Another Saturday Night and I Ain't Got No Body (A Page Turners Novel) (41 page)

Passion flowed through her. Her breath came in quick gasps as she writhed against him. It had been so long since she had felt a man’s touch. Everything about Jake excited her. Her insecurities disappeared as he rubbed and stroked her. Then she seized, again and again against his hand, her head thrown back in ecstasy, one hand clinging to his back and the other gripping the stair rail.

Before she could catch her breath, he lifted her and carried her the rest of the way up the stairs, leaving their discarded clothing strewn along the steps. He took her into the bedroom and pulling back the comforter, laid her gently on the bed.

He stepped back and unzipped his jeans, sliding them down his narrow hips. His white boxer briefs glowed silver in the moonlight shining into her room. He pushed his briefs from his hips, letting them fall to the floor, then came to her in all his fabulous naked glory.

He sat on the edge of the bed and brushed her blouse off her shoulders. He unsnapped her bra and slid it slowly from her arms. She had never had anyone undress her before, and she thrilled at the way his eyes lovingly took in every part of her. She lay back, and he slid her panties down her legs before pressing a soft kiss against the delicious spot right below her navel.

His kisses left a trail of fire along her skin as he explored every inch of her naked body. Her hands roamed freely, touched, and caressed all of his magnificent hard maleness.

Finally, he rose above her, and they came together in a glorious union of heat and passion. He filled her, not just physically, but in her heart and soul. Their bodies moved together in a dance both new and familiar, as time was measured in the pulse of their heartbeats. She cried out his name as the sweet, hot flood swept them away.

Afterwards, they lay against each other, their bodies entwined. She ran her hands along the skin of his chest, memorizing every nuance of his body. She rubbed her fingers over the small round scar on his inner shoulder that she was sure was a bullet wound.

He nodded and confirmed her theory. “Yes, I have been shot. The details don’t matter. I’ll tell you the story some other time, but that bullet put me in a hospital bed for six weeks. In that time, I had a total of four visitors, and one was my mom. I don’t let a lot of people in, because I know I’ll eventually have to leave and move on to another assignment.”

Sunny looked at him, a well of emotions building inside of her. Her eyes brimmed with tears, and she tried to keep her voice steady. “How long are you staying this time?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

“Do you want me to stay?”

“Oh, yes.”

“Then I’m staying.”

“What?”  She pushed up on one elbow, a lock of curly hair falling across her forehead. “Just like that
?
You’re staying?”

Jake grinned. “Well, I’ve been thinking about it for awhile now. My buddy, Finn, has been trying to get me to partner with him in his private investigations firm, and I’m going to tell him yes. After this Black Widow case is wrapped up, I’m going to pull out of the Bureau. I’ll stay on as a consultant, so they may call me in once in awhile, but I’ll give up my office and all the field work and move out here.”

“You will?” Sunny’s voice went up an octave with excitement. “But where will you live?”

“Walter and I have been talking about that. He’s planning on moving in with Helen and claims his house needs a bunch of repairs. He said I could live there and do the repairs in lieu of rent. He claims I would really be helping him out.”

“He just wants you to stick around so he can get to see you more.”

His voice quieted as Jake asked, “Will you want to see me more?”

“Oh, Jake, I will want to see you every minute of every day.”  Her heart felt as if it would burst with happiness. “I’m so excited you’re staying. I’ve been holding back, afraid to really tell you how I felt, because I knew you were leaving.”

“
That
was holding back?”  He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to him, rolling up on one arm so she was tucked beneath him. “I can’t wait to see what happens when you really let yourself go.”

She could not believe this man was naked in her bed, teasing her, and telling her he was going to stay. Her heart soared. She decided she could trust this man who showed up mysteriously in the night and saved her again and again, capturing the loyalty of her dog while he stole her heart. She decided it was time and she did, indeed, let go.

“Jake, I love you. I have loved you from the moment you carried my dog up the stairs to keep me company when I needed him
.
You always seem to know what I need.”

He rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip, and she felt his eyes look into her very soul. “You are all I need, babe. I love you too, Sunny. I love you too.”

* * *

“A beautiful woman tried to kill me last night,” Jake said.

Sunny looked up from the pan of scrambled eggs she was stirring. She gulped as she took in the sight of Jake, shirtless in her kitchen doorway. His golden hair was mussed, and his jeans had the top two buttons undone, exposing abs so hard she could have cracked eggs on them. She blushed as she remembered running her tongue along that exact area the night before. “Give her another chance, she might try again tonight.”

“Why wait ‘til tonight
?
How about this morning?”  He sauntered into the kitchen rubbing his belly and slid his arms around her, cradling her back against his firm chest. He nuzzled her neck and kissed that lovely spot right below her earlobe. “Good morning, Sunshine.”

Sunny had already showered and made coffee. Strains of an old Elvis song played softly on the kitchen stereo.

She cozied into his embrace. “Good morning. You ready for some eggs?”

“I’m ready for just about anything.” He swirled her around and danced her throughout the kitchen.

“Love me tender, love me sweet, never let me go, for you have made my life complete, and I love you so.”  He sang softly in her ear as they danced, and his hand ran along the back of her silk robe and over her bottom to discover her bare cheek below the hem of the robe.

He stopped dancing and peered mischievously down at her. “Whatcha got on besides that robe?”

