Hard Charger: Jake & Sophia: A Hot Contemporary Romance

by Fobes, Tracy

  Alex hit him hard on the arm. “Hey bro, stop staring at Sophia.”

  Jake shook himself. Another memory crowded out the images of Sophia: Alex punching him in the face for sleeping with his sister just before he’d left for boot camp. Although he’d thought of her several times since he’d arrived home, he’d deliberately avoided asking Alex about her, for exactly this reason. He cut his gaze over to Alex. “Are we good about Sophia?”

  “Just make sure you stay away from her,” Alex said, a warning note in his voice.

  “I’ll keep my distance,” Jake promised, though inside, he wasn’t sure if this was a promise he’d be able to keep.

  Sophia had chased him for years, and when Alex’s little sister suddenly became a woman, he’d no longer been able to resist temptation. He’d been her first. His mouth grew dry as he remembered how he’d tried to be gentle and slow at first. But she’d refused to have it. No, she’d been wild for him, her fingernails scratching down his back; and over and over he’d thrust deep inside her. When he’d brought her to climax, he’d lost himself to a deep sensation and emotion that was as close to a religious experience as possible.

  For just a few hours, they’d had such an intense connection, experienced such incredible, sizzling passion—it still left him breathless.

  “It wasn’t easy for her after you left,” Alex added.

  Jake winced. “I know. I’m going to leave her alone.”

  “Make sure you do.”

  Jake took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Who’s her friend?”

  “Oh, that’s Cynthia Lawrence,” Alex replied. “Likes to be called Cyn. She goes to Princeton University, but took the semester off. Her daddy is a big-shot lawyer with his own firm. His own skyscraper too, probably. She’s staying at the Mermaid Inn with my mom.”

  “You bang her yet?” Jake asked.

  Alex laughed. “No, but I wouldn’t mind...unless you get to her first, of course.”

  Just then, Sophia stood on her tiptoes, apparently looking over the heads of people swaying to a low, throbbing blues song to see if she knew anyone else in the bar. Her focus zeroed in on Alex, and then shifted to Jake. Their gazes locked. Her lips parted. Those green eyes of hers seemed to smolder as she studied him.

  Jake swallowed. He felt it again, that deep yearning in his gut, the one he always had for her. He forced himself to smile with polite reserve, but as it always was with Sophia, his dick was already rock-hard.

  She began walking toward them, Cyn in tow.

  “Shit. Here she comes with her friend,” Alex said. “Remember what I said, Jake.”

  “Christ, lay off,” Jake grumbled. “I promise--I won’t bother your little sister.”

  Finally she was going to see him again.

  Sophia had hardly eaten since she’d found out he’d come home—she’d been too excited. Too nervous. Cyn had been yelling at her, telling her she was becoming too skinny, but at this point, the thought of any kind of food made her nauseous. She’s dreamed of Jake two nights ago—had dreamed of him too many times to count since he’d left ten years ago, and now he was actually here, at Rowdy Ray’s. When she and Cyn had driven past the bar on their way home, and she’d noticed Jake’s bike parked outside, they’d stopped immediately.

  And yet, part of her wondered what seeing him would lead to. She had no place in her life at the moment for the kind of relationship that involvement with Jake would mean. Maybe she’d just get a look at him in Rowdy’s Ray’s, and then leave.

  “At last, I get to meet God’s gift to women,” Cyn muttered, as they walked inside the hot, smoky bar and exchanged smiles with two guys standing near the entrance.

  Sophia threw a harassed glance at her friend. “He’s just a normal guy.”

  “Judging by the way you talk about him...he’s a lot more than normal.”

  Sophia shrugged. “You never forget your first crush.”

  “And you never forget the guy who popped your cherry,” Cyn added.

  Sophia smiled. Cyn had such a way with words. “Let’s just get a look at him. You don’t have to meet him.” She stood on her tiptoes to get a better view around the bar. Four guys were up on stage, playing guitars and singing about honkytonks. In front of them, girls and guys were dancing, some together, and others solo. Guys standing on the edge of the dance floor had their attention on the solo girls. In front of her, Luke and that new bartender were slinging drinks around; and throughout the rest of the bar, people were drinking, eating, talking. She thought the place was unusually busy for that time of night...

