More Than One Night (8 page)

“Do you really think it was enough to satisfy me?” He rose to his feet. Reaching over the bar, he cupped her chin. “Are you telling me you don’t burn for me, like I burn for you?”

“Stop it, please.”

The truth was in her eyes. She wanted him, but she didn’t want to admit it. Emotionally she was holding back, something she hadn’t done on Friday night.

He wanted the open, fresh, totally Beth back. A woman who chased away the demons of loneliness and reminded him he was all man and his male passion was still alive and kicking.

“You want me as much as I want you. Don’t fight it.”

“We can’t always get what we want.”

“I always get what I want.”

Her eyes widened once again, then she said, “Let me go, Jake.”

“Not yet.”

“This isn’t open for discussion. Release me.”

Possessiveness like he’d never experienced surged in him. He wanted her by his side and in his life. Someone tapped him on the shoulder. Releasing her chin, he turned.

“Sorry, buddy,” said a male voice.

The words registered when Jake was dragged off his stool and laid flat by a right hook.

Chapter Five

“Angelo,” Beth cried out, watching the patrons jump off their stools and circle the pair, the football game forgotten.

She ran around the bar and pushed her way through the crowd. Jake sat on the floor, a small trickle of blood running from his lip to his chin.

“Hell of a right hook,” Jake said to Angelo in a calm voice. Beth expected him to at least be angry, but there was nothing but laugher in his eyes.

Angelo shrugged. “Comes in handy sometimes.” Angelo held out a hand to Jake. “Sorry about hitting you, but I did warn you to release Beth when she asked.”

“Yeah, you did.” Jake put his hand into Angelo’s and Beth shook her head when Angelo pulled him to his feet. “I like you, Angelo, but watch yourself. Beth is a big girl and more than able to take care of herself.”

“Yes, she can. But I’ve seen
your
kind before.”

Jake eyebrows rose. “I won’t hurt her.”

“You better not or you’ll have to answer to me and next time I won’t pull my punch.”

Beth couldn’t believe these two. “If all this male bonding is done…” She glared at the pair as they turned to her. “What?” Men. Her stomach was in knots. She hated confrontations like this.

“I’m fine.” Jake grinned at her and her heart stuttered. Damn it! He shouldn’t be able to affect her like this.

“Right.” She stepped forward. “Let me take you in back and get you cleaned up.” She kept her voice low and soft.

The patrons went back to their football game and she placed her fingers on his forearm. Muscles bunched beneath her touch. With her free hand, she dug into her apron and pulled out a clean tissue.

Jake started to lean back.

“Be still,” she ordered as she wiped away the blood from his chin.

Their gazes collided, his pupils dilated and she could see the desire in his eyes. She shivered in awareness.

“For you, darling, I’ll do anything.”

“Yeah right.” She turned her head. “Angelo, get Ramon to cover the bar.” She didn’t wait for an answer. Instead she grabbed Jake by the wrist and tugged him to a small back room filled with liquor and supplies. A single light bulb provided a yellowish light.

Releasing his arm, she took the first aid kit off a shelf as the door shut. Jake was leaning against it, regarding her with a gaze that reminded her of the lion at the zoo. Watching its prey.

Her stomach clenched. “Sit down and let me see how much damage was done.” She gestured to the small metal chair. With shaking hands, she opened the first aid kit. What was it about men and fighting? Taking out a small alcohol pad and some gauze, she turned back to Jake.

His hands encircled her waist, tugging her between his open legs. He tilted his head up as he rested his fingers at the bottom of her spine, but not before caressing her hips ever so lightly.

“Jake.”

“What?” He gazed at her with those twinkling green eyes, his fingers doing a dance over her spine, causing spirals of excitement to each nerve.

“Stop doing that.” She shifted on her feet trying to dislodge his hands.

“I’m just trying to help.”

She puffed out a breath. Then raised her hand and gently swiped at his lip.

He flinched. “Sorry,” she whispered. “I should have warned you about the sting.” The cut wasn’t very deep and it only took her a minute to clean it up. By the time she was done, her hands were trembling uncontrollably.

“All finished.” She tossed the pad and gauze into the trash and tried to step back.

