Rock Me All Night (6 page)

“No. I'm fine. I stopped to eat on the way home.”

She had one hand on her hip and her breasts were still bare. He caressed one breast and she batted his hand away. “Okay, Mom. Love you, too.”

She closed her phone and looked at him. “Uh…”

“Changed your mind?”

“Yeah. I mean—I know this is bad timing.”

“It's okay. I really only meant to have a nice evening with you. Not have you.”

“Oh, Jack,” she said in that way of hers that made him ache to make promises he knew he couldn't keep.

She turned away and fastened her shirt. Jack took several deep breaths but his erection was still strong. He needed Lauren. But he could wait.

“Want dessert?”

“Would you mind taking me home?”

“Not at all.”

“Your mom calls you after work?” he said to distract himself. His mom called both him and Ty every evening. And if one of them wasn't home or reachable by cell phone, the other one had to go find him.

“Yes. I swear she thinks I'm still twelve.”

“My mom does the same thing.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She worries about her boys.”

“That's sweet. What's she like?”

She looked vulnerable, and he could tell by the flush on her skin that she was battling sexual arousal as well.

“She's larger than life but in a different way than my dad is. She has the image in her head…I think it's some crazy Donna-Reed-meets-the-Jetsons mom. She's always baking and knitting and making things.”

“She sounds great.”

“She is. She just lives in a kind of fantasy world.”

“My mom is totally into reality.”

“I can see that about your mom. Is she anything like her television persona?”

“Yes. She's everything like that. But with my brother and I it's more personal. Sorry I didn't mention you on the phone, but she'd never have stopped asking questions and probably would have wanted to talk to you.”

“And that would be bad?”

“Oh, yes. She'd ask you a million questions and then give you a rundown of my flaws. So that you can approach this relationship with your eyes open.”

“Really?” he asked, moving closer to her. “What are Lauren's flaws?”

“Other than dreaming about a fantasy man…”

“Other than that.”

“I think cooking should take only thirty minutes. I love shoes and don't care if I don't have an outfit that matches them. I won't wear a thong, no matter how much a man begs.”

He tipped his head back to study her. He wanted to see her in a thong but he could live without that one. “I think meals should be enjoyed and lingered over like a beautiful woman. I love trying new things. I wouldn't wear a thong either.”

Lauren laughed and leaned toward him. He pulled her tight against his chest and held her in his arms, letting the sound of her laughter fill the dark recesses of his soul.

L
auren already didn't like the new shift, but that was because she'd had to get out of bed at four o'clock in the morning to be at the station by four-thirty.

Lauren took a sip of her chai and settled into the DJ booth with her notes in front of her. At night she seldom discussed the day's news stories unless one of her listeners wanted to, but the morning was different. People were relying on WCPD to deliver information on their way to work.

Her producer, Rodney, was sharing the booth with Didi Sera, Ray's producer. Ray was funny, and already Ty had mentioned they'd had a surge in listeners even though he'd only been in town a week.

There was something about his drop-dead style of blunt advice and acerbic wit that drew listeners. Even her mom had been listening to the show on the Web and had said that Ray was interesting.

“Morning, Lauren. You ready to do this thing?” Ray said as he entered the booth. He set a large Starbucks cup on the counter and reached for his headphones.

“Yes, I am. I'm not sure that you need me.”

He tilted his head to the side. “I definitely need you here. That one is always on my case. She's usually nicer when there's another woman around.”

“I can hear you, Ray,” Didi said from the producer's booth.

“
Madon',
see what I mean?”

Lauren fought the urge to laugh. She wasn't getting in the middle of whatever was going on between Ray and Didi.

“How's the Mile of Men sign-up going?” Lauren asked. She hadn't heard from Jack over the weekend. And it looked as if her internal radar was up to par. Once again she was falling for a guy who was going to let her down.

“Very slow,” he said.

“Um…I did something on my show that worked for a while,” she said.

“What?”

“I had them call in and set me up. Maybe we can model our Mile of Men after that. Have some eligi
ble bachelorettes sign up to pick from the men. What do you think?”

“Sounds great. We'll start with you.”

“Yeah, that'll help. There are tons of great guys in Detroit just waiting to date me,” Lauren said.

“I'm sure there are,” Ray said in a voice that was so kind. He was a nice man despite the fact that he was so bossy.

Lauren realized she might have revealed some of her insecurities in that last statement. “I'm kind of seeing someone now.”

“Can you get him to be part of the lineup?” Ray asked.

“Five minutes,” Rodney said.

“I don't know.” Why had she blurted that out? Jack hadn't called her, and she wasn't sure he would again. But she was weary of blind dates. She couldn't face another one. “Why?”

“Well, if you pick him and things work out, that'll be a great promotion for next year's event.”

