Текст книги "What Caroline Wants"
Автор книги: Amanda Abbott
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Текущая страница: 8 (всего у книги 14 страниц)
11
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Caroline’s voice hit a sharp crescendo as she came. “Ohh,” she cried as she rocked in pleasure, loving all the sensations. After a second, she opened her eyes, her head lolling against the headrest. “Oh my goodness! That felt wonderful.”
It hadn’t been the kind of orgasm she had with her husband. It hadn’t been that big, but it had still felt amazing. She’d needed a release in a bad way after that sexually charged dinner and what she and Jace had just witnessed.
As Jace drove, she sat there, dumbfounded that she’d had an orgasm brought on by her own hand, not to mention in the front seat of a car.
“Can you keep it up, babe? I want you to be primed and ready for me, because the moment we get home, I’m taking you in the backyard.”
“The backyard?” Caroline was instantly hot again. She circled herself in the perfect place, and the aftershocks came rolling in, one after another. She squeezed her legs together and groaned, rocking back and forth, taking quick breaths as her muscles tensed and released. After a moment, she turned toward her husband. “You said that on purpose, didn’t you? To get me to come again?”
He chuckled. “Well, it worked, didn’t it? You’re killing me here, by the way. I want you so bad it hurts. Like, physically hurts. My dick feels like it’s in a straitjacket. But I meant every word. We’re only making it as far as the patio. I’m going to bend you over the chair and ram my cock into your pussy over and over again until you come.”
“Oh.” Her husband was pushing her buttons. “What if someone sees us?” One hand crept to her breast. She began to rub the aching peak through the material.
She wanted her husband to suck it like Pete had done to Emma’s.
“The only people who can see back there are Michael and Piper, and I’m past that,” he said. “And, Care, I’m going to bury myself deep. I can already feel your wetness gripping my cock.” His voice sounded breathless as he rounded a corner going far too fast. Caroline wanted to tell him to slow down, but she also wanted to get home as soon as possible. He was right, she was absolutely drenched.
“I’m so wet it’s ridiculous.” She continued to rub herself. “I need you, Jace. But with all this talk, I don’t think I’m going to be able to wait any longer. I need it again right now.”
“I’m working on it, babe. Just hold on.”
Caroline tried to hold off, circling her clit slower, but her nub was wired straight to her core. Everything pulsed, and she wanted desperately to come again. She rocked her hips into her hands, trying not to fuck herself, but not succeeding. “Tell me what else you’re going to do to me.” It came out as a moan. She slowed her efforts, trying to hold off. “Please.”
“You know when I thrust in and out of you slowly and take my time?”
“Yes.” Jace could draw out sex in such a delicious way.
“That’s not what’s going to happen. I’m lifting that scrap of a dress up to your waist, just like it is now, and taking you hard. First from the front, but I’m going to finish from behind, pounding into you until you scream my name loud enough for the neighborhood to hear.”
Visions of them having sex in the backyard flooded through her psyche like a video on fast-forward. She wanted her husband badly and loved how excited he was for her right now.
The fact he couldn’t do anything about it, however, might be the best and worst part.
She wanted to hear more—needed to hear more. “How bad do you wish you were fucking me right now?” she asked in a husky voice. “Because I can’t have your cock, I’m going to have to settle for my finger. I’m going to push it deep inside me and pretend it’s your rock-hard dick.”
Jace swore out loud, his eyes riveted to her as she began to draw her finger in and out. “Caroline Stratton, you are driving me insane. You know I love it when you talk dirty to me. And this takes the fucking cake. If I could get away with it, I’d haul you onto my lap at this light and drill myself into you and make you come against this steering wheel.” He slapped his palms in frustration against the wheel, and that made her even hotter.
At the vision of her back settled against the steering wheel, Caroline orgasmed again, calling Jace’s name.
“Holy shit, Care! Are you this wound up because of Emma and Pete? Or because we’re doing something different?”