“Not yet.” Jake tightened his hold as he stood.

Beth swallowed, he had a predatory gleam in his eyes and her body quaked. “I need to get back to work.” She brought her hands up to push him away, but instead they rested lightly on his chest. His firm, warm chest.

“Someone is covering for you.”

“What do you think you’ll accomplish by keeping me here?” She tried to stay calm as Jake maneuvered her back against the wall. Her heart began to pound and her stomach tightened with excitement.

He released her waist, only to place his palms flat against the wall, trapping her between his hot, unyielding body and the hard wall.

“Maybe I can finally get some answers as to why you left my bed Saturday morning. The truth, not the crap you tried to feed me earlier.”

She drew her lower lip between her teeth. She couldn’t give him the truth. It would mean giving voice to her own desires and wants. She wouldn’t do that. She couldn’t.

“It was time for me to go.”

“And if I didn’t want you to go?” The fingers of his right hand drew a light path of fire down her cheek. A shiver of anticipation shot through her body.

“Jake, please.” There was no escaping him, he had her trapped. And his touch was so darn seductive she had no defenses.

“Please what?” His lips caressed her temple. “Please touch you?” His fingers trailed down her neck to the collar of her blouse. “Please kiss you?” His mouth brushed over hers so briefly she craved more. “Please make love to you?” His hips brushed hers. His erection pressed into her stomach and her breath caught in her throat.

Beth’s lashes drifted shut and pure unchecked arousal flowed through her entire body. Her core tightened, her stomach clenched and her nipples grew hard. She had to fight this, fight his seduction. She forced her eyes open. “I left before you could tell me to leave,” she whispered. “That’s all.”

“After what we shared, do you really think I’d ask you to leave?” His breath brushed her face. Barely an inch separated them.

“How am I supposed to know?” Why couldn’t he follow the rules? Why did she have to pick the one man who wouldn’t want a one-night stand?

He was staring down at her, then the color of his eyes darkened even more. “You’ve never done this before, have you?”

“What? Had sex? Plenty of times.” She tried to move her head away but only ended up banging it against the wall.

His hands were there in an instant, tangling in her hair, but rubbing the spot which had met the wall. “You’ve never had a single night of sex.”

She lowered her gaze and stared at his leather shoes. Damn, was the man a mind reader or what? Warm fingers slipped beneath her chin, raising her face until she was forced to look at him.

“And you’ve still never had one.” The air sparked between them, his head blocked out what little light there was as his lips touched hers.

His tongue traced her lips, causing delicious shivers of excitement to lick through her veins. Her lips parted and his tongue plunged in. He tasted of the antiseptic she’d used on his cut lip, but then she forgot everything.

Beth sighed into his mouth, as her arms encircled his neck and she began to kiss him back. Tongues tangled, dueled with each other, before parting, only to come together again.

Part of her knew she should be pushing Jake away, but she couldn’t. It felt good to be in his arms, to feel his kisses, his passion. To know that she was the one arousing this man, but fear nagged in the back of her mind.

She tore her mouth away, fighting to catch her breath. “Don’t.” She forced her arm to move placing her fingers against his lips when he started to lower his head.

“Don’t kiss you? Impossible.”

“Please, Jake.” Oh lord, memories were starting to flood in and they weren’t good ones. Memories about boys calling her a tease.

“I want to please you, oh so much.” His hips shifted allowing her to feel his erection. Her pussy creamed and her legs parted ever so slightly. Oh, God she wanted him in her again, hard and fast.

Her stomach fluttered. One part of her wanted to let him take her back to the ecstasy they’d shared Friday night. The other part of her reminded her that he was a rich and powerful man. A man who could break her heart into a million pieces.

She couldn’t allow that to happen. When she gazed up at him, his green gaze filled with desire, desire for her, but desire faded and his would. And when it did, she’d be left alone again. Even with her lips aching for his kisses, she had to stop. She was giving him all the wrong signals. A cloud of depression settled upon her when she thought about never seeing Jake again. But that’s how it needed to be.

“You need to let me go.” His hands were still tangled in her hair.

“You first.”

