Say You'll Never Love Me (28 page)

The way she emphasized the word caused his cock to twitch. He licked his lips. “I like to think so.”

Moving to the built in book case, she removed a hardback, flipped pages, then snapped it closed.

The sound caused Jared to jump.

She walked to the window. “Hmm, nice view.” With one quick motion, she drew the blinds.

His mouth went dry. It could be worse than he thought. She might have a weapon.

She meandered to the other side of the room and looked out again. Damn, she was taking her time. He braced for an attack, if not physical, verbal. Then she twisted her shoulders and fluttered her lashes. “Are those rosebushes?”

“Yeah.”

“Looks like they’re about to bloom. Lots of little
rosebuds.
” She jerked the blinds shut.

Was this some type of torture? Reverse text warfare? “Yeah.”

She pinned him with her gaze. “Great office. I like it.”

“Thank you.”

Gliding to stand at the edge of his desk, she propped a hip onto the top, dangled her foot, and let her sandal drop to the floor. “I like this wood.” She slid her hand over the surface. “
It’s hard.
”

He didn’t know what game she was playing, but from pouty lips to wiggling toes she had his attention. God, he wanted to touch her. “Plenty hard.”

She placed both palms flat and leaned in close, her warm breath stroking his cheek. “You ever had sex in here?”

What the hell? She was taunting him just like he’d done her with the texts, but this was worse. Much worse. “Uh—no.”

“Do you want to?”

He lifted the phone and pushed two buttons. “Cheryl, why don’t you call it a day? Go ahead and lock up. See you tomorrow.”

He wasn’t sure if Raynie was teasing or not, but he planned to find out. He grabbed her hands, pulled her onto his lap and kissed her like it’d be the last one he’d ever get. But he was just getting started. He framed her face and held her in place while he devoured her mouth with one hot kiss after another. Within seconds, he had her gasping and tearing at his pants. He loved when she did that. Wanted him as much as he wanted her and not ashamed to show it.

She pushed away, lifted her leg to straddle him and arched against him. Hell, she’d had him hard at
satisfy.
He slid his hand up her skirt. “Jesus Christ.”

“You have a habit of not following through, so I wanted to give you a head start. Left my panties in the car.”

With a flick of her fingers, she released the button on his Levis, opened the zipper, and his cock tented his underwear. She tugged the elastic of his boxers beneath the hard shaft and wrapped it in her soft palm.

He groaned.

Her grip eased.

“No, no. Don’t stop.”

She leaned away to look at him. “Twice before we’ve tried this and both times
you’ve
stopped. I need you to promise it’ll happen this time.”

His fingers skimmed under her blouse. Then he raised it, gripped the cups of her bra and tugged forcing her breasts to spill over the top. “I promise.” He took one tight nipple into his mouth and sucked hard.

She whimpered. Her chest rose and fell with short gasps. “What if Bigfoot storms into the backyard?”

He freed the nipple. “Won’t stop me.” He closed his lips over the other one.

“If a plane crashes into the building?”

Liberating that stiff peak, he licked it, and grinned up at her. “Won’t even notice.”

He pushed her breasts together, gave each one the same attention, while she ground against him.

“What if your mother should walk in on us?”

He stopped and leaned his head against the back of his chair. “That might be a deal breaker.”

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing I locked the door.” She opened her legs wider. He inched his hand up her thigh, cupped her, pressed his palm against her crotch, then slipped his finger inside her. “You’re so damn wet.”

“I have been all day thanks to your filthy texts.”

“You liked those, huh?”

“Yes.”

He stroked. Played. Found the right spot, and she moved against him chasing the orgasm. And when her breath returned, he withdrew. Foreplay was great, but she was as anxious as he was. She angled. He pressed. Stopped.

She struggled for a breath. “Holy hell. Now what?”

“Condom. I don’t have a condom.”

“I can’t believe this.”

“I’m sorry. I should have one, but I don’t.”

She ran her hand over her face, and he thought she might throw something for sure, but then she narrowed her eyes. “When is the last time you had sex without one?”

