Treat Me (One Night with Sole Regret #8) (19 page)

She blinked at him, her eyes wide with shock. “What?”

“Would you like to press assault charges against Tina Lange?”

Amanda glanced at Tina and licked her lips, her throat constricting as she swallowed.

“Are you actually considering having me arrested?” Tina asked, her eyes wide in disbelief.

Amanda turned her gaze to Jacob, and he shook his head. He didn’t want Tina to wind up in jail. He just wanted her to behave like an adult and come to terms with the fact that he was in love with her sister.

“It was a family squabble,” Amanda said. “You know what sisters are like.” She laughed as if they got into knock-down drag-out fights all the time. “How about we just let her off with a warning?”

“It’s your call.”

While Jacob was released from his cuffs, Amanda spoke to the other officer. Tina stared at the asphalt between her shoes, her expression and body language completely unreadable. Jacob could only guess what was going on in her mind, yet he was positive it was nothing good. He walked toward her, rubbing the ache from his wrists as he approached.

“I know finding out about Amanda and me was a shock.”

“How long have you been with her?” Tina asked. “Was this going on while we were married?”

“No,” he said. “Of course not. We’ve only been involved for a week.”

“So it won’t be too big of a deal to break it off with her.” Tina’s gaze lifted to his, and he saw a brief flash of malicious hatred in her eyes before she smiled.

“I’m not breaking it off with her just because you don’t like it.”

Tina licked her lips as she stared into his eyes as if searching for answers. Or maybe she was looking for his soul so she could suck it out of him.

“Okay,” she said. She turned away from him and toward the nearest cop. “Am I free to go?”

He told her she could leave, and Jacob watched her climb calmly into her SUV and drive away. He wasn’t sure why she was behaving so rationally all of sudden, but her model behavior frightened him far more than her uncontrollable rage.

Amanda leaned into Jacob’s side as the police pulled out of the driveway. Her knee and the palms of her hands were still throbbing, but her heart was surprisingly light. Their relationship had survived Tina. If it could overcome her disapproval, Amanda was sure they could get through anything.

She glanced up at Jacob and cringed at the ugly bruise on the side of his head. It was bleeding slightly. “How’s your head?” she asked, reaching up to touch it but thinking better of the idea and resting her fingertips against his jaw instead.

“It’ll be fine. It’s always been like a brick. What about your hands?” he asked. He captured her wrists in his and turned her hands over to gaze down at their abraded palms. “Let’s go get you cleaned up.”

He took great care in applying antibacterial ointment to her hands and kissed her wrists tenderly. “Thank you for taking Julie away from that mess.”

“She’ll be worried about you,” Amanda said. “You should call her.”

He bit his lip and nodded slightly. “I should.”

“Are you hesitating?” she asked, lifting a cotton ball saturated in peroxide to the jagged gash on his temple.

He released a heavy sigh. “Tina will probably answer,” he said. “I don’t think I can talk to her right now.”

“But Julie—”

“Is what’s important.” He nodded and dialed Tina’s landline number. Amanda held his hand for support while he listened to it ring.

“You have some nerve calling here!” Amanda could hear her mother’s harsh greeting from several feet away.

“Hello, Mrs. Lange. Can I speak to Julie?”

“She’s very upset,” Mom retorted.

“I understand that. It’s why I called. She needs to know everything is going to be okay. If you don’t let me talk to her on the phone, I’ll come over.” There was no threat in his tone, but it was obvious he meant what he said.

“Julie,” Mom called. “Do you want to speak to your father? If you don’t, I’ll—”

There was a brief pause and then Julie was on the phone. Amanda leaned closer so she could listen to what her niece said. Julie had been so upset when she’d taken her home.

“Daddy? Are you okay? You were bleeding.”

“I’m fine, princess. Don’t worry about me. Okay?”

“Why did mommy get mad at you?”

“She doesn’t like me to spend time with your Aunt Mander.” He gave Amanda’s hand a squeeze, and she leaned her head against his shoulder.

“That’s silly, Daddy,” Julie’s sweet voice came from Jacob’s phone.

“I agree, but sometimes grown-ups get mad for silly reasons. So it might be a good idea not to talk about me and your aunt when your mom’s around.”

“I don’t like mommy when she’s mad. She hit you.” Julie sniffed her nose, and Jacob turned his face into Amanda’s hair. His arm went around her back to pull her close. He—Jacob “Shade” Silverton—was leaning on her for support. She hoped she could always be there when he needed her.

