Rough Edges (7 page)

Ashlynn Pearce

“Cool. Don’t worry about being late. We’ve been here for a bit. Got out of family duty early. We’re a little ways from the restaurant playing volleyball with some guys.

You want to walk down here?”

“Sure. Family duty? You make it sound like you were in jail.” She slid one sandaled foot back and forth in the sand.

“It was. The shit they made me wear…ugh. Was ugly. Real ugly.”

Laughing at his exaggeration, she said, “It couldn’t have been that bad.”

“You have no idea. Come on down here.”

“Okay. We’re on our way.”

She clicked off and Summer had a funny grin on her face.

“What?” Becca asked her.

“You should see your face when you talk to him.”

“Oh, God. Don’t embarrass me when I’m just getting ready to meet him. I’m nervous enough as it is.”

“Nothing to be embarrassed about. But if you don’t want to know…” Summer turned to walk away.

“Okay. Fine. What did I look like?” Becca was sure she would hate the answer.

Summer turned back around. “You go soft, and you smile. I mean really smile.

Your eyes light up and have this look like all is right in the world. Something you
never
did with Nick.”

“I knew I shouldn’t have asked,” Becca said.

“I’m not saying he’s your new boyfriend. I’m saying let yourself recognize what it’s supposed to feel like with a guy. That’s all. And hey, no worries. I’m right here. For as long as you want me to be.” When Summer winked, Becca laughed. She didn’t know what she would do without her friend. No matter what happened tonight, Summer was looking out for her.

“They’re down the beach playing volleyball,” Becca said.

They linked arms and headed off at a leisurely stroll down the boardwalk. She ignored the catcalls guys hollered at them. She had gotten used to it. When she was with Summer, guys always ogled them. Or, more to the point, Summer. She was just the tag-along friend, no matter how much Summer argued the point.

It was warm, but not overly hot. A perfect day. Looking up at the blue sky streaked with an occasional cloud, she relaxed under the warmth of the sun.

Until she saw volleyball nets in the short distance.

“Relax, Becca. He won’t bite. Or he might, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be too hard,”

Summer said making her laugh.

“Okay. I can do this.” They unlinked arms as they got closer to the nets. Her palms were sweaty and she wiped them against her jean skirt.

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Rough Edges

Guys, and some girls, were hitting the balls back and forth over the nets. Several of them had been set up and all had teams of two to four people. A lot of the guys were pretty big, with muscles and biceps flexing as they hit the ball. Some bigger than others, and some sporting hot tans—none had shirts and all were sweaty.

She bit her lip. She had no idea which one was Jake. She noticed a lot of girls lingering around just to watch the guys play and she couldn’t blame them. Some were dead-sexy. Glancing up and down the line of teams she spotted one guy she guessed to be about his height and his coloring.

When the team paused for a break, Becca raised her voice above the noise. “Are you Jake?” she asked a guy in swim trunks.

“No. Sorry,” he said, glanced at her then fixed his gaze on Summer. “But I can be whoever you want me to be, sweet thang.”

A sudden movement caught her attention from the corner of her eye and she turned to look at two guys who had the largest crowd of girls. Both were looking in her direction. One was grinning at Summer, but the other was staring at her. At least she thought he was. It was hard to tell with the dark glasses covering his eyes. Then he shoved up his glasses and she inhaled.

Jake.

Her breath lodged somewhere in her throat as she watched him walk with purposeful strides in her direction. His muscles moved easily with his frame, making her heart race. He was tanned dark, his black shorts clinging low on his hips. Her gaze traveled up the length of him, over the muscled abs and broad chest. A black tribal tattoo covered his left shoulder. It swirled, licked up toward his neck then over one side of his chest and disappeared over his back. He had never mentioned a tattoo. She personally had never found tattoos attractive, but maybe she had never seen one on the right person. It definitely looked natural and right on him.

There was a bit of stubble on his face giving him that hard edge look and his dark brows were low over his eyes. He wore a cap on backward and she could only see a hint of his dark hair peeking underneath, barely brushing down his neck.

