The Perfect Weapon Chapter 7 part 3 section 1
Chapter 7: Part 3
"Jack, you're doing it too hard!"
"Is that really possible?"
"Of course it is. Do you want it to become too tender?"
"Again, is that possible?"
"Yes! Stop it." She grabbed his arm and demanded, "Why are you so irritated? I thought you'd be glad that we were hosting the party to celebrate Dave's completion of his dissertation! He's your best friend. What's wrong with you tonight?"
"What's wrong with me?" He reached out a hand and punched the "crush" button on the blender and listened to the ice for drinks tumble and crack, watched the appliance swirl and vibrate for a moment, before he said, "I'm away for two weeks and I come home to find that instead of a nice, quiet evening alone with my wife, you've invited everyone we know over for a barbeque? And it's already as hot as hell and you want me standing over that grill? Give me a break." He stopped the blender and poured the crushed ice out into two bowls, most of it in a large bowl, with just several chips in a smaller one. He resumed pounding the steaks with the meat mallet.
"Oh. You wanted..."
"Oh, yeah. As if you didn't know," he said, shrugging off her hand and resuming his pounding.
"Jack, you're…whiney and pouting. Like a baby. You know, if we ever have a child that acts like that, I'm going to do this," she laughed and swatted at his butt. He pretended to ignore her. Behind his back, she continued to tease him, trying to obtain a reaction, "Yes, you're acting like a big baby… with sex on the brain." What a bizarre analogy, he thought. That's what happens when English is your second language - or third or fourth.
"What? What! Me! Who's the one who complained about her quote unquote loneliness every time I called home over the last two weeks?" He pounded the steaks harder. She giggled.
He hid his smile as he turned to glare at her. "And who's the one who greeted me at the door dressed like that? I still can't believe you," he said with a tone of shocked amazement in his voice. He gestured at her too-brief shorts and white halter top. That top -- if he looked hard enough, and he was looking (that was the point, after all, he knew), he could see the outline of her erect nipples. And groan, she was wearing that waist chain. Without looking directly at her, he flicked his index finger at the key charm hanging from the center of the chain below her belly button and accused, "If that's not a 'take me now' outfit…I don't know what is!"
"Oh, this little outfit? I could think of other outfits that might be more….provocative, Jack," She murmured, shifting her weight to one hip, thrusting the other forward, flipping the key charm with her finger now.
He groaned. "I don't think I could survive other outfits. This is bad enough. Did you rouge your nipples under that top or what?"
She gasped in shock and stepped close enough to him to thump him on the back with her hand. "Jack! Where did you--" And then as he turned his head and she caught the mischief in his eyes, she smiled slowly. Asked huskily, "Would you like me to do that? I could go upstairs and get out my makeup and--umphf!"
Grabbing her around the waist and holding her against him with one arm, he reached the other hand up and swiftly untied her halter top and threw it to the floor. She wiggled around trying to escape him, but spoiled the effect by giggling incessantly as she protested, "Jack, my clothes! I need to be dressed before everyone arrives."
"Like you were going to wear that outfit in front of anyone else?"
"Why not?" she asked innocently, batting her eyelashes up at him, leaning back against his arms as they held her up.
He laughed, "Don't get cute with me, Laura Bristow. You and I both know that I'd never allow you to be dressed, or rather undressed, like that in front of anyone but me. Not my wife. I have to put my foot down somewhere." Looking behind him, he moved to sit down in a chair, pulling her along with his arms still around her. She stood between his legs, her hands on his shoulders.
"Allow me?" She asked indignantly. "You think you can tell me how to dress? Let me tell you something---" she began heatedly, now putting her hands on her hips. Clearly she had forgotten that she was now topless, her breasts conveniently at face level. Or perhaps she did know and was teasing him. Either way, who cared, he sighed with pleasure. This game was so much fun on so many levels. He fought to keep his amusement under wraps, but honestly she was so easy. It had been so much fun to get her going. She always took the bait. Now, he was counting on that, on so many levels.
