Strawberry Kisses (A Rocky Harbor Novel Book 2)

by Marianne Rice

  “Oh, we’re plenty warmed. You took care of that earlier when you took your shirt off and did your Magic Mike thing.”

  “Lucy!”

  The sisters were nothing alike that was for sure. Jake wanted to learn more about Rachael’s family. Hell, he wanted to hear her story. There was so much he wanted to learn about her past. When was she adopted? Why she was adopted? What the hell happened with the guy who messed her up?

  Before he got her naked, as Lucy so delicately stated, he needed to get to know her better. To understand her and to make sure he never crossed any of those delicate lines he knew she had laid out all around her.

  The past few weeks had been fun. Going to festivals and walking on the beach weren’t in his normal repertoire of dates. Not that he had normal dates. Hook ups at bars were as complicated as he got.

  And whatever the hell was going on between him and Rachael was definitely complicated. She was relationship material.

  He was not.

  Thinking about their obvious differences helped lower the rush of blood in his shorts. There were skeletons in his closet he didn’t want to share with her, but he knew he needed to. If she found out through the wrong people, well, her trust in him would never return.

  He’d screwed up once by keeping his sister a secret. Maybe this weekend he’d come clean about his past. And his present.

  “’K, loverboy. Take your sexy eyes off my sister and let’s get going with this last class.” Lucy shoved him aside and he stumbled backward, grateful for a distraction.

  After an hour of lessons, skills, and drills, he dismissed the class, suggesting those who were interested in more self-defense techniques sign up for his taekwondo lessons on Tuesday nights.

  “It’s been real. Maybe I’ll see you around.” Lucy patted his chest, lingering a little too long with her hand before she gave him a devilish grin. “Meet you in the car, Rach. Don’t be too long. I have to get to work.”

  “I can drive you home or work or wherever you need to go,” he offered when Lucy left.

  “Thank you, but I have a lot of prep work I need to do today.” Rachael bit her lower lip, a sign he’d learned to read. She was nervous. Probably about their weekend plans. He could be a gentleman and pretend he didn’t hear her say there was a possibility of sex this weekend, or he could address it and tell her there was no need to rush.

  Since a gentleman he was not, he opted for option B. “About this weekend.” A crimson blush took over her face and she lowered her head, her hair falling out of its ponytail and disguising her face. “I’m not going to lie and say I don’t want to…get naked with you.”

  He tipped her warm face up and waited until her blue eyes made contact with his. “However, I’m not rushing or pushing you into anything. I never thought I’d say this to a beautiful woman, but being with you is enough. We don’t have to take it any further than we’ve already gone.”

  Yeah, he was totally whipped. God’s honest truth, he’d never spoken those words to a woman before.

  “I’m sorry—”

  “Eh, eh, eh,” he tsked. “I told you to stop apologizing when you’ve done nothing wrong.”

  Rachael nodded and blinked fast. “Okay. I, uh, I really need to go. Lucy has to get to work.”

  “Yeah, I’m going to be late too. I’ll walk you out.” Once outside, he spotted Lucy’s beater and followed Rachael to the car. He kissed her lightly on the lips. “Saturday. I’ll pick you up around six?”

  “That sounds good. What should I wear?”

  A devilish grin he couldn’t control took over his face and worked its way down to his shorts.

  “Babe, you can wear anything you want. As much or as little as you’d like.”

  When the taillights couldn’t be seen anymore, he jogged back into the gym, tossed on his work jeans, boots, and shirt, and sped to his latest job site.

  Digging holes was backbreaking, hard, sweaty work, and it helped him get out his sexual frustration. He wasn’t frustrated in the sense that he was annoyed. Yet every minute he spent with Rachael it became harder and harder to keep his hands in gentlemanly places. Come Saturday night he’d ask her about her scars.

  And then, come hell or high water, he’d at least make it to second base.

  ***

  In two months he’d be done with his Friday afternoon meetings with Ross Noles. Eight more visits with his probation officer and then he’d be a free man. For real.

