Looking Out for Lexy (3 page)

             
Lexy swallowed, her breath all but gone.  She’d already forgiven him.  “I never thought about you that way, Jack.  I really have seen all of your videos.  I...I like them.”

             
“You don’t seem like the type that would enjoy my kind of music, Mrs. Kane.  What is it you like best, the music, the sexy videos, or...me.”  His grin was unmistakably wicked, and bold again.

             
She let out her breath with a whoosh.  A scarlet flush covered her cheeks again.  “You have a lot of nerve,
Mister
Wyatt.  I...I like them because...” Lexy averted her gaze.  The nerve!  And the worst part  was...he  was right!  And the fact that he always treated the video dollies with respect and dignity in the love scenes on film.  Like he had treated her.  And the fact that she'd never fallen out of love with him, even though she'd married Tom.  But she wasn’t about to tell him that now.

             
“Uh-huh.  I caught you, didn’t I, Lexy.  You watch my videos because of me.  Because you like my.....”  He smiled that killer smile he projected on screen.   “Me.”  Jack Wyatt was the consummate rock star now.  It was the only way he could be comfortable around the only girl, make that woman now, he'd ever cared about...OK, loved.  Wanted to marry.  They'd never had the chance to find out.

             
Lexy drew herself up, the deep flush on her cheeks still flaming. 

             
“You think you are pretty hot stuff, don’t you, Jack Wyatt.  Thea warned me that you were like this, but I didn’t believe her.  And, I think it’s all a big put-on too.  You don’t want anyone to know that a real heart beats beneath that tough guy image.”

             
Jack looked amused.  Lexy had always had a lot of spunk.  And she hadn’t answered his question. 

             
"Ahhh, Lexy.  Maybe you are just the woman to find out what’s beneath this uh, image.  Maybe I’ll call you in the morning.  I’ve got Thea’s number.”

             
He had his nerve!  Maybe he'd call. Maybe indeed!  Lexy lifted her chin proudly and looked directly at him.  "I’ll be gone tomorrow, or did you forget so soon?”               

             
“Salave`."  He shrugged his shoulders.  "Well ladies, I have a couple of anxious, young wannabe’s waiting for me.  Maybe some other time, angel."   Jack cast a sidelong look at Lexy.  A slight smile flickered at the corners of her perfect mouth.

             
Angel.  The former endearment had slipped out
again
before he could stop it.  Or had it?   Jack Wyatt had never called anyone else before or after Lexy angel. Intending to say something else, he quickly snapped his mouth shut.  Saluting them, the handsome singer did an about face, sauntering over to the two young women eagerly awaiting his presence.  Jack had to get away from Lexy before he took her in his arms, crushing her luscious body to his.  He groaned inwardly, remembering the sensuous lips that tasted of pure honey.

             
The pleasure was all mine, Jack I’m sure
.
 
Lexy watched him as he walked away.  Out of her life.  Again.             

             
Thea turned to Lexy.  “I’m sorry, Lexy.  I knew he was like this.  I didn't mean for this to happen."

             
Quietly, Lexy placed her hand on Thea’s shoulder.  Her anger already dissipating.  She understood his facade well.  And he'd slipped badly, calling her angel-twice.  She recalled him telling her as teenagers that he had never called  anyone else by that particular endearment.  Lexy had believed him then.....

             
“Oh no Thea, I’m not disappointed.  He’s just hurting, that’s all.  I could see the pain and uncertainty behind that masquerade.   He’s a very unsettled man.”

             
“You always find something good in everyone, Lexy.  To me, he is a total jerk, with a capital J.  From what I’ve heard, Jack Wyatt has been with every one of his video dollies and probably more groupies than you can count.”

             
“He’s just searching Thea, that’s all.  But you’re right, he is kinda cocky.  But I still like him anyway.”  Still loved him was more like it.

