Stacey Joy Netzel Boxed Set (19 page)

He didn’t relish the drive home, but for
now, he shifted into a lower gear for the exit. Even with antilock
brakes, his Lexus slid toward the bottom of the ramp. Muscles
tensed and knotted until their forward progression halted inches
before the intersection.

Blowing out a relieved breath, he checked
right, left, and then right again to find the street deserted.
Shifting gears again, he prepared to ease into the right turn, but
a flash of brights in the rearview mirror blinded him. He glanced
into the left side mirror to see an SUV coming down the ramp way
too fast for the road conditions. His heart lurched, sending a
spike of adrenalin through his limbs, tightening his fingers on the
steering wheel.

“Shit,” he muttered. “Hold on, this idiot’s
not stopping.”

Jake hit the gas to try to get out of the
way, but the tires gained no traction on the snow-covered ice. The
larger vehicle slammed into the back of his smaller car and shoved
them across the intersection into the snow bank on the other
side.

They hit with a jolt, plowed through, and
then slid down into the ditch. When they came to a rest just
seconds later, Jake’s first concern was Loral.

“Are you okay?”

She brushed disheveled hair from her face,
her eyes wide as she nodded. “Yeah, I think so.” Her concerned gaze
swept over him. “You?”

“I’m fine.”

He glanced into the rearview mirror at the
lights behind them. “I better check the other car—stay here.”

Loral reached for her door handle the same
time he reached for his.

Alarm for her safety sharpened his voice.
“Loral, please, stay here! Grab my phone out of my jacket in the
back and if I’m not back in two minutes, call 911.”

Forcing his door open as far as the snow
allowed, he stepped out into the storm. As he fought to close it
again to keep the heat in the car, the SUV’s tires spun in reverse,
found traction, and backed away from the Lexus’s crumpled back
end.

Jake started forward to make sure the driver
and any passengers were okay, but to his amazement, the vehicle
shifted into drive and took off, fishtailing down the road. Fury
quickly took over and he tried to run after it. The swirling snow
obscured his view of the license plate and when he slipped on the
steep slope in his dress shoes, he knew pursuit was useless.

A frustrated growl was whipped away on the
wind as he returned his attention to his wrecked car. Damn it. He’d
paid it off last year, and after his mom got sick, had hoped with
good care to have the vehicle last at least another three or four
years. Even with insurance, this was the last thing he could afford
right now. Muttering curses at their hit-and-run driver, he got
back into the car and jerked the door shut.

“They drove away?” Loral asked, her voice
high with surprised indignation. “Without even checking on us?”

“Stupid sonofabitch.” He took a deep breath
to calm his anger and residual nerves. Shifting focus back to her,
he reached over to cover her hand with his. “You are okay,
right?”

If she was hurt...

Her warm hand gripped his cold fingers,
squeezing with reassurance.

“I’m fine.” She reached up with her right
hand to wipe the fog off the window, staring in the direction the
SUV had disappeared as she added, “Pissed as hell for you, but
fine.”

“Good.”

He cleared his throat when the word croaked
out. She shifted to face him, then dropped her gaze to their joined
hands. Sensing she was about to withdraw again, Jake pulled away
first.

“I should call the cops, then a tow
truck.”

She nodded silently and handed over his
phone. After he’d given the police all the relevant information he
could, he assured them they didn’t require emergency services and
hung up. Then he started calling the tow truck companies. By the
fifth number, he sighed with defeat.

“Besides the fact that there are literally
dozens of calls ahead of us, there was a big accident out on I-10,
so no one can get out here until maybe tomorrow. I’ll walk you
home, and then see if I can get a taxi to pick me up from
there.”

He glimpsed a flicker of dismay in her
expression before she said, “Um...didn’t you say your brother lives
near here?”

Getting Robert to put himself out on a
clear
night was a long shot, so he didn’t hold out any hope
for tonight. Jake avoided Loral’s questioning gaze and explained
briefly, “Taxi’s easier.”

She frowned at his clipped tone. “Oh.
Okay.”

