“Y-you said you wanted to take it slow.”
“And we did.” She crooked her finger at him. “So come back over here and let’s continue what you started during your striptease at the park.”
His throat worked convulsively, but he stayed put.
Huh. She’d thought for sure that would work.
She reached behind her to unfasten her bra, and that brought him to her in an instant.
He grabbed hold of her hands behind her back. “Please. Stop.” The vein above his temple throbbed.
“You really aren’t going to, are you?”
Though sweat gathered on his forehead, he shook his head adamantly.
“You don’t want me?”
“I never said that.” He ground his cock against her belly, leaving little doubts to his truthfulness.
“Sooooo, you want me, but you’re not going to do anything about it?”
Again, he resorted to gestures and shrugged his shoulders.
Well, holy fucking hell.
Sara had expected anything but that. Her body damn near cried for his. They may have only technically started dating a few moments ago, but they’d had the longest foreplay session known to man.
A wicked thought came to her, and she pushed away from the wall, brushing past him. “How about a compromise then? I strip and you keep your clothes on?”
Before he could make a grab for her again to stop her, she unhooked her bra and let it fall to the ground, stepping out of her panties while he leaned against the wall for support.
His breath came in satisfying bursts as she sashayed from the room.
She leaned against her bedroom wall and giggled.
Thank God, Christopher’s voice hadn’t taken the opportunity to pipe up in her head just then. As fun as that had been for her, some things she would rather do without having her brother-in-law’s encouragement.
But damn, it felt good to finally go for it. She didn’t have Jacob’s gall to embarrass herself by dancing for him, and maybe she should feel guilty for that, but he’d started out by trying to tempt her, so what did it hurt to give a little of that back to him? Nothing like a little tit for tat to even the score. Or tat for tit as the case may be.
Sara giggled again and quickly dressed in tattered jeans and a fitted tank top that pushed her size double-D breasts up and out and went back out to meet him.
Instead of being where she’d left him in the foyer, he stood at her kitchen sink downing a glass of water.
“Dios mío,” he hissed. “I thought you were putting clothes on.”
“You don’t like?” She spun in a slow circle, knowing his gaze focused on her ass. “I should probably break down and buy a bigger size pair of jeans, but I love these, don’t you?” She turned to the side and cocked her hip. “Are they too tight?”
“No.” He croaked his response before gulping more water.
“Are you sure? Can you tell I’m not wearing panties?”
“I thought… You didn’t change… You’re not wear…?”
She allowed her laughter to fill the room, letting him know she intended to keep up his misery. “What’s the point if you’re not planning on taking them off of me?”
“N-no bra either?”
“Nope.”
His glass fell into the sink as he lunged for her.
She danced away with a giggle. “We can’t have any of that now. You want to wait. What kind of woman would I be if I didn’t honor your request?” She winked at him as he’d done to her at the park, then asked, “Perhaps you’d prefer if I started twerking for you? It does seem only fair, now that I think about it.”
She allowed him to pull her out the door, but didn’t try to hide her smile. Teasing him proved more fun than she’d thought.
20
After parking at the curb in front of her mother’s house, Jacob rounded the Jeep carrying purple tulips and a gift bag.
Sara’s heart didn’t just lurch; it fell at his feet. “How did you know?”
“What do you mean?”
“My mother’s shop?” She pointed toward the flowers. “The Forgotten Tulip? Those are for her, right?”
A smile started in his eyes, breaking out over his entire face. “There might have been a mention or two on Facebook.”
“Wow, you were serious about cyber stalking me.” Maybe she did need to review her privacy settings. “Um, okay. So the gift? Did you also find out what Sage wanted by snooping through my pages?”
“A night with Chris Paul.”
Oh, holy shit. “You’re kidding.” He had to be kidding. “If you finagled that, you might not want to go inside unless you want to get mauled.”
A smug look crossed Jacob’s face. “That much of a fan, huh?”
