He popped the cap off of the bottle and rested it against his forehead, thankful for the cold. Maybe he should pour it down his pants. There was a raging inferno there that he didn't know how to calm. Well, he did, but that would take cooperation from someone else. Someone who wasn't very cooperative.
He pulled the leftover pizza from the fridge, folded two of the slices together and took a big bite. Nothing like cold beer and cold pizza to set the world right again. Diving onto his sofa and searching for the remote, he hoped there was a game on tonight. A replay would be fine. Anything to take his mind off of what had happened yesterday. Anything to take his mind off of the silky smoothness of her skin, the feel of her hair in his fingers, the feel of her willing body pressed against him.
He couldn't help but smile. She had been willing. She could lie to herself all she wanted, but he had seen the desire in her eyes. She had wanted him as much as he had wanted her. And the way she rocked herself against him... The phone shook him from his reverie. He had forgotten about the machine.
He heard the soft voice on the machine, not recognizing it at first. "Hi, Jake, this is Susan. I was wondering, since it's Friday night. Are you ... can you call me later? My number is...." He smiled as he heard her subtly seductive voice. How long had it been since a woman had called to ask him out? He reached for the phone before she could hang up.
"Susan?"
"Oh, Jake," the surprise in her voice was clear. "I didn't realize you were home."
"I just got in," he smiled.
"Oh. Well, Josie said it would be okay to call you and...." There was a long pause. Jake almost made it easy for her and asked her out instead. Then he thought better of it. Let her call the shots, he decided. "Are you busy tonight?"
"Not really. Nothing that can't wait anyway. What did you have in mind?"
"I don't know. I just thought maybe we could get together and...."
"And see what happens?"
"Yeah."
"I haven't had a more tempting offer today." He could hear her relief on the other end. Maybe Susan was just what the doctor ordered. By the time he replaced the receiver, he had completely forgotten about the answering machine. All he could think of was getting a woman off of his mind.
She had backed away from him since their little discovery, and the impending sense of danger he felt had only grown. She wouldn't talk to him, though. He thought they were really getting somewhere. But now, he really didn't know what to do about Josie. The fact that he loved her only made things worse.
* * * *
Dating in Carolton was very limited. The town's entertainment catered to the younger college crowd. There was a movie theater with three screens and four nightclubs. There were also five restaurants that, though they weren't four star, were considered nice places to take a date. The bowling alley and the skating rink had long been taken over by the high school crowd leaving very few options.
Jake mentally ran through the list as he walked to his truck. This still wasn't the kind of evening he had hoped for. Josie had been watching him all day. He had felt her eyes on his back and had even caught her staring at him a few times. Each time, he had sent her a picture worthy grin and she had slightly nodded her head in recognition.
She had worn her hair down today, delighting in the cold front that had moved through last night making the temperatures outside a bearable eighty degrees. Every time the wind danced through it, he imagined his hands there the day before. And felt himself grow hard.
Aside from the distant flirtation, there had been no attempt by either of them to discuss what had happened or what could happen if they would give it a chance. That was the only reason why Jake was taking Susan out tonight. If Josie really wanted him, she wouldn't be playing flirtatious head games. At least, that's what he had been telling himself all day.
Susan looked like an All-American girl when she opened the door to her duplex apartment. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and her tan was accented by the yellow sundress she wore. Jake wanted to kick himself for imagining that yellow dress that Josie had worn to the café. And remembering the way one of the straps kept sliding down her shoulder, begging to be tugged off.
"You're early," she smiled, opening the door a little more to let him inside.
He checked his watch before following behind her. "I thought I was right on time."
"Come on in. You want a beer or something? I'm just going to freshen up and then we can go," she led the way into the kitchen.
"A beer would be nice." He glanced around the tiny apartment. It was a testament to the fact that Susan was still in college. Her sorority insignia was emblazoned on almost everything that wasn't moving.
She opened the fridge, careful to bend over just so as she reached in. She handed Jake the bottle, brushing her fingers lightly against his, sending him a look that couldn't be mistaken. Was this the shy Susan from the zoo? It couldn't possibly be. "Here you go," she fluttered her lashes.
"Thanks," he managed, pulling away slightly.
"I'll be just a sec. Make yourself at home."
He walked back into the living room and sank down onto the sofa, moving the Pi Alpha whatever pillow to the side. He had never been impressed much by sorority girls. His college dating experience was usually limited to the brainiac type. Smart, reserved, inner hellions. A smile teased the corners of his mouth as he remembered countless nights in biology labs, libraries and at late night movies. The thought of the biology labs brought him back to his zoo lab and to Josie.
"Okay, I'm ready," Susan announced, coming back into the room, turning once so he could check her out. "You like?"
"You look great," he smiled. She did. She had a body that was made for sin. Made to be appreciated in the way that he knew he could. And that dress looked awfully low cut. It was completely opposite of the khaki shorts and polo shirts she wore to work. They covered up too many of her assets.
"Thanks. You do too." She took a step forward, making his throat tighten. "What would you like to do tonight?" she traced her fingers along his arm, watching the goose bumps appear.
