The Perfect Storm (The Blake Boys Book 6) (8 page)

Sam got out the bowls and eating utensils while J.J. put the finishing touches on the chili. He put a few heaping ladles of the chili into her bowl while she protested. He loved her body, but she could use some meat on her on bones. He’d seen her eat and suspected she had a high metabolism, because she ate just as vigorously as his brothers. The feel of his hands on her waist when he’d kissed her haunted him nightly. It was getting pretty hard to mask how turned on he was by her, but he thought he was holding up well. So what if he had to sit down a lot or hide behind the center kitchen island to conceal the megaboner she gave him?

Conservative suits or a soft-looking sweat suit didn’t matter—she started a sexual buzz in him every time he saw her. This week was going to be a test of his resolve as he figured out a way around this “not dating a client” quagmire.

He wasn’t going to give on exploring their relationship, and he didn’t like to lose.

J.J. watched as Sam reluctantly took a spoonful of the chili. She didn’t spit it out, so that was a good sign. He watched her mouth, imagining other things that could be done with the seductive movements. He had to stop hanging with Tyler and Channing. He’d become permanently tuned to the Horny Channel like them. Sam took a bite of the cornbread and sipped on her red wine.

“Well?”

“The chili and the cornbread are great. I do taste a difference but it’s nothing to send my taste buds into a tizzy.”

“So…” J.J. gave her an expectant look.

“What?” She put another spoonful in her mouth.

“Repeat after me. J.J., you were right about the buffalo. This is the best chili I’ve ever eaten in my life. I will let you mold my taste buds like clay and defer to your judgment in the future about all of my culinary selections.”

“Never going to happen, Mr. Blake.”

“I think we’re past formality. After all we did make out in your kitchen.” He waved his fork at her.

“I plead temporary insanity on that one. And if you insist you on dispensing with professional formality, I prefer John.” She reached across the table and ran her hand through his hair.

“John?” He instinctively reached up and caught her hand. Sam didn’t play by the rules.

“You call me Samantha Jane.” She mused.

“I like the way it sounds when it rolls off my tongue.” He held her hand, which smelled like the cornbread, an inch away from his mouth.

“John suits you.” She pulled back her hand.

J.J. let it go. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

* * *

Sam was satisfied that the audit was going great. Her suggestions were received well by the staff, especially when J.J. informed them he was there strictly to tag along and that he endorsed whatever policies and systems she upgraded or changed. She was amazed at how the staff revered him and were excited that he was in town. She couldn’t help but notice the not-so-subtle lustful looks of a few of the women; one of them even wedged herself between them to say hello. She turned to shake hands with Sam after J.J. introduced them, impressed that his eyes remained fixed on her face even though her blouse was unbuttoned so low, Sam could see the front clasp of the black bra she wore. Jeff Miles, the President of Blake Construction Denver and former running back for the Colts, insisted on hosting a barbecue for J.J. before he returned to Texas.

A few more facility visits and it was the end of the day. J.J. had offered to show her some more sights. They ate at a really nice restaurant on Blake Street, of all places.

Then he took her to the Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre. The layout of the stage was awesome.

“Tate performs here. The acoustics are kick ass.”

“I bet it is. There isn’t a venue around that doesn’t showcase his pipes.” She nodded.

“You’ve been to one of his concerts?” He raised an eyebrow.

“For work.” She laughed. “I even have my Tate’s Angels souvenir T-shirt to prove it. The women in the crowd can get…very enthusiastic. Two girls had a fist fight in the first row because they each thought the kiss he blew to the audience was meant specifically for them.”

“Tate does have a way with that guitar.” He murmured.

“Yes, he does. He’ll give you your money’s worth for the ticket. The screaming hasn’t abated since he and Isabelle got together. Some women I know actually think it’s sweet that he changed his wild ways to be with a classy violinist. And that Seth dropped his frivolous dating when he found Morgan, a feisty bookstore owner of all things.”

