by Croix, J. H.
“Got a car description?” Darren asked.
“Car description?” he asked, glancing at Emma.
Emma quickly described the car. Jared repeated the information to Darren and hung up. He pushed away from the wall. “Gonna head over there myself. If he hasn’t left yet, I can follow him.” He looked to Emma. “Between Trey, Darren, me and my brothers, you can call any of us. Anytime.”
Emma nodded. “I know. I just hate this.”
“We know you do, but stop worrying about accepting help. You’re family to us. Listen to Jared. Call me, call any of us whenever you need to,” Susie said firmly, reinforcing one of the characteristics he appreciated about her. She was the best kind of friend—loyal and always there.
Jared started to walk to the door and turned back to Emma. It bothered him to see Trey so concerned about Emma and know she was keeping Trey at a distance. Trey was a good friend, and it was plain he loved Emma. “Hope you know Trey only wants to make sure you’re okay. No need to keep him at arms length.”
Emma flushed. “I…I just…”
Jared hesitated, wondering how much he should meddle, but he knew Trey wanted to help. “Trey’s as good as they come. I can tell you mean a lot to him. It’s driving him near insane that ever since he ran into Greg, he’s barely seen you. Just think about that,” Jared said.
He turned to look at Susie. Her lips were swollen and curls tousled. He wasn’t anywhere near ready to think about what was going on inside of him, but the mere sight of her and his heart clenched. He wasn’t sure what to say. Susie flushed and lifted her chin. “I’ll have your quarterly audit to you by the end of the week. Thanks for helping Emma. Will you call if you find him?” she asked softly.
Jared had to fight the urge to walk over and kiss her before he left. “Of course. Soon as I know anything, I’ll call.” He turned away quickly and left Susie’s office.
He did a quick circuit through town and followed up with a call to Darren when he didn’t see any car resembling the one Emma described. “I got nothing,” he said as soon as Darren answered. “You?”
“Nada. It doesn’t help to have so many tourists around. We’ll keep an eye out and give you a call,” Darren said quickly before hanging up.
Jared immediately called Susie. He wanted to ask her if they could have dinner again, but couldn’t bring himself to. She repeated everything he said to Emma, so he figured it was just as well. He drove home, his thoughts circling around Susie. When he went upstairs to shower and noticed he hadn’t bothered to make his bed, all he could think about was her…in his bed. He’d known it last night when she suggested it—before he knew she was a virgin—a one-night stand was not a good plan for them. The state of his mind today was clear evidence of what a bad idea that had been.
Chapter 9
Susie grabbed her laptop and a few files when she pulled up at Misty Mountain Café. She’d run out of coffee at her house and after trying to grit through the day, she’d given up to come here for a while. She quickly snagged a corner table once she had coffee in hand. The café was crowded, but she enjoyed the hustle and bustle. Fortified with coffee, she got started on monthly reports. She was so focused that she jumped when she heard her name. She looked up to find Jared standing beside her table. Her pulse rocketed, and she flushed inside and out. The effect he had on her had been bad enough before, now it was worse. Ever since the other night, she’d been forced to come to terms with how ridiculous it had been to think a one-night stand would get him out of her system.
She met his green gaze, avoiding the impulse to look away. He searched her face, a hint of uncertainty in his eyes, which gave her a tiny bit of satisfaction. She didn’t want to be the only one thrown asunder by what happened between them. His black curls were wind blown. He wore faded jeans and a black t-shirt, both molding to his muscled body—a body she was quite familiar with now, though if her body had anything to say about it, she’d get even more familiar with it as soon as possible.
“Hey,” she finally replied when he arched an eyebrow. “What brings you here?”
“Coffee,” he said bluntly. “Probably same reason as you.”
She nodded and took a sip of coffee. Her heart pounded and butterflies unfurled in her belly.
“I’ll be right back, gotta grab my coffee,” Jared said before turning on his heel to walk to the counter.
