Roundabout Road (Saving the Sinners of Preacher's Bend Book 2) (14 page)

Her husband eyed her suspiciously. “But what?”

“Once we do this, you have to give me the respect of deciding
what it is I want, and which way I want to go. Okay, Jake? You can’t pressure
me into staying here. You can’t pressure me into changing my mind about you,
either. And you won’t be allowed to sway the jury’s verdict—meaning the rest of
Preacher’s Bend—as I know you’ll try.”

He let go of only one of her arms and ran a hand
through his hair. “Really sucks sour grapes, doesn’t it? Lacing the offer with
ultimatums? Only someone like you would dare think to do this to a man.”

“It might suck sour grapes, Jake. But it’s going to be
your one and only offer. Take it, or leave it.”

Jake nodded. “Fine, I’ll take it. But when we are done
here—done with getting this out of our systems—as you say,” he warned, holding
back a sly grin, “—you’ll not be able to walk away as easily as you did ten
years ago, if able to walk at all.” His added snort increased the arrogance
level to almost intolerable.

Her eyes drifted to his bare chest, then lowered, and
the imagination wandered to the huge bulge in his pants, but she quickly
bypassed any disagreeableness to a peacock of a man preening his feathers in
front of her face.

Her gaze rose and trapped his. “You don’t plan on
fighting fairly, do you Mr. Giotti?”

“Not on your life,
Mrs
. Giotti.”

Did she really think this man would fight fair? Come
on, now.
Really?
This was Jake Giotti. After all, she wasn’t about to
fight fairly herself. So why would she have expected her estranged husband to
play by the rules?

She would get what she wanted from him. And Jake?

He was the epitome of an unfair fight, the copied
definition of a very dangerous man. The more she knew this, the more it truly floored
her she actually offered him what she had. Sex. Not just once, but as many
times as it took to get it out of their systems. In return, would be her
unquestioned freedom. Relief from a throbbing core desiring a man’s thick shaft
shoved inside it would be a good thing. Oh, and she’d probably have a guilt
trip from Hell, once this happened,
and
once he signed those annulment
papers.

Good God!
Was she insane?
To head back to the
past and have back what they once had? Yes. Insanity came and went in her
family. The malady likely stemmed from the tracks, the drinking, and the
foolish choices every Humphrey ever made since the beginning of time.

But Liddy was the only Humphrey who had Jake Giotti
within her midst, and the one about to end their war once and for all. As his
mouth moved down to hers, their fates became sealed by an indrawn breath.

Chapter Fifteen

“Are there any ground rules?” he asked, tugging her
tank top over her head and groaning loudly; his eyes very appreciative of her
two newest assets dead center of sight.

Mack had only wanted the best, and by how much he’d
paid her plastic surgeon, they were the best.

“Any ground rules?” she muttered between the sudden
nibbles to her left earlobe, as her husband bent down to take liberty to her
ear. Perhaps to take his mind off something bigger and better than he’d
remembered.

Jake knew she would turn to mush if he nibbled her earlobe.
He was using this to his advantage. He could ask her just about anything, and
likely get whatever he desired once the Goosebumps started to rise.

“What . . . ever . . . do you . . . mean by rules?” she
whispered out. God help her!
Both arms covered in gooseflesh?

A tingle of euphoria rushed throughout Liddy’s system,
and drained any further resolve as his lips slid down the side of her neck,
over her throat, then back to her mouth.

“For starters, is there a time limit I should know
about?” His mouth found her eyelid. He kissed it tenderly. Then her right
gained equal attention. Each lid closed, with a heartfelt sigh hitting her
right between the lungs.

God, she missed this. Him. The intimacy. The
tenderness. Jake had never been a man to make love with little regard to how she
felt. He was being gentle, she supposed, to remind her of how it had been
between them and exactly what she’d let slip away because of ill-fated lies.

“Specific areas I am not allowed touching?” He pulled
his head back, eyeing her enlarged breasts yet again; and grinning shamelessly
to anticipated ample treat.

“No ground rules, Jake. It’ll be just you, me, and
nothing standing in our way.” The palm of her right hand pressed against his
muscular torso, as a really deep breath was taken to steady her nerves for what
she was about to let happen. No way in hell was she ready for any of this. But
a promise was a promise. And she promised him
this
, if he in turn gave
her the promise of freedom of choice, which he had.

“So? No rules? I can touch anything I want?” Jake held
her away from his inflamed body momentarily; his hands moved to the top of her
shoulders. “No time limits? Nothing standing in our way?” He cocked his head to
one side. “Literally . . . I can do just about anything I want to?”

