by Liz Crowe
"I'm sorry." She leaned into him. "That's horrible."
"Yeah. So, meet you at her house, okay? I know it's my night but Mo said she thought Kate might want her Mamma, being sick and all."
Katie lay tucked up on the large couch, bracketed by two enormous German shepherds. Jack grinned and sat beside her, putting a hand to her forehead. "You are like an oven. No wonder Hans and Fritz want to snuggle." She gave him a weak smile and climbed into his lap. He carried her into the kitchen where Mo and Sara talked.
"Sure you guys don't want a glass of wine or something? " Mo's eyes still seemed haunted, her skin pale and fragile-looking. Sara gave her a big hug. She looked surprised at first then happy. "Sorry." She let go, wiped her eyes. "I'm a leaking sieve lately."
Sara nodded, looking close to tears herself. Jack shifted Katie in his arms. "I think we should get her to her own bed." He shot Sara a look, realizing their ability to communicate without words. If she gave him a high sign that Mo needed them to stay, he'd put Katie back on the couch and stay. But she shook her head.
"Yeah, probably. But you have my number. Call me anytime." Mo nodded, gave her brother a hug and walked them to the door.
"She's such a doll." His sister touched Katie's bare leg. "A tomboy one minute, a bossy princess the next – and that temper…well, let's say I've seen that before." She pressed her lips to Jack's cheek and opened the door.
Chapter Twenty-Four
"Okay she's got Tylenol and ibuprofen on board, has had a bath and now only needs good-night kisses." Jack rolled his sleeves back down, determined to leave, not to drag this out unnecessarily no matter how bad he wanted it. Sara handed him a glass of wine and headed upstairs. His gaze followed her legs, bare and delectable as she made her way up.
"Should I worry about her?" They sat on her couch later, his arm around her, their legs touching stretched out on the ottoman. "I mean, she's says she's sore all over and stuff. Just the flu?"
"You have your own in-house medical counsel on that I think. Call one of them." She sighed and leaned into him, making his heart beat faster.
"Maybe later. This is nice."
He put his glass on the side table and tilted her chin up. "I'm pretty sure I put 'kissing' on the agenda." She batted her eyes. He slanted his mouth over hers, tasting her, reveling in the familiar sensation of her lips. He got serious with it, sweeping into her mouth with his tongue, gripping her hair with one hand. His body started sending signals he wouldn't acknowledge so he broke away. She started to climb up into his lap but he stopped her, stood and got a grip on his purpose.
"I'm gonna go. Let's let this one sit, shall we? I know how we get, and I don't have the energy or inclination to argue with you tonight."
She stared at him. "But, we don't always argue after…"
"Yeah, actually, we do. I want to develop a new pattern. So I will kiss you goodnight, like a gentleman and be on my way." He held out a hand, fighting everything in him that screamed at him to claim her now, take her, she wanted it he knew it as surely as he knew his own shoe size. She sat, not moving. "C'mon baby. Give a guy a break. I'm trying…" She took his hand, and eased into his arms like she'd never left. Her own kiss spoke volumes, her fingers threaded through his hair and he used all the willpower he could muster not to grab her ass and press his diamond-hard erection into her. When she stopped, tears glistened in her eyes. "No crying Sara. Not tonight." He stepped back, found his jacket and headed for the door.
"Jack, wait." He stopped without turning. "I, I want you to stay." He shrugged into the suit coat and slowly faced her.
"I know." Before she could say anything else, he blew her a kiss and walked out the door, cursing at and congratulating himself at the same time.
Chapter Twenty-Five
"God, Sara, I am so sorry!" Craig looked frazzled, so she tried not to sound too pissed. "I still have no seniority in the group. When one of the other docs has to take time off I get to pick up the shift." He flopped into the chair opposite her desk. She mentally ran through the options for the weekend. She had planned to get caught up on some paperwork Saturday in the quiet but nothing she couldn't put off until the next weekend.