Then he had smirked, could not help it, but she was so incensed that she missed the cue. He loved to irritate her and right now, the annoyance would turn to arousal, even-deeper arousal that is, very easily; she had been on the edge from the minute he walked in and pretended to miss her signals in favor of preparing for the party. Blatantly skewing his eyes to her hardened nipples, he drawled, "Yeah, I think I can tell you that you can't be dressed like that in front of others. Or, perhaps, we could make a deal if it's that important to you--"
"Jack, I didn't mean that---" She said with some trepidation, knowing he was going to up the ante to unacceptable levels.
"Nervous now, Laura?" Jack grinned as she moved her arms from her hips to cross them under her breasts. He sighed happily, watching them plump up over her forearms. Life was good.
"When will I learn to keep my mouth shut? I cannot win gambling with you," she groaned. "Okay, go ahead, what's the deal?"
"If it's that important to show your body to other men, we could make a deal. I mean, I'm not that possessive…" he said as he reached up and cupped her breasts. She looked down and snorted. He raised an eyebrow, "Not as possessive as you, let's say. But then again, who is?" he added with a pointed look. She looked away, over his head. "No comment? Hmm, let's see…" She glared at him, waiting. He nodded, running his hands up and over her shoulders, then down her bare back, finally reaching around to her front and unsnapping her shorts as he talked. "You can wear whatever you want, whenever you want. But the next time we go to that English department reading group and you ask me to read something aloud, I'll use 'that' voice. In front of everyone. Then we'll see. I mean, you're the possessive one, so if you can live with it, I guess," he sighed, "I can live with having other women hear me---" As she gasped in outrage, he bent and pulled her shorts and underwear off in one swift motion.
"So, deal?" he asked as he pulled her closer to him.
She looked down at herself, nude except for the waist chain. Shaking her head, she asked, "How did you do that so quickly? Get me naked? I don't know why I even bother wearing clothes around the house, honestly."
"Because it's fun to see what trick I'll use to take them off?"
She looped her arms around his neck, "Well, there is that."
"One of my favorite games," Jack said as he reached up to nuzzle her neck and his hands began roving around her body.
She moaned, "But Jack, we don't have time. We waited too long. Really. Everyone will be here soon. We can't…."
"Oh, sure we can. Or at least I can. I'm in a hurry anyway after two weeks."
"How much of a hurry?" Laura asked and then jumped as he bent his head and began suckling on a nipple. "Geez, Jack! No kiss, no warning, nothing, just--- Oh!" she said as he bit softly on it. He listened to her moan, she would always melt when he did that - bit on and around her breasts and neck. Then he pulled back and gave each nipple a wet kiss.
"There, did that count?" He asked slyly and then bent even further and kissed lightly between her legs. "Or is that the kiss you wanted?"
"Jack!" she shrieked, looking at him with huge eyes.
"Or is this it?" he whispered huskily against her lips before slanting his mouth across hers. When she began to pant, he lifted his head and asked with a speculative grin, "So, how fast can I get you ready?" He lifted her onto him, straddling his knees.
"I don't know, but if you're in that much of a hurry…" She gave a deep, heaving sigh, drawing his attention back to her breasts, "I can make a sacrifice and you can just go ahead and do what you will with me." She wafted another sigh and hefted a hand to her forehead. "Go ahead, I'll just lie, I mean sit, here and think of the empire. Or all the work we have to do before everyone arrives."
Thinking back, he was astonished that she had made that joke about thinking of the empire, having long since realized that at times, when insecurity and fear crept in, that she had felt like a whore. But that day, as most days, she had been so deep in the game, the game of a man and a woman, the game - the love and trust - between them, that she had forgotten who she was, what she had been sent there to do. The game had become truth.
"Sounds fine to me," he said quickly. "I'll take what I can get and so will you---Unzip my jeans and take me out, why don't you?"
"Jack!" she protested laughing, even as she did what he had asked.
"Laura, one thing I love about you is that you know how to take direction. When you want," Jack said dryly.
"Mmm, when I want," she laughed, holding him. Her giggling turned into a moan as he entered her. She gasped, "How did you know I'd even be ready?"
"Please, Laura, I know you, your body. You've probably been ready for hours," he said, flicking his thumb nail across a nipple, watching it harden even more, "Just waiting for me to come home. And then you got the idea to have this party - and you're right - of course, I'm glad we are the hosts for Dave. And you thought, hmm, I know, Jack will come home all…ready, I'll wear this outfit and he'll either take me right away like I really want or I'll tease him all evening. Won't that be fun? For me? Torture for him, but fun for me? Is that the little game scenario you envisioned?"