She nodded, licking her dry lips. She wanted him to do
anything and everything imaginable to her. Her core was near explosive.

“Just who the hell are you, and what did you do with my
wife? Where’s the Liddy Giotti I know?” he voiced, pushing her to arm’s length
away.

“Very funny, Jake.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be funny, Liddy.” His husky
sex-starved voice sobered with the reality of their situation.

Taking another deep breath, she asked, “Then what was it
supposed to be?”

Jake drew her back into his arms. Bare breasts now
touched bare chest.
God! That felt great
. Truly great. It had been such
a long time. Such wasted time.

Perhaps, for the both of them, time would choose to stand
still.

“This was supposed to be difficult on you, Liddy.” His
hands moved to the back of her head, encompassing her skull.

Liddy tried to pull away from this. But Jake would not
let her. “This
is
difficult, Jake.
Very
difficult.”

“Why? We both know how to do this. We’re both
consenting adults. You do remember how to do this, right? ” His smile poured
vinegar into the open wound.

“Not
that
! I mean you . . . here . . . us,
together. Me, here, after all the years gone.”

Jake’s sexy smile faded quickly. “Are you somehow
trying to back out on this?”

“No.”

“Then shut the hell up and kiss me, Liddy.”

Of which she did; over, and over, and over again until
she was blue in the face. She kissed his lips. Her mouth caressed his warm
skin. His shoulders gained its due. The large Boa, the man’s knuckles, each
shared equally.

When Jake pushed her to the floor, and he followed, she
kissed him with such a passion built up, for a moment she felt dizzy. Dizzy
with relief. She was never very good at playing cat and mouse games with any
man. And even if she did try her hand at it, with this man . . . he always won,
hands down.

Jake’s hands went to the zipper of her jeans. As her
heart stammered in her throat, she leaned back, sat on the floor, and allowed him
to remove the faded material. Her white tank top hadn’t taken as long.

Jake’s bloodied dress shirt was already on the floor.
He stood quickly, removed his tailored suit pants, kicking off his loafers.

Liddy felt so exposed in her bikini underwear, but her
eyes were glued to the huge bulge trapped in white briefs, that any coldness
without clothing dissipated quickly.

He then rejoined her on the floor, easing her into his
arms. Her mouth found his and locked on like a heat-seeking missile. He drew
back and with a sly grin dipped his fingers into the lacey trim of her panties,
sliding his hand until he could reach her heat.

And damn, if there wasn’t a ton of heat down there.

His mouth found hers, Jake darting in his tongue, dragging
it along the roof of her mouth, as his fingers centered to her parting legs,
and without voiced invitation he plunged one finger deep into her.

Liddy’s gasp got swallowed up by his mouth.

He crocked his finger, easing her closer. He was only
checking if she was ready for his demanding size. Finding her suitable, he
removed his finger and centered his body over hers. He wasted no time for his
own pleasure; easing his hard cock into her welcoming fold.

The first thrust was quick—a quick remembrance—and
then all others seemed to heighten their togetherness.

“God, I’ve missed this. You,” he muttered.

Liddy’s internal grip on his manhood drew out his
smile as he pressed her harder to the floor. He couldn’t seem to find what he
was looking for, but doing a damn good job while searching for it.

“I’ve missed this from you . . . so damn much.”

Liddy held back the tears. Speaking would only spoil
the moment, and she didn’t want that.

As her insides fisted him hard, and springing forth
unicorn laced butterflies to the forefront of their lovemaking, her throat
constricted into painful. This was love. No doubt about it. Jake could never hide
his heart if ever she looked at him. And she knew she’d always be unable to
hide the inside of her soul from him.

Liddy’s eyes wouldn’t leave his face as his hips
pumped. She arched her back the moment those oddly mocking unicorns took to
wing, and her climax so overpowering, she couldn’t help but scream out his
name.

At any given moment Debra could’ve come waltzing
through the door. She could have found the both of them stark naked. They could
be caught at any given moment by Chief Berken.

This was what made it so exciting . . . and dangerous.

Liddy had always loved danger, and so had Jake. One
could say they’d spent most of their adult life doing dangerous things.

His hands slid to her face. Hers found his back. She then
lowered her palms to his bared buttocks, holding him inside until he found
completion, draining himself.

Not once did her head go to the fact Mack refused her
such an exquisite pleasure—touching a man’s firm ass with both hands while
coupling sex with love. Not once did her heart allow the pain of the past to
seep inside her body and gain a foothold.

