Jake didn’t say anything on the way to Derek’s house.
They’d just pulled into the driveway when Derek said, “What the fuck is your problem, man?”
“Nothing,” Jake mumbled
Derek just waited.
Even though Jake knew that Derek had a talent for using silence as a means of getting people to confess, Jake felt himself falling for it again. Using the most neutral tone he could manage, Jake said, “You and Lily have gotten close the last few times she’s been home.”
“Why does that bother you?” Derek asked. “You know Lily and I have always been good friends.”
Jake tightened his hands on the steering wheel.
Yeah,
they’ve always hung all over each other, even when she was just a kid.
“I know that,” he said. “I just didn’t know you had something romantic going on, that’s all.”
“We don’t,” Derek said. Jake glanced over to see Derek looking at him quizzically. “Even if we did, why do you care?”
“I don’t,” Jake answered quickly
“Yes, you do. You were staring daggers at me earlier for just sitting next to her.”
“She was practically in your lap, and you were kissing her,” Jake retorted hotly. “Her mother and brother were right there, man. Try being a little discreet, will ya? You might as well be advertising.”
Derek laughed long and hard. It was a strange, almost self-mocking laugh that had Jake baffled. “Be discreet,” he repeated, holding his stomach.
Finally, he stopped laughing. “Lily and I are not lovers,” Derek said quietly. “We never have been and never will be. She’s one of my best friends. Hell, she’s practically a sister. I am very discreet about who I sleep with.”
There was a wealth of irony in his statement that puzzled Jake. He didn’t bother to ask about it, though. He was too busy trying to decide if he believed Derek about his relationship with Lily. He wanted to. Christ, how he wanted to.
“Why does it matter so much?” Derek asked suspiciously.
“She’s like my sister,” Jake said. “I worry about her.”
Derek nodded and opened the car door. “I figured that was it,” he said. “You’ve always been the most protective of us when it came to Lily. More than Tom even, I think. Don’t worry about it, man. She tells me everything, and there’s no guy in her life right now.”
Before closing the door, Derek turned and said, “But I’m betting there will be eventually. She’s too pretty and smart to be alone for long. You’re going to have to accept that your chick will eventually leave the nest, Jake.”
On that disquieting thought, Jake waved and closed the door. He backed out of the driveway and headed toward the main road. On a whim, he turned down Lily’s street. Tom’s cruiser was still outside, but Joyce and Trish had left hours before. Knowing that she was safe, he headed for home.
* * * *
Tom picked up the last bowl and followed Lily into the kitchen.
“So what’s up with you and Derek?” he asked curiously.
“What do you mean?” Lily grabbed the bowl and emptied the uneaten tortillas back into the bag before submerging the bowl in soapy water.
“You looked real cozy snuggled up against the wall.” Tom sounded vaguely accusing.
“Cozy? I guess you could call it that. I know he’s your friend, but I consider him one of my best friends, too.” Lily rinsed the dish and upended it on the strainer. She unplugged the sink and watched the bubbles disappear down the drain.
“I thought maybe there was something brewing there.”
“Romantically, you mean?” Lily asked, finally cottoning on to what he was saying.
Tom sighed. “Yes, numbskull, romantically.”
Lily turned to Tom. “He’s one of my best friends. He’s the keeper of my secrets, and I’m the keeper of his. No matter what you might think, we’re not romantically involved. He’s so much like another brother to me that it would seem incestuous.”
“Ewww,” Tom said.
“Exactly,” Lily agreed with a laugh. “I’m tired. How about we get together this week? I want to catch up on what’s going on around Fairview. It feels like I’ve been gone a long time.”
He hugged her hard. “Sounds good. Oh, and have Jake call me when he figures out what needs to be done around here. I’ll come by to help.”
Lily laid her head on his shoulder. “Thanks. I’ve missed you, Tommy,” she said
He hugged her tightly. “It’s good to have you home.”
