He dropped his hands to her waist and began to tug on her T-shirt. She reluctantly drew back so he could pull off the shirt. Her bra followed and then his hands were on her breasts.

He cupped her curves before bending over and sucking on her left nipple. She arched against him, wanting him to take her in deeper. She touched his hair, his bare shoulders. As his teeth lightly rubbed against her sensitive nipple, his hands reached for her jeans.

She fumbled in her attempts to help him undress her. Jeans and panties were pushed to the ground, then his mouth was on her other breast and she was having a little trouble keeping her breathing steady.

He broke away and turned off the faucets, then dimmed the lights. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s see how big a mess we can make.”

She laughed and reached for a clip. After securing her hair on top of her head, she stepped into the hot water. He got in, as well, then sat down in the tub and held out his arms. She got in, her back to his front. His erection poked her in the small of her back. She tried to turn, but he wouldn’t let her.

“We’re going to play first,” he told her. “You’ll like it.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re right,” she said, relaxing against him. The water was exactly the right temperature and the sensual fragrance surrounded them.

Jack wrapped both arms around her. He rested one hand across her br**sts and the other on her belly. At the same time he began to lick and kiss the back of her neck.

Shivers rippled through her. Her ni**les tightened and he squeezed first one, then the other. She waited for the other hand to move lower. Instead, he raised his arm and flipped a switch. Seconds later the motor started and the tub jets began to spray hot water.

She laughed. “Seriously? You’re turning on the Jacuzzi?”

“Trust me,” he said and slipped his hand between her thighs.

He found her core right away. She was already swollen. When he rubbed her, she let her legs fall open and relaxed into the pleasure.

He’d already learned how she liked it. The speed, the pressure. He used that knowledge now to take her from interested to aroused in only a couple of minutes—aided by his magical stroking of her breasts. But just when she thought he was going to turn her toward him and make things really fun, he instead shifted her closer to one of the jets.

She started to sit up. “Wait,” she said. “You can’t expect me to do that.”

“Why not? It’ll be fun.”

She looked at him, at the face of the man she loved, then nodded tentatively. “I don’t think it’s going to work.”

“It’s going to work great.”

He helped her slide forward, moving with her so she could lean against him and stay above water. She planted her feet on the edge of the tub and bent her legs so the jet blew directly on her swollen center. At the same time Jack put both his hands on her br**sts and rubbed them.

The bubbling water felt good, she thought, shifting to find the right position, but not as good as him. She liked the feel of his hands on her breasts, she thought, pulsing her h*ps slightly. When he rubbed and squeezed, she began to breathe more quickly. She could feel herself getting close, but realized it wasn’t going to happen.

“It’s too weird,” she told him as she turned toward him.

“No problem.”

He lifted her onto the flat side of the tub. He knelt between her thighs and pressed his mouth directly against her aroused center.

Apparently the jets had done more than she’d thought because the second time he ran his tongue over her clitoris, she began to come.

The orgasm was unexpected and she gasped out her pleasure. Jack immediately plunged two fingers inside of her, which made her tremble. She had to hang on to him to keep from slipping back into the tub. She drew her legs apart wider and pressed into him as her release rippled through her over and over.

When she was finished, she opened her eyes and saw him smiling at her.

“So, about the jets,” he began.

She laughed. “Maybe they’re not so weird.”

She slipped back into the water. He pulled her close and gently touched her between her legs. She shuddered at the feel of him.

“Your turn,” she whispered and patted the edge of the tub.

He sat where she had. He was already hard and when she bent to take him in her mouth, he groaned.

She shifted to brace herself on the tub, anchoring her knees and her feet, then drew him into her mouth again. At that moment, Jack shifted her so that one of the jets was pointed directly at the apex of her thighs. The bubbling water caressed her exactly where she was most swollen.

“This way it’s good for both of us,” Jack told her.

And it was.

* * *

THE LAST THING Jack was looking for was another meeting, but here he was, back at Cal U Fool’s Gold for another go-round with Tad, the athletic director, on the subject of the university starting a football program. Normally he would have been looking for an excuse to cancel. He could claim a last-minute meeting with a client. But he didn’t—for two reasons. First, he was kind of excited about the thought of watching a team being built from the ground up. Second, these days he was nice and mellow most of the time. He knew the cause and was looking forward to having his way with her later that night.

He walked into the conference room three minutes before the start of the meeting and nodded at everyone. University president Newham was there, across from Tad. There was also a guy Jack didn’t recognize. He was tall enough and built, but if Jack had to guess, he would say the other man worked hard for a living. His muscles were more from labor than sports.

The man in question nodded at him, then reached across the table to shake hands.

“Zane Nicholson.”

“Jack McGarry.”

Zane sat down. “So you’re the football player. I’ve been hearing about you.”

“I can’t say the same. You’re alumni?”

Zane’s expression tightened. “No. I went to Texas A&M.”

“You play ball?”

“No. I worked to put myself through school.”

Jack had, too. His job had been on the field. But he knew what the other man meant. A lot of people assumed that an athletic scholarship was a free ride to education. What they didn’t understand was that there were pitfalls along the way. An injury could knock an athlete out of the program in an instant. Bad performance was nearly as quick. There was also training time, practices, appearances, the games themselves. All of which kept the student athlete from his or her classes.

Worse, the star athletes often passed classes they rarely attended, which meant at the end of four or five years of college, the student had a degree but little actual education. And the odds of going pro were incredibly small.

