Sweet Ride (16 page)

“I need time, Jack.
Please, don’t push me,” I plead.

“You can trust me,
Payton. But if it’s proof you need, I’ll get it for you.” His
lips softly brush against mine, and his tongue flicks out licking my
bottom lip. The warmth from his body heat disappears as he backs away
from me. I turn, unlock the door, and walk back out to the bar
without uttering another word to him.

After the bar closes, I
drive back to my house. The driveway’s clear of all other vehicles,
so I know my roomies are still at work. The thought of going into
that empty house and climbing into bed without Jack lying next to me
is almost too much to bear. I know I told him that I needed time, but
my resolve’s wavering. I reach in my purse and pull out my cell
phone to call and ask him to come over, but instead I type in ‘De
Luca’ and assign him a ringtone. Now he’s programmed into my
phone for easy access.

With a sigh, I get out
of my car, go into the empty house, walk up the stairs, and get ready
for bed. Once I’m lying in bed, I stare up at the ceiling and think
about Jack.
Can I truly trust this man?
God, I want to, but I
don’t know if I’m able to. I’m so rung out emotionally from
today’s events that it doesn’t take long for sleep to overtake my
senses.

I’m sound asleep when
I hear a knock at my bedroom door.

“Go away! Sleepin’,”
I say in my raspy, zombie morning voice.

“No way, Payton! Some
hot fucking dude just pulled up on a Harley and said he needs to see
you like RIGHT NOW. Said it’s an emergency,” Molly shouts through
the door.

I untangle myself from
my sheets and jump up out of the bed. Flinging open the door, I run
past Molly and race down the stairs to see what’s going on. My
heart’s racing and legs are shaking as I hit the bottom of the
stairs, not knowing what to expect when I get there.

Jack’s sitting on the
sofa in the living room, and when I enter the room he twists around
to look at me. His hair looks unbelievably sexy, clearly messed up
from his motorcycle ride here. And he looks absolutely delicious in
his dark wash jeans, black short-sleeved t-shirt and motorcycle
boots. I watch as his heated gaze travels down my body and then back
up to make eye contact. I look down at my body and realize I’m
wearing a white tight-fitting cami without a bra and a pair of hot
pink boy shorts. Whatever. He’s seen me naked, so really I’m kind
of overdressed.

“What’s going on,
Jack? Is everything okay?” I ask, concern filling my voice.

“No, it’s not.”

“Oh God! Is there
something wrong with Ella, Ryder, or the kids?”

“They’re fine,
Payton. This is about us. I agreed to give you time, but I just can’t
fucking do it. Already spent too much time away from you—not
wasting another minute,” he confesses, standing up, walking over to
me, and wrapping me up in his strong arms. I close my eyes and just
enjoy the moment.

“Got the proof you
requested,” he says with a hint of humor in his voice.

“That’s the
emergency,” I say disbelieving.

“Yep,” he says, a
wide grin spreading across his face.

“Okay, show me the
goods, De Luca.” His eyes turn wicked, and I can only imagine what
kind of thoughts are in his head right now. “Don’t even go there.
The proof—show me what you’ve got.”

He releases me from our
embrace and entwines my hand with his, guiding me over to the sofa.
We both sit down at an angle with our knees touching. Jack reaches
over to the coffee table, picks up a book, and hands it to me.

“This is my senior
high school year book.” He starts flipping quickly through the
pages. When he finds what he’s looking for he hands it to me. “My
graduation photo,” he says, pointing to a photo of himself as a
teenager. Sure enough, there’s his name and quirky little bits of
info about him. Wow, he was even hot as an eighteen year old. Doing
the math, I realize he’s thirty-five years old, making him eleven
years older than me.

He snatches the book
back and starts turning the pages again. “Uh-huh, here we go. Take
a look at that, baby,” he orders with a sly grin, placing the book
back in my hands. I glance at the page he motions to, and there she
is. The supermodel’s two grades behind Jack, and the name under the
photo says ‘Isabelle De Luca.’ Fan-fucking-tastic! She
is
his sister, and I made a total ass of myself last night!

