Next Song I Sing (NEXT TIME AROUND)

by McDonald, Donna

  “Considering the other offers I’ve had today, I have to give you a three for originality. However, your delivery in that sexy voice of yours is at least an eight or nine,” Chloe said sincerely, her brown eyes full of laughter. “Is there a mai tai in it for me?”

  “You can have anything you want,” Jasper told her, standing up in shock of the stark sincerity in his own voice. He automatically reached down a hand to help her.

  “You sure you want to do that. I probably weigh as much as you do, skinny man. We could both wind up in the pool,” Chloe warned, grinning at the hand Jasper was offering.

  She heard herself and winced at her obsessive need to keep pointing out what she was sure Jasper was not fully comprehending. She had never really hated her weight, or her full-figured size fourteen body, but she truly could send the svelte Jasper Wade flying with an enthusiastic tug. While ultimately it might be funny, it also would definitely put an end to their flirting.

  Jasper laughed and shook his head. “Chloe. Where do you get these ideas? You do not weigh what I do. Looking at you in that suit, I could use a cooling off in the pool anyway. Let’s live on the edge. Take my hand and let me help you up.”

  Chloe grinned finally and put her hand in Jasper’s. He pulled her to her feet with much less effort than she had imagined it would take. For a second or two, she had a sense that he had to prevent himself from pulling her into his arms.

  “You’re pretty strong for a lean guy,” she teased, reaching out to squeeze his bicep, the towel slipping down her arms as she did so. For some reason, her urge to flirt seemed always on around Jasper. Today she was sober and still couldn’t stop herself, confirming that her attraction to him hadn’t been as mai tai induced as she’d thought.

  “Let’s just say I’m highly motivated to impress you with my masculinity,” Jasper said stiffly, stepping close to lift and tuck the towel around her shoulders again. He couldn’t seem to stop himself or keep his hands off. “In case you’re wondering, the answer is yes, I am trying to cover you up. I couldn’t eat lunch without worrying about all those men passing you business cards.”

  “Why, Mr. Wade—are you saying you were jealous of the attention I’ve been getting?” Chloe asked, deliberately letting the towel drop again, this time wrapping it around her hips like a sarong. It left her cold, wet, barely covered breasts as the sole focus of his attention. Chloe met his gaze levelly in challenge and marveled at how appealing she found his discomfort.

  “Yes,” Jasper said, his gaze drawn down to where the holes revealed the smooth skin of her breasts. He was judging some of them to be wide enough to fit two or three fingers. He could do a lot of exploring with three fingers—hell, two.

  “Owning a hotel, I thought I had seen everything there was in the way of swimwear. Sometimes it more closely resembles dental floss, and it’s virtually impossible not stare out of morbid curiosity at the person who wears such a thing. Rarely has even the most outrageous swimwear distracted me, regardless of the woman wearing it. Today has changed all that because I now have the urge to drag you off and start exploring your holes,” Jasper told her, his tone betraying him and revealing the irritation he’d been holding inside. “And I’ve thought of lots of ways of doing just that.”

  Chloe choked on a laugh. It was the irritation in his tone that pleased her most. She swallowed the rest of her laughter and tried to match his haughtiness.

  “Well that’s a quite a tactical line to take in flirting, Mr. Wade, and one I certainly haven’t heard today. The other men were less open in sharing their amorous plans for me. I think it’s pretty brazen of you to suggest such an exploration since we just met yesterday.”

  Jasper stopped and turned her by the shoulders to face him. “Let me buy you a couple mai tais, Chloe. I think you’ll see the reasonableness of my suggestion after you’ve consumed them.”

  Chloe laughed loudly as he dropped his hand and they headed to the bar. “You think a couple mai tais will make me easy where you’re concerned?”

  “Not really,” Jasper said on sigh, pulling out a chair for her in a shaded area near the bar. “I knew it was lame. I’ve just been hanging around my younger brother too long. Let me get our drinks.”

  ***

  Rayonna saw Max finishing his lunch and walked quickly to the table. She knew he had a habit of jumping up and running the moment he was done. “Hello, Maximillan. How are things?”

