Slade (Joanna Blake Singles) Read online

I could think of a lot of interesting things to do with little miss hot pants in the dead of night.

  Chapter 5

  Jenny

  A long, yawn and a stretch started my day. I rolled over and stared at the clock. It flashed at me a lovely, lazy day number. A number I hadn’t woken to in months.

  10:08 AM

  I blinked and pulled out my ear plugs.

  Blissful silence.

  I sat up and looked around. Basil was on his back in a patch on sunshine, sound asleep. He snorted and his little paws jerked in the air.

  "Is it Sunday?"

  Ever since the construction had started I’d gotten one day of silence a week. Sunday. But today was Friday.

  Oh my God.

  It was quiet outside.

  Was there a power outage?

  Was it finally over???

  I rolled to my feet and stood up. Basil huffed and didn't move. I almost laughed. My dog was like I was, a light sleeper. And for once, he was asleep past the crack of dawn.

  For the first time in forever, I felt well rested.

  I pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and made myself a small pot of coffee. I had orders to fill for the weekend so I got to work immediately after taking the pup out for a walk.

  For a new small business owner like me, I worked 24/7, just to break even. But I loved what I did. Besides, business was picking up. Word of mouth about my recipes and magic fingers was spreading quickly.

  Next year, I’d be flush.

  Hopefully anyway.

  I was dusting a mocha crumb cake with powdered sugar when the knock came at the door. I jumped a mile high and ended up covered with a film of powdered sugar. I cursed under my breath.

  I didn't like unexpected visitors.

  I especially didn't like them when I was working.

  Oh well, it wasn't the first time I’d been covered in powdered sugar.

  I set dow my accoutresments and went to answer the door.

  Of course. It was him.

  The slick, handsome stranger I’d met last week on the beach.

  The one I hadn't been able to get out of my head.

  It was twisted but whenever I had a quiet moment I found myself wondering about him, if I’d ever see him again. And promptly got pissed at myself for doing it.

  Slade.

  What a ridiculous name.

  Yet somehow, it suited him.

  I opened the door and stared at him through the screen door. He was wearing that same leather jacket and tight jeans. He leaned against the side of the door smiling at me, looking utterly at home.

  He looked thrilled to see me, truth be known.

  "Hi."

  "Hey Jenny. Oh my god it smells good in there."

  I shouldn't invite him in, I shouldn't invite him in, I shouldn't invite him in.

  "Would you like to come in?"

  “That would be great, thanks.”

  I opened the screen door, feeling a bit like I was in one of those scary movies. One of the ones where the heroine just invited a vampire inside her house. I almost laughed. Now he was going to either seduce me or suck out all my blood.

  Maybe both.

  He ducked under the door and stepped inside. He was so tall that he literally had to duck. The old cottage was built in the 1940’s, where people had apparently been smaller than the ginormous man.

  More like me.

  Immediately Basil came over to say hello. They greeted each other like old friends, which I found annoying for some indefinable reason.

  Really annoying.

  He glanced at me and walked toward the kitchen. Not that it was far in the tiny beach house. But it was obvious he was intrigued by the set up.

  "So, you are a baker?"

  I nodded and crossed my arms over my chest. I’d forgotten to put on a bra and suddenly I felt naked. Exposed.

  Way to go, Jennster.

  The man was so damn virile that he made me feel tiny, weak.

  Turned on as hell, which also annoyed me.

  He grinned at me. The man seemed to be determined to wear me down. For some reason I found it enraging.

  Mostly because it was starting to work.

  "I'll have to buy a cake then."

  "Sure. I can give you my menu or you can request something custom. I'm flexible."

  He grinned wider, like I’d made a dirty joke. I groaned and turned away, riffling through the drawer for a menu. I found a relatively uncrumpled one and handed it to him. He was still grinning, damn him.

  I just knew he was taking my statement as some sort of sexual innuendo.

  Ugh.

  "Thanks."

  I shrugged and crossed my arms again. Had his eyes just skimmed over my tits or was I insane? It was impossible to tell through his sun glasses.

  What kind of D-bag wore sunglasses inside?

  "I'm glad you guys were in. The whole day has been madness really but I wanted to make sure I stopped by."

  I cocked my head. What the hell was he talking about? He might be pretty, but I was starting to wonder if he was just a walking gonad.

  "Oh?"

  "Well, my big housewarming party is tomorrow night. I would love it if you came."

  My jaw dropped.

  “Housewarming?”

  “Yeah, my house is finally done.”

  I was glaring at him, steam ready to come out of my ears. The daft man didn’t seem to notice.

  “Which house?”

  He pointed out the window at the monstrosity next door.

  "You are- the one who has been making all that noise for months now? You are the one who has destroyed my view?"

  He looked a little bit alarmed as I stood up straight and pointed my finger at his chest accusingly. He held up his hands and backed away.

  "Hey, I'm sorry it was loud or spoiling your view. I had no idea."

  I scowled at him.

  “Of course you didn’t! Because rich, d-bags like you never. Ever. Think. About anyone else!”

  He was smiling at me now, like I was amusing. Like I was a puppy biting his sneaker. I was not a puppy dammit!

