Chapter 42
Two days later, Becca found herself juggling several situations simultaneously. The piling on of multiple things had her revved up. Staying ahead of the crap life threw your way wasn”t always a walk in the park.
Sammy required a trip to the doctor after spraining his foot running between the work barn and the stable. He had to use a cane and wear an ortho-boot for several weeks. She had to pivot quickly to keep things running smoothly and assign someone to take over until the poor guy was back on both feet.
Because summer was a busy time at the Villa”s ranch, speed bumps like Sammy”s injury caused headaches.
On the home front, a leaky faucet she tried to fix after watching a how-to video on YouTube became a bigger deal when her amateur plumber efforts went sideways. Turning the water off to the sink was her only option until she could get a licensed plumber to make a house call.
Ever the mom, she taped a piece of paper to the bathroom mirror, reminding her and Kori to reach inside the vanity cabinet to turn the water on and off.
And then there was the laundry debacle, which wasn”t so much of a situation as an annoyance.
While on auto-pilot, she”d dumped a basket of towels into the washer without checking and destroyed two summer tops with hot water and bleach.
Frustration was a side effect of modern life, so Becca knew she should be better at handling her irritation—and usually, she did okay—but today was taking a toll.
Her phone buzzed. It was Kori with an update. Domineau had flown to Los Angeles for a dress fitting with Lisette D”Alessandro, and Rafe was busy at work, so Kori rushed to the rescue! Her highly responsible daughter had a whole afternoon of activities planned for Molly. Babysitting was turning into a lucrative gig.
Half of a chuckle rumbled out of her. ”At this rate, my kid will have a fatter bank account than me.”
Family Justice paid well for Kori”s child-minding services.
Regarding her home issues, Becca managed the plumber situation, finalized the day and time for a service appointment, and easily handled a scheduling snafu at work.
Armed with an array of cleaning equipment and two bags—one for trash and the other for recycling—she spent the next few hours methodically advancing, room to room, cleaning and straightening every inch.
When her house was spotless, she cleaned the cleaning equipment and returned everything to its proper place.
A shower came next. She washed her hair and applied a conditioning mask. While waiting for the goo to do its job, she shaved her legs and tidied her lady bits.
One of Kori”s mild face scrubs was in the shower niche. She slathered the floral-smelling skincare product on her face and neck, then stepped into the shower spray to rinse away the hair mask and face scrub.
Showered, shaved, towel dried, and moisturized, she strolled naked into her bedroom, turned on the satellite radio station playing easy country tunes, and fished through her underwear drawer, looking for something summery.
Finding a seldom-worn set decorated with bright red cherries, she slid on the bra and matching panties.
”These are cute,” she announced to her reflection.
That was all it took for her imagination to run wild. She thought up and discarded half a dozen scenarios, settling on one that saw her showing up unannounced on Jamie”s doorstep, wearing the cherry lingerie beneath a sexy summer dress and holding a cherry pie.
Fighting an urge to act on this fantasy seduction, she pulled on a tank top and a pair of denim cut-offs that had seen better days in a different decade.
After finger-combing her drying hair, she tried distracting herself with busy work in the kitchen. One pleasurable cup of French press coffee later, she followed the java jolt with a slice of cheesecake from Piper”s Bakery in Bendover.
”Mm,” she mumbled after slowly savoring a chunk of the creamy cake. ”Sugar and caffeine. Not my brightest move considering the time.”
She glanced at the kitchen clock. It was almost the dinner hour.
”What to do,” she muttered aloud. ”What. To. Do.”
Several options sprang to mind. Only one stuck.
”Truth bomb. I want to do Jamie Hunter.”
Was she making a decision?
It seemed that way.
Fueled with cheesecake and dark roast, she grabbed her purse and keys and left the house. In her crappy but reliable old van, she drove to the nearest market and bought a cherry pie plus a can of aerosol whipped cream.
Setting off for the Villa, she felt a bit of trepidation—after all, she”d never attempted anything as audacious as the bold seduction she saw in her mind.