Her jaw dropped. "I, you…how?" and then moaned as he moved his fingers.
"Oh give it up, Laura. I know you. Oh, wait a minute. You're already gave it up, didn't you?" He thrust forward. She slapped at him. He laughed. "I knew what you wanted the moment I came in the door. And I'll give it to you…eventually." She hissed at him, tried to move her body, but his hands on her hips held her too firmly. He laughed, "Don't play those games with me, Laura."
"But I want to win," she protested.
"You do win, don't you? Don't you get what you want?" he purred as he stroked her body and she gasped with pleasure.
"But I want to…." She trailed off, distracted.
"Laura, I let you have control whenever you want. All you ever have to do is ask, don't you?"
"I know, but I want to take control." Then he moved again. She whimpered and shook her head to clear it.
Jack smiled. "You've done it before. As you know, I have no problem with that. Go ahead and try. Take whatever you want. But if you want to do it more often, you need to work on your weaknesses. Do you even know that they are?" he asked as he played with her breasts. Well, he knew what some of his weaknesses were, anyway.
"Damn you! Tell me," she demanded as she moved her body to the rhythm he had set.
"Well, one is that you become too focused on your own needs, your own game plan to see what I am doing. Like today, you were so intent on your….desires to shock me, to get me to do what you wanted, that you did not see my set up, did you?" And that had not changed, thankfully.
"You…!"
"Can't think of any words? Your mind is occupied with other matters? So sad, really. A mind is a terrible thing to waste." Yes, he needed to distract her.
"I swear…"
"No, don't swear, moan for me, Laura." He moved his body and when she complied, he praised her with a moan of his own, "That's it." Then he moved again, moved his fingers, kissed her neck. Then he said, conversationally, "What time is it? I can't see the clock."
"Huh? What? Oh, we have about 10 minutes if we're lucky." She recovered briefly enough to mock him, "You'll never make it, Jack. You are not a quick draw. Thankfully."
"Honey, I pride myself on being flexible - at least in my use of time." She smiled and shook her head, then leaned forward to kiss him. When their lips parted, he whispered, "Let me do this quickly and if it's fast enough, then we'll have more time for you, so I can take my time with you the way I like to. Just move that way - the way you know I like - that's it….Perfect, perfect. Kiss me now. Please..."
She smiled softly and whispered, "My turn?"
When he nodded, she leaned forward and kissed him with abandon until he felt his head start to spin. "Oh!" she breathed as he pulled back.
Looking into her eyes, he asked, "Are you dizzy, too?"
"Yes," she whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder, taking deep breaths.
Running his hands up and down her back, he whispered, "You are so beautiful. I love you so much, Laura. Now, tell me you love me, and that control you detest sometimes -- I can use it like this…."
"Hmm. Thank you, Laura," he moaned, resting his head on her shoulder.
She giggled, her hands in his hair as usual, "So polite, Jack."
"Well, you know me. Mr. Manners. But, see what control can do? And no protests about being naked in the kitchen, making love, in broad daylight?" Jack asked as he lifted his head and leaned her back against his hands to facilitate suckling on her nipples.
She gasped, "What's the point of protesting? After all--"
"After all, you get turned on by it, don't you?"
She stiffened at his direct hit and then laughed, "Jack! I swear. And," her voice turned coy and cajoling, "I gave you what you wanted. Isn't it my turn, for, well, you know, now?"
He turned his head to face the clock and said regretfully, "Oh, will you look at the time? You were right - we need to get back to work… tenderizing….Or is it ready now?"
She actually growled at him. He began to rise and lifted her off of him, pulling out of her so slowly she moaned again as he set her on her feet.
"You said we don't have time and…" he shrugged and zipped up his jeans.
"That's what that little quickie was about! That was so unlike you-- I knew it, knew you had something up your sleeve!"
"Up my sleeve, Laura or in my pants?" He quipped, smiling at her amusement at the game. "But really," he said looking ostentatiously at his watch, "We are out of time---"
Laughing, she grabbed at his arms, "Jack! Please! Will you do this--I'm asking! I love you." She finished slyly.
