Losing Control (34 page)

Putting her hand up to her neck, she realized that it could have been a much different story. It had been over a month since the attack and hostage situation with Money Bags. As Dino had promised, he was gone without a trace. She truly didn’t have to worry about him any longer. It helped her breathe easier, but there were still some nights that she woke up in a cold sweat, chest heaving. That wasn’t to say that she didn’t keep mace always at hand now. She had also gone to the shooting range with Meredith, Tyler, and Jagger. With a concealed carry permit, she now had every right to protect herself. In reality, she had never felt safer, but it was nice to remember what had brought her to that feeling. She didn’t ever want to forget it. If she did, she was afraid she would get complacent.

“I’m glad I’m with you too. Now where are we going once we get to Nashville?”

“No way! I’m not ruining all the surprises. You already figured out what city we’re going to.”

“Well I figured you weren’t going to drive straight through to Daytona,” she grinned.

He shook his head. “Such a smart-ass sometimes.”

“You love that I’m a smart-ass,” she teased.

“Yeah, yeah.” He reached forward to mess with the radio station.

“You could sing for me,” she suggested as he played musical chairs with the stations. He didn’t seem to be happy with anything that was on the radio anyway.

“I don’t know, it’s been an awful long time. I’m a little rusty,” he made the excuse, causing her to giggle.

“You are such a damn bad liar. You sang to Meredith last night when she asked you to.” Bianca reached over and hit him on the arm.

“What did you expect me to do? Tyler was sitting there staring at me with that expectant look that told me I better do it or answer to him. I was singing for my life.”

Bianca loved this—the ease of their conversations and the easy way they teased one another. It was weird, but it had gotten easier after that day at the doctor’s office when they had talked things out with the older woman. Since that day, they had been making an effort to remain connected and not to take each other for granted. “Fine, I can sing.”

They both knew she couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. “Good thing there are no dogs around to howl,” he stage whispered.

“Then sing.”

He landed on a pop station where a singer crooned about living a lonely life. Jagger picked up the melody easily and sang along. She was surprised he knew it, but he was so gifted when it came to anything having to do with musical talent that she knew she shouldn’t be surprised.

“There,” he said when the song was done.

“You really do have a beautiful voice,” she complimented him.

“Now you’re just trying to get lucky,” he accused with a grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye.

“Is it working?” she asked him dryly.

This time, instead of going to the BBQ restaurant, they went to a rooftop sushi restaurant. Bianca watched as Jagger took his cut off when they got out of the car and tucked in the white shirt he wore underneath it. “Give me just a minute,” he told her. She was surprised when he pulled a button down long-sleeve shirt out of the back of the car and put it on over the t-shirt.

“They have rules,” he explained.

She had never been to a place that had rules about getting served dinner, so this was already turning out to be an interesting night for her. “Will they have something I like?” she asked, grabbing his hand as they crossed the street.

“Yeah, they have more than just sushi. I made sure,” he smiled.

The rooftop was like nothing Bianca had ever seen before. It also offered an amazing view of Nashville at night. A view that was beautiful.

“You want some wine?” he asked as the waiter left them with a menu.

“Are you serious? I’ve never seen you drink anything other than beer or the hard stuff.”

“I do know a thing or two about how to appear like a true gentleman.” He put his hand over his heart. “I’m really tryin’ to show you a good time here, B.”

It all felt weird to her. She wasn’t used to any of this. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “It’s just weird that you and I are here.”

“I know, but let me do this for you.” He reached across the table and grabbed her hand. “Come over here.”

Getting up from the opposite side, she went over to the side he sat on and took the seat next to him. Being close to him grounded her. She could smell him and feel the heat from his body. Wrapping her arm around his, she rested her head on his shoulder. He always seemed to know what she needed. “Thanks,” she whispered in his ear.

“No problem, babe.” He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “Let’s see what they got on this menu.”

Together, they perused the list before deciding on what they wanted. Jagger even talked her into trying a wine that she was interested in. “This is actually pretty good,” she told him as she swirled it in her glass. “Not something I could drink all the time because it’s so sweet, but it’s nice for a change of pace.”

A change of pace was the perfect way to describe this evening, he realized. He just wanted to show her something different, show her that for just one night he could be someone that she wasn’t used to. It was important for him to show her that although they were committing to be in a long-term relationship, he would never let that relationship get stale.

