The Guy Next Door

One brow rose up. “Meaning you’re used to deflecting guys in bed after they’ve just had sex with you?”

That brought her to her knees. She poked a finger at his chest. “Don’t you dare judge me, Jett Sutter! You can’t very well claim inexperience.”

He eyed her breasts. “No.” Catching her finger, he tugged her closer. “But you’re different from every other woman I’ve been with, so I sure as hell don’t want to be the same as every other guy.”

Oh, God. He wasn’t. Molly gave an exasperated sigh. “What I meant is that I’m not used to letting anyone get close, regardless of the circumstances.”

“Not even family?”

She didn’t want to explore the possibility, but if Jett did have any illusions about easy money, she could set him straight right now. “Especially not family. Well, except for Molly.”

“Your sister.”

She nodded. “We’re close.”

He caught her chin and lifted her face. “You’re estranged from your father.” It wasn’t a question.

Damn. He really had been snooping. When she started to withdraw, he caught the back of her neck.

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t care about that.” Then he shook his head, and his voice firmed. “No, that’s not precisely true. I do care.”

Of course he did.

As if he’d read her thoughts again, he gave her a look of censure. “It’s one hell of an insult to be called a gold digger.”

“I didn’t.”

“But you’re thinking it.” He dragged her in close for a hard smooch. “I bought land a few years ago and was saving to build my own house. I have about half the cash up front in the bank and can easily afford a loan on the rest. I would have started on the house already, but I met you, and since then I haven’t been in a big hurry to move out of here. But I will eventually.”

He’d stayed in the apartment complex for her? Staggered, she asked, “How much land?”

“Only ten acres. But it’s secluded, and pretty. A stream runs through it.” He gave her a look. “You want to see it? Maybe check out my bank account so you’ll know I’m not in desperate financial straits?”

She couldn’t blame him for getting nasty. “Jett…”

“What I have is nothing compared to your father’s money. But you can believe me when I say I’m happy. I have what I want, and I got it on my own.”

“I’m sorry.” What else could she say?

“I care about your relationship with your father only because I think that’s one of the reasons you’re shutting me out.”

And…he wanted in?

Natalie put a hand to her head, trying to think. Maybe all this could wait until she’d had time to think about it. “I’m leaving tomorrow for the lake. I’ll be gone for a week—”

He surprised her by saying, “I’ll go with you.”

Her eyes widened; he couldn’t be serious. But one look at his set face and she knew he was. She scrambled for a reply. “You don’t have to work?”

“I take time off when I want—that’s a perk to being your own boss.” He stood, stretched elaborately and went to his dresser to get out boxers. As he stepped into them, he asked, “How long is your break?”

Well. Natalie knew he was bulldozing her, but the idea of having Jett along tempted her. She had almost dreaded the time away because she would miss him and their special time together.

She licked her lips. “Ten days.”

“No problem.”

But she emphasized, “In isolation.” Jett might be expecting a real vacation with dinners out, live performances, something more than a quaint cabin on a secluded lot at an off-season vacation lake.

“Sounds great.”

She couldn’t help but fret. Never had she taken a vacation, especially such a lackluster vacation, with a guy. “You might get bored.”

He shot her a look full of meaning. As his gaze went over her body he cocked a brow. “Not a chance.”

And still she felt compelled to make him understand. “It’ll probably be pretty cool there still. Even though the cabin is on a big vacation lake, there won’t be any swimming. I’m not sure we’ll even be able to take out a boat.”

He found a T-shirt and jeans. “What did you plan to do there?”

“Not much.” Watching him dress, Natalie decided that their bed activities must have ended. Disappointed, she slipped her legs off the side of the bed and stood. She realized that her clothes were in the other room, but she’d look foolish if she wrapped up in the sheet.

Instead, she folded her arms around herself—which really didn’t do much for her modesty. Rather than tell him that she’d hoped to come to grips with her growing feelings for him, she said, “Walk, read, maybe catch a movie or two.” She lifted a shoulder. “Unwind.”

“How long is the drive?”

“Six hours or more, not factoring in time to stop to eat or take a break.” By way of additional warning, she said, “I take lots of breaks.”

