Feast of Saints (36 page)

“You don’t have to do that. I can …”

“Shhh. I don’t want to go down there, and I’m sure as hell not letting you go down there alone with the way you look right now.” He gently ran his finger over her swollen lips. He was still wearing her thong as a bracelet. “You’d be carried off by that pack of drunken crewmembers at the bar to be gangbanged.”

Lilly frowned at the crude vision. Getting up, Jake opened her purse, pulled out her cell phone and laid it on the bedside table. He picked up his scattered clothes and dressed while Lilly watched him with sleepy eyes. Fully clothed again, he leaned over and kissed her chastely on the cheek. “I’ll talk to you at four, Pixie.”

“Kay,” she said, and she fell fast into a dreamless, blissful sleep.

She woke to a knock on the door. Lying in bed, Lilly had no idea where or who she was. The knock that woke her sounded again, this time more insistent. Looking over to where her bedside clock should be, she saw only darkness. Groping around for the lamp, Lilly found the switch and blinked at the sudden splash of light. Picking up her phone on the bedside table, she saw it was three forty-five in the morning. She was startled when the phone rang in her hand. Blinking at the caller’s name, the previous night’s events came back to her in a rush of pleasure and excitement.

Hopping up, she realized who must be knocking at the door and why she was naked in bed. Dragging the sheet with her, she shuffled to the door and peeped through the spy hole just to be certain. Jake stood in the hall wearing running clothes, carrying a plastic sack, with his phone to his ear. She opened the door and smiled brightly at him, her ringing phone still in her hand.

“Come in, come in,” she said quietly. Jake touched the screen on his phone to end the call and followed her in.

“You’re early,” she said, looking at the sack and thinking maybe he brought her more food. She felt the urge to touch him, but he hadn’t made a move to touch her, or smiled. She reached out and brushed his bare arm, feeling oddly insecure.

“Let me, um.…” She glanced toward the bathroom and he nodded. Turning on the harsh fluorescents didn’t boost her confidence, especially with the sight of her crazy Lilly morning hair.
Oh well, not much to be done about that
. At least she could pee, wash her hands and face and brush her teeth, which she did as quickly and quietly as possible, knowing that Jake could undoubtedly hear her every movement. Putting on the plush hotel robe hanging behind the bathroom door, she picked up the wadded bed sheet and stepped out into the bedroom.

Jake was sitting on the disheveled bed looking at his hands, much like his posture on the balcony last night before he decided to take her back to her room. Lilly laid the wadded sheet on the bureau and walked to stand right in front of him, in reach if he so desired.

“You going for your run?” she asked, feeling stupid given that he was clearly dressed for it. Jake looked up at her, his expression tortured. Lilly sank to her knees in front of him, grabbing his hands. “What is it? What’s the matter?”

His face downcast, Jake said, “I’ve been thinking about you since I got up, and I can’t get the picture of you, naked on this bed, out of my head. I don’t think I can spend all day with you touching me and wait until tonight to pick up where we left off. Please send me away if you want.” Anguished, he looked at her. “Right now I’m that guy.”

Lilly, who’d decided to just be happy that he wanted her, was not offended by what he was telling her. Far from it. She smiled at him, squeezing his hands, and said, “I’m glad you came.”

Cocking her head at him, she asked, “What did you have in mind?”

“I… Jeez, Lilly. Everything. I have in mind everything. That’s the problem. The possibilities keep cycling through my head. Argh,” he growled, and squeezed his eyes shut tight, as if he could will his greedy thoughts away.

She stifled a giggle. “Well, let’s pick one and go with that.”

She looked at the sack sitting on the bed next to him, and it dawned on her that it didn’t contain food, but condoms, lots of them by the look of it.

“Did you buy me a present?” she asked, as if he’d brought her a gift-wrapped box from Tiffany’s.

When Jake looked embarrassed again, she rescued him by saying, “I hope it’s what I think it is,” and reached over to dump out the contents. Condoms and a wide assortment of gels and lubricants rained down on the mattress.

“Very thoughtful,” she said, seriously.

Standing, Lilly scooped up the sex supplies and moved them to the bedside table. She picked up and examined the small bottles, reading out loud the promotional statements and product descriptions.

