ROPER COULD NOT BELIEVE
his mother was bugging him about helping Ben yet again. On New Year’s Eve. Just as he was finally going to kiss Amy.
Still wound tight, he tossed the last handful of vegetables into the wok with too much force and oil splattered up at him. He stepped back to avoid being hit.
“Families can be a bitch,” Amy said at last, breaking the tension.
He turned toward her. “Especially mine.”
“Um…” She bit down on the bottom lip he’d been on the verge of devouring minutes before. “If you missed my mother and aunt in action, then I’m sure you heard the wedding stories. I hardly think I’m in a position to judge other people’s relatives.” She laughed, lightening his mood in an instant.
He didn’t know another woman capable of getting into his head that way. He ought to be wary, but right now, he was just grateful. “You’ve got a point. My mother likes to lay on the guilt when I don’t give Ben what he wants.”
“Your brother played baseball, too?” Amy leaned forward and perched her chin in her hands.
He stared into her curious gaze. Discussing his personal life with anyone, especially women, had always been a big no-no. Inevitably something private made it into the papers after the relationship ended.
He’d learned it early in the minors and had never violated the rule since.
Yet here he was, ready to talk to Amy. He drew a deep breath and forged ahead before he could stop himself. “Ben never made it past the minors. He blames me for inheriting talent from my father. His father, his and Sabrina’s, wasn’t good for much of anything. He walked out on my mother and us kids, which frankly wasn’t much of a loss. But after baseball, Ben just ventured from job to job. You know the expression
jack of all trades, master of none?
”
She nodded in understanding, listening without judging, which only made him want to tell her more. “Over the years Ben’s come to me for money for one investment after another, promising me a huge return.
At first I thought he’d find something that gave him financial security.
Eventually I realized that would never happen, but I helped him out, anyway, just because I could.”
While he spoke, he took plates from the cabinet and she helped him set the table.
“You’re a good brother,” she said. “Uncle Spencer’s taken care of his sisters the same way. He bought the retirement complex that my mother and her sister live in. It keeps them out of trouble. Or should I say, it confines their trouble. Anyway, it seems to work.”
“Real estate is a smart investment. Ben’s last idea was a franchise that would put condom machines in restrooms around the country. My brother was calling himself the future Condom King of America.”
Amy pursed her lips to keep from laughing.
Roper grinned. “You can let it out. It’s ridiculous, I know. But at my mother’s insistence, I gave him the franchise money and he promptly passed it on to a guy who ran away with the cash. Last my detective heard, he was sunning himself in Mexico, avoiding extradition for embezzlement. Meanwhile there were a lot of disappointed, broke future Condom Kings he’d bilked out of large amounts of cash.”
“So you’d like to help him but can’t because he’s stubborn and invests in pipe dreams. Meanwhile you feel guilty that you won’t help him anymore because he’s still your family.”
He gave her a quick nod. She’d nailed his dilemma perfectly, he thought, not all that surprised at her insight. But he was uncomfortable with how well she understood him. He stirred the vegetables and poured them into a bowl, covering it with foil to keep warm while he cooked the chicken.
Eventually the silence got to him. “So there you have the story of my life. How about you? Any brothers or sisters to tell tales about?”
She shook her head. “I’m an only child.”
“Lucky you.” A few more preparatory steps and he served the food, dividing up the meal and putting it on their plates.
She sat down at the table to eat. “I wouldn’t say I was lucky. It was pretty lonely growing up by myself.”
He tipped his head to one side. “I never looked at it that way.” He’d had Ben to fight with and toss a ball to. And he’d had Sabrina trailing after him with doting eyes.
“That’s because right now you have issues with your brother.”
“Here’s the thing.” He set two full glasses of water on the table. “I love my family, but everyone needs something from me. They pull at me from every direction and like you said, I feel guilty not responding on the minute.”
“Because you always have before.”
“Exactly.” He placed his hand on the top of his chair. “Now, how about some champagne? It
is
New Year’s Eve.”
