by Sandra Owens
“Meep.”
“You already ate, silly boy.” She grabbed him, horrified by all the cat hair on the bottom of Jamie’s pants. “He thinks you don’t know he’s had his dinner and hopes you’ll feed him again.”
Jamie glanced around. “Junior? Is there a senior I should beware of?”
She walked down the hall and tossed her cat into the bedroom, closing the door. Junior immediately made his displeasure known. Over his howls, she dropped her purse on the end table and snatched up the lint brush.
“Nope, no senior to be found. He’s Dale Junior, you know, after the race car driver.” Dropping to her knees, she busied herself with removing the hair from his pants. Without thinking, she curled her hand around the back of his leg as she brushed. A muscle flexed under her palm, sending little shivers up her arm. Oh God, she was touching him kind of intimately. She lifted her eyes, but only made it as far as his crotch. The material of his trousers twitched, and she watched in fascination as the area at the level of her mouth tented.
Holy Toledo. He was getting hard because of her? Something made her heart beat faster, and she wasn’t sure if it was fear or excitement. She lifted her gaze to his face. He stared down at her—his eyes a darker blue than usual—with an unreadable expression.
“Sugar?”
“Mmm?”
“If you don’t get off your knees right now, you might be surprised at the consequences.”
“Okay.” His voice had changed, turning low and raspy. A throbbing started down deep, something she’d never felt before. For the first time in her life, she understood what it meant when someone said they were turned on. She knew how it looked when a man was hard, had been forced not only to touch Rodney, but to put him in her mouth. Never had she thought to want to do it again with any man, but suddenly she wanted to know if it would be different with Jamie.
Although, as Sugar, she’d practiced flirting with a few guys, she’d never encouraged them to ask her out. If a man seemed too interested, she’d bolt like a scared rabbit racing for the safety of his hidey-hole. From the day she’d met Jamie, though, she had been attracted to him. That in itself amazed her, and her interest in him had grown each time she’d been around him. Unable to resist, she moved her hand and covered his erection. It jerked against her palm.
“Sugar,” he growled, and pulled her up. “You’re playing with fire, girl.”
His mouth came down on hers, and she dropped the lint brush to the floor. Like before, he tasted of lemon drops. Although she’d bought several bags of the hard candy after he’d kissed her the first time, she discovered they weren’t as good as tasting them on him. He angled his head and slid his tongue past her lips. She grabbed his waist when her knees threatened to buckle under her. In response, he wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her hard against him.
His erection pressed low on her stomach, and when he ground himself over her, she couldn’t stop her moan. Heated blood rushed through her when he slid his hands down her back to her bottom, cupping her cheeks. Their tongues dueled for supremacy, but sensing he would be relentless in conquering her, she surrendered.
Melting against him, a sigh shuddered through her. Rodney’s goal had always been to control her through fear and intimidation. With Jamie, she somehow knew if she said stop, he would.
He broke the kiss and leaned away, peering down at her. “Where’d you go just now?”
Oh, God. He was too perceptive by half. Now she was being stupid. There was no way he could know what she was thinking.
“I don’t know what ya mean.”
“You’re staring at the buttons on my shirt. Look at me, Sugar.”
She did. Was that concern she saw in his eyes? No question, she was out of her depth. What would he say if she told him he was only the second man she’d ever kissed, and the first one she actually wanted to? Considering where she worked and how she sometimes acted around him, he probably thought she’d kissed lots of guys.
He moved his hands back up to her waist and stepped back. “We need to go.” When he dropped his arms to his sides, her skin still tingled where he’d touched her.
“Okay.” Although sorry she’d somehow ruined the moment, she was glad he hadn’t pursued his question. She didn’t want to lie to him, but she could never tell him about Rodney.
“Maybe you should let your cat out. He’s doesn’t sound at all happy.”
“That’s because he hates closed doors.”
He glanced down the hallway. “No kidding.”