“As wild as they may have been in their youth, they managed enough growth to find women who were beautiful, independent and real, just like my momma. I at least got the beautiful part right with Eden. One out of three ain’t bad.”

“You married Eden when you were barely out of college. Love bloomed early for you and you acted on it.” Sam stopped walking. “And I’ve never had to get between you and a knife-wielding groupie like I did with Tate that time in Albuquerque.”

“A knife?” He chuckled.

“When he released that song Bewitched two years ago, he had a really interesting summer.”

“So what about you? Do you have any past-love war stories?”

She shrugged. “I’ve tumbled down the rabbit hole once or twice, and I have the bumps and bruises to prove it. But time eventually heals all, or at least that’s what they say.”

J.J. grinned at her. “Don’t worry. I’ll get it out of you eventually.”

* * *

J.J. and Sam had already had a busy morning hiking at Rocky Mountain National Park. He thought it would be better to start her off slow with the Emerald Lake trail. Then they went back to the house to get ready for Jeff Miles’s reunion barbecue. Sam declined at first, but J.J. was able to convince her that she wouldn’t be uncomfortable around his friends. They were a great group of people.

The party was in full swing when they arrived, and it felt like old times when they used to spend time together in the off season. The marital landscape had changed as well; he wasn’t the only one who had been divorced. Tony Perkins had been divorced from his wife for three years and J.J. hadn’t even known. So much for feeling the stigma of a failed marriage. When he announced to the group that he and Eden had split, there wasn’t too much love lost over her. As if on cue, when he went to the restroom in the house, one of the wives cornered him in the kitchen and asked if he was interested in dating anyone, unless of course he and Sam were dating.

“Trish, I told you,” he said. “Sam is the security specialist for my company.”

“Yeah, right. Keeping telling yourself that. You didn’t smile this much when you were with Eden.”

Had he been smiling more? Maybe he was. Sam sat next to him at the table and doted on him, asking he wanted food or another long neck. She even told him to drink as much as he wanted because she’d drive home. Later that evening, his friend Max asked him to take a walk. Sam was chatting with Trish, so he agreed.

Max slapped him on the back. “I’m so glad you could make it to this reunion. We’ve missed you.”

“It’s good to see everyone.” J.J. smiled.

“Listen, I know you don’t like to talk about the football days but we were all damn proud to have you as our quarterback. You were a good leader and an even better friend.”

“
Sports Now
is interested in doing a story on me and Seth,” he said.

“That would be great. Seth emulates you when he plays, so that would be a terrific story for you guys.”

He shook his head. “He doesn’t emulate me. He has his own natural talent.”

“Do you watch your brother’s interviews? He mentions you all the time and credits developing a good work ethic because of you. He worships you.”

“Seth’s just being Seth.”

“Seth’s just being honest. You know how many people would want your talent and greatness for one minute?”

“Let’s change the subject. I don’t want to rehash what could have been, especially on the heels of my divorce.”

“Instead of thinking of what you lost, think of how you saw the picture when you got injured and went into business with your dad. Thanks to you, I can say I have a damn good job post-football. You didn’t have to expand to Denver, but I know you did it to give some of us jobs. It’s hard to find your new life’s work when you been a pro-football player. You did that, and you helped a lot of other people to do it too. You finally divorced that horrible, bitchy, self-indulgent wife of yours and you’re here with a gorgeous woman who’s intelligent and can play cards. From where I’m sitting, your life still looks pretty damn enviable.”

“I keep telling everyone that Sam and I aren’t together.” He sighed.

“You’re sweet on her. It’s plain as day.”

“To everyone but her, maybe.”

* * *

They bid everyone a good night and headed back to the house. Sam drove, as promised. J.J. looked around at the sights, proud of the work he’d done here. He still had roots and there was a part of his life that would forever be entwined with Denver.

“So, a lot of your old teammates have jobs because of you.” Sam said.

“You’d be surprised how many players don’t have a backup plan once they retire from the game. They needed direction and I was able to help.”

“That is an incredible thing to start a Blake Enterprises subsidiary here so they could move on with their lives.”