At the Villa”s security checkpoint, she kept things light and friendly. She worked on the property, so nobody blinked when she turned up on an unscheduled day.
To quell her nerves, she fired off a pep talk in her brain. She was an adult, and there was nothing wrong with knowing what she wanted. Although Becca didn”t see herself as flirty or seductive, she was willing to give it a try.
Surely, her bravery counted for something.
She turned into Jamie”s long driveway in the blink of an eye. Her heart was thumping so hard she heard every beat.
Parking next to his truck, she hurried to exit the van before nervousness got the upper hand.
Ducking her head, she slung her crossbody purse on and reached across the driver”s seat to retrieve the store-bought pie and the can of whipped cream.
Having grown up listening to rock ”n” roll, it was inevitable that as she walked across the gravel driveway, the song playing on the soundtrack in her head was hair metal band Warrant”s biggest hit, ”Cherry Pie.”
Did she strut straight to the side door, rocking her hips in short denim cutoffs? Yes, yes, yes.
Jamie opened the door—he must have seen her arrival—and smiled surprisedly.
”Rebecca?”
”Yes! It”s moi,”she announced cheerily. ”Have you had dinner? I brought dessert.”
”You made dessert?”he asked in a somewhat confused tone.
”Oh, god, no. I stopped at the store.”She showed him the boxed pie and shook the can of whipped cream.
He stared at her for the longest time. She found it impossible to read his reaction.
Wetting her lips now that her mouth was bone dry, she attempted some levity.
”Can I come in, or would you like me to hand over the pie and skedaddle?”
”Please, come in.”He opened the door wider and motioned for her to enter.
Cat Nebatar was on hand as Becca entered. The furry feline swished her tail and blinked. At that moment, she worried her spontaneous decision to invade Jamie”s sanctuary had been ill-advised.
”Own it,”her inner voice urged.
Pulling her shoulders back, she stood tall and strode into the kitchen to deposit the pie and whipped cream on the island. Her glance around the room found everything in its place.
When she turned to face him, a gigantic knot of nerves laced with desire formed in her stomach.
Jamie”s rugged handsomeness was on vivid display thanks to his lack of a shirt. The confident set of his broad shoulders bronzed by the Arizona sun turned up the dial of his manly aura.
Her eyes lingered on his muscular chest.
He crossed his brawny arms and cleared his throat.
Caught drooling, she whipped her eyes to his, gulped, and saw his firm, sensual lips curl at one corner. Other than that, his expression was unreadable.
She faced a choice—cut and run like a coward or ball up and go for it.
Figuring it was already too late to back away quietly with her dignity still intact, she went with the ball up and go for it scenario.
* * *
Jamie could barely comprehendRebecca”s showing up unannounced with an amusing air of seduction clinging to her. It was not what he expected at the end of a long, productive day.
Her unexpected appearance came after he finished a grueling workout. He”d stripped off his sweaty T-shirt and guzzled water to aid his cool-down. Cat was demanding to be fed, so he dished up her dinner and watched while she ate.
As all cats and owners do, they were discussing the day when Rebecca”s van crept down the drive.
The second she strutted from the van to his door, he knew he had a situation on his hands—and now, here he was, trying to decide what exactly he should do.
Fanning her cheeks, she looked rosy, no doubt from embarrassment. One thing he knew for sure: the lady was miles outside her comfort zone. She blew out a short breath and commented on the weather.
”As my rancheros are fond of saying, it”s hot as balls outside.”She smiled tentatively. With a half-suppressed chuckle, she drawled. ”I never know what that means. Are balls hot? These things are mysteries.”
Though sorely tempted to engage in silly banter, Jamie bit his tongue instead and waited for her to make a move.
The charmingly attired single mom was trying her hand at a booty call, and there was just no other way to put it.
She didn”t wait for him to respond.
”You look, um … pumped. Were you working out?”
”I was.”
”Oh, well then,”she said with a smile. ”It seems that I have good timing.”
To his utter astonishment, she invaded his personal space to stroke his bicep with an appreciative murmur.
Surprised by her boldness, he uncrossed his arms.
