See Jane Love (13 page)

Sara’s mouth dropped open in horror. “My God,” she gasped. “You’re in love with him.”

In love? With Gabe?
“No way,” Janie started to say, then closed her mouth quickly. The neighbor lady rolled her eyes, then slammed her door shut. Janie sagged against the deck rail as she thought about Sara’s accusation. She wasn’t in love with Gabe. How could she be? “Don’t be silly. I barely know the man,” she said, hoping that would clear up any misunderstandings.

“Yet you’re willing to sleep with him?”

“I--that’s different. I told you why--”

“You can deny it all you want, Janie, but I see it in your eyes. You’ve fallen for him.”

Janie stared at her older sister and blinked. What the heck was wrong with Sara? She was
not
in love with Gabe. Maybe it was Sara’s pregnancy. Her hormones must be messed up. That’s what it was. Or maybe it was that Sara just couldn’t face the fact that her little sister was willing to sleep with a man she didn’t love. Bingo. “Believe what you want. I have to go. I just wanted you to know.”

Reaching out and touching Janie’s arm, Sara said, “Honey, be careful. And remember, you don’t have to do this. As much as Gabe irks me, I don’t think he’d ever force himself on a woman. It’s okay to change your mind.” She looked uncomfortable for a minute, then glanced
from side to side, obviously making sure none of the neighbors were lurking nearby. “You know, you could always get one of those . . .” She shifted her eyes back and forth before whispering, “vibrators.”

“Been there, done that,” Janie tossed over her shoulder then bounced down the stairs and into the grass. “And they’re not all they’re cracked up to be. See ya.”

“Promise to call me tomorrow with all the details? Well, not
all
the details,” Sara said, blushing.

“I promise.” And then Janie was on her way to get ready for Gabe.

Gabe had showered twice in the past hour. He had no idea why, other than Janie had said she wanted tonight to be special. He couldn’t begin to describe the amount of pressure that statement had put on him. Command performance, was all he could think. He’d heard about guys who’d totally lost the urge while trying to please a woman under pressure. What if something like that happened to him?

As he stepped into a clean pair of jeans, and splashed his face and jaw with cologne, he told himself he was just being paranoid. There was nothing to worry about. He’d done this hundreds of times, maybe even a thousand. And very few women had ever gone away unsatisfied. But then again, there
had
been a few exceptions. What if tonight Janie was one of those exceptions? She was counting on him, and what if he let her down?

She wasn’t the type of woman to fake an orgasm, just for the sake of protecting her lover’s feelings. Or was she? Nah, she’d tell him the truth if she was disappointed in his technique. Then again, she wouldn’t have to tell him anything. He’d know, without a doubt, whether or not she was faking.

Sitting on the edge of the motel bed, Gabe shoved his feet into his boots and dragged a white T-shirt over his head. He stood, looked in the mirror and ran a comb through his hair. Maybe he should dress a little nicer, he thought, and yanked the T-shirt off. He replaced it with a light blue oxford, tucked the shirt tails into his jeans and rolled up the cuffs.

He was more nervous than he’d been on his first date, and that was eighteen years ago. “Get over it, Montero,” he mumbled and grabbed his car keys.
All you have to do,
he told himself,
is give the performance of your life.

“Piece of cake,” he said, not meaning a word of it. He just hoped Janie didn’t notice how nervous he was. She thought she was getting a pro, and she was, except for he was no longer brimming with
self-confidence like he was when they’d first discussed her needs.

Well, maybe if he stopped thinking about it as a job, and started thinking about the fact that he was going to be sleeping with Janie Callahan tonight, he could relax a little. He couldn’t wait to be buried deep inside her, to look into her eyes while she called out his name and begged him to take her over the edge.

He felt a trickle of sweat run down his back, and the front of his jeans tightened. And, if he didn’t stop thinking about her like that, he was going to have an accident before he reached her townhouse.