  "You and your construction crew have ruined my life for months! I've barely been able to think straight!"

  His hands were high in the air like it was a hold up. Hell, maybe it was. I sure as shit wished I had a gun at the moment. He was lucky I didn’t.

  I definitely would have shot his cute little ass.

  "Who are you anyway? Some slick investment banker? You are just the kind of person who is ruining this town!”

  I yanked the menu out of his hands.

  "I will not be baking you anything! Ever!"

  He stopped backing away.

  "The kind of people? Isn't that a bit prejudiced?"

  I snorted. He was not leaving fast enough.

  "What, scummy wall street guys are a protected class now?"

  "I'm not a wall street guy. I'm a musician."

  He pulled his sun glasses off and my jaw dropped. Huge golden brown eyes stared at me. I hadn’t been wrong about the gorgeous part. I’d just understated it.

  The man was a greek god.

  Now I recognized him. I must be an idiot for not catching that before. He was one of the most famous men in the entire world.

  Slade Fucking Kinney.

  Rock Star and scumbag extraordinaire. Dater of models and actresses. Partier. Womanizer. Scoundrel.

  And now he was here, ruining my view and trying to get into my pants to boot!

  Fanfuckingtastic.

  He had an earnest look on his face.

  "Hey Jenny, ease up. I'm not the enemy I swear."

  I crossed my arms again and sighed.

  "Are you going to start throwing loud parties every night?"

  "What? No. Just this one. It won't even be loud. I promise. I came out here to get away from all that bullshit."

  I frowned and looked at him, saying nothing.

  A famous asshole had just moved in next door. My peaceful, bucoli
c life was over as I knew it. My family had lived out here for three generations and now it was as bad as Brooklyn or LA.

  The cute little stretch of bay had just officially become part of the hamptons, with a capital H.

  UGH.

  And to add insult to injury, for some bizarre reason I found him attractive.

  Really, really attractive.

  I even liked his music. In fact, if he looked at my collection, he'd see not only his latest album, but a few of the old ones. Including his first.

  Not that I listened to music much anymore. The sound of the ocean was the perfect backdrop to- well, anything.

  But I didn't want him to see his disks in my collection. Ever. Even if they were gathering dust.

  Goddamn It.

  Well, I just had to get him out of here before he noticed that was all.

  "Fine. Here. Take the menu. Have a cranberry scone."

  I thrust the menu into his hand and handed him a pastry I’d been experimenting with.

  "Thanks."

  He looked utterly baffled as I hustled him toward the door.

  "So you'll come? Tomorrow?"

  "Uh huh. Sure. Whatever. No problem."

  He was grinning at me as I shoved him out the door. The poor man seemed a little slow witted to be honest. Maybe all that loud music and partying had ruined his brain.

  Or he just really liked me for some obscure reason.

  "Awesome! Come by around six. Or anytime really. Stop by whenever you want. If you run out of sugar, or you want to talk.”

  He grinned at me and it was like the sun came out. His teeth were perfect.

  “Looks like you might need some more."

  His finger brushed my cheek and he popped it into his mouth. My jaw dropped open. The sugar! This entire time I’d been coated in it.

  I wanted to sink into the ground and disappear.

  "See you later, neighbor. Oh, and thanks for the scone."

  He smirked at me and bit into it before walking away. I stood behind the screen door, watching him. He looked back over his shoulder and shouted through a mouthful of crumbs.

  "Delicious!"

  I shut the door rapidly and leaned against it.

  Had I just agreed to go to his stupid party? I could always bail on it, I reasoned. It was doubtful he would notice if I wasn’t there.

  He'd probably make it a habit of stopping by though. I groaned. I’d just have to be firm with him. Rude even.

  Lord knows I was good at that.

  At least he was gone now and I could hide the damn CD's!

  Chapter 6

  Slade

  Fucking A, that was tasty.

  I licked the last of the crumbs off my fingers. I’d much rather be licking my delicious, if cantankerous neighbor though.

  Head to toe.

  She'd been covered in sugar and almost certainly not wearing a bra. I’d been aroused from the moment I set foot in her house.

  Hell, I’d been aroused since the moment I met her.

  I glanced at the menu and smirked.

  Her company was called Jenny Cakes. How cute. I’d definitely like to do something with her cakes…

  Lots of filthy, dirty things.

  I had a feeling she had never met anyone quite as creative as me.

  The best part of it was that her phone number was on the menu. It was a cell obviously. So I could text her.

  I was going to break down her defenses one by one. Little miss Jenny Cakes had no clue what was coming for her. I could be very determined.

  It wasn’t by accident that I was one of the highest paid musicians in the world.

  I’d start with dazzling her with the food and fine wines at the party. I’d make sure the whole thing was low key. I would prove to her that I would be a good neighbor to her.

  Kind. Considerate. Attentive.

  And more.

  Much, much more.

  For a moment I paused to wonder if it was just her obvious disdain that was making me so determined. But I didn’t just want to get into my feisty neighbors jogging shorts. I wanted more.

  The girl was not star struck in the least. That didn't happen to me too often. It was like going back in time to when I’d just been another guy in South Boston.

