Tell Me a Secret (16 page)

Tears burned her eyes, but she wasn’t about to cry. She reminded herself what an idiot she was. She’d seen something in him. When he came to her mother’s funeral and again at the hospital. Genuine kindness. It was there, but his immaturity and ego kept it hidden most of the time. No doubt, one day, he’d be a good man, but she pitied the women he’d go through getting to that point. The roster already measured the length of a football field.

She took the white blouse from the closet and put it on. It complemented the black skirt. Since she didn’t have any cleavage to speak of, the off-shoulder style added just enough sex appeal. This was the right thing to do. Make a clean break. If she didn’t see him again, the feelings would go away. She was an expert at shutting off her emotions. Thanks to her mother, Maggie perfected the technique by the time she was five.

She chose a pair of black heels and added bangle bracelets to each wrist. With a final glance in the mirror, she fluffed her hair and smiled. If she tied a scarf around her head, she’d look like a gypsy.

But she didn’t need a fortune teller to predict what happened next. Once he received her text, he’d come for her, that’s why she waited until she headed out the door to send it.

 
~~*~~
 

When Jace got to Maggie’s house, it was what he expected. Dark and empty. In his head, he ran a list of places she might be, but realized how little he knew about her. Other than spending time at work, school, or home, the only other possibility was Abilene. He scrambled to the garage and peeped under the crack in the door. Her car was there, so he could rule out the last choice. A wave of panic hit him. What if she’d ditched him to go out with the doctor?
 

He pulled his brows together and considered all the possibilities. She was gone, but not in her car, so she could be with Sarah, and if she was, Sam should know where. He scrolled to his roommate’s number and touched call. He got an answer on the second ring.

“Hey, any clue where Sarah and Maggie are?”

He presented Sam with every possible question and didn’t get any help. Sarah was working until eight. That meant Maggie was with someone else. He stomped back to the porch and plopped down on the step. Bouncing his knee, he pulled his lips tight against his teeth. If she wasn’t with her roommate and she wasn’t with the doctor, that left one logical choice. Her dance partner.

He hurried to his truck. He didn’t know which direction to go or Marc’s address, but he could find it. Shit, they could be anywhere. Lubbock was a big city. He started the engine and backed onto the street. His phone chirped. He read Sam’s message.
Try Delilah’s.

Jace wove his way through downtown traffic and parked in front of the popular hangout. Any other time, he’d be checking out the babes at the bar, but tonight, he had only one thing on his mind. Why the hell was Maggie pissed and why had she not mentioned meeting with Jared?

He strolled past the worn wooden tables without stopping, but acknowledged the girls who spoke to him. He flashed them a smile and a hello, but gave them no time to engage. He couldn’t be bothered with them.
 

He rushed to the back of the room where a small crowd gathered around the dance floor. The song
I Can’t Make You Love Me
, by Bonnie Raitt played. He nudged through the group to get to the front row.

Marc’s hands were at Maggie’s waist. She arched back and extended her arms as graceful as angel’s wings as the couple spun.
 

The song ended and another started with a fast beat. She straddled Marc’s leg. He grabbed her hair with one hand, held her waist with the other and rotated her upper body. Then he twirled her, pulled her backside in close, and thrust against her like two dogs mating.

Jace’s nostrils flared. He’d seen enough. He wanted to yank Marc up by his collar and tell him to unhand her. Instead, he grasped her elbow.
 

Startled, she jerked away. “What are you doing here?”
 

“I should be asking you that question. We had a date.”

She shoved by him, went to a table and slid onto a chair. Jace followed with Marc on his heels. Hoisting a drink in the air, she gulped. “I don’t owe you an explanation. I did the right thing. I called and cancelled. I don’t need a reason.”

He eyed the pile of paper umbrellas on the table. “How many drinks have you had?”

She straightened and tapped fingertips to her head as if calculating. “Not enough.”

He fixed his eyes on Marc. “How many?”

“Not many. Some of those are mine.”

“I’m taking you home,” Jace said, reaching for her.

She shrugged away. “No, you’re not. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Jace softened his tone. “I have a right to know why you’re mad. Now, get your purse…please.” He gently clasped her elbow again.

She slid her eyes to her dance partner. “Marc?”

He raised his hands in surrender. “Sorry, Bubala, I’m not getting into the middle of this.”

Jace guided her to the front door. Each time she shrugged away, he gripped her arm tighter. Once outside, she pulled free and dropped onto the sidewalk like a pouting child. “I’m not going with you.” She folded her arms across her chest.

“Yeah, you are.” This time, he got a firm grip, lifted her and slung her across his shoulder.
 

“Put me down! Right now! She beat his back with her hands and kicked her feet.

“Stop it! I’m already bruised from the game and you’re killing me.”

She went completely still. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Once at the truck, he opened the door and deposited her onto the seat. He strapped her safety belt, then went around, climbed behind the wheel and stared at her. “Why are you mad?”

She gazed out the window and didn’t answer.

“Okay, I see how it’s going to be. Fine.” He started the truck and twenty minutes later, parked in the drive behind Sarah’s car.

Maggie unsnapped her seatbelt and grabbed the door handle, but he reached over and stopped her. “C’mon. You can at least tell me what I’ve done. I can’t fix it unless you do. I thought everything was good between us.”

She faced him, fire in her eyes. “Yeah, I did too. When you asked me out, I was stupid enough to think you’d changed. But you haven’t. I saw you with that woman. I don’t understand you and I’m tired of trying. You call me. You show up at my house. You follow me to Abilene. You
sleep
with me. All because you want to help poor little orphan Maggie, who couldn’t even get her mother to love her.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about and I do all that stuff because I care, not because I feel sorry for you.”

