Caught Up in the Touch (13 page)
He drew her bottom lip between his and sucked. He toyed with her lips, nipping and licking, but never claiming her with his tongue. His mouth left hers.
An embarrassing whimper escaped her throat. His cheek skimmed up to her temple, the rasp sending tremors to rock her body. Her breasts craved the hard planes of his chest. He nosed into her hair as her body strained closer. Her knee bumped his, but the rest of her was denied. She wanted him to take charge, push her against the nearest tree, and hike her leg up.
“I’ve always been partial to redheads.”
His words registered like a dunk in cold water. Jessica pushed back from him, slapping his hands away. “Hold up, Mountain Man. Am I one in a long line of redheads that you’ve put the moves on?”
He hooked his thumbs in his pockets, the corner of his mouth tilting in a near smirk. “‘Put the’—darlin’, you think this is my move? If—
when
—I put the moves on you, you’ll be begging for more.”
Even as the promise in his voice sent a hum of desire through her body, she cooled her voice and tipped up on her toes to bring them closer in height. “You think I’m that easy? I’d love to get you on your knees, crying uncle.”
“On my knees in front of you? Baby, that’s one of my best moves.” His whisper skated down her spine to feed the pulsing ache between her legs.
His lips were inches away from hers. She swayed on the balls of her feet. Screw feminine outrage, she was seconds away from begging him to back up his boasts with tangible action.
“Jessica!” Lilliana’s voice echoed through the woods.
Neither of them moved. They both shuddered out a breath, their bodies in tune.
“Jessica!” The worried call contained more than a hint of desperation.
“Here.” Jessica’s weak voice cracked. She cleared her throat and took two steps back, a tree trunk supporting her. Leaves crunched and twigs snapped. Lilliana arrived, breathing hard and gnawing her bottom lip into mincemeat.
“Are you all right? This is my fault, and you have every right to hate me. But, you look fabulous. I swear.” She transferred her gaze to Logan. “Hey, doofus.”
“Hey, yourself, twerp.” The teasing humor in his voice loosened the invisible cords of lust still binding Jessica.
“Tell Jessica how good she looks, Logan.”
His gaze slid down her body, and her nipples tightened. What would happen if he actually touched her? She might just spark a forest fire. “Are you clear on how much I like your hair, Jessie?”
A hit of adrenaline shot into her heart and drove heat up her chest and into her cheeks. She ran her hand up the back of her hair and into the top to keep from fanning her cheeks like an old-timey Southern belle.
“Crystal.” She broke eye contact with Logan. “Sorry, Lilliana, I overreacted. Seeing my hair was a shock.”
Logan’s voice turned brotherlike. “You’re going to have to pony up the money to get the electrical redone. No way will Alec Grayson sign off on your permits once he hears about this.”
“I know, I know. I can’t deal right now. I’ve ordered a pizza with absolutely everything on it. It should be at the house any minute.” Lilliana turned and trekked farther into the woods. White clapboard peeked through the trees. She’d been close to home, after all.
“You want to come?” Jessica asked. Her desire to stay in Logan’s company, anyway she could, worried her.
“Thanks for the offer, but I have to get to Adaline’s. You girls have fun. But, stay six feet away from all small appliances.” He wagged his finger, and she let a girlish giggle get out. It was official: she was pathetic.
She followed Lilliana, looking over her shoulder every few steps. He stood in the middle of the path, watching her, until the trees blocked their view.
She felt … different. The ambiguity of the word seemed to fit her mood. She ruffled a hand through her hair, then ran her fingertips over her lips. So far her life had been a carefully charted journey. In a matter of two days, she’d quit her job, got a drastic (though unintended) makeover, and received hands-down the hottest kiss of her life from a completely unsuitable man. The old Jessica would be on the verge of panic, yet all she did was smile.
Different
was not all that bad.
“Everything in this town revolves around football.” Lilliana, in her uniform of shorts and a baggy shirt, led them out the back door and to the path through the woods the following afternoon.
Jessica stripped pine needles off a hanging branch and rubbed them between her fingers. The sweet tang reminded her of Logan.
Blue sky and the sound of passing cars cut to them as they stepped from the shady woods into the warm sun and high grass on the side of the road. The towered lights of the stadium rose to the right, but Jessica led them across the street in the opposite direction.
