He climbed into the driver’s seat, started the car and waited. “Which way?”
“Go south.”
He shook his head. “I have no sense of direction.”
She pointed to her right. “That way.”
“That works.” He pulled the car onto the main drag.
“From where we are, the Strip is west.”
Jackson shook his head again. “I’m not kidding when I say I have no sense of direction. I once had a meeting at the university in Anchorage. When it was over, I couldn’t figure out how to get to my office. Anchorage isn’t that big.”
She laughed, enchanted a man would confess such a flaw. Especially one related to Max. “What did you do?”
“I could get from my house to the university and from my house to the office.” He shrugged. “I went home. Once I got there, I could get back to my office.”
She giggled and Jackson flashed a mock glare at her. “I’m sorry but having a man, any man, admit he can’t find his way around his home town is pretty funny,” she said.
“It’s embarrassing.”
“It’s kind of cute.” His eyes flashed with surprise and Dani winced. She shouldn’t be flirting with him. He was Max’s brother. A definite no-no in her book—you didn’t date friends of ex-boyfriends and that went double for brothers.
She directed him toward her house, the conversation light and easy.
“Do you like living in Vegas?”
She laughed. “It’s okay. Kind of hard to be a Vegas show girl in many places you know?”
“I guess that would limit where you could work. Hmm.”
“What?”
“I just never thought about it. What do you do when you can’t be a dancer?”
She shrugged and looked out at the lights of the city, trailing her fingernail across the glass. “I’ll find something. I’m interested in photography.”
“Like Max?”
She cringed. She didn’t want to bring her sort-of fiancé back into the conversation. “Not really like Max. I like portraits and faces.” She took a deep breath and spun around to look at Jackson.
“What about you? You live in Alaska, right? What’s that like?” Her questions carried a little too much force, making it obvious she wanted to change the subject but Jackson seemed to go with it, telling her about his life and work. Somehow the way he spoke and the deep timbre of his voice made even accounting sound interesting.
He pulled into her parking lot and shut off the car. She thought he’d say good night but instead climbed out. He opened her door and took her hand. She appreciated the gesture. Exiting a low-slung car in a miniskirt wasn’t the most ladylike endeavor. And she wasn’t wearing underwear. Somehow she’d missed collecting those from the bedroom floor.
Of course, he’d already seen her. Sprawled across the floor. Her cheeks heated up just thinking about it. And he’d looked. No way he could have avoided it. Her one consolation was that he’d responded as well. His cock, already hard, had lengthened even more.
Need weakened her knees. Wow, she’d forgotten what it was like to feel this strength-stealing kind of desire. Hunger, really. Like she wanted to eat him up. She licked her lips, imagining doing just that. His cock sliding into her mouth. Yeah. That would be—
She shook her head. What was she doing? She was thinking like a guy—all sex, no substance. She blushed, trying to blame her reaction on the third and fourth cosmos she’d downed at the club.
“Thanks,” she said, conscious she was breathless. Turned-on and he hadn’t even touched her. He’d been very specific not to touch her, as if he felt the same restrictions between them. “Uh, well, thanks for the ride home.”
“I’ll just make sure you get safely to your door.”
With any other man she’d have suspected he was angling for an invitation inside, but not Jackson. She’d known him less than an hour but knew she could trust him. Rely on him.
Strange.
Not that Max hadn’t been trustworthy or reliable. She could always rely on him to try to get into her bed. Even when she was tired or crabby, he’d seduce her into sex.
She looked at Jackson, amazed at how much he looked like Max. But she’d never again mistake one for the other. The light in his eyes reflected a different energy, steady and calm but humming with an excitement she felt in her core.
They zigzagged through the condos until they reached Dani’s. It wasn’t huge but it belonged to her. That little bit of independence went a long way in making her feel grown up.
“This is it.” She lived a few buildings away from the condo pool and had good neighbors. They all watched out for each other.
“It’s nice.”
