SIXTEEN

This Is Really Good Wine

 

 

“Just get in and get out, Jennifer. Be professional, it’s just lunch, there’s no reason to be nervous.” Since my pep talks about Jack didn’t seem to work, I wasn’t holding out hope this one would, either. “Why did I say yes to lunch?” Because he’s the mayor and you’re a reporter with no connections in town.

Looking through the windows of The Lumberjack Steakhouse, I saw the mayor being escorted to a table, his head held high working the room as he walked. To say I didn’t want to get out of the car and deal with this man after a passionate night spent in Jack’s arms was an understatement.

Determined to eat quickly, I got out of my car and headed inside the rustic restaurant. It was tastefully decorated in authentic Colorado country charm, with knotty pine walls, carved lumberjacks flanking the outside doors, and it had a welcoming atmosphere. The wait staff was dressed in red-and-black-checked flannel, and they were throwing huge dinner rolls across the room when I entered. I’d heard about this restaurant, but had yet to eat here. I could tell this would be a fun place to eat with friends you actually wanted to be with. Turning in the direction I’d seen the mayor walking, I found John seated in a corner, in what I would describe as the most intimate location on the floor. He smiled brightly when I arrived and then reached out to take my arm and kissed my cheek, then, ever the gentleman he portrayed when in public, he helped me sit.

Trying to figure out how to act around this man when I wasn’t attracted to him, I opted for professional.

“Mr. Mayor, how are you today?”

“Call me John, please, and I’m fantastic now. Having a gorgeous woman eat lunch with me always brightens my day.”

I smiled even though I could tell he was trying to charm me, or, more to the point, charm the pants off of me.

“All right, then. John it is, and thank you, you look handsome yourself. But, then again, as mayor you do have to keep up appearances.”

“Indeed, I’m very careful with my time, appearance, and, of course, the company I keep,” he answered as he raised his glass in acknowledgement of me. I checked the eye roll that I wanted to give him and inclined my head at the compliment.

“So tell me, John, as mayor what do you think are your most important roles for this community?”

“Is this an interview, Jennifer, or a date?”

Neither, I wanted to say but bit my tongue.

“Sorry, it’s an old habit I fall into.”

John leaned forward and grabbed my hands and whispered, “I’m not going to bite, Jennifer. Give me a chance.”

Oh, God, now what do I say? This man was clearly used to getting his way; I’d heard stories about him after I agreed to this lunch, but in an attempt to not anger “The Mayor,” I decided to come. Then I met Jack and my desire to be here was nonexistent. How do I get out of this without pissing him off? I decided to go with honesty.

“Funny, John, of course I don’t think you’ll bite, although I must admit I am a little afraid of your claws,” I answered, hoping he would catch on to the fact that I knew he could be vicious in his pursuits. The fact that he wanted to find a way to get Jack voted out and his son in as sheriff was not lost on anyone, but he didn’t seem to notice or change course.

“You afraid I’ll scratch you, darlin’, make you bleed?” I shook my head, caught off guard by his provocative tone. Looking for a distraction, I noticed a waiter approaching.

“Oh, look, here’s our waiter.” A man with a nametag that read Frank smiled down at our still linked hands. I instantly pulled mine from John’s, embarrassed, then sat back trying to put as much distance between us as I could. Frank introduced himself as the owner of the restaurant and crooned on about how wonderful it was to have the mayor and his beautiful companion at his establishment for lunch. I couldn’t help but think that, between the kiss on the cheek and the hand holding, if Jack heard about it, he wasn’t going to be happy. Ha! Pissed was more like it. Frank pulled me from my thoughts of Jack and his temper, announcing he would fix the mayor and me our hearts’ desires. A to-go box was on the tip of my tongue, but I bit it.

“Anything you want, on or off the menu, Mayor Hall, and, of course, for your beautiful companion.” Wishing again I’d rethought my decision to come here today, I took the menu and opened it to avoid looking at either man. I had no appetite, though, but I needed to eat and then make an excuse to leave. I wasn’t that lucky, because while I was scanning the menu, I heard John order two house specials, a bottle of their best wine, and the instructions that we wanted privacy. Seriously, what if I don’t eat red meat, and what is it with the men in this town, pretty much deciding everything for a woman?

