Jami looked up, hearing the rustle of clothing. “Since you two seem to find us so amusing, we’re going to take the show elsewhere.” Jami and Ally waited until they heard the sound of her guest room door close, and burst into laughter. “Way to be subtle, Blake. You scared them off.”
“Me?” Alyson squeaked. She poked him in the chest. “You’re the one who was snickering all over the place.”
“I don’t snicker,” Jami said earnestly, but he couldn’t hide his smile.
Scrunching her nose up and exposing her teeth in a look that should have been hideous but managed to somehow be adorable on her, Alyson demonstrated her version of a snicker.
“That was absolutely terrible,” Jami told her when she was through. “Worst thing I ever saw.”
“What? You’re crazy. That was amazing. Perfect. The most beautiful face ever.”
“Beautiful? Babe, no. Just no.” He shook his head, his expression devoid of all humor.
Ally pursed her lips, pouting while giving him her best puppy dog look. “You don’t think I’m pretty?”
“Nope, already told you, not gonna work.” Jami turned his head away, determined not to fall victim to her charms.
Placing her soft, warm palm against his jaw, Ally turned him back to face her. In the other room, they could hear the faint sounds of bedsprings and the muffled sound of a woman moaning. This time, neither were laughing.
Jami stared into Ally’s eyes. She was beyond beautiful. Stunning inside and out. She possessed an innate goodness, and warmth that drew him in. Even as a boy, he had sought refuge in her mere presence. Now, he sought it in her arms.
He’d told Spence that they were just friends. At the time he’d thought he meant it, but when Spence mentioned coming over earlier, he knew he had to go. He had to see her. It was a driving need that couldn’t be ignored, and it was beyond anything he had experienced before. Now, as her delicate fingers smoothed across the stubble covering his chin and moved up to trace lightly over the curves of his lips, he realized just how far from the truth that statement had been.
He felt something for Ally, and it was more than a childhood crush. It was the mature connection between a man and a woman that he was feeling. It was the kind of connection that demanded more. Every time she touched him a certain way, or looked at him with those devastating green eyes, damn, even when she bit her lip, he swore his body ignited. The power she had over him terrified him, but as she lay here in his arm, all soft and warm and pliant, he forgot all the reasons he should be keeping his distance. He wanted her. The thirst he felt for her was so strong his body demanded that he drink his fill.
“Jami,” Ally breathed as he brushed her long hair away from her face.
“I know I said we were just friends,” Jami spoke as he skimmed his knuckles over her smooth cheek, “but I don’t want to be friends, Ally.”
She searched his eyes before responding. “What do you want?” she asked, combing her fingers through his hair in that tender way of hers that always made him feel wanted and secure when they were kids. With each word spoken, they drew closer.
“You. I just want you,” he confessed. “But I’m not looking for a relationship, Ally. I don’t have time for one. Maybe later, but not now. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Confusion flickered in her eyes before understanding finally set in. “You just want sex?” she asked, sounding slightly offended.
Jami cringed. “It’s all I have to offer right now,” he said truthfully, hoping that she would understand. He couldn’t give her the commitment a girl—no, a woman—like her deserved, but he could be there for her each and every day. They could still be friends, but they could also be something a little more.
This time, Ally took her time responding. That was a good thing. At least he knew she was thinking about her answer. Finally, she said, “I don’t know if I can do that.”
“Have you ever?” Jami asked curiously. Every muscle in his body tensed as he waited for her answer, knowing the one he wanted to hear.
“No,” she said, shaking her head.
Jami sighed in relief. Skimming his fingertips down the side of her neck, he admired the softness of her skin. “Then take some time to think about it. When you have an answer, let me know. But, Ally,” he said firmly, “be sure.”
She nodded, her teeth biting into her lip. Wanting desperately to taste her, just once, Jami’s hold grew firm. “Would you let me kiss you?”
