Alluring

by Curtis, Sarah

  Alexis spoke to his chest. "Well, to answer your second question, I have tried a few times. It just always felt so clinical. I don't know, maybe I was trying too hard or not doing it right. It just never seemed to work." Alexis took a deep breath. "And to answer your first question, there have never been any insensitive jerks. There has never been anybody."

  She felt his body stiffen and his arms loosened a little, before they squeezed tight again. "You're a virgin?"

  "It's not as freaky as it sounds," she said, trying to wiggle out of his hold. Again, he didn't let her go. "I was a young teenager when my mom got sick, and when we found out, my dad took off." Jack didn't say anything, but his already tense body, grew more solid. "I was left to raise my little sister and take care of mom. I got a job to pay the bills, keep a roof over our heads. I did graduate from high school, barely, but I didn't have time for social functions or boys.

  "Mom held on for six years. We acquired a lot of doctor and hospital bills in that time. I'm paying those off, putting my baby sister through college and supporting myself by working two jobs, again not leaving me a lot of time for social functions or men."

  Alexis started whispering and Jack leaned his head down to catch her words. "I didn't want to simply give it away to a one-night stand, and I know this might sound silly, but I want it to be special, and I want the person I give it to, to be special to me, too."

  Jack reached up and caressed her cheek. He stared at her mouth deep in thought. A full minute passed before he spoke. "Let's get you to bed. I'm sure you're tired."

  Not exactly the words she expected to hear after laying out her life story. Did he even listen to what she said?

  Jack took her by the hand and started toward the stairs. She gave the hand holding hers a tug. "I can't stay here. You need to take me home."

  He stopped, turned, and pulled at her hand, bringing her body flush with his. He looked down at her and spoke with so much emotion, there was no denying he meant every word. "If I had the power to go back and change your life, make it better, I would. But I can't, I don't have that ability. But, I do have the power to change your future. Make it so you don't have to work two jobs to pay off bills and send your sister to college. Make it so you have time to be social and have fun. Make it so when you fall asleep at night, you can rest peaceful, knowing when you wake up in the morning, all is right in your world."

  Alexis stood stunned, moved deeply, by his profound words (guess he did hear everything she said). But, as beautiful as that life sounded, she couldn't take that from him. "I don't need you to take care of me, Jack. I can take care of myself. I've been doing it a long time."

  "I know you can take care of yourself. Hell, your strength is one of the things I admire most about you. And, I know you don't need me, but I do want you to need me. I want you to need my strength. I want you to come to me when you have a problem, knowing I'll help you solve it any way I can. I want you to share with me your hopes and your fears. I want you to depend on me, rely on me, knowing I'll take care of you. Do you understand why I want all these things?"

  Alexis could only manage to shake her head.

  Jack leaned in close, captured her face with his hands and rested his forehead against hers. "I want all that, so I can be that someone, you think is special."

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Needless to say, after that speech, Alexis ended up in Jack's bed that night. After he dried her tears, he walked her upstairs to his bedroom. He grabbed one of his T-shirts from a dresser drawer, handed it to her and told her, her toothbrush was still in the bathroom.

  As Alexis exited the bathroom, after washing her face, brushing her teeth, and putting on his T-shirt, Jack brushed a kiss across her forehead as he passed her, to enter.

  She went to the dresser and set her folded clothes atop it before getting in bed. Jack had turned the covers down, and the sheets were chilly, but soft, as she crawled between them. She watched, as Jack exited the bathroom, in only a pair of black boxer briefs. She had never seen him bare chested before, and her mind did not do his muscles justice. He flicked a switch on the wall, turning off the lights, leaving the room aglow with moonlight.

  He walked to the bed and climbed in. Alexis was sitting cross legged under the covers. "I didn't know what side of the bed you sleep on."

  "It doesn't matter. Lay down sweetheart, you need sleep."

  Alexis lay down on her side her back facing Jack. He scooted her close to his chest, his arm wrapped around her waist, and his head resting on her pillow, above her head. She'd never slept with anyone before, and she found, she liked the feel of Jack surrounding her.

  She drifted off feeling the heat of his body, and his soft breaths hitting the top of her head. But, just before she fell into a deep sleep, she thought she heard him whisper, "I can't believe you've never been touched. You truly are, all mine."

  When Alexis came awake the next morning, the first thing she noticed was the warm, hard body she was draped across. At some point during the night, they must have changed positions. Jack was on his back and her head was resting on his chest. Her arm was draped over his abs, and one of her legs was hiked up across his hips.

  The second thing she noticed was that Jack wasn't asleep. She knew this, by the light trail of his fingertips running up and down her back, and the growing hardness developing under her thigh.

  And, the last thing she noticed before she slowly opened her eyes, was feeling peaceful and content.

  Alexis lifted her head. Jack's head and shoulders were raised slightly on a stack of pillows. His free arm was up, his hand tucked under his head. His eyes were half-mast and drowsy as he looked at her. Jack in bed, in the morning, was a sexy sight to see.

  A grin slowly curved his lips. "Good morning, beautiful."

