Sex, Lies & Lipstick (A Moonlight and Magnolias Novel Book 2) Read online

  I shook my head and looked to the floor. I had a lot of respect for Micah, but the emasculating way she spoke to me was no longer amusing. It was pissing me off.

  “Wait,” she continued. “There’s no need to junk-punch you. Seems as if you don’t have any balls between your legs anymore.”

  “Enough, Micah,” I ground out.

  As I waded through the many women in my career as a bachelor, Micah was the one stable female force in my life. That role was now Sam’s and Micah hadn’t adjusted to it very well.

  “Thank God I know you love me. Otherwise I’d be inclined to tell you to fuck off,” I hissed.

  “Tell me why you really called,” she hacked through her smoker’s cough.

  “I need you to pick my sorry ass up from the airport tomorrow.”

  “Fine. Send me your itinerary.”

  “And I need you to check the surveillance at Autumn Valley. I want updated reports from the agents guarding my mother and Mimi Peterson.”

  “Okay,” she agreed. “Anything else?”

  “Yeah. I want an update of Richard Peterson. You know, you’d get along with him just fine,” I teased.

  “Who? They guy your wife calls The Dick?”

  “Her grandmother calls him that. Sam would never stoop to using those words.”

  “Whatever, asshole. I’ll see you at the airport tomorrow.”

  “Great. And Micah?”

  “What now?” she complained.

  “Yak at ya later?”

  “Only if you’re lucky.”

  Sam breezed into the room after delivering Polly a dress to wear for dinner. She was fresh from the shower and her soft body that smelled of soap and fresh perfume was making me feel like a giddy drunkard. I sat after hanging up the phone and watched her move around the room gracefully without saying a word.

  She finally caught my eye and realized I’d been watching…staring.

  “What?” she asked, tilting her head and driving me wild.

  “Can’t a man just admire his beautiful wife from afar?”

  “I suppose,” she sighed, turning to sit at the vanity and brush her long chestnut hair.

  I continued to regard her beauty, not taking my eyes from her. Each movement was fluid, as if it had been carefully choreographed. She was elegance incarnate.

  “Seriously, Mac,” she murmured. “You’d better finish getting dressed. They’ll be waiting on us.”

  I stood and walked to her, kneeling behind her chair and wrapping my arms around her tiny frame. I kissed her neck and breathed her in.

  “You are so beautiful, baby. I mean truly beautiful.”

  She looked at me in the mirror and I smiled as a warm blush filled her cheeks.

  “Are you blushing?”

  “You make it hard not to.”

  I pulled her in tighter and slipped the silk robe down, revealing her soft shoulder. I couldn’t help myself. I breathed her in again.

  I leaned down and kissed her arm, working my way to her shoulder and around her collarbone. She closed her eyes and dropped her head back, giving me better access. I watched her face in the mirror as she moaned with each brush of my lips.

  Her breathing became shallow and I was at once memorized by the rise and fall of her beautiful body.

  “It’s hard for me to concentrate while you’re half naked,” I confessed.

  “I’m half naked because you took my robe off,” she giggled as I kissed her throat and proceeded to lick the side of her neck up to her ear.

  “Mmmhmmm,” I mumbled. “We could be a little late. It would give Z and Polly a chance to chat alone.”

  “What are you suggesting, Mac Callahan?”

  I spun her little chair around and pushed her legs apart, causing her loosely tied robe to separate, leaving her naked body partially exposed. “I’m merely saying we could be a little tardy for dinner.”

  She leaned in and kissed me, pulling on my tie and moving my body between her legs. I was immediately ready to go. She’d teased me with her beauty, intoxicated me with her smell and lured me with her gentle voice. I wasn’t going anywhere until I had her.

  I stood and took her with me, picking her up off the chair and immediately holding her by her bottom. She was so tiny in my arms. She barely weighed anything.

  “Would you be so kind?” I nodded to my pants, bulging with anticipation.

  She leaned back in my arms and quickly unhooked my belt and unzipped my suit pants, allowing them to drop to the floor.