  In all honesty, Noles was a decent officer, but every time Jake left their thirty-minute check-in he was reminded at what a failure he’d been in life. It didn’t matter that he’d spent the last five years of his life making up for his crimes; he had twenty-four years of loser behavior to rectify.

  Well, he’d been a decent kid. It was the past sixteen years of his life he’d like to redo. Still, trust was easily broken and took years to build back up. He’d ditched his thug buddies from the past and worked his ass off to prove to his sister and his parents that he was a changed man and, because they were better people than him, they’d forgiven him.

  He was a lucky son of a bitch blessed with an amazing, supportive family, and now the sweetest, kindest woman.

  Now he needed to forgive himself.

  “You look like hell.” Ross stuck out his foot and hooked it around the leg of the chair across from Jake, pulling it out before taking a seat. “That coffee for me?”

  Ross didn’t have to ask. They’d been meeting here for nearly two years, Jake showing up early at the diner on Marginal Way in Portland and ordering two black coffees.

  They both didn’t care for the retro places or fancy coffee shops, although Coast & Roast was growing on him. Or maybe it was the woman who worked in the back. He’d prefer her tasty concoctions over coffee any day. Or a taste of that strawberry drink on her lips.

  “Looking better now. What’s going on in that thick skull of yours?”

  Jake had lucked out with Noles. He had a decade or so on him but came from a similar tough-guy adolescence. He didn’t judge Jake or make him feel like an ass. Their friendship grew over the months, with Noles taking on a big brother role. Not that at twenty-nine he needed a big brother.

  Hell, he’d always wanted a big brother. At five, at ten, at sixteen. And if he was honest with himself, he’d still want one when he turned forty as well.

  “Just thinking.” Jake sipped his coffee and stared out the window, watching cars rush by on their way home to see their perfect families.

  “Whatever you were thinking about when I first got here didn’t look so great, but now your cheeks are all rosy and you have that stupid dumbass grin on your face. Is it the girl?”

  He’d told Noles about Rachael last week. It was the first time he ever talked about a woman with him. Because no one else had ever mattered.

  “Maybe.” He grinned.

  “Good for you, man. You deserve a little bit of happiness in your life.”

  If Jake hadn’t been so badass his eyes would have teared up. Outside of his parents, no one ever admitted to believing in him. His landscaping business started taking off last summer after Noles recommended him to a rich guy with a house on the coast that probably set him back quite a few million. Pocket change.

  Jeff Sherman hired him on the spot, no questions asked, and loved Jake’s ideas for a natural rock garden and gazebo overlooking the ocean. From then on, he’d had no shortage of jobs. Without Noles’s recommendation, Jake would still be pushing the lawnmower Graham teased him about.

  “How’s your sister?”

  “The same.”

  “No sign of improvement?”

  “Not yet. The doctors are still hopeful. You never know in cases like hers. The damage could be permanent or she could make a mild recovery. It took her three years to talk again, maybe in a few more she’ll be able to really communicate.”

  “And the seizure? How is she recovering from that?”

  “A typical setback. She went fifteen months without having one. Th
ey’re more sporadic now. So that’s good.”

  They continued their idle chatter, Noles asking about Jake’s family who he’d never met but seemed like he knew. The Morgans didn’t need the constant reminder that their son was a criminal and had to meet with a parole officer every week. So he kept his meetings fairly private and never talked about Noles with his family.

  “How about you? Kids done with sports for the summer?”

  “Christopher is in Little League. Doesn’t seem to ever end. Melissa has her gymnastics once a week and Kate keeps active with her reading group.”

  “What about you? What do you do when you’re not meeting up with hardened criminals in coffee shops? My offer still stands. I think you’d like taekwondo.”

  Noles laughed. “You just want an excuse to kick my ass.”

  “Something like that.” Truth be told, Ross Noles and Tony Carver were the only friends he had. If you could count a parole officer and a gym owner as your friends. He liked the men on his crew, but he didn’t socialize with his workers, needing to keep the boss and employee relationship strong. Besides, the kids were young. High school dropouts who lacked academic skills but were hard workers.

