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  Jake came to her and took her hand. “No offence to the chef, but we work here, Lacy. This is the last place I’d take you for dinner.” They started walking toward the parking lot. “I don’t know what it’s like for you, but when I come here for dinner, I never get to have a hot meal, I’m constantly having to talk to the members or being interrupted. I love my job and I love working here, but this place isn’t my life. I don’t bring dates here.”

  What he said made sense to Lacy. She’d just instinctively gone to the front door, assuming they were eating at the club tonight. And he was right, gossip would be all over the club tomorrow about them and she didn’t really want that.

  “Besides,” Jake said as they walked, “you can bet Doc Barnes is in there having dinner. And I don’t know about you, but I plan on having a good meal, not dealing with him.”

  The parking lot was full, which meant the dining room at the club would be full. Jake was right, just because she lived here, it didn’t mean she had to eat here all the time. She’d been here for a few months and taken almost all of her meals at work, rarely venturing off the resort grounds. It was high time to go see the area where she was living, absorb the culture.

  “Hop in,” Jake said, stopping in front of a black jeep with no roof or doors on it.

  “What is this?” Lacy asked in awe. “Where’s your truck?”

  Everyone knew his ride. Whenever Jake was at the club, his white half-ton truck stood out amongst the luxury sedans, especially because it was usually covered in mud.

  “Left it at home,” Jake said, offering his hand to help Lacy climb up into the jeep.

  Lacy put one hand on the padded roll bar and stepped up with the assistance of Jake and the running board. “I never knew you had a jeep.”

  Jake walked around the jeep to his side once Lacy was safely in and buckled up. “I don’t drive it to work that often.”

  “Why?”

  Jake looked her right in the eye and smirked. “Because I’d be too tempted to just drive it right out onto the course and have some fun.”

  Jake pulled the jeep out of the lot slowly. He did after all work here, but once they hit the main road, he hit the gas, leaving a patch of rubber behind them.

  He flew down the road. The jeep didn’t have any doors or a roof on it, the only protection they had from the elements was the windshield in front of them. The fading light of the day’s sun lit the way and Lacy didn’t worry when the wind blew her hair every which way but loose. Jake had already seen to it that her hair was a mess back in her room. So why worry about the wind? With ease, Jake maneuvered the jeep down the winding roads.

  “Jake!” Lacy squealed when he cut corners, moving into the oncoming lane to take the turn faster.

  “See, this is why I don’t drive it to work,” he said with a smile as he expertly down-shifted on the turns, maintaining a pulse pounding speed. “It’s too much fun.”

  Lacy shot out an arm and gripped his hand as it rested on the gearshift when he turned the wheel sharply to the right, taking them off the main road.

  “Shortcut,” Jake said with excitement in his voice, taking his eyes off the road only long enough to glance at her. Racing down a dirt road which was still muddy from the storm a few days back, he crashed through puddles that would have stopped normal cars, keeping his tires right in the ruts of previous off-roaders. At a few points along the way, they were surrounded by bayous on either side, slow-moving dark green waters which appeared to be gateways to the unknown.

  Lacy thought it was possible she ought to be worried. One wrong move by Jake and they’d go careening into the swamp and wind up gator bait. But she wasn’t scared. Everything Jake Knight did, he did with confidence and although her heart pounded as she held on at break neck speeds, Lacy never felt in fear of her life, she just enjoyed the rush of adrenaline. My God, Jake Knight was intoxicating to be with. He was confident and strong, but whimsical and playful all at once. Addictive, that was the word Lacy finally decided on, Jake Knight was addictive.

  Up ahead, Lacy could see a huge, wide puddle smack-dab in the middle of the road. It looked deep and Jake saw her grip the handlebar in front of her on the dash. He knew what she was thinking right away, they were going to hit that puddle and muddy water would come crashing over the windshield and cover them from head to toe. And she was right, Jake knew this stretch of road, he’d driven it many times after a rain storm and that puddle would do exactly what Lacy thought it would. Up until now, they’d avoided getting dirty and normally he would have gunned the engine, blasted through the puddle and cleaned up later, but Lacy had dressed nicely for him and he didn’t want to muddy her up.

