Jaded (Music City Moguls Book 5)

by Cheryl Douglas

  “Is that what this is?” she asked, watching his mouth glide up the inside of her forearm. “A connection?”

  “I’d say so.” He smirked. “Though there are a few other words I could think of to describe it, startin’ with good old-fashioned chemistry.”

  She shuddered when his tongue flicked out to caress her skin.

  “Has it been a while for you, sweetheart?” He knew he was crossing the line, asking her such a personal question, but he had to know. “Since you let a man make love to you?”

  She closed her eyes, trying to shut him out. “I am not having this conversation with you.”

  “It’s okay,” he said, inching closer. “You don’t have to. I got my answer.”

  Alarmed hazel eyes captured his as she said, “Don’t make the mistake of perceiving that as a weakness.”

  “Come again?”

  He was moving in closer, trailing his lips along the curve of her neck as she braced her hands on his shoulders, and at the same time, she tipped her head back. She was a conundrum of mixed singles, pretending she didn’t want him while her body lured him in. He wasn’t the least bit frustrated by her game of advance and retreat though. If anything, he was even more determined to unravel the mystery.

  “Just because I haven’t been with a man in a while doesn’t mean I’m desperate.”

  He chuckled, the sound raspy and laced with longing. “Honey, I saw the way every man in that bar looked at you tonight. I know you’re not desperate for male attention. If anything, you’re the one who makes me feel desperate.” It was true. He felt like he had to have her, like he wouldn’t know real fulfillment until he had her pinned beneath him whispering his name as she gave herself over to the hunger he saw reflected in those striking eyes.

  “You owe me,” he whispered, gliding his lips softly over hers.

  “I owe you?”

  “Hmmm mmm.”

  He was anxious to kiss her, but at the same time he didn’t want to rush this moment. He wanted to prolong it, to preserve it, knowing the memory of the first time his lips touched hers would be etched in his memory for a long time, maybe even forever. It was just a kiss, that’s what he kept telling himself. He’d been kissing girls since he was fourteen, but this felt different. It felt like a moment to cherish.

  “You owe me a kiss. Remember? No sparks, no second date.” He wasn’t worried. He knew they’d detonate fireworks that would set them both on fire.

  “One kiss?” she asked, sounding breathless. “Just one kiss? Then you’ll drop this crazy notion of seeing me again?”

  He trapped her beautiful face in his hands as his eyes leisurely scanned her features. She was perfect. Not because she was wearing make-up to enhance her beauty, but because she was a flawless creation whose natural exquisiteness couldn’t be concealed no matter how oblivious she was to it.

  “One kiss,” he repeated, steeling himself for the impact he knew this would have.

  “Okay.”

  He took his sweet time, drifting his lips across hers, the contact barely enough to create a tingle, but more than enough to make them both desperate for more. When her grip on his shoulders tightened as she tried to draw him closer, his resolve snapped and he invaded her mouth. He told himself subtlety was the key as they discovered harmony, engaging in an erotic game of give and take, but his strategy was lost to the growing ache begging to be satisfied.

  When he reached for the tie at the side of her dress, she turned her face to the side, cutting him off. “You said one kiss. That’s all I agreed to, D.J.”

  She was right, but he wanted to rumble in frustration. He wanted so much more from her than one kiss. One kiss just fuelled his hunger, now he needed to satiate it. “You’re right,” he said, trying to find his breath as he gave her a little space. “One kiss. One incredible kiss that proves what I already knew. We can’t pretend our chemistry isn’t off the charts. We both know it is. We need to explore this more, sweetheart, figure out where it’ll take us.”

  “I already know where you’re hoping it will take us,” she said, smoothing a hand over her hair as she tried to compose herself. “And I’m not going there. Not with you. I’m sorry. I just can’t.”

  D.J. had been taught to respect a woman’s wishes. No means no. No exceptions. But this time he just couldn’t accept her rejection. “Please.”

  She looked up, seemingly startled by his plea.

