Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Laurel put down the book she’d been pretending to read. She’d already read the same page five times and had no clue what it said. Tossing it onto the coffee table, she flopped her head back against the couch cushion.
She’d been able to return to her apartment yesterday. The mess had been cleaned up and the new drywall was in place, but they hadn’t put in the new cabinets yet, and the replacement stove wouldn’t be delivered until Friday. So, she’d be rocking take-out and PB&J until then. Regardless, it was nice to be home.
It’d been four days since she and Jake had gone skydiving. Well, “floating-in-a-box diving,” according to Skye, who’d argued it shouldn’t count toward the list. Laurel had reminded her she’d never specified jumping out of a plane to Jake, only that Laurel had to skydive. Skye hadn’t been happy about the loophole, but she couldn’t refute it either.
Laurel crossed her legs, hissing in a sharp breath at the sudden sting. Unfortunately, she’d checked off the very last item on her list this morning.
Leaning back on her shoulders, she lifted her hips off the couch enough to be able to carefully pull her shorts down from where they’d bunched up. She wasn’t wearing any underwear, but even the soft cotton shorts were too abrasive. Why in bells anyone waxed their hoo-ha voluntarily was beyond her. Even worse, why she’d actually gone through with it was a mystery.
Scratch that. Britt and Skye’s constant harping, that’s why. It was either submit to physical torture or suffer unending mental anguish, knowing those two.
She never wanted her students to cave to peer pressure, yet here she'd gone and done it herself. But Skye had said it was either go through with operation wax on/wax off, or jump out of an actual plane.
See? Peer pressure.
Yes, she was a grown woman and her friends couldn’t force her to do anything she didn’t want to do, but the list had brought Jake into her life. Because of that, she almost felt a sense of responsibility to finish it. Okay, truth be told, she was being superstitious. If she didn’t finish the list, would everything reset? Totally irrational, but being sore and walking oddly for a day or two was worth not risking the chance of that happening. Besides, Jake was working anyway, so not like anything sexy would be happening any time soon.
Hot images from when they’d had sex played in her brain like a movie. Being with Jake had been absolutely mind-blowing, and recalling the vivid memories made her lady bits tingle.
She squeezed her thighs together, hoping to stave off the needy sensations. Unfortunately, the movement made her crotch ignite… and not in a good way.
She reclined on the couch and carefully stretched her legs out with a sigh. Maybe she could take a nap and forget about how her nether regions felt like she’d sat on a hot stove burner.
Good luck with that.
Well, at least the pain had made her stop thinking about Jake for a change.
Yeah, right. Like I ever stop thinking about Jake.
The last time she’d seen him had been Sunday. She’d had some end-of-year wrap-up tasks to do at the school yesterday, including a meeting with her principal, and Jake’s mom had needed help with something, so they hadn’t gotten together. He’d returned to work this morning—a day earlier than normal—to take part of Logan’s shift, since he’d covered for him after the fire. Jake wasn’t going to be off again until Friday. They’d talked on the phone, but it wasn’t the same.
How was it possible to miss someone so much after only being apart twenty-four hours?
The only positive to not seeing him was the fact she wanted to invite him to her mom’s fundraiser on Saturday. She’d love for him to go with her, but actually having to ask him was intimidating. She’d never asked a guy out on a date before. She’d never wanted to until Jake. At least now she could ask him over the phone, like the chicken she was, instead of face-to-face.
As if a sign from the universe, her phone rang. A quick look at the screen confirmed it was Jake. Guess now was as good a time as any to pop the question. Well, not that question.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Princess.” The deep timber of his voice made her body take notice.
“Hi,” she said, a little breathless.
Breathless? He’d only said two words! How could he affect her as much as he did? It should be downright illegal.
“How’s my girl?”
Was she “his girl?” Did she want to be?
Stupid question.
“Good,” she said, despite having to adjust her shorts again. “How are you? Are you at work?” She scrunched her face.
“Are you at work?” Of course, he’s at work. I know he’s at work.
“I mean, how’s work?”
