“Nate’s bad news, Melissa.” A muscle ticked in his lean jaw. “Stay away from him.”
Jake wasn’t telling her something she didn’t already know. Nate was bad news and although she had no plans to see him again, she didn’t appreciate being spoken to like an obstinate child.
“At least he isn’t embarrassed to be seen with me,” she said, unable to keep the petulance out of her voice. Frustrated with herself and with Jake, she tried to step around him while pressing the unlock button on Paige’s key remote. As the whoosh of the locks opening filled the silence, Melissa let out a surprised gasp as he grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him.
“Embarrassed?” He leaned in close. So close she could feel the warmth of his breath against her cheeks; so close she was swimming in his clean male scent. Her pulse raced as his gaze lowered to linger on her lips, then lifted. “Hardly,” he said, in a low husky tone that sent a vibration of tingles through her body. “Do you think this is easy for me? All I’ve thought about for months is what it would be like to touch you, to kiss you, to hear you say my name when I made you come.” He released his grip on her arm and slid his palm up to her shoulder, then her neck. Her heart skipped a beat and pleasurable goose bumps prickled her skin as he pushed her hair back and gently feathered his fingers over the sensitive skin of her neck.
“Jake,” she whispered, shivering in response to his light but teasing touch.
“Yeah. Just like that,” he said, then slid his hand to her nape and pulled her forward. At first, he was content to brush his lips against hers. Teasing her; tempting her. Only two weeks had passed but it seemed like a lifetime since they’d made love. It didn’t take long for her traitorous body to overrule her common sense. With an almost inaudible moan, she parted her lips and welcomed his devouring mouth.
The deep, wet kiss was unlike anything Melissa had ever experienced before. Hot and unbelievablyly sexy, it sent waves of scorching desire through her body, pooling between her legs. Paige’s keys slipped from her fingers and fell to the gravel as she slid her arms around Jake’s waist and pulled him against her. She felt his rock-hard quads pressing into her thighs and a thrill raced up her spine.
Without breaking their kiss, he slowly backed her up until she was pressed against his Land Rover. Placing his palms on the windows, he pinned her against the frame with his body and wedged his knee between her thighs. The seam of her jeans only added to the pleasurable friction as she gyrated shamelessly against his thigh. With a low growl, he dragged his mouth from hers and trailed his lips to her neck. Melissa gasped as he rubbed his open mouth on her throat, then used one hand to pull her top and bra strap to the side so he could press warm, wet kisses along her collarbone.
The faint sound of a car horn reminded her she was in a parking lot and that anyone could come upon them at any moment. But she didn’t care. She was so completely immersed in Jake and his slow, lush kiss that whatever reason she initially possessed had vacated her brain. As Jake nibbled his way up to her ear lobe, Melissa slipped her hands under the hem of his polo shirt and let her fingers glide up the warm, supple skin of his back. “I want you,” she whispered, just before he claimed her mouth with his.
* * *
With Melissa’s husky words echoing in his ears, Jake obeyed the basic urges inside of him and sank deeper into the kiss. Their lips and tongues tangled in a slow, sensuous exchange that sent a double shot of undiluted lust to his groin. His pulse pounded; all he could think about was how badly he ached to bury his cock into her warm, wet pussy and not come out until he made her scream his name.
And then he wanted to do it again. And again.
Feeling like he was about to explode, he tore his mouth from hers and trailed a path to her neck where he kissed the pulsing hollow at the base of her throat. She let out a whisper of a gasp and trembled. Good. She was just as turned on as he was. Burying his face in her neck, Jake caught her soft citruslike fragrance and inhaled deeply. He’d never forget her intoxicating scent. Never. His cock strained against his jeans; he wanted her so fucking much the thought of taking her up against his SUV in a public parking lot didn’t seem inappropriate at all.
“Jake.” Her husky voice penetrated the sexual fog blanketing him. Lifting his head, he met her sultry gaze. Without warning, his heart clenched and his breath lodged in his throat. God, she’s beautiful.
“Do you want me to stop?”
