Unforgettable Heroes Boxed Set

by James, Maddie

  Living up to Jack’s annoying nickname was not what she had in mind for this weekend. Ellie gazed blankly into the mirror, mentally reviewing each and every scenario she’d played through her head over the course of the last six weeks. Nope. Not one of those scenarios involved her spewing snot all over Jack Rudolph the minute she laid eyes on him.

  She huffed and opened the medicine cabinet, hoping a little pressed powder and a fresh swipe of mascara could repair some of the damage. As for the rest, maybe the red push-up bra and matching panties she’d splurged on could distract him. She sure hoped so, because every scenario she’d cooked up relied on the judicious use of lingerie. Every single one of them. New lingerie and a battle plan of tactics specifically geared to elicit the low, husky chuckle that made her heart flutter when they argued over ending their nightly phone calls.

  Lingerie and laughter were a yes. Sneezing and wheezing were definitely a no. Still, a flutter of hummingbird wings took flight in her stomach when she conjured the image, but luckily not the scent, of those long-stemmed crimson roses. They were beautiful. And considering the habitual price gouging that takes place around the holiday, they must have cost him a fortune. A pang of regret tweaked her heart.

  Ellie snapped the powder compact shut and shoved it back into the cabinet. Her fingers fluttered through her hair again and she gave the seams of her skirt another tug for luck. Bending at her waist, she leaned forward to coax the girls a little higher in the shallow cups of the push-up bra.

  “I guess I should have stuck with chocolates, huh?” Jack called through the door.

  She froze for a second then straightened, giving her boobs another encouraging lift. She smiled and shook her head at the pink blush her reflection wore. “That’s okay,” she answered, reaching for the doorknob. “I’m not a big chocolate fan….” The words died on her lips as she opened the door and was met with an enormous red and gold foil heart. “…Either,” she breathed, wincing as his shoulders slumped and he visibly deflated.

  “But I’ve seen you eat chocolate,” he protested.

  “I mean, I like chocolate,” she said, bobbing her head like one of those ridiculous dolls. “I just…I’m not a chocoholic or anything, that’s all.” Ellie forced a bright smile and took the box from his hand. “Thank you. I’m, uh…sorry about the roses. They looked beautiful.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t think….”

  “There’s no way you could have known.”

  “I could have asked.”

  “Asked out of the blue? On the off chance that one of the most common flowers in the world makes my head explode?” she teased. Ellie raised the lid and the sweet scent of rich chocolate wafted from the box. “These look wonderful.”

  She smiled as she lowered the lid. Intending to offer him a drink, she glanced toward the kitchen and turned her head just as he was swooping in for a kiss hello. His lips glanced off her cheek and an exasperated huff of breath tickled her ear.

  “I’m striking out all over,” he grumbled.

  An anxious giggle burbled in her throat. Ellie swallowed hard and lowered the box of chocolates so she could step closer. “Sorry.” She raised her hand to his chest and tipped her chin up in what she hoped would come across as a clear invitation. “Hello, Jack.”

  “Elfie,” he whispered, fingering a curl just behind her ear.

  His lips were warm and soft. The kiss lingered, stirring the delicious cocktail of nerves and anticipation that fueled her through the day. Jack drew back but she stayed put, inhaling the woodsy scent of his aftershave. She swayed closer and he caught her, his arm banding around her waist as his lips met hers again. Ellie parted her lips, drinking him in, intoxicated by the hint of sugar she tasted on his tongue.

  His eyes were dark and heavy lidded when he pulled away. “I’m so happy to see you.”

  “I’m happy to see you too,” she whispered.

  A hint of a smile played at the corners of his mouth. “Even though I nearly asphyxiated you?”

  “Yeah, even though…” Her fingers curled, bunching the soft wool of his sweater. “Thanks for coming.”

  “You woulda had a hard time keeping me away.” He beamed a smile that made her knees quiver. “It’s been too long.” Jack wound the ends of a curl around this fingertip. “Speaking of too long, your hair has grown out.”

  She ran a self-conscious hand over her hair. “It’s getting there.”

  “I liked it short.” His fingertip grazed the sensitive skin behind her ear. “You have a birthmark.” Ellie leaned into his caress. “It drives me wild.”

