Night Heat (9 page)

The late-afternoon sunlight was shining through the huge kitchen window and the view of the lake from where they were standing was wonderful. But he thought the picture of Jocelyn standing in front of that window was even more so. She was a picture of refined elegance, just like her home.

“I can make us some coffee if—”

“No, I don't want anything,” he said, interrupting what she was about to say. He thought it was safe to remember why they were there and not let other thoughts filter through his mind.

“I just want my question answered, Jocelyn. Why didn't you tell me about your meeting with Cody?” he asked, deciding to get down to business.

Jocelyn sighed as she stared at him. “The reason I didn't tell you was not because of some sinister plot on my part to keep you out of the loop about anything. I had honestly assumed you would accept my offer of a buy-out like Leah's doing. Why wouldn't I assume that? You and your brothers own a major corporation, the largest minority-owned one in North Carolina. You employ over a thousand people so I'm sure you're busy most of the time. To be quite frank with you, I'm surprised you're even here now. Not too many people would just up and drop everything and leave the running of a corporation even on a temporary basis to spend six to eight weeks supervising a construction company.”

Bas nodded and shoved his own hands into the pockets of his jeans. “They would if the man who'd made the request was Jim Mason. Fourteen years ago I had left home with a chip on my shoulder and mad at the entire world. Your father helped me to turn my life around that summer and see things as they really were. If it hadn't been for him, no telling where I'd be today. I owe him a lot.”

He decided it wasn't any of her business to know his other reason for coming—his health.

“Well, because I assumed what I did, I didn't
think twice about not including you in the meeting since I had every intention of telling Cody that the company wasn't for sale. He made me a good offer but I wasn't interested.”

A question came into her head. “How did you know about my meeting with Cameron Cody?” She hadn't mentioned it to anyone, not even to Reese.

“Cameron told me, and yes, I know him. He was interested in one of my cousins a few years back. I was surprised when I ran into him in town. Because he's always on top of things, he was well aware I was one of the owners, but figured you were speaking in my and your sister's behalf when you turned down his offer.”

Deliberately, Bas moved in front of her. “Okay, I'll accept the way you were thinking, but in the future don't assume anything, especially when it comes to me. I want to know about anything that involves this construction company, no matter how minor the detail. It's a matter of respecting me as one of the owners. Understood?”

Jocelyn frowned. She didn't like anyone talking to her as though she was a child, although he was right. She should have included him in her meeting with Cody. “Yes, I understand. Now it's time for you to understand something, as well.”

“And just what might that be?”

“I'm not used to taking orders from any man
except my father. In the future if you have a request, it will pay you to make it nicely.”

He lifted a brow. “Or else?”

“Or else it won't happen. I tried to explain to you that with this outfit everyone can't be a leader. Reese is the foreman and I respect his position, but when all is said and done, I'm still the boss.”

“Um, sounds like you have an ego issue.”

Annoyance rattled her at his words. “Sometimes in a man-dominated world women have to have one. But I don't think I have an ego issue. I just refuse to let anyone push me around.” She stepped past him to walk over to the window. To Jocelyn's way of thinking Bas was standing too close. She could feel his heat. She could breathe in his scent. And both were doing crazy things to her mind as well as to her body. She was experiencing that tingling sensation in the pit of her stomach again.

“If you were one of my brothers I would challenge you to a game of basketball. Working off your frustrations can help.”

She tipped her head to the side and looked at him. “I take it that whatever game you're involved in, you play to win.”

“Yes, just about.”

She couldn't help wondering how often he played any games. From what she'd seen in the past two
days the man spent most of his time working. She was dying to know how he relieved stress.

“Okay, since you think I need to work off my frustrations, I have the perfect game.”

He lifted his brow. “What?”

“Follow me.”

She led him through the kitchen to the basement, and when he reached the bottom stair he stopped, grinned and let out a long whistle. The place resembled a sports bar with a huge plasma television screen on the wall, a wraparound bar with wooden stools as well as several pinball machines, a huge dartboard and a card table. And you couldn't miss the bold neon sign that read Jim's Place.

She must have read the question in his eyes because she said, “You know what a sports fanatic dad was, especially when it came to football. When I bought this house I decided to turn this room into a place where he and his cronies could hang out and enjoy whatever game they were into.”

She chuckled. “On the weekends it became a regular hangout for him because there was always some game or another to watch on that huge television over there. It was nice seeing him and his friends have so much fun, and it felt good having him underfoot.”