Jake’s capable hands slid down her sides until his
fingers reached her hips. His smile was contagious as he slid one finger across
her belly, then another to follow. He was purposely trying to make her squirm.

Liddy’s hips rose to send out another invitation and
the man was only too willing to oblige. They’d done this before. Both knew how.
They knew each other, inside out. But there was something so new, so real, and
so vitally important. Them doing it on a cold floor, the danger of being caught
made it real.

Liddy raised her hips as Jake penetrated deeper.
Another, harder climax moaned out while in pure ecstasy, he caught the moan
with his mouth as their tongues battled. They couldn’t seem to stop what their
lower halves demanded from the other. As his mouth found her right breast, her
teeth bit into his shoulder. The second she wrapped her legs around his waist
and Jake went as far as he could inside of her, was the very second the past
became the present and future all rolled into one.

This time, they exploded as one. They became one.

And not just once, twice, but three times . . . just
for good measure . . . they eventually killed twelve hours, ten minutes, and
thirty-two seconds of their shared incarceration. So no one would ever be able
to say she’d chickened out at the last minute, as she’d wanted to.

He had a very large snake tattoo on his arm, with her
name on it! What more could be asked of her? She loved that tattoo.

She loves . . .

God, help her!
She was
still in love with Jake!

But she couldn’t tell him this. Not until she could sort
through why she still loved him, and how it was even possible after all these
years.

Somehow, after the floor, they made it to the bench.
Sex on a metal bench was . . .awesome!

Against the wall became even better.

From the bars was unfortunately a little awkward but
doable.

They ended up on the floor covered in sweat. It might
have had something to do with his being such a great lover, and her climaxing
at least six times and so incredible, she was still smiling.

As they snuggled up to each other’s sweaty frames,
Jake ran his hands through her tussled hair and smiled down at her. “There. Now
that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

She could barely think straight. Let alone, answer the
man. Instead, she put her mouth to his and kissed him with everything she felt
inside her. That should be answer enough. For now.

“Dare I ask if you’re ready for another round?”

She wasn’t. But if this was what it would take to gain
freedom from the past, then by all means . . . bring it on!

“I’d kill for a glass of water right now.” It was a
futile request on her part. Not until Debra came back to the station to
actually satisfy the thirst. Lord knew Jake had tried, but not with water.

“No prob.” He raised his naked body off the floor,
smiling down at her.

Her eyes took in every inch of him in an appreciative
stare. He then moved to the corner of the cell, reached behind the metal bench
they’d coupled on, and produced a key. He grabbed his suit pants off the floor,
donned them quickly, and foregoing anything else, unlocked their cell door.

All she could do was physically staring at him: at his
physique, at the man’s bared flesh, at the glisten of perspiration lingering on
a chest of steel, and . . . at the audacity of the man!

The sonofabitch had a key?

She jumped to her feet and Jake proceeded to move
directly to the water cooler behind Debra’s desk, fill a paper cup, walk back
to the cell, and hand her the cup.

“Will this do?”

She tossed the cup of water right in his face. “Will
that do, you sonofabitch?”

He let her anger subside, the cold water trickling
down his bare chest, before putting thought to saying another word to her.

“You had a fucking
key
? And you did not think
to tell me this before now?” Liddy stood before him as naked as the day of her
birth; and now, totally humiliated by this man.

“What good would my telling you I had a key done us? You
would’ve demanded I used it. Ran away, never looked back . . . because you’re
so damn good at running away, Liddy. And this wouldn’t have happened.”

“There is a damn good reason this wouldn’t have
happened!”

She tried making a move to grab her clothing off the
floor, but Jake put his bare foot directly on the pile and held her from
accomplishing this easy endeavor.

“Get your goddamn foot off my goddamn clothes, Jake!”

“No.”

“What do you mean . . .
No
?” 

Liddy was so ready to kill this man. Debra could just
clean up the mess whether she wanted to, or not. Liddy really didn’t give a
rat’s ass, as pissed as she was.

“I mean . . . God, Liddy! Think about it. Letting you
out of here would have been incredibly stupid on my part.” Jake ran a hand
through his tussled hair, hiding his emotions well.

“Stupid?” Liddy’s eyes widened to huge saucers, her sight
impeccable due to size of dilated pupils.

“Yeah? Stupid. You’re supposed to be locked up in here
because you stole a man’s car. I couldn’t just let you walk out on that. What
would it have said to my reputable character? What would this town have thought
of me? Giving you the key would have been stupid. Debra would have skinned me
alive.”