After he paid, he was stopped three times by different women who greeted him flirtatiously. Susie recognized only one of the women as local and assumed the other two were tourists. She’d watched this dynamic play out time and again with Jared, along with his brothers. They would be handsome anywhere, but drop them in the middle of coastal Alaska, and they were magnets.
“Hey Susie! I haven’t seen you weeks.”
Susie turned to find her friend Cammi smiling at her. Cammi had grown up in Diamond Creek and was an old friend. Cammi had a lithe build, short honey brown hair and bright blue eyes. She tended to dress in flowing clothes, and today was no exception. She wore a gauzy skirt that hung loosely from her hips paired with a poet blouse. She leaned down and gave Susie a quick hug, enveloping Susie in the flowery scent she usually wore. She leaned her hip against the table. “So what’s up?”
Susie gestured to her laptop. “Working. I just needed a pick me up. What brings you here? Don’t you get enough coffee?”
Cammi owned and ran Red Truck Coffee, a tiny coffee shop housed in an old bread truck by the harbor. Cammi only kept it open in the summers, so it was rare to see her away from it. Cammi shrugged. “My busy time is early in the morning. Once all the boats are out on the water, it’s errand time for me. I haven’t had anything from the bakery here in weeks so thought I’d drop in.”
Susie saw Jared get waylaid by yet another woman. Cammi followed her eyes and shook her head. “Poor Jared. He still hasn’t figured out his best defense would be to get himself a girlfriend,” Cammi said with a soft laugh.
And he just loves that no-strings attached attention.
“Oh, I’m sure he enjoys the attention,” Susie replied, her tone sharper than she intended. She tried to tamp down the flare of jealousy.
Cammi glanced to her, her eyes wide. “Seriously? Look at him. He’s stoic about it, but I wouldn’t say he enjoys it. He looks like he’d rather be anywhere else. I can’t believe he hasn’t noticed that now Luke and Nathan are married, they don’t have nearly as many women drooling over them.”
Susie studied Jared for a moment. His smile was tight, not a dimple in sight. His shoulders were tense. She breathed an internal sigh of relief. What is wrong with you? You and Jared are not a thing. Why do you care at all if other women are into him?
Cammi was oblivious to Susie’s internal turmoil. When Jared finally reached her table, Cammi greeted him as sweetly as always. “Hey, Jared! How was your coffee this morning?”
Jared’s smile was wide this time. “Cammi, you know I love your coffee. It was perfect and kept me going all morning.”
He and Cammi bantered a few more minutes before she said her goodbyes and left. He met Susie’s eyes. “Mind if I leave this here while I run to the restroom?” he asked, lifting his cup of coffee.
“Of course not,” she said quickly.
He set his coffee down and headed to the opposite side of the café where the restrooms were. Susie took a deep breath and shook her head. She needed to get a grip and now. She forced herself to focus on the screen on her laptop, but all the numbers blurred. Her throat tightened. She hated that Jared turned her into an idiot. The one thing she’d decided after she’d almost been date-raped was she would make sure she was in control when it came to men. It had been easy to do. Until now. Jared made her feel out of control. He made her feel way too much. She didn’t like that her heart raced, her breath got shallow and her stomach rode a roller coaster whenever he was near. It was supposed to get better once she’d gotten it out of her system. But…that’s not exactly how it was working out. Her mind kept flashing back to the fee
l of his hands on her body. For God’s sake, yesterday Emma had almost caught them kissing because they couldn’t keep their hands off of each other.
She started typing rapidly to try to get her mind on anything other than Jared when he said her name. She jumped. She was so irritated with herself that she glared at him and tried to keep typing. He shifted on his feet, silent for a long moment. “Okay if I sit down?”
She closed her eyes and nodded quickly. He sat down across from her and took a gulp of his coffee. “Trey’s coming this way,” he commented.
Relief washed through her. Right now, she needed a chaperone for purposes of distraction when it came to Jared. Once they got through the hellos with Trey, Susie jumped right in. “So Jared swears you’re a good guy. For the most part, I trust Jared’s judgment…”
Jared interrupted her. “For the most part? Seriously? Do I get any credit?”
