Finding Forever (17 page)

“Whoa
.” Jordan jerked her hand away, taken aback by the sudden hostility in Jake’s tone. “I’m not sure whether I should be flattered that you’re jealous, or offended because you seem to think I’ve got something going on with Carl behind your back. Either way, judging from that reaction, maybe he
is
an issue we need to discuss.”

“I don’t mean to offend you.” Jake sighed. “Jeez. I always seem to say the wrong thing.”

“A few minutes ago you were saying all the right things.” He was absolutely adorable in his frustration, making it all but impossible to stay annoyed with his suddenly petulant attitude. “I’m not mad at you. I’m just trying to figure out why you have such a problem with Carl.”

“Because I’m sick of him always being around.” Jake exhaled. “I guess I am jealous.”

“There’s nothing to be jealous of, and you were the one that called him last night,” Jordan reminded him. “I didn’t ask you to.”

“I called him because I thought you might need help and I wasn’t sure what to do. Then he got all territorial with me and he seems a little too comfortable in your house…”

It struck Jordan as a little funny that Jake thought Carl spent too much time in her house, since most of the time she always sensed he was anxious to leave once he got what he came for. “Carl’s a friend. I told you at that.”

When Jake’s eyebrow arched, Jordan knew he didn’t believe her, and she sighed. “I suppose
‘friend with benefits’ was a more accurate term,” she said.

“So you are sleeping with him.” His tone sounded accusing, and Jordan immediately found herself on the defensive.

“Was,” she corrected. “Not since right after you came to town and before we started seeing each other.” With her straw, she jabbed at the lemon slice in her glass of tea. “I’m thirty-eight years old. I never expected or planned on having a relationship. I obviously don’t hang out in bars and I don’t pick up random guys, but celibacy isn’t something I’m built for, either. Carl fulfilled a need, and we used each other. It’s as simple as that.” Saying it out loud gave it an element of sleaziness Jordan had never thought much about before. “I’m not particularly proud of it, but that’s what it was. If that makes you think less of me, then—”

“No.” Jake was quick to shake his head. “After Macy, I’m certainly not in any position to judge you. Talk about not being proud of something.” He laughed in a way that seemed self-deprecating, and it made Jordan smile.

“Well, we all make mistakes.” She’d been grateful for the summer sun, giving her an excuse to wear sunglasses, but now Jordan pulled them off and looked him in the eyes. “I meant what I said yesterday. I’ve never been in love before, and I’m not sure how it all works, so you may have to be patient with me as I figure it out. I promise you, though, there’s nothing sexual going on between Carl and me, and there isn’t going to be.”

“I believe you,” Jake said. “Sorry. I didn’t like the way he slammed me into the wall last night, so when you brought his name up again, I overreacted.”

“Understandable, I guess,” Jordan said after a minute. She didn’t want it to be an issue anymore. “All I was trying to say is that Carl used to be married to a woman who didn’t really understand what it’s like to live with an alcoholic, even one in recovery. Sometimes she treated him like he was weak, other times she pitied him. Their relationship lost any sense of normalcy. I don’t want that to happen to us, Jake.”

“It won’t,” he said. “I don’t think you’re weak. I think you’re one of the strongest people I know. That makes me a lot more likely to admire you than pity you.”

“There you go saying all the right things again.”

“That’s the idea. I’m trying to shoot down all your arguments for not being with me by being irresistible.” His face broke out in a boyish grin. “So how am I doing?”

“Way too good,” Jordan admitted. “See, you make me weak, Jake.”

“No. Don’t even go there.” He leaned across the table and brushed his lips over hers in an effort to silence her protests. “You’re strong and sexy and cou
rageous and sexy and brave and—”

“Sexy?”

“Why, yes. That’s exactly what I was going to say.”

“I was sensing a theme.” Jordan smirked.

“Because you’re also intelligent,” Jake said. “And sexy.” He kissed her again. “I’d like to take you upstairs and prove it, too, if you’re done being stubborn.”

