Be My Baby: Konigsburg, Texas, Book 3 Read online

  Fortunately, her bread recipe had enough steps that she could play with Jack in between.

  Create the sponge. Watch Jack bounce. Add flour and milk, stir one hundred times, knead dough until shoulders ache. Build a Duplo castle and watch Jack destroy it, gleefully. Punch dough down. Read Jack the same Babar story Lars had read Daisy, waiting for the fateful eyelid drop, then put Jack down. Grease pans, shape bread into loaves. Get twenty minutes worth of work done on Web site. Place loaves in oven. Find the smell of baking bread oddly soothing, even when Jack wakes up whimpering and thoroughly wet. Take the bread out of the oven and marvel that something in her life still seemed to work just the way it always had.

  Jess managed to find an unused oven shelf that could serve as a cooling rack and turned the loaves out of their pans. In the background, Jack crawled around the limited space she’d laid out in the dining room, pausing occasionally to thump Mr. Wiggles affectionately on the floor.

  It was sort of refreshing to be back to just the two of them, she reflected. No worrying about what Daisy was up to currently. No thinking about what Lars looked like without his clothes. Definitely no thinking about that.

  Lars himself arrived just as she was spooning the last of some pureed plums into Jack’s mouth. He wasn’t as late as he’d been the night before, but he was still later getting home than the people who treated Wednesday as part of the Thanksgiving weekend. Jess figured that was because he was one of those who made life easier for the others.

  He stood frozen in the doorway, eyes closed. “Oh my god. It smells like what I always figured paradise should smell like.”

  “There’s a cut loaf in the kitchen, along with some vegetable soup. Feel free.” Jess turned back to scraping excess plum off Jack’s cheeks as Lars headed toward the kitchen, almost at a trot.

  When he came back to the table, he had a piece of bread the size of a manhole cover, slathered with a layer of butter around a half-inch thick. “This is the greatest bread I’ve ever tasted.”

  Jess narrowed her eyes. “You haven’t tasted it yet.”

  “Actually, I had another piece in the kitchen.” Lars gave her a slightly shame-faced grin. “I’m a sucker for fresh-baked bread.”

  “You and every other male with a pulse. Have as much as you want. Just save the other three loaves for tomorrow.”

  He was still munching happily when she carried Jack off for his bath. When she came back from putting him down, Lars was sitting in the living room with his laptop. Jess turned toward the study and escape.

  “Jess?” Lars looked up. “Got a minute?”

  She took a deep mental breath. “Sure.”

  She sat in a chair across the room from him, reminding herself he was a guy. Guys never wanted to talk about relationships, did they? Particularly if there really wasn’t any relationship to speak of. So he couldn’t want to talk about what they’d done two night ago. “What’s up?”

  He clicked his laptop closed. “You’re still upset about the other night, aren’t you?”

  She blinked at him. Just her luck to get the only guy in Texas who didn’t mind talking about relationships. “It wasn’t the smartest thing we could have done.”

  “Granted. But we were lucky. Neither of the kids woke up. The only ones involved were the two of us. And frankly, I don’t regret it.”

  He grinned at her, molasses eyes crinkling.

  She felt like kicking him. Where did he get off being so damned adorable? They weren’t supposed to do this. Not now. Maybe not ever.

  “I don’t exactly regret it. But…” She licked her lips, trying to find the right words.

  “But you don’t want me to think we’ll necessarily be doing it again. I understand that.”

  She stole another glance at him. He leaned forward now, elbows on his knees, his expression intent. His hands dangled down—broad, strong, with long tapering fingers. Fingers that had been inside her two nights ago.

  Jess licked her lips again. Apparently, she was losing her mind. “I’ve never done anything like that before,” she stammered. “I mean, well, obviously I have done it. But not like that, and not for a long time…” Heat flowed from her eyebrows to her toes. She was probably the shade of a well-done lobster.

  Lars swallowed hard. She really hoped it wasn’t to keep from laughing hysterically. “It’s not something I’ve done too much myself. At least not for a while. Look, Jess, I just want us to get over this. I don’t want it to come between us. If you want me to promise I’ll never come on to you again, I will.”