  Jake saw potential in them when no one else would. To hang out with them would make them lose their respect for him.

  “And work? Business is good?”

  “Hell yeah. I barely have time for Rachael.” He couldn’t help the tug at his lips and Noles laughed.

  “You’re whipped, man. I can see it all over you.”

  “No, not whipped.”

  “You love her?”

  Love? How the hell would he know? Jake shrugged. “We’re just having fun.”

  “I’ve seen you the morning after you just had some fun. You never looked like this.”

  “We’re taking it nice and slow. One step at a time.” Painfully slow, but worth every damn second.

  “I’m happy for you, Jake. I’m not gonna lie, though. I’ll be happy when we can stop meeting like this. Filling out reports and checking in. It’ll be nice to meet up somewhere else. Grab a beer. Shoot some hoops.”

  “I’m looking forward to that too.” More than he could possibly imagine.

  Chapter Seven

  Rachael

  Rachael opened a new razor and spent an extra ten minutes in the shower until her legs were smooth, her skin lathered twice, and her hair deep conditioned. Wrapping herself in her towel, she wiped away the fog from the mirror and checked out her reflection. What the heck did a man like Jake Morgan see in the skinny blonde in the mirror?

  He belonged with someone strong and athletic, not a scrawny washed-up twenty-six-year-old who still lived with her mother, who had no car and barely a career.

  Damn Dylan and his emotional abuse! It was harder to get past than the physical beatings she took. Squeezing her self-doubting eyes closed, Rachael shook off her negativity and then re-evaluated herself in the mirror.

  Jake liked Rachael just the way she was. In the past few months she’d put on some of the weight Dylan had made her lose and there were the beginning signs of muscle definition in her legs. Probably from all the biking to and from work. She had excellent skin, shiny natural blonde hair, and when she wasn’t pouting and hiding behind her bangs, she had pretty eyes.

  She did it! She looked in the mirror and saw her true self, not the façade of what Dylan made her see.

  In high school she used to play up her eyes, coating on too many layers of mascara. Her long black lashes made her bright eyes pop and she used them to get her way and out of more than a handful of jams growing up. Not in a mean way. She worked her charm on her brothers and often got the last brownie, or the front seat, or got to tag along with them when they’d go to the movies. Even her mother couldn’t say no when Rachael smiled, kissed her cheek, hugged her tight, and batted her eyelashes.

  Her bright, bubbly self had been stripped away and she’d turned into the skinny robot Dylan wanted her to be. Not tonight. Rachael pranced across the hall to her room, shucked her towel, and slid into a silky pair of pale pink underwear Lucy got her for her birthday in April. At the time Rachael didn’t think she’d ever have a reason to wear them.

  Lathering herself in her favorite orange cream lotion, she made sure to smooth it across parts of her body often neglected. Giddy with excitement, Rachael slipped into her teal striped skirt and found a white sleeveless blouse hanging in her closet. It was old, from her high school days, and it still fit—a little loose, but it would do.

  Not knowing—or caring—what they were doing tonight, she left her hair down and spent a little more time than usual on her make-up. Jake hadn’t seen her with make-up on before, nothing more than a little lip gloss and a quick swipe of mascara, so tonight she added a light layer of pale pink eye shadow, outlined her eyes with a thin line of black, and put on four coats of mascara.

  “So, her inner vixen comes out,” Lucy said from Rachael’s open doorway. They may have become closer over the past few months, but they still weren’t comfortable revealing their darkest secrets. She and Lucy were starting to talk about normal things, though. Boys and the future and food. Rachael enjoyed Lucy’s abrupt nature and admired her ability to speak her mind and without caring what other people may think. “Hot date with Jake?”

  “I don’t know about hot, but yes.”

  “Anything you do with Jake is hot.” Rachael bit back a smile. “See, you can’t deny it.”

  “No, I can’t deny Jake is hot, but it doesn’t mean we’re getting naked this weekend either.”

  Lucy snorted. “I’ll tell Doreen not to wait up.”

