Tell Me You Want Me (3 page)

Why did she find him so appealing? He was not the kind of man she normally looked for. Okay, she hadn't been looking, but if she decided to, she definitely wouldn't want a guy who loved sex, loved pleasure, loved freedom....

Actually, that did sound pretty appealing.

Cooking may have given her the escape she craved, but real freedom eluded her. She'd left her mother's house, but still wrestled with the guilt her mother had heaped on her all her life. Did she feel guilty for wanting Austin? Jane smiled. Her mother definitely would not approve.

No, she couldn't go out with Austin just to spite her mother. In fact, she'd never tell her. Still, the idea of going out with him lingered and nagged at her. He would be a good time, for sure. Everyone on campus knew that. He was the perfect guy just to have fun with, because he wouldn't stick around—a minor diversion, not a major distraction.

But it would be wrong to treat Austin that way. She couldn't play the way he did.

On the other hand... he would be a lot of fun to fool around with, and as he'd pointed out, she needed to have a little fun. A tiny shiver ran down her spine at the thought of the kind of fun she could have with that man.

Stop it, stop it, stop it! Do not think about him anymore! Where is that green pepper?
Jane stabbed it with the butcher knife and dropped it on the cutting board.

The front door opened and closed, and she knew without looking that her roommate, Sara Jensen, was home.

"Mmm... what's for dinner?"

Jane so focused on the green pepper she was chopping that she didn't fully register Sara's question—like the vague aftereffect of a dream.

"Hey Jane...."

The knife flew out of Jane's hand and landed in the sink. "Oh, it's you."

"What are you making?" Sara stepped back, away from the knives.

"Huh? Oh, just something I threw together."

Sara stood over the stove and inhaled while Jane stirred chicken, mushrooms, and olives in a thick, bubbling sauce. "I wish I could just throw something together like you do."

Jane tossed the peppers in the sauce and tasted it. Did she need to add garlic or shallots? She'd made this sauce a hundred times. Why couldn't she remember it?

"Taste this. Something's missing." She held up a spoonful.

"Mmm...." Sara licked her lips. "Don't you put basil in this?"

"Basil. That's it." She stirred in a pinch of the pungent herb. "Nope, still not right."

"What's the matter with you?"

She would not start thinking about him again. "Nothing." She wouldn't think about that devilish smile, those dangerous eyes....

Sara smiled. "
Nothing
makes you blush?"

"Hot stove."

"Yeah right." Sara leaned against the counter. "You met a guy."

The spoon in her hand hit the stove. "How did you know?"

"I didn't." Sara grinned and sat down at the table. "Tell me everything. Is he cute? Is he nice? Does he like you? Did he ask you out?"

Jane laughed. "One question at a time. Yes, he's very cute."
More like sinfully delicious—yeah that's it. Oh, good Lord, Jane! Food and sex? I need to have a lot of fun.

"So how did you meet him?"

She decided not to tell Sara that story. "Um... I saw him at the gym. He's a football player."

"Mmm... I don't like football, but I like football players." Sara's eyes sparkled. "Is he interested in you or is this a one-sided crush?"

"Oh, he's interested."

Austin had made no effort to hide his desire. Jane, on the other hand, nearly chopped off her fingers trying to figure out what she wanted.

"What's his major? Is he a senior too?"

"I don't know. We didn't talk about that."

Sara looked unusually excited about this. "What did you talk about?"

"Nothing important." Just her name. "He flirted with me a lot."

"Flirting is good, especially when it's directed at you. Did he ask you out?"

"Yes."

"And? Don't keep me in suspense!" Sara practically bounced off the chair.

"And I said no."
Is that regret I'm feeling?

"Why? You need to get out and have some fun. When was the last time you had a date?"

"It's been a while."

"I don't think you've been out with a guy since last year. You shouldn't be turning down dates. It's not like you get a lot of offers."

"Thanks for reminding me."

"Sorry. I just meant you need to take advantage of your opportunities."

