by Inez Kelley
“So what do we have to do for this shindig of yours?”
“Nothing. Everything I needed to do, I did last night.” He looked sheepishly at her. “The housekeeper was here yesterday, so there wasn’t much and I had a lot of energy to burn off when I came home.”
Frannie blushed and avoided his eyes. Energy was one way to put it. Flaming hormones from hell was another.
Beneath half-lowered lids, she watched him and secretly smiled. Phase one of Operation Bedding Jinx had been initiated. By telling him she needed to cool things down, she had sent his mind reeling. She could almost taste his disappointment. But it opened the door for all those innocent accidental flirtations she had planned for later. He would never see it coming.
{
“You’re crazy.”
“What? It’s cereal.”
“Jinx, these are my groceries. I don’t like Cap’n Crunch.” Jaw in a stubborn thrust, Frannie grabbed the cereal box and handed it to him.
He put it back in the cart with a small roll of his eyes. “Chill out, dollface. I’m at your place more than my own. I’m just getting a few of life’s most basic needs.”
“Cap’n Crunch is a basic need in life?”
“Of course.”
“You are certifiable.”
“No, absolutely not.”
“Now what?”
“Look, Jinx. I okayed the cereal. I allowed the protein drink and ice cream and two different kinds of chips. But no one, and I mean no one, brings sardines into my house.” She snatched the hateful item from the cart and slapped it against his chest. “They stink.”
“Frannie, shhhh, people are staring.”
Her eyes widened at his embarrassment. He nodded to several people who hurried by them in the aisle. “This from the man who carried me ass first into a restaurant? Now you are worried about people looking at us?”
“Just hush, okay. One tin. I only want one tiny little tin of sardines.” Jinx smiled at a blue-haired woman who stared at them with a sucking prunes expression.
Frannie smirked. Finally there was one woman on the planet who didn’t turn to Jell-O at his charm. She should have waited to count those chickens.
He leaned toward the dour woman and confided. “You’ll have to forgive her. She’s a bit emotional. Pregnancy hormones.”
With a sharp loud gasp, Frannie stared at him in shock. Oh no, he hadn’t.
The older woman smiled at her with a softened expression on her formerly sour face. Tiny lines crinkled at the corners of Jinx’s dancing eyes as the harsh fluorescent lights shimmered in their black depths.
Oh yes, he had.
Her teeth clamped together, she grabbed his arm and dragged him away before he could ask the old biddy for breastfeeding advice. She pulled him around the corner to stand beside the toothpaste.
“Are you crazy? Why did you tell her I was pregnant?”
“It sounded nicer than the truth, okay?”
“What, that you have round-trip tickets on the Bi-Polar Express?”
“No, that you have a stick so far up your ass I should call you lollipop. Lighten up, dollface.” He dropped a light kiss on her lips and grinned to take the sting from his words.
With white knuckles, Frannie whipped the cart in the other direction and took off at fast clip. Jinx jogged up behind her.
“Where are you going?”
“Produce.” Her voice was low and forced past clenched teeth. “I need to wrap my hands around something and squeeze. Hard.”
Frannie looked at her list. Only one item remained and there was no way in hell she was going to buy tampons with Jinx by her side. She would just have to stop after work one day this week and pick up a box.
Her cart was nearly overflowing, something that never happened when she shopped for herself. Jinx had added this and that, mostly junk food. No wonder he’d had to hit the gym this morning. Any man who consumed as much sugar as he did would weigh four hundred pounds if he didn’t. But Jinx was solid, well-muscled and so damn yummy. The memory of his oaken arms around her made her stomach quiver and dip. She needed to step up her plan and then get rid of him for a few hours. She wanted to prepare for this night as she had for no other since her ill-fated wedding night.
Jinx packed the bags into her trunk and then followed behind her small car. Her eyes narrowed, seeing him drive and talk on his cell. He flipped the phone closed and she gave into impulse. She dug into her purse for her phone and dialed his number.
