"This morning wouldn't have happened if I didn't trust you," Jane said solemnly.
That seemed to please him. "And do you still want me to make love to you?"
Jane gave a short laugh. "I think the more pertinent question is, after this morning's debacle do you still want to make love to me?"
Abel shook his head. "That's not what I asked. Do you still want me to make love to you?"
"Yes, but..." She put her hand against his chest and stopped him when he bent to kiss her. "Not here. Gran might hear." She flushed with embarrassment at the very idea, but Abel only smiled and finished giving her the kiss he'd intended. It wasn't passionate or enflaming, just a warm and sweet brush of lips. He straightened as soon as it ended.
"These are for you." He lifted a bag off the floor and set it on the other side of her on the bed. "Don't use or wear any of your secret weapons. Just wear these. I'll meet you in the van in half an hour."
The moment he was out of the room, Jane sat up. Mr. Tibbs squawked at being so summarily dumped from her lap then took off, presumably for a bed that didn't move as much as she. Jane hardly noticed. She was peering into the bag Abel had left behind. It held several cosmetics, all brand-new, still packaged and lying on red cloth. Jane pushed the makeup out of the way to get to the cloth and tugged it out of the bag. It was a dress, red and slinky.
"Oh, my," Jane murmured, then peered into the bag again. There were underthings and shoes, too--all impressively sexy. Clothes? Makeup? Meet him at the van? He was taking her somewhere. And in half an hour!
Shoving the sheet and blankets aside, Jane leaped out of bed in only her underwear and raced into the bathroom to turn on the shower. Just as quickly, she raced back to snatch her dress and bag.
"Five minutes to shower, five to dress. That leaves ten on hair and ten on makeup," she muttered, tugging her panties off and stepping into the shower. She could do it. She hoped.
She managed it with a minute to spare, flying down the stairs to the garage to find Abel leaning against the van. He looked dashing in a dark suit and tie. A slow sexy smile curved his lips when he saw her, and he straightened to open the passenger door of a low, sporty car parked next to the van. "Your chariot awaits, pretty lady."
"Where did this come from?" Jane asked as she slid into the passenger seat.
"I borrowed it from Dan. I didn't want to take the van and leave Gran stranded," he explained, then closed her door.
Jane watched him walk around the car, a smile tugging at her lips. He hadn't wanted to leave Gran stranded. He was so thoughtful, and there had been affection in his tone when he'd mentioned her grandmother. Jane was glad. Even if her grandmother couldn't drive the van alone.
"So," she said as he slid into the driver's seat.
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see," was all he'd say. He started the car.
They were both silent as he backed out of the driveway and started off down the road. But once they'd passed the community gates, Abel took one hand off the steering wheel and reached out to take hers. "So, did you sleep well?"
"Yes, thank you. And long. I can't believe you guys let me sleep until eight o'clock."
"There was method to my madness," he said lightly.
"Was there?" she asked with amusement. "And what was this method?"
He seemed to debate for a minute, then said, "Well, after you went to bed I watched the monitor for Nancy."
"Did anything happen?"
Noticing the way she tensed, Abel squeezed her hand. "No. And we're not going to talk about the Ensecksis tonight. I want time away from them. Nurse Nancy's on the job, and it's just you and me this evening. Agreed?"
Jane nodded. "Agreed. But I must say it was kind of you to spot her this afternoon."
"Trust me, it wasn't kindness. It was a purely selfish act."
"Oh?"
"She slept while I monitored. That's why you got to sleep so long. It means no one has to spot her tonight and I can spend all my time with you."
"Oh." Jane felt her heart go all mushy. That was so sweet.
He took his hand away to turn the corner, then gave it back. Jane smiled and relaxed as he continued, "So, I spotted for Nancy, and while I was sitting there staring at the silent, unchanging screen, I came up with a plan of how I wanted to spend my time with you. I called the Braunstein house and asked Dan if I could borrow his car; then I asked Luellen if she could pick up a few things for me at the drugstore."
"The makeup!" Jane started to laugh. "And here I thought you were a particularly clever man, picking all the right products and colors for me."
