Meddling in Manhattan Read online

  She nodded. "Just a little scared," she answered honestly.

  "Don't be. We're both going to enjoy this!"

  Chapter Three

  Jake pushed Addie back onto the bed, following her down. He'd get rid of his boxers later, when she was less nervous about what he was about to do to her. His lips toyed with hers for a moment while one hand went down to cup her breast, his thumb stroking her nipple. "You feel so good!"

  She let out a soft moan. She'd never let another man touch her bare breasts as her new husband was doing. She now knew it had been smart to have that rule, otherwise she could have let things go too far. She was shocked at how sensitive her nipple felt under his thumb. She wrapped her arms around him, her hands roaming over his back. She was surprised at the muscles she found there. He must work out, because no man could get this strong by writing all day.

  He broke off the kiss and rolled to one side, propped on his elbow. He let his free hand continue to toy with her nipple, his eyes on her face. "Do you like that?"

  She nodded, biting her lip to keep from crying out. It felt strange letting him touch her that way, but oh so good. Something that felt this good had to be wrong!

  "Is there anything you want me to do?" he asked, his eyes on hers. He wanted to take things slowly, because he didn't want to hurt her, but his body was screaming at him to hurry.

  She had no idea how to answer that question. She'd never done this before, but she assumed he had. "I don't know!"

  He chuckled softly. "Okay, how 'bout this? I'll do what I want to do, and if you don't like it, you tell me to stop."

  "Is that even possible?" she asked, before covering her mouth with her hand. Had she really just said that to him? She knew it was the twenty-first century, but she'd been raised to have strong morals. It was odd that anyone would touch her this way, and it would be all right. Even her husband!

  He raised an eyebrow. "That bodes well for our lives together." He got to his knees and slid her garters down her legs, and then slowly rolled her stockings down and off her feet. Once the stockings were on the floor, he brought her foot to his lips, kissing the arch. "You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

  She shook her head, unable to force her tongue to respond. His lips were causing sensations she'd never dreamed she'd feel to shoot up her legs and into her core. She spent well over forty hours a week on her feet, leaving her feet tired and sore almost all the time. His kiss made them suddenly feel alive with energy.

  After a moment, he dropped her foot and moved to her hips. "Raise up." When she did as he told her, he caught the band of her panties and pulled them down her body, dropping them on the floor.

  Once she was fully nude he simply stared for a moment, unable to believe his luck. He'd agreed to marry a woman sight unseen, and she was prettier and more special than any he'd ever met. God was certainly watching over him.

  He moved back so that he was beside her, his hand going back to her breast, while his lips toyed with hers. "I'm the most blessed man alive," he whispered against her lips.

  Addie closed her eyes, enjoying how cherished he made her feel. And how hot. She couldn't discount how hot he made her feel. His fingers felt like magic against her skin. She nipped at his neck, her teeth scraping his skin, and he let out a groan.

  He kissed a trail from the corner of her mouth, down her neck, and to her breast. He took a moment to touch the tip of her breast with his tongue before taking the nipple inside and suckling.

  She arched off the bed toward him, her hands clutching his hair to keep him close. She felt restless and wiggled on the bed, not sure what she was supposed to do, but knowing the feeling was too intense for her to remain still.

  His hand trailed down her stomach and to her thigh, one moving between her legs to stroke her. His thumb went to her nub, rubbing it gently, while he carefully inserted a finger, his lips never leaving her nipple.

  All of the sensations at once made Addie crazy. She lifted her hips to meet his hand, moaning softly.

  Jake was encouraged by her reaction, moving his thumb faster. He wanted her to reach her pleasure before he caused her the inevitable pain. He kept his eyes open as he suckled, watching her face. He could tell she was close to her climax, so he moved his thumb a little faster, and she clenched around his hand.

  He removed his boxers and knelt between her legs, reaching a hand down to guide himself to her entrance. He pushed in quickly, thrusting through her maiden head, trying to make the pain quick.

