Someone Like Her (8 page)

“Let’s go home,” she said.

Jake slipped his fingers around hers, led her back to the bar, and paid their tab. As words were beyond him, when they reached his car, he braced his palms on the door, caging her in. He lowered his mouth to hers and learned the answer to a question that had plagued him all day. Overnight, he’d convinced himself he’d exaggerated the memory of kissing her. He hadn’t.

Her taste was different, though. Before, she’d tasted spicy and exotic, but now her mouth was chocolaty and sweet. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her breasts against his chest.

“Get a room!”

Jake glanced behind him to see two men walking by and laughing. He turned back to Maria and leaned his forehead on hers. “It is good advice. Let’s go.”

“Okay.” She put her palm on his cheek and gave him a quick kiss. “And don’t start talking yourself out of what’s going to happen when we get there.”

She shouldn’t have said that. It was as effective as jumping naked into the North Atlantic. There were a hundred good reasons for not sleeping together that he could spout off the top of his head without even trying.

“Maria—”

“Shut up, Jake. I mean it.” She turned and yanked on the door handle. “Unlock the stupid door.”

He reached into his pocket and clicked the remote. At the sound of the locks popping up, she slapped his hand away and opened the door herself, shutting it in his face once she was seated.

As he stared through the window at her, he debated his options. One: he could take her home and do what they both wanted. Two: he could take her home and then lock himself in his room, which neither of them wanted him to do. Three: he could call the boss and ask him to send Turner to guard her. Four: he could just shoot himself right now because he was going with number one.

Jake circled the car, slid into the driver’s seat, and swiveled his body toward her. When she opened her mouth to speak, he crushed his mouth over hers. Whatever she wanted to say he didn’t want to hear. No more cold-water words.

“Be quiet.”

She grinned. “Okay.”

Jake kissed her again, gently this time. “Let’s go home.”

Her warm smile banished his doubts about the direction they were headed. He wasn’t sure he could let her go once he’d claimed her, and that should’ve concerned him. The thought of another man coming along and touching her when this thing between them cooled didn’t settle well. Another first.

She would graduate in a week and be back in Pensacola. They could date—strangely enough, something he’d not done a lot of—and see how things went. Most of his hookups had been initiated at local watering holes, and he rarely saw the same woman more than three or four times. More than that and they started getting ideas.

Other than meeting for drinks and then falling into bed, he’d not put much effort into entertaining them. He wanted more with Maria than just falling into the sack a few times. There were movies he’d like to take her to, concerts, weekends away—maybe New Orleans. If he took her to Apalachicola, could he convince her to try oysters on the half shell? There was nothing on this earth better than chilled oysters with an ice-cold beer.

It would be an interesting challenge to work on her eating habits, get her turned on to eating healthy, or at least healthier. He didn’t foresee her giving up all her junk food. Maybe he would try eating the things she liked once in a while. Not often, but . . .

Christ. He was already planning their life and they hadn’t even spent their first night together. Where were all these thoughts coming from, anyway? It was entirely possible they’d spend one night together and that would be it. His lust for her would be sated and her fascination with him would fade.

He glanced at her to see she was watching him, and he slipped his hand into hers, bringing her fingers to his mouth and kissing them. “What are you thinking?” he asked.

Maria thought it best not to tell him she was nervous. Were they really going to do this? What if she didn’t please him? He was used to women with experience, and other than the few times she’d slept with her ex-boyfriend, she had none. With Jonathan, it hadn’t been particularly enjoyable. Once, she’d straddled him in an attempt to seduce him and he’d gotten angry, wanting to know where she’d learned her tricks.

It had been entirely the wrong thing to say. Lovey Dovey hadn’t always been private with the men she brought home, and Maria knew all kinds of tricks, but from observation only. She’d never told Jonathan about her mother, instinctively knowing he would look at her differently. When he’d asked about her parents, she had told him they died too young for her to remember them.

So, she’d had no explanation for her knowledge of sexual acts and only answered that she had read about it somewhere, which caused him to question her taste in books. Since that would include her sister-in-law’s hot romance novels—and there was no one on earth who could make her stop reading Dani’s books—it had been the end of Jonathan.

