Field of Pleasure (10 page)

Jared had to stop himself from pushing her to the side and paying the damn bill himself. He stood just behind her, looking on as her hand shook slightly while she wrote out a check.

The receptionist took the check, eyeing it cautiously.

“It's good,” Chyna bit out.

The receptionist processed the check and in a few minutes they were on their way out of the animal hospital.

“I'm parked at the garage next door,” Jared said quietly.

She tightened her hold on Summer and continued her march along the sidewalk. They waited in silence as the garage attendant brought his Benz around. As he pulled out onto the street, he glanced over at Chyna. “I'm not sure if I should apologize, or what,” Jared said.

“No apology necessary.”

“Are you sure? Because this awkward not talking thing isn't really working for me. If all it would take is an apology to make it go away, I'm willing to try it.”

“I'm not comfortable with you paying for things for me,” she finally said after a long pause. “I've heard stories from Liani about the unspoken rule—or maybe expectation is a better word for it—when players and girls from the Saberrettes squad hook up. But that's not me, Jared. I'm not going to put out for a nice dinner or a piece of jewelry or because you paid my dog's vet bill.”

“Hey, I wasn't trying to buy my way into your pants. I was just trying to help, Chyna. Honestly,” he said at the skeptical look she slid his way. “It's like I said back there, I know this was an unexpected bill. I sorta feel responsible. If I hadn't been there to distract you, you could have kept a better eye on Summer and stopped her before she ran into those bushes.”

“It wasn't your fault,” she murmured then turned and peered out the window.

The uncomfortable tension was like another occupant in the car. Before he could attempt another apology, Chyna said, “Can we call it a day? I'm a complete wreck and I'm tired and I just want to go home and cuddle with Summer.”

“No,” Jared protested, his stomach knotting at the
threat of their day coming to such a swift end. “I still owe you dinner in return for you buying me lunch.”

“I didn't pay for lunch. It was on the house, remember?”

“That's beside the point,” Jared said.

“I can't leave Summer alone while I go out to dinner, Jared. Not after the scare she's had.”

They stopped at a red light. Jared twisted toward her. “Why don't the two of you come over to my place? I can cook…wait.” He didn't know if he even had food to cook. “We can order in. Maybe watch a movie. I don't live too far from here.”

“Jared,” she hedged, running her hand along Summer's coat. “Look, I know that kiss back there was…um…awesome,” she said after a pause. “But I don't want you getting the wrong idea. I'm not sleeping with you tonight.”

He clenched the wheel and blew out a terse breath. “Chyna, that's not what this is about,” he said, even though a part of him silently cursed up a storm at her pronouncement. He knew the chances of them sleeping together tonight were remote, but her baldly stated refusal cut him to the quick.

This wasn't about sex, Jared reminded himself. Besides, it would be wrong to make a move on her with her emotions still running high after Summer's accident. Sex could wait. More than anything, he wanted to put the smile she wore earlier back on her face.

“I promise to sit on the opposite end of the sofa—on the opposite side of the room, if that'll make you feel safer. I just don't want to cut our date short, Chyna.”

The light changed to green, but Jared didn't move,
even when several cars behind him honked. He just continued staring at her.

“Okay,” she finally relented. “But no Moroccan food. That'll just lead to trouble.”

A
n hour after stepping foot into Jared's spacious apartment, Chyna still found her mouth gaping as she discovered yet another bit of luxury. The fifteen-foot ceilings with twelve-inch crown molding were enough for her to envy him for the rest of his life. As her eyes roamed the stylish kitchen, she couldn't help but covet the state-of-the-art appliances and abundant counter space.

“I'm not sure how you can stand to leave this place,” she said before biting into a slice of pizza.

He glanced around the room and grunted with an offhanded shrug. Chyna wasn't sure whether to be angry at him or feel sorry for him. His hall bathroom was nearly the size of her entire bedroom, yet it hardly fazed him. It was a shame he couldn't appreciate what he had here.

“I've been considering moving out of the city,” Jared said. “If the new stadium is approved, I may look for something closer to it. Maybe Paramus.”

“Some nice houses in that zip code,” Chyna said.

“A bunch of the guys on the team live out that way. It's quiet, a little more private. I don't know, though. What's the point of playing for a New York team if you're not going to get the most out of the city?”

They finished off the pizza and headed to his media room. Chyna shouldn't have been shocked by the huge screen and eight captain chairs, but what girl from Queens wouldn't be taken aback by this luxury? She sat in one of the theater chairs and nearly purred as the smooth leather surrounded her. Jared placed Summer on the floor next to her. Her baby was resting comfortably on a pillow Jared had brought in from his bedroom.

He walked to an ornately carved oak cabinet and opened the door. Its shelves were lined with hundreds, possibly as many as a thousand DVDs.

“Are you in the mood to laugh, cry or scream?” Jared asked.

“What about sigh?”

“What kind of movie would that be?”

“You know, something like
Terms of Endearment
or
The Thornbirds
.” Chyna laughed at the look he tossed over his shoulder. “I'm kidding.”

