My gosh, I couldn’t help myself. I never got like that… I never got embarrassed or flushed around anyone…
“In case you didn’t hear, I was in an accident.”
“Oh no, are you okay?”
He was sexy, and a smartass. A lethal combination.
Yikes.
“I was going to make you breakfast,” Jack said, “but I can’t. So how about I take you out?”
“Take me out? Really? You can…”
Jack laughed. “What do you think is going to happen? People won’t see me? That when I lift a fork, it’ll just appear to be floating to other people?”
Probably.
Would it be the worst thing if I admitted that’s exactly what I thought? I didn’t admit a thing to Jack but rather turned my attention to my orange juice. It tasted a little bitter, reaching close to its expiration date. After two sips, I was done. I put the glass on the table and stood up. To get to my bedroom, I’d have to get by Jack.
“Let me get ready, real quick,” I said.
“You look beautiful just like that,” he said, holding his ground.
Beautiful.
Wow, me… beautiful.
His hands were back into fists, his right hand trying to come forward, and I hoped he would touch me.
“You look handsome,” I said, regretting it.
Handsome?
Who says that?
“I didn’t sleep much,” Jack said.
I wanted to ask why but something told me I wouldn’t get an answer.
“I still need to get to my room,” I said.
“You can back up, walk around the table.”
Defiant. Hot. I wanted him.
I wanted him to lift and carry me to my bedroom.
“Or you could just move out of my way,” I said.
I could be defiant too.
I put a hand on my hip, prepared to stand there as long as I had to. I was not moving. Either way I’d win. Either Jack would move me, thus touching me, or he’d give in and get out the way. It was such a silly, dumb teenage flirty thing we were doing but it meant something to me.
“Move me then.”
“Move you?” I asked.
“Yeah. Move me.”
Jack folded his arms. When he looked at me, he didn’t look at peace, not by a long shot. His eyes were filled with something for me, but I couldn’t tell what it was.
So I played into his game. I grabbed his arms, feeling the curves of his biceps and tried to keep my body from melting right at his feet.
I pushed and Jack barely moved.
I dug my nails, not too hard, but hard enough, and pushed again. His body moved but not his feet. He yawned, playing the smartass card again, and rolled his eyes.
“I just woke up,” I said. “And I was in an accident.”
“That’s nice.”
I grunted and pushed again.
Nothing.
I stepped back, feeling sexy and annoyed, and ran at Jack. I don’t know why but I wrapped my arms around him, hoping my weight would force him to move.
Not a chance.
I couldn’t even lock my fingers together around Jack with his arms folded. When my chest pressed against his arms, I felt fluttering in so many places at once I had to jump back. Jack did what he did best, other than command the room and my heart; he smiled. A cocky smile. A come get me kind of smile that maybe had been designed to get into my pants but all it did was get on my nerves.
I had one last move, my absolute last resort, something I knew would shock him as much as it would shock me. I charged again and left my feet this time.
When Jack saw me jump, his face lit up and he had to open his arms. He had to catch me, if he wanted to protect me. I opened my arms and legs and hit his body. In my mind it was going to be such a wild, sexually laced move. I’d hit him, wrap my arms and legs around him and then he’d hold me. With my tight grip on him, he’d have no choice but to respond by taking me to my bedroom and showing me just what he was really capable of doing to me.
That was fantasy…
In reality, I hit Jack, couldn’t grab him, and he couldn’t grab me. I basically bounced off his hard muscles, making him grunt, and then I was down to floor, crashing to my ass with a hard thud that shot pain up and down my back.
I cried out and Jack fell to his knees before me.
The man, the protector.
My legs were out and open, my hands on the floor holding me up. I knew how sexy I had to have looked right then and I wasn’t afraid of it.
“What the hell, Tessa?” Jack said.
Oh, his voice was so deep and hot.
Such a worrier.
“I wanted to get by,” I said and batted my eyes, trying to look innocent.
“You’re crazy sometimes,” he said. “And not in a good way.”
“Is that so?”
Jack opened his mouth to say something else but nothing came out. Slowly, he put his fists to the floor, hovering over me right below my waist.
Ohmygosh was the only reaction my body and mind could muster.
He looked at my body, where my pants pulled a little too tight, and where my t-shirt began. Being in the position I was, my shirt had pulled up a little more than I should have been comfortable with, but Jack’s eyes weren’t there very long. He took his time looking up my body and when he met my eyes, my reaction changed.
Ohmygosh became holyshit.
His eyes had changed. Jack had intentions and he was losing the battle with himself to not touch me. Then, without speaking a word, because there no point in anymore talking, Jack made another move at me. I was in an even more vulnerable position, on the floor, Jack on me. As our lips touched, his mouth opened and our tongues met. Each time felt better than the one before. Kiss after kiss started to come and I wasn’t able to keep up with his pace. By the time I tried to close my mouth on his lips, he was opening his mouth, kissing me again. His breathing grew and my face was flooded with his warm breath.
My hands dug at the carpet, wanting to grab Jack.
My breathing sounded jumpy, my heart and nerves were racing.
