Chapter 16
By the time Cheri finished crying, J.J.’s shirt was a wet mess stuck to his skin. This embarrassed her, apparently, and she started undoing the buttons and peeling the shirt from his body.
“Might want to get the jeans while you’re at it.”
Cheri giggled. “Nice try, but only your shirt’s wet. Let me get you something dry to wear home.”
“You kicking me out?”
Cheri sighed, pushing herself up and out of J.J.’s embrace. “Yeah. I guess. For tonight. I’ve got a lot to figure out, J.J. It’s late and I’m whupped.” He watched her bend down and begin rummaging through her suitcase. “Here you go.”
J.J. caught the shirt in midair as he sat up on the bed. The instant he turned the shirt around he began laughing. “Seriously? You still have this?”
Cheri laughed. “Of course I do. A girl never forgets her first Dave Matthews concert.”
“A night of many firsts, as I recall.” The first time she let me get my lips and tongue on her sweet p-ssy. The first time she put her mouth on me.
J.J. removed his damp button-down shirt and pulled the concert T-shirt over his head. He caught her gawking while he did this and it made him smile. “You know, I saw you checking me out today when I was working on the dock.”
She turned away, busying herself by shoving clothes back into the suitcase and pretending she hadn’t heard him. She was probably blushing, too.
“You’re not even going to bother denying it?”
Cheri shrugged. “No point. I was gawking. You caught me. I want you. But let’s continue this conversation tomorrow.”
“Shee-it, you really are kicking me to the curb.” J.J. jumped from the bed and walked over to Cheri. When he bumped up against her bent-over body, he heard her moan.
He couldn’t help himself. His arms went around her waist and he pulled her upright, bringing her back against his belly. J.J. lowered his lips to the side of her cheek and squeezed her tight. He heard her breath quicken.
“Just promise you won’t wake up tomorrow with amnesia and go back to hating the sight of me.”
Cheri laughed. “Only if you promise not to follow me around the newsroom tomorrow with ‘CNN’ scrawled on your forearm. It wouldn’t be professional.”
“So you remember?” He loved that she did.
“Of course.”
His hands began to slide up inside her sweater, around her ribs, and up and over her breasts, each a perfect handful. Immediately, her small nipples tightened and poked against his palms.
“J.J.—”
“Don’t make me go, Cheri. Don’t make me go another second without you.”
She began to wiggle under his touch, and he couldn’t tell what she was trying to do with the movement—get closer or get free—but he gave her the room to make her choice. It wasn’t long before her head fell against his chest in surrender. That was his go-ahead, and he immediately tipped her face enough to latch his mouth over hers, her kiss desperate and hot, his hands moving rougher all over her body, feeling every contour and swell of her flesh.
That’s when Cheri began pressing her ass against the front of his jeans. He released a moan of relief. To have her want him felt like a homecoming, a reward for all the years, all the loneliness. He turned her around the rest of the way, cradling her face in his hands and sealing her mouth with his once more. Cheri’s lips were hot and damp and trembling and before he knew it, J.J. tasted her sweet, small tongue as it slid into his mouth.
His hands flew from her face to her sides, hips, ass, going from tender to demanding in mere seconds. He gripped the swells of her bottom and she lifted one leg around his hips so she could grind against him. That’s when she lost her balance.
They crumpled back to the floor, J.J. hitting the hardwood first so he could cushion her collapse. She fell against him and it felt like her body shaped itself to fit his perfectly. Her legs parted and her breasts heaved against him and he had to get the clothes off her. He didn’t want the layers. He was sick of the layers between them—of time, of distance, of twisted lies. He wanted to feel her naked and real and sliding all over his flesh. He wanted the feel of his Cheri on top of him once more.
He got his hands under her little shirt. Her skin was on fire. Cheri’s fingers began to fumble with his belt buckle. They both panted.
That’s when they heard it.
“Chit, chit, keek-keek-keek!”
“Oh, shit!” Cherise jumped up to a stand above him, her sweater half off and midriff exposed and her hair all messed up. God, she was gorgeous, even as she pointed at the squirrel in the doorway and screeched.
“Git! Git! Oh, you destructive little shit!”
J.J. propped himself on an elbow. “You talkin’ to me or the squirrel?”
“The squirrel!” Cheri suddenly turned her head to look down on him. “You, too. I can’t do this tonight, J.J. It’s too soon. I can’t sleep with my sister’s ex-husband until I talk to her about it. Oh, God … what am I doing? I must be crazy. But yes, please go and take the squirrel with you, if you don’t mind.”
With a loud sigh, J.J. jumped to his feet and fastened his belt, all while trying to hide his laughter. He didn’t succeed.
“What the hell y’all laughing at?” Cheri demanded, balling her fists on her hips. “Why is this damn squirrel after me? That’s what I want to know. What did I ever do to him?”
J.J. peered at her through his messed-up hair. He shook his head. “As I said before, I believe she’s mad at you, and I mean really pissed.”
“She?” Cheri’s head swung wildly as she stared at the small rodent in the doorway. “How do you know it’s a she?”
“I’m no wildlife expert, but I think this one is about to have babies.”
“What?”
“See her belly all puffed out? My guess is she’d already picked the lake house as her nest when you showed up and ruined her plans.”
“Seriously?”
J.J. watched Cheri crouch down very slowly for a close look at the critter. Her fingertips touched the floor for balance, and J.J. noticed how she was coiled to make a quick getaway, should the hideous beast decide to attack. But the squirrel looked just as fascinated with the woman, its whiskers twitching and its dark eyes focused like lasers.
“I see what you mean,” Cheri whispered. “She looks like she’s ready to pop.”
Suddenly, the squirrel freaked out, skittered away, and let loose with a high-pitched screech. Cheri screamed in surprise and ran to J.J. for protection. They both watched in amazement as the squirrel shot through the living room and began barking like some kind of crazed little dog.
J.J. burst out laughing, but his amusement didn’t last more than a moment, because a pair of headlights had just flashed in the front windows.
“Who the hell could that be?” Cheri asked, breaking away from J.J.’s embrace. He followed her down the hall. “I swear I get more unannounced visitors in the wilderness than I ever did in the city.”
No, the bright red paint job wasn’t visible in the dark, but J.J. could make out the sleek lines of the Mercedes coupe, and a heavy lump of dread fell to his gut. “Cheri, I hate to tell you this—”
“Oh, damn,” she said.
Standing in the empty living room before the bare picture windows, J.J. figured the two of them were on display for Tanyalee’s viewing pleasure. Thank God they were fully dressed.
He took a deep breath, steeling himself for what promised to be the nightmare of all nightmares, when suddenly, the car turned around and drove off.