Hill Country Hero (15 page)

Three whole days had passed since they’d returned to Houston and CiCi hadn’t heard a word from Jake. Daddy said he was busy with the team, but so what? They couldn’t be practicing twenty-four hours a day. If he wouldn’t call her, she’d take matters into her own hands.

However, getting in touch with Jake wasn’t quite as easy as she thought. He wasn’t home and he wasn’t answering his cell, so she left messages at both places. It wasn’t until after she went to bed that CiCi heard from her missing boyfriend, lover or whatever.

“I’m sorry I haven’t called,” he said. “Things have been hectic. I was halfway to San Antonio when Dwayne called. Darrell had ended up in jail, again. This time it was for a bar brawl and Dwayne wanted me to pick him up. I can’t believe the idiot had the gall to ask
me
for a favor.”

“You didn’t do it, did you?”

“Nope. But I did ream him out about the
Texas Tattler
story, and he confessed. It seems that skanky guy is a friend of his.”

CiCi knew how much his family meant to him—and also how much they irritated him.

“I told Dwayne in no uncertain terms that the money well has dried up.” Jake paused. “I hope he got the message.
They’d better get it together or they’re going to be in a lot of trouble.”

“That must’ve been hard, but you had to do it.”

“Hey, let’s talk about something more pleasant. Will you let me take you out to dinner tomorrow night? Then we can come back to my place.”

His suggestion reminded CiCi that she was way too old to be living at home. It was definitely time to get a place of her own.

A
FTER PICKING
CiCi up the following evening, Jake whipped into his reserved spot in the underground garage. He’d probably left rubber all the way down the ramp.

“I thought we were going out to eat,” CiCi teased.

“The restaurant I have in mind delivers,” Jake said, hurrying CiCi to the elevator.

“Do you eat out a lot?”

He pushed the up button on the elevator. “Actually, I usually cook. It’s a matter of survival. A steady diet of boxed mac and cheese got really old.”

“So we’re not having mac and cheese.” CiCi put her arms around his neck and the conversation ceased.

The luxury condo with its expansive view of the city lights was Jake’s reward for years of hard work.

“This is my home, sweet home.” He ushered CiCi into the professionally decorated room featuring floor-to-ceiling windows, and steered her over to the glass.

“What do you think of the view?”

The city lay at CiCi’s feet all gussied up like a Las Vegas showgirl. It was beautiful, but not nearly as alluring as the man standing next to her.

“I’m afraid of heights but I love checking out the view from tall buildings.”

“Me, too, to both.” Jake pulled her into his arms. “So, should I order dinner or would you prefer a little appetizer?”

The glint in his eye was impossible to miss. And sure enough, he didn’t give her a chance to answer before delving into a no-holds-barred kiss.

If she could have, CiCi would have burrowed into his skin. When he lifted her blouse and spread his fingers over her bare stomach, she reminded herself to breathe. Breathing was almost impossible when Jake lightly brushed his fingers over her nipple. Then he replaced his fingers with his mouth, suckling her through the fabric of her lacy bra.

Somehow that was almost more erotic than if he’d removed her bra. And when he went for a series of warm kisses and gentle nibbles on her neck, she was a goner.

CiCi realized that sex had never been like this with Tank. That cretin was more of a thirty-second kind of guy, while Jake was a man who took his time. And as they say in country music—that ain’t too shabby.

Much later Jake was spooning her, his hand on her breast and his breath tickling her neck.

“Can you spend the night?” He kissed the side of her neck before licking her ear. “I’ll fix you breakfast. I make a mean omelet.” Jake sweetened the deal by a flurry of kisses down the ridge of her spine.

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. Breakfast? Was he kid ding? She was ready to eat him up and he was discussing eggs?

“What’s on the menu?” CiCi couldn’t resist the double entendre.

“We’ll see,” he said, turning her face to capture her lips in another deep kiss.

T
HE NEXT MORNING
when Jake walked her to her parents’ front door, CiCi felt like a naughty teen. Soon, very soon, she’d
have her own place and Jake would be welcome anytime. His chrome-and-glass bachelor pad was beautiful, but it didn’t feel very homey. And try as she might, CiCi couldn’t shake the thought that he’d entertained other women there.

“Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee?”

Jake paused before answering. “Can I pass without making you mad?”

“You don’t want to run into Daddy, do you?”

“No,” he admitted sheepishly. “That’s not at the top of my list.”

“Oh, really.” She ran her hands up under his Road Runner T-shirt, disregarding the fact they were standing on the front porch in the broad daylight. CiCi reveled in what she could do to him. And the things he could do to her—

He pulled her hands out of his shirt, manacling her wrists at his chest. “I have to attend a formal dinner tomorrow night. Will you go with me? I totally forgot about it or I would have asked earlier.”

“Formal?” Although she’d been to more than her share of fund-raisers and dinners, and possessed a closet full of cocktail dresses and ball gowns, that was her personal idea of hell.

