Breaking His Rules (Feeling the Heat #4) (7 page)

After they’d finished their third and final shot, Paige reached for Rob’s hand. “Let’s dance.”

“Don’t worry.” Melissa smiled at Jake once Paige and Rob left the karaoke lounge. “I won’t make you dance.”

“Thank you.” Jake grinned and picked up the sparkling water he’d ordered before they sat down. “I’d hate to embarrass you.”

Melissa was entranced by the open collar of his light blue button-down shirt. Her pulse heightened as she imagined pressing her lips to his neck and tasting his skin. She forced herself to look away before she could imagine what else she’d like to do to him. “You could never embarrass me. And I’m sure you don’t dance as badly as you think you do.”

“You’d be wrong.” He took a sip of his water then set his glass on the table.

“Are you one of those people who don’t have rhythm?” She leaned forward and smiled. “Or do you save all your moves for the bedroom?”

Oh shit.
Did I say that out loud?
Melissa’s cheeks burned as Jake’s eyes widened.

“Okay. I’m officially drunk.” Despite her mortification, she managed a weak smile and sat back in her chair. How could she forget alcohol had a tendency to loosen her tongue?

“So it would seem.” A lazy smile tilted the corners of his mouth.

“Forget I said that,” she said, and wished she could do magic and make herself disappear.

“It’s forgotten.”

Melissa blew out a breath and fanned herself. “Is it hot in here, or is it just me?”

Amusement lit Jake’s eyes. “It’s a little warm. Do you want to go outside for some fresh air?”

“Great idea,” she said, and pushed herself up only to almost topple over as the room seemed to whirl around her. “On second thought, maybe not.” She braced her palms on the table to balance herself and drank in a gulp of air. “Why is the floor tilted? Was it like this when we came in?”

Jake chuckled and stood up. He moved around the table and put his arm around her shoulders. “I think it’s time to call it a night and head back to the hotel.”

“But what about Paige?” Melissa tried to ignore the way his touch seemed to burn into the skin of her upper arms and grabbed the strap of her purse which she’d hung over the back of the chair. “She’ll worry if she comes back and we’re gone.”

“You can text her.”

“Why, that’s a capital idea, Jeeves,” Melissa said in a faux British accent, then giggled at the idiotic remark as Jake led her out of the Fireside Lounge and guided her around the perimeter of the packed dance floor. “Are you sure you don’t wanna dance?” she asked him in a loud voice as they passed by the energetic throng gyrating to “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas.

“Absolutely sure.” Jake slipped his hand around her waist. “And honestly, I doubt you could stand up without my help.”

She sagged against his strong body as the room spun like a top and she thought she might stumble. “Remind me to never do shots again.”

“You got it.”

* * *

“Jake. There’s something I have to tell you.” Melissa pointed a pale pink-tipped finger at him. “It’s important.” She paused to stare deeply into his eyes and when her tongue stroked her lips with a soft sensual lick, Jake had to fight the urge to lower his head and do what he’d wanted to do all night. Taste that tempting mouth of hers.

“You gotta fight for your right to party.” Her impish smile and the sound of the elevator doors opening snapped him out of the sexual undertow that had almost pulled him under and he guided her out of the elevator and onto the carpeted hallway of the second floor of the hotel. “I love that song,” she added, oblivious to the effect she was having on him.

“Yeah. I could tell by the way you were belting it out in the truck.” Jake pulled the room key card from the back pocket of his jeans as they reached their room.

“Thanks for letting me pick the radio station.”

He let go of her to slide the card into the card reader and open the door. “You’re welcome.”

“Whoa, Nellie.” Melissa clutched at his arm as she swayed to the side. “Sorry. It’s the shoes,” she said as she steadied herself.

“I think it’s the tequila shots.”

“No. It’s the shoes,” she said emphatically as she let go of him and moved into the room. “I don’t normally wear heels this high.”

Jake grinned and shook his head as he closed the door and tossed his keys and the card on the dresser. Melissa’s tolerance to alcohol was much like that of his brother, J.T., who after a couple of beers was pretty much toasted. Odd for a guy J.T.’s size, but true nonetheless.

“And you normally drink two beers and four shots of tequila?”

“It was only three shots.” A cute frown furrowed her brow. “I think.” She flung her purse on the bed and put her hands on her hips as she turned to face him. Her eyes raked boldly over his body. “You know what? I bet I could teach you to dance.”

