Closer To You (Tales of the Sweet Magnolia Book 1) Read online

  “Okay, we’ve got the basic chords. Let’s do this thing.” Lil hugged Angel’s shoulder and situated herself at the piano. “Are you ready?”

  Lil jumped as Angel’s arms clamped around her and the young woman laid her head on Lil’s shoulder. “Sometimes I don’t understand a word you say or the funny way you say things, but thanks, Lil, for letting me have a dream.”

  Lil patted her hand. “Someday, Angel, your prince will come or you may have to strike out in faith to find him, but for now, you hold onto your love of music and don’t go changin’ to please anyone, but yourself,” Lil sang off key. “You hear me?”

  Angel nodded.

  “What’s all the ruckus going on down here? A fella can’t get any sleep.” Paddy shuffled behind the bar, his suspenders hanging over his baggy pants, and a button missing on his undershirt.

  “Listen, Paddy, Lil’s taught me a song on the piano!” Angel piped up unable to contain her excitement.

  “Grand, another one ‘ta keep me up till the wee hours of the mornin’.”

  Lil committed this family-like moment to memory. Maybe Jake was right, maybe all any of us are given for sure, is the moment we’re in. “Paddy, before I forget, I want you to take this and put it in a safe place. It may never be needed, but you have it just in case.” She handed him a paper with her old apartment address, the library’s address, and her phone number.

  Paddy eyed her warily, but accepted the note, turning it over in his hand. “Heard tell once of a man who did the same thing with the coordinates of a gold find that he wanted no one else to locate. Asked the barkeep to hold it for him and the next thing you know, the barkeep is living high on the hog and the man had disappeared.” Paddy peered at her with a narrowed eye. “This anything like that?”

  “Not anything close,” Lil quickly responded. “Trust me.”

  Paddy sat back with a satisfied smile and tossed back his finger of whiskey. “Ah, good then, I know just the place to put it.” He slid it under a vintage whiskey that he refused to open.

  Two hours and a number of Billy Joel songs later, Angel went up to bed and Lil shook Paddy’s shoulder after he’d fallen asleep at a table, using his folded arms as a pillow. He looked up at her with a groggy, whiskey-induced smile. “Sweet dreams, Miss Lilly.”

  She hoped they would be. Lillian patted her charming old Irish barkeep on the shoulder and gave him a peck on the cheek. “Thanks, Paddy, for staying down here with us. Go on now, I’ll see to locking up.”

  It was close to one in the morning before the tenants of the Magnolia were settled. And still no sign of Jake. Lil strolled through the kitchen, sampled a bit of a pie that Cook had cooling on the table, and sauntered back to the saloon where she played a few hands of Solitaire in an attempt to keep from locking up. With a sigh of resignation, she finally tossed the cards on the table and walked reluctantly to the front door. Lil stepped outside and looked up at the wash of stars across the desert sky. In view of her new vow to be more appreciative of the moment, she gave Jake the benefit of the doubt that he was likely just busy and that’s why he hadn’t come by to see her. She crossed her arms over her chest and stood at the top of the steps, listening for the sound of a horse racing down the lane, but none came.

  The shrill cry of a desert hawk pierced the silence, startling her. While the desert was beautiful at this hour, there were many unknown dangers that lurked in the darkness. Like the gunman who’d gotten away on Jake’s horse. Her thoughts pushed her back inside, and she locked the door, shoving the second deadbolt into place with a firm push.

  ***

  Lil opened the window of her second story bedroom, something that a real parlor house madam would never do at night under normal circumstances for fear of lawless men sneaking in without paying for the service. But the fresh air, she hoped, would help her sleep. Her eyes drifted shut as she listened to the sounds of the night wind whistling around the edge of the house. She dreamed in a half state of consciousness about Jake—bits and pieces of their conversations over the past few days, snapshots of their lovemaking—how he looked into her eyes before he kissed her.

