See Jane Love

by Debby Conrad

  Instead, she crossed her arms and asked, “What money?”

  “You offered to pay me one hundred dollars, remember?”

  Her mouth dropped open. “You’re not seriously going to hold me to that, are you, considering my condition at the time?”

  “Of course, I am. A poor cab driver like me can always use some extra cash. Besides, it’ll be the best hundred dollars you’ve ever spent.”

  She pushed away from the wall. “Well, I’ll have to think about it. It wouldn’t be right to send all Gertie’s friends away without giving them a fair chance. I think we should wait until after the kissing contest, then I’ll decide.”

  “You can’t be serious. You’ve already seen what happens when we’re alone together. The sparks fly even when we’re not touching.” He ran a finger down the side of her neck and smiled satisfactorily when she quivered.

  Janie met his gaze and neither said a word. Their mouths came together like they’d done this hundreds of times before. He smothered her lips with demanding expertise, forcing her to endure his punishing kiss. But rather than stop after the first one, he kissed her again and again, the next starting where the last left off.

  She moaned against his mouth, her small hands grasping at his T-shirt, his neck and shoulders. Her body pushed against his as if she were searching, seeking his touch.

  The blood pounded in his brain, and it was all he could do to make himself pull away from her. It took him a minute to catch his breath, and then he asked in a strained voice, “If you get this turned on when all I do is kiss you, doesn’t it make you wonder what it’ll be like once I’m inside you?”

  Closing her eyes, she rested her cheek against his hand. Her skin was smooth and soft and so damn appetizing he wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her senseless again. She opened her mouth and was about to say something when they were interrupted.

  “There you are!” Gertie stood, staring at them. She was dressed in a long green tunic and matching shorts and looked like a green pepper. “Janie, the guys are ready for the kissing contest, but we can’t very well start without you.”

  Janie lifted her cheek and stared up at Gabe. “I have to go,” she whispered.

  Gabe touched her arm, stopping her. “No, you don’t. Just tell Gertie you’ve made your choice.”

  “I--” She paused, her gaze shifting between him and Gertie. “I’m sorry,” she told him, then followed Gertie around the corner.

  Once they were out of sight, Gabe let out a long stream of curses.

  * * * * * * * * * *

  He’d spoiled it for her. None of the men so far--and there’d been enough of them--could kiss as well as Gabe. Not even close, Janie decided. One kissed too soft, one too hard, and one had all but gagged her. Carl, the orthodontist, had met her lips briefly, then stopped and pulled a breath spray from his shirt pocket and took a hit. The strong taste of anise still lingered in her mouth, and it was making her sick.

  Two of the men had slobbered, and the other two had quickly smacked their lips against hers and then run off.

  Janie couldn’t help but glance at Gabe after each of the men had kissed her. She’d never seen anyone look so angry. And if looks could kill, the men would all be dead, and she’d have died eight deaths by now. She just wished the whole thing was over.

  “Hi, Janie.” Sam DeVito sat down beside her, his weight making the glider squeak. Sam was tall, dark and handsome. Not as handsome as Gabe, but . . . He owned the garage where Gertie got her car fixed. He seemed stable. Not that she was looking for stable men. But, it was still good to know.

  Sam smiled. “I know some of these guys have promised you all kinds of freebies if you pick them, but I just want you to know that’s not my style. And in spite of what you may have heard about garage mechanics, we’re not all bad guys.”

  “Well, that’s good to know. In fact, I was going to call you. Gertie gave me your number. My steering wheel shimmies when I go over fifty miles per hour.”

  “I’d be happy to check it out. It’s probably just your tires. They could be out of balance, but it’s definitely a good idea to get it looked at. How’s Monday morning around ten?”

  “Perfect.” Sam was not only handsome, he was a nice guy, too, she thought.

  He shrugged and said, “Well, now that we’ve got the shop talk out of the way, I’m ready anytime you are.” Leaning forward, he gently rested his hand on her shoulder and brought his lips to hers.