She picked up the lint brush and dropped it on the table before letting Junior out. To keep him from heading straight for Jamie, she took him into the kitchen and gave him a few treats. What did a girl say to a man who’d just kissed her like there was no tomorrow? Thanks, when can we do it again?
Standing in the middle of her living room, his hands in his pockets, and his face unreadable, his gaze followed her as she hurried and grabbed her purse. At the door, she turned to see he’d not moved an inch.
“You coming?”
He muttered something under his breath she didn’t quite catch before following her out. Her new neighbor stood in the small front yard of her condo as her little Yorkie sniffed the grass.
“Hi, Mrs. Sims. How’s Cricket doing?” The older woman babied the animal something terrible, and she’d been worried the dog was coming down with a cold.
“Much better, my dear. She only sneezed once today.”
“Good, I’m glad to hear it.” Sugar started to walk on.
“Did the nice man talk to you yesterday?”
A chill slithered down her spine, and she turned back. “What man was that?”
“He was all dressed up in a suit and tie. Not like the kids today in their baggy pants and big shirts. Such a handsome gentleman he was, and so polite.” Mrs. Sims eyed Jamie. “Not as handsome as you though.”
Jamie’s eyes twinkled as he gave the woman a big smile. “Thank you, ma’am.”
Any other time, Sugar would have rolled her eyes, but at the moment, she felt as if the world had stopped turning. “Was he selling something?” It had to be the man she’d seen the day before.
“No, he was from the condo management company. Said he was just checking in with everyone, making sure we all were happy. Asked since I was new here if I’d met any of my neighbors yet. I told him about you and what a nice young lady you are.”
The condo’s management had never sent anyone around to check on them before. Her stomach gave a sickening roll at the thought of strangers asking questions. What if Rodney had sent someone?
CHAPTER EIGHT
Sugar swayed, and her cheeks lost their color. Afraid she was about to faint, Jamie slipped an arm around her back. She leaned into him as if she knew he could keep her safe from whatever frightened her. The feeling of protectiveness shouldn’t have taken him by surprise. He’d felt it before, more than once where Sugar was concerned.
What had her turning as pale as a ghost, and what had put fear in her eyes? Was someone looking for her? A boyfriend or worse, a husband? He discounted a husband. It had been obvious when he’d kissed her that she wasn’t very experienced. That shouldn’t have pleased him, yet it had.
Color returned to her face, and she pushed away. After saying her good-byes to her neighbor, she turned and walked toward Jamie’s car. As he followed, he couldn’t help admiring her long, shapely legs and the way her hips curved out from a trim waist.
The outfit she wore was a man magnet, and he felt the pull as if he were made of metal. When he opened the car door for her, his fingers itched to trail a path up her bare arms to her shoulders where he might or might not stop.
“What was all that about?” he asked once they were on the road.
“I have no idea.”
He didn’t believe her. She kept her face turned toward the window, and sensing he’d g
et nothing more from her, he let it drop. For the time being. They rode in silence for a few minutes, and when she made no effort to converse, he searched for a safe subject.
“So you named your cat after a race car driver?”
“Yeah. I’m a big Earnhardt fan.”
Something they had in common. “Danica Patrick for me,” he said because he knew he’d get a reaction.
She finally turned to him. “Because she looks good in a bikini?”
Ah, there it was, that spark he’d wanted to see. “There is that, but she’s actually a good driver. It surprises me you’re a NASCAR fan.”
“Why? Because I’m female? I have a thing for numbers, and there’s numbers aplenty in NASCAR. Think about it. There are so many things to figure out during a race.”
As she listed all the ways numbers needed to be crunched, he found himself revising his opinion of her. His first impression had been that she was flighty and not particularly bright. Cheerful and chatty, yes. But a woman who could tell every pit chief on the track when his driver needed to come in for gas? He’d not come close to cataloging the real Sugar Darling.
A lesson learned. Sometimes he could be wrong. He’d apparently hit on the right subject, and as he listened to the excitement in her voice when she talked about something she loved, he wondered what it would be like if she were ever that enthused about him.