He laughed and "Very good attempt. All three potential keys, plus my name, in one breathless sentence. But it did not sound to me like you were asking there, it sounded like a demand…Hmmm." with a flick of his finger sent the key charm on the waist chain swinging, thinking she had not yet realized that all she had to do was to love him. Remembered the day he had given her the one charm for the chain. She had laughed at the key, then asked him, "But only one? I know there are three keys, ways to get you to do what I want - saying please, asking you, and telling you I love you. So why only one?" He had shaken his head, then laughed when she continued, "Sometimes I think I'll never understand the way your mind works. There's some puzzle in this, too, isn't there? Tell me." He had smiled and said, "Ah, it's a word game. You have to remember the right words."
And throughout their marriage, her inability to solve the puzzle of that charm, to remember one of the readings he had chosen for their wedding, had amused him, astonished him. Finally he decided that her perplexity was a game itself, for surely she knew, that of the three, the greatest was love.
But perhaps she had known even then, that love was not always enough. Sometimes, the game needed…more keys.
Still laughing, she exclaimed, "You and your games! I'm going to kill you! You know I have no control, not like you, it won't take long. You know all you have to do is touch me…"
He smiled and hoisted her onto the counter near the blender. He reached his hands out, ran his fingers along the waist chain and then traced his fingertips downward. He gently spread her legs and then touched her, "Like this?" She moaned her assent. He smiled again, and asked, "Or how about if I do this?" He reached his hand into the smaller bowl and grabbing the ice chips put them in his mouth and bent down to her.
"Whaat?!" And then her shriek turned into a moan. She threaded her fingers through his hair.
Gasping a little while later, she groaned, "That was…new. How, where did you learn that?"
"I'm widely traveled," he said smugly, as he smiled and bent to wrap his arms around her. "Ouch!" he exclaimed as she bit his shoulder through his shirt, "What was that for?"
"That was a rhetorical question, you idiot. Like I want to hear anything about what you did before…." She pushed him away.
His mouth dropped open in surprise. "Laura, be serious. It was just a joke. You know I love you -- that means, in my book, I would never touch another woman. Don't you trust me? Hell, you know that I've never even looked at another woman since the moment I met you. You know that."
"I know that," she said waving her hand dismissively at him, as she jumped down from the counter and reached for her discarded clothes. He snatched them up first and held them over her head with one hand while grabbing her around the waist with the other arm.
Staring at her angry face, he demanded, "So, then, what's the problem? You can't be jealous of whatever I did before us, can you? That's illogical, irrational."
"I can be illogical if I want, Jonathan Donahue Bristow! That's my right. You can't stop me."
He burst out laughing. She kicked at his shin, but in her bare feet, only succeeded in stubbing her toe. "Ouch. That's your fault, too!" She accused, glaring at him.
He laughed some more. Tossing her clothes to the floor, he picked her up in his arms. "Who's being the baby now? Poor thing, let me carry you into the bedroom so I can dress you."
"Let me down this instant!" she shrieked.
Wriggling around she only succeeded in making him laugh harder. Tossing her onto the bed, he quickly covered her body with his heavier weight and held her arms at the side of her head. She berated him, but he ignored her to bend down and begin nipping at her neck and telling her how he felt. Quickly, she quieted to listen to his voice, that particular voice he knew how to exploit, telling her, "Laura, I love you more than anything in this world." He felt her muscles relax and she wound her arms around his body. "You know what I said before, so many times - that my life began when I met you? Remember that?"
She shivered and then nodded against his neck. He felt her smile against his skin. He waited for her to speak, but when she stayed silent, he continued in that same voice, "I will never betray you, never. You know that. Or you should. Either you trust me or you don't. And what came before us, well, that's irrelevant to me. Why not to you? Why does it matter?"
"I don't know," She shrugged and looked him in the eye and smiled as he kissed her. "I'm sorry, Jack," she sighed when he lifted his head. "I was being foolish. I know."
"It's okay, honey," he said, stroking her hair. Then grinned and braced himself, "What's the matter - is it that time of the month coming up?"
She gasped and swatted at him, "Oh, you are so dead. I don't have mood swings like that."