  “Just fine, Rayonna. If you’re looking for Jasper, he’s busy,” Max said, lifting his sandwich for the last bite. “I’d invite you to join me, but I’m done.”

  Rayonna waved his unpleasantness away and dropped into the chair across from him. “I know you don’t like me, Max. Why bother pretending otherwise? But I care about Jasper. I wanted to come ask you about the woman he’s seeing.”

  “Did Jasper tell you there was a woman?” Max asked, his opinion of his brother shooting up a notch for being ballsy enough to tell Rayonna about Chloe.

  “Of course not,” Rayonna denied. “Jasper would never admit such a thing to me, no matter how truthful. I could tell it when he wouldn’t sleep with me. Now I need to see what my competition is like.”

  “To what end?” Max asked, happy to hear Jasper hadn’t slept with her, not happy to hear Rayonna was interested in seeing Chloe for herself. “You have a long list of lovers, which would have included me if I hadn’t said no—hell no. That’s why I have zero sympathy for you. I’m proud of Jasper for finally ending the farce of your relationship.”

  “That’s cruel, Max, even for you,” Rayonna said softly. “And I was terribly mad at Jasper when I made you that offer.”

  “He’s my brother, Rayonna—hell, Jasper practically raised me with our parents travelling all the time. I love him and would never hurt him that way. But I’ve often wished I had told him about your offer because he would definitely hate your guts for it,” Max said, being purposely blunt. He knew from experience it would take that to get Rayonna to leave him alone.

  She stuck out her bottom lip in a pout and turned her beautiful face to the window. She saw Jasper walk to the pool edge with a towel in his hand and drop it around a woman’s shoulders. Moments later he pulled her to her feet, laughing as she smiled back at him.

  “You have to be kidding me,” Rayonna said, stunned. “That’s the woman Jasper is chasing? How can he possibly want her? She’s fat.”

  “Fat? Who’s fat?” Max asked, looking out the window and seeing Chloe and Jasper play fighting over her towel. He’d bet his tips from last night Jasper was trying to cover her up so other men couldn’t see her. If he hadn’t been arguing with Rayonna, he would have laughed his ass off.

  “Just look at that woman, Max. Jasper has his hands all over her,” Rayonna said, her voice revealing how stricken she was by the thought. “He’s following me with that gigantic woman.”

  “No, he’s not following you,” Max denied firmly. “He’s out there competing with the other numerous guys that propositioned that beautiful woman before Jasper found his balls and jumped into the mix. That woman is not what you think she is, Rayonna. She’s lush and soft and fun. Face reality—your life’s work is built on a sham. Move on now before you lose the rest of your illusions.”

  “She’s pale as a ghost. Her hair is wet and dripping, but she’s obviously a drab brunette,” Rayonna said in disbelief, rolling her eyes and skipping over Max’s comments since she well knew his libido ran the show for him.

  She could see Max sleeping with anyone, even the big woman, but how could Jasper stoop so low? Jasper was a gentleman. Jasper ran the highest rated hotel in Laguna Niguel. Jasper had dated other models and married her.

  “The least he could to do is seek a rebound relationship with someone appropriate. God knows most of my friends would gladly console him,” Rayonna said, thinking out loud. “Now he’s just embarrassing me by settling for some strange woman lacking the good sense to wear something to conceal her size. Imagine what the press will say.”

>   Max snorted. “Get help, Rayonna. What Jasper is finally doing is called ‘moving on.’ Be grateful Jasper waited until after the divorce. He has more ethics than you.”

  “You know very well Jasper has forgiven me for my slip,” Rayonna said quietly. “I divorced him quickly once the affair with Gregory became common knowledge.”

  Max shook his head. He would never understand his former sister-in-law or the reason Jasper ever married her. He would never believe Rayonna had anything of quality that his brother might have wanted.

  “I sure as hell hope you’re leaving tomorrow,” Max said finally, not sparing her the raw truth of his opinion.

  “There’s a show in Madrid. I’ll be gone three weeks, but I’m coming back, Max. I’m not giving up, especially now that I see how desperate Jasper has become. Your brother may not be great in bed, but I still love him,” she said fiercely. “He doesn’t have to settle.”