“Did you see her marriage proposal to him she posted last month?”
“That may or may not have influenced my decision to give her courtside tickets to the next Clippers home game.”
“You were serious.” Of course, he hadn’t been kidding. He was a freaking millionaire, or whatever bracket CFOs fell into. What did she say to that? “You have no idea the monster you’re about to unleash. Sage will go ballistic.” But Sara would never let it get that far. She reached for his free hand to place their linked fingers on his chest. “Jacob, this is too much too—”
“No, it really isn’t. My friend has regular seats. He gave them up for one game. It’s no big deal.”
One game.
No big deal.
The concept of regular seats was too foreign to Sara. His family and friends, even more foreign. But Sage would love them.
Sage. Her sister.
Sara’s hand trembled in his grasp.
Jacob was about to meet her family. Her mother. Why hadn’t she thought this through? Who took someone home to meet their parent on their first date?
“Sara, what is it? What’s wrong?” He let go of her hand to support her waist as if she might drop.
Her knees shook, making that an entirely possible reality. “My family. Th-they can’t know who you are. Not yet. I can’t… they will…” Sara rested her head against Jacob’s shoulder and took a deep breath. It didn’t help. This whole evening was a mistake, one that could bite her in the ass for months to come. She mumbled her confession into his shirt front, unable to meet his gaze. “I can’t believe I invited you here. You. How could I think that was a smart move? I mean—You don’t understand—I might have told them a few fantasies of mine involving a certain Jacob Ramírez. If they find out you’re Jacob, they’ll grill me and you. I can’t—We’re not—I’m not ready for that yet.” Where was a paper bag to breathe into when she needed one?
Jacob held her in his arms, but pulled back enough to look at her face. “You had fantasies about me? Like what?”
She curbed the impulse to deck him. Barely. “You don’t even want to fuck me, yet that’s what you take away from my meltdown?” She pushed him away at his chuckle.
“Hey, slow down.” He caught a strand of her hair blowing in the breeze and tucked it behind her ear before gathering her close again. “First of all, relax. It’s okay. Tonight, I’ll be Jay. Your average, everyday accountant who happened to be given tickets to an upcoming game from a client.”
An accountant. Jay. Sara’s heartbeat began to slow to its normal slightly freaked out pace. “You would do that?”
“Do what?”
“Forego your identity to make my life easier?”
“Sara, it’s for one night. I think I’ll be okay.”
Yes, but would she?
What had she gotten herself into?
Jacob was more than okay. He was damned close to perfect.
Despite the worry that should have brought on, Sara relaxed into his embrace. She breathed in the scent that was purely Jacob, asking, “What’s the second thing? You said first of all…?”
“Second of all—” He took her in a kiss that sent logic and decency fleeing.
Her body craved his with a fiercen
ess that had her crawling up his, attacking him every bit as fervently as he did her.
He broke from the kiss, panting. “Second of all,” he growled. “I’m trying to do the right thing by giving you more time. Don’t ever think, dulzura, that my refusal is because I don’t want to fuck you.” He rested his forehead against the top of her head while they both struggled for breath. “I’d say it’s more likely that I want you so much, you’ll end up being my downfall, Sara Morrow.”
Her heart fluttered so hard, she almost stumbled. Heaven help her, she felt the same way about him, and it brought the worry she should’ve felt earlier front and center even as it excited her.
To regain her equilibrium, she pulled out of his embrace and ushered him inside, forgetting to knock in her flustered state.
Luckily, the familiarity of the house she grew up in steadied her.
After the divorce, her mother had kept everything the same so as not to uproot the girls. Pictures celebrating their father had hung on walls painted the same color he’d chosen; his favorite recliner had stayed right where it’d been when he’d lived with them. But once Abby moved in with the Polancos and started her nanny gig full time, Kas had picked out paint samples that same afternoon.
