forced himself to focus and fed the jukebox dollar bills, punching in all the slow romantic ballads he could identify. He’d just picked a LeAnn Rimes song when he saw Christopher Vincent approach, his image shimmery but unmistakable in the curved glass.
He felt himself tense and worked hard to keep the smile on his face a pleasant one. God, when Christopher had grabbed Zoe, Jake had had to physically restrain himself. He’d come damn close to picking the man up and throwing him across the room.
“I guess our new little waitress likes you,” Christopher said.
Jake pushed the buttons for a Garth Brooks song, not even looking up. “Oh, is she new here?”
“She came into town a few weeks ago. Hal met her at some party. Don’t worry. I’ve checked her out. She’s exactly what she says she is.”
“Well, that’s good to know.” Jake smiled at Chris. “But no real surprise. I mean, she doesn’t come across as some kind of rocket scientist or—I don’t know—some kind of biochemical engineer. Can you imagine her in a lab coat?”
Christopher laughed, and Jake laughed, too, knowing that the real joke was on the CRO leader. God, it was going to be so good to nail this guy ….
“Yeah,” Chris said, “I can imagine her wearing only a lab coat.” He laughed again. “She is some hot ticket.”
Jake turned to the jukebox, uncomfortable with Christopher’s openly lascivious appraisal of Zoe, not wanting to be a part of it in any way.
“I’ve seen her counting on her fingers,” Chris continued, “but with a body like that, it’s almost better that she’s not too bright.” He looked at the bar, watching Zoe as she poured another pitcher of beer. “Oh, yeah. She’s choice.”
As if she were a cut of meat. Jake felt his smile turning even more brittle and he stared at the jukebox, reminding himself why he couldn’t simply beat the hell out of Christopher Vincent right here and right now.
“Just so you know not to get your hopes up too high,” Christopher told him before he walked away, “she’s holding out for marriage, our little Zoe is. You’d have better luck with Carol.”
Jake glanced at the bar, but Zoe was gone. He quickly scanned the room, found her making the rounds of tables, double-checking that everyone had all the beer and liquor they needed to get them through the next few minutes.
She looked up, caught him gazing at her, and for a fraction of a second, he saw a glimmer of uncertainty in her eyes. Distasteful. Did she honestly think he found this part of the set up distasteful?
But just like that the uncertainty was gone and she smiled.
It was a very inviting, very warm smile, complete with a very slow, very appreciative up-and-down look that was totally lacking in subtlety. It was a look he might’ve gotten back in high school, and his body responded in a way far more appropriate for a seventeen-year-old than a fifty-something grown man.
Jake moved toward her as surely as she made her way toward him. It was as if they both were magnetized, as if they couldn’t have stayed apart from one another even if they’d tried.
Zoe set her tray on top of an empty table.
He slipped his hands into the back pockets of his jeans, afraid if he didn’t he wouldn’t be able to keep himself from reaching for her.
“I didn’t buy another round yet,” he told her. “When I came out, someone else had just—”
“It’s okay.” She looked away, as if suddenly shy. “You know, if you don’t want to dance, we could try sitting at a table toward the back. But Gus and Hal might—”
He took his hands out of his back pockets, and just like that, he had her by her hand and was pulling her toward the dimly lit dance floor next to the jukebox. Just like that she was in his arms and swaying gently in time to the music.
“You should talk fast,” she told him. “I don’t know how long I’ll have before Gus needs me.”
He pulled her closer. “This is not distasteful,” he murmured into her ear. “Let’s start with that, all right?”
Zoe shook her head. “Jake, you don’t have to—”
“It’s just …” He searched to find the words that would explain. “It’s very … weird for me. I was with only one woman for nearly thirty years—nearly your entire lifetime. Can you even imagine that?”
Silently, she shook her head.
“I’m going to make everyone in this bar believe that I’ve got a major thing for you,” he told her. “And doing that will not be distasteful. I’d be lying if I told you I haven’t spent the past weeks looking forward to this. Looking forward to it, and dreading it, all at the same time. You’re a great kid, Zoe, and a beautiful woman and … And I’m sorry if I can’t be as blasé about any of this as you, and I’m sorry in advance if I somehow make you feel bad. Holding you, even dancing like this, hurts a little bit. But it feels good, too. Really good. Which in turns hurts a little bit more. Does that make any sense at all?”
She nodded. “I’m sorry if I—”
“Let’s not apologize to each other anymore. We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do, right?”
She lifted her chin. “I think one of the things I’ve got to do is to get into the CRO compound.”
“Now, that idea is distasteful.”
“Jake, no, I’ve been thinking about it.” She rested her head against his shoulder, and when she spoke, he could feel her breath against his throat. “The best way for me to help you find the Trip X is for me to be in there.” She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. “Remember our deal? Remember what you promised?”
“I didn’t know what it would be like in there for a woman. Zoe, whatever you’ve heard about the CRO—”
“I knew exactly what I was getting myself into when I agreed to be a part of your team. I can handle it.”
“But I’m the team leader, and I need you to try it my way first.” And if his way didn’t work … Jake wasn’t sure how they’d handle the cameras in the bedroom. Maybe they could cover some, disable the others. Maybe they could pretend to make love, under the covers ….
He changed the subject, trying to banish the image of Zoe in his bed, her body soft beneath his.
No. He refused to give up on the idea that they could find the Triple X and keep Zoe safely out of harm’s way. And out of his bed.
“I’m sorry it took me so long to get here,” he said. “Christopher tends toward delusions of grandeur, and he imagined this terrible altercation the moment I stepped outside of the CRO gate. I think he was a little disappointed when I made it all the way into town without being chased by federal agents.”
The song ended and they stopped for a moment, waiting for the next song to start. It had almost exactly the same slow, pulsating beat. He’d picked the songs well.
As
