Dating a Metro Man (18 page)

Jenna sat in the car and didn’t get out. “We are friends, Seth.”

“Are we?” he asked, his sarcastic tone emphasizing the simple question. “You haven’t asked anything about my work since we’ve been sleeping together. I’ve been out to your job site, and now I’ve met your boss and his wife. I’m tired of being your walking vibrator and nothing more.”

Jenna laughed even though Seth had not meant the comment to be funny. Truly, if looks could kill, the one Seth gave her over laughing would have certainly done the job.

“If all I wanted was sexual release, I would have bought a real vibrator. But mechanical boyfriends have never been my thing. I like the human connection. That’s why I was so mad at you for not sleeping with me before. I had the female equivalent of blue balls for four months and you didn’t seem to care. I’m still mad. I can’t seem to get over it,” she admitted.

Seth didn’t want to laugh, but he did at her “blue balls” analogy. Regina hadn’t put it in those terms, but it was still the same thing. When he thought about how uninhibited Jenna was now in her response with him every time, Seth knew she wasn’t exaggerating the level of her frustration. Having had many opportunities now to satisfy her physically, he had at least gone from feeling like shit about how he’d ignored her to just feeling sorry he’d been so stupid about sleeping with her.

But even his remorse over not sleeping with her then wasn’t reason enough to let her keep their relationship from progressing to something more than just mutually gratifying sex now.

“Come inside, Seth,” Jenna pleaded. “I’ll let you make me scream. You know you want to.”

The degree to which Seth was motivated to satisfy Jenna Ranger again and again was familiar to him now. He already knew he was going inside with her. Pride be damned, he was still going in. It was just a matter of deciding under what circumstances he would concede.

Stalling, Seth tried to think of an instance where he might say no when Jenna asked him to have sex with her. Seth couldn’t think of even one. That’s how much trouble he was in.

There were a lot of terms, Seth knew, that were often used to describe men in his condition, and he’d heard them all over time. Seth had always been one of those men who laughed at the poor guy being labeled, thinking that he would never have an obsessive sexual attachment to a woman, especially a woman like Jenna who knew and would use it against him.

Boy, how wrong he had been.

He could smell her perfume in the confines of the car, feel the heated excitement of her waiting to see what he would say or do, and had to fight the images he played like a movie in his head about ripping Jenna’s clothes off before he did what he wanted to her while she screamed. It was very difficult to bargain for a better life while he wrestled with his conscience just to be civilized with her.

“I’ll come inside with you on one condition,” Seth told her quietly, keeping both hands on the steering wheel and off her until the deal had been made for sure. “I want to date you—really date you. We don’t have to tell the family.”

“Oh, damn—
family
,” Jenna said, laying her head back on the seat as she remembered. “I saw Lauren and Jim there tonight. I meant to go over and say hi, but I forgot.”

“Lauren and Jim were there? Why didn’t I see them?” Seth demanded, truly surprised.

“Probably because you were dancing and flirting,” Jenna said meanly, and then could have bitten out her tongue for sounding jealous again. She closed her eyes and swore. The f-word fell viciously from her lips and resonated in the car. Vicious swearing was a side effect of working around blunt men.

Seth laughed openly at her ugly swearing, pleased that Jenna was suffering, and pleased that she was at least marginally worried about him.

“I wonder how jealous you’d have been if I had brought a real damn date tonight like you did,” Seth said, glaring at Jenna in the dark. “If I missed seeing Lauren and Jim, it was because I didn’t see anyone else once you got there in that black seduction dress and those damn strappy heels I know you hate wearing. You looked like some fantasy come to life for me. After I held you in my arms, the rest of the crowd might as well have been invisible. All I could think about was carrying you off and burying myself inside you for a year or two.”

Jenna’s heart beat strongly in her chest and just as loudly in her ears. She certainly didn’t like the knot in her stomach at the idea of Seth dating other women. When had the emotions of the situation gotten away from her?

It was the naked truth that Jenna liked being the woman Seth Carter wanted to carry off and ravish. He
was
a great ravisher.

But what was it worth to her? That was the question.