She panted. “I think it’s a bit of both, but mostly I think it’s the alcohol. But, honestly, I don’t care. I just want more. It feels so good.” She glanced over at her husband, lust pooled in his eyes. “But none of this is as good as having you inside me. These are small blips compared to when you make me come while your cock is nestled deep—”
The light changed and Jace swung the car off the road.
He drove like a madman straight into a public parking lot that was connected to a large park near their home. The lot was empty, except for one car. Caroline watched as her husband chose a spot as far as he could from the other car, pulled in, and turned the motor off, yanking the key out as he reached under the seat and grabbed the bar to force it back manually. “Come here right now.”
“Jace, this is so public. Let’s just go home—”
One of his hands caught her shoulder, while the other sprang the massive erection from his jeans. “Care, if we don’t do this now, you miss out, because all your sexy banter has taken me almost over the finish line. I need you now, or I’m going to come in my fist. I can’t take it anymore. I haven’t been in this much pain since junior high when I saw Jennifer Adams in a see-through shirt without a fucking bra. Every time I saw her after that, I sprouted wood. I still remember those nipples like it was yesterday.” The intensity in his voice sent chills racing up her spine. She threw away her concerns and immediately climbed over, hiking her dress past her waist as she went. “No, Care, I need the dress off.”
“I can’t do that—”
His huge cock entered her swiftly and she cried out. He grabbed on to her hips and seated her on top of him tightly, thrusting up as he went. She tossed her head back and moaned.
It felt so fucking good.
In the next instant, his hands were all over her, and in one tug her dress was gone. Her bra went next, his wet mouth closing over an aching nipple as he began to pump into her. All the feelings together were so incredible—so different from her fingers—and so much better.
Two rough thrusts, and she came again, hard.
Her stomach clenched as her hips rolled in pleasure, her nails raking Jace’s chest as she moaned.
Her husband firmly planted his hands around her waist as he lifted her up and brought her back down on him fast. The slapping of their bodies reverberated through the car. “Woman, you’re electric. I felt you come, but you’re going to do it again…this time with me.”
Her knees were braced against the outside of his thighs. It gave her some control, and she began to undulate on her own, rocking her pelvis, meeting him thrust for thrust, abrading her sensitive clit against his firm abs.
“Right there,” he groaned. “Yes, like that. I’m trying so hard not to come yet. I want you to break again.” His hands snaked up to cup her breasts, his thumbs brushing the peaks. “I’m going to touch you like Pete did to Emma, and you’re going to come for me one more time.”
Caroline groaned, tossing her head back as she pictured Emma and Pete and how hot they’d looked together. The image made her legs clench. “Yes,” she whispered.
“You just watched Emma come hard, but we win, since I have my cock in your pussy. I bet Pete’s crying in his soup because he wasn’t lucky enough to fuck her or come on her creamy, white tits—”
A low, guttural sound escaped Caroline’s throat as she orgasmed.
It was the biggest climax she’d had tonight.
Her body shook, her hips grinding against Jace’s hard body, her head fell forward. She heard him call her name as he pumped inside her.
But the best part was how hard Jace grabbed on to her ass and kneaded her onto him as he released. The force of the motions gave her immediate aftershocks like fireworks exploding in her already overheated system.
It was so fucking good.
* * *
Jace cradled his wife in his arms. What they’d just done had been completely insane, as well as being one of the best sexual experiences he’d ever had in his life. He’d been blinded by need and felt more than a little out of control. Watching Caroline—his pristine wife—fondle herself in the passenger seat had been his complete undoing. He’d been truthful when he’d told her he hadn’t been in that much pain since junior high. It was the heightened mix of pleasure and pain that had made it so unbelievable.
“Are you okay, Care?” he murmured in her ear as he caressed her bare back. She was still naked. He reached an arm back to gather up her dress from where he’d tossed it in his haste.
“Yes.” Her voice was muffled against his chest. She lifted her head slowly, looking drowsy and content. “But now I need to go home. My world is spinning, and I’m thoroughly exhausted.”
