiled back, feeling ridiculously shy. “Considering we’re both naked, I don’t think the saint thing applies,” she answered. She nudged back the covers, crawled underneath, and rested on her elbow. “I’m a bit cold.”

He got beneath the blankets with her. “Doesn’t feel that way to me,” he said, putting his hands behind his head and looking particularly satisfied. He gave her a sideways glance. “You look good naked, Saint Jess. Better than I thought you would, and that was a pretty damn good fantasy.”

Her lips dropped open. “You thought about that?”

“Of course I did.”

They cuddled under the blankets for a few minutes, simply enjoying looking at each other, when Rick spoke again. “Next time I’ll be prepared.”

Her heart leapt. “You expect there’ll be a next time?”

“I don’t think we’ll be able to avoid it. Once isn’t going to be enough for me, Jess.”

So what were they starting here? A relationship? She doubted that was what Rick wanted. Friends with benefits? She wasn’t sure she was comfortable with that sort of arrangement either. And yet she wasn’t in any hurry to get out of the bed and she was already thinking about when the next time might be.

“Me either,” she said, her stomach fluttering nervously.

“There’s one more thing you should know,” he said, holding her gaze. “We probably should have talked about it before. I haven’t been with anyone since leaving the hospital, and nothing was flagged on my medical. I’m clean.”

Oh God, he
was
honorable. And honest and tender …

“Mike was my last.”

“Holy shit!” His eyes widened and his head lifted off his hand. “Really? But that was…”

“A very long time ago, yes.”

“Big dry spell for you.”

She nodded. It definitely had been. “I thought about it a couple of times, but it never got this far. Things always ended before we could get … intimate.”

“Wow. I don’t know what to say.”

She waggled her eyebrows a little. “I might have been thinking about you a little bit, too.”

He chuckled. “Well.”

“Yes, well.” She smiled softly.

They settled their heads on the pillows again. Rick’s expression changed, his eyebrows pulling together a little. “Jess, do you think we could keep this between us for now? I’m not sure I’m ready for Josh to know I’m sleeping with his little sister.”

Disappointment made her heart heavy. “You want this to be our little secret?” There was an edge to her voice. She wasn’t quite angry, but wasn’t exactly pleased either. “You ashamed of being seen with me?”

“No! Of course not.” He looked shocked that she’d suggest such a thing. “I just … this is all new territory for me. And Jewell Cove is tiny. Whatever this is, or whatever it’s not, we don’t need an audience speculating about our every move.”

She sat up, clutching the blanket to her chest. “So for now, you want us to sneak around.”

“I want us to be private,” he corrected. “That’s why it’s called a private life.”

She’d been feeling so awesome, so amazing since being with him. Like she’d turned a corner. Hopeful. And now Rick was making her feel like they’d done something wrong. She looked away. Despite his problems, she wouldn’t have hidden them away like a dirty secret. The fact that he wanted to stung.

“Hey,” he said quietly, and spread out his arm. “Can’t we just have a little time to figure out if there’s an
us
before we spring it on the whole town?”

She slid down beside him, resting her head in the warm curve of his shoulder. “I guess,” she murmured, and as the quiet moment drew out, her eyes grew heavy. The heady combo of sex and emotion was leaving her feeling quite drained and he was so cozy to curl up to. “You’re probably right, you know. Everyone will have an opinion.”

“Because they care about you.”

“They care about you, too,” she replied, stifling a yawn. She curved her arm around his ribs.

It felt very right, being held in his arms. She should get up, but if she got up this would be over. And she wasn’t ready for that yet …

He tightened his embrace and kissed her hair, and she gave in to sleep.

*   *   *

Rick heard Jess’s breathing level out as she drifted off to sleep in his arms. He was still trying to wrap his mind around what had happened this afternoon. Sure, they’d been doing this love/hate dance since early fall and lately it had been much more on the love side. And there’d been the kiss that had knocked him a bit sideways.

Yeah, he’d wanted to see her today. He’d wanted to see her face when she saw what he’d done with her ornaments but mostly he’d just wanted to see her.

But not in a million years had he thought they’d end up making love.

Jess was too guarded, too cautious.

And so was he. Right? Except maybe they weren’t, because they’d actually done quite well as far as he was concerned. Jess was different and always had been. She wasn’t the kind of woman a man could love and walk away from. Even if he knew he should. She deserved better and he knew it. Hell, the whole town and her family knew it, too. Which was exactly why he wanted to keep things on the down-low for now. The moment the world found out about them? Shit would hit the fan. Josh and Tom were his friends, but he knew they’d have plenty to say about it.

The gray afternoon shifted to evening dark and the streetlights on Lilac Lane came on, illuminating the tiny gap between the window blinds and the frame. He closed his eyes and took slow breaths, imprinting the memory of these moments on his brain. Her scent, like summer lilies; how warm and soft she was; her skin delicate and pale against the tumbling waterfall of her hair. She’d been so sweet—sweet and sexy and stunning. All that he could have asked for in a lover.

Jess was a giver. She could talk all she wanted about Rick hiding his light under a bushel but she’d been doing the same thing. Not with her talents, but with her heart. She’d guarded it so carefully.

And the first time she opened up it was with him. He was honored and more than a bit humbled, but it was also scary as hell. It felt like she was asking more of him than he could give. He didn’t want to disappoint her, and yet he suspected he probably would. Didn’t he always?