She heard the promo for the morning show and the intro for herself start playing. She mouthed the words
thank you
to Rodney. She didn't want to discuss Jack with this DJ or with anyone else. She doubted he'd stand out on the street even to help Ty out.

“Good morning, Detroit. Let's welcome my new partner on the air—Lauren B, aka Miss Lonely Hearts. She's looking for a good man, and we need you to volunteer as part of our Mile of Men.”

“That's right, Ray, I am looking for a good man. And I'm willing to bet so are a lot of other women in Detroit. So let WCPD do the screening and join us on Valentine's Day.”

Lauren let Ray continue telling the rules and directing listeners to the Web site. The computer screen in front of her flashed up.
Chopped Liver on line two.

Ray finished talking and pushed a button to play music. “We'll be taking callers who want to volunteer next.”

Lauren hit line two, careful to make sure it wasn't on the air.

“This is Lauren.”

“Still looking for a man?” Jack asked in his deep voice.

“Well, that is why I'm here.” She didn't have to explain herself.

“Sorry I couldn't call over the weekend. Some of my old college frat brothers were in town and wanted to do the Detroit club scene.”

“You don't have to explain.” She was hurt, and no matter what he said, he couldn't make this right. The club scene—he'd probably gone home with some blonde who didn't care if he was a frog in prince's clothing.

“Yes, I do. I don't like hearing you on the air talking about finding Mr. Right.”

“I don't really like to hear about you clubbing.”

“Give me a chance, Lauren.”

“Why should I, Jack? We both have too much baggage to make anything work between us. We're too different.”

“You didn't feel wrong in my arms. I screwed up. To be honest, I was afraid to call you.”

“You're not afraid of anything.”

“I'm afraid of what you make me feel, Lauren. And that's saying a lot. Give me one more chance. Don't pick some stranger…” He trailed off, and she heard the sincerity in his voice.

“This is a radio thing. Not a real-life thing. I'm not going to cruise down that line of men and pick someone else.”

“Promise?”

“I've got to go.”

“I know. I like hearing your voice first thing in the morning.”

“I'm glad,” she said.

He laughed and disconnected the phone. Lauren shook her head. He was getting to her. But he was trying, and that made her feel…she wasn't sure entirely.

“Your boyfriend?” Ray asked.

She shrugged. “Who do you have in the queue?”

“We've got three people who might work out. One is a middle manager of a chain restaurant, another is a construction worker and the third is a pastry chef.”

“Pastry chef?” Lauren asked.

“Yeah, what do you think?”

“Women love a man who can cook,” she said,
thinking of Jack and his homemade soup. She was missing something important about him and hoped she figured it out before they both got hurt.

“That's what I was hoping. This is harder than I thought it would be.”

“Yeah, who thought being matchmaker could be so hard.”

“You have no idea how tough it can be,” Ray said.

The music stopped and they went back on live. They talked to the three men on-air and got two more volunteers.

Lauren enjoyed the morning but was glad when it was time to leave the booth. She'd had enough of discussing relationships and talking to men and women who'd been single too long and couldn't find a mate. The comments she and Ray heard rang a little too true for Lauren's peace of mind and reminded her that Jack was still an unknown quantity.

 

Jack was waiting when she exited the building at the end of the day. Leaning against the hood of a sleek black Porsche, he watched. She hesitated when she saw him, and he knew he'd have to make up for not calling. He smiled and pushed away from the car.

“What are you doing here?”

“Apologizing in person. And taking you to lunch.”

“How did you know I hadn't eaten?”

“I called Ty.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “So I can buy you lunch.”

“Not today. I—”

“Lauren.”

She glanced over her shoulder. Ray King ambled over to them. He wore a topcoat and glanced around the parking lot before stopping.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Ray said, but Jack suspected the older man wasn't really sorry.

“No problem. Ray, do you know Jack Montrose?”

“Yes, we met in Ty's office the day I started. Nice to see you again.”

“Same here. We were on our way to lunch. How can we help you?” Jack asked. He took a step closer to Lauren and put his arm around her waist.

“We have a remote broadcast this afternoon at the Fox Theatre with some new entries in the Mile of Men. Lauren has to be there.”

Jack snorted.

“Will you stop that?” Lauren said.

“What's the problem?” Ray asked.

Jack realized he'd put her in a bad position. “Nothing. I just think it's a tad bit sexist to have a Mile of Men.”

“You still thinking about a Mile of Women?” Lauren asked in a silky tone that warned him he better beware.

“Of course not. I just…”

“
Compare,
you're digging yourself deeper,” Ray said, but there was laughter in his voice. “Why
don't you come along? We could use a differing viewpoint.”