Oh no, not at all, he thought to himself with an internal grin both then and now. Good, he had thought then, she was out of that weird mood. Now, he thought, well, maybe it had just been PMS that day. Even Irina Derevko got PMS. It had never lasted long, usually a craving for chocolate and just one bizarre little outburst that would leave him puzzled for hours until he decided it was best to just ignore it. Not that he had ever told her that. Of course it could have been something other than PMS, like oh, he didn't know, say the strain of the lie she was living. That small little detail, he thought sardonically. Now he glanced at her, walking along next to him, debated about bringing the PMS up. Debated about saying, "So, Irina, has age ameliorated your monthly binging and grumpiness or has it just gotten worse? I'd like to know since I didn't bring along any chocolate." Eh, it was more fun just to imagine her reaction. Less dangerous to his health as well.
Then he had teased, "I know what came over you. You were just overwrought by my amazing skills."
"Humph. And unfair, Jack, unfair you using your voice like that before! You know my weaknesses -- you can't use them against me!"
"All's fair in the game of love, Laura. At least between us. Remember I said we'd make up the rules as we went along?" he had quipped, kissing her.
Not knowing then how true those words were and how true they were going to be in the future.
The rules….That time she had taunted Vaughn with his fears, accused him of violating "the rules between a man and a woman"… Pot, meet kettle or what? When he had seen that conversation on the tapes of her cell, he had wanted to run down the hallway and strangle her then. To ask, to scream, "You want to explain to me just what rules you were following, Irina?" But now, now, he was about to set his own rules for this game between them, this very unique set of rules for two master gamesplayers. There were no rules, no limits this time. This was going to be good. But in order for him to succeed, he had to remember how easily she could see through people's weaknesses, had to use his weaknesses only to facilitate his game, not to give her power… Not again. It was her turn to fall prey to her own weakness, her needs, her desires, her guilt, her regret. He would use everything, he told himself over and over. Even her love, whatever kind of love it was. But he did not care, he told himself, what kind of love she had within as long as he could exploit it. Use it as a weakness, the kind of weakness would leave her vulnerable, leave her open to humiliation.
Then, then he had lifted his head and begun murmuring against her neck again, "So, I'll use my voice, anything…whatever I have to use to get you out of this illogical, irrational mood of yours. Admit it, you were being…."
She slapped his arm. "Oh, I admit it. I was being an idiot. So, stop it. And you're right, I don't know why I fixate on what happened before us. Sorry."
"Well, when you figure it out, let me know. But for now, do you need another demonstration of how much I love you?" he asked slyly, trying to lighten the mood. Her mind was such a…and then he remembered the gift in his pocket and smiled.
"Yes, I do," Laura said firmly with an arch tone. When he smiled in anticipation, she asked gleefully, "Where's my present?" and laughed as he melodramatically made his face fall.
He laughed and sat up, pulling her onto his lap. "You're such a baby, Laura. Did no one give you presents before me?"
He sometimes wondered about that still. What kind of childhood had she had? She had always been so inordinately thrilled with each little gift, another reason why he gave her so many. Basic positive reinforcement, he thought with an internal shrug. "Actually, it's been right here in my pocket all along."
"Why didn't you give it to me before?" she asked, wiggling around, still naked but for the waist chain, trying to reach into the front pocket of his jeans.
"Hey! Be careful or you'll get another present…" he warned with a leer.
She giggled and said, "C'mon, Jack, give it to me now!" and then laughed harder when she realized what she'd said.
"Sounds like an instant replay of downstairs in the kitchen," he smiled, relieved to see her spirits were back to what he thought was normal.
Later, after her 'death', friends had tried to console him by telling him how wonderful the two of them had been together, how they had brought out unique parts of each other's personalities. That Laura laughed and giggled and acted so different around him than anyone else. That he had made her happy, that without him she often seemed so tense, so worried, almost a different person. For a long time he had thought, assumed, berated himself over the idea, the 'fact', that she must have been acting around him. Now, he was starting to understand, based on the easy resumption of his own 'uncharacteristic' behavior around her - that what they had been together was something completely different than what they were apart. It was not a lie, just another layer, a different truth.
Leaning back, he reached into his pocket for a small box. "I bet you can't guess what it is," he said, the joke on him. He always brought her jewelry. No imagination. Or rather, too much imagination. Every time he saw jewelry, he thought of her wearing it and nothing else.