Swearing, Gabe hopped into the Camaro and fired it up. On the passenger seat were the flowers he’d bought for Janie earlier that day, wilting away. He’d forgotten all about them until now. Nerves, he thought. Well, this was certainly going to be a night to remember.

* * * * * * * * * *

Janie scanned her closet and drawers, trying to decide on the perfect outfit for her “date” with Gabe. She’d already tried on her best jeans, a pair of linen shorts, three different skirts and a sundress. But none of them suited her mood. Standing in front of the mirror, wearing only a pair of pink bikini panties and a matching tank, she let out a tiny scream of frustration.

It was five minutes till seven, and not only hadn’t she dressed yet, but she’d wasted so much time trying on clothes, she hadn’t had a chance to do her make-up or her hair. Grabbing the gel from her dressing table, she squeezed a glob of it into her palm and rubbed her hands together before finger combing it through her damp curls. “There,” she said, although it wasn’t much of an improvement.

And then the doorbell rang. “Oh, no!” She picked up the discarded jeans from the floor and
pushed one leg into them, only to yank them off again. Then she plucked a short red skirt from the pile of clothing on her bed and stepped into it. “Oh, God, I look like a hooker in this thing,” she said, letting it fall to the floor and kicking it aside. She chose the floral sundress next, but only managed to get the zipper stuck in her haste.

The doorbell rang a second time, and instead of fighting with herself any longer about what to wear, she shoved her arms into her white terrycloth robe and trotted down the stairs.

She looked through the peephole and sighed. Sure enough it was Gabe. Opening the door, she forced a smile. “Oh, is it that time already?” she asked, trying to pretend it was no big deal that he looked good enough to eat, while she hadn’t even bothered to finish getting ready. He’d used some sort of cologne, and it was doing a number on her senses. It was light, with just a hint of citrus.

His gaze ran up and down the length of her. “Am I too early? Do you want me to leave and come back later?”

Janie waved a hand. “No, that would be silly. Now that you’re here, you may as well stay.” A bouquet of wilting flowers dangled from one of his hands, a plastic bag from the other. “Are either of those for me?”

“What?” He glanced down at his side. “Oh, yeah,” he said, producing the mixed bouquet of lilies, roses, tulips and snapdragons.

“How sweet. You didn’t have to do that.” She took the flowers from him, brought them to her nose and breathed in their sweet aroma. “I’d better get them in some water,” she said, heading for the kitchen.

Gabe followed her and waited in the doorway while she grabbed a vase from beneath the sink and rearranged the blooms in it. Then she turned on the faucet and used her kitchen hose to fill the vase. She carried the arrangement to the dining table and set it in the center. “There.”

The whole while, his gaze had been on her, making her tense. She tightened the belt on her robe and asked, “What’s in the bag?”

He set the bag on the table beside the vase. “Condoms.”

“Oh,” she said. Well, that’s what she got for being so nosy. “If you’ll excuse me a minute, I need to finish getting ready.”

“You look fine to me,” he said, as if he didn’t seem to mind the fact that she was wearing her robe and no make-up.

Janie moved past him, feeling the electrical charges pass through every inch of her body, then stopped and turned to face him. She ran a hand through her damp ringlets and said, “The truth is, I had no idea what to wear tonight. I mean, what do you wear when you’re about to be seduced?”

Gabe grinned at her and raised his brows. “Nothing?”

“You
would
say that.”

“You want me to be honest, don’t you?”

Their gazes locked.

Janie took a deep breath and released it. “Yes.”

“Well, it seems like a waste of time to put clothes on when I’m just going to take them off you in a few minutes anyway.”

Her insides fluttered, and then he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Slow, shivery kisses. Kisses with a dreamy intimacy to them. They were unlike any others he’d given her.

He showered kisses around her lips, on her cheekbones, and her neck. As his mouth descended to her shoulders, she felt her knees weaken. Slowly, he undid the belt to her robe and let the terrycloth fall from her shoulders and puddle at her feet. Then his mouth found her breast through the thin cotton of her tank top.