  Rachael shook her head and marched past her sister, refusing to give in to the taunts. She found her mother in the kitchen stirring sauce on the stove.

  “You look beautiful, sweetheart.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” She leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “Jake should be here any minute.”

  “You two have a good time. Lucy and I will save some lasagna for you to take to work tomorrow. Rosie is picking me up in the morning to go yard sale hopping, so you can have my car if you need it.”

  The doorbell rang and Rachael’s heart flipped in her chest. “I, uh, I’m not sure what time I’ll be home tonight.”

  “Or if she’ll be home at all,” Lucy said behind her. “I’ll get the door.”

  Thankful for a minute to catch her breath before she saw Jake, she bit her lip and hugged her mom one more time.

  “Have fun and be safe. It’s okay if you don’t come home tonight, but you call me if you need me. Anytime. Okay?” Doreen placed her hands on Rachael’s cheeks and kissed her nose. “I love you.”

  “Magic Mike is in the living room.” Leave it to Lucy to break the mood. “Should I send him in here or ask him to put on a show for me until you’re ready?”

  “Who’s Magic Mike?”

  Rachael laughed. “Never mind. It’s just Lucy being Lucy. Love you, Mom. Have fun shopping with Rosie tomorrow.”

  She rounded the corner and spotted six feet of muscle in her mother’s old-fashioned living room looking totally incongruous to the setting. Yet he still fit in, like her brothers at Christmas time or during family gatherings. The lace doilies and heavy drapery softened his hardened exterior, making him appear like he belonged. He’d gotten a haircut and had shaved. Normally by the late afternoon he had a light layer of scruff.

  He’d shaved. For her. Just as she had. For him.

  Rachael’s neglected girly parts tingled in anticipation.

  “You’re…wow. I’ve never been a man of many words but never been speechless either. Until you. You’re gorgeous.” His long legs ate up the living room in two strides. When their bodies nearly touched, he lowered his mouth to hers and pressed a gentle kiss against her lips. “You taste like strawberries.”

  “I had a drink earlier. To settle my nerves.”

  “There’s nothing to be nervous about. I promise.”

  Noises from the kitchen and Lucy’s loud
laugh hurried them along. “Let’s get going.”

  “Is your mother here?”

  “Yes. Why?” She cocked her head to her side and studied his face, wondering about his intentions.

  “My mother would have my hide if I left without saying hello. She taught me to use my manners, it’s only recently that I’m listening to her.”

  And her girly parts exploded. No way in heck was she coming home tonight. “You want to say hi to my mom?”

  “Of course.”

  Rachael stood on her tippy-toes and kissed him. “She’ll talk your ear off if you encourage too much discussion.”

  “Will she tell me embarrassing stories from your childhood?”

  “Probably.”

  “Let’s say hi.” He pulled her into the kitchen, keeping his hand in hers. “Hello again, Mrs. Riley.”

  “Oh, Jake. So nice to see you again. Please call me Doreen.”

  “Doreen.” He let go of Rachael’s hand to step closer to her mother, lowering his tall frame to kiss her on the cheek.

  “How come I didn’t get a kiss?” Lucy whined from the barstool at the counter where she chopped tomatoes and cucumbers for a salad.

  “I figured you’d smack me or take my shirt off. Neither one looked too favorable to me.”

  “I like you.” She pointed her knife at him before picking up her wine and studying him over the rim while sipping.

  “You’re crazy, but I like you too.”

  “Where are you taking my big sis to dinner?”

  “I don’t know. I figured I’d ask her.” Jake turned to Rachael. “What do you feel like?”

  “Or you can have dinner with Mom and me. She made two trays of lasagna, figuring our brothers would be by tomorrow.”

  Rachael growled inwardly at her annoying sister. She wanted alone time with Jake so she could finally touch him the way she’d been dreaming, yet doubts still lingered about her not being good enough for him.

  “We can eat here if you prefer.” Jake rubbed his thumb across her knuckles and those neglected parts of hers begged to be touched by him.