She had no idea how long they were sitting there, making out like two teenagers, until Trish said, “Don’t you have to get back to work, hon?”
Pulling away from Smitty, she looked at the waitress. Now Trish had on her coat, scarf, and hat. Meaning she’d cashed out, gotten her tips counted out and divvied up, and had time to change into warm clothes.
“Dammit!” Jess glared at Smitty and he shrugged.
“What did I do?”
She took off running but could hear him yelling behind her, “Tonight, darlin’.”
She got back to her office in less than five minutes. And to her great annoyance, Smitty had been right. Her team had covered for her and didn’t seem unhappy at all that she missed the meetings.
Man, she hated when he was right.
Smitty sauntered into the office and Mindy looked up, one eyebrow raised. “How nice of you to join us.”
He grinned back at her. “I know how y’all miss me when I’m gone.”
She laughed and went back to her paperwork while Smitty headed to his personal office.
Unlocking his office door, he flipped on the light and walked in. “Look who finally showed up?” Mace yelled from his office.
“I know you missed me, hoss. But you know I can’t handle it when you’re needy.”
“Shut up.”
Smiling, looking forward to his evening, Smitty sat down and turned on his computer to check his e-mail. After a few moments, he tapped on the rich mahogany desk before asking, “Why are you under my desk?”
“No reason,” his sister replied calmly.
“How’s your face?”
“Fine. Who knew Jessie Ann Ward had such a killer right hook?”
Smitty decided it was in his best interest not to mention he’d taught Jessie that right hook. “She’s just full of surprises.”
“Yeah.”
Pushing his chair back, he looked down at his baby sister. “Are you going to stay down there?”
Sissy checked her cell phone. “Just for a little while longer if that’s all right with you.”
“Sure,” he sighed. “Why not?”
Chapter 15
“Have you seen Kristan?” Johnny froze with the sandwich in his hands halfway to his mouth. Jess stood at the table drinking a Coke and watching him.
He cleared his throat. “She’s at the library.”
“On a Friday night?”
“Paper due.”
“Anything interesting?” And she seemed seriously interested.
Giving her complete eye contact, he replied, “I didn’t care enough to ask.”
She snorted in disgust. “I swear. You two. For all you know it could be a very fascinating topic.” She took another sip of her soda. “What about rehearsal?”
Still staring her in the eye like a psychopath, “After I eat. Then I’ll pick her up at the library.”
“Good. I don’t like her walking around the city alone.”
Jess brushed his hair back and kissed his forehead. “Thanks for watching out for her, Johnny.”
“That’s what Packmates do, right?”
“You’re learning, kid.”
She grabbed her parka, and Johnny casually asked, “You going back to work?” Not unusual. She worked a lot of hours and sometimes would even sleep at her office if she needed to. But instead of her usual, “What do you think?” Jess stared at him, straight in the eye, and slowly responded, “Yes, I’m going back to work.”
“Okay.”
“I’m going to do that now.”
“Okay.”
She stared at him a moment longer, then said, “Bye,” before escaping from the kitchen.
Weird, but Jess was weird. Pulling out his cell phone, he sent Kristan a text message:
U SO OWE ME.
In less than a minute she responded,
MEET U AT 9. BRINGING ICE CREAM.
He smiled and wrote back,
U BETTER.
Smitty opened his door. “You’re late.”
“You didn’t give me a time.”
“And what is it with you and that coat?”
“I love this coat.”
“It’s too big.”
“It’s not too big.”
Smitty took hold of the hood and pulled it down until it covered her face completely. “See? Too big.”
“Are you letting me in or are you going to keep abusing me in your doorway?”
Grabbing her by the too-big hood, he yanked her into his apartment.
“Hey!”
He unzipped her parka, spun her around, and yanked it off her back.
She stumbled forward. “What are you doing?”
“Abusing you inside my apartment instead of my doorway.” He grabbed her around the waist and tossed her across the room. “And now I’m gonna abuse you on my couch.”
Laughing, Jessie scrambled off the couch and took off running.
“You’re just making it worse for yourself ’cause you know I love the chase.” Slowly, Smitty followed after her. “I guess it’s time to pull out that firm hand we were talking about yesterday.”
Jess gripped the headboard, her knuckles turning white, her entire body bowing. Good God! The man had the most talented mouth she’d ever—
“God, Smitty.” She panted and writhed under him. Feelings so intense slamming through her, she tried to pull away. Smitty gripped her legs tighter, bending them back toward her chest and pushing them out so she was wide open to him.
Her hold on the headboard tightened, a sob catching in her throat. He slid two fingers inside her as his mouth continued to ravage her pussy. He found a spot inside her with his fingertips and rubbed it again and again until she exploded, her body quaking in climax, her muscles tightening.
She hadn’t even finished coming when Smitty was suddenly over her and in her. She gripped him tight, one arm around his neck, the other encircling his back. She wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles at the base of his spine.
He kissed her, his body rocking against hers. His cock filling her up, feeling so good inside her.
“Hold me tighter, Jessie Ann.”
Jess did, enjoying the fact that he didn’t mind. That he didn’t feel trapped by it.