“Shut up! Just shut up! I’m done with you! No more visits. Calls. Texts. No more secrets and no more study sessions, because I can’t sit across the table from you one more minute wanting to rip your clothes off. So you leave me the hell alone and go find
Jessica
or the brunette babe from the hospital or your flavor of the day.”

She threw open the door and stumbled onto the street, finally got her footing and sprinted into the house.

Stunned, for a few minutes, he couldn’t move or get a logical thought. Finally, he’d seen her temper. But why? What the hell did she mean? What brunette? The light bulb came on in his brain. He fumbled to unlatch his seat belt, got out and ran after her. When he reached the door, he knocked and Sarah opened it.

 
“Where is she? In her room?”

“No. She’s in the shower. She doesn’t want to see you.”

“Stay out of it, Sarah.” He pushed past her. Even though the shower was running he could hear Maggie sobbing. He kicked out of his shoes, removed his socks and went in.

 
“I’m okay, Sarah. Really, I am,” Maggie said.

He opened the shower door and stepped in. “It isn’t Sarah.”

Maggie froze in place. “I told you we’re done.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t believe you. This is a misunderstanding. Let me explain and then if you still want me to leave, I will and I’ll never call you again.”

He took a moment to look at her, every flawless inch. Her small, perfectly rounded breasts, water streaming over puckered pink nipples.

She covered herself as best she could with arms and hands. “Don’t look at me.”

“Why?”

She ducked her head. “Because I look like a shaggy wet dog and I’m not the kind of woman you like.”

He lifted her chin and stared down at her. “You’re beautiful. Every part of you.”
 

No woman had ever made him feel the way she did. He needed to convince her he didn’t want anyone but her, because it was the truth. “The girl in the parking lot is an old friend and her car got towed. I gave her a ride to get it. That’s all.”

Maggie didn’t say anything, so he said. “I know how it looked. I get it, and a few months ago, you’d be right. But this time I’m innocent. I’ll give you her number. You can call and ask her. She’s married and pregnant. I’m not lying.”

Maggie spoke without looking at him. “I want to believe you. I really do. But, I can’t be just another one of your conquests. I can’t.”

Jace smiled. “If all I wanted was to get in your pants, I could have already done that. Be honest. If I’d worked at it, I could have had you in Abilene—either time. Right?”

She lifted her face to look at him, then closed her eyes and whispered. “Yes.”

“Look at me, Maggie. I’m telling the truth.”
 

She shuddered against him. “You swear?”

“On the Heisman Trophy.”
 

He touched his fingers to her chin, tipped it up and pulled her tight. God, he wanted her, but he wasn’t going to rush things. She was a virgin and he intended to rock her world. He expected her to be shy but he planned to strip her of every inhibition. To make her climax so hard she would beg for more.
 

Unsteady on her feet, he slid his hands to her hips and pulled her tighter. Her heart pounded against his chest. Her breathing, fast and shallow, caused her breasts to rise and fall as she panted. A soft, needy moan escaped her lips. He took her mouth and she opened for him, surrendering to the kiss. Her submission made him hotter, but he couldn’t let himself get carried away. This was all about her and how he needed to possess her. All of her. He thrust his tongue into her mouth and she thrust back. Threading her fingers into his hair, he could feel her belly against his erection. He had to stop or he would abandon his plans and in this case, patience was in order. He pushed her away and nuzzled in her ear. “I want you. Only you. I want to touch you everywhere. Kiss you until you’re breathless. Make love with you until you scream my name.”

Limp in his arms, she choked out. “You do?”

“Yeah.”

She beamed up at him. “Jace, you know you still have your clothes on, right?”

“Yeah. I thought you said you wanted to rip them off.”

Men always want to be a woman’s first love.

Women like to be a man’s last romance.

~Oscar Wilde

Maggie decided there was something erotic about a naked man shampooing her hair. The gentle rock of his body, his fingers sliding through the long strands, the things he whispered.

She closed her eyes and sighed. “Hmm…”

Jace stood behind her and nuzzled her neck. “That good?”

“Yes.”

“Turn around. I’ll help you rinse it.”

She stepped into the warm spray and he made another pass, threading fingers through the red curls. Then he tugged her wet body close and whispered in her ear again.

She pulled away and stared at him. For the first time in her life she was naked in front of a man and she expected to be embarrassed. But apparently, lust trumped embarrassment, because desire consumed her. Then, it registered what he’d said.

“What? No sex? But I want to. I
really, really
, want to.”

He brushed his lips against hers again. “Foreplay, Maggie. You deserve lots of it before sex.”

“Please, Jace…”

He put his finger to her lips. “I promise you’ll like it.” His voice was husky and full of seduction.

She lost her breath and hoped he was right because she wanted him so much, she thought she’d lose her mind. Trembling, she faced him, rose to her tiptoes, and pressed her mouth to his. In the kissing department, she didn’t have much experience other than a short smooch during a Spin-the-Bottle game when she was thirteen and a couple of goodnight kisses from her high school prom date, but she’d thought about kissing Jace and wasn’t disappointed.
 

He found the hollow of her neck, and when he palmed her breasts, her head spun. Water flowed down his body like liquid silk. She ran her hands up his solid chest, to his neck, bringing him even closer. She felt him hard against her, and for a heartbeat she thought he’d changed his mind. Granted, none of her fantasies involved a shower, but now, it was perfect. He lowered his head to one beaded nipple and gently sucked.

Her knees went weak. She grabbed his shoulders for support. The things he was doing had her blood turning into lava. Then he straightened to his full height, moved behind her, and dragged her back tight against him. Slipping a hand around her waist, he snaked the other one to her hip, then between her legs and stroked her.