  “And again?” I requested between kissing her neck.

  She giggled, “I can’t. I can’t get them down with only one hand.”

  I adjusted her weight and held onto her with one arm, pulling my boxers down just enough to free myself, leaving my shirttail hanging.

  I shuffled, pants around my ankles, briefs around my thighs, to the wall beside the ornate vanity where Sam had sat. In one motion I pinned her against the wall, pressed up and inside, filling her completely.

  “Oh God,” I moaned at the rush of warmth around me.

  Sam gasped as I collided our bodies into the wall again, thrusting slowly and with deliberation.

  “Beautiful Sam,” I whispered into her ear as I moved again, slowly dipping down and back up as the silk robe finally fell to the floor.

  “Yes,” she breathed into my neck, seemingly unaware we were shaking the furniture on the wall with each propulsive charge.

  “I can’t stop,” I gasped. “I’ll never stop.”

  My body took over as the urge to climax came upon me with lightning speed and I felt her squeeze her thighs together, narrowing my position and sending shock waves through my core. I didn’t want to leave Samantha behind and slowed my pace.

  “Yes,” she begged again.

  I kissed her delicate neck leaving a damp trail.

  As we moved in unison I could feel her pleasure build, and I pressed into her sweetness and nearly spiraled out of control.

  “Oh God!” Sam shouted as I quickly placed a finger to her lips.

  I expected her to smile, but instead she pulled it into her mouth and began to suck, quickly sending me into a spasm.

  “Oh Jesus,” I gasped, my passion cresting as I held my breath and groaned between thrusts.

  I felt Sam’s body collapse in my arms and I was suddenly weak in the knees. Turning, I sat her back on the chair and dropped to the floor, pants around my ankles, exhausted and elated.

  I rocked back on my heels and slid my head into her lap. I was spent.

  “I’m sorry, baby,” I apologized.

  “For what?” she choked out, still trying to catch her own breath.

  “For making us late.”

  She pulled my head up, gripping my hair and turning my sweaty face to meet her.

  “I’m going to shower…again,” she smiled, rolling her eyes and taking a deep breath.

  “I’ll join you,” I agree, kicking off my shoes to quickly lose the pants and shirt.

  “No,” she held up a hand. “I need to do this quickly and you won’t let that happen.”

  “True,” I confessed as I folded my suit pants and laid them on the bed. “I’m right behind you.”

  “We can’t leave them down there alone too long. I think Leo has a thing for Polly.”

  “What?” I asked, taking off my shirt and following her naked body into the bathroom.

  As she turned on the water, she looked to my still hard erection and laughed. “Put that thing away.”

  “I can’t help it, baby. This is what you do to me.”

  “You’re a mess,” she giggled, breaking her serious tone. “Shirt, no pants and lipstick on your collar.”

  “Oooo,” I cooed. “I love it when you talk dirty to me.”

  I pinched Sam’s perfect behind as we hurried down the staircase and into the front parlor. She swatted at me and I noticed we were fifteen minutes later than we’d been expected.

  “Oh yes, he did,” I heard Z laugh in his booming voice.


  “Who did what?” I asked as we burst into the room, our faces still flushed from our lovemaking.

  “Well, well, well,” Polly smirked. “The newlyweds decided to join us after all.”

  “Sorry we’re late,” Sam blushed. “I had a hard time finding something to…” Sam paused and gave Polly a confused look. “…Finding something to wear. Polly?”

  “Yes.”

  “I left you a dress on your bed.”

  “I had a dress brought in for Miss Polly,” Z drawled.

  “How nice,” Sam smiled, giving Polly an eyeful.

  “Wasn’t it?” Polly agreed.

  “Now that we’re all accounted for,” said Z, his eyes cautiously eyeing Polly’s backside as she stood to show Sam her new dress. “Let’s continue to the dining room. That is, unless the newlyweds need a cocktail before dinner to cool them down.”

  “I’m sorry we’re tardy,” Sam apologized again.

  “No need for a cocktail, Z,” I shook my head.

