by Joanna Blake
"Because I'm flying back to LA."
"But we have a concert in three days!"
"Don't worry Perry. I'll be there."
10
"There there Dandy. This will all be over in a few minutes."
Jessica held the miniature pincher gently as she withdrew blood. She pressed firmly as she withdrew the needle, handing the sample off to the waiting vet tech.
"We'll see what the blood work shows, but judging from his lack of appetite and weight loss, I think we might want to start him on a diabetes diet right away."
Dandy's mom nodded. The poor woman looked worried sick. She was one of the people who truly treated their pets as children. Jess smiled encouragingly and handed her some free samples.
"Here, take a few cans to try until we sort this out. We already got urine and blood. We should know in just a few days. Try not to worry."
Jessica smiled as the woman collected her dog and was shown out of the examination room.
"Jess! Oh my GOD- he's here!"
Cathy was whispering so loud the whole hospital could hear her.
"What are you talking about Cathy?"
"Kendall freaking Jackson."
Her stomach dropped out of her body and hit the floor.
"What? What is he doing here?"
"He's here to see you. He - uh - has an appointment. Crazy, right?"
Oh god. He was here to see her. He must be.
"I'll be right out."
"Take your time. We are all enjoying looking at him- he's gorgeous!"
Jessica washed her hands and patted her face with cool water. She checked her hair and makeup. Not that she was wearing much, other than the faintest hint of lip gloss. It was all gone anyway. She dabbed a bit on and patted down her pony tail.
She sighed. She was definitely not looking sexy. She looked like she was at work. Which she was. Maybe he was just there in a professional capacity.
Yeah right.
She walked into the lobby. There he was, standing there with a leash loosely clasped in his hands. A scruffy looking mongrel sat at his feet.
Kendall Jackson had a dog.
She took a deep breath and walked forward.
"Hi."
He smiled at her and her bones turned to jello.
"Hi."
"If you'd come this way please."
He followed her into the examination room. Then he just stared at her, not saying a word. She pulled on a fresh set of rubber gloves.
"I thought you were in New York."
"I was. I have to go back tomorrow actually."
She frowned. Did he come back for her? She knelt down in front of the dog, trying to buy time to sort out how she was feeling.
"And who do we have here?"
"She doesn't have a name yet actually. I just got her from the pound."
She stared at him. Had he adopted a stray just to- what? Get to see her? That was insane.
"They were about to euthanize her. I couldn't let them do that."
"So you were just hanging around the pound when this eleventh hour rescue went down?"
He opened his mouth and shut it. Then he gave her the look. She tried to resist it but she couldn't.
The look that said I came here to see you. I did it for you.
The look that said I want you.
"You know why I was there Jess."
"I do?"
"Alright. I'll spell it out for you. I met this girl I really liked. I thought she liked me too. But for some crazy reason she ran out on me without leaving her phone number."
"So you adopted a stray dog. Makes perfect sense."
"It does?"
"Yes."
She smiled at him. How was she supposed to resist?
"Good. Because for a minute I though I was going crazy."
She laughed. She couldn't help it. He was adorable.
"Let's see how this unnamed little lady is doing."
She called for a vet tech and they lifted the elderly dog up onto the table for the examination. As soon as it was on the table, it slobbed it's tongue up the side of Jess's face.
"Hey now, I just met you!"
**********
Kendall watched as Jessica examined the dog. He felt so many conflicting things at the moment, it was making his head spin.
First of all, he was impressed. He hadn't really been able to picture the adorable little sex kitten from Vegas as a real doctor. But damn if she wasn't. She was good too- he could tell she knew what she was doing.
Not only was she putting the dog at ease, but she was putting him at ease too.
She moved quickly, not lingering too long over anything that might make the dog nervous.
So yeah, he was impressed.
But more than anything, he wanted to kiss her.
"Okay, so your unnamed friend here is about seven years old. Slightly malnourished but in other wise good health for an senior. We will know more when we get the test results back."
She was tapping away on the computer.
"We really need a name for the animal though."
She turned and gave him a funny look. He realized he was grinning goofily at her.
"What?"
"Pizza. Come have pizza with me. Or pancakes. Veggie burgers. Whavever you want."
She sighed deeply.
"Kendall…"
"Come on, you can name the dog if you want. Just come out with me tonight. Now. As soon as possible."
She chewed her lip for a minute. He just waited. Finally she rolled her eyes at him.
"Okay, fine. I get off in a half hour."
"Great. I'll be outside… um, loitering."
She looked a little bit alarmed at his enthusiasm. If she had any idea what he'd gone through to get her to this point, she would probably run. He had to make sure that didn't happen.
"Pepperoni."
"What?"
"Let's call her Pepperoni for now. Make people think about where their meat comes from."
"Great. I love it. Come on Pepper, let's go for a walk."
**********
What the hell was she doing?