  “Hang on!” Jake yelled over the noise of the wind.

  “I already am!” Lacy called back, taking one hand off the dash and placing it on Jake’s thigh.

  The feel of her nails digging into his thigh made Jake forget what he was doing for a second and he almost messed up his plan, but he regained his focus just in time to veer the jeep to the right.

  The jeep dipped down the embankment, missing the puddle completely and Lacy knew if she hadn’t been strapped in, she would’ve rolled right out and into the swampy green water only a few feet to her right. They passed under a big oak tree and the branches bumped the top of the windshield, dropping a few leaves and some Spanish moss into Lacy’s lap. She brushed them off and watched a group of gators slide off the embankment and into the water as the jeep came closer.

  “Don’t worry,” Jake said as he brought the jeep back onto the road. “I knew they’d get out of the way. I’ve never hit one of them yet.”

  Lacy looked down at the gear shift between them. She had the urge to slip it into neutral and climb onto Jake’s lap. What they were doing was such a rush and the way Jake made her feel, so safe and secure, had her aroused beyond belief. Lacy wanted to climb onto his lap and take him inside of her, relish in the way his size would stretch her. They may be out in the open, but she didn’t care. The idea just made the fantasy that much more exciting.

  Jake spotted her looking at the gear stick. He was cruising along in third and with a turn not far up ahead, he wanted her to join in the fun.

  “You ready to drop it to second?” he asked, cutting his eyes toward her.

  Lacy looked him up and down, she was ready to drop to her knees in front of him, if he just asked. “I don’t know how,” she confessed.

  “It’s easy.” Jake took his foot of the gas and popped the clutch, slowing the car down. “Put your hand here.” He tapped the gear shift and Lacy grabbed it.

  The shifter felt good in her hand, it was hard in her grip and made her think of Jake’s cock. She fought the temptation to start stroking it suggestively and did as Jake said.

  “You’re going to pull it down slowly and to the left,” he told her.

  “Okay.”

  You couldn’t have pried the smile off of Lacy’s face with a crowbar if you tried, she’d always wanted to learn how to drive stick and Jake was actually showing her how.

  “Like that?” she asked after doing what she’d been told.

  Jake put his foot on the gas and gunned the engine but the gears didn’t grip. “Close, but nope. Here.” He reached across and took Lacy’s hand in his, then placed it on top of the shifter. “Feel that?” He wiggled the loose shifter back and forth. “It’s in neutral right now.” He moved her hand to the left. “Now pull down.” Lacy did as she was told. “Did you feel it grab?”

  “I did,” she said with a giggle of wonder.

  Jake loved her smile. She was amazingly beautiful. He felt his heart shift in his chest with the same strength as the gears. “That’s how you know it’s in gear,” Jake said, easing his foot off the clutch. “Maybe later on I’ll let you try.”

  My God, he was smooth. Lacy wondered if this was what he did with all the girls, got their blood pumping with some off-roading fun, then seduce them over dinner. As much as she hated the idea if it were true, she pushed it to the ba
ck of her brain. Those other girls weren’t here right now, it was just her and Jake. And boy was she enjoying the idea of being seduced by this gorgeous man.

  “Where are we going exactly?” Lacy asked when they were back on the main road. They had emerged from the dirt road out on a highway and headed east.

  Straight to Jake’s bedroom, she hoped he’d say.

  “A little town I go to sometimes. Don’t worry. You’re going to love it. It’s a nice place, we’ll be alone, but it’s not so nice it’s stuffy.”

  Lacy could see the shape of buildings as they approached a town. As they got closer, a sign became more visible. It was wide and light brown, with blue letters and bookended by two large brick pillars.

  Welcome to Historic Natchitoches.

  There was a classic gold fleur de lis above the town name and purple and yellow moss roses were planted in the beds underneath it. Jake drove past the sign slowly, letting Lacy marvel at it for a few more seconds before heading on down the road and turning toward the historic section next to the river.