The next morning Lily woke up to the scent of coffee drifting in from the kitchen. She had set the automatic coffee maker’s timer for 8:00 in the morning, knowing if she wasn’t up by then, she should be. She luxuriated in the smell, knowing that when she fixed the upstairs bedrooms and moved her room, she’d have to set an actual alarm clock.
In New York, she’d rarely slept past 7:00 and was surprised that she did on her first day back in Fairview. She stretched, briefly considered skipping her morning tai chi routine, but she forced herself to get out of bed and slip on her workout clothes. The leggings and sports bra were comfortable and familiar.
The first thing she did was to open the front and back doors so a breeze could pass through the house. She preferred to be outside when she worked out, but it was still a little too cold in the morning for her to go onto the patio, and the screen doors blocked enough of the breeze that it wasn’t too cold.
Getting into the opening position, Lily began to move slowly through the stances. She worked on clearing her mind and focusing only on the movements of her body.
Lily had been forced to develop ways to counteract the stress of academia early on. Being a seventeen-year-old freshman at Columbia University in New York had been incredibly stressful, especially when the dean considered you a wunderkind of the literary world. By the time she was twenty, her contributions to scholarly magazines made her one of the most sought-after students in the country. Her loyalty to Columbia and her continued contribution to the reputation of the school ensured her a professorship upon receiving her PhD when she was twenty-two, making her the youngest professor at Columbia. Now at twenty-six, she was considered one of the leaders of the new generation of literary minds.
Lily had learned yoga as a freshman, and when she was twenty she’d decided to learn to defend herself and signed up for tae kwon do. There she learned the art of tai chi, meditation in motion, and had been doing it ever since. She found it to be as mentally relaxing as it was physically.
When she was done, Lily shook out her limbs and stretched, spreading her legs a foot apart and leaning over to touch the floor. From her upside-down position she saw a figure outside her door.
* * * *
Jake had been at the house since a few minutes past eight, walking around the outside and taking notes on his clipboard about what needed to be done to the exterior of the house. He’d walked onto the porch, raised his hand to knock on the door, and seen Lily.
She was moving through a series of stances with graceful movements that looked like dancing. Her eyes were closed, and the glimpses he caught of her face when she turned her head made her look serene, almost ethereal. Her body was compact and tight. He watched the flexing and shifting of the muscles on her back and her buttocks. Despite her slim body, the cheeks of her ass were softly rounded, begging for a man’s hand or mouth.
He felt his body harden, something that happened with far too much frequency in her company. He was trying to get himself back under control when she finished her routine and began stretching. Before he could announce himself, she saw him and jumped immediately into a fighting stance.
He was intrigued. She looked like she knew what she was doing. How would a sweet girl like Lily know how to fight?
“Sorry, squirt,” Jake said with a grin as he let himself into the house. He held his clipboard in front of his groin to hide the effect she had on him. He tried to look casual and relaxed, but all his muscles were on alert.
He chucked her on the chin with a fist then raised it and fell back on his heels in a boxing stance. “Ready to go a round, slugger?”
Lily stood up and fisted her hands on her hips. “Do you think I couldn’t take you?”
His mind immediately went into perverted mode. He wanted her to “take” him. He almost said that, but remembered who she was and just patted her on the head. “Sure you can, squirt, sure you can.”
Later he would think it must have been the pat on the head that did it. Before he could brace himself, Lily flipped him over her shoulder, the clipboard flying across the room. She then put one knee on his neck and her other knee on the floor beside his head.
She grinned down at him, her hands on her thighs. He just couldn’t grin back. All he could think about was how close her pussy was to his face. He breathed in deep and scented her. His mouth watered, and his erection got so hard he hurt. When he let out a slow breath, Lily’s body jerked. She got off him quickly, stood up, and crossed her arms. “Don’t underestimate me.”
Jake wanted to get up off the floor, but he knew he couldn’t sit straight up. If he did, he’d bend his cock in half. Instead, he rolled over and pushed himself up to his feet, wincing as the denim pinched at him. He took a deep breath, trying to get himself in control.
Lily was just standing there, arms crossed over her breasts.
