Jesse felt her face flush as she averted her gaze to look into her lap. Her heart rate had already increased, and she worked hard to keep her breathing steady.
“Jess?” she heard Hal’s voice, and she turned to look up at him, feeling like a kid who had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. “You okay?”
Jesse floundered for a moment and ended up releasing a nervous laugh. Hal looked down at her, his eyes sparkling with amusement and a small smirk on his face.
“I’m fine.” Jesse nodded, shifting her weight a little on the couch. Hal raised his eyebrows, but he did not press the issue for which Jesse was eternally grateful.
“Okay …” Hal said though she could hear the lingering suspicion in his tone.
Jesse could hardly breathe, much less gather her thoughts. She had no idea that being alone with Hal again was being so hard. It seemed to her that their relationship was moving incredibly fast, and each time she saw him, she wanted more of him, emotionally and physically.
Jesse took a quiet breath and tried to collect her thoughts. She knew that she had to reign herself in and act like an adult, not some teenage girl with a crush. Still, she couldn’t help feeling that was the most accurate representation of her feelings for him. Even as she sat so close to him, his nearness was driving her crazy. She could feel her skin tingling and her heart beating erratically in her chest.
She wasn’t quite sure how she was going to get through the rest of the night with her sanity intact. Somehow, though, she knew that there was no way she would rather feel.
Chapter 44
Hal
Hal had to work hard to keep from laughing because he knew it would embarrass her. He had seen her looking at his exposed lower stomach as he stretched, and he knew that she was flustered.
He was glad because he was every bit as flustered as she was. In fact, he didn’t know how he was going to keep the flow of their evening going smooth with just how agitated he was becoming.
Even so, he was an actor by trade. He knew he could fake it, at least for a little while.
“So how did the applying go today?” Hal asked smoothly, easily moving his arm so that it rested behind Jesse along the back of the couch. He nearly chuckled as he saw the way her body stiffened with his motion.
“It was fine,” she answered, and he heard a subtle catch in her voice. “Boring.”
“I figured,” Hal chuckled, and Jesse responded with a laugh of her own.
“Oh, well …” she sighed, and Hal saw her relax a little. “That’s just a part of it, I guess.”
“Well, it doesn’t have to be,” Hal said with a shrug, and Jesse looked up at him, frowning.
“What do you mean by that?” she asked.
“You could pick up a job working for me,” he said, giving her a smile. Much to his amusement, Jesse rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, I’m sure that would be very professional,” she said sarcastically, and Hal laughed.
“I think we could make it work,” Hal said, lowering his voice a little suggestively. He saw Jesse’s eyes widen, and he saw her throat bob as she swallowed.
“Thanks,” she said softly. “But no thanks.”
Hal chuckled. He had expected nothing less.
“Seriously, though,” Hal went on. “My secretary, Liza, has more than a few connections on the journalism side. I could put you in touch with her, and maybe she could set you up with a few interviews. I mean, I can’t make you any solid promises, but it would at least be something to work with.”
Jesse blinked over at him.
“Actually …” she murmured, her brow creased in a small frown as she appeared to think about the situation. “That doesn’t seem like a bad idea.”
Hal’s ears perked up.
“Really?” he asked.
“Really,” Jesse confirmed with a nod, looking back toward him. “I mean, that’s not you just handing me a job, it’s just getting me set up with a connection. I mean, that’s just networking. And I would have a couple of interviews and just see where they go.”
“That’s great!” Hal said, more than a little surprised that she hadn’t shut down that idea as well. “I can talk to Liza about it first thing tomorrow, maybe take you both out to lunch or something.”
“Whatever you want,” Jesse said, smiling.
Hal beamed at her. He knew that Liza would be able to set her up with way better places than The Edge. Liza had been a journalist herself in her younger days, and she could set Jesse up with actual newspapers instead of some half-baked tabloid magazine. He knew that Jesse would definitely have a good shot of making something of herself, and having seen her in action in a professional capacity, he knew that she would excel in any interviews that Liza set up for her. She would have her pick of an excellent job.
She certainly deserved it.
“Thank you,” Jesse said softly, and Hal pulled himself out of his thoughts.
“Me?” he asked, laughing a little. “For what? Liza will be the one setting everything up. You should thank her whenever you get the chance.”
“Yeah, of course.” Jesse nodded, her voice soft. “But … I mean … there’s no way we would have ever crossed paths if it wasn’t for you … and a lot of people wouldn’t understand how important it is to me to have a job …”
Jesse trailed off, and Hal waited patiently for her to gather her thoughts a little.
“So I guess I mean,” Jesse picked up, looking up at him. “Thank you for understanding.”
“You’re welcome,” Hal said softly, smiling down at her gently. He cupped her face in the palm of his hand, and he felt her shiver a little under his touch.
Hal felt his smile fade from his face as he was overwhelmed with a feeling of tenderness for the woman beside him. He had never met a woman that was so determined to honestly make a way for herself without accepting handouts from others, without taking the easy way out.
