The Closer You Come

  "Agreed," he said, and she released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "And I know just the thing." He fluffed the pillows, reclined like the most self-indulgent pasha--and gave her a gentle little shove off the bed. "You're going to dance for me."

  She came up sputtering. "What!"

  He switched on the bedside lamp. "Your list, remember? You said you wanted to dance for a man. Definitely a lover. Well." He held out his arms, all behold my magnificence. "I now qualify on both fronts."

  She'd actually written "preferably a boyfriend," but she didn't point that out. "I'm not dancing for you, Jase Hollister."

  His eyes narrowed to tiny slits. "You're sure as hell not dancing for anyone else."

  The fierceness of his tone made her shiver, warmth spilling into her blood, tingles moving along her sensitized skin. If she did this, he might make love to her again. Or laugh at her.

  Another gamble. But the result would answer both of her other questions, wouldn't it. If he laughed, he wasn't worth her time. If he made love to her, he still wanted her.

  "Fine," she grumbled. "I'll do it."

  His expression mocked her. "That's all well and good, but I already have to deduct points for your attitude."

  "You're going to score me?" she gasped out.

  He offered her a sad, pitying smile. "Another point lost for a delayed start--and a silly question."

  Well, then. She'd have to do something to earn points.

  "Before I begin," she said, "I should probably lay out the ground rules." Still naked, she sucked on the end of one finger and slowly traced a path down her stomach. "At no point during my amazing performance are you allowed to touch me."

  His gaze followed the motion of her finger, only to whip up to her face and narrow as her words registered. "Did I forget to mention that every rule you make costs you one thousand points?"

  Ha!

  "Good thing there's only one rule, then. Ready?"

  "Do it."

  She began to undulate her hips, giving him a preview of what was to come, and his pupils expanded. "Hands on the headboard, Hollister. I don't trust you to keep them to yourself."

  When he failed to comply, she cupped her breasts and pinched her nipples. "I'm about to change my mind," she said.

  With a frustrated groan, he grabbed the headboard.

  "There's a good boy."

  Brook Lynn undulated her hips again...more slowly...slllooowly...

  A sheen of sweat glistened on Jase's forehead, and his knuckles bleached of color. "I'm giving you a point for technique."

  Turning, revealing her backside, she glanced over her shoulder and lifted her hair...let the strands tumble back into place. "Only one?"

  Bad-boy Jase released the headboard long enough to cup his now-rock-hard length. "Look at what you've done to me, angel."

  "And I'm just getting started." Brook Lynn bent over and slowly lifted her upper body, her gaze never leaving Jase. She heard an erotic melody in her head, though no music played, and moved to it. Bump, bump...griiind. Her hands roved over her curves, kneaded her breasts.

  "Come here," he rasped. "Please, angel. I need you."

  She didn't have the strength to resist. She crawled up the bed, rhythmically shimmying closer and closer to his erection before retreating. Another groan rose from him. On her knees, she continued to move her hips, sliding her hands down...down...between her legs.

  "Let me touch," he rasped. "I need to touch."

  Roll...roll...she worked her way around, so that he once again had a backside view. Roll...roll...

  "Angel, please." He leaned forward, warm breath fanning down her spine. His tongue flicked out, stroking over her nape, and the contact sent shivers through her body.

  "How many points have I gained now?" she asked, heart drumming a wild staccato in her chest.

  "All of them."

  She glanced over her shoulder. His features were taut, the fine lines around his eyes more noticeable, his lips pulled tight. A bead of sweat trickled down his temple. Knowing she affected him so strongly empowered her, and she tangled her fingers in her hair, raised her arms high in the air. She swayed her hips left, right, all the way around, always rubbing against him, as her hair fell back into place.

  The beat in her head quickened, and so did her motions. Faster and faster, hardness to softness, flesh against flesh. Her breaths came faster, too. Her heartbeat. A moan from her. A groan from him.

  Faster...faster... Her every nerve ending ached, tingling.