“I know how to dance. I’m just not good at it.”

“That’s because you don’t practice.” She snapped her fingers and did a little shimmy. Jake’s breath jammed in his throat at the sight of her full breasts bouncing under her form-fitting top. “You can’t improve if you don’t shake what your mama gave you.”

He smothered a laugh. “I’ll remember that. You and Paige were pretty good at karaoke. You didn’t mention that when we prepped for this weekend.”

“Paige got a karaoke machine for Christmas when we were in high school. We wore that thing out.” She moved forward and stopped in front of him. He put a hand on her upper arm to steady her as she swayed to the left. “There’s a place downtown that has karaoke every Tuesday night,” she continued, oblivious to the fact that she was one soft breeze from toppling over. “We go there a lot.”

“You have a nice voice.”

“And you have nice eyes.” She lifted her hand, placed it on his chest and smiled up at him. The beguiling smile of a woman who’d had way too much to drink and who would probably have the mother of all hangovers tomorrow morning. “And the rest of you isn’t too bad either. Can I tell you a secret?” she said, in a throaty voice that sent a spike of heat straight to his dick. “You are
so
fucking hot,” she continued before he could answer.

Torn between wanting to hear more about how hot he was and knowing he should stop her before she went any further, Jake reached for her wrist and wrapped his fingers around it. “I think you should go to bed.”

“Bed shmed. I’m not tired.” Melissa pulled her wrist from his grasp, then turned and walked unsteadily to the sliding door that led to the balcony. She opened it wide, stepped outside and moved to the railing. He watched as she tilted her head to the sky. She’d curled her hair and it swirled around her shoulders like a soft cloud, almost begging him to touch it. “Come see the stars. They’re beautiful.”

Even as common sense told him not to, Jake couldn’t stop himself from joining her. And as he stood beside her and inhaled her alluring scent, a powerful surge of longing rushed through his veins.

He thought of his conversation with J.T. and Angie last week and acknowledged they were one hundred percent correct in their assessment of the situation. He had feelings for Melissa—feelings that went beyond their trainer/client status. If he hadn’t been proclaiming to anyone and everyone for the past two years that he didn’t get involved with his clients, he would have already taken her to bed. He would already know what it was like to kiss her lips, to feel the softness of her curvy body against the hardness of his and hear her breathy moans of pleasure as he made her come.

“Look. A shooting star,” Melissa exclaimed, pulling him from his increasingly erotic thoughts.

Jake squinted at the dark sky dotted with stars and chuckled. “That’s a plane, Melissa.”

“Are you sure?”

“Shooting stars don’t have flashing red lights.”

“Damn it.” She slapped her palm on the top rail. “I really wanted a wish.”

“A wish?”

“Paige and I always make a wish whenever we see a shooting star.”

“What would you wish for?”

A soft sigh escaped her lips as she turned toward him. The light from their room played over her face and illuminated the creamy perfection of her skin. There was such sweetness to her beauty that it stole his breath. “Tonight? One perfect kiss. That’s what I would wish for.”

“Only one?”

She grinned. “I don’t want to be greedy.”

“So, if your wish came true, who would you want to kiss you? One of the firefighters where you work?” he asked, annoyed at the thought of anyone else kissing her. Or touching her.

“No. Someone else.”

“Who?”

“You.” She leaned into him and despite the very real reasons he had for keeping things between them professional, her mouth was too tempting and his need for her too great. Holding her gaze, he lowered his head until their lips almost touched. Time seemed to stand still as electricity crackled like a live wire between them.

“Jake.” Her breathy whisper echoed into the darkness and whatever control he had snapped. He pulled her tightly against him and crushed his lips to hers. Within seconds, the kiss took on an urgency that staggered him. Wanting to feel every inch of her, he slid his hands down the swell of her sweet ass and molded their bodies together.

Their tongues met and a shot of primal heat slammed through his body as she wound her arms around his neck and opened her mouth wider, giving him full access. For weeks, he’d been wondering what it would be like to kiss her and now that it was happening it was even hotter than he’d imagined. With a low growl, he sank deeper into the kiss, stroking her tongue with his until she moaned and rubbed against him.