When he noticed her fingers fiddling with
the button of her coat, something else occurred to him. Careful to
keep disappointment from his tone, he said, “I’d like to think
we’ve known each other long enough that you know I’d never hurt
you, but if you don’t want me at your place, I’ll just wait back
here for the taxi.”

Her gaze flew to his. “No, that’s not it at
all—I swear. It’s just that...” She trailed off, gave a deep sigh,
and then shook her head. “I’m sorry, Jake, please don’t take it
personally, okay? Of course you can wait at my place.”

He believed the sincere apology in her tone,
but her words confused; told him there was much more to her
hesitation. Before he could decide whether or not to push the
issue, she held out her hand.

“Can I use your phone? I want to call my mom
so she doesn’t worry why I’m not home yet.”

Her
mom
? Not some significant other
she didn’t want him to meet at her place?

After handing over the phone, he couldn’t
help but confirm as she dialed. “That’s who you called
earlier?”

“Yeah.”

Suddenly he loved her ‘
love you
’ at
the end of the previous call. Relief brought a smile to his face
but he quickly bit it back as he listened to her tell her mom the
roads were really bad, so they were taking it slow and were almost
home. He lifted a brow as she disconnected and passed the phone
back.

“I didn’t tell her about the accident
because she worries too much,” she explained.

Completely understandable. He grabbed his
jacket from the backseat and stuffed his keys and wallet in the
pocket before locking the doors out of habit. Loral had already
exited and waited for him by the demolished bumper.

“Ouch,” she commiserated.

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry. If you hadn’t brought me—”

“Don’t you dare,” he cut her off. “This is
not your fault.”

Renewed anger toward the driver burst forth.
He would’ve kicked his tire to vent a little frustration, except a
move like that in his dress shoes was sure to land him on his ass.
The only way he wanted that was if Loral landed on top, but she
already looked cold after just a minute back out in the storm. He’d
keep his juvenile urges to himself for now.

When they reached the street, a gust of wind
blasted his face. Needle-like snowflakes stung his cheeks and he
saw Loral hug herself as a shiver shook her shoulders.

He extended his hand with his jacket. “Here,
put this on.”

Instead of taking it, she frowned up at him.
“I’ve got a jacket. You put it on.”

“That’s not a jack—”

He broke off as she lifted her chin at a
proud angle, eyes narrowed to a glare. Damn, he almost insulted her
again by scoffing at her old coat. Then her teeth chattered and
Jake squared his shoulders with determination. Screw her misguided
pride.

“Either you wear it and only one of us is
cold, or we both freeze.”

He dropped the leather in the snow and
stalked down the street.

Loral glared after Jake’s back. That
attractive, disarming smile he’d reeled her in with every time she
visited his shop disguised a bossy, stubborn jackass. She was
tempted to leave the jacket right where he’d left it, but he’d
stuffed his keys and wallet and phone in the pockets. Bet he didn’t
remember that, did he?

She scooped it out of the snow and shook it
off. It was a beautiful jacket, broken in to the point that it was
as soft as the leather seats in his car. Slipping her arms through
the sleeves, she slid the zipper to her chin, inhaling fresh air
and tempting essence of Jake. Before he got too far ahead, she
hurried to catch up.

He’d shoved his hands in the pockets of his
black dress pants as he trudged along in his stylish, but slippery
shoes with his shoulders hunched against the elements. His cheeks
were red, and his hair that’d dried earlier in the car was
windblown and full of snow again.

All to bring her home, safe and sound.

Guilt flicked at her conscience and
drop-kicked her hurt pride out into left field. With her defenses
on full alert for more reasons than one, she hadn’t been very nice
to the guy who was now freezing so she could be warm.

A quick glance in her direction lifted the
corners of his lips. He didn’t bother to temper the clear triumph
gleaming in his amber eyes.

Forgiving thoughts ducked for cover as she
added
arrogant
to
bossy
and
stubborn
. “This
isn’t chivalry, you know, its stupidity.”

Her annoyed tone only widened his grin. “It
is?”

“Yes.”

