Reese asked the question he’d been wanting to ask since first meeting her. “What’s JT stand for?”
“Jessi Teresa. I’m named after an aunt who lived back in the 1800s. She was a rancher.”
“Really?”
“Yep, married an outlaw named Griffin Blake.”
He stared, she grinned. “Legend says she could shoot the wings off a fly at fifty paces.”
He smiled and shook his head. “Anyone call you Jessi?”
“Only my mother, and only when she’s mad.”
“I like the name. It’s distinctive.”
“It’s old-fashioned.”
“Mind if I call you Jessi?”
She assessed him for a moment. For as far back as she could remember, she’d always insisted on being called JT because growing up she hadn’t particularly cared for her name, but hearing him ask to call her Jessi in that mahogany voice of his made her rethink things. Trying to play it off, she shrugged. “No, I don’t mind.”
“Good.”
She had to look away from his eyes or drown. He made her feel female, and she wasn’t sure she knew how to handle that because it had been such a long time since she’d had a man truly interested in what lay beneath the JT persona. When she faced him again, he was watching her with muted interest, so to keep her nerves from showing, she asked, “What else should I know about you?”
“That I used to be a cop and am now a lawyer. I’m also part owner of my pops’s trucking company. We operate here in the states and in twelve countries overseas.”
Now it was her turn to stare. “Twelve countries?”
He nodded confidently as he sipped at the water in his glass. “Working on numbers thirteen and fourteen.”
JT scanned the chiseled features of his gorgeous face. “Anything else? No diamond mines? Working on a cure for cancer? Recipe for the perfect barbecue sauce?”
The low-voiced chuckle he responded with made her insides zing.
“I’m serious,” she countered in an amused voice. “Lawyer, huh? Where’d you go to school?”
“Did my undergrad at Western Michigan University. Got my law degree from Northwestern outside Chicago.”
“My sister was a cop in Detroit a few years back.”
“When?”
They discussed that, and found that Max had joined the force after Reese’s departure, so the two never met. Out of the corner of her eye JT saw their waitress approaching, loaded down with their dinner choices. “Here comes our food.”
“Good. I’m hungry.” But Reese was hungrier for more insight into the woman he now called Jessi.
While they ate, they talked about his life as a cop
and her life growing up in what she called Little Bitty Texas. “My mother was a cook in one of the state prisons. She didn’t make a lot of money but it was steady. She retired a few years ago.”
“Your father?”
“Died when Maxie and I were small. Construction accident.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“Thanks. You and I have that in common, losing a parent.”
He nodded. “My pops never remarried.”
“Neither did my mother. Raised us by herself.”
The club was starting to fill. Well-dressed patrons of all races took seats at the tables, in the booths, and along the long curved bar on the far side of the room. The sax man had been replaced by a Latina on keyboards who sang just as well as she played.
Reese was impressed. “Can’t get over this great music.”
“A lot of the big names play here. I try and get over here as often as I can. The owner wants to retire, so my sister and I are thinking about buying the place.”
He couldn’t hide his surprise.
She shrugged. “Have to have something to do when I decide to close my shop. I’m a big jazz fan.” She glanced toward the door. Seeing two of her players enter, she groused, “Dammit.”
“What’s wrong?”
She sighed with frustration. “A couple of my clients just came in.”
Reese knew that her being there with him might present problems. “Maybe they won’t see you.”
“No such luck.” They’d already spotted her and were coming her way. Jason Grant and D’Angelo Nelson were two of the best linebackers in the league. On the field they were known as Shock and Awe, respectively.
When they reached her, both big men said in turn, “Hey Lady B,” but their attention was coolly fixed on Reese.
“Hey, you two,” she said in greeting. They were eyeing Reese like prey. “This is Reese Anthony. Reese—Jason Grant and D’Angelo Nelson.”
Reese stuck out a hand. The men shook. “Nice to meet you,” he said. “You play for the Oakland Earthquake.”
The mountain-sized men nodded but their faces weren’t any friendlier. JT knew an interrogation of Reese would be next. Her players were very protective. They seemed to think it was their job to scrutinize every man who even looked like he might be interested in her. She appreciated their concern but it was yet another reason why she had no love life to speak of. Their antics had sent more than a few of the men in her past scrambling for the exits.
Jason Grant, his trademark long blond hair flowing behind him like a Viking, asked, “Where’d you meet our lady?”
Reese noted the possessive emphasis. “On the 5 last week. She was having car trouble.”
She added, “And because he was the perfect gentleman, I’m buying him dinner. So back off.”
D’Angelo’s dark face flashed a predatory smile, “Now JT, you know we have to check the brother out.”
She dropped her head then raised it again. “Go play. I’m fine.” She was glad that Reese appeared amused as opposed to offended by the encounter, at least so far.