He wanted more. More than one perfect kiss. He wanted her on the bed, screaming his name as he explored every hill and valley of her voluptuous sexy-as-hell body. He wanted her under him, over him and every variation in between. He wanted it so badly he was almost tempted to ignore the persistent voice of sanity pricking at his conscience.

Almost.

With herculean effort, he broke off their kiss and pulled back. She looked up at him with eyes still dazed with passion. She licked her lips, an unconscious gesture that made his dick throb.

“I’ve been wondering what it would be like to kiss you.” Her eyelids fluttered and then she let out a soft sigh and her head lolled forward as she went limp in his arms.

Chapter Seven

Melissa groaned as the sound of a door shutting reverberated in her head like someone had struck a Chinese gong as hard as they could right next to her ear. She opened her eyes then immediately squinted. The rays of the early morning sun streamed into the room like laser beams through the sliding glass door and almost blinded her.

“Never drinking again,” she muttered as she wiped the grit out of her eyes and rolled to her back. A quick check to her right indicated Jake’s side of the bed was empty. One night down and two to go. To her immense relief, gravitating toward his side of the bed hadn’t been an issue—since she was still wearing the clothes she’d had on last night, it was obvious she’d had way too much to drink last night and passed out cold.

Pushing herself up, she flung the covers aside, slipped from the bed and padded slowly to the mini-fridge next to the dresser. She opened it and her throat constricted at the sight of the mini-sized bottles of liquor neatly arranged on one of the shelves. She’d heard that the best cure for what ails you is to have more of it. But the thought of drinking again made her stomach roil. Alcohol wasn’t the solution, it was the problem.

She perused the contents of the fridge and after retrieving a bottle of Powerade, she located her purse, found her travel tube of ibuprofen and downed four of the tablets with a long drink. A whoosh from the bathroom indicated that Jake had turned on the shower. Good. That bought her some time to collect herself before she had to face him.

She put a hand to her temple and rubbed. It didn’t ease the throbbing in her head, or make her feel any less a fool for throwing herself at Jake the way she had. She may have been drunk off her ass, but she remembered every single second of their blistering kiss. She’d stepped over the professional line between them and now she wasn’t sure what to do next.

Perhaps the best course of action would be to never speak of it again. People did crazy things all the time when they were sloshed; it didn’t have to mean anything. She and Jake would fall right back into their easy friendship and that would be that.

She moved with short shuffling steps to the sliding door. After fumbling with the lock, she slid the door open and stepped outside. The crisp morning air, a mixture of the ocean’s briny scent and the aroma of the pine trees that dotted the golf course, was bracing and caused goose bumps to rise on her flesh. Hoping to clear the cobwebs from her head, she breathed it deep into her lungs and then exhaled as a man in a golf cart drove by. He glanced up at her and gave a friendly wave. She tried to return his greeting but lifting her arm was way too much of an effort. Instead she smiled weakly at him and then watched him until he disappeared from sight.

She took a few steps to the railing and tipped her head back to assess the sky. She’d expected fog but to her surprise, the sky was blue with only a smattering of white fluffy clouds in the distance. Before her hangover, she’d been looking forward to playing tourist. The Monterey area was lovely and so different from Sacramento. Not that she was knocking her hometown, but it was a nice change of pace to get away to one of the most picturesque settings in the state.

Today she and Jake planned to go to the aquarium and then to Cannery Row. They’d also discussed visiting John Steinbeck’s house in Salinas if they had time before returning to the hotel to get ready for the rehearsal dinner. A full day. She should have thought about
that
before mixing beer and tequila. Right now all she wanted to do was crawl back into bed, pull the covers over her head and sleep off her hangover until it was time to go to the rehearsal dinner. But that wouldn’t be fair to Jake. He shouldn’t have to pay because she couldn’t handle her liquor. Maybe she could talk him out of Steinbeck’s house and work in a nap before dinner. After all, it was just a house. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all, right?

Melissa rested her forearms on the railing and relived Jake’s passionate kiss. Her cheeks burned as she remembered rubbing up against his hard body like a cat in heat. She’d never behaved like that with Brad. It was the damn alcohol, that’s what it was. It lowered her inhibitions and made her do what she’d only dared to fantasize about. Thank God, she’d passed out before she’d done something even more embarrassing.