Then I felt his hand touch my hip. His thumb dug and played with my hipbone, a spot that I never knew would feel like it did being touched. His strength was as intense as his stare. We looked at each other and I could see his eyes wanting to flutter, wanting to speak to me in ways he couldn’t. Just knowing that was enough for me to understand all I needed in that moment.
Jack’s hand started to travel. When he touched my side, my bare skin, I shuddered and moaned. It was a loud moan, sort of embarrassing considering the mildness of the touch. But it’s what the touch implied…
Holyshit.
Jack wasn’t done there. His fingers wiggled, tickling me for a second, as he worked his hand under my shirt. That’s when I gasped for air, prompting him to pause.
“Tessa…”
“No, go,” I whispered.
“Go…?”
“No. I mean… don’t go. Don’t stop. Just fucking kiss me. And touch me.”
How was that for to the point?
Jack kissed me, gently, and pulled back again.
I groaned.
“If you aren’t sure…”
“Don’t ask because it doesn’t matter.”
“I’m not asking because of you, I’m asking because of me.”
“Why?”
“Because…” His hand inched up my shirt. “When this starts” - his hand moved to my stomach, his fingers spread, going up - “I can’t and won’t” - his fingertips touched the bottom of my bra - “stop…”
His mouth met mine again as his hand slid over my bra, over my breast, and he squeezed.
It was unbelievable, and it felt so good.
I felt my heart pounding like I never had before. I kissed him hard, trying to take control to force Jack to move faster. I was ready, even on the living room floor of my apartment.
He enjoyed himself, touching me, pleasuring me with
his strong hand. His fingertips started to curl, grabbing the top of my bra. I imagined him pulling, exposing my bare breast to his hand.
Yes.
Please, Jack, yes.
But he didn’t.
Instead, he opened his mouth and groaned. He closed his eyes and squeezed them tight. His hand moved down off my breast, back to my stomach and then side. He held tight.
I reached for one of his belt loops. I pulled as hard as I could, forcing Jack forward. When he came down at me, I lifted my lower half. He touched me and just knowing that his body reacted the way I wanted it to made me reach a climatic level of pleasure that had been somewhat unknown to me.
When he tried to move away, I shook my head.
“No, please no,” I begged. “I’m… I’m… finishing, Jack…”
I really was.
My finger was tight around his belt loop and his hand held me tight moving with my stomach as it fluttered up and down, up and down, up and down.
My body pulsed from the intensity of the pleasure and the way Jack looked at me. He looked surprised but in control. He started to smile when he understood what I was telling him and watched the way I reacted to it. If I had to admit it, it had been a very long time since the last time I finished.
It was the first time with a man.
I continued to shudder. I lifted myself because my body wanted more. I became greedy for Jack. I wanted to grab Jack and pull him in for a kiss but I couldn’t. My left hand held me up. My right hand couldn’t let go of Jack’s pants. I couldn’t let him move.
“Tessa,” Jack said, “are you okay?”
I let my head fall back and I started to laugh. Of course I was oaky. I was better than okay. I was…
“Amazing. Jack. Amazing.”
As I started to lift my head, I felt Jack nuzzle my neck. His nose pressed against my skin, inhaling my morning scent. A mix of sleep, desire, and lust. Oh, the lust. He touched his lips to my neck but he didn’t kiss me. He just ran them along my neck to my chin. I slowly lifted my head but again, we didn’t kiss.
“I can’t,” he whispered. “Not like this, Tessa.”
I felt my needs deflating and I let his pants go. I touched his leg, squeezing it once, thinking about exploring elsewhere.
But Jack was shaking his head.
“I swear to you,” he said, “I will. Soon.”
“I want…”
“I know what you want, Tessa, trust me, I know. I can feel you, more than you realize.”
I took a deep breath, wanting to know everything.
My stomach growled, loud enough that Jack felt it.
He looked down and said, “I agree.”
“No, we don’t have to do anything…”
Jack kissed me and climbed to his feet. I remained on the floor, satisfied and frustrated. It was a strange combination.
My stomach growled again.
Oh, I was hungry too.
“Come on,” Jack said and put his hand out.
I took it and he helped me to stand.
“You have to promise you’ll tell me…”
Jack wouldn’t look into my eyes then. He looked beyond me. It worried me. I could feel the mood in the room starting to dim, so I slipped by Jack, going to my bedroom.
“Hey, Tessa?” he called.
“Yeah?”
“I know a place we can go. Small place. You’ll love it.”
I looked at myself in the mirror, frantically trying to fix my hair.
Love it? I thought. How about I tell you, Jack, that I love you?
6
I should have known where he was going to take me, and I should have known he’d be driving a small, black two door speedster, a car that fit his untamed personality and sexual undertones that never seemed to end.
I didn’t ask about the car because all that mattered was that I sat in the front seat next to him. The car smelled of him, his own warm smell. It teased my senses, but as he parked in Thorns small parking lot, I didn’t want to get out.
“I heard this place is good,” he said, smiling.
“Yeah. The one barista is really cool. You’d like her.”
“Is she working today?”
I shook my head. “No. She’s out… with… a…”
“That’s good,” Jack said, disregarding my attempt to label us. What was the big deal, right? I wanted a label for us. Was that wrong?