She glanced at her monitor. An email from Mateo had arrived that morning. "I'm so sorry you are not coming up to Traverse City with us. I would have liked to buy you a drink." She blushed and deleted it. That kid had no business being interested in her, much less flirting so relentlessly, but if she was honest, it was quite a buzz.
She reached for her phone and dashed a text to Jack, cancelling their date. Disappointment pierced her brain. She'd planned a real seduction scene for the night at her place. He'd been true to his word all week, sending her funny texts, an obnoxious display of roses, a bottle of expensive champagne. It all served to ramp her up so high she had started keeping her vibrator under the pillow for emergencies. Damn the man.
She put a hand on Craig's shoulder to make him stay as she had a quick conversation with her secretary, then shut the door. Sitting in the chair next to him she stared hard into his lovely brown eyes. "So?"
He ran a hand over his light red beard. "Well, we're 'taking it slow,' like she wants. She's so fucking guarded. So enthusiastic about…you know, but when it comes to anything beyond physical, she shuts it off like a light bulb. Reminds me of some other frustrating female I know." He stood, pulled her to her feet and into his arms. She sighed, breathing him in, remembering. "But I'm gonna stick it out with her. My odds are better this time I think." He kissed her lightly and left.
Katie did nothing but whine all the way home from school when Sara broke the news that Uncle Craig had to work. Sara fed her a snack and tossed her in the bathtub without much conversation, biting down on the urge to scream at her to stop sniveling. Tell her life was full of disappointments and that she had gotten her own way too often. But the girl had not felt a hundred percent for days, although the pediatrician claimed there was nothing medically wrong with her now that the fever had passed.
"Hey sexy." She smiled at Jack's regular evening missive.
"Hey yourself. Busy. Packing."
"Right. So do you want me to come too? I was gonna take Mo and her kids up north eventually anyway."
"No, she's expecting you to watch them so she can go to the spa. She told me. Do NOT stand her up. She needs it."
"All right. Have Kate call me after her games."
"Will do."
She set the phone on the bed, threw the necessary items in a bag, locating all of Katie's soccer paraphernalia. After a long hot shower, she plucked the girl from the couch and deposited her into the car along with her laptop for movies and a pile of coloring books and marker collection. The little girl sniffled, then snuggled down on her pillow. Sara sighed. She had a three and a half hour drive up to the Grand Traverse Resort and had not slept well all week. She started out, driving through a coffee shop for a double espresso. It wasn't until she'd gotten north of Brighton that she noticed her phone had five unread texts. One from her brother.
"I'm bringing Maddie up. Lila has the flu. I hear you will be there. Wanna carpool?"
"Shit!" She read the next few, two from Lila indicating that her date with the two men had indeed gone very well. Sara smiled into the darkened car. Small fucking world.
Then one from Mateo that made her ears burn. "I hear you are coming. Can you meet me tonight? I'll be in the rooftop bar."
And then Jack, one she must have missed at the end of their conversation. "I do love you, you know. Don't tell anybody. I have my reputation."
She tossed the phone into the passenger seat, cranked her tunes and sped up through the rapidly darkening night.
Jack kept checking his phone, trying not to be pissed that she never responded to his last text, wishing he'd hadn't sent it, and attempting to concentrate on the crisis du jour. Shannon walked by, shot him a murderous look before he indicated the phone conversation he was having took priority over her pique. The breaking it off thing had not gone as smoothly
as he would have hoped. The woman had said some fairly spot-on things about him and Sara and him in general. But he'd heard it all before; it no longer had power to hurt. He shut the door, so she would not take it as an invitation and finished arguing with a fellow broker about a stolen listing, then hung up, digging his knuckles into his eyes. God he'd give anything to be driving them up to that tournament right now. He had a standing upgrade at that resort, could get them a condo.
But he had promised Mo. He grabbed his phone and keys and headed for the door as his phone rang again. "Hey babe. What's up?"
Mo sounded chipper for a change, more like her old self. "Hey. I rescheduled my spa weekend. Gonna take the kids out to dad's old place in Whitmore Lake instead. You are invited, but don't have to join."