  "Brook Lynn, you have to stop. I have to have you." His palms gripped her waist. He pushed her forward, to her hands and knees, and positioned himself behind her. Her hair fell over one shoulder, leaving the other bare.

  The implants!

  She stiffened, but he leaned forward and kissed the shell of her ear, like he'd done before, careful not to put any pressure on the implant itself, and slowly she relaxed. He didn't mind the bulky plastic and flashing lights, she realized. Didn't think she was a Frankenlynn freak.

  "Please, angel. You are so beautiful," he whispered. "So damn perfect in every way."

  The words titillated her more than his kiss, more than his touch. "Inside me," she said, her body aching as if it had never been filled. "Now."

  "I'm going to make you feel so good, angel."

  And he did.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  BROOK LYNN WOKE up bright and early--and alone. The spot where Jase had lain was no longer warm, which meant he'd been gone for a while. His clothes were no longer scattered across her floor, either.

  She pulled on a robe and checked the rest of the house. No sign of him. She checked the driveway, only to remember he'd parked his car down the street and she wouldn't have seen it even if he'd been here.

  It didn't matter, really. He was gone, no question.

  Should have expected this.

  And it was probably for the best. The thought of Jase having breakfast with her and her sister bothered her.

  Dang it. She would have to get over that. She wanted them both in her life and--

  Sweet! A wealth of happiness hit her when she spotted a note on the kitchen table.

  Dude. Thought I'd be safe coming home after midnight, but noooooooo. Could you have been ANY louder? Next time Jase comes over I'm staying with Sunny. Love, Queen JK (Former Miss Strawberry or not, I'm still royalty.)

  Her cheeks burned with embarrassment and mounting anger. Not with her sister, but with Jase. She'd expected the note to be from him, and now, knowing it wasn't, she realized she deserved a note, at the very least.

  After his bout of jealousy and his desire to spend the night with her, well...I thought I was different to him.

  Clearly, she'd thought wrong.

  She showered and dressed for work, doing nothing special with her appearance. No makeup. Not styling her hair. Clothes: a ratty T-shirt that read Zombies Hate Fast Food and jean shorts. Jase could suck it.

  As she drove to his house, a car she didn't recognize pulled up behind her, riding too close to her bumper. No big deal, until the car followed her for a pretty good distance, taking the turns she took, slowing when she slowed. But...she had to be mistaken. Why follow her? Frowning, she took a turn she didn't need to make, and sure enough, the four-door sedan with the tinted windows stayed right on her tail. Not just right on her tail, but actually giving it a light tap.

  A thousand horror stories seemed to play through her mind at once. Namely: a serial killer had targeted her as his next victim and purposely causing car wrecks was his MO. No way she'd stop to exchange insurance info with the driver. Heart speeding up, she debated between leading a potential psycho to Jase--and putting him in danger--or making the longer journey to the sheriff's office.

  Another tap made her decision for her. The sheriff. Definitely the sheriff. But as she took the next turn, the car honked and sped around her, its tires squealing.

  She released a relieved breath and made a mental note to be on the lookout for t
he sedan next time she was out and about. Being in a hurry was no excuse for such aggressive driving.

  She backtracked, finally heading into the acreage. By the time she arrived, her shaking had stopped, at least. "Jase," she called as she stepped through the door.

  "He's not here," West said.

  He and Beck were reclined on the couch. They'd clearly been waiting for her. As she dropped her purse on the coffee table, Beck pressed a button on the remote and turned off the football game, the TV screen going blank.

  "I don't know what happened between you and Jase," West said, "and honestly, I don't want to know."

  "But we're not stupid," Beck added. "We can guess."

  Limbs heavy, Brook Lynn trudged to a chair and eased down. Their words could mean only one thing, and it calmed her down significantly. "He's freaking out right now, isn't he?"

  West inclined his head. "He came stomping in at four this morning. Woke me up. I found him in the kitchen, pounding back Red Bull and pacing. We talked, and for hours he watched the clock, waiting for the moment you would arrive. But then something snapped inside him, and he said he had to get some supplies in town. He beat feet."

