Page 22 of 40 and Flirting (with Disaster) (Silver Foxes of Black Wolf’s Bluff #5)

Twenty-Two

I ris tried to focus on the music blasting across the dance floor of the Drunken Otter.

Lily and JD were doing a two-step nearby, with Claire and a few others joining in.

But Iris found she couldn’t concentrate enough to make the steps come together.

Giving a laughing Jamie a pat to his chest, she murmured a need to visit the restroom and left the dance floor.

She should’ve known her exit would be noticed. She hadn’t been inside the restroom more than two minutes before Lily and Claire followed suit.

“Hey, girl!” Claire said. “What’s going on?”

“We can tell you’re troubled, Iris,” Lily said. “You know you can talk to us. What’s got you upset?”

Iris turned from the mirror with a heavy sigh. Leaning back against the countertop, she crossed her arms over her chest. “It’s Krista.”

Lily and Claire exchanged a knowing glance.

Iris took a moment to explain what had happened before the council meeting the other night, as well as what Jamie had explained to her about his talk with Krista and following her to her car shortly after. Her friends nodded along, murmuring sympathetic sounds as the story unfolded.

“Wow.” Claire gave Iris a sympathetic smile. “It looks like she’s a little more entrenched than you’d hoped.”

“I know you were thinking maybe things were getting better,” Lily added.

“I was hoping.” She pushed her bangs back from her face.

“I mean, at least we’ve gone from her pitching a fit in front of my apartment to a whole day at Jamie’s without an outright explosion.

It seemed like a sign of progress. But this…

” Iris felt tears burn the backs of her eyes.

“I just don’t know how to get through to her.

” She blinked hard. “Not that it’s gonna stop me from dating Jamie, but it’s hard knowing your child doesn’t approve. ”

“Not to mention having her follow you around town, judging you for the least show of affection,” Lily said.

“Exactly.” Iris turned back to the sink, started the cool water, and gathered some in her cupped hands before splashing her face, hoping the shock of the temperature would push back her tears.

She braced her palms on either side of the sink and stared at her friends in the mirror.

“It’s the only thing marring this time with Jamie, and I really want to enjoy it.

I don’t want this cloud hanging over me. ”

“I wish there was some way we could help,” Claire said.

“I do too,” Iris agreed, “but like I told Adam, this is up to Krista. If she doesn’t want to change her attitude, no one can force her.”

“But you can limit how much she is allowed to affect you,” Lily pointed out, always the voice of reason. “Boundaries are good for anyone, but especially for someone causing you this much heartache.”

“I’m afraid I’m about to be pushed to that point,” Iris said.

Or maybe already had been. She knew she couldn’t allow Krista to keep doing this, but the idea of distancing herself from her daughter was an arrow to her heart.

And it wasn’t just about having Jamie in her life—she wanted him in her life, but this was also about Krista allowing Iris to make her own decisions without judgment.

Her daughter refused to listen, and that meant in the very near future Iris would be forced to limit contact in order to have the freedom and the calm that she wanted in her life right now.

Back at their table, the men were joking and toasting each other with wings that, from the steam rising from them, had apparently just arrived at the table. Iris took her seat next to Jamie. He turned to wrap an arm around her shoulder.

Leaning in, he nuzzled her neck. “Are you okay?”

The soft words had that tingle returning to the backs of her eyes. “Not really.”

Jamie eased back until their eyes met. “Do you want to go?”

“No.” She shook her head. “No, I don’t want to ruin the night.”

“I don’t have to spend the night at the pub for it not to be ruined.” He ran a thumb along her cheekbone. “Anytime I’m with you, that’s a win.”

She looked deep into those green, green eyes and saw honesty there. “Okay. I’d really like to go. I need some quiet time with you.”

The words with you brought a flare of gold to his eyes. “I am more than happy to arrange that.”

Jamie excused himself and went up to the bar to pay their tab. He came back a few minutes later with a to-go order of wings. “Dinner for the road.” His grin was hungry, for wings or that alone time she’d mentioned, she wasn’t certain, but she knew which one would be better to distract her. “Ready?”

“Yes.” Relief filled her as she stood up from the table. “I enjoyed seeing you guys.”

“You take care, Iris,” Claire said.

“Call us if you need us,” Lily added. Iris nodded and entwined her fingers with Jamie’s, allowing him to lead her out the door.

The parking lot of the Drunken Otter was half light, half shadow by this time of the night. Jamie had parked in a corner, and now he escorted her to his car with sure steps.

Iris breathed deeply, taking in the summer air, focused in on Jamie’s fingers entangled with hers, his steady breath as he walked beside her, the scent of his cologne filling her lungs.

And with each step she added another brick to the wall between the worries in her mind and thoughts of her lover.

As they rounded the car toward the passenger side, she used their grip to tug him to a stop. “Jamie.”

His name on her lips was husky, the two syllables filled with need. She could hear it, and knew he could as well by the narrowing of his eyes, his gaze sweeping over her face. “What do you need, beautiful?”

