Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Lance was exhausted. He didn't know if he was ever going to feel rested again. Being a lion, even with his brother being leap leader and being stronger than most lions, he just didn't want to get out of bed. Reaching for Georgie, she said she was in the shower. Lance asked if she was naked.

"Of course not. I always take a shower with my clothing on. It gives me about twenty to thirty minutes extra by washing my clothing while bathing." He could hear her frustration. "You idiot. What other way of taking a shower do you know of that you wear something in the shower? Unless you're wanting to scrub my back."

He leapt out of bed with a lot of extra energy that he didn't know he had. Making love last night twice, he'd not bothered with putting any pants on. By the time he'd made it to the bathroom and gotten the door opened, Lance was hard again. Her left breast was exposed when, even though he knew he would regret it, Lance leaned down and licked her nipple, then blew a soft, warm breath across it. Her nipple puckered tight, and her breast tightened immediately. It was a tantalizing sight and one he couldn't resist. Some men preferred large breasts. Not him. Lance loved the taste that he could get from the kind that could fill his mouth. Asses, too, as a matter of fact.

Bending lower, he pulled the pebble-sized delight into his mouth, suckling gently at first, then harder when she moaned loudly and arched up toward him. That was one of the things that he loved about this woman. She was always as ready as he was when he was in the mood.

He pulled away, knowing that it was much too late now to stop even if she wanted to. But he could tell that she was ready for him. And he was her. Loving this woman any more would surely kill him if they kept this up. Lance needed to have a taste of her to fuck her right here in the shower. Moving her legs apart gently after setting her on the shower seat that he was quickly becoming his favorite part of the house, he moved between them and touched her nether lips once, twice, until finally, he pushed his long finger inside of her.

Both of them moaned at the sensations. The tightness of her nearly made him want to beg her for more, so much more. She was looking at him like he'd become a tasty meal, and he was going to try his best to satisfy her hunger in any way he could.

As he moved his fingers inside of her, watching her body respond to his movements and hoped that she wouldn't tell him to stop just yet. His need for release was making him heady for just about anything with her. Suckling her pussy was, well, it was having a juicy part of her that was all his.

Instead of standing up and slipping inside of her, like he wanted to do more than anything, he reached down with his free hand and wrapped his hand around his cock, knowing that it would not be long before he was coming with his beautiful bride. His cock, stiff and achy, sprang upright into his fist.

He moved his fist up and down his shaft in time with the movement of his fingers that were deep inside of Georgie. As he felt her wetness soaking his hand, he pushed two, then three fingers in her wet heat, her body moving with him, undulating and pushing against him, her sheath milking his fingers like he imagined her doing to his cock. Their moans filled the small shower, his deeper hers a sensual concert over his already fevered body.

His body was ready to explode, so close he knew he may come at any second, and he could feel her release was close, too, smell it on her like she'd drenched herself in his cum. That was it, he thought. Standing over her and releasing on her from head to toe. That was all he could think of doing now.

He needed to taste her creamy essences, her spicy juices overwhelmingly plentiful coming from her. Just a taste, he promised himself and leaned down to take her pussy into his mouth and suckled hard. He licked hard against her clit, gathering as much of her cream as he could on his tongue, and drank, lapping more and more into him and down his throat. As she jerked up to stand with her loud scream of release, Lance came as well. His cum jettisoned all over her body. Christ, he thought, it was better than he could have ever imagined. Lance continued to taste her until the last tremor died away.

With her climax, her scent, her special smell for him, strengthened by her release. It poured into him. He could smell the scent that was hers and hers alone as though they were spread out before him just as she was. With a final lap of her juices on her thighs, he leaned his head against her open legs for a few minutes, trying to catch his breath.

Lance raised his head to see if she was affected by what happened between them as much as he was. Looking into her beautiful eyes, Lance fell more in love with her than he was this morning, and he knew that he would find something beautiful that she did tomorrow to have him falling deeper in love with her.