“Sullivan.” His deep voice stole her breath for a split second. It was buttered rum—warm, sexy and silky smooth.
“Talking to your girlfriend, were you?”
His white teeth gleamed through the windshield. “I am now. You shouldn’t talk and drive. It isn’t safe.”
“You did it.”
“I’m crazy, remember?”
Frannie couldn’t stop the snort that escaped her lips. “No shit.”
“Miss Frannie!” he admonished. “How unladylike.”
“Want to see unladylike?”
Frannie flipped him the bird in the mirror and snapped the phone shut. But not before she heard his rich laughter. Euphoric bubbles formed in her stomach. He laughed all the way back to her place.
After the cold groceries were put away, Jinx tossed the rectangular tin of sardines in the air, caught it and beamed a smile at her. “Call the killer cat for me, dollface.”
Frannie rolled her eyes but clicked her tongue and trilled out, “Kittykittykittykitty.” Two black comets sped into the kitchen and looked around, warbling in the expectation of a treat. Hocus spied Jinx and spat out a loud hissing growl. Jinx popped the top on the sardines and knelt, extending it toward the angry cat. Hocus flattened his ears, deepened his growl to a guttural tone and hunched his shoulders. Pocus on the other hand attempted to crawl into the tiny, fragrant tin.
“Come on, cat.” Coaxing with gentle tones, he prevented one cat from diving in while he enticed the other. “I don’t bite.”
The cat, however, did. Or at least, he tried. Jinx was a fraction of a second faster and yanked his hand out of the cat’s path, dropping the sardines in a smelly heap. The twin balls of ebony fluff descended on the spilled gift like locusts on Egypt. With her lips pressed firm to hide a laugh at Jinx’s crestfallen expression, Frannie shook her head.
“Give it up. He doesn’t like men. He even growls at Steve.” Her arms laden with several boxed goods, she walked into the pantry and flipped the light switch. Nothing. The bulb had blown. She shoved the food stuff onto a shelf, grabbed the folded stepstool and climbed up. She had the glass globe removed when she felt Jinx’s hands at her waist.
“I’d have done that.”
“I can manage, thank you. It doesn’t take a man to change a light bulb. Just hand me one off the shelf behind you, will you?”
He handed her the bulb and returned his hands to her hips. Although she was in no danger of falling, Frannie relished the safety they represented. He was protecting her from gravity. It was sweet. She stretched high to tighten the bulb, his hands firmly around her hips. Her tee shirt rose high on her belly and her yoga pants slipped a fraction downward. Light blazed into the room. And then the top half of her ass was exposed.
Jinx stood openmouthed, staring at her backside, the waist of her low-cut yoga pants in his hand. His voice was a husky awed whisper. “Frannie, you have a tramp stamp.”
“I do not,” she tossed over her shoulder.
“A tattoo over your buttcrack, no matter how small, is a tramp stamp. And you, dollface, definitely have one.”
“No.” Her grip on the hip-level stepstool bar threatened to break her knuckles. She dared not turn around, her face three escalating degrees of heat. She had all but forgotten she even had that blasted tattoo. “A huge tattoo splayed across the entire small of your back is a tramp stamp. I don’t have one of those. I have a small, nicely colored design acquired after one too many margaritas with Tracey.”
“You have a two-inc
h-high Marvin Martian above your ass.” His laughter almost bubbled out as he teased her.
“He happens to be a classic cartoon icon.”
The spinster-like quality in her voice made her wince. Could you possibly sound any more uptight, Frannie? She should have turned the discovery of her ink into a seductive thing. He was looking at her ass, for Gawd’s sake. The back of her pants were still down and cool air swirled around her buttocks even as his heated gaze warmed her flesh. But no, she turned into Miss Prim and Prissy instead. Her mind raced for a way to turn this into a sexual thing.
Without warning, Jinx’s hot mouth pressed to her lower back. She jerked to attention. Sizzling sparks shot up her spine as his tongue lapped over her skin. It was a struggle to prevent her voice from croaking.
“Uhm—what are you doing?”