“Good. No reason it shouldn’t be a relaxing drive.” He found a flannel shirt in his closet and brought it around to her, holding it out so she could shrug into it. “You hungry? Because I could eat. How about I order up a pizza?”

Incredulous, Natalie pushed her hair from her face. She looked at the challenge in his expression and huffed. “You’re changing things at Mach speed!”

“A warning for you, Natalie.” He lifted her chin on the edge of his fist. “I always go after what I want.”

What did that mean? “Um…” She swallowed. “I had planned to leave really early tomorrow.”

“I’ll be ready.” He caught the collar of the shirt in both hands, pulling her a little closer. “But for now, you have to eat, right?”

“I…”

“You came here as soon as you got home and changed. You have to be hungry.”

Expectation and apprehension set her heart to thumping in a wild beat. She bit her lip. “Jett, are we really going to do this?”

Knowing he’d won, he gave a half smile of satisfaction. “Relax, Natalie. I’m not asking you to marry me.”

Her knees turned to pudding. Of course he wasn’t asking for that!

“I’m not even trying to tie you down. We enjoy each other in bed—”

“An understatement, at least for me.”

His eyes glittered, and he gave her a quick kiss. “So for as long as it lasts, why not enjoy each other out of bed, too? Just let it happen, and I bet you’ll find it’s not the hardship you’re expecting.”

A hardship, no.

But a heartbreaker? Absolutely.

She wouldn’t admit it to Jett, especially now that she knew how casual he wanted to keep things, but she had to accept the devastating truth: she was already in love with him. More time with him would make it only that much harder when things ended between them.

But with him so persuasive, how could she possibly resist?

AFTER JETT ORDERED PIZZA, Natalie wanted to go back to her place and retrieve her cell phone. She needed a few moments alone to regroup, but Jett, seeming disinclined to let her out of his sight, kept finding ways to keep her in his place. He offered her the use of his cell phone, and she knew she’d sound silly if she insisted on running over for her own.

Silly, and as afraid as he’d already accused her of being.

She’d have to go back to her place soon enough, but for now, she accepted his phone. Moving to the other side of the room for privacy, she tried calling her sister. She wanted Molly to know that she’d be gone on spring break. They always checked in with each other, and neither made a big move without telling the other about it. They were best friends as well as sisters, and given the strained relationship they each shared with their father, they were the only real family either one had.

Molly didn’t answer, so Natalie left her a message. Turning her back so Jett wouldn’t hear her, she said low, “Hey, Molly. I’m leaving for spring break tomorrow. Going to a lake. Not alone, either, if you catch my meaning. Call me and I’ll tell you all about it.”

She knew it sounded cryptic and that Molly would give her hell for that later. But she didn’t want Jett to hear her gossiping about him, and she didn’t want to leave anything serious on her sister’s answering machine—just in case.

Molly was such a loner, especially now that she’d broken things off with her fiancé, that Natalie doubted anyone ever heard her sister’s messages. But she didn’t take chances with her privacy. God forbid her stepmother, Kathi, should get wind of her affair. Her dad would be disgusted—nothing new in that—but Kathi would flip out. She worried incessantly about appearances.

Glancing over her shoulder, Natalie saw that Jett was busy putting a movie into his DVD player.

He must have felt her gaze because he said, “All done?”

“Yes.” After closing his phone and handing it back to him, she headed for her discarded clothes which were still on the floor just inside the front door.

Gaze heated, Jett watched her step into her pants. “Spoilsport.”

Natalie rolled her eyes. “A pizza delivery guy is coming over, remember?”

“And you look like a woman who’s just been tumbled.” He didn’t smile as he strolled over to her. “Since I’m starting to feel possessive, I suppose I should bundle you up.”

“Possessive?”

He looped his arms around her waist. “Why did you think I was being such an ass earlier?”

Unsure of his meaning, Natalie ventured a guess. “When you asked me if I was planning another fling?”

“Yeah.” He kissed the end of her nose in apology. “I’m not the sharing kind.”

His attitude thrilled Natalie, prompting her to reciprocate. “How could I even notice other men when you’re here?”

His expression changed. He cupped her face and kissed her again, lingering, enticing. Against her lips, he asked, “You already packed up for tomorrow?”

