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  I nodded again.

  I was serious too. Serious as a heart attack, which I understood was very serious considering I’d nearly had one every day for a week.

  He let me go and nodded behind me. A hand curled around my arm and I turned to see Eddie leaned into my door. He helped me out, closed the door and Lee took off.

  Tex made it to us and put his big hand on my head.

  “Shit, woman,” he said, then repeated himself, shaking his head, “Shit.”

  I realized he was concerned and I felt tears crawl up my throat.

  “I’m okay, Tex. They didn’t hurt me,” I told him.

  His eyes turned to Eddie.

  “I fucked up, Chavez. Swear to Christ, it won’t happen again.”

  Eddie nodded.

  “Get home,” he said to Tex.

  Tex took another look at me and then lumbered off to his El Camino.

  I turned to Eddie and opened my mouth but didn’t get a word out.

  “I’m spendin’ the night with you, in your bed, and I’m not arguin’ about it,” he said.

  I felt relief sweep through me again.

  I didn’t want to be alone tonight, no way, no how.

  “Okay,” was all I said.

  Chapter Ten

  Eddie Thought I Was Worth It

  I could swear I heard a knock at my door. All warmth left me, my bed moved, there was the sound of clothes rustling and then I heard the door open.

  “Eddie!” Mom gasped.

  I burrowed deeper into the pillows, trying to find dreamland again. I wanted to go where life was safe, normal and mundane. Where people didn’t hold knives to your throats, whisk you away against your will or hot guys didn’t pursue you against all the laws of nature.

  “Jet’s sleepin’ in today,” Eddie said quietly.

  There was a hesitation while I was sure my mother mentally designed my bridesmaid dresses.

  “Tell her Lavonne popped by for a surprise visit and she’s taking me to breakfast,” Mom whispered, “I won’t be back for hours,” she added meaningfully.

  My mother.

  I burrowed deeper into the pillows.

  Eddie didn’t answer verbally but the door closed, there was more rustling of clothes, the bed moved and the warmth came back in the form of Eddie’s partially naked body fitting itself to my back.

  “Was she in her chair?” I asked, my voice muffled by the pillow.

  His arms tightened around me.

  “She was standing. Go back to sleep.”

  I started to push up.

  “She needs to take her chair. I’ll have to show Lavonne how to fold it, just in case.”

  Eddie pulled me back down.

  “They’ll figure it out. Sleep.”

  “What time is it?” I asked. “I have to get to the bank, the grocery store—”

  Eddie’s hand came up and curved around my breast.

  “If you’re awake…”

  Electricity shot straight to my doo-da.

  “I could sleep,” I lied, settling back down, already two-thirds of the way to completely turned on.

  His hand stayed where it was but it didn’t move with intent and he pulled me deeper into him.

  Surprisingly, after a few minutes, I slept.

  * * * * *

  I woke up, happy and warm—For about two seconds, then I catapulted straight to freaked out.

  I was curled around Eddie who was on his back. He had one arm wrapped around me and the other hand resting in the middle of his chest, very close to where my face was.

  I looked up to see if he was awake, my cheek sliding on his chest and I saw he was asleep, eyes closed, face relaxed.

  I’d never seen him looking like that.

  He was a cool, badass guy when awake, always exuding a certain somewhat dangerous magnetic energy. In sleep, he was somehow even more hot, more attractive, more magnetic and definitely more dangerous.

  It totally freaked me out and I thought I was already totally freaked out.

  I started to move away, his arm tightened, he rolled into me and half on me. His head came up, his eyes opened and he looked at me.

  “Hey,” I said, for lack of anything else to say.

  His eyes were sleepy but his lips formed a half smile.

  He didn’t answer my “hey”, instead, his hand came up and he ran his fingers through the hair at my temple, his eyes watching his hand move through my hair. Then it curled and his knuckles ran along my jaw.

  “Payback time,” he murmured, his hand cupping my jaw, his thumb running along my bottom lip, his eyes still watching his movements.

  “Pardon?” I asked, out of my freak out and firmly established in an Eddie Daze.