“Half of them were builders and worked in construction. It wasn’t a leap that it was good for business.”

“You’re a good friend.” As they neared the stadium, Sam looked at him. “Want to stop at the old stadium and look around?”

J.J. looked at the stadium. It had been years since he’d stepped foot in the place where his football career had crashed and burned.

“I’d rather go back to the house…and kick your ass at Scrabble again.” He laughed.

“Never gonna happen, Blake.”

They played Scrabble, drank too much wine, and talked for hours about his glorious football days. Each time he felt like he wanted to kiss her, he’d take another gulp of his wine. Sam’s knowledge of the sport was refreshing. She hadn’t been lying when she said she’d seen him play. Her analysis of his performance was that of a sports announcer. When he began to lament how it all ended, she reminded him of how much he’d achieved since leaving the sport. She even said the greatest moments of his life were yet to come. When they retired to bed, J.J. hadn’t felt that good in a long time. He didn’t try to kiss her, but his body buzzed just the same as if they’d made love for hours on end. There had to be a way around the whole conflict of interest thing because she worked for Regency. If there wasn’t, he’d find a way a pummel through it, just like he did every other obstacle in his life.

CHAPTER SIX

Sam dressed comfortably in a pair of jeans and her work boots for her visit to the Twelve Horseshoes Ranch. It had been a month since the trip to Denver with J.J. and she’d been kind of sad to see it come to an end. They’d been having such a great time, and she’d learned so much about him. He was a driven man who knew what he wanted out of life. But he seemed different when they touched down at the airport. She was half expecting…something else when they said goodbye at the airport.

The Regency installation team had already visited the ranch and implemented the changes she requested, which included handprint recognition pads for all the residences. She was there to make sure everything was installed and to do a few test runs of the system. She drove through the gates of the ranch, behind a construction truck that made a left about mile in while she continued straight to the main house. Examining the structure of J.J.’s new house was one of the things on her to-do list. His house would be outfitted with the most up-to-date security tech money could buy.

As soon as she parked in front of his parents’ house, rain began to fall. Of all the days for a storm to pass through Texas, it had to be on the day she had to meet him for the final assessment. She closed her eyes and listened as the water symphony hit the roof of her SUV. This downpour would spell disaster for her hairdo, but after ten minutes had passed, she decided she must look like a lunatic for not getting out of the car.

Her door opened on its own.

“Need a hand?”

She grinned up at J.J.’s wet face grinning down at her with those dimples twinkling in his cheek. “Yes. Thanks. Would you believe I don’t have an umbrella in my car?”

“There’s nothing wrong with getting wet every once in a while.” He flashed an even more wicked grin.

“Like water parks, do you?” Samantha’s mouth went dry.

He laughed, and the deep rumble made her pulse quicken. Damn, he looked good. He was freshly shaven and wore a blue dress shirt with a pair of jeans. Did the man know how handsome he was? Sam tried to disconnect the seat belt twice but her hand kept slipping. She took a deep breath and tried again. It was going to be a long day if she kept fumbled around the man like she’d just learned how to walk and talk.

“How have you been?” J.J. asked as he helped her out of the SUV.

“Swamped with work. Did you test out any of the new improvements?”

“Yes, and I must say it’s all very high tech. My parents get a kick out of using their finger prints to get into the house.”

“Everyone in your employ is finger printed, so it will be easy to decipher who did what if any shenanigans should occur.”

“Good. It never hurts to be extra cautious.”

“Where do you want to begin?” She smiled.

“I can drive you around the ranch.”

“Sure.”

“Where is everyone?”

“My parents are off on a romantic weekend and Tyler and Channing went to check out some racing event.”

“I took the liberty of riding around the outside perimeter of the ranch before I came in, and I must say I’m impressed with the procedures already in place.” Sam ran a hand through her hair.

“Well that’s all Bo’s doing. He runs the ranch and is a stickler for those things.” He helped her into the truck.

“Yes. I’ve talked to him a few times. I see where Bo Jr. gets his charm.” She smiled.