Wanting You: A Cowboy Romance (Texas Hill Country Romance Book 2)

by Mae Martini

  Jake glanced at it and shoved it in his front pocket. “We’ll talk during the week for final plans, Okay?”

  “Sure.” She nodded her head, not convinced.

  “Okay, I have to go.” He brought his arms up and wrapped her in them.

  She brought her arms to his waist and held on.

  Jake kissed her deeply again, then left.

  He left her breathless and all she could do was stand there, watching the closed door, thinking about how he made her feel. The tingly sensations she always felt whenever he was touching her or looking at her made her feel warm and emotional. It had to be lust; it couldn’t be more, could it?

  Chapter 12

  Jake had called Gia every day since he last saw her at her hotel room. He had made plans with her to come out to her that next Friday. When he called her to give her his flight information, she had said she’d pick him up at the airport.

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I had to cancel my flight today. Something’s come up.”

  “Oh….. Okay,” Gia said into the phone. She had been giddy since that past Wednesday when Jake called her and told her he would be out on Friday. She was going to meet him at the airport and bring him home to her house. But now she was disappointed…. with him for believing him, and with herself for allowing herself to believe him. She had her hopes up, but deep down, she knew it was impossible to have a relationship with someone she met and quickly had sex with in Las Vegas. It was what it was.

  “Well, I have to go, Jake. You take care of yourself.” She knew she sounded cold, but she couldn’t help it.

  “Gia, wait, wait.”

  “What?”

  Ouch. He knew she was upset. “Did you see today’s paper?”

  Gia sighed. She had gotten up about an hour before and hadn’t gone out front to get the paper yet. She was still in a tank top and sleep shorts with a blue hydrating mask on her face. She took the day off to participate in a fundraiser her father was involved with and to spend the remainder of the day with Jake, but now she wished she hadn’t. “No.”

  “Oh. Well, do you have access to the paper?”

  She blew out a breath. “It’s out front, Jake. Just tell me.”

  “No, no, no, you have to see the article.”

  “Fine,” she said as she walked to the front door. “What’s it about?” She unlocked the front door and opened it. Looking down on the porch, she didn’t see the paper, where it had been every morning for the past two and a half years. She slowly swept her eyes up and saw a pair of well worn cowboy boots under jean clad legs and a dangling plastic bag with the paper in it. She quickly looked up and gasped.

  “Oh my God! Oh my God!” She closed the door and panicked, throwing down her phone without hitting end as she ran to her bathroom and washed off the blue mask that was only halfway dried. Next, she brushed her teeth as the doorbell rang.

  She quickly brushed her hair, then made her way to the front door again. She slowly opened it and peeked out. There was Jake, leaning his back against the porch railing while reading her paper. He looked up with a smile.

  She slowly raised the corners of her lips and walked over to him.

  He opened his arms and she walked into his embrace.

  They kissed and kissed and kissed some more.

  “I’ve missed you, little Smurf,” Jake said at her mouth with a charming grin. He couldn’t get out of his head, her reaction when she saw him. He could have sworn she jumped about five feet in the air with a look of shock on her face before she slammed the door on him.

  Gia let out a loud nervous laugh. “I missed you, too. What are you doing here?”

  “I was able to get an earlier flight out and-”

  “Why didn’t you call me, I would have picked you up at the airport.”

  “And miss my chance of seeing your sexy blue face.” He chuckled as he brought his index finger up to just below her ear and swiped the little bit of blue on it.

  Her cheeks pinked out on her when he brought his finger in view of her eyes.

  Grinning, he brought his lips to where he swiped off the blue and kissed her softly.

  Leaning her body against Jake’s hard body had Gia fantasizing naughty things. She sighed as she snuggled even closer.

  Jake’s arms grew tighter around her and he buried his face in her neck and inhaled her clean, with a hint of the beach, scent. He slowly licked his way up to her ear and felt himself grow as he heard soft whimpers escape her mouth.

  He picked her up and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist, making note at how aroused he was, and she smiled.