  “Oh for…that’s such fucking bullshit,” Max told her, forgetting they were in the café and not alone. “A man is only as good as the woman he sleeps with, Rayonna. My brother has moved out of his cold-hearted bitch phase. Go find some rich count or dignitary to marry. Leave Jasper the hell alone.”

  “You’re too young to understand, Maximillan,” Rayonna told him, choosing to overlook his cruel and crude remarks. “Love is much more complicated than someone like you can grasp. You’ll understand that someday.”

  Max rolled his eyes. “Wow, those acting lessons are really paying off. Did you rehearse that in front of a mirror?”

  “I’m having dinner with Jasper tomorrow evening,” Rayonna said, delighted to see Max grit his teeth and glare. It meant Jasper hadn’t told him, which meant there might be some hope for her after all. “I’ll talk to him about this then. I’m sure I can introduce Jasper to someone much more appropriate if he wants to date other people. I’m selfless enough to do that. Goodbye, Max.”

  Max glared at Rayonna’s back as she marched out of the restaurant, chin high, moving through the tables with the grace that made her sought after in her work. There was a time he’d felt sorry for Rayonna and her lack of depth. Now he just saw her as trouble. Rayonna’s insecurities had twisted her mind in some weird-ass ways.

  Max had no doubt that Rayonna was crazy enough try to set Jasper up with one of her perfectly polished friends. Not that Max himself minded a woman who was model perfect, but he mostly avoided the real thing because of his former sister-in-law. He liked beauty as well as any other guy, but he preferred brains and heart to go along with it, even in temporary bed partners.

  Such a combination was hard to find, but not impossible, Max decided, remembering the most perfect example he’d come across was currently by the hotel pool sunning herself in a blue bathing suit the color of her eyes. It looked like a swim team uniform and was absolutely the sexiest bathing suit he’d seen on a woman in a very long time.

  The last few months had matured him in many areas. He saw his lifestyle had been empty of true connections, and he saw that his sister-in-law was about as screwed up in her thinking as a woman ever got. And now Max saw that a straight-up, hard working woman who enjoyed her friends was someone definitely worth getting to know.

  Chapter 9

  Jasper moved a chair around the poolside table until he was able to sit elbow-to-elbow with Chloe.

  “Why are you sitting over here right next to me? I smell like chlorine and the view you’ve been admiring since I met you would probably be much better from across the table,” Chloe teased, sipping her drink, chagrined at the blush lighting up face over her bold comments. “Okay, I’ve obviously been joking with Emma and Taylor too much. That comment was way over the top for flirting, and I am definitely not inebriated enough yet to keep from being embarrassed about saying it to you. I think I’ll just shut up now. You should probably do all the talking until my modesty returns.”

  Jasper laughed, delighted with her brutal honesty. He was just going to assume it meant Chloe was flustered by him sitting so close beside her. He was also going to assume she expected a response.

  “I figure we’re both old enough to not have to pretend with each other. I’ll just say you’re right about my interest, which is precisely why I’m sitting over here where all I can do is glance sideways at the holes and wonder,” Jasper said, lifting his coke for a sip while he watched Chloe bite her lip.

  “Wonder about what?” Chloe teased, pretending not to understand. “This bathing suit Emma talked me into buying doesn’t exactly allow me to keep many secrets.”

  Jasper leaned forward on the table, shielding most of the front of her with his shoulders blocking the view of others. He reached down and dipped two fingers into a hole beneath one breast. His gentle stroking had Chloe squirming in her chair in seconds. His heart beat fast in chest, blood rushing in excitement to all the right places. All Jasper could think was that this was exactly how it was supposed to work when a woman interested you.

  “Oh, you have quite a few secrets, Ms. Zanders, and now you know how badly I want to discover them all,” Jasper said firmly, keeping his voice quiet and low enough that only Chloe could hear.

  Between the wetness of the swimsuit and Jasper’s stroking, it wasn’t long before Chloe was wishing she’d kept the towel wrapped around her shoulders after all. Jasper stayed where he was and stared down longingly at the signs of her arousal peaking against the unlined suit.

