The door from the garage opened and Jamie Turner walked in. Maria’s eyes widened just before she buried her face in Jake’s neck.
“Shit,” Jake murmured. He let go of her legs and, when her feet were planted on the floor, he whipped off his shirt, slipping it on her.
Stepping in front of her to block her from view, he glared at Turner. “Saint, what the hell are you doing here?”
Turner glared right back, his eyes sending a message that Jake was scum. “The boss sent me, and now I understand why.”
Maria peeked around Jake. “Hi, Jamie. As you can see, we weren’t expecting you, and when I see my brother he’s dead meat.” With her chin up, she marched out of the kitchen. “God, this is so embarrassing,” she muttered as she left.
“Just what are your intentions, Romeo? Maria’s not a woman you can toy with.”
“Fuck. I know.” Jake swiped a hand through his hair. He felt like a teenager caught making out by his parents. To keep from standing there like a guilty child, he picked up the ice cream bowl and busied himself at the sink washing it.
“And not just because she’s Kincaid’s sister,” Saint said. “She’s special, not your kind of woman.”
Jake spun, clanging the bowl against the counter. “You think I don’t know that?”
Saint shrugged. “I thought you did.”
“What’re you going to tell the boss?”
“For now, nothing unless he asks a direct question. I won’t lie to him for you, though.”
As if that was a surprise. Saint didn’t lie for anyone. He also didn’t cuss, drink, or sleep with every woman who crossed his path, thus his nickname. Kincaid probably wouldn’t blink twice if it was Saint panting after Maria.
“And I’d never ask you to, but the boss seems to forget Maria’s an adult, free to make her own decisions. I’m not forcing her to do anything she doesn’t want, and I’m not out to hurt her.”
Saint turned a chair around and straddled it. “That may be, but in the end you will. Unless . . .”
Unless Maria was the one woman he’d give up his lifestyle for. Jake remained silent, refusing to take the bait. He never promised something he couldn’t deliver. A contemplative light Jake didn’t care for appeared in Saint’s eyes.
“You know, I’ve seen the way you look at her. It’s different from how you look at other women. Maybe it’s time you grew up, Jake. Stopped chasing skirts and settle down with a good woman.” He glanced at the doorway through which Maria had disappeared. “Someone like her.”
Who the hell did Saint think he was, Jake’s confessor? “I’m tired of this conversation. There’s an empty bedroom, last door on the right.”
“First, I need you to bring me up to date on where everything stands.”
“Tomorrow.” Jake headed to his room, stopping at Maria’s closed door. He considered knocking and asking if she was all right, but what was there to say? She was once again off-limits, and it was probably for the best. Saint was right. Eventually, he would hurt her.
He showered, something he’d planned for them to do together. Cleaning the sticky chocolate off her body was a chore he’d looked forward to. As the water streamed over him, he closed his eyes and imagined Maria standing in front of him and what he’d do. He’d yet to see her naked, but from what he had seen of her, a picture formed clearly in his mind.
As the fantasy developed, Jake slipped his hand around his erection and pretended it was her soft fingers holding him tightly and milking him. “Maria,” he rasped as he came. His body jerked with a violence he’d never before experienced. Christ. If she could do this to him without even being next to him, what would it be like to have the real her?
He leaned his forehead on the wall, his breath harsh to his ears. Unbelievable. He’d climaxed twice tonight, and neither time had it been how he’d wanted. To be wrapped in her slick heat, to hold her close and watch her come, that was what he wanted more than he’d ever wanted anything.
Still, he didn’t know what to do about it. Saint’s words rang in his ears.
Someone like her.
CHAPTER NINE
The smell of coffee floated down the hall, and Maria eyed her bedroom door. All she had to do was open it and walk out—just pretend nothing embarrassing had happened the night before.
She’d tried several times to contact Logan to give him a piece of her mind, but he wasn’t answering his phone. He had to know why she was calling, and he was a coward for refusing to talk to her. It was past time he stopped trying to control her life. Her brother was just too used to protecting her and didn’t know how to let go. She got it, she did. He’d spent most of his life taking care of her. But enough was enough.