Northern Fascination, page 12
JENNA HAD THE DOOR OPEN before Logan could knock. “Morning, stranger,” she said.
“Morning, beautiful.”
She closed the door behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him good morning. She’d showered and dressed in a pair of white lace panties, her silk robe and nothing else.
“Mmm,” he said. “You taste like mint.”
She smiled, leading him toward the kitchen. “And you taste like coffee.” She’d been turned on all morning. He’d been teasing with his monster comment last night but really, it wasn’t too far off the mark. Now that she’d had him, she wanted more.
He put the take-out bag on the counter and turned to her, trapping her between him and the counter. She liked feeling the hard press of his body against the front of her and the solid counter behind.
There was something faintly predatory about his smile that set her pulse racing. “Now that I have both hands free, let’s try this again.”
This time their kiss was hot and hard and left no doubt as to what each of them had in mind. Logan caught her buttocks in his hands and squeezed. Jenna groaned into his mouth.
One kiss and her panties were damp.
“How do you feel about eating later?” she said, breathless, hungry for him.
“I think that’s an excellent idea,” he said. “Do you want to go to your bedroom?”
“No. Here. I’ve always had this little fantasy about doing it in the kitchen, maybe because I don’t have any other use for the room.”
“Oh, honey, I’m good with that.”
She pushed his coat off his shoulders and he shrugged the rest of the way out of it, letting it drop to the floor behind him.
Dear God, he felt good and he smelled good and she wanted him with a desperation she’d never experienced. He kissed her again, his tongue exploring the recesses of her mouth. She arched against him, grinding her mound against his erection. Oh, yes.
He kissed her as if he wanted to devour her and she loved the intensity. It was as if he needed her as desperately as she needed him. She ached inside for him, for the closeness they’d had the previous night.
He dragged his mouth from hers and kissed along her jaw, down her neck. Her gasp echoed in the kitchen and she issued a breathy, “Yes.” He bit lightly at the juncture of her neck and shoulder and the sensation arrowed straight through her, arousing her even more. He took her pebbled nipple in his mouth, robe and all, and sucked. She moaned her pleasure, her acceptance.
“You like that?” he asked, his breath hot against her skin.
“Yes.”
He repeated it on the other side, leaving the material wet and cooling against her aching points.
She might’ve been a virgin up until last night, but she’d done plenty of reading and listening to other women. If you wanted something, you needed to let your man know. And she knew just what she wanted.
She reached between them and caught his hand in hers. Spreading her legs slightly, she guided his hand to the edge of her wet panties. “This is how much I like it.” She slid his finger beneath the elastic and satin and he took over from there.
He tested his finger against her slick wetness and drew a shuddering breath. “Oh, Jenna. Baby, you’re so wet,” he whispered as he stroked her.
“I know. That’s what you do to me.”
He swooped down capturing her mouth with his, his kiss hot and hard as he fondled her. Sweet mercy, it was a different sensation from having him inside her but as good in a totally different way. His fingers were magic against her wetness. Then he inserted a finger inside her and she cried into his mouth, it felt so good. A second finger joined the first and she dug her fingers into the muscles of his shoulders.
With his fingers stroking in and out of her, he found her clit with his thumb and Jenna truly thought she might die if he stopped what he was doing to her. “Please, don’t stop…”
Now she was holding on to his shoulders because she wasn’t sure if her legs would support her. He buried his fingers all the way inside her, his one finger rubbing a spot just inside her while his thumb continued to stroke and massage her. Tension mounted inside her until she thought she might explode…and then she did. She clung to him as he brought her past the brink of pleasure and she came in great waves.
When her orgasm finally subsided, they held on to one another, her breath coming in great gasps, his ragged against her neck.
“Oh, my,” she said, feeling boneless and fluid and wonderful. “That was better than masturbating in a hot tub.”
He looked at her, slightly dazed. “Huh?”
