Rock Me Faster (Licks of Leather #4) - Jenna Jacob Page 0,60

wasn’t going to—as Bodhi would say—look a gift horse in the mouth. Any crack in his walls that I could squeeze through was a big fat win in my book.

“Ecovillage,” I corrected as he handed me a plate.

I didn’t bother asking what food items were in the steaming silver trays. I simply loaded my plate, grabbed a glass of lemonade, and strolled toward the big table. A quick glance over my shoulder confirmed what I already knew—Ross’s stare was locked on my backside. No longer feeling insecure about the dress, I put a little extra sway in my hips before reaching my seat.

“You’re leaving a puddle on the floor, dude,” Ozzy chortled. “Extra napkins are on the end of the buffet table.”

“Fuck off,” Ross snarled before joining me. After he sat down, he raised a brow. “The moonstone?”

“Oh, right.”

When I set my purse on my lap and opened the clasp, Ross leaned over and peered inside, watching as I sorted through the small drawstring bags.

“No, that’s a citrine,” I muttered, pushing it aside.

“What does that do?”

“Keeps fears away and promotes creativity,” I replied, plucking up another bag. “That’s not it, either.”

“What’s that one?”

“Rose quartz. It helps bolster trust and happiness in relationships.”

He nodded, then pointed to the bright red stone inside my purse. “And that?”

“It’s a ruby.” I could feel my cheeks growing warm.

“For?”

“Improving vitality and sensuality.”

A slow smirk kicked up one side of his mouth. “It’s a sex stone?”

“Among other things.” I quickly shoved it way down in the bottom.

“Um, princess, I have a question.”

Though I’d made love to Ross all night—in my dreams—I wasn’t brave enough to have a discussion about sex with the man…at least, not yet.

“Yes?” I whispered, angst spiking.

“Why are you carrying around a purse full of rocks?”

“They’re not rocks,” I sighed. Spying the moonstone, I pulled it from its bag. “They’re crystals. They—”

“No, I get that. I’m asking why are they the only things in your purse?”

“I left my smudge sticks and oils back at the hotel because I didn’t think I’d need them.”

“O-okay…that makes sense, I guess.” I had to give Ross credit. He tried to mask the fact that he thought me completely insane. “Is this the kind of stuff you learn about at your ecovillage?”

“Some. I’ve learned about a lot of things on my own, and from the others.” I took his hand, turned it over, and placed the moonstone in his wide palm. “Here, you keep this one.”

A mischievous glint sparked his eyes. “I’d rather have the ruby.”

I burst out laughing. “Okay, I believe you now. You are a very bad man, in a very good way.”

“No, he’s an asshole, but we still love him,” Syd drawled, then blew air-kisses at Ross as he and the rest of the others joined us.

“Better than being a douchebag like you,” Ross countered dryly.

“Are we interrupting anything?” Sofia asked with a hopeful little smile.

“Nope.” Ross shook his head. “Harmony was getting ready to tell me about her ecovillage.”

“I was?” I blanched and caught Quinn sending me a barely perceptible nod. “Oh, right…I was.”

“Ecovillage? What’s that?” Darren asked.

“It’s like a commune, but you don’t want people calling it that, do you?” Ross asked.

“Not really.”

“How long have you lived in an ecovillage?” Sofia asked pretending to be surprised.

“I-I was born there.”

“Wow. That sounds cool…I want to hear all about it.” She grinned with a smile so completely accepting, I wanted to weep and thank her for being so kind.

“Do you want the condensed version or—”

“No. We want the whole thing.” Ross winked.

“Okay, back in the summer of 1970, during the height of the Vietnam War, there were protests, and sit-in’s and love-in’s…and then the tragedy at Kent State happened.”

“I read about that in history class.” Darren nodded.

“It shook everyone to the core, especially my grandparents, who were both attending Berkeley. They were so convinced that the world was on the edge of destruction that they gathered up a bunch of their like-minded, free-spirited friends, loaded up their belongings, and headed east. They almost settled in the Rockies but decided to keep going.

“Late one night they were traveling the backroads of Kentucky, deep in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, when they came upon an old man whose car had broken down on the side of the road. My grandpa and some of his friends liked rebuilding cars, so they stopped to help.” I paused for a second and looked around the table. Though everyone seemed genuinely enthralled, I worried they might be getting bored. “This