“I’m glad. That’s what I wanted when I decided that we should come here. Sometimes it’s just nice to get out of Bowling Green, ya know?”

She did know. “It’s big and small at the same time,” she mused. “It’s so big that we don’t know everybody, but it’s so small that everybody knows about us.”

He chuckled. That was the perfect way to describe the town they lived in. “Well, next time the gossipmongers have something to talk about when it comes to us, let’s hope it’s something really mundane. Like I don’t know, having sex in public or getting into a huge fight in front of everybody.”

“Mundane? Having sex in public? Jagger.” She raised her eyebrow and trained her gaze on him. “You do know that I signed a morality clause to teach, right?”

Under the table, he ran his hand along her thigh. “You are so easy to rile up.”

Her response was on the tip of her tongue, but the arrival of their food cut her off. “You’re a mess.” She shook her head, not able to wipe the smile that tilted the corners of her mouth.

“And you love it!”

Chapter Forty

“S
o where are we going now?” Bianca asked as they walked from the rooftop sushi bar back to her car. “Are we heading on home? It’s getting late,” she said as she checked her watch.

“Not just yet,” Jagger told her as he put his arm around her waist. “I have a plan for us. We’re not actually going back tonight.”

“We’re not?”

“Nope,” he grinned as her mouth formed a little ‘o’ as what he was saying finally dawned on her.

“Well, where are we staying then?”

He loved the fact that he could surprise her—even though she fought him at every turn. “I got us a room.”

Bianca grinned. “A room where?”

“At a nice hotel.”

The smile fell a little on her face, and she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “You shouldn’t have spent a bunch of money on this,” she fretted, twisting her hands together.

“Hey.” He reached to her with his hands and his fingers caressed her neck. “You let me worry about the kind of money I wanna spend on you.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that she wasn’t worth it, but she was working on just accepting the things that happened in life. So instead of giving him a big long dissertation about why he shouldn’t have wasted money on it, she graciously grinned. “Then I say thank you, and I can’t wait to spend some alone time with you.”

That surprised him, but in a good way. “I’m glad. Let’s go.”

The hotel was a lot nicer than she had anticipated. It was located directly in the downtown area, and she was pretty sure that one night there probably cost what her rent for the month did. It was hard, but she enjoyed it as much as she told herself she would.

“Do you like it?” he asked as they closed the door. In his hands, he carried two overnight bags. Apparently the girls had known what was going on and had packed a bag for her.

“I love it,” she told him. “I’ve never in my life stayed somewhere like this.”

She twirled around, her arms out at her sides as she took in the room. A large, king-size bed was the focal point, and a couch sat in the corner along with a chair, a flat screen TV, and a mini bar. Walking over to where a door stood, she opened it and whistled as she turned on the light and took in the bathroom. It was tiled, and had a glass shower in one corner, an ultra-modern sleek tub in another.

“Wow,” Jagger breathed close to her ear.

She hadn’t even heard him come up behind her. “I know. You might not get me to go home. I love tubs like this.”

“Maybe I should get one in the dorm?”

“You do and I’ll marry you on the spot,” she grinned back at him as he laughed.

Walking back out to the main room, she held onto his hand. “This view is magnificent too.”

“I know. Sometimes, I kinda wish the clubhouse was in the middle of town. I love views like this,” he admitted as they stood in front of the window taking in the scenery. It was dark and all the lights shined, beckoning party-goers. At one time in his life, he would have been one of those party-goers, but right now, he wanted to be with the woman who stood in the circle of his arms.

Bending his head down, he ran his lips along her neck, nudging the neckline of her shirt down a little further. Getting intimate had been something that they hadn’t been able to approach since everything that had happened with Money Bags. That was one of the reasons he had decided to bring her to Nashville, to this nice hotel room. He hoped it gave her a new memory to replace the old ones that she had of the other man.

“Jagger,” she whispered as his large hands swept under the hem of her t-shirt and ran up her sides, stopping to cup her silk covered breasts.

“If I do something you don’t want me too, you let me know,” he instructed her.

Her heart beat a mile a minute, and truthfully, she was a little scared, but at the same time, she wanted to be with this man that she loved. “I will,” she assured him.