Perfectly Ms. Matched(18)

She nodded. “That’s cool. I get out of class at noon. See you, Mr. Jenks.”

“Yeah. Bye.” He glanced at Ryan. Panic shone in his son’s eyes. “My appointment is at one o’clock. I’ll be home by two, three the latest. I’m not going to ditch you, Ryan. I promise.”

Jo slipped beside him. “So Heather is . . . a nanny?”

“Yeah. Her dad is one of my coaches in San Diego. She goes to college here. This place is usually empty most of the year, and her father wanted somewhere safe for her to live. I’ve never charged her rent, so I asked if she’d help out with Ryan while I’m rehabbing. I thought someone younger would be more fun for him.”

Jo’s eyes went wide. “Oh . . . that makes so much more . . . sense.”

“What? You thought me and Heather . . . ?” Dammit! She’d accused him of still having one-night stands, and now he was a cradle robber? Didn’t she have any respect for him? “Hey, Ryan? Go get dressed. We’re going out to the ranch to visit my mom in a few.”

“Yay. The ranch!” Ryan hopped down and scampered off.

After Ryan was out of sight, he turned toward Jo. As he advanced on her, she slowly backed away.

She sputtered, “You’ve, uh, had enough for the first day. I’ll just . . . go get my stuff.”

“Nope. We need to talk.” He slipped a hand around her waist to stop her and then backed her against the wall. He stood chest to chest with her and didn’t know which he wanted worse, to kiss her or to give her the tongue-lashing she deserved.

“Hey. I said no touching. That’s strike one!”

He leaned back and placed his hands on either side of her head, caging her in. “Stop making me into the bad guy. Especially with Ryan.”

“You are the bad guy. I have Internet access too, you know. Poor celebrities like yourself have no privacy, do they?”

He ground his teeth, searching for patience. “Your Internet must not be high speed. After you canned my ass, sure, I partied a little too hard for a while. It hurt, Jo. But it started to affect my play, so I cleaned up my act my second year.” He leaned closer but stopped just short of touching her. “I don’t need you making things worse for me with Ryan!”

“Oh, go growl at someone else. Ryan’s hurting and needed a friend. I didn’t say anything bad about you.”

“What do you call suggesting Ryan turn me in?”

She fought a grin. “Funny?”

“Not.”

She lost the battle, and a slow smile lit her pretty face. “I wanted him to realize you don’t mistreat him. And what was I supposed to think when I saw Heather in skimpy little pajamas?”

“Going automatically to the lowest denominator is insulting. I’m not putting up with any more of your crap!”

“Crap?” She lost the smile and poked him in the chest. “Just because the rest of the world bows down to the great Chad Jenks, don’t expect that from me. Ever! I knew you when. You have to earn my trust and respect all over again, buddy.”

“Then give me a chance to earn it. You are the most stubborn—” He ran a hand down his face and reeled in his temper before he lost it. “New rule. Every time you poke me in the chest, I get one free strike.”

Jo’s eye’s narrowed. “What makes you think you can add new rules?”

“Because this isn’t a dictatorship. Maybe those other guys you dated let you push them around, but that’s not going to happen in this relationship.”

“This relationship is a business deal. Nothing more. I’m going to rehab you for the price of one hundred thousand dollars. End of story.”

“And you’ll get a new double-capacity oven and free architectural plans for your remodel because I keep my word and play fair. Can you?”

Her eyes lit with anger.

Just the reaction he was after. Jo wouldn’t back down from his challenge.

“Fine. The score is zero, zero. Let’s keep it that way.”

“Thank you. But let’s not.” He laid his mouth on hers.

She stiffened at first, but as he ran his tongue against the seam of her pursed lips, she opened for him, inviting him to take more. So he did.

Slipping his arms around her, he pulled her against him. Jo’s tall, slender body had always been the perfect fit to his. He moved his hand to the back of her long neck, gently kneading as his tongue tangled with hers. When she moaned and leaned closer, he deepened the kiss.

It was as if no time had passed at all. Their kiss was as familiar as it was satisfying. He’d never felt that same intensity with any other woman.

Her hands, that a moment before had clenched his shirt, pulling him closer, pushed against his chest, so he ended their kiss and backed away.