  It was a nice kiss, with just the right amount of pressure. And she swore she’d actually felt a tiny flutter in her stomach. It was tiny, but it was definitely there. She’d started to think the kissing contest was a waste of time, but now she was reconsidering. Since Sam was an auto mechanic, that meant he was probably good with his hands, too. Or at least she hoped so. Okay, so he was definitely a possibility.

  Sam pulled away, opened his eyes and stared at her. “I could have done better if there wasn’t an audience.”

  “You did just fine,” she said, meaning it. But when she looked Gabe’s way, all thoughts of Sam DeVito suddenly disappeared. Gabe was the one she wanted. If only she could admit it. She barely noticed that Sam had walked away and another man had taken his place. All she could think of was Gabe. The way she felt when he kissed her. Touched her. Looked at her.

  Oh, brother.

  The rest of the men weren’t bad kissers. But none of them even came close to making her feel anything at all sexual. Not even Tyler Sherman, who she would have sworn was an expert at kissing. Nothing. Zilch.

  Sighing, and forcing herself to smile politely at the men’s eager faces, she was about to stand up when Gertie said, “Wait! Gabe hasn’t had a turn yet.”

  Gabe? Gabe was going to kiss her? Her gaze shifted toward him, and apparently he was just as surprised by the news as she was.

  But Gertie didn’t seem to notice. She simply took him by the arm and pulled him over to the glider. “Have a seat.”

  Gabe looked as if he were about to protest, then apparently seeing the no-nonsense look on Gertie’s face, he finally sat down.

  “You don’t have to do this, if you don’t want to,” Janie told him.

  “Shut up, Janie,” he said, his dark eyes penetrating her soul. He leaned forward and just when she thought he was about to kiss her lips, he moved his head to the right and kissed her on the cheek. His lips lingered there, caressing her skin and making her body quiver with need. If it weren’t for the fact that Gertie and all her single male friends were watching them, Janie would have ripped Gabe’s clothes off and begged him to make love to her.

  Reluctantly, she pulled away, feeling breathless and totally alive. She couldn’t look at him, yet she couldn’t not look at him. Darn! It was only a kiss on the cheek. Surely, it shouldn’t have made her feel like this. And why couldn’t it have been like this with Sam or Tyler instead?

  Gertie broke Janie out of her trance, clapping and shouting. “Well, it looks as though we have a winner.” She looked at Janie and winked, then turned back to the men standing on her lawn. “But nobody has to go away empty handed. I have homemade chocolate chip cookies for each of you.” Then she herded them all inside, leaving Gabe and Janie alone.

  “Well,” Janie said, getting to her feet.

  “Well,” Gabe mocked her and stood, too.

  She smiled. “Looks like you’re the winner.”

  “Yeah, it looks that way. Are you ready?” he asked, hooking an arm through hers.

  “For what?” she asked, moving back a step and breaking contact.

  “For your first lesson.”

  “Not tonight. For my first time, I want it to be kind of special, you know?”

  “Uh, sure,” he said, nodding in agreement and sounding disappointed at the same time. “How about tomorrow night?”

  “Tomorrow night’s good. Seven?”

  He nodded again. “Would you like to go to dinner first?”

  Shaking her head wildly, she said, “No! I’ll be too nervous to
eat.”

  “I understand.”

  “No, you don’t,” she said. “You’ve done this before. You know how it feels, but I have no idea how I’m going to feel afterward.”

  He grinned and took a step toward her. Brushing his lips across her forehead, he whispered, “Trust me. You’re going to feel like a new woman.”

  And when Gabe walked away, a confident swagger to his walk, Janie almost called him back. Be strong, she told herself, pressing her lips tightly together. Only when he disappeared around the corner, did she open her mouth again. “Omigod,” she whispered. By this time tomorrow night, she’d be sleeping with Gabe Montero.

  * * * * * * * * * *

  Sara filled two plastic glasses with iced tea and brought them out onto the deck where Janie sat enjoying the sunshine. “Livvy’s sound asleep,” she said. “I just checked on her.”

  Janie smiled. “That’s good because I wanted to talk to you about something in private.” Travis was down the street playing at a friend’s house, which was also good since the topic she planned to discuss wasn’t for children’s ears.