“No,” she whispered after what seemed like fucking forever.
Driven by an overwhelming need greater than anything he’d ever imagined, he took a step back and reached for the waistband of her jeans. He popped open the metal button, quickly lowered the zipper and then, forgetting everything else, he dropped down on his knees in front of her and separated the fly of her jeans. His heart pounded a primal beat at the sight of the sheer black lace that covered her. Leaning forward, he inhaled her womanly scent. She was wet. For him. He knew it as surely as he knew his own name; the thought of tasting her sent desire pulsing through his swollen, rigid flesh.
He hooked his fingers into the waistband of her jeans and just as he was about to slide them over her shapely hips, the sound of tires crunching on gravel stopped him cold.
Shit.
The sound of Melissa’s soft gasp of alarm and the sudden tensing of her body galvanized him into action. He quickly got to his feet and stepped in front of her as a white pick-up truck pulled into an open space several cars over from where his Land Rover was parked. He watched as the driver got out of the truck, locked it, and without glancing in their direction trudged across the loose gravel. Once the man turned the corner and disappeared from sight, Jake turned to find Melissa had zipped her jeans and was leaning against the Land Rover with her arms crossed over her chest.
“Talk about rotten timing.” Jake bent over and picked up the keys Melissa had dropped while they were kissing.
“More like excellent timing,” she said, snatching the keys from his outstretched hand. “What almost happened just now can never happen again.”
Jake scrubbed a hand over his jaw. If the abrupt arrival of the truck hadn’t shriveled his dick, the frigid glare in Melissa’s eyes would have had the same effect. “You didn’t want me to stop,” he said, even though she was right. What kind of an asshole would tell a woman he couldn’t have a relationship with her and then turn around and try to have sex with her? An asshole like Nate Simmons. The last guy he ever wanted to emulate.
“You’re right. I told you not to stop.” She breathed out a long sigh. “Obviously, I wasn’t thinking about what would happen afterward.” Melissa angled her head and gave him a long, searching look. “You’ve made your position clear, so let me tell you what I think.”
Jake shoved his hands into his pockets as desolation washed over him. His gut told him this was the last time he would see her. He tried to ignore the ache that settled in his chest, but he couldn’t. “I’m listening,” he said, and wished like hell things could be different.
“I think you care more about how you’re perceived by people you don’t even know than you care about being happy.”
He couldn’t help but scowl at that. “Really? Why don’t you talk to me when you’ve sunk your entire life savings into your own business? Talk to me after you’ve been charged with something you didn’t do and you’re afraid that because of someone else’s fucked-up agenda you might lose the one thing that matters most to you.” He pulled his hand out of his pocket and pointed at her. “You don’t know what you’re talking about and I resent the hell out of you trying to psychoanalyze me.”
Her brows rose. “Why are you so angry? Did I hit a nerve? From day one you told me not to care what other people thought about me or my weight. Did you mean that or does that advice only apply to other people?”
“It’s not the same thing.” He lowered his hand. “This is my life. My livelihood.”
“And what kind of life will it be if you’re always worried about other people’s opinions? What
will you miss out on?” She snapped her fingers and gave him a scornful smirk. “Oh wait, I forgot. Your business is what matters most to you so I guess you’ll be perfectly fine.”
“My business isn’t the only thing I care about,” he countered angrily.
“That’s not how it looks to me.” She glanced at Paige’s car. “Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to go home.” Jake stepped aside as she pulled open the car door. Before getting inside, she turned to look at him. “The one thing I’ve learned over the past nine months is to not live my life in fear. What’s ironic is the person who helped me come to that realization turned out to be the biggest coward of all.”
After Melissa pulled out of the parking lot, Jake sat in his SUV for several minutes without starting the engine. Despite his wholehearted belief that Melissa was dead wrong in her assessment of him, her words continued to echo in his head.
Coward?
How did she figure that? From where he sat, it wasn’t cowardly to care about maintaining his professional reputation, or ensuring his business grew and thrived. Hell, being successful was the American way.