             
“Always the incurable romantic. Come on, Lexy, let’s get out of here and go get some real food.  I know a place not far from here.  By the way, how are things going now?  Tom isn’t bothering you anymore, is he?”  A distasteful look crossed her face as his name passed her lips.

             
“Same old, same old.  And...no.”  Lexy clamed up suddenly.  Thea put her arm around Lexy's shoulder, as if she could shield her from any harm that might come her way.  She remembered how crazy Tom would get when he was drunk.

             
“I am
hungry.  The place sounds heavenly, Thea.”  Lexy glanced around once more as they walked toward the door.  Laughter filtered out of the darkened corner.  He was nowhere in sight, but she felt his presence as strongly as if he was walking beside her.  A shiver ran up and down her spine as the last thing she thought of were his dark, mysterious eyes. 

             
But Lexy Kane wasn't a quitter.  She refused to let it end like this.  There was too much at stake.  They would be seeing each other again.  He could bet on that, even though he didn't know it yet.

             
Jack Wyatt, head bent, nursing his drink, was oblivious to the chatter around him.  His stomach was still tied in knots.  Sexy Lexy.  Lexy Latton.   Correction, Kane.  Calling Lexy Mrs. Kane left a bitter taste in his mouth.   She'd married the moron even though he had told her he'd be back for her. 

             
He shook his dark head, as if trying to shake away the vision of the woman who'd just left.  Besides, what chance had he ever really had?    Although now....something didn’t seem quite right when he'd mentioned Tom Kane.  She’d stiffened, changing the subject immediately. 

             
Still, something stirred inside of him that he hadn’t felt in a long, long time.  A long time ago, with her.  She'd given her love freely to him then.  He let his mind drift back in time.

             
There had been some trouble the beginning of his senior year.  Jack had been caught in the middle.  To get rid of him and trouble, his single dad had sent him to live with his Aunt Isabel in a small city in Wisconsin.  He'd finished his senior year there without getting into too much trouble.               

             
Except for falling in love with the captain of the football team’s girlfriend.  She was the opposite of everything he stood for.  Lexy Latton was one of those good girls, a cheerleader, in the band and starring in the school musical. She'd captured his heart from the moment he saw her on the stage and heard the sweet voice of an angel. 

             
Her nickname was Sexy Lexy.  The big joke on campus was Lexy Latton was the sexiest girl around, but was still a virgin.  She was an honest to goodness prude.  It drove the guys wild, including Jack Wyatt.

             
The bad boy had scoped her for a long time before approaching her after school one day.  To his surprise, she'd agreed to see him.  And she wasn't the prude everyone said she was.  Warm and friendly, she'd stolen his heart before he realized it had happened.  And the rebel had fallen madly in love with the cheerleader.  The funny thing was, she seemed to feel the same way.  She was good for him.  Jack even had thoughts of settling down someday.  Until the night her ex-boyfriend found them together in a rather uncompromising situation.  He'd paid dearly for that, and he suspected she had too. 

             
They had been lying on a blanket under the stars on the beach along the shore of Lake Michigan.  Jack was making love to Lexy when the carload of boys had driven up.  The scene that followed hadn’t been pretty.  He’d sported two black eyes for a while.  He had noticed that she had a lot of make-up on one side of her face, her long golden red hair covering it.  She'd worn long sleeved blouses with high collars for a while, too. 

             
They had not talked again in person.  When he was getting ready to leave after school got out, he had  planned on asking her to secretly elope before college, but he couldn’t get near her during school or otherwise. He had watched her, worshipped her, from a distance, waiting until they were together again.

             
Jack could never quite forget her, no matter how hard he tried.  Even after he had finally called just before he left-her mother had told him her daughter never wanted to see him again.   Apparently she’d chosen Tom, not him.