Luellen had got everything she could possibly need: shampoo, cream rinse, hair spray, lipstick, compact, eye shadow and liner, perfume. Abel had really wanted to be sure she had nothing on tonight that might knock him out or otherwise injure him, she realized. Chuckling softly, she saw a WELCOME TO JAMESTOWN sign, and sat up in surprise. "We've left Sonora!"
"Yes. But we haven't gone far," he said soothingly. "You saw how short the ride was. Besides, I can hardly gaze soulfully into your eyes in Sonora where we're supposed to be brother and sister, can I?"
"Oh." Jane relaxed and pondered a good hour at least of soulful gazing. Then she gave a start as she realized that this was a date! Her first date with Abel. She considered what they'd been doing that morning and decided that they'd got the order of things a bit mixed up, but these were unusual circumstances.
"Here we are," Abel announced. He slowed the car.
She wasn't sure where "here" was, other than that it was in Jamestown. He hadn't pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant, but was backing into an open parking spot on the street. He finished the job, shut the engine off, got out, and came around to open Jane's door with a flourish.
"Madame?" He offered his hand and a snooty look she could easily imagine on the face of a French maitre d'.
It was a lovely night, making for a pleasant if short walk. Jamestown had wooden sidewalks, and Jane was a bit distracted making sure she didn't break her neck in the high heels Abel had chosen; so when he suddenly turned her toward a building, she stopped to look around. He'd brought her to someplace called the Willow Steakhouse. It was a charming Victorian-style building with wooden shutters on the windows and a white, gingerbread fence. A pair of double wooden doors with beveled glass panels made up the entrance at the corner of the house where the front and side walls met. Charming!
The wooden sidewalk became hardwood floors in the restaurant. Jane glanced around curiously as she followed the hostess. The lighting was low, with candlelight softly filling the air from glass globes on each table. The dining area was quite small, with private booths and tables to seat no more than thirty people. Jane settled in and smiled at Abel.
"Thank you," she said, after the hostess had handed them their menus and slipped away.
Abel looked uncertain. "For what?"
"For thinking of this."
"Oh." He smiled and reached for her hand across the table, drew it to his lips to kiss. "My pleasure."
Jane flushed as electricity shot up her arm, then turned gratefully to her menu to distract herself. They were served a cheese fondue, then salad and soup, then their entrees. Jane ordered chicken Jerusalem, which turned out to be a delicious dish cooked in white wine sauce and artichokes. Abel ordered roasted lamb and seemed equally pleased with his choice. Jane would have liked to linger before returning home and ending their time together, and they did for a little while, but far too soon Abel paid the check and escorted her back to the car.
Jane sighed wistfully as they drove away. It had been a pleasant diversion in this horrible time. And they'd even managed some of that soulful gazing Abel had promised. Conversation had been amusing and interesting, and it hadn't included the Ensecksis even once. Abel had told her amusing tales of trying to adjust to life in England, and she'd spoken of her work at B.L.I.S.S., making him laugh uproariously with her tale of nearly taking off Dick's head with her missile launcher.
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Jane was replaying their evening as he drove, so she wasn't paying attention to where they were headed until the car slowed again.
"Where are we?" she asked as Abel stopped the vehicle.
He turned the engine off and turned to face her. "We're at the Jamestown National Hotel Bed-and-Breakfast. I want to make love to you, Jane. I knew you wouldn't want to with Gran in the next room, and we couldn't go to the master bedroom with Nancy in there, so I made reservations here. But if you don't want to--"
Jane covered his lips with her fingertips. "I want to," she said simply, then turned and got out of the car, not waiting for him.
The National Hotel was a two-story Victorian building lifted directly out of a Wild West movie. Square, white, and with a balcony along the upper floor that acted as an awning over the sidewalk and entrance below, it was beautiful with its lights shining a welcome into the night.
Jane, however, wasn't up to appreciating its Old World charm. Her heart was leaping in her chest with a combination of excitement, nervousness, and joy. The evening wasn't over as she'd feared. It would continue. They would make love. And she was both excited and frightened. Abel had given her great pleasure that morning and would have given her more, she was sure, had the little incident with the shrink-wrap not occurred. What if something else messed this time up? What if she messed it up?