Maybe.
We had met, at least in the present, just yesterday. I would be presenting him to the world as a stranger but the way I felt and the way we looked at each other, it would be obvious that there were secrets behind Jack.
Oh well. Let people guess… let them wonder…
“You know why it’s good?” Jack asked.
“No. Why?”
“If she was working, I’d probably spend the day flirting with her.”
“You’re an animal,” I said.
Jack took my hand and nibbled it. Then he kissed it.
“Tessa, you haven’t seen a thing… yet…”
He let my hand go, and it suspended in the air, with my heart and emotions.
We walked into Thorns and the place was a little busier than most mornings. I then realized it was Saturday. I saw many of the regulars, a few uncommon faces, and Gabrielle standing behind the counter.
The bitch.
Sorry, but it was true.
Gabrielle was the bitch of the café.
She was somehow affiliated or related to Jerry, whatever it was, I didn’t care.
The first day I met her, I made the horrible mistake of calling her Gabby and ever since then she flat out hated me. If I was there and took an order, she’d mess it up on purpose just to watch a customer get pissed at me. If I cleaned something, she’d dirty it. No matter what I did - or anyone did really - she would go against it. Even with Brett, dare I say his name. She tried to flirt with him but it was such a sad attempt. Then again, she was probably lucky in that situation, considering what happened.
I stopped and turned, looking up at Jack. His eyes scanned the café like a vicious predator ready to attack. He was on the search for something. My angry stomach demanded food.
“Here, sit here,” Jack said.
He pulled out a chair. It scraped against the floor, calling for all eyes to look at Tessa and her guy. That included Gabrielle, who looked shocked. Shocked to see me with a guy. Shocked to see me with such a hot guy.
Take that, bitch.
I smiled and waved to Gabrielle.
She gave the quick head nod thing and looked away.
I sat and Jack walked to the counter to get us food. He didn’t ask me what I wanted but something told me he already knew.
When he came back holding two coffees, I could have lunged from the table at him. It was the only time I lost the urge to lunge at Jack.
We drank coffee in silence, Jack looking very comfortable in the café.
Like he knew the place.
Like he had been here plenty of times.
“Was it the first time?” I asked.
I noticed from the corner of my eye Gabrielle watching us. I slowly slid my hand to touch Jack’s. He looked at my hand but didn’t do anything.
Damn.
“First time what?”
“With the newspaper. The article. Was that the first time you were in here?”
“If I said yes would you believe me?”
“Not for a second.”
“Then you have your answer.”
Right on time, a middle aged woman named Annie brought our food to us. Thorns didn’t have a huge menu, but their egg and cheese sandwiches were amazing. Jack had ordered me the sandwich on a croissant. Exactly what I would have wanted.
He was really good.
We ate but I wasn’t dropping the current subject.
“Tell me, when were you in here?”
“I protect you, Tessa, always.”
That’s when I really had my answer. The answer to a question I didn’t
ask yet.
I finished my last bite and drank the last little bit of my coffee. Jack did the same and when he looked at me, he could tell I knew something.
“What?” he asked.
“You hit him, didn’t you?”
“Hit who?”
“Can I see your hands?”
Jack put his hands on the table, fingers spread. When I looked at his hands, I thought about the places they explored earlier that morning. My body gushed but I had to stay focused.
Sure enough, when I looked hard enough I noticed a small cut on the middle knuckle of his left hand. The kind of cut that could happen from punching someone in the mouth.
“You did,” I whispered. “You saved me from him.”
“From who?”
“Don’t play games. Tell me, Jack. Right now.”
Jack didn’t have to tell me a thing, but he did. I had been on edge for so long. Between him showing up and our intimate moments, I needed something else from him.
“I had to do something,” he said. “Normally, I let you handle yourself, but sometimes you get yourself into situations…”
“I do?” I asked, instantly taking offense. “I caused what happened?”
“You unlocked the door.”
Damn, he was right.
“Brett was…”
Just saying his name made Jack’s nostrils flare. His eyes became beady and violent. He looked ready to kill, for me. It was oddly romantic.
I shouldn’t have said Brett’s name, that much I knew now.
Jack pushed back from the table and my hand closed around his wrist. If he wanted to get away he could have, I’m no where near that strong.
He stopped moving and just stared.
“I unlocked the door,” I said, “which I regret.”
“Good to know you regret it now. If I hadn’t been there…”
“You were.”
“It wasn’t my job then. Tessa, there’s… there’s things that happen when I’m not supposed to be involved.”
“Like what?”
Jack scanned the café. The rumbling sound of voices, coffee gurgling, and the gentle clanking of plates and cups took over all sound around us.
Not here, I thought.
“Not here,” Jack said. “In fact, I have something I need to do.”
“Today?”
“Right now. Sorry.”
He stood up. He walked to the counter and took care of the bill while Gabrielle attempted to flirt with him. It made my blood boil. I wanted to attack her, but I reminded myself of what I had been able to do with Jack so far… much more than Gabrielle could ever attempt to have.
Hurt Like HELL (new adult contemporary romance) Page 11