“Yes.” Though now that she knew Jett would be coming along, she probably needed to change out a few things…like maybe a pretty nightgown in place of her thermal pajamas. And she’d need to pack the makeup she’d planned to leave behind. “If you want to get your stuff together now, I can—”

For only a second, his arms tightened around her. “It won’t take me long. Don’t worry about it.” He stepped back. “We can start the movie after the pizza gets here.”

He led her to the couch and pulled her down to sit in his lap. She felt awkward, unsure what to do. It was a novel thing, sitting with a man like this. Should she cuddle, be playful, or was this another moment of pure intimacy?

“Relax.” Jett rearranged her so that her cheek rested on his shoulder and the starch left her spine. “Did you reach your sister?”

“No.” A little wide-eyed at the sensation of being cradled, pampered, Natalie sought normal conversation. “I called her earlier, too. Molly always returns my calls.”

Jett toyed with her hair, winding curls around his finger. “You’re concerned?”

“A little.” His heat surrounded her, his solid frame somehow very comfortable. She tipped her head to look up at him. “I know that sounds dumb, given that Molly and I are both grown, independent adults. But we’re more than sisters. We’re best friends.”

He nodded in understanding. “So you always stay in touch.”

“We do. If Molly was still dating Adrian, I’d think she was out with him, but that’s over.”

“Adrian?”

Natalie made a face. Even the mention of Adrian’s name annoyed her.

“Ah, not someone well liked, I take it?”

“Not by me, no. He used to be Molly’s fiancé.” She stroked a hand over Jett’s upper chest then into his sparse chest hair. Without a doubt, she knew he was far more honorable than Adrian had ever been.

“Used to be? Past tense?”

“Yeah. Molly thought she was in love with him, but then when her career took off, he showed his true colors.” Hating to think about her sister with that ass, Natalie ducked her face. “I knew Adrian was a jerk long before she did. But when he started making demands of Molly, she caught on real quick.”

Jett tucked her hair behind her ear and then trailed his fingers along her jaw, down her throat, until he cupped a breast. “She ended things?”

“Yes.” Her voice sounded higher with the intimate touch. “And I tried not to look too relieved.”

Still holding her breast, Jett bent down to kiss her throat. “I’m sure she knows you’re motivated by caring.”

Did he expect her to talk while his hot mouth moved over her skin? “Even when Molly is in the middle of business, she usually takes my calls.”

Jett opened a button on the flannel shirt. “She’s an author, right?”

The depths of his research amazed her. Or maybe he was one of her sister’s many fans. “Have you read her?”

“No. She writes suspense or something, right?” He shook his head. “I’m more of a biography kind of reader.”

Natalie frowned. “So that’s just part of what you learned while snooping?”

He paused with his fingers inside the flannel shirt. “Okay, let’s clear the air on that one first.” He put his hand down the front of her shirt, and now it was his hot palm holding her. “You say you’ve been burned? Well me, too.”

Natalie bit her lip, part in reaction to his touch and partly because of the scenarios that ran through her mind. “Did you have a broken engagement?” Or even worse, was he divorced? Had he been madly in love with someone who broke his heart and now—

Somehow, Jett always knew her thoughts. “My heart is intact, honey. But I’ve had women come on to me to get insider information on cases, and let me tell you, being used like that burns.”

Natalie drew back. “Spies?”

He moved his thumb over her nipple, and when it tightened he met her gaze. “Nothing that dramatic. But once I was investigating this influential businessman, finding all kinds of dirt on him, personal and professional, and out of nowhere, some hot babe wants to get under me.”

Hot babe? Natalie scowled at how he said that. “Let me guess: you asked no questions.”

He shrugged. “I’m not ashamed to say that I was a typical guy and just went with it. I thought we clicked sexually, that she wanted me that much.”

He thought they had clicked sexually too. She wanted to groan. What was a very special and unique experience for her was apparently run-of-the-mill for Jett.

“I was interested enough that I didn’t look for ulterior motives.” He paid undue attention to his hand on her breast, pushing the flannel down, toying with her nipple—making her insane.

Natalie put her hand over his to still the distracting and provocative movements. After a deep breath to help regain her thoughts, she glared at him. “You had sex with her?”

“Yeah.” He bent to put a kiss on the swell of her breast then met her gaze. “Afterward, while I was still in the bed regrouping from a freaking marathon of over-indulgence, she said she was going for a drink.”