All these thoughts and many more assailed her as they claimed the key to the room he'd reserved and they made their way upstairs.
Jeez, Jane thought as he unlocked their door. It was so much easier when it just happened. The opportunity to worry and fret over sex was almost painful. She felt like a virgin contemplating this for the first time. Then the door was open and Abel was ushering her inside, and her attention was briefly distracted by the room itself. I've stepped through a doorway in time, Jane thought with awe. A high overstuffed brass bed, antique pictures and quilts and lamps filled the room giving it a warm and welcoming air.
Champagne and covered dishes waited on a small table at the foot of the bed.
"I thought we'd have dessert here," Abel said, turning from closing the door.
"Oh." She smiled at him in rapture. Aside from being sweet and romantic, his arrangement also allowed them to be more spontaneous. They could relax and drink champagne and eat the dessert under those silver domes, then make love when the mood struck. And now that the pressure was off, Jane was in the mood.
Walking back to where he stood by the door, Jane slid her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his. She drew his head down for a kiss. There was a thud as Abel dropped the bag he'd brought from the car. His arms encircled her waist to pull her tighter against him, and he kissed her back with a passion that was explosive.
"Dessert," he gasped, pulling back after a moment. "Don't you want--?"
"I want you." Jane nipped hungrily at his chin.
Groaning, Abel bent to recapture her lips. His hands ran down her body and then back up, then slipped around to the snaps that closed her dress. She'd thought he picked this dress because it was short, tight, and sexy, but now she saw another benefit. The snaps gave way easily with one pull, and Abel reached for the front clasp of her bra. Within seconds there was nothing between them.
Gasping into his mouth, Jane clutched at his shoulders and held on tight as his questing hands played over her naked flesh. Her legs were showing a terrible tendency toward weakness. Seeming to realize the problem, Abel turned and pressed her up against a wall, one hand cupping her behind and pressing her tighter against him. Feeling the large hardness that was proof he'd recovered from that morning's debacle, Jane was torn between touching him and getting him naked. Deciding she wanted to feel all of him, she pushed his hands away and broke the kiss to set to work on his suit jacket.
Abel was at first startled by what seemed an attempt to end the embrace, but when Jane started to push his jacket off his shoulders, he understood and set to work helping her. The coat hit the floor in a whoosh and was quickly followed by his shirt and tie; then Jane pressed her lips to the hot flesh of his chest. Running her hands over him, she sighed with pleasure. "I love your chest."
Abel chuckled. "I love yours, too."
Jane closed her eyes as he caressed her, then let one hand drift down over his stomach to run her fingertips along the waistband of his pants. She felt his stomach muscles contract, and smiled. Opening her eyes, she began to undo his slacks. Abel's hands stilled, his eyes burning. She managed to get them undone and slipped her hand inside before he claimed her lips again. When she caught him with her fingers, he groaned and slid his tongue into her mouth.
His hand dropped down and she felt his fingers brush her thigh, then she moaned as they slid between her legs. He pressed against her through the silky cloth of the panties he'd chosen for her to wear.
Jane shifted her feet farther apart, offering herself to him, but was disappointed when his hands slipped away. He broke the kiss and his mouth drifted downward, trailing over her chin, along her throat, and down to one breast. He paused there briefly, then knelt before her. Leaning forward, he pushed the half-undone dress to the side and pressed a kiss to her stomach, then ran his tongue along the line of her panties. His fingers slid up to draw them downward.
Jane shivered as the silk panties drifted to the floor; then she stepped out of them, startled to realize that she still wore her high-heeled shoes and the thigh-high tights claiming not to need a garter belt. Her gaze went to Abel as he stood.
"We should move to the bed," he murmured, giving her another kiss.
Jane kissed back, her hand slipping between them again to find him still hard and hot. She freed him from his open trousers and closed her hand around him firmly. Abel broke away with a hiss, one hand going to the wall by her head to brace himself.