He didn't move, didn't even so much as breathe because he knew that he was going to be more sore than he was when he woke up this morning. Laughing a little, he stood—holding onto the shower stall a bit longer than he had planned before he could stand upright and not stagger across the bathroom to get them both a towel. After the two of them were dried off and a towel wrapped around them, the two of them fell into bed without bothering with clothing at all.

When he woke the second time, it was dark outside. Neither one of them had thought about bothering with any other clothing but the towel they had on. Lance felt like he had slept well and was about as rested as he'd ever been. Not even caring about the mess of the room but getting in the bathroom again, he had to laugh as he noticed that he'd held onto everything on his way in there.

The shower was dry, so he took that to mean that Georgie had gotten up and left him a long time ago, or she'd not bothered to shower again. He figured that she'd gone on to work and she'd shower before leaving. Christ, it had been a terrible few weeks, and he just wanted some downtime.

After eating a hardy breakfast, he walked to the Tucker Foundation building. He took him a pad of drawing paper and some pencils to work with and sat down at his desk as soon as he arrived. Whatever happened today, he was going to be prepared. Laughing to himself, he wondered how the hell one prepared themselves for the unknown.

As soon as he sat down at his desk and cleared away the messages that were there for him, he got out his sketch pad and started to work on a leaded glass window panel that he wanted for the kitchen while continuing to keep an eye on the front office as he laid out the grid that he wanted to use.

Denver showed up with subs for lunch. He'd already spoken to Georgie twice. She'd been out doing some tag sales with Dakota, his sister-in-law. Since she had gotten the contract to do the Finley Mansion, she'd been making lists about what would need to be gone into each room.

"David said that they're planning to go to an auction later tonight. Have you ever been to one?" Lance said that he'd not. "Me either. Bailee wants to go, so I'm going to go with her to keep her hands from putting us in the poor house.

Shawnie would FaceTalk with Georgie several times a day. While she was at tag sales looking for the perfect piece, Shawnie was recuperating at her home from the injuries she sustained when she'd fallen through one of the upper floors. He didn't envy her not being able to do something while being laid up. But they were making it work and seemed to be having a great deal of fun while doing it.

"We have to go over a couple of contracts for the car company that is going to build here soon." Lance asked Denver when they were going to break ground. "They did that this morning. The newspaper covered it, and I was happy to hear that they're going to be hiring about three hundred locals to help with the building. There is still some questions about how many they'll hire full-time, but people are getting excited."

"Bailee had me calling manufacturers to see if they'd like to get in on the deals that the government is offering to move and work here. It wasn't as easily nor well taken as I thought that it might be. I was hung up on three times by people saying that they didn't want the government in their business. Whatever that means." Denver said he didn't know either, but that people were odd. "I'll agree with you on that. Speaking of oddness, Georgie is out on a finding trip for the lady on the hill like I said. She's running into some oddballs who think that whatever they're selling is worth millions, and they're doing her a favor by selling it to her cheap. I don't think she's purchased much from those people, but I guess the house is filling out nicely. She's been talking to her every night since the accident. I don't mind, I guess. She's spending a great deal of money. And paying Georgie weekly. I was worried that it would be difficult getting any money out of anyone for this, but Georgie is happy, so I am as well."

The auction was to start at five, and they were going to show up at four. He didn't know why that showing up was so important, but he and Denver, along with Bailee, were there at four on the dot. It looked like a lot of people had the same idea about showing up. Lance started toward Georgie to get a kiss, and she told him through their link that he was to stay away from her. Hurt beyond words, she explained, and he felt a good deal better.

"You have money. Or so the people around here think. Anyway, if they see you bidding on something with me, they'll jack up the price to make us pay more. I don't know why that's true, but I've heard a few people talking about David being here with Dakota, and we separated, too. This is fun, don't you think?" He said he'd never been to an auction before, so he wasn't sure what was going to happen. "You'll do fine. The furniture is going to go at five when the auctions starts. They're afraid of having it out in the rain when it comes. So after that, we can hang out with each other."

"What is it you're trying to get?" She laughed and told him she was going to get it. "Oh, pardon me. What is it you're going to make me carry to the top of the hill?"

Her laughter made him smile, and he had to look away from her, or he was going to run to her and hug the stuffing out of her, something he'd heard one of the kids say and ruin all her plans.