She crinkled her nose in that cute way she had whenever she wasn’t sure she wanted to do something. “Maybe just one glass.”
He obliged, pulling a bottle from the fridge, popping the cork, pouring and finally sitting down beside her at the table. “A toast,” he said, raising his glass.
She raised hers, as well.
“To…new friends,” he said. He hadn’t known how much he needed someone like Amy in his life until tonight. She was special.
A warm smile tilted her lips. “To new friends,” she said, a gleam in her eyes as she touched her glass against his and took a sip.
“Good?”
She nodded. “Excellent. Now, you were saying that everyone in your family needs something from you. Care to elaborate beyond Ben?”
He lifted his fork and tasted his meal. “Mmm. Care to compliment the cook first?”
Laughing, she took a bite and paused.
And paused. And paused so long he nearly fell off the edge of his chair waiting for her opinion.
“This is unbelievably good!” she said at last with a smile on her face that bordered on orgasmic.
All he could imagine was putting that same expression on her face in a more intimate setting. But somehow, he managed to clear his throat and continue their discussion. “Thank you,” he said, ridiculously thrilled that he’d pleased her palate.
He loved to cook and often did so to relieve tension when he had home games or just to help himself relax during the off-season. And he’d needed one helluva a lot of relaxing lately.
“Well? You were saying about your family?” Amy prodded without shame.
“Anyone ever tell you you’re like a pit bull when you get your teeth into something?” he asked. She didn’t reply, merely continued eating and waiting, knowing he’d have to answer eventually. “Oh, all right. I’ll tell you, but I’ll probably put you to sleep with my family saga.”
She shook her head. “Try me.”
He shrugged. “Mom’s an actress, or at least she was until she aged beyond the point where cosmetic surgery enabled her to take youthful roles.”
“Would I know of her?” Amy asked.
“Her stage name is Cassandra Lee.”
Amy’s eyes lit up. “From the movies
Maiden Lane
and
On Sandy
Shores!
My mother is a huge fan and took me to her movies all the time when I was growing up!”
“That’s her,” Roper said. “These days she’s too vain to accept the more mature roles, so she’s settled into living her life with me supporting her. Not that I mind, since she worked hard to take care of us while I was a kid.”
“It must be hard aging in Hollywood.”
“There are plenty of better-known actresses who’ve handled it.
Sharon Stone, Meryl Streep, Annette Bening. Mom has truly made
Poor
Me
into an art form. But I’m used to it by now.”
Amy finished her meal, leaving nothing on her plate. She wasn’t one of those women who pushed the food around instead of eating, and that pleased him.
She raised her glass and sipped her champagne. “What about your father? Is he still alive? Mine isn’t. He passed away a few months after I started junior high,” she said, her tone wistful.
“I’m sorry.” He wanted to squeeze her hand, but she didn’t seem to want or need sympathy.
She finished her champagne and smiled.
He poured them both another glass. “My father is still alive. He just wasn’t ever much of an influence in my life, except for the fact that I inherited my baseball talent from him. Eduardo Montoya. He was a big-time player in his day. And before you ask, Roper was my mother’s name before she had it changed.”
Amy inclined her head. “I’ve never heard of him, but that isn’t saying much.”
He nodded. “It’s kind of nice that you don’t know the professional me.”
She nodded in understanding. He couldn’t get over how much he’d revealed to her tonight. Other than with Micki, he never discussed his famous parents with anyone. He didn’t need another reason for people to be impressed with something about him that had nothing to do with who he was inside. Amy was different. She was easy to talk to and genuinely interested in him, unlike the usual women he dated, ones who were more interested in his career, status and what he could buy them. Before now, all he’d wanted from his companions was a good time, in bed and out. Yet here was a woman he could talk to….
Unwilling to think about that, he rose and started to clean up. Amy helped and in the process, they managed to finish the bottle of champagne. Once the plates were in the dishwasher, and the kitchen was sparkling, he finally led Amy into the family room and turned on the big-screen TV to watch the ball drop in Times Square. He’d have offered to take her home, but he was enjoying her company too much and he didn’t want to ring in the New Year alone.