  She stared at him, wide-eyed. Terrific. He didn’t want to have sex with her again. Ever. Had it really been that bad?

  He blew out a quick breath. “I mean, I wouldn’t be happy about it, but I’d promise. If that’s what you want.”

  It took a couple of moments for the words to sink in. “You…want to do it again? Is that what you’re saying?”

  He shook his head. “Not if you don’t want to. It’s absolutely your choice. I don’t want you to think…” His voice trailed off and he rubbed a hand through his hair. “I’m really screwing this up, aren’t I?”

  “No, you’re not.” She took a breath. “It’s just…I have to get used to the idea. I haven’t been with anyone since Barry died.”

  “I haven’t either. I mean, I haven’t done it for a while—not since the divorce.” His smile was close to a grimace. “I didn’t have the energy or the inclination, I guess.”

  He’d sure had the energy that night. Jess fought down an attack of hysterical giggles.

  Lars’s grin became genuine. “You had a lot to do with that.”

  Oh god, she’d actually said the words out loud. She wondered if she could slink out of the room without calling attention to herself. Her face felt like it had returned to boiled lobster shade.

  “Look, Jess.” He leaned forward again. “If you want me to back off, I will. If it’s too soon for you, I absolutely understand. But given my choice, I’d like to, well, explore the possibilities.”

  “The possibilities?” She licked her lips.

  “Between us. I think it could be…really good.” His brow furrowed. “Did I screw this up again?”

  She shook her head. “Give me a minute. I’m just processing here.”

  “Processing?”

  “Changing my perspective. Sort of like a screen refresh.”

  “Oh.” The corners of his mouth began to creep up. “Does that mean you’re not entirely against the idea?”

  She held up her hand. “Still processing.”

  “Does that mean you’d consider it?”

  She swallowed hard, feeling her pulse thump. “What if I said yes?”

  He was definitely grinning. “Is that a hypothetical question?”

  She stared down at her toes for a moment, then raised her gaze to his. “Not hypothetical. I’m interested. Just sort of…nervous.”

  He pushed himself slowly to his feet, as if he was trying not to spook her. “Nervous is okay. I’m not exactly rock steady myself.”

  Jess raised her gaze to his face, somewhere up there in the darkness above her. He might not be rock steady, but at the moment, he looked like he was made out of granite. Her chest suddenly felt tight. She drew in another deep breath.

  “This time I want to do it right,” Lars said softly. “This time I want a bed. And time.” He extended his hand to her.

  If I give him my hand, I’m committed. If I give him my hand, we’re going to do this.

  One last deep breath, and she placed her hand in his.

  Lars wanted to turn on the light in his room, but he was afraid Jess would take off down the hall if he did. Instead, he switched on the reading lamp near his bed.

  She didn’t flinch, which he took as a good sign. He cupped her cheek, then ran his thumb across her full upper lip. She stared at him with eyes like tide-pools—huge, green, stormy. He leaned forward and gently opened his mouth against hers.

  She murmured against him, her hands moving
up his chest. He dropped his hands to her waist, pulling her T-shirt free from her jeans, then sliding his fingers underneath.

  Her body felt lithe, muscular—strong, with soft full breasts. He pinched her nipples and heard her gasp, then she drew tight against him, running her tongue along the line of his throat.

  He hardened almost instantly. After a long drought, his body was obviously making up for lost time. He buried his face in her hair, smelling rosemary, mint—and yeast. His breath caught in a chuckle.

  “What?” She pulled back to stare at him.

  “You smell like paradise,” he murmured. “And you taste like it too.” He pushed her backward until her knees hit the edge of the bed, managing not to land exactly on top of her as he followed her down. “I never knew fresh bread could be such an aphrodisiac.”

  Jess pulled at his shirt, working the buttons free, then sliding it off his shoulders. She pushed him flat on his back, running her palms lightly across his chest.

  Lars speared his fingers into her hair again and drew her face down, plunging his tongue deep into her mouth.