Natalie could guess where this was headed. “But she wasn’t really thirsty.”

“Guess not.” Looking only slightly chagrined, Jett shook his head. “I busted her trying to go through my computer files, luckily before she was able to find anything. See, she was a hacker hired by the businessman. Her end goal was to corrupt any data I’d already gathered.”

Natalie didn’t want to admit to her own deep jealousy, but it was there, stewing inside her. Her lip curled a little when she said, “Bet that was one heck of a scene.”

He laughed. “You have no idea.”

“Meaning?”

“She was a hellcat who knew how to fight.” His gaze went to her mouth. “Damn near kicked my ass too. I mean, I’d never fought a chick before. I didn’t want to punch her, you know?”

Natalie gave him a sour frown. “How righteous of you.”

He agreed. “Especially since she had no qualms about decking me. Even hit me with the damn keyboard, and broke it.”

Natalie narrowed her eyes. “So what did you do?”

“I finally tackled her and then held her down on the ground until I could get the keyboard cord wrapped around her wrists.”

“Gee, that sounds familiar.”

One side of Jett’s mouth kicked up. “Not even close to the same thing you and I did, so don’t go there.”

She couldn’t help it; her thoughts were all over the visual of Jett stretched out atop a sexy femme fatale, a woman he’d found appealing, a woman with whom he’d just indulged in ambitious sexual participation.

Jett gave her a chiding frown. “I restrained her so she couldn’t bludgeon me to death. It was one hell of a struggle without a single ounce of pleasure involved. By the time I got her immobilized, I had a damned black eye, a cut on the bridge of my nose and a bite on my neck that hurt for a week.” He shook his head in self-disgust. “The guys at the station still give me crap over it.”

“So let me get this straight. You picked up a complete stranger and then…”

“Did the nasty with her.”

She didn’t want or need his clarification. “And you were hurt because it didn’t work out quite as you’d planned?” Natalie tried to muzzle herself, but failed. “Such a tragic story.”

He didn’t take offense. “Not tragic, no, but I felt like a damned fool. She threw out bait and I took it, hook, line and sinker. No one likes to be a dupe, honey.” He simply held her breast now, his big, warm hand inside her shirt, curved around her possessively.

Not stroking, not playing, just…holding.

As if he now had the right—and she supposed he did.

“One point though—the encounter that night was far from intimate. It was sex, and only sex.” He bent to kiss her, deepening the kiss with the lick of his tongue and a hot exploration. He eased back a millimeter. “What you and I do is very intimate. Don’t ever confuse the two, okay?”

It always felt like more to her, but she hadn’t been sure of Jett’s feelings on the matter. “Since you say it was…somehow detached from emotion—”

“Very detached.”

“Then it’s not at all the same as my bad experience.” Dredging up the past always left Natalie hollow. “If you think you felt duped, imagine being in love with someone and thinking he loves you back, only to find out he wants to get in on the inheritance.”

The smile faded off Jett’s mouth. “You were in love with him?”

Probably not, but at the time… “I thought I was.”

Jett’s arm around her back curled her in close to his chest, and near her ear, with complete sincerity, he whispered, “Tell me his name and I’ll gladly kill the bastard for you.”

CHAPTER FOUR

NATALIE BLINKED AT HIM. “I hope you’re kidding.”

“Maybe.” Jett could tell she didn’t take him seriously. True, he wasn’t in the habit of killing for personal reasons, but after seeing the hurt in her eyes, he wouldn’t mind a little physical retribution against the one who’d caused her pain.

But now that she’d admitted she hadn’t loved the ass, maybe he could just beat him up real good. “Want to give me a name?”

“No!” She smacked his shoulder and laughed. “You’re outrageous.”

Some other guy had broken her heart, hurting her enough to make her wary of commitment. That fact gnawed on Jett. Didn’t mean he wanted the bozo to show back up or to make amends. Hell no.

“Pricks like him always have stuff they want to keep hidden.” Kissing her throat, Jett breathed in the scent of her skin, the perfume of sensual female. “What do you say, sweetheart? You want me to dredge up all his dark, dirty secrets? Maybe drag the schmuck’s name through the mud a little?”