"Why? Didn't you want the pampering thing? Kids and I had our whole weekend planned down to the pancakes and ice cream for breakfast."
"No. I'm good. Another time."
"Well, alright but let me know if you change…"
"I won't. Go to Katie's tournament. I want you to."
She hung up before he could say another word. Suddenly he wasn't quite so exhausted as he raced home to pack.
****
He rolled into the resort around ten p.m. The lobby teemed with squealing soccer players and their mostly drunk parents. He got his condo upgrade and caught sight of Blake across the huge space, sitting at the bar with a couple of the dads.
"Blake," he shook Sara's brother's hand. "What are we drinking?"
The handsome blond man smiled at him. After about thirty minutes of chitchat and beer, he surmised that Lila had auditioned for the role of surrogate mom and had passed with flying colors. Jack smirked. He figured it wouldn't be long before Frietag worked a female into their mix. Blake certainly wouldn't complain. Could get interesting.
"Hey, where' Sara?"
"Oh, she's, um," Blake looked suddenly nervous. "Her room number's 1507. Not sure where she is though." Jack drained his beer, slapped the other man on the back and headed for the elevators. Humming with excitement and already picturing the pleasantly surprised look on her face, he strode down the hall. It took a couple of knocks before the door opened enough for Sara to peer out at him. Surprise, yes. Pleasant, no. He frowned as she tried to step out into the hallway.
"What are you doing here? I told you Mo needed..."
"Mo cancelled. Thought I'd surprise you." He tried to look around her. "Katie alright? Asleep?"
"Um, no, I mean, yes, she's alright. She'd down the hall with..."
"Sara? You okay?" A distinctly male, accented, voice floated out to greet him. He put a hand on the door and shoved it open. The coach sat, beer in hand, in tight jeans and a team tee shirt that had to be a size too small. "Hola, Jack!" The smarmy bastard had a nerve to smile at him. Jack clenched his jaw and looked down at Sara. She had the decency to blush.
"I see I'm the one who gets surprised. Sorry to interrupt."
"Jack, it's not like that. We were only talking."
The testosterone vibe in the room wavered, visible to his eyes. A bolt of raw jealous fury tore through him. He stayed quiet, eyes fixed on her. "Maybe that's what you think. But you should ask him his plans." She put a hand on his arm but he flinched, yanked it out of her reach. Dear God he was a fool. "I'll leave you to your…chat." He slammed the door, not caring if she moved out of the way or not and headed back to the elevator. The hallway darkened, and the primal male in him roared in his ears, begging him to act. The simple act of pressing the elevator button took effort.
"Jack!" He didn't turn. If he looked at her, he'd say things he could never, ever take back. "Goddammit Jack, stop! You don't know what…" He took a breath and looked at her. Everything about her screamed sexy. And that pipsqueak asshole of a washed up athlete had tried to move in on his woman.
"Don't come any closer. I can't talk to you right now. I need air." He stepped into the elevator, and took a last look at her before the doors slid shut. Slumping against the railing he tried to calm his clamoring brain and shaking body. All the time, all of the effort, wasted.
He truly had been played.
He strode to the bar, offered the guy a hundred dollar bill in exchange for a bottle of Woodford Reserve and without a glance at anyone, including Blake, he walked out and towards his condo.
Sara slid down the wall opposite the elevator, shock and adrenaline keeping the tears at bay for the moment. Mateo walked over and helped her up, holding her close. His deep masculine smell, leather, grass and a slight hint of clean soapiness made her close her eyes. She did not want him. She wanted no part of him. But now, Jack thought she did. Dear Christ did she know how to screw up a good thing.
"Stop, Mateo. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to give you the wrong idea."
He smoothed her hair back, planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you and Katie's father..."
"No, no, he's not, I mean. Oh hell." The tears let loose then, rolling down her face, blurring her vision. She stumbled back to the room. "Go, okay? Just go."
