by Anne Rainey
Roni shivered and wondered if she was finally in over her head.
3
After updating her virus protection, Jake gave her his jacket to wear, effectively covering her see-through blouse, and took her to a fast-food restaurant. Jake had insisted that everyone should eat a burger and fries from time to time. He’d winked and said it would be un-American otherwise. She hadn’t gone out for hamburgers with a man since high school. Fast food tended to be a solitary event for her. Watching Jake wrap his strong, capable hands around the cheeseburger and take a large bite shouldn’t have been a turn on. Jake made it seem sexy as hell. An image of him holding her breast in the same manner and nibbling on her nipple had her squirming in her hard plastic seat.
“You’re blushing,” he said as he picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth.
“I never blush.”
“Do too. You’re doing it right now. What’s in that pretty little head of yours, Roni?”
“You are,” she stated boldly as she swirled a fry in a pool of ketchup. It wasn’t her way to play coy with a man.
He chuckled. “You aren’t the shy type, are you?”
“Not usually. If I see something I want, I go for it. I see no reason to pretend.”
“And do you want me, sweetheart?”
Jake was turning out to be quite a surprise. Without realizing it, he’d stumbled onto her one real desire. To be with a man who didn’t feel the need to treat her like fine china. The bet she’d made with Lydia and Jeannette came to mind and she realized this was her chance to make her fantasy a reality. She wanted to get down and dirty with a man. Roni had a feeling Jake could do dirty really well.
“Yes, I want you,” she candidly replied.
Jake’s expression changed, turned dangerous, his gaze darkening as he pushed his hamburger aside. “You know how to push a man, don’t you, Roni?”
She kept swirling the fry in the ketchup and asked, “Are you saying you don’t want me?”
He leaned across the table and took the fry out of her hand, then held it out for her. Roni opened her lips and let him feed it to her. He watched in silence until she finished the deep-fried treat. “You want the bald truth, is that it?”
“Please,” she whispered, her throat suddenly dry.
“I want to strip you naked, taste every inch of you for about an hour, then fuck that hot little pussy until the sun comes up.”
Roni’s eyes widened in shock even as liquid heat pooled between her thighs. “And you think I’ll go home with you? Just like that?”
“You don’t strike me as the type to play games.” He paused, then murmured, “Are you afraid, Roni?”
“No, I’m not afraid. Should I be?”
“I’d never hurt you,” he promised. “I wouldn’t do anything you didn’t want.”
Trying to act nonchalant, Roni slid her hand across the table and touched his arm. She’d ached to feel his powerful muscles beneath her fingertips from the moment he’d sat at her computer. She stroked upward, teasing them both. When his gaze narrowed, Roni smiled. “Yes, I want you. But first I’d like to know more about you.”
“I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
Roni drew her hand away and picked up another fry, pointing it at him. “You own your own business. How long?”
“I opened my doors five years ago. It was tough going at first, but I’m doing well enough now that I’ve been thinking of opening another office up north.”
“Do you enjoy being a computer geek?”
He tilted his head to the side. “Do you enjoy being a shrink?”
Roni laughed. “Touché.”
He grinned, which had her pulse racing. “I can set my own hours, I don’t have a boss breathing down my neck and the money is good. All in all, not too bad. Every job has its drawbacks though.”
Roni knew too well. “Do you work long hours?”
“As much as any business owner does, I suppose.” He looked over her shoulder, then stood. “Do you like chocolate?”
“It’s un-American not to,” she replied, using his earlier words.
He winked. “Be right back.”
When he walked away, Roni was tempted to turn and watch him move. She stifled the urge and took a sip of her diet cola. She needed to cool down. It was dinner at a fast-food restaurant, nothing more.
“Dessert for two,” he said as he set a banana split on the table between them, two spoons sticking out of the vanilla ice cream. “Dig in.”
“Two?”
“I’m not eating it all by myself. You’re helping.”
Roni eyed the hot fudge drizzling down the sides of the rapidly melting dollops with longing. “No, I really can’t afford the calories.”
His gaze traveled to her chest and back up again. “A few bites of ice cream won’t hurt. Trust me.”
Roni grabbed the spoon and scooped up a large helping. “Who the hell am I kidding? I can’t turn down chocolate!”
He pulled out the other spoon. “That’s the spirit.”
Roni was mesmerized when a spoonful of whipped cream disappeared between his lips. She wondered what it’d taste like if she slathered him with whipped cream and went to town. Delicious no doubt.
“You really should enjoy the luxuries of life more often, Dr. Smart. It keeps a person sane.”
She forced herself to stop visually molesting the man and scooped up another heaping spoonful. She moaned as the sweet dessert hit her tongue. “Yes, I see what you mean.”
When they were finished, Roni swiped a napkin over her lips and sat back, totally stuffed. “There really is something special about hot fudge sauce and ice cream.”
Jake leaned over the table and pulled her toward him. With their faces only inches apart she could feel his breath on her cheeks. “There’s something special about you.”
Her heartbeat sped up. “You think?”
