Hotblooded (18 page)

The question plagued her all the way to Amarillo as she held Rico’s hand and talked nonsense in soothing tones, hoping the little one could hear her voice if not understand the words. And it gave her the chance to let her mind wander a bit.

She
was
sweet, dammit. And smart and caring and genuinely concerned for the people who needed her.

Could she have been so caught up in hating Walter, concentrating on his hatred for her, and wrapped up in paranoid assumptions that she hadn’t noticed that not everyone felt as Walter did? Was it possible that there were people in town who would accept her, trust her, come to her if she was open and genuine as Jack had encouraged her to be? She had been so busy pushing them all away before they could push her away. Was it possible that there was only a handful who would have tried to shove her back?

Jack watched the helicopter lift away from the ground, kicking up Texas sand, churning it much like his emotions at the moment.

He’d seen Brooke’s face as she’d talked to Rico’s father, Arturo. More importantly, he’d seen her face and heard her voice when she’d run over to tell Carla that Arturo had asked her to accompany Rico to Amarillo.

She’d been happy. Nearly ecstatic. She seemed to be having trouble believing Arturo’s request even as she was embracing the chance the man was giving her.

Good for her, Jack thought.

He meant it. He really did.

He viciously kicked a swell of sand created by the whirling copter blades and fought the urge to swear loudly.

His entire dammed trip to freakin’ Honey Creek was about that woman being happy.

But once she was happy, adjusted and confident she wouldn’t need him anymore.

Which was the whole point. Supposedly.

She’d have everything she needed.

Except…

Would she respond to another man the way she did to him? Would she let someone close enough to make her respond? And would that man appreciate what getting close meant? Would he understand that being in Brooke Donovan’s bed meant he was truly special, someone she was willing to take a risk with and that he better live up to that?

Hell no.

Brooke needed to finally let go with someone who understood that she needed more from him than just a mind-blowing orgasm.

Not that she didn’t need that too. She did. Badly.

Yeah, maybe his work here wasn’t quite done after all.

“What the hell do you mean you’re thinking about staying?”

Jack held his cell phone away from his ear slightly. His brother’s reaction to his idea was expected, though the volume was a surprise.

“Why not?” he asked.

“Because that’s ridiculous,” David announced. “There’s no reason.”

“There’s more to do. That only I can do.”

“Well, of course there is,” David said. “Superman never said, ‘I think I’ll let Batman take this one today’.”

Jack rolled his eyes. The superhero comparisons got old sometimes.

“Seriously. I’ve done some good work here. I’ve built the clinic up, gained their trust…”

“No wonder you like it there,” David interjected. His tone wasn’t nasty, but it was definitely condescending. “So, you’ve found a place where you can be an even bigger hero than in the ER. These people actually know you and remember you. And you’ve realized that it makes you feel even more important, right? But are you sure you’re ready for it to be more intimate? To know these people? What about the times when you can’t save someone?”

“Having me back in the ER would probably make you feel better, huh, Dave?” Jack said sharply. “It would be easier to be assured that everyone was mentally balanced, no one was going to go crazy, right? In the ER, I’m at a distance. I don’t get hurt.”

His brother was quiet for a moment, and Jack tried to regret his harsh words. But dammit, this was about Brooke. And the fact that Jack was happier with her than he had been in as long as he could remember.

“You’re right,” David said quietly. “I don’t like seeing the people I care about get hurt.”

“Well, until I called you, I felt better than I have in a long time.”

“Because you assuaging your guilt. But when does it end? It sounds to me like
she’s
doing well.”

“Meaning I’m not?” Jack asked.

“You tell me.”

The conversation was, thankfully, interrupted by a knock at the door.

Jack cradled the phone between his ear and shoulder, anticipating the taste of Vi’s tangy spaghetti sauce and buttery garlic bread. But instead of Vi’s teenage delivery boy, Brooke was standing in front of his motel room.

Every thought flew from his mind, except for the niggling reminder that his judgmental, psychiatrist brother was on the other end of the phone.