It’s been three days
since the whole ‘restaurant’ fiasco, and I still haven’t seen
Jack’s sister to apologize, but he assures me it’s all good. Even
though I believe him about his sister, I’m still not ready to jump
right back into the proverbial sack with him yet. We need a few days
to cool off. Whenever Jack and I get together it’s so intense that
I can’t think straight, and all I can think about is jumping him.

Jack’s had to work
quite a bit, so I haven’t seen a lot of him. We met up for coffee a
couple of times, and he really tried to behave himself—
tried
being the key word. He played footsy under the table, and when I
pushed his foot away from my legs, I felt his coarse fingertips glide
up the smooth skin on my bare thighs headed for the hem of my jean
skirt. I once again pushed his hand away, and I heard him as he
released a frustrated breath. I laughed at his reaction, and he
scowled. I promised him that it wouldn’t be much longer, to which I
received a waggle of his eyebrows and a sexy grin.

I just finished getting
ready for bed when my phone starts ringing. ‘Dag Calling’ shows
up on the display. I debate whether or not I should answer it. Fuck
it. I need to know why he thinks it’s okay to call me after what he
did. I answer it.

“What do you want,
asshole?” I snap.

“I deserve that,”
he says.

“Damn straight. You
deserve a lot worse,” I clip.

“I know. I thought
I’d call to apologize. I don’t know what came over me. No, that’s
a lie. I like you, Payton. A lot.”

“You’ve got a funny
way of showing it,” I hiss.

“The whole time we
were together I wanted you. Fuck, I still want you, but you clearly
don’t want me. When I heard you call out another man’s name while
I tasted you, it fucking gutted me. My anger raged, and I fucking
lost control.”

“No shit, Sherlock.”

“We could be so good
together, Payton. Please give me another chance. I think I can make
you want to be with me,” he pathetically begs.

“Not going to happen.
I didn’t go to the police when you tried to force yourself on me,
but I will if you don’t leave me the fuck alone. Go to hell!” I
yell then end the call. I’m so shook up by Dag’s phone call; I
can feel my heart beating rapidly in my chest. I immediately call
Jack and tell him about it. He’s fucking pissed and tells me that
if Dag tries to contact me again to let him know ASAP. I don’t have
a problem with that.

* * *

I just finished working
a day shift, when I pull the car door shut and hear a dinging sound.
I take a quick look around the floor near my car seat, but I don’t
see anything. Oh well. It’s probably just loose change or
something.

I’m anxious to get
home because Jack’s coming over for dinner. I’m going to attempt
to cook something for the man, but if I were a betting woman, I’d
say we’re going to be ordering in later tonight.

Sure enough, I burned
supper so Jack and I are sitting on the sofa eating pizza. After we
finish eating, he turns on the television and flips through the
channels before finally stopping on the show
Alaska State
Troopers
. I can’t be bothered to watch television, so I lie
down on the sofa with my head in his lap. He doesn’t speak as his
fingers gently massage my scalp and run through my hair. God, a girl
could get used to this. I’m so relaxed, it doesn’t take long
before my eyes drop and I fall asleep.

The next thing I know,
I’m waking up in my bed. I notice I’m no longer in the t-shirt
and jeans I was wearing last night. I’m currently wearing a tank
top
without
a bra and the bikini panties I had on under my
jeans. That sneaky bastard, he still managed to see parts of me
naked! The thought of him undressing me last night sends a welcomed
tingle to my girly parts. I should feel like my privacy’s been
violated, but I don’t.

When I get out of bed and make my
way toward the bathroom, I hear my cell buzz indicating there’s a
text message waiting for me.

Hey Babe,

Be ready by 11:00 a.m. Wear jeans, t-shirt and your leather
jacket. Picking you up on the Harley.

Okay, what’s he got
planned for today? I look at the time on my phone. Holy fuck, it’s
10:20. I better get a move on if I’m going to be ready in forty
minutes. Unbelievably, I get ready in time. I even have five minutes
to spare. I’m just finishing eating my second piece of toast when I
hear the rumble of Harley pipes. My pussy spasms. I can’t wait to
straddle that piece of metal and pull myself tightly against Jack as
he drives. I could care less where we’re going—I’d be happy
just driving around in circles.

The rumbling suddenly
dies, and Jack’s walking in through the front door without even
knocking. He looks unbelievably sexy this morning wearing his black
leather jacket, dark blue t-shirt pulled tight across his chest, and
jeans that make his ass look oh-so-yummy. He pulls the aviator
sunglasses down his nose and off his face, giving me a view of his
sexy green eyes.