He nodded. “Mmm, definitely. I bet you taste even better than hot fudge, too,” he growled.
“Nothing tastes better than hot fudge. It’s impossible.”
“How about we go back to my house so I can see for myself?”
He looked her over, his eyes stopping for a heart-pounding few seconds on her heaving breasts where his jacket had parted, before meeting her gaze again.
“You don’t even know me,” she whispered.
“I know I’ve never felt so attracted to a woman. Tell me you’re feeling this chemistry, too, baby.”
Roni couldn’t seem to find her breath, she was panting so hard. Her body responded instantly to his seductive words. She wanted to tell him, yes. It would be so easy to yank him to his feet and drag him home where she could be alone with him. But she couldn’t seem to form the words. For the first time in her life, Roni was tongue-tied.
“Say something,” Jake ordered. “Either tell me to kiss ass or come home with me.”
With his face still so close, Roni could see his eyes darken and a muscle in his strong, hard jaw jump. It was time to make the fantasy real. “Yes.”
“Yes?”
“I’ll come home with you.”
“Good answer, sweetheart. Damn good answer.”
Jake gritted his teeth as he vied for control over his libido. He was usually content to take it slow with a woman, but with Roni he wanted to fling her over his shoulder and take her away to have his every demand obeyed. That sort of thinking got men into trouble.
He looked down at their dessert. “Done?”
She nodded, then put her spoon on the table and dabbed her lips. Every move she made was delicate and refined. Jake was anything but refined. He couldn’t understand why she was giving him the time of day, but he wasn’t about to question it. His cock hardened as he imagined her naked in his bed. He wanted to slam his dick into her sweet little cunt until they both begged for mercy. Christ, he was going to have to walk through the crowded restaurant with a boner. He tried to cool himself down by thinking of inane things. Rebuilding a computer, backing up a hard d
rive. The woman had the power to reduce him to nothing more than a throbbing erection. He should take it slow, romance her a little. Fucking a woman like a wild animal wasn’t his way. Usually.
“You’re thinking too much, Jake. Why are you overanalyzing this?”
He squinted at her remote tone. “Are you evaluating me, Doc?”
She sat back and frowned at him. “Of course not.”
“Yeah, you are.”
He stood and went to her. “Come on,” he urged as he held her chair, “you can study me while I drive.”
She looked at his hand and shook her head. “My car’s still at the office.”
It was a good area, her car would be safe for the night, but he had a feeling she wanted her own wheels so she could escape come morning. If it made her feel better she could have her car close. Either way it wouldn’t matter because he wasn’t about to let her slip through his fingers so easily. “We’ll pick it up on the way.”
His blood pressure soared when she placed her hand in his large palm. She was so small, so delicate. He vowed to remember that later, when he had her naked and beneath him.
Jake tucked her back into his car. When he took off the opposite way they’d come she balked.
“Where are we going? My office is the other way.”
“I thought we’d go to the park first. It’s still light out and there’s something I want to show you.”
She was silent so long Jake thought he’d done something wrong. He took his eyes off the road and looked across the seat at her. “What is it?”
“Nothing. You’re just…you’re quite a surprise.”
“You think all computer geeks spend their time at the computer, is that it?”
She nibbled at her lower lip and Jake thought he’d never seen anything more adorable. He went back to watching the road. “Have I rendered you speechless, Dr. Smart?”
“Somewhat, yes. And that’s a really big deal for me.”
Jake could well imagine. Roni wasn’t the type to keep her thoughts to herself; she’d proven that when he’d come to her office to fix her computer. He liked that he could surprise her though. “I want you, don’t get me wrong, but a quickie isn’t at all what I had in mind.”
“I should tell you, I don’t usually let my dates take control.”
He gripped the steering wheel harder and kept his gaze firmly glued to the road. If he looked at her, he’d start touching, and he wouldn’t want to stop until he was balls deep inside her hot cunt. “You like to be on top, huh?”
“I have very specific needs, Jake. Can you handle that?”
Oh hell. His cock flexed behind the fly of his jeans. “I can handle it,” he gritted out.
“I have a feeling you’re going to be in for a surprise.”
“Are you trying to tell me that you’re really a dude?” he said, hoping to lighten the mood.
She snorted. “Nothing quite so drastic.”
“Then what is it?”
“Would you be terribly shocked to know I’m a dominatrix?”
His gaze snared hers. The road, the park, it was all forgotten when she’d uttered that one word. “As in you like to make your men lick your boots and call you mistress?”
“Something like that, yeah.”
Jake could well imagine a man on his hands and knees begging her to put him out of his misery. Hell, he was damn near begging himself. He turned his attention back to the road. “Hmm, I see.”
“Are you turned off now?”
Jake grinned. She might be a dominatrix, but she was still vulnerable enough to wonder if she appealed to him. “Let me put it this way: My cock hasn’t shown any signs of relaxing since you licked hot fudge off your spoon.”
“I did not lick it.”
“Oh, you licked it. All I could think about was how good that little tongue would feel on my cock.”
“I might be persuaded to show you, but you’ll have to ask nicely first.”