Lifting the bottle to her mouth seemed like a chore, but the electrolytes would be good for her system, so she made the effort and managed to down another sip of the sports energy drink.

“You’re up.”

Jake’s voice startled her so completely that the liquid went down the wrong way and she choked. Immediately, Jake was behind her thumping her on the back.

“Are you all right?”

Tears blurred her eyes as she coughed and nodded at the same time. Putting a hand to her chest, she coughed several more times and then let out a long breath as she reached up to swipe at the moisture that had leaked from her eyes onto her cheeks. “Thanks. It went down the wrong pipe.” She half turned and emitted a soft gasp of surprise at the sight of Jake’s bare chest.

And what a chest it was. Even with a pounding headache, she could see that. Not overly muscled, but sculpted just enough to quicken her pulse as she took in the fine coating of light brown hair that covered his pecs, trailed down over some very impressively cut abs and then snaked lower to disappear below the fluffy white towel he’d wrapped around his waist.

Wait just a darn minute.
A towel?

Melissa swallowed hard and fought the urge to strip the towel from his body and discover if his lower half was as impressive as his upper half. “Can’t find your pants?” she asked, then cleared her throat as she looked up to find him watching her with blatant amusement.

“I was in the middle of showering when I realized I forgot to bring my clothes into the bathroom.” He stepped back and looked past her. “Looks like we’re in for an amazing day.”

“Yeah.” She took a hasty sip of her drink and kept her eyes trained above his neck so she wouldn’t keep thinking about that damn towel and what was underneath it. “Amazing,” she said, mesmerized by the contours of his face. He hadn’t yet shaved, and the light stubble that shadowed his jaw was rakishly appealing. Perhaps it was a good thing she was hungover. Otherwise, she might be tempted to pick up where they’d left off last night. Which couldn’t happen. Who knew her post-inebriated state would turn out to be a blessing, not a curse?

Concern flickered in his eyes as he looked back at her. “How are you feeling?”

She groaned. “Like I drank an entire bottle of tequila by myself.”

“That bad, huh?”

“It feels like there’s a jackhammer inside my head.” She rubbed her temple and grimaced. “I just took something for it. Hopefully it’ll kick in soon.”

“I know what you need.” He grinned. “It’ll fix you right up.”

“What?” She cast him a skeptical glance.

“Just a little something my buddies and I concocted when we were in college. I’ll get dressed and while you shower I’ll call room service and have them make up a batch.”

“Is there alcohol in this miracle cure of yours?”

“Nope.” He moved aside and motioned toward the room. “And the sooner you drink it the better you’ll feel. Come on,” he said as his glance slid casually down her body before rising to meet hers again. “A shower will do wonders for you.”

“You’re right,” she conceded as she moved past him to go into the room. The smell of his soap stopped her in her tracks; her arm brushed against his and it was all she could do not to lean into him and inhale his clean male scent. His eyes drilled into hers; her breath hitched at the heat smoldering in their depths. The next second though, the heat was gone and left her wondering if it was nothing but a figment of her overly libidinous imagination.

“I need to apologize,” she said, deciding to bring up the kiss so it wouldn’t be the proverbial elephant in the room and ruin their plans for the day.

One of Jake’s brows lifted. “For what?”

“For kissing you last night.” She tugged at the label on the plastic bottle with her fingers. “I was way out of line. I know about your rule. You don’t get involved with your clients.”

“How’d you know about that?” Jake asked. “We’ve never discussed it.”

“It’s common knowledge at the gym, and I completely understand and respect your stance. Please know that the last thing I want to do is compromise your ethics or damage your professional reputation.” She gave him a slight smile. “Can we just blame it on the tequila?”

A wry smile kicked up the corners of his mouth. “I didn’t drink any tequila.”

“But I did, and because I was half-wasted I practically threw myself at you.”

“Half-wasted?”

Melissa flushed under his amused scrutiny. “Okay, totally wasted.” She reached out and put her hand on his arm. “Jake, you’ve helped me so much. I don’t want to lose you as my trainer or as my friend.”

“You won’t lose me.” His husky voice caused warmth to spread through her body, reminding her that the feelings he evoked within her were inappropriate.

“But I could if we got involved and it didn’t work out. And I don’t want to risk that.” Suddenly aware of the warmth of his skin beneath her fingertips, she withdrew her hand and tried to ignore her racing pulse. “I’m going to take a shower and then try your hangover cure. Can we just forget about the kiss?”

