Make Me Crazy (Loco, Texas) (10 page)

Rand saw Jamie’s face look pale and worried. “No, it’s not Jay. He’s in a relationship with someone.”

Jamie made a face and sat back. “Ugh, his old girlfriend from Dallas. God, I hate her.”

“Hello, back to the subject at hand.” Tabby pointed her finger at Rand, punctuating her words. “I know this sucks, and it’s only temporary, but you still have two months. I wouldn’t settle.”

“Two months isn’t very long,” Rand said, nibbling her bottom lip.

“Its long enough to find someone who at least makes your hooha go, whooo hooo!” Tabby said, making Jamie laugh and Rand blush, horrified.

“Is there anyone who you might like,” Jamie asked.

Rand grabbed a handful of peanuts and started cracking the shells against the table. “I don’t know.”

“That’s a big fat fucking yes,” Tabby crowed. “Who is it? And why isn’t he in the running for Mr. Rand Coleman?”

Rand shoveled the peanuts into her mouth, biding some time. “I didn’t say there was anyone.”

“No, you said ‘I don’t know’, acting all coy. That’s a dead giveaway, ” Tabby said.

Rand tugged on her hair, and said, “There’s no one else that wants to marry me, okay?”

Jamie, at least, took the hint. “Then he’s an idiot.”

Rand smiled. “Thanks.”

“Well, you aren’t going to find your future hubby here. This place is deader than road kill,” Tabby said with disgust.

Rand took another drink of her cocktail and looked at her phone, wondering what Jake was doing tonight.

Jake was just locking up the store when Red called his cell phone. He had been itching to get off work and talk to Rand about what was going on with them, but he still wasn’t sure what he wanted exactly. He’d never planned on getting married, not really. He just didn’t think he had it in him to commit to a woman long term, but even if he did, he wouldn’t want kids.

Not that he didn’t like kids, but he knew the score. His dad had walked out when his brother and he were seven and eleven. They had huddled at the crack of their bedroom door and listened to him tell their mom he had never wanted this life, that she had trapped him, and he wanted out. His mother had pretended for a while that he would come back, that it was only temporary, but Dustin, his older brother, had told him she was lying. Dad was gone.

He didn’t want to put a wife and kid through that. He wanted to be sure, a hundred percent no doubt in his mind, that he wouldn’t bolt. There was no way to be sure though and that was why even if he did get married, kids wouldn’t be a part of it. Asking a woman for that would be too much.

With Rand things could be different. She only needed him for a year, just long enough to keep the Double C. If they were still working after a year, who knew? Maybe marriage would agree with him.

He pulled himself out of his own head and hit talk on the cell phone. “What’s up, Red?”

“Hey buddy, I got something to tell you. Wanna meet for a drink,” he asked.

Jake almost said no so he could get to Rand, but he really hadn’t hung with Red lately, just the two of them. Plus, Red usually didn’t have anything to tell him. “Sure buddy. I’ll be there in ten.”

“What,” Jake shouted, drawing looks from the other patrons surrounding them a
t
The Watering Hol
e
.

Red raised a brow at him. “I said, I asked Rand to marry me.”

Jake tried to control the churning mix of anger and shock twisting and turning his insides. “But we’re…”

“Come on man, she told me you guys were just pretending,” Red said.

“She said that?” Which was true, they had been pretending, but Jake didn’t like the casual way Red repeated it back.

But that didn’t make the fact that he wanted her for himself any less real.

“Yeah. Was she wrong,” Red asked him, his look long and searching.

“No, we were trying to get Jay’s attention,” Jake said.

“Okay, good. For a minute there, I thought there might be something really going on,” Red said and his tone rubbed Jake all kinds of wrong.

“Would that be such a bad thing?” Jake snapped.

“Well, we both know you aren’t the long haul kind of guy,” Red said baldly.

“Rand doesn’t need anyone for the long haul. She just needs someone to last the year.”