“You’re a very bad girl, Roni.”
“Do you like bad girls, Jake?”
Her soft voice floated over his body like a caress. “I like you. Good, bad or otherwise. You and I are going to fit like a glove.”
“You’re willing to submit to me?”
“How about we go with the flow here, sweetheart. No expectations.” He turned a corner before asking, “Trust me?”
For a heart-stopping minute Jake worried she would ask to be taken back to her car. He began mentally working on his persuasion technique when she murmured, “Yes, I trust you.”
He reached across the middle console and took her hand. “Good girl.”
4
“So, what’s at the park you want to show me?”
The change in topic wasn’t fooling him one damn bit. She was as hungry for sex as he. “It’s a secret.”
He heard her sigh. “Do you know you can be very annoying at times?”
“My brother has mentioned that a few times.”
“You have a brother? Is he older or younger?”
“Spencer is older by five years. He’s married and has a daughter, Lisa. She works for me. You’ve talked to her on the phone.”
“Oh yeah, she seems sweet.”
“She’s a little flighty and I’m constantly wondering how she talked me into giving her the job.”
“Because you love her.”
He rolled his eyes. “She’s got me wrapped around her pinky.”
“You’re her uncle, of course she has you wrapped. But, be firm too, she needs boundaries.”
“I try, then she gives me that look and I cave.”
She laughed. “Females learn that look at birth.”
“I can believe that.” He glanced at her as he turned on the road that would take them to the park. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“I have an older brother, but we don’t see each other much. Braden lives out in California.”
“Do you miss him?”
“Sometimes. E-mail helps though. We keep in touch as much as we can. He’s in real estate so he’s always busy.”
“A real estate agent and a doctor. Your parents must be proud.”
“They are. Neither of them went to college so it was important to them that we get our degree. When I graduated my dad cried. I think he was happier than me.”
“I can well imagine. I didn’t go to college either.”
“How’d you learn computers so well?”
“Figured it out on my own. I guess I sort of have a knack for it.”
A few minutes of silence, and then, “I love your car. The pony interior is my favorite.”
He gave into the need to glance over at her. She stroked the soft leather with a fingertip. Hell, Jake wanted that little finger on the head of his dick. She wiggled, as if attempting to get more comfortable. The little movement caused her pretty breasts to jiggle a little and he wanted to howl. She’d taken off the jacket when they’d started on the road and Jake had been only too pleased.
To keep from acting the fool by drooling, Jake focused on the road again. “I wouldn’t have thought you were old enough to know about pony interior.” He winked at her, then murmured, “You a car buff, little girl?”
She smiled, and the small change made her appear younger, and so damn sexy. “Not a car buff. I just love Mustangs. Braden was always buying them and fixing them up. I spent a lot of time helping him. Or rather, pestering him.”
“I can’t imagine you with grease on your face.”
She groaned. “Try head to toe.”
He grinned. “The ’65 is a beauty.” Jake rubbed his hands over the steering wheel in a show of respect. “Even when I was in high school I knew I’d own one someday. I bought it after my wife died.”
“Your wife?”
Damn, he hadn’t meant to bring up Sarah. “I was married right out of high school. She died a few years ago, breast cancer. Mustangs were her favorite, but we couldn’t afford one. After she died, I don’t know, I wanted to honor her
, I suppose.”
“I’m sorry, it must have been difficult for you.”
Difficult didn’t even begin to cover it, but Jake wasn’t about to open that particular box. Not tonight. “It was hard, but you cope.”
“One day at a time?”
“Exactly.”
“Well, you take very good care of your car. A candy-apple red ’65 in such mint condition isn’t something you see everyday. It must have cost a pretty penny.”
“And worth every one of those pretty pennies too.” And then he thought to add, “But there will come a day when I’ll part with her. I love her, but time marches on.”
“Does it?” She asked as she turned in her seat and watched him with such scrutiny he almost fidgeted like a schoolboy.
He knew they weren’t talking about the car anymore. They were talking about Sarah. “A car doesn’t keep a man warm at night, Roni. I guess I always knew that once I met the right woman I’d sell her.”
“Hmm, no, a car can’t keep you warm. But don’t you think it’s possible to have both the woman and the car?”
She sounded far too serious and that’s not what he wanted tonight. He wanted her to relax and enjoy the evening. “Maybe for some it’s possible, but not for me. I’m a very focused man. When I have my heart set on something, or someone, I like to give one hundred percent.”
“Yes, one hundred percent is good.”
He spotted the place he wanted to take her and pulled over to the curb. Jake killed the engine before turning toward Roni. “Giving a woman one hundred percent is the only way I operate, sweetheart.”
“Oh,” she whispered.
His eyes roamed over her possessively. “We’re here.”
“Are we?”
Jake leaned toward her and brushed her mouth with his. “Yeah, we are.”
Roni licked her lips and pulled back. She looked outside her window, then turned to him with a frown. “You wanted me to see an empty cage and a bunch of trees?”
“Smartass,” he murmured. Jake opened the car door, then jogged around to her side to help her out. “I have something better than empty cages and trees.”
