Forbidden Heat (13 page)

All in all the place had a nice warm feel. She sat down in the booth and Trey and Jake slid in beside her, one on each side. She ordered a glass of white wine and each of them ordered a beer.

“What do you think?” Trey asked.

“I like it,” she answered.

“Wait till you hear the music.”

The waitress brought their drinks and they settled back as the musicians took their places.

“This group plays jazz fusion,” said Trey.

Danielle sipped her wine as she watched the men, wearing jeans and long-sleeved shirts, pick up their instruments.

“I’ve listened to a little jazz on the radio,” she said, “but I don’t know about the different styles.”

“Well, jazz fusion doesn’t get much broadcast time, probably because of its complexity, and the fact that it usually has no vocal . . . and the tracks are quite long, too.” Trey sat back and smiled. “This should be a real treat for you.”

The musicians began their set. Danielle snuggled against Jake as she enjoyed the raw energy of the music. She especially enjoyed the sweet sound of the saxophone. She could feel the sax player’s sheer love of playing in the vitality and edginess of the music. When he ran down a flurry of notes, tingles ran down her spine; then when he switched to rich low notes, the deep tones raised the hairs on her arms.

Too soon the set was over.

Trey smiled at her, his eyebrow arching up.

Danielle nodded. “That was really something.”

A DJ began to play a slow dance number.

“So, how about a dance?” Jake asked.

She sipped her wine, then followed him to the dance floor, where he slid his arms around her and held her close. She danced with him for a while, enjoying floating on a cloud of music with Jake guiding the way. After a while they returned to the table, and a few minutes later Trey asked her to dance. They danced to several slow songs. With his arms around her and his body close, she became intensely aware of her breasts pressed tight against him. The need built within her. She snuggled against him. It would be so nice to return to the house and get closer still.

Trey must have sensed her thoughts, because he leaned close to her ear and said, “You interested in heading back to my place?”

“Don’t you want to catch another set?”

He nuzzled her ear. “I’d rather catch you.”

Memories of being captured by him the night before flooded through her and heat rose within her.

She grabbed his hand. “Let’s go.” She turned and led him from the dance floor.

As they headed toward the table, she realized someone had joined Jake.

Jake seemed deep in conversation with the other man, but he glanced up as Danielle and Trey approached. He seemed a little uncomfortable.

“Uh . . . Rico, these are my friends, Danielle and Trey.”

The dark-haired young man turned toward them and glared. “Friends? Is that all?”

“Rico. That’s enough.” Jake’s warning tone quieted the man.

“We were thinking of going back to my place,” Trey said.

“Okay, uh . . .” He turned to Rico. “Wait here a minute.”

He stood up and walked with them a few paces from the table. The other man sat at the table glowering.

“Look, he’s had a few drinks and . . . I want to make sure he gets home okay. He’s got his car here. I’m going to drive him.”

“Sure, that’s fine,” Trey said. “You can meet up with us later.”

Jake patted Trey on the shoulder. “Thanks, I’ll do that.” He sent Danielle a heated gaze. “I’ll definitely do that.”

She walked out the door with Trey, then to his car. “How will Jake get back to your place?”

“He’ll probably take a cab. Or maybe he’ll drive Rico’s car. That’d serve Rico right if he woke up tomorrow and had no idea where he’d left it.”

“Who is this Rico anyway?”

“He and Jake had a thing going, but it ended about six months ago. I don’t know a lot about it, but some friends Jake and I have in common told me that Rico wasn’t very happy about it. He’s the jealous type. That’s a big reason Jake had to call it quits. It’s tough when you’re attracted to either men or women. . . . The guy suspected Jake of cheating whenever he spent any time with
anyone
. It became a real headache.”

“So now they’re broken up but this guy is still jealous?”

Trey shrugged. “Love is never simple.”

Well, that sure was the truth.

Trey drove his car through the dark streets to his house, then pulled into the driveway. Hickory, Trey’s cat, pranced across the front lawn and met them at the door, meowing and rubbing against his legs as he unlocked the door.

“Yeah, I get it. You want some dinner.”

Danielle petted the sleek cat, but when the door opened, Hickory raced inside straight to the kitchen.

