Ely could have cared less about the storm, watching her every second of the drive, reviewing everything he was going to do right this time. He hadn’t planned on a second chance, but now that he had one, he wasn’t going to blow it.
“SO HOW DID YOU get to be such good friends with Kate anyway?” Jonas asked as they ran into the train station, finally under cover, soaked through yet again.
“She came into the shop when it first opened, and I made some special items for her. She was always very lively and friendly, and she invited me and Lydia to lunch a few times,” Tessa explained, getting their tickets and leading him to the platform.
“Then her husband died, and I knew that they didn’t have children, or other family close by. Her diabetes was affecting her sight, and just this year she was declared legally blind.”
Tessa peeked up to see Jonas’s expression, which remained stoic as he listened.
“So, I started helping out, visiting her more, and it just became part of my life. I never knew my grandparents, at least not on my mother’s side, and my father’s parents, well, let’s just say they preferred my brother,” she said, laughing shortly.
“So Kate was like a foster grandparent for you?”
“Something like that, I guess, though I really consider her a friend. I like spending time with her, listening to her stories about her and her husband, and she plays a mean hand of canasta.”
Jonas laughed, and she pulled back to look at him in surprise as they boarded their train.
“What?”
“Somehow I have a hard time picturing you sitting with a bunch of octogenarians playing cards on a Friday night.”
“Well, it was usually Sunday afternoon, and I rarely won. Those ladies take no prisoners.”
As they made their way through the passel of people vying for spots, she heard him chuckling.
She tucked herself inside the corner of the car at the end and held on to the railing. Jonas was so handsome when he laughed, she thought. He was handsome anyway, but when he smiled, he became wickedly so.
Tessa wondered if he was ticklish, eyeing the way the muscles in his side stretched and gathered as he reached to hold on to the rail, as well.
“It’s nice to have lights for a few minutes,” she commented about the train, changing the subject, and then realized he couldn’t know if the lights were on one way or the other. “I mean, shoot, I’m sorry, Jonas, that was thoughtless—”
“It’s not a big deal, Tessa. You can talk about the lights being on, the sun in the sky, the things you see…it doesn’t bother me. I’m not that fragile.”
She pursed her lips. “Well, maybe not, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to rub it in. I can’t imagine what it would be like not to see.”
“It’s…not fun,” he agreed. “But it’s also temporary.”
“What do your doctors say? Did they tell you when?”
She had such a hard time thinking about Jonas being disabled in any way. Standing here with her now, he still looked undefeatable to her. She felt safe with him, regardless.
“Any time…things appear to be healing, but I just have to be patient,” he said in a tone that told her that patient wasn’t his strong suit.
Jonas was a man who took control, who called the shots. She knew this had to be maddening for him.
“I hope it’s soon for you,” she said, leaning in closer to plant a soft kiss on his cheek.
He frowned, and she wondered why. Did he regret what happened back at the apartment? Was he thinking she was still just messing with him?
“I hope the drugstore stays open,” she said, needing to refocus. “I should make sure they know I’m coming. Kate has to have her injections or we will be calling emergency.”
He nodded grimly while she pulled out her phone to call the pharmacy.
“They are open for a few more hours, so that’s good,” she said in relief.
“We’ll get there, and it will be okay,” he reassured her.
“Thanks. And thanks for coming with me. I know none of this was part of your night.”
“True. If I weren’t here with you, I’d either be limping around the office with a bandage still stuck to my pants, or home sitting in the dark, not that I would even know it,” he joked, and she was so surprised she burst out laughing. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
“Why, Jonas, I’ve never known you to tell a joke,” she said.
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Tessa.” He winked, and she thought her knees might have trembled slightly. Was Jonas flirting with her?
The thought made her heart race. There was a lot she didn’t know about Jonas, but she looked up into his face as he peered, unseeing, around the crowded train car.
She looked forward to having the chance to find out.
5
9:00 p.m.
JONAS WAS SURPRISED that the trains were packed. While some of the peripheral routes were closed down, the main lines were running. He supposed it made sense. The worst of the storm had hit around rush hour, and with the roads such a mess, the trains were many people’s only option to get home.
He could feel the heat and proximity of all the bodies crowded around where he and Tessa were tucked into a corner of the packed subway car. They were soaked from their dash to the closest station, a few blocks away from the shop, even having used umbrellas. It didn’t matter. Though he tried to make casual conversation, all he could think about was how close she was, and what had happened back at the apartment.
He shouldn’t have given in, but when it came to Tessa, he seemed to have a difficult time saying no. This time, hopefully, their indiscretions would stay between them. Senator Rose had said there was no direct threat, that he just needed someone to stick close to Tessa for a few days.
Rose had also been fully aware that Tessa liked to yank his chain, and was clear on the fact that she’d used Jonas to do it. Luckily, it appeared he wasn’t holding Jonas completely responsible for the last time, but Jonas reminded himself not to be so reckless this time, even though he was on fire for her.
