My Heart Can't Tell You No (14 page)

Joe glanced at the two girls sitting around the boy, they seemed eager enough to accompany him to his car. Why in the hell didn’t he just leave Maddie alone?

Maddie looked at Joe, but, when he said nothing, she stood up and joined the group.

“I’ll see ya later, Lew.”

“Yeah, I’ll see ya.”

They were barely off the bleachers before Joe turned angry eyes on Lew. “What the hell did you do that for?”

Lew quickly looked at the footrest of the bleachers, thinking perhaps he had spilled his coffee on the younger man’s shoes. “Do what?”

“Let her go off like that!”

“You’ve got a mouth. If you didn’t want her to go with them, you could’ve used it.”

“But you’re her uncle. It’s your responsibility to keep an eye out for her.”

“Sure, but that doesn’t include keeping a stranglehold on her. She’s growing up. She needs a little room to stretch her wings.”

“It’s not her wings I’m worried about,” moped Joe.

“She’ll be all right.”

“You know what he’s taking her to his car for!”

“I know what he
thinks
he’s taking her to his car for. But what he’s gonna get is a different story. A few kisses maybe—maybe a feel or two. Nothing more.”

“That’s too much.” Joe looked away from the man, back toward the football field.

“You want to stop her—go do it. I’m watching the game.” Lew kept his eyes on the field, but, when there was no movement next to him, he looked back at Joe. “Go on. You won’t rest until she’s under your thumb. And, if you’re restless, you’ll distract my attention from the game, and I’ll become restless. Get going!”

Joe slowly got to his feet. In a stadium this size it would take forever to find them. He knew they were going to a car, so that made his problem a little smaller; the size of the parking lot didn’t help, but outside the stadium one of Lew’s sons approached him.

“Hey, Joe, you see Pop in there?”

“Yeah, last bleacher back, about halfway up. How ‘bout Maddie? You see her?”

“Just passed her about five minutes ago. Went that way.”

Joe glanced in that direction. It was of little help. There must be two hundred cars in that area of the parking lot. He walked for almost fifteen minutes, passing his own car twice. Each time his thoughts of Maddie turned darker. Each new trip between the rows of cars intensified a strange tingling that traveled down his spine. He had to find her. He had to protect her. He was only trying to
protect
her, wasn’t he? Finally he saw one of the girls who had been in the group. She stood in the semi-darkness of the parking lot; the stadium lights escaping over the tops of the bleachers and only partially illuminating the cars where she stood.

“Do you know where Maddie Baker is?” Joe stopped the girl, but she stared up at him blankly. “I mean
Lyn
Baker.”

“Yeah. I know where she is.” The girl’s tone told him that she knew and didn’t like it. She wanted to be where Maddie was.

“Well? Where is she?”

“Back in one of those cars!” Her tone was more bitter. “What’s it to ya?”

“Which car?!” He could feel the hair stand erect on his neck as if he were a dog preparing for battle.

“Who are you? One of her brothers?”

“No! The car! Which one?”

“Over there.”

“Take me there.”

He walked behind the girl, wanting to give her a swift shove to quicken her pace, but restrained himself. Finally, they neared a blue Mustang where the girl stopped and pointed. She would go no farther. Joe approached slowly and looked into the back seat to see a young couple locked in an embrace. All of a sudden
protection
wasn’t the foremost thought in Joe’s mind. He was barely aware of opening the door, but when he dragged the boy out by the scuff of his neck, it was a different story. He remembered that clearly. The boy had an erection inside his pants that made him look rather ridiculous as he stood before him. He would have pitied him if he hadn’t seen Maddie’s shirt was open. The kid was lucky he still had his pants up.

“Hey! What the hell ya doing?!” the boy cursed at Joe.

But Joe wasn’t listening. He had the front of Maddie’s blouse in his hands and was pulling her from the car even more roughly than he had the boy. The boy grabbed Joe from behind, preparing to fight to defend his lady-fair, but Joe shoved him away.