She couldn’t believe how sexy and brazen he made her feel. “Nothin’, but a smile.”

He lifted her up onto the kitchen counter, the tile cold against her bare cheeks and stepped between her legs to give her a proper good morning kiss.
Forget scrambled eggs. All I need for breakfast is Jake!

Jake reached inside the folds of her robe and massaged her bare breast with one hand while the other cradled her neck and entwined her hair through his fingers. He tasted like toothpaste, and she wrapped her legs around him, loving the feel of her freshly shaved legs against his naked waist.

They both jumped at the sound of knocking, and a voice called from Sunny’s back door, “Sunny, you awake?” 

Sunny unwrapped her legs from around Jake’s waist, and he lowered her to floor. Quickly adjusting the folds of her robe, Sunny headed to the laundry room to let her neighbor-with-the-great-timing in. “Good morning, Edna.”

Edna took in Sunny’s flushed cheeks and kiss-bruised lips and
harrumphed
. She was holding a square cake pan and she eyed Jake sitting at the table forking scrambled eggs into his mouth.

“Morning, Edna,” he said. He gave her one of his lop-sided grins and inhaled deeply. “Whatever is in that pan smells like heaven.”

“You look like you’ve already had enough heaven, Mr. No-Shirt-at-the-Table-at-Nine-o’clock-in-the-Morning.”

Jake smiled at another of her ever original nicknames for him. “You can’t ever get enough of heaven,” he said, giving her a wink. “So, what’s in the pan?”

“Cinnamon rolls. I thought you all might like some before we start another day of construction.”

“You all?” Sunny asked. “How did you know Jake was here?”

“Well, Mr. Lives-Right-Next-Door left his car parked in front of
your
house last night.”

“Oops.”

“Well, you’re going to be seeing a lot more of his car now. Walter is moving in with Helen, and Jake is going to rent his house. He’s staying.”

Edna gave Jake an appraising look. “Is that right?”

He shot her another killer grin. “That’s right, Edna. You and I are gonna be neighbors.”  He took a bite of a cinnamon roll and groaned in ecstasy. “And I will fix anything around your house if you pay me with another pan of these cinnamon rolls.”

It seemed Edna couldn’t fight his charm, because she smiled back at him. “Now that you mention it, my kitchen faucet does have an awful drip.”

He took a drink of coffee. A drop of creamy icing clung to his chin. “Consider it done.”

Edna turned toward the laundry room, hollering over her shoulder, “You two better hurry up. We have a lot of work to do today.”

Sunny scooted around the table and followed Edna. Before they reached the back door, Sunny threw her arms arou
nd her neighbor. “Edna, I am
so
happy.” 

The two women looked at the gorgeous man seated at Sunny’s kitchen table. Jake was serving himself a second roll, while Beau sat at his side watching him with adoration, waiting for a cinnamon crumb to fall on the floor.

“I can tell, honey,” Edna said. “I guess our summer of six blind dates must have worked. It seems Mr. Showed-Up-Mysteriously-in-the-Night turned out to be Mr. Right after all.”

The End

Acknowledg
ments

This book was created through the help and encouragement of many. I want to thank everyone who played a role in making my dream come true.

Always and forever, I am thankful to Todd, Tyler and Nick, for supporting me in this amazing writing endeavor. Thanks for always believing in my success.

I have an awesome group of women that I call friends. Thank you all for listening to plot ideas and proof-reading chapters and sharing in the joy of this dream. I couldn’t have done it without Debbie, Melissa, Jennifer, Linda, Pam, Roseann, Mona, Shana, and Marla.

I encourage every writer to get involved in a writing group. I belong to the Pikes Peak Chapter of Romance Writers of America and the support and knowledge I have gained from this group of women has been invaluable. Special thanks to Lana, Michelle, Annie, Jodi, and Cindi for being my cheerleaders, my critique partners, my drill sergeants, and my inspiration.

I am so thankful for the support of my entire family. My appreciation and thanks goes out to the women in my family who encourage me and who all love a good romance. Thanks Mom, Gracie, Coral, Teri, Katie, Chris, and Rebecca.

A special thanks goes out to my beautiful Beta readers, Julie and Carla, who stayed up late reading and correcting and offering ideas. Thanks for not blinking an eye when I said I needed the manuscript back in two days and for being so excited about the chance to help me.

A huge thanks goes out to Kim Killion and Jennifer Jakes and the amazing team at Hot Damn Designs for my beautiful cover design and exceeding all of my expectations in the design and formatting of this book.

I cannot express a big enough THANK YOU to Jennifer Jakes, my editor and friend. Above and beyond doesn’t come close to describing the untold hours of help, encouragement and support you offered through my journey of publication.

And thank you to each of you, my readers, who laughed and cried and sighed over the characters in this book. This story was written for you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennie Marts has been dreaming about writing a novel since she was in fifth grade and self-published her first Nancy Drew style mystery to a small readership of family, teachers, and two friends.
 

She lives in Colorado with her husband, two sons, and two dogs. Tucker, her golden retriever, was the inspiration for the dog, Beau, in this story.
Jennie enjoys being a member of (RWA) Romance Writers of America, the Pikes Peak Chapter of RW
A, and Pikes Peak Writers. S
he
 
spends her spare time playing volleyball and reading and believes you
can’t have too many books, shoes or friends.