  With long determined strides, Jake walked them into her home, closed the door with his foot, and brought her up against it as his hands caressed her thighs.

  They were both breathing heavy as she began to unzip his jeans, when there was a knock on the door.

  “Come on, open up, G. I have to talk to you,” Came a frantic voice on the other side of the door.

  Gia and Jake broke the kiss and to the disappointment of Jake, Gia unwrapped her legs and, slid down his body.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  “It’s not a problem.”

  Gia turned around and opened the door. Her friend Jamie barged in, hysterical and almost knocking her down.

  Not even seeing Jake, Jamie continued into the house and said, “Close the door Gia, I’m going out of my mind, I need to talk to you.”

  Gia closed the door and Jake and she shared another look and she shrugged her shoulders.

  “Tyler is cheating on me,” Jamie said, and then turned around and noticed Jake for the first time.

  “Well hello, handsome, I’m Jamie,” Jamie said.

  “Jamie, this is Jake. Jake, Jamie, my neighbor from across the street.”

  Jake put out his hand and Jamie shook it. Jake noticed the firm grip.

  “Ooooohhhh, Jake,” Jamie mouthed to Gia.

  Gia cracked up. “You know, I’m pretty sure he could read your lips.”

  Jamie, ever so quick, turned to her and said, “Yes, but the question is, can he read yours? If you know what I mean.”

  “Jamie!” Gia said, turning all pink as she noticed the amused look on Jake’s face. She turned up the corners of her lips as she shook her head in disbelief “Now tell me, what’s all this about Tyler cheating? You know he loves you.

  “uh, hmmm…”

  As Jamie proceeded to tell Gia about Tyler cheating, Jake sat down on the couch and studied Jamie.

  He was well built and very tanned. A model came to mind as he assessed his tight black muscle shirt and purple shorts displaying muscular legs. His jet black hair was so neat, not a strand out of place, and pushed back, with a little pouf in the front, and he sported sideburn picks.

  Jamie was good looking, and Jake felt a little threatened until he realized he was gay.

  “… And he called me the last minute last night, when he knew dinner was waiting for him, to tell me he had a meeting he couldn’t get out of. And when I questioned him when he came home, he was being very aloof. You know I don’t like aloofness, Gia,” Jamie continued.

  “Yes, I know, Jamie,” Gia said with a ghost of a smile as she poured coffee and handed a mug to Jamie. She looked to Jake and held up the pot.

  “No, thank you,” he said, shaking his head.

  She then poured herself a cup.

  “So I did some snooping when he was sleeping this morning and I found this,” Jamie continued. He held up a small ripped piece of paper.

  Gia looked at him not understanding.

  “It’s a phone number with the name Joel Harris.” He placed it in Gia’s hand and moved to the refrigerator to get some milk for his coffee and Gia stuck her cup out to him for a hit of the milk as she read the paper.

  After pouring the milk, Jamie put it back in the fridge and turned around and walked into the living room and set his coffee cup down on the coffee table, making sure to use a coaster that he retrieved from one of the two d
rawers from that table, then sat down on the soft cream colored leather recliner facing the matching couch.

  Jake felt a twinge of jealousy again. This guy was very comfortable in Gia’s house.

  Gia followed Jamie into the living room and sat down on the couch, near Jake. She looked at him and gave him a warm smile, then turned her attention to her high strung neighbor. “Jamie, you know Tyler is going to be furious with you for going through his pockets.”

  “Oh, puff. He’ll just have to get over it. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have found that number. I’m thinking of calling it.” He picked up his mug and took a sip of coffee.

  “I don’t think that’s a good id–”

  “Oh, could you call it for me? Please, please?”

  “No, no. I’m not getting involved and you shouldn’t either. You need to respect Tyler and trust him or come right out and confront him.”

  “Jake, what would you do?” Jamie abruptly turned to him.

  Jake really wasn’t paying attention to their conversation all that much. He just kept looking at Gia, and not wanting to seem petty, he wished Jamie would leave so he could be alone with her. And what was the black thing that ran from a doorway down her hall to another doorway across from it. He only got a glimpse.