She sat, staring at nothing for nearly an hour. How could she fix this? Jack was so fucking stubborn, so unwilling to listen to her. She put her face in her hands. A soft knock on her door made her startle. "Sara?" Blake's voice. She opened the door and saw him, Katie and Maddie on either side of him looking exhausted after a long round in the fancy resort swimming pool. The team parents divided duties and she'd gotten the night off but had pool supervision patrol tomorrow night.
"Can you?" She pointed to Katie. He nodded. She knelt down to her daughter's eye level. "Honey I'm gonna go see Uncle Jack, okay. Can you sleep in Uncle Blake's room with Maddie?" The girl nodded and yawned.
"He texted me. Told me not to tell you he was on his way – wanted to surprise you. Were you surprised Mommy?" Sara tried not to cry and scare the girl.
"Yeah, he did. Now grab your stuff and be sure to brush your teeth."
After pleading with the front desk to give her Jack's condo number she started down the darkened path, trying to use light from her smartphone. She stumbled once, not paying attention to the landscaping, and finally found it. Music poured from the open, well-lit windows. She frowned, but knocked. It took four times and her yelling at him to get any response. He leaned on the door way, half empty bottle of bourbon in hand. She grabbed it and took a big gulp, letting the fiery alcohol scorch its way down her throat.
He shrugged and went back inside. He'd stripped to his jeans and the strong line of his torso made her shiver. If things had worked like they should have, she'd be seducing him right now, on her big white rug in the living room of her house, not standing here like an idiot trying to explain a scene she had no explanation for.
Squaring her shoulders, she marched in behind him. After finding the iPod dock and turning down the pounding rock music she had to go out the sliding glass door to find him. He'd parked himself on the patio, bare feet up on a table, staring out onto the darkened golf course. She slid into the seat next to him.
"So, I see why you were so adamant that I stay behind."
"No, you don't."
"Actually I do. Don't kid a kidder. I know a diversion when I see it. Hell, I've used them myself."
She tried to hold her temper. Getting mad would come across as defensive. She had no reason to be defensive. She had done absolutely nothing wrong. The niggling voice in her head reminded her that she had indeed been damn close to letting the young man kiss her. She shook her head. It was silly; a lame ego-stroking moment for an older woman.
"Why are you here?" he didn't look at her.
"Because I, I wanted to make sure you were okay." She clutched her shaking hands together in her lap.
"I'm fine. Now leave. We are through, do you understand me? I can't take this anymore."
"You? You can't take it? How do you think I felt when I got to meet your surprise new toy slash girlfriend while I was trying to manage your office for you?" She heard her voice rise; tried to tamp i
t down. It would only raise the ante. It did.
"I explained it to you. And told you we'd broken it off. You know, so I could romance you. Jesus." He grabbed the bottle and knocked back another long drink. "But I didn't realize the full-on cougar you'd turned into. Nice one, he's probably young enough to go all night like you need."
She stood. An alarming red colored her vision as she took the one step between him and slapped him, hard. Twice. He rose, forcing her take a step back. Without a word he picked her up and carried her inside. Shocked, angry, but her body already responding to him, she shrieked, pummeled his chest. He tossed her unceremoniously on the huge bed.
"I should have done this the other night." He growled, before taking a handful of her shirt and yanking it over her head, ripping it in two in the process. She gasped at his force but glared at him. "I fucking love you, goddammit. How many times, how many ways, do I have to prove it?" She sucked in a breath at the sight of tears standing in his bright blue eyes. He narrowed them and then all she knew was his mouth, lips and tongue. She groaned and wrapped herself around him, but he shoved her down, pinned her wrists, with one hand, tugging her jeans and panties off with the other.
"Mine." He muttered into her neck. The licks and nibbles took on a painful edge making her sigh and her pussy pulse in immediate response. "Fucking mine."
"Oh God yes!" She yelled, clutching his hair, his shoulders, anything and anywhere just to touch him. He shoved fingers inside her, spread her, teased her g-spot, then stopped as she was about to climax. He stared at her, brought his fingers to her lips, then to his leaving her writhing with need.