“I said that was better than masturbating in a hot tub. You know, when you’ve got that jet of water hitting you just right.” She tilted her head back and looked up at him. “Well, I guess you wouldn’t know. I’m sure it’s different for guys but for a woman, you just sit in front of that jet and ‘wow.’ But it isn’t as ‘wow’ as that just was.”
“Well, I guess it’s good that I feel better than pulsing water.”
“It is. The water feels pretty darn good.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Heck, yeah. Why do you think so many woman dig a jetted tub? It massages a whole lot more than just a girl’s back.” There was a look on his face, an added glimmer in his eyes. “You know what I think?”
“What do you think?” His voice held a low, rasping note and he moved his finger against her thoroughly wet channel again.
“I think that idea turns you on, doesn’t it?”
“You turn me on, but yeah, it does.”
“I think you’d like to watch and then come in and finish up the job.”
“Yes.”
She reached between them and stroked her hand along the ridge pressing against his jeans. “Speaking of finishing up the job…” She unzipped his pants and reached inside his underwear, freeing his jutting penis. She ran her hand over the taut, velvet skin, feeling him tremble at her touch. A pearly drop of fluid gathered at the head.
She knelt before him. “Do you mind if I…”
Logan looked at her as if one, or both, of them had lost their mind. “Do I mind? Uh, no. Give me a second.” He unbuckled his belt, unsnapped his jeans and tugged both his jeans and underwear down.
This time she backed him up against the counter. “Are you uncomfortable in here?”
“Honey, I’m fine if you’re fine.”
Jenna knelt in front of him, more than fine. This was definitely a different perspective and she had to say, it looked a whole lot different up close and personal. It wasn’t as if she’d never seen a penis before—well, as a matter of fact, she’d seen his last night but the bedroom had been fairly dark and it’d been halfway down her body.
Erotic and arousing, his sprang from a nest of dark, curly hair and curved. His balls hung full and heavy below. She leaned in closer, inhaling. She liked the way he smelled—a musky, masculine scent. Curious, she took him in her right hand and licked up the length of him. She liked the feel of him against her tongue and he obviously liked the feel of her tongue against him if his heavy sigh was anything to go by. She did that a few more times and then she took him in her mouth.
She’d been a little uncertain but she liked the taste and feel of him. And he’d made her feel so good, she wanted to do the same for him. She wanted to bring him pleasure. She wanted him to experience that same almost mindless satisfaction that he’d given her. And even though she’d just had an orgasm, she had to admit having him in her mouth turned her on all over again.
Her girlfriends had always been a divided camp—they either liked going down on their men or they didn’t. There didn’t seem any in-between. She was finding herself on the “like” side of the fence.
“Uh, watch your teeth, honey.”
Oops. She worked her mouth and tongue over and around him, loving him, taking her cues from the sounds he made, which further excited her. There was something very erotic, very satisfying about bringing pleasure to your partner.
“Jenna, I…I can’t. I’m going to…”
She stopped for a second. “Then do.”
“You’re sure?”
“There’s only one way to know whether I like it or not and I like it so far.” She took him back into her mouth.
Apparently that was the right thing to say because within seconds, she was tasting all of him against her tongue.
She liked it.
NELSON PUT ON A FRESH POT of coffee. Dr. Skye lived on the stuff and so did most of their patients but today was a slow day. He’d had to toss half the pot and start another one.
Clara Lightfoot, Ellie’s grandmother, was scheduled for an arthritis check-up today. He was hoping Ellie would bring her in.
Ellie had been on his mind all morning. Most of the night, too, if he was being honest. The image of her in the water, the moonlight kissing her shoulders, her hair spread around her had invaded his sleep, haunted his dreams. He had seen Ellie in a whole different light.
The bell over the front door rang but it was Leo Perkins who entered. “Hi, Nelson. How goes it?”
“Pretty slow day. How about you?”
“Can’t complain. Say, the missus sent over some molasses cookies. Been on a baking binge, she has.” He held out an old-fashioned cookie tin.