“Yeah, but could you even handle that? I mean, the longest you’ve been with a woman is five months, and even then you were restless. How are you going to feel about being married to Rand when the newness wears off,” Red asked, his jaw clenched hard and his blue eyes narrowed.

 
“Jake knew Red was just stating the facts, but it still didn’t stop him from picturing his fist knocking that holier than thou look off his best friend’s face. “You’re monogamy record isn’t much better than mine.”

“Not for lack of trying. Women just seem to cut and run out on me.” Red’s eyebrow hiked up his forehead. “Are you telling me I stepped on your toes and you want to marry Rand?”

“No, of course not. I’m sorry man, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I think I’m just tired,” Jake said, finishing the rest of his beer. “I’m gonna head home.”

“Okay, Jake,” Red said, his voice sounding tired, resigned..

Grabbing his jacket off the back of the chair, Jake strode out of the bar towards his truck. He needed to take a drive and clear his head.

Chapter Ten

He had been driving around for over three hours, and had come to one conclusion.

He needed to see her.

Pulling up to her house, he climbed out of the truck and made his way to the front porch. She was probably asleep; it was after midnight, but it couldn’t wait.

Banging on the door, he waited, watching as the light flipped on inside and Rand opened the door. She was wearing a floral top with slacks, her hair tousled about her head like she had just been rolling around in the sack.

“Jake? What are you…”

Suddenly, talking was the last thing on his mind.

Reaching out his hand, he tangled it in her hair and stepped into her, kissing her with all the emotions that had been building inside him. When she melted against him, and slipped her tongue along his, he reached down, lifting her up by her ass. Her legs and arms wrapped around him naturally as he walked into the house, kicking the door shut behind him.

Dropping her feet back to the ground, he shrugged out of his jacket as he continued to take her mouth, absorbing all the little noises she made as she reached for the bottom of his t-shirt.

Breaking the kiss to pull it off, he tossed it across the room and slid to his knees. Lifting the bottom of her tank top, he nipped, kissed, and sucked on the soft skin of her abdomen. With swift hands he untied the button of her pants and pulled them down slowly, kissing every inch of exposed thigh, pushing the black pants down until they pooled around her ankles.

The only thing that separated him from paradise was a pair of bikini cut panties, and overcome, he reached behind her, gripping her ass and nuzzling her between her legs.

He heard her gasp as he hooked the side of the panties and started dragging them down.

“Jake…” she started to protest, trying to cover herself.

Moving her hands, he looked up at her with a soft smile. “Trust me.”

She hesitated, but didn’t stop him as he finished removing her panties, dipped his head and pushed his searching tongue inside her.

She jerked against him, and he held the cheeks of her ass tight as he licked and sucked her flesh, reveling in the way her body started to shake as he found the little nub of her clit, and, slipping his lips over it, drawing it into his mouth. Holding it there, he flicked it over and over with his tongue, feeling the little button swell.

She’s a virgin, idiot. You should be doing this in a bed.

Standing abruptly, he scooped her up and strode across the room towards the hall. He felt the soft press of her lips against his neck, and dipped his head to capture them as he walked into her bedroom, setting her on the bed. Grabbing the bottom of her shirt, he drew it over her head, her bra following quickly behind it. When she stood before him, gloriously naked, he took in every curve, every dip.

“God, Rand…” he said, kneeling again. Dipping his head, he took the pink tip of her breast into his mouth, suckling her nipple as he clasped his hand over the other and squeezed it gently, tweaking her nipple with his thumb and fore finger. Rand’s hands slipped behind the back of his head and held him against her flesh, the sounds of her pleasure echoing in the quiet of the bedroom.

Releasing her breast, he slid his hand down between her legs and with a searching finger found her warm core and pushed it inside. Parting her flesh,
  he roughly massaged the tight nub of her clit, listening to her harsh breathing. The breathy sound of his name on her lips made his already aching cock jerk and he kissed his way down her body, pushing her back on the bed, but she caught herself on her elbows.