“Hmm, gentle glide. Oooh, warming gel.” She settled on one that promised “extreme lubrication” and “condom compatibility.”

Jake stood and turned to face her, his lean form looking lanky in the well-worn T-shirt and track shorts.

“You’re sure?” he asked, smiling hesitantly.

Intentionally mistaking his meaning, she held up the purple bottle and said, “Yes, I’m sure. Definitely this one.”

Jake’s smile morphed into that wry, sidewise smile, her now second favorite facial expression, and he walked over to wrap his arms around her.

He stood like that for a long time, just holding her gently. Finally he sighed and kissed the top of her head chastely.

“I’ll be okay,” he said. “I don’t want to rush this. I think I just needed to see you.”

Disappointed, but thinking maybe they were short on time, she didn’t alter his course when, with a final tight squeeze, he stepped away from her and said, “I’ll see you at five.”

“Do you want me to call Clara?” she asked as he walked toward the door.

Jake stopped and turned to look at her with his hands on his hips. “No,” he said determinedly. “Just slap me if I get out of line.”

“Okay, big guy,” she said warmly, reassuring him that he hadn’t scared her off. “I’ll be there.”

When the door clicked behind him it was after four. Lilly hopped in the shower, thinking about the day ahead. What if Jake did have a hard time being around her? She dressed carefully, choosing simple cottons to beat the heat, but nothing that exposed too much skin or was in any way provocative. She also decided to be prepared for any contingency, and so she swept a handful of the condoms and the little purple bottle into her purse and headed down to the set.

She checked in with Clara to let her know she would still be working primarily with Jake, but that she’d be around if needed. Clara was relieved. The sun was making the CG folks’ heads spin. Hearing of the headaches, Lilly was glad that she had moved the responsibility for coordinating with the graphics department off of her own plate and on to Clara’s. She had been trying to do too much when this production started. Lilly would have burned out by now if Clara hadn’t come along. Another thanks to Jake. Clara had magically appeared after her Wyoming tent confession.

At the Lab, Lilly gathered her Jake applications and headed for his makeup trailer to set up for the day.

Jake showed up promptly at five and sat down hard in the chair. He let out a “woof,” as he sat. He’d obviously just come from the shower, his hair dripping wet.

“Are you okay?” she asked, after he downed the bottle of water that she handed him in four big gulps.

“Yes,” he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “I ran too long. Sorry.”

Pulling a towel out of the little bathroom, Lilly came back and began rubbing his damp hair with it. Picking up a comb, she started at the ends of his hair and worked her way through the tangles. She combed the silky mop straight over his face and then slicked it back from his forehead, just admiring the beauty of him. Catching his gaze in the mirror, she blushed at the realization that he’d seen the blatant idolatry in her unguarded expression. Looking away, she cleared her throat, embarrassed, and put the comb back on the tray.

Keeping up the professional mask that would help them get through the day with a minimal amount of frisson was going to be difficult, she thought, as she sat on the stool next to him. The next minute proved that it was going to be impossible.

“Another nearly naked day,” she said. “Better get that shirt off.”

Jake crossed his arms in front of him, grabbed the hem of his T-shirt and pulled it off in one fluid move, echoing the way he’d stripped her of her halter dress while she sat astride him last night.

She was momentarily paralyzed as her whole body clenched, then strained toward him. Looking at his naked chest and shoulders, all she could think about was how he had wrapped himself around her lower body last night and made her scream his name. Tearing her gaze away, she reached for the drape on the shelf under the counter in front of him, intending to unfold and snap it around him, but her hand was shaking like a leaf. This wouldn’t do at all.

“Get a grip, Rose,” she said under her breath. She was terribly afraid that if she touched him – anywhere – she was going to spontaneously combust. And she couldn’t do anything until she could still the shaking of her hands.

Knotting her hands in her lap, she turned back to face him. “Is
this
how you felt? I feel like I’m going to melt from the inside out if you don’t… if we don’t…. Oh, Jake, this is awful.”

She lifted her trembling hands out of her lap and smacked them back down on the tops of her thighs, hard enough to sting, and pushed herself up to stand.