  Addie moaned softly as he hurt her, but the pain was gone before she knew it. It wasn't exactly pleasurable for her, but because she'd felt so much pleasure before, she didn't complain.

  Soon he'd rolled off her and was gathering her in his arms, raining kisses over her face. "You're an incredible woman, Mrs. Roberts."

  Addie smiled, snuggling close to him. She may not have enjoyed it as much as he had, but she enjoyed being close. Right then? That was all that mattered.

  She laid in the curve of his arm for a long time after, listening to the sound of his heartbeat. She couldn't believe she'd just done that with a total stranger, and that she'd enjoyed it so much.

  "Tell me what you write," she finally said, once the silence had grown uncomfortable.

  He turned to face her on the pillow, his hand stroking up and down her bare arm where it stuck out over the top of the sheet. "I write science fiction."

  "And you like it?" She couldn't imagine the work that went into writing a book, especially a book where she had to create her own world as was the case with most science fiction. She was an avid science fiction reader, so she was familiar with the genre.

  He nodded. "I do. I have a series of books about dragons that I write." He deliberately didn't mention the name of the series, because if she read science fiction at all, she would recognize it.

  "How many hours a day do you write?" she asked. The idea of someone writing books, taking nothing and creating something, fascinated her. It was so similar to what she did with her crafts, yet still so different.

  "Anywhere from fourteen to sixteen," he answered honestly. "I'll try to keep it to fourteen when you're around."

  She blinked. "How do you find time to eat?"

  He shrugged. "I don't always. Scott used to come over once a week just to make sure I got fed. Now I don't always remember until I'm done working for the day."

  "Don't your hands hurt at the end of it?"

  "A lot of times, they do. I have a lot of problems with tendonitis, but I take ibuprofen for the inflammation. Sometimes my eyes quit working by the end of the day. My back is always killing me from being bent over a keyboard. The voices in my head don't care. They want the words out. And my fans? They finish a book and an hour later ask when the next one will be out. Sometimes I just want to scream at them that I just finished a book, and they should give me a week to glory in the finished product, but I know that's never going to happen. They think I should write until my eyes bleed." He gave a half laugh. "I'm being overly dramatic. They don't really believe that, but sometimes, I think if it meant they got their books faster, they'd feel that way. Human limitations are tough."

  "You have fans? Really?" He must be more successful than she'd initially thought.

  He nodded. "It's strange. I mean, I'm just this boring guy from King, Montana, and I have fans all over the world."

  She made a face. "None of them ever stalk you or try to find you, do they?"

  He shook his head. "So far I've avoided the science fiction conferences and stuff, so no one knows what I look like. I write under an assumed name, so no one knows who I really am. I like living a quiet life."

  It sounded to her like he must be quite successful to have the kind of fans he'd mentioned, but she didn't say anything. Maybe writers had to be terribly successful before they made any kind of real money. "Well, I promise not to tell anyone that you're a writer. It'll be our little secret."

  He grinned. "You can tell Scott and Savannah. They already
know." He leaned forward and kissed her nose. "And I owe you an apology. You told me you were hungry, and I said we'd order room service, and instead I dragged you off to bed right away."

  "I wasn't exactly kicking and screaming!"

  "No, you weren't, and that makes me very happy." He rolled to his side and out of bed, striding naked across the room to get the room service menu which he brought back to the bed. "What are you hungry for?"

  She'd been only slightly hungry earlier, but now she was downright peckish, to use a British word she loved. "Why don't you get me all of page three?"

  He laughed. "All of page three, huh? Without even looking to see what's on page three?"

  She sat up beside him on the bed, making sure she kept the sheet tucked firmly under her arms to conceal her breasts. She rested her head against his shoulder as she read the menu as well.

  "You know it doesn't matter if you keep them covered, right?" he asked, a gleam in his eye.