"I'm not really interested in dating right now. This is my senior year of college, and it's going to be tough. I need to focus on school." That came out like a rehearsed excuse.

"I know, believe me, but you need to take a break once in a while and just have a good time."

Austin could definitely show a girl a good time. She needed a break, and he would only be a temporary distraction—and a fun one.

Jane could think of a lot of reasons why she should, and only one reason why she shouldn't. "He's not the right guy."

"He doesn't have to be the 'right' guy. Just enjoy it and see what happens." Sara grinned.

"Maybe."
Take the risk. Enjoy it while it lasts.

"No maybes. I hate maybes. If he's a nice guy, give him a chance."

Jane shivered when she remembered Austin's parting words. "He's not a nice guy."

She suddenly realized that was why she liked him. Austin was a bad boy, and that bad boy brought out the bad girl inside her—way deep down inside her.

"What does that mean?"

"He's Austin Sinclair."

Sara's excited smile disappeared. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"Ugh. Forget everything I just said. Austin is not the guy you take a chance with."

Oh, but Jane wanted to. If they met again—or
when
, if Austin had his way—she wouldn't be able to say no and mean it. "It could be fun."

"No. He's not worth the trouble. Trust me." Sara looked at the stove and her stomach growled. "I'm not hungry." She went to her room and shut the door.

Jane's wonderful sauce splattered all over the stove, but she hardly noticed. As soon as she'd said Austin Sinclair, Sara had gone from an enthusiastic supporter to a doomsday prophet.

What does she know that I don't?

***

For the first time in three years, Austin noticed the soccer field located right next to the football field. Silver metal soccer bleachers, placed back-to-back with the solid wood football grandstands, separated the two fields.

He searched the soccer field for the girl he'd met in the locker room yesterday, and when he found her, he immediately started staring. Watching her fight off one defender after another, sprinting down the field toward the goal, took his breath away. The girl looked tough and fast, something he admired and respected. Why hadn't he ever noticed her before? He knew her name. He had to know her name.
What is it?

As he stared across the empty field, searching his brain for the elusive name, another memory accosted him. He'd met Nat on a football field in high school. She'd stood on the sideline, screaming and cheering with everyone else after he'd won the first of three state championships. Maybe the excitement of the unexpected comeback had drawn them together. But it couldn't keep them together.

Walk it off, man.
Austin paced beside the stands, testing his strength and riding out the pain until his determination returned. Soccer babe would fall for
him
—not the other way around.

He waited for her in the gap between the grandstands and the bleachers, whistling at her when she walked by. "Hey baby!"

She looked up and smiled, but when he whistled again, she scowled and kept walking. "Don't expect me to come running like a lovesick puppy."

He hadn't meant to summon her like a dog. He ran after her. "I was just trying to get your attention."

"Have you figured out my name yet?"

Shit.
He'd hoped he could avoid that a while longer. "Jenny."

"You already tried that one."

"Damn it."

She choked back a laugh. "If you won't bother to try, then I won't bother with you."

Ouch.
She had him there. Austin turned on the charm, knowing he could talk himself out of this. "You have me so hot and bothered, I can't think straight."

This time she did laugh. "Do girls really fall for that?"

Damn it!
His flirting skill had never failed him before. "Yeah, they do. It's amazing how far a little bit of truth and a lot of charm will get me."

She stopped and looked at him. "So where's the truth?" Her eyes had softened a bit, and she'd lost the sarcastic tone.

Austin stepped close and slid his hands in her hair, looking straight into those doubting green eyes. He abandoned his smooth words and clever lines, and let her see a flash of honesty. "I am very attracted to you."

She smiled at him, her resistance starting to crumble. "I thought it was the 'I can't think straight' part."

He grinned. "Mm... my girl likes to tease."

"Your girl?" Her mouth fell open.

He laughed as she did her best to look shocked and offended. Girls claimed they didn't like possessive guys, but in his experience they really did, especially when he was the guy. Some of the tension left her body. Maybe that stubborn wall had started to crack.