  Her hands moved to his hips and she began struggling with his belt buckle.

  “Easy,” he whispered. He took hold of her T-shirt again, pulling it over her head, then moved quickly to unfasten her bra.

  Her full breasts hung free, her nipples dark in the lamplight. He brought his hands up to cup them, feeling their weight against his palms.

  “I’m still nursing Jack,” she whispered. “Things could get messy.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” He leaned forward and took her nipple into his mouth, tasting the faint, lingering sweetness of her milk. He pressed it hard with his tongue, and she moaned.

  He looked up. Her eyes were closed, her fingers gripping his shoulders. He moved to the other breast and felt her rub against him.

  Clothes. They both still had way too many clothes on. He unzipped her jeans, pulling them over her rear and down. Jess kicked them free then pushed his belt loose from the buckle and yanked his own zipper down.

  Lars pushed his khakis and underwear to the floor, feeling his cock spring free as he did. He was already at tent-pole size.

  Jess sat still for a moment, staring down at his crotch.

  “Stand up,” he said.

  She blinked at him. “What?”

  “Stand up. Please. I want to see all of you at once.”

  She pushed up, then stepped back from the bed. Full breasts, a gently curving waist, stomach taut but still slightly rounded from her pregnancy. Slender legs and arms, with a suggestion of muscles underneath.

  Lars reached out to run his fingers across her abdomen, earning a soft gasp. “You have a runner’s body. A beautiful runner’s body.”

  “I used to run. I haven’t had a chance in a while.” She made a small upward motion with her fingers. “Now you.”

  He pushed himself upright, then stood. Without clothes, he knew he looked like a Neanderthal, but most women got over it eventually. Sherice had made a few cracks about his hairiness, but she never seemed to mind once they got to bed.

  “You’re amazing,” she breathed.

  He narrowed his eyes. Was that a shot?

  “I mean it. You’re just…gorgeous.”

  Lars bit down on his initial reaction. Why argue? She said he was gorgeous. Okay. For tonight he’d be gorgeous. Anything the lady wanted.

  Jess stepped forward, leaning down to run her tongue across his nipple, then catching it in her teeth. Lars groaned and pulled her hips against him, feeling soft breasts and belly, sliding his fingers into her folds. Her clit was hard and erect beneath his thumb, and she groaned when he rubbed across it.

  “God, I want you,” he whispered.

  She moved her mouth to his throat, gliding her tongue to the indentation at the base, then running her teeth across his collarbone. Her hands rested on his shoulders and she pushed him gently backward toward the bed.

  Lars landed on his back, staring up at her as she straddled his hips.

  “In the top dresser drawer,” he gasped. “Please.”

  Jess half-turned and pulled the drawer open, then leaned back, foil packet in her hand. She bit one corner, then ripped it open with her teeth.

  Lars watched her pull the condom out of the foil and then place it on the head of his cock, running her hands slowly down the shaft to unroll it. He closed his eyes. If he was going to die, he hoped he’d at least make it to the end of the evening!

  Jess straddled him again, pressing her knees against his hips, and then she lowered herself slowly, taking him into the warm moist depths of her body.

  He gasped, then blew out a breath. “Jesus!”

  She leaned forward, resting her palms on his chest as she raised her hips and lowered them again, then again, increasing her speed.

  He reached up to cup her breasts, arching up to meet her as she rode him. “Jess, ah Jess!”

  She paused long enough to bend down, and he pulled her mouth to his, burying his hands in her hair. Then she broke free and began to move again, faster now, her breath ragged.

  Heat rolled over him from the base of his spine, pulling him up. He grasped her hips, holding her steady as he plunged deep again and again, then pushed hard against the place where they were joined until she cried out, her arms giving way to let her fall against him.

  Lars seized her hands, feeling his body convulse against her as she groaned. Then he wrapped his arms around her waist holding her tight again, his hips pumping hard as he finished.

  “Oh my,” she whispered. “My.”

  Mine. A voice sang in his head.