Yes, he was irresistible. “Stubborn? Me?” Jordan jumped up.

***

The elevator had just begun its ascent when Jake pressed the button to stop it.

“What are you doing?” Jordan asked. “I thought you were anxious to get me back up to your room to have your way with me.”

“I was, but I decided I’d rather have my way with you right here.” Jake moved closer, backing her against the wall, and his mere proximity made Jordan’s heart race in anticipation. “If that’s okay.” He didn’t wait for an answer, instead closing his mouth on hers.

Jordan responded by parting her lips, inviting his tongue to join hers in a familiar dance.
You can have your way with me anytime, anywhere
. He had a hold over her, and if she were to be completely honest, he probably had since the first time they met. There was no point in fighting it.

She allowed herself to take a breath, at least, when he moved his lips lower, nuzzling her neck while he worked on the buttons on her blouse.

“Have I mentioned you’re sexy?” he asked, cupping one of her breasts in his hand and fondling it through the lacy fabric of her bra.

“Maybe once or twice.” It sounded more like a whimper as Jake pushed up her skirt and moved his hand between her legs, inching toward her center.

“Am I making you wet?” he asked.

‘Yes,’ she wanted to cry out. “Why don’t you find out for yourself?” she urged instead, then emitted a sigh as Jake’s fingers reached the spot they craved.

“Oh, yeah. Nice and wet. Just the way I like it.” He found her pleasure point and rubbed it through the damp fabric of her underwear. “I bet I know what you like.” His voice was husky and his breath hot against her neck.

“What’s that?” Jordan challenged, though she was barely hanging on.

“This.” Jake pushed aside her underwear and thrust his fingers into her damp folds.

The sudden penetration caused her breath to hitch, and Jordan bit down on her lip, but still he probed deeper until her cries of pleasure couldn’t be restrained.

***

Jake expected the elevator to add some excitement, and figured he’d take her to the brink. After all, Jordan was the adventurous type and wasn’t afraid to live a little dangerously. She’d certainly proven that. What he hadn’t quite gambled on was her getting him so hot that he couldn’t wait to finish. At least his lack of response to Macy’s touch proved to be a one-time thing. His erection strained against his pants.

“Hurry up,” Jordan begged for more as he fumbled with his zipper. Why was he suddenly all thumbs, anyway?

The sudden lurch of the elevator caused him to start. “What the hell?” They were moving ag
ain. “Did you push the button?”

“No. Why would I do that?”

To torment me, maybe.
The elevator lurched to another stop and chimed as the doors opened.
Shit!
Jake held his hands in front of his crotch.

Jordan turned around, hastily trying to button her blouse.

“Are you going down?” an elderly woman asked.

“No, up,” Jake managed to say. “Definitely up. Sorry.” He jabbed at the button, trying to hurry the door closed.

“Well, that was a little embarrassing,” Jordan said, turning around.

Jake noticed her blouse was buttoned unevenly. “You think?”  The elevator stopped again, this time on his floor, and he practically dragged Jordan out with him. “Are you sure you didn’t push the button to start it again?”

“Yeah, because I really wanted the doors to open right then to give someone a nice view of my boobs! No, Jake, I didn’t push the damn button.”

“Okay, whatever.” Jake didn’t much care. He just wanted to get inside—the room and her. He slid the key card in and yanked at the knob, thankful it turned right away. “I plan on taking you right here, so if you have an objection, now’s a good time to raise it.”

When she didn’t offer one, Jake kicked the door closed and pinned her back against it. He hiked up her skirt with one hand and used the other to free his cock, emitting a sigh of relief as it sprang loose from his pants.

“Let me help you.” Jordan jerked her panties off and reached for him, guiding him to her opening.

She was slick and wet, and he entered her with ease. “Oh, God, babe.” He’d been in a hurry, but now that he was there, Jake wanted to make it last. He savored the feel of her around him as he moved inside her, gradually increasing their rhythm.