Moreover, he had never met a woman that was so grateful for the things he did for her. That was, when she let him do them.
Not to mention the softness of her skin beneath his hand. He had barely touched her, and it already felt like her skin was searing his hand where they touched. He could feel a fire roaring to life in his belly. He knew that if he didn’t actively work to keep himself in line, he would lose it just like he had the other day at her apartment.
The way she was looking at him, though, he wondered whether or not that was exactly what she wanted.
Hal removed his hand from her face and placed it in his lap, clearing his throat.
“So …” he trailed off. “What did you want to do?”
“I don’t know,” Jesse shrugged, and Hal noted that her voice sounded tight.
“Well,” Hal made to move the conversation along. “We could take a walk, watch a movie …”
Jesse hesitated for a moment, seeming to be thinking it over.
“A movie sounds good,” she finally said, a small smile lighting up her face.
“Great,” Hal nodded, getting up and moving over to his collection of DVDs. “What movie would you like to watch?”
“Hm …” Jesse seemed to ponder for a moment. “I don’t know … surprise me.”
Hal shrugged, and he reached blindly into the rows of DVDs to withdraw a box. He didn’t even bother looking at the title before he put it into the player and returned to take his seat by Jesse. Once he was seated, he pressed play on the menu.
As the opening credits began to roll, he glanced over at Jesse, noting that her eyes were locked on the screen already, her posture stiff. He, too, was feeling a little bit of nerves.
He already knew that neither of them was going to be paying too much attention to whatever movie was playing.
Chapter 45
Jesse
Jesse could feel her stomach tying itself in knots and her heart threatening to pound out of her chest as the movie began to play. It looked to be an artsy sort of film, the kind that would win awards at obscure festivals.
Not that she cared very much. Her attention was not so much on the screen but locked on the man seated beside her.
Jesse vaguely noted that he seemed too far away and too close at the same time. All at once, she wanted to scoot closer and run frantically from the room. She glanced up at his face. His green eyes reflected the characters and scenery moving around on the television, but it looked as though he was gazing into space more than paying attention to the plot unfolding in front of him.
She wondered if he was going through the same things that she was.
Jesse forced herself to pay attention to what was going on, but she had already missed some vital piece of information. This situation was becoming entirely too frustrating for her, and she barely managed to conceal a huff of aggravation.
Jesse allowed her eyes to wander elsewhere, and they ended up landing on the coffee table in front of them lined with food and drinks. Her eyes immediately wandered to a bottle of wine near Hal’s end.
She felt a little bit of anxiety at the idea of asking him to pour her a glass, but she knew that if she was going to make it through the rest of the night, she needed to loosen up a little at least.
So, she worked up her courage, took a deep breath, and resolved to speak to him.
“Hal?” she asked, her voice sounding soft and weak in her own ears.
“Yeah?” Hal immediately turned to face her, a small frown creasing his brow.
“Would you mind if I had some wine?” Jesse said, glancing over to the bottle on the other end of the table. Hal glanced over at it, blinking for a moment.
“Of course,” he said, giving her a smile as he moved to retrieve the bottle. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a pocket knife, and she watched as he flipped out the corkscrew extension, then began to methodically wind it down into the cork of the wine bottle.
Soon, the bottle was open, and Hal reached under the table and withdrew two glasses and poured them each a healthy portion of the deep red liquid.
“Here you go,” Hal offered her a glass.
Jesse swirled the liquid for a moment, watching the way it sloshed inside of the glass. She finally took the first sip, and she could already feel the alcohol going to work to relax her body. She released a soft sigh and saw Hal raise his brow from beside her. Jesse glanced over at him, and she felt a flutter in her stomach at the curious expression on his face as he watched her.
Jesse offered him a small smile, and steeling her nerves, she moved closer to him on the couch. Much closer. So close, in fact, that their thighs were pressed against one another. Jesse then settled back into the couch so that she was leaning more against his torso than the back of the couch.
Jesse’s heart fluttered as Hal brought his arm about her shoulders to pull her tighter against him. Her eyes flicked up to his face, and she saw a small smile there.
Jesse could feel her skin tingling and goosebumps spreading all along her body as they were in such close contact. She allowed her hand to rest on his knee, and with her other hand she raised her glass and took a long drink of the wine. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hal do the same.
For a while, they remained that way, looking at the screen. Jesse had no way to know if Hal was paying any attention to the movie, but she certainly wasn’t. All she could think about was the closeness of their bodies and the memory of the last time they had been in such close proximity to one another.
Jesse bit her lip before taking another long draught of her wine, this time draining the glass. Beside her, Hal glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow. Jesse blushed.
“Sorry,” she said weakly. “Thirsty.”
Hal looked at her for a moment, the corner of his lip raising in a small smirk.
“Another?” he offered, holding his free hand out to take her glass.
“Please,” Jesse replied.
Jesse moved to hand Hal the glass, and as she did so, she felt her fingertips brush against his hand. She released a soft gasp at the contact and immediately blushed as Hal’s eyes snapped to her face. Jesse dropped her hand into her lap and averted her eyes to the bottle of wine.