They settled on heart-pumping action with
The Replacement Killers,
but Chyna felt her eyes growing heavy before the first big shoot 'em up scene. When she opened her eyes again, Jared's face was inches from her own. She jerked back.

“Sorry, you just looked so damn cute,” he said, scratching behind Summer's ear.

“How long have you been sitting there staring at me?”

“Since the movie ended about five minutes ago.”

Chyna stifled a yawn. “I'm sorry for falling asleep. Too much excitement today, I guess.”

“For both of you. This little one just woke up a few minutes ago herself.”

Chyna smiled sleepily at Summer, who looked perfectly content snuggled up to Jared. Her dog was having a better date than she was. First she snuggled up to Jared's pillow, and now his chest.

She didn't want a spot on either of those surfaces, Chyna reminded herself. This was already moving way too fast. She had told herself she would have one dinner with Jared and that was it. Already they'd had two dinners and a lunch. And now look at her—curled up in his apartment with her shoes kicked off.

What had gotten into her? She hardly knew this man, yet she'd fallen asleep in his home, with only a banged-up Yorkie for protection? She never allowed herself to become this vulnerable—would never have survived this long if she had. The fact that she'd so easily let her guard down with Jared was both telling and disturbing.

“I have to go,” Chyna said with an abrupt start. She searched for the release handle that would bring the reclining chair to an upright position.

“Already? It's just a little after seven,” Jared said.

“I have…I like to get my clothes pressed and ready for work the night before so I'm not scrambling in the morning, you know?” She looked at him wearily. “No, you don't know.” It was a stark reminder of how different their lives were.

Chyna reached over and scooped Summer out of his arms. Her body mourned the lost of the soft leather as she rose from the chair and looked around for her shoes.

“I put them over by the door,” Jared said. “I didn't want you tripping over your shoes if you happened to wake up while it was still dark in here.”

“Thank you.” She walked over to the door and slid
her feet into her canvas slip-ons. Then she exited the media room with Jared following a few steps behind. She needed to get out of his house as quickly as possible. She couldn't think straight when she was in such close proximity to him.

“You sure you don't want to stay a little while longer for a drink or maybe a bite to eat?” Jared asked. “You didn't eat much of the pizza. I can heat up a couple of slices.”

“No, thanks,” Chyna said. “Really, I need to go. Now.”

“Chyna.” He caught her arm and turned her to him. The heated look simmering in his eyes warmed her skin.

“Jared…we shouldn't,” she said, but he didn't give her a chance to voice her feeble protest. Sliding his hand up her back, to her nape, Jared captured her lips in a kiss that shot a bolt of need straight through her. His tongue nudged at the crease of her lips before plunging inside her mouth.

Chyna flattened her palms against his chest, molding her fingers to its muscled contours. A strangled moan escaped her throat as she felt his heartbeat escalate beneath her fingers. Flagrant in his sensual assault, he stroked the inside of her mouth with bold, unhurried thrusts. In and out, his tongue tempted her, coaxing her to fully engage in the erotic kiss.

Chyna melted, desire pooling between her thighs. She matched his tongue's caress stroke for stroke, drowning in the onslaught of desire that engulfed her entire being.

Jared pulled her body flush against his and the unmistakable hardness pressing against her belly knocked Chyna out of the carnal web that had ensnared her. This was moving too fast. She couldn't allow his alluring kisses to overcome her common sense.

“No,” Chyna moaned. “Stop.” She put her hands against his chest and managed to push him away.

Jared took a step back, his chest heaving from the lack of oxygen. “Chyna, what's wrong? You look…I don't know, scared or something. You know you never have to be afraid of me, don't you?”

But she
was
afraid. She was terrified at how quickly she'd allowed herself to become comfortable with him, with all this luxury surrounding her. This kind of life wasn't in the cards for her, and she had always been totally fine with that. She'd accepted her lot in life a long time ago, and had never wanted anything more than what she could provide for herself. Yet look how quickly she'd fallen for it after one little taste.

Jared cupped her shoulders in his large palms, his brow furrowed with concern. “Chyna, you know I would never hurt you, right?”

Maybe not physically, but he was a threat to everything she believed about herself. She didn't need Jared Dawson and his multimillion-dollar condominium. She didn't need him offering to pay her dog's vet bill, or buying her three-thousand-dollar bottles of wine.

She took care of herself. Always.

The minute she started relying on someone else to provide for her she became vulnerable. Anything could happen. Jared could get traded to another team and leave her high and dry. His girlfriend could come back, and Chyna would be left in the dust. Left to fend for herself, just as she'd been forced to do her entire life.

“I'm tired and I have a lot to do. Really, I just have to go.” She picked up her backpack from the couch and headed for the door. “Thank you for today.”

Displeasure shadowed his face, but he only sighed and grabbed his car keys.

Chyna shook her head. “You don't have to drive me home, Jared. I can catch the subway.”

“With a dog?”

“She goes in my backpack.”