“You ready?” he
asks, dragging his eyes slowly down my body.

“Yep, just need to
finish my OJ, and I’m good to go,” I tell him, chugging the
remains of my orange juice. He chuckles as he watches me. “Okay,
let’s do this. Whatever this is,” I say, walking over toward him.
He reaches forward and grabs me by the waist, pulling me against his
body.

“Morning,” he
whispers against my lips.

“Morn—” I whisper
back, but he cuts me off with a tantalizing kiss.

He pulls back about an
inch, and I feel his tongue lick his lips. “Payton and oranges.
Love tasting those two things in the morning,” he mutters against
my mouth. My fingers grip the hair at the back of his head and pull
him to me, crushing my lips back against his. I feel a deep rumble
come from the back of his throat when I suck his tongue into my
mouth.

He suddenly breaks
apart from me and gently pushes me away from him. “Fuck, Payton.
Stop, or we’re never getting out of here today.”

I’m a little
breathless, but I manage to get out, “Okay, I just have to grab my
phone first.” I search my purse, but I can’t find it. I run
upstairs to check in my bedroom, but it’s not there either. That’s
weird. I used it not forty minutes ago, where the fuck is it? I run
back downstairs and check my other coat pocket, but still no luck.
“Shit!” I curse.

“Problem?” Jack
asks.

“Yeah, I can’t find
my phone,” I admit.

“I’ll call you and
if it’s in the house, you should be able to find it,” he offers.

“Okay,” I say, but
then remember what I set as his ringtone. “Uh. Never mind. I don’t
need my phone. Let’s go,” I nervously squeak out. Nice one,
Payton. Now he’s going to wonder why you’re acting so strangely
about it.

A devilish grin spreads
across his ridiculously handsome face. “Interesting. Is there some
reason you don’t want me calling your phone, baby?” he inquires.

“Nope. I just decided
I don’t really need it. That’s all,” I answer, trying to not
sound panicked.

I watch as he takes his
cell out of his jacket pocket. Oh shit! I’ve got to stop him. I
lunge for his phone, but he pulls back and laughs at me. “Oh, I’ve
got to call your phone now,” he says, dialing my number. I attack
him by jumping on his back, trying to rip the phone away from his
grasp, but it’s too late. I hear his ringtone coming from the
living room. I climb off his back and watch as Jack flashes me a sexy
grin and makes his way toward the sound. Meanwhile, I’m frozen in
embarrassment. This is not happening. I only have myself to blame,
though; I’m the one who programmed that ringtone in the first
place. Jack rushes back to me with my cell in hand. The song, “I
Touch Myself” by the Divinyls is still playing on my phone.

“Do you?” he asks
me.

“Yep, now give me my
fucking phone,” I snap, putting my hand out.

He lets out a low
chuckle and gently places the phone in my hand, then grabs my wrist
and pulls me to him again. I can feel his huge erection pressing into
my belly. “Wanna see that sometime,” he growls into my ear, and
my legs almost drop out from underneath me.

“We done here?” I
ask him. When I back away, I follow his gaze as his eyes devour me.
Do not jump him, Payton! Keep your hormones in check, girl. You do
not want to climb on Jack’s beanstalk. Who am I kidding? I totally
do.

“We’re done. For
now,” he counters. Damn, if I don’t like the sound of that. This
is what I’m talking about when I say I need some time. When Jack’s
around I lose all sense of control, and I just want to spend the
whole day in bed while he fucks me stupid. Is that wrong?

He walks out the front
door, and I follow closely behind. When I look up I see Jack leaning
against his motorcycle with a helmet in his hand. Now, I’ve seen
Jack riding, and I know he doesn’t wear a helmet. He must have it
for me. As soon as I reach him, he flips the helmet around and places
it on my head, then buckles it up under my chin. He places a tender
kiss to my lips and pulls away.

He straddles the seat
then motions for me to get on behind him. I do as he tells me and, as
soon as I’m situated, his hands reach behind him and grasp both of
my wrists. He wraps my arms around his waist, and I hold on tight.
When he revs the engine, I feel the tingling in my pussy start to
build again.
Traitor!