Danielle kicked off her shoes, and Trey helped her take off her sweater, then hung it up in the front closet. Hickory trotted back into the room, mewing loudly.

“I’ll go feed Mr. Grumbles here. Why don’t you get comfortable?”

She sat down on the couch as Trey disappeared into the kitchen. A moment later, she heard the can opener, followed by Hickory’s frantic meowing. She picked up the remote control from the table and pressed the button to play music from Trey’s playlist. He had shown her yesterday how he had his entertainment computer, as he called it, set up to record from the TV, to play music, et cetera. A soft, jazzy piece, primarily piano, filled the room, and she relaxed against the cushions.

“I thought you were going to make yourself comfortable.” Trey grinned as he settled beside her. He drew her close and kissed her, his lips lingering while his hands slid from her shoulders to the front of her blouse. He released the first button, then the second. Her skin tingled as his fingertips brushed her skin, gliding over the swell of her breasts above the lace of her bra.

“Aren’t we going to wait for Jake?”

The tangy scent of his cologne and the light shadowing across his jaw proved irresistible, and she caressed his cheek, loving the bristly, masculine feel of his whiskers.

He grasped her hand and kissed it. “I should go shave.”

“No, don’t. It’s sexy.”

His eyes glinted. “You say that now, but when I kiss you . . . where I intend to kiss you . . . you might not be so happy with the reality of sandpaper against your skin.”

“Well . . .” She leaned forward and nibbled his chin, dragging her teeth along the bristles, enjoying the raspy sound. She nuzzled his neck, kissing the pulse at the base. “If you insist.”

He kissed her again, then stood up and headed down the hall. As he closed the bathroom door, Hickory trotted toward the couch.

“Hey, there. All finished with dinner?”

He mewed and leapt onto the couch, then climbed onto her leg and mewed again, staring at her with big amber eyes. She stroked his head. He flopped down on her lap, clearly settling in for a long petting session. The soft feel of his fur under her hand and the quiet rumble of his purring delighted her. Maybe she should get a cat.

The phone rang. Hickory’s ears perked up and she gazed down at him.

“That’s probably Jake.”

Eleven

The phone rang again and Danielle glanced around. One of the cordless phones sat in its charging unit beside the computer. She cuddled Hickory against her, his fur soft against her bare chest, and stroked him as she crossed the room to pick up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hi there. Who’s this?” a woman’s voice said.

If she’d been at home, Danielle would have asked who the woman was rather than answering, but she was a guest at Trey’s, and it was natural that the caller might wonder who was answering Trey’s phone.

“This is Danielle, a friend of Trey’s. May I ask who’s calling?”

“Hi. I’m Suzie. Where’s Trey?”

“He’s busy at the moment. May I have him call you back? He’ll be only a few minutes.”

Hickory murmured, then wriggled in her arms. She set him on the floor and he bounded away.

“So how do you know Trey?” the caller asked.

“I . . . uh . . . I’m a friend of his from college.” She didn’t know who this woman was or why she should be answering her questions.

“Oh. Are you visiting from out of town?”

Danielle wasn’t used to being badgered for answers and didn’t really know how to handle it. She didn’t want to answer this inquisitive unknown woman’s questions but wasn’t quite sure how to avoid it, other than just holding her silence . . . or hanging up. Both seemed rude. It was just easier to answer.

“Yes, I am.”

“Do you know Jake, too?”

“Uh . . . yes.” Had this woman known Trey for a long time? The thought sent a pang of jealousy through her . . . which was ridiculous. Danielle didn’t have any designs on Trey. She wanted Jake and Trey to wind up together. Enjoying the journey was simply a bonus.

“Jake’s a great guy, isn’t he?”

Was that a subtle hint? Danielle wondered. In other words, was she saying
Keep your hands off my man.

“Where do you live, Danielle?”

“I live in Phoenicia.”

“Is that a long way from Carleton Falls?”

So the woman didn’t live in Carleton Falls; otherwise she’d know where Phoenicia was.

Trey walked into the room.

“Um . . . Trey’s back. I’ll put him on.”

She handed the phone to Trey. “It’s someone named Suzie.”

Immediately, Trey’s face lit up. He took the phone.

“Hey, Suzie, how are you?”

His broad smile and glittering eyes told her this Suzie was someone very special to him. Again, jealousy niggled through her.