  His face disappeared into my neck.

  “Yesterday, I took care of you. Today, we both get what we want,” he said against my ear. Then he pressed his hips against me and I knew exactly what it was he wanted because I felt it against my leg.

  My heart skipped a couple of times and stuttered to a halt.

  I felt his tongue touch below my ear and I shivered.

  Okay, well, whatever. So, I was going to sleep with Eddie. So, he’d probably break my heart. Worse things had happened to me, right?

  I ran my hands up his back, hooked my leg around his thigh and turned my head to give him more access to my neck.

  Then I saw the time on my alarm clock and froze.

  “Holy shit!”

  I tried to knife up but Eddie’s weight was on me so instead, I hit my forehead against his jaw as he’d felt me tense and lifted his head to look at me.

  “Fucking hell,” he muttered, looking down, “what’s the matter?”

  “Have you heard Mom come back?” I asked him.

  “No.”

  “Get off, get off, getoffgetoffgetoff,” I demanded pushing at him.

  “Jet,” Eddie took my hands by the wrists and pulled them over my head, “calm down.”

  “I can’t calm down! It’s eleven o’clock. Mom left hours ago. What if something happened? Where’s my cell?” I was looking wildly around.

  “It’s on the nightstand. Jet, relax. She’s a big girl. She’ll call if anything happened.”

  I glared at him.

  “I have to get to the bank, the store, call the fucking mechanic and find out what’s wrong with my fucking car. I can’t sleep in on a fucking Saturday like normal people! I’ve got things to do!”

  Okay, so maybe it wasn’t an f-word moment, as such. But I’d almost allowed the Eddie Daze to destroy my life; I was in a super-double-extra freak out.

  He grinned.

  “I thought you were normal people, just your average, everyday…”

  I would probably regret it, but I growled.

  His grin turned into a smile and he let go of my wrists.

  “Chiquita, you are too adorable.”

  “Get off.”

  His face dropped and he nuzzled my neck. “When I’m ready.”

  “Eddie! The Credit Union closes in an hour! Get off!”

  His head came up again and he framed my face with his hands.

  “No.”

  I glared.

  He was still grinning and he looked almost… playful.

  This was not good.

  “I’ll make you a deal, Cariña, if you can throw me off, I’ll get off. If you can’t, we spend the morning my way.”

  My eyes bugged out.

  “That isn’t fair. You’re stronger than me,” I objected.

  “You could try being creative.”

  My mouth dropped open.

  I could create a knee to his nuts but that might put the hurt on Blanca’s dreams of dozens of grandchildren and I was pretty sure I liked Blanca.

  I tried the girlie “please” look.

  His head bent and he kissed it off my face. When he was done, I wasn’t thinking of anything, especially not throwing him off. I liked him exactly where he was.

  His lips slid along my cheek to my ear, he ni
pped my earlobe with his teeth and his hands went up my nightshirt, he lifted his head and then, woosh, the nightshirt was gone.

  Wow. He wasn’t messing around and he wasn’t wasting any time. Guess Eddie’d cottoned on to the Jet Freak Out and wasn’t going to take any chances.

  “This really isn’t fair. I can’t throw you off half naked,” I muttered.

  “You couldn’t do it before but it’ll be more fun this way if you try,” he said against my lips, his hand curling around my breast, his thumb rubbing along the nipple. I closed my eyes and gave a repeat performance of the day before. When I opened them again, the playful look was gone and the hungry look was there and I realized I’d given him exactly what I wanted.

  “I don’t think I like you,” I told him even as my arms wrapped around him (of their own volition, I swear).

  He smiled against my mouth.

  “You like me,” he said and he kissed me again.

  When he lifted his head, I shook mine.

  “No, I don’t like you. In fact, I really don’t like you.”

  All of a sudden, his hand moved down my belly and dipped in my underwear and my eyes widened even as my back arched when his fingers pressed in.

  “You like me.” His voice had gone gruff and I knew he had his proof.

  Just as quickly as it came, his hand was gone and he grabbed my hand and pulled it between us, pressing it in his boxers and wrapping my fingers around him and I had some proof too.

