Wild Irish (Book 1 of the Weldon Series) (22 page)

Suddenly the truth hit her, as if a piece of a puzzle she’d been trying to find for years fell into place, and she understood how she’d fallen into a relationship with Roger. She’d based her ideas of relationships and family on her own personal experiences, the emotional void with her father, the duty-bound with her grandmother, and the absent promise of love from a mother who’d died long ago. Roger had fit into her life because a relationship with him had been in her comfort zone. So what did that say about her fling with Jesse?

Did anything besides hot sex exist between them? Did she want with Jesse that deep sum of all things passion she sensed in the Adam and Eve pictures? Is that why Jesse’s words hurt?

She gathered herself enough to rejoin the party. Jesse and James were still arguing, but the subject had changed. Jesse winked at her as she walked up and she knew she was in trouble, because he still looked as great to her as he had before

“
You owe me,” James said, wiping a dollop of residual frosting from the cake-less platter. “It’s all your fault that we didn’t get any cake.”

“
My fault?” Jesse scooped the frosting from James’ finger before James had a chance to eat it. “You and Jared are the ones who decided to give Jackson a whooping.”

“
So? There was still plenty of cake then. It’s you who headed for the creek and then were lame enough to let go of Jackson’s feet. If you’d have held up your end, I’d at least have had the satisfaction of throwing Jackson into the creek.”

Jesse popped the icing in his mouth before James could steal it back. “Seems to me that this is all Jared’s fault,” Jesse said with his finger still in his mouth.

“
Me?” Jared stood, quickly shoving the last bite of cake into his mouth. “How can you say that?”

James and Jesse looked at each other and grinned. “Because, little bro,” Jesse said, “You got cake and we didn’t.”

James maneuvered himself behind Jared and Jesse lunged, managing to knock Jared back into James’s arms. They picked up Jared and headed for the creek. Laughter followed as Jared appealed to Jackson for help.

“
You’re on your own,” Jackson yelled back. “It’s the price of changing loyalties mid birthday.”

Alexi blended into the background and watched the Weldon family, fascinated. A new sense of what families could be imprinted itself in her mind and in her heart and reminded her that tomorrow she’d have to forge the bridges to reconnect with her own family. She’d also have to get back to her life soon. She couldn’t continue to float in Jesse’s sensual wake any longer.

But one more night in Jesse’s bed wouldn’t hurt. Surely, one more treat from his jar of delicious sexual delights wouldn’t hurt at all.

* * *

While Alexi showered, Jesse scoured the kitchen for something sweet. He always ate sweets when something nagged at him and his earlier conversation with James kept popping into his thoughts. He should just blow the talk off. James had never seen life outside of Georgia’s homegrown borders while Jesse had seen the world and knew his take on relationships was right on. He and Alexi looked close because they met each other’s sexual needs for now. It would fade.

The phone rang, pulling him from his musings. He answered it, his mind only half on the caller as he dug around in the freezer looking for a smidgen of ice cream.

“
Jesse, it’s Nan, Alexi’s friend. She’s with you, right?”

“
Yeah. Is something wrong?” He straightened and shut the freezer, giving Nan his full attention. She sounded hesitant, maybe even a little worried.

“
No. Well, I don’t know. It’s just strange. Before I left for work today, I received several phone calls, but the caller hung up every time I answered. I thought it was just kids playing around. The thing is, I’ve just returned home from work and there are dozens of hang-up calls on my answering machine and I’m still getting calls. I know it’s silly thinking this might be related to what happened at the hotel and gallery but…”

“
No, Nan. It’s not silly at all. Anything else unusual?” Several thoughts ran through his mind and his grasp on the phone tightened. The principal one being that the caller might be looking for Alexi, just waiting for Alexi to pick up the phone so he’d know she was there and—

Alexi walked into the kitchen. “What is it? I thought I heard you say Nan’s name.”

“
You did.” Jesse held up his hand to stave off Alexi’s questions for a minute. “Listen, Nan, do you have all of your windows and door locked?”

Nan laughed nervously. “You’re scaring me, but yes, I do.”

“
Oh, my God. What is it?” White as a sheet, Alexi grabbed his arm.

“
Everything is fine,” Jesse said to Alexi. “I just wanted to know.” He spoke back into the receiver. “Nan, listen, I have a security employee of mine in town. He’s at the Marriott not too far from where you live. Since we’re over on Tybee Island, and he can reach your place in just a few minutes compared to our thirty, I’m going to have him run over and check around. His name is Paul Hanson. He’s blonde and tall. Sort of looks like Paul Drake from the old Perry Mason reruns.”

Alexi mimed to speak to Nan.

“
Nan’s getting hang up calls.” Jesse said.

Nan’s voice, a little higher, and more nervous than before rang in his ear. “I love Perry Mason, but this cloak and dagger stuff in real life isn’t fun. Do you think I’m in danger?”

“
No. But I don’t like taking unnecessary chances and we’d all rest easier if Paul checked things out, don’t you think?”

“
Yes. Thanks. It’s not like this is something you can call and report to the police. There’s no real threats.”

“
It doesn’t matter. If anything else happens, you call them immediately and report it. Then you call Paul or me. I’ll give you our cell phone numbers. Meanwhile, I’ll let you talk to Alexi while I contact Paul from my cell line.” Jesse handed the phone to Alexi.