“More than four years ago.”

She stared at him for a moment. “Do you trust me? I’m on the pill, and I haven’t had unprotected sex since college.”

“Better question. Do you trust me?”

She took her bottom lip between her teeth. “Four years ago?”

“I swear. I’ve learned my lesson. I will
never
lie to you, again.”

“Okay.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

He didn’t give her time to rethink the decision, he glided inside her so smooth like he belonged there. Then he cupped her bare ass, pulled her in tight and buried himself deeper. She arched back, rested her hands on his knees, and met every thrust. Slivers of sunlight streamed through the top of the closed blinds, glinted against the colored streaks in her hair, and he’d never seen a wilder, more delicate woman. A total contradiction. Like a raindrop riding a tornado.

She clenched around him and he thought he’d lose his mind. All that hot, wet heat pulling him deeper until buried to the hilt. He pushed down hard to hold her in place as she yo-yoed on top of him.

“Oh, yeah. Just like that. Oh, God, Jared.” She heaved the words out, and he gave her more. He didn’t remember when he’d been this hard or sex felt as incredible. She panted and he could tell she was close and it was a good thing because he didn’t know how much longer he could last.

She let go of his knees, gripped his shoulders and lunged forward as she spasmed around his dick and he shattered, too. He wanted to tell her he’d fallen in love with her. Beg her to stay in Lubbock. Give him a chance to prove she could have forever. But this wasn’t the time. She’d claim it was lust, not love talking.

“That was fun.” She looked at her watch. “Crap! I’ve got to go or I’ll be late picking Silbie up.” She slid from his lap and grabbed her purse. “Bathroom?”

He nodded toward a door to the left.

He got himself back together.
Fun?
Hell. Carnivals were fun. Football games were fun. Skiing was fun. But not his definition of what just happened. Hands down, best sex he’d ever had. Maybe because he’d not used a condom or maybe because he’d wanted her for so long. Whatever it was, he needed more.

Within a couple of minutes, she came out, looking as good as when she arrived. He rushed to her and wrapped her in his arms. “I take it this means you’ve forgiven me and our date is on for tomorrow?”

“I’m thinking about it.”

“Just so you know, for me, this was more than fun. A lot more.”

She pushed away from him. He tried to read her expression. Fear? Panic? He wasn’t sure, but he got the message. He shouldn’t have said it meant more. He’d screwed up again.

Don’t believe everything you think.

~Unknown

THE SEDUCTION WAS
a mistake, and Raynie blamed herself. She thought they wanted the same thing. To satisfy an attraction. But for him, it’d meant more. Crap. She’d warned him happily-ever-after was a fairy tale with a capital F.

A lifetime ago while still starry-eyed and stupid she’d dreamed of a man like Jared. Before Bronson and his mother judged her worthless. And husband number two piled on more heartbreak. Before her parent’s divorce and her sister’s marriage fell apart. Raynie liked single life. No complications.

Jared’s confession weakened her resolve. And the damn text messages did her in. How could she make him understand the encounter changed nothing? Come June, she planned to leave.

After the school run and a quick shower, she sat on the back porch, phone pressed to ear, listening to Quinn, while Silbie pretended to be an Olympic gymnast.

“I told you he cared for you. The remark about seeing sunflowers bloom was his way of asking you to stay, so why don’t you?”

“This isn’t my home. What about my business? And I’m not the girl you want to meet your momma. Need I go on?”

“No, we’ll get to that in a minute. Fast forward to the juicy part. How was the sex?”

Raynie slid her hand to her throat, clutched the fabric of her blouse, and inhaled a deep breath. “You know how you feel when you take the first bite of your favorite cake? It’s so good you want to eat the whole thing. That’s how he is. Did I mention he has a tattoo?”