  His hand moved from her back and settled at her nape, his fingers tangling in her hair. He lifted his upper body slightly, doing a mini ab curl. His muscles under her hand tightened as he put pressure on the back of her head, bringing their faces closer. His lips closed over hers, forcing them apart as his tongue invaded her mouth. She had a moment of panic when she thought about, not having brushed her teeth yet, but it diminished quickly as his kiss forced all thoughts from her head but the feelings it was invoking. Her toes curled, wetness formed between her thighs, tingles raced along her skin, and a fluttering erupted in her stomach.

  He slowly pulled away and whispered in voice still gravelly with sleep, "I want to wake up to your beauty every morning."

  As she lay there, looking into his eyes, she wondered if he were feeding her a line. Who goes from philandering playboy to devoted suitor so quickly? And what about all the other things he's said to her. Wanting to keep her and being someone special to her. Were those just lines too? All of this, Jack, dating, sex was so new to her. She didn't want to be one of those girls who fell for a smooth talker and ended up with their heart broken.

  "Tell me what's going on in that mysterious brain of yours." He brushed a curl away from her eye and tucked it behind her ear.

  She decided to be honest. "I don't trust you."

  She watched his nostrils flare and his jaw harden before he visibly relaxed. "Well, I'll have to work on that, won't I."

  Alexis sighed, "I don't know, Jack. I just don't understand any of this. How can you go from having a different woman every night, to wanting only one, and that one being me? Do you see how unbelievable all that is for me?"

  Jack grabbed her under the arms and hauled her up so she was laying flush against his body, and they were eye to eye. "First of all, I will not tolerate anyone, and that includes yourself, to belittle or criticize you. I don't know why you see yourself the way you do, that's something we'll work on, but from where I'm looking, what I see is a b
eautiful woman, with a sexy body I can't wait to possess, who has a gorgeous laugh that makes me happy when I hear it, and is so incredibly sweet that I am fucking thankful I'm close enough to be sharing the same air as her.

  "Second, yes, I've had my fair share of women, I won't deny that, but not one of them caught my eye the way you have. And, because I've had so many women, I should know when the right one comes along, and sweetheart, you are the right one. Only a fool would let the right one get away, so I am holding on tight because, sweetheart, I am no fool.

  "You say you don't trust me, that's okay, I'll get you there. But in the meantime, know this, I will be holding tight, I will be pushing hard and I will not be letting go. I know you will dig your ground, push me back and fight for escape, but in the end you will not win. And I know this 'cause I never lose."

  Alexis processed all that for a few minutes, knowing there was no way to absorb everything he just said before coffee. She knew that pieces of it would slowly filter into her brain until it was all digested but in the meantime, she said the only thing she felt was safe to say, "I'm hungry."

  Jack chuckled then gave her a kiss on her lips. "Well, sweetheart, I guess I'd better feed you than." He gave her a swat on the ass. "Get up, get dressed, and I'll take you to breakfast."

  Jack kept hold of her hand as they exited the elevator and made their way to the coffee shop. He was once again in a pair of worn jeans, but this time, had on a navy-blue T-shirt. Alexis was in the same jeans and baby-pink T-shirt she had changed into, after work the night before. She halted and gave his hand a tug. "We can't go there." She nodded toward the coffee shop.

  Jack stopped and turned to her. "Why the hell not?"

  "People will know you."

  He grinned. "I know. We'll get better service."

  "I meant, I don't want people to know we're together."

  "Sweetheart, I'm gonna be so stuck to you, there is no way people cannot know we're together."

  Alexis sighed, giving up, in the face of needing coffee, STAT.

  She felt all eyes on them as they entered the coffee shop. She knew not everyone knew who Jack was (as the diners were probably patrons of the hotel), but Jack, just being Jack, in all his masculine glory could make people stare.

  Jack walked up the hostess, wrapped his arm around Alexis's waist and pulled her close. "We want a booth."

  "I'm so sorry, Mr. Cole, but none are available at the moment." And she did sound sorry.

  "We don't mind waiting, but we need coffee, one black and one with cream and sugar." Jack led Alexis to two empty seats in the waiting area.

  The hostess returned with two steaming mugs of coffee, and Jack handed Alexis the one with cream and sugar.

  Alexis took a grateful sip. "How did you know how I take my coffee?"

  "Lucky guess," he said, taking a sip of his own coffee.

  "No really, I want to know."

  "Honestly, it was a guess. I figured you're so sweet, you drink sweet coffee."

  Alexis laughed, "That's your corniest line yet."

  "Sweetheart, that wasn't a line."

  "Whatever," Alexis said, giggling into her coffee.

  They were shown to a booth, Alexis slid in with Jack sliding in right after her. She kept scooting and he kept following.

  Finally, she stopped, giving him a glare. "Did you ask for a booth so you could plaster yourself to my side?" she asked.

  "Yes." He opened a menu and handed it to her.

  After a few minutes debate, she put the menu down and reached for her coffee.

  "Decide what you want?" he asked.

  "Eggs Benedict with extra hollandaise sauce." He was smiling at her again. "What?"