“Hello? Where’s your mind right now?”

Maria blinked and brought Jake back into focus. “I was thinking about Carol not having the money to pay her mortgage. I want to help.” Well, she had been thinking that earlier. He’d put her hand on his thigh after kissing her fingers, and he gently squeezed it.

“Liar. That’s not what you were thinking, but you own your thoughts and only need to share them if you want. As for the mortgage payment, Eddie took care of it.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep, told me when I offered our help. He was rather proud of himself, so I didn’t want to hurt his manly pride and insist.”

“He’s a nice kid. I’m glad he’s there for Angie and her mom.” And Jake had no idea how much it meant to her that he said she owned her thoughts. Jonathan would’ve hammered at her until she spilled, then would end up either mad or lecturing her.

She leaned her head back, closed her eyes, and blanked her mind to all but the feel of Jake’s thigh under her hand. He had on a pair of slacks, the material soft and thin. His heat warmed her palm and she began caressing him with the tips of her fingers. A muscle twitched under her touch and she inched her way to the inside of his thigh.

He moved her hand closer to his knee. “Easy, Chiquita. You come much closer to the family jewels and I’m gonna wreck this car. As it is, I’m having a tough time not putting the pedal to the floor and getting us home ASAP.”

Her apprehension returned. He seemed to really want her. What if she disappointed him? As the daughter of a whore, Maria Kincaid—of all women—should know how to please a man.

Too soon, he turned into the driveway. She considered asking if they could drive around for a while, but that would be cowardly and she’d only have longer to worry. She put her hand on the door handle, but he reached over and stopped her.

“Wait. I’ll come around. But first, I need to do this.”

He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her. No tongue, no roaming hands, just a soft kiss that promised more. Not only did he open her door, but he slipped his arms under her knees and shoulders and carried her inside.

“I can walk.”

His lips curved into a crooked grin. “I know.”

As his mouth was glued to hers for most of the way to the house, it amazed her he didn’t trip and land them both on their bottoms. With her help, they got the door unlocked, and once inside, he slammed it shut with his foot, then carried her straight into his bedroom.

He laid her on the bed, and Mouse jumped up and sat on her stomach.

“Oh no you don’t, you fleabag,” Jake said. He picked up the cat and put him in the hallway, closing the door. A loud protest sounded from the other side.

“He just wanted to say hi.”

J
ake’s gaze roamed over her, starting at her feet and working his way up. “I plan to apply my tongue to various parts of your body, and I don’t want to choke on cat hair.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.”

She was fairly certain he was about to teach her how it should feel to be with a man. He prowled toward her—his eyes locked on hers—while unbuttoning his shirt. Her heartbeat notched up along with her intake of air. Her fingers fumbled with the top button of her blouse.

“Don’t.”

Was she doing something wrong already? She stilled, searching his eyes for censure.
Please, don’t let him be like Jonathan.
He sat on the edge of the mattr
ess, his shirt left on but unbuttoned. With his hands on either side of her head, he leaned down and nipped at her bottom lip.

He sat back and trailed a finger along the edge of her red lacey bra. “I’ll undress you, Chiquita. It’s all I’ve thought about doing all night.”

“Oh, okay.” With difficulty, she lifted her gaze from the expanse of his chest and its dusting of brown hair.

With a tilt of his head, he gave her a funny look. “You have done this before, haven’t you? And I can’t tell you how much I hope your answer is a yes.”

Speech had moved into the realm of impossible, so she nodded.

“Thank God.”

He scooted back and slipped off her heels, dropping them to the floor, then wrapped a hand around the back of her ankle while his thumb kneaded the bottom of her foot.

“I need to go shopping tomorrow.” Where had that come from? Before she blurted out all her insecurities left over from Jonathan, she should slap some duct tape over her mouth.

The hand massaging her foot stopped. “I beg your pardon.”

Oh, God. What was wrong with her? “I’m sorry. Forget it.”

