by Leanne Davis
She turned around again to leave. He licked his lips, then said, “I don’t want to be off the hook.”
She stopped dead. She looked at him over her shoulder. “Then what? What do you want?”
“I don’t know.”
She laughed dryly. “That’s funny, because ever since I first met you, you’ve been very clear that you want me to leave you alone.”
“You had a fiancé. What about him?”
“Trent is always first on your mind, isn’t me? Anyways, I think you pretty much took care of that for me.”
“So, I’m second choice?”
“No, you were my choice; you just didn’t want to hear it. I gave Trent his ring back. But why does it matter now?”
“I don’t want to hurt you again. But I don’t know if I can give you what you want.”
She nodded. “You’re right. You can’t. I want a relationship, you don’t.”
He digested this information and then stared at her bare finger. “I want—”
“What? What is it you want from me? Why don’t you decide once and for all what you want with me?”
“Hell, I want you,” he said as he pulled her forward against him and brought his mouth down to hers in a white-hot, scorching kiss that involved tongue and teeth and lips. She fell limp against him as he kissed her like it was the last moment on earth. He kissed her despite the split swollen lip and the pain moving caused.
She finally pulled back to look into his eyes. “And this is what? Another go-around? More of you wanting me then pushing me away?”
“No. Just you and me this time.”
She studied him. He could feel her heart racing. He could see her thinking through what had just happened. He’d just declared he wanted her.
She scowled at him. “All right.”
“All right? As in what?”
“As in we go on a date.”
“A date?”
“Yeah, you owe me at least that. A date. Then we’ll see.”
He smiled. “Okay. A date and we’ll see.”
Chapter Fifteen
Jason was quiet and started to withdraw from her as they walked back to her shop. He kissed her goodbye then retreated to his truck with a speed that, if it had been any other man, she would have found insulting. She watched him pull away. Somehow she knew that with Jason, this may be the beginning, but there was so much that was far from worked out.
That was okay with her. Because they were dating and unbelievably it was at Jason’s instigation. She’d known something big was going on in him when he’d shown up at the shop so unexpectedly. Her heart had nearly given out. She’d restrained the urge to run into his arms and forgive him on the spot.
She had avoided Jason the best she could since the night they slept together. Both as punishment for his stubborn, thick-headed ways, and to let him figure out if he wanted her. Space was about the only way she knew to do that.
She’d become friends with Nora, the owner of the shop she worked at, and jogged with her after work. She’d hoped Jason was fuming over where she had disappeared to. Even more petty than that, she had hoped he was eating his heart out, wondering if she was with Trent.
Losing his temper wasn’t so out of character for Jason. What got to her now was how much Jason had cared that she’d heard everything. And that he’d taken the time to hunt her down and apologize to her. That spoke as much about his feelings towards her as his actual apology.
She had a feeling, as his truck disappeared down the road, that Jason didn’t really know what he’d just gotten himself into. And neither did she.
****
The following Saturday night Christine opened the door to find Jason pale and unsmiling. Nerves? She tilted her head and considered it. When they’d first met she had been the overly nervous and unsure one. Now he was. In fact, Jason seemed terrified of her. Things had taken an interesting twist.
He came in and stood awkwardly in the entry, as if he hadn’t lived in this very place a couple months ago. He stared at her.
“What?”
“You look different.”
“I straightened my hair.”
“So all that curl is just your own hair?”
“Yes. I don’t perm, if that’s what you mean.” She turned away from him to hide her smile. Was he really discussing her hair?
“Yeah, that’s the word I was thinking of. I like it, either way. It’s really pretty.”
She tilted her head at him. “Did you just compliment me?”
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I have before.”
“Yeah, your charm nearly sweeps me away.”
“Has so far.”
She laughed out loud. “What does that say about me? I’m easy?”
“No, the last thing you are is easy.”
Then he turned and noticed her table was set and the kitchen looked like it had been used. “What’s going on? Aren’t we going out?”
“I cooked dinner.”
“You cooked for me?”
“Yes. Why are you so surprised?”
“Getting downright domestic, aren’t you?”
“It’s just spaghetti.”
He caught her arm and brought her towards him. “No, it isn’t just spaghetti. No one’s ever cooked for me before.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Yeah it is. I don’t think my mother ever put this much work into a meal for me,” he said, then crossed his arms over his chest as he turned away before she could respond. “So what do we do now?”
She really had underestimated how neglected he had been his entire life. She felt a strong urge to simply wrap her arms around him. But he was so twitchy and on edge acting it wasn’t the right time. She bit her lip to hide her smile of amusement. He was ridiculously stressed to be doing this. “We could try eating.”
He sat down at her little table. He held his body stiffly. Apparently, dating was Jason’s idea of hell. She served the food and waited while he tried it, and since he didn’t spit it out immediately, she figured it was edible. Cooking wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. There were little nuances that the cookbooks didn’t explain. And getting the timing of more than one dish was nearly beyond her. But at least she was trying.