“Will you mind if I say no? I’m not sure I’m up to anything formal quite yet.” What she didn’t want to face was anyone with a camera or a microphone.

Bright and early Sunday morning, Mac showed up in CiCi’s bedroom, clutching a copy of the
Houston Chronicle
. What now? Wasn’t that the way it always happened—one day you were happy as a clam, and then someone smacked you in the face with a dead fish.

“What is it?” CiCi demanded.

Her sister could normally talk the ears off a cornstalk, but this time she just sat there, holding the paper.

“Give it to me.” CiCi flipped through the pages. There was nothing incendiary on the front page. The sports section looked okay. But when she turned to the society section, there was Jake, in living color, with a redhead plastered to his arm and her lips on his cheek.

“That…that…donkey’s butt!” She crushed the paper and made a three-pointer right into the trash can.

“I’m sure there’s more to this than meets the eye. He invited you to that shindig, didn’t he? He wouldn’t have done that if he was planning to hook up with another woman.”

“Yeah,” she muttered. She trusted him, she trusted him, she trusted him. So why did this feel so yucky?

Mac obviously thought CiCi was going to faint so she pushed her head between her legs. For a tiny little thing Mac was strong—and damned mean when she wanted to be.

“What did you say? I can’t understand you. Speak up.”

CiCi swatted at her sister but missed. “You’re smothering me!”

“Oh, okay. But you’re not going anywhere near a phone until after you’ve cooled off.” To emphasize her point Mac grabbed the cordless and stuffed it down her sweatpants.

They’d played this game throughout their adolescence, and Mac had about a fifty/fifty chance of winning.

“I know I’m overreacting. And I realize that if we want this relationship to work I have to get over my jealousy issues. I’m trying, I really am, but sometimes I have this gut reaction that I can’t control.” CiCi retrieved the paper and sat down on the bed to smooth it out. “Did you notice she’s falling out of that dress?”

Mac grabbed the paper and studied it. “Hey, I recognize her! She tried out for the Road Runner cheerleaders. She was an okay dancer, but we thought she was skanky.”

Mac handed over the phone. “I’m going to sit here and monitor your call. If you’re a good girl, I’ll give you some privacy. If not—” She arched a perfectly plucked eyebrow.

CiCi punched in Jake’s number. One ring, two rings, three rings. If it went to four she was hanging up.

“Hey, cupcake, what are you doing up so early?” Jake sounded sleep-rumpled and sexy.

“Did I wake you?”

“Uh-huh, but it’s no big deal.”

She heard a rustling noise as though he was sitting up in bed. “What’s happening?”

Now that she had him on the phone, she wasn’t quite sure how to begin. “Obviously you haven’t seen the paper yet.”

“No. Why?”

There was a pause and she could almost visualize his frown. “You’re in it.”

“I am?” He groaned. “Don’t tell me your old man dropped my option and didn’t bother to tell me.”

“No, that’s not it. You’re on the front page of the society section.”

“The society section?”

She obviously had his attention. “You’re with a voluptuous young lady. In fact, it looks like she’s attached to you with super glue.”

“What are you talking about?” Jake was starting to sound grumpy. He’d apparently realized that her jealousy had reared its ugly head.

“If you remember, I asked
you
to that dinner. But you turned me down for no good reason that I could see, and now you’re waking me up before the crack of dawn to accuse me of getting it on with some chick I don’t even know? Tell you what, why don’t you call me back when you’re ready to play nice.”

The next thing CiCi heard was a dial tone. “That didn’t go well.”

“I could hear him all the way over here,” Mac offered. “For what it’s worth, I think he’s telling the truth.”

“I screwed up, didn’t I?”

“Yep, you sure did.”

“What do I do now?”

“You get dressed, and I’m not talking a pair of skuzzy shorts and a tank top, then you go to his condo and apologize. Make it worth his while to forgive you.”

“How?”

Mac gave her a classic “puleeze” look. “Tell me you didn’t ask me that. Didn’t you and Tank have makeup sex? Hot. Heavy. Sweaty. Makeup. Sex!”

Actually, CiCi couldn’t remember ever having hot heavy sex with Tank. Their relationship hadn’t been too passionate, but that wasn’t something she was willing to share.

“What do I wear to a seduction?”

“Now you’re talking!” Mac headed for the closet and dismissed items right and left as she made a perusal of the contents. Then she held up a pair of jeans.

“I helped you pick these out. The tags are still on them.”

They were skintight and had rhinestones on the back pocket and down the sides. They’d looked okay when CiCi had tried them on, but she’d never had the guts to wear them.

“Do you really want me to show off my, um, assets like that?”

Mac shot her another withering look. “I’ll bet Jake would appreciate it.”

There was that. “What do I wear with them?”

“Good, you’re not as obtuse as I thought.” Mac rummaged through the closet and came up with a cleavage-revealing knit top in a flattering shade of red.