“I don’t think so. Where’s your mind right now?”

“Here?”

“I don’t know, Maria. Are you?”

She pulled her feet away and scooted up, leaning back against the headboard. “I want to be here.” She was ruining everything, but couldn’t seem to stop.

He stood, kicked off his shoes, and came to the head of the bed. “Move up.” He slipped in behind her, then pulled her back against him. “Now, talk.”

It was an order from a man used to being obeyed, and she could put a stop to everything right now and never know what it might be like with him, or she could be honest and hope he was nothing like Jonathan.

She chose to be honest.

CHAPTER EIGHT

H
ad she lied about doing this before? Was that why she looked away from him, not answering? If she was a virgin, he would cram his raging lust into an airtight box and send her to her room. Even though it might well kill him. If she was saving herself for a husband, he could respect that. Wouldn’t like it, but he wasn’t about to offer himself up for the role.

“I’ve only been intimate with one man. Jonathan.”

That was the best thing she could’ve said, but what wasn’t she saying? He circled his arms around her chest and breathed deeply, inhaling her scent. “And?” Her head fell back on his chest, resting there as if it was a natural thing for her to do. He liked it. Maybe too much.

“Yeah, there’s an
and
. I never told him about my mother, about who she was and how I knew things I shouldn’t. Whenever I thought he might like me to do something with him that I’d seen Lovey Dovey do . . . well, he didn’t. It was like I disgusted him.”

“He’s an ass, Maria.” Jake decided he was going to kill Jonathan. In the meantime, he still didn’t understand her problem. “I’m not Jonathan. You can do anything you want with me, and I promise I’ll still respect you in the morning.”

She gave a little laugh and twisted in his embrace to face him. “I already know that, and that’s not what I’m trying to tell you.”

“Okay, what are you trying to say?”

Her chin lowered and her eyes focused on his chest. “There wasn’t any pleasure for me, so I think maybe I’m immune to sex . . . you know, because of Lovey Dovey. And what if I don’t please you? I don’t want to disappoint you.”

“You’re joking, right? Look at me.” When her eyelashes lifted, he said, “Christ, Chiquita, I’ve been hot for you all night, longer even.” He put a finger under her chin and lifted her face. With his kiss, he showed her how much he desired her.

“Now listen,” he said when he reluctantly pulled away. “I’m glad you told me. It makes a difference. So, here’s the plan. I’ll undress you at my leisure, play with you a little, and then you can show me what you think you’ve learned from that woman you call a mother. In return, I’ll prove you aren’t immune to sex. Okay?”

A smile slowly spread across her face. “Yeah.”

His heart took a belly dive at the trust in her eyes. A part of him wished she wouldn’t look at him like that. He should probably warn her not to fall in love with him. If he were a wiser man, he would send her back to her room with instructions to lock her door.

“Jake?”

He wasn’t wise. “I’m here.” He undid the first two buttons on her blouse and slid his hand inside the red lace bra that had tortured him all evening. With his thumb he flicked her nipple, then lightly pinched it.

“Oh, that feels good.”

“This is just the beginning, Chiquita.”

Her breast fit perfectly in his hand—her skin as soft as silk. He pushed her hair aside and pressed his lips against her neck, smiling when she grabbed his thighs. So, she feared she was immune to this? Not a chance. He’d barely started and already her fingers were digging into his legs.

He undid the rest of the buttons and pulled her blouse out of the jeans. “Up,” he said, and slipped it off when she tipped forward. She leaned back onto him and he peered over her shoulder at his first glimpse of the red lace bra.

“Give me a minute while I catch my breath. You’re beautiful, Maria.”

She glanced down at her breasts. “Jonathan said they’re too big.”

“Like I said, Jonathan’s an ass. I never want to hear you say his name again.”

“Okay.”

“Now where was I? Oh, yeah, I remember. I was about to do this.” He trailed his fingers down the valley of her breasts, over her stomach and to her jeans, pleased when she gave a little shiver. With practiced ease, he unbuckled her belt and unsnapped the jeans.