  Her gaze focused on two men who sat in a booth about half way across the room.

  Jake. With Alex.

  Jake looked older. Tougher. He was wearing an Army green t-shirt that said “Airborne Rangers Lead the Way.” It clung to his broad shoulders and well-muscled biceps. A few days’ worth of beard covered his strong, square chin. His tan gave him a healthy-looking glow. She saw that he’d cut his brown hair very short, almost like a buzz cut. She liked it longer, but she supposed military guys had to keep it short.

  Suddenly, he looked her way. Their gazes met. All at once, she was drowning in his dark brown eyes.

  She poked Cyn with her elbow. “There he is.”

  “Where?” Cyn squinted and glanced around the bar.

  “Next to my brother.”

  “Oh.” Cyn let out a little breath. “I see why you can’t forget him. Let’s go say hello.”

  Sophia grabbed her friend’s arm, her handbag bumping awkwardly between them. “Wait, I don’t want to talk to him—”

  “Yes, you do,” Cyn said, cutting her off, and started threading her way through the crowd on the dance floor.

  Sophia hesitated, then adjusted her handbag and trailed helplessly after her friend. A tightness in her throat, she looked away from Jake. She couldn’t seem to meet his gaze again.

  All through her teen years, she’d worshipped her brother’s hot friend, the one who’d winked at her when no one was looking and seemed so strong and capable. When he’d come over to hang out with Alex, she’d sit there like a clumsy twit, unable to talk, unable to do just about anything but smile foolishly and gaze at him with adoring eyes. But once she’d found out he was going off to war, she’d gathered up her courage and chased him until he was hers, for just one night.

  The next morning, he’d left for good.

  And then the nightmare had begun. She’d never told him about the miscarriage, though. Never wrote him once.

  She and Cyn reached the booth and said hello. Sophia looked at Alex first. Then she forced herself to glance at Jake. He smiled at her in an aloof way, and she smiled back, in perfect control.

  “You’re home, Jake, that’s wonderful,” she murmured. She realized her palms were clammy.

  He raked her body with an intent gaze. “Sophia! You’re all grown up.”

  She smiled tentatively. “It happens to the best of us.”

  He returned her smile. “How’ve you been?”

  “I’m fine. I’m better than fine...I’m wonderful.”

  Their gazes were locked; they might have been the only two people in the bar. Her blood was pounding through her veins--she could barely breathe. She pulled off the scarf she’d been wearing and slipped it into her coat pocket.

  Cyn discreetly elbowed her. She suddenly remembered her friend was standing at her side, waiting to be introduced. “This is my friend Cynthia,” she said, and her voice sounded strange to her own ears...high and breathless.

  “Call me Cyn.” Cyn gave Jake a charming smile. “I’ve heard so much about you, I feel like I already know you.”

  Jake’s eyebrows rose. “Really? I didn’t know I was a celebrity.”

  “You’re our hometown war veteran,” Sophia said, then shot a warning look toward Cyn, one that said to shut the hell up. “Everyone knows about you.”

  Jake turned to Alex. “Well, I’m honored.”

  Alex smiled. “There was a brief write-up in th
e paper about you two years ago. I saved it if you want to read it.”

  “I think I’ll pass,” Jake replied good-naturedly.

  “So, what did you do in the Army?” Cyn asked, then boldly touched a tattoo Jake had on his lower bicep: a winged centaur holding a sword, with the words “Night Stalkers” inscribed beneath it.

  Jake focused on Cyn, and Sophia was glad to see some reserve in his eyes. “I flew helicopters.”

  “Wow. That sounds tough. I’ve seen those cockpits in movies—they’re filled with soooo many controls. You learned how to work them?” Cyn fluttered her eyelashes at him.

  Chuckling, Jake lifted an eyebrow and traded a glance with Alex, as if to say, is she for real? “Yes, I learned how to work the controls. Once you get used to it, it’s easy.”