He pulled a hand from his pocket and held it
out. “Then give my jacket back.”

“No.” She stuck her nose in the air. “That’s
the difference between you and me.”

He laughed, a full-bodied baritone that
caught her unaware in its genuine humor. She slapped at his
outstretched hand with a reluctant smile. Hand back in his pocket,
he leaned in with his shoulder to give hers a good natured bump.
She bumped back, adding force to compensate for his superior
strength. A little too much force.

Thrown off balance, Jake slipped in the
snow, and with no traction on his shoes, he went down hard. His
automatic grab for her arm brought her down on top of him. He
grunted as her elbow landed in his taught stomach with her full
weight on top.

“Sorry.”

But was she? Even through their clothes she
could feel he was as fit as he appeared. The man ran an antique
shop, for Pete’s sake! Where’d he get all these muscles from?
Despite the storm whirling around them, she didn’t hurry to get up.
She was nice and warm, after all.

His chuckle was a little breathless as he
dropped his head back in the snow. “Okay, fine, I give up. You can
keep the jacket.”

Jake’s humor called out to the person she’d
been before life got so darn hard. His smile convinced her to throw
caution to the wind and indulge in the not-so-serious. Grabbing a
handful of snow, she moved up and leaned across his sweater-clad
chest so she could see his face, and he could see the snow.

“Really? You’re not even going to fight for
it?” she teased.

His gaze caught hers and didn’t waver. “I’m
not cold anymore.”

The words robbed her of breath more so than
the wind. Melted snow trickled from her palm, along her wrist, and
then dripped onto the side of his face. She dropped the snow off to
the side and then reached to wipe the moisture away. Her chilled
fingers lingered on the warm skin roughened by his day’s growth of
whiskers.

When she returned her gaze to Jake’s, the
intensity of his gaze held her spellbound. She didn’t protest as he
grasped the front of his leather jacket and pulled her closer, then
closer still.

“You okay?” he whispered.

She knew he was asking about more than their
fall and didn’t hesitate with her answer. “Yes.”

Dropping her gaze to his mouth, her smile
faded with his. He’d given her plenty of time to stop but she
wanted the inevitable.

Mere inches separated them. Her pulse raced,
loud in her ears. Did he hear it? Feel it like she felt his beneath
the curve of her breast? When he lifted his head, his breath
whispered across her lips. The space between them melted away
faster than the snow in her hand.

His lips were cool at first, but warmed as
he explored her mouth. She held nothing back, countered each move
he made with one of her own, because really, in her mind, this kiss
had been a long time coming.

When he tunneled his fingers through her
hair, angling her head, she anticipated his next move and opened
her mouth on his. He gave a low groan and swept his tongue inside
to deepen the kiss.

Everything else ceased to exist. The snow,
the wind, the cold. All Loral registered was Jake’s lips, tongue,
hands, and his hard, warm body beneath her. Her hair fell forward,
sheltering their faces, keeping the elements at bay while she
dueled with him for control and won, even though she suspected he
let her. She wasn’t usually so aggressive, but something about this
man brought out a side of her she hadn’t been fully aware of until
now.

The excitement was almost as intoxicating as
Jake, especially since it’d been absent from her life over the past
couple years. Not to mention she felt safe and protected with his
arms banded around her. Secure in a way that swelled emotion in her
chest and threatened the little bit of oxygen she managed between
his kisses.

A loud beeping noise pierced the private
world they’d descended into. Sound association clicked in her head
as it got louder and louder. Loral tore her mouth from Jake’s in
time to see a snowplow bearing down on them. An arc of snow flew
from its angled blade onto the sidewalk where they lay.

She ducked and buried her face in the crook
of Jake’s neck seconds before an avalanche of snow piled over
them.

God, he smells good
.

As the beeping receded, eventually fading in
the muted silence of the falling snow, Loral felt Jake shaking
beneath her. His soft laugh, genuine as before, sounded low, husky,
and oh-so-sexy in her ear.

“Talk about a cold shower,” he said into the
curtain of her hair. “
Now
I’ll fight you for the
jacket.”