I handed my menu to Frank and smiled tightly, thinking the only thing he ordered that sounded appealing was the wine, but I just kept my mouth shut. More than ready for this lunch date to end, I started figuring out in my head how long it would take me to eat and then make my excuse to leave.

Frank left, saying he’d be right back with our bread and wine, so I searched for something to say to kill the time until I could fill my mouth with food and avoid conversation altogether.

“So, John, tell me about being mayor. Is it as exciting as it seems, or tedious and boring?”

“Exciting is a term I’d use for someone as sexy as you, so no. Tedious and boring covers most days, but there are benefits…long lunches with tantalizing reporters, for example.”

Oh, my God, this guy was a slimy player with a capital ‘S’. Did women really fall for this guy? Frank rescued me again from answering when he arrived with our wine and bread. After he filled my glass I reached for it immediately, needing the liquid reinforcements for the lunch ahead, and drank down half of it, feeling the effects hit my head and calm my nerves quickly.

“So, Jennifer, you have a daughter at Notre Dame? You must be proud.” Perfect, a topic that wouldn’t lead him down paths of flattery or sexual undertones.

“Yes, Bailey. She’s great. Smart, beautiful, funny—’’

“When she comes to town for the holidays, we can introduce her to my son, Grady, make a foursome out of it.”

A foursome? I smiled, but made no comment. No way in hell was I introducing my daughter to his son; he’s probably just as arrogant as the mayor. Grabbing my wine and finishing off my glass, I wondered how I got into this situation. Oh, yeah, I’d said yes. Clearly not my smartest move. Speaking of not so smart moves…

“More wine, please,” I replied to his request to go on a double date with his son. John smiled and filled my glass, so I took another drink, or a gulp, well chugged it, really. I figured a wee bit tipsy might help me get through this lunch.

John watched me drink and then asked, “So, what do you think?”

“I think the wine is delicious, thank you for ordering it,” I replied.

John laughed for some reason and topped off my wine again, then smiled sweetly at me. If he smiled like that and didn’t act like an ass, he’d be a real catch. Taking another drink, I felt the warm rush of the wine relaxing my limbs. Much better.

“What I meant was, what do you think about your daughter and my son?”

“I think Bailey would love to meet someone her own age,” I slurred. Wait, that wasn’t right. I didn’t want her to meet the mayor’s son, did I?

John filled my glass again, and I thought to myself that he was so polite and attentive; so I lifted my glass and took another huge swallow of the best wine I’d ever tasted.

“So what are you doing the rest of the day, Jennifer?”

“Well, after this fantastic lunch I was going to go…um go…there was something I was going to do at the office, I think.”

“I have my car with me, so, if you’d like, we could go for a drive and I could show you some of the countryside you haven’t seen yet. I have a cabin about thirty minutes from here. You’d love the views.” Finishing off my second glass—or was it my third?—I thought about the forest and views and wondered if he’d seen bears there.

“Do you have bears there?”

“Bears? I’m sure there are, why?”

“I haven’t seen one yet and would love to see a bear…it’s why I moved here.”

“You moved here for bears?”

“Um, yeah, I mean…when I was a little girl, I wanted to live with the deer and bears here in Colorado, so when it was time to move, I came here to follow my dream.”

“Well, I’m sure if we left out some food, the bears would come. Would you like to do that, take some food up and look for bears?”

“Why not? Sounds like fun.”

John continued to talk about his cabin and the surrounding mountains near Ouray, and I continued to sip my wine. Noticing my glass was empty, he picked up the bottle to fill it again, but it was empty. John raised his hand and snapped his fingers, then asked Frank to bring us another bottle.

I was just about to say thank you, since it was the best wine I had in my life, when I heard a voice above me say, “Dad.” I turned to see a good-looking, much younger man, dressed in a deputy’s uniform. Did he just call the mayor “dad”?

“Grady, son, good to see you. Are you eating here or...?”

“I’m here to see Frank about some vandalism. Ms. Stewart, how are you today?”

John snapped his fingers at Frank, drawing my attention away from his son, and then he whispered in Frank’s ear when he approached. I turned back to Grady at his question, trying to remember what he'd said.

“I’m peachy keen. Would you like to meet my daughter?”

“Ma’am, if your daughter is anything like you, I’d be happy to.”

What a nice kid.

