“Shh, honey, it’s all right. You’ll be fine.” Jim fumbled with the keys for a second before managing to unlock her door. “I’ll put you to bed, and by the morning, you’ll be all better.”
Even in the darkness of the apartment, Jim could easily see her wide blue eyes turn trustingly to him. “Will you stay with me? I get so lonely without you,” she purred. Lacey turned and snuggled into Jim’s arms. “I love you soooo much.”
“I don’t think that would be such a good idea, love. I’ve got to work in the morning, and - ”
“Nooooo,” she wailed softly. “Don’t leave me! I’ll do anything for you, Jim, anything. I love you. I love you,” she repeated, and started playing with the buttons on Jim’s shirt. “You’re so handsome,” she purred. “Our children would be soooo beautiful. Bouncy little Jimmys and curly-haired little . . . .” The rest of her sentence faded away as she passed out momentarily in his arms.
Jim thought about ice-cold showers and Cassie, trying desperately to ignore the baser needs of his body and the luscious bundle that he was holding. Lacey wasn’t a big drinker; Jim knew that now. She had been too busy making friends with Simon and his flavor of the month to pay any attention to how many beers they had drunk.
Lacey and Simon had hit it off almost immediately. In fact, it was probably Simon’s fault that she was drunk at all. Somewhere in the midst of the introductions, Simon had taken to calling Lacey ‘the little Puritan,’ and in response, she had dubbed him ‘Satan.’ Then, they had decided to wash down their differences with a beer. And the rest was easy enough to guess.
As soon as Jim had dropped off Simon and his date, Lacey had pounced on him like a sex-starved wildcat. Not that they hadn’t had sex before; he just hadn’t been expecting to be trapped in a car with Lacey when her hormones went wild.
All Jim wanted to do was put her to bed and leave with his self-respect intact. He had a raging hard-on, and Lacey smelled absolutely wonderful and willing, but Jim knew that she was too drunk to really be considered willing. He laid her down on the bed, and started pulling off her shoes, then her stockings.
He undid the buttons on her skirt, and slid it off gently down her legs. Lacey’s legs were meticulously clean-shaven, and Jim loved touching them. Her skin was warm from the alcohol, and slightly damp with sweat.
Lacey stirred, and rose her hand to her eyes to look at her engagement ring. “Oooo, it’s so beautiful, Jim. I love it. I love you. James Fraser Ellison, you are the most wonderful, perfect man,” declared Lacey with drunken sincerity. “I want to wake up next to you.” She struggled into a sitting position, and kissed Jim on the top of his head. “Could you get my nightie, sweetie?” She undid the buttons on her shirt with the careful movements of the very drunk.
Jim groaned in despair and sexual frustration. He fished her soft cotton nightshirt from underneath the pillow, and helped her put it on. “I love you, Lacey, but you have to go to sleep now.” With only a few protests, he got her to lie down, and pulled the covers over her.
“Don’t leave,” she pleaded sweetly.
Jim sighed. He couldn’t leave her like this. He wouldn’t be able to get past the door. Jim gave up, and sat down on the couch to get some rest. His dreams were erotic and not at all fulfilling, given that the real thing was lying unconscious less than twenty feet away. Jim shifted, trying to find a comfortable position on the couch.