Even though he’d managed to get her to talk, she wasn’t her usual chirpy self. Somehow he needed to get her to trust him enough to tell him if she were in trouble. If he could help her . . . but did he really want to get that involved with her? Just because he’d accepted he couldn’t resist her and wanted her in his bed didn’t mean he was ready to take on her problems.
“Have you ever been to a race?”
“Talladega two years ago with Buchanan and Stewart. It was pretty awesome.” He pulled into the Buchanans’ driveway and turned off the ignition.
“Oh, I’d love to go someday,” she said, bouncing a little.
Jamie smiled. Any minute, she was going to start clapping. Her excitement reminded him of a kid at Christmas, and he found himself thinking he’d like to be the one to take her to a race. She’d probably want to visit all the pit crews to wrangle their strategy, then would tell them where they erred in their calculations. It would be fun to stand behind her and watch her dazzle them as she spouted mileage, and speed, and whatever else it took for a car to end up in the winner’s circle.
Then her eyes dulled, and she sighed. “A pipe dream, considering.”
Considering what? Something or someone had her running scared, and he wanted to beat the crap out of whoever stole the sparkle from her eyes. Maybe it was time to run a background check on her, see what skeletons were in her closet. He’d have to think about it first, decide if he had the right to invade her privacy.
At her door, he offered his hand—liking that she’d waited for him to help her out of the car. Placing his palm on her lower back, he walked beside her. Tension radiated from her, and he about bit off his tongue to keep from interrogating her.
After ringing the doorbell, he impulsively gave her a quick kiss. Violet-blue eyes blinked up at him in surprise. “If you ever need to talk, I’m a good listener,” he said just as the door opened.
“Hey.” Maria said. “Jake’s on the back patio.” She gestured toward the French doors. “You know the way, Jamie. I’ll join you in a sec.”
Jamie took Sugar’s hand and led her to the backyard. Jake stood over a grill emitting massive amounts of smoke. “Whatcha burning, Tiger?”
Jake glanced up. “Hope you like your burgers blackened.”
Sugar reached for the grill fork. “You two go do whatever it is men do when their women are busy in the kitchen.”
His woman? Jamie didn’t know whether to kiss her senseless or dig a foxhole and hide from the barrage of feelings raining down on him. He settled on something in-between. Pushing the fork away from doing serious damage, he slipped his fingers behind her neck and pressed his lips to her forehead.
“Don’t burn my dinner.” He turned away before she could respond, but he could feel the glare she trained on his back. It was likely he was in serious trouble. So why was he grinning?
Jake handed him a root beer, opening a bottle of Dos Equis for himself. “What’s Sugar drink?”
Jamie glanced at the bar. Someday, he’d like to have a home like the Buchanans’. A crystal-clear, emerald-green pool shimmered under the setting sun, and the patio/bar area was pretty awesome.
“Red wine.” How did he know that? Had he seen her drink wine before? A memory from three or four months ago returned. A group from K2 had been at Jake and Maria’s house, along with Sugar. She’d sat on the edge of the pool with her feet dangling in the water, a glass of dark red wine in her hand. Angry he hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off her long legs and pink painted toes, he’d left early. Even back then, he’d been paying attention to her; he just hadn’t wanted to admit it.
He took the glass from Jake and carried it to Sugar. She expertly flipped the burgers, then closed the grill lid. Their fingers brushed when he handed her the wine, sending a powerful current up his arm.
“Thanks.” She lifted the glass to her lips, peering at him over the rim.
Once, as a young boy, he’d fallen headfirst into a neighbor’s pool. He’d been told to stay away—that the pool was dangerous—but hadn’t been able to resist the allure of the sparkly water. Sugar Darling was as dangerous and irresistible to him as that pool had been. Swallowing hard, he skimmed his thumb over the top of her lip.
“You had a drop of wine there.” When he brought his finger to his mouth to lick it off, she caught his hand.
