Luca grinned. “Hello.”
Jack chuckled beside me and put his hand on my back. “Luca, tell Lawson who grew those vegetables you’re chopping up?”
“I did!” Luca said. He was a gorgeous little boy with blond wispy curls and a cherub smile. “I did grow them all by myself and UncaJack said I could cook the dinner.”
I found myself smiling, grinning even. I couldn’t explain how relieved I felt. “That’s perfect,” I said.
Jack gave me a curious look, so I explained, “I was rather nervous about tonight. I wasn’t sure what to expect when you said a personal chef.” I almost laughed. “But this is… even better.”
Jack went to say something, but Luca spoke first. “UncaJack, your carrot.”
“Oh,” Jack said, walking to stand next to Luca’s chair. He smiled at me. “I’m being the apprentice today.”
Remmy laughed. “Lawson, can I get you a drink?”
And so began what was to be a night of laughter and stories, surprisingly delicious ‘ratooey,’ and even better homemade apple pie. Remmy asked me a slew of questions, Nico was quite well versed in world economics, Luca asked me all about butterflies, and Jack’s deep, throaty laughter was quite possibly my most favourite sound.
By the time Luca was falling asleep, Remmy and Nico thanked Jack for a wonderful night, bundled their little one into their car, and bid us both goodnight. The silence after they’d gone was a little loud, but when I turned to look at Jack, he was smiling at me. “You were great tonight.”
“How was I great?”
He put his hand to my jaw and thumbed my cheek. “Luca thinks you’re the best thing ever.”
“He’s a great cook. For a four-year-old.”
“He is.” He ran his hand down my neck and over my shoulder, down my chest. Then he said, “And while I thoroughly enjoyed their company, I missed talking to you. I heard you telling Remmy you didn’t find anything in the field today.”
“No, nothing.”
Jack skimmed his hand back along my suspender, up my chest, and over my collarbone. His smile faded as he licked his bottom lip. “Will you stay for a little bit? You don’t have to stay the night if you don’t want. But please tell me you’ll stay long enough for me to take you out of these suspenders.”
“I thought you liked bow ties?”
“I do! Well, I did, but that was before you wore suspenders.”
I chuckled at that. “Then I’ll be sure to wear them more often.”
He leaned in as if to kiss me, but stopped. His eyes flashed with concern. “Earlier tonight, when you bought the wine, you said some guys said something to you? Were you okay? Because on Date Number One, you were dead set against going inside.”
“I haven’t had the best of luck at such places.” He frowned and waited for me to continue. “When I was at university, we were doing a field study in a small town. A few of my classmates thought a trip to the local pub was in order, and I guess a few of the locals thought the way I dressed was comical. Or offensive.”
“Oh, Lawson,” Jack whispered.
“I had a similar experience at a country pub in New South Wales as well. I believe I can safely assume I am the common denominator in all such examples, so I have avoided putting myself into that situation again.”
His frown had deepened. “I’m sorry that happened to you. The guys here aren’t like that, but next time I’ll come in with you and introduce you, and I’ll make sure they know you’re with me.” He slid both his hands around me protectively. “No one would say or do a thing to you.”
I ran my nose along his jaw. “I can take care of myself.” I squeezed his arse. “Though I’d prefer if you took care of me.”
He hummed and moved his mouth over mine. I pulled back a little. “Jack?”
“Yes?”
“My suspenders are still on.”
*
I smiled as I pulled up out the front of the Parks and Wildlife office. Jack was standing by a Rural Fire Services truck, talking to a man I’d not seen before, and Rosemary sat happily at their feet.
I’d only left his house eight hours before. Again, I was tempted to stay the night, but I didn’t. He took my suspenders off all right. He wanted to take his sweet time with me, but I was so turned on, I begged for his mouth on me.
I swear he drove me crazy just because he could. Because he would rile me up to breaking point until I couldn’t bear it another second, and I’d beg and curse at him until he gave me relief.
And I could honestly say, no one had ever taken such thorough care of me. No one had ever treated me like a delicacy. Not like Jack did.
He grinned as he noticed me, waving at me to join him. He was wearing work shorts and a Parks and Wildlife polo shirt, with work boots worn by tradesmen, but oh boy, he’d never looked better. Well, that’s not true. He looked better last night when I’d returned the favour of fellatio. He’d looked unbelievable, then, with his head thrown back, his body taut, and muscles flexed as he came… and of course that memory made me blush.
I walked over to where he was still talking to a friend of his. “Good morning,” I said.
Jack grinned. “Tony, let me introduce you to Lawson Gale. Lawson, this is Tony Wells. Tony is the local superintendent for the RFS. Lawson’s here on official business for the University of Melbourne.”
“G’day. Nice to meet you,” he said, offering his hand to shake. He was an older man but fit looking. “Jack was just telling me he’s heading up into Mount Stronarch today.”
“Yes,” I replied, hoping I didn’t blush any further. “Jack coming with me has been mutually beneficial.”
Jack tried not to smile, and I recalled my words.
Oh dear.
“I mean, he gets his work done, I get mine done. Separately. On the same trip, that’s all.”
Tony, thankfully, seemed unaware of my innuendo. He bent and gave Rosemary a pat on the head. “And Rosemary, CEO, overlooks everything.”
Jack laughed. “She does.”
After a few minutes of small talk, Tony bid us farewell, said it was nice to meet me, and went on his way. Jack watched the RFS truck pull away, then looked at me and laughed. “Jack coming with me has been mutually beneficial?”
I groaned. “I can’t believe I said that.”
He was still grinning when he collected his things out of his ute. He added them to my Defender. “You ready?”
“I am. Coffee’s in the cup holders.”
“Perfect,” he said. “I’ll just go tell Karen I’ll be off then.”
I opened the rear passenger door to the Defender and told Rosemary to climb up. I harnessed her in, and a moment later was joined by Jack. He slid an Esky onto the backseat next to Rosemary, climbed into the front passenger seat, and buckled himself in. “So?” he asked. “Where are we going to first, in this mutually beneficial arrangement?”
I slipped the Defender into first gear and headed out on the highway. “Do you plan to remind me of that often?”
He picked up his coffee. “Yes. It didn’t help that you blushed.”
“All I could picture was your face when you orgasmed last night.”
Jack choked on his coffee. “Lawson!”