Night with Sole Regret

TAKE ME VI

“Julie loves you,” Amanda said, unlocking her car doors with the button on her key fob. “That’s all that matters.”

“I just hope she doesn’t change her mind.”

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

Amanda opened the trunk, and he leaned toward her to put his bag inside. When she caught the spicy scent of his aftershave, her knees went weak. It took every shred of her willpower not to bury her face in his neck and inhale. She wished she wasn’t so attracted to him. His utter masculinity made it so hard for her to behave herself.

When Jacob didn’t move away immediately, Amanda dragged her gaze up his body. His six feet of hard muscles and his broad shoulders completely overwhelmed her senses. For a minute, she thought he was leaning closer with the intention of kissing her, but as she couldn’t see his eyes through his dark sunglasses, she couldn’t know for sure if he was even looking at her. She plucked his disconcerting eyewear from his nose.

“Not sure why you always wear these damned things,” she said, folding them and tucking them into the neck of his white T-shirt. She forced her hands not to explore the distractingly cut chest muscles defined beneath his shirt. The man was gorgeous. Perfect. And she liked him. Always had. Couldn’t help herself.

“Because.”

She tore her appreciative gaze from Jacob’s body and peered into his eyes. She did know why he always wore sunglasses. He had expressive eyes that quickly made a person realize that he wasn’t the heartless, narcissistic son of a b***h he pretended to be. And that’s why she wanted him. Not because he was the most eyegasmic man ever to walk to earth, but because he felt. Deeply. And those pretty blue eyes of his revealed everything he tried to hide.

“Have you eaten?” she asked. “I’ll take you out. My treat.”

“I was planning on just hanging out at home. Maybe order a pizza. Eat it in front of the TV. Have a beer. Get in a good workout followed by a swim. Then I’m going to sit in the hot tub and vegetate.”

It sounded as if he would be busy being sweaty, wet and potentially naked for most of the evening. Holy hotness. Amanda suddenly needed a panty change. “Oh.”

“I wouldn’t mind some company though.” Before he could turn away, she’d caught his forlorn expression. Ah God, he was lonely. She wasn’t sure how a man who was surrounded by a perpetual crowd could ever be lonely, but even though those kissable lips could lie, those expressive blue eyes didn’t.

Amanda closed the trunk. “Do I count as company?” she asked.

“Can’t take a hint?” he said with a grin. He climbed into the car and shut the door.

A hint? What did he mean? That he wanted to spend more time with her? If only. Amanda was the smart, quirky sister. Tina was the hot sister who all the guys wanted. Jacob included. Amanda had come to terms with Tina’s appeal—and her own lack thereof—after the fourth time Amanda got dumped so her boyfriend could pursue Tina. It didn’t matter to them that Tina wasn’t interested in anyone who didn’t have a fat wallet.

Amanda got behind the wheel of her sensible Toyota, shut the door and fastened her seat belt.

“Did you need to stop anywhere before I drop you off at home?” she asked.

“You really can’t take a hint.”

He chuckled; the rich, deep sound made Amanda’s belly quiver.

“Say, Amanda, do you want to hang out with me and have some pizza and a beer? Watch a movie?”

“What kind of movie?”

“I don’t care.” His eyes widened as if he was struck by a horrendous revelation. “Just no chick flicks.”

Her heart was thudding like a jackhammer, but she somehow managed to play it cool and start the car. “I don’t know, Jacob. I’m pretty picky about the movies I watch. I have a chick-flick only policy.”

“I guess we’ll have to watch golf instead. I don’t do chick flicks.”

Golf? Snore-fest. Though if she was with Jacob, she couldn’t imagine even televised golf would be boring. “Well in that case … I guess I can tolerate a bit of testosterone. I do, however, draw the line at movies with fist-fight sound effects.”

He grinned, and the ambient temperature inside the car increased at least ten degrees. “Slasher horror movie it is.”

She laughed uneasily. She was a certified coward when it came to scary movies. “Sure. As long as you don’t mind me clinging to you in terror and hiding my face in your chest.” She couldn’t stop her gaze from wandering to that big, muscular chest. Yep, it looked perfect for hiding one’s face. Also perfect for fondling. And licking. Kissing. Caressing. Sucking. Massaging. Nib—

“I wouldn’t mind that at all,” he said.

Her eyes lifted to meet his. Wait just a second. “Are you hitting on me, Jacob?”

“I thought that was obvious.”

Oh hell, yes. “I’m not sure if I should be alone with you. You might try to get in my pants.”

He chuckled. “I might.”

She knew he was teasing her, but that didn’t stop parts in her pants from readying themselves for a welcome invasion.