He maneuvered the dress over her head as she put her arms up. “Exhausted, but satisfied, I hope.” He grinned, giving her a peck on the cheek as he guided the fabric over her head.
She gave him a smile as she pushed her arms through the holes. “Extremely satisfied.” Once the dress was over her head, she asked, “Can you reach some napkins for me? There are some in the middle panel.”
Jace took napkins out of the console and handed them to her. She eased herself off him, climbing back into her own seat.
He turned the key in the ignition. “I want you to feel good about what we did tonight. No guilt. It was completely awesome.” He reached under the seat and adjusted it forward while he put the car in reverse. He backed out of the spot and headed for home. Two erotic episodes in two different parking lots. Who would’ve guessed?
“I’m going to try my best.” Caroline’s head was reclined on the headrest. Her eyes were shut, and one hand was splayed against her forehead. “But this has been a lot to take in. I can’t believe I was brazen enough to touch your private parts in a public place…not to mention in front of people we just met. I don’t want to think about it right now. It’s making my head hurt worse.”
“Then don’t. And I shouldn’t have to tell you that we all enjoyed that. It was the highlight of the night. Just saying.”
She shook her head wearily. “It’s in my nature to second-guess things. It’s just the way I was raised.” She opened her eyes and glanced over at him, her eyes slightly unfocused. “I’m not sure I’ve ever told you this story, but the very first time I even thought of a swear word, I was certain I was going to be struck down by the Almighty Himself. I stood there like a dummy on the sidewalk, staring at my mother’s antique crystal goblet—the one I was forbidden to drink my iced tea from—which had just shattered because I’d dropped it.” She shook her head. “But I waited right there for a good half hour for God to do His deed before I began to gather up the pieces. Then I had to go in and confess my sin to my mother. I’m not sure which punishment I dreaded worse. She grounded me for two weeks and made me drink my afternoon tea out of a baby cup for the rest of the month. I believe I was eight years old. So when I tell you that I will not obsess about what happened tonight, that’s a lie. But I can promise you that I will try not to feel guilty about it for too long. I know what we did was consensual. I will keep that in the forefront of my mind, all while I try to convince myself the devil doesn’t live in my nonexistent underpants.”
Jace turned down their street, his heart aching for his beautiful wife. He’d had no such upbringing or hang-ups. His parents had gone to church, but they’d never brought church home. There was a big difference. He was the person he was today because of his past, and Caroline was the person she was. He loved her even more so because of all the mountains she’d had to scale in order to be vulnerable.
“Sweetheart, I’m here if you need me. I can be your sounding board.” He slid his hand over and placed it on her thigh. “Never forget that for a second. We’re in this together. Your guilt is my guilt.” He pulled into their driveway and hit the garage door opener. It rose, and he eased the SUV into its spot.
Once the car was off, he reached over and caressed her neck as she reached down to gather up her shoes and purse. Once she had them in hand, she turned toward him, giving him a shaky smile. “Can you promise me one thing?”
“Of course, anything,” he said as he opened his door and walked around to help her out.
He pulled her door open, and she took his hand. “I need a break from all of this for a while,” she told him as she stepped out of the car. “My brain needs to clear, and we need to figure out what we want with no outside distractions.”
“Agreed.”
Caroline was a little wobbly as she descended, so he decided to pick her up.
As he swept her into his arms, she laughed. “What are you doing?” She rested her head against his chest. “I’m too heavy and you’re crazy.”
“I’m your knight in shining armor tonight.”
“You’ve been my knight every day since the moment I met you.” She snuggled into his chest. “You are my most perfect prince.”
12
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“Is keeping this really necessary, Caroline? It’s so vulgar.” Caroline glanced over at her mother, who was hovering over an open drawer in the pantry, her current favorite spot to nitpick.
This was the fifth time she had announced it was time to “straighten out” the house, which was code for I’m going to throw all your Yankee stuff away.