Nelson took the box. Nancy Perkins made the absolute best cookies. “Tell Nancy thanks. You want a cup of coffee? I just made it fresh.”
“Don’t mind if I do.” Leo helped himself to a cup and one of his wife’s cookies.
Nelson snagged one as well.
Dr. Skye wandered out. “I thought I smelled cookies. And fresh coffee.” While she poured herself a cup, she spoke to Leo. “How’s the ingrown toenail?”
“Well, now that you mention it, it still hurts like the devil.”
“I’ve got a few minutes. Come on back and let me have a look at it.” Munching on a cookie, her mug in the other hand, Dr. Skye led Leo back to the exam room.
That was the kind of doctor he’d like to be.
Nelson was just emailing their weekly supply order when the bell over the door jangled. Ellie. He knew it before he saw her. Sometimes Ellie’s mother was the one to bring in her grandmother, but somehow he’d known that today Ellie would be by.
“Hello, Nelson,” Ellie’s grandmother said, leaning heavily on the cane that helped her move with her arthritic knees.
“Good morning, Mrs. Lightfoot,” Nelson said. He nodded to her granddaughter. “Ellie.”
“Hi, Nelson,” Ellie said. Her dark hair, in a loose plait, hung over one shoulder and past her breast.
“How about a molasses cookie and a cup of coffee?”
“Are they Nancy’s cookies?”
Nelson nodded. “Leo just brought them in.”
“I like Nancy Perkins’ cookies. I’ll take two,” the older woman said, settling into a chair with Ellie’s help.
“No, thank you,” Ellie said. “But I’ll make Aanak’s coffee since I know how she likes it.”
Something had changed since he’d shared the water of the lake in the moonlight and cold. Nelson felt a bond with Ellie, a meeting of spirit he’d never quite experienced with anyone before. It was as if they were communicating on another level outside of the mundane conversation in the office.
Two nights ago was special.
Yes, it was, wasn’t it?
She poured the steaming liquid into a mug.
I want to swim with you in the moonlight again.
I’m looking forward to tonight.
She added creamer and some artificial sweetener and stirred.
I’ll be there.
“Don’t forget my cookies,” her grandmother said, looking at the two of them, as if she was well aware of the nonverbal interplay going on.
Nelson grabbed a napkin and snagged a couple of molasses cookies out of the box. He delivered them, excusing himself. “I’ll just step back now and see if Dr. Skye needs any help.”
The truth of the matter was, if Dr. Skye needed help, she’d call for him. However, he wanted to escape Ellie’s grandmother’s discerning scrutiny before she saw too much. Especially since he didn’t know exactly what it was he was afraid she’d see.
11
JENNA ROLLED UP HER YOGA MAT and waited while Merrilee did the same.
“Wow, I needed that,” she said. The stretching had felt especially wonderful today and she always enjoyed the tranquil feeling afterward. It was like she revved up with zumba and then wound down afterward with yoga.
“So did I,” Merrilee said, tucking her mat beneath her arm. Among a chorus of goodbyes, they stepped out into the dark for the walk home from the community center.
“I guess our men are deep into their poker game by now,” Merrilee said. “So how did last night go? I wanted to get by all day but I was swamped. Logan certainly looked happy this morning.”
Jenna smiled. “I had no idea what I was missing. The imagination doesn’t begin to compare to the real thing.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Not surprised, mind you, the way you two throw off chemistry, but glad.”
“Merrilee, what do you make of someone who isn’t comfortable with feelings?”
“Logan, I presume?”
“Yeah. He kind of had a freak-out when I asked him how he felt, so I dropped it.”
“That discussion is pretty uncomfortable for most men. Give him time. It’s like anything else. It’s a new process that can be learned but can’t be forced. Just let him be who and what he is. You can talk about your feelings all day, if that’s what you need to do, just don’t expect the same from him.”
