Starks' Reality

by Sarah Storme

  But he had absolutely no evidence against anyone for Tran’s murder except Coop, and he wanted desperately to prove the man innocent.

  If he looked at the situation objectively, the only thing he really knew was that someone—probably driving Radisson’s boat—stole Jackson’s battery the night before Tran died. He had no solid reason to believe that that person was the murderer.

  Jake replaced the bat, closed the compartment, hopped out of the boat, and hurried from the boathouse. He locked the door behind him.

  He definitely needed to find out more about Tanner Radisson.

  ~~**~~**~~

  Heather glanced up as Jake walked in. She’d been disappointed when he hadn’t made it for dinner, and a little worried that he might really be mad at her.

  But he didn’t look angry. He studied her with a steady gaze, his head lowered just a little, his blue eyes glistening—a look that took her breath away.

  Heather delivered bowls of gumbo to the corner table. Then she strolled to the bar, leaned forward as she placed a bar napkin in front of Jake, and narrowed her eyes when she caught him staring at her cleavage. He grinned.

  “What are you doing after work?” he asked.

  “At one in the morning? Not much. Going home and going to sleep, I suppose.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  She placed a fist on her hip. “No?”

  “No.”

  “Then, what am I doing?”

  “You’re coming over to my place.”

  “Oh? Why?”

  He leaned forward on the bar and lowered his voice. “Because I want you to.”

  “Ha. You think that just because—”

  “I’ll be waiting,” he said.

  Then he rose, studied her for another intense moment, and left.

  Heather stared at the door long after he’d left. The man had her twisted around his little finger, and he knew it. She hated that fact, but she loved the way his arms felt around her.

  So what if it was just sex? They were both adults. If she knew the rules, and they were careful, who could get hurt?

  The answer to that question immediately popped into her head. I will.

  Jake Starks had to be the most incredible man she’d ever met, and at the moment, he wanted her. When he stopped wanting her, it would hurt.

  If she were smart, she’d keep her distance from him now, before she got any more attached.

  Better yet, if she knew how, she’d make him fall for her.

  Although she’d dated a few guys who’d happened along in college even before Matt, she hadn’t had the time or inclination to actually flirt with anyone. But, if memory served, girls always talked about how playing hard-to-get worked. Acting like you didn’t care drove the boys wild, they’d said. Would it work in the real world? Would it work on Jake?

  “Miss.”

  “Huh?” She turned to the voice beside her.

  A young man stood at the end of the bar, his bill in hand. “Do I pay you?”

  “Oh, yes, I’m sorry.” She took the money and gave him change.

  As she bussed tables, she thought about her plan. If she didn’t show up at Jake’s, would he come to her? If he did, should she give in, or send him away? Would she be strong enough to choose the latter?

  Three hours and she’d know the answer.

  ~~**~~**~~

  Jake sat in front of the window, watching. It was one forty-five; the lights at Coop’s had gone off at exactly one.

  She wasn’t going to show.

  “Damn.”

  If something were wrong, she’d have called him, wouldn’t she?

  He wanted Heather more than he’d ever wanted anyone, wanted to feel her body against his—needed it. But he wasn’t about to get pulled into some kind of adolescent contest.

  No, he didn’t need anyone that badly.

  Infuriated, Jake jumped to his feet, sending the antique chair screeching backwards. He turned toward the bedroom, jerked his shirttail out of his jeans, and unbuttoned his shirt as he walked. Damn her, she was toying with him.

  The fact that the woman of his dreams lay less than a hundred yards away nagged at him.

  No way in hell was he giving in.

  He stepped into the bathroom, flipped on the light, and jumped as his own reflection. He looked like crap.

  Leaning forward, he grabbed the sides of the sink, closed his eyes, and dropped his head to the cool mirror. His entire body ached for her. Worse yet, his soul ached for her. It was too late to swear off her—he was already addicted.

  “Shit.”

  Taking a deep breath and blowing it out quickly, Jake straightened, turned, and marched out. He didn’t slow until he stood at the bottom of her kitchen steps.

  Christ, what now? Should he knock on the door and risk waking Coop? Or should he just walk around to her window and let himself in?

  The curtain moved away from the window in the door and Heather’s face appear. Surprised to find him watching her, she quickly dropped the curtain into place.

  He climbed the steps, waited a moment, and then opened the door.

  Heather stood across the kitchen. “You can’t come in here without knocking,” she whispered.

  “I don’t want to wake your father,” he whispered back.

  She frowned at him.

  Jake crossed the kitchen, grabbed Heather’s wrist, and pulled her outside and down the steps.

  She struggled against his grip. “Jake, you can’t just—”

  With one arm around her waist, he took her mouth, demanding that she surrender to his kiss. After a brief moment, she did. He released her wrist and wrapped both arms around her as her hands slid inside his open shirt and to his back. Her touch made him groan, and he pulled her closer.

  Standing in the Texas night with Heather’s body pressed to his had to be as close to heaven as he’d ever get.

  As the kiss ended, he looked down into her beautiful eyes, the color of dark brass, shimmering in the porch light. “Can’t just what?”

  “Huh?”