  "What?" she asked, pretending she didn't know what he was talking about.

  "You don't have to keep your breasts covered. I've licked them and touched them enough that I know their exact shape and look. There's no need to bother."

  She blushed, shaking her head at him. "Well, that wasn't exactly gentlemanly of you to point out, was it?"

  He laughed, the sound filling the room. "Maybe not, but guess what?"

  "What?"

  "I liked looking at them, touching them, and licking them. I'm not going to pretend I didn't."

  Addie decided to ignore him, as she read over the menu. "Can I get a burger, fries, cheesecake, and a Pepsi?"

  "Pepsi? Are you kidding me?"

  "No, I love Pepsi."

  He groaned. It was one of the rare hotels that carried both Coke and Pepsi products. "I'm a Coke lover. I don't know how we're going to make this work!"

  "So if I accidentally spill Pepsi all over myself, you won't lick it off?"

  He grinned at her. "If anything could make me a Pepsi lover..." He picked up the phone for room service. "How do you want your burger?"

  "Medium well." She got up to use the restroom, and pulled the sheet off the bed, wrapping it around her completely sarong style. She wasn't going to walk around naked. She'd leave that for him.

  *****

  An hour later, they'd eaten and set the dishes out in the hallway for the housekeeping staff to pick up. She wasn't certain what she was supposed to do. It wasn't quite bedtime yet, but she hadn't brought her computer to do book work on. Since opening her store, she had spent all her time at home doing the store's financial work. Adding the daily numbers, calculating costs, working on payroll. It took a couple of hours every night. Added to the number of hours she spent at the store, there was little time for anything else.

  "Tell me about this place we're going to!" she finally said, wanting to hear about her honeymoon location.

  "Oh, it used to be one of those fancy places where the idle rich would go to 'take treatments' back in the 1800s. Now, it's been restored to be as much like it was back then, but with the modern touches we need. There are carriage rides throughout the grounds, and the hot springs are available to soak in. We can rent horses and go horseback riding, or even wander to an old fashioned looking mercantile that has the 1880 price of everything right alongside the 2015 price. That's one of my favorite places to go. I love to learn about history!"

  "Oh, it sounds wonderful!"

  "It is. The decor is something straight out of a history book, but hidden behind little panels are plugs for our chargers. The bathroom has a beautiful old fashioned claw foot tub with hot and cold running water. The lobby is the same as it was the day they opened, and you sign in on this giant register. Of course, they keep the computers out of sight, but you can tell they're tapping away at the keys when they're checking people in."

  She smiled. "I'm going to love it!"

  "I really think you are. I love the restaurant, because the servers dress in the same uniform they used back in 1874 when the resort opened, but people can dress however they want. All of the furniture is antique, and they use real glass dishes. They do their best to keep up the illusion of being in the 1870s. I love it there."

  "We fly out tomorrow?"

  "Yeah, we fly out in the morning, and we will come back a week from tomorrow. Then you go back to work Monday?" he asked, wondering if he would go nuts not writing for that long. He could dictate into his phone if he just had to, and he could also write with pen and paper if he got really desperate. He didn't want her to think that his job would always come first.

  "Yeah. My assistant manager will cover everything until then, but I'm going to be on call. I don't think she'll bother us unless it's life or death, though." She studied him for a moment as she cuddled into his side on the couch. "I work sixty hour weeks, and then come home and work some more. Is that going to bother you?"

  He wanted to jump for joy. She was just as much of a workaholic as he was. Lachele did know what she was doing. "That's fine. I really work at least that much, so I'm not going to get jealous of your work." He just hoped she wouldn't get jealous of his.

  She wondered absently if he'd cook since he'd be home alone all day, but she didn't ask. It just made sense that he'd put dinner on. "Good. It was the one thing I was worried about."

  "Honestly, I was worried about the same thing with the kind of hours I keep. I don't need a wife who gets angry every time I sit down to work."

