A Tropical Rendezvous: A BWWM Interracial Bad Boy Billionaire Multicultural Romance (African American Romance) (41 page)

Chapter Two

Jackson Pierce peered out from his office door through the one-way window and watched as the sexy, brunette walked down the hall he assumed she was going to the ladies’ room.  Over the intercom on his desk came Chrissy’s voice.

“Seriously Jackson? You’re ogling at the poor girl like a hormonal teenager.  You’re a grown man that owns a damn bar.  Get the hell out here, and act like a man!  And stop staring at her ass, we know when a man is staring at our asses, and YOU are definitely staring at her ass.” With a click, Chrissy let go of the intercom button.  He could picture the amusement on her face and the shaking of her head.

A moment later, he let out a sigh, opened his office door and made his way to the bar where Chrissy grinned her mischievous grin.

In his defense he said, “I was not ‘ogling’ her, I was simply interested in the stranger that had walked in, and wanted to get a good look at her.”   It was lame he knew, but it was all he had at the moment.

“Oh please, a good look at her ass maybe.”  Chrissy snickered and went back to cleaning her bar.  Jackson may be 5 years her senior, but sometimes he did in fact remind her of a hormonal teenager.  He’d had a few girlfriends, even a fiancee’ at one time, but he’d been hurt more than once and she couldn't help feeling protective of him.   Sure, he was on the early side of 30, but the sweet girl that had asked to use the ladies’ room, didn’t look much older than 23, so she wasn’t sure how this would turn out.  She’d keep her nose where it belonged for now, because keeping an eye on Jackson was her first priority, he’d be none the wiser.  

“Who was that?”  Jackson asked Chrissy.

“I didn’t get her name yet.  She came in and asked where the ladies’ room was, that’s it.  She’s not from around here though, at least she doesn’t look familiar. Maybe when she comes out you can introduce yourself, and ask her if she’d like a drink or something to eat.

“Yeah okay.”  Jackson agreed, solemnly.

At last he heard boot heels clicking on the wood floor coming closer.  Why he found himself nervous was crazy, he was acting like a boy, not a man.  He scolded himself silently, realizing that Chrissy was right. 

Jackson eyed her warily, not wanting to seem nervous, and pasted his easygoing smile on his face as she approached the bar.

Cassie took a seat on one of the barstools, looking up to meet his gaze.

“Hi, is the kitchen still open?” She asked reaching in her purse to grab out her wallet.

“Yes, open 24 hours actually.  Would you like a menu?” 

“No thank you, just a bacon cheeseburger and some fries.  I’ve been driving for a few hours and I’m absolutely famished.  Also, a large mountain dew if you have it.”

Nodding, Jackson grabbed a glass, put some ice in it, and filled the glass for her.  He tried to ignore the sultry, soft spoken voice that came from her, causing his knees to almost buckle.  Damn, but she was gorgeous, not in a runway model way, more down to earth, girl next door type. She could be dangerous to him, but what fun they could have along the way.  Breathe, he thought.

“Here you go, I’ll get your order up as soon as possible.”  He said as he placed a napkin on the bar, setting her glass of soda on it, and then turned to walk to the kitchen. 

Chapter Three

Wow, he was gorgeous! Cassie thought to herself as she watched the man walk to the kitchen.  His eyes were her downfall; crystal blue-green reminded her of the Caribbean Sea.  Not that she’d ever been there, but she’d seen enough photos to know that it was a beautiful sight. Brown hair with a touch of gray on the sides, dark eyelashes surrounding his tranquil eyes, and an aquiline nose, made the combination, dark and sexy.  He was a pretty snappy dresser to be working in a bar.  A dark blue button down shirt, tucked into a pair of black jeans, with a simple black belt around his thin waist.  She didn’t see his feet, but maybe a comfy pair of hiking boots or something similar, especially working on his feet all day.  And what an ass!  She hadn’t seen an ass like that in sometime, Cassie would guess that it was toned and tight, just like a man’s butt should be. His jeans snugged it up real good, definitely worthy of a second glance or more.  She giggled to herself about that last thought.

Stirring her drink, Cassie glanced around the bar concentrating harder than when she entered earlier.  Lucky Jacks was a simple place, clean, welcoming and it smelled good with the food in the kitchen cooking.  The patrons all looked as if they were having a good time, talking among themselves, sharing laughter, food and drink with each other.   There were various photos hanging on the walls of motorcycles that she hadn’t noticed before.  Some were picture of people standing next to their bikes, dressed in biker garb and smiling for the camera.  There were some small license plates going back many years hanging on one of the far walls near the pool tables.  It finally dawned on her, Lucky Jacks was a biker bar.  Not what she would have expected for a biker bar, but that did explain the parking lot with motorcycles and only a few cars. 

Turning back toward her drink, she shook her head slightly realizing she should be more observant sometimes. 

“Something wrong Miss?”  A baritone voice startled her out of her stupor.  It was the gorgeous guy with her food in hand that looked positively appetizing, him and the food.