“Yes . . . Danielle. Yes . . . she’s a friend.”

Not a girlfriend.
Of course she wasn’t, but at that moment she wished she were.

Shock catapulted through her.

Damn it. She wasn’t supposed to feel that way. Jake would be heartbroken.

Trey wandered into the kitchen and his voice became a low mumble through the door.

Curiosity zinged through Danielle. Who was this Suzie woman?

A few minutes later, Trey stepped back into the room, sipping a glass of ice water.

“Yes, honey. Okay.” He placed the glass on the table and sat beside Danielle on the couch. “Sure, we can talk tomorrow.” He winked at Danielle. “Okay. Yes, I love you, too.” He pressed the End button and set the phone on the table.

He turned to Danielle and slid his arms around her. “Now . . . where were we?”

She remained stiff in his arms. “You are kidding, right?”

His brown eyes narrowed in puzzlement. “Is something wrong?”

“You mean besides the fact that you just told a woman you love her . . . right before you try to make out with me?”

He chuckled. “You don’t think . . .” At her stony stare, he laughed again. “That was my little sister, Suzie.”

“Your sister?”

“That’s right.”

Relief surged through her as he pulled her against him and nuzzled her cheek. “So, what, you think I’m the type of guy to have a harem of women at my beck and call? That I keep them on a string, telling them I love them so I can entice them into my bed whenever I want?”

She jabbed his chest, embarrassment coursing through her. “Oh, shut up.”

She fastened her mouth on his to stop his laughter. His lips played on hers, but when her tongue slid between his lips, he drew her tight against him and answered her invitation with a swirl of his tongue. Then he leaned her back against the cushions and kissed down her neck, then nuzzled between her breasts.

She hadn’t even refastened her blouse buttons. The whole time she’d been talking to Trey’s little sister, her breasts had been hanging out. Her cheeks flushed, which was ridiculous, since the woman hadn’t been able to see her . . . but Danielle still felt embarrassed. What was happening to her? She’d never been so consumed by a relationship before—and it wasn’t even like this was a real relationship. Was it?

But as Trey drew her bra cup down and nuzzled the swell of her breast, all thoughts fled her mind. All she could concentrate on was Trey’s lips caressing her skin, sending tingles through her, closing in on her nipple. Then he covered it and she moaned. His tongue dabbed at the hard nub and then he sucked a little. Desire lanced through her. She forked her fingers through his short sandy hair, drawing his head tighter against her. He lapped at her nipple, then kissed across her chest to her other needy nub.

She dragged her hand down his hard chest, to his stomach. She stroked over his rigid abs, then lower, to another rigid body part. As he licked and nibbled her nipple, she dragged his zipper down and slipped her hand inside. Her fingers wrapped around his long member, still covered with the soft cotton of his boxers.

He sucked her nipple and heat shot through her. She squeezed his long thick cock, then slid her fingers inside his boxers and stroked the hot silky skin stretched across his rock-hard shaft.

He kissed the base of her neck as he pushed her blouse from her shoulders.

“You have too many clothes on, woman,” he said as his hands glided around her back and unfastened her bra.

“So do you,” she responded as she squeezed his cock.

He stood up and shoved his pants and boxers out of the way in one movement. She slid her bra from her arms and tossed it aside, then shimmied out of her skirt. He unfastened his shirt and tossed it aside, then knelt in front of her, his brown eyes glittering as he watched her hook her thumbs under the elastic of her thong.

“Let me deal with these.” He ran his finger along the crotch of her panties.

His touch, just a whisper from her slick flesh, sent her heart rate accelerating. He stroked down her thigh, then wrapped his hand around her calf and lifted her leg. He nuzzled her ankle, then kissed it, sending heat thrumming through her. He lifted her other leg and kissed behind her knee, then rested her legs over his shoulders. He grinned as he prowled forward and leaned in to her body. He kissed her stomach above the elastic of her thong . . . then grasped the elastic in his teeth. He drew it downward . . . slowly . . . revealing her auburn curls a little at a time.

God, she wanted to twine her fingers in his hair and drag him tight against her. To mash his face into her hot, slick flesh, to—Oh! His tongue dove into her and stroked her clit. Her heart thundered in her chest as she gasped.