  “Does it?” The wispy timbre of her voice made her cheeks burn. “Well, I seem to specialize in driving men crazy.”

  The words popped out of her mouth before she could stop them. A lame attempt at a joke that fell flatter than a pancake. Jack’s hand fell away. He cleared his throat, disrupting the awkward silence that hummed between them.

  “So, uh…maybe I can salvage a little of my plan,” he said gruffly. “Where would you like to go for dinner?”

  The heat in her cheeks migrated south, warming her thudding heart and pulsing through her veins. Her fingers trailed down the front of his sweater. “I thought I’d cook dinner for us,” she said, flashing what she hoped was a flirty smile.

  His eyebrows rose and those warm eyes lit with pleasure. “Really?”

  Ellie smiled, gratified by his enthusiastic response. “Well, you’ve been traveling a lot these past few weeks, and I’m always eating at the hotel. I thought a home-cooked meal would be good for both of us.” Taking his hand, she led him toward the kitchen. “I have it all planned. Caesar salad, a loaf of crusty Italian bread I swiped from the kitchen today, and my famous shrimp scampi.” She placed the heart-shaped box of chocolates on the table and waved him toward a chair.

  Jack drew up short next to the table. The tips of his ears flushed pink. His voice dropped almost a full octave. “Shrimp scampi?”

  Confused by his reaction, she gave his arm a pat. “Don’t worry. It’s a recipe I got from the chef at our hotel in Indianapolis, and it’s killer.”

  The color rushed from his ears to his cheeks. Jack plunged his hands into his pockets and shuffled his feet. “Uh, Ellie?”

  She crossed her arms over her chest, fixing him with a level stare. “What? You think I’m going to poison you?”

  “Well, kind of,” he hedged.

  Ellie spun for the fridge and yanked open the door. “I can cook,” she asserted. Pulling the colander of washed shrimp from the shelf, she whirled to face him. Jack took a hasty step back and bumped into the table. Her jaw dropped. “I’m a good cook!”

  Jack held his hands up in surrender. “I’m sure you are. It’s just…uh, I’m allergic to shellfish.”

  “What?”

  “Kind of like you and the roses, but instead of sneezing, there’s a lot more wheezing. Usually followed by a trip to the emergency room,” he said, emphasizing his shrug with a grimace.

  She blinked, dropping her gaze to the perfect pink shrimp piled in the bowl. “Oh.” Her head jerked up and her gaze flew to his. “Oh!” Ellie turned in a circle, panic gripping her gut as she tried to figure out what to do next.

  “Ellie—”

  She rushed to the trashcan, dumped the contents of the colander into the bag, and tossed the plastic bowl into the sink. “Oh God, I’m sorry,” she muttered, yanking on the plastic handles of the trash bag to pull it from the can.

  “No, I’m sorry. Here, let me,” he offered, stepping forward.

  “No, stay back,” she cautioned.

  Jack rolled his eyes. “I may not be able to eat them, Ellie, but I’m pretty sure they don’t work like Kryptonite.”

  “Stupid.” She pulled the bag from the bin and quickly knotted the handles. “I mean, that’s a pretty common allergy, right?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Jack made another attempt to snag the bag from her grip, but she batted him away. “I’ve got this,” she murmured,
racing for the door.

  “Ellie, it’s cold out there….”

  His words trailed behind her as she shot down the hall to the trash chute. Ellie crammed the bag through the opening. The metal door clanged, swallowing her mistake. A shiver raced down her spine.

  “What am I thinking?” she whispered.

  The wind whipped the hem of her skirt and sliced straight through the thin knit of her sweater. Ellie squeezed her eyes shut and tipped her head back, welcoming the icy bite of winter on her flushed skin.

  “What am I doing?”

  “Ellie?” Jack called into the hallway.

  The sound of his voice made her stomach knot into a ball. Tucking her hands under her arms, she hugged herself tightly as she made her way to the open door. Jack stepped aside and she sidestepped past him.

  “I’m sorry,” he said quietly.

  She shivered again and rubbed her arms to warm them. “We seem to be saying that a lot tonight.”