"Jane," he muttered through clenched teeth as she fondled him. "I've been imagining this all afternoon while you were sleeping. I don't think--"
His words died in another gasp as she slid her hand along the length of him; then seeming to realize she had no intention of stopping, and unwilling to physically stop her himself, he turned his attention to touching, kissing, and caressing her. He shifted away and dropped his head to take one erect nipple in his mouth, then slid his hand between her legs again, finding her bare flesh and slipping into the warm heat.
Groaning against her breast, he straightened. "Jane, you feel so good. I want--"
"So do I," she murmured, moving against his hand. "Now."
"Thank God," he breathed. His hand fell away as he bent to scoop up the bag he'd dropped, then he caught her up in his arms and straightened. Jane's startled yelp died in her throat as he pressed a kiss to her cheek and carried her to the bed.
Jane slid her hands into his hair, enjoying Abel's kiss, then felt the bed brush against her bottom. Abel started to pull away, but she followed, shifting to her knees on the bed rather than break contact. She couldn't have if she'd wanted to; she needed him like oxygen at that point. She wanted his hands on her body, his tongue in her mouth, his--
His erection brushed her leg, and she groaned into his mouth. That was what she wanted. She wanted what they'd missed that morning. The pleasure he'd shown her then had been amazing, but at the end she'd burned to feel him inside her. She wanted him there now.
"Abel, please." Her moaned plea ended on a gasp as he moved his hand back between her legs. She rubbed against it taking the pleasure he offered, and gasped. Then a rustling distracted her. Turning her head, she glanced down at the bag he'd set on the bed beside her. Abel was now fishing through it one-handed even as he caressed her with his other. As she looked, he gave a grunt of triumph and pulled out a package of condoms. She turned to peer at him blankly, and he smiled and shrugged.
"Luellen?" she asked with horror.
"No," he assured her quickly. "I picked them up myself."
"Oh, thank God," she breathed. Closing her eyes, she dropped back on the bed. How mortifying it would be to know Luellen
had bought condoms for--
Abel cleared his throat and Jane's eyes popped open. He'd removed his pants and was now shifting uncomfortably at the edge of the bed, obviously unsure whether to proceed if the brief fear had spoiled the mood. Her gaze dropped to his impressive erection and she sat up. She shifted to the edge of the bed and took the condom he still held. Tearing it open, she pulled out the bit of latex and blinked. It was neon pink. When her eyes shot up to him, Abel was grinning.
"I noticed you liked the color," he said.
Jane started to laugh and fell back on the bed.
Taking the condom from her, Abel put it on, then knelt on one knee between her thighs. He ran his hands lightly up her legs. Jane shivered, her laughter dying at once. She didn't know why she'd found it so funny to begin with. Perhaps it had been a release for her sexual tension. That tension was back in full force.
She scooted backward on the bed, making more room for him, then caught at his arms and urged him up over her. Abel complied, settling himself between her legs, pressing against her but not into her.
Jane stared into his face, thinking how handsome he was, how kind and funny. And another sort of warmth squeezed in next to her passion. She smiled and pulled him down for a kiss. He thrust into her at the same moment his tongue slid into her mouth, and Jane gasped and arched as he filled her. Her legs wrapped around his hips, and her arms went around his shoulders. He drove into her. She was drowning in a hot liquid pleasure and wanted more. Abel gave that to her until they both cried out with release and collapsed on the bed.
------
Jane didn't remember falling asleep, but they did. When she woke, Abel pulled a quilt up over them and ran a hand gently up and down her back.
"Mmm," Jane said. She stretched against him, then tilted her head up to offer him a smile. He was wide awake and smiling, and she wondered how long she'd slept. And how long he'd been awake.
"Ready for dessert?" he asked.
Jane chuckled and rolled to lie on her back beside him. "You mean there's more?"
Her eyes closed, but she felt Abel shift beside her; then the quilt was sliding down. She could feel her nipples growing erect as the cloth slipped over them; then cool air brushed them briefly before one was sucked into moist heat. Jane opened her eyes and peered down at Abel's head as he suckled her. Her body stretched and arched of its own accord in response to the caress as heat pooled in her stomach. Then Abel straightened and slid off the bed to walk naked to the tray with the domed dessert dishes.