  “Uh…”

  “Jamie, that’s not fair. Don’t ask him that. He doesn’t even know you two.”

  “Oh, fine.” He flung a hand in the air and then rose from his chair. He strolled to the door swaying his ass in a flamboyant manner. Then he turned around. “Don’t you have a meet at HB in an hour?”

  Gia quickly looked to the clock on the wall in the kitchen, visible from the half wall of the breakfast bar. “Oh shit. I do.” She rose up and started to run to her bedroom, turned around, looked at Jake, and smiling, said, “Come with me,” as she beckoned him with her finger. He flew off the couch and went to her. To Jamie, as he was leaving, she yelled, “It’s a heat, not a meet and we’ll see you down there. Don’t be late.”

  Jake had never been to Huntington Beach before, but he knew it was referred to as Surf City, USA. With over eight miles of beach, here is where you’d find the most uninterrupted waves of all of the west coast, Gia had told him. With a combination of swells around Catalina and swells generated from storms and hurricanes, HB was ideal for surfing year round. She gave him a quick overview, while driving to her father’s house on the beach.

  After he watched her quickly throw a coat of wax on her surfboard as she explained the technique, he helped her switch from her Audi A5 convertible to her father’s Jeep Wrangler. They loaded the surfboard up on the roof racks, and they even loaded a board for him.

  His excitement of getting to watch her surf quickly turned to lust when he watched her wiggle into a shorty, pink and black wetsuit. The weather was warm, but she explained to him that the water temperature was usually around sixty-five degrees year round.

  On the beach, Jake people watched as he sat in the sand near the water. There were lots of toned tanned bodies in, barely there, bathing suits. And, geez, just about everyone had blonde hair. The smell of the salt water mixed in with sunscreen wafted through his nose, and he squinted from the glare of the bright sun.

  He watched Gia, in that wetsuit that fit snuggly and accentuated every magnificent curve, paddle out into the ocean, and dunk under the waves while on her board, to get some practice in before her competition. It was a light hearted heat, done for a charity event her father asked her to participate in. Jake watched her talk to a guy out in the water. He assumed it was her father. She had said she would meet him in the water because she was running late.

  His thoughts turned to earlier that morning when she called him to her, in her apartment. She led him to her shower, turned on and regulated the water, and stripped down. She got in and as soon as Jake snapped out of his wonderment, he quickly undressed and stepped into the tub-less shower.

  He wrapped his arms around her and brought her body against his. They kissed as the water cascaded down their heads and backs. Jake caressed and fondled her till she orgasmed.

  When they got out of the shower and they dried off, Jake reached into his wallet and pulled out a condom and slid into her on her bed.

  Glorious, fucking glorious was how he described it to himself.

  Jake heard a towel snap to his side and turned to see Jamie laying it down next to him. He nodded his head.

  Jamie plopped down. “We’re lucky; the good waves seem to be closer to the shore this morning. Oh, there’s our little girl talking to my Tyler,” he said as he pointed out into the ocean. “Oh, she’s going for that wave. Watch and learn. She is one of the best out there today.”

  Jake turned from the ocean to Jamie and smiled to himself. Then he focused on Gia. He couldn’t believe his little Gia, a great surfer. He was impressed. My little Gia?

  He watched her as she was eyeing the approaching wave while lying down on the board. She turned her head forward and paddled quickly. Just at the top of the wave she rose up in one swift motion, and Jake watched her position her feet and outstretch her arms and ride. She bottom turned to his left and rode back up the wave and reached down and grabbed her surfboard and flipped around in the air and came back down on the wave. She rode up and down the wave, all the way in to shore. Without missing a beat, she turned around and headed back out to the other surfers waiting for a wave.

  “Hah! How’s that for grace. She becomes one with the wave. That girl is a true soul surfer, but don’t tell her that. She’ll deny it.”

  “She looked good,” Jake said with an ear to ear grin and nodding his head. He was so excited. He’d heard of the term soul surfer before but didn’t quite know what it meant.

  “Okay, see that guy paddling for that wave?” Jamie asked pointing his finger.

