Body Rush (21 page)

“No problem. Talk to you later?”

“Yeah.”

They ended the call and Roni looked back down at the wrinkled sticky note. “He just had to go and be all sweet. Damn it.”

8

J
ake didn’t even remember driving to his brother’s house, but as he pulled the keys out of the ignition and stared at Spencer under the hood of Lisa’s car, he knew he couldn’t leave without at least saying hello. When he opened the car door, Spencer stood and turned, his grease-streaked face holding a grimace. Lisa’s piece of crap Jeep tended to put Spencer in a foul mood.

Jake walked up the drive and called out a greeting. “Hey, bro. What’s wrong with it this time?”

Spencer moved to a workbench and picked up a rag, then swiped it over his face. “Damn thing’s burning oil,” he gritted out.

“You need to talk her into buying a new car. This thing isn’t worth the trouble.”

“She thinks the red’s cute.” He rolled his eyes and tossed the rag on top of a pile of tools. “Stubborn girl.”

Speaking of stubborn. “Hey, you got a minute?”

Spencer looked him over. Jake had to force himself to stand still. He still had on last night’s clothes and he hadn’t shaved. It was obvious as hell he’d been out all night. The grin that came over his brother’s face gave him no amount of comfort either.

“I could be persuaded to take a break.”

Jake sighed. Hell, he should’ve known it’d cost him. “What’s your price?”

Spencer pointed to the red pile of metal. “Help me fix it and I’ll be yours.”

Jake cursed. “I’m giving Lisa a raise. Maybe she’ll buy a new car.”

Spencer laughed and started toward the door leading into the house. “Come on, Tara made a pitcher of tea.”

“Mmm, I love her tea. She loads it with sugar.”

Spencer pushed into the kitchen and went straight to the refrigerator. “That woman knows how to keep a man happy, that’s for sure.”

Jake held back the envy that threatened to engulf him every time he thought of how happy Tara made Spencer. Their marriage wasn’t perfect, but they were in love and they had Lisa. Jake had thought he’d have that kind of bliss with Sarah. Her death had cheated him. It’d taken him a while to get over the anger and resentment, to realize life went on. Unbidden, an image of Roni slipped into his mind. How she looked that morning when he’d kissed her awake and fed her the omelet he’d whipped up. Her silky blond hair all tousled from sleep, her pretty lips swollen from his kisses. What would it be like to wake up to that every morning?

“Earth to Jake?”

Jake pushed the thought away and took the glass of tea his brother handed him. “Sorry, I’m a little out of it this morning.”

“Yeah, I picked right up on that.” Spencer pulled out a chair and sat, then pointed to the chair across from him. “Sit down and tell me who put that dreamy look on your face.”

Jake pulled out the chair and straddled it. He tossed back half the glass of tea in an attempt to extinguish the blaze raging inside him. He could go to her now. Take her in his arms and kiss her from head to toe. She’d let him too. Roni wasn’t an easy lay, but for him, she’d opened up. Like a pretty little tulip in the spring sunshine, she’d bloomed.

“Dr. Roni Smart,” he mumbled.

“Smart,” Spencer said, frowning. “Isn’t that the porn lady?”

Jake slammed his glass on the table. “She’s not the porn lady. Hell, she didn’t even know about the videos until I showed her. She has someone using her computer as their own personal playground. We’re trying to catch the perv.”

“So, you’re helping the damsel in distress. What’s that got to do with your absentminded professor routine this morning?”

“We went to dinner last night and…”

“You went home with her? A client?” Spencer thumped his fist against the surface of the table, causing the salt shaker to tumble over. “Damn, Jake, what the hell were you thinking?”

Jake reached over and righted the salt shaker. “It’s not like that. She’s different.” He rubbed a hand over his face, wishing he could put a finger on his feelings for Roni. “She makes me laugh. She drives me right up the wall with her attitude. She’s antagonistic and sweet and smart and sexy enough to melt my damn fillings. She makes me crazy. Fuck I just met her!” Spencer watched him, his narrowed gaze assessing. It made Jake crazy when he got that intense, quiet expression. “What? Spit it out.”

“I haven’t heard you talk like that about a woman since…well, ever.”