Handing it to her, he watched her face as she opened the box. Holding the chain with a circular box-like pendant dangling from one finger, she asked quizzically, "What is it? What's this little box with, what is it, all these circles?"
"It's a circle puzzle box. The circles interlock. You have to ascertain how to open it and then in the center you'll find a secret." He continued talking for a few minutes, telling her about the funny little man who had been the custom jeweler in the store he had visited, waiting for her to find the key to this puzzle.
"Ah! There it is. Got it!" she called out. "Oh, what's this?" she asked as a tiny charm tumbled into her palm.
Jack stared at her, then began chuckling. "The jeweler told me that it would take the average person an hour to figure out the puzzle. I told him he did not know my wife."
She smiled gleefully up at him. "Did you try to open it? How long did it take you?"
"I'm not saying. I can't win either way. If I took less time than you, you'll pout and accuse me of lying. If I took more time than you, you'll be smug and obnoxious for the rest of the evening."
"But, I'm dying to know! It will drive me crazy!" she protested.
"Yeah. A win-win for me!" he laughed.
"Jack Bristow!" She shrieked and pushed at his shoulders. He allowed her to tumble him down on the bed and watched appreciatively as she straddled him, still naked. Bad game plan, Bristow, he had thought to himself, realizing he was still fully clothed. Schooling his face to remain impassive in spite of the temptation in front of him, he reached out a hand and snagged the necklace from her hand. "Lean down, honey, let me put this on you." As she did so, her breasts dangled in front of him and he quickly leaned up and licked a nipple, just to hear her start and giggle.
Laughing, then moaning, she said, "You are so endlessly opportunistic, Jack."
"Mmm. You know me, don't you? But I didn't notice you pulling away, either," he commented with an eyebrow arched in her direction. She smiled as he rested his head back on the mattress and said, "Seriously, let me put the necklace on you."
"Wait a minute, this charm -- an infinity symbol." She smiled at him. She was so honestly, or so he had thought, excited by the tiny puzzle, the charm, the symbolism. "Oh, Jack, that's for how you always tell me you'll love me forever and a day." She kissed the tiny charm, put it back in the puzzle box and closed it. "I'll love you forever and a day, too, you know. Even though I don't have a charm to give you - can't see you wearing one, " she smiled, "Don't forget that I'll love you always. Thank you for everything." He pulled her head down for a kiss that left them both breathless. "Oh!" she whispered against his lips as his hands left her hair to rove downward until they began gently squeezing her rear end. "Don't start that now, Jack…." She said, rising to a sitting position.
With a grin, he once again arched up to apply his mouth to her breast. Giving it a gentle nip and then circling the tip with his tongue, he whispered, "Are you sure? We can make the time."
"I can see I need to get off of you if I want to actually wear this necklace. You get too easily distracted," she teased. Laura jumped off of him; he leered at her, watching her limbs fly. She rolled her eyes and gestured with her hand. "Come over here and put it on me," she cajoled, standing in front of the mirror. As he did so, stood behind her, and clasped the necklace around her, they watched it fall between her breasts. She gave him a blinding smile that lit her from within. He had always remembered that - her joy in the moment. "You are so good to me. I love you so much. Thank you," she said simply.
"You're welcome. I like to make you happy," he said and wrapped his arms around her, looking at her watching the two of them in the mirror. She put her hands over his. "And luckily, for me, you're easy to please," he teased, running their hands from her neck over her breasts and down to her hips. "Very easy," he said watching her eyes darken as he spoke and she watched him caress her in the mirror.
As he ran his fingers under the waist chain, suddenly they heard the doorbell. She began to laugh and then got an arrested look on her face. "Jack, my clothes are still in the kitchen on the floor and you look like - well…"
He laughed, looked in the mirror, ran his hand through his hair, "What is my hair a mess because of you?"
"Well, you know…." She said sheepishly, tucking her hair behind one ear.
He grabbed her by the waist and gave her a smacking kiss on the lips. "Go get dressed, I'll divert Dave - you just know it's him at the door. He's always early," he rolled his eyes as the bell chimed impatiently. Would she pick up on that cue? If she did, 1, 2, 3….