So many times he’d done this, but never had he wanted a woman so badly as he did Maria. He ignored the warning bells going off in his head that he just might have left the safety of the shore and was diving headfirst into the deep blue sea without a lifeline.

She wasn’t a one-night stand—a woman who understood the game—and he wouldn’t treat her like one. For however long this thing between them lasted, he would be true to her.

He unzipped her jeans and exposed matching red lace panties. God have mercy. It would be a miracle if he lasted two minutes once he was inside her. Sliding his hand inside her panties, he cupped her mound and just held it there, letting her heat seep into his palm.

She pushed against his hand. “Jake, I need—”

“Hush. I know what you need.” He slipped his fingers through her curls and into her folds. She was hot and wet, and he clamped down on his need to tear their clothes off and make love to her that very second.

At the moment, his needs didn’t count. It was only about proving she wasn’t immune to sex or to him. He pushed a finger into her sheath and found her clit with his thumb. With his other hand, he played with her breasts, tested their weight in his palm, flicked a fingernail over the nipples.

She raised her knees and pressed her feet to the mattress. Her breaths grew louder as she struggled for air. “Jake.”

His name came out of her mouth as a rasp, as if she barely managed to speak it. In response, his cock pressed against the zipper of his slacks looking for a way out. It wanted her, and it wanted her immediately. He’d always been able to control himself, taking all the time he needed to get a woman ready, but with Maria he may as well have been a boy getting lucky for the first time.

“Jake, please.”

“I know, baby, I know.” Still circling her clit with his thumb, he slipped a second finger inside her sheath—now drenched with her cream—and she clamped her muscles around them. He lowered his mouth to her ear. “Let go, Chiquita. I’ll catch you.”

And she did.

Jake wrapped both arms around her chest, and sucked in air right along with Maria. What had just happened? When she came, so had he. Never had he done that before. Hell, he hadn’t even unzipped his pants, hadn’t touched himself. It had been amazing, and it scared the hell out of him.

He needed a time-out, needed to think about what he was getting into. What he couldn’t do was give any hint she’d rocked his world to its very core, and now he needed some space to get his bearings back. Thanks to her idiot boyfriend, she would blame herself for doing something wrong.

“Still think you’re immune to sex?”

She tilted her head back against his shoulder and gave him a big grin. “I think you’ve proven otherwise.” Her smile slipped and her expression turned shy. “That was my first ever orgasm. Thank you.”

If he were a peacock, he’d spread his tail and strut. “You’re more than welcome, believe me, but you mean the first you’ve had with a man, right?”

She shook her head.

“Haven’t you ever masturbated?” Didn’t everyone?

Again, her head shook. “You have to understand, growing up with Lovey Dovey and everything with her revolving around sex . . . I don
’t know, I guess I just wanted to be as different from her as possible.”

“And you are, but it isn’t because you do or don’t have sex, or even whether or not you pleasure yourself.” He pulled her hair away from her neck, wrapped it around his hand, and tugged her head back. Eyes as warm as melted chocolate stared up at him.

He was in trouble all right, but he kissed her anyway.

Before this went any further, he’d best take that time-out and decide if the direction he was headed was where he wanted to go. “You know what?”

She twisted around and sat back on her heels. “What?”

His gaze strayed down to take in her magnificent breasts clothed in the lacey bra, on down over her trim waist, and then to the jeans, still unzipped and showing a hint of the red panties. He’d bet his retirement fund she tasted as good as she looked, and she was his for the taking. Nothing had ever stopped him before, so why was he hesitating?

“Do I know what?”

What the hell had he been going to say? He lifted his eyes to hers. “Let’s go pig out on that ice cream you promised I’d like.”

She scrunched her eyebrows together. “Now?”

“Since when have you turned down ice cream?”

“I did something wrong, didn’t I? And now you—”

He put a finger over her lips. “Stop it. You did nothing wrong, Chiquita. You were amazing. We didn’t have dinner and didn’t finish our appetizers, and I’m just hungry. That’s all.”