  “Yeah?”

  “That’s Lucas Lomusco, Gia’s daddy. He taught her everything she knows.”

  Again, Jake was treated to some good surfing. He turned to Jamie after he watched Gia’s father paddle back out. “What’s a soul su–” He stopped mid sentence when he saw Jamie talking to an attractive dark haired woman, who looked to be about ten years his senior, in a black string bikini that barely contained her breasts. She was draped in gold chains all over and he noticed the gold Rolex on her wrist. The woman had a beautiful, flawless face and body, and Jake couldn’t help but think plastic.

  The woman looked from Jamie to him. “Well hello, handsome. I’m Stefania.” She extended her hand. She gave him a brilliant smile and he realized she was flirting with him.

  “Jake,” he said. Then he turned back to the ocean to watch Gia without giving her another thought. He had no interest in anyone other than Gia. And he analyzed that thought and realized it was true from the moment he met her at the pool in Vegas.

  “Oohh Tyler’s up. Watch him, Jake. Watch him,” Jamie gushed.

  Jake got a kick out of Jamie. He watched Tyler, who rode a wave in, then also went back out. When he turned back to Jamie, the woman was gone. He scanned around and found her with her hand rubbing up and down some guy’s arm. He could tell she was flirting. She was throwing her hair around and smiling.

  A horn blew and all the surfers made their way in. The competition was about to start.

  Jake rose up and went to greet Gia by the shore. With a big smile for her he said. “Wow! That was awesome, darlin’.” He wanted to kiss her, but didn’t know if she would appreciate it in front of a crowded beach.

  “Thank you. Jake, this is my Father, Lucas Lomusco,” she said as an older gentleman with blond hair and gray sideburns came up to them.

  They shook hands and Jake noticed his eyes were the same color as Gia’s.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lomusco.”

  “Please, call me Luke,” her father said with a warm smile. He glanced past Jake and noticed the dark haired woman standing close to and rubbing the arm of a young muscular built guy, and grimaced.

  “Luke.” Jake nodded.


  “Do you want to get together for dinner tonight?” Luke asked as he turned to his daughter.

  “Can we take a rain check, daddy?” she asked. She had limited time with Jake and wanted to spend it all alone with him.

  “Sure, sweetheart,” he said just as someone called his name. He looked to the source, then turned to her and Jake and nodded.

  He walked off and Gia found it odd that he walked in the opposite direction of his wife who didn’t even make a move to come over and greet him at the water’s edge. She was thrilled that Jake did.

  “Did you want to go to dinner with my father tonight?”

  “No. I’m only here for another twenty four hours, I’d rather spend all that time with you.”

  “Me, too.” Her insides heated up as a warm smile couldn’t suppress itself. She could have melted when she noted the passion that was on Jake’s face at that moment.

  It was at that point that someone chest pushed into Jake’s back. Jake was startled. He went into a fighting stance as he quickly turned.

  “I want to talk to you,” the guy who bumped into him said to Gia as he grabbed her arm and yanked her a few feet away from Jake, ignoring him.

  “Why are you avoiding my ca–”

  “Oww, Donavan. Let go of me.” She tried to shake him off.

  Jake rammed into Donavan’s side, careful not to get Gia caught in it.

  The guy, startled, looked back to Jake and charged into him. Jake was quick and landed a fist on Donavan’s jaw and he momentarily faltered.

  Donavan brought his hand up to his jaw and massaged it. He brought his head down and went to ram into Jake’s stomach, but Jake anticipated his move and stepped aside. Donavan could not stop the force in which he was moving and knew he was going to fall. He put his hands down to stop himself. He heard snickers all around him and it just made him more enraged. He quickly righted himself and brought up a fist to try to connect with Jake’s face, but Jake was quicker. He grabbed Donavan’s fist in his hand and made a fist with his other hand. He brought it back for momentum and just when it looked like it was going to connect with Donavan’s face again, he felt large arms around him, stopping his swing. Jake quickly looked back and his eyes made contact with Jamie. He looked forward and saw another man behind Donavan, holding him back.