  “I’ve never had to beg a woman for anything in my life, but this time, I’m willin’ to do whatever it takes. Please. Tell me you’ll see me again, Jos. You can’t let this be it. It’s not enough. You know it’s not.”

  “You mentioned the concert,” she said, weighing her words carefully. “Does that offer still stand?”

  He knew she was taking the easy way out, agreeing to see him again, but with her friends there to act as a buffer. “Of course.” He had no intention of waiting an entire week to see her though, he had a plan that would either thrill or infuriate her.

  “Fine. The concert it is.”

  “I meant what I said though. You’re not driving home tonight. You’re too tired.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m not staying here. As tempting as that offer is, I can’t.”

  He flashed a quick grin. “Can’t trust yourself, huh?”

  She tried, unsuccessfully, to pull her lips into a straight line, but they curved of their own volition. “No, you ego-maniac, I can’t trust you. Your powers of persuasion concern me.”

  He laughed as he smoothed a hand over her hair. “Baby, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” With a heavy sigh, he said, “Okay, let’s get you home. I’ll drive your car, grab a cab from your place and a room in the city. I have to be in the studio early in the morning anyhow.”

  “Wait,” she said, grabbing his hand. “I can’t let you do that.”

  “I wasn’t givin’ you a choice.”

  Shaking her head, she said, “This is crazy. I don’t need anyone to take care of me. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

  “So you’ve said.” But he had the feeling taking care of her would be an urge he would constantly have to fight. “Just indulge me this once, okay? I need to know you got home safely or I wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink.”

  “I can call you when I get home.”

  “As tempting as it would be to hear your sweet voice wishing me a good night’s sleep, the answer is still no. So come on, let’s go,” he said, tugging her up. She collided with his chest, her eyes widening as his arms circled her waist. “I have a confession to make, gorgeous.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I’m kind of crazy about you already.”

  ***

  D.J. convinced Josie to add her number to his contacts when he snagged her phone and did the same. With their final good-night kiss replaying in his mind, he searched for her name and connected the call.

  “Hello?” her voice sounded groggy, like she was on the verge of falling asleep.

  “Hey, beautiful.”

  “D.J.?”

  “Should I be jealous that you have others guys calling you at all hours?” He smiled when he heard her giggle.

  “You’re crazy, you know that?”

  “So I’ve been told.” He paused. “What are you wearin’?”

  Her giggles got louder as she said, “You really need new material, cowboy.”

  He couldn’t contain the grin threatening to split his face as he sat down on the edge of the bed. “I love the sound of your laughter, Jos. Seriously, hearin’ it makes me smile.”

  “Aren’t you just the sweetest thing?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “I’m going to sleep now.”

  “Ok, sleep tight, sweetheart.”

  “Hey, D.J.?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Do you need a ride home, you know, since you’re stranded in the city without wheels?”

  “I thought you’d never ask.” He could have used the limo service, asked his brother
to drive his truck into town, asked one of his buddies to give him a lift, or called a cab, but that would mean he wouldn’t get to see her again.

  “You said you’re in the studio tomorrow?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay, Drake’s studio isn’t far from my gym. Why don’t you pass by here when you’re done? Drake can tell you where it is.”

  “Sounds good.” He was already counting down the hours until he could see her again. How pathetic was that?

  “Oh, and for the record, this is not a date.”

  He bit back the sharp retort, deciding to let her continue lying to herself for a little while longer. “Riiiight. Dream of me, baby.” Before she could argue, he disconnected the call with a smile. This was going to be so much fun.

  Chapter Three

  Josie berated herself as she checked the time on her phone for the tenth time in the past hour. D.J. texted to let her know he was on his way, but that was almost an hour ago. She told herself it had nothing to do with the fact she couldn’t wait to see him again. She was just tired after a restless night’s sleep and wanted to go home, sink into a hot bath, put her jammies on, and call it an early night.

  Her evening receptionist, Gwen, grinned at her. “Why do you keep checking your phone, boss lady? Are you waiting for a call from some new hottie?”

