Steve looked to the fridge. "I think I need more beer."
It was definitely time to change the subject. As Steve went to the fridge, I turned to Anthony and said, "Just so you guys know, you need to leave by eleven, okay? Jake's returning sometime after midnight, and I want to have the place cleaned up by then."
Anthony looked almost insulted. "What are saying? That we're messy?"
I didn't bother answering. They weren't just messy. They were total slobs. But in reality, it wasn't the mess I was worried about. It was the fact that I was dying to see Jake alone.
Makeup sex.
I wanted it. Bad.
And unless I wanted to send my brothers straight into therapy, it would be a good idea to send them on their way before that sex actually got started.
Returning with a couple more beers, Steve glanced around. "So where's the pizza? You ordered it, right?"
"Don't worry," I told him. "It should be here any minute."
"Good," he said, "because I'm starving. I haven't eaten since breakfast."
"Liar," I said. "You had lunch."
"Did not," he insisted.
"Sure you did. I saw you at the steakhouse. Remember?" I gave him an annoyed look. "And thanks a lot for coming in to gawk at my apology. Did you guys enjoy the show?"
Suddenly, Steve was grinning. "Oh yeah. It was freaking awesome."
Well, that was special. It was nice to know that my brothers got such a kick out of seeing my humiliation. But in light of the whole elevator thing, I didn't want to make a big stink about it, so all I said was, "So, who won the bet?"
"What bet?" Anthony asked.
"At the restaurant," I reminded him, "you said you had a bet."
"Oh, that bet," Anthony said. "Eh, we both lost."
"Yeah," Steve said, "it kind of sucked, actually."
I shook my head. "What do you mean?"
Steve cracked open his new beer and tossed the other one to Anthony. Turning back to me, he said, "Well, I bet that you'd hit her with something, and Anthony here—" Steve lifted his beer-bottle in Anthony's direction "—bet on a food fight."
I stared at them. Okay, I hadn't always been the most mature person in the world. But even I had my limits. I was still staring. "How old do you think I am?"
Steve shrugged. "Hey, we were just thinking what we'd do."
I paused. Now, that made a weird kind of sense.
"And just so you know," Anthony said, "Steve was right. We didn't get the chance to eat."
"What happened?" I asked, recalling how they'd left so suddenly. "Did the inspector call or something?"
"For work?" Anthony said. "Nah. That's not it." He looked to Steve and said, "You wanna tell it, or should I?"
Knowing my brothers, I was almost afraid to ask. "Tell what?"
"About that lady," Anthony said. "The one who gave you such a hard time."
Oh. Her.
After my apology, she'd spent the next hour running Melanie ragged, while she proceeded to lecture her younger dinner companions about choosing the right career, so they didn't end up working, as she had put it, a dirty, low-level service job.
Melanie, who had a bachelor's degree in philosophy, hadn't been amused.
But at least I didn't have to deal with that woman ever again. After my apology, I'd kept myself firmly behind the bar, where I made drinks on auto-pilot while contemplating my next career move, which I wasn't willing to discuss just yet.
Right now, I had a more pressing topic of conversation. With growing nervousness, I asked my brothers, "What about that lady?"
They were both grinning now. Steve said, "You hear about her van?"
Okay, now I was really nervous. In my mind, I saw visions of spray paint and punctured tires, courtesy of my brothers. True, vandalism wasn't exactly their style, but their smiles were definitely on the evil side.
Speaking slowly and carefully, I said, "What about her van?"
Steve laughed. "It was stolen."
Chapter 54
Looking at my brothers, I froze. "Oh, my God. Don't tell me you guys stole it?"
"Oh, get real," Steve said. "We didn't steal it. Jeez."
Just when I started to relax, Anthony said, "Yeah. We borrowed it."
Of course.
Horrified, I asked, "Where's the van now? Oh, my God. Please don't tell me you drove it here."
At this, they both burst out laughing. Steve said, "How stupid do you think we are?"
I stared at them in disbelief. "You sure you want an answer to that?"