"I'm starving," he announced, pulling away enough so that it didn't look obvious. "I thought we'd go eat first. Then, we'll see what happens."
This was met with an approving smile. Shy Susan? No way. He wondered if the act had been for his sake or for Josie's sake. He had a feeling Susan could have handled the situation just fine without having Josie run interference. That made him wonder why she had even bothered.
"I'm glad you were home," she began when he opened the truck door for her.
"Me too," he closed it before heading over to his side.
"Josie told me I should call you," she turned in her seat, giving him a clear glimpse of thigh in the process.
"Oh, she did?" He put the truck in gear, trying to ignore that tanned flesh.
"Yeah. She did. Said as far as she knew you weren't seeing anyone."
"I'm not," he looked straight ahead, wishing Susan would stop talking now. He didn't really want to hear any more about how Josie was practically riding him last night and then telling Susan to call him.
"That's good," she reached out to trace her fingers along his arm again.
He flinched at her movement. Ordinarily, she would have turned him on just looking at him. But now, that turn on was being interrupted by thoughts of another woman. Susan had a few advantages over Josie. She didn't have that annoyingly long dark hair. Hers was a respectable length, just below her shoulders. And she was a blonde. Two points for Susan. Her breasts were perky and firm beneath the cotton of the sundress. Not too big. Thank God. More than a mouthful is a waste, he reminded himself, thinking of Josie's ample chest. That's three points, right? But, damn it, he knew he was in the wrong place right now. What the hell had he been thinking?
"You like Chinese?" he finally asked.
"As long as I don't have to eat with chopsticks," she laughed.
"No. I never quite mastered those either."<
br />
The Friday night date crowd either hadn't arrived yet or had decided to go somewhere else. The restaurant was practically empty when Jake eased his truck into the parking lot. He had learned a lot about Susan on the way over. The main thing was that she really wasn't interested in a date.
The conversation between them had dwindled down to nothing during the short drive over. What had increased was her contact with his flesh. A squeeze here, a light touch there. A show of leg. A glimpse of cleavage. The woman had one thing on her mind. And it wasn't food.
Dinner conversation was light, as well, making him wonder what he had ever seen in talking during dinner anyway. It was much more interesting to watch a woman eat. Several times during the meal, she had abandoned her fork, opting to use her fingers to slide the foods in between her painted lips. Other times, she used the fork to help her wind the noodles around her tongue. She was a walking advertisement and, combined with the sake, was going straight to his head.
"So what does your fortune say?" She had slipped her shoe off and was tracing circles on his lower leg.
"It says to be prepared for a surprise." He relaxed in his chair as her foot went higher. Cocked and loaded, he thought.
"MMMmmm. I like the sound of that," she licked her lips to punctuate the point.
"And yours?"
She folded the piece of paper in half and then slid it down the top of her dress. "You'll have to find out for yourself."
Jake was on autopilot as he took them home. He wasn't drunk. Light headed maybe, but a lot of that could be blamed on the siren sitting next to him. He wondered why he hadn't noticed her before. There was no missing her now. Not with her legs spread apart slightly, lips open and ready for him. The five-minute drive to his house seemed to be taking too long.
"We're here," he finally announced, stepping from the cab of the truck to open her door.
"Nice place," she smiled. He shrugged in return as he headed for the door.
"You want a drink?" He dropped his keys by the phone.
"Not really." She took his hand and guided it to the top of her dress. "You never did see what my fortune said."
Jake let her slide his hand into her dress. He wanted to be hot for her. God, how he wanted it. He was hard, but he could get hard looking at a magazine. That wasn't an issue. It was the rest of it that just wasn't happening. He closed his eyes as she leaned him against the wall.
She slid the straps off of her dress, and his hand was frozen. He wasn't exploring her chest the way she expected him to be. His eyes were still closed, his mind assaulted with images from yesterday.
"Jake?" She had moved away from him.
"MMMmmmm?"
"Open your eyes, Jake," the seductive tone was gone from her voice. She stepped away and pulled her top back up, folding her arms across her chest in the process.
"Why'd you stop?" he tried to sound innocent, but he knew why.
"You're not into this, are you?"
"I'm plenty into it," he lied. "Come here," he grabbed her around the waist and hauled her into him. When his lips took hers, there was nothing gentle about it. He probed, he explored, he tried like hell to enjoy it. God, what was wrong with him?
Susan stopped, planted her hands on his chest. "I must have misread you."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I thought you were into me."
"I am. You're gorgeous." He ran a hand along her bare arm.
"Yeah, but I get the feeling gorgeous isn't enough for you."
"It's not that. It's just been a while. I think I just need some coaxing is all."
She raised an eyebrow. "You want me to take the lead? I can do that."
He braced himself for her touch. She leaned into him, gently bit his lip and then trailed her lips down his neck. Her hands were at work on the buttons of his shirt. When they finally came into contact with his bare flesh, he felt his stomach protest. This wasn't what he wanted.
He grabbed her wrists, pulling her into him again. Assaulting her mouth once more. Hoping for a miracle. Expect surprises. This was a surprise, all right. When had Jake the Snake ever not been turned on by a gorgeous, willing blonde? He was losing his touch. Panic seized him. He was trying too hard.
