Sensual Confessions

by Brenda Jackson

  He paused and then said in a somewhat softer tone, “I regret what happened on your wedding day. What your fiancé did to you was unforgivable in my book. And as for your friend who committed suicide, believe it or not, the same thing happened to my cousin Dex’s best friend, Greg. He fell in love with a girl in college and she played him and he took his own life. So men aren’t the only ones who are players. Just like all women aren’t alike, all men aren’t the same, either.”

  Sam pulled in a deep breath. Instead of feeling a surge of satisfaction at what she’d just done to Blade, a part of her felt pangs of regret. “Look, Blade—”

  “No!” he snarled. “You look, Sam. You got your damn pound of flesh. You got your laughs at my expense, so let’s end it there. We know where we stand with each other now. Personally, I don’t think you’re a nice person, and although it’s unlikely our paths will never cross, I suggest we try to avoid each other whenever possible.”

  She lifted her chin. “Fine. And you can stop sending me those flowers.”

  He glared back at her. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve never sent you or any woman flowers, other than the women in my family.”

  He then threw his head back and laughed. “And I’m such a fool that today was the first time I’ve ever given a woman I’m interested in flowers. For some reason I thought you were special. Damn, was I wrong. You can flush them down the toilet along with the condoms.”

  Muttering an obscenity that Sam was grateful she couldn’t hear, Blade opened the door and walked out, slamming it shut behind him.

  Blade let himself into his town house as rage blasted from every pore in his body. In all his thirty-four years, nothing like this had ever happened to him before. And the woman had had the damn nerve, the gall, to blame him for something he’d had nothing to do with.

  Admittedly, he was a player. He enjoyed women. He liked variety when it came to making love, and so far there hadn’t been a woman out there capable of giving him what he wanted, what he needed and desired, all in one single package. Hell, considering his fantasies, he doubted it was possible for any one woman to fulfill his needs.

  He didn’t make excuses for doing what he did, but he of all people respected women. He had enough of them in his family and had been taught from an early age how women were to be treated. He’d never held a gun to their heads to make them sleep with him, so what gave Sam the right to come off thinking she was justified in seeking revenge on behalf of women who’d ever been hurt by him?

  He ignored the blinking message light on his answering machine as he walked through his living room toward the kitchen. He needed a beer. In all honesty, he needed something stronger, but he would settle for what he had.

  Moments later he was leaning against the kitchen counter, after taking a huge swallow of his beer. The cold brew had flowed down his throat, but other than that, the drink hadn’t affected him. He was staring down at the floor as his anger continued to boil.

  By her own admission she was a player hater? He had heard about those kinds of women, but had been lucky not to have encountered one until now. How could he have been so stupid, so gullible? So damn horny for a woman that he hadn’t seen the signs? How had he allowed her to get under his skin to the point that he had been chasing her for the past ten months like a fool?

  And how in the hell had he allowed her to make a difference when no other woman had?

  Damn! She was probably next door having a good old-fashioned laugh.

  He slammed the beer bottle on the counter, almost spilling the contents on his hands and the countertop. And just to think that all the while he had been getting dressed to go over to her place for dinner, he’d barely been able to put his clothes on without thinking about when he would be taking them off with her, how his naked body would lie on top of hers, slide deep inside of her—as deep as he could go—giving her the ride of her life.

  But things hadn’t gone quite the way he’d wanted. Although he had slid inside of her. At least he had tried to. She had been pretty damn tight and he had enjoyed the feel of her muscles clamping around him as he tried pushing deeper, determined to be deeply embedded in her, before she’d stopped him. And he’d assumed that was because he wasn’t wearing a condom.

  He couldn’t believe such a thing had happened. This was the first time he’d been skin to skin with any woman, and the feel of being inside of her without being sheathed in latex had every muscle in his body pulsating, even now. She probably hadn’t realized it, but he had managed to stroke her at least once before pulling out.