Now a new beige leather sofa, loveseat, and two matching chairs sat to the left of the open living and dining room area. Her mother had taken great joy in demolishing the wall that used to stand between the two. A hint of mint green covered the ones that remained, and the floors were stripped of carpet to aide in the mobility of Tessa’s equipment.
The thought of her niece’s equipment led to an even greater worry.
How would Jacob react when he saw Sara’s niece? Though he’d never asked about Tessa’s disability, he’d likely seen videos since he searched her Facebook page. Would he prove to be another Dan?
She prayed that he wouldn’t and added an additional prayer that she’d have the strength to make it through the evening. She loved her family, but all of them together at once… Jacob was in for an experience.
Sara allowed the noise from the back of the house to draw her further inside toward them. Jacob, however, stayed where he was. She came back to his side to coax him to follow her. “What are you waiting for? They’re back here.”
“I know.” He didn’t budge.
The unmistakable quiver in his voice melted her heart even more than his admission that she’d be his downfall. The big Jacob Ramírez—a guy rich enough to get courtside seats to a professional basketball team—was nervous.
She tried for their earlier flirting to ease him into the craziness that would ensue as soon as her family realized they were there. “I know you said you wanted to take it slow, but let’s play a game, hmm? A ‘how well do you know Sara Morrow’ type of game, just for entertainment purposes. The only rule, of course, is that I have to make it tricky enough where you wouldn’t have been able to find the answer out on Facebook.” She placed her finger to her bottom lip, tapping it a few times, pretending to think when she really just wanted his attention drawn to her mouth. “Hmm… How about we start with this one: If someone were to ask you where I want your cock more, would your answer be ‘right here in my mouth’ or ‘in my pussy’?” She removed her hand from her mouth and ran it down the front of her jeans.
Her ploy had the desired effect on Jacob.
As she’d wanted, he finally moved, pulling her body flush to his. “Mierda, woman. Shame on me for not finding out when I had the chance.”
“At least on that, we agree.” Sara giggled and laced her fingers with his, calling over the noise coming from the kitchen, “We’re here, Mama.”
She didn’t have to wait long for the circus to begin. Three heads peered around the doorway, one right after the other. As Jacob tensed behind her, she whispered, “Bet you won’t make that mistake again.”
His laughter ruffled her hair before they moved to join the rest of the group.
She hoped he was still laughing when the evening finished. The jury was still out on whether or not she would be herself.
Uncharacteristic of all of them, her family stayed where they were, saying nothing—Sage the most comical of the three. Her middle sister stared gape-mouthed at Sara and her guest until Sara snorted. “Sage Monroe speechless. I never thought I’d see the day.”
“Whatever, sunshine. I was just trying to figure out if the man next to you is real or not. Given your track record, it seemed more likely I was hallucinating.” Sage straightened to her full height, an unimpressive six inches shorter than Sara, and came over close enough to take Jacob’s hand and pull him into the kitchen.
Even against her tiny figure, he didn’t stand a chance. Sage turned on the charm as she fluttered her eyelashes up at him, and Sara settled against the kitchen doorframe, curious how he’d fair with the sister who seemed to be losing weight by the week now.
Sara worried about all of her sisters, but in general Sage concerned her the most. She lived a reckless lifestyle that had nothing to do with her bisexuality. Back in high school, and the first few years beyond, she’d had normal relationships. Now, she slept with new men and women every week. Sage had always been careful about using protection, but something had happened shortly after she’d turned twenty-two. Whatever it’d been had caused her so much stress, she not only seemed to be going for a record of how many people she could sleep with, but she’d stopped eating as well. She used to weigh more than their mother’s rosebush outside. Now, she looked like she’d blow away in the wind like the fragile red and pink petals below the kitchen window.
Regardless of her weight, though, Sage would always be a force to be reckoned with.
She smiled with the dramatic flair that only she possessed and gave Jacob her full attention. “How rude of me to not introduce myself. I am none other than the celebrity of this evening’s festivities.” Her flamboyance ended in a bow fit for royalty with her hand held out for Jacob to kiss.