“Don’t cry, honey. Mommy isn’t mad at you. She would never hurt you.”

“I know. But Mommy shouldn’t be mean to you. You’re my daddy. I love you so much.”

“I love you so much too, Julie. What your mom does and says to me doesn’t matter as long as you love me. You make me feel all better.”

“I do?”

“Yep. Now that I talked to you, I’m smiling again.”

Amanda wiped at a tear. How could Tina even consider keeping these two apart? Julie would be devastated, and Jacob would likely die from a broken heart.

Julie giggled. “I like you smiling. How many sleeps until I see you next time?”

Jacob sighed and his hold on Amanda went slack. “Twelve,” he said flatly.

“How many fingers is that?”

“All of them,” Jacob said. “Plus a couple of extra.”

“I’ll just hug Lucky really tight every day and pretend she’s you, okay?”

Jacob chuckled. “That is one lucky elephant.”

“That’s her name. Lucky. Just a minute!” she yelled at someone else before talking to her dad again. “Grandma says I have to get off the phone now.”

“Do you feel better?” Jacob asked. “Not scared? You can call me if you’re afraid or sad or worried.”

“I’m okay, Daddy. Bye.”

“Bye,” he said. And then, “I love you.” But Julie had already hung up.

“Are you okay?” Amanda asked, rubbing the center of his back.

“Yeah. It’s just she means everything to me, you know?”

“I know.” And his infallible love for his daughter was what made him irresistible to Amanda. His looks and personality, his passion and generous nature—she could have fallen for any of those traits. But his devotion to his little girl? That was what had Amanda head over heels in love with the guy. “You mean as much to her.”
And to me.

Amanda licked her lips and took a deep breath. She should tell him how she felt. She wanted to tell him. She wasn’t sure why she was still holding back. Maybe because everything had happened so fast. She was a practical woman. She wasn’t the type who fell for a guy in a week. But she’d known Jacob much longer than that. Maybe she’d been falling for him for years.

“Jacob . . .” she whispered.

“Let me fix up your knees,” he said.

She sucked in a pained breath as he poured hydrogen peroxide on her scrapes.
Way to kill a mood, Silverton.

He wiped up the liquid dripping down her calf with a hand towel and then lowered his head to kiss the inside of her thigh just above her knee. Amanda’s breath caught at the intensity of the passion that small tender move sent swirling through her body.

Way to put me in the mood, Silverton.

“I’m so sorry I got you involved in this mess,” he said.

She winced as he picked a small stone out of her scraped skin.

“Jacob,” she said, “I
am
this mess.”

He chuckled and slid both hands down her calf as he tilted his head to look up at her. “I guess you are.”

She touched his face with her fingertips, her heart swelling.

“Am I worth it?” she asked.

“Tina’s hatred?”

She nodded.

“Well, considering she already hates me . . .” He shrugged.

But she’d claimed to still love him. Amanda hadn’t forgotten that shocking revelation. Had Tina just been saying it to cause a bigger stir or had she meant it? If she’d meant it, Amanda was sure things between herself and her sister were going to get a lot worse and would probably never get better.

“But does she really hate you?” Amanda lifted her gaze to meet his. “Or is she out of her head in love with you?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m in love with you.”

He smiled at her expectantly, and she licked her lips. She knew what he wanted her to say, and she felt the words deep in her heart, but she was terrified of what Tina was capable of doing. Not to her, but to Julie and to Jacob. How could she protect them? “Jacob, maybe she’d calm down if we—”

He silenced her with a finger to her lips. “Can we not talk about Tina anymore?”

“I’m not sure you know . . .”

“What she’s capable of?”

Amanda nodded.

“I’ll figure out a way to handle her,” he said. “But not right now. Right now I need you in my bed so I can feel what you’re refusing to say.”

“Jacob,” she whispered against his fingertip, but he replaced it with his lips and kissed her until her resolve crumbled. Her arms circled his neck.

He scooped her from the toilet lid and carried her to his bed. He tasted every inch of her as he removed her clothes. She was delirious with need by the time he pushed himself inside her. His hands linked with hers on either side of her head, and he stared into her eyes as he filled her with slow, gentle strokes. In her head and her heart, she told him how she felt about him a thousand times. And when they tumbled over the brink together, he had to see the love in her eyes, but she still couldn’t say it. What was holding her back? Fear, yes. But fear of what?