She was also confusing the hell out of him. He had her tagged one way, self-indulgent, self-interested. He didn’t trust her motivations, and he still didn’t—not completely. But that didn’t fit the profile of someone who had traveled across town in the rain to help him, and now was doing the same for an elderly friend. Was she just playing a role, being someone she thought would appeal to him?
The air in the train car was humid and moist, though the riders were good-natured and fairly loud, everyone sharing a storm story or visiting with the person they were crunched up against.
He was pressed up against Tessa from stem to stern, and acutely aware of every inch of her. They stood inside a corner area, where she was against the outside of the train. He used his body to shield her.
He was hard again from the close contact, and grateful that it was so crowded, so no one would notice. It had been difficult enough dreaming and thinking about her for weeks, but being this close—especially after being naked with her less than an hour ago—was undermining his promise to the senator.
Tessa’s breath caressed his cheek. She’d edged in closer to him. He lifted a hand, finding her face and rubbing his thumb over her cheek, her skin dewy from the rain and humid air. The touch was to “see” her, to measure her expression, her level of tension, as much as it was to just have an excuse to touch her.
“You okay?”
“Yes, just a little anxious,” she whispered against his ear. “And far too turned on, considering our current location,” she added, shifting her hips against him so that she nestled his hardness in the soft crux of her thighs. He bit back a groan, not that it would have been heard in the busy din of the car.
He leaned in, telling himself he was just playing a part.
She had played him before, right? So turnaround was fair play, as long as he could walk away from the job at the end. Nuzzling her, he found the soft shell of her ear
with his lips, and whispered, “Tease.”
“Not a tease,” she responded, turning her lips to his. “I’ll make good later, I promise.”
He swallowed hard, thinking that if he inadvertently rocked a few more times against her as the train took corners and bumps, he wasn’t going to last until later. He was so ready to come he had to do mental exercises to avoid it.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked. “You look so focused.”
“Baseball stats,” he said flatly.
She paused, then laughed against his cheek.
“You mean, like getting to third base, or sliding into home?” she asked suggestively.
He felt the vibration of her chest against his as she chuckled, and he had to smile, too. It felt good—better than good—to be so turned on, to be laughing.
To be with Tessa.
“Yeah, something like that.”
He was actually enjoying himself. In spite of his wet clothes and achingly hard cock, he felt more alive than he had in weeks. Suddenly, Tessa froze, and a collective gasp and sounds of unhappy surprise filled the car as it ground to a standstill, breaks screeching as everyone in the car lurched with the momentum of the train.
“What? What happened?” he asked.
“Power’s out. It’s pitch-black in here except for a few emergency lights,” she said as people started grumbling and shouting around them.
A baby cried from the far end of the car, and the mood changed markedly as tension rose. A tremble worked its way through Tessa’s body. He slipped his arms around her, holding her tighter against him.
“Stay next to me. It will be okay,” he said against her hair.
“I can’t see anything,” she said in a hushed whisper, pressing even more tightly against him.
This wasn’t good. Even friendly, good-natured people could be dangerous in a crowded, panicked situation. He noticed that a guy behind him was breathing too hard, starting to push against everyone around him.
“I have to let go of you for a minute, okay? Hug the wall, right behind you,” he said to Tessa, turning to face the man while still protecting Tessa.
Reaching out, he found the man’s arm and grabbed it before the flailing man hurt someone. The guy was shaking, starting to mutter in panic.
Jonas kept his voice casual. “Hey, buddy, you okay? Let’s try to calm down.”
The man pushed at him, but Jonas held firm.
“Let go of me! Who are you? Don’t touch me! I have to get outta here, let me outta here,” the guy started to shout, pushing at everyone near him. Jonas heard a woman gasp in pain, the man’s other fist making contact, Jonas assumed.
People started shouting, and Jonas knew he had to do something before a potentially deadly scenario was set into motion. Sliding his arm up to the man’s neck, he looped it around and felt for the slamming pulse at the side of the guy’s throat. Tightening his grip as he slid his arm around front and pulled his forearm back, Jonas trapped the man in an armlock, trying to hold him still as he struggled to get free.
“Jonas? Jonas, what are you doing?” He heard Tessa’s breathless question.
“Stay put, Tessa,” he said loudly, fighting the man’s huge bulk as he applied pressure.
“Sorry, man, but you need to chill for a few minutes until they get us out of here,” he said, and increased the pressure until the man stopped shouting, the heavy weight of his form going slack.
Everything around them was eerily quiet.
“Someone help get this guy into a seat,” Jonas ordered, propping the man up the best he could, the slack weight almost pulling him down. “He passed out.”
“Yeah, with a little help, I bet,” another guy said approvingly, and Jonas felt the weight lifted as others took him off Jonas’s hands.
“Good job,” someone shouted, and Jonas felt a pat on his shoulder.
“Thank you so much,” someone else whispered in relief.
Slowly, conversation resumed and the tension resolved.
He turned back to Tessa, finding her hand with his and touching her face again to make sure she was okay. He found that she was smiling slightly, and he ran a finger over her lower lip.
“That was pretty cool,” she said.