“So what do your parents think of all this?”
She glanced up swiftly and frowned. “All of this as in what? My sudden metamorphosis into what they think of as some kind of adolescent rebellion into a normal life, or, in their words, my cold feet that made me dump Trent?”
“I was thinking more along the lines of what they think about me.”
“You?” She lifted her head up. “They don’t know anything about you. Should they? I mean, ‘Gee, Mom, Dad, I’d like you to meet Trent’s brother, Jason Malone, who I tried to sleep with before I ever gave Trent his ring back. But a point in Jason’s favor, because he turned me down flat. Somehow, after everything I’ve already dumped on them, I couldn’t add that to the list too.”
He didn’t answer.
“What? You think I should tell them?”
“Well, maybe not every detail.”
“They don’t talk to me as it is.”
“They don’t?”
She shook her head. “No, they quit talking to me when I first moved into here. I came home one day and said I was moving into Bill’s apartment and I didn’t want to work at Andrews Enterprises and I had taken a job as a sales clerk in Almstad. Added to that, I announced I wasn’t planning on marrying Trent any time soon, if ever.”
“And what did they say?”
“They were furious. Threatened to cut me off. I said fine, that I’m an adult and they can’t control me any longer. I wasn’t happy and I wanted to find out why and find a way to be. That’s it.”
“Your parents cut you off?”
“Yes. What did you think? They were paying for my experiment here? That’s what they think this is, what Trent thinks this is—hell, even you think this is.�
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He studied her. “I had no idea you had no support. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Why would I tell you? The whole point is to be on my own.”
“That takes guts.”
“What does? Trying to pay a bill for the first time in my life?”
“No, going against everything that was easy, that you were used to, that most people would kill for.”
“I almost married a man I didn’t love because I was afraid to change my mind and disappoint my parents. I think I was about the least courageous person I ever knew.”
“Last you told me, you were still unclear about Trent Are you clear now?”
She met his gaze. “I’m extremely clear now. Trent is furious with me, as he has a right to be.”
Jason nodded slowly. “He does. That’s why I didn’t want to fight him.”
“Is that why you didn’t?”
His eyebrows surged up. “How do you know I didn’t?”
“Because you could have coldcocked him in one punch. It was part of the reason I even heard you out the next day. Your bruised up face told me you didn’t fight back.”
He tilted his head to the side. “My being a wuss who didn’t fight back is what made you listen to me.”
She smiled. “It is. You were decent enough to realize that Trent, though wrong to attack you, had just cause.”
“What made you get clear about what you want?”
She touched his hand. “You. Being with you that first night. I knew you were who I wanted. I was just scared to admit it, so I ran. I just didn’t expect you to have quite the extreme reaction you did.”
He shrugged. “Maybe I overreacted to you leaving that morning.”
“You tend to overreact with me. Maybe hear me out first, then react next time?”
He finally smiled. “I can try. And now that you’re broken up? Where do things stand with Trent and your parents?”
“Fine. My parents still adore him and disdain me. And that’s before they even know the real details.”
“Details, meaning me?”
“Yes. I thought that was best kept between us.”
“I see.”
“Do you understand? Trent is still Dad’s assistant. And the Gallaghers are still my parents’ best social friends. To add that I’m sleeping with Trent’s estranged brother is a lot.”
“Yeah, and I don’t foresee Aaron Andrews liking a lowly ex-convict mechanic with his daughter. And I think you know that.”
She set down her fork and looked at him. “Yes, I know that.”
“At least you’re not going to insult my intelligence by arguing with me. We both know how the world works, even if you don’t want to admit it.”
“I agree my father won’t like the ex-convict part. And in his place who could blame him? But the mechanic part? You work hard at a completely respectable career. What could my father find to object to?”
“The car mechanic part of said career. I mean, Christ Christine, he’s the CEO of one of the most successful companies to come out of Washington.”
“There is that. I get that he can be intimidating. But he’s just my dad.”
“Intimidating? Don’t you think that’s the understatement of the year? Especially if you think he’ll be okay with his only daughter being with a mechanic who makes in a year what he does in a day.”
“I’m a sales clerk.”
“For how long? A few months? If you run up a debt, you literally have limitless funds to cover you. It’s not the same situation as me and you fucking well know it.”
“My family’s money makes you feel insecure.” His temper was always quick. She was going to have to develop a thick skin. “Not my problem.”
“If I worked as a lawyer, wouldn’t it be easier to explain away why you suddenly dumped Trent for his brother? Instead you’re bringing home a car mechanic who is on parole. But you’re not doing that, are you? You’re hiding it.”
“That’s not who you are to me.”
“You still can’t admit who I am, can you?”
“I know exactly who you are. I know what my world is like, what yours is like, but I can’t think of a stupider reason to stop two people from being together.”
“Most people can’t think of a stronger reason to keep two people from being together.”