Seeing the vulnerability in his eyes, Alyson gave him a firm nod of approval. Lowering his head, Jami pressed his lips lightly against hers, letting her learn him while he learned her. Her mouth felt like heaven, pillowy soft, delicate petals, and as he deepened the kiss, dipping his tongue inside to explore her, he found that she tasted like heaven, too.
Moaning softly, Alyson speared her fingers through his hair and pulled him in tight against her. Jami shifted to cover her body with his, and it hit him. He wanted her body and he wanted her friendship, but if he weren’t careful, he was in danger of becoming lost to this woman.
TEN
Alyson woke early the next morning bathed in incredible warmth. She felt as if she had placed the entire right side of her body against a radiator. Even the hardness of it seemed to suggest that she had, but the last time she checked, a radiator didn’t swell with steady breaths, and she was certain it wouldn’t wrap her in a lover’s embrace.
Last night came flooding back to her as she opened her eyes to see that her face was pressed against Jami’s firm chest. He had taken his shirt off during the night, giving her an up close and personal view of his perfectly smooth, sculpted, and tanned skin. She had never seen someone more perfect than him. He had a set of wide shoulders, thick arms, and eight gorgeous abs that lead her eyes down to a very obvious bulge that made her mouth water to touch.
What was he dreaming about? she wondered.
Last night’s conversation came back to her. Had Jami really asked her to be his fuck buddy? The proposal should have offended her, but she couldn’t seem to summon that particular emotion, because the fact was, she had wanted him for so long. The idea of being in his bed was tempting. What if she said yes? Would it give her the opening she sought to get closer to him? Would he eventually realize that she was what he needed in his life? Did he need her? And if she agreed to do this, would it cheapen her in his eyes, keeping her firmly in the friend zone, or worse?
There were so many questions running through her head, and she didn’t have the energy to figure out an answer for any of them. Right now, she needed to worry about the day ahead.
Careful not to wake him, Alyson lifted her head from the arm that had acted as her pillow through the night. She grimaced as she twisted to set her feet on the floor. Hours of sharing a couch made for a poor substitute of a bed making her body sore and achy.
Jami grumbled and resettled, his big body absorbing the space she had just left as she headed groggily for the bathroom to start getting ready for work. As Alyson showered, she wondered what to do about Jami. What answer would she give him? Moreover, what was she going to do about him now, today? He was asleep in her living room, and she needed to go to work. Should she wake him up, send him on his way, or let him stay? Did he have somewhere important to be? Why did she let him stay the night, anyway?
The heat of the water did nothing for her mind, but it eased some of her aches, and by the time Alyson stepped out of the shower, she was wide awake. With so many people in her home, she was more than aware of the need to hurry in case anyone needed the bathroom. She ran the blow-dryer through her hair, and then added some soft waves with her curling iron. A light dusting of make-up followed, enough to get rid of the shadows under her eyes and make her look alive and fresh. By the time she was finished, more than thirty minutes had passed, and she felt the press of time heavy on her shoulders. Although she had been getting up at the same time every day for years and had no use for an alarm clock, she had to get moving or else she would be late.
>
Reaching for her clothes, Alyson stopped short with her hand hovering in the air. She stared at the empty space on the counter, realizing that she had forgotten some key items, like clothes.
Naked but for the towel wrapped around her, Alyson listened at the door for any movement outside. Down the hall, she could hear someone rummaging around in the kitchen and the murmur of voices.
Figures, Alyson thought, pressing her forehead against the door. Not used to waking up in the living room, she had completely flaked, and of course, she had a full house.
Calculating the distance she’d have to run to get to her bedroom, Alyson placed her hand on the doorknob and took a deep breath for courage. All she had to do was run.
Whipping open the door, she took two long strides and slammed straight into Jami’s chest.
“Oh!” Losing some of her balance, Alyson’s hands shot out and grabbed ahold of his large biceps, holding on for dear life.
Jami’s arms went around her waist instantly, helping to hold her up. “Whoa, Blake. Where’s the fire?”