  “Let’s go,” he smiled as he strolled to the double doors separating the parlor from the dining room.

  In one swift motion, he slid the pocket doors into the wall, revealing the opulent blue dining hall.

  Polly let out a gasp as she walked into the room, and I had to admit it was grand.

  “It’s beautiful,” Sam remarked as we took our places around the ornate table.

  “Everything is so French and Louis the Fifteenth,” Polly remarked.

  “It is quite something,” Sam agreed.

  “I can’t take any credit for it,” Z explained as he held Polly’s chair and waited for her to sit. “It was all here way before I ever came along.”

  “That’s what I always say too,” I laughed.

  “Right?” Z continued. “Mac knows what I’m talking about. I’ve been to Lone Oak. It’s the same. Old South, old families, old…” Z paused, looking to Polly again and seemingly losing his train of thought.

  “Furniture?” Polly asked.

  “Yes,” he smiled.

  I gave Sam a look and squeezed her hand under the table. I had a feeling that my old friend might be smitten with Polly.

  “I can’t thank you enough, Leo,” said Sam, her voice beginning to crack with emotion. “This could’ve been just a horrible day. Between not being on our honeymoon and moving from place to place at a moment’s notice? Your home? Miss Adelay taking over the children as soon as we arrived? This beautiful dinner? It’s just –”

  Z gave her a huge smile and nodded. “Please, Samantha. There’s no need to go on. I’m glad I could be of help. Jackson House is always open to you.”

  Sam nodded and I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, hoping to calm her.

  “Thank you,” she continued.

  “It’s been my pleasure meeting…” Z paused and confirmed he had Polly’s attention. “All of you.”

  19

  SAMANTHA

  “I hate it that you’re leaving. But I understand why,” I said as I folded the last of Mac’s things and closed the suitcase for his trip to Washington.

  Mac hurried from the bathroom with his dopp kit, unzipping my handiwork and placing it in the suitcase. He immediately turned to me, bending his knees to come face to face. Placing his hands on my cheeks, already warm with the anxiety of being alone, he looked me in the eye and leaned into my forehead. “I don’t want to leave you, baby. You know I don’t. But I want Hector out of our lives and as soon possible.”

  I nodded, afraid if I spoke I’d begin to cry.

  “Z’s gonna take excellent care of you and the children while I’m gone. And it’s just for a couple of days. I’ll go through everything with Dan, turn the case over to him and I’ll be back.”

  “Then what?” I mumbled. “We can’t stay in New Orleans forever, Mac. I want to go home. Dax misses home. I miss home. Katy’s off her schedule…”

  “Shhhhh…” Mac kissed my forehead and pulled me in for a tight hug. “It’s all gonna be over before you know it. Hector will soon be a distant memory.”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise.”

  “I’ll call you when I land.”

  “I love you, Mac.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll be back, this will all be over, and we’ll be sitting on top of La Mer á Boire overlooking the Parc de Belleville sipping café au lait.”

  I nodded, thinking of where we were and where we were supposed to be as I held back tears. “Did you say goodbye to the children?”

  “Yes,” he dropped his head. “I didn’t think anything could be as hard as leaving you, but telling Dax and Katy goodbye this morning just about killed me.”

  I smiled, understanding his separation anxieties.

  “I feel like both of them are growing so fast, and I don’t want to miss any of it.”

  “They are,” I sniffed. “And you won’t. As long as you hurry back.”

  I followed Mac as he rushed down the stairs. A black car was waiting in Z’s driveway and I knew he was anxious to get on the road.

  “Who’s picking you up from the airport in D.C.?”

  “Micah,” he said, dropping his bag and shoving a file into his briefcase.

  All I could do was shake my head.

  “What?” Mac said as if it wasn’t a big deal.

  “It’s just…she doesn’t like me,” I confessed.

  “She likes you fine.”

  “That’s not true. And you know it, Mac.”

  “Sam,” he consoled. “She’s just had a hard time adjusting to me being out of Washington and getting married, having a baby…”

  “Those are the exact reasons she doesn’t like me.”