“You want to hear something crazy?”
“Sure.”
The darkness made it easier to say. “I think I love him. And it’s not just because of the sex, although that’s pretty stupendous in my book, too.”
“Tell me something I didn’t know. The two of you are nuts about one another. So what’s crazy about that?”
“Because I haven’t seen him in twelve years. Because he’s leaving in two days. Because there are a whole lot of things I don’t know about him that might drive me crazy. I swore I wouldn’t do this.”
“Wouldn’t do what, sweetie?”
“Fall in love with a man I didn’t really know, only to find out later that he actually drives me insane.” Nothing had ever felt so right, but she’d also never been so scared of being wrong.
“You’re not your mother.”
“How do you know that’s what she did? Do you want to know why she divorced my third stepfather? Because he left the toilet seat up. Don’t you think she would’ve noticed beforehand?”
“Jenna, you are not your mother. You know who you are. Look at where you are now and I mean that in a literal sense. You just finished a yoga class.”
“Uh-huh.”
“If your mother had a new man in her life, would she be at a yoga class?”
Merrilee had a point. “No.”
“Trust yourself, hon. Trust your instincts. Sometimes the heart recognizes what the head doesn’t hear. Your heart told you from the beginning this was where you belonged. Perhaps you waited for twelve years because, once again, your heart knew. Wherever the path leads, be true to yourself.”
“Okay, but what about Nelson? Remember how I sort of had that crush on him? How trustworthy is my heart if I felt that way then?”
“Your heart recognized him as a friend, a kindred spirit. It was simply your head that had it confused. I don’t believe for a minute your heart is sending you the same message about Logan that it sent you about Nelson.”
“Um, well, no.”
“Sometimes we have to get out of our own way, Jenna.” She paused for a second, her smile rueful. “Look at me and Bull. Talk about having to get out of my own way…”
The truth of the matter was that Logan meant so much to her, she was scared to even consider the possibilities. She so badly wanted what she thought they could have. And she was afraid they wouldn’t get it.
ELLIE SHIVERED. SHE WAS COLD.
In all the years she’d been coming to Mirror Lake, she had never been chilled when she was drying off. Perhaps it was because she’d stayed in the water far longer than she normally did, waiting on Nelson. She had thought if she just stayed long enough, he would show up. But hours later, she was still alone in the water.
She’d always found great comfort in the lake but not tonight. Instead of being soothed by the slide of thermal water against her skin and the gently falling snow, she’d been preoccupied, waiting on a man who had never arrived.
She cranked her jeep and rubbed her gloved hands together. Chugach sat in the passenger seat. “I am a foolish woman,” she said to the dog. He regarded her with knowing, watchful eyes.
In her mind, she and Nelson had shared a connection today. She could’ve sworn they’d been on the same plane. She played it back through her head again as she shifted gears and turned around. He’d said last night that he’d come back. And although the words hadn’t left his mouth, he’d said it again today in the clinic as clearly as if he’d spoken aloud.
Yes, she’d been foolish on many levels. One, to think that he’d actually show up. Two, that she’d stayed in the lake that long. And thirdly, she had allowed her thoughts of him to superimpose themselves on the experience itself, so that the peace and answers she usually found in the water had been nonexistent.
She heard a hum and lights in the distance. Someone was coming. Her heart began to pound in her chest. She pulled to one side, being careful not to go so far that she’d land herself in the ditch. The other vehicle rounded the curve and it wasn’t until it drew nearly even that she could see past the headlights. It was Nelson. He had come!
He pulled even with her and they both lowered their windows. Shadows obscured his face.
“I didn’t think you’d still be here,” he said.
What? Had he waited, giving her plenty of time to clear out? God, she’d been totally stupid. Hurt and anger swamped her. “I was just leaving.” Even though she tried to keep her response normal, her voice sounded stiff. She didn’t really care, as long as she didn’t cry in front of him. Only she was dangerously close to doing just that.
