Double Play Read Online Free Page A

up.”
     “I’d
have liked to keep those pictures myself,” he said with a curl of his lips. “Warm
me up on a cold night.”
    Halee
blushed.
    J.D.
fastened his seat belt. “Can I show you something first?”        
    Halee
hesitated. “Okay.”
    J.D.
pulled the Porsche out on Michigan Avenue and headed for the lakefront. The
moon hung full overhead, reflecting over the black water of Lake Michigan in
ripples of gold. Halee closed her eyes and drank in the luscious aroma of
leather and man. The fresh air cleared her head of tequila residue, allowing
her to piece the events of the night together. She hadn’t expected to see J.D.,
but she was glad she had. Seeing him provided needed closure to many months of
self-pity and confusion. They had been so good together, the epitome of passion
and desire. She’d spent a full year wondering what she’d done to drive him
away. His kiss had purged all the self-doubt from her brain. They were still,
without reservation, the perfect match.
    J.D.
steered onto a poorly lit road leading to the pier and slowed at the security
entrance.
    “Mr.
Shaw.”  The guard acknowledged him with a nod and a smile. He glanced at Halee
and winked. “I heard the good news.”
    “I
got tickets waiting for you in New York, Kenny. You better come see me.”
    “Now
you know I never leave Chicago, Mr. Shaw.”
    “There’s
a first time for everything, my man. Sam at home?”
    “On
tour. Left you a key.”
    “No
reporters, okay?” J.D. passed a folded fifty dollar bill into Kenny’s palm.
    “You
got it.”
    They
followed the narrow road between docks to the end of the pier. J.D. backed the
Porsche under a dark overhang and cut the engine. “Come on,” he said sliding
out and coming around the passenger side. He took Halee’s hand and led her
toward the far slip where a small sailboat named Lucky Sam drifted over the
water. “You’re not going to believe the stars out here,” he said, leading her up
the stairs to the deck.
    She
dropped her head back to stare at the pitch black sky dotted with millions of
bright pins of white light and gasped, losing her footing in her jade high
heels. J.D. caught her at the waist and chuckled. “Here,” he said, reaching
down and slipping her shoes off one by one. She leaned against his powerful
frame, his face pressed against her thighs, stirring her blood once again. He
looked up and met her glazed expression.
    This
was the moment Halee should have turned back. They’d had their kiss. The wrongs
had been righted. She could walk away with her head held high, knowing that he wanted
her. Maybe it was the stars, or the intimate way he slid the shoes from her
feet as though she were Cinderella at the ball, but all her senses were intoxicated,
floating any remnants of reason past the logic of her left brain and steering
her course straight into J.D.’s bed. Soft music filtered over the water from a
distant slip. J.D. took her into his arms and moved her slowly across the deck.
She leaned into his warm chest, breathed in the comforting aroma of soap and
leather and man, and closed her eyes, moving to the rhythm of the piano keys.
    “If
this were a book,” she whispered, “I would call it Introduction to Heaven .”
    “Hard
work has its rewards.”
    “Do
you come here often?”
    “As
often as Sam lets me.” J.D. kissed her softly. “Come with me.”
    He
led her down several steps and flipped a switch, lighting up a small galley and
a deep bunk piled high with textured pillows and snowy white down comforters. Oil
paintings of dramatic landscapes and portraits awash with color covered every
wall. Under their feet, thick Persian carpets caressed Halee’s bare toes.
    “Sam’s
got great taste,” said Halee.
    “Sam’s
an artist,” said J.D. “Sings, dances, paints, sculpts, the works.” He slid
behind a corner bar. “Sam has tequila,” he said with a wag of his brows.
    “Why
not? It is a special evening, after