  “I came as quick as I could, sorry,” his low-timbered voice whispered through the misty fog in her brain. Lil wasn’t positive she wasn’t still dreaming until his lips, still cool from his ride through the night, touched her mouth with consummate tenderness and desire, obliterating all question that he wasn’t a dream.

  She smiled sleepily and curled her arms around his neck. “Where you been all my life, cowboy?” She greedily accepted his mouth to hers again, relishing in the taste. He’d already undressed before waking her, and Lil relished in how well she knew the firm muscle beneath her hands, the taste of him, the musky male scent of his skin.

  “Now, that’s a nice hello after a long day,” he spoke softly against her lips.

  Tenderly urgent, his mouth moved over hers and she complied readily when his knee nudged her open for him. She welcomed their joining, wrapping her legs around his back, arching her hips to meet his. His breath blew warm against her shoulder, his lips pressing kisses to her flesh and Lil embraced heaven in her arms, her bones turning to ash with each slow thrust.

  “I’ve been thinking about you all day,” he said, leaning up on his elbows to look at her as his body pushed hers toward mindless bliss.

  “I was dreaming about you,” she confessed.

  “Was it good, Lil, this dream?” He reached down, gripping her thigh and pushing to the hilt.

  She loved him deep inside her. “Not as good as reality.” She cupped his face, covering his mouth in a fiery kiss. Determined, they clung to each other, lost in timeless rhythm, driving each other with an intensity that demanded, appeased.

  The weak old iron headboard slammed against the wall in unison to his thrusts. Lil drew her knees up, wrapping around his waist, her body riding the crest of their shared shattering climax. Breathless, Lil brushed a kiss to his unshaven jaw and tasted the dewy taste of passion on his flesh.

  He rolled over scooping her under his arm, tucking her close to his side. “I think I like waking up with you in my arms.” He let out a contented sigh. “I think my body actually craves you.”

  Lillian rubbed her hand over his chest, hugged him, and kissed his muscled shoulder. “Did you really think about me today?” Perhaps it was absurd for her to be so giddy of the idea that she could invade his thoughts. Certainly he’d been on her mind most of the day and even in her dreams.

  “Well, now, Miss Lillian, if walking around half the day hard enough to drive nails ain’t enough for you, I guess I’ll have to find some other means to convince you.” He shifted to face her, his dark eyes glittering by the light of the full moon streaming through her curtains. His hand slipped over her hip, drawing her close.

  It struck her suddenly that he’d gotten in, but how? “Jake?” She leaned back to look at him. “The doors are still locked, aren’t they?”

  “Far as I know, darlin’.” He slid his hand over her breast, caressing her gently, turning her brains to mush.

  Lil touched his face, tracing his lower lip. “Well, if that’s the case, then how did you get into my room?”

  “Do we need to discuss this now, Lil?” He rolled her to her back, his mouth replacing his hand.

  “It concerns me, if you found a way in, someone else might.”

  He pulled back to look at her. “Then you best make sure your bedroom window stays shut tight.”

  “But I barely had it opened a crack. How’d you know to even check? Better yet, how’d you get up there?” She held her hands to his chest, curious to hear his explanation and at the same time wanting to appease her lust, aware of the rigid treasure resting against her thigh.

  “I didn’t know, but I was a desperate man.” He leaned down with one tempting kiss. “And a desperate man will do anything to get what he wants.” His grin shone in the semi-darkness, enough to heat Lil’s blood. “Besides, it’s part of my job as sheriff to know these things
.”

  Lil drew her hand over his hardening erection, holding his gaze, victorious when he breathed in sharply, trying to maintain control.

  “I can see how desperate you are,” she teased. “What I want to know is how many windows have you climbed through in the name of duty?”

  He knelt back, drawing her up to face him. “I ought to turn you over my knee and paddle you for thinking such things.”

  “Promises, promises.” Lil pressed further, watching his eyes turn smoky. He tugged her forward in a quick kiss, dotting her shoulder, her ribcage and the curve of her back similarly and before she realized it, she lay curved like a cat over his lap.