It was something her mother did every time she visited.
Some things never changed.
Caroline sighed. “Mama, that’s my spring tablecloth for the patio. Just leave it be.” She wasn’t about to tell her mother she adored the geometric print or that she rarely used anything to cover the table when they dined outside.
That would be scandalous and beside the point.
“But the colors are so brash.” Her mother shook her head. “And, it would be very distracting to eat off of, if you ask me. If you were to get rid of it, I could send you the nice lace one I have at home, handmade by Grandmother Bowman. I can put it in the mail straight-away.”
This was Genevieve Bowman’s typical technique. Offer to exchange something vulgar for a “nice antique” or something “hand-sewn.”
Her mother had arrived exactly thirteen days ago for her annual visit.
Their time together was almost finished, and Caroline could not wait. Ginny and Caroline’s father, Henry, made a trip to Madison once a year. Her mother usually came a week before Caroline’s father did, so the girls could spend some “quality time” together. But this year her father had had to cancel at the last minute. He was on a board of trustees at a large company back home, and they were going through some kind of important merger.
So it had been just her and her mother.
And Jace in the evenings and on weekends.
For two solid weeks.
But the blessed reunion was coming to a close tomorrow, and Caroline was at her wits’ end trying to keep her possessions from being tossed into the garbage or swapped out for something her mother deemed more appropriate.
Before Caroline could tell her mother she didn’t want the lace tablecloth and would prefer to keep the one she had, Jace strode into the kitchen.
“Good morning,” he said cheerfully as he made a beeline to his mother-in-law, giving her a proper peck on the cheek. Then he went directly to the coffeepot. “Did you sleep well, Mama?” he asked over his shoulder.
Caroline watched her mother straighten, shut the drawer she’d been snooping in, and walk back into the kitchen from their pantry alcove, her face beaming like it always did around Jason Stratton.
Even though he was a Yankee, he could do no wrong in her mother’s eyes.
If Genevieve knew what a pro Jace was at handling her, she’d be incensed. Ginny considered herself a master at judging another person’s character. She fashioned it as a hobby.
Jace wanted her out of the house even more than Caroline did, and Caroline had to choke back a giggle. Her husband complained nightly about her mother’s “odd late-night habits” and the fact that “she never sleeps” and “awakes at the sound of a pin dropping.” The poor man could go on and on.
Caroline had to bite her tongue.
“I slept very fine, thank you for asking,” Ginny Bowman replied in her heavy Southern drawl, then she tipped her head toward her daughter as if to say, Why didn’t you ask me the same thing?
Caroline sighed as she went back to making breakfast, which would consist of one soft-boiled egg, one piece of white toast with strawberry jam, and a cup of coffee served in her grandmother’s china with precisely one lump of sugar. It had to be a lump, not a spoonful, as there was no accurate way of gauging how much sugar was in a spoonful.
Ginny headed over to sit at the kitchen table—the very same table Jace had laid Caroline over not too terribly long ago—and began to complain about what she viewed as the biggest hiccup of her trip. “I still don’t understand why my regular bedroom is unavailable.” She managed to suppress her usual sniff. “But I guess it can’t be helped now anyway. I’ll be leaving tomorrow. The bed upstairs is firm, which is to my liking. However, the bathroom is subpar to the one on the lower level.”
“We already told you,” Caroline said, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice, “the basement bedroom is being used for storage now. With my business expanding, we needed the extra space, and there’s nowhere else for all the boxes of stationery and paper samples to go. We’ll work on fixing up the spare bathroom upstairs in time for your visit next year.”
Caroline gave a silent prayer the year would be a slow one.
“Yes, I know. That’s what you told me,” her mother countered, “but why is it locked? I went down there yesterday to see if there was anything I could do to help you arrange things. I’m very good at that, you know. I bet there are many places in this house we could find to store your things other than taking over a perfectly good guest room. I peeked in the garage, and it’s teeming with space. Honestly, Caroline, why would you take over an entire suite—with a spa bathroom—for your boxes?”
