Forgiving Patience (26 page)

Anna was looking exceptionally hot in
her plain fitted top, jeans that were cut at the knees, and flip-flops
revealing red-painted toe nails. No wonder Ollie gave in so easily.

He took a seat at the dark far side
at the bar. He was in a foul mood after the auction. Nothing made sense.

“What can I get you, Jake?” Minny
asked.

“Just a beer.”

“So how’d the auction go? Heard
someone say you went for some major cash,” she said nonchalantly while pulling
the tab off his beer and placing it on a napkin in front of him.

This was not what he wanted to talk
about. “I guess you can say that, but it was a mix up. Now I’m here drinking a
beer with you, and watching a damn Yankee game.

“I know. The locals haven’t
complained yet. A lot of the men like Anna, if you know what I mean.” She gave
him a little wink and scooted off to her next customer.

Yeah, he knew what she meant, and he
didn’t like it one bit. A lot of guys were eyeing her, but luckily no one had
made a move.

Why
would Anna bid on me…and why in hell did she bid on Garrett?
There was no doubt in his mind that
she felt something, but for her to openly express that in public was hard to
wrap his mind around. It took balls to do what she’d done. He’d hurt her the
other day…well, he’d done more than that. He’d fucked up. Anger had gotten the
best of him. So he couldn’t blame her for leaving.

Walking out onto the stage, he’d seen
her, and at that moment, being in front of a hundred screaming women didn’t
appeal to him. He only wanted one woman and he couldn’t have her. She seemed to
be struggling with the idea of bidding on him, but in the end she had, and she
had lost.

Fuck.

Why did Carly have to be there and
ruin his night? It was for charity, and he was willing to be bought by Edna or
someone to do yard work for, but he was not some sex slave. He could see that
was exactly what Carly had in mind, and he wasn’t a cheater—and whether Anna
wanted to believe it or not, they were dating.

“What the fuck?” Jake muttered behind
clenched teeth at seeing a man walk over to Anna and take a seat next to her, a
little too close at that. So, some bastard had decided to make a move.

He knew Tex had been interested in
Anna since the party. The guy had the reputation of fucking every girl he could
get into his truck.

He gripped his beer bottle to the
point his knuckles had turned white. Tex was a good buddy to play softball with
or go out fishing with, but Jake was not going to sit there and watch him take
advantage of Anna. “Minny, I’ll take another.”

“You sure?” she questioned.

“Yes. I’m not drunk, damn it.”

The spunky girl ran off to fetch
another beer he really didn’t need, but if he didn’t have something in his
hand, he was liable to go over and punch Tex right onto his ass.

It had taken him a long time to stop
drinking so much and fighting every asshole he ran into, and now, with Anna
back in town, that’s all he could think about. When he couldn’t be with her, he
drank, and if any guy touched her, he wanted to beat the living shit out of
them. If he wasn’t careful, he would be going back to his old ways, and it
wouldn’t have anything to do with his injury. Damn woman.

Tex slipped his cowboy hat onto
Anna’s honey-blond hair and started twirling her around. Jake didn’t like it
one bit that another man had his hands on her. It wasn’t jealousy. It was that
they were technically dating for the next week or so. God, he was thinking like
a woman.
Get a grip, dude.

New York was winning, and Anna was
clearly in a good mood. It was the bottom of the ninth, and it looked like the
Pinstripes were going to take this one. He would let her enjoy the win, but
after that, he was getting her away from Tex.

When the last ball was thrown and New
York won, giving them the best record in baseball, Jake decided it was time to
go interrupt the little celebration going on.

But the craziest thing happened. Tex
looked up to see Jake coming. He then turned and gave Anna a light kiss on the
mouth and walked toward the exit.

How
dare the little fuck kiss her right in front of my face and then run away like
a pussy.
No need to
start anything. Those days were gone. He was a better man. Tex was gone, and
Anna would not be going home with the son-of-a-bitch.

* * * *

“I see your pansy team won again. You
must feel pretty damn good.”

Anna recognized the male voice coming
from behind her without having to even turn around. She could feel his breath
on her neck and smell the cologne that had become familiar to her. Just the
sound of his deep, manly voice sent a chill through her entire body, making her
stomach do a freefall. And she wondered if it would land anytime soon. She
didn’t want to turn around to look into those deep blue eyes—most likely shaded
with a ball cap—and wonder what he had just done with Carly.

Quit feeling sorry for yourself and
turn your ass around.

“You can’t call them a pansy team
when they have the best record in baseball right now.”

Between the dim lighting and low cap,
his eyes were unreadable. But she could feel something coming off him.
Electricity or something crazy. She couldn’t move. The only thing she could do
was stand there and torture herself by looking at a man she would never have.

“You have a good night?” he asked,
pointing to the straw hat that still sat on her head.

He said it in a way that told her
several things—one, he’d been watching her for some time, and two, it was a
slim chance that he’d spent any time with Carly. If he had, he wasn’t as good
as everyone said…and she highly doubted that. The thoughts made her feel giddy,
or maybe that was because of the two drinks she had consumed earlier in the
night. He must have seen Tex with her.
Hmmmm
…now
that explains why he just up and left, but not without laying a kiss on
me…right in front of Jake. Interesting.

“Actually, I did. You just missed
Tex. It was fun to have someone to watch the game with.”

With a clenched jaw, he said, “Yeah.
I saw him. You know he was only interested in getting down your pants? He could
care less about your precious
ballteam
.”

“Jealous, Jake?” She gave her head a
playful tilt.