  Handing one of the pink plastic glasses to Janie, Sara dragged a folding chair across the wood deck and sat down across from her sister. She crossed her legs and let out a relaxed sigh. “So, talk,” she said, then took a sip of her tea.

  “It’s about Gabe,” Janie said, then waited for Sara to respond.

  Sara lowered her glass. “What about him?” she asked slowly, a hint of caution in her voice.

  “I sort of have a date with him tonight.”

  “A date?” Sara uncrossed her legs and leaned forward in her chair.

  “Well, not really a date.” There was no easy way to say it except to just come out with it. “We’re going to have sex.”

  Sara’s glass fell, splashing both of them with cold liquid. “Are you out of your mind!”

  “Maybe. Probably,” she added, then setting her glass on the wood railing, she bent forward and righted Sara’s empty glass. Both women’s feet and sandals were wet and soggy looking, but Janie pretended not to notice as she sat back up in her chair.

  Sara’s face had turned a deep shade of pink. Her nostrils flared with fury and her lips thinned with anger as she gripped the arms of her chair. “That no good son of a--”

  “Wait,” Janie said, raising a hand in front of her. “Before you go blaming Gabe, I should tell you this was all my idea. He’s just being a good sport, is all.”

  “A good sport, my butt!”

  “Sara, listen to me. I explained to Gabe how I wanted to, you know, have a steamy affair and--”

  “Let me guess. Gabe was eager to offer his assistance. Don’t you see, Janie? He’s using you. He’s taking advantage of your naiveté.”

  Janie shook her head. “No. I’m the one taking advantage. He has all the experience and I plan to learn from him. Then, wait until Rona submits my next manuscript to Sassy. It’s going to be so hot and steamy they’ll probably double my normal advance.”

  Making the sign of the cross, Sara said, “Please, God, make her see the light.”

  “I shouldn’t have told you,” Janie said, standing up. Her wet sandals made squishy sounds as she walked to the stairs. “It’s just that I’ve never kept any secrets from you. I thought you’d be happy for me.”

  Sara stood too, placing her hands on her hips. Her pregnant belly seemed to double in size whenever she did that. “Janie, you should hear yourself. I’m supposed to be happy that my brother-in-law is going to hurt you?”

  “Gabe is not going to hurt me.”

  “You don’t know him. You don’t know what he’s capable of.”

  Feeling her temper rise, Janie closed the distance between them. “No, you’re the one who doesn’t know Gabe! You and Alex are always so quick to accuse and assume, but you don’t know anything about him! He’s decent and kind. So what if he drives a cab for a living? It’s an honest living, and besides, maybe he likes it.”

  She lowered her voice when the lady next door stuck her head out the patio door and glared at them. “I love the way he makes me feel sexy and alive, unlike any man has ever done before. I love the way he kisses me, and touches me. And even as terrified as I am about sleeping with him, I can’t wait!”

  Sara’s mouth dropped open in horror. “My God,” she gasped. “You’re in love with him.”

  In love? With Gabe? “No way,” Janie started to say, then closed her mouth quickly. The neighbor lady rolled her eyes, then slammed her door shut. Janie sagged against the deck rail as she thought about Sara’s accusation. She wasn’t in love with Gabe. How could she be? “Don’t be silly. I barely know the man,” she said, hoping that would clear up any misunderstandings.

  “Yet you’re willing to sleep with him?”

  “I--that’s different. I told you why--”

  “You can deny it all you want, Janie, but I see it in your eyes. You’ve fallen for him.”

  Janie stared at her older sister and blinked. What the heck was wrong with Sara? She was not in love with Gabe. Maybe it was Sara’s pregnancy. Her hormones must be messed up. That’s what it was. Or maybe it was that Sara just couldn’t face the fact that her little sister was willing to sleep with a man she didn’t love. Bingo. “Believe what you want. I have to go. I just wanted you to know.”