  “I have a better idea.” He eased her face down on the tangled sheets, his lips moving over the curves of her body. The cotton sheets felt warm against her cheek, the scent of their bodies in the fabric adding to the passion rising insider her. His gentle finger slipped between her thighs, stroking insistently bringing her up again. She squirmed, pushing to her knees, her body craving him again. His hands rested on her hips as he slid easily into her heat.

  “For the record, yours is the only window I’ve ever entered.” He filled her and withdrew, slow and steady driving her to the brink of insanity. “And you’re the only one I want to enter, again…and again.” He punctuated his words with each purposeful thrust, causing Lil’s body to tremble with need. She pushed to her hands, head lowered, pushing against him in a divine erotic dance. “Tell me that you believe me, Lil, when I say I want no one but you.”

  “Oh Lord, yes…. I believe…. I do.” Her body fell apart with an explosive orgasm that rolled wave after wave, causing a peel of delighted laughter to escape her lips.

  Jake pushed deep with a sigh as he followed with his own release. He flopped down on his side next to her, gently rubbing her back. “It’s one hell of an incentive when you know what woman waits in that second story window.” He kissed her temple.

  The sound of his voice, so loving and the touch that was now familiar to her, caused her imagination to run rapid with the notion of growing old together.

  “Are you going to let me sleep at all tonight?” she whispered, turning her head to look at him, her cheek at rest on her arms.

  “Well now, that depends on whether I’ve been convincing enough.” He grinned and brushed back the hair from his face.

  “You won’t leave me wondering whether or not I’m just dreaming, will you?” Lil teased. This was how she wished it could be always. Unhindered by rules, by the future—like Jake said, living for the moment and she wanted to store up as many of them as she could.

  “I promise there will be no doubt in your mind just how real it is.”

  “Sounds a bit like a challenge.” Lil turned to her side and propped up on her elbow. The sheets lay in a tangled heap at their feet and they were bound to get more so.

  “No, ma’am, just a promise.”

  “I get all weak in the knees when you call me ma’am.” She curled her arms around his neck as he drew her body to his.

  Chapter Eight

  “If only your constituents could see you now, Sheriff Sloan.” Lil traced her finger from his knee to his inner thigh and glanced up at him with a grin as the lukewarm water rippled around them. The tepid bath followed similar Sunday mornings over the past few weeks, since he’d climbed through her window. She’d gone to leaving her window ajar every Saturday night, knowing that the Magnolia being closed meant that they had the day to spend together. Paddy and the rest of the tenants had welcomed Jake without judgment, giving the two of them as much privacy on Sundays as they wanted.

  “Won’t your father wonder where you are if he doesn’t see you in church?” Lil asked.

  Jake lifted the damp curls at the base of her neck, kissing the dewy softness, drawing in the sweet jasmine scent, and realizing how deep she’d gotten under his skin. His infatuation with her seemed endless—from the stories she could spin, to the way she would listen to him ramble about his day and how she would prance around him in that skimpy little thing she called a thong that she claimed she’d brought from her home. Jake frankly didn’t care where the damn thing came from, but he was sure as hell glad that it came with her in it. “You let me worry about my father. What I do on Sundays is no business of his.”

  “I just don’t want to make trouble for you, Jake.”

  He gently massaged her shoulders, knowing how it seemed to relax her. He had other matters he wanted to discuss with her this morning, and he hoped that she was ready to hear them. “Speaking of my constituents, there is something I wanted to talk to you about, Lil.” The risk he was about to take could jeopardize his career, but on the other hand, if he didn’t take that step, there was the risk that his relationship with Lilly would grow stagnant and he wanted to move forward, cautiously yes, as much as he suspected, at least hoped by now, that Lilly did. However, getting her to admit to that, much less agree to his idea was not going to be an easy task.