Their gazes locked as he lifted her legs over his shoulders and worked her with his mouth again, spreading the lips of her sex as he thrust his tongue in and out of her. He could feel the tight muscles clenching and he slipped one finger inside, curving up to find the rough flesh inside and knew he had hit pay dirt when she cried out.

Using his finger inside and his tongue to work her clit quickly, he whispered, “Come for me baby.”

Sucking her clit into his mouth, increasing the pressure and the flicks of his tongue, he almost smiled as she arched up and yelled, her passage tightening around his finger as she spasmed.

The aftershocks of pleasure jerked her body beneath him, and he released her clit, kissing her mound as he pulled away with a smile. She was flat on the bed, her fists clenching and unclenching, the rise and fall of her breasts rapid and mesmerizing.

Slipping his finger out of her, he sat next to her on the bed, kicking his boots off. Her hand touched the skin of his back, caressing it above his pants, and he turned, laying down next to her on his elbow. Looking into her softly dazed eyes, the smile of her face made his own lips kick up in amusement.

Dipping his head he kissed her smiling mouth which opened under his eagerly, and his cock twitched again.

“You know, I really just came over here to talk to you.” He whispered, his hand running over her breasts as he took her mouth again.

When he pulled away, her eyes were closed, her lips parted. She arched into his hand and he chuckled at the soft sigh she gave as he took her ear lobe into his mouth and nibbled.

“About what,” she asked breathlessly.

He stopped his administrations and pulled back to look her in the eye. “About marrying Red.”

Her eyes flew open. “He told you?”

His gut clenched at her words. “Yeah, he told me.”

Rand could barely form coherent thought processing after the roller coaster of pleasure Jake had just given her. Reaching behind her, she brought the quilt from the end of her bed over to cover her breasts, and took in his expression. She could have sworn he looked hurt, but that was ridiculous. Maybe he was just upset that she hadn’t told him first? But why?

“I haven’t said yes,” she said her gaze dropping away from his.

She felt the soft touch of Jake’s fingers as he tucked her hair back from her face, and looked back up to meet his gaze. “Are you going to?”

Was she? Did she really have a choice
?
Only Red wanted to try for a real marriage…but there was nothing between them. Not like there was with Jake.

“I don’t have a lot of other options,” she said, her hand involuntarily reaching out to trace his mouth.

He caught her hand and laid a nipping kiss on her palm. “If you did? Have other options? Would you marry him then?”

Her heart slammed in her chest like a boxing glove. “I…” she swallowed hard as she worked up the nerve to get it out, “Red wants a real marriage. He wants the option to have perks…to see if it could turn into something lasting.”

Jake stiffened, and his grip on her hand tightened. “I see.”

No you don’t
!
She screamed internally. When she saw he was moving, like he was going to get up and leave, she threw herself against him, landing on his chest as he fell back onto the bed.

“But there’s a problem. He kissed me and it was unexpected, but nothing happened.” His face snapped into an irritated scowl, and she quickly continued, “I don’t think it would be fair to Red to marry him when the only man I want to kiss is you.”

The smile that spread across his lips did fluttery things to her insides. “Is that a proposal?”

She frowned at his teasing. “Do you want it to be?”

Suddenly, he reversed their positions, and kissed her hard and fast. “I want you. I don’t know what that means for a year from now, but I was coming by to say, if you have to marry somebody, why not me?”

It wasn’t the perfect proposal by any means, but over the last few weeks she
 had started to change. She may not ever want the whole hopelessly in love beyond all reason, but she also didn’t want to spend her life alone. Just because she wanted Jake, didn’t mean she was in love with him. If he decided in a year he wanted out, she’d smile and wave, no hard feelings; when all was said and done, they would always be friends. No matter what else went on, they would still have that.

“Okay, but promise me a couple things,” she said, running her hands over his arms as she held his gaze.

“What are they?” He asked, his voice suspicious.

“If we’re going to do this, I don’t want to lose you as a friend. If things start getting weird or…or it’s messing up what we have, we stop,” she said.

“You mean sex? Agreed,” he said, but quickly added, “But we are going to be having it right?”