             
Jack Wyatt still remembered the moment when they’d gotten into her father’s car for the first time.  They had started kissing,  Holding her beautiful, soft face in his hands, tasting the sweetness of her mouth, seeing the look of surrender in her eyes, noticing her full rounded breasts had given him the shivers.  He couldn’t recall a first exchange so vividly.  Lexy had looked almost too magnificent to touch.  Jack had wanted to enjoy the exploration of her, savoring every precious advance toward realizing the fullness in his hungry hands.  Visions of brushing his forearm just below the tender skin of her neck, feeling the softness of her cleavage against his arm, nearly drove him nuts imagining the enjoyment that she was going to bring him.  When Lexy allowed him to further caress her, feeling all the wonders of her bosom, he’d known then that he would never feel anything so extraordinary again....except with her.

             
Jack had felt like a young kid in a candy store that night with Lexy.  And she had given him a permanent sweet tooth...for Lexy Latton Kane.  No one had even come close to turning him on like she had.

             
He looked up suddenly and stared at the dark eyes reflected in the mirror behind the bar.  Suddenly he felt old, ancient.  Those azure eyes of hers, veiled by long, velvety lashes, hid shadowy secrets.  He hadn't  imagined it, he was sure.  For the short moments she'd gazed at him with those blue eyes that still haunted his dreams every so often, a hint of sadness so immense had been very apparent, if only for a instant.  For some reason it made him morose to see it.  Now that was something, wasn’t it.  Jack Wyatt caring about anything.

             
Why had she married that big dumb idiot anyway?  Maybe because she knew from the start that there was no future with a scoundrel like him.  Yet, she’d given herself without reservation to him that night, long ago.  She’d told him she loved him. 

             
But could he tell her back?  Oh, no.  Not Mr. Macho man.  He didn’t need to tell her.  She was his for the taking.  And she’d taken someone else.  Lexy Latton had made it plain that her choice was that overgrown, muscle bound moron, and that she didn’t want to see him again.   

             
His eyes came into focus again.  The laughter slowly invaded his senses again.  Yeah.  Maybe someday, he’d see her again.  But not yet.
He would choose the time.
He would be in charge.  This time.

             
“Jack.  Let’s dance honey.”  The stunning blonde wrapped her arms around his waist, bringing him back.

             
Jack glanced at her, not really seeing anything.  He brushed her arms aside.  “I'm not in the mood anymore."  Before she could utter another word, he slammed a wad of bills on the counter and strode out the door.

             
Unlocking the door to his suite, Jack Wyatt slammed the door behind him in frustration.  Why had she reappeared just as his hectic life was about to wind down and he was finally going to get some down time himself.  Wyatt glanced around the sparsely decorated room, just the way he liked it.  Damn!  That woman still stuck in his craw.  She hadn’t wanted him then, so why now?  Did she need money?  Was his star status a turn on?

             
Ripping off his jacket, the darkly handsome man fell onto the huge, king size bed, shutting his eyes tightly trying to fight off  long ago memories.

Two

              Her laughter filled the hallowed halls as the taffy haired girl swished along chatting with her girlfriends.  Jack Wyatt stared as she passed him by, smiling directly at him as she continued to chat with friends. The smell of lilacs drifted in his mind as he watched Lexy Latton disappear around the corner of the poorly lit hallway.  She was the only thing that made his new school tolerable.  His aunt thought he would be safer here with her, rather than in the slums of New York where he had lived with his alcoholic father.  Never in a million did he think he would like anything about this small Wisconsin town, but that all changed the moment he laid eyes on her.

             
Lexy wasn’t like the girls he knew back home.  She had smiled and said hello the first day he had walked into Biology class.  One of the few who didn’t make fun of his New York twang, Lexy was always kind to him.  Jack had been determined to get to know her better.  Word was that she had just broken up with Tom Kane, the star quarterback for the high school football team.  Jack had seen Tom around.  He was a bully and didn’t care who knew it.  Rumor had it that Kane was as rough with Lexy as he was on the field.  Jack didn’t like him the moment he laid eyes on the tall, slim athlete.