  “Jake was in the 160th Aviation Regiment,” Alex clarified. “The Airborne Rangers. Ever hear of it?”

  “Not really,” Cyn admitted.

  “It’s a special unit for the Army’s best helicopter pilots,” Alex said slowly, with a patronizing edge to his voice. “They’re the night stalkers. They fly at night--right above the ground using night vision and infrared--and bomb the hell out of the target.”

  “Wow. That’s impressive,” Cyn breathed, looking first at Alex, and then back at Jake. She traced Jake’s tattoo again with one finger. Jake smiled.

  Sophia forgot about the message. She felt the first stirrings of true annoyance at her friend. “Where were you stationed?” she asked, her gaze fixed on his firm, sensuous lips.

  “Afghanistan, mostly. I worked with a really special group of guys.”

  “Did you have any part in the Bin Laden raid?” Cyn chimed in.

  “I wouldn’t talk about it, even if I did,” Jake replied in a lazy voice.

  A few moments passed, during which they all stared at each other, and Sophia knew again that overpowering sense of hero-worship for Jake, that craving for him. Deliberately she crushed her handbag against her side, until she felt the hard lump within its leather interior. Only then was she able to settle her out-of-control emotions down.

  She wasn’t that silly twit any longer. In fact, she had her own mission at this point, and it had nothing to do with him.

  “Now that you’re home, have you found a job yet?” she asked.

  Jake picked up his whiskey and took a slug before answering. “I’m working construction. My crew is rebuilding the rectory over at Holy Trinity.”

  “Construction?” Cyn’s eyebrows climbed into her hairline. “You’re working construction? Why aren’t you flying a helicopter somewhere?”

  “I don’t have enough flying time or NVG training. I’m also short on the EMS training.” He shrugged. “I’m fine with working on a construction crew, especially since I’m helping to rebuild the town.”

  Sophia nodded in understanding. She knew that a lot of returning war veterans had a hard time finding work, no matter what their qualifications had been in the military.

  Jake rubbed his chin with two long fingers. “What about you, Sophia? What have you been up to? I thought I’d find you pushing a baby carriage along the sidewalk by now.”

  She froze at the mention of the word ‘baby.’ Then, without thinking about it, she put her palm on her lower abdomen. Jake saw the movement and lifted an eyebrow.

  “School for a couple of years,” she stuttered. “Work, too. I’ve been keeping busy.”

  Alex sat back against the booth seat, glanced pointedly at his watch, and raised an eyebrow as he focused on Sophia. “It’s nearly one AM. Shouldn’t you be home now, sis?”

  “Uh, we’re not little kids,” Cyn replied. “You don’t have to tell us to go to bed.”

  Sophia put a hand on her friend’s arm. She knew her brother was just looking out for her. “It’s okay. He’s right. We should be heading out.”

  Cyn groaned and rolled her gaze heavenward. “You gotta stop letting him run your life.”

  Her handbag banging against her hip, Sophia laughed. “What else are brothers for?” She gave Alex a quick nod, avoided Jake’s intent look, and then yanked her friend away from the men. “Let’s go.”

  With Cyn grumbling the entire time, Sophia led the way across the dance floor. Her stomach was still fluttering and her knees felt weak. She hadn’t realized how much seeing Jake would affect her, and she hoped that his hold over her would weaken as time went on.

  They reached the bar’s exit. Cyn yanked the door open, and Sophia opened her handbag to get her car keys out. They’d fallen beneath her Glock .40, a handy semi-automatic gun her sponsor had given her. She shifted the gun aside, retrieved the keys, and then stepped out into the night with Cyn.

  Jake watched them go, his focus almost entirely on Sophia. She was different now. Beautiful. Poised. But vulnerable somehow, too. “How’s she doing, really?” he asked Alex, as the two girls walked out the exit.

  Alex shrugged. “She’s okay.”

  Jake noticed that she’d dropped the scarf she’d been wearing on the floor. He picked it up. It felt silky against his fingers...just like Sophia’s skin had felt. “She dropped her scarf.”