“You wanna come with us to your dad’s cabin? We’re going up to look around and see if I can find my first bear.”

Grady frowned, looked at his father, then shook his head no. He studied me for a moment before he answered, “I’ll pass, Ms. Stewart.”

“Oh, call me Jenn, your boss does,” I giggled.

“Yes, Ma’am, Jenn, I’ll be sure to remember that. Dad, Jenn, I’ll let you get back to your lunch. I just wanted to stop and say hello.” His mention of lunch made me look behind him. Since I’d skipped breakfast, I was really hungry, and my head was spinning from the wine, so I needed to eat.

“Is our food here?”

“I thought we might enjoy it more at the cabin. I’m having Frank pack it up for the road.” Thinking that made sense, but needing to eat to clear my head, I realized I’d lost track of the conversation when cute man-boy Grady, said, “I wouldn’t advise that, Dad,” then tipped his hat to me as he stepped back and headed quickly outside, his phone to his ear.

After waiting for our food to be packed, John asked if I was ready to go. Needing some air and a bathroom break, I excused myself to freshen up before we left. Wow, the room’s really spinning…maybe I should get some coffee. We could stop at The Bean on the way out of town. Maybe Mandy would like to come on a road trip, or Jack? I wonder if Jack likes taking road trips? We could make a day of it.

“Oh, sorry, wrong door,”

Wow, Mandy should hang out here…like right here, outside the men’s room. It would save you some trouble if you knew ahead of time what their shortcomings were. Ha, shortcomings. Purse, purse, where’s my…did I leave it at the table? I was rounding the corner, moving back to the table to look for my purse when I saw Jack walk in, heading straight for our table.

“Where the fuck is she?”

“Sheriff, is there something I can do for you?”

“Cut the crap, John, where’s Jenn?”

“She’s freshening up. Now, is there a problem?”

“Just saving my woman from your obvious game of “get'em drunk’n fuck.”

“I didn’t force her to do anything.”

Jack tensed and started to move towards the mayor, so I walked up to him and put my hand on his arm.

“Jack.” He turned to me, gave me a once-over for some reason, then pulled me next to him while he grabbed my purse off the chair.

“Let’s go,” he growled.

“Is something wrong?”

“Uh, yeah, Jenn, but we’ll talk about that later once you’ve sobered up.” Smiling, since I’d rather spend time with Jack, I turned to John and put out my hand.

“Mayor, thanks for lunch and have a safe trip.”

John stepped forward, looking angry, and Jack moved between us, muttering, “Don’t touch her.” Then he took my hand and led me to the front of the restaurant and out the door. I had a hard time keeping up with his long legs, so I tugged on his hand.

“Jack, slow down, I can’t walk this fast. My head is spinning.” Jack kept walking, and I kept spinning, until we got to his truck, where he swung me around and then pinned me to the door. I gasped and looked up at him. His eyes were narrowed, and pissed wasn’t the word I would use to describe his expression: livid was more accurate.

“Jack, what’s wrong?”

“I’m too fucking busy to do what I should do, and I don’t need the hassle of beating the shit out of the mayor for getting you drunk.”

“He got me drunk?”

“Yeah, Jenn, and if Grady hadn’t called me, you’d be on your way to his secluded cabin in the woods, where I have no doubt he would have convinced you to sleep with him.”

“I thought we were going bear hunting?” Jack looked at me funny and then shook his head.

“Jesus, you’d trust anyone, wouldn’t you?” Jack whispered as he pushed into me. His hard body pressing into mine sent my thoughts in a different direction than the mayor altogether.

“Jack?”

“Yeah, baby.”

“I’m drunk, and you’re here and very, very hard up against me…I’ve got an idea.” Jack ran his nose down my throat and back up to my ear.

“What’s that?” he whispered in my ear, and then nipped my lobe gently.

“How about you take me to lunch at your house and have your wicked way with me?”

“Jesus, are you real?”

“Last time I checked.”

“Let’s test that theory then.” Jack nipped my neck and then opened his truck door and lifted me into the cab. I watched as he pulled out his phone and called the station to say he was at lunch for the next hour; then he climbed in the cab, gave me a sexy grin, started the truck, pulled out, and headed towards his house.

***

“Jesus, you’re fucking drenched,” Jack hissed as he slid his hand into my panties, swiping a finger through my folds.