“You don’t drink.” She leaned forward and sucked the wine from his thumb.
Dancing bananas, he was definitely in trouble.
“Sorry, I was on the phone with Angie. She’s coming for a visit next month.”
He and Sugar jumped apart and turned to Maria. Jake sat on a chaise, staring at him with a smirk on his face. How had he forgotten Buchanan was there? Jamie scowled at him out of principle.
“Who’s Angie?” Sugar asked.
“A high school girl I met last year in Tallahassee.”
“When she was kidnapped,” Jake added, his mouth turning down in a scowl.
Sugar turned wide eyes on Maria. “Who was kidnapped? You or Angie?”
“My wife,” Jake growled.
As Maria related the story, Jamie took over keeping an eye on the burgers. It still bothered him that the man Maria had thought at the time might be her father had gotten his hands on her during his watch. He had no desire to hear it rehashed.
“About time you got interested in someone with a pulse,” Jake said, coming to stand next to Jamie.
“Who says I’m interested?” Was that how the team viewed the women he went out with? What business was it to anyone else who he dated?
Jake snorted. “You can’t take your eyes off her.”
Refusing to take the bait, he glanced at Sugar to see she and Maria had moved to chairs on the other side of the pool and were in quiet conversation. Was she confiding in Maria, telling her friend why she was upset? Ignoring the streak of hurt that she hadn’t trusted him enough to tell him why she was afraid, he turned his back and loaded the burgers on a platter.
“Dinner’s up,” Jake called.
The October evening was still warm, and Maria had set the patio table. Still irritated, Jamie pulled out a chair for Sugar, taking the seat next to her. As everyone reached for the mustard, mayo, and ketchup, Jamie stole a glance at her. The sparkle he’d grown used to seeing in her eyes was still missing—the one that said life was fun and she didn’t want to miss a minute of it. If someone was messing with her, one way or another, he’d find out.
The first game of the World Series had bee
n played the night before, and talk turned to the fierce pitching battle that had taken place between the two teams. When Sugar spouted averages—RBIs, ERAs, WHIPs—Jake sat back and blinked at her in surprise.
“Numbers,” Jamie said. “She likes them.”
She smiled at him, he smiled at her, and the world came to an abrupt halt. Her lips—full, lush, kissable lips—were stained red from the wine. He’d start with her mouth, then work his way down her throat to her breasts. From there, he’d slowly lick his way to his goal, to the place he wanted to taste the most. Red-hot fire sizzled through his blood. He already knew how delicious she tasted . . . how would it feel to be buried to his balls inside her?
A little shudder passed through her, her eyes turned from violet to a dark blue, and her lips parted. God above, he ached for her, wanted her. It was the clearing of a throat that made him realize he’d leaned toward her, fully intending to kiss her into oblivion.
Apparently, she’d also forgotten they had an audience because she jerked back in her seat, her cheeks turning bright pink. If the heat creeping up his neck was any indication, so were his. How did she do that to him? How did she make him forget his surroundings? Even in his wild days, women had never had that kind of effect on him.
He should put a stop to it before he sacrificed everything he’d worked toward for the last ten years, but he’d passed the point of no return, and Sugar Darling was lined up in his sights.
Jamie glanced up to see Jake and Maria staring at them, Jake again smirking, and amusement glittering in Maria’s eyes. Maybe he’d start a fight just so he could wipe that smug expression off Buchanan’s face.
“You got a problem, Tiger Toes?” Maria’s pet name for her husband was supposed to be a secret, but there were no secrets among the team.
Jake burst into laughter. “Nope.” He slipped his hand into Maria’s and brought it to his mouth, kissing her fingers. “No problem at all.”
The two of them exchanged a look so full of love that Jamie felt gut-punched. A longing for what his friends had seared through him, so strongly it hurt. The years he’d spent looking for it, for what they had, what his parents had, suddenly seemed wasted. Had he been searching for the wrong woman all this time? He glanced at Sugar to see her staring at Jake and Maria in fascination.