~ Heart Breakers ~
by
Eleanor Cocreham
Jaime returned home three hours later after hitting two buckets of golf balls and playing nine holes with two college boys. He enjoyed the afternoon immensely because for once his thoughts were not on a slender, silver blond woman driving him crazy.
Stripping as he crossed his bedroom into his bath, he dropped his clothes in a clothes hamper and stood for a long time under the shower’s warm spray. After drying off, he wrapped the towel around his hips and shaved. He was just wiping the cream from his face when the doorbell chimed. He hurried to look through the peep-hole. Seeing Calleigh, he opened the door.
Her gaze flew over him, and her mouth rounded into an O. “Sorry. Guess I should have called first.”
Her hair in a loose pony tail that draped over her shoulder, and dressed in slim black jeans and a close fitting pink sweater that brought out the luminous sheen to her skin, she looked beautiful. He squelched the insane urge to drag her straight to his bed. Instead, he laughed and adjusted the towel a bit to hide what was happening to his body. “It’s okay. As you can see, I’m just out of the shower. “
She smiled back. “Should I come back later?”
He backed up and gestured for her to come inside. “No. Stay. I made coffee. Give me a minute to dress, and we’ll have a cup while we talk. Make yourself at home.”
Calleigh nodded, strolled into the living room and shook her head in disbelief. She couldn’t picture Mr. Neatnik living in this room of mix-matched furnishings obviously acquired from a rental shop. Gazing slowly around, she grinned at the artificial, six-foot tree in the corner, the twin copper lamps in the shape of palm trees at either end of a console table, and the arrangement of fake orange and yellow chrysanthemums atop a small coffee table. Sports magazines and a thick French publication covered the glass top. A women’s fashion magazine?
Jaime returned in five minutes, looking immaculately groomed in pressed jeans and a starched button-down blue chambray shirt. Calleigh itched to peruse his clothes closet. She bet it looked nothing like this tacky room.
Smothering a smile, she raised her eyebrows and pointed to the fashion magazine. “Are you keeping secrets from me, Jaime?”
He laughed. “Do I look like a cross dresser?”
“I’m not sure,” she teased. “You are always so put together you might be. How’d you get that way?”
“My dad, I suppose. During those years we lived together, he insisted I take care of my own clothes. Since he was always so well dressed, I tried to do the same.”
“Are your pajamas ironed, too?”
He grinned. “No pajamas.”
“Oh,” she murmured.
“And as for the magazine,” he said, “My sisters are featured in it. “
“Oh?” she repeated.
“I told you they’re models, didn’t I?”
“Really?” She reached for the magazine. “Show me.”
“Later. You haven’t told me how you like my home.”
“Well....”
He laughed. Taking her hand, he pulled her down a short hall. “Maybe the kitchen will be more your style.”
Trailing behind him, she stopped in the doorway momentarily speechless. Then she started laughing at the perfusion of check designs that adorned everything from chair cushions to flower pots.
“Martha Stewart gone wild,” he said, joining in her laughter and reaching for another coffee mug.
“Better than stripes, isn’t it?”
Jaime rolled his eyes. “Wouldn’t that be awful?”
While he filled their cups, his eyebrows lifted as Calleigh brazenly opened the refrigerator. She shook her head at his meager collection of deli containers, dairy products, and ready-to-cook biscuits. Pointing to the items, she grinned. “No wonder you like my cooking.”
He looked her over, and his voice deepened. “That’s not all I like about you.” Her startled glance made him aware he’d revealed too much. Motioning her toward the living room, he tried to pass off his remark by offering to show her the rest of his home.
She set aside her coffee in the living room and followed him down the short hall to his big office. “As you can see, this is where I spend my time,” he said.
The blinking computer reminded him of why they were together, and he didn’t let her linger. Pulling her forward, he crossed the hall to his austere bedroom. She looked around at the big, neatly made bed, a tall chest of drawers, a single straight chair and night-stand piled high with books. “Can I have a peek at your closet, Dapper Dan?”
He grinned and his gaze slid over her body. “Not unless you give me something in return.”
“And what would that be?”
His grin vanished as he touched her lips with a fingertip. “I think you know.”
A flush tinged her cheeks and neither smiled when she turned and went back into the living room.
Wanting her, but unwilling to force the issue, he followed and watched her nervous examination of the few items the room held. Sensing her discomfort, he broke the silence that had fallen between them. “How are the girls?”
“They’re fine. I have to get them from a Brownie meeting later.”
What have you been doing?”
“Attending to business.”
“Theo’s?”
“It’s mine now, remember?”
“Yes.”
“I told Reese that Theo taught me everything I needed to know about the company, but in truth I still have much to learn.”
“Any way I can help?”
She paused. “I guess not, but thanks.”
“You sure? Is Reese giving you trouble?”
“He thinks I’m incompetent and not capable of making good business decisions.”
“Can you trust him?”
As if afraid to put her thoughts into words, she shrugged and ducked her head, murmuring, “Enough about Reese.”
He watched her twist the heavy strands of hair with nervous fingers into a knot on top of her head and anchor it. Then she sat. Then stood. Picked up a book off the table.
He crossed the room and took the magazine she clutched and laid it aside. “Why did you come here, Calleigh?”
“Just to say hello. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”
“Yes, it has. Guess we’ve both been busy. ”
“Uh huh.”
Drawn by a desire he was unable to control with her sounding so forlorn, he curled his hand around her neck, drew her closer, and despite feeling her tremble, tasted the mouth that was haunting his dreams.
Though he’d only meant to brush her lips lightly, she was so sweet he couldn’t resist taking the kiss further. He deepened it, and she clutched the hand holding her head and pushed at him. He wouldn’t let go of her and lifted her chin. Staring into her eyes, he tried to see why she wouldn’t allow herself to become intimate with him.
“Calleigh, honey, we both want this. How long do we have to wait?”
She clasped his arms, trying to separate them. “We can’t. I…”
“We can.”
“You don’t understand. I...”
Jaime didn’t give her a chance to protest further. He picked her up until their faces were level and kissed her again with much tenderness.
His kiss had an unexpected effect on Calleigh, releasing a riot of emotions he hadn’t expected. Raking his mouth with her tongue, pressing against him as if she wanted to get inside his skin, she returned his gentle kiss with one so hot and demanding, he hardened instantly.
He ground against her, changing her breathing from shallow to swift. She clung to him, and he knew there was no turning back. Still he broke away, studied her face momentarily to make sure this was what she really wanted, then steered her out of the living room into his bedroom. After so many months of lusting for her, he was not making love on a damn sofa. Especially a short one.