  Judging by the furrow that dipped between his dark brows, Jack caught the grim note in her tone. He stepped toward her, opening his arms to embrace her. This time, she did a quick two-step and ducked into the kitchen. She bumped the flame under the pot of water up a notch and busied herself with rummaging through the contents of the fridge.

  “I don’t have any jarred sauce. I guess we can have salad and buttered noodles with cheese,” she mumbled.

  “Ellie—”

  “Or we can just order a pizza.” She twisted the dial, killing the flame beneath the pot, and snatched the package of linguine from the counter. “That’s a better idea, right? Right. Let’s do that.”

  “Ellie!” he barked.

  She stilled, her shoulders hunching to her ears as she gripped the edge of the countertop. “We don’t know each other at all,” she whispered. “A night in an airport, one dance on New Year’s Eve….” Her heartbeat slowed to a dull thud. “Why are we doing this?”

  ****

  Jack’s stomach dropped to his feet. He crossed the room in two steps. His hands grasped her arms, trying to pull her away from the sink. “It was more than a night in an airport and a dance.”

  Ellie resisted, shaking her head slowly. “We live hundreds of miles apart. You go where your job takes you, and I go where my job takes me…And seriously, when we do manage a weekend, we almost kill each other in the first fifteen minutes,” she said dejectedly. “What’s the use?”

  He wet his lips and leaned forward, trapping her between the edge of the counter and his chest, afraid if he gave an inch she’d slip away. “Don’t say that,” he rasped. “Don’t you know I’ve been dying to see you?”

  She snorted. “Almost literally.”

  His fingertips bit into the soft flesh of her upper arms. His muscles tensed. Jack suppressed the retort on the tip of his tongue, stepped back, and turned her to face him.

  “Elfie.” His voice cracked when he whispered the silly nickname, but he didn’t care. It had the desired effect. Ellie’s reluctant gaze met his. “I just want to be with you. If that means I have to down the all-you-can-eat shrimp platter at Red Lobster, I’ll take my Epinephrine shot like a man.”

  “Jack, we hardly know each other.”

  A short, sharp laugh escaped him. He took another step back and plowed his hand through his hair. “Jeez, Ellie, how can you say that? I’ve talked to you more than I’ve ever talked to any woman.” She opened her mouth to respond and he held up a hand to stop her. “Yeah, I know that doesn’t sound good, but it’s true. You think I tell every woman about getting pantsed every day in sixth grade?”

  “I hope not.”

  “No! I don’t! Hours, Ellie. We’ve talked for hours.” He threw his hands up in frustration. “We don’t get to see each other very much. I get that. That’s why I didn’t know about the roses, and you didn’t know about the shrimp. Yeah, maybe if we lived closer to each other I’d know you don’t like chocolates.”

  A spark flashed in her eyes. “I like chocolates.”

  “I don’t care if you do or you don’t.” To keep from grabbing her and shaking her, he lowered his hands to his sides, balling his fingers into fists. “I don’t care if you toss them off the balcony with the damn flowers. I just want to be with you.”

  “Why?”

  “Damned if I know!”

  “Boy, you are a sweet talker, aren’t you?”

  “You’re right. You’re making me crazy! You’ve made me crazy since the first time I laid eyes on you. Your eyes make me crazy, your mouth makes me crazy, and that crazy birthmark behind your ear turns me into a raving lunatic.”

  “So this is because of my birthmark?” she shot back.

  “This is because I can’t help myself,” he growled. “I haven’t been able to help myself since I first saw you. I had to chase you down. I had to talk to you.” He closed his eyes, squeezing them tight as he blew out a gusty breath. When he opened them again, he found her staring up at him wide-eyed, and the fight seeped from his pores. “I don’t know why, Ellie. I just can’t help myself.”

  Her teeth sank into the plump fullness of her lower lip, and God help him, all he wanted to do was rescue that tender flesh.

  “Give it a chance,” he whispered. “I know it’s not perfect, but we can work it out. Just give us a chance.”

  “I have to tell you something,” she said in a soft, breathless voice.

  “You can tell me anything.” She hesitated, and he forced a wan smile. “Did you get pantsed in gym class too?”

  “I’m being transferred to Louisville,” she said in a rush.

  Her statement landed like a punch to the gut. Jack blinked to clear the fuzz from his mind, shaking his head in denial.