Susie glared at him, fighting the flush she felt creeping up her neck. “I just gave you some credit! It was a turn of phrase. I didn’t actually mean there are times when I don’t trust your judgment. For God’s sake, don’t be so critical.”
Jared shook his head and waved for her to continue.
Susie gave Jared a pointed look before turning her focus back to Trey. “So Jared swears you’re a good guy. I just want to make sure you know that if you do anything to hurt Emma, I’ll make you regret it,” she said emphatically.
Trey, of course, gave the right answer—for the second time—and Susie wished Jared was as easy to deal with as Trey. She was distracted from this when Trey pointed to the parking lot and called Darren to let him know Emma’s ex was there. Susie started to get up from the table, and Jared laid a hand on her arm. “Susie, don’t run out there. Let’s get Darren on his way at least.”
Susie wanted to shake him off, but she knew he was right. She experienced a moment of satisfaction when Jared latched onto Trey’s arm next and stopped him mid-stride. Trey shook his arm, but Jared held firm.
“Come on, man, let me go,” Trey said.
Jared gave him a hard look. “It’s better for Susie or me to follow him. He knows who you are. Seeing you might end with him taking off again.” Jared looked to Susie. “Now that we know Darren’s on the way, let’s head over. But you can’t run over and make it obvious.”
Susie could barely stand to have him directing her, but what he said made sense. She couldn’t hold back a huff, but she nodded. Jared’s bossiness raised her hackles. Not to mention that she wanted to run over and punch Emma’s ex. When they started walking, she managed to stay at his side for a few strides before she tried to move more quickly.
Jared grabbed her arm. “Susie,” he said, his tone edged with warning. “Don’t make this obvious. Walk at a normal pace.”
She forced herself to breath slowly. “I’m not running. Let’s just try to get there a little quicker.” Once again, she picked up the pace. Once again, Jared grabbed her arm, this time tugging her hand into his and holding on. She glared at him. “Aren’t you just Mr. In-Charge,” she said under her breath.
“Heard that,” Jared replied.
She glared at him. “Why do you have to be so bossy?”
He didn’t even look at her. “I don’t think now is the time for this conversation. I’m not being bossy, I’m trying to keep you from making a scene.”
“I’m not making a scene,” Susie argued as they pushed through the door into the drugstore across the parking lot from Misty Mountain Café. They immediately veered to follow Emma’s ex down the aisle he’d turned into. Ten minutes later, after combing the entire store, it was obvious they lost him.
As they returned to the parking lot to let Trey know, Susie couldn’t help herself. “Told you we should have gone faster.”
Jared came to a stop and turned to her. “We never lost sight of him before we went in the store. Unless you planned to accost him, there was no point in going any faster.”
“I wasn’t going to accost him!”
“So what exactly were you planning to do if you ran after him?”
“I don’t know!”
Jared took a deep breath and held her gaze. “Could we just check in with Darren and then you can have it out with me?”
It was all she could do not to slap him. All Jared had to do was exist in her presence, and she became flustered and wanted him so desperately, she couldn’t even think. Anger was the only emotion she could grab hold of to try to get control. She closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe. She nodded and started walking. A few minutes later, Trey handed over her bag with her laptop and papers. She returned to Misty Mountain to get her coffee before she left. Jared followed her quietly. She wasn’t sure if he thought they’d talk now, but she was too out of sorts. This thing with him discombobulated her in every which way. She wished she could be like her friends and find a man who was just right for her. Definitely not one who infuriated her, made her heart pound, her insides topsy-turvy, and made her lose control.
Susie walked quickly to the table where she’d left her coffee and purse, smiling wryly when she realized Trey had enough sense to keep her laptop with him, but had left her purse. It sat untouched on the table. She grabbed both items and walked out, promptly colliding with Jared who was waiting outside. Papers floated to the ground while she scrambled to keep hold of her laptop bag. Without a word, Jared picked them up and handed them to her.