  Reaching out and touching Janie’s arm, Sara said, “Honey, be careful. And remember, you don’t have to do this. As much as Gabe irks me, I don’t think he’d ever force himself on a woman. It’s okay to change your mind.” She looked uncomfortable for a minute, then glanced from side to side, obviously making sure none of the neighbors were lurking nearby. “You know, you could always get one of those . . .” She shifted her eyes back and forth before whispering, “vibrators.”

  “Been there, done that,” Janie tossed over her shoulder then bounced down the stairs and into the grass. “And they’re not all they’re cracked up to be. See ya.”

  “Promise to call me tomorrow with all the details? Well, not all the details,” Sara said, blushing.

  “I promise.” And then Janie was on her way to get ready for Gabe.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Gabe had showered twice in the past hour. He had no idea why, other than Janie had said she wanted tonight to be special. He couldn’t begin to describe the amount of pressure that statement had put on him. Command performance, was all he could think. He’d heard about guys who’d totally lost the urge while trying to please a woman under pressure. What if something like that happened to him?

  As he stepped into a clean pair of jeans, and splashed his face and jaw with cologne, he told himself he was just being paranoid. There was nothing to worry about. He’d done this hundreds of times, maybe even a thousand. And very few women had ever gone away unsatisfied. But then again, there had been a few exceptions. What if tonight Janie was one of those exceptions? She was counting on him, and what if he let her down?

  She wasn’t the type of woman to fake an orgasm, just for the sake of protecting her lover’s feelings. Or was she? Nah, she’d tell him the truth if she was disappointed in his technique. Then again, she wouldn’t have to tell him anything. He’d know, without a doubt, whether or not she was faking.

  Sitting on the edge of the motel bed, Gabe shoved his feet into his boots and dragged a white T-shirt over his head. He stood, looked in the mirror and ran a comb through his hair. Maybe he should dress a little nicer, he thought, and yanked the T-shirt off. He replaced it with a light blue oxford, tucked the shirt tails into his jeans and rolled up the cuffs.

  He was more nervous than he’d been on his first date, and that was eighteen years ago. “Get over it, Montero,” he mumbled and grabbed his car keys. All you have to do, he told himself, is give the performance of your life.

  “Piece of cake,” he said, not meaning a word of it. He just hoped Janie didn’t notice how nervous he was. She thought she was getting a pro, and she was, except for he was no longer brimming with self-confidence like he w
as when they’d first discussed her needs.

  Well, maybe if he stopped thinking about it as a job, and started thinking about the fact that he was going to be sleeping with Janie Callahan tonight, he could relax a little. He couldn’t wait to be buried deep inside her, to look into her eyes while she called out his name and begged him to take her over the edge.

  He felt a trickle of sweat run down his back, and the front of his jeans tightened. And, if he didn’t stop thinking about her like that, he was going to have an accident before he reached her townhouse.

  Swearing, Gabe hopped into the Camaro and fired it up. On the passenger seat were the flowers he’d bought for Janie earlier that day, wilting away. He’d forgotten all about them until now. Nerves, he thought. Well, this was certainly going to be a night to remember.

  * * * * * * * * * *

  Janie scanned her closet and drawers, trying to decide on the perfect outfit for her “date” with Gabe. She’d already tried on her best jeans, a pair of linen shorts, three different skirts and a sundress. But none of them suited her mood. Standing in front of the mirror, wearing only a pair of pink bikini panties and a matching tank, she let out a tiny scream of frustration.

  It was five minutes till seven, and not only hadn’t she dressed yet, but she’d wasted so much time trying on clothes, she hadn’t had a chance to do her make-up or her hair. Grabbing the gel from her dressing table, she squeezed a glob of it into her palm and rubbed her hands together before finger combing it through her damp curls. “There,” she said, although it wasn’t much of an improvement.

  And then the doorbell rang. “Oh, no!” She picked up the discarded jeans from the floor and pushed one leg into them, only to yank them off again. Then she plucked a short red skirt from the pile of clothing on her bed and stepped into it. “Oh, God, I look like a hooker in this thing,” she said, letting it fall to the floor and kicking it aside. She chose the floral sundress next, but only managed to get the zipper stuck in her haste.