He chipped away at it. "You like me. Come on, admit it."

"I do not."

"Yes you do. I can tell."

"How?" She trembled.

"You haven't stopped smiling since I said I was attracted to you—"

Her lips formed a hard line.

"—and you're still letting me touch you."

She gasped and stepped back.

He laughed. "Give in, sweetheart. Tell me you want me."

"No way."

He'd had a lot of practice reading women, and could spot faked denial every time. Her lips said no, but her hot pink cheeks and sparkling emerald eyes said yes. She wanted him. Only a matter of time until she admitted it.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, I can be patient."

"That's not what I heard."

"You know more about me than I know about you. That's hardly fair."

She raised her chin and looked down her nose at him. "You know how to fix that."

"Yes I do." He pulled her close, his gaze on her full red lips.

She tried to push him back. "That's not what I meant."

"Come have a drink with me, and we'll get to know each other real well." The smile he gave her made most women melt in his arms.

"No."

Holy hell, she's stubborn.
"All right, skip the drinks. Just come to bed with me."

"No. If I go out with you, it's going to be a real date—dinner, movie... the works. You are going to treat me like a queen."

Austin just couldn't close his mouth fast enough. "And then I'll take you to bed and treat you like the castle whore."
Damn it, I'm gonna get slapped for that.

Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. "Do you even think before you speak?"

"Not always. No."

She smiled and bit her lower lip. "I might have a different answer if you knew my name."

Stubborn? No—more like impossible. "We're back to the name thing again, huh?"

"Yes we are."

He sighed and gave in. "So... if I find out your name, you'll go out with me?"

"I'll go out with you—"

"Yes!"

"If—
if—
you remember my name."

"Done." Once he remembered her name, he would never forget it. A horrifying thought rattled his spine. What if her name was Natalie? No. It couldn't be. It just couldn't.

"And you actually use it. No baby, no sweetheart."

"I
promise
." Austin said the word through gritted teeth. He hated making promises. How could he keep a promise if it wasn't accepted?

She looked skeptical, but agreed. "All right, now go away before someone sees you here. I don't want to hear any rumors about us."

Before she could move, he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close, planting a hot hard kiss right on her lips. "We're gonna have a lot of fun, sweetheart."

He ducked and ran before she could smack him.

***

"What's wrong with your face?" Sara shifted her backpack and scowled at Jane.

Jane giggled like a giddy schoolgirl dreaming about her first crush, picturing Austin jogging into the locker room. "Nothing's wrong." She bit her lip but the smile would not go away.

"You were with
him
." The nasty curl of Sara's lip and the disgust dripping from her voice left no doubt as to which
him
she meant.

"No...." She couldn't lie to her best friend. "Yes. Just a little."

Sara huffed. "There's no such thing as a little Austin Sinclair. It takes every ounce of energy to keep up with him, and all your strength to pull yourself back together when he moves on."

"How do you know that?"

"Every girl on campus knows that." Sara shrugged and her backpack slipped to her elbow. She snarled and flung it over the other shoulder.

Even Jane knew what Austin could do to a girl. She'd already felt the effects.

When he'd whistled at her, she'd wanted to obey his every command. When he'd called her his girl, she'd wanted to melt in his arms and confess that she wanted him. When he'd admitted he'd spoken without thinking, he'd actually blushed and, wow, that had curled her toes. He'd looked like a naughty little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Jane had smiled and decided not to cuff him upside the head. That's how he got away with it. He was just too cute to stay mad at.

"It's just a little crush. I'll be over him before he's over me." She was lying to her best friend, but at least it erased the disapproving snarl from Sara's face. Jane decided not to tell her about her little arrangement with Austin just yet.

"You should be so lucky." Sara looked at her watch. "I gotta get to class. I'll see you in the library later."

"Bye."

Jane shook her head, trying to shake the smile off her face. Austin Sinclair certainly wasn't her first crush. She didn't even like his type. She liked smart and serious men focused on the future. That boy was arrogant and irresponsible and focused on the moment.