Steve studied my face. "Eh, probably not."
Next to him, Anthony spoke up. "Hey, don't worry. She got it back."
"Yeah," Steve said. "It wasn't a big deal. All we did was move it."
"Yeah," Anthony said. "And we only drove it for like thirty seconds."
I was almost afraid to ask, "So where'd you drive it to?"
Steve grinned. "You know that adult book store, just around the corner?"
I gave a confused shake of my head. "There's a book store?"
Steve nodded. "Yeah. Like a block away from the steakhouse. You never saw it?"
Silently, I shook my head.
Anthony spoke up. "It's not just books. They've got videos, sex toys, you know, the usual stuff." He took a long pull of his beer. "Great movies, too."
Next to him, Steve laughed. "Your buddy Rango can tell you about those."
I tried not to laugh. "So that's where you got that porno?"
"Yeah," Anthony said. "It's not like we keep them laying around, for cripe's sake. How desperate do you think we are?"
"No kidding," Steve added. "We like the real thing."
Okay, now I was feeling a little traumatized. Desperate to change the subject, I said, "That's funny. I thought all you guys liked was Kung fu."
Steve gave me a solemn look. "Hey, don’t mock the Kung fu."
Curious in spite of myself, I asked, "So what happened? With that lady, I mean?"
"Well," Anthony said, "when she's done eating or whatever, she comes out of the restaurant, and she's got all these students trailing after her, like she's got paperwork to give them or something."
He grinned. "But surprise, surprise, when she gets to her spot, her van's like gone."
"Yeah," Steve added. "So she flips out, starts yelling, makes like she's gonna call the cops." He shrugged. "You know, the usual stuff."
I swallowed. "The usual stuff?"
How often did they do stuff like this? Probably, I didn't want to know.
Anthony picked up the story. "So we come along and say, 'Oh hey, what's wrong?' And she starts blubbering that her van was stolen, and we're like, 'Oh, no way. What does it look like?'"
Steve broke in by saying, "So she gives us the description, and we're all like, 'Oh wait, didn't we see that van at the sex shop?'"
I tried not to laugh. "You didn't."
"Sure we did," Steve said. "And she gets all mad, like—" Steve did a poor imitation of a woman's voice. "—How dare you suggest such a thing? What kind of woman do you think I am?"
Steve flashed me a grin. "Which of course, we don't answer, because we think she's a freaking goblin. No point in telling her that, right?"
I paused. "Uh, right?"
"Exactly," Anthony said, "So we're all like, 'Hey, don't be embarrassed. We shop there too.'"
I just had to ask. "Did that make her feel better?"
"Hell no," Steve said. "'She huffs her goblin-ass over there, looking to prove us wrong. But sure enough, there's her van, in a prime spot, too. And the van's fine, exactly like she left it."
Anthony snickered. "Well, not exactly how she left it." He turned to me and said, "We tossed that porno onto her passenger's seat."
I stared at them. "You're kidding."
Anthony toasted me with his beer. "Nope."
In spite of myself, I had to know. "Did her students see it? The movie, I mean?"
"Eh, hard to say," Anthony said. "She took off pretty fast." He sh
rugged. "So, there you have it."
I was still staring. "Why would you guys do such a thing?"
"Oh, cut the crap," Steve said. "You know why."
I felt my lips twitch at the corners. "Because she was mean to me?"
"Hell yeah," Steve said. "I was kind of wishing you'd kick her ass."
"I was tempted," I admitted.
"Next time," he said, "don't be tempted. Just go with it. That's what I'd do."
"Or," Anthony chimed in, "do the food fight thing, like, hit her with a pork chop. That's what I'd do."
I rolled my eyes. "I'll think about it."
We were interrupted by the sound of a muffled bump against the penthouse doors. "Pizza's here," I said, heading toward the condo entrance.
But when I opened the door a moment later, I didn't see any pizza. All I saw was Jake.
Chapter 55
I rushed forward and fell into his arms. "You're back."