  If only you knew. Gwen was a youthful-looking grandmother with years of experience in the fitness industry and she made it her mission to mother the other girls, Josie included. “No, I was just, uh, waiting for an email from my graphic designer. She’s working on a new ad for the paper and I have to approve it and send it to them before the deadline.” That much was true and the fact she hadn’t received it yet was making her a bit antsy.

  “Mary, mother of God,” Gwen whispered, her jaw going slack. “You’re not going to believe who just walked in. Don’t look,” she said, covering Josie’s hand with her own, squeezing it. “It’s D.J. Stevens, you know, the country singer. Oh my God, I love him. That song he wrote, ‘Death Train,’ gives me chills every time I hear it.”

  “Evenin’, ladies.” D.J. sidled up to the elevated desk, bumping Josie’s hip with his own as he tipped his cowboy hat at Gwen.

  Lord have mercy, he’s wearing his trademark cowboy hat tonight. It’s not fair. How the hell am I supposed to resist that? “Evening, D.J.,” Josie said, trying to still her racing heart with a few subtle breaths. “Did you have a productive day in the studio?”

  “No,” he said, pouting. “Thoughts of this pretty little blonde kept drifting in and out of my head, distractin’ me.” He winked at Gwen. “I can tell already she’s gonna be hell on my heart.”

  “Uh, D.J.,” Josie said, trying to distract Gwen from her gaping. “This is one of my receptionists, Gwen Davies. Gwen, D.J. Stevens.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” he said, covering Gwen’s outstretched hands with both of his.

  “I’m a huge fan, Mr. Stevens. I have all of your songs on my iPod.”

  “That’s nice to hear,” he said, treating her to a lop-sided grin. “But it’s D.J., Mr. Stevens is my old man.”

  Josie cast a quick glance around the large, open-concept gym. Almost all of her members had stopped what they were doing to gawk at D.J. “Um, let’s go into my office,” she said, reaching for his hand. “I have one last thing to take care of before we leave.”

  “Sure thing, sweetheart.” He squeezed her hand while he tipped his black cowboy hat at Gwen. “It was real nice to meet you, ma’am.”

  Releasing a shaky breath, Josie sank down in her swivel chair, gesturing to a guest chair on the opposite side of her desk. “Have a seat. I just need to call my graphic designer to find out when I can expect an ad I’ve been waiting on.”

  “Take your time,” he said, wandering around the small room. “I’m in no hurry.”

  She watched him peering at her board, which was plastered with personal photos of family, friends, and gym members who’d achieved their goals as she tried to focus on her conversation with Maria. “I really need that by midnight. I know it was short notice, but the paper had a cancellation and they were able to give me more space. Given the time of year, I think going with a larger ad is money well spent.”

  She half-listened to Maria grumble a little more about her other deadlines before they finally agreed she would have the ad copy to Josie no later than 10:00 p.m.

  “Crisis averted?” D.J. asked, looking amused.

  “For now.”

  His gaze travelled to the dozen long-stem pink roses in a glass vase on her credenza. “These must be from the admirer you mentioned last night, huh?”

  She winced when she remembered she forgot to call Steve to thank him for the flowers. “Yeah.”

  He picked up the small card and read it aloud. “Thanks for giving me a chance. I had a great time. Steve.” Raising an eyebrow, he asked, “You date a lot of guys?”

  Josie swallowed, trying to hide the fact she felt uncomfortable under his intense scrutiny. “I go out.” She laughed, trying to make light of it. “If I don’t, my friends make it their mission to set me up and I’d rather choose my own dates.”

  “I don’t know, it didn’t work out so badly last night, did it?”

  “No, it didn’t.” She shoved her phone in her purse before opening and closing her desk drawers to try and find her keys. “I’m forever losing things. It’s brutal.”

  He chuckled. “Glad I put my number in your phone then. Unless you lose your phone, you can’t claim you lost my number.”

  She rolled her eyes, trying not to be amused by his wry sense of humor. “Just because I have it doesn’t mean I’ll use it, cowboy.”