  “Yeah. I just…I don’t see how….”

  Ellie’s small, sad smile tugged at him, spurring him into action. “We’ll make it work.”

  “But, Jack—”

  Jack planted his hands on his hips. “Little Rock, Louisville, Lubbock… Pick any ‘L’ town you want, I’ll make it work,” he insisted.

  “Why?” she asked softly.

  He hung his head, his fingertips biting into the denim at his hips. “I don’t know why. I just….”

  His thumb grazed the small box tucked into his back pocket and he frowned. Her silence made him nervous. He fidgeted under her steady green gaze. Jack slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the box of candy hearts. Ellie gaped at him when he shook a handful into his palm.

  “Here. Hold this,” he ordered, thrusting the box into her hand.

  Her fingers closed around it automatically. Her forehead creased into puzzled lines as she stared at the box. “Were you afraid we’d run out of things to talk about?”

  “Nope. I just like these,” he said, sorting through the candies is his palm. A smile quirked his lips when he found the one he wanted. He plucked the tiny pink heart from his hand and offered it to her. “But this is what I really want to say.”

  “Be Mine,” she whispered, her gaze fixed on the chatty confection.

  “I don’t know why, Ellie, and I don’t know how. I just know I have to try.”

  She nodded mutely and reached for his hand. Jack jumped when her fingertips brushed his. “May I?” she asked softly.

  “Sure,” he answered in a rough, gravelly voice.

  Ellie daintily sorted through the multi-colored candies. Unsatisfied, she held up the box and raised an inquiring eyebrow. “May I?”

  “Knock yourself out.” She smirked, and he hastened to add, “Not literally.”

  Ellie dumped the remainder of the candies into his palm and began to pick through them. She held out about three seconds before her head jerked up. “Just kiss me, okay?” she asked, clearly exasperated.

  She didn’t have to ask twice. Clutching the candies in his fist, Jack wrapped his arm around her and hauled her to him. He kissed her hard and hot, pouring the crazy into her and holding nothing back. Ellie’s lips parted and she moaned into his mouth. Staggered by the assault
on his senses, Jack stumbled back, pressing his clenched fist to his stomach.

  “What?”

  “You didn’t answer me,” he said in a ragged tone.

  “I thought I did.”

  Jack shook his head adamantly. “Just be mine, Ellie. We can sort everything else out.”

  She tugged at his wrist again, cradling his hand in both of hers. His fingers unfurled, revealing the jumble of heart-shaped pleas he held in his palm. Ellie plucked a yellow one from the mix and held it up for him to read.

  He gave her a brisk nod. “I will. I will call you.” She touched the candy to his lips and he opened automatically, crunching down on his promise.

  Ellie chose a green candy and held it up for his perusal. A smile spread across his face. “I want to be your guy, but you’re making it a little rough on me.” She popped the candy into her mouth and started searching for another. “You could just talk to me,” he suggested.

  “Where’s the fun in that?” she mumbled, rooting through the sayings. “Really? Tweet me?”

  “They have to change with the times.”

  A smirk twitched her lips then smoothed into a brilliant smile as she chose a purple one from the pile. “Me plus you?” Her smile widened when he bobbed his head with gusto. “They need to put more of the ‘Kiss Me’ ones in here,” she complained.

  With a flick of his wrist, Jack sent the remaining candies skittering across the floor. He wrapped his arms around her, lifting her to her toes and kissing her down to her soles. Her fingers threaded through his hair and locked at the nape of his neck. His hand slid from the small of her back to the curve of her bottom. Ellie gave a little hop but she bounced off his body.

  “Stupid skirt,” she muttered, clutching the countertop for balance.

  Jack grinned. “I like the skirt. Very sexy secretary.”

  A spark of challenge lit her evergreen eyes. Her hands distracted him, fluttering to the small of her back. The sound of a zipper caught his full attention. His gaze dropped to the snug black skirt, flew up to meet Ellie’s gaze, then followed the soft whoosh of fabric as it fell at her feet.

  Jack swallowed hard, his eyes locked on the scrap of red lace that hugged the rounded curves of her hips. She planted her hands on his shoulders. A sultry smile curved her lips. Ellie shook her head and took another leap, this time wrapping her arms and legs securely around him.