  “There’s a dinner being given in my honor by the mayor and his wife on Friday evening. I’d like to ask if you’d do me the honor of attending it…with me, of course.”

  She turned to look at him, her green eyes wide with surprise. “You want to take me to one of your fundraising parties?” She blinked and a look of understanding crossed her face, sobering her expression. “Oh, as entertainment, no doubt. You found out that I dabble at the piano. Who told you? Paddy?” She chuckled and picked up the rag, squeezing it over her shoulder and leisurely moving it across the back of her neck.

  Jake took the cloth from her, enjoying the task as he thought of her sitting at the piano, belting out strange songs that not a soul had ever heard. “I’ve heard that you give impromptu shows from time to time—I’m sorry I’ve missed them. Paddy did mention that they might have involved a half a bottle of whiskey, is that true?” he asked, placing a kiss on her wet shoulder.

  “There was a time when I might have needed a nip or two.” She propped her foot on the edge of the tub and watched the water trickle down her leg. “But I’m doing much better now.”

  Jake watched right along with her, nearly forgetting his train of thought. She lowered her leg and he shook his head, refocusing on his intent, which was to get her to come as his dinner guest. The fact that he’d been the one to insist they keep their affair a secret didn’t win him any favors when it came now to wading out into public together. Still if the people at the Sweet Magnolia could accept him without reservation, then why couldn’t the Deadwater make an effort to accept Lil and her girls? Once they got to know her, there would be no question they’d love her. “Darlin’, I’m tickled to hear that you worked out your issues, but the fact of the matter is that I’d like to be your escort and you my dinner guest.”

  “Shut. Up.” Lil stated with an awestruck tone. She turned around on her knees to face him, water beaded on her soft black lashes.

  He opened his mouth to speak then clamped it shut, puzzled at why she would ask him to be quiet.

  “I mean, you’re joking, right?” She raised a dark brow.

  “Can I speak, now?” Jake studied the woman’s face. Peculiar creatures at times—women. She shrugged and Jake continued, “No, as a matter of fact, I’m quite serious about this.”

  She just studied him before turned her back on him, going back to her bathing. “Well, I am flattered, of course. But I am afraid I must decline your kind invitation.”

  “Why, Miss Lillian, I can hardly believe my ears. Are you being a snob?” He slid his hands around her waist, her skin warm wet beneath his hands. He snuggled her in close to his chest and cupped her luscious, slick breasts in his palms.

  “I can’t.”

  Her breath caught as he brushed the pad of his thumb over one proud peak. Well on his way to a complete arousal, he shifted to let her know what she was doing to him. “Can’t or won’t?”

  She sat between his legs, her arms draped lazily over his knees. “Jake, I have nothing to wear. Besides—” She surrend
ered to him, resting her head back on his shoulder. “You realize that you’re not playing fair.”

  “And you know that this isn’t about what you’d wear. Couldn’t you borrow something from one of the girls?” He kissed a ringlet of hair against her temple, laying his cheek to her shoulder, watching her expression skate between reason and bliss.

  “What if I said, please?” He slid his hand slowly down her belly, dipping into her navel, his fingers sliding over her springy dark curls. Jake kissed her shoulder, raking his teeth gently across her silky flesh.

  “They all know who I am, I don’t want to embarrass you.”

  “You couldn’t do that. Come on, Lil.” He kissed the slope of her neck, stroking her slow and easy, wanting to watch her go over the edge. “You’ll charm them just as you have me.”

  Her lids fluttered shut, her lips parted. She touched her breasts and sighed, and Jake just about came undone. He swallowed hard, moving deeper into her honeyed warmth. “Maybe if I give you a little more sugar?” He covered her hand with his, caressing her breast.

  “Oh Jake, this is really—I can barely think.” She dropped open her knees to

  give him greater access. Her absolute trust, abandoning her body to him, aroused him to a painful state. God he wanted to be deep inside her; it was driving him to a state of madness.