Again, he kissed her, his tongue stroking her like his cock. Their rhythm was effortless, like they’d been doing it forever.
Another climax tore through her, ripping her open, leaving her a groaning, sweating, panting mess on Smitty’s sheets.
When her eyes uncrossed, she found Smitty lying on top of her. Both of them drained. She stroked his sweat-drenched hair, enjoying his weight on top of her. His head on her breasts.
“Am I too heavy for you?” he was kind enough to ask.
“Nope.”
“Good. ’Cause I’m real comfortable.”
“Oh, well. As long as you’re happy.”
“Now you’re learning.”
She had no idea how long they stayed like that, holding each other. She drifted to sleep, and when she woke up a few hours later, they were on their sides, facing each other, their arms and legs intertwined.
Jess didn’t think Smitty was awake until, with his eyes still closed, he asked her, “You hungry?”
“Starving.”
Not bothering to open his eyes, he kissed her and placed his hand on top of her head. He started to push her under the covers and she slapped his hands away.
“I’m starving for food, you barbarian!”
Laughing, Smitty rolled onto his back. “You can’t blame a guy for trying.”
“Explain to me again why I can’t wear clothes.”
Smitty looked up from the steak he’d nearly finished devouring. “I find clothes distracting. You naked soothes me.”
She snickered and went back to her food. Once they’d finished, Smitty leaned back in his chair. She seemed relaxed and comfortable. So he asked her what he’d been wanting to ask her for days.
“Jessie Ann?”
&
nbsp; “Hhhm?”
“What’s really going on with your Pack?”
She frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“You lied to me the other day. No one was trying to break in. So what really happened?”
Jessie picked up her plate and took it to the sink, trying to give herself enough time to come up with another suitable lie. He wouldn’t let her do it this time. He wanted a straight answer.
When she turned around, the lie on her lips, he was standing right behind her. Startled, she jerked back against the counter.
“Tell me the truth, Jessie. No more bullshit.”
She opened her mouth, and he said, “And I’ll know if you’re lying.”
Her mouth closed and she peered up at him. She wanted to tell him. He could see it on her face, but she still didn’t trust him. For some unknown reason that bothered him. He needed her to trust him.
“Whatever you tell me doesn’t leave this apartment. It’s just between you and me.”
Finally, she said, “That could put you in a very awkward position.”
“How do ya mean?”
Jessie stepped away from him and went to his freezer. She grabbed one of the pints of chocolate ice cream his sister kept there. She placed it in the microwave for fifteen seconds, grabbed a couple of spoons, and took the whole thing back to the kitchen table. She sat down, pulling her legs onto the chair. With a slight tilt of her head, she motioned for him to sit cattycorner to her.
“You met May’s daughter, Kristan, that night at the office.” She took off the top of the ice cream and immediately scooped up a spoonful.
“Yeah.”
“Danny isn’t her biological father. He met me and May when she was about seven months pregnant. Kristan’s real father wanted nothing to do with May or his child.”
“But now he’s back.”
“Now he’s back.”
She motioned for him to take some ice cream. He wasn’t a big fan of ice cream, but it was kind of like being around a smoker or a drinker. If you wanted them to talk, to give you information, you sometimes had to join in.
“If we thought he really wanted to know his daughter, the Pack wouldn’t have a problem. Danny probably wouldn’t be happy, but he’d follow my lead. But we don’t think that’s what this guy wants. We think he wants money, and he’s willing to use his daughter to get it.”
“Jessie Ann, I’m not sure why you didn’t tell me this in the first place.”
“Because her father is Walt Wilson.”
“Who?”
Jessie gave that soft smile that made him crazy. It was so misleadingly innocent. “Walt Wilson? Of the Wilson Pack? Your cousin?”
He shook his head. “Still drawing a blank.”
“Out of Smithburg, Alabama.”
Smitty thought real hard and then it hit him. “Oh. Oh, yeah. I remember.” He grimaced. “Lord, I made him eat shit one time.”
Jessie rubbed her eyes. “Tell me you didn’t.”
He stroked his jaw, trying to get so long ago into focus. “Yeah, I did. If I remember correctly, he was mean to Sissy. Made her cry. I don’t think either one of us was more than eight or nine. She was only six or seven. I was gonna make him eat dirt…but they used to have a dog.”
To his relief, Jessie laughed. “That is a horrible story.”
“I know. I know. I’m not proud telling it. But it’s the truth.” He took another spoonful of ice cream, enjoying it more than he thought he would. “And you didn’t want to tell me because you lived in Smithtown long enough to know the Smith credo.”
“Family first,” she recited. “Pack second. Everybody else dead last.”
Or dead, his daddy would always add. A credo the old bastard drummed into the heads of his children growing up. Every Smith in every town lived by it. And that way, everyone knew if you messed with one Smith—really, truly messed with them—you messed with all the Smiths. And no one wanted that laid at their doorstep.
“The Wilsons are blood,” she said.
“Barely.”
“Still. I lived in Smithtown long enough to know how this works. I have no doubt my Pack could take on the Wilson Pack and win. But all the Smith Packs…?” She let out a breath and treated herself to more ice cream.
