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CHAPTER NINE
SHE SETTLED ON A DRESS IN A BREEZY PRINT. CASUAL, EMMA determined, simple and almost sweet with the little cropped sweater she paired with it. And what she wore under it was lethal.
Pleased with the results, she did a final turn in the mirror before giving the bedroom a close inspection. Candles for soft, romantic light, lilies and roses for romantic scents. The CD player set on low with a quiet, romantic mix ready to play.
Pillows plumped, shades drawn.
It was, she decided, a female den of seduction. She was damn proud of it. Now all she needed was the man.
She walked downstairs to make sure everything was ready on that front. Wine, glasses, candles, flowers. Music again, still low but more upbeat than the mix waiting upstairs. She turned it on, adjusted the volume, then circled around lighting the candles.
They'd have some wine, she thought, and talk. Then a meal and more conversation. They'd never had problems with conversation. Even though they knew where the evening was headed - maybe because they knew - they'd be able to talk, relax, just enjoy each other's company before they -
She spun around when the door opened, giddy nerves dancing. And Laurel walked in.
"Hey, Em, can I get you to put together a couple of . . . " Laurel stopped, lifted her eyebrows as she looked around the room. "You've got a date. You have a sex date. "
"What? What's wrong with you? Where do you come up with - "
"How long have I known you? This side of forever? You put out new candles. You have foreplay music on. "
"I put out new candles all the time, and I happen to like this mix. "
"Let me see your underwear. "
Emma choked out a laugh. "No. You want me to make up a couple what?"
"That can wait. I have twenty bucks that says you have on the sexing underwear. " Laurel strode over, started to tug at the bodice of Emma's dress - and got her hand slapped away.
"Cut it out. "
"You took a bath in the tonight's-the-night bubbles. " Laurel sniffed. "I can smell it. "
"So what? I often have dates. Sometimes I have sex dates. I'm a grown woman. I can't help it if you haven't had sex in six months. "
"Five months, two weeks, three days. But who's counting?" Laurel stopped again, sucked in an exaggerated breath as she pointed at Emma. "You have a sex date with Jack. "
"Stop it. Will you stop it? You're freaking me out. "
"When is he getting here? What's the plan?"
"Soon, and I'm still working on the plan. But it doesn't include you being here. At all. Go away now. "
Ignoring the order, Laurel folded her arms. "Is it the white 'I'm a good girl but I can be bad' underwear or the black 'I'm only wearing this so you can rip it off me, big boy' underwear? I need to know. "
Emma cast her eyes to the heavens. "It's the red with the black roses. "
"We may need to call the paramedics. If you're functional tomorrow, can you make me up three mini arrangements? Just mixed spring types? I have a consult and little springy flowers would set the mood for what I think the client wants. "
"Sure. Go home. "
"I'm going, I'm going. "
"You're stopping at Mac's to tell her before you go home and tell Parker. "
Laurel paused at the door, flicked back the hair that fell over her cheek. "Duh. And I'm going to ask Mrs. G if she'll make frittatas for breakfast so we can fuel up while you give us all the details. "
"I have a full day tomorrow. "
"Me, too. Seven A. M. , food and sex recap. Good luck tonight. "
Resigned, Emma let out a sigh and decided she wouldn't wait for Jack to have a glass of wine. The trouble with friends, she thought as she went to the kitchen, was they knew you too well. Sex date, foreplay music, sexing underwear. No secrets among . . .
She stopped with the bottle in hand. Jack was a friend. Jack knew her very well. Wouldn't he . . . ?
What if he . . . ?
"Oh, shit!"
She poured a very large glass of wine. Before she could take the first sip, she heard the knock on her door.
"Too late," she murmured. "Too late to change a thing. Time to see what happens, and deal with it. "
She set the wine down, went to the door.
He'd changed, too, she noted. Khakis instead of jeans, a crisp shirt instead of a chambray. He carried a large take-out bag from her favorite Chinese restaurant, and a bottle of her preferred cabernet. Sweet, Emma thought. And certainly another advantage of being friends.
"When you said you'd bring food you meant it. " She took the bag from him. "Thanks. "
"You like a little - and that's usually very little - of everything. So I got a variety. " He cupped the back of her neck, leaned in to kiss her. "Hi again. "
"Hi back again. I just poured myself a glass of wine. Why don't I make it two?"
"I'd say yes. How'd the work go?" he asked when he followed her to the kitchen. "You were pretty much buried in it when I was here earlier. "
"We got it done. The next few days are wall-to-wall, but we'll get that done, too. " She poured a second glass, offered it. "How about your summer kitchen?"
"It's going to rock. I don't know how much use the clients will get out of it, but it's going to look great. I'll need to talk to you about the work here. Your second cooler. I dropped some preliminary sketches at Parker's when I was by before, for the changes there, and Mac's plans are finished. After spending a little time in your cooler today, it's easy to see why you need another one. I like your dress. "
"Thanks. " Watching him, she sipped her wine. "I guess we've got other things to talk about, too. "
"Where do you want to start?"
"I keep thinking it's a lot, but I realized it really comes down to two things, and they both grow out of one root. We're friends. We are friends, aren't we, Jack?"