He was sorting through a couple of boxes when he saw this man picking things out and putting them in another box. He didn't know if that was the way things went, but he mentioned it to Georgie. She said it most definitely wasn't legal and that she'd let the auctioneer know. He said that he could make the man aware of it without her being involved. Lance could make the man look at the other one and see him doing it. She liked that idea so much better. So within two minutes, not only was the man caught, but he was also told to leave, or the police would be called. That was when Lance saw the signs about cameras and loading boxes. He was much more careful after that in making sure that he put things back where he'd gotten them from.

There was a lot of glassware. Mostly vases, but there was a great many storm windows, too, that he could work with. Thinking about how much he'd have to pay if he were to buy glass to break down, he figured that if he got them for a couple of bucks a piece, he'd be out ahead. Besides that, there were colors that he couldn't get anymore, and he was happy to get to bid on them. Denver joined him as he was making notes on the pieces that he wanted to bid on.

"You're not going to believe this, but there are three kilns over there that are for sale. The shelves alone would make it worthwhile if I could get them cheap enough. Kilns run about three grand without shelving, so I figured that if I could get them for a grand, I'd be out ahead. I want to change them to raku kilns. Something that I've been wanting to try for a while now." They were, too, using their links so that no one would understand that they were together. "Find anything you want?"

He told him about the glassware. Denver told him that some of the glass was valuable and he might want to look them up on his phone. Looking around, he could see that others were doing the same thing at other parts of the auction, and he didn't hesitate to do the same. Some of the pieces were very old, but most of them were chipped and devalued their worth by a great deal.

There were a lot of box lots, too. Hundreds of them that looked like someone had just emptied out the drawers of desks and put them out. He was intrigued more than anything about the auction, seeing someone's life laid out on their front law like this. Wondering what had made this come to this, he felt a little sad for the couple that had to end their years together by selling off their treasures. Turning away from the lots, he spotted the furniture.