She gave him a shy smile and he forgot what he was about to say. Something like,
Hi. Could you come back later?
Or
I was just about to call you
or
Don’t tell my brother that as soon as I hang up with him I’m going to start kissing you and I’m not sure I’m ever going to stop
.

“Hi,” she said when he continued to fail to add anything into the silence.

“Hi,” he managed.

“Can I come in?” she asked, stepping forward and over the threshold before any invitation was given.

He wondered if David could hear her voice. If he could, surely he could hear how adorable and vulnerable and sexy and seductive she was. How was he supposed to resist that? Whether he was subconsciously staying because of his hero complex and whether or not he believed he could save her or not, his subconscious was also reminding him of all his fantasies and the fact that blondes with green eyes were very much his type.

“Jack?” he heard his brother ask in his ear.

“Yeah?” he asked gruffly as he watched her look around his room with curiosity but without being nosy. It was cute the way she inspected everything, but refrained from touching—

“Jack!”

“What?” he asked sharply.

He turned his back to Brooke to shut out her distracting presence. It didn’t work, of course. He was conscious of every noise she made as she moved about his room.

“I believe we were in the middle of a conversation,” his brother said.

“I believe we were in the middle of a session,” Jack corrected him. “And I think I’ve had enough.”

“So you’re going to stay anyway?” David asked. “In spite of the fact that it isn’t good for you. Or for your life. Or your—”

“I don’t know,” Jack cut in. He didn’t want to finish this discussion at all. But he certainly didn’t want to do it with Brooke, one of the direct subjects of said discussion, only a few feet away. Especially when he wanted to narrow that distance considerably.

When he turned to find her, she was standing next to his bedside table looking over his collection of CDs. It must have been seeing her so close to his bed because the heat, and the force with which it hit him, nearly made him drop the phone.

She was dressed in a white cotton sleeveless dress that was simple, almost plain. The neckline was slightly scooped but otherwise it was fairly formless as it fell to just above her knees.

It still made him hard.

In fact, there was nothing actually sexy about the summer dress or the flat leather sandals or the way she had her hair pulled up as always. Everything about her was cool and reserved.

But he knew there was heat there. For him. And that was a bigger turn-on than even skimpy black lace and red satin sheets.

In spite of everything David had said, and reminded Jack of, and tried to get Jack to accept and admit, Jack wanted Brooke. And it wasn’t just for her sake. It was as much about him in that moment. It was his body that was heating and hardening and imagining all kinds of things that would likely shock Brooke Donovan down to the very soles of her sensible, arch-supported, water-resistant leather shoes.

He watched her pick up the copy of
Newsweek
he’d been thinking about reading. She flipped to the table of contents, then just as nonchalantly tossed it back on the table. She glanced over his collection of soda and microwave popcorn, yesterday’s
San Antonio Times
and his laptop computer. She seemed restless. Yet, she was obviously content to occupy herself until he was available to talk. He took the chance to study her, giving David an occasional non-committal
uh-huh
so both David and Brooke would think he was still paying attention to the conversation.

She moved between him and the bedside table. The light from the lamp shone softly through the skirt of the dress silhouetting her legs and hips.

“Dave, I’ve got to go,” Jack said, interrupting whatever it was that David had been in the middle of ranting in his ear.

“I really think—”

“Far too much, brother dear,” Jack said.

Suddenly he felt lighter. Brooke was here now. She was in his motel room looking sexy in spite of herself and Jack was unconcerned about what brought her here—only about what she would be doing while she was here. “You know, Dave,” Jack went on, completely, blissfully ignoring David’s indignant response. “I think you made a good point tonight.”

David was clearly skeptical when he asked, “What was that?”

Jack laughed and felt it down deep where it really counted. “That I should think about what’s good for me for a change.”

“Okay,” David said slowly.

“I know you’re concerned about my mental health, little brother.”

David sighed. “Yes, I am.”

“What if I told you I’d thought of something that would be a considerable boost to my mental health and general well-being.”