While doing just that, his eyes widened—in horror or amusement, Sara couldn’t tell yet.
Unfazed by either response, her sister said, “As I’m the one who matters this evening, I feel bad distracting you by introducing others. But we might as well get it out of the way so you can devote the rest of the night to me.”
The corner of Jacob’s mouth lifted.
Amusement then. Good for him.
And good for Sara, too. Things couldn’t have gone any better.
Sage pulled Jacob over to the island that stood in the middle of their mother’s kitchen and stopped in front of where their youngest sister happened to be seated. “This angel here in ringlets is our baby sis, Abby.” As a baby, Abby had looked so much like cupid that the nickname angel had stuck.
Their youngest sister hated the reminder of how chubby she’d been. She’d grown out of it by the age of four, and by the age of thirteen had developed into a curvy goddess with an ass the rest of them would’ve killed for, but she still felt self-conscious every time anyone reminded her of her younger years.
Abby smacked the back of Sage’s head and stood, ready for the retaliation from Sage.
Their mother didn’t give Sage the chance. She stepped between the two,
“Pay no attention to the two year olds. Tulips, like my store, and they’re Tessa’s favorite color, too. How thoughtful. Let me put them in water so they don’t dry out, and you can place the present on that side table.” Before claiming the flowers, her mother squeezed his hand. “Since I birthed this brood, I am unfortunately the one to blame for their behavior. I’m Kas, by the way. I didn’t catch your name?”
“That’s because Sara was too rude to mention it and Sage was too full of herself to ask,” Abby said around a mouth full of cream cheese icing.
Angel, my ass.
“Abigail Rose, get your fingers off my frosting.” Their mother’s look had all of the girls freezing.
Sage was the first to move. “So what is it, stud? What’s your name?”
Jacob backed up a hal
f step as she advanced on him, and still Sara continued to let Jacob fend for himself. Family was everything to her. Being a part of her life meant accepting them in all their neuroses.
Jacob glanced at her over Sage’s head and answered, “Ja-Jay.”
“Your name is Jayjay?” Sage asked. “Is that like vajajay? As in your mother named you after a vagina?”
Jacob’s gaze fell from Sara down to the sister they were celebrating. Sara bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. Could a six-four giant take on little ol’ Sage?
He winked, showing he absolutely could. “It is, and you’re the first person who’s ever thought to question it. You see, it’s a tradition in my family to name the sons after the male reproductive organ. You know, to show our virility. First there was Dick, next came Peter and Willy. Then of course there was uncle, Harry Balsac. Very unfortunate. But not as unfortunate as me, sadly. My mother happened to be too much of a feminist to keep on with such an antiquated tradition. She’s a rebel like that.”
He delivered his claim with such deadpan sincerity, Sara, Abby, and their mother all burst out into laughter, and with no more than that minimal effort, Jacob carved a place for himself in Sara’s family for as long as he wanted it.
Her over-the-top sister shot him an approving glance. “Your mother might be a rebel, but I bet I could teach her a thing or two.”
Sara finally went to stand by Jacob’s side and put her sister in her place. “A legend in her own mind. That’s our Sage.”
Sage was also queen of retaliation. Sara ducked right as an empty water bottle flew toward her head.
It landed inches from the cake their mother iced. “Girls! I need room in here.” Kas’ tone broached no argument. “Abby, wait for Maddie outside. The rest of you, out!”
Instead of staying by Sara’s side, Jacob headed toward Abby, looking mildly relieved it’d been that easy to escape the craziest among them. “Mind if I tag along?”
“Do I mind the company of a sexy man? Honey, don’t let them fool you. I might be the baby, but I’m no angel.”
When she winked at him, he leveled a look at her no different than the one he’d given Sage earlier, then mouthed “help me” in Sara’s direction.
Morrow's Horizon (The Morrow Women Series Book 1) Page 16