Caroline prepared to reply, girding her loins for battle, because there was no way her mother was getting into their sex room, but Jace’s hand caught her at mid-back as he passed by.
“Mama,” he said, moving toward the table, “honestly, it’s a mess down there. We’ve just been tossing things in there willy-nilly all year. We couldn’t subject you to that. Caroline is just embarrassed is all.” He pulled out a chair and sat by his mother-in-law, placing a hand over hers and giving it a pat. “She actually begged me to lock it up at the last minute. She didn’t want you to see our space so disorganized and cluttered.”
Once again, Caroline tried not to laugh.
Jace was laying on the Southern charm for her mother’s benefit, using Southern phrases.
Her mother started to interject, but Jace kept going. “But what I could really use some help with is cleaning out my office space. But only if you have time, of course. I wouldn’t want you to sacrifice your last day here cleaning for me.” Ginny began to try to answer again, but Jace held his hand up. “Your time here with us is so valuable and short, Mama. I wouldn’t want you to spend your last hours doing what I should’ve done a long time ago. I’m just stuck in that small back bedroom. I’ve been meaning to pack up those old magazines and subscriptions for a long time. I even brought home some boxes last week, but I just haven’t gotten around to it.”
Caroline turned to face the cupboards to keep her mother from seeing her expression. She reached up and grabbed three plates. Jace had brought those boxes home a few days ago. He’d been planning something like this all along, and she was grateful.
She just hoped her mother fell for it. Though there was little doubt Genevieve would take the bait. She was as bored as Caroline was after two solid weeks together.
Mother and daughter were not cut from the same Southern cloth.
“Of course I will help you, Jason. It will be my pleasure.” Ginny folded her hands in her lap as Caroline delivered her egg to the table.
“The toast is on its way, Mama,” Caroline said as she went to the fridge. “Anyone care for some OJ this morning?”
“None for me, thank you,” Ginny answered.
“I’ll take some,” Jace replied. “But I’m going to have to drink it on the road. An early meeting cropped up this morning and I have to take off soon.” He stood and made his way to the counter. “I just wanted to make sure I was able to spend a little time with you both before I left.”
“Are you sure you can’t stay?” Caroline asked. This was the first she’d heard of his meeting.
“No. I got a text from Roy fifteen minutes ago.” Roy was the main salesman at Jason’s company. “A problem with a major order came up, and we have to get it settled before the noontime deliveries.” He gave Caroline a kiss on the cheek. “Sorry, honey,” he whispered in her ear, and then turned toward Ginny. “Mama, I’ll carry the boxes up to my office before I go. If you have time, go for it. I trust your judgment in all organizational matters.”
“I will have it done by the time you get home,” Ginny answered. “And I know Caroline will be happy to help her husband as well. We’ll do it together.”
Caroline suppressed a groan. But it was better than fighting to keep her things for the rest of the day.
Jace shook his head, using his eyes to transmit the apology he clearly wished he could say out loud. “Don’t worry about it,” Caroline told him, smiling. “Go to work. Mama and I will have a good time organizing your office. After all, it’s our last day together and I want to do whatever she wants.” And she meant it. Having her mother happy and occupied was essential to her mental health.
Jace took his toast and juice to go, and Caroline brought the rest of her mother’s breakfast to the table and sat down.
“Aren’t you going to eat something?” Genevieve asked. “It’s not healthy to abstain from breakfast. The morning meal gives you a good foundation for the day and the added benefit of curbing your hunger. Now, skipping lunch is altogether different. I do miss that on occasion, especially if I’m trying to fit into that special outfit.”
Caroline had dutifully eaten breakfast with her mother each morning, but today she just wasn’t hungry. She’d awoken restless. She and Jace had managed to have a few quickies over the past two weeks, but Caroline was never in a sexy mood while her mother was visiting. Ginny Bowman sucked her feelings dry from the moment she walked through the door.