"Give me a minute," he stepped away from her, leaving her standing in the hallway.
"Get a grip, Jake," he cursed to himself as he splashed cold water on his face. He was in the bathroom, hiding out. "What the hell's wrong with you?" he growled down at his flaccid penis. It had been hard. Well, harder than it was now. And now, it just lay there.
His knuckles turned white as he gripped the sides of the porcelain sink. "Just breathe," he told himself. "Imagine her naked. God, she'd look fabulous naked. Imagine her writhing beneath you," he continued.
Nothing.
Josie. She had done this to him. She had cursed him in some way. Those kisses of hers, those magnificent breasts. The way her bottom had felt rubbing up against him. The way she had thrown her head back when she came.
He groaned. He remembered. All of him remembered, apparently, as his penis was now armed and ready. Ready for Josie.
"Susan?" he called as he headed back down the hall to the foyer where he had left her.
"Susan?" She wasn't there and she hadn't gone to the living room, either. He called her name again only to hear the silence echo back at him. She was gone.
He walked back to the front door to see if she had stepped outside. On his way out, he saw her note on the hallway mirror. Written in red. "Called a friend. Some other time. S." She had left her fortune from the restaurant next to the answering machine.
He picked it up and smiled in spite of himself. "Things will not turn out as you hoped." Sure as hell right about that, he thought.
The blinking light on the machine finally caught his attention. The number two showed in the display. When he hit the button, he expected Susan's earlier message to play. Then he remembered that he'd had a message when Susan had called earlier.
"Jake, it's me. Josie. I was wondering if you're busy tonight. I have a new bottle of red wine and I can't drink the whole thing myself. You interested? I'll be up late."
Not a hint of seduction in her tone. Not a hint of anything other than straightforward Josie. Still, his johnson jumped into action like it had earlier just thinking of her. Before he could think, he grabbed his keys and shut the door behind him, a silly schoolboy grin plastered on his face.
Josie had wondered all day how to approach the subject of sex with Jake. What did you do? Did you just call up a guy and say, Hey, I want to have sex? No, she was sure it wasn't done that way. Nothing like straightforward honesty to kill any thoughts of attraction.
She had watched him all day, trying to get a sense of how to approach the topic. She wasn't sure if he was interested. Even after what had happened between them yesterday. It could have been a fluke, couldn't it? She was so incredibly nervous about the prospect that she had talked herself out of it at least a hundred times already. She was out of her mind to think that she could invite Jake Moore over for sex.
I have some wine. You want to come have sex?
There wasn't a right way to do this. By the time four o'clock rolled around, she knew she wouldn't do it face to face. She had wanted to. Had even gotten up the nerve to do it twice but had chickened out both times. So, she went for the next best thing. She'd call him. But she hadn't thought he'd stay at the zoo so late.
Nine o'clock had come and gone and her carefully chosen sexy, not too revealing dress was wrinkled from lying on the sofa watching chick flicks on the women's cable channel. Her Chinese take out littered the floor and the bottle of wine was mostly gone. And her fortune cookie was dead wrong.
She snarled at the offending scrap of paper even as she stood to go change her dress. If he hadn't shown up by now, he wasn't going to. The clock showed ten thirty. If he showed up this late, she wouldn't let him in. She'd pretend to be asleep or something. That would serve him right for making her wait all ni
ght. And for having to sit through a lonely hearts' club movie marathon. Okay, so she had only made it through one and a half movies, but that was bad enough.
She threw the dress over the back of a chair and took one of her favorite nightgowns from her dresser. She could at least wear a sexy nightgown even if no one would see it. It would make her feel better anyway.
And with the wine going to her head, maybe she could just satisfy herself tonight. She'd done it often enough in the past four years. But nothing was quite as satisfying as the feel of a man. Still...
She let the silky fabric slide onto her skin. Erotic thoughts ran through her head at the thought of how it would feel to sleep without underwear. In the nude even. She had put the satin sheets on her bed last night after her interlude with Jake. It may sound really outdated, but there was something to be said about the feel of satin against bare skin.
Even though she knew she would be returning to the living room to finish off her bottle of wine and watch the late news, she decided to take off her panties. Just for effect. Maybe the Playboy Channel was showing something that would suit her mood.
She snatched up the bottle of wine, took another long swig and then danced her way back into the living room. Eat your heart out, Jake Moore. You'll never know what you missed tonight.
* * * *
Jake couldn't make it to Josie's house fast enough. The clock in his truck said eleven o'clock. He cursed himself for not checking the message earlier. He had wasted the entire night with a woman who held little appeal for him. Still, he stopped at the all night grocery store to snag a half dozen roses from the florist. They may not be first class, beautifully arranged roses, but they would convey the same message.
Looking at the pink petals reminded him of her naked breasts. He shifted from one leg to the other while the other late night shoppers placed their twenty items or less on the counter in front of him. Eleven thirty. God, he hoped she was still awake. He finally paid the guy at the check out and snatched the flowers up without waiting for his change.
Wolf Moon Page 11