She thought Summer said something to her, but she didn’t listen. She focused on Jake and the way his lips seemed to tempt her, even though he was still a few steps away. As he came closer, all she could think about was all the moments they had together on chat, on the phone. A guy like this could have any girl he wanted. What was he doing playing online?

His voice was seared into her mind. Telling her what to do, bringing her to orgasm each and every time with very little effort. Her breasts tightened, became heavy and full and she resisted the urge to clamp her legs together where she was hot and wanting already.

It seemed to Becca that he moved in slow motion. It had to be because her hormones were going berserk. Once beside her, he stared, not saying a word. His eyes were blue with a yellow ring around the pupil and iris. The two colors blended 41

Ashlynn Pearce

together, reminding her of the changing sea. Dark lashes fringed each one, giving them depth.

She had no idea what he was thinking as the silence between them dragged. Did she measure up? She hadn’t thought she would feel like that, but he was so gorgeous.

She could see him with someone like Summer…not plain Rebecca Saylor.

His gaze swept her and she tried not to sway from the intensity of it.
Good God, the
man could make me come right now.
Nervously, she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and licked suddenly parched lips.

“Ooowee!” Summer exclaimed.

Becca jerked her head toward her. Oh, don’t do it, Summer.

Summer circled the two guys, eyed them up and down and smiled devilishly. “Are all men in Oklahoma built like you two? I’d say they are far from fugly, Bec.”

She wanted to sink into the sand.

“No, sweetheart. We’re the best Oklahoma has to offer.” The other guy had a grin to match Summer’s. “Hi. I’m Tony and you must be Summer. This moron is Jake,” he said nodding toward him and held out his hand to her.

“You’re right, cutie. I’m Summer and that’s Becca,” Summer said as she shook Tony’s hand.

But Summer hadn’t taken her eyes off Tony and when Becca finally noticed, she could see why. The guy was taller than Jake, dark and definitely not fugly. She looked back up at Jake who wore a crooked grin that made her knees weak. Holy hell. That little grin made him look like he was up to something mischievous. Damn if her panties didn’t get wetter.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi, Jake,” she replied and grappled for something else to say. “If you want to finish your game you can.”

“Naw. It’s cool. Would you like a bottle of water? We have a few in a cooler.”

She nodded in mute agreement unable to think coherently. He turned to walk away and that’s when she got a good look at his back. The tattoo swirled and dipped to about mid-back. It moved with his muscles as he leaned over to grab the water. She couldn’t help but sigh. A girl would have to be dead not to appreciate the view. He walked back to her and handed her one then gave one to Tony and Summer.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. It’s warm and you looked flushed,” he said, tilted the bottle back and downed half.

Looked flushed, hell, she
was
flushed. “So the wedding was good?” she asked, not knowing what else to say, but needing to say something because his focused gaze on her was sending her pulse into overdrive.

“Yeah. I guess. Amber seemed happy. As long as she stays that way, I’ll be happy for her.”

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“You worried she might not?”

“Who knows. I figure, at best, she has a fifty-fifty shot.”

Suddenly, Becca fell against him as a girl fell into her. Jake’s arm snaked out and steadied Becca, pulling her against him so she wouldn’t fall.

“Oh, I am so sorry,” the girl said in a too-sweet voice, batted her eyes at Jake and totally ignored her.

“Yeah. Be more careful,” he said in clipped tones.

The girl finally acknowledged her with a dirty look before she went on her way. A part of her couldn’t blame the girl for trying. Another part of her wanted to stake her own claim on Jake.
Ridiculous.

Becca inhaled sharply and his heady scent wrapped around her. She didn’t want to step away, but she placed a hand on his chest and backed up. A muscle twitched under her hand and in his jaw as she looked up at him. He was so close, and everything else just faded away. She swore he leaned down a little, but then he stepped back. It had to be her imagination.

“Would you mind if Tony and I went back to our hotel to get cleaned up? It’s just across from the restaurant,” he asked. But his voice had dropped in that low octave she knew so well and she couldn’t stop her hand from shaking as she pulled it away from his chest.

“No, that’s fine. We have plenty of time. You want to meet us at the restaurant?”