  "Do you ever have problems with writer's block?" she asked.

  "I don't even believe it exists. Writing is five percent making up stories and ninety-five percent putting your butt in the chair and doing the work. I've met so many people over the years who call themselves writers because they come up with stories and write a chapter or two. That's not writing. Writing is putting in the hours to tell the entire story beginning to end." He sighed. "And I'm on my soap box again. Tell me to shut up, would you?"

  She laughed. "I have better ways to shut you up." She knelt on the couch beside him and cupped his face in her hands as he'd done to her. She kissed him softly, her tongue stroking into his mouth.

  After a moment she pulled away, resting her forehead against his. "Effective?" she asked.

  "Oh, very effective. Why, I'd let you use those methods all day..."

  *****

  They left for the airport early the next morning, and Addie was extremely excited to see the healing waters. He hadn't told her the real name of the place, because he said he couldn't pronounce it. It was a French name. She was sure she'd see it on a sign somewhere.

  They'd gone to the shore a lot growing up, but she'd never been as far west as South Dakota. She wondered if they'd have a chance to see Mount Rushmore or any of the touristy places in South Dakota while they were there.

  At the airport, they waited their turn, and she was surprised to find out he'd booked first class seats for them. She was beginning to wonder about his finances. Was it possible that he had an inheritance from somewhere? How was he able to afford all the extravagances? She hoped he hadn't over extended himself with their honeymoon to impress her.

  He let her have the window seat on the plane, and she was excited. She'd never flown, and it was fun watching the clouds go by. They had a connecting flight in Salt Lake City. By the time they landed in Rapid City it was late afternoon. Addie was surprised at the size of the airport in Rapid City. Even the airport in Salt Lake City had seemed tiny in comparison to JFK. He rented a car as if he flew all the time. She frowned watching him. He certainly didn't act like a struggling writer.

  On the drive to the resort, she watched out the window, marveling at how flat everything was. "It's like another world. I have a hard time believing we're in the same country."

  He laughed softly. "I feel the same way about Manhattan. Where I live in Montana, there's nothing. Billings is the big city, and it's tiny in comparison. I love Manhattan, though. Nowhere else in the world has a library like that. Not that I've seen anyway."

>   "You only married me for my library," she joked.

  "Oh, no. That's not true. I married you for your breasts. I'm just not as obvious about it as Boring Bob the Boob."

  She laughed. "Bob was a real treat. And you're allowed to stare. We're married."

  "And touch? I'm allowed to touch too, right?"

  "Don't push it!" She was grinning as she watched out the window again.

  When they reached the resort, she tried to read the sign. It said Les Eaux de Guerison-Place of the Healing Waters. She didn't speak French either though, and decided to abbreviate it to Healing Waters. She wasn't going to twist her tongue in knots trying to say a name that obviously was never meant to be said.

  When they walked in the front doors, a man rushed over to them and pounded Jake on the back. "Well if it isn't the famous science fiction writer. When's the next book coming out?"

  Jake groaned. "When it's done, freak. How's the little missus?"

  "Pregnant." The man, who must have been Jake's college friend said with a grin. "Very very pregnant."

  "You can't be very pregnant. Pregnant is one of those things you are, or you're not. Kind of like dead. You can't be very dead. You're either dead, or you're alive."

  "Writer," the owner snarled.

  "Businessman," Jake returned with a scornful curling of his lip.

  Addie decided to ignore what the men were saying to each other, so she wandered off, looking around the hotel. It was huge, and just as Jake had said, was decorated in the manner she would have expected from an 1874 bath house. The walls and railings of the two story building were white, and there was a large red woven area rug on the floor with gold accents.

  Jake joined her a few minutes later as she stood gazing at a painting of a woman in an old fashioned bathing costume. "Do you want to wear one of those?" he asked.

  She laughed. "If I could look as beautiful as that woman in it, I would do it in a heartbeat."