Alyson’s face heated to find Jami’s eyes surveying her. They started at her face and worked their way down, taking in the strip of towel that had slipped to show the tops of her breasts, and it was so short that all of her legs were open to his viewing pleasure. “I forgot my clothes,” she croaked, pulling away. She adjusted her towel as Jami stepped back, watching her every move.
“Are you heading into work today?” he asked her before she could duck inside her bedroom.
Alyson paused in the doorway to look back at him. “Yeah, I have a new case I need to get working on,” she explained.
He nodded, his gaze still moving over her. Alyson felt her stomach flutter and her breasts grow heavy from the intensity she saw in his dark eyes. If he could do that with just a look, what would he do to her once he got her under him? “Care if I use your shower?” he asked her, hitching his thumb over his shoulder.
“By all means,” she said, waving her hand at the bathroom. As soon as Jami disappeared from view, Alyson dashed for the safety of her bedroom. She dressed in record time, but it still wasn’t fast enough. Stepping into the kitchen, Alyson found Jami standing in front of the stove tending to a pan of scrambled eggs. Olivia and Spencer moved around the cramped space, pulling down cups and plates and setting them out on the counter.
“Good morning,” Alyson said brightly as she grabbed a mug and poured herself some orange juice.
Lifting his head, Jami’s gaze skated down the black blazer and low cut indigo blouse to the tight pencil skirt and matching sling backs that had a heel tall enough to make her legs look fantastic, in open appreciation.
Had she dressed to impress? Damn straight.
Soak it up, she laughed deviously in her head as she sipped her juice.
“So what do you have planned for today?” Jami asked her.
Alyson tossed her hair back over her shoulder. She loved her job, but she never got to talk about it much. It wasn’t easy when talking about it meant giving away details of another person’s personal life. Yet, she knew with this group, she was safe to speak openly. “Just the same stuff I do every day,” she said, downplaying it. “Actually, today I will be out of the office. I have to make a few house calls to make sure everything is going smoothly, but I am looking forward to this new case I’m working on. This mother left her husband after he tried to turn his anger on their thirteen year old son, so I’ve relocated her to our halfway house until she can get through the court proceedings and we can find her a more stable place to live. I like to make sure they have everything they need.”
“What she means is,” Olivia interjected brightly, passing her an affectionate smile, “that she plans to give away half of her paycheck.”
Jami slanted a questioning look at her. “You give them your money?”
“No,” Alyson said, shaking her head. “I just make sure they have some of the basics, like toothpaste and shampoo. The stuff they like, not the stuff the government provides. The halfway houses are poor to start with. They can provide a bed to sleep in and maybe a few articles that were donated, but not everything. These women are in a bad enough position without feeling like they’ve lost everything.” She turned her face to the floor, suddenly feeling emotional. “If they feel like they have nothing left, it makes them even more vulnerable than they already are. I just want to give them a good start, so maybe they won’t go back.”
“That’s really noble of you, Ally,” Jami said gruffly, and no doubt he was remembering the past just as she was.
The room fell into complete silence and Alyson knew without looking that everyone was watching her, weighing her reaction. It made her skin itch to be under such close scrutiny. “So,” Alyson said, shaking off her melancholy, “what are you doing today?”
“Hitting the gym,” Jami said definitively. “Coach and I decided that we’re moving up my weight class for the next event.”
“How come?” Alyson asked curiously.
“It’s more challenging,” he said, smiling into the pan.
“Don’t let him fool you, Ally,” Spence spoke up. “Jamison here is just your average meathead. He won’t be satisfied until he’s big enough to sink like a stone in a bathtub.”
Jami leveled the spatula at Spencer and sent him a warning look.
“Isn’t being in a higher weight class dangerous?” Alyson asked. “I mean, some of those guys are pretty big. You could get hurt, right?”
Jami smiled indulgently. “I could get hurt anytime, by anyone, no matter the weight class.”