  "I like that you're not afraid to eat real food." He leaned over and whispered in her ear. "It gives you those fantastic curves."

  "Are you saying I'm fat?" She asked, teasingly.

  Jack just growled in her ear, making her giggle.

  Jack had a hold of her hand again as they walked out of the coffee shop. She realized, he liked touching her, and honestly, she liked being touched by him. He obviously didn't need to pay a bill, but he did leave a large tip on their table, which she thought was nice.

  He guided her through the lobby, out a set of doors that led to the area where he parked his car, and stopped when they got alongside his SUV. "So what do you want to do next?"

  "I have to go home. Sunday is the day I do my errands. I don't have time during the week, to get anything done."

  Jack nodded his head, opened her door and told her to climb in. They were under way, when Jack asked, "What errands do you need to run?"

  Without thinking, Alexis said, "I need to get groceries and my dry cleaning, then clean my apartment, and do some laundry." She didn't say anything else until they were pulling up to a supermarket by her place. "What are you doing?"

  "We're grocery shopping."

  "What? No. Take me home, Jack. This is a total waste of your time."

  He pulled into a parking spot before turning to her. "Any time spent with you, is never a waste of my time. Now, we're going to the market then picking up your dry cleaning. Then I'm taking you home, you will not be cleaning your apartment, and I might let you do your laundry, so long as you don't have to lug that shit anywhere. If you do, I'll call a service, and they'll come pick it up on Monday."

  "I have stackables."

  "Stackables?"

  "It's a washer and dryer stacked on top of each other. They're inside my apartment."

  "Fine you can do your laundry. And while you're doing it, we'll watch a movie, so let's not forget to buy popcorn."

  He was out of the truck and opening her door before she had a chance to finish processing this latest development. "You're really bossy, you know that," she said, taking his hand and jumping out of the SUV.

  He gave her his devastating grin, kissed the back of her hand, then walked her into the store all without saying a word.

  * * * * *

  A few hours later, the credits scrolled down the TV screen, as the movie they finally decided on (she wanted to watch a romantic comedy, he wanted to watch an action movie, they settled on a romantic adventure), came to an end. An empty popcorn bowl sat on the coffee table. Jack was stretched out on the couch, and Alexis laid mostly on Jack. He breathed in the sweet fragrance of her hair while drawing light circles on her back with the tip of his finger. He noticed the goose bumps that erupted on her arm and smiled to himself.

  He heard her sigh. "Are you tired?"

  "I'm always tried," she mumbled against his chest.

  He wrapped his arms around her firmly, preparing, before he said, "I want you to quit your night job." He felt her body grow tight, but she wasn't struggling, yet.

  "Why would you want that?"

  "I don't like that you work so much. I don't like that you're always tired. And, if I'm being completely honest, which I will always be with you, I don't like that you have so little time for me."

  "I can't pay the bills if I quit my job, Jack."

  He tightened his hold on her, before saying, "I can help." And there it was. The struggling started. She pushed up from his chest, but he had a good hold on her waist and he wasn't letting go.

  "Are you insane?" She asked, her voice raised to just under a yell. "We've know each other for about a minute. I'm not giving up my job, become dependent on you for money. What happens when you're done with this? Become bored and move on. Where does that leave me? I'll tell you. Without a job and no way to pay my bills."

  He had a long way to go still before she would trust him. For t
he first time in his life, he rued his reputation. He wished that she could read his thoughts and know that she was it for him. From that first moment he held her in his arms and felt the need to protect and cherish. The jolt, he had felt in his chest, as he gazed upon her beauty was so strong it felt like a physical blow. And even now, even with her anger, he felt blessed having her in his arms.

  He would get her there, even if it took a lifetime. He would prove it to her, every damn day, until she was so filled up there would be no room for doubt.

  "Okay, sweetheart, It's just something I want you to think about. It would mean a lot to me, and when the day comes that I mean a lot to you, I'm hoping you'll give this to me."

  * * * * *

  God. The things he said, could bring a girl to her knees. How could someone be so bossy, yet so sweet at the same time? He made it impossible to stay mad at him. He also made it impossible for her to ever quit her job. For if she did, that would be admitting that he meant something to her. And she didn't know if she would ever be ready to admit that.

  Best to just keep things light. They would enjoy each other's company and have some fun. Then in a few weeks or a month when he walked away, he wouldn't be taking her heart with him. It sounded like a solid plan. Now if she could just get her heart, to go along with it.

  CHAPTER NINE

  "Is a blindfold really necessary?" Alexis asked, as Jack secured one of his ties around her head after stepping out of the elevator and into his foyer. Jack had asked her to dinner, the following night, at his place, and she'd said yes, knowing that they wouldn't see each other for the rest of the week.

  "Yes. You'll need to walk by the kitchen to get to the dining room, and I don't want you to see the mess I've made until after you've eaten. I don't want you to lose your appetite."

  Alexis giggled as he led her to a chair, sat her down, and removed the blindfold. She blinked as beautifully set table came into focus. A large bouquet of wildflowers was displayed in a clear, crystal vase at one end of the table along with two place settings across from each other.