She swiped at the tears that suddenly appeared in her eyes and swore. “Damn, but I'm going to miss him.”

Bas was across the room in a flash and gently pulled Jocelyn into his arms. “Hey, it's going to be okay. And it's all right to miss him. He was a good man and from what I can tell you were a good daughter. He had to have been proud of this place that you provided here for him, his own entertainment spot. That was pretty nice of you considering I bet Jim and his buddies could get rather loud at times,” he said flicking her a teasing smile.

She chuckled. “If only you knew. I would be upstairs in bed reading with my ear plugs in. Still, it felt good knowing he was having a good time. They will be memories I will cherish forever, Bas.”

“And you should. My parents retired a few years ago to move to Florida and left me and my brothers in charge. My first thought was good riddance, we wouldn't have to put up with Dad constantly checking our decisions or Mom forcing us to Sunday dinner. But they hadn't been gone two weeks and we were all missing them like crazy. We even thought about calling and telling them to move back. But then we decided it would have been selfish on our part. It was their time to enjoy life.”

He squeezed her hand in assurance. “And from what I can see, you did that, Jocelyn. You gave Jim a chance to enjoy life.”

“Everyone should,” she said, moving around him
to cross the room when she began feeling hot and tingly again. She stopped when she came to one of the pinball machines and turned around.

Her breath caught in her throat. He was looking at her the same way he'd been looking at her right before he had kissed her last night…and that wasn't good. She tried getting her bearings and said, “So, are you ready to play a game?”

He leaned against the bar and she watched his eyes darken. “And just what sort of game do you have in mind?”

Evidently not the one you're thinking about,
she wanted to say. She might not have a lot of experience with men but she definitely could recognize one with heat in his eyes. “How about a game of pinball?”

He chuckled. “Pinball?”

“Yes. Don't you know how to play?”

“Sure, I do.”

“Okay then, but I understand if you think you're not up to holding your own against me and—”

“Not up to holding my own?”

“Yes.”

Still smiling, Bas crossed the room to where she stood. He'd planned to spend most of the evening at Mason Construction, going through some more files and working way past midnight again. But he refused to let Jocelyn think she could best him at a pinball machine. And this particular baby just happened to
be a Stern Nascar. “Ms. Mason, you're about to meet the king of pinball.”

She looked at him and grinned. “You think so?”

“I know so.”

Jocelyn figured now was not the time to let him know that last year she had won the local pinball competition. She began rolling up her sleeve and grinned at him. “Okay, Steele, you're on.”

“A
re you always into keeping secrets, Jocelyn?” Bas asked frowning, after they had finished their last game and were walking back up the steps from the basement. “You should have told me upfront that you were a pinball champion.”

Jocelyn chuckled. “Why? And take all the fun out of winning?”

When they reached the landing he said, “Hey, champion or no champion, you only won because I wasn't playing my best since I didn't think I had to. I assumed this was an easy win.”

She crossed her arms beneath her breasts and
stared at him. “What were you saying earlier about
assuming
anything?”

Bas hooked a thumb into his jeans. “That was different.”

She smiled. “Of course you would say that.” She then checked her watch. “Give me a second to grab some clothes and I'll be ready to go back to town,” she said turning toward her bedroom.

“Take your time. I need privacy to lick my wounds anyway.”

She paused in the archway between the hall and her bedroom. “Too bad you're a sore loser.”

“I'm not.”

“You are, too. Admit it.”

“Okay, I like to win.”

“So do I.”

“You know I'm going to want a rematch.”

“We'll see.” And with that said, she disappeared inside her bedroom.

Bas couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped his lips. Damn, he had spent the last two hours racking up over a billion points and still had lost to a female hotshot. The number of bonus points she'd gotten was downright sickening.

He shook his head, not believing he had actually taken time away from work to play a damn game of pinball. It had been the weirdest thing how his adrenaline had gotten pumped up, practically the same way
it did whenever he played basketball against his brothers. He hadn't even thought about the files he had planned to go over at the office. The only thing he had thought about was whipping Jocelyn's butt big-time.

And what a butt it was. It didn't take much to remember her in front of the pinball machine, her stance sexy and stimulating as hell, and her display of excitement each and every time she deployed a ball. Just being able to ogle her undetected had been worth the loss. Once again he couldn't help but think about the too-serious curves on her body and what they did to a pair of jeans and a top. Each time her butt had moved, he'd found it almost impossible to sit still, stand still or to stop a certain part of him from getting hard.