  He held her chin in his hand. “You told me I can’t just...and then you stopped.”

  “Oh.” She swallowed hard and tried to lower her eyes, but he refused to let her look away.

  “Heather, I want you in my bed. If you say you don’t want to be there, I’ll leave. But I’m not playing guessing games here. Do you understand?”

  She nodded.

  “Do you want me to leave?”

  She shook her head.

  “Good.” He quickly kissed her sweet lips. “There are, however, some games I don’t mind.”

  As she narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out what he meant, he leaned down and heaved her over his shoulder, fireman style.

  “Jake! Put me down!”

  “Be quiet, woman,” he said. “You’ll wake the town.” He marched down the edge of the road toward his house, holding her legs with one arm.

  “Jake,” she said, a little quieter, “what are you doing? Put me down.” She pounded her fists against his butt and the back of his thighs, but her body shook with silent laughter.

  “You’ll pay for that,” he said. “I suggest you stop.”

  She did, grabbing his belt loops to stop from bouncing. “Jake, please put me down.”

  “In a minute, my sweet.”

  Inside his own house, he locked the door, leaned over, and placed Heather on her feet. She tried to frown as she pushed the loose hair back from her beautifully flushed face.

  “You can’t just haul me around,” she said.

  “I did.”

  She shoved his chest, and then turned and walked to the kitchen. “I need some water.”

  Jake followed her into the kitchen, but stopped her at the counter and spun her around. She didn’t protest as he lifted off her T-shirt, and removed her bra, shorts, and panties. She stood before him gloriously naked, her eyes a little wide.

  He removed his own shirt. Then he lifted her onto the counter.

&nb
sp; She sat, watching him, as he filled a glass with water. He handed it to her and she drank.

  When she finished drinking, Jake took the glass and carefully poured a little water onto her right shoulder. She flinched, but didn’t protest. A rivulet ran down the front of her body, circling inside her breast and disappearing between her thighs. He followed the line with his tongue until he reached her belly. She squirmed and gripped the counter. He poured a little more on the left side and repeated the process, enjoying her delicate taste.

  Then he discarded the glass and moved back to her breasts, circling them and teasing the nipples with his tongue and teeth. Her breath quickened, escaping in short gasps, and she grabbed his shoulders.

  He pushed her legs apart and stood between them as he moved up the front of her. He needed her mouth. When he reached it, she responded with an eagerness that bordered on desperation, and she wrapped her legs around his hips.

  Damn, he hadn’t expected the urgency he felt. If he didn’t slow this down, he was going to lose control of the situation. He withdrew his mouth from hers and leaned back to look at her.

  She opened her eyes and smiled at him as she moved her hands down to his chest. Her fingers felt wonderful exploring his skin, kneading the muscles.

  Jake pulled the condom from his back pocket. He’d had it tucked away since their first encounter, just in case.

  He kicked off his boots, then pushed down his pants and stepped out of them. Heather watched him roll on the condom. She looked up into his eyes, her smile intact. When he leaned in for a kiss, she met him halfway, locking her arms around his neck. He pulled her forward until she balanced on the edge of the counter, poised above him, open for him, waiting, and he pressed against her, burning in her heat. With one good thrust he could have been inside her.

  But that wasn’t what he had in mind.

  Using every bit of restraint he could muster, Jake kissed her lips and her neck and moved forward a little at a time. He sucked on her bottom lip as he first entered her. She moaned, and he gasped and dropped his forehead to hers. She dug her heels into the backs of his thighs, trying to pull him closer. Somehow, he managed to stay put long enough to regain the control he needed. These games he knew how to play.

  He held his mouth to her ear as he moved in just a little more. “You feel amazing,” he whispered.

  She clung to his shoulders and pressed her mouth to his shoulder.

  Her muscles began to tighten around him and he stopped. She tried to push her hips forward, but he had a good grip on her. “Not yet.”

  She whimpered.

  As soon as she relaxed, he continued. “I need to be inside you…deep.” He stopped again.

  By the time he was buried inside her, they’d both come close to release so many times, he’d lost track. He wrapped his arms around her and held her, standing perfectly still.

  He wanted to feel everything as she came. With his arms tightly around her, his hands spread on her ribs, and his mouth to her ear, he pushed slowly, gently, making each movement count. “Yeah, that’s it. Just let go.”

  It didn’t take long. She grabbed him, pressed her head to his, and peaked. The convulsions rolled through her body, tightening every muscle, driving her onto him, and she cried out with each. He bit his bottom lip to keep from losing control and enjoyed her ecstasy. Her release was pure, uninhibited, fierce—he’d never known anything like it.

  When the crest passed, she held him, her breath hot and fast in his ear. His plan was to take her to his bed and start over, but she locked her legs around his hips when he tried to withdraw.

  “No, Jake,” she whispered, “your turn.”

  He groaned and tried again to withdraw. She tightened her grip on him and rolled her hips up and down as she whispered something about needing him.

  His tentative grip slipped and he came, holding her to him as he drove himself into her. Her heated, firm body met his thrusts with strength to match his own. God, it was perfect. She held him, groaning into his ear and demanding more. He lost track of everything but her heat and her touch and her scent. He lost himself in her.