  “And I like you, and just about now, I can say I’d like to be inside you.”

  Just about now, I could say I’d like that too.

  I moved my hand against him, rolling my thumb over the tip. He made a sound in his throat that vibrated in my doo-da and he kissed me with an intensity I’d never felt before in all my not so vast experience.

  It was far more hot, far more devastating to my mental health and definitely wild.

  He rolled onto his back, taking me with him, his hand on my bottom in my underwear, my hand still wrapped around him and stroking.

  “You could get up now,” he said against my ear as I ran my lips along his neck, smelling Eddie and knowing I’d never forget that smell or the feel of him in my hand, not for the rest of my life.

  “I’ve changed my mind.” I told him.

  “About fuckin’ time.” he muttered, his hand moved from my bottom to wrap around my wrist, pulling it away from him. He knifed up and I straddled him, my head bent down, his tilted back and I was kissing him, my hands going in his hair, both his hands pushing my underwear down my bottom.

  “Anyone home?” My mother yelled.

  We both froze, mouth-to-mouth, his hands in my pants, mine in his hair.

  “You’ve got to be fuckin’ kidding me,” Eddie said through clenched teeth.

  “I don’t understand, Jet never sleeps this late and Eddie’s truck is still down there. Lavonne, you put the coffee on, I’ll just check.”

  Eddie pulled up my panties, his hands went to my waist and he half moved, half threw me to the side.

  He angled off the bed and grabbed his jeans as we heard Lavonne’s scratchy voice saying, “Sure thing, Nancy.”

  I rolled over, got out of bed, snatched up my nightshirt and tugged it on as a knock came at the door.

  “Jet, doll face? You in there?”

  “Yeah, Mom. Coming!” I shouted.

  I was standing at one side of the bed, Eddie on the other wearing his jeans; three of the five buttons done up. His face looked like thunder.

  “Is Eddie in there?” Mom called.

  Eddie’s head swung to me and he looked about ready to commit homicide.

  I stifled a giggle and was smiling flat out.

  I mean, really. It was too much. We were like school kids getting caught on the couch.

  “Yeah. We’re both coming out.”

  “Okay, sweetheart.” Then I heard Mom limp away.

  Eddie turned to me, his eyes glittering.

  “You better be worth it,” he growled and I knew he meant it as a joke but what he said wiped the smile from my face and I became perfectly serious.

  “I’m not,” I told him honestly.

  I watched as his face changed, the incredulous glitter faded from his eyes and something else took its place. Something I couldn’t read and didn’t want to read.

  Before he could reply, I pulled my hair back out of my face and walked out of the room.

  * * * * *

  I took the fastest shower in the history of womankind, pulled on a pair of jeans, a black, button-front shirt that was too fitted and, as such, showed cleavage (another gift from Lottie) and a pair of black, high-heeled boots (because Eddie was still there and I had to make some effort). I pulled my hair back in a ponytail, spritzed with my fanciest perfume, didn’t bother with makeup because there was no time and headed out of my room.

  Eddie was dressed, sitting drinking coffee and shooting the breeze with Mom and Lavonne in the kitchen like this was a normal, everyday occurrence. Not like he’d just been interrupted by my Mom with his tongue in my mouth and his hands pushing my panties half down my ass.

  I didn’t have time for niceties, nor did I have time to freak out at Eddie hanging out in my kitchen with my Mom and Lavonne, nor did I have time to freak out generally at all that was my life.

  “Hey there, Jet. Lookin’ good,” Lavonne called.

  “Hey Lavonne,” I smiled a greeting at Lavonne and turned to Eddie, “I have ten minutes to get to the bank. Will you take me?” I asked him, not wanting to but having no choice.

  I really had to find out what was happening to my car.

  As an answer, Eddie stood which I guessed meant “yes”.

  “You haven’t had coffee,” Mom said.

  I poured some milk and coffee into a travel mug and turned to Eddie.

  “Let’s go.”

  Eddie walked with long strides and I hustled in my high-heeled boots to the truck. Without a word, we got in. He started the truck and we took off.