Her expression said she didn’t believe him. She should because she was, in fact, amazing. He just needed to get his world back in order, but he didn’t know how to explain it to her.

“Come on, get up,” he said, giving her a light slap on the ass. She reached for the blouse he’d tossed to the other side of the bed. “No, leave it off. I like you just the way you are.”

That seemed to reassure her, and the light came back into her eyes. She scooted off the bed and held out her hand. “Ice cream it is, then.”

“You go ahead. I’m just going to the bathroom, and I’ll be right there.”

After she disappeared down the hall, Jake banged his head against the headboard. There were a thousand reasons he had no business having her in his bed. But damn, he wanted her. He went into the bathroom and cleaned himself up, still marveling that he’d climaxed just from touching her and watching her come.

When he entered the kitchen, Maria sat at the table, one large bowl of ice cream in front of her. “Don’t I get any?”

She held out a spoonful of ice cream. “We’re sharing.”

It would have been a good idea to let her put her blouse back on. He’d still not made a decision, and the red bra and all that exposed golden skin made it impossible to think. Taking a seat next to her, he opened his mouth when she aimed the spoon his way.

“All right, I concede that’s really good.” It’d been ages since he’d had ice cream.

“Can’t go wrong with double chocolate fudge brownie.”

“No, but I might OD on all the sugar.” He obediently opened for her to feed him more.

She grinned. “If you do, I’ll give you mouth to mouth.”

“Will you now?”

“Oh, yeah, for sure.” Her eyes strayed to his chest, and then she lifted her gaze to his. “My turn.”

There was mischief in those eyes, and before Jake could wonder what she was up to she was sitting on his lap. She pushed his unbuttoned shirt aside, scooped up ice cream with her finger, and streaked his chest with chocolate. When she started licking it off, he accepted that he didn’t have the willpower to resist her. Decision made, he joined in the fun.

He dipped his finger into the ice cream and smeared it over her lips. “You’ve had your turn, now it’s mine.” With a flick of his tongue over her bottom lip, he tasted her and chocolate. Groaning, he covered her mouth with his. She answered with a whimper and pressed her breasts against him, the lace of her bra scraping against his skin.

“You taste like sin,” he said.

She lifted her head, a dreamy smile on her face. “And you kiss like an angel.”

He laughed. He was as far from an angel as a man could get. “Just how many angels have you kissed to know that?”

“Just you,” she answered, then added, “So far.”

“Hey, I’m the only angel you need to be kissing.”

She snorted. “I didn’t say you
were
an angel, just that you kiss like one.” Her gaze lowered to his neck. “Oops. I got chocolate on your collar.”

“Then I’m going to have to punish you. I think I’ll put you over my knees and spank you.”

“You’ll have to catch me first.” She scrambled off his lap and raced to the other side of the table.

“With pleasure.” Jake made a grab for her across the table. She shrieked and darted to the right. As he’d guessed the direction she would go, she ran right into him. He circled his arms around her and backed her against the wall.

“You’re a bad girl. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Just this.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled herself up his body, wound her legs around his waist, and pushed her groin against his erection.

“You can’t possibly know how much I want you, Maria.” He thrust his hips against her pelvis. Determined this time to have their clothes off and be deep inside her when he came, he slipped his hands under her bottom to carry her into the bedroom.

The door from the garage opened and Jamie Turner walked in. Maria’s eyes widened just before she buried her face in Jake’s neck.

“Shit,” Jake murmured. He let go of her legs and, when her feet were planted on the floor, he whipped off his shirt, slipping it on her.

Stepping in front of her to block her from view, he glared at Turner. “Saint, what the hell are you doing here?”

Turner glared right back, his eyes sending a message that Jake was scum. “The boss sent me, and now I understand why.”

Maria peeked around Jake. “Hi, Jamie. As you can see, we weren’t expecting you, and when I see my brother he’s dead meat.” With her chin up, she marched out of the kitchen. “God, this is so embarrassing,” she muttered as she left.

“Just what are your intentions,
Romeo
? Maria’s not a woman you can toy with.”