“That will work.”

“We’ll probably be sitting on the patio facing the water. That’s where we always sit.”

“Great. We’ll see you in about twenty minutes, tops.”

When she smiled at him, his crooked grin appeared. He winked then punched Tony’s arm. “Hey, loverboy. Lets hit the hotel and get cleaned up. Last thing the girls want is to smell a couple sweaty guys.”

“Ow… What the hell was that for?” Tony punched him back.

“It’s to keep you from drooling on Summer.”

“Oh, I don’t mind,” Summer said and smiled.

“See. She doesn’t mind.”

“Yeah, well. She doesn’t know what kind of cooties you have either,” Jake said as he grabbed the cooler.

Becca bit her lip as she watched him bend over, straighten and look directly at her.

“I’ll be right back, darlin’.” Then with one last flash of his smirk, he turned and walked away.

Damn if his “darlin’” wasn’t more endearing when she could see his lips form the word.

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Ashlynn Pearce

She glanced at Summer who had a certain spark in her eye as she watched the two walk off.

Jake made himself walk away from Becca and it had taken all his restraint to do so.

She was so damn tempting standing there in her pink top and blue jean skirt. And so tiny. The woman couldn’t have been over five foot tall. Those big brown eyes had looked up at him and he heard a soft hunger in her voice when she said his name. He wanted to push her back onto the sand and bury himself balls-deep within her. Christ.

“That Summer is damn fine. Why didn’t you tell me she was such a hot piece?”

Tony asked with a grin.

“I didn’t know. I had no idea what she looked like.” They stepped into the elevator and he hit the twelfth floor button. He didn’t want to talk. He needed a cold shower.

Now.

“Becca sure is a little thing.”

“Yeah. I noticed.”

When the elevator doors opened he shot into the hallway and walked toward his room. Tony’s was just a few doors down from his and across the hall. “I’ll meet you in the lobby in ten,” he said.

“Got it,” Tony replied.

Safely in his room Jake tossed off his cap, glasses, stripped and stepped into an ice cold shower. Tension coiled in his stomach. She had looked so fresh and sweet…innocent. Her damn toenails were even pink. Heaven knew he walked a fine line between hell and damnation. She even knew a good part of his hellish ways. What was she doing meeting him? Raking a hand through his hair he looked up at the ceiling, suddenly remembering the first night she had called him and the why of it—
her bastard
of an ex had hit her.

As little as she was, the man could have killed her with one good hit. She wasn’t much bigger than a kid. Every protective instinct he owned roared to life. The thought of one tiny bruise on her made him want to tear the guy apart. And she wanted him.

She wanted to talk to him, not her friends or her family. Him.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes. A part of him wanted to get on the first plane out of here and another part of him itched to get back to her. Talk to her, touch her. He was losing his mind. But the lure of seeing her was more than he could resist, even if he corrupted her. Sooner or later she would see the real him and dump his sorry ass. And he would just have to deal with it.

* * * * *

Jake and Tony walked into the Rockfish Bar and Grill and made their way to the back patio. He saw her before she saw him. Her tan legs were crossed, a flip-flop dangling from her foot. One hand was curled around a drink and she was laughing at 44

Rough Edges

something Summer had said. Her shoulders were bare except for tiny straps that held up her shirt. When she glanced in his direction, her smile softened.

Something tightened in his chest and he wondered if she had any idea the effect she had on him. Summer was looking at them now and he would be the first to admit she was a knockout, but she wasn’t Becca. There was just something about the girl that had gotten to him from the moment he met her online. She was different. She scared the holy hell out of him.

“Hey, you made it back,” she said as he reached her table.

“Yeah. Maybe now we won’t offend you with our stench.”

She laughed and sniffed at him. “You pass the test.”

He grinned and slid into a chair next to her while Tony sat next to Summer.

“A lovely sight to see. Two pretty girls waiting on us,” Tony said with his trademark smile in place.

“Welcome back, boys,” Summer said.

A waitress came up, took their drink orders and walked off.

“What are you drinking?” Jake asked Becca.