She snuggled into the corner of the couch and didn’t object when he eased in close beside her. From the way she’d tripped once on her way into the den and giggled a few times over a joke he hadn’t made, Roper knew the champagne had gone to her head.
She was adorable to watch, and he liked having her in his home.
Another first.
She narrowed her gaze at the TV screen depicting Times Square. “I can’t believe all those people are standing outside in that freezing-cold weather. It was awful when we were there and it wasn’t by choice!”
She shivered at the memory, giving him just the excuse he needed.
“Spoken like a true Florida girl.” Roper pulled her close at the same time the countdown to the New Year began.
“Know what I was doing last year at this time?” Amy asked him, her eyes wide, her face close to his.
“What?”
“Breaking up a fight between two men who wanted to kiss Aunt Darla first once the ball dropped,” she murmured. “It’s been ages since I spent New Year’s with someone my own age.”
“Oh, yeah? And when was the last time you were kissed?” he asked, staring at her moist lips.
“Way too long,” she said as her eyes fluttered closed.
He knew she had to be slightly tipsy, because he couldn’t imagine her letting her guard down this easily otherwise. Still, she’d seemed willing enough earlier in the evening before they were interrupted by the telephone.
He had every intention of taking that next step with her now.
AMY’S STOMACH FLUTTERED
as she waited, delicious ripples of anticipation licking at her from deep inside. Roper’s eyes darkened and he lowered his head, slowly dragging out the anticipation until finally his mouth came down on hers.
The initial touch set off more sparks. Spiraling whirlpools of desire started slowly and built larger, filling her from inside out. His kiss was silky smooth, the stuff of sensual dreams as he drew his mouth back and forth over hers and lulled her into a hazy stupor of wanting. She lifted her hands and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, something he seemed to appreciate because he slid his tongue over the seam of her lips, teasing her back and forth until she opened her mouth and let him inside.
Her tongue tangled with his, matching every fantasy she’d ever had of him and providing even more. He ran his thumbs over her cheek, gently caressing her face while he ravished her mouth. She didn’t need food, not when she had this. Wanting to taste more of him, she curled her hands into the hair at the nape of his neck, then tilted her head back, giving him better access. He swept his tongue one last time around her mouth, then began a warm, wet trail of kisses down the side of her face, her neck, her throat, until his head came to rest on her chest just above her cleavage.
Her heart pounded and her breasts felt full, her nipples tightening into hardened peaks at the thought of his wicked mouth suckling her hard. Moisture pooled between her legs, dampening her panties as desire pulsed through her body.
“You taste sweet,” he said against her skin.
She moaned. The sound tore from deep inside her at the same time the crowds cheered at the dropping of the ball.
“Happy New Year,” she said, drunk with happiness.
“Happy New Year.” He pulled back, and she tilted her head, smiling at him, expecting him to kiss her again. After all, the first time had been spectacular and he obviously wanted her, too.
Instead, he pushed himself up and rose to his feet.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“To get you a blanket so I can tuck you in. Much as it kills me, I’m going to be a gentleman.”
She started to rise, then decided it was too much effort. She hadn’t had alcohol in a long time and the champagne had gone straight to her head. Of course, it could also be his kisses that made her feel light-headed and dizzy.
“Sit tight,” he said, a sexy smile lifting his lips. “I’ll be right back.”
Amy lay her head back against the couch and shut her eyes, waiting for him to return. Maybe she’d be able to pull him down so they could finish what they’d started. Her mind might be hazy, but she was clear on what she wanted.
Amy wanted John Roper.
AFTER HANGING UP WITH JOHN,
Cassandra Lee opened the screen door to her patio and walked outside into the warm air. Although she had to leave in half an hour for the New Year’s party she was attending, she had some things to work out in her mind first. Family things. Personal things. Scary things.
She paced the length of her outdoor pool. Normally the rhythm made by her small heels clicking against the stone provided a soothing sound that helped her think more clearly. But her life was truly overwhelming right now and she found it hard to concentrate.