“Thank you,” she mumbled, not quite ready to look at him.
She finally forced her gaze to his. Those amazing green eyes looked back at hers. His expression was unreadable. His shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath. After a long silence, he cleared his throat. “Well, let’s have it. You’ve been pissed off at me since the minute I saw you today. Mind explaining what’s going on?”
As she held his eyes, a flicker of uncertainty flashed in the depths of green. Her anger—the anger that even she couldn’t make sense of—softened. With it, her sense of control waned. She was beginning to realize how much her irritation with Jared kept her feelings for him at bay. She forced herself to take a breath. Anxiety bloomed in her chest. This situation with Jared had left her unmoored and confused.
She shook her head. “I’m not pissed off…” She paused when Jared arched a brow.
“Coulda fooled me,” he said sardonically.
By some miracle, she managed a rueful smile. “Okay, maybe I can see I might have seemed pissed off. I’m just…I don’t know…” Her words trailed off, and she shrugged.
She hoped Jared would say something here, but he held silent, his eyes focused intently on her. She fortified herself with another deep breath. “This…” she gestured between them “…is, um, kind of confusing.” Words tumbled through her mind. I can’t stop thinking about you. You drive me crazy with just a look and now I know how it feels to have your hands on my body. And you make me feel like I’m losing control and that scares the hell out of me. Just thinking about the other night and the kisses in between brought a swirl of heat to her center and a flush from head to toe.
Jared finally nodded. “Right. Confusing. That’s one way to put it.” He looked away, his eyes staring out toward the bay. When he finally turned back, his eyes were uncertain. He cleared his throat again. “So do you usually act pissed off when you’re confused?”
Susie couldn’t help it, but she giggled. “I guess I do. Not always, but sometimes.”
Jared’s teeth flashed in a grin. Her stomach somersaulted when his dimple flashed.
He nodded slowly, his smile fading. “Good to know. I’ll keep that in mind next time you seem pissed off at me. But seriously…” his eyes sobered and his words were measured “…there was a reason I didn’t think your one-night stand idea would work.”
Susie tried to shut her brain off, but now that she’d had a taste of what it was like to lose herself in Jared, all she wanted was more. One night with him hadn’t even come close to quenching her desire. Looking at him, flashes d
rifted through her mind—his lips closing around her nipple, his finger sliding into her wet channel, the feel of his cock sliding in and out of her. Stop! Her body’s reaction to the mere thought of what it felt like to be with Jared was so strong, she became wet in seconds.
Jared glanced around. They were in a busy area, tourists and locals alike coming in and out of the coffee shop and other shops across the parking lot. “It might be better if we have this conversation somewhere more private,” he said, turning back to her.
Susie nodded quickly. Jared reached over and carefully lifted the bag that held her laptop and the papers she’d stuffed inside. Wordlessly, he tidied it and threw it over his shoulder. “Where to?” he asked, his green eyes expectant.
“Um…my office?”
Jared shook his head. “Nope. Too many possible interruptions.”
“We need to talk now?” Susie was getting more nervous by the second. She’d kind of hoped they could just blow by any talking about what was going on.
Jared gave her a long look. It felt like he could see right through her. “It’s not like I want to talk, but it doesn’t seem like pretending like nothing happened is getting us anywhere. We can’t avoid each other. You’re my friend, Susie. I don’t want to avoid you. Not to mention that even if we wanted to avoid each other, it would mean avoiding all of our friends. So the way I see it, we have to try to be adults about this.”
Susie knew her cheeks were bright red about now, but she managed a nod. “Okay if not my office, do you want to stop by my place?”
Jared nodded. “Perfect. I’ll follow you.” He immediately turned and walked to her car. His black truck was parked beside it. He carefully set her bag on the passenger seat. He opened his truck and grabbed a pair of sunglasses from the dashboard, slipping them on before looking her way. Flustered, she hopped in her car and started driving.