Jessica was sitting in Kendall's car again. Only this time it was an SUV and not a sports car. He had two cars apparently.
Of course he did.
He was a celebrity. All celebrities had two cars.
They pulled to the curb in front of Mulberry Street Pizza. Jessica stared out the window, trying not to panic.
She felt Pepperoni's cold wet snout pressed up against her ear and giggled. She sobered immediately.
"We can't leave her in the car."
"It's okay. I'll just get us something to go. We can eat it at my place."
He looked at her with his big green eyes.
"That's okay, right?"
She nodded and watched as he jumped out of the car. He was extremely eager to get her back to his place.
She didn't have a hard time imagining why.
This time she knew already she wasn't going to be able to resist him.
He'd flown all the way back here after tracking her down. He'd gotten a dog for Christ's sake. That was hard to ignore. Besides the fact that she'd missed him horribly since she left Las Vegas.
She groaned. She was already attached.
How did that happen so fast?
She was petting Pepper when he leaned back into the car.
"What do you think? Is she going to eat this on the way home?"
She shook her head.
"Put it all the way in the back. I'll keep an eye on her."
"Oh good idea."
He put the pizza in the hatch and climbed back in. She stopped him before he pulled into traffic.
"You aren't going to just take her back to the pound are you?"
He turned to stare at her incredulously.
"No. Jesus, Jess what kind of person do you think I am?"
"I don't- I mean - I didn't-"
He ran his hands through his hair distractedly. He did that a lot
when he didn't know what to say.
"I don't know what kind of person you think I am Jess. But that's not the kind of thing I would do." "Okay. I'm sorry."
He stared at her thoughtfully.
"You have a hard time trusting people don't you?"
She just stared at her hands. Jeez, she'd put her foot in her mouth again already. They'd been on a date for less than a half an hour. A date. This was definitely a date. He reached out and took her hand, making her look up at him.
"We're going to have to work on that. Okay?"
She took a deep breath and smiled at him.
"Okay. I'll try."
She was surprised to realize how much she meant it.
**********
Pizza.
He'd managed to get her to agree to pizza. Sure it was a disposable food. But it was something. And now they were on the way back to his place.
Oh crap, he needed dog food!
At the next light he pulled out his phone and typed into the Fresh Direct app. He ordered beer and dog food. And eggs. In case she stayed the night.
Jesus Christ, he was hoping she would spend the night.
That thing with the dog though- that had thrown him for a loop. He could tell that someone had hurt Jess. Really fucking bad. Thinking about it was enraging. He wanted to punch someone. Whoever had made her feel like this.
He sounded like an over protective boyfriend already. It was only their second date. But he couldn't help it. Something about her made him want to look after her. And he wanted to do it for a long time.
Kendall never really thought long term with girls before. He'd sort of gone with the flow. If a girl liked him and she was nice he'd give it a chance. That's if he found her attractive. And in the business.
All of this was new to him.
Jessica was real, but she wasn't particularly nice. She wasn't in the business and she wasn't attractive. She was stunning. Not in a fake eyelashes, dressed up to go to the Grammy's sort of way, though he knew she could pull that off if she wanted to. No, Jess was stunning in an everyday, making the sun rise and set kind of way.
Beautiful.
He glanced at her periodically while he drove. She was stroking Pepper's chin as the dog leaned between their seats. He felt a surge of jealousy toward the dog. Hopefully soon, she'd feel the urge to stroke him.
Oh god… he shouldn't think about stroking right now. Not when he was so pent up that he thought he would burst. He felt blood surge into his groin. Down boy. Christ.
He pulled off the freeway onto one of the winding roads that headed up a hill to the cliffs.
They were almost home. He found himself wondering if she'd like the place. He hoped so. He hoped she'd want to spend a lot of time there.
A lot.
*********
Jesus.
Jess turned in a circle and stared around the house. Huge windows were everywhere along the back, all of them overlooking the ocean.
Kendall lived in a magazine shoot.
She inhaled deeply. She was in over her head. Really, really far over her head.
Not only was she clearly outclassed but she was falling for him.
Hard.
There was no use in denying it. She was in deep. She felt tiny, and not just in the physical sense.
"Want to eat on the deck?"
She nodded.
"Can I help?"
He handed her some napkins and cutlery.
"I'll be right out."
Jess walked out to the deck. Lounge chairs were everywhere. A low sectional faced out toward the ocean with a coffee table in front of it. She sat down and wrapped her arms around herself.
"Cold?"
"No. I'm good."
She forced herself to drop her arms from the protective position she'd been in. He put down two pizza boxes and left again. This time he came back with two plates and two beers.
Pepperoni trailed behind him, plopping down on the deck to stare at them.
He opened the beers and handed her one.
"Thanks."
She flipped open the pizza lids.
"Broccoli and mushroom. The other one is Hawaiian."