“Uh, Ray, Jack has his own business to run. He can't just drop everything to come to a remote broadcast.”

He knew she wanted space from him. And Jack also had dated enough women to know that if he let Lauren go now, he wasn't going to get her back.

“I'll do it. What time should we be there?”

“Four. Ciao.”

“Ciao,” Jack said, putting his hand under Lauren's elbow and leading her to the car.

“When did I agree to lunch?”

He dropped her arm. “I'm not forcing you, sweetheart. If you want to go eat alone, then be my guest.”

He was tired of being the bad guy. Sure he'd acted like an ass, but he'd apologized.

“Sorry, Jack. I'm…I'd be happy to have lunch with you.”

“Where are we going?”

“A little place just out of town—Molly's.”

Lauren said little as he drove through the crowded streets. Soon they were out of the downtown traffic and Jack let the Porsche roar with her innate power. He loved a fast car. If he were a different man, he'd take Lauren out of the city and into the countryside. Driving neck-or-nothing and showing her what it meant to really be alive.

“Jack?”

“Hmm?”

“You missed the turnoff.”

He cursed under his breath. Checked for traffic and spun the car in a one-eighty. It was a move that required the driver know both himself and his car. Jack knew both well. He glanced over at Lauren and saw her hands were knotted together in her lap, but she gave him a faint smile.

He felt ridiculous. Like a teenager who was showing off his daddy's car to a girl he wanted to impress. But hell, he did want to impress Lauren and everything he did was to that end.

“Wow,” she said quietly. He really hoped she hadn't sensed anything other than a guy who was a motorhead.

“Sorry. I get lost in the power of the car sometimes.”

“No problem. I drive a really boring compact. I think my wheels would fall off if I tried something like that.”

“It helps to know what you're doing,” he said, then realized he was raising a subject he didn't want to touch. His dad had taught him show moves before he'd been able to drive legally. Sometimes Jack felt like being the wild rebel most people believed Diamond Dave's sons should be.

She was staring at him. Probably wondering if you're going to try to jump the Porsche over some ravine, he thought with disgust.

With a shrug he said, “My lawyer has a hell of a time keeping my license.”

She smiled at that. “I can't picture you on mass transit.”

“God forbid. And Carl, my chauffeur, says I'm a horrible back-seat driver.”

“I'd think you'd be more overcautious.”

Jack parked the car and turned it off before he twisted in his seat to face her. “Because of my dad?”

“Yes,” she said. A slight flush covered her cheeks, and he knew that she regretted her comment.

Jack knew he should help her out, but a part of him—the boy who'd gotten into fights just to prove his dad was still a man after he'd lost the ability to walk—wanted to see how she was going to handle this.

She cleared her throat. “I mean, he can't walk now because of that car accident.”

“Thanks for explaining it to me. Ty and I have been wondering for a while why Dad can't walk.”

She bit her bottom lip and crossed her arms over her chest. “Sarcasm. That's really nice. You know I wasn't trying to offend you.”

Jack turned away from her. What could he say? First he didn't call her for two days and now he was… “Sorry. Sometimes I'm an ass.”

She gave him a sweet smile. “I'm the same way about my parents. People actually call my dad Mister Doctor Belchoir. He's a Ph.D. in Egyptian Studies. It makes him nuts.”

“What do you say we stop discussing our families?” he asked. He needed to find his footing with
her. She had to be like every other woman he'd ever met. As soon as he figured her out, she'd stop fascinating him.

“Sounds good,” she said, but there was a lingering hurt in her eyes.

He got out of the car and saw Lauren hesitating, her hand on the door handle. He realized she did that each time he picked her up. He opened the door and put his hand at her elbow to lead her into the restaurant. “Why were you watching me like that?”

“Like what?” she asked. A light snow began to fall. She paused, tipped her head back and let the snowflakes land on her face.

When she looked at him again, crystal drops beaded her face like diamonds sparkling in the sunlight. He forgot what he'd been saying. Leaning closer to her, he breathed in her scent and then licked the snowflakes from her face.

He held her face caged between his hands and he felt that if he could keep touching her, he wouldn't screw this up. If they could get into bed, he could stop trying to remember how he was supposed to act and just make love to this woman who wouldn't get out of his head.

“You were saying something about the car,” she said after a long minute had passed.

He was? He dropped his hands to his side and recalled what he'd been thinking before. “Like you weren't sure I was going to get your door. You know I will.”

“In the beginning most guys do. Then they stop. I wasn't sure….”

He held the door to the building open for her. “I'm not most guys, Lauren. Which that stunt with the car should have proven. What am I going to have to do? Jump over four parked cars? Juggle fire?”

“Can you juggle fire?” she asked, taking off her coat and hanging it on one of the hooks by the door.