Smiling, Natalie put her fingers to his mouth to hush him. “Not necessary. Believe me, Jett, he stopped being important to me long ago.”

If that was true, she wouldn’t still have her barriers up. But he was working on that.

Holding her gaze, Jett opened his mouth enough to draw in one fingertip. Natalie’s eyes flared, her lips parting.

He licked the tip of her finger, drew it deeper into his mouth, curled his tongue around her.

Her eyelids drooped in carnal awareness.

He knew damn good and well the images she’d have, of him at her breast, sucking gently; him between her soft thighs, eating her toward an orgasm.

His breathing deepened; he loved the taste of Natalie, the intensified scent of her body, how wet she got and how quickly she responded to him.

Needing her again, he released her finger and leaned her back on the couch. Her legs naturally parted for him to settle between them.

Already hard, he growled, “Damn, I want you. Again.”

“But…we just—”

In a rush of need, he went to work on the buttons of the flannel. “Doesn’t matter.” The truth caused him no small measure of alarm. It didn’t matter how often or how thoroughly he had her. “I always want you.” He worked his jaw. “Every fucking second of every day.”

His gravelly tone, bordering on resentment, gave her pause. “That’s a…bad thing?”

Forcing himself to stop, to think, Jett closed his eyes and cursed. “No.” Two breaths, a third, and he had a meager grasp on his control. “No, it’s not bad. It’s just…” He didn’t have an appropriate word to define the loss of control and pounding need, so he said,

“Unsettling.”

“You don’t want to want me?”

Wanting her wasn’t the problem, he could deal with that. Hell, he’d wanted plenty of women throughout his lifetime. Then he had them, one time or a dozen times, and that was it. The wanting ended.

With Natalie, everything was different. Exactly how different, he didn’t know. Jett met her gaze.

The pizza guy had impeccable timing.

His knock saved Jett from trying to come up with a plausible reply. “There’s dinner.” He kissed her then sat up, hauling her up with him. “Stay put. I’ll get it.”

Natalie clutched shut the front of the flannel. “Jett! You have…” When he looked back at her, she nodded at his lap.

“A boner, I know. Trust me, the pizza guy won’t mention it.” Jett felt her watching his every move as he got his wallet and went to the door. Always cautious, he looked out the peephole before turning the locks.

The delivery guy wasn’t alone. Hunkered down on the floor a few feet behind him sat a very cute, very dirty little gray dog with white markings and anxious eyes.

Jett frowned at the unkempt condition of the animal. With accusation, he sized up the delivery kid. “Your dog looks hungry.”

“He’s not mine.” The young man glanced back at the animal with a worried frown. “He was out front and followed me in.” Then hopefully, “I thought maybe he belonged to someone in here.”

That got Natalie’s attention. Shirt now decently fastened around her voluptuous breasts, she came to the door and leaned around Jett to look out at the cowering dog.

Immediately she said, “Ohhhhh….” in the softest tone Jett had ever heard from her.

Both he and the delivery boy looked at her with male awareness.

When Jett realized that, he scowled at the kid. “He’s not our dog.”

The pizza guy started stammering. “Yeah. Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to let in a stray. I thought…you know…maybe he was…”

Seeing the guy go all tongue-tied over Natalie spiked Jett’s discontent even more. “Here.” He shoved a few bills at him.

The young man looked at the money and started to fumble for change.

Jett shook his head. “Keep it.”

“But…” Going agog at the hefty tip, he said, “That’s twice what you owed.”

Reluctantly, because he did want the guy gone, Jett said, “You did good letting the dog in. I appreciate it.”

Struggling to keep his gaze off Natalie, the guy swallowed. “You’ll take care of him?”

Jett nodded and saw the pizza guy let out a long breath of relief. The young man’s concern was enough that Jett felt like giving him another bill or two. “I’ll see to him.”

“Thanks, man. And good luck.” The guy split in haste, anxious to avoid sparking Jett’s temper again.

Paying no attention whatsoever to the food or the male delivering it, Natalie smiled at Jett. She had the look a woman gets when she thinks she’s seeing something extra sweet in a guy.

Jett frowned. “What?”

“You’re going to help the dog.”

He didn’t want her to see him as a marshmallow. He wanted her to want him, in every way that he wanted her. “Of course I am. Wouldn’t anyone?”