  Actually, it never happened to me. This had not happened to me once, even before my first album dropped.

  Oddly enough, I liked it.

  But that wasn't the total reasoning for this absurd fascination. Obsession really.

  I could clearly remember the shot of pure lust that had surged through me. It was an instant reaction. It started in the first moment I saw her.

  That had been from a distance too. Up close she'd been far more devastating.

  All before I realized what an adorable pain in the ass she was.

  I laughed. Maybe that is what I liked the most about her. Jenny was real.

  I waved at the crew that was unpacking and cleaning the house and headed into the office. I fired up the computer- the one thing I’d set up by myself. Then I started googling.

  I wanted to know everything about Miss Delicious Cakes before I planned my attack.

  And it would be an attack. A gentle one. But still.

  I always played to win.

  Chapter 7

  Jenny

  Bzzzz bzzzz

  I groaned, trying to focus on the book in my lap and losing the battle. My phone buzzed for the third time. I knew who it was.

  Him.

  It was almost 7 pm. My new neighbor wanted to know when I was coming over.

  How about never?

  Still, the party did sound nice floating through the open kitchen window. People laughing, soft music playing. I could practically hear the champagne fizzing.

  Thankfully it was not the raging drug fest I’d been afraid of. It was tempting to just go over, let my hair down for once. But I held firm.

  Slade would never, ever leave me alone if I gave in now. Well, not until he moved on to the starlet du jour. Ugh, knowing you were going to get dumped before you even said yes to a first date was not cool.

  I didn’t like this feeling at all.

  I gave up on the book and went back to the task waiting for me on the table. I leaned over my laptop, trying to stare the numbers on my spreadsheet into submission.

  As a sole proprietor/independent contractor I was supposed to do my taxes on a quarterly basis. But I didn't have enough money for an accountant. So I’d gotten some fancy software program that I was still trying to figure out.

  Technology was not my friend. I liked paper books, not ereaders. Phones and computers baffled me.

  I didn’t even belong to Facebook.

  The bottom line was, I hadn't paid taxes for this year at all yet.

  Ugh.

  A soft rapping came from the front of the house. Basil sat up and started whining pitifully. I sighed.

  Someone was at the door.

  Obviously it was Slade. The man just would not take ‘no’ for an answer. Annoyance shot through me, intermingled with something else.

  Anticipation.

  I hated myself for feeling it, but it was there. I hated liars. I never lied. Not even to myself.

  Especially not to myself.

  I sighed and went to answer the door. Sure enough Slade was standing outside with two glasses of champagne. As usual, he was smiling at me.

  What the hell did he have to be so damn happy about?

  Oh right. Being rich, famous, gorgeous and talented as hell was probably a lot more fun than being an awkward, chubby girl who liked to spend more time with flour and baking soda than other human beings.

  "Hi Slade."

  He gave me a charming look and made a scolding sound.

  "Tsk tsk tsk. You promised."

  "Sorry, I forgot. Paperwork. Really busy."

  I brazenly tried to shut the door in his face. But he was too fast. It was almost like he knew what I was going to do before I did it.

  He reached down and o
pened the screen door, inviting himself inside.

  Ugh, just come on in. Exactly like a vampire would. Once you let them in, you can never get rid of them.

  He glanced over at the stack of papers and receipts on my small dining room table. Which doubled as a desk. And tripled as a pie cooling rack. Or a place to roll out dough.

  Every now and then I actually ate a meal there too.

  "Come on doll, it's Saturday night. Have a glass of champagne. Loosen up."

  If only he knew how much I hated people calling me pet names. Or telling me to loosen up. Or relax.

  I didn’t want to relax, dammit. I wanted to be tense. On my guard.

  Relaxing was dangerous.

  Sexy as hell men were dangerous.

  Slade was extra, extra dangerous.

  The last time I’d actually taken that advice, I’d gone down a pipeline that was impossible to resist. It had taken me years to clean up my life after the last lothario I’d let in. Jake had destroyed my peace of mind.

  He'd nearly destroyed my life.

  It was sure as shit not going to happen again.

  Well, maybe just for one night… I could just go and come back. See how the other half lived. It’s not like I had to sleep with him for real, was it?

  I took the champagne and downed it, handing the glass back to him.

  "Happy?"

  He was staring at me as if he were star struck. Honestly, the man looked like he wanted to eat me alive. Or lick me anyway.

  I wondered what he tasted like.

  A funny feeling started to pool in my stomach.

  Maybe I kind of wanted him to. Lick me, that is. I had a few ideas about where he could start…

  Ugh, no STOP IT JENNY.

  He smirked and handed me the other glass. I rolled my eyes and took it, taking a lady like sip. He laughed.

  "Come on."

  "What?"

  He grabbed my hand.

  "I'm taking you with me."

  "But I'm not dressed!"

  He didn't let go of my hand as he turned and looked me over. Thoroughly. Very thoroughly.

  He seemed particularly intrigued by my feet.

  I was barefoot in jeans and another old rock t-shirt. No bra. My hair was down and I wasn't wearing a stick of makeup.