“I’m not jealous of that asshole,” he
retorted with little conviction. “I just wouldn’t let any woman who had been
drinking walk out the door with him.”

“I wasn’t leaving with him. I was
simply watching a baseball game with the guy. Plus, I thought you two were
friends?”

“We are. How do you think I know all
this?”

Both fists were clinched at his
sides. He looked like he could take down a Mack truck. What was the deal? She
hadn’t expected this—after all, he was the one who had left with some Barbie
doll tonight. He was the one who accused her of wanting his brother. And he was
the one who had smashed a plate against the kitchen wall. When she took a
minute to let all three of those things sink in, she was mad all over again.

“Well, thanks for….whatever, but I’m
going home now.” She did a half wave and grabbed her purse, making her way past
him, but not before brushing up against him. Everything in her body became
aware of the feelings she’d been having for the past week. There was tingling
in places he hadn’t even touched, and the feeling only intensified when he
reached out and grabbed her arm before she could step away.

She was forced to look up at his
face. Their bodies were pushed against each other’s, and he wasn’t letting go.
She wasn’t sure how long she looked into his eyes, trying to read what he was
thinking.

“Listen, Anna, the guy is a jerk when
it comes to women. I was only looking out for you. Why can’t you understand
that?” His voice was more tender, but stern. He eased his grip just a bit, but
not enough that she could pull her arm out. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted
him to let her go.

With a shaky voice, she replied, “I
do understand that, but I’m a big girl. I know when a guy is only interested in
what’s under my panties.”

His gaze fell to said panties. Well,
actually, he could only see her jeans, but the intensity in his stare made her
aware of what he was actually envisioning. She kept her eyes on his face,
because she wanted to appear strong and not rattled by their closeness. With
his hands on her, she couldn’t think logically.

“Will you let me drive you home?” His
voice was low, just above a whisper that blew through her ear. It was sexy and
intoxicating. She could have melted in a puddle right there at his feet.

Stuttering, she asked, “W-why?” Did
he really have plans to take her home and see what was under her panties? Did
she want him to?

“You’ve been drinking. It’s been made
clear you can’t handle your liquor.”

He did have a point. She’d proven
that at the bachelorette party. However, she didn’t want to put herself in the
same position as that night. While she knew he wouldn’t hurt her, it still
brought up memories she was desperately trying to forget. She wasn’t drunk now
and didn’t need rescuing.

“I’m not drunk, Jake.”

He pulled her closer, causing her to
let out a startled cry, and letting her feel every part of him, even the bulge
pushed against his zipper. She couldn’t help but look down and notice she was
all but rubbing up against him. It was the only natural thing to do.

Oh...God…what was happening here…in a
public place no less?

She could barely croak out, “
Ja-ke
.”

“You feel that?” he asked. “Answer
me, damn it. Do you feel what you do to me?” he demanded when she didn’t
answer.

And if her brain hadn’t been made of
mush she might’ve jerked out of his hold, demanding he never speak to her that
way again. But because she was having trouble thinking and speaking at the same
time, she let him get a pass. And because, after all, this was her Jake, a man
she’d loved so much at one time that he’d had the ability to hurt her
badly.
 
She knew he was thinking with one
part of his anatomy and not thinking about his tone.

All she could muster up was a slight
head shake. This was too much for her.

He was too much for her.

“This is what you do to me every time
I think of you, whether you’re in the room or not. So can I
please
drive you home?”

“Yes.”

* * * *

Jake stole a kiss before shutting the
truck door and hurried over to his side, almost doing a
Dukes
of Hazard
move across
the hood of his truck. He couldn’t leave Ollie’s parking lot fast enough. He
stirred up a little gravel and was headed in the direction to either one of
their places to finally have his way with Ms. Anna Kelly. Hearing her simple
yes
was music to his ears.

“Your place or mine?” he rasped.

“Mine.” Good. It was the closest. He
didn’t know how much longer he was going to be able to hold out as his cock
throbbed against the front of his jeans.

He’d never wanted, or desperately
needed, a woman like he did Anna at this moment in time. Usually he didn’t feel
so drawn to the opposite sex to the point that it was a matter of life or
death. This was different. This was a hunger only she could appease. He had to
get to their destination, quickly.

Somehow he made it to her apartment
before having to pull over to the side of the road and fuck her right there for
anyone to see. Barely coming to a full stop, inches from the apartment door, he
leaped from his monster of a truck, jogging over to the passenger side before
Anna had a chance to open her door and maneuver her way down. Lifting her up
with ease, he brought her to the ground.

Because the door was unlooked—something
he was going to talk to her about later—all she had to do was turn the knob.

Walking over to a lamp resting on a
side table nearest the door, he turned a switch, bringing a soft glow to the
room. His back was only turned from Anna for half a second, but apparently that
was too long for her. She was on him without skipping a beat.

Wrapping both hands around his neck,
she kissed him like he had planned to do to her. In response, he kissed her
back with equal fervor. This was
the light a fire
under your ass
Anna he
had seen that day in his driveway.

This side of her was so hot and
unexpected. The girl he’d known back in high school would never have latched
onto him like this. That seventeen-year-old girl could kiss with passion behind
it, bring him to his knees with just a look, and was beyond the sexiest girl
he’d wanted to sleep with, but she was not the type who took the initiative in
the backseat of his mom’s car. That was his doing. And at the time, he was a
teenage boy who couldn’t keep his hands off his beautiful girlfriend, but a few
times he wondered what it would be like if she came on strong.