“Okay. Fine. If that’s your condition for coming inside with me, I suppose we can try dating again,” Jenna said, resigning herself to her fate.

No sense waffling about it, she decided. She had to give their relationship another real try. Maybe with enough fights like this one, they would get tired of each other in a short amount of time. Maybe the next breakup would really take.

“Well, gee, Jenna—try not to sound so excited about spending time with me outside of bed,” Seth said meanly. “On that high note, I still don’t think I’m coming inside tonight. Call me later in the weekend.”

Jenna looked at Seth sitting quietly in the driver’s seat. He had swiped his hand through his hair so many times it was standing on end. The contrast between his messy hair and his perfect suit had Jenna suddenly giggling hysterically. He drove her crazy, but apparently it worked both ways. For some insane reason, it pleased her enormously to see physical proof that she irritated him. It was awful of her to be so happy over something so petty, but she did have intentions of making up to Seth for her bad mood.

“Come in and let me smooth your hair for you, Seth. I know how to make all that tension you’re feeling just melt away. I’ll even do all the work tonight if you talk to me nicely,” Jenna said, trying to sound breathy and sexy, but it was hard to do that when she was laughing. “I’ll sit in your lap and let you tell me what to do again.”

Seth looked in the rear-view mirror and used a hand to smooth his hair down. “Tempting, but I’m not that easy. I’m tired of being your sex toy.”

“No you’re not. You’re just mad. If you don’t come inside, I’m just going to sext you until you’re so frustrated you’ll drag me to your wooden foyer floor next time you see me. So save yourself the technological torture of the next few days and just come inside with me,” Jenna said, smiling at Seth in the dark.

“You are a confusing, frustrating woman with a moody temperament like an angry purse dog,” Seth told her. “You yap and bark and snip at me, but you still want to climb into my lap and be petted when you’re in the damn mood. Do you even care what I think or feel?”

Jenna snickered over the analogy. It was more fair than she wanted to admit, but she wasn’t about to confirm it for him. Yes okay—maybe she was high maintenance, but thanks to Seth, Jenna was starting to think she was worth it. It was his praising of her lovemaking, and how sexy Seth seemed to find her, and how no matter how mad Seth was he still sent her flying over the edge with him.

“Sometimes I take the time to care and sometimes I don’t. I’m working on getting better about it. I’m trying hard to be as fair to you as I can. Even if what you say is true about me being a moody purse dog, you sure seem to like petting me well enough, Seth Carter. So I don’t think that argument is going to take you very far in convincing either of us that you don’t want to come inside with me,” Jenna said logically.

Then she watched Seth morph from metro man to caveman with something very close to—what she wondered? As she pondered the strange feeling of satisfaction, Seth pushed open his car door and climbed out, viciously swearing the whole way around the car.

Jenna climbed out and stood by the car door while Seth came the rest of the way around to her.

He stepped into her firmly and pressed her hard against the car, but stopped short of kissing her. “I’m not going to give a damn if I’m hurting you or not tonight. Still want me to come in?”

Jenna closed her eyes. She could already feel it happening.

“You have no idea how much I want you in my bed. I’ve been dreaming about it for weeks,” she said, her voice a quivering whisper between them.

Swearing again, Seth’s mouth sought hers in a blaze of sweeping heat that set both of them instantly on fire. His hands slid down behind her hips and he bent his knees so he could better rock the evidence of his frustration against her.

“I’m tempted to do this right here in the parking lot against my car like some rutting sixteen-year-old,” he threatened.

“Well, I’m wearing garters and my underwear is the unsnapping kind again. So it’s technically feasible,” Jenna said easily, using her business voice. “But if we go inside you can enjoy the show more, and I can do some of what I’ve been thinking about on the ride home.”

Seth moved off Jenna but clamped a hand around one of her wrists as they walked up the sidewalk to her condo. He was practically dragging her as she stumbled in her heels.

“I’m going to have you now no matter what, so if your mood does one of those mercurial shifts again in ten minutes, tough shit for you. I’m beyond nice and just into determined to get what I want tonight,” he informed her.

“I have no problem with that,” Jenna told him. “Is this make-up sex? Or punishment?”