Before speaking to Nan, Alexi covered the receiver and said, “I should go back and stay with her. If this has anything to do with me, I’ll never forgive myself if harm comes to her.”

Jesse shook his head. “That’s exactly why you can’t go back. Whoever is calling may just be waiting for you to pick up the phone before he decides to act. Having Paul check the situation is our best option. If necessary, he can even take Nan back to stay at the Marriott.”

“
She’d never abandon Shakespeare.”

“
Your godpet? I remember.” The fact that he did remember little details about her life as if they were becoming part of
his
life made him frown as he called Paul.

He reached Paul immediately. “Hey, I need a favor fast.”

“
I’m already out the door,” Paul said. “Sing to me.”

Jesse told Paul about Nan’s situation and gave him directions on how to reach her apartment. “Have you turned up anything?”

“
Not much. Holstead worked at the bank until five, then went home where he stayed. I finally decided to come catch some shut-eye. The only thing that I’d say was a bit unusual is that the man’s house cleaning service came after he arrived. They were still there three hours later when I left, but it’s a big house.”

“
Odd.” Jesse frowned. “Stay with it.”

“
Will do,” Paul said. “I’ll let you know if I see any major problems with Nan’s situation. She does know I’m coming right? The last thing I want is to tangle with the police.”

“
She knows.” After hanging up, Jesse stayed on the deck a minute, running things through his mind while Alexi spoke to Nan. It was probably the first real breather he’d taken since bringing Alexi home with him the night before. He rolled his neck trying to ease his tension. Maybe having Alexi around all the time was why he was so tense, he thought, rolling a kink out of his neck.

He glanced back inside to where Alexi was talking to Nan. She sat on one chair with her feet propped up on another. Desire and tension curled through him. He didn’t need a breather from her; he just needed more of her.

It’s just the circumstances that had him off kilter. Once he settled her safety problems, then everything would move back into the realm of temporary. The situation was too new for anything but the basic facts to surface, and too minor to take any major precautions, which left him hanging in mid air. That’s why he felt unsettled. He sighed, relieved to have boiled the situation down to a logical explanation.

Paul called to say he’d arrived at Nan’s and a short while later reported that there was nothing out of the ordinary around Nan’s apartment. But just in case, Paul planned to stay the night at Nan’s. It wouldn’t hurt for him to see if he could pick up any background noises from the anonymous caller.

Still, Alexi looked worried. Jesse came up behind her and rubbed her shoulders. “Paul’s there and you’re safer here.”

“
I know.” She leaned into him and he had the urge to hold her so tight and close nothing would ever harm her.

Hell. He needed to get a grip. This is crazy. His craving for something sweet to eat resurfaced. “I can’t believe I didn’t get a single piece of cake. Chocolate cream is my favorite.” That bit of icing he’d stolen from James had whet his appetite. Sort of like Alexi and sex.

There’s an idea, Weldon
. “Since I can’t have cake, will you play strip poker?”

“
Oops,” Alexi shot up from the chair. “I’m sorry, I forgot.”

“
Forgot what? How to play strip poker?”

“
Cake. Your mother sent you home a cake. It’s in the back seat of your car.”

“
She did?” He shook his head searching his memory for that missed tidbit of information. “She didn’t say anything.”

Alexi grinned. “I wasn’t supposed to let you know until you took me home. I think the general idea was to let you suffer for a little while first.”

“
I see,” he said, processing the idea that his mother and Alexi had collaborated to pull one over on him. He wasn’t sure if he liked that idea, but he had something more important to take care or first. “So I’ve suffered for hours and there’s been a cake in my car all this time?”

Alexi nodded. “I’ll go get it.”

“
No,” Jesse said smiling. “I’ll get it. You go relax for a few minutes.”

“
I might have another piece, too. It was really good.”

Yep, Jesse said to himself. He’d make sure she got some cake. He retrieved the cake from the car, and while she was engrossed in a magazine, he set up his bedroom. If Alexi wanted to play with the big boys and their treats, then she’d have to suffer the consequences. He came into the room and sat next to her on the couch.

She turned to him. “You’re not eating cake yet?”

“
I will,” he said softly, leaning down and kissing her. “I’m the kind of guy who likes to have his cake and eat it, too.” He kissed her again, harder this time, then backed off. He ran his hand down the silky skin of her thighs until her legs slid apart slightly and she moaned when he kissed her again. Scooping her up, he headed for the bedroom. “I’ve got a treat for you, Lex. But we have to play a little game first.” His heart kicked up its pace at what he had in mind.

She leaned up and kissed him. “Strip poker?”

“
Nope. This game is even better.” Just the sort of game to put him back in control.

Her eyes narrowed and she leaned back to look at him. “Better how?”

“
This time, you have to do anything I ask you to and next time I’ll return the favor. What do you say?” He waited for her answer; his breath caught between his lungs and his mouth.

“
Anything?” She looked shocked.

“
Anything,” he nodded. “Except, I’ll give you the trump card. Any time you want to stop the game, you say so. Otherwise you’re completely in my hands.” He leaned down and slid his tongue along the lobe of her ear. “For as long as you wish, you’ll be my sex slave,” he whispered. “Say yes, Lex.”

“
Yes.” Her answer a bare whisper upon her exhaled breath.