She watched as Hal easily refilled her glass, and she was careful to avoid touching him as he returned it to her. She wasted no time in taking another long drink.
“If you want to get wasted,” Hal said, his eyes passing across her face, “I have some harder stuff in the cabinet …”
Jesse laughed nervously and took yet another drink of the wine.
“No, no,” she shook her head, clutching the glass in both hands to keep it from displaying the way she was shaking.
She took a breath to steady herself and looked up at Hal.
“Sorry,” she said, her voice near a whisper. “I just … I feel so … distracted …”
Jesse spoke, and as words trailed out of her mouth, she found her eyes wandering over Hal’s torso and finally landing on his face. He looked down at her patiently, a soft smile on his lips.
“Hey,” Hal said softly. He leaned closer to her and took the wine glass from her hand, setting it on the coffee table along with his own. “I feel distracted too …”
Jesse felt herself begin to tremble as Hal looked down at her, his green eyes flickering with soft emotion. He raised his hand, and Jesse followed it with her eyes as he moved to cup her face. She exhaled softly as his fingertips brushed her cheekbone, and his thumb traced along her bottom lip.
Jesse squirmed on the couch a little as her body began to react to his touch. She felt hopelessly excited and felt warmth pooling low in her stomach, as well as a wetness between her legs. She gently squeezed her thighs together, hoping to ease some of the pressure she felt in her core.
Jesse bit her lip, and she saw Hal’s eyes darken and watched as his throat bobbed. Slowly, she moved her hand to rest on his thigh and gently traced it up and down, edging closer and closer to his crotch. Jesse felt his hand shift so that he was cupping the back of her neck, and he buried his fingers in the hair at the nape of her neck.
Jesse whimpered a little as he tilted her head back by her hair to look up at him. Her body responded instantaneously, a jolt of hot desire shooting through her. She gripped his wrist in one hand, and with the other she buried her fingers in his shirt.
Hal looked over her body, and she could see his eyes lingering on her chest. Jesse had chosen to wear a simple, soft blue dress that was comfortable and fit her nicely, showing off the assets of her body. That included revealing a modest amount of cleavage that Hal was clearly enjoying. She had also opted to go without a bra, and she was certain he could see the outline of her hardening nipples against the thin material of the dress.
Jesse was more thankful than ever that she had made the decision to wear panties. She had briefly entertained the idea of going without but had ended up going with them. Now, she was grateful, for if she had gone without, she may well have been soaking through her dress and ruining Hal’s couch with her wetness.
Hal’s eyes slowly moved back up to her face, and they remained there for what felt like an eternity.
Jesse breathed heavily as Hal’s eyes burned into her, and she vaguely wondered what on earth he was thinking.
Chapter 46
Hal
Hal could feel his cock throbbing in the confines of his jeans. In front of him was a horrifically enticing woman, and here they were alone together in his home, with nobody around to hear or catch them.
It was an incredible temptation, but Hal knew he had to handle this delicately. He didn’t want to push things too fast. He and Jesse had already had that talk, and he would hate for her to think that he was pushing aside what she wanted in favor of satisfying his sexual urges.
At the moment, though, that was exactly what he wanted to do.
The dress she wore accentuated her form perfectly, and he wanted to run his hands up and down her sides, memorizing every curve of her body. His cock twitched at the very idea, and he heard Jesse gasp as his grip involuntarily tightened in
her hair.
Hal blinked, and he loosened his grip.
“Sorry …” Hal murmured, his voice low and rough. He could feel his blood pounding in his veins, and if he didn’t know better, he would have sworn that his vision was blurry.
“Don’t be …” Jesse breathed, and Hal nearly growled at the words. He could clearly see the lust in her eyes, and the sounds she made as he touched her only proved to verify that she wanted him every bit as much as he wanted her.
He knew he would have to handle this very, very delicately.
Hal tilted her head to the side, exposing the long column of her neck. He could see her pulse throbbing, and he could feel her eyes on him as his eyes traced along her throat. Slowly, he lowered his head, and he pressed his lips to her skin and relished the softness he encountered there. He heard her release a soft moan, felt her body shiver and her hands tighten on his arm and in his shirt.
“Hal …” Jesse whispered his name, and it had never sounded so sweet. A surge of lust passed through his body, and he couldn’t help growling as he opened his mouth and ran his tongue along her neck, his teeth grazing her skin as he nibbled at her.
Hal heard her gasp and felt her back arch, pressing her skin even further into his mouth, encouraging him. Hal lifted his other hand and tightly gripped her waist, just below her ribcage. He heard her soft whimper at his ear and pulled away from her neck, holding her head upright so she could look up at him. His eyes moved down to her lips, which were parted as she panted.
Hal tightened his grip in her hair and at her waist and again she released a whimper that only served to inflame him further.
Hal ground his teeth as his cock began to pulse quite painfully. He shifted to try and offer it some relief, but to little avail.
Jesse was absolutely driving him mad.
Bedroom Rodeo: A Billionaire Romance Page 56