Page 41 of His Southern Temptation

“She told me to get over it. That a successful marriage required compromise and this was one of the first of many.”

“What?” His head lifted, anger and shock warping his expression and causing his fingers to tighten against her hip.

“My father’s latest fling wasn’t the first. Now Mother feels betrayed because after all these years he didn’t follow the plan.”

“That’s really…” Lucky struggled, his brow scrunching up in concentration.

“Fucked up?”

“I was going to say sad, but yeah, that’ll work.” Lucky wedged a knee in between her legs and shifted around until his erection was nestled against her clit. She gasped, moving against him, each glide shooting sparks up her spine. She needed to say something before they disappeared into the oblivion of what they did best.

“Lucky. I don’t think I can give you what you want.”

“You’re going to have to spell it out for me, Tay. What can’t you give me?”

She couldn’t say the words.

Her thoughts must have been written all over her face because his expression morphed from confusion to understanding. In a flash, she was under him, her entire world funneling down into the space of shared breaths and full body contact. It was heaven and she wondered if she could give it up.

“Taylor, all I’m asking for right now is an open mind. We’ll see how it goes from there.” Lucky brushed hair off her cheek, joining their lips in a warm kiss.

“And what if I still want to go back to Hawaii?”

“I’ll drive you to the airport myself.”

She knew he would do it. Lucky was a good as his word.

She just didn’t know if it was a promise she wanted him to keep.

Chapter Fifteen

He was going to go blind.

Lucky stood in the doorway of the library at Elliott House, unable to move. The sight of Taylor in one of her body-hugging running outfits was always amazing, and his body responded to the sexy way her hips swiveled and pumped in time with the heavy beat pouring out of the sound system. But the addition of five of the fine churchgoing ladies of Elliott gyrating along with her was something he could have gone his whole life without seeing.

This was going to require therapy.

“Shake it, ladies. Move those hips.” Taylor moved among the women, guiding their movements with her hands and demonstrating sexy moves designed to get any man’s blood boiling. The sight of his fourth-grade teacher shaking her moneymaker…made his stomach do a high-dive into his toes.

The sound of the front door opening and closing tore his eyes from the train wreck in front of him. Teague stood on the threshold, his expression taking on a hard edge at the sight of Lucky. They hadn’t spoken since the night at the jail.

“What’s going on?” Teague asked, motioning toward the door.

Not waiting for an answer, he strode toward the doorway and took a good look at the scene before him. Lucky would have paid good money to have a photograph of the myriad emotions skittering across his friend’s face within the span of a few seconds: curiosity and shock edged with just a hint of nausea.

“Damn it, Lucky, you could have warned me!” Teague choked out, his body reeling backward. “What the hell is she doing in there?”

“I think she’s teaching them a stripper routine.” Laughing, Lucky shoved him back toward the kitchen, determined to put as much distance between them and the nightmare on Main Street unfolding in the library. “I think this calls for a drink. Beer?”

“Yeah.”

Lucky grabbed two beers out of the fridge, popping the caps and sliding one across the countertop toward Teague, who’d settled at the bar. The first gulp went down easy, the coolness of the liquid reaching a part of him that was parched after a day working at the farm in the heat.

He glanced at Teague, gauging his mood. He was relaxed on the stool, and when they caught each other’s gaze, they both snickered. Any tension between them left with the church ladies who were currently at the front door, departing with loud laughter.

“Man. I’m sorry about the other night,” Lucky said.

Teague took another swig of his beer and waved him off. “Forget it. I know how Taylor is. If she was determined to go there, no one could have stopped her. Any hint of the sweet, compliant little sister I grew up with disappeared when she slugged that asshole at the altar.”

---