She shrugged. “I like it. And it’s mine.” She smiled. “You know, no roommate.” Now why had she felt compelled to mention that? She never would have if this had been a normal first date but it wasn’t a date. And this was Max’s brother. The reliable, slightly boring brother if Max’s description could be believed. But nothing about Jackson struck her as boring. He was funny and sweet. And he had this power in him—completely different from his brother’s energy—that just seemed to radiate calm and strength. Protection. With an undercurrent of sex.
Still, that didn’t give her leave to drop hints.
She dug her keys out of her purse and unlocked the front door. She turned to Jackson. A low sexual spark fluttered beneath her skin. Even before she spoke she knew it was a bad idea. Way too tempting. But none of that stopped her from speaking.
“Would you like to come in for coffee?” She hadn’t intended her voice to sound seductive…or maybe she had. Heat flared in Jackson’s eyes and she knew he recognized the hunger.
“I would love to come in for coffee.” He came forward, his hand gripping the doorframe, physically holding himself outside. “But I’m sure that’s not a good idea.”
She nodded but moved closer, pressing up on tiptoes. She figured she had one chance to kiss Jackson and she wasn’t going to miss it. She tipped her head to the side and parted her lips. If he moved back, she could peck his cheek and claim it was a “thank you for driving me home” kiss.
But Jackson didn’t back away.
He bent forward and met her, accepting the subtle invitation to taste her. His lips whispered across hers, the gentle touch at odds with the power she sensed inside him. He repeated the delicate caress, as though giving her a chance to back away. Or himself a chance to rethink what he was doing.
She moved a fraction of an inch closer. The need to press against him flowed through her muscles. She struggled to stay still, letting him lead.
He returned, his lips meeting hers, soft but strong. His tongue eased between her lips, without force, gliding inside her mouth as if it was his right, his territory. She moaned, savoring the spicy taste of him underlying the hint of toothpaste that lingered in his mouth. He shifted and her skin tingled, anticipating the hot press of his body.
But it never came.
Torturously slow, he pulled away, as if his lips were reluctant to leave hers. She licked her lips, capturing the faint taste of his mouth, enough to tease her into wanting more.
“I should be going.”
She nodded, echoing his unspoken comment. Neither wanted him to leave but they both knew he had to. Neither was willing to cross that line. Not yet.
“Thanks for driving me home,” she said, suddenly shy. She stepped back and started to close the door.
“Wait.”
Her heart missed a beat. What would she do if he changed his mind?
Then his eyes crinkled. “You need to give me directions back to Max’s.”
He said it with such seriousness that she forced herself not to smile. A man who asked for directions. A phenomenon she’d never expected.
She grabbed a pad in the basket by the door and jotted down instructions to Max’s place. She ripped out the page and handed it to him.
“Oh wait.” She snatched the page back and wrote her phone number
on the bottom. “Call me if you get lost or need…anything.”
Jackson fingered the paper as if he was running through the list of “anythings” she could help him with.
She closed the door and sighed, a mixture of contentment and frustration. A wonderful kiss. The kind of kiss that said “this man knows how to fuck”.
She licked her lips, remembering each stroke of his tongue. God, it was easy to imagine that same kind of seductive attention on other parts of her body. Did he like to eat pussy? She wondered. Fuck with the same attention with which he kissed?
He’d seemed almost tentative but Dani could tell it wasn’t from fear or lack of confidence. It was from too much strength. As if he was restraining himself, constraining a wild animal inside him. She smiled at the thought. Right. Jackson was the civilized brother. She wasn’t sure there was an animal inside him.
A giggle tickled the inside of her throat as she pushed away from the door.
But it would be fun to find out.
* * * * *
“Take fifteen, ladies, and then we’ll do it again. From the top.”
Dani groaned in unison with the rest of the girls. A little over a week from opening night and rehearsals were taking on a desperate, vicious tone. She bent down and rubbed the back of her calf. Two weeks off work and her body had forgotten what spending hours in three-inch heels felt like.