“As long as it’s legal…” David said carefully.

Jack laughed again. He could tell that Brooke was trying not to look like she was listening. But the conversation had to be curious hearing only his end.

“Oh, it’s legal.”

“Is it addictive?” David asked.

“Likely,” Jack answered truthfully.

“Jack—”

“As I said, I’ve gotta go.”

“Okay.” David paused.

“See ya.” Jack was sure his affection was clear in his voice. Even if David did, ironically, drive him crazy, he cared a lot about his brother.

He was still watching Brooke as he hung up the phone. She was another person who drove him crazy. Though it was admittedly a different type of crazy.

And it was one he intended to do something about. Right now.

Brooke turned from looking over the short stack of novels on Jack’s dresser as she heard him disconnect the phone call she’d been trying so hard not to listen to. It would have probably been polite to leave and tell him to call her when he had a moment to talk, but she didn’t want to leave. She’d spent a great deal of time over the past few years being polite. She figured she was due for a bit of rudeness.

“Did you have these sent to you?” As she met his eyes, she completely forgot the question she’d just asked. He was watching her intently, one corner of his mouth curved into a smile, looking very pleased with himself. She raised her eyebrows quizzically. “You okay?”

He put his phone on the table next to the room phone, but he never took his eyes from her. “Absolutely.”

She gestured toward his cell phone. “Everything okay at home?”

“Yes.”

He started toward her and her pulse sped up.

“Work? The hospital?” she asked, watching him approach. She licked her lips and prepared herself for what she sensed was about to happen.

“Fine. It’s all fine.”

He stopped in front of her and she tipped her head back to meet his gaze. His eyes traveled over her face as he stood so close that every cell in her body seemed tuned in to every thump of his heart. The heightened energy inside her was making her skin buzz with anticipation and it seemed that she could feel his body temperature rising.

“So, every—” She stopped and cleared her throat. “So everything is fine.”

“Actually, no.”

She blinked up at him. “No?”

“You look too perfect.” He gently grasped either side of her head, unclasped the clip that held her hair up and then combed her hair out through his fingers until it settled softly against her shoulders. “I want your hair all messed up. Your perfect lipstick too. I want to put some wrinkles in that dress and some whisker burns on that perfect skin. In a variety of places.”

She felt her eyes widen. Wow. She swallowed with some difficulty as all of those places, from her lips to her thighs, heated. “I came over here to tell you about Rico,” she said.

“You can tell me about him later. Right now I need you naked.”

Okay,
this
was why she’d come over here. She had intended to fill him in on Rico too, but yeah, getting naked had been part of the plan. Jack had been on her mind during the entire drive back from Amarillo, during her shower, as she’d gotten dressed and driven over here. She was here on purpose, to be with him. She’d come to him.

Yes, there was the risk that someone would find out, but she couldn’t stay away any longer. She wanted him and he made her feel—among many other things—safe. She didn’t have to suppress her desire or her true instincts with him. In fact, Jack encouraged her to be, say and do whatever she wanted. And she was going to. Right now.

“No foreplay?” she teased as she kicked her sandals off.

“We’ve been involved in foreplay since I set foot in this town,” he said. “You want me as badly as I want you.”

He had a point.

“Oh, good. I was afraid you were going to spend a bunch of time with kissing and stuff.”

He gave her a lazy smile. “In fact, I’m guessing you’re wet for me right now without me doing anything more than this.” He ran his hand down her shoulder to her low back, nudging her closer.

He was cocky…but he was right. Completely right. She tipped her head to the side and looked up at him. “You know how you keep asking me what I need?”

“Yeah.”

“You. I need you.”

Heat flared in his eyes and he pulled in a deep breath through his nose. “Go wild, Brooke. Whatever you want. I’m here and I’m all yours for as long as you want me.”

A surge of feminine power washed over her and once again she had a flicker of understanding for what may have drawn her mother to her lifestyle. Well, okay, not entirely, but having a man like Jack Silver willing to do whatever she wanted could be addicting.