“You're not catching the subway.”

“Why not? I do it every other day.” She held her hand up, halting his rebuttal. “I'm a big girl, Jared. I can get home on my own.”

The look on his face told Chyna she'd just stepped into a battle she was going to lose. Damn him for being as stubborn as she was.

He stood before the door like an armed sentry. “You either let me drive you home, or we stay right here all night. Take your pick.”

One part of her wanted to throttle him while another melted at his insistence on being a gentleman. Chyna had a feeling he'd stand there for hours before he let her go home on her own.

“Fine,” she relented. “If you want to drive
all
the way to Brooklyn and
all
the way back, who am I to stop you?”

The corner of his mouth quirked up in a satisfied smile and Chyna cursed herself for giving in so easily. Jared was obviously used to getting his way.

They drove across lower Manhattan, with only the mellow R & B music that flowed from the car's surround sound speakers to break the silence. As he drove onto the Manhattan Bridge, Jared reached over and lowered the radio.

“You want to tell me why you started to freak back there?” he asked.

Chyna debated ignoring his question, but her aversion to behaving like a seventh-grader demanded she face his query head-on.

“It was moving too fast,” she said, looking out at the
lights of downtown Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge. She turned to Jared and continued. “I don't normally do this, go up to a man's apartment after only one date.”

“Technically, it was two dates,” he interjected.

“We were still in the midst of date number two,” she reminded him. “And that's still fast for me, Jared. I had a good time today, but I can't allow myself to be pulled in by you and all your…stuff,” she said, for lack of a better word.

“My
stuff?
” he asked as he took the first exit from the bridge.

“All of this.” She gestured to the opulence surrounding her. “The fancy car, the fancy condo. Even that gourmet pizza we had for dinner.” Chyna shook her head. “Liani has told me countless stories about how girls from the Saberrettes squad have been sucked in by all of this. I won't let it happen to me. I'm happy with my life the way it is,” she said with halfhearted conviction. “I do just fine taking care of myself.”

“Okay,” he said after several long, quiet moments. “So, I'll go out and buy a used Hyundai for our next date, which will be at McDonalds, by the way.”

Chyna burst out laughing. Why did he have to be sweet
and
funny? And so very, very hot.

“You're obviously prejudiced against people with money,” he continued. “But I can live with that.”

“I am not prejudiced,” she said with an affronted gasp. “I just…”

“Yes?” Jared asked when she didn't continue.

“Nothing,” Chyna said.

So, maybe she did have a slight prejudice when it came to the wealthy. The thought left a bad taste in her mouth, but after struggling her entire life, it was hard not to be envious. Yet she knew money didn't bring happiness.
Just look at Liani. Despite growing up surrounded by luxury, there was a constant sadness hiding beneath the surface of Liani's quick smile and witty comebacks.

Still, there had to be an advantage to not having to worry about coming up with rent money every month. But the money thing was
her
issue. It was unfair to jump all over Jared because of her hang-ups.

“You don't have to go out and buy a used Hyundai,” Chyna said. “I'll suffer the shame of riding around in your Benz.”

He flashed her a grin. Cocking a brow her way, he asked, “Do you promise not to bring up money on our next date?”

“You say that as if a next date is a foregone conclusion.”

“Isn't it? I was hoping Saturday night,” he said. “I hate to wait that long, but I'm going to be tied up all this week with rookie tryouts.”

“I thought the minicamp wasn't for another month?”

“It's not minicamp. It's tryouts. Two weeks before the NFL draft the team brings in the rookies they're interested in. We put them through all kinds of drills. See who's most ready—physically and mentally—to play on this stage.”

“A job interview for football players,” she commented.

“The most important interview of their careers.” He turned onto her street. “Where's your place? I'm not dropping you off at that bakery again.”

Chyna pointed to her building. “Just let me out here,” Chyna said after noticing there wasn't an available parking spot in front of the building.

He slanted an irritated glance her way as he made an illegal U-turn and pulled into a slot on the other side of the street.

“You haven't caught on yet, have you? Didn't I tell you my father is navy? He may be a cheating SOB, but he taught his son how to be a gentleman,” he said as he exited the car.

Chyna put her backpack over her shoulder and went to open the car door, but Jared had already made it to her side and was opening it for her.

Something told her to just leave it alone, but she couldn't stop herself from asking, “Your father cheated?”

Jared's forehead creased in a frown. “What?”

“You just called him a cheating SOB.”

He grimaced, expelling a tired, humorless laugh. “Sorry about that,” he said. “I didn't mean to be crass.”

They walked up the stairs to her building's front door.

“Don't apologize,” she said. “It must have been upsetting for you.” Her dad may have been a bitter hard-ass, but as far as Chyna knew, he had always been faithful to her mother.

“What was upsetting was having to take care of my mom after he'd leave her to spend the night with one of his women.”

Her heart broke for the suffering she heard in his voice. She reached over and squeezed his arm. “It's rough isn't it? First your dad, then your girlfriend.”