Jamie cleared his throat from the doorway and Lane hugged Ben before stepping out of his embrace. Ben reached into the cupboard for dinnerware and handed the plates to Jamie.  “Here, Bambino, why don’t you set the table?”

Jamie took the plates.  “Okay, Dad.”

Jake had rounded the corner from the hall.  “Dad?  I thought you were waiting until after the wedding to start with that.”

Ben handed Jake the silverware. Jamie just grinned. He’d caught Ben in the kitchen kissing his mother so he’d better be Dad, Jamie thought.  Jess had come in and was taking drink orders.

Ben smiled.  This was familiar and comfortable.  Maybe Carol Anne had been right when she’d told Ben he had a nice little family of his own. They’d been a family for three years and only his stupidity had kept it from being official long ago.  Of course, he’d been 33 when he met Lane.  His birthday and hers were only three days apart.  Well, 12 years and three days.  He thought she was younger than he was when they met and was shocked, there was just no other word for it, when she told him her age and followed that by telling him the three kids she talked about being in Omaha with their paternal grandmother were teenagers, not toddlers.

Thoughts of Carol Anne brought thoughts of Lila Crane.  It had been a couple of days since Lila had shown up with that search warrant.  It was a good sign that she’d decided to leave Lane alone and let go of whatever animosity she held toward Ben for ending their relationship months before.

Ben and the boys had set the table, Jess had gotten drinks and Lane had placed the food on the table.  They sat down and held hands.  It was Tuesday.  Jess’s turn to say grace.  Heaven only knew what they were in for.  It could be anything from the quick standard Catholic grace to a scene from some movie.

“Lord, we come gratefully before you and ask you to bless the food set before us. We ask that you bless our family and the work of our hands. Bless us Lord and keep us safe.  Help us to love and respect each other.  And thanks for bringing Ben into our mother’s life.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray.”

Before the family said Amen, Ben said, “And Lord, we ask that you help Jess wow them in her audition.”

Then everyone said Amen.

Chapter 17

Things heat up

After dinner, the kids did clean-up and Lane walked Ben to his car. “Are you going to come over after you and Jess go shopping?”

“I’ll have Jess drop me off, if you’ll drive me home.”  They shared a deep, lingering kiss in the relative privacy of the garage.  He wanted to hold her forever, protect her from anything that could possibly hurt her or the kids, their kids.  Who could have ever predicted that Ben Bellini would claim responsibility for someone else’s kids as though they were his own?  But they were his.  His, they were all his.

“Sure, Red. At least that way we’ll both be reluctantly getting out of bed, getting dressed and making the drive.  If the wedding has to wait longer than a couple of weeks, maybe I can talk to Jamie.  You know, man to man.  But my preference would be to fly Jess back here immediately after the audition.  I love you.”  And he kissed her again.

“And I love you.  We’ll work it out,”  Lane said as she opened the garage door.

~~~~~

She and Jess always had fun shopping, but in truth, Lane hated trying on clothes in the store.  She found a couple of possibilities and, as was her habit; instead of asking them to hold the dresses, she purchased both.  She’d try them on again in the privacy of her own home and make the decision.  Then she’d return the reject.  They moved on to the shoes. Both of the Parker women loved shoes, didn’t most women?  But Lane and Jess politely parted ways on the choice of heel height.  Jess preferred platforms making the heel at least five inches high, the higher the heel the better. While Lane preferred no platform and a three to three and a half inch heel.  But then Jess was five feet four inches tall and Lane was five feet ten inches tall.  While Jess needed that extra height, Lane didn’t.

Lane tapped in the code for Ben’s garage and waved to Jess as she went in.  She signaled to Jess, making that international sign with thumb and little finger, meaning to call when she got home.  Ben met her at the door and swept her up in his arms.  He’d told her when he dropped her at work, after they’d applied for their marriage license, that he needed to see her naked.  And he did, but he wasn’t some kind of animal in heat, well, not quite.  He kissed her, and as always she moaned as their tongues mingled.  It always made him hard.  He had his hand in her hair as he held her close.  She didn’t use a ton of product or hair spray, and he loved the way her long strawberry blonde hair felt like strands of silk between his fingers. God she was so sexy.  She loved him and she’d agreed to be his wife. He heard her cell ring.

She answered.  Obviously Jess was safely home.  She ended the call and leaned to purr in his ear.  “I think you said something earlier about getting naked.”

It was all he needed.  He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom kissing her and whispering I love you with every step.  He gently placed her on the bed and began unbuttoning her blouse, as he continued his kisses to her lips, her neck and moving his lips lower as his fingers moved on to the fly of her Levi’s.  Yesterday she’d worn a white lace bra and panties, he couldn’t wait to see what was behind all those buttons.  She was moaning and whispering I love you and as his kisses moved lower and lower, she was busy pulling his polo shirt out of his khakis.  Ben worked out.  He ran at least five miles a day rain, shine, or snow.  During the months when his pool was open he swam laps.  He had washboard abs and just enough chest hair for her to bury her fingers in.  She pulled his shirt over his head and began working first with his belt and then with the zipper of his slacks.  He stood, dropping his khakis to the floor and in one fluid motion he pulled her jeans off.

The sight of her lying on his bed, her shirt open exposing her pink lace bra and her little pink lace panties, took his breath away.  He lay next to her, holding her; kissing his way down her neck, as he reached behind her and unhooked her bra.  He kissed first one shoulder and then the other as he moved each bra strap away.  She moaned with each kiss and flick of his tongue as he skillfully made his way toward her breasts.

She had run her fingers through his chest hair, down his abs and slipped her hand under the waistband of his boxers.  She ran her hand down the length of him, cupping his testicles before moving her hand back up.  She’d only been with two men, well maybe three but she really wasn’t sure about that last one.  She’d gone out with friends and gotten very drunk just after Phillip had come out of the closet and then walked out of her life.  She’d woken up naked, hung over and alone in a hotel room the next morning, not knowing whether she’d spent the night alone or with someone. It didn’t matter, she was sure that Ben had the biggest penis she’d ever seen.

He took her left nipple in his mouth, moving slowing to the right nipple.  Her breasts were very sensitive and seemed to have a direct link to her vagina because just as yesterday, when Ben took her nipple in his mouth she was suddenly very wet.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record she whispered, “I’m wet and I need to get these panties off.  How do you do this to me?”

Ben pushed one hand down her abdomen, following it with his lips, as he reached under the elastic and pulled the panties down and off. He didn’t think it was because of any expertise he had, but he thanked God for it as he moved his hand to cup that sweet wetness. He gently moved her thighs apart and kissed his way to the source of that wetness.  She moaned and raised her hips slightly, as his tongue flicked in and out.  She reached down, wrapping both hands in his hair urging him to move back up.