“Don’t give it another thought. It’s already forgotten.”

And there you had it. She was more concerned about the kiss than he was. To him it was nothing more than a drunk-off-her-ass woman making an ill-conceived amorous advance and nothing more.

“Time for that shower.” She gave him a pale imitation of a smile and then made a hasty retreat toward the bathroom.

* * *

After Melissa disappeared into the bathroom, Jake moved into the room and stared at the rumpled bed. The damn thing was king size, but last night it hadn’t been big enough to prevent the steady cadence of her breathing or the intoxicating scent of her perfume from invading his senses and making it impossible for him to sleep.

Because he’d always been truthful with her, it pained him greatly that he’d just flat-out lied to her. Because the truth of the matter was that he was damn fucking sure he wouldn’t forget that kiss
or
how right it felt to hold her in his arms.

That she blamed herself for the kiss was wrong on so many levels. If anyone was to blame, it was him. After all, he’d been stone cold sober and should have known better. Crossing the professional line between them was on him, not her. For the remainder of the weekend he needed to keep himself in check. Touching her again would only complicate matters—for both of them.

* * *

Several hours later, sitting next to Melissa on a wooden bench at a public beach less than a block from Cannery Row, Jake found his gaze straying to Melissa more often than it did to the magnificent view of the Monterey Bay in front of them. Her pale blue sundress not only showed off her womanly curves to perfection, the low neckline afforded him a tantalizing glimpse of cleavage.

“What was your favorite exhibit?” she asked, then took a bite of the turkey sandwich she’d ordered from a local sub shop they’d passed by after their visit to the Monterey Aquarium.

“The jellyfish,” he said after swallowing the last bite of his roast beef sandwich. “I had no clue there were so many different varieties.”

“I loved the sea otters. They’re so cute.”

Jake crushed the paper wrapper from his sandwich and tossed it into a trash can about ten feet away. Leaning back, he extended his legs and breathed in the salty sea air. He’d always wanted to visit the aquarium and hadn’t been disappointed. Situated right by the ocean, and at the far end of Cannery Row, it wasn’t as large as he’d imagined, but it was still impressive.

“What time is the rehearsal dinner?” he asked, after a quick glance at his watch. It was nearly three. Between the aquarium and Cannery Row, they’d been doing the tourist thing for over five hours. That surprised him. But in truth, it wasn’t the first time he’d lost track of the time when he was with Melissa. He enjoyed her company more than any other woman he’d met in the past several years.

“Six. It’s at Il Fornaio in Carmel.” She set her sandwich on the wrapper next to her, picked up her soda and took a sip. “The wedding party should be there when we arrive. They’re heading over after the rehearsal.”

“What resort are they staying at? I know there’s a few in Pebble Beach.”

“The Inn at Spanish Bay.” Melissa set her cup down and rubbed her temples with her index fingers.

“How’s your headache?”

“Better. That hangover concoction you had room service prepare helped more than I thought it would.” She lowered her hands. “If we have time, I may take a nap before dinner. And I’ll skip the alcohol tonight. I don’t want to make a fool out of myself two nights in a row.”

“You didn’t make a fool of yourself.”

“You’re not the one who mixed beer and tequila and then played tonsil hockey with—” Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. “I’m sorry. We agreed not to talk about it.”

“You’re being too hard on yourself. And it’s not like I was complaining. I could have stopped the kiss the second it started, but I didn’t.”

Her mouth parted slightly in surprise and for several seconds silence reigned between them. “Can I ask you a personal question?” she finally asked as the slight breeze from the ocean ruffled her hair.

“Of course.”

“Have you always had that rule about not dating the members of the gym or your clients?”

“No. When I first opened the gym, I went out a couple of times with one of the members. I pretty much knew after the second date she wasn’t the type of woman I wanted to get involved with so I didn’t call her for a third date.” He paused as a Frisbee flew over their heads and a gangly preteen ran around their bench to retrieve it. “She didn’t take it well.”

“Did she cause a scene?”

Even now, Jake couldn’t suppress the flash of anger that shot through him. “Oh, it was a lot more than that. She pretty much stalked me for a couple of months and then when I made it clear I wasn’t into her, she accused me of sexually harassing her.”