“No, I just realized that I was in a biker bar.  Not what I pictured that’s for sure. I was in such a hurry to get to the ladies’ room, paying attention to my surroundings wasn’t my first thought.” She answered as she snickered slightly, but remembered that sleek machine outside she dared not touch.

“Understood. No, Lucky Jacks isn’t exactly what anyone pictures as a biker bar. I wanted to make it more family friendly, not a place that you drive by, see that it looks scary and keep driving by instead of stopping. It’s much better this way. And we do have the best bacon cheeseburgers within a fifty mile radius.”  Jackson said as he set down her plate of food and smiling proudly.

Taking a bite of her burger, Cassie closed her eyes, savoring the taste and wiping at some grease that had dribbled down her chin.

“Oh God, this really is good and homemade, not like those frozen hockey pucks at the grocer.  By the way, my name is Cassandra, Cassie for short.”  She smiled up at him.

“Nice to meet you, Cassandra.  I’m Jackson, Jackson Pierce and the barmaid from earlier is my sister Chrissy. Welcome to our little corner on the map. Where are you from?”  Jackson finished smiling.

Cassie took a sip of her soda, thinking of the smiling barmaid that had greeted her, and recognized the similar features she and Jackson shared.  Good, no competition there, she thought quietly.

“Nice to meet you too.  And thank you, especially for this wonderful food.  Tell you cook kudos for making such an awesome burger.”

“You’re welcome, and glad you like it, I do have a way with burgers.”

“You made this? Damn, you’re handsome, polite, AND you can cook?

I’ll bet your wife or girlfriend can’t get enough of you.”  Cassie replied, a little curious how he would answer.

“I’m sure they wouldn’t be able to, if they existed.  I thank you for the compliment though.”

Aha, she thought, he is single.  That worked just the way she expected, thankfully.

“Well, they don’t know what they’re missing then.”  She smiled, truly meaning it.

Chapter Four

Four weeks later …

Cassie was putting the finishing touches on her new found living quarters; a charming little cottage style house with two bedrooms, a large dining room decorated in wolves, her favorite décor. Along with a large bathroom with double ceramic sinks, a claw footed bathtub and a shower.  It was nothing spectacular, but it was perfect for her. She might even get a cat at some point she thought.

The cottage had a sort of ruggedness sporting knotty pine walls, and old outhouse in the back, and a small car port that looked hand built. It was the perfect little place on the outskirts of Gray Falls, Michigan.  Her little house had a nice circular driveway, lined with white pines, red pines, and jack pines with a few stands of hardwoods surrounding the property, and it was hidden from the main highway route 74, so the noise was kept to a minimum. She’d heard it was used for a hunting property and summer getaway until the owners decided it was time to sell and retire to Florida.  All the better for her, the price was right, and it was time for that new beginning she’d been longing for.

Grabbing a soda out of the fridge, Cassie sat on her blue, faux suede couch, and turned on the TV.  Since satellite was all she could get out here in the ‘sticks’, she’d suffered through a few lost signals during rainy weather, but all in all the satellite company was better that she had imagined.  She did miss her cable hookup back at school, but such was life.  As long as she had a decent internet signal and some good channels to surf, she’d be all set.

As she sat watching the ending of A Walk to Remember, she thought about the last few weeks and Jackson Pierce, owner of Lucky Jack’s, owner of that amazing blue bike, co-owner of her heart, though he didn’t know it yet. She realized how close she was coming to actually feeling something for him. If she were truthful, she was infatuated, yes that was the word, infatuated with him. He’d been so helpful with her moving, showing her the small town, all of the sites to see and things to do during different seasons, and giving her that lusted after ride on his Harley more than once, she couldn’t help feeling like a schoolgirl.  All giddy with stars in her eyes with hopes and dreams of white picket fences, and tons of kids and hoping he liked her too, yada yada yada. But she was a grown woman, hell if she was about to let him see how much she melted at his touch.  He was a gentlemen, to the core. Touching hadn’t really been on the menu yet, but she was hopeful.

She smiled as she reminisced about the last few times they’d been hanging out together, then realized she was getting drowsy, and decided she’d lay down on her comfy couch for a quick catnap.

“BANG, BANG!”

Jumping into sitting position, Cassie sat startled on the couch, looking around trying to figure out what had awakened her.

Another loud bang, and she was on her feet heading for the door, knowing that was the source of the noise.  Jackson stood on her porch on the other side of the screen, smiling that Cheshire cat smile she was slowly getting used to.

“You scared the shit out of me!” She all but yelled at him while opening the screen door.

“I’m sorry, were you sleeping?” He asked in that annoying ‘I’m innocent’ way he has, knowing full well she was.

“You jerk, you looked through the window again didn’t you? I should have you arrested you peeping tom.  Come on in, soda’s in the fridge.”  They had engaged in this conversation more than once recently.  Cassie wanted to feel annoyed with him, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Jackson entered then walked to the fridge to retrieve a couple of sodas, handing her one as she plopped back down on the couch.

“All finished decorating?  Looks good, has the homey feel now.