I was trying to kick my boots off when Jack slammed me into the closed door of his house, pressing into me. Capturing my mouth, his hands pulled up my skirt and then moved into my panties, slipping two fingers inside. While his fingers built a fire inside me, I tried to hold still but the feeling was so intense I started riding his hand.

“Jack,” I cried out, trying to find release, when he growled, “Fucking beautiful the way you light up for me.” He withdrew his hand and picked me up, carried me to the sofa, and put me down next to the arm. He grabbed my skirt and pulled it up, then slid my panties off. “Turn around,” he barked as he undid his jeans.

I wasted no time and turned to the arm. Jack moved in close behind me and ran his hands up both my sides, taking my turtleneck with them, pulling it over my head. With nimble fingers, he unhooked my bra and slipped it off my shoulders, then with a hand to my back, pushed me forward until I was laid out across the arm. “Gonna ride you hard, baby, so hold on,” Jack hissed, and I whimpered as he stepped up between my legs and then tapped them.

“Open up, and let me see you.” As if I was hypnotized and could do nothing but what he asked, I opened my legs wider for him, giving him the view he wanted. Jack ran his hand down my ass and then entered my core with his fingers, spreading my wetness, and plunging back in again, stoking the fire within me. I swiveled my hips, keeping rhythm with his hand, and when I felt his hard cock against my leg, I pushed back, wanting to feel him enter me.

“You hot for me?” he whispered in my ear as his fingers curled up and hit the spot. Oh, God, the feeling that was building was incredible, consuming. His thumb rubbed my clit, his fingers tapping my core again, and I knew it was going to be huge when I came.

“Jenn, you gonna ignite for me?”

“Yes, Jack,” I whimpered, my hand digging into the couch, needing something to hold on to and brace myself against. This feeling he was building in me was earth shattering, and I felt like I would fall if I didn’t hang on.

“You wanna feel me stretch you tight?”

“Please, Jack.” Jack removed his hand, positioned himself at my entrance, and growled, “You got it, baby.” Then he slowly, with the patience I didn’t have, pushed inside me. I couldn’t wait; he’d built me up to a boiling point, and I needed the friction. I slammed back against him and seated him to the root. “Jesus,” Jack groaned while I kept pulling out and slamming back into him.

“You want my cock?” He thrust deep. “You want the burn?” He slapped my ass, and that caused my core to contract around him. Jack hissed and pounded me even harder. But it still wasn’t hard enough. I was out of control with need for this man, his hands and cock were taking me places I’d never been before, and I needed more of everything.

“Jack, harder.”

He started pounding me so hard I thought I’d split in two. His rhythm became a perfect balance of slamming and hip swirls that hit every nerve. I was right there, and then his hand came forward and met my breast, pinching and pulling my tight-budded nipple. My head flew back onto his shoulder, and I screamed his name, silencing the sound of flesh slapping against flesh. Jack grunted, then bit my shoulder, holding me in place, as he slammed his own climax warm into my core.

His thrusting slowed and became more of a caress as I turned my head and found his mouth, starting a battle with his tongue. As the kiss ended, he wrapped his arms around me and held me tight against his chest. I felt his lips at the crown of my head, and what I thought was a whispered, “Christ, fucking perfect.” Considering my climax was pretty amazing, I nodded and agreed.

“Drunk sex is pretty perfect.”

Jack chuckled and tightened his arms around me, kissing and nipping my neck. We stayed that way for a few moments, nuzzling and kissing, when suddenly Jack bent, picked me up, and headed down his hall.

“Shower and then coffee,” Jack ordered.

“No shower, I’m too noodle-legged to stand,” I begged.

“I’m not letting you drive until you’re sober, so it’s either some coffee and shower or you can stay here and sleep it off.”

Liking the idea of climbing into his warm bed, I nuzzled his neck and purred.

“Bed it is,” he barely said before I was thrown through the air and landed on his bed. Jack landed on top of me, looked at his watch, and grinned.

“Twenty minutes left of my lunch break. I only need five to change, so I think I’ll use the rest of that time to help you sleep.”

Liking this idea a lot, I replied, “You gonna talk about it or get to work?”

Jack grinned bigger and replied, “Yes, Ma’am,” then got to work helping me sleep, and it must be said, I slept like the dead!