D’Angelo said to his compadre. “I’ve seen him before. Just trying to remember where.” D’Angelo was an all-pro linebacker with a Mensa card. Not only was he a certified genius, the brother had a photographic memory. Like the proverbial elephant, he never forgot anything he’d seen or read.
When his eyes brightened she knew he had the answer and her spirits sank. “You’re with the commissioner’s office. New head of Investigations. Saw your face in the team newsletter a few days ago.”
The two men were now staring her way accusingly.
“What?” she asked. “We’re having dinner. That’s all. Would you leave us in peace, please?”
Jason warned, “Just so he knows—he hurts you, we kill him.”
JT threw up her hands.
D’Angelo gave Reese one last steady look, then said, “Nice to meet you.” Only then did they move on.
She sighed. “Sorry.”
“They always so protective?”
“Always.”
“The cop in me likes that. Lets me know you’re safe when I’m not around.”
The words were touching, but she’d been raised to look out for herself. “Their hearts are in the right place but they make me crazy sometimes.”
His soft smile met hers. “They care about you.”
“Or something.”
“Did you tell them about what that ex-employee did to your car?”
“No, because I didn’t want to have to bail them out of jail.”
“Any more incidents?”
She shook her head.
“Good.”
They finished their dinner. The saxophonist had returned and was filling the club’s interior with sweet mellow sounds. Many couples took to the small dance floor in response.
In a voice that pierced her as sweetly as the notes of the sax, he invited, “Come dance with me.”
His words went through her like heat through butter. She hesitated for a moment, then rising to her feet, walked with him to the floor. Jason and D’Angelo were watching but she didn’t care, she’d deal with them some other time. When they found a spot on the dimly lit floor, she couldn’t believe how nervous she was. Her heart was thumping so hard she was sure he could see it, but when he took her in his arms and held her close, all she wanted to do was sigh. Their bodies fit perfectly. His arm across her back was respectful but the weight was warm. He was a good dancer; smelled good too.
He asked against her ear, “Did I tell you how good you look tonight?”
She rippled. “No.”
“Well, you do. I like the dress.”
“Thank you.”
Reese was enjoying finally getting to hold her close. He’d wanted to be near her this way since the truck ride. She was tall, soft, and fragrant. As they moved slowly to the music, he noted the displeasure on the faces of the two linebackers watching so intently, but he wasn’t bothered or intimidated. He knew they had a prior claim, but he planned to make this woman his if she’d have him, and her players were just going to have to deal with his presence in her life. “Ever been courted?”
Humor twinkled in her eyes when she raised them to his. “No.”
“Would you like to be?”
JT couldn’t remember meeting a man quite like him. “I’m too old for games.”
“So am I.” His look was so intense she felt singed to her toes.
“And if I say, no?”
“I don’t think you will.”
“You’re awfully confident.”
“With you, I’ll need to be.” That said, he eased them back together.
JT was no prude. The heat slowly building between them made her want to invite him home and into her bed to find out once and for all if his mouth kissed as well as it promised. She sensed he’d be a good lover, a giving lover, and what woman wouldn’t want that, even if it was only for one night?
“I want to kiss you,” he whispered.
She trembled and swore she’d never breathe again. “Do it here and Jason and D’Angelo will put you in the hospital.”
He grinned. “Then maybe we should leave.”
Their gazes locked for a long moment. She nodded.
Ignoring the glowering linebackers, she followed him back to the booth. The check was taken care of, the car brought around, and then they were on their way. Night had fallen.
“Where are we headed?” he asked, watching her, wanting her.
“My place okay?”
He met her eyes in the dark car for a long moment. “Yeah, that’s okay.”
Neither of them spoke on the twenty-minute ride to her place. This is what they’d both wanted since meeting on the 5.
She pulled the car into her condo complex then turned the car over to the valet. The high-rise building overlooked the bay. Her place was on the top floor. As they entered the elevator, she shot him a quick glance and saw he was watching her. Feeling like a schoolgirl, she looked away.
“You don’t do this often, I take it?”
“No.” She’d been in her condo three years. He was the first man she’d ever invited back.
“Then I’m honored. And Jessi?”
She looked up.
“Make sure this is something you want to do. Yes, I’ll be disappointed, but I can wait if you change your mind.”
What a man.
“Let’s see how it goes.”
He nodded.
They entered her condo and he ran his eyes over the warm cocoa-colored walls, the framed artwork, and the classy furniture. “Like your place.”
“Thanks. Care for some wine?” she asked, walking into the kitchen. She was so nervous she didn’t know who she was.
“Sure.”
He joined her, making her very conscious of his presence as she moved around the well-lit kitchen with its granite countertops and sleek stainless appliances.
I want to kiss you,
continued to echo in her head.
Glasses in hand, they moved outside to the patio to enjoy the sound of the waves and the warm breezy night. “It’s nice out here,” he said, sipping and watching her.
