Page 68 of The House on Blueberry Lane

His words sent a sensuous tingling up and down her spine. Jaye was the only man whose deep husky tone, had the ability to do that. Then there was that look in his eyes that said how he would taste her and just where.

“Then I suggest we take care of these hot and sensual taste buds first. What do you think of that?” she asked, gently rubbing her hands down his arms.

“Whatever you want, Velvet, I will give it to you. No matter what it is.”

She smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

“I’LL BE BACK in a few, baby.”

Velvet opened sleepy eyes to the sound of the deep husky voice and saw Jaye standing by the bed. They had made love several times before slipping off to sleep for a nap. Now he was up and dressed and she was still in bed naked. “Be back? Where are you going?”

“To pick up the ribs.” He grinned and added, “You know that other thing you had a taste for.”

At any other time, she would have blushed, but not now. She was too exhausted to even bother. Jaye had practically worn her out. She was certain there were passion marks over every part of her body. And she had left passion marks of her own on parts of him.

“I remember,” she said, shifting in bed and feeling the intensity of his lovemaking in several muscles.

She was about to close her eyes and doze off again, when she felt him nibbling at her lips. When she whispered his name, he slid his tongue inside her mouth and kissed her with enough passion to curl her toes. His kisses were always an all-out assault on her senses and in no time at all she was moaning. The pressure of his kiss eased up some, but that didn’t stop the moans or all the sensations flowing through her.

After several deeper strokes of his tongue, he finally whispered against her moist lips, “Think of me until I get back.”

She had no problem doing that and told him so. When she heard his door close behind him, she reached out and drew his pillow close to her to inhale Jaye’s scent. She loved how he smelled. Instead of drifting back to sleep, she shifted on her back to stare up at the ceiling as a wondrous feeling swept over her.

Like she’d told Ruthie when her best friend had picked her up from the airport Friday night, she enjoyed being in a noncommitted relationship with Jaye because she didn’t have to worry about a broken heart. Although she loved him, she had accepted that he didn’t love her, and never would. With that acceptance, she felt satisfied. And speaking of satisfaction, since they’d agreed to their sex-only affair, Jaye was filling her nights with so much of it, she was smiling every day. She would miss him when he left Catalina Cove to return to Phoenix. She pushed the thought from her mind that she only had him for a few more months. He’d mentioned they had officially hired a new bank manager for the branch here in the cove. When the man arrived, there would be no reason for Jaye to hang around.

She sat up in bed and decided to get dressed. There was still a lot of daylight left and Jaye had said they would be trying the rocking chairs out today. She was excited about that. He had done a great job on them and what was even more special was that she had helped.

Just the thought he had remembered what she’d told him about her parents and their chairs gave her pause. She honestly thought he’d tuned her out when she told him but obviously he’d heard her. She also thought about what he’d said about realizing what he’d missed out on by not sharing himself with others. She would be the first to admit this Jaye was different, but the big question was how long he would stay that way.

BY THE TIME Jaye returned with dinner, Velvet had showered and changed into a pair of leggings and pullover top and, as usual, he thought she looked sexy as hell. She’d opened the door to her home, letting him know they would be eating there.

“The ribs are delicious,” she said when they began digging in. He felt a heady rush of desire when he saw her greedily lick her lips and recalled how she had licked him the same way earlier.

“Jaye?”

Suddenly, he realized she’d said his name while he’d been captivated by her mouth. “Yes?”

“Was the Shack crowded?”

He wondered if she was asking because it had taken him a little longer to return. Hopefully, she’d missed him. “No, but I did run into a few people.”

“Oh? Who?”

“Ray and Ashley, Isaac and Donna and their little ones. They were dining in.” He paused. “Just so you know, they noticed I was getting two take-out dinners instead of one.”

He studied her expression as she kept eating. When she didn’t comment, he asked, “Does that bother you?”

She shrugged. “After Kaegan and Bryce’s party, I think some people might have their suspicions, anyway. We were giving off some pretty hot vibes.” She stopped. “Something Bryce said that night pretty much confirmed others had noticed.”

He lifted a brow. “And what did Bryce say?”

“She assured me we were among friends. Before I could ask her what she meant, you walked up. But I think I know what she meant.”

“What’s that?”

“That the people at the party, most of whom I’ve met since moving to the cove and consider friends, can be trusted not to spread gossip.”

Jaye nodded. “By gossip, you mean spreading news that we have a thing for each other?”

---