"Wait. A. Minute, Jack Bristow! The timing - it's at least half an hour after everyone was supposed to arrive. You distracted me, but we've been up here for a while. And if that's Dave - he's always annoyingly early - why would he be late? And where's everyone else? What did you do?"
"Who, me?" he asked, trying to back out of the room.
"Yes, you!" she exclaimed, stalking him as he tried to leave. Distracted by her nudity and because he wanted her to catch him, he slowed his movements. "Tell me!" she demanded, grabbing him by the belt loops of his jeans.
"Oh, when I got home and saw what you intended, I realized we might be cutting it uncomfortably close for the little game I wanted to play. So when you left the kitchen to go put the chips in the living room, I made a phone call to Dave and asked him to make sure everyone showed up thirty minutes later than planned. I mean, thirty minutes isn't long enough after two weeks, but it's enough to take the edge off. At least for me. You, however, we both know how you are -- quick but always wanting more and---" he teased.
"You are…in so much trouble!"
He laughed, and gently set her hands from him. "I can't wait. But I do need to get that doorbell before Dave wears it out. Oh, and take off that waist chain before you come downstairs. You know I don't like you to wear it---"
"I know -- around other people unless you're sure no one can see it. And then it drives you insane. Well, it drives you insane, period, doesn't it? That's a weakness of yours. Hmmm," She said speculatively, giving him a glance.
He laughed, "Hmm is right. I can't wait for whatever you're planning with that waist chain. But go ahead, take your time. I want it to be good, the best you can do."
Stroking her chin, she said, "You'll have to wait and see. I need to think about this."
And that was a weakness of hers - she had not excelled at improvisation. She could and did do it, but it was not her strong suit. And because she had thought they were so much alike, she had not seen the love of improvisation in him. Just as Dave had mistakenly seen him as a control freak, Laura, Irina, whatever, thought his admitted desire for control was all-encompassing. Mistake, mistake, mistake.
Then she had smiled and said slyly, "You know, Jack, you're the one who finds it irresistibly erotic, not everyone else."
"Humph. Like that voice I use on you?" She glared at him. He laughed. "Even? So, humor me. You can wear it later and torment me all you like. But now -- take off the chain for me?"
"Okay, you have a deal," she said with a smile, unhooking the chain and putting it in the special carved box on the bureau made just for the piece. "But," she warned, "You are still in trouble. I'll get you yet."
He raced to the bathroom to wash up, then to the living room, tired of hearing Dave lean on the bell, absently puzzled about the twists and turns of his wife's mind. Letting Dave in, congratulating him on having his dissertation accepted, he backed toward the kitchen. Dave followed, always able to sense a good story.
Unsuccessfully trying to dart in before Dave could see the mess in the kitchen, he had to laugh when Dave quirked a brow in the direction of Laura's clothes and said, "So, I'm guessing Laura liked whatever piece of jewelry you brought her home this time?"
Smirking, Jack snatched up the clothes and stuffed them into some cabinet. They'd find them there about a month later and laugh themselves silly. Then he'd said in a superior tone to his friend, "Actually, this was before I gave her the jewelry, thank you very much. I don't need to bribe my wife. She's--"
"What, Jack? Go on, tell him, I'm dying to know," Laura said behind him. He jumped, he could not believe he had not heard her.
She was quite adept at moving quietly and surprising him, he admitted that. After all, she had fallen out of their lives, kept hidden for twenty years and then appeared suddenly in Taipei as if she had come out of nowhere, as if she had dropped out of the sky. Somewhat like the impact of Dorothy's house dropping on Munchkinland. Only he supposed, she hadn't used a wicked witch to break her fall, some people might think she was one herself. He didn't suppose he'd share that comment with her either, he thought feeling his mouth quirk in silent amusement, then broaden into a grin when she gave him a surprised look. He shrugged, gave her a too-innocent look and watched her eyes narrow, then drop again to his mouth. Life could still be good, he thought, looking straight ahead while feeling her stare at him.
Then, he had whirled around, glancing at her second choice of clothing that afternoon. He dropped his eyes to her opaque halter top and smiled at her. She nodded at him, smiled back, acknowledging their earlier amusing game of possessiveness.
Chapter 7 part 3 section 2