Around a sharp curve in the road a practice field lined by aluminum bleachers abutted a domed pavilion. People milled, holding bottles of water or red plastic cups. The gathering had a partylike energy.
A group of older men huddled close to the fence, but most of the audience were women. Some were probably mothers, but more than a handful were too young to have a kid in high school. Hair was tossed, skirts adjusted, and legs crossed and recrossed. The mating call of the Southern female.
“I didn’t realize football was so popular with the ladies.” Jessica kept her voice low.
“It’s not so much football, but the coaches who are popular. And here they come. We’d best get seats.” They sat in the bottom row in front of an older black lady in a denim skirt.
Players came out first, pumped up and yelling. Then Robbie Dalton’s three-legged dog led out five men. Her gaze caught on Logan. Worn-out ball cap, athletic shorts, and a sleeveless T-shirt. Whether the blue cotton shirt had started sleeveless or ended up that way because of his ridiculous biceps, she couldn’t guess. Brown hair curled around the edge of his cap. The shadows the brim cast only highlighted the strong line of his jaw.
Logan warmed the boys up with a series of stretches before signaling with his whistle and lining the squad up in the near end zone. After joining them, he blew the whistle once again. Feet pounded to the fifty-yard line before running back to the goal line, repeating the circuit over and over. The boys spread out as the run went on, and Logan urged the slower boys on. Eventually, his whistle cut through the noise. Some boys dropped to their backs, while others grabbed their knees, heavy breathing replacing the thud of feet.
Logan walked around and talked to a few of the boys, heaving up a particularly muscled boy to a sitting position. Another blow of the whistle had them on their hands and toes for pushups. After the first set, Logan joined them, finishing the last few on one arm to the cheers and laughter of the boys around him. No wonder he was in such good shape. If she kept up with eighteen-year-old football players, she wouldn’t need to watch every bite that passed her lips.
A wolf whistle sounded from the group of young women to her left. Jessica whipped her head around, but the women had collapsed in a fit of giggles.
After a few more conditioning exercises, the players split off into groups. Logan joined Robbie Dalton and his dog. Twenty boys took a knee in a semicircle in front of the two men while others jogged off to circle other coaches.
“Lilliana Hancock, what are you doing here?” A petite dark-haired woman in a floaty black and red skirt approached with a warm smile. Laughter lurked behind her soft blue eyes and lent her a charm that drew you in.
“Hey girl,” Lilliana replied, scooting down to make room. “I thought my new friend would enjoy seeing the primitive rituals of the Falcon male. Darcy Dalton, this is Jessica Montgomery.”
Darcy and Jessica leaned out to study each other. Darcy’s mouth twitched, and Jessica sensed she was being examined and conclusions were being drawn. Finally, Darcy said, “You’re trying to hire my cousin away to the big city.”
“That’s why I came to Falcon.” Jessica fell back onto a half-truth out of nervousness.
Darcy’s head cocked to the side, her expression serious, a host of emotions flickering behind her suddenly cloudy eyes. “Logan’s a big boy. If he wants to take the job, I’ll support him. That’s what family does.”
Was it? Jessica wouldn’t know.
“I heard about your hair emergency. I don’t know what it looked like before, but you look fabulous now.”
Jessica ruffled the top. “Thanks. I’m still getting used to it. It’s definitely low maintenance.”
Darcy turned to Lilliana. “You’re going to have to sink some money into Hancock House, otherwise Alec is going to rip you apart.”
Lilliana groaned. “Well, you let me know if you see my fairy godmother around. Magic or a miracle is the only way I’ll pass inspection. Damn Alec Grayson. Why can’t he stick to coaching football?”
Jessica scanned the field. “Which one is he?”
Darcy pointed. “The quarterback coach. Tall, dark, and handsome. Stellar butt. Not that I’m remotely interested, I’m a married woman. But, you know, I have eyes.”
Jessica’s gaze glanced off the hot quarterback coach and settled on a coach who was so fine his pants might as well incinerate. With his back to the bleachers, Logan Wilde settled in a three-point stance, digging the toes of his shoes into the turf, his butt high in the air. Jessica shifted and fanned her shirt out.
Darcy leaned out again. “So, Jessica, what do you think about Logan and Adaline’s?”
“Adaline’s is stellar. The food and the atmosphere are top-notch.” She considered Logan, laughing and clapping one of the boys on the shoulder. “Logan is … complicated. Deep.”