Hell, when had she pushed her fingers into his hair, clinging to him like she never wanted to let him go? She forced her limp muscles to move, causing her arms to rest at her sides.

Jake released her and stepped back. Beth moved sideways to slide around him and out the door. But her knees warned her that if she moved too fast, she’d end up as a heap at his feet.
It was just one damn kiss
. Her blood thrummed with unfulfilled desire, reminding her she was a woman, with a woman’s desires.

Using the wall as a crutch, she made her way to the door, turned the knob and pulled. “You locked the door.” She glared at him.

“I didn’t want us to be disturbed.” While he was unapologetic about it, he did have the good grace to look sheepish.

Her fingers closed over the lock, when his hand stopped her. “I want to see you again.” His breath ruffled her hair when he spoke into her ear.

“Not a good idea.” She fought against the chill of anticipation he words created in her. No matter how much her body wanted him or desired to spend more than a single night with him, she couldn’t do it. Her past had taught her too well. A sigh escaped her.

“That was a deep sigh. What are you thinking?” He nudged her hair out of the way, his moist breath now caressing her neck.

A past which was now crowding into her mind, a past that reminded her that men couldn’t be trusted. That men walked away when things got tough—her father had, her mother’s lovers had, her ex-boyfriends had. Men were damn fickle creatures.

And though her heart cried out that Jake was different, she couldn’t accept it. Even now as his heat invaded her body, she could barely think. But men with money didn’t have girlfriends like her. Just like an old fashion movie, he was the rich man and she was the chauffeur’s daughter. Okay for a tumble or two, but not to take home to daddy.

“You’re caviar and fine wine. I’m peanuts and beer.” She wanted him to understand it wasn’t him as a person, it was who he was. A man in his position couldn’t afford a woman like her in his life. And she had more pride than to prostitute herself that way. She wouldn’t be like her mother.

“What’s given you that impression?” There was curiosity in his voice.

“The way you dress.” She was grasping at straws, but she had to do something to get him to back away.

“I can go naked.” He nipped at her ear lobe. “But only when we’re alone. Doing so in public would get me arrested.”

She pressed her forehead against the wooden door. “I’m trying to be serious here.”

“And I’m not?”

A moan escaped her lips when his tongue traced the shell of her ear. Why could such a simple gesture melt her heart? She closed her eyes fighting to concentrate. “Your apartment rent is probably more than I make in a year.”

“Since I own it, that’s a moot point.”

His lips now trailed over her jaw, his free hand tilting her head back to rest against his shoulder.

“According to Carla, you’re one of the most eligible bachelors in San Francisco.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m not a nice guy.” He nuzzled her neck and she fought not to melt into his touch. “Normally I have women tripping over their feet because of my money. So am I getting this right, you’re pushing me away because I’m rich?”

She wanted to laugh at his incredulous tone, but somehow she didn’t think that would help matters.

“Yes.”

“You’re a reverse snob.” His lips disappeared and suddenly she was being turned.

“I am not.” Her chin came up. Just because she didn’t want to get into a relationship with a man who could shatter her heart didn’t make her a snob. Cautious, yes.

“Then go out with me.”

She shook her head.

“Give me one good reason why?” He stared at her with those forest green eyes and her heart stuttered.

Drawing in a shaky breath, she said, “It’s obvious you’re used to getting your way and women always oblige.”

“I won’t state the obvious, but you didn’t answer my question.”

“You’re used to playing games with women, both in and out of bed. I’m not good at games.”

“You haven’t played them with me.” His thumb rubbed over her lips in a brief caress. But she didn’t respond to his words. “I know we skipped a few phases of courtship, but I’m willing to take a step back and start from the beginning.”

Was he being dense or not listening to her? What could she say to make him angry enough to walk away and forget about her? Her belly turned somersaults as she thought of the one thing guaranteed to make a man run. But he wasn’t giving her a choice. She needed her life back, a life without him in it.

“I hate to tell you this Jake, umm…you know it wasn’t exactly good for me Friday night.” She was lying from the top of her head to the end of her toenails. Their loving had been scorching hot. Any more torrid and the fire department would still be at his apartment putting out the flames.