  “C’mon, honey,” he whined. “I can’t do this now. I need to leave. I’ll deal with Micah. She’s like my sister. She’s just mad because she doesn’t get to work with me anymore and she has to work with Dan. He’s not as easy as I am.”

  “Easy, huh?”

  “Samantha…” he droned.

  “Go. I don’t want to hold you up.”

  Mac leaned in for one last kiss. “You’re not holding me up. We’re holding each other together,” he whispered.

  “I love you,” I smiled.

  “I love you.”

  Mac climbed into the car and just like that, he was off.

  It was the fourth day of my honeymoon and I was all alone.

  “Let’s do something.”

  I looked up from my book and found Polly standing in the doorway of my room.

  “Like what?” I mumbled.

  “Let’s go shopping.” Polly was unusually glib for it to be so far away from happy hour.

  “What?”

  “C’mon,” she insisted as she walked to me with a little skip in her step. “I need some clothes if we’re going to stay here much longer. All I packed were shorts, jeans and t-shirts.”

  “Apparently Z didn’t want you to have to wear anyone else’s clothes last night.”

  “Well…” she drew the word out. “It was very nice of him, don’t you think?”

  “I think Leo is a very kind man.”

  “He is, isn’t he?” Polly sighed as she threw herself into the chair opposite me.

  “What’s this all about?” I asked, closing my book and setting it aside. “Polly, you didn’t sleep with him, did you?”

  “No!”

  “Leo,” I repeated. “Is he a Leonard?”

  “Nooo…” Polly chided. “Leonidus.”

  “Like, Greek warrior king of Sparta? Leonidus?”

  “He’s a Greek god. Don’t you think?” she asked, all aflutter.

  I nodded, happy that Polly had something to be excited about. “He is very handsome.”

  “His hands are so big, Sam,” she smiled.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I dunno.”

  “What? You think because he has big hands he might have something else that’s big?”

  “He’s just so manly. I like that h
e’s a badass FBI agent, but I also think he’s the kind of man who would feed a hungry kitten if he found it,” Polly giggled as she bit on the end of her index finger.

  “What?” I laughed. “Look who’s been fantasizing.”

  “Can you blame me?”

  “I’m a married woman, Polly. I only think naughty things about my own hot and handsome gentleman.”

  “Leo is a gentleman, isn’t he?” she continued, oblivious to my comments.

  “He is that. And a kind one. What would we be doing if he hadn’t taken us in? I mean Hector will never find us here, and the surveillance in this place is pretty scary.”

  “Do you think he has cameras in the bedrooms to watch us?”

  “What? No!” I cried. “Do you want him to be watching you all the time?”

  “Maybe,” she admitted with a smirk.

  “You’re such a dirty girl,” I laughed.

  “I am not. Now let’s go shopping,” Polly whined. “I don’t wanna wear these awful clothes around this beautiful home.”

  “I don’t even know if we can leave. I’d have to ask Z.”

  “Leo,” Polly corrected.

  “You ask Leo,” I mused. “I need to call and check on Mimi and the house in Shadeland and I need to make sure we aren’t just dumping on Adelay.”

  “Adelay was the one who told me to get out of the house and enjoy NOLA.”

  “Really…” I drawled, wondering if Adelay had ulterior motives on behalf of her dear Leonidus.

  “Yes,” Polly nodded. “Can we go? C’mon. Can we go?” she repeated, reminding me of Dax begging for a new toy.

  “Calm down.” I giggled at her nervous excitement and thought that perhaps a little retail therapy might help to cure my honeymoon blues as well. “Fine. Get dressed while I call Mimi and Richard.”

  Polly cleared her throat at me with frustration. “Didn’t you hear me the first time? This is what I have to wear.”

  I shooed her out of my room and yelled, “Go. I need fifteen minutes.”

  I watched Polly skip out down the hallway and went to the bedside to call.

  As the phone rang in Shadeland I looked over the beautiful grounds that were Leo’s home and wondered how the lilacs were blooming at my own.