“Faster!” Jordan cried after a few minutes, and Jake obliged, lifting her buttocks and thrusting deeper as she wrapped her legs around him. When her body shook, signaling her climax, Jake let himself go and they crashed over the edge together.

***

“I think your equipment’s okay.” Jordan’s face was flushed and her breathing irregular.  “Better than okay, actually.”

Thank God
. Jake rolled off of her and collapsed against the pillows, completely spent. The woman was insatiable, no doubt about it. They’d finally made it to the bed, though, and he’d managed to keep up. She still might kill him before the night was over, but at least he’d die happy. “You did cast a spell on it, didn’t you?”

“Well, duh. It’s my master plan. Always ready for me, but it won’t work with anyone else.” Jordan grinned. “Genius, huh?”

“Definitely.” God, she was incredible. “Assuming I can keep you from running away from me again.” If he couldn’t, it would be a lonely life.

“I’m not planning on running away this time.”

Her tone carried conviction, and Jake wanted to believe her. He was about to put it to the test, though. “I’m glad.” He turned so he could face her. “There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“Okay.” Jordan sat up, wrapping the bed sheet around her. “Good something, I hope.”

“Very good, at least I think so.” He hoped she would agree. “I signed on for another movie. Lead role this time. Chaz Collier’s directing. Kate Hudson’s co-starring. It could be big.”

“Could be?” Jordan’s eyes widened. “I think that’s a pretty safe bet. Damn, Jake. You are hitting the big time.” She smiled. “How’s it feel?”

“Overwhelming,” he admitted. “But great, too. It’ll be better if I can share it with you.” Jake sat up and reached for her hands. “There’s one small catch. The movie films in Saint Lucia, and I have to leave in a couple weeks. As soon as I get done here.”

“Wow.” Jordan’s smile faded. “That’s fast.”

“I know. I don’t want to leave you,” Jake said. “I want you to come with me.”

“To Saint Lucia? For a movie location?” Jordan’s eyes widened as she cocked her head to one side. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. Doesn’t that sound great?”

“Great? Sure. Also completely unrealistic,” Jordan said. “I can’t drop everything and go to Saint Lucia with you. I have a job to do here. Trey’s in serious trouble, and I have other clients who need my help.”

Trey. Jake knew that would be a stumbling block. “I don’t expect you to just drop things. I’ll know you’ll need a little bit of time to get things settled.”

“Settled?” Jordan pulled her hands away. “What are you talking about? Do you expect me to give up my law practice and follow you all over the world to various movie locations?”

Jake thought the idea sounded pretty good, but judging from Jordan’s reaction, maybe not. “The salary for this next movie is…well, it’s a lot.” More than he ever expected to earn on one project. “And my agent just sent me another script. I don’t think you’ll have to work anymore.”

“Good for you. I’m thrilled you’re making it big.” Jordan said. “But if you’re looking for a woman who’ll be happy sunning herself on the beach all day and spending your money, maybe you better call Macy.” She pushed the sheet aside and got up from the bed.

“No.” Jake reached out to try to stop her, but she moved too fast. “Don’t run away from me. You promised you wouldn’t run away.”

“And I’m not. This isn’t me running.” Jordan grabbed a robe with the hotel logo and cinched it closed. “This is me staying put so we can discuss this and try to reach a compromise,” she said. “If we’re going to be together, we have to find one, because I’ve worked too damned hard building my law practice to just throw it all away, to say nothing of the fact that I own a house here. Grande Valley’s my home now. I can’t just up and leave.”

Since she’d spent much of the previous day scheming to get Macy out of town, then treating herself to a celebratory massage and facial, Jordan made sure she was at the office bright and early. She’d let Trey down a few days ago, but more importantly she let herself down. Now Jordan needed to prove it was merely a pothole in the road and she was still on top of her game. She couldn’t do that by giving everything up and going to Saint Lucia with Jake, no matter how appealing the idea sounded.