He had played enough pinball to know it was a mental game and if you weren't focused there was no chance in hell you could win. Of course he hadn't been focused. He hadn't even used a lot of the skilled flipper work he often used when he played against his brothers.

It was difficult to concentrate when you were playing against a woman whose perfume smelled of seduction and whose body made you think of a different kind of scoring. He'd known that whenever her tongue licked her lips she was setting up her shots to score big. And he had wanted to capture that same tongue with his.

“I'm all set.”

He turned at the sound of her voice and crossed the room to relieve her of the load of clothes she carried.

Their hands touched and an electric current quickly flowed through their bodies. Silence hung between them for a long moment until she finally said, “Thanks.”

“Don't mention it.”

“We'd better go.”

He sighed deeply. “Yes, I think we'd better.”

By the time Jocelyn had locked up and they had walked back out to her truck, Bas wanted to punch something. The desire to kiss her had been so strong he'd felt his self-control slipping, and for the first time in a long time he hadn't wanted to do anything to regain it.

He didn't have to be a rocket scientist to know that if he didn't pull himself together he was headed for big trouble.

 

“So, what're your plans for dinner?”

The truck had come to a stop at a traffic light and Jocelyn glanced over at Bas. “I don't have any. Why?”

“After playing that game with you, I've worked up an appetite and thought we could stop and grab something to eat.”

Jocelyn laughed. “I couldn't help noticing how much you got into the game. You're a good player.”

“Yet you won.”

“Yeah, but to give you credit I have to admit you played well. One of the keys to winning pinball is to concentrate on what shots are going to give you the biggest points.”

He decided not to tell her the real reason he'd lost was because he'd been concentrating on her more than the game. “I was serious when I said I wanted a rematch,” he said.

“I'm sure you were, and I don't mind accommodating you if you can handle another loss.”

He laughed. “Kind of confident, aren't you?”

She smiled. “When playing pinball one has to be.”

The sun had gone down and dusk was settling in, but even with the dim light in the truck's cab, Bas could see Jocelyn's features clearly, and a funny feeling flowed all through him. He turned to look out the window, thinking it was safer to do so. His attraction to her wasn't good at all. In fact it was bad news.

“So what are your plans?”

Jocelyn's question intruded into his thoughts and he glanced over at her. “Not sure, but I need something to eat.” And nothing fried, he further thought, remembering Dr. Nelson's words as well as the promise he'd made to his sister-in-law. He'd gone a week without any fried chicken and it was about to
kill him. Each time he passed a KFC he had to keep his control in check and not go in and order the dark-meat special.

“That place up there serves good food,” she said, pointing to a restaurant just ahead.

“They have chicken?”

“Yes.”

“Baked?”

“Yes, and it's pretty good. It's nice to meet a man who doesn't have to eat fried chicken. All that grease isn't good for you.”

He decided not to tell her that all that grease was what he wanted, but he'd been sentenced to a life without it for a while. “Will you stop and have dinner with me?”

When she came to another traffic light, she settled her gaze on his, and he knew she was trying to make her mind up about whether she would join him for dinner. “Come on, you've got to eat some time,” he coaxed.

Another smile touched her lips. “I had a big lunch, but I do know for a fact that restaurant makes a dynamite salad.”

He couldn't imagine anyone just having a salad for a meal, but he said anyway, “Okay, then what are we waiting for?”

She eased the truck into the turning lane and
laughed. “Not one single thing. Besides, I'm curious as to how you got Marcella Jones to go along with those surcharges.”

 

For a Tuesday night the place was crowded, but fortunately, enough waitresses were working the tables and within a few minutes Jocelyn and Bas had been seated.

“Um, I can just smell the fried chicken,” Bas said, inhaling the air and licking his lips.

Jocelyn raised a brow. “I thought you were getting baked.”

“I am.” He took a sip of coffee before picking up his menu.

“So how did you do it?” Jocelyn asked, glancing over her own menu. She wondered why she was bothering to look at it since she knew exactly what she wanted. But then looking at the menu meant she didn't have to look at Bas, because looking at Bas made her insides sizzle. Something about the restaurant's lighting made him that much more eye-droppingly handsome. She couldn't help noticing that the waitresses were definitely checking him out.

“How did I do what?”

His question reeled in her thoughts. “Get Marcella to cooperate.”

Blowing out a breath he said, “Trust me, it wasn't easy.”