“Worshipping Marvin.”
For one long precious moment, she closed her eyes and luxuriated in his touch. Such an intimate act, his tongue washing over the crest of her butt. The top swells of her cheeks tingled as his breath warmed the dampened skin. Not leaning back into his mouth was a challenge. It felt so good. She wanted him. But not like this. Not in her pantry. Tonight. When she could tease him to complete frustration before drawing him in.
“Slow, remember?” Soft and low, her words reminded him of his promise. Forehead pressed to Marvin, Jinx let go of her waistband and exhaled a tattered breath.
“Slow.”
The dry groceries stored away, Frannie stole a few minutes to herself. She squeezed her behind onto the narrow stepstool seat and buried her head in her hands.
This was moving too fast and in a direction that frightened her. When Jinx’s lips had left her back, she felt an emptiness that hadn’t yet dissipated. And not just on a physical level. He had wormed his way into her life so completely in such a short time, she barely remembered her life before she met him. This is not good.
She was supposed to remain cool, calm and collected around him until he came to his senses, not turn into a puddle of goo when he touched her. Her intentions were to protect her heart from breaking. All she had to do was keep things light and playful and on a physical level. If she played the game right, it would be fun. It could be the sexual adventure of her life. But she had to guard her emotions.
That was proving to be difficult. As infuriating as he was, there was something sweet and charming about him, like a naughty preschooler who could weasel out of any punishment. All it took was a glance and a grin and her irritation slid away.
This feels suspiciously like falling in— Jerking her head up, she drew a deep fortifying breath. Nope, not going there, ain’t happening. Get a grip, girl.
Frannie blew out a calming breath, stood and refolded the stool. She cared for Jinx. Cared, not loved. This was sexual attraction and fascination with an odd situation. That was all. Nothing more.
She almost believed the lie.
Frannie couldn’t find Jinx. A quick search found him outside shoveling her walkway with a nearly manic fury. Icy clouds puffed from his mouth as he attacked the slight layer of snow coating her sidewalk. Coatless, his pale gray sweatshirt was darker along the shoulders where the falling snow had melted but he didn’t seem to notice.
Arms wrapped around her middle, Frannie called from the porch. “Are you trying to freeze your ass off?”
“Wrong body part,” he muttered over the shovel blade scraping the concrete. “Go back inside, Frannie, I’m fighting demons here and don’t need your pert little nipples as a distraction.”
A quick glance down showed hard pointy nipples puckered from the cold straining at her thin cotton shirt. “What demons?”
“Lust. Desire. Impatience. And a raging case of blue balls.”
His reply tickled her ego and her lips twitched in hidden amusement. She was trying to tease him and even the weather was cooperating. Saucily, she crooked her finger at him, beckoning him close. His head bowed in defeat, Jinx jammed the shovel into the yard and crossed to her. Two steps below her, he was eye level with those crested peaks. His throat moved with his swallow and he rose one more step. He pulled his gaze from her chest to her face. A sexy simmering fire was barely concealed in his midnight eyes.
She circled his neck, linked her fingers together behind his head and brought his forehead to hers. “You okay? With this slow thing?”
Jinx closed his eyes briefly and put his arms around her waist. Under her hands, his tense muscles softened.
“I will be. I just have to keep reminding myself that I want all of you. Not just your body but your heart and soul, too. Unfortunately, there are certain parts of my anatomy that are slower to get that message. It’s nothing I can’t handle, but let’s not tempt it too much, okay? Go inside and let me cool down.”
Delighted and empowered, Frannie nodded and eased away from him. She said she would go make hot chocolate and closed the heavy door behind her. And then did a little triumphant jig. She knew removing her bra had been a good idea.
“Mister, you having a heart attack?”
The cracking adolescent voice brought Jinx’s head up from his rampant fantasies. A chunky dark-skinned boy of perhaps eleven in a bright orange parka stood at the edge of the sidewalk holding a snow shovel. His round face was creased in concern beneath the knitted stocking cap.
“Do I look like I’m having a heart attack?”