Being with her was easy and frustrating and fun, and when they were together, he could relax and let the past go. Hopefully that was enough for now. “I won’t let you down,” he whispered quietly in the darkness. He would do the right thing. He’d make it work—if it killed him.

C
HAPTER
14

“Jess.”

She stirred, sliding further into the warmth surrounding her.

“Jess,” came the voice again.

She opened one eye and realized she was cradled in Rick’s arms.

“I fell asleep.”

“You sure did.” He smiled down at her. “Feel better?”

She stretched a little, pointing her toes toward the bottom of the bed. “I do.”

“It’s after six. I wasn’t sure if you had a class tonight or not, so I thought I’d better wake you up just in case.”

She chuckled. “That would be awkward.”

“A bit.”

“It’s my night off.”

“So you don’t actually have to get out of bed.”

The suggestion in his voice heated her all over. “Technically, no.”

There was a growling sound from under the covers and they both started laughing.

“I think we might need to eat, though.” She shoved her hair away from her face. “I did ask you to dinner.”

“You’ve been a terrible host,” he confirmed, reaching out and tucking a stray chunk of hair behind her ear. The touch was so affectionate she nearly swooned right then and there.

But they had to take things slowly, be sure this was what they both wanted, needed. There was a friendship at stake, so it would be better to feel their way through it and not rush.

Which was pretty funny considering they’d already skipped to the sleeping together part.

“As cozy as this is, I’m starving. How do you feel about pasta and chicken?”

“If I don’t have to make it, it sounds great.”

“Oh, you’re helping. No slackers allowed here.” She slid out from beneath the blanket and shivered. “I suppose our fire went out a long time ago.”

“I’ll build a new one.” He got up and reached for his underwear and she was treated to a lovely view of his backside as he pulled them on. When he turned around she really got a good look at the scars on his chest and shoulders. He hadn’t had an easy time.

Once she was back in her underwear, she went to her closet and chose comfy yoga pants and an oversized hoodie, her favorite relaxing wardrobe. She pulled her hair back and anchored it in a loose bun with an elastic. When she looked up, Rick was watching her with a smile on his face. “You look adorable.”

“I look comfortable,” she corrected. She hadn’t felt the need to dress up and impress him. They’d known each other too long. He’d seen her in far worse. With a start she realized that she could really be herself with Rick. How cool was that?

“Let’s go. I’m starving.”

Once Rick had a fire going, they worked side by side in the kitchen. Jess put water on for the pasta and then put Rick to work chopping vegetables while she stirred chicken in a skillet and built a simple sauce with cream, butter, and Parmesan. It seemed to take no time at all to finish creating the meal, and Rick set the table as she scooped up servings.

They chatted about nothing important as they ate, and when their bowls were empty Rick sat back and sighed. “Wow. That was good. Thanks, Jess.”

“You’re welcome. It was much nicer than cooking for myself.” She smiled. “I didn’t make dessert, though. I think I have some ice cream in the freezer.”

“That’d be fine.”

To her surprise he cleared the table while she got out the container of Rocky Road. They took their bowls to the sofa, and Rick patted the seat beside him. “Come here and snuggle up.”

She curled up next to him, tucking her legs to the side as they took spoonfuls of the cold treat.

After a few minutes Rick spoke. “Can I ask you something, Jess?”

“Of course.” His voice was low and serious and she bit down on her lip. This was all so new, so fragile. She didn’t want to do or say anything to break the delicate balance they’d achieved today.

He knit his fingers together pensively. “I’ve been doing some thinking about what you said about there not being a timeline for dealing with my mom’s stuff.”

She was a bit surprised by his choice of topic, but that quickly passed as a warmth spread over her. If she were honest with herself, she’d been a little afraid that sex between them would just be … well, sex. But Rick really did trust her. Of course he’d still be dealing with his grief and she was pleased he wanted to talk about it.

“It takes a while,” she encouraged, giving him a squeeze. “It’s not like making a list and checking things off. Sometimes you think you’re doing great and then wham! A memory will hit you and take you back when you least expect it.”

He nodded. “I know what you mean.” His gaze looked far away for a few moments before dropping to meet hers. “I’ve been putting something off, but maybe it’s time I took a step forward.”

Intrigued, she sat up a little. “Oh?”

“Ian Martin handled Mom’s estate. There was a safe deposit box key, but I haven’t gone to the bank yet. It’s the last thing I have to deal with, and…”

His voice trailed off and she thought she might understand what he was getting at. “And once you have, you’re afraid you’ll let go? And you don’t want to do that yet. Because once you do, it’s really final.”

He nodded. “Yeah. I didn’t know how to explain it, but that’s it.”

Her eyes misted over a bit, knowing he was hurting. “I think it’s probably common. When my dad died, there were so many loose ends. And then one day I found my mom, sitting in the back garden, crying.” She looked into Rick’s solemn face. “When I asked her what was wrong, she said everything was settled, and it had finally hit her that he was really gone.”

His arms tightened around her and they both held on, thinking their own thoughts for a few minutes.

“Do you know what’s in the box?”

Another shake. “Not a clue. But all the legal documents were with the lawyer. I can’t imagine what she’d want to put in a safety deposit box. It’s not like we ever had money or anything expensive. It’s a bit of a mystery, really.”

He reached out and took her hand. “I should have a look inside. It’s probably nothing important anyway. Knowing Mom, it’ll probably be filled with my crayon drawings and baby teeth.” He smiled fondly. “Maybe you could go with me?”