  “I’ll give it back to her.”

  Jake left the scarf on the table, so Alex wouldn’t forget it. “You said a while back that she’s waitressing for your mom at the Mermaid Inn.”

  “She has the evening shift.”

  “Before I left for the war, she said she was applying to Rowan U,” Jake murmured. “Did she go?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Did she graduate?”

  “Not really,” Alex admitted. “She had a few problems.”

  Jake frowned. “What kind of problems?”

  Alex shrugged. “I don’t know. Girl problems.”

  “Girl problems?” He recalled a conversation he’d just had with his own mother, and added, “You mean, like, where can I get a pedicure for twenty bucks?”

  “You gotta ask her, bro.”

  Jake lifted his eyebrows. “I can’t ask her because you’re insisting I stay away. What the hell’s going on with her?”

  “Nothing,” Alex replied, with more force than necessary. “She’s had a few problems, but she’s over them, and I’m proud of her. She’s done well for herself.”

  Jake drained his glass of whiskey before replying. “So that’s all you’re gonna tell me.”

  “There’s nothing else to tell.”

  “You know,” Jake said casually, despite the irritation bubbling inside of him, “I realize I didn’t do right by her.”

  “No, you didn’t,” Alex agreed.

  Jake hesitated as he tried to think of the right words. “The night before I’d left for boot camp, I hadn’t been sure if I’d ever be coming home. The recruiter had said I’d be sent to the Middle East, and that’s exactly where I ended up.” He shifted uncomfortably on the booth bench. “I thought I was gonna die. So I didn’t want to keep Sophia hanging on. I wanted her to move on. Find someone else. Someone who could make a life worth living for her.” He signaled for the waitress to bring them another round of drinks. “You might not believe this, but I didn’t want to hurt her.”

  “Just by leaving without a word, you hurt her,” Alex pointed out.

  “Yeah, but I would have hurt her worse, if I had led her on to believe I was going to come home and marry her, and then stepped on a landmine.” His lips twisted with regret. “I thought she’d be better off without me in her life.”

  “Sophia’s doing well now. And I want her to stay that way.”

  “I get it. I really do.” Jake paused a few seconds, and then asked the one question that had really been bugging him. “Did she find anyone else?”

  “She’s had boyfriends. Came close to marrying one. That ended badly. There’s someone else in her life now, though. He’s steady, smart, and good for her. I don’t want you to fuck that up.”

  The waitress came over then, with a fresh whiskey for Jake, and a beer for Alex. They thanked her, and then Jake faced Alex once mor
e. “Sophia’s special to me,” he said. “Not only is she your little sister, she’s like family. I’m not going to fuck up her life.”

  “That’s all I can ask.” Alex smiled.

  Jake looked down into his drink. The conversation had left him feeling like shit. It bugged him that Alex was so sure he’d fuck up any relationship with Sophia.

  The bar had started emptying out by then. He and Alex talked about work the next day and agreed to ride together tomorrow night. As they were talking, the pool-playing girls were laughing and poking each other playfully with their cue sticks. They were still shooting quick glances toward him and Alex. His lips twitching with a smile, Jake realized that the show the girls were putting on was just for them.

  Alex lifted an eyebrow. “Seems like they’re looking for some good ole fun. Maybe we should challenge them to a game, before Rowdy Ray kicks us out.”

  “See how they’re dressed?” Jake murmured. “Mini-skirts, net stockings, high heels...yeah, they’re hot, but what if they’re professionals?”

  Alex grinned. “Let’s go find out.”

  They grabbed their drinks, stood up, and eyed the girls for a moment.

  “Got a preference?” Alex asked.

  Jake looked them over. Both had long, dark silky hair. One was a blonde, and the other a brunette. They were wearing makeup, but not too much, and both looked somewhat fresh despite the late hour. He had a sudden vision of the blonde, her skirt jammed up around her waist as she bent over the pool table for him. “The blonde,” he said.

  “Fine. I’ll go for the brunette.” Alex sauntered over to the two girls, with Jake right behind him. “Hey ladies, you want to play a partners game?”