Lily of the Springs by Carole Bellacera Read Free Book Online Page A

had it, wrapped in a bit of cloth and tucked in the cedar jewelry box Uncle Virgil had brought me from England when he’d returned from the war. For years, I’d kept it there along with mementos from high school—a dried, flattened corsage from my first formal, the first Valentine’s card Chad had given me, and a picture of Marlon Brando in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” cut out of Daisy’s mother’s Look Magazine .
    “No,” I whispered, my face hot against his warm, bare chest. “I never let Chad do that.”
    He released a deep sigh and withdrew his hand from my panties. “Good.” Still tingling from his touch, I bit my bottom lip to keep from protesting.
    He kissed me gently. “Let’s get in the car,” he said. “You feel how hard I am for you? Let me love you, Lily Rae.” He took my hand and placed it firmly against his massive hard-on.
    That’s what boys called it, I remembered. Once, after a heavy make-out session in Chad’s car, he’d complained about having a hard-on and I had had no idea what he was talking about.
    Curious, I traced my fingers up and down Jake’s rigid member. He drew in a sharp breath and closed his eyes. A thrill of power went through me at his reaction. With a sense of wonder, I grew bolder, molding my hand to his flesh, exploring.
    Jake uttered a muffled oath and grabbed my hand. “Stop,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Let’s get in the car.”
    I stared at him, my heart racing. Touching him so intimately had rekindled sweet fire between my legs, and now I knew Jake’s touch would put it out.
    Bad girl . That’s what I was. The bad Lily Rae had completely taken over. But I’d crossed that line from good to evil ten minutes ago. There was nothing I could do now but follow this path wherever it led, even if it was the road to Hell and eternal damnation.

 
    Great Aunt Ona’s Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake
     
    1 ¾ cup sifted flour (cake flour)
    ½ cup cocoa
    2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
    1 teaspoon salt
    ½ cup shortening
    1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons sugar
    2 eggs unbeaten
    ¾ cup milk
    1 teaspoon vanilla
     
    Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together. Cream shortening thoroughly, add sugar gradually and cream together until light & fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each, then add flour alternately with milk, beating after each addition until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into 8” pans. Bake in moderate oven at 375 degrees 25-30 minutes.
     
     
    Chocolate Buttermilk Icing
     
    1 cup sugar
    1/3 cup cocoa
    ¼ cup butter or margarine
    ½ teaspoon soda
    2 cups buttermilk
    3 teaspoons corn syrup
    1 teaspoon vanilla
     
    While cake is baking, bring icing to low simmer. When cake is done, poke holes in it with fork; pour icing over hot cake.

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    J ake’s Plymouth sped down the dark road toward Adair County. From the radio, Eddie Fisher sang “I’m Yours.” If Jake had noticed I’d earlier changed the station, he hadn’t said anything, nor had he changed it back to his hillbilly music.
    Still lost in a pleasant daze, I stared out the window at the dark fields on my right, but fully aware of Jake’s hand caressing my left kneecap when it wasn’t shifting gears. His touch sent pleasurable shivers rippling through me. We’d barely talked at all since we’d left the weed-choked lane on the moonshiner’s property. When I’d asked why he’d dressed up like an Indian just to scare me, he’d admitted that his bootlegger friend had been the one to come up with the idea. I supposed if I had a lick of sense, I’d still be mad about it, because even now, it seemed downright cruel. But how could I be mad at him after what had happened in the backseat of his Plymouth?
    It had hurt at first. Lord , how it had hurt! I hadn’t expected that—not after the delicious feelings his clever fingers had aroused in me. It wasn’t that I was ignorant. I lived on a farm. I’d seen roosters rutting with the hens. I’d watched our old