  But that was the thing. Even after realizing he wasn’t wearing a condom, he hadn’t wanted to pull out. He had wanted to stay in, ease deeper inside of her, feel her wetness claim him, her feminine juices saturate his erection, and press into her deeper and deeper.

  She hadn’t minded when he’d spread her luscious thighs wide. And she hadn’t minded being taken—or almost taken—right there in her living room. He liked a woman who didn’t believe lovemaking had to be confined to the bedroom. Where was it written that the bedroom was the only place two people could make love? The thought of that was so damn boring.

  Hell, he’d had lots of plans for Sam tonight. The moment he’d walked into her house and saw that her place was just like his, a number of erotic scenarios had danced through his mind. He had thought about taking her on the kitchen table, in the sauna and in that damned hot tub she had tempted him with last night.

  But things didn’t quite work out that way. Instead, after getting him all hot and bothered, she had sent him packing with a damn smirk on her face. What she’d pulled tonight was unforgivable in his book, and just as he’d told her, it would be best for the both of them if they made it a point to avoid each other.

  Chapter 13

  “You okay, Blade?”

  Blade glanced across the table at his cousin Reese. There was no way he would tell him that no, he wasn’t okay. He’d gone to bed mad and had awakened that morning even madder. What was worse, he had gone to bed with a hard-on and had awakened with a bigger hard-on. It had taken a couple of cold showers to make his erection go down. The mere thought of how Sam had deliberately played him was something he had yet to get over, and he doubted if he ever would.

  “Blade?”

  He blinked and noticed both Luke and Reese were staring at him. “Yes?”

  “I asked if something was wrong. You don’t seem like yourself today,” Reese said.

  He shrugged. “You’re imagining things.”

  The three of them had met for breakfast, and afterward, they would return to Luke’s ranch and help him with moving some furniture around. Mac had decided she wanted to redecorate, and now with the three additional bedrooms, a massive family room and a spacious kitchen that he and Slade’s crew had added on six months ago, what used to be a small ranch house had become a sprawling home with a lot of room for a larger family. It wouldn’t surprise Blade, when Mama Laverne talked about fish again, that the fishing rod would be aimed straight at Luke and Mac.

  He glanced over at Luke to find him staring at him. “You sure you’re okay, Blade?” he asked.

  “I’m positive.”

  “Then where were you last night?” Luke asked. “Slade was trying to reach you.”

  Blade chuckled. “I wasn’t lost. I was out. And when I returned I didn’t check my messages. I called him this morning.” He took a sip of his coffee and asked, “Is there a law that says I have to be home at all times?”

  “No.”

  “Okay, then.”

  “Kind of touchy today, aren’t you? If I didn’t know better I would think you needed to get laid or something,” Reese said with a grin on his face.

  Blade didn’t see a damn thing funny about it, mainly because he did need to get laid—and in a bad way. He’d never gone without sex this long and all because of one woman. How screwed up was that?

  He opened his mouth, ready to give his cousin the scathing response he deserved,
but Luke interrupted, eager to keep the peace. “The rodeo school is looking good, Blade.”

  Blade’s frown turned into a smile. He always appreciated compliments about the work that he and Slade’s company did, and Luke of all people knew it. “Thanks. According to Townsend, the last coat of paint will be hitting the walls next week. The only thing left will be landscaping. Any idea when the horses will arrive? I want the corral and the new barn ready before they’re delivered.”

  Just the mention of horses got Luke talking, and Blade was grateful for the distraction. He could nod and feign interest while his mind wandered to other things—namely Samari Di Meglio.

  He had gotten very little sleep last night. The worst thing he could have done was to let her mouth touch him. Even now he was getting excruciatingly hard just thinking about it. Women had gone down on him before, but never in the way she had. It was quite obvious she was a novice at that sort of thing. He could even believe that she’d never done it before. Her lack of experience had showed, but it hadn’t been felt. As far as he was concerned, no pro could have done it better. There had been something about the way she had taken him in her hands, and later with her mouth, and applied the perfect amount of pressure and—

  “Blade, you’re daydreaming again.”