A blast of ice hit him square in the chest and chilled him to the bone. “Don’t get any ideas. Roni and I…it’s not like what Sarah and I had.”

“Of course not. Sarah was special, Jake. You were so sweet on her I don’t think your feet even touched ground when you were married. But I’ve not heard you talk about a woman since her death either.”

“Christ, I’ve been with women since Sarah. It’s not as if I’ve lived the life of a monk.”

Spencer sat back in his chair, stretching his legs out in front of him. “You’ve had sex, dumbass. You never once came to me asking for advice about it either.”

“That’s not why I’m here now.” The hair on the back of Jake’s neck stood on end as the truth of his brother’s words sank in. Damn it, Spencer always did have a way of seeing through the bullshit.

“Yeah, it is,” he muttered. “You just met her and yet you have feelings for her. It’s scaring you shitless too. I can see it on your face.”

Jake wanted to tell him to go to hell. It’d be easier. It wouldn’t help his situation, but he’d feel loads better. Spencer was right. Deep down Jake had known the truth nearly from the moment he’d met Roni. She was different than other women. It was like coming out of hibernation. She’d tossed her blond head and looked down her pert nose at him and he’d come alive.

“I should’ve sent a tech to fix her damn computer.”

Spencer laughed. “And take the chance of having some other jerk making time with her?”

The thought of one of his employees touching Roni, kissing her sweet lips, petting her hot little cunt tore a growl of rage from Jake’s chest. “No one touches her computer but me,” he bit out.

“Figured as much.” Spencer stood and took his glass to the sink. After rinsing it and setting it on the counter, he turned and said, “Now, the way I see it, you could sit here floundering around like a trout on a river bank or you could go to her and tell her how you feel.”

Jake stood and pushed in his chair. Tara hated when they forgot to push in their chairs. The woman was a neat freak. The image of Roni’s messy apartment had him grinning, until Spencer’s words reached his brain. “She’s not going to leap into my arms, Spencer. This isn’t a damn movie. Telling a woman you just met that you have deep feelings for her is bound to send her running for a restraining order.”

Spencer yanked the glass out of his hands, rinsed it and placed it next to his own. “I didn’t say fall to her feet and start blubbering like a fool. But I know you, Jake. You’ll try to give her space. You’ll let her make the next move because you won’t want to pressure her.” He paused and added, “Don’t wait for her to make the next move.”

Jake stuck his hand in his pocket and drew out the scrap of paper with Roni’s number. “She’s already invited me to a cookout next weekend.”

“And you’re content to go all week without a little taste of her? You’ve got more restraint than me, bro.”

Not by a long shot. Jake couldn’t imagine going the next twenty-four hours without feeling Roni’s sweet curves nestled up close, much less a week. “I could go to her office after work tomorrow. Help her with her perv problem.”

Spencer stood up straighter, a gleam of pride in his gaze. “I knew you’d think of something.”

Jake shook his head and clutched the phone number in a tight fist. “You don’t know Roni. There’s something holding her back. I don’t think she does relationships.”

Spencer moved toward the garage door. “Then you’ll just have to change her mind, won’t you?”

“Yeah, because the alternative sucks.”

“Damn straight. Now, get your head out of your ass and help me fix Lisa’s car.”

He followed his brother through the door and cringed at the sight that greeted him. “I’ll be lucky to make it home by nightfall. How’d I let you talk me into this?”

Spencer picked up a socket, read the size and tossed it back down and continued riffling through his tools. “Think of it this way. When it’s fixed, we won’t have to worry about Lisa stranded in the middle of nowhere.”

“You need to get her out here,” Jake said as he glared at the car. “If she sees what a pain in the ass this heap is, she’ll change her mind about wanting to keep it.”

Spencer cursed. “Now you sound like Tara.”

Jake leaned against the fender and crossed his arms over his chest. “Tara’s right. You should listen to the woman more often.”

Spencer rounded on him. “You’re saying I’m too damn soft with Lisa, aren’t you?”

Jake let his silence speak for him. Lisa needed a firm hand. That was the bottom line.

“I hope like hell you and Roni get married. When you do I’m going to pray you have a little girl. Then you’ll see.”

Spencer’s head disappeared under the hood, forcing Jake to move to the front of the car if he wanted to be heard. “And what will I see exactly? Besides an indulgent father, that is.”

