“I’m struggling to make all of this fit with why Jayne won’t date me.”
Sophie giggled. “Yeah. Me too. So I’ll just say it this way. Jayne’s dad was a domineering man and her mom never stood up to him, even when he was wrong. Jayne’s mom walks on eggshells to keep the man happy and still tiptoes around him despite his arrogance because she’s in love with him. Jayne has said a million times she will never make her mom’s mistakes, never marry a man who won’t let her speak her mind or express her own opinions or make her own decisions.”
“Do you honestly think I’m like Jayne’s dad?” The idea he was being compared to a male chauvinist tyrant rubbed against the grain.
Sophie shook her head. “No. But maybe Jayne is making that comparison? You said yourself you’re a Dom. Doesn’t that mean she has to be the one doing what you say?”
“There’s a big difference, Sophie.”
She reached across the bar and squeezed his hand. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
“I can’t give up on her. I need her in my life.”
“When I was fighting with my dad over the closing of the community center this past summer, you gave me some advice. Do you remember what it was?”
He shook his head.
“You told me to be brave. So if you really do love Jayne, don’t be afraid to fight for her.”
“Even if she’s the one I’m fighting.”
Sophie stood up straighter. She was a beautiful woman, there was no debating that. Tall, slim, striking. Regardless, he preferred Jayne’s nymph-like cuteness to Sophie’s perfection. “I really want you to win. Jayne’s been so sad these last few months. The shadows in her eyes disappeared this week. You’re good for her. Even if she doesn’t realize it yet.”
He appreciated Sophie’s support. There was something refreshingly honest about the women who owned Books and Brew. He was grateful he’d found this place. “Thank you, Sophie.”
“Elias?”
He turned at the sound of Jayne’s voice. She was carrying an armful of books. He quickly crossed the room to take the heavy load from her.
“You’re back. I thought you weren’t getting home until tomorrow.”
“I’d had enough of scientists. Damn convention looked like a
Big Bang Theory
fan club meeting. Caught an earlier flight and decided to surprise you.”
She gestured him over toward a table near the bookstore checkout counter. “You can put those here.”
He was grateful for the excuse to put some distance between them and Sophie. There were precious few patrons in the store and the place was too quiet.
Elias set the books on a table and pushed her behind the tall checkout counter. Once their lower bodies were shielded from her friend and the other customers, he reached around to grasp her ass.
“Elias,” she quietly chastised, her blushing grin telling him she didn’t mind what he was doing at all.
“Are you wearing it?” His fingers ventured along the denim of her jeans, between her ass cheeks, searching for evidence that she’d followed the instructions he’d texted her this morning. When he found what he was looking for, he leaned forward under the guise of kissing her on the cheek.
Instead he whispered in her ear. “My dirty girl. How does it feel having your ass filled with my plug?” He’d had several toys, including the butt plug, overnighted to her house during the week. Which each one, their phone-sex games had grown hotter, more adventurous.
His cock thickened. Despite his marathon of hand jobs, he wasn’t sure he could wait much longer to take her. “Can you leave?”
Jayne glanced around the store and sighed heavily. “I wish I could, but if I did, it would leave Sophie on her own. I know we’re not that busy, but it’s still too much for one person to hand—”
She was interrupted when the front door flew opened.
“Holy fuck! You will never believe what I just bought.”
Elias chuckled at Stephanie’s excited entrance. The woman had no sense of decorum. An older woman enjoying a drink with her husband scowled at Stephanie’s loud curse, but the bride-to-be was too exuberant to contain her happiness.
“I’m afraid to ask.” Sophie put down the rag she was using to wipe the bar.
Jordan rolled her eyes as she followed Stephanie into the store. He and Jayne walked over to join them as Jordan sank down wearily on one of the barstools. “She’s getting a bit carried away with these wedding plans.”
“Oh hush, Jordan. You know it’s awesome.”
“What’s awesome?” Jayne asked.
“I found— Oh, hey Elias,” Stephanie said, noticing him. She frowned. “What are you doing here? It’s Sunday.”
“I came to see Jayne,” he answered matter-of-factly. There was no sense hiding a truth they all knew.
“Cool,” Stephanie said before turning her attention back to Sophie. “This woman makes the most amazing wedding cakes. She even makes one out of…wait for it…are you ready?”
Sophie crossed her arms. “You’re annoying me. What kind of cake did you get?”
“Doughnuts!”
Elias frowned…then laughed as her cause for excitement became clear.
Sophie didn’t catch on as quickly. “Doughnuts?”
“Because Jarod’s a cop. Get it? It’s freaking hilarious!” Stephanie’s laugh was infectious.
Sophie shook her head and sent Jordan a dirty look. “I knew I should have gone. It was a mistake to send the two of you alone.”
Stephanie climbed onto a barstool. “Don’t panic, Soph. Jordan did her job. She talked me out of buying it for my wedding cake.”
“Thank God.” Sophie released a long sigh of relief.
“So instead I bought it for a groom’s cake.”
“What the hell’s a groom’s cake?” Sophie asked.
“No clue. But I think it’s a southern thing. By the way, thank you very much, Jayne, for making me watch that sob-fest
Steel Magnolias
back in college. I got the idea from that movie. Remember when they had that red-velvet armadillo cake with gray icing?”
Jayne nodded. “I love that part.”
“Well, I decided I could be southern too if I wanted.”
“You’re originally from Seattle. I’m not sure you can physically get farther away from the south and still be an American,” Sophie said drolly.
Elias watched the four friends with great amusement. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Stephanie incorporating different cultural traditions in her wedding if she wants to.”
Sophie scowled. “Don’t encourage her, or next thing you know she’ll want to pretend she’s Jewish and demand we all lift her and Jarod up on chairs while dancing to
Hava Nagila
.”