"We're friends, Emma. "
"So the first thing is I think friends should tell each other the truth. Be honest. If we realize, after tonight, that it's just not what we expected - or if either of us feel like, well, that was nice, but I'm finished - we should be able to say so. No hard feelings. "
Reasonable, straightforward, and without sticky edges or invisible strings. Perfect. "I can go with that. "
"The second is staying friends. " Worry wove through the words as she watched him. "That's the most important thing. Whatever happens, however it works out, we need to promise each other we'll be friends. Not just for you and me, but for everyone we're connected to. We can say it's just sex, Jack, but sex isn't a just. Or it shouldn't be. We like each other. We care about each other. I don't want anything to change that. "
He brushed a hand down her hair. "Blood oath or pinky swear?" he asked and made her laugh. "I can promise you that, Emma. Because you're right. Friends. " He eased over to kiss her cheeks, one, then the other, before rubbing his lips lightly over hers.
"Friends. " She repeated the gesture so they stood, lips a breath apart, eyes locked. "Jack? How did we ever keep from doing this all these years?"
"Hell if I know. " He touched his lips to hers again, then took her hand. "We were at the beach," he said as he led her to the stairs.
"What?"
"We'd gone to the beach for a week. All of us. A friend of Del's lent us his place - his parents' place, I guess - in the Hamptons. It was the summer before you started this place. "
"Yes. I remember. We had the best time. "
"One morning early, I couldn't sleep, so I walked down to the beach. And I saw you. For a minute - just a second or two, really - I didn't realize it was you. You were wearing this long scarf thing tied around your waist, lots of wild colors, and it blew around your legs. You had on a red bathing suit under it. "
"You . . . " She literally had to catch her breath. "You remember what I was wearing?"
"Yes, I do. And I remember your hair was longer than it is now, halfway down your back. All those mad curls flying. Bare feet. All that golden skin, wild colors, mad curls. My heart just stopped. I thought: That's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. And I wanted that woman, in a way I'd never wanted one before. "
He stopped, turned a little as she simply stared at him. "Then I saw it was you. You walked off, down the beach, the surf foaming up over your bare feet, your ankles, your calves. And I wanted you. I thought I'd lost my mind. "
She wouldn't be able to catch her breath much longer, she realized. Wouldn't be able to think. Wouldn't want to be able to think.
"If you'd walked down to me, looked at me the way you're looking at me now, you'd have had me. "
"Worth waiting for. " He kissed her long, slow, deep, then walked with her into the bedroom. "Nice," he said, noting the flowers, the candles.
"Even friends should fuss a little, I think. " Because it would calm her, and set the mood, she picked up the lighter, wandered the room setting candles to flame.
"Nicer. " He smiled when she switched on the music.
She turned to him, with the room between them. "I'm going to be honest with you, Jack - as promised. I have a weakness for romance, the trappings, the gestures. I also have a weakness for passion, the quick and the crazed. I'll take you either way. And tonight, you can take me, any way you want. "
With those words, with Emma standing in candlelight, he was utterly seduced. He crossed to her, and she to him so they met in the center of the room. He combed his fingers through her hair, drawing it back from her face, lowering his lips to hers slowly. Tonight, he would do all in his power to exploit all her weaknesses.
She gave, her body soft in surrender to echo the kiss. Warmth layered on warmth, longing wrapped in anticipation. When he swept her up to carry her to the bed, those dark eyes went slumberous.
"I want to touch you everywhere I've dreamed of touching you. " Slowly, he slid his hand under her dress, along her thigh. "Everywhere. "
He kissed her again, hints of greed now, of possession, while his fingers feathered over her skin, over the lace that barely covered her. She bowed up at his touch, offering more. His lips trailed down her throat in whispers as he slid the sweater down her arms. Then in a fast, rough move, he flipped her over to graze his teeth over her shoulder. When he straddled her to ease down the zipper at the back of her dress, she looked over her shoulder. Her smile was full of secrets.
"Need any help?"
"I think I've got it. "
"I think you do. Since I'm not in a position to do it myself, take off your shirt. "
He unbuttoned it, peeled it off while she watched him. "I've always liked watching you shirtless around here in the summer. I like this even better. " She rolled over again. "Undress me, Jack, and touch me. Everywhere. "
She moved under him, lazy, teasing motions as he drew the dress over her head, and felt the sizzle of pleasure as his gaze traveled over her.
"You're spectacular. " He traced the edges of red lace, the tiny black petals. "This may take a while. "
"No rush. "
When he lowered his lips again, she let herself steep in the sensation of being explored. Inch by inch, he'd said, and he was a man of his word. He touched, he tasted, he lingered until her quivers became trembles and the perfumed air thickened.
Generous curves, skin gold in candlelight, her hair spread out in lush coils of black silk. He'd thought her beautiful, always, but tonight she was a banquet willing to allow him a feast. Every time he came back to those soft, lush lips, she gave a little more. He guided her up, slowly, slowly, felt her rise and rise, then crest and break.
Sensation drenched her, sweet and hot and lovely.
"My turn. " She pushed herself up to link her arms around his neck, to fix her mouth to his. She shifted, nudging him over and back. Now she explored, strong shoulders, hard chest, firm belly. And teased his zipper down to free him.
