Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Ivy
W e slept most of the day away.
By the time we're done making love, the sky outside the windows has darkened to an inky, deep blue.
We're both exhausted, but starving, and in need of another shower-- this one, we take together in Jake's master bathroom.
And when we're done with our second shower of the day, we're even hungrier.
Jake finds me more clothes from his closet. A pair of his sweats and a flannel shirt. Both are too big for me, but Jake says they'll work for where he's taking me.
A short drive down the private, gravel driveway and onto Moonshine Ridge's main road later, we pull into a large parking lot and walk into the Moonshine Ridge Tavern and Grill-- through the door that faces the street that says "family dining" over it.
"The back doors are to the bar," Jake explains. "Same business, same kitchen. But the restaurant has a full menu."
It's after nine o'clock and our waitress tells us we made it just before the kitchen closes.
The place is almost empty when we arrive, just one table in the back where four old women sit arguing with each other, empty fry baskets piled on the end of their table along with an empty beer pitcher.
A second, half-full pitcher sits in the middle of their table along with pint glasses in various levels of full for each of the women.
By the time our teenaged waitress delivers our burgers and a basket of chili-cheese fries to share, there's been a sudden rush. Tables are filling up near us, with several people stopping by to say hello to Jake.
"Alice has her phone out." Jake explains to me with a laugh as he introduces me to Current and Ginger Jones, who just closed up their pizza and brewpub across the street.
"And she's putting it to nefarious uses," Deputy Hawkins warns us as he stops by our table. "You're the town celebrity now, those women are going to milk your fifteen minutes for all the gold they can get out of that gossip. Be ready."
The local law man nods toward the table of old women, shooting a wary glance between them and the beer pitchers on their table.
"I'm off duty. Got relief sitting in for me for the next few days. Up from the valley." He takes the bags of food to-go that Toni hands him and gives her a folded bill in exchange, telling her to put it in her fund.
"I'm off to the family," he informs us with a tip of his hat with his free hand. "Glad you're doing well, miss. Welcome to the Ridge."
His eyes go to Jake and back to me like he already knows I'm not leaving. Then he glances at the table in the far corner again and shakes his head like those sweet old ladies are a bunch of teenage delinquents. I swear he shudders.
"They're not my problem for a few days," he mutters under his breath on his way out.
"I get the feeling there's a story there?" I lean into Jake's hard body beside me, and use one of the crispy, seasoned French fries to shovel the homemade chili into my mouth.
Jake reaches over to shake the hand of a man he introduces as Hayle.
"Just came down to get gran." The man tells us-- after the usual "glad you're okays" that I've been getting from everyone who has come by our table-- "Hawk said she was down here looking for trouble."
Hayle heads toward the old women like he's walking into a fire fight.
"My understanding is that there's a lot more than just one story there." Jake remarks with a nod toward their table.
After I think every resident of Moonshine Ridge has found an excuse to come down to the tavern and stop by to meet me, the place clears out again.
Our waitress, Toni, stands at the end of the diner style counter, talking to a boy about her age who's obviously smitten with the cute little brunette. She seems oblivious to his moony-eyed stare as he tracks her movements while she runs Jake's card for our meal and thanks him for the tip.
"He's got it bad," I whisper to Jake as we leave and walk back to his car.
"Who?" Jake follows my stare back at the teens inside, then laughs. "Jax? Oh yeah. She's going to break his heart. Everybody on the Ridge has seen that writing on the wall for the last couple of years now.
"You know who else has it bad?" Jake pulls me close, wrapping me in his strong arms where I feel so safe. "Me. For you."
He kisses me deep before opening the passenger door and helping me into his truck.
"Me for you too," I assure him as he prepares to close the door after I fasten my seatbelt. "And I promise I won't break your heart."
Jake
" B et." I wink at my woman as I close the door on her side and circle around to the driver's side of the truck.
It's only a ten minute drive or so back to my place-- our place. When I think about it, I reach for Ivy's hand-- but I try to give her the information on all the people she met tonight in that short time.
"You already know Phoenix," I point out. "She's married to my buddy, Adam. So you two will see a lot of each other. They had their first baby just a couple months ago. Hopefully we won't be too far behind them."
Ivy laughs and squeezes my hand back.
I like that it's not a nervous laugh. She doesn't sound like she's humoring me. The musical little laugh she responds with sounds more like a willing accomplice.
The sound goes straight to my dick.
"So you're cool with that, I take it?"
Chasing Ivy to the front door, I cage her against the solid wood between my arms and kiss her senseless.
"Weirdly so," she tells me when I let her breathe again. "We should start right now."
My woman does not need to ask twice.
Sweeping off her feet and over my shoulder, I make sure to lock the door before hauling her into our bed.
"My shirt looks so fucking good on you. Leave it on."
Boots, jeans, shirt-- everything I was wearing five seconds ago is on the floor. The borrowed black sweats I gave Ivy land at her feet and when I see that she didn't have her panties on under them, that crazy need to claim her starts throbbing in my head to match the throbbing need in my dick.
Ivy stands at the foot of the bed and fixes me with her striking green eyes as she unbuttons the gray and blue flannel I gave her.
Goddamn but that thing looks better draped over her curves than it ever will on me.
"Fuck baby, spin around."
Moving up behind her, I push her shoulder so she bends over the foot of the bed.
She's a fucking vision like this, with her ass up and her feet apart.
Her pink little pussy winks at me from between her thick thighs and, even with just light from the hallway spilling in through the bedroom door, I can see her glistening there.
Flipping the tail of the flannel up, I treat myself to an even better view of her round ass.
With one hand I grip my dick and drag the thick head through her moisture. I fill my other hand with her ass cheek, kneading the soft flesh and damn near coming all over her back at the sight of it jiggling when I give it a light smack.
I've never been a spanking kind of guy, but that sight and the sharp gasp and deep moan I get from Ivy when I caress the pinkening spot under my hand? I might have to rethink my kinks.
"Are you going to stand there and think about it all night? Or are you planning on fucking me?"
Ivy tortures me with an enticing wiggle and I give her my answer.
I have to bend my knees to line up to her, but it gives me the leverage I need to slam home in one stroke.
Once I'm embedded to the root in Ivy's tight heat, I have to wait. I have to let myself get used to the feeling of her, to how fucking good she feels wrapped around my cock like this, or I'll lose it too damn fast.
And this is already going to be a quickie.
Ivy's on the same wavelength, pushing back against me and begging me to fuck her hard and fast.
My hands grip her hips and I start to thrust. I want her to come for me again. I can't get enough of the feeling of her pussy clenching down on my cock, even though by now I've learned that I'll never be able to make it through her orgasm without triggering my own.
I circle her clit with my fingers, sweat already dripping from my forehead and running down the crack of Ivy's ass as we race each other for the finish line.
"Come inside me again, Jake. Give me your baby."
That does it. Game over for me. I'm so damn glad to feel Ivy coming undone on my cock because there's not a damn thing I can do at this point to stop myself from giving her what she asked for.
I unleash inside her, pumping jets of cum as deep as I can manage before collapsing on the bed before I fall on the damn floor.
"What are the odds we've actually knocked you up today?" I ask later, when I have Ivy's sleepy body pressed to mine in our bed.
She thinks for a minute.
"Not high," she decides. "But not zero."
"We'll just have to keep trying."
"Sounds good to me."
Tomorrow, we'll swing by the fire station and pick up the stuff they recovered from her camp on our way down to the valley to find her a ring.
Then I'll propose legit and we'll work on catching up to my buddies on the family thing.