“Kinda. You were breathing hard but not moving. Old people shouldn’t shovel snow. It’s bad for them.”
“Old? You think I’m old?”
“Well, you’re maybe my dad’s age and he says he feels old. I could finish the walk for you. Cheap, since you already started it.” The eagerness in the boy’s eyes was contagious and Jinx couldn’t help but smile.
“Maybe you’re too young to be doing all this manual labor. I wouldn’t want to stunt your growth or anything.”
“I’m not a baby.”
“And I’m not old.”
The two males stood staring at the other a minute before grinning at each other. Each recognized a fellow jokester. Jinx stooped to grab a handful of snow seconds before he was hit by the well-aimed volley from the stocky boy.
With a laugh of abandonment, Jinx scooped and ran, dodging the onslaught of snowballs. Now this is the distraction I needed. He managed to hit the younger male with several precise shots before taking a brutal strike to the back of his head. He shook the ice off like a wet dog before he circled around Frannie’s car and zipped a hard pitch at the boy as he ran in front of the steps.
Frannie stepped out onto the porch and was hit full in the face by Jinx’s snowball. Both the boy and Jinx stopped cold and stared in open-mouthed surprise.
“Oh shit, Frannie, I’m sorry.”
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Uh, playing.”
Snow bits sliding off her face, she glared at him before she whipped around and stamped back inside. The slam of the door made both males jump.
“You’re in trouble.” The boy dragged the last word out for three syllables and Jinx grimaced. No shit, kid. “You want me to finish the walk so you can go apologize?”
Jinx dusted his stinging fingers against his stiff jeans. The eager brown face staring at him brought a wry grin as he remembered his own youth.
“What are you earning money for?”
“A Wii. Dad says if I pay for half of it, I can have one. I have almost fifty bucks saved up. Ms. Sullivan usually pays pretty good so I kinda hoped she’d need her walk done. You’re messin’ up my financial plan, man.” The teasing was light but Jinx still heard the disappointment in the kid’s voice.
“What’s your name?”
“Aaron Henderson. I live over there.” He pointed to a two-story house cattycorner to Frannie’s.
“Is your mom home?”
“Nah, she’s working. Dad is, though. Why?”
With a flip of his hand, Jinx motioned for Aaron to walk with him back to his house. They crossed the slushy street and lumbere
d noisily onto a large wooden porch. Aaron opened the door and blessed warmth rushed out. The sounds of a football game could be heard in the kitchen as Aaron bellowed for his father.
A tall black man came out with a small child attached to his leg. The scent of sloppy joes hung heavily in the air and made Jinx’s stomach grumble. The sight of a strange man in his house had the father straightening into a protective stance.
“Is something wrong? Aaron, what’s going on?”
The boy shrugged and shed his coat. Jinx offered his hand. “Mr. Henderson, I met your son while he was shoveling walks today and wanted to offer him a business proposition. I thought I’d better speak to you first, though.”
“What kind of proposition?”
“Ms. Sullivan and I are getting married. But for now, I don’t live there. I want to make sure that her sidewalks stay cleared this winter, even if I’m not around. I want to contract Aaron here to do the job all winter, paid in advance. But he has to have your permission first.”
Aaron nearly danced in excitement. Amusement flickered in the father’s eyes before he tamped it down and turned a stern eye on his son.
“That means no forgetting, Aaron. No putting it off until later, no flaking out. A job’s a job and you finish it. Think you can handle that?” The boy nodded so hard Jinx was sure his head would fly off his shoulders.
Permission granted, the father motioned for Jinx to continue. Thankful he hit the ATM before coming home this morning, Jinx pulled three hundred-dollar bills from his wallet. He placed them in the beaming boy’s hands.
“I want her sidewalk kept clear, every snow. She’s very special to me and I don’t want her falling or having to shovel herself out.”
“No problem. I promise. You can count on me.” The boy flew up the stairs with his bounty like a herd of thundering elephants. Jinx and Mr. Henderson laughed at his enthusiasm.