After a quick stop at her condo to shower and change clothes, she still beat Jen to the office. Jordan had coffee brewing when the office door chimed, signaling someone had opened it.

“Jordan?” Beth called out. “I saw your car out front and figured you might be here.”

“With deductive powers like that, you’re a shoe-in for re-election,” Jordan teased as she came out of the conference room to greet her friend. “I just put coffee on. It’ll be ready in a couple minutes. What brings you by here so early?”

Beth held up a DVD. “Border surveillance footage from two nights ago. Since one of your clients has a leading role, you might want to watch it. Or not.”

“Want? No. Should, yes.” Jordan sighed. So much for any hope that Beth wouldn’t aggressively pursue a case against Trey. “How bad is it?”

“It’s not great,” Beth said. “At least not from your point of view. But I figured you’d want to get started right away, so I brought my copy of the video to save you the hassle of trying to get it from law enforcement yourself.”

“I appreciate that.” If Jordan had to request it herself, it would take days to get it. “Thanks.”

“We can watch it in a few minutes. First I want to know if you patched things up with Jake.”

Jordan considered that as she led the way to the conference room. “Yes and no.” She poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Beth.

“What does that mean?”

“It means we’ve resolved the Macy issue.” Jordan poured butterscotch-flavored creamer into her coffee. “And the Carl issue.”

Beth frowned. “I didn’t know there was a Carl issue.”

“I didn’t either until last night.” Jordan sat down. “Apparently Jake has a jealous streak and needed to be reassured that Carl isn’t a threat.”

“As if.” Beth snorted. “I assume you were able to reassure him?”

Jordan smirked as she recalled the activities of the night before. Her back was still sore, but it was worth it. “Yes. I don’t think he’ll be worrying about Carl anymore. Unfortunately, we managed to find another issue that we haven’t completely resolved yet.” She set the mug down. “Jake’s going to the Caribbean in a couple weeks for another movie. He wants me to go with him.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Beth asked. “Because a vacation in the Caribbean sounds pretty nice to me.”

“Not just a vacation,” Jordan said. “He seems to think I can just give up my life here and keep him company on movie sets, maybe even go back to California.” The idea of that still made her uneasy. “I’ve always known he wasn’t here forever, which is why I was reluctant to get involved in the first place. Now that we’re getting close to the time he has to leave, it’s suddenly a lot more real. I don’t want him to leave, but I’m not sure I can go with him.”

“Oh.” Beth’s eyes narrowed in concern. “That’s rough. I’m sorry, Jordan.”

“Me too. We still have a little time, though.” They’d either figure out a compromise, or she’d cherish the remaining time she had with him.

***

Compromise. She wanted compromise. Jake thought he had everything figured out, but apparently he had a lot of work left to do if he wanted to persuade Jordan to go to Saint Lucia with him. At least she hadn’t run away from him last night. That was progress.

With a slightly later set call than usual, and Jordan leaving for the office early, Jake ordered breakfast and called Greg. His
agent had never steered him wrong in the past—okay, except maybe the zombie movie—and Jake figured Greg would be straight with him if he was on the brink of committing career suicide.

“What’s up, Jakey?” Greg was way too cheerful in the morning. “Are you ready for beaches and bikinis? It won’t be much longer now.” He still sounded so pleased with himself for finding a movie that would film in the location he thought Jake wanted.

Too bad it’s not really what I want anymore.
Jake still couldn’t believe how fast the time in Grande Valley had passed or how much things had changed since he’d been there. “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about,” Jake said, then held his breath, waiting for the agent to overreact.

“Please don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts.” Greg predictably jumped to conclusions. “Because I don’t think you have a team of lawyers good enough to defend that breach of contract lawsuit.”

Jake thought his lawyers were pretty good, but he’d be sued. They’d probably just give the role to Channing. Greg didn’t need to worry, though. Jake wasn’t ready to commit that level of career suicide. “Relax, Greg. I’m not going to bail on the movie. I’m looking forward to it, actually.” Especially if he wouldn’t be alone while he was there.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“The other script you sent. It’s still early stages, right?”