“Get lost,” Joe said absently to him; his focus only on Maddie now.

“Let her go! She’s with me!”

“Joe, look out!” Maddie warned, but the boy’s fist hit the side of Joe’s face.

It took a second, then Joe slowly turned to look at the boy. His smile belied his rage. One swift swing left the boy lying on the ground in a daze. He glanced briefly at the girl who had shown him there as she wasted no time going to the boy’s aid. Joe turned back to Maddie and pulled her through the darkness of the parking lot by the opened front of her blouse. He felt a fury that was wiping away coherent thought. He felt betrayed!

“Don’t try to shut it now,” he growled as Maddie’s hands fumbled with her buttons. “Come on.”

He yanked her until she stumbled against him, not slowing for her to get her footing as he dragged her toward his car. Maddie’s anger and embarrassment at being pulled half-dressed through the parking lot for all of her friends to see was evident.

“Get in.” He opened the driver’s door and shoved her inside. She was still trying to cover herself when he got in behind her and slammed the door. “I said don’t shut it! You didn’t have any trouble keeping it open in the other car. Keep it open in mine!” He roughly shoved her hands away, then pushed the front of her blouse open. “Goddamn,” he moaned, feeling his anger being slammed back by needs that were surging forward, overpowering his mind and conscience.

Her hand flatly met the side of his face before she closed the blouse and pulled up the bib of her overalls. “Go to hell!”

He was on her instantly, pushing her down against the seat as he held onto her chin. His grip was hard, wanting to hurt her as she was hurting him emotionally. It didn’t matter that she didn’t know what she was doing to him. It mattered more that she was able to do it!

“You go into back seats often with just the asking?” His voice vibrated.

“Let me go,” she said stiffly as she stared into his eyes, but his hand slid down her neck, taking a firm hold on her throat. “Either break it, strangle it, or let it go.”

A tiny smile curved his lips at the thought. Right at this moment it was tempting, but he knew something even more tempting. He looked at the long column of her throat and his mouth lowered to her neck, sending warm kisses over her skin as she pushed her body against him, trying for escape. But when his tongue moved to the hollow at its base, her fighting stopped. He lifted his head and looked into her surprised eyes.

“How old are you now, Maddie?” His voice was smooth as velvet. “Fifteen?”

“Sixteen.”

“Sweet sixteen and never . . . .”

“Been kissed. I’ve been kissed before.”

“So I’ve noticed,” he said roughly as he lifted himself on the seat to move her legs under him. The awkwardness with the steering wheel made her part her legs to prevent them from being pinched. He knew that was the only reason when her movement caused him to come fully against her and her eyes filled with surprise as she felt the length of him pressed against her most intimate area. “Much better.”

“Let me up.” Her voice was suddenly timid as if the position they were facing had just occurred to her.

“Is that all it takes to stop your boyfriend back there?”

“I don’t know. I never asked him. And he isn’t my boyfriend.”

“No? You giving it out to anyone these days?”

“I wasn’t
giving
it out to him! He was just kissing me.”

“Do you think that was all he wanted? Is that why he almost had your shirt off? Or was that what he was kissing?”

“Of course not!”

“Did he touch you there?” he whispered as his head lowered to her neck again.

“
N-no
.” She moved slightly, offering him more tender skin to nuzzle.

“Would you have let him?” His mouth moved over her shoulder, making a slight shudder go through her. She didn’t answer this time as he slid his hand up her side and onto one of her breasts. He felt her stiffen at his touch. “Would you let him touch you like this?” He savored the feel of the firm flesh in his palm, not stopping to think about it, just knowing it was made especially for his hand. His thumb came in contact with its nipple, circling it, quickly turning it to a hard bead as Maddie’s hands clutched his shirt. His lips moved onto the top of her breast, but Maddie quickly grabbed his head to stop him.

“No—
don’t
!”