“Better after hearing your voice.”
Okay, now she felt all warm and fuzzy.
“You been thinking about me?” he asked.
It would make her look too clingy if she’d said yes, right?
“Maybe,” she hedged. After all, she didn’t know if… “Have you been thinking about me?”
“All the time.”
Her smile was instantaneous. “You have?”
“Yep. You,” he confirmed, “and your pussy.”
She gasped, heat arrowing straight to her core.
“And all the things I’m going to do to you both the next time we’re together.”
Oh.
My.
Heck!
They’d had sex again on Sunday, and it’d been even better than the first time—uh—times, but that comment still shocked her… and made her instantly wet.
Her fingers tightened around the phone in a quivering death grip as she tried to control her body’s response, which was laughable. When it came to Jake, she had no control.
“Do you want to know everything I’m going to do to you, Princess?”
He expected her to answer after saying that? She could barely breathe, let alone form a complete sentence!
“When I get off Friday morning, I’m coming to your apartment, and you’re gonna answer the door wearing nothing…”
Omigosh! Oh, no. Fudge!
“... but your bra and panties.”
Phone sex! Are we going to have phone sex?
She’d never done that before. Could she do that? It was a little exciting, but a lot intimidating. What the heck was she supposed to say? “Hey big boy, I want your big ? —”
She cringed and slapped a hand over her eyes. That sounded horrible! He’d laugh all the way to the disconnect button. Here he’d barely said anything, and she’d already be panting if her stupid lungs would start working. But if that lame comment was the best she could do, he’d hang up after three syllables or less.
“You know what I’m gonna do,” he continued, “after I strip your panties off with my teeth?”
Her vision started tunneling.
Ho-ly fudge!
Still, if they were doing this, she had to at least try. Right? She could do this.
I can do this.
“What… ” She cleared her throat, trying to speak around the giant ball of terror lodged there. “What, um, are you, um…?”
Cranberries! I suck at this!
“I mean,” she tried again. “What things are you, uh, going t?—”
Wait!
Goosebumps erupted along her flesh. “Can other people hear you?” she croaked out, horrified by the possibility.
“Do you want them to?” he purred.
“No!” She jerked to a sitting position, wincing when her shorts pulled tight across her abused skin.
“Guess I should move out of earshot of the guys, then.”
“Jake!” Oh, my heck! She was going to hyperventilate!
He chuckled. “Relax, Princess. I’m outside. Alone. Wishing I was inside you.”
For a moment, she stopped breathing. Literally, could not draw a breath. Her heart was pounding out a heavy metal drum solo in her chest, and the rest of her body had melted into a pathetic puddle of need.
Her mouth turned cottony. She had no clue how to respond. On what delusional planet had she ever thought she’d be able to do this? She was so far out of her depth. She’d take the big, fat “F” in “phone sex 101” if he’d just… “You need to stop saying stuff like that.”
“Why? Am I turning you on?”
Silence.
“Am I?”
“Yes,” she confessed in a hushed tone.
“Good.”
The possessive tone of his voice affected her as much as his words had, which was crazy. How could just his?—
“But don’t you dare do a damn thing about it unless I’m with you,” Jake growled. “From now on, I own all your orgasms.”
Swear to goodness, she nearly blacked out. Her core clenched, needing him inside her so desperately, she started shaking.
She should be offended by his demand. Furious that he’d basically ordered her not to masturbate, implying she could only come when he was the one making it happen. She should be mad, but oh my heck, that was hot! Even though now she really wanted— needed —to come.
“I mean it, Princess. Not without me.”
She was so turned on, she was afraid to move. She literally might come on the spot if her shorts caused any friction whatsoever.
“Say it.”
“N-Not without you.”
“Good girl.”
The next second, an alarm blared through the phone, jolting Laurel out of the sensual maelstrom she’d been sucked into.
Jake cursed. “Gotta go. I’ll call you later.”
“Please be careful.”
“Always. And Princess?”
“Yes?”
“Keep those hands above the waist, babe.”