He decided to brazen it out and grabbed the clipboard off the couch where it had landed when he went flying. “Okay, you’re a tough cookie,” he said before turning to the kitchen. “Hey, is that coffee I smell?”
“Help yourself,” she said as she followed him into the kitchen. “I could use a cup right now, too.” She sounded completely composed again. He wished he felt that way.
“I wanted to come by and go through the house so we could decide on the order of repairs. I’m surprised you didn’t hear me come up. The stairs on the porch squeak badly.” He was absolutely determined to act like nothing had happened.
Jake began opening cabinets until he found the coffee mugs and grabbed two down. He poured both and turned to give her a cup. She was standing in the entrance to the kitchen, her arms wrapped around her middle. He placed her cup on the table and moved to lean against the counter.
“Do you need cream or sugar?” Lily asked, heading toward the refrigerator to take out a small carton of cream. When she unwound her arms, Jake could see her nipples poking against the sports bra. It was all he could do not to groan.
“No, I drink it black.” His voice was huskier than usual, causing her to look at him more closely. Her gaze travelled down his chest and settled for a moment over the bulge in his jeans. Her face flushed, and her gaze jerked back to his eyes. Lily took a short step back. Then she squared her shoulders and walked toward him.
Jake swallowed hard. The look in her eyes was all hot and knowing female. He’d never expected to see that look on Lily’s face. He didn’t move. For the first time in his life, he didn’t know what to do about a woman.
Jake stood leaning against the counter, his ankles crossed, making him a few inches shorter than his normal six foot two. Lily stood only a few inches from him, her feet on either side of his crossed ankles. She put her hand on his arm.
“Did I thank you for helping me find this house?” Lily asked, rubbing her hand up and down his arm suggestively.
“Uh, yeah. A couple of times.” Jake tried to sound smooth, but he knew he sounded like a young boy talking to his first crush on the playground.
“Well, I really appreciate it.” Lily leaned up and hugged him briefly. He could feel her quivering, and his lifelong determination to stay away from Lily broke. As she began to lean back, his arms came around her back, pulling her firmly against his body. He lowered his head and took her mouth.
* * * *
Lily was shocked at her own boldness. She’d never thought she’d have the courage to approach Jake as a woman, but she knew she had nothing to lose. When she’d stepped close to him and touched his arm, his muscles seemed to coil even tighter. Finally, she’d hugged him, thrilling at the feel of his body against hers. Just when she was about to give up and step back, he kissed her, and what a kiss it was! His mouth was hard on hers, and he had wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her up onto her toes.
After a moment, he changed the angle of the kiss and pushed his tongue into her mouth. He also put his hands on her ass and ground his hardness into her, lifting her higher so that he was rubbing against her mound using the same tempo he used when thrusting his tongue into her mouth. When he grasped her breast, Lily gave a deep, harsh groan.
* * * *
Jake couldn’t help himself. He felt like the leash he had tied on his desire for Lily years ago had snapped. He could feel her slight softness and just wanted to bury his body in hers again and again. Her small ass fit into one hand as he lifted her to accept his grinding. He moved his other hand up to her breast and squeezed.
He could feel her pencil eraser nipples press deeply into his hand, and he heard her groan. The sound shocked him back to his senses. He grabbed her arms and pushed her away from him.
“I’m so sor—” he began to say.
“Don’t you dare say you’re sorry,” Lily said in a broken whisper. She put her first two fingers onto her lips, either to soothe them or to hold the feelings, he couldn’t tell. All he knew was he’d been rough with her. Her mouth looked swollen, and he remembered the way he’d been grinding against her.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked, locking his hands against the counter to stop from reaching her again.
“Do I look hurt?” she asked, putting her arms out.
Jake looked at her flushed skin and the nipples puckered against her bra. “No, but I was rough.”
“I can take it.”
“It won’t happen again,” Jake said, almost desperately.
Lily turned toward the door. “I’m going to shower and change, and then we can go over what needs to be done.”
Jake looked at his watch. “I, uh, don’t have time right now. I have to get to a job site. I’ll come by again tomorrow with Tom to go over the inside of the house.”