Jack had insisted on getting his grades the old-fashioned way. Which meant his GPA wasn’t impressive, but he had graduated on his own terms. He’d had plenty of friends who had injured themselves in their junior or senior year and then had lost the scholarship along with any chance at staying in college.

But there was no point in explaining that to anyone. No one had a whole lot of sympathy.

“The Aggies have a good team this year,” Jack said, then grinned. “You know, for Texans.”

Zane smiled. “Don’t expect me to defend the state. I was a California boy in the middle of all that. I took my share of ribbing. But it was where I wanted to study.”

“Mr. Nicholson has a large ranch north of town,” President Newham said. “He’s here at the request of the mayor. He’s our second citizen liaison.”

A muscle in Zane’s jaw tightened. “Something I will be taking up with the mayor.”

Jack relaxed back in his chair. “She has a way of getting people to do things they don’t want to do.”

“Tell me about it,” Zane growled. “First the town annexed my land, now this.”

“What do you mean ‘annexed’? They took it from you?”

“No. Most of my ranch is on unincorporated land. They moved the boundaries of the city to include the house and barn area.” He scowled. “Mayor Marsha swears they’ll be bringing in city water and sewer in the next few years.”

“You’d rather not have the city at all,” Jack said, guessing the other man preferred to do things his way.

“The ranch has been there over a hundred years without Fool’s Gold getting involved. We can survive another hundred just as well.”

Two more people joined them. President Newham glanced at the paperwork in front of her. “I believe that’s everyone. Thank you all for coming today. At our last meeting we had a spirited discussion on whether or not to begin a football program at the university. It’s a complex and expensive decision to make. As Jack reminded us, there is a long-term financial implication to consider. Tad felt our programs were complete as they were and nothing else was required. I’ve met privately with Zane to bring him up to speed. Today I’d like to see if we can get consensus from this committee so I can report back to the regents and we can come up with a final decision.”

“Why don’t we call a vote now?” Jack asked conversationally. “To see where we stand. After all, no one’s going to change Tad’s mind.”

The athletic director glared at him. “We also know where you stand, Jack.”

Jack nodded. “Using the ‘you are, too’ argument, Tad?”

President Newham sighed heavily. “Gentlemen, if we could stay on the subject at hand, please. A vote isn’t a bad idea. This will be nonbinding, of course, until after the discussion. All those in favor of moving forward with starting a football team, raise your hands.”

Jack was gratified to see that everyone except Tad voted with him. Even the Aggie.

“You surprise me,” he told Zane.

“I have a kid brother in high school. If I can get him to go to Cal U Fool’s Gold instead of MIT, my life will be a lot easier. A football team would help.”

Done in by self-interest, Jack thought humorously. Still, it was good when a plan came together.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“YOU WERE GONE,” Larissa told Sam the following Friday. “You were gone for two days and no one knew where you were.”

She didn’t mean the statement to come out like an accusation, but she didn’t like it when the guys traveled. Score felt empty without the whole team there.

“You have my cell number,” Sam told her. “You could have called if there was a problem.”

“I know. But still.” She looked at him and waited. “Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Where were you?”

“I’m not going to tell.”

“Were you with Dellina?”

“None of your business.”

She sighed. “Your need for privacy is annoying. You were gone two days. You could have been anywhere.”

“Good to know. How about you, Jack and Percy join me for dinner tonight at Jo’s Bar and I’ll answer all your questions.”

“Really?”

Sam being Sam paused for a second. “Almost all of them.”

“Good enough for me. We’ll see you tonight.”

His dark gaze settled on her face. “No chiweenies.”

“Oh, Sam, I wouldn’t bring a dog into a restaurant.”

“No chiweenies.”

“I heard you the first time. Besides, one of the five at Jack’s has already been adopted. Only four more to go.”

She was smiling as she spoke, but Sam didn’t look happy or relieved.

“What?” she asked.

He lightly touched her shoulder. “Have you ever wondered why you keep doing this?” he asked.

“Rescuing animals? I care about their welfare.”

He didn’t look convinced.

“You don’t agree?”

“I don’t disagree. I find it curious. You respond in the moment instead of having a place to put your energy on a regular basis.”

“You mean like joining a local organization?”

“Wouldn’t you find that more satisfying? Being able to see a project through?”

“Maybe.” She always enjoyed working with the transplant families and a lot of that was because she got to stay close with them for a while. Often they became friends.

“I want you to be happy,” he told her, his voice gentle.

She hugged him. “Thanks, Sam.”

“You’re welcome.” He kissed her forehead. “No chiweenies.”

She laughed.

* * *

LARISSA, JACK AND Percy got to Jo’s right on time. There was a sign on the door that read Closed for a Private Event.

“Does that mean we can go in?” Larissa asked. “Did Sam know about this?”

“Sam knows,” Jack told her.

She looked at him. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“That you look especially beautiful tonight.”

“Hey,” Percy said as he walked in with them. “It’s still early in the evening. Don’t gross me out with your old-people lovey-dovey talk.”

Larissa laughed. “Hey, we’re not that old.”

The teen’s grin was unrepentant. “You are to me. I’m a man in my prime.”

The bar was filled with forty or fifty people all standing around and talking. Servers circulated with appetizers. Jo and a couple of other bartenders manned the bar.

One of the servers approached and offered them crab puffs. “Dinner will be served upstairs in about an hour,” she said as she held the tray steady.