“Why—not?” he asked slowly, not caring if she had the best reason in the world, nothing could stop him now.

“B-because you can’t—it—it—isn’t . . .”

Her words trailed into a gasp and then a low moan when his lips and tongue tasted the delicacy of her. Her hands moved into his hair, urging him on as she showed him how she enjoyed his caress and pressing against him. His lips and tongue took her nipple into his mouth, savoring its sweetness. God, he had to stop. He knew it, but it was so very difficult.

He reluctantly lifted his head. If he planned to leave her with lesson learned, he had better do it now. As it was, it would be extremely painful just to move, let alone get out of the car. But when he looked down at her, he saw her almost pout as she gently pulled him down again.

“No, don’t stop,” she said quietly.

His lips went immediately to her other breast while his hand covered the one his mouth had occupied previously. He became aware of the sensations shooting through her when her legs went around him and she adjusted her hips to where the throbbing hardness of him could press against the part of her that gave her the most pleasure.

“Ah, Jesus, Maddie,” he moaned when she moved her hips to try to satisfy the fire he had begun inside her.

“Kiss me, Joe. Kiss me for real, not like he did. Kiss me for real,” she whispered.

His mouth moved to hers, glad to satisfy any request she might have, but when his tongue pressed over her lips, it was met with closed teeth.

“Open your mouth, Maddie,” he breathed against her. “Let me . . . in.”

Her tongue was shy at the approach of him, but when he made contact with it, it came alive, licking his tongue before imitating his movements until their kiss was so deep he had to pull back just to catch his breath.

“Don’t stop. No one’s ever kissed me like that before.”

Her simple words were like a blast of arctic air blowing over him. He had to stop! What was wrong with him?! He couldn’t allow himself to take her any farther! It was wrong for him to have taken her this far.
Damn
! Why did he have to be so damn pigheaded and bring her here? He could have just as easily taken her back to the stadium. But he knew that would have been impossible. His anger and jealousy wouldn’t have allowed it.

He slowly lifted himself off her and slid her legs onto the floor as he sat behind the steering wheel. When she got up and glanced over at him, she looked so damn vulnerable that he felt like the biggest son-of-a-bitch he had ever known. His hands shook as he reached over and buttoned her shirt then pulled the straps of her overalls over her shoulders.

“I want you to go back to the stadium with Lew, or go over to his house and wait for him with Janet.” Joe’s voice trembled slightly.

“No. I want to stay here with you.”

“Well you can’t. I’m married—you know that.”

“I don’t care!”

“You’re too young,” he tried again, feeling as if he were dying inside from the pain he was inflicting upon her.

“Don’t say that.” She was close to tears.

“You have to go.” If she started crying now, it would break his heart, and he knew he could never make her leave.

“I want . . .”

“I don’t care what you want, Maddie! You have to go!
Now
!”

She moved quickly to get out the passenger’s door, but it was locked, and, in her anger and hurt frustration, she couldn’t realize what kept her inside as she repeatedly yanked at the handle. He reached behind her and lifted the lock then put his hand on her shoulder.

“Are you going in with Lew, or over to Janet’s?”

“What do you care?!”

“Promise me you’ll go straight to Lew or else straight over with Janet. I don’t want you going anywhere else tonight. Do you hear me?”

“I hear you,” she said quietly, then got out. “I’m going over with Janet.”

Joe sat in the darkness a long time, his body shaking in its frustration as the roar from the stadium trickled into his conscious mind. A quick flash of thought flickered through his mind that someone had made a touchdown, but his interest in the game had evaporated into a dull void. Finally he started the car and drove back to Sarah and Jack’s and picked up his children. When he got home that night Lena was in bed. Whether she was asleep or merely pretending, he didn’t know and he didn’t care. He put a sleeping Ollie in the crib then picked up Felicia and went to watch the late movie. As his daughter fell asleep on his lap he knew he wouldn’t go to bed that night until after he could find no more television to watch.