  Good. A freak-out meant some part of him cared for her more than he'd realized--he just didn't want to admit it. "Has he never done a relationship before?" she asked.

  "One," Beck admitted. "They were together for two years."

  Hate her already. "Why'd they break up?"

  West propped his feet on the coffee table, saying, "Jase will have to give you those details."

  Even as curious as she was, she liked that they were unwilling to share details about their friend. Proved their loyalty. But she needed intel, dang it. "What will you tell me? Because I've got some decisions to make. Like how to handle him, how to handle us. If we've got a chance for a future, or if I should just throw in the towel now, before either of us gets hurt." And by either of us, she totally meant I.

  The guys shared a look, and Beck nodded.

  West sighed and said, "He's had a hard life. Been betrayed by everyone he's ever loved. Including us."

  She blinked in surprise. "How did you--"

  "Again, those are details he'll have to give you," Beck interjected.

  She nodded in understanding--or, pretend understanding--then motioned for West to continue.

  "I've never seen him so worked up about a woman, and I don't know what to think about it." West pegged her with a hard stare. "He looks as tough as iron, but he's actually as fragile as glass. If you want him, you'll have to fight for him. But if you don't think you can handle a few internal battle wounds, it'll be better for him if you let him go now rather than later."

  Oh, she could handle a few battle wounds. She'd never been as intensely attracted to a man as she was to Jase. She'd never before given herself so fully to one's possession. And she wanted more, definitely. But could a happily-ever-after be based solely on lust and sex? No.

  What would a future with him entail? Those rare smiles that lit his entire face...the rusty sound of laughter only she seemed capable of summoning...a quirky wit that perfectly matched her own...unconditional acceptance for who and what she was...

  Would he ever be interested in marriage? What about a family? Both were important to her.

  But did she really want marriage if she wasn't sure it was with the right man? Was a family already set up for failure if the right couple wasn't at its helm?

  Being with Jase would be a big-time gamble. He could decide he was done with her at any time and walk away. But so could anyone else. He was her boss, and being with him could backfire and make her feel like a whore. He could fire her if things didn't work out. Or, even worse, he could keep her on, and she would have to see him with other women.

  But he could also fall head over heels in love with her...

  How awesome would that be? She could touch him anytime the urge hit...hug him and kiss him, comfort him...take care of him while he took care of her...shiver as he offered her a smile designed for her and her alone...

  She squared her shoulders. "I'll fight for him," she announced. Jase angered and frustrated her, yes, but he also fascinated and delighted her. "I need you to listen to this next part and heed it. I'll do it my way. You two aren't to interfere. No matter what I say or do. Got it?"

  *

  SEVEN DAYS.

  Seven miserable days.

  That's how long ago Jase had woken up in Brook Lynn's bed, her naked body curled around him. He'd experienced such bliss. Such...contentment. Like nothing else he'd ever known. But then the familiar fear that it couldn't--wouldn't--last had intruded, and panic had set in.

  He'd left her, basically running for his life, thinking a little time away from her would put him back on track, strengthen his resolve to remain alone and detached...but he'd only grown to want her more.

  Gritting his teeth, Jase toyed with the strawberry charm she'd given him. The one she'd made. He'd removed Jessie Kay's photo and now carried it everywhere, a reminder of what he shouldn't want...but couldn't resist.

  To be honest, it wasn't just sexual things he craved from Brook Lynn. It was her as a person. He was so much more...complete when they were together. She met needs he hadn't known he'd had.

  If he was fire, she was water. If he was dark, she was light. She wasn't afraid to tease him, to let down her guard with him, and she actually seemed to enjoy him. But he hadn't come clean about his past. She deserved to know who he was--what he was--before they went any further. If she even wanted to go further. That damn contract.

  He stood in the kitchen, watching as she straightened couch cushions in the living room. The hem of her summer dress was too short, lifting with every move she made, revealing an indecent amount of trim, tanned thigh... One nibble wouldn't hurt either of us...