“Ladies in red have more fun. Get dressed and get going. You have some groveling to do.” She shoved the top at CiCi. “Don’t come home until you and that man of yours have kissed and made up.”

“Yes, ma’am.” CiCi gave her sister a mock salute.

“Go get ’em.” Mac patted her on the butt and sashayed out.

J
AKE COULDN’T BELIEVE
CiCi had actually called him to yell about a picture in the paper. He glared at the cordless phone for several seconds before throwing it against the wall. No matter what he did, he was screwed. True, he’d had his share of women, but CiCi was special and he had no intention of running around on her.

As for the woman last night, he didn’t have a clue who she was. He’d been at the entrance to the hotel waiting for his car and before he knew what was happening, she was trying to suck out his tonsils. Ironically, her friend had a camera.

Jake staggered to the kitchen in search of coffee and breakfast. He was making an omelet when his doorbell rang.

“Who is it?”

Silence.

“Uh, it’s me. CiCi. I talked the doorman into letting me in.”

When Jake opened the door, he almost had a coronary. CiCi had somehow turned into a red-hot mama complete with stilettos, tight jeans and cleavage.

She held up a white bakery sack and a takeout tray from Starbucks. “I came bearing gifts. May I come in?”

“Sure.” Jake stepped back to allow her to enter. Who was he to turn up his nose at a peace offering, especially when she was dressed like that?

CiCi wandered toward the kitchen. She placed the sack and coffee cups on the table and then made a quick turn, bumping into his chest.

“Oops. Sorry.” Her face was a cute shade of pink.

Jake deliberately stayed in her personal space. Whatever she wanted to say, she’d better do it now, because she was about to get kissed.

“I came over to apologize.” She said it so quickly she was tripping over her words.

“Apologize?” Jake put his hands on her hips, pulling her into his arms. She didn’t resist.

“I was jealous,” she admitted, ducking her head. “I’m working on it. I’m trying to, at least.”

“Oh, really?” He bracketed her face with his hands and made her look him in the eye. Conversations worked better that way. “You can trust me, I promise. I’ve never cheated on anyone. I think that’s trashy.”

CiCi responded by wrapping her arms around his neck. “I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions.” She took a deep breath. “Tank destroyed my confidence.”

“Yeah, I know.” Jake softly kissed the side of her mouth and then he traced her lips with his tongue in a tender seduction. “Divorce sucks. I don’t have any personal experience but I know a lot of people who have.”

“Tank’s a moron.”

“That’s what I’ve heard. Football is a small community.” Jake backed her up against the wall. “Are we finished discussing the infamous William Tankersley?” He barely gave her time to answer before devouring her mouth.

From there, he quickly dispensed with her sexy duds and she wrapped her legs around him. He suckled, licked and kissed, and almost drove them both crazy before finally immersing himself in her warmth.

Making love with this woman was a heavenly combination of passion and comfort. Being with her was like coming home after a long, hard trip.

This was the thing that inspired poets, songwriters and authors to wax rhapsodically. It was love. And sure enough, it wasn’t rational, logical or even comprehensible. But it
was
damn fine.

C
I
C
I’S HEAD WAS
on Jake’s shoulder and she was playing with the thick dark hair on his chest. There was something incredibly sexy about just the right amount of hair on the right man.

“I want to explain why I called you.” She traced a finger around his nipple.

“You’re not going to get a chance to, if you keep that up.” Jake imprisoned her hand under his.

CiCi laid her head on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. “I want to tell you about the final straw to my marriage.”

Jake stroked the back of her head. “You don’t have to talk about it, really.”

“No, I want to. I need you to know why I do some of the silly things I do.”

“Okay, press on.” He leaned back into the pillow, and let her tell her story.

“It was January and the snow in Wisconsin was driving me crazy, so I decided to go home to Houston for a week. I started feeling bad about not spending enough time with Tank so I came back a day early to surprise him. Guess who got the shock of a lifetime?” CiCi shrugged. “At least they were using the guest bedroom.

“I must have made a noise because all of a sudden they both looked at me. Tank didn’t say a word but he didn’t have to. We both knew it was over. When they left, I called a locksmith.”

Jake ran his fingers through her hair.

“Later that night Tank tried to get in, but guess what?” CiCi giggled. “The pile of clothes and trophies I threw out on the front lawn were under inches of snow.”

“Remind me not to make you mad.”

“You’re a smart man.” She tweaked his chest hair. “I don’t get mad, I get even. I’ve been thinking about writing a book on how to get back at your ex.”

J
AKE PULLED A FACE
. How could anyone betray CiCi like that? She was everything he’d ever wanted in a life mate, and for him to admit that was monumental.

“Now you know why I flipped out when I saw that picture in the paper.” By this time she was straddling him, making conversation very difficult.

“I’ve never been close enough to someone to get jealous,” Jake said. He didn’t think this was the time to declare his love. If he didn’t have a ring, he’d at least like to be on top when he popped the question.