Stephanie leaned forward. “Oh my God. Is that a thing? Because it sounds completely cool.”
Elias tried to hide his chuckle by pretending to cough. “Maybe you should just stick with the groom’s cake.”
“I guess. By the way, you are all sworn to secrecy. I don’t want Jarod to know about the cake until he sees it at the reception. I can see the looks on the faces of his friends down at the precinct now. Priceless.”
They all laughed then Elias quietly drew Jordan aside as Stephanie, Jayne and Sophie decided how to unveil the groom’s cake for the best effect.
“Jordan, I was wondering if you’d mind filling in for Jayne tonight. I just got back into town and I’d like to take her out to dinner.”
Jordan smiled. “You mean on a date?”
It was a loaded question, and one she clearly knew the answer to. “Yes. A date.”
Jordan raised her hands and waved them around a little while giving a quiet, “Yay! I was hoping you two would find your way to each other eventually. You’re perfect together. Of course I’ll cover for her. Gabriel and Casey have probably just cracked open their first beers and planted themselves in front of a football game. I have no desire to spend the evening listening to them yell at the TV when things don’t go the 49ers’ way.”
“Thank you.” He walked back to Jayne. “Jordan said she’ll cover for you. What do you say we go to your apartment? Order Chinese?”
She nodded. “Sounds perfect.”
They said their goodbyes to her friends and walked out to the street. “I just need to stop by my car and grab my bag.”
Jayne tilted her head. “Bag?”
Elias wrapped his arm around her waist, leading her to where he’d parked his Volvo. “It’s a surprise. You ready for night three to begin?”
She nodded. “So ready.”
Retrieving the overnight bag he’d loaded with “supplies” for their evening, he forced himself to walk slowly and take several calming breaths. He’d spent too many nights alone this week, plotting their reunion. There was no way he would rush things, despite the fact his cock was hard enough to drive nails into wood.
As they entered her apartment, Jayne walked over to the coffee table and lit several candles before picking up a few things, tidying. It was his first time inside her place and it was exactly as he would have imagined. Jayne was neat, but not to the point of being a clean freak. There were a few magazines scattered around, a couple pairs of shoes lying by the front door, a sweater casually thrown over the back of a chair.
One entire wall of her living room was taken up by bookshelves that were packed two rows deep with hardcover classics, a healthy supply of mystery paperbacks and a ton of those purple-covered Harlequin stories.
He grinned. With the exception of the romance novels, his shelves at home held many of the same books.
“Where is your bedroom?”
Jayne paused in the middle of fluffing the throw pillows on her couch. She pointed down a hallway. “Second door on the left.”
“Come on.”
Jayne led him to her room, walking a touch faster than normal. He wasn’t the only person anxious to pick things up where they’d left off. As they entered her bedroom, he placed his bag on the mattress.
“Take off your clothes.”
Jayne began disrobing immediately and he sank down on her bed to watch. Some of the shyness he’d seen last weekend had disappeared as she took her undressing to a new level, treating him to the sexiest striptease he’d ever seen. Soon she was topless, toying with the button on her jeans.
Turning her back to him, she slowly pushed pants and panties over her hips, bending forward as the denim fell. Elias swallowed heavily when he was treated to a peek of the plug filling her ass. His cock thickened and he adjusted his own pants.
As soon as she shed the jeans, she twirled around to face him once more.
Her pussy was bare.
He’d given her the name of a salon that specialized in waxing, but she hadn’t mentioned whether or not she’d made an appointment.
“Jesus,” he mumbled.
“You like it?”
“Come here.” He wasn’t sure he could stand without causing himself injury. He needed to get out of his pants soon or risk permanent damage.
He gripped her hips as soon as she was within reach. From his position on the bed, he was eye level with her bare pussy. Unable to resist, he ran his finger over the smooth skin.
Jayne gasped at his first touch.
His gaze flew to her face. “It’s more sensitive this way. That’s why I asked you to have it waxed.”
“I didn’t realize it would feel so good. I went to see the woman yesterday morning, so I’m still trying to get used to it.”
Elias was pleased to know she hadn’t had time to explore this new look on her own. He leaned forward and drew his tongue along her wet slit, stopping when he reached her clit. It was swollen and ready to play.
His hands drifted along her ass cheeks as he worshipped her clit and pussy with his mouth. Reaching between, he pressed on the base of the butt plug.
Jayne’s hands landed heavily on his shoulders as she tried to find her balance.
“Open your legs.”
She obeyed, swaying slightly as she did so. He’d coaxed her to climax after climax each night over the phone, but it appeared she was suffering from the same need for more physical contact as he was. There was simply no substitute for being together.
He pushed one of his fingers into her pussy as Jayne’s fingers tightened on his shirt. “You’re not allowed to come until I’m inside you.”
She released a small pained groan. “I need you now.”
He glanced at her face. She wasn’t lying about that. She was struggling for air. Her pussy clenched against his finger and he suspected that if he added just one more, she’d explode.
“Tough,” he taunted. He removed his finger then rose from the bed, bidding her to bend over the mattress facedown.
He’d introduced her to the butt plug three nights earlier during one of their phone-sex dates. Each day he’d urged her to wear it for longer periods of time. He longed to pull the damn plastic out and replace it with his dick, but he held back.
For one thing, Jayne had never been fucked in the ass and he wasn’t exactly a small man. While the plug was there to stretch her, it was a beginner’s toy and nowhere near enough to prepare her properly.
Secondly, he was too fond of anal sex. It was one place where his control sometimes slipped. He wouldn’t risk that tonight. But soon, he promised himself.
Soon.