When his arms closed tight around me, I sighed against his chest, lost in the feel of his hard body against mine.
I heard his voice, low in my ear. "Yeah. I couldn’t wait." He gave a low chuckle. "But you wouldn’t believe the flights."
I pulled back to gaze up at him. "That bad, huh?"
"You don't wanna know." He smiled. "I left Vegas ten hours ago."
I blinked. "You did?" Non-stop it was a four-hour flight. Based on what he'd just said, I could only imagine the layovers. I smiled up at him. "But you didn't tell me."
"You ever hear of a surprise?"
"But what about Lawton?" I asked. "Was he bummed you left early?"
"Nah."
"Are you sure?"
"Hey, his 'bride' showed up to surprise him. Trust me, he's not wasting time missing me."
The way it sounded, there was a lot of surprising stuff going on. And, as Jake would soon find out, I had a few surprises of my own.
But for now, I leaned forward again and molded my body against his. His chest was rock-solid, and his arms were firm and strong around my back. With him so close, I felt like I could stand there forever, just soaking up the feel of him.
And who knows? Maybe I would've, except for the sound of the elevator dinging, followed by another sound, a whole lot less cheerful.
It was Steve muttering, "What the hell is that?"
I pulled away and whirled toward the sound of his voice. He was standing with Anthony, just inside the condo doors. Both of them were staring, looking equally disturbed.
Alright, I'd been a reasonably good sport about the whole elevator trauma. But seriously, couldn't they just give it a rest already?
I glared over at them. "Oh for God's sake. What? You've never seen two people hug before?"
"That's not it," Steve said, pointing past me, toward the elevator. I turned and saw what he saw – a burly man in a bunny suit, holding a stack of three pizza boxes.
The man trudged forward and stopped short when he saw us looking. In a glum monotone, he said, "I lost a bet."
I had to ask. "With who?"
"My brother." He sighed. "Don't ask."
I snuck a quick glance at Steve and Anthony. I could so relate. And the way it looked, they could, too.
Trying not to laugh at the guy's misery, I pulled away from Jake and reached into the pocket of my jeans, retrieving the bills that I'd tucked in there earlier. Looking at the amount, I hesitated, wondering if I should add a few extra dollars to what was already a generous tip.
Before I could make any such move, Jake reached into his own pocket, and peeled off a hundred. He strode forward and handed it to the man, saying, "Here. Keep the change."
The man brightened considerably. "No kidding?"
"Hey, you earned it," Jake said, taking the pizzas and heading into the condo, with Steve and Anthony trailing after him.
Jake set the boxes on the kitchen counter, only to see Steve snatch the top two boxes and begin heading toward the condo door, while Anthony reached into the fridge and snagged a full six-pack of beer, before turning to follow after Steve.
Confused, I called after them. "Hey, where are you going?"
Over his shoulder, Anthony said, "Back to the hotel."
"But why?" I asked.
He laughed. "Because we got what we came for."
Insulted now, I sputtered, "What? The pizza?"
"Nah," he said, "to make sure you're alright." And then, he exited the condo, pulling the door softly shut behind him.
On my face, I felt the beginnings of what became a big, stupid smile. I was still smiling when I turned to Jake and said, "Can you believe those guys?"
Jake was smiling, too. "What I can't believe is their sister."
I couldn't help but tease him, just a little. "You mean Selena?"
"Yup."
My jaw dropped. "What?"
He flashed me that familiar cocky grin. "Nah. The other one."
I reached up with both hands and gave him a mock shove to his chest. With lightning speed, he caught my wrists and held them tight.
Laughing, I tried to pull away. "Stop! No fair."
"Screw fair," he said. "Where's the fun in that?"
I gave another mock tug. "But you've been so bad lately."
"Oh yeah," he said, looking maddeningly unconcerned. "How so?"
I searched my memory bank and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Well, there was that bet with my brothers."
"Yeah? Which one?"
"That last one," I said, "where you bet on me getting fired last Saturday."
"Nah. That wasn't the bet."