  She caught his gaze and, with a smile trying to form, said, "Oh! I forgot to tell you today's affirmation. Are you ready?"

  He forced himself to nod.

  "I am both dominating and submissive at the same time."

  Taunting me?

  He'd take the abuse and then some. He deserved it.

  He just couldn't go on like this. He had to talk to her, admit to his feelings and his past so they could move on--the facts were like obstacles, so many in their way. And if they couldn't move on, he'd have to come to terms with it; at least the mental torment would finally end.

  He stalked toward her, determined to confess all. Maybe.

  "I promised I'd help you with your list," he found himself saying instead. "It's time to check off another item."

  She stepped back, maintaining a certain amount of distance between them. "I already planned to check something off today," she said. "I'm attending a wine-and-cheese tasting later."

  "I'll take you."

  She beamed at him. "Thank you. I'd like that."

  Relief coursed through him as he realized she wasn't going to yell at him for the juvenile stunt he'd pulled, leaving her house in the middle of the night--or his even worse treatment afterward. One obstacle dodged, at least, and as easily as a blink.

  He reeled. He'd always thought his life merely moved from one crap experience to the next, but just then, he couldn't deny how blessed he actually was. He'd found a beautiful girl with a big heart, and she genuinely seemed to care about him.

  He pretended to work as he watched the clock. In just a few hours, we'll be alone in a car.

  Not soon enough.

  Time seemed to tick by slower than ever before, but finally the clock did zero out, and they headed into the city. Being so close to her rekindled the fire only she was able to stoke, and he had two choices. Grip the wheel or reach for her. He gripped the wheel.

  "Have you ever been to one of these?" she asked.

  "No." The closest he'd come to a "tasting" was the toilet-brew one of his cellmates had offered him. Declining had been a no-brainer. "What made you want to try it?"

  "My parents went to one. They came home tipsy, giggling and
kissing, unable to keep their hands off each other. My mom even danced around the room, grinning so big, saying she'd never had so much fun."

  Wine and cheese just became my new best friends.

  They reached the three-thousand-square-foot warehouse where the event was taking place, and he quickly found a spot in the gravel, parking and racing around the car to open her door for her. He even took her hand to lead her inside the barn where the tasting was to take place, touching her at last, barely stifling the urge to kiss her knuckles. There were several other couples milling around, studying the different bottles of wine on display and countless shelves of cheese. The smell in the room was pungent but sweet.

  Multiple tables formed three rows. Candles glowed in the center of each, with trays of bite-size cheese plated in front of every chair. Throughout the room, display cases were lit from within to make crystal glasses glisten like diamonds.

  "Rustic meets romantic." Brook Lynn breathed deeply as she took everything in. "It's amazing."

  You are amazing.

  During the next hour, he was forced to endure speeches from the family of owners, each taking turns to explain every single nuance of the different cheeses and wines. Jase barely tasted the things he put inside his mouth. He wasn't sure how he stopped himself from pulling Brook Lynn into a dark corner, ripping open her shorts and her panties and taking what he craved more than breath. Actually, that wasn't true. He did know. She was having such an amazing time, he refused to end it. She grinned without ceasing, listened intently and participated every step of the way, even forgetting her inhibitions and hooking locks of hair behind her ears.

  His chest puffed with pride. He liked those implants. They helped her. Why be embarrassed about that? He loved that her confidence had grown by leaps and bounds, and he couldn't help but feel he'd had something to do with it.

  "--poor girl," the woman to his right said to her companion. She wasn't quiet about it, either, and she should have known better. She was in her midthirties. "I wonder what's wrong. To have to live with machines in her ears like that...well, it must be miserable."

  For the first time since they'd arrived, Brook Lynn stiffened. The bright light drained from her eyes. She hurriedly unhooked her hair from behind her ears.

  Jase went still and quiet--a dangerous thing. He knew it and tried to temper the storm brewing inside him.