Seth laughed at the excitement in her voice as they walked in the dark. “I’ll know for sure in the morning.” He looked down at Jenna when they stepped into her lighted entrance. “You got a problem waiting that long to find out which it is?”

Jenna felt Seth release her wrist so she could dig inside her small purse for her house key. She found it and handed it over. The symbolism of the action wasn’t lost on either of them. It was more than her home she was surrendering.

Still Seth hesitated, waiting for her reply. He wanted the words.

“No. I have no problem with finding out in the morning,” Jenna said, reluctant but resigned to him spending the night as well. “I have to make an early run out to the site. You might wake up alone.”

“Wake me before you go and say goodbye,” Seth ordered.

Jenna nodded as she walked ahead of him inside, wondering how her relationship with Seth Carter had gotten out of control again so fast.

Allen Stedman stood outside the door of the luxury duplex thinking that letting Seth Carter talk him into meeting a woman he refused to tell him anything about was a bit like unwrapping a present from your grandmother at Christmas. It could be an ugly sweater she made for you or something she knew you really, really wanted. He savored the anticipation a few moments more, took a final deep breath, and then rang the doorbell.

While he waited, Allen moved the clipboard to a single arm where it covered the discreet company name on his polo. He fished his security badge out of his wallet for identification as he heard someone on the other side of the door. When the door opened, Allen stood almost nose-to-nose with an exotic fantasy.

She had straight black hair drawn up into a long pony tail, a tight fitted T-shirt that stretched taut across both breasts, and short yoga pants that barely covered her knees. The clothing revealed curvy hips and long legs which drew so much of his attention that he had a hard time meeting her gaze again. When he did, he saw dark lashes and brows framing dark chocolate eyes, which looked surprisingly relieved to see him.

“Talia Martin?” Allen asked, hoping like hell the woman said yes.

“Yes. Thank you for coming quickly. The condo office said you left several boxes against the building. They’re throwing a bloody fit. I can’t go get the boxes myself right now, so please retrieve them for me. I’ll leave the door unlocked for you,” Talia said, waving a hand at the ID in his hand. “I don’t need that anymore. You look enough like a mover to me. I trust my instincts.”

“Well, actually—I,” Allen stopped. She just blinked at him, looking impatient, and he found himself getting turned on at the idea of arguing with her. Then he saw a little boy in braces walking toward them. His attention swiftly shifted.

“Hey,” Mason told Allen, “you guys forgot stuff and Mom was talking ugly on the phone. You’re not s’posed to make her mad. Seth said you were to be nice to us.”

Allen smiled at the mention of Seth’s name. It had been sneaky of Carter not to tell him anything about the woman in advance.

“I’m sorry,” Allen said, apologizing for the missing movers, who he promptly decided needed their asses kicked for not treating this family right. “Will you watch my clipboard until I get back?”

Allen held out the clipboard to the boy, who took it eagerly, studying the writing on it intently like it was secret code. Allen supposed that was what it was like when you couldn’t yet read.

“These words are all too big,” Mason said sadly. “You should use small words.”

“I’ll tell my boss you said that,” Allen said. “Let me get the boxes and I’ll be right back.”

After he left, Talia took the clipboard from Mason and read the paper it contained.

“Security checklist,” Talia read, biting her lip even as she laughed at herself. “Uh-oh Mason. He wasn’t a mover after all.”

Mason laughed at her tone, even though he didn’t fully understand what his mother meant.

Talia sighed at what she’d done. One day, she was going to learn to ask more questions before she jumped to conclusions. Sometimes instincts could be a little wrong.

Allen walked in and set down the first two of six boxes.

“Going to take a couple more trips,” Allen said, smiling at the clipboard in Talia Martin’s hand and her flushed face. It hadn’t taken her long to figure out her mistake he noticed.

“You’re not a mover, are you?” Talia asked.

“No. I’m from the security company, but I don’t mind moving a few boxes for you. I don’t want Seth mad at me too,” Allen said, joking.

Talia laughed at his niceness. “I’m really sorry. Moving is a crazy time. There’s a cold beer in it for you after you finish what Seth really sent you here to do.”