What will you miss out on?
Jake stared at the concrete wall in front of him. A year ago that question had an easy answer. Tonight? Not so much.
* * *
The second Melissa walked into the townhouse and flipped on the lights Chester jumped off his favorite spot on the sofa and darted toward her. “Happy to see me?” she asked as he brushed up against her calves and meowed. “Someone’s in a lovey-dovey mood.” She smiled as she closed the door and set her purse and Paige’s keys on the table right next to it. “Come here, buddy,” she said as she bent over and scooped Chester into her arms.
Moving to the living room, she sank down on the sofa and let Chester settle on her lap. Absently stroking his soft fur, her dark mood brightened a tad as he began to purr. “You’re lucky you’re a cat. No messy relationship stuff for you,” she said, then let her head fall back against the cushion. She stared at the ceiling fan that whirled around over her head and refused to give in to the dry sob that had burned in the back of her throat ever since she left Jake standing in the Timbers parking lot staring after her.
She would never see him again. Her choice. But the only one she could make if she didn’t want her heart to stay stuck in a perpetual state of broken. After their steamy interlude tonight, it would be a big mistake to continue training with him. The attraction between them was too potent, and it seemed that all he had to do was touch her and she lost all self-control. Her cheeks burned at the thought of how eager she’d been to feel his mouth and tongue between her legs. And in a public parking lot, no less.
Quitting Jake would be like trying to stop eating chocolate. Damn near impossible. But unlike chocolate, she couldn’t partake in tiny doses of Jake. She was too greedy for that. She wanted all of him. Heart, body and mind.
Blinking back the tears blurring her vision, Melissa blew out a breath and lifted her head from the cushion. The movement caused Chester to lift his yellow-green eyes to hers. “At least I’ve got you,” she whispered. A tear spilled down her cheek as he softly meowed and nuzzled his head against her palm.
As she wiped the moisture from her cheek, she noticed the stack of mail Paige had left on the coffee table. On the top of the stack was a letter with the logo of Get Healthy Sacramento in the upper left-hand corner. “I just renewed my subscription,” she murmured with a frown and, holding Chester steady so she wouldn’t squeeze him, she leaned forward and grabbed the envelope with her fingertips. After she’d managed to open the envelope without disrupting Chester, she pulled out the paper inside, unfolded it and began to read:
Dear Ms. Atherton,
Congratulations! Out of hundreds of submissions, you and four other lucky readers of Get Healthy Sacramento have been chosen to be profiled in our annual transformational issue. My assistant, Suzanne Lyn, will contact you within the week to set up an appointment for both the interview and the photo shoot.
If you should have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly.
Sincerely,
Heidi Campbell
Editor—Get Healthy Sacramento
“Wow.” Melissa glanced down at Chester. “I forgot all about this,” she said and, unable to stop smiling, she reread the letter. Even after the second reading, she still couldn’t believe she’d been one of the lucky few selected out of so many readers. What the heck had Jake submitted that persuaded the magazine to choose her?
Tossing the letter on the cushion beside her, she gathered an annoyed Chester into her arms and hugged him. “I can’t wait to tell Jake,” she said, and enthusiastically kissed a squirming Chester on the top of his head. Just as quickly as it arose, her excitement faded. She wouldn’t be calling Jake. Not now. Not ever. She’d thank him in the interview and that would be that.
* * *
“I know it’s late,” Jake said with an apologetic grin as his sister-in-law opened the front door of the Tudor home she and J.T. shared in a neighborhood not far from his.
Angie waved her hand and offered him a warm smile. “Are you kidding? When you have a baby, this isn’t late. Jordan finally fell asleep and I was about to make myself some tea. Would you like some?” She peered at him with concern. “Actually, you look like you could use something stronger.”
“I’ll take some coffee, if it’s not too much trouble,” he said, and brushed past her as she pulled the door wider.
“It’s no trouble at all.” She closed the door and gave him a quick hug. “I have one of those coffee machines that makes one cup at a time.” Angie looped her arm around his and smiled up at him. “Come with me and tell me your troubles.”