  “Ouch,” he said, splaying his hand on his solid chest. “You got me right there with that one. Your aim’s gettin’ better.”

  “Ah, here they are,” she said, ignoring his jibe as she held her key ring in the air triumphantly. “We can go now.”

  “Cool,” he said, opening her office door. “After you, m’lady.” He gestured for her to precede him.

  “I have to admit,” she said, smiling as she patted his cheek. “You are cute.”

  “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, baby. Just wait ’til I start layin’ on that ’ole Southern charm. I’ll sweep you off your pretty little feet faster than you can say ‘Steve who?’”

  Impulsively, without thinking about the consequences or the fact they were in plain view of her members, she gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “Thanks.”

  “For what?”

  “Making me smile. It’s been a rough day.”

  He pulled her into his arms so fast, she let out a little squeal of surprise. “Well guess what? Your day’s about to get a whole lot better and so is mine.”

  ***

  D.J. offered to drive her car back to his ranch. It was a good forty-five minute drive and she did look tired. It almost made him feel guilty for dragging her all the way out to his place again. Almost. Lacing his fingers through hers, he brought her hand to his mouth.

  “I wasn’t kiddin’ earlier. I thought about you today. A lot.”

  She looked out the window at the endless fields they flew past as she tried to hide her smile. “You may have popped into my head once or twice too.”

  Since D.J. knew that was hard for her to admit, he rewarded her with another kiss on the hand. He realized sometime in the pre-dawn hours as he tossed and turned thinking about her, his objective was simple. Just work on getting a little closer to her every day. He knew there was no sense trying to rush something that could potentially be the best thing that ever happened to him. They had all the time in the world to figure this thing out and he planned to be easy about it, not putting too much pressure on her.

  “Have you eaten yet?” It was after seven, but they’d had a late lunch so his stomach was just starting to remind him they were closing in on another meal time.

  “No, I’ll just grab a salad when I get home.”

  “It’ll be too
late by then,” he said, frowning. “Let me throw something on the grill.” He remembered what she said about red meat and suggested chicken wings instead.

  She grinned. “Is that supposed to be a healthier alternative?”

  “You haven’t lived until you’ve tasted my secret sauce. Trust me, nothing’s better on a hot day like this than a cold beer and my barbeque wings.” He knew he was working hard to sell her, but he didn’t want her to leave. He wanted to spend more time with her, getting to know her better, and if he could steal a few more kisses in the process, even better.

  She could deny it all she wanted, this was date number two.

  “You’re a bad influence, you know that, don’t you?” she asked, swirling her finger around the pulse point on his wrist.

  She had no idea how crazy that innocent little gesture was making him, and wouldn’t know unless she happened to glance at his lap. For the first time in a long time, a woman turned him on without even trying. He was in so much trouble with this one.

  “Every good girl needs a bad boy in her life, sweetheart.” He grinned, casting a side-long glance in her direction. “Hey, that’d make a great country song, don’t you think?”

  Her lips twitched before she said, “If you say so. You’re the expert.”

  They turned into the drive to find his parents’ old sheepdog, Layla, running around the yard, awaiting his return.

  “You have a dog?” Josie asked, smiling at the dog’s antics as she danced around the car. “I didn’t see her last night.”

  “No, I’d like one, but I travel too much. Maybe someday.” When he’d settled down with a wife and a couple of kids. He suspected that would be a decade from now unless his mama had her way. “Layla belongs to my parents. I think I mentioned they live just up the road?”

  “You did.”

  “The poor old girl comes here lookin’ for table scraps since the tight-ass vet put her on a diet.”

  Josie laughed as she reached for her door handle. “Do your parents know she sneaks over here to get her fix?”

  “No way,” he said, slipping his Aviator sunglasses up on his head. He reached for his hat in the backseat, since like him, Josie preferred fresh air to air conditioning. “My mama’d slap me upside the head if she knew.” He chuckled. “She can’t figure out why the hell Layla keeps gainin’ weight instead of losin’.”