Jacob held her close as their heart rates slowed and their breathing became even again. Everything seemed so calm after the storm they’d weathered together. She relaxed against him and told herself everything was going to work out between them. And maybe someday Tina would give them her blessing and Julie would come to live with Amanda and Jacob as
their
daughter. She already loved her niece as if she were her own. It was a foolish dream—she knew that. Tina would never let it happen, but wrapped in Jacob’s strong arms, his heart beating strong and steady against her ear, she allowed herself to believe anything could happen.

Amanda’s belly rumbled unexpectedly, tearing her from her moment of perfect contentment, and Jacob laughed when she covered her stomach with one hand.

“Do you want to go out for dinner or eat in?” he asked, drawing her closer to his bare chest.

“I’d much rather eat in.” Because that would mean they could spend more time alone together.

“All right,” he said. “What are you cooking?”

She chuckled. He
had
cooked for her several times over the weekend. “I have some chicken in my fridge that I need to cook before it spoils. Do you want to come over to my place and have dinner?”

“Will it require me putting on pants?” he asked.

She grinned, picturing him in her passenger seat buck naked. She wouldn’t mind that arrangement in the least, but her neighbors might find his nudity offensive. Or at the very least mind-bogglingly distracting. “Don’t bother with pants. I can bring it over here and cook it in your enormous kitchen. But I need to check on my cat anyway. She’s probably shredded the drapes by now.”

“I didn’t know you had a cat,” Jacob said.

“She hides from strangers. Not that you’ve ever been to my house.”

“Next time I’m home, I’ll stay with you at your house.”

“I don’t have much room. Or a pool.” She waggled her eyebrows at him. They did have a good time in that pool.

“That doesn’t matter. As long as you’re there, I’m sure I’ll have plenty to keep me entertained.”

“And what will we do with Julie? I don’t even have a spare bedroom.” She doubted Julie would appreciate being holed up on an air mattress with all the unfiled papers Amanda stacked all over the floor in her home office.

“She’s small,” he said. “I’m sure she’ll fit in a closet or something.”

Amanda slapped his belly playfully and squirmed out of his arms. She wasn’t sure if she could wait two weeks to see him again. At least they had tonight and a few hours the next morning to be together, even if it wouldn’t be enough. She doubted she’d ever get enough of him. “Would it be okay if I came to see you after a show sometime this week?”

He watched her dress from the bed. “Women on tour are a distraction.”

Her heart sank.

“But having a lonely, cranky lead singer is far more dangerous.” He chuckled. “When should I expect you?”

She pulled her T-shirt over her head, unable to suppress her joyful grin. “I’ll check the schedule and let you know.”

He climbed from the bed—still gloriously naked—and pulled her into his arms for a deep, satisfying kiss. She eyed the bed, but her stomach rumbled again and he released her.

“I’ll hurry back,” she said a few minutes later as she opened the front door. Jacob had followed her—still gloriously naked—and drew her near for one last kiss.

“I’ll be counting the seconds until I get to see you again.”

Sometimes he said the most wonderful things.

“I’ll only be gone twenty minutes,” she reminded him. “Keep your pants on.”

He glanced down at his current pants-less state. “A bit late for that.”

She gave his bare ass an appreciative squeeze and then dashed across the driveway to her car before she wound up naked again. The man did have an uncanny skill for relieving her of her panties.

She was still smiling when she pulled into her drive a few minutes later. She’d been so wrapped up in her musings about Jacob that she didn’t notice she’d been followed until a familiar SUV pulled up behind her car, blocking any hope for escape.

“Shit,” she muttered under her breath. She sat in the car weighing her options. If Tina attacked her again, what would she do? A sharp knock on her window startled her out of her thoughts, and she looked up at her sister’s smiling face. Funny how she found that friendly grin far more terrifying than Tina’s face twisted in rage.

“We need to talk,” Tina called through the glass.

“I don’t want to fight with you, Tina.”

“I don’t want to fight with you either.”

Sure she didn’t. As soon as Amanda got out of the car, she was sure to get her eyes scratched out and her hair ripped from its roots.

“I just want to talk,” Tina said.

Amanda glanced in her rearview mirror, but the SUV was too close to her rear bumper for her to see inside the hulking vehicle. “Is Julie with you?”

“No, she’s with Mom. Can we talk?”

“I can hear you just fine,” Amanda said loudly. “We can talk like this.”