  He met Luke’s gaze. “Am I?”

  “Yes. Reese has been asking you a question for the last five minutes.”

  Of course, he knew Luke was exaggerating. He cut his eyes over to Reese. “Sorry. What was your question?”

  Reese grinned again and Blade was tempted to knock that silly smirk off his lips. “I asked if you were headed back to Houston for the party Jake and Diamond are hosting for Rasheed and his wife this weekend.”

  “Yes, I’ll be there.”

  He would leave for Houston on Friday. The women in Houston knew how to treat a man. They didn’t play games or seek revenge. They weren’t teases. They weren’t player haters. “What about you?” he asked Reese. “When do you take over Trevor’s old job?”

  Reese smiled. “In a couple of months. Trevor is finalizing the projects he started. And yes, I’m headed back to Houston. In fact, I’m leaving here on Thursday to swing by Austin to get Kenna. She’s going to the party with me.”

  Blade nodded and didn’t say anything, but after taking a sip of his coffee, he decided to ask, “Has it ever occurred to you that if you ever get married, your wife probably won’t take too kindly to the fact that your best friend is a woman?”

  Reese leaned back in his chair. “Nope, mainly because I’d never marry a woman who didn’t get along with Kenna. Would you marry someone who didn’t get along with Tanner and Wyatt?”

  Blade frowned. It wasn’t the same and Reese damn well knew it. “Since I don’t ever plan to marry I can’t answer that question,” he said.

  “Well, I do plan to marry one of these days, although no time soon, and I would never consider marrying someone who couldn’t accept my relationship with Kenna,” Reese said. “And vice versa. She would never marry someone who could not accept her relationship with me.”

  Blade shook his head and decided to play devil’s advocate. “And you know this for certain?”

  “Yes. We’ve discussed it. Everyone has a best friend. I’m a man who just happens to have one that’s a woman. No big deal.”

  In Blade’s book it was a big deal. But if Reese and Kenna were convinced it wasn’t, then who was he to argue? He glanced over at Luke. “Are you ready for us to leave and get started on your place?”

  Luke nodded. “Yes. I promised Mac that when she got home this evening I’d have at least one room finished. And you never make Mac a promise you don’t intend to keep.”

  Sam had a drowsy look on her face from a sleepless night when she walked into the office. The first person she saw after passing through Security was Patsy, who was leaving the building.

  The young woman smiled at Sam. “More flowers came for you today and there’s a card with them,” she said excitedly. “I saw the florist bring them in.”

  Sam gave her a slight smile and nodded as she made her way toward the reception area. Priscilla glanced up when she saw her and smiled. “More flowers arrived today, Ms. Di Meglio, and there’s a card with them.”

  “Thank you, Priscilla,” she said as she made her way down the hall toward her office. Everyone was more interested in her secret admirer than she was. In fact, she was still trying to get over Blade’s statement last night that he hadn’t been sending them. All this time she’d actually thought he was.

  Thoughts of Blade were still in her mind and had been since last night. After he’d left her place she had picked up every condom packet off the floor and placed them in a drawer in her bedroom. She had actually counted them—thirty in all. Had he honestly thought he would use even half that number?

  She rolled her eyes, thinking, yes, he probably had. If he would have had his way, he would have humped her all night and she would have enjoyed every minute of it.

  She drew in a deep breath at her sensual confession. Chances were she would have gone to sleep totally relaxed, sated and satisfied. Instead, she had slid between the sheets tense, annoyed and obsessing about what she could have had—and all in the name of revenge. Whoever said getting even was sweet hadn’t met the likes of Blade Madaris.

  She opened the door to her office and her gaze immediately went to the huge arrangement sitting in the middle of her desk. These flowers were more beautiful than all the others had been, and whoever was sending them certainly had great taste. But the ones Blade had given her last night had these beat.