Afraid she might fall, she dug her nails into his shoulders and hung on. “Tell me what to do,” she said in a strained voice.

“Nothing. Just enjoy.” He suckled her nipple through the fabric of her tank, pulling, tugging, until she thought she’d go crazy. Just when she thought she couldn’t take anymore, he moved to her other breast and treated it to the same amount of pleasant torture.

“Oh, Gabe,” she moaned.

Then his mouth left her breast to graze her earlobe. “I’m sorry. I told myself I was going to take things slowly with you tonight, but I can’t. Do you know how badly I want you right now?”

Swallowing, she lifted her face to see into his eyes. “No. Tell me,” she said softly.

“How about if I show you instead?” he asked, taking her hand and placing it over his erection.

Gently, she moved her hand over the length of him. Exploring him. She squeezed lightly, then added more pressure. His tormented groan was a heady invitation for her to continue. Feeling a little bolder now, she cupped him, feeling the weight of him in her palm.

Gabe threw back his head, sucking in a huge noisy breath. “Sweetheart,” he warned, taking her hand and kissing her palm, “too much more of that and first round will all be over before I even get you upstairs.”

“Upstairs?” she asked. “Isn’t that sort of conventional? I figured you were the kitchen table type.”

“Works for me,” he said, lifting her into his arms and moving toward the table. “I love a woman with a little imagination.” He set her on the cool, smooth table top, pushing her legs open and stepping in between them. His denim covered erection pressed against her thighs as his mouth came down hard on hers. He forced her lips open with his thrusting tongue. There was nothing slow about his kisses now.

His hands were all over her, touching and kneading. Her arms, waist, breasts and thighs. It was
as if he couldn’t get enough of her. She gave herself freely to the passion of his kisses and touches, while a wild swirl torpedoed deep in her belly.

Janie kept waiting for the bottom to drop, for all the sensations to dry up and simply disappear, but they didn’t. Instead, they continued to escalate.

Tearing his mouth away from hers, he said, “I want to kiss every one of your freckles. And I want to taste you. All of you.”

“Yes,” she whispered as tiny uncontrollable shivers worked their way through her entire body.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked. “Because if you’re not, now’s the time to speak up.”

She met his dark, penetrating gaze, then, lifting the hem of her tank top and pulling it over her head, she nodded. “Yes, I’m sure,” she said in a shaky voice.

His gaze lingered on her bare breasts before he lifted his chin and smiled at her. “They’re perfect. You’re perfect,” he added in a low voice.

“No, I’m not,” she started to argue.

“Shut up, Janie.” Gabe’s lips met hers once again as he lowered her into a reclining position on the cool, smooth surface. She heard him slide the vase of flowers across the table and away from her head. Her legs and feet dangled over the edge, feeling as light as air. Breaking away from her mouth, Gabe kissed his way down her neck, shoulders, breasts and stomach, his tongue coming to rest on the elastic band of her panties.

Knowing what he was about to do, Janie reached for his head and tried to push him away. “No,” she murmured.

“No, what?” he asked, moving her hands away and placing them at her sides. Gently, he dragged her panties over her hips and legs. Then positioning himself between her legs, he bent forward and teased her thigh with his hot, moist tongue.

Something inside her surged and she grew restless with need. Yet at the same time, she wanted him to stop. “No,” she said again when his tongue came close to her center.

Ignoring her, his tongue snaked out and teased her again. “Spread your legs wider,” he said, giving her thighs a nudge.

“No, Gabe, please don’t do that!” she gasped.

“Why not?” he asked as he continued to graze her with his tongue and mouth.

“Because I’ve never . . . because no one’s ever . . .” But before she could get the words out, he was there, tasting her, licking her, kissing her where no man had ever kissed her before.

“You taste like heaven,” he said, his lips vibrating against her.