“So, how did last night go? Was the hot and studly Maxwell hard and ready?” Jessica teased as she offered Dani a bottle of water.
She winced. Those hadn’t been her precise words last night but close enough—she might have mentioned that Max was always ready to fuck.
“He wasn’t there.”
“Oh shit, we just dropped you off. Were you standing outside for long?”
“Uh, no. I have a key still.”
“Oh that’s good. That way you could…wait, why are you blushing? Did you search his house or something? Burn his clothes?”
“No.” The break up hadn’t inspired that kind of anger. “I kind of, almost, seduced his twin brother.”
“What?!” Jessica’s shout drew the eyes of the other dancers. “Twin brother?”
“Identical.”
“Oooh, another one? Just as hot and studly?”
“More.” As the word slipped out of her mouth, she knew it was a mistake.
“More? Oh no, now you have the hots for his brother?” Jessica’s moan straightened Dani’s spine.
“I don’t have the hots for him.”
Jessica’s eyebrows popped up.
She sighed.
“Well, okay, maybe, but he’s made it very clear he considers me off limits. And really, I mean, he should be off limits, right? I dated his brother. I slept with his brother. I shouldn’t even be considering Jackson.”
“But you are?”
“No. Not really. It’s just—” She shivered as she thought about their kiss. One kiss and she’d been ready to drop to her knees and beg him to fuck her. That just wasn’t normal. Not for her.
“Yes?”
“Nothing. He was just a nice guy. I mean, not that Max couldn’t be nice.”
“There’s a difference between being nice and being a nice guy.”
“Exactly. Jackson was…” She shrugged. “He was almost sweet.” So not the kind of guy she usually dated. Nice men were either too intimidated to ask her out or too much the puppy-dog to be interesting for long. She laughed. Right. Jackson may have been sweet, but there was nothing puppy-dog about him.
“I think you should call him,” Jessie said.
She looked up. “Jackson?”
“Yes. Call him and take him to dinner.”
“Jessie, I can’t do that. That’s weird.”
“Listen, your eyes have this kind of dreamy distant glow from just talking about the guy. That’s the look of a woman in love.”
She coughed. “I met him last night.” And thought about him all morning.
“So it’s the look of a woman who’s hopeful about love.” Jessie shook her head, her upper lip pulled up in a sympathetic grimace. “I never saw that kind of look when you talked about Max. I mean, you always seemed to be waiting for the right moment to dump him.”
Jessie was probably right. She hadn’t expected her relationship with Max to last. Even their engagement seemed somewhat temporary. But did that mean she should go after his brother? A man who’d only be in town for a few days?
God, just think of the two of them talking. Comparing notes. Her stomach turned a slow flip. She couldn’t do it.
“Listen. Call him. All you’ve got to lose is a little pride.”
That was Jessie’s view of the world.
“And I can afford to lose some of that.”
Jessie shrugged and limped away, found her water bottle and bent over to stretch the muscles at the backs of her legs.
Jackson’s kiss, his smile, the honest way he’d admitted he couldn’t find his way home melded in her mind and before she could think better of it, she turned on her phone and hit the speed dial for Max’s house. If Max was there, this was going to be embarrassing. Hell, might be embarrassing even if Max wasn’t there. Jackson would likely think she was some bimbo chasing after every sexy man she met.
Even with those grim thoughts, she listened to the phone ring and couldn’t find the strength—or desire—to disconnect. When the answering machine picked up, she took a deep breath.
“Uh, hi, it’s Dani. Max, if you’re there, uhm, ignore this call. Jackson if you haven’t found your brother and you’re on your own tonight, I thought maybe you’d want to have dinner or something.” She winced as she thought about what that “something” could be. She had a whole list of ideas. “Uh, don’t worry. I’m not intending a big seduction scene or anything.” Great, remind him about the kiss last night. This is just a friendly meal. “I just thought you might, you know, not want to eat alone. Max, if you’re listening to this, ask your brother about the seduction scene comment. You’ll get a laugh out of it. And Jackson, if you want to do dinner, call me.”