Taking advantage, she then stroked his chest from his throat straight to his navel.
She was in over her head but had yet to realize it. He almost grabbed her wrist—almost. Teachable moments don”t come along often, so he let the scene play on instead.
From there, a farce unfolded, and though her entire performance turned him on, Jamie knew things would not end the way she so obviously wanted.
They were on the living room sofa. He sat while she straddled him, feeding him forkfuls of pie.
She”d lost her tank top along the way. The cherry theme of her seduction extended to her underwear—she”d worn a bra and panty set covered in bright red cherries.
Though her top was gone, he had to thank his lucky stars that she merely unzipped her shorts and hadn”t tried to take them off. He only had so much control.
The situation nearly ran off the rails when she tilted her head and stuck out her tongue to receive a cloud of aerosol whipped cream.
He began counting down from one hundred when she drew a heart on his shoulder with the whipped cream and licked it off.
His control snapped when she mauled his neck with her mouth.
There was no use in pretending he wasn”t ferociously turned on, but he knew he had to end things before losing it.
Relaxing his arms at his sides, he sat impassively under the onslaught of her amorous attentions.
It went on for another minute before Rebecca gave up, wiggled off his lap, and stood looking down at him.
Her eyes went to the visible bulge tenting his Justice-branded sweatpants. He looked, too.
”I mean, I”m not imagining that, right?”
He shrugged.
”And yet you don”t seem into this at all. What am I doing wrong?”
She ran a shaking hand through her hair and bit her lip.
”Come here,”he crooked his finger.
When she stepped closer, he pulled up the zipper on her shorts, did the button, and reached for her tank top.
”Put this on and sit.”
Waves of uncertainty rolled off her, but she complied.
”Pay attention,”he commanded brusquely.
When he was sure he”d taken back control and had her unwavering attention, he spoke in clear, concise words—Dom words.
”Rebecca, make no mistake—I like your greedy side, but how you went about it was less than elegant.”
Her face flamed bright red. ”I thought you”d want me to let you know my desires,”she said.
”And I do. It”s how you share those desires that we”re addressing.”
She nodded but still seemed put off and confused.
”I knew the minute you swaggered to my door that in your head, you worked up a scenario involving me balls deep inside you.”
”Oh my god.”She covered her face with her hands and groaned.
”I”m flattered, but how you went about this bold seduction falls into a category known as topping. Are you familiar with the term topping from the bottom?”
Her head shook, no.
”It refers to a submissive trying to take control and lead. There”s nothing wrong and everything right about asking for what you want—it”s how you do it. I know this is a steep part of the learning curve because I”ve been there.”
”From your experience as a sub,”she mumbled more to herself than to him.
”Yes, Rebecca. Would you like to hear what I thought when you arrived?”
”Maybe not, but go ahead.”
”I appreciate your honesty. So here goes—you wanted to fuck. Not a bad thing, but is this how you wanted our first time to be? On the sofa? No romance? Just open legs and insert here?”
”Oh god. No.”
”Precisely. Now, if you showed up with a pie you baked yourself, even if it sucked, I”d know you spent hours thinking about me, about us. Instead, you have a store-bought pie from a shitty market. No thought. Just blind action.”
He let those words sink in before continuing.
”I”m not blowing sunshine up your skirt about me being a Dom. You”ve been on board and enthusiastic. Until this escapade.”
”I still am,”she hastily exclaimed.
”Then I need you to think before you act.”
She groaned. ”It”s about protocol and nuance. I wasn”t thinking.”
”And that”s okay. This is how we learn what works for us as a couple.”He chuckled.”Now, if you”d asked permission to be a greedy wanton and I agreed, we might be fucking right this second.”
”I feel so stupid.”
He leered at her. ”Would you feel better if I put you on your knees and told you to suck my dick now that you got me hard?”
”Would that be punishment or reward?”she asked in a whisper.
”Both. A little gagging is good for the soul.”
“Jamie,” she murmured. ”You”re bad.”
There wasn”t much more to say, so he ended the encounter and sent her on her way.