  “It’s beautiful,” Lacy said with her jaw slack.

  Jake watched her out of the corner of his eye. “Don’t get off the resort much, I take it.”

  Jake himself had been a slave to the job when he first arrived and to Willow Cove. He wasn’t just there to do a good job, he was there to leave his mark, to prove himself to a town and one barbaric old man who had stolen more from his parents and grandparents than he could ever get back. So he’d rarely ventured off the resort for anything until the project was well underway and he felt like he had a grip on things. Then he’d finally eased off working twenty-four-seven and moved out to the few waterfront acres his family still owned north of the big bridge that connected Texas to Louisiana.

  Jake checked the rear view mirror. There was nobody behind him so he slipped the jeep into second gear and just let it glide down the street, slow, so they could talk.

  “Do you live here?” Lacy asked, craning her head to look at the quaint shops and large well-kept homes.

  Jake turned his head and just looked at her. “No, but I’ve been coming to Natchitoches all of my life. My family never missed the Christmas festival of lights. But no, I couldn’t stand living at the resort another minute last year. I had to move out and have my own life. I’ve got a place on some land my family owns near Toledo Town. It’s not the fanciest place, but it’s just me and the snakes and gators out there. I swear I heard a panther scream one night, but I haven’t seen any yet, so I sleep good at night.”

  “I’m thinking of finding my own place soon.”

  He slowed down even more as a squirrel darted across the road. “I’m sure you know this already, but it’s great they let you live there for free when you start working there, but you have no privacy. You’re never really off duty.”

  “Oh, I know. I get calls at ridiculous hours and a few clients have actually stopped by my room to talk to me after work hours, because they knew I wouldn’t mind.” She made a cute sad face.

  “True. You can’t get away. And after a few months of living there, I’d had enough. I came back to this part of the world to prove something to myself and a few other people.”

  His voice changed tone and Lacy vowed she’d find out what was going on. There was something a bit sad about Jake and she didn’t like it. Lacy wanted him to be happy. “You’re not the type of man who’d have to prove anything to anybody.”

  He didn’t pursue that topic, instead he smiled sadly. “We’re going to a restaurant I think you’ll like and if you’ll look up ahead, that’s one of the homes where they filmed the movie Steel Magnolia’s.” Lacy leaned over nearer to Jake so she could see the red brick historic home that was now a bed and breakfast. “It used to be a hospital during the civil war.”

  “I loved that movie.” She turned around and looked backward until they were fully past the big home. “One of the things that attracted me to Louisiana was the history. There are quite a few plantations around, aren’t there?”

  “My favorite is Magnolia Plantation. The main house is private now, but the park service oversees some old brick slave quarters you ought to see, but the most interesting thing is the old cemetery.”

  Lacy was fascinated at the change in Jake’s face. He was so smart. She loved to hear him talk. “What about the cemetery?”

  “Many of the slaves on the plantation practiced voodoo and one of their responsibilities was crafting these metal crosses for the graves of the owners and overseers and their families. When you first look at them they appear normal, but the slaves worked African gods and symbols into the design of the crosses. To me, it was just a brave form of rebellion. I like that, I’ve been a rebel all of my life.”

  “What you are is a fascinating man, Jake Knight.” Lacy couldn’t hold it back. “I like you.”

  Jake squeezed her hand. “I like you too, Lacy. A lot.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  They drove farther into town until Lacy could see a body of water off to her right. “You’ll like where we’re eating. The food is amazing and hell, as you can see, the town is amazing too. There’s a legend about an Indian chief named Caddo who had two sons. He took them to the Sabine River, which now runs through the center of Toledo Bend Lake, and sent one of the boys east and one west. They left at sunrise and he told them to walk until the very moment of sunset, then they were to stop and establish a village there. One ended up being Nacogdoches over in Texas and the other is Natchitoches where we are now.”

  “Both names are a mouthful,” she teased, darting her little pink tongue out to lick her lip. Jake almost ran off the road, he had to jerk the wheel back before he hit the curb. Seeing her tongue and hearing her say the word mouthful took his mind completely off Indian chiefs and right on to a blowjob. Damn. He cleared his throat and tried to focus or he’d be hard again before they reached the restaurant.