Before she could move away from him, Jake grabbed her smarting palms and pulled her inexorably onto his lap. Skipping all formalities, he bent his face to hers and shoved his tongue into her mouth while he snaked a hand up her cotton shirt and pushed her bra up over her aching breasts, squeezing them and pinching her nipples the way he knew she liked. Lilly arched into his hand and moaned. Jake slid his other hand around her waist, pulling her more firmly against him. His erect penis was pressed hard against her buttocks. She kissed him back furiously, running her fingers through his still wet hair to grasp his skull as if she could pull him inside of her. When Jake moved his hand to press his palm against her crotch, she reached for the button on his pants, but Jake shook his head, no. Not taking no for an answer this time, she pushed his groping hands away and looked him in the face.

“Yes,” she said firmly.

Scrambling off of his lap, she grabbed her purse by the door, taking time to make sure the door to the trailer was locked. She pulled out a packaged condom and handed it to Jake, who looked at it in surprise. Then she pulled out the little purple bottle and wiggled it at him.

“Here? Now?” he asked, incredulous.

“You got a better idea?” she asked.

Jake looked at the condom in his hand, then at her, then around the trailer. Unlike Maya’s elaborate furnishings, Jake’s trailer was spartan. There were no chairs other than the makeup chair bolted to the floor, and no couch. Jake’s eyes rested on the counter in front of his chair. He stood, placed his hands on it and leaned his weight into it, testing it for stability.

“Come here,” he said. She came to stand before him and ran her hands up his naked chest to his neck. He was searching her face, looking for assurance that this was what she wanted. She pulled on his neck until he dipped his head down to kiss her. His kiss was gentle this time. His touch was gentle, too, as he reached for the buttons of her simple blouse. He kissed her deeply as he slowly removed her clothes, his hands sliding over her.

When she was naked, Jake undid and stepped out of his pants and boxer briefs. The head of his proud erection brushed against her belly.

He smoothly lifted her and sat her bottom on the counter. Lilly found a purchase for her feet on either arm of the empty makeup chair, Jake standing between her spread thighs. He stroked her everywhere, her hair, her face, her chest, her breasts, like she was a treasured prize he’d won. Like he had trouble believing she was real. The constant contact reaffirmed that she was here, naked in front of him, wanting him.

When his petting reached her inner thighs, his eyes blazed, fixated on the mark he’d made last night. He stroked the mark gently. This was no mirage. He’d made that mark and she’d wanted him to. Jake’s eyes returned to hers.

Lilly was stroking him, too. Her otherworldly layered irises were dark with desire. She slid her hands across his shoulders, down his arms, loving the feel of his muscles moving under her palms. She touched his stomach, flat and hard, and watched as in the wake of her hand, his abdomen rippled, the muscles bunching and contracting under his skin. Sliding her arms around him, she pulled him closer and put her lips to his nipple in an open-mouthed kiss, swirling her tongue. She sucked, then gently closed her teeth on the hardened bud, and sucked harder. Jake’s cock jumped, and his hands slid down to her bottom. He nearly pulled her off the counter to bring their lower bodies together.

Jake pressed the ridge of his erection against the folds of her labia. Bending his knees slightly, then straightening, he began a slow, liquid slide against her wet entrance. His silky skin dragged against her clitoris, eliciting a moan from both of them. She wanted him so badly inside of her. She pivoted her hips, inviting him in.

When he evaded her open invitation, continuing the exquisite slide, she gasped, “Oh,
please
.”

Jake picked up the purple bottle, popped the top and squeezed a generous amount of the lubricant on the finger pads of his right hand, then arched his body away from her, making room to touch her. He bent and flicked his tongue over her nipple, taking it in his teeth like she had done to him, and began salving the gel on her labia, her clitoris, the opening of her vagina. Straightening, he returned his mouth to hers, kissing her softly as he inserted one, then two, lubricated fingers into her vagina, then withdrew them to slide back around her labia and over her clitoris. He worked his fingers in circles that had her squirming and pushing against him. Between the gel and her own desire, she was beyond ready for him.

Tearing open the condom package with his teeth, Jake rolled the latex down his penis. She picked up the bottle and squirted gel onto her own palm and stroked it over his sheathed erection until Jake stilled her hand by wrapping his much longer fingers around hers. Placing his free hand on her throat, he rubbed his thumb along her jawline and over her parted lips. He rolled down her bottom lip with his thumb, opening her mouth, and then stepped close and kissed her again, deeply.