“One of the reasons I bought this place. The sunsets are spectacular.” Out on the bay were the distant lights of a few ships. He was standing beside her, and the heat of him played over her arms in concert with the soft wind.
Reese could tell she was nervous, and he found it both surprising and endearing. He knew her reputation as a hard-nosed, kick butt kind of girl, but out here with him she seemed almost unsure. He turned his head her way and found her looking up at him. Unable to hold himself back any longer, he leaned down and placed his lips against hers, slowly, wondrously, invitingly. Her mouth softened, and he moved closer to taste her better and heard her sigh of pleasure. The opening stanza was so sweet and powerful, the first strings of desire began to rise, and he pulled her closer. The kisses remained lazy, unhurried. They were exploring each other, teasing each other. His tongue found hers and his palm began to map the length of her spine, moving up and down the polished silk.
Neither remembered the goblets of wine in their hands until the sounds of glass shattering against the stone tiles at their feet caught their attention, but even then he continued kissing her, moving his lips over the shell of her ear. “Let’s move before you cut your feet.”
It was a good suggestion. Her strappy heels left most of her feet and toes bare, but she didn’t want to turn his kisses loose, so they stood there for a few moments longer letting lust and desire flow, then he took her by the hand, walked her around the glass and led her back indoors.
JT felt like she’d entered another world. Everything was hazy: her vision, her hearing, her perception of where she was. The only thing substantial was Reese. Floating, she took his hand. “This way.”
The bedroom was dark, and Reese had no idea what it looked like until she left him standing for a moment to light some of the candles spread around the space. Soon the room was ablaze with tea lights illuminating the space like a Tibetan temple and he saw the large silk-shrouded bed, the gauzy drapes lifted by the soft breeze playing in through the opened windows, and the sumptuous gold bedding. It was as if he’d been magically transported to the inner sanctum of an ancient queen. While she moved around lighting more candles, the man in him wondered how many other men had been there before. One? Three? No way of knowing, of course, and in reality it didn’t matter because he planned on making himself and this night unforgettable for them both.
JT put down the lighter and turned to the man standing in the middle of her room. She had no regrets about inviting him. None. She walked back over. He slid an arm around her and eased her close. Without a word, he lowered his head and kissed her until the fires caught and blazed again.
His hands were roaming, sliding, exploring. Her nipples were hard, her hidden core damp and soft. “Thanks for the light,” he rasped. “When I take this dress off you, I want to see.” His voice was as potent as a caress and her body responded in kind.
He undid the top buttons on her dress to give his mouth access to the warm scented skin of her throat, while he moved a palm over her still covered nipples. More buttons were slowly undone, and the twinkling tea lights let him feast on the sight of the sexy purple bra she wore beneath. He brushed his lips over the twin soft rises and her head fell back in response.
Reese couldn’t ever remember wanting a woman this bad. His manhood was hard and ready to be satisfied, but he forced himself to take this slow. She was a woman to be savored, not rushed as if this was nothing more than a booty call. Her skin was satiny, warm. He could spend the rest of his days touching her, kissing her, and it wouldn’t be enough.
JT was accustomed to being in charge, but tonight she let herself be led. The few men she’d shared lust with in the past hadn’t wasted much time on foreplay because they seemed more intent upon their own pleasure. They’d never eased her bra aside and gifted her with such prolonged finesse, but Reese was different, and so good that when he took her nipple into his mouth the pleasure made her groan aloud. His tongue and mouth teased and dallied and lingered until she swore she couldn’t take any more. Feeling the orgasm gathering, she backed away from his dazzling caresses in order to keep from coming so quickly and to gather herself. Under his powerful candlelit eyes she rid herself of her dress and stood before him wearing nothing but her sexy purple underwear and her shoes.
“God, you’re gorgeous,” he husked out. “Gorgeous, beautiful, and hot.”
The praise felt good. She watched as he removed his sport coat and shirt, and her eyes moved hungrily over the fine lines of his bared brown physique. She ran a hand down the plane of his chest, liking the feel of the muscles against her palms, then flicked her tongue catlike over each flat nipple. He was gloriously made. While she kissed and licked her way across his skin, her hands explored the strength of his arms, the solid sweep of his shoulders, the trimness of his waist. When her hand moved down over his hard need, he sucked in a breath and she watched his eyes close. She smiled. Her adept fingers made short work of the closed belt and slowly pulled it free. His eyes burned down into hers, increasing her own desire. Stepping away for a moment, she silently, shamelessly, undid her bra and tossed it away, then removed her shoes. Her bared beauty came in for more of his magical touches and all she could do was stand there on shaking legs and let him have his way. She crooned as the hand exploring so sinuously between her panty-shrouded thighs filled with a spreading heat that took the shakes to a whole new level.