  The thick oak trees which lined the boulevard hung over the open jeep like sedentary monsters, threatening the power lines, but not touching them. The trees were just that, trees, but they seemed alive to Lacy as they passed under the massive gnarled limbs covered with ivy and Spanish moss. “This is a beautiful place. Thank you for bringing me, Jake.” She gave him a shy smile, remembering what they’d been doing back at her condo, and realizing how very much she wanted to do it again.

  They drove in silence the rest of the way. Jake knew Lacy had questions about this magical place, but he just wanted to let her enjoy the scenery of Natchitoches and with her distracted, he could enjoy the scenery beside him in the jeep—Lacy.

  Her silky legs drew Jake’s eye and his gaze locked on her thighs. Her skirt had ridden up at some point during their frantic trip through the bayou and all he could think about was the delicious piece of paradise that resided between her thighs. It’d be sheer heaven, he’d felt Lacy’s warm pussy on the tip of his cock back in her room and Jake still didn’t fully understand why she’d brought it all to a screeching halt the way she had. There was no denying the attraction they had for each other, an attraction which had Jake shifting in his seat to rearrange his stiffening cock.

  The sun was continuing its slow, lethargic descent in the sky, and the twinkling of water caught Lacy’s attention. “This place just gets better and better.”

  “That’s the Cane River,” Jake told her. “It runs right through town.”

  Lacy watched the river glitter in the fading sunlight. “This place can’t be real. It’s like a fairy tale.”

  “Just wait until you taste the food.”

  Front Street was breathtaking, lined with gorgeous old buildings. The original brick road made for a bumpy ride and highlighted the uniqueness of this town. The Landing Restaurant was right on a corner. It had white walls, and large black metal beams which supported the upstairs patio that overlooked the street. The patio made Lacy think of men hanging over that railing, tossing beads to women below during Mardi Gras. Jake nosed the jeep to the edge of the sidewalk, parking r
ight out front of the restaurant. He went around to Lacy’s side and helped her out of the car. There was a simple, understated brown sign above the door held in place by a piece of metal pipe. The Landing Restaurant & Bar was written in yellow script and Jake held the door open for Lacy as she passed under it and into the building.

  “You ever cook any of your own food?” One of the waiters ribbed Jake as he walked by with a tray full of crawfish.

  Jake just laughed it off. “What? I eat here a lot,” he said to Lacy.

  There was a decorative wrought iron fence surrounding the entire restaurant. Lacy followed it with her eyes, watching the early evening crowd as they enjoyed their meal. The dishes in the room were mostly unknown to Lacy, but they smelled divine.

  “Patio tonight, Mr. Knight?” the maître d asked.

  “Of course,” Jake said in response. “After you, Lacy.”

  Lacy bounced on her heels and followed the maître d across the tiled floor. Jake fell in behind her. It was only proper to let a lady go first and it allowed him a bit of time to enjoy the sway of her hips.

  Lacy was electrified. First the encounter back at her place, then the exhilarating ride through the swamp, and now this little slice of heaven Jake had brought her to. Why it was enough to make Lacy fall hard for this sexy, sweet guy. They arrived at a private table covered with a pure white tablecloth. Jake pulled out her chair and helped her to be seated. The evening just kept getting better and better. “I’m hungry. Are you?” she asked Jake as he took a seat across from her.

  “I’ve been hungry since before we left your condo,” he said without looking at her.

  Lacy gasped. Did he mean what she thought he meant? Her fingers trembled on the menu. She stared at it, hard, trying to make sense of the words. There was shrimp creole, crawfish, blackened catfish, gumbo and all sorts of things she’d never tried before.

  “The meat pies look good,” she said, picking something she thought might be a bit bland. Lacy didn’t know how her palate would handle all of this spice. The chefs at Willow Cove tended to cook milder food to please a wider variety of customers. The Landing appeared to cater to the person seeking authentic Cajun and Creole cooking.