“I guess I’ll have to risk it,” she said, as if her heart wasn’t about to thud itself out of her chest. “You’ve given me a powerful craving for pizza. And a cold beer.”

She started the car and shifted it into drive.

“And burying my face in your chest,” she added.

He laughed. “I can hook you up with all three.”

His knuckles brushed the side of her leg, and she nearly leapt out of her skin. She praised her wise decision to wear shorts that morning.

“Hey, thanks for letting me know about Julie’s party.”

“No problem!” she squeaked.

Jacob’s thumb rubbed a small spot of skin just above her knee. Amanda’s panties were going to need scuba gear if they got any wetter.

“I wish I could have made it earlier,” he said. “Adam seems to think he’s the only one in the band who has a life. I get really sick of trying to get him to see beyond himself.”

Amanda chanced a glance at him. He was staring at where his thumb was igniting the nerve endings in her skin, but he didn’t seem to be seeing what he was doing.

“You didn’t miss much. Ten obnoxious screaming kids, sticky hands covered in pink frosting, a few tantrums, and one stomachache that ended badly in the kiddie pool.”

“Did Julie make a wish and blow out her candles?”

Amanda smiled, fighting the urge to stroke his dark hair. She adored that the man’s biggest weakness was a thirty-pound girl who loved strawberry ice cream. “Yeah. She got them all in one breath. She’s windy like her father.”

He laughed and jerked his hand from her knee as if he’d just noticed he was still touching her. “That probably wasn’t a good trait to inherit.”

“Sure it is. It’s part of what makes you an amazing singer.” She took her eyes off the road and found him staring at the dashboard. The turmoil in his pretty blue eyes broke her heart. “You know, I recorded Julie blowing out her candles on my cellphone.”

He sat up straighter, and a smile softened his hard features. “You did?”

“Get my phone out of my purse and you can watch it.”

He scowled at her purse, which was squashed between the front seats. “There are few things I won’t touch. A woman’s purse is one of them.”

“Why?” she asked. “Afraid you might find a tampon in there or something?”

“Ever since I saw the movie Mary Poppins as a kid, I’ve been leery of women’s purses. I don’t know if you have a coatrack in there or an alligator or a chainsaw.”

“Nope,” she said, “no chainsaws. No tampons either.” Just to make it perfectly clear that it was not her time of the month. In case he wanted to check out all the hot, throbbing wetness going on in her shorts.

He chuckled and stuck a tentative hand in her purse. His startled yell caused Amanda to stomp on the brakes. The horn of the car behind them blared.

“Oh, it’s just your wallet,” he said. “Thought it was an alligator.”

She slapped him in the arm repeatedly. “You scared the crap out of me.”

He poked her in the side, and she squirmed, the friction against the seat drawing her attention to how inappropriately turned on she was. Another horn blared as she drifted toward the oncoming lane. She was surprised she hadn’t hit a phone pole yet. It was exceedingly difficult to concentrate on the road with Jacob Silverton sitting next to her, smelling as amazing as he looked. She could only imagine how good he felt. Damn, she was horny. She needed to find the time to date more often.

Jacob located her cellphone and flicked his finger over the screen. “Hmm,” he murmured. “What’s this? A s*x tape starring Amanda Lange?”

“What?” She made a grab for her phone—knowing damned well there weren’t any X-rated videos of herself stored on it. “I thought I erased that.”

“Ooo,” he said, holding the phone cradled in both hands. “I want to see this.”

An off-key rendition of “Happy Birthday to Julie” came from the tiny speakers on her phone. Jacob stared down at the screen completely mesmerized and if Amanda wasn’t mistaken, a teensy bit misty-eyed. She smiled. All talk. The man was all talk.

“Make a wish, Julie,” Tina’s voice said from the phone’s speaker.

“Like Aladdin?” Julie asked.

“Hurry, the candles are dripping.”

“I wish I is a princess. A really real princess.” There was a pause and then everyone clapped.

“See, you made her wish come true without even knowing about it,” Amanda said.

“This kid is going to be the death of me,” Jacob said. He replayed the video. Twice.

Her hand hovered above his thigh. She so wanted to touch him but ultimately couldn’t find the courage to do it and so fiddled with the air conditioner instead. She fleetingly wondered if it needed repaired. She was strangely overheated though the vents were directed toward her and blowing air at full blast. “I could send you videos of her, if you’d like.”

She turned onto the road that led to Jacob’s house, thinking that she should have driven like her grandfather—as if trying to throw a race to a snail. The drive had been much too short. She slowed until her foot was off the gas and they literally rolled the length of the final block. “I do babysit her a lot, you know. She thinks her Aunt Mander is pretty cool.” And someone had to look after the kid when Tina went shopping. Tina loved spending Jacob’s money. She tackled the task as if competing in an Olympic event.