  Lars tried very hard to ignore it.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Lars woke up reaching for Jess. Not good. Not good at all. It was way too soon to be feeling this way. After Sherice, he’d sworn never to let his cock drive another relationship. But here he was again.

  Bad enough that she’d spent the night in his bed. Bad enough that they’d made love twice more before falling into exhausted sleep. Well, okay, that part hadn’t really been bad at all, but it was the principle of the thing.

  He patted the mattress next to him, confirming what he’d already suspected. Jess was gone. Lars sighed and opened his eyes. Just as well. Best not to keep doing this kind of thing. He didn’t have time to get involved with anybody. He had a two-year-old to raise and a business to run. Not to mention his demonstrably lousy taste in women. So what if Jess Carroll seemed terrific—hadn’t Sherice seemed terrific at first?

  Actually, now that he remembered it, she hadn’t. Just hot. And his own overheated gonads had done the rest, convincing his brain that her inability to hold a conversation for more than five minutes made her intriguing rather than scary.

  Lars shook his head to clear it. He wouldn’t make that mistake again with anybody. Daisy deserved better than that.

  But Daisy liked Jess. And Daisy wasn’t crazy about Sherice, even though she was her mother. Yet another reason to fight any try for custody changes. Of course, if Sherice found out about him and Jess, she’d use it against him somehow. Lars felt a chill around his heart. Why hadn’t he thought any of this through before he’d lured Jess into his bed the first time?

  Enough. He pulled on his sweatpants and a T-shirt and went searching for his hostess.

  He found her sitting in the dining room, cradling Jack in her arms as she nursed him. Sunlight streamed through the window, turning her hair into dull gold and picking out the red flecks in Jack’s light brown fuzz. Lars stared at the creamy swell of her breast against the baby’s lips.

  She was the most gorgeous thing he’d ever seen, and he was clearly a pervert.

  He dropped to the floor beside her chair. “Morning.”

  “Hi.” She smiled down at him. “He wanted breakfast and I didn’t want him to wake you.”

  “What about you? Did you get enough sleep?”

  “No, but that comes with the territory.” Her smile turned wry. “I’ll sleep when he�
��s eighteen. Or maybe not, given the kind of things I got into when I was eighteen.”

  “How often do you nurse him?”

  “I’m down to two or three times a day now. I’m trying to wean him, but it’s going slowly. Life would sure be easier for both of us if he’d move on to bottles.”

  Lars glanced at the baby’s face. His eyes were closed in bliss as he drank. Lars had the feeling Jack wouldn’t be weaning himself any time soon, not that he blamed him a bit.

  “Did your wife nurse Daisy?”

  “Sherice? She has implants. She said they made nursing impossible.”

  That might even have been true, although by then he’d learned not to put much stock in most of the things Sherice claimed.

  “Oh.” Jess ran a hand over Jack’s head, stroking his hair. “I didn’t think I’d want to do this before he was born, then I tried it and here we are. What’s your wife like?”

  “Ex-wife,” Lars corrected automatically. “Sherice looks like every rich man’s second wife. Very blonde, very thin, very stacked. I was her starter husband.”

  She glanced down at him again, raising an eyebrow.

  He shrugged. “What can I say? I was an idiot. But I got Daisy out of it, so it wasn’t all bad.”

  “Does she get Daisy for vacations?”

  “Nope. I have full custody of Daisy. Sherice has full custody of the money. Most of it. Although she tells me it’s still not enough.”

  Jess frowned. “She gave up custody? How could she give up custody of Daisy?”

  “A kid would probably slow her down. Sherice has plans. Besides, she and Daisy don’t get along all that well. From Sherice’s point of view it was definitely win-win.”

  Careful. Take it down a notch. Usually, he was able to keep the anger out of his voice, but he had a feeling it was going to surface any minute now. And he’d prefer that Jess didn’t think he was some kind of embittered loser in the Divorce Wars. He pushed himself to his feet. “Want some coffee?”

  “Sure. As soon as Jack finishes I’ll make some.”

  “I’ll fix it.” Lars headed into the kitchen, checking the clock before he remembered.