  When it ended, he stood, shaking, holding her, unable to let go. She put her head on his shoulder and stroked the back of his neck. They stayed there for a long time, their hearts pounding into each other’s chest.

  “Jake.”

  “Hmm?”

  “I think my butt has a dent in it.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be,” she said.

  He lifted her carefully from the counter and carried her to the sofa.

  ~~**~~**~~

  Their coupling was different this time. What had started out as a game to Jake had turned into something else—for both of them.

  Heather couldn’t believe how incredible he’d looked when he walked into her kitchen, his shirt open to rippling muscles, his eyes sparkling with determination. At that moment, he could have demanded anything of her and she would have acquiesced.

  And then, when he drove her to distraction in his kitchen, he wrapped himself around her as she came, taking her into him, giving himself to her. And the same happened when he peaked. She’d never experienced anything so intense, or so intimate.

  On the sofa, he’d deserted her long enough to get another condom from the box he admitted to buying. Then he’d stretched out on top of her and kissed her and caressed her until she was desperate for him again. When she reached down for him, she realized he was just as ready as she was.

  “Christ,” he whispered, “this is insane.”

  She nodded as she kissed his neck.

  He tore open the condom package and struggled to get it on without moving away from her. She helped him, pulling groans from him as she did, and then raised her legs around him.

  Jake settled between her thighs and entered her quickly. His size still surprised her a bit; she gasped and opened her eyes to find him staring down at her, his weight on his elbows. He pushed her hair away from her temples and frowned as he studied her. She loved the lines in his face, the dimple that appeared in his cheek when he smiled, the way the tip of his tongue rested against his front teeth when he was trying not to hurry. She loved the way he filled her completely, but was careful not to push too hard. She loved the way his skin felt, and the way the muscles in his back tightened under her hands. She loved the way he smelled, wet with her kisses. She loved seeing herself in his eyes.

  She loved him.

  The realization might have scared her if she hadn’t been about to lose control under him. She closed her eyes and grabbed his shoulders. He kissed her. She opened her mouth, drew him in, and exploded. Her world shattered into a million pieces as she rose up to meet him, again and again, unable to stop, unable to get close enough.

  And he pumped himself into her with powerful strokes, peaking as she did, drawing out her ecstasy until she thought she might pass out. She wrapped her legs around him and rode each pulse until the last one tore through her body with agonizing pleasure.

  Jake held himself tensed above her for a long moment, then collapsed. He moved to her side to allow them both to pant as they held each other.

  She wanted to tell him that she loved him. Thankfully, something kept her silent. What would she do if he laughed at her foolishness? And surely he would; as wonderful as sex with Jake was, she wasn’t naive enough to think he loved her in return. How could he? They hadn’t known each other long, and he’d seen her at her worst, not her best.

  At least ten minutes passed before either of them moved beyond stroking the other’s skin. She kissed him, and he rolled onto his back as she propped her head on her hand and traced lines in his chest. The kitchen and hall lights lit the living room around them, but leaving the two of them in shadow. Still, she could see his eyes as he watched her.

  “Jake,” she said, hesitant to talk for fear of disturbing the tranquility, but feeling the need to do so anyway. She needed to know more about the man lying beside her—to decide if it was even possibl
e for him to ever feel about her as she felt about him.

  “Yes, Heather?”

  She loved his deep, sexy voice.

  “You said that if I wanted to know about your past, I should ask you.”

  He frowned. “Yes.”

  “What happened with your marriage? I mean, what went wrong?”

  At first she thought he wasn’t going to respond.

  “Do we have to talk about this now?”

  “No, I guess not,” she said.

  He sighed heavily and folded his arm under his head. “It was a long time ago, in another life.”

  “Did you love her?”

  “Serena?” He sighed again. “Not at first. I thought I did, but I know now I didn’t. The sex was good, but that was about it.”

  He swallowed hard and closed his eyes. “I did love her by the time she left, though. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late.”

  “Why did she leave?”

  He opened his eyes and frowned at her again. “Heather, I don’t really want to talk about this. I was a different person back then. My life has changed a lot in the past ten years.”

  “Can’t you tell me?”

  He huffed and shook his head. “You’re the one I don’t want to tell any of this to.”

  “Why?”

  “Because your feelings for me will change.”

  She pushed his arm away and sat up. “That’s not fair, Jake. You don’t even give me a chance.”

  Before she could stand, he wrapped his arm around her waist from behind and pulled her back to him. Heather struggled, but couldn’t begin to get out of his grip. It infuriated her that he saw her as immature.

  He held her against him and didn’t move until she quit struggling.

  “Don’t run away,” he said, quietly, into her ear.

  The note of honest pain in his voice made her stomach knot. He wasn’t just asking her not to leave his arms at that moment; he was talking about the future, when he bared his soul. For whatever reason, he was convinced she wouldn’t want him anymore. How could anything be bad enough to stop her from loving him?

  “I won’t,” she said.

  Slowly, he released his hold. Heather settled back into her position beside him.

  Jake pushed his arm under her and pulled her head to his chest. He stroked her cheek as he spoke.