Lilliana guffawed. “Deep? We’re talking about the man who slipped me fart jokes on the bulletin during Preacher Higgs’ Christmas sermon to get me to laugh. The man who pulled down my pants in front of Ronnie Pearson, ruining our burgeoning romance.”
Darcy rolled her eyes. “That was the summer we were ten, and Ronnie is currently doing time for domestic battery, so Logan did you a favor. Man, you can hold a grudge.”
Lilliana crossed her legs, her gaze directed across the field. “Those fart jokes were this past Christmas.”
“Did they work?” Jessica voice squeaked high with suppressed laughter.
“I snorted so loud Preacher Higgs lost his place and looked like he wanted to curse me to at least the third circle of Hell.”
The three of them collapsed in giggles.
The boys huddled up. The thick air dampened Coach Dalton’s voice, but his whistle cut to everyone. Most of the boys scattered, picking up their gear and jogging toward the pavilion, but Robbie and Logan pulled aside a few of the boys for extra work. Darcy hopped up and folded her arms over the fence to await her husband. Alec Grayson, the quarterback coach, lasered his gaze in their direction. Lilliana stiffened and she grabbed Jessica’s knee. “Crap. I think Alec is coming over. He must have heard about your hair.”
Sure enough, Alec Grayson headed straight for the fence, spinning a football in his hand before palming it. The football seemed a natural extension of his arm. He wore a long-sleeve athletic shirt even in the heat, and a bulky brace on his right knee. He was clean-cut and preppy-looking, but stern furrows lined his mouth and left his face unreadable. “May I have a word, Miss Hancock?”
“My spinster aunt is Miss Hancock. You can call me Lilliana.” She stood and took two steps toward the fence, the only sign of her anxiety in the way her hands gripped each other behind her back.
“Lilliana.” He said her name slowly as if testing the way it rolled off his tongue.
Jessica’s intuition clanged. She glanced over at her friend. Lilliana’s cheeks had flushed and her eyes had grown bright either in preparation for a confrontation or something more primal.
He continued. “I heard there was an electrical overload on one of your bathroom outlets. I don’t need to tell you to get that fixed, do I? And, I also don’t need to tell you that since you haven’t passed inspection, you cannot run Hancock House as a legitimate B&B, correct?”
Alec shot a quick glance in Jessica’s direction, but didn’t catch her eye or offer an introduction. After everyone in the town had been so friendly, his standoffish attitude was off-putting.
Jessica stood and brushed her hands down her skirt. “Mr. Grayson, was it? My name is Jessica Montgomery, and Lilliana and I are dear friends. She invited me to stay at Hancock House as a guest, not a paying customer.”
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Montgomery.” He lifted his chin in her direction, but kept his focus squarely on Lilliana. His voice softened. “I know some good electricians if you want a recommendation.”
“Not necessary. I’ve already hired someone.” Lilliana’s voice was unusually clipped and terse.
“Excellent.” His eyes narrowed, and he looked as if he might say something else, yet he only said, “Afternoon, ladies,” and jogged away with the football tucked under his arm.
Jessica watched Lilliana watch Alec. “What’s up with you two?”
“Nothing,” Lilliana said too quickly, her eyes still on the quarterback coach.
“O-kay,” Jessica drew out in perfect imitation of Lilliana.
“What?” Lilliana whipped her head around to face Jessica who only raised her eyebrows, cocked her head, and waited.
“Fine,” Lilliana whispered. “If you must know, I had a crush on him back in college. Along with about eight thousand other girls. And, then, one night at a party…” She pressed her lips together and shook her head.
Jessica gasped. “Did you two hook up?”
“You could say that.” Lilliana pressed both hands against her cheeks. “It was intensely humiliating all the way around, but the worst part is … he doesn’t even remember me.”
Jessica stared at Alec’s retreating figure. “He doesn’t seem the ‘love ’em and leave ’em’ type. He’s kind of serious and dour.”
“Don’t let him fool you. He was a player in more ways than one.” The level of bitterness in Lilliana’s voice surprised Jessica.
Male voices rose, and the group of players broke up. Coach Dalton and Logan tossed a football back and forth while the dog barked and played Monkey in the Middle. Lilliana wandered over to chat to a cluster of well-dressed, middle-aged mothers.