“Okay. You’ve got a point. So how about I do this. I quietly take a look into this—”
“Bobby Ray, I don’t want you involved.”
“Or you could let me finish,” he said gently. “I take a quiet look into this. Maybe with my help I can get him to back off. If all he wants is money. But if he just wants to see his daughter…”
“Then we’re fine with that. We never lied to Kristan. She knows Danny isn’t her blood, but he is her daddy. That little girl’s got a big heart and I won’t have anyone crushing it.”
“Understood.” He reached across the table and took her hand. “But let me help.”
“Are you sure? I know how your father can be.”
“Let me worry about my daddy. He’s my cross to bear.”
“That’s a lovely way to see your father.”
Smitty grinned. “You always liked my old man, didn’t you?”
Jessie licked her spoon. “You know, he always made me laugh. And when he found me under tables—”
“Under tables?”
“At parties my foster parents made me go to. He’d never tell anybody I was there. Instead, he’d hand me a bottle of…well, a bottle of beer.”
Smitty placed his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands. “Good Lord.”
“And he’d say, ‘Don’t worry none, little gal, you’ll be just fine.’ I had no idea what that meant, but it always made me giggle.”
“That could have been the beer.”
“Are you sure about this, Bobby Ray?” she asked after a few minutes of silence.
He dropped his hands back to the table. “I can always tell when you’re serious because you call me Bobby Ray.”
“This is serious. I won’t get between you and your family.”
“You’re not, darlin’. This is what one friend does for another. And we’re friends. Just like me and Mace.”
She gave him a wicked little smile. “You fuck Mace too?”
“Only when he’s feeling needy.”
Jessie laughed, a wonderful sound that echoed around his home. Leaning forward, Smitty peeked into the ice cream container. “I wonder what use I can make of this leftover ice cream.”
He gazed up at Jessie, raising one eyebrow. She gave a little squeal and made a run for it.
Sitting back in the chair, Smitty asked the cute ass dashing away, “Where are you always running to? It’s a one-room apartment.”
Jess turned over and looked at the clock. She’d overslept. It was nearly eight in the morning.
She sat up and Smitty’s arm immediately wrapped around her waist. “Don’t go.”
“I’m supposed to make breakfast for the kids this morning and I’ve already missed that.”
“It’s Saturday. Stay the weekend.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why?”
“Um…”
“As she scrambles for an excuse,” he mumbled under his breath.
“I am not scrambling for an excuse.” Man, she really needed to stop lying. But what did he expect? Casual sex didn’t involve whole weekends. At least they didn’t if she hoped to have a prayer not to get too deep into this. “I just can’t—”
“I know,” he said, sitting up. “Let’s ask the Pack.”
And before she could stop him, he’d grabbed her cell phone off the bedside table.
“Give me that!”
“Not until we get an answer.” Flipping her phone open, he went up on his knees and went through her contacts. Jess tried to get the phone from him but he kept moving so she couldn’t get a grip.
Putting the phone to his ear, he asked, “And who is this? Well, hi, May, darlin’. I’ve got little Jessie Ann here—”
“Give me that goddamn phone!”
“—as you can hear, and I’m trying to get permission for her to stay the weekend at my house while my parents are out of town.”
“I am not playing with you!”
“Yeah, she said she already missed breakfast, but I figure she can make that up during the week. Uh-huh. Yeah, she’s still naked.”
She gasped. “Bobby Ray!”
“Keep her naked the whole weekend? Yeah, I can do that. Yup. Naked and happy. I can handle that. Thanks, darlin’.”
He looked over his shoulder at her. “May says you can stay.”
Jess grabbed the phone from Smitty’s hand, and as she brought it to her ear, she heard her Pack yell, “Have a good weekend, Jess!” before they hung up.
Slamming the phone shut, Jess turned to yell at Smitty but he’d disappeared—with her clothes!
It was a one-room apartment, but the man was crafty. And by the time Jess had spun in a circle looking for him, he’d suddenly appeared in front of her—without her clothes.
“Where are my clothes?”
“Safe.” He reached for her. “Safer than you are.”
Jess slapped at his hands and quickly stepped away. “I am not staying the weekend.”
“You are if you want your clothes back.”
“Blackmail!”
“Extortion. Now bring that pretty ass over here. You know I’m cranky in the mornings.”
“Go to—hey!”
Smitty scooped her up and walked back over to the bed, throwing her on it. “I don’t know why you insist on fighting me.” His smile was slow and wicked. “’Cause we both know you’ll give me what I want.”
“You are such an egotistical ass—”
He kissed her, pinning her to the bed with his body, his arms holding hers above her head. Before she knew it she was writhing and gasping beneath him.
“I wager,” he panted in her ear when he finally pulled back a bit, “I can keep you in this bed all weekend long.”
And much to her annoyance and enjoyment…he did.
Chapter 16
Smitty slammed open their bedroom door, thoroughly enjoying Ronnie Lee’s squeal of surprise and Shaw’s roar of anger. Especially when Shaw scrambled to pull the covers over their naked bodies.