"Yes, it was," I insisted. "You told me so yourself."
"Wrong," he said, gently turning my wrists inward. He lowered his head and kissed the left one, softly, just above my palm.
My breath caught. "Fibber."
"No fib here." He turned and kissed the other wrist, making my pulse give a maddening jump. With his lips still grazing my skin, he said in low, seductive voice, "The bet was on you leaving your job, not on you getting fired."
With him so close, I was finding it hard to think. "Huh?"
"Maybe I was betting…" His lips moved higher, trailing up the inside of my lower arm."…or should I say, hoping, that you'd quit."
"Actually," I breathed, "I did."
He pulled back. "What?"
At the look on his face, I had to smile. "You're not the only one with surprises."
"When?" he asked.
I couldn’t help but feel at least a little smug. "Today."
I didn't bother with the details. I could fill those in later. But basically, I'd quit almost immediately after apologizing to that awful woman. And, in more responsible news, I'd even finished my shift.
In hindsight, I was actually pretty proud of myself.
Watching me, Jake's lips curved into an amused smile. "And you didn't call to tell me?"
Probably, he'd been in the air at the time. But that wasn't the point. I smiled back. "You're not the only one with secrets."
His expression turned thoughtful. "Hmmm."
"Hmm what?"
His hands were still on my wrists. He pulled me closer, tucking my hands between our chests. "I have a surprise, too."
I could feel the surprise, raging hard against my pelvis. Unable to stop myself, I pressed my hips closer, loving the feel of his erection, pulsing now, through our clothes.
And then, before I knew it, I was swept up in his arms, laughing as he carried me toward the bedroom. "Wait!" I giggled. "Don't you want pizza?"
He didn't even pause. "Nope. All I want, I've got right here."
I was still laughing. "But what about me?"
"Why?" he asked, as he carried through the bedroom doorway. "Are you starving?"
"Definitely." I smiled. "For you."
"Yeah?"
I leaned my head against his chest and said, softer now, "Definitely."
Chapter 56
Breaking with tradition, Jake didn't toss me onto the bed. Rather, he moved forward an
d lowered me gently until I was resting, face-up, breathless and eager, on the thick bedding that covered his king-size mattress.
Wordlessly, I stared up at him, loving the fact that he was finally home. He wore dark slacks and a gray button-down dress-shirt. The clothes were rumpled, but his eyes were warm as they drifted over me in a leisurely caress.
When I reached out my arms in a silent bid for him to come closer, he gave a slow, deliberate shake of his head.
Breathlessly, I asked, "Why not?"
His gaze locked on mine, and I saw the hint of a smile as he said, "I think we need a blindfold."
Instantly, my body responded, growing hot and eager under his newly secretive gaze.
Somehow, I managed to say, "We?"
He didn't answer, but his look said it all. It wouldn't be him wearing it.
We'd never done the blindfold thing, and in spite of my body's obvious enthusiasm, I wasn't quite sure how I felt about that idea.
It wasn't that it was too kinky. We'd crossed that bridge plenty of times. It was the fact that I absolutely loved looking at him, no matter what he was wearing, or what we were doing.
For days, I'd been missing the sight of him, but for some reason, it felt like years. And depriving myself now felt needlessly cruel, especially with him so achingly close.
And yet, thinking of what he'd just said, the warmth was building deep in my core.
How messed up was that?
As I watched, Jake turned and walked purposely toward the tall dresser where I'd been keeping a few of my things. He pulled open the top drawer, rummaged around for a few seconds, and emerged with a familiar dark satin scarf.
He'd purchased that scarf for me a couple of weeks earlier, during one of our impromptu shopping trips. Now, I couldn’t help but wonder if he'd been planning something like this all along.
That would be just like him, and I loved him all the more for it. For all his impulsiveness, he had a cunning streak that was almost kind of scary.
Slowly, he turned to approach the bed, with the scarf now wadded up in his right hand.
At the mere sight of him, my heart gave that familiar little flutter. Still, I heard myself say, "Wait."
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