Breath of Scandal(6)
Gary stood above him. "Keep your filthy mouth shut about Jade. " He dumped the second sundae into Neal's lap, then strode to his car.
Neal leaped to his feet, sputtering threats. "I'll kill you for that, Parker. Nobody f*cks with me like that and gets away with it." He became aware of the comic spectacle he was making of himself and diverted his fury. "Jesus Christ!" he shouted to his two friends, who were immobilized with shock over seeing Neal outdone. "Are you gonna just stand there with your thumbs up your asses? Help me out here."
Hutch and Lamar sprang forward, offering handkerchiefs and paper napkins. As he wiped his face clean, Neal glared at Gary's retreating car. The farmer might think he had gotten the best of him, but he had another think coming.
CHAPTER
TWO
"I should have beaten him to within an inch of his life." "You made your point, Gary." Jade laughed when she
remembered Neal's flabbergasted expression as the soft frozen custard dripped off his nose.
"Why didn't I give him what he really had coming?" "Because you're not a Neanderthal like him. A fistfight is beneath your dignity. Besides, you were outnumbered. You would have had to fight Hutch and Lamar, too."
"I'm not afraid of them!"
Jade thought that expending so much energy on machismo was ridiculous, but she did her best to stroke Gary's ego. "Please stop fretting about it. Neal's not worth it. " After a short silence, she asked, "What did he say to make you so mad?"
"Something typical of him," he replied dismissively. "One of his sly innuendos. His mind is a septic tank. He insulted you." He slammed his fist into his opposite palm. "God, he's a son of a bitch. I don't care how rich he is, he's vermin. "
"Knowing that, why are you letting him spoil our time together? I've got to be home soon."
Gary had soft brown hair and tender amber eyes. Gentleness was more at home on his face than anger. At Jade's mild rebuke, his face relaxed into its usual affable expression. He stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers. "You're right. It would tickle Neal to know he had ruined our evening. It's just that I hate to hear your name coming out of his filthy mouth."
She combed her fingers up through his hair. "I love you, Gary Parker. "
"I love you, too."
Kissing her with fervor and passion, he pressed his hand against the small of her back, bringing together as much of their bodies as was possible within the confines of the front seat of his car. He had parked in a remote spot on a road that bordered one of the tidal swamps.
Outside, the February evening was cool and damp. Inside the car, it was warm and getting warmer. Within minutes, the windows were fogged up. Jade and Gary were breathing heavily, their fine young bodies on fire with the kind of lust the preacher's sermon had condemned. Gary buried his fingers in her thick, inky-dark hair. He slipped his other hand beneath her sweater. "Jade?" She looked up at him, her eyes fluid with desire. "You know I love you, don't you?"
She took his hand and guided it to her breast. "I know you love me."
They had started dating in their sophomore year. Before
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Sandra Broww
Breath of Scandal
19
that, Jade had been escorted to school dances and parties by boys whose parents served as chaperons. She had met boys at the movie theater on Friday nights, but Donna Dee had always been with her. Beyond some hand-holding and an occasional, chaste good-night kiss, Jade hadn't had intimate contact with the opposite sex until she went out with Gary. She hadn't wanted to.
On their second date, he had parted her lips and French kissed her. Some girls claimed to love that; others said the very idea of it was revolting. After that night, Jade firml
y believed that the latter group was comprised of those who had never been French kissed. Feeling Gary's tongue moving inside her mouth had been the most delicious sensation she had ever experienced.
For months, those deeply satisfying kisses were the extent of their necking. Their intimacy developed gradually, as their initial physical attraction matured into something stronger. She had yearned to feel his hand on her breast long before he had dared to place it there. From touching her through her clothing, he had advanced to reaching inside to caress bare skin. Now, her breast filled his gently kneading hand. They tempered the abandon with which they kissed so that they could fully experience the pleasure of their caresses. His lips whisked hers as she reached into his letter jacket and unbuttoned his shirt. Her hands moved over his smooth, hard chest. Reaching behind her, he unfastened her bra with a skill that he had developed from practice. He touched her nipples. They hardened beneath his stroking fingers.
Jade murmured her delight. When he pressed his open mouth over one nipple and applied his tongue to it, she gave a soft cry of longing. "Gary, I want to make love." "I know. I know."
Her pantyhose fit tightly, but he worked his hand beneath them and into the dense curls that had been mashed flat. Only in the last few weeks had they allowed themselves to go this far. It was still new and strange and wonderful to feel Gary's fingers caressing the most secretive part of her body.
She bit her lower lip to hold back her moans of pleasure. Her breasts were raised to sensitive peaks that he gently sponged with his tongue. She wanted to weep from the joy of sharing her body with him. Tonight, she decided to return the pleasure he so unselfishly gave her. She loved his tall, solid, athlete's body and wanted to know it more intimately. Reaching between his thighs, she awkwardly pressed her palm against the fly of his pants.