Spencer smiled as he looked over at him. “You’ll see that everything you ever thought you knew about life goes out the window when you hear your little girl call you daddy for the first time. It changes a man, Jake.”

Jake didn’t say anything else. The love on his brother’s face said it all.

9

I
t’d been a long day. Normally Roni enjoyed her work. Helping people slay their inner demons gave her a sense of pride. She had a purpose in life. By the time she could read and write she’d known she’d be a doctor. She liked helping people. Today, she’d had to struggle to stay focused. Her mind kept going back to Jake and the weekend they’d spent together. How could one man deliver so much pleasure? Her body still tingled in places she’d forgotten even existed.

The lovers she’d had over the years couldn’t hold a candle to Jake and that just pissed her off. The men at Kinks, the men who bowed to her commands and gave her their total surrender, were the sorts of men she craved. They cherished her special brand of loving. She could give them what they needed and vice versa. Like addicts, they ached for that forbidden sexual gratification that could be had only in a place like Kinks. The doctor hat came off when she walked through those doors. There she was mistress and her
pets
enjoyed catering to her. Strong, virile men who knelt and begged to be spanked. Proud, intelligent, wealthy businessmen, and hard, rough construction workers alike. Their profession didn’t matter, not at Kinks. They were all there to be teased, fondled and enjoyed. They used their tongues to clean her boots, while their hands worshiped her body. Their engorged cocks dripped with the need to be touched and stroked by their mistress.

A single evening in Jake’s arms and all the nights spent at Kinks seemed shallow and unsatisfying. He’d taken her to places she would’ve sworn she didn’t need, nor want, to go. She’d loved every second of it. After he’d left, she’d spent the rest of her Sunday wondering how one date could rock her world so completely. It’d been a humbling experience for a woman who thought she knew all about pleasures of the flesh.

The little bell on the front door jiggled, signaling she had company. Her last client had already gone though and she’d sent Melissa home for the day. Roni stood and started to go out to the waiting area when Lydia and Jeannette peeked their heads through the doorway.

“You done for the day?” Lydia asked as she crossed the room to stand at the side of her desk.

She was still in her work clothes, Roni noticed. Jeannette held up a large, steaming latte and grinned. “I brought your favorite, vanilla.”

Roni hummed in satisfaction and took the proffered drink with relish. She took a sip and moaned. Jeannette made the best lattes ever. “You’re a goddess, darling. Thank you.” Roni put the cup on the desk. “What’re you two up to?”

“Jeanette needs some encouragement.”

Roni sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. “Mr. Motorcycle Man I presume?”

Jeanette collapsed into the chair across from her desk, a frown marring her brow. “I can’t seem to muster up the courage to speak to him.”

“What do you know about this guy?” Lydia asked, as she leaned against Roni’s desk.

“Nothing really. He comes in and orders a cup of coffee, black, drinks it and leaves.”

“Credit card receipts? Ring?” Roni inserted.

Jeanette shook her head. “He pays in cash and there’s no ring.”

Good,
Roni thought,
at least he isn’t married
. “Have you ever caught him checking you out?”

“There were a few times I thought he was staring at my butt, but I can’t be sure.” Jeanette shrugged. “He was probably thinking I needed to lose a few pounds. Most guys do.”

Roni knew Jeanette was self-conscious about her figure. She had a feeling a past lover had something to do with that, which pissed her off. “You’re body is perfect the way it is.” Roni thought for a second. “Does he sit with his nose in a laptop or a newspaper when he comes in?”

“Nope. Just drinks his coffee, then leaves.” Her eyes glazed over. “On his black motorcycle. God, the man is so hot.”

Roni and Lydia both laughed. “Well, I think you need to make a move,” Roni said. “Nothing overt, just start with saying hi. Maybe introduce yourself as the owner, ask if he’s pleased with the service, or something like that.”

Jeanette sat up straighter. “You know how I am though. I stutter and stammer and pretty soon I’m making a fool of myself.”

“If you don’t get over this shyness, he could slip right through your fingers,” Lydia said, her voice gentle.

Jeanette started to pick at the hem of her blouse. “I really don’t want that.”

“Try to think of him as any other customer,” Roni said. “The Coffee House is your business and you are in control there. Not him.”