But now that her mama was on her way out, Caroline was starting to get antsy. She knew she was going to have to make up her mind about the Slaters and what to do next, and had been thinking about it nonstop. Jace had told her in no uncertain terms that their next move as a couple was totally and completely up to her.
“Caroline.” Her mother rapped her spoon against her saucer to get her attention. “What’s going on? Are you feeling all right?”
Caroline started. “I’m fine. Sorry. Just thinking about work.”
Her mother sniffed. “You know, there’s no need for you to work. Jason brings in enough money, and your trust hasn’t been touched in years, and your refusal to use it is bothersome. It could easily give you a monthly income. Your main job is to have children. Unless, of course, there’s something you’re not telling me.”
Her mother, ever the feminist.
“No, Mama. I’m not keeping secrets from you. We will have children eventually, but neither of us is ready now. And I like my job. It keeps my mind occupied, and you know I love my art. I have to have that in my life.” Caroline and Jace had gotten married right out of college, and they’d agreed from the get-go that they wouldn’t even think of having a family until they were into their thirties. They wanted to enjoy each other without distractions for as long as they could.
As for the trust, Caroline planned to use it for her children’s future, not her own. Her mother was right, she and Jace were comfortable and that was fine.
“You know, I always thought it was a mistake when you stopped doing those landscapes.” Her mother took a dainty spoonful of her egg. “They were distinguished. Madeline Parker even said she’d show some of them in her art gallery.”
“I know you do,” Caroline said. “But that wasn’t where my heart was.” Her mother was referring to her formal art training. Caroline had been enrolled in a conservative art school during the summers as a teen, where she’d learned how to paint a mean landscape, as well as a bowl full of fruit and flowers of all kinds. Very proper and very Southern.
“Oh, Caroline, the heart shouldn’t factor into these things. Practicality should be at the forefront when making these decisions.”
Caroline placed her chin in her palm and stared at her mother, who was in the process of stirring precisely one lump of sugar into her coffee. Her mother glanced up and started when she found her daughter watching her so intently. “What is it? Is something wrong? Do you have a fever?”
“No, I’m fine, Mama. I was just sitting here wondering where the heart factors in for you. Does it ever affect your decision making?” Caroline realized in that moment that likely every major decision her mother had ever made had come from a practicality standpoint, not from the heart. “Or do you base all your choices on what the world thinks is the right thing to do?”
“I don’t know what in the heavens you’re talking about. Are you sure you feel all right?”
Caroline realized her mother was never going to understand her point. “Never mind. May I ask you something else?”
“My, you’re in a strange mood today. Maybe you should go take a nap. I can take on Jason’s office by myself.”
“I’m feeling just fine. I just want to know if you’ve ever regretted anything in your life. You know, have you ever made a bad decision and wished later you could go back in time and change your mind? Or had guilty feelings for making the right choice for you, but the wrong choice for someone else? Or thrown in the towel when you should’ve stuck it out?”
Her mother straightened in her seat. “Never. I have never regretted a single decision I’ve ever made. I take pride in leading my life with a clear head and balanced heart. But what has this got to do with anything?” She leaned forward, her face suddenly dropping. “Are you and Jason in trouble?”
The panicked look on her mother’s face was enough for Caroline to halt the conversation. She and her mother had never been close enough to share personal details with each other, which was something Caroline had definitely regretted as she’d gotten older, realizing what some women had with their mothers.
“No, Mama,” Caroline replied patiently. “Our marriage is strong as ever, and we are very happy. But I think I might have a way to make it even stronger, though it involves taking some risks.”
“Then you must. There is nothing more important than keeping your husband happy.” She said it with a passion that was somewhat rare for her. “If you don’t have family, you have nothing.”
Finally, something they could agree on. “You’re so right. Family is everything.”
In that instant, Caroline made up her mind about the Slaters.
She and Jace were going on an adventure.