“I know what you’re saying, and it might be true. But I don’t care if it is. That’s the point you’re missing.”
He sighed, leaning back in his chair. “You are possibly the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met when you make up your mind about something.”
“Or someone.”
He finally smiled at her. “Or someone.”
“Besides, my parents will get over it soon. We’ll make up and I’ll be rich again.”
He shook his head and flashed his teeth. “You’re unbelievable.”
“So I’ve been telling you.”
She got up to clear the table when he grabbed her hand and stood up, pulling her close to him as he ran his hands down her back, pressing her to him. “There’s something I’ve waited for far too long to do.”
****
He lowered his head and caught her mouth in a kiss. He started backing her towards her bedroom door. She felt the shift in his attitude. He’d gone from being unsure, almost solicitous out in her living room, to master and commander in her bedroom. He was relentless, ruthless, and he was doing this now. His hands slid to the hem of her top and yanked it unceremoniously up and over her head. He’d followed it with her bra by the time they’d made it through the bedroom door.
One hand cupped her breast, his thumb flicked her breast, and in that instant she was wet for him. He half-carried, half-pushed her back to her bed as he paused to throw off his own shirt. With one knee on the bed, he pulled her against him so they were skin to skin. He continued kissing her, his hands large and warm on her back. She shivered at the contact. It was frantic and sexual, but there was something more in his touch. It was warmth, care, and gentleness in his large hands that was a surprise to her. From her waist to her shoulders, he rubbed and kneaded as he held her against him, and kissed her mouth in soft pecks until he opened his mouth to hers.
His mouth left hers and kissed her along her jaw, her neck, and down to her breasts. She shivered and held his head in her hands at the waves of desire from the soft, warm contact of his lips on her skin. He took a hard nipple into his mouth and kissed and sucked at first one and then the other again and again. She was moaning and writhing for him as quickly as that.
He ran his hands down her jean-clad legs and back up between her thighs, pressing between her legs. She moaned and her hips rubbed against his hand. She wanted to grind her groin into his hand. It wasn’t enough. She needed him, and needed him now.
“Please,” she whimpered as she grabbed at his belt.
He looked up at her face then, his own gaze heavy with desire. He put his hands to the waistband of her jeans as his lips came back to claim hers. His mouth was warm and smooth as it kept tasting hers, sucking softly at her lips and tongue until her whole body felt like it was being sucked.
He undid her jeans. He reached down with both hands to peel them and her panties off. He ran both hands back up her legs and she shivered with anticipation and yearning. One hand cupped her breast as his fingers lazily rubbed her nipple. His other hand went between her legs, but this time as he pressed against her there was nothing to stop him. She sighed at the release of pressure by his hand.
He moved his fingers into her slowly. Her whole body went lax in his arms. The universe seemed to zero onto the one spot at the end of his fingers. Fire erupted deep in her belly and spread from there, in wave after wave, until it enveloped her every limb. She closed her eyes. He turned her under him so that he could see her face. She could feel him watching her as her body did what his fingers commanded it do. She moaned loudly and almost panted as he kept holding her and touching her. The room spun and her blood roared in her ears, while strange pinpricks
of light exploded behind her closed eyes.
Before she had a chance to recover her senses he was over her, parting her legs and pushing into the very spot that was still controlling her body. At least he’d paused long enough to slip a condom on.
With a moan of pleasure he was inside her. She put her arms around his neck as if holding on, to let him do as he pleased. He was rougher and faster than he had been last time, but she was so on fire, it felt like a hot, agonizing burn inside her. She needed relief from it. And only the deep, hard thrusts from Jason relieved it. She reveled in his movements, his body positioned over her, his arms straining next to her, the beads of sweat on his body, and finally his eyes, intense and focused on her face as he finally pushed into her, and she had to close her eyes as the intensity was all too much. Him. This. Them. It was all way too much to deal with.
Only then did their breathing start to slow. He rolled to the side of her. Her skin started to cool down. She shivered as her senses came back down to the sphere of planet Earth and finally back to her room. She curled next to him for warmth.
He, as usual, didn’t say anything. She finally lifted her head to look at him. He was flat on his back, his eyes were closed, and he looked very satisfied and on the brink of falling asleep. This time, unlike the last, they were going to speak so he didn’t get all weird on her again. What did one say about this? It was earth-shattering. Earth-shaking. It was… well, hell, she had no word for this.
“That was pretty good,” she said. His eyes blinked open surprised. She found his suddenly very interested blue eyes staring back at her.
“That was pretty good?” he repeated. He narrowed his eyes and frowned. He didn’t like the word good.
She smiled. “I mean great. Wonderful. Earth-shattering…the best ever…”
He slowly started to smile back. “The best ever as in…?”
She nodded her head as confirmation. He then rolled onto his side and propped himself up on an elbow, a smile crossing his face. “Really? Wasn’t Trent very good at it?”