“Yep. Wouldn’t film ‘til next spring.”

Good. He’d have some time off. “Anything else on the horizon?” Jake asked. “I mean, can I really stay in movies? I won’t have to go back to television?” Television required him to be in Los Angeles. Movies were flexible.

“Not if I can help it.” Greg laughed before turning serious. “Look, Jake, I never say never because this business is fickle and cruel. You already know that firsthand. I can’t promise things won’t go bust for you, especially if one of the movies flops, but things look good. If
Border Cowboys
lives up to the hype, and there’s every reason to believe it will, then you should have your pick of projects.”

That was the impression Jake got from Greg a few days ago, but he needed to be sure, especially if he was going to present ‘Plan B’ to Jordan. “That means I don’t have to be in L.A. full time, right? I mean, I know I’ll have to be there part of the time, but I figure a lot of the filming will be on location, anyway.” He’d been up most of the night watching Jordan sleep and thinking about a solution. “I don’t see any reason why I can’t make my home base somewhere else. Don’t lots of movie stars have homes in New Orleans or other places?”

“So you want a house in the Garden District down the road from Sandra Bullock?” Greg asked, chuckling.

“No. Not New Orleans. I was thinking more along the lines of Grande Valley, Texas.”

***

Jordan watche
d the surveillance video with increasing queasiness. There was no mistaking what was happening on the tape. Three men in a blue truck traveled to a remote area of the county, right on the border with Mexico, and set up a water station, obviously in an attempt to offer aid to people who sought to enter the United States. One of the young men was definitely Trey Lozano. He’d vehemently protested his innocence when Jordan got him released from custody and maybe there was an explanation, but it was hard to imagine what it might be. The video was damning. Had she been wrong about Trey from the beginning?

Jordan turned to Beth. “I assume you’ll be filing charges right away.”

Her friend nodded. “As soon as I leave here. I wanted to give you the courtesy of telling you first.”

Jordan knew it was a courtesy Beth wouldn’t extend to any other defense attorney in town and if anyone found out, the district attorney would have some explaining to do, especially in an election year. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“No, I wanted to.” Beth ejected the DVD from the player in Jordan’s conference room and returned it to her briefcase. “There’s something else you should know.”

Jordan was suddenly glad she hadn’t eaten breakfast because she didn’t know if it would stay in her stomach. “More great news?” she asked sarcastically.

“Something like that.” Beth hesitated. “The case has been assigned to Judge Benson. There’s a lot of outcry over this kind of activity, and I think he sees it as a good campaign issue, especially given his current status in the polls. Word is he personally lobbied the chief judge for the assignment and he wants the earliest trial date possible.”

“Of course.” Jordan suddenly found Texas politics more distasteful than the Hollywood kind. She stood up. “I guess I better get to work.”

“I’ll leave you alone, then,” Beth said. “I want to ask you something, though. Why is this case so important to you? Why do you care about this kid so much?”

It was a question she’d been asked before, and Jordan never had an easy answer. “I’m not sure. I just find myself drawn to Trey and his situation,” she said after a minute. “His mom is dying and he’s trying to do everything he can to help her. That’s something I can relate to
, because there was a time when everything I did was to help my mom.”

“With one big difference. You never resorted to breaking the law.”

“Hey, I never said I approved of Trey’s means.” Jordan choked back a laugh. “I’ve never stopped wondering if there was more I could have done for my mother. Legally, of course.”

“She had Alzheimer’s,” Beth said quietly. “There’s nothing you could have done to save her.”

Jordan nodded. “Realistically, I know that. It still hurts, though.” She blinked back tears. “All I ever wanted was to make her proud of me.”

“You have, Jordan.” Beth placed a hand on her shoulder. “She is proud of you, and she’d want you to be happy. It’s okay to let yourself be happy.”