Night Heat (Forged of Steele 2)

She swiped at the tears that suddenly appeared in her eyes and swore. “Damn, but I’m going to miss him.”

Bas was across the room in a flash and gently pulled Jocelyn into his arms. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. And it’s all right to miss him. He was a good man and from what I can tell you were a good daughter. He had to have been proud of this place that you provided here for him, his own entertainment spot. That was pretty nice of you considering I bet Jim and his buddies could get rather loud at times,” he said flicking her a teasing smile.

She chuckled. “If only you knew. I would be upstairs in bed reading with my ear plugs in. Still, it felt good knowing he was having a good time. They will be memories I will cherish forever, Bas.”

“And you should. My parents retired a few years ago to move to Florida and left me and my brothers in charge. My first thought was good riddance, we wouldn’t have to put up with Dad constantly checking our decisions or Mom forcing us to Sunday dinner. But they hadn’t been gone two weeks and we were all missing them like crazy. We even thought about calling and telling them to move back. But then we decided it would have been selfish on our part. It was their time to enjoy life.”

He squeezed her hand in assurance. “And from what I can see, you did that, Jocelyn. You gave Jim a chance to enjoy life.”

“Everyone should,” she said, moving around him to cross the room when she began feeling hot and tingly again. She stopped when she came to one of the pinball machines and turned around.

Her breath caught in her throat. He was looking at her the same way he’d been looking at her right before he had kissed her last night…and that wasn’t good. She tried getting her bearings and said, “So, are you ready to play a game?”

He leaned against the bar and she watched his eyes darken. “And just what sort of game do you have in mind?”

Evidently not the one you’re thinking about, she wanted to say. She might not have a lot of experience with men but she definitely could recognize one with heat in his eyes. “How about a game of pinball?”

He chuckled. “Pinball?”

“Yes. Don’t you know how to play?”

“Sure, I do.”

“Okay then, but I understand if you think you’re not up to holding your own against me and—”

“Not up to holding my own?”

“Yes.”

Still smiling, Bas crossed the room to where she stood. He’d planned to spend most of the evening at Mason Construction, going through some more files and working way past midnight again. But he refused to let Jocelyn think she could best him at a pinball machine. And this particular baby just happened to be a Stern Nascar. “Ms. Mason, you’re about to meet the king of pinball.”

She looked at him and grinned. “You think so?”

“I know so.”

Jocelyn figured now was not the time to let him know that last year she had won the local pinball competition. She began rolling up her sleeve and grinned at him. “Okay, Steele, you’re on.”

Chapter 6

“Are you always into keeping secrets, Jocelyn?” Bas asked frowning, after they had finished their last game and were walking back up the steps from the basement. “You should have told me upfront that you were a pinball champion.”

Jocelyn chuckled. “Why? And take all the fun out of winning?”

When they reached the landing he said, “Hey, champion or no champion, you only won because I wasn’t playing my best since I didn’t think I had to. I assumed this was an easy win.”

She crossed her arms beneath her breasts and stared at him. “What were you saying earlier about assuming anything?”

Bas hooked a thumb into his jeans. “That was different.”

She smiled. “Of course you would say that.” She then checked her watch. “Give me a second to grab some clothes and I’ll be ready to go back to town,” she said turning toward her bedroom.

“Take your time. I need privacy to lick my wounds anyway.”

She paused in the archway between the hall and her bedroom. “Too bad you’re a sore loser.”

“I’m not.”