  She walked around the desk and pulled out the drawer to put her purse inside. Then glanced up to see Peyton and Mac standing in the doorway. “We heard the flowers came with a card this time,” Mac said with a huge grin on her face.

  Sam rolled her sleepy eyes. “Evidently the entire office has heard about it,” she said, sitting down behind her desk and leaning back in her chair, thinking she could certainly use a good eight hours’ worth of sleep.

  “Boy, you look tired,” Peyton said, laughing. “Didn’t you get any sleep last night?”

  Sam glared at her friend. “Don’t mess with me, Mahoney. I’m so not in a good mood.”

  Mac crossed her arms over her chest. “And why aren’t you in a good mood, Sam? I thought you had a date with Blade. Didn’t things go the way you had planned?”

  Sam refused to answer that. Instead she snatched the card off the flowers. “I know the only reason the two of you are here is because you’re dying to know who’s been sending me flowers.”

  “Like you don’t already know,” Peyton said smartly, as she stepped into the office and took a chair across from Sam’s desk.

  “I thought I knew, but I found out last night it wasn’t Blade.”

  Mac rolled her eyes. “You actually thought they were from him?” she said, closing the door and then taking the chair next to the one Peyton occupied. “According to Luke, Blade never gives women flowers,” she added.

  Sam decided not to say anything about the fact that he had given her a beautiful arrangement last night. Instead she opened the small envelope and pulled out the card and read it.

  I’ve been sending you flowers to enjoy while you can, because starting today your days are numbered. An old friend.

  Sam reread the card, certain that what she’d read was meant to be a joke. But she couldn’t stop the uneasy feeling that was running through her mind and the sweaty palms of her hands. She dropped the card on her desk and glanced over at Peyton and Mac in shock.

  “Sam, are you all right?” Peyton asked, getting out of her chair. “What did the card say?”

  Sam opened her mouth to speak but couldn’t. Instead she shoved it toward them. Mac picked up the card. Mac and Peyton read it together and she could hear the expletives coming from Peyton’s mouth.

  “What the f—is going on? Who the hell is making a threat like this? Is this some kind of sick joke?”

&nbs
p; “Peyton, calm down,” Mac said, as her eyes remained glued to Sam. “Sam, do you have any idea who could have been sending you these flowers?”

  Sam, still unable to speak, only shook her head. She didn’t have a clue. She watched as Mac then picked up the phone on her desk and began dialing. “Yes, Detective Adams, this is Mackenzie Standfield Madaris, and you’re needed over to my office immediately.”

  Luke handed the bottles of beer to Reese and Blade. “Thanks, guys, you deserve these. I didn’t know Mac had so much stuff to move from the attic.”

  The phone rang and Luke reached over, checked the caller ID, smiled and picked it up. “Hello, sweetheart.”

  Blade and Reese watched as the smile on his face turned to anger. “When?” Then moments later he asked, “Did you call the police?”

  Luke pulled in a deep breath as he stood up, already grabbing his car keys from his jeans pocket. “That’s fine, I’m on my way.” He hung up the phone.

  “What’s going on, Luke?” Reese asked, with concern in his voice.

  “That was Mac. The person who’s been sending Sam flowers for the past six weeks finally sent a card with them today, with a death threat.”

  “What!” Blade was out of the chair, almost knocking it over. “Are these the same flowers Sam thought I was sending her?”

  Luke raised a brow as he grabbed his Stetson off the hat rack. “I wasn’t aware she thought you were the one sending those flowers.”

  “She mentioned it last night and I assured her they weren’t from me,” Blade said, hot on Luke’s heels as he headed for the door. Reese quickly followed Blade.

  “Well, according to Mac, the card Sam got with the delivery today wasn’t pretty, and said something about her days being numbered,” Luke said over his shoulder as he headed for the truck. “And the two of you don’t have to go with me. Hopefully, I won’t be long.”

  “I’m going,” Reese said, already opening the door and climbing inside the backseat of Luke’s truck.