She made a little face at the thought of eating grilled pineapple with cheese. He laughed.
"It's good, try it."
She shrugged and reached for a slice. Pepper watched dolefully from the floor.
"Sorry Pep, you wouldn't enjoy this anyway."
The doorbell rang.
"What's that?"
"I ordered dog food. Be right back."
Kendall came back in a few minutes with a bowl of dog food. Pepperoni looked at him adoringly. He did have a way with animals, that was for certain.
Hell, he had a way with her.
They ate in companionable silence. He smirked when she reached for a second slice of the hawaiian pizza. It was surprisingly delicious.
They finished around the same time and sat there drinking beer for a little while, watching the sun set.
It was perfect.
Kendall scooted over toward her until their sides were pressing together. Tingles spun through her body at the contact. Then he leaned back against the couch with his arms along the back.
She stared at him in confusion as he closed his eyes and sunk into the couch.
Hot lust was pooling in her stomach but he was apparently going to take a nap.
Awkwardly she scooted back and leaned her head onto the cushions beside him. Almost immediately his arm encircled her shoulder and pulled her into him. Then he started making lazy circles against the bare skin of her upper arm. It almost tickled, but not quite.
She stole a glance at him. He looked supremely relaxed, as if he might be on the brink of falling asleep. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to do the same.
After a little while she realized that her nipples were hard.
Really hard.
Her breathing was shallow, making a soft sound. Kendall's breathing had gotten louder too.
Abruptly he shifted, pulling her onto her side to face him. He lifted her, adjusting her until she was nestled close, but not touching him. She stared up into his face but his eyes were closed.
"What are you doing?"
"Enjoying the moment."
He was manhandling her. Not enough to make her mad, but he was definitely moving her around to suit him. She had a sudden image of him doing that to her in bed…
His hand had access to her hip now. Again he started making lazy circles. It felt… really good. But it was driving her crazy at the same time. She couldn't help it. Her hips made a little rocking twist of need.
"Your awfully squirmy."
"Ah- that tickles- oh my god!"
His hands were skimming up and down her body now, making her writhe on the couch. His voice was low and husky as he practically whispered in her ear. His breath fanned her neck, sending even more spirals of anticipation through her.
"You don't like it?"
"I- um- I guess-"
He smiled at her and she lowered her eyes. Jess stared blindly at his chest while Kendall Jackson slowly and skillfully made her more aroused than she'd ever been in her life.
**********
He was going to drive her insane. That was the plan. Unfortunately, or fortunately, that was a two way street. The little gasping sounds she was making were making him want to tear her clothes off.
Seemed like she might want that too.
Not yet… pace yourself Kendall.
There was no doubt in his mind that he was going to get what he wanted tonight: her in his bed. And if he was clever enough, he'd find a way to keep her there.
Indefinitely.
He let his wandering hands dance lightly over her breasts now, but just for a second, and then back down her body to her thighs. He was teasing her mercilessly. He could tell it was working. He smiled grimly. This might be just as hard on him, but it was well worth it.
Jess looked like she was ready to fly off the couch.
No, he was going to make sure she was begging for him to touch her.
She wouldn't want to leave this time. She'd want to stay. She'd want to be his.
He leaned his head into her neck and let his lips brush her skin.
"Jess?"
"Uh huh?"
"Are you okay?"
"Hmmmfff… yeah… fine."
He grinned. His evil plan was working. Maybe it was time to go inside.
"Let's go inside. Okay?"
She gasped and nodded jerkily. He stood and led her inside, this time taking the sliding glass doors directly to his bed room. Once inside he shut the door. Jess was staring at his bed, her mouth slightly open.
He crossed to her and lifted her chin. Slowly he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her, lighter than a butterfly kiss. His hands slid over her arms, barely touching her. She was swaying toward him slightly as he continued his tender onslaught. Slowly he started lifting her sleeveless top up and over her breasts. He stopped kissing her long enough to pull the top over her head. He dropped it and went back to what he was doing.
He was not in a rush. He was going to enjoy every second of this. It felt like he'd been waiting for this forever, even if it was less than a week.
Jess moaned as he let the back of his hand scrape across her bra. He grinned, glancing down. Her nipples were hard, practically poking a hole in the plain white bra she wore. He had never seen a girl wearing something so utilitarian before.
It was sexy as hell.
His hands drifted over her back, skimming over her hips and back up again.
She whimpered.
He swooped down and caught her mouth, kissing her a little bit deeper this time. Her lips were pillowy and open as he pulled away again. This time he pulled off his own shirt, then drew her closer, so that her nipples scraped against his skin.
Hmmmmm…
Then he was kissing her again, more urgently now. His hands drifted up to her bra closure and unsnapped it. He didn't stop kissing her as her bra fell away. He didn't want to give her a chance to get skittish again. From here on out, he was going to keep her constantly distracted.