The driver’s voice over the intercom told them they would be stopped for about twenty minutes, and to please stay calm as people were working on getting them on their way again.
“He was a big guy—couldn’t have him freaking out in here. People could get hurt.”
“I know. And no one else here could have done what you did,” she said, pressing a kiss into his neck. “Way to think on your feet, Berringer.”
Jonas’s heart beat hard in his chest, aware of her again, the two of them pressed tight.
“How dark is it in here, anyway?”
“Almost pitch-black, except for a few safety lights around the edges. I can barely see you, as close as we are,” she said.
Jonas realized that this was the first time since he’d lost his sight that he didn’t feel alone. Maybe because everyone around him was also blind, in a way, or maybe because he was here with Tessa.
“I hope they get us out of here soon. I don’t think people will stand being crammed in together for long.” She sounded nervous.
“I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“I know,” she said softly.
He drew her to him, pressing his arousal close to her again.
“That certainly takes my mind off things,” she said with a husky laugh.
“That was the idea.” He heard the anxiety in her tone dissolve into a gasp as his hand covered her breast, her nipple beading under his palm.
Leaning in, he found and nuzzled the throbbing pulse at the base of her neck, loving how it sped up every time he tweaked or rolled the sensitive nub between his fingers.
Her hand was pressed against the front of his pants, rubbing along the length of him. He shuddered at the touch, pressing in, biting the lobe of her ear a little more sharply before covering her lips in a hot kiss.
“Good thing no one can see,” he whispered.
“Yeah,” she agreed.
He maneuvered them more tightly into the corner, the people behind him caught up in their own conversations. Some guys had started singing, and others were laughing. More than enough noise to cover their own activities.
All he was aware of was Tessa’s scent, the honey-sweet taste of her kiss, and her nimble, satiny fingers as they slid his zipper down and then wrapped around his shaft.
“Tessa, I don’t think—”
“Yes, don’t think. Thinking is way overrated,” she murmured against his lips as she slid her tongue against his in a thrusting rhythm that matched the way she was stroking him.
Jonas was normally a highly private person, and he couldn’t believe he was letting her do this in a crowded subway car, but he was also too far gone to care. Too needy, too close to the edge.
If the lights came on, if anyone noticed, he thought, trying to find some way to stay in control. But that offered another surprise—the idea of being discovered increased the urgency and turned him on even more.
Her hands and lips were so soft, her grip just right, and his mind spun with the need to let go even as he still tried to resist. Creature of habit. As much as he wanted her, wanted this, he didn’t want to give in.
“Let go, Jonas,” Tessa whispered in his ear, her other hand sliding up inside his shirt and playing with a nipple, making him shudder and rock slightly into her hand.
“Yeah, like that,” she encouraged.
When she slipped her hand down to caress his sac as she continued to stroke, Jonas sucked in a sharp breath, coming hard and fast with an intensity that made him bite down to keep from shouting her name out loud.
Pressing her back against the wall, the release shook him from head to toe, and he all but collapsed against her as she withdrew her hand. He caught his breath as he sensed her fumbling in her purse for something as he zipped u
p.
It wasn’t the way he wanted to come with her, but it had been pretty fantastic, he thought, trying to get his composure back.
They righted themselves in the nick of time, as luck would have it; seconds later a cheer went up as the train rolled forward.
“The lights are on?” he asked, his voice still rough.
“Yeah,” she said softly. “Thanks for distracting me.”
He smiled. “I think I should be thanking you.”
Her kiss at the corner of his lips had the heat building again, and he knew he would do what he had to to keep Tessa safe. Whatever game she was playing, he was more than willing to join in. James Rose had put him in this situation, and Jonas didn’t care if the senator spontaneously combusted from finding out what he and Tessa were doing. It would be worth it.
Let her have her fill, and tell anyone she wanted. He’d deal with that later. Jonas wanted nothing more than to get her home, where he planned to drive them both to distraction for the rest of the night.
TESSA’S HANDS WERE shaking, along with her knees and probably everything in between as the others exited the subway car. Anxiety wasn’t the cause; she was still so aroused from sharing close quarters with Jonas, feeling his heat, his passion—his need—that she hadn’t been able to think of anything else but him.
The way he’d leaned into her, giving himself over to her when she’d touched him in the car had been sexier than anything she’d experienced, ever. He was surprising her time and time again. And confusing her.
He didn’t trust her, but he did want her. He was angry with her, but protective of her. Would the real Jonas Berringer please stand up?
She was so glad that she had him with her in the dark confines of the car—especially when things had gotten tense with the blackout. The way he had taken control of the situation and kept her, and everyone, safe, had triggered a well of emotion that touched her deeply. He was an extraordinary man, though she knew he didn’t think of himself that way.
She suspected a large part of his annoyance with her was because he liked her father. She could see it when he’d mentioned the senator, and how much her father had helped their personal security business. She also knew her father wasn’t pleased about how things had ended, but Tessa hadn’t been seducing Jonas to tick off her father.
Mine Until Morning Page 7