She laughed at the panic in his eyes. “I think so.”

“Okay what else,” he asked, coming down on his elbows. He leaned over and laid soft kisses across the skin of her neck, breaking her train of thought.

“Mmmmm…I can’t think when you do that,” she said softly, realizing for the first time that she’d lost most of the quilts covering. Her hard nipples were pressed against the wall of his chest and she rubbed against him, gasping at the shock of pleasure that spread at the friction.

“I like hearing that,” he whispered in her ear, rubbing between her legs, the rough fabric of his jeans against her exposed flesh making her throb.

“No other girls,” she said firmly, as she slid her hand down his back, below the waist of his jeans to squeeze his ass.

He nipped her neck. “I don’t want anyone else.”

“Promise me, no other women,” she said, pinching his cheek with a smile.

Coming up to look down at her, he said, “I promise, I won’t even glance at another woman.”

“Good,” she said, slipping her other hand down into his jeans and before she lost her nerve, asked, “Now what do you say we finish what you started?”

 Jake was more than happy to take the lead, but Rand being Rand got impatient. She pushed him up and off her, her hands dropping to his belt with a siren’s smile. He let her undo his belt, the snap of the top button of his jeans and the rifffft of the zipper making him jerk with anticipation.

“I think you need to stand up,” she said, and he did what she suggested, his jeans dropping low on his hips at the change of position.

As she scooted to the end of the bed, she leaned over tentatively and brushed the edge of his briefs with her mouth. Grabbing his jeans at his thighs, she pulled on them until they dropped and he let her control what they did. He wanted her to be comfortable.

Even if it was killing him.

“I’ve heard that guys like it when girls…”her voice trailed off.

“Yes. But you really don’t…” She pulled down his briefs and his cock sprang free. When her hand wrapped around him and squeezed, he threw back his head and hissed, “Fuck…”

“Did I do it wrong,” she asked, letting him go.

“God, no…” he said, and with a smile, she touched him again.

  The feel of her hot breath on the tip before she pressed her lips to his dick nearly undid him, and he started counting in his head. Her wet mouth opened as she slid her lips around him and sucked him, her innocently administered actions making his balls flex.

“Rand…” he whispered, touching her head lightly, and the sight of her loving him like that was too much.

“Rand stop,” he said, and when she pulled back there was that uncertain look again. Pulling her to her feet, he took her mouth, rubbing his hands over her back, and cupping her ass. She moved against him eagerly, his cock trapped between him.

 
“Climb up onto the bed.”

She did what he said and he bent to pick up his jeans.
  Reaching into his pocket, he grabbed his wallet, pulling out the tiny foil package and ripped it open with his teeth. After slipping the condom over his erection, he crawled up to lie next to her.

“Was I doing it wrong,” she asked softly and he shook his head.

“It was wonderful, but if you’d kept going, I would have finished earlier than expected,” he said, playing with her hair.

“Oh. Oh,” she said, giggling. Cradling the back of his head, she pulled him down for a kiss, whispering, “We wouldn’t want that.”

Definitely not.

 
He came over her and the weight of him felt so right and his kisses stole every doubt from her head.

 
“Rand honey, bend your legs,” he said, guiding her.

She did what he asked, planting her feet flat on the bed and she felt the head of him slip inside her. She tensed up and he stopped, kissing her again. Instinctively she wrapped her arms around him and noticed his skin was lightly dampened with perspiration.

A few more inches in and she squirmed at the full feeling.

He pulled back and laid his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry, Rand.”

“Sorry for wha…OW! Son of a…” his mouth cut off her curse at the sharp pain as he slipped all the way in and stilled.

She glared at him as he kissed her and was tempted to bite his tongue.

 “I’m sorry, but I didn’t want you to tense up and have it hurt worse.”

 
She shifted under him and muttered, “You could have told me it was going to hurt like that.”

“I’m sorry, I’ve never been with someone who hadn’t…” He ran his hand over her hair and cheek. “Does it hurt now?”