“I need you,” she said softly. “I need you to take my mind off all of this. Please,” she softly begged.

Jamie’s mouth firmed as he stared down at her. “Anything you want,” he promised.

He dropped her hand, and his fingers filtered into her hair as he gripped the sides of her head. One step, two and her back met the car door. A hoarse rumble left his mouth as it descended on hers.

He tasted so good, like honey and beer and warm male. She opened to the thrust of his tongue, letting him fill her, letting him take complete control. Thoughts of Krista dissipated; sadness retreated into the background. Iris gave herself over to Jamie’s touch, losing all sense of time and place.

A truck passing along the road, its exhaust an obnoxiously loud roar, brought both of them back to awareness. Jamie eased his body away from hers. “Let’s take this inside,” he said roughly.

She wasn’t sure what he had in mind, but she prayed to God he meant someplace closer than her apartment. She didn’t wanna lose the closeness she’d just found for a thirty-minute drive.

Apparently Jamie didn’t either, because he reached for her the second he slid into the driver’s seat.

His groan as their lips met sent tingles down her spine.

She shifted in her seat, pushing her body to face him, ignoring the console between them to reach for him.

The buttons on his shirt gave way easily, and as he devoured her, she sought out the naked skin beneath, the heat of his body, the crinkle of hair beneath her fingers.

All male, all good. He felt so good. Sharing touch always felt good, but with Jamie, it was…

special. She craved it. She wanted him with an intensity she’d never experienced before—and reveled in the experience every second.

When one of her nails scraped across Jamie’s nipple, he threw his head back. “God.” Hard hands slid down the sides of her throat, along her shoulders, down to her breasts. He cupped her, kneading on top of her clothing. “Iris.”

“Hmmm?” The pleasure taking over his face had her squirming in her seat. Heat gathered in her core. Her nipples. “I want you, Jamie. Now.”

The growl that left him at her words thrilled her. He reached down and pushed the button to slide his seat back. “Come here, beautiful.”

She dragged the flowing folds of her skirt up to her hips, thankful for the darkness as she climbed over the console and onto Jamie’s lap.

He tilted the steering wheel up, giving her a few extra inches of room as she settled into place.

The back of Jamie’s seat lowered with another push of a button, allowing him to recline, and he hunched down in the seat to bring their pelvises into alignment.

The hard ridge of his body between her legs drew a whimper to her lips.

Jamie’s laugh held strain. “How’s that, beautiful?”

Perfect. One hand went to the ridge rising between the two windows, the other twisting in the shoulder of his shirt. “That’s perfect.”

She refused to think about anything but him.

The windows were already fogging, but even if they weren’t, the two of them were well-hidden by the darkness at the edges of the parking lot.

Even Jamie’s hands, sliding up from the hem of her shirt, couldn’t be seen as they reached her bra and pulled roughly at the cups. “Gimme,” he demanded.

She arched her back. Hard nipples met his fingertips, scraped across the rough skin. A shiver shook her hard.

Jamie pinched lightly at the tips. His hips took up a rocking rhythm that dragged his tight erection against the most sensitive part of her body. A hiss left him.

Iris reached for his belt buckle. It was her turn to demand what she wanted, and his body was it. The leather gave way to her fingers, allowing her to grip the button beneath and twist. A careful tug of the zipper rasped the steel teeth down his body.

“Are you sure, beautiful?” He drew her nipples away from her body, creating a tension that had her sucking in a breath. “I can get you off—we don’t have to do this.”

“Oh yes we do.” She dug beneath the layers of cloth until hot skin met her touch. “We most definitely do.”

One last look around told her the windows were opaque. She rose up on her knees, pulled her panties to one side, and angled his erection toward her opening. The sweet slide of him into her body was everything she wanted and needed at that moment.

Climax took her immediately.

“Fuck!” Jamie went rigid beneath her, his breaths deep and hard as he held himself there for her pleasure. Long moments later, when her contractions eased, he released his death grip on her hips.

Iris collapsed onto his chest. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

“Oh, we’re not done.”

She lifted her head to search out his gaze in the dark. “No?

The jerk of his head was definitive. “No.” And with gentle touches, hard rubs, nips and licks and kisses, he brought her back up until they were both at the peak, frantically chasing the high they both needed.

The touch of Jamie’s thumb against her aching clit set her off; her rhythmic squeezes sent him over the edge.

Breathy laughter filled the car as they both came back to the world. “Not what I expected,” Jamie admitted against her hair, “but I’d do it all over again if someone would let me.”

“Talk to your other half,” Iris murmured, exhaustion closing in. “I think he might have something to say about that.”

“No doubt.” He brushed back her hair and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Let’s go find someplace more comfortable to snuggle.”

“Okay.” She rolled off him, dragging her skirt down as she settled into her seat.

Jamie straightened himself, cranked the car, and pointed them toward her apartment.

Instead of worries filling Iris’s thoughts, it was memories of the past few minutes and dreams of the moments to come.

Much sweeter, and Iris hoped to keep things that way for a little bit longer.