“So how did you do it?” she asked again.

Bas decided it was best Jocelyn didn't know all the gory details. Just like Sadie, Marcella had remembered him from those summers long ago. She was brazen as hell and had actually told him how turned on she used to get seeing him shirtless, and she more than hinted that she would like to see him without his shirt again, or his pants.

He had remained professional and had told her in a nice way he wasn't interested in undressing for her and that their only business was the building of her house. She hadn't appreciated her sexual advances being turned down and had tried being difficult. He had refused to let her get on his last nerve, and had finally said since the two of them couldn't see eye to eye he would deal with her husband. Evidently, she'd gotten concerned that Bas would mention her less than estimable behavior to Mr. Jones, and decided to cooperate.

“At first she wasn't having any of what I said, so I told her I would discuss the situation with her husband. In the end, let's just say Marcella Jones and I decided it was best to keep her husband out of it.”

Jocelyn's lips quirked. “She came on to you, didn't she?”

He lifted a brow. “Why would you think that?”

Jocelyn chuckled. “Because I know Marcella. Over the years I've heard the rumors. She came on to Reese when we were building her first house and he had to put her in her place. Unfortunately for her it was during the time Reese had sworn off all women. We were surprised she came to us to build another house for her. Rumor has it that she likes them young.”

Bas took another sip of coffee. “She can't be that old.”

“Try forty-five.”

Bas blinked at her. “You're kidding.”

“Nope. I admit she wears her age well. Most people take her to be ten years younger at least.”

At that moment the waitress, who was all but drooling while looking at Bas, came back to take their orders. “I'll have a chef's salad,” Jocelyn said, closing the menu.

The young woman nodded. She then turned her complete attention to Bas. Jocelyn couldn't help noticing that the waitress had undone the top button of her uniform and was now showing a lot of cleavage. And it was plain to see she was wearing a push-up bra.

“And what will you have?” the waitress asked Bas, all but purring the words.

Jocelyn had always thought that jealousy was a complete waste of time and energy, but watching the
woman in action was almost too much. She glanced over at Bas while he gave his order. He either didn't see how the waitress was coming on to him or he was choosing to ignore it.

Feeling a little agitated, Jocelyn was about to excuse herself to go to the ladies' room when Bas reached over, squeezed her hand and said, after looking at the waitress's name tag, “And if you don't mind, Stacy, my fiancée and I would like to be served as soon as the cook can get it ready. We're in a hurry to get home.”

Jocelyn saw the disappointment in the woman's eyes before she nodded and left. Jocelyn shook her head and slowly pulled her hand from Bas's. She didn't want to think how good his hand felt encompassing hers.

“That woman had some nerve coming on to you that way with me sitting here. For all she knew I could have been your wife.”

Bas smiled. “She probably thought you weren't since you aren't wearing a ring.”

Jocelyn frowned. “That shouldn't mean anything. The mere fact that I'm here with you should have garnered respect.”

“Yes, it should have.”

“You should not have had to pretend anything was going on between us.”

“No, I should not have.”

Jocelyn glared. The way he was agreeing with everything she said irked her. “I'm not amused, Bas.”

His expression turned genuinely serious. “Neither am I, Jocelyn. We can always leave if she offended you. And if you want to stay we can request another waitress.”

She shook her head. Another waitress would only drool like the last one had. In the woman's defense, though, she had to admit that cleft in Bas's chin was patently masculine and completed the total sexy package. Not that she'd say it aloud. “No, I'm fine. It just bothers me how brazen some women are. I would never be that bold.”

And a part of Bas appreciated that she wouldn't. He couldn't imagine Jocelyn ever handling herself inappropriately. However, on the other hand, she could put you in your place if she felt the need.

“I think you're going to enjoy your baked chicken,” she said a few minutes later.

Bas glanced over at the table next to theirs where a man had ordered fried chicken and seemed to be enjoying it. Bas felt his stomach whine. Sighing deeply, he said, “I really hope so.”

 

Bas had to admit his food was delicious. He had been careful while ordering to stay away from the items on the menu that Kylie had told him were a nono. He couldn't help but smile, thinking about how
his sister-in-law had encased herself in his and his brothers' lives.

Once she had found out that he needed to make a change in his eating habits, she had taken it upon herself to educate him on the proper food choices. It was a good thing he was here in Newton Grove. Had he remained in Charlotte he would be starving on some strict menu Kylie thought best for him.