  Chloe saw the heat flash in Jasper’s gaze again and had to swallow hard. Even though they were in public, she suddenly didn’t trust Jasper not to dip his head down to her breast, and she certainly didn’t trust herself not to let him. Her reaction was enough of an eye opener that even the mai tai couldn’t fog it over.

  “Jasper, I still don’t think I’m—”

  “Ready for this?” he asked, finishing her statement, removing his fingers and brushing a knuckle over one of the straining peaks he’d caused before pulling his hand away. “Me neither. I spent a restless night in my brother’s room thinking of you. Then this morning I informed my ex-wife, who stayed in my suite alone last night that I had no intention of ever sleeping with her again. After I kissed you yesterday, I couldn’t handle the thought of touching another woman. When you’re ready, I’ll be ready and waiting too, Chloe. I came out here to make sure you knew.”

  Chloe’s breathing grew ever more labored. She was too enthralled by effect of his knuckle grazing her hardened nipple to conjure a visual of Jasper with another woman, but she had no intentions of getting involved with yet another cheating man.

  “You’re—so you’re still trying to reconcile with your ex?” Chloe asked as casually as she could.

  “God no,” Jasper denied firmly, seeing heat, hurt, and arousal passing through Chloe’s curious gaze on him, hoping she’d hear him out completely. He didn’t want to start their relationship by hiding anything from her. “I’ve been divorced more than two years. My ex comes into town now and again, and when she does I usually sleep with her because I’ve been too lazy to date other people and send her away. Or at least that’s what I thought was the reason until yesterday at lunch. Now I think I’ve just been waiting for you to show up.”

  “You were watching me at lunch?” Chloe asked, her voice squeaking in her nervousness, remembering that Emma had pointed out that Jasper had been watching her.

  But was she really having this intimate conversation with someone she barely met? Was she actually sitting out here with a man who still slept with his ex-wife until yesterday? A man whom she’d let arouse her a couple of minutes ago?

  She definitely needed another soak in the pool to cool off. Her imagination was going crazy.

  “Chloe, whatever you’re thinking or wondering, come back to the now and please hear what I’m saying to you,” Jasper demanded, his voice an urgent whisper as he moved a hand to her arm to keep her in place. “I saw you laughing with your friends at lunch and found myself wishing you were laughing with me. Then when I heard you singing, and you san
g to me, I just—I haven’t been genuinely interested in a woman in a long, long—very long time. And kissing you last night—I can’t think about it today without getting turned on. I’m only interested in you now. That’s been the case since I first saw you.”

  Chloe was shaking her head. “I don’t know what kind of wrong ideas you’ve developed about me, but seriously, I’m not that kind of woman. I don’t lure men away from their wives, ex-wives, or any other relationship.”

  “Really?” Jasper asked harshly, his tone scalding in his irritation at Chloe’s denial of the attraction between them. Or at least that’s what he feared. “Then if you’re not that kind of woman, you won’t be needing those three business cards from other men that I watched you accept over the last couple of hours. I imagine some of them are likely married.”

  Appalled when he saw Chloe’s eyes widen at his comment, Jasper turned away then and leaned back in his chair. He had been all but yelling at her. It was inexcusable.

  “I’m sorry—truly. That was way out of line. It’s one thing to try to seduce you for myself, but I have no right to tell you what to do. For God’s sake, you’re right—we just met yesterday. You must think I’m some kind of crazy bastard.”

  Chloe laughed again at Jasper’s self-deprecating swearing. He had the kind of tone that even made swear words sound good. She couldn’t help the smile that followed the laughter either.

  True, the attraction they felt for each other was way too much too soon, but that’s just how it seemed to be occurring. Wondering what she should do about it, she studied Jasper’s handsome profile. She was wary of giving him the power to hurt her, but the allure of seeing how he would act on his feelings for her was just too strong to resist.

  “Actually, there were seven men,” Chloe said quietly but firmly, pleased to see Jasper’s gaze grow darker, “but I wasn’t interested in any of them. I was just being polite.”

  Jasper clenched his jaw and looked away from her teasing gaze. Seven men. Good Lord. And he thought Sam would prove to be his fiercest competition.