  We were halfway there, with only minutes to spare, when I nearly shouted, “Can’t you go any faster?”

  “Relax, Chiquita, I’m already going ten miles over the speed limit.”

  I gave his profile a look that said, “So?”

  Luckily, he missed the look.

  “Don’t you have one of those flashy-lighty things like Kojak?” I asked.

  “Yeah, but I’m not allowed to use it for trips to the Credit Union, just beer runs during half-time.”

  See? My luck sucked.

  He’d barely parked in the Credit Union parking lot when I had my door open and I jumped out of the truck.

  Amy was locking the doors when I ran up. I’d worked with Amy for years, we were friends and used to hang out together, go to movies, spend time drinking margaritas and ripping apart Amy’s (many) ex-boyfriends. She was sweet, funny and I missed her. I only saw her now when I made a deposit.

  As I walked to the doors, I put my hands into a prayer position, mouthing the word “Please”.

  She opened the doors.

  “Jet! I haven’t seen you all week.”

  “Car problems,” I explained, sliding in beside her. “I’ve got a week’s worth of tips that need depositing.”

  “No problemo, I haven’t counted my drawer yet.”

  “Thanks, you’re an absolute gem,” I said.

  I looked across the room, smiled and nodded to Jody. Jody had close-cropped, straw-blonde hair and glasses. Jody had been at Arapahoe Credit Union since time began. As far as I knew, Jody had smiled once in her entire life and that was when a long disliked customer had his car repoed.

  Her eyes were at the door and Amy’s eyes moved to the door too.

  “We’re closed,” Jody said, all guard-dog-at-the-gate.

  “I’ll do him,” Amy breathed, too enthralled to realize her wording was not exactly tactful.

  I didn’t have to look to know that Eddie had walked in behind me.

  “I’m with J
et,” I heard him say.

  Both Amy and Jody stared at me like I’d just won the three hundred bazillion dollar lottery.

  See what I mean? People were going to wonder what Eddie was doing with me. Even my friends and acquaintances stared at me with wonder.

  I snatched a deposit slip and walked up to Amy’s station. Jody left her drawer, partially to lock us in the building but mostly to lock everyone else out.

  I pulled out my wads of cash and Lavonne’s check and began counting expertly; my mind on my task, my hands sifting through the bills quickly, automatically placing the money in piles of hundreds. Eddie positioned himself beside me, his elbow on the counter, his eyes watching my hands.

  “How’s your Mom?” Amy asked, picking up a pile and counting it to double check.

  “She did a couple loads of laundry and emptied the dishwasher yesterday and she’s walking around a lot more.” I lifted my head and Amy and I smiled at each other. I’d been giving her a bi-weekly update on Mom for months, we both knew how important this was.

  Then I went back to counting.

  “When she gets back on her feet, are you gonna come back to work for us? It hasn’t been the same since you’ve been gone,” Amy told me.

  It took superhuman effort to keep my eyes off Eddie.

  He didn’t know anything about my past life and I didn’t want him to.

  Some way, somehow, by the end of the day, I was going to have to let Eddie know where I stood, which was far away from him once this all blew over.

  I hadn’t figured out how to do that yet, but I’d find a way.

  I’d decided in the shower that what happened that morning couldn’t happen again. Ever again. It all had to stop, and soon, or I’d likely lose my mind (not to mention my heart).

  “Maybe,” I said to Amy. The answer was more like “probably”. As much as it would hurt to leave Fortnum’s, Fortnum’s meant running into Eddie and that I couldn’t do.

  Amy turned to Eddie and smiled.

  “Jet was a hoot to work with. Not so much here. Can’t really have much fun here. But…” She turned to me and her smile broadened, “remember that time when we went to visit Donna’s kid when he was getting chemo and you got all the kids on the ward together and pretended to have a shoot out in the elevator bays using your hands as guns? That was hysterical.” She turned back to Eddie, “Jet even did a tuck and roll on the floor and accidentally knocked over a male nurse. I nearly peed my pants laughing.”