“Yep, I think I’ve got everything where I want it.  I’m sure I’ll change something, I usually do.  So what brings you by?” She asked, setting her drink on the ceramic wolf coaster, and handing Jackson one out of the little rack they were in.

“Have you eaten yet? It’s almost dinner time.”  He responded, setting his can down too.

“Is it that late already?” Glancing at her watch she noticed it was quarter after 6.

“Yes, I thought you might have forgotten to eat, so I stopped by to see if you wanted to grab some dinner-my treat.” 

Subtle, she thought, he was asking her out to dinner, or was he? Maybe he was just hungry, and didn’t want to eat alone.  That must be it, because no way would he be asking her out on a date not this late in the day.

“Uh, no, I haven’t eaten. Yes, I forgot, and are you asking me out on a date Jackson Pierce?” She looked into crystal blue-green eyes waiting for an answer.

Chapter Five

Damn, didn’t see that one coming.  Jackson thought silently, he had thought he was being subtler than that. But he was definitely asking her out, very much so.  He was tired of the cat and mouse game they’d been playing for the last couple of weeks, and he wanted to seriously consider being in her life, on a permanent basis.  Truth be told, he wanted her on a physical level so much he almost couldn’t bear it.

She stared at him expectantly, waiting, her brown eyes could practically see right through his ruse, he had no doubt about that.

“Yes actually, I am asking you out. Would you like to go out to dinner with me?”  There, he’d asked the question.  Anticipation turned to relief when she answered.

“Of course! I’d love to, just let me go get ready.  I’m absolutely famished.”  Cassie answered getting up from the couch.

Softly grabbing her arm, he pulled her back onto the couch.  “No, you look fine, I like that just-woke-up look you’ve got, it’s kind of sexy.  Next time you can dress up, sound good?”

“Okay, well, at least let me throw on my boots, I assume you have the bike?”  She asked.

“Yes, I have the bike.  Go ahead, we’re not going too far, and hurry before the food gets cold.”  He couldn’t believe that they were actually going on their first date.  It didn’t matter it was at his place where he had dinner waiting, it still counted.

“And grab a jacket, it’s cooled down a bit, might get cold on the bike.” Jackson added as an afterthought.  He heard her answer ‘okay’ from down the hall.

A few minutes later he heard her heels clicking on the floor down the hall.  “Almost done.”  She called out.

As she entered the living room again, Jackson noticed she had changed into a red sweater and black pair of jeans with her high heeled boots showing off slender calves, not to mention what they did for her butt.  A black leather jacket wrapped her up nicely, she looked good enough to eat.  That observation had started some things twitching with expectation. He groaned to himself, not again.

Oblivious to his mild torture Cassie said, “Ready! Where we going?”

“You’ll see, it’s a surprise.”  Pacing himself as he rose from the couch, a mild leg adjustment and he was good to go, for now.

Twenty minutes later they were pulling in the driveway of a two-story cape cod style house with two flower baskets hanging on the porch, and a little ankle biting Chihuahua running out the doggy door barking at them.  Chrissy stood at the front door, laughing at the pup's antics.

“Who’s this little guy?”  Cassie asked when the squirming little dog jumped in her arms, his whole body shaking with excitement.

“That’s Spike, he’s a mix of Doberman, Rottweiler and pain in the butt!”  Chrissy answered jokingly from the porch.

“Ohhh, big mean licking machine I see.” Cassie laughed as Spike cuddled in her arms giving doggie kisses. 

Laughing, Jackson took the squirming beast from Cassie’s arms, set him down, and pointed to the house without saying a word; Spike scurried back to the porch and disappeared into the house.

“He’s adorable, and he listens well.  Is he yours?”  Cassie asked, straightening her sweater and brushing off a few stray white hairs.

“Yes, Spike’s been with me for a few years now, I adopted him from the shelter, brought him home three years ago, and he’s been here since.  I had planned to give him to my ex, but she lost that privilege when she ran off with another guy.  Since then, he and I have been together.”  Jackson answered, smiling. “Ready to eat?”

“Of course, shall we?”  Cassie started walking toward the house, giving him the perfect view of her back side.  That familiar ache started up again, he shook his head and followed. 

“Hi Sugar, how’ve you been?  Get the house all done?”  Chrissy piped up as they walked in the front door, giving Cassie a quick hug.

“Yes, finally!  You’ll have to come by and check it out one day, it’s adorable if I do say so myself.”  Cassie responded.

“Good for you girl, we’ll have a house warming party sometime soon.  Spike and I are going to head out for a play date with my little girl, Dimples.  She’s actually his sister.  We adopted them at the same time.  Come on Spike, let’s go bye-bye.”

Little toenails ran across the tile floor, as Spike walked into the little kennel by the front door and waited patiently for Chrissy to say her goodbyes. Then they were off and she and Jackson were alone.

Jackson watched as Chrissy and her little bundle headed out for a play date, shut the door and turned to face Cassie. With a regal wave of his hand in the direction of the dining room he said, “Dinner is served madam.”