While he wasn't interested in any of it, he could see that very few people were looking it over. He knew from Georgie that people would look from a distance so they'd not tip their hand. He saw her standing under the tree with an older couple having a good time. He wanted to join her, just to be with her and to enjoy the laughter, but he knew that this was important to her. Then, the auctioneer announced that he had some rules to go over.

~~~

Georgie was glad that he mentioned loading boxes right off. People looked around, trying to decide who had done such a thing, and she simply looked at the man in charge. Lance was still at the box lots, and she'd bet anything he was over there so as not to hit someone who would outbid her. She had a feeling that he would, too, and that made her laugh a little.

"The furniture will be first on the list of getting rid of. They were calling for rain earlier today, but it looked mighty pretty now. So we'll go ahead in that order and get it ready for people to pack up." He started on the living room set. "Let me start this out at one thousand dollars."

No one raised their hand, which meant that it was probably going to be something that dragged on. She didn't want any of that furniture. It was worn out and very dirty. It also looked like a couple hundred dogs had been let on it, and she didn't want that in any house she was working with. The entire set, chair, couch, loveseat, and four end tables went for seven dollars. To her, it seemed about eight dollars too much. She giggled at her own joke.

"Now, this here dining set is a big piece. There are fourteen chairs plus two with arms. Pretty set, but there is also a credenza, a China cabinet as well as two corner cabinets. The chairs are in good shape for being as old as they are, but you decided if you want me to sell it off in bits and pieces or a lot. Raise your hand—"

"I want them chairs and nothing else. Start on those." The man was a rude man who had been bullying others since he got there. "I'll give you a buck a piece for them, and you can move on."

Others protested about how they wanted to bid on the set, and the man was outvoted. Georgie kept an eye on the man, and when he started to bully the other people who wanted it sold as a set, she made her way to stand closer to the auctioneer. She didn't want any trouble from the man.

"All right then, we'll go for the entire set." The man cut the auctioneer off again and said he'd give two dollars for the chairs, and he was politely asked to keep quiet. He was trying his best to run a business here. "Now, who will start me out at five grand."

Of course, the man continued to complain about how it was his right to be able to pick what he wanted, but for the most part, he was ignored. As soon as the bidding got down to five dollars, she raised her card up. The burly man made his way to her to do what she didn't know. But she was prepared for him.

"Now see here. You can buy the rest of the set, but I'm going to make you a deal on the chairs. Whatever you pay for the rest of the set, I'll give it back to you for the chairs." She told him no, that she wanted the set. No one backed away, and neither did she. "If you want the chairs, then bid. Otherwise, leave me alone so that I can bid. Please."

The auctioneer winked at her, and she smiled. When the other people who were bidding on the furniture started to drop out, she was only up to sixty dollars. Shawnie told her to go as much as she needed and that she wanted that set in her dining room. So when the auctioneer asked if there was anyone else bidding, the man said that he was going to pay two bucks a chair, and that was his final offer.

"Well, I got myself more than that right now, so I'm going to have to decline. You want to go as far as everyone else is, then bid. Otherwise, just get out of the way." Georgie could see that Lance and his brothers were all standing close by, but none of them came to stand with her. She loved those men more than she could have said in words right now. "Are you going to bid, or are you going to walk away."

The man pulled out his wallet, and Georgie could see that he had a wad of cash, but it all seemed to be ones. He looked at the auctioneer, then at her, and told him that he'd give her five dollars for all the chairs. She was declared the winner and walked away from him.

Georgie managed to get the entire dining wear set for sixty-five dollars, and she danced a little gig when she hid behind the tree. Next was the bedroom sets. She was excited about the four-poster bed set that Shawnie said she wanted, too, and that was where she was headed. The burly man started after her when the men who came with the auctioneer cut him off. He was asked to leave, or the police would be called.

No one bid against her on the bed sets. All of them would have to have special mattresses made as they were handmade and would need to be reinforced as well. For the four bedroom sets, she paid a total of twenty bucks. A deal that she didn't expect.

After all the furniture was gone, she caught up with Lance in the boxes. There were tables of glasses, too, most of them blue and greenware that she loved. When the bidding started out at a buck for everything at the end of the table, Lance hesitated for just a moment longer than she would, and the auctioneer told Lance that he could have it all if he took it all. Not leaving behind what he didn't want. They agreed, and Lance ended up with three long tables of glassware as well as several boxes under the tables that no one had seen. When asked, he was told it was all his, and they both seemed excited about the purchase.

Between the two of them, they ended up with eighteen boxes of odds and ends. A couple of them had things that she wanted, but for the rest, she was going to use them to put around their own home. Things she thought were coming along nicely, and she was ever so excited about how happy Shawnie seemed to be with the prices that she was able to get for the furniture that she wanted.

Getting it home was a good deal easier than she'd thought. The box lots fit nicely in Lance's truck, and Shawnie had had a large cargo van set up at the auction to be packed with the furniture. There were even a few people with it to help with loading things up. They were breaking down the beds when she was approached by the auctioneer.

"I found something that you might be interested in." She followed him to the house with Lance, and he said it was in the big office. The two of them followed him inside only to find that the place hadn't been emptied. "When the auction began, they didn't want to sell anything out of this room. I was just approached by the family to see if you'd like to have a go at getting it in your truck. They think that they made out better than they thought they would and wanted you to have the first pick of this room. No charge, they told me. They decided after all is said and done that they're going to go ahead and sell the house to the farmer not far from here so that he can knock it down and use it for farming."

"We'll take it." She told Lance that she'd have to ask Shawnie. "Nope, this is my office. When I was wandering around in here before, I fell in love with this place, and now that I can have it, I'm excited. But I will pay them for it."

"If you try that, they're going to have to have bidding on it. Gifting it to you, like they want, will make them happy. They said that if you take it all, they'd feel like their parents dying was worth something to someone." Lance shook hands with the man, and she and he danced around the room. "Thank you kindly and enjoy."

It took a good deal longer to break down the office than it did all the other furniture. But they were given an extra day to get it out. The rest of the Tucker family showed up with a moving van, and they got it all taken down and loaded in less than two hours. Plenty of time for her to look around at the other box lots that hadn't been sold yet.