“Okay. Enough. You’re getting all hot and bothered. Let’s discuss your reasons for leaving Lubbock. Which is a load of ca-ca and you know it. Here, you’ll need a bigger house, there, you don’t. A storefront isn’t necessary. Sell it. As for the sort of girl you are—you’re one of the best people on the planet. Loyal to a fault. Kind. Considerate. And from the meals you cooked while we were there, you’ve turned into Susie Homemaker. You even impressed Dak. So why not make a new beginning, with Jared?”

“Aren’t you getting ahead of yourself? He didn’t propose, only implied he wants more than a casual relationship.”

“Like go steady? What are you? Fourteen? Girl, it’s been so long since you dated regular guys, you don’t understand their lingo. He cares for you. Oh, Molly’s awake, I’ve got to go. I’m serious, Raynie. Stay. Give the relationship a chance. If you don’t, you’ll always wonder what could have been. Talk to you later. Bye.”

For a moment, Raynie felt rushed off. A bit insulted Quinn had
her
say but Raynie didn’t have the opportunity to rebut. She considered what her best friend said and decided she’d read more into Jared’s remark than she should. He wasn’t suggesting a long-term commitment. Even though she’d seduced him, he didn’t want her to feel cheap or used.

“I need to borrow another cup of bourbon.” Her neighbor stood on his porch hoisting a mug in the air. She doubted the old man’s verb choices. He didn’t need or intend to pay it back.

“You want me to bring the bottle or are you coming over?”

A sly grin lifted the corners of his mouth. “Thought you’d never ask.” He wasted no time getting out of his gate and into her backyard. Before he made it to the porch, he stopped to watch Silbie turn a flip. “You’re getting good at that!”

Her eyes lit up, and she double somersaulted then threw her hands up as if she’d dismounted a balance beam. “Thank you.”

He plopped down onto the patio chair next to Raynie’s. “She’s a little jewel, isn’t she?”

“Yes, she is. Let me get that liquor.” Raynie made a quick trip to the restroom, then grabbed the Makers 46 and headed outside as the front bell rang. She set the booze on the counter and when she opened the door, the mailman shoved a brown envelope and pen toward her. He pointed to the card attached. “Registered letter, ma’am. Sign here.”

She added her signature, bumped the door closed, and tucked the letter under one arm and the bottle under the other. Medusa and Mordecai followed her outside.

The return address, Stanley and Simmons law firm wasn’t familiar. Perhaps someone filed a claim against the estate. She hoped not. Couldn’t be the trucker involved in the accident. He’d been at fault.

She passed the whiskey to the old man, then studied the mail again. She slid the contents onto her lap and shuffled the papers. Fear twisted in her chest. For the second time in her life, a woman with money and power judged her unfit.

Mr. Remmus poured as he talked. “You’re white as a sheet. What’s wrong?”

“They’re trying to take her away from me.”

“Who?”

Silbie picked up both cats and twirled around.

Raynie lowered her voice. “Evan’s parents. They’re suing for custody.” She sucked in a ragged breath. “I can’t lose her. What am I going to do?”

“You won’t. I’ll testify what a good job you’re doing.”

“They have pictures.”

“Of what?”

She handed them over. “Me. With men. The Collins’ don’t want her. They just don’t want me to have her. They’ll send her to some hoity-toity private school, see her twice a year, and teach her to call a vase a voss.”

He flipped through the photos, but didn’t ask questions. “Not gonna happen. I know a man. Mean S.O.B. Leave everything to me.” He handed the prints back and held up the document. “Mine if I keep this? My guy will need to go over it.”

“Sure.”

Sweet old Mr. Bourbon Drinking Neighbor sounded like a mob boss, but Raynie didn’t care. If he arranged a hit, so be it. She chuckled. Yeah. Like that would happen. Over the years, other men made promises, but for the first time, she trusted he’d keep his.

“I thought someone was watching me. This proves I was right. That silver Chevy. Should have checked it out the second time I saw it.”

The doorbell chimed again. Mr. Remmus left through the rear gate and Raynie took off to open the front door, first stopping to hide the incriminating evidence under a stack of place mats. Jared, looking dangerously delicious, stepped inside.