She clicked the phone closed and breathed. She’d done it.
The rehearsal director called them back and she stuffed her phone back into bag. She’d have to wait to see if he called back.
* * * * *
“Yes, Jackson, just like that. Oh, again.”
He arched his hips up and drove his cock deeper into the hot slick sex. She tightened around him and pressed down, meeting him, taking him, as if she truly needed his cock inside her.
His fingers bit into her hips, guiding her as they fucked. She tipped her head back, her long black hair hanging down to her ass. Her breasts pushed forward and he couldn’t resist. He reached up and slid his fingers over the full ripe mounds. He flicked his thumb over the tight nipple. Her pussy contracted around his shaft, gripping his cock a little more. Jackson ground his teeth together and pushed the rising orgasm back. He didn’t want this to end, not yet. He needed to be inside her, to fuck her just a little longer. He pumped his hips up, sinking fully into her. Her cry rang in his ears, driving him on.
“Dani.”
The sound of his own voice jolted him awake, his mind coming alert moments before his body. His hips moved, rubbing his cock against the soft couch cushions.
He groaned and rolled on his back, his eyes open, staring up at the ceiling. He had the damn thing memorized by now. He’d looked at it all night. Except for those moments when he’d forced his eyes shut struggling to convince his body to sleep. The wolf inside him was too wound up to rest. Strange. He’d always battled the wolf, struggled to control the beast. More than his brothers or father. Maybe it was his fear of losing control that made him so aware of the animal’s power. Over the years he’d learned to contain the beast.
Last night, the wolf just wouldn’t calm. Jackson groaned. Normally when his wolf clamored to get free, he’d take a run. That soothed the animal. But here, in the middle of a city in the middle of a desert, he couldn’t imagine a
safe place to release the wolf.
And somehow he didn’t think a run was going to satisfy the animal this time. The wolf wanted to fuck. It wanted Dani.
Without any specific mental command, his hand slid down his body, finding his cock hard and pressed against the sheet. He’d been like this most of the night, unwilling to bring himself off because he wouldn’t, couldn’t use his brother’s fiancée as his jerk-off fantasy. But nothing else seemed to do it. His fingers curled around the base of his cock and he slowly stroked up, keeping the touch light, remembering the heat of Dani’s mouth, her pussy. God, it would be so easy to come.
He jerked his hand away, draped his arm across his eyes and took a deep breath. The faintest trace of her scent lingered in the room but Jackson took it in, savored it.
This was so screwed up. He couldn’t want Dani. She belonged to Max. They were engaged.
They’re on a break.
Didn’t matter. Max was his brother—hell, he was his best friend—and Jackson couldn’t poach on his woman.
They’re on a break.
“Arrrgh.” The sound echoed through room and came back to him reverberating with his own frustration. Damn, he needed to talk to someone. He smiled. This was the kind of thing he could talk to Mandy about. She was practical, logical, down to earth—the female version of him.
Of course, he didn’t need to call Mandy to get her advice. She’d tell him what he already knew—Dani belongs to your brother.
Besides, she had enough stress, trying to clear her father’s name. And you were supposed to be helping her.
Jackson groaned. Fuck. He’d been scheduled to go to dinner with Mandy and her “friends” last night. Shit. He’d spaced it, so intent on discovering what was bothering Max.
He rolled off the couch, tugged on his shorts—in case his brother came home—and ran downstairs to the phone. He dialed Mandy’s cell, though he was pretty sure she wouldn’t answer. She didn’t pick up unless she recognized the number.
He glanced down. The answer machine flashed with a message. When had he missed a call? As he listened to the phone dialing, he hit the button, thinking it might be a message about Max.
Jackson's Rise Page 3