“Troubles?” he asked as they made their way through the comfortable living room and toward the kitchen. As usual, the scent of cinnamon and spices filled the air and made his mouth water. Knowing Angie, she’d probably been baking earlier in the day. She’d told him many times how much it relaxed her.
“How do you know I have troubles?” He followed her into the kitchen, slid onto one of the wooden stools on the far side of the island and watched as she put water on for her tea, then pulled a coffee cartridge from a canister sitting on the granite countertop. “Maybe I just dropped by to say hi.”
Angie turned from the cupboard and placed her hands on her hips. “At ten thirty?” She flashed a sardonic grin.
“Okay. Fine.” He set his keys on the counter and folded his arms in front of him. He glanced at the clear glass cookie jar. “Are those chocolate chip?”
“Yes. And you can have some with your coffee.”
Less than ten minutes later, he sat across from Angie at the kitchen table and polished off one of the homemade cookies she’d put on a plate between them. “How come J.T. isn’t as big as a house?” he asked, truly mystified as to how his brother could eat everything Angie baked and not weigh four hundred pounds.
Angie chuckled as she shrugged her slim shoulders. “I have no clue. He’s the human garbage disposal, but nothing he eats turns to fat. Maybe it’s all the working out. Or maybe he’s one of the lucky ones.”
J.T. was lucky. He had a wife he adored, a daughter he was crazy about and a career most guys would kill for. Jake wrapped his fingers around his warm coffee mug and met Angie’s brilliant blue eyes. Despite her unorthodox introduction into the Sawyer family, Angie fit in so seamlessly he sometimes found it hard to believe she’d only been a part of their lives for less than a year.
“When’s he due home?”
Angie pushed back her mass of curly dark hair and then picked up her mug. “He’s flying in with the team on Sunday night.” She took a tentative sip of her tea. “Monday’s an off day so we’ll get to spend some time together before the series with the Mets. I’m driving to the city Sunday morning with Jordan. We’ll stay in the condo with him until he leaves for the next road trip.”
Jake absently tapped a finger against the side of his cup. “Do you mind
that? Staying at the condo, I mean.”
“Not at all. I love the city and it gives me a chance to see my sister.”
“What’s up with your mom?” Jake asked, and uttered a silent prayer of thanks to the man upstairs Sharon Sawyer wasn’t anything like Angie’s shrew of a mother.
“Things are improving.” She set her cup down and pinned him with her perceptive blue eyes. “You didn’t come over here to talk about my mother. What’s going on?” She waited for him to answer. When he didn’t, she forged ahead. “It’s Melissa, isn’t it?”
Now that he was here, Jake wondered if telling Angie the whole story would change anything. Probably not, but instead of going home, he’d headed here. Perhaps he needed a friendly shoulder, or maybe some sisterly advice. And Angie was excellent at both.
“I hurt her, and that’s the last thing I wanted to do.”
“What happened?”
“It doesn’t matter.” He waved a dismissive hand. “The bottom line is she’s quitting the gym and looking for another personal trainer.”
“I’m sorry, Jake,” she said, her tone sympathetic. “Is there anything I can do?”
He shook his head. “No. I’m not even sure why I came over here. I know I did the right thing. I can’t fraternize with my clients.”
“You don’t look so sure to me.” Her eyes softened. “And Melissa isn’t just any client, is she?”
“No,” Jake admitted. “She said I was a coward. That I care more about what people think than I do about my own happiness.”
“Is that true?”
He pondered her question for a few seconds. “I never thought so. Not until she said it.”
“Look, I know from personal experience how easy it is to let something that happened in the past skewer your entire thought process. I believed all ball players were like my father so when J.T. came along, I wouldn’t give him the time of day. If I hadn’t gotten pregnant from that one-night stand we had, I wouldn’t be sitting here with you today. I’d be holed up in my apartment in San Francisco, miserable and alone. I don’t want that for you.”
Breaking His Rules (Feeling the Heat #4) Page 19