Still, no matter what, he would be in danger of getting hurt. The thought of something bad happening to him made her stomach twist into knots. As her eyes drifted over Jami, over his hard body lined with inch after inch of thick, hard muscle, she couldn’t imagine him being any larger than he was now. Even so, at any size, he would still be hot enough to burn. She withheld the tremor that rippled through her at the memory of being pressed against him, of his mouth working against hers, and she had to fight not to reach out and touch him, to beg him to kiss her again.
“So, I hear you two slept together last night,” Olivia commented, one brow arched high in expectation.
“We fell asleep on the couch,” Alyson corrected her as she shook off the lust-filled haze coating her brain and walked over to set her empty mug in the sink. “Surprising considering…” She looked meaningfully at Jami, who smirked as he flipped off the stove and began plating up the eggs. She waved him off when he got to the last plate. She hated eggs. Just the sight of them turned her stomach.
Jami frowned but didn’t argue.
“Considering what?” Olivia cast a curious look between her and Jami.
Alyson shrugged. “That my apartment is haunted,” she said stone-faced.
Olivia’s eyes rounded. “Dude, seriously? And you let me stay here?” she screeched.
“Seriously,” Alyson nodded somberly. “But I don’t think it’s dangerous. It’s just hard to sleep with all the moaning and howling, right, Jami?”
Arms folded across his broad chest, Jami’s smile widened. “I would say it was more like wailing.”
“Really? Because it sounded more like moaning to me. How did it go again? Something like ‘Ooooo, baby, harder. Ah! Ah! Ah!” Alyson cackled with laughter, covering her head with her arms as Olivia shot across the kitchen to slap her.
“You’re terrible!” she shouted, laughing along with her. “Remind me why I agreed to be your friend again.”
Alyson grasped her arms, panting from laughing so hard, but she couldn’t resist teasing her. “Oh, oh, Liv,” she moaned, repeating Spencer’s heated words.
“You’re an asshole,” Olivia said, but she was smiling, letting Alyson know that, despite being a little embarrassed, she wasn’t angry.
She watched as her friend walked to the table and seated herself in Spencer’s lap. She loved the girl, but so help her, if she ever had wild and crazy sex in her house again,
she was going to kick her ass. She was still smiling when she glanced up at Jami.
Her breath hitched at the look he was giving her. Brown eyes burned nearly black, searing her with their heat. She felt so exposed under the weight of his stare that she almost checked to make sure she was still wearing clothes.
“What?”
He shook his head slowly. “Have you decided yet?” he rasped.
Alyson’s smile fell as she realized then what a spectacle she must have made of herself. And Jami was watching every second of it. No wonder he was looking at her like that. She shivered as she thought of what he must be thinking, picturing the two of them together, naked, touching and savoring each other’s body. The mental image she conjured made her insides flare with heat, desire pooling between her thighs.
“No, not yet,” she said, proud when her voice didn’t shake. Conferring with the clock on the wall, she pushed away from the counter. “I need to get to work,” she told everyone. “Liv, make sure to lock up behind you.”
Her friend spared her a brief look and saluted her. “Will do. Have a good day at work!”
Jami snagged her arm as she passed by him. “Think about it.”
“I will,” Alyson assured him, then pulled away and dashed out the door before she gave him the only answer that kept shouting in her head: yes.
ELEVEN
Alyson stepped carefully over the broken sidewalk and around clusters of children’s toys to get to the old Victorian that had seen better days. With broken and sun-bleached shutters on the aged wooden siding, a sloping porch, and a screen door that banged against the house due to a broken latch, she had to admit that this shelter wasn’t a place she would want to find herself in, but it had to be better than living in fear of when your next beating would come.
She knocked loudly to announce herself as she stepped over the threshold. A couple of women around her age looked up at her with smiles already on their faces. She had the instant notion that they were enjoying themselves before her intrusion, and she would bet her life that they were of the same mind. If given the choice, this was the lesser of two evils.