by Nina Quinn
The conversation ended, and Jack headed back to my house. He threw a leg over the Harley and rode it into my garage. I heard the garage door come down, and Jack walked back into the kitchen.
“You don’t happen to have any more of that dessert do you?” he asked. He flashed a grin at me that damn near melted my panties.
I’d lost my ability to form a coherent sentence, so I just nodded. His smile grew exponentially, and I was pretty damn sure that underneath that beard he had a dimple on his right cheek.
Dimples were pretty much every woman’s kryptonite. Me included.
###
Jack
I’d found it impossible to sleep. My mind wandered time and time again to the beautiful woman sleeping down the hall. She’d written me a retainer check and officially made me her protector. Ironic, because all I wanted to do, long into the night, was to walk down the hallway and ravish her. Run my hands over her curves, kiss her perfect lips, hold her in my arms and never let her go.
I had a rule during the twenty years I’d served my country: love ‘em and leave ‘em. I’d watched my parents' marriage fall apart over the years my dad had served. It was tough on everybody. But especially my mom. Long periods alone, raising me and my sister. I wouldn’t do that to the woman I loved. Not that I’d ever given a woman a chance. They got one night, and one night only. No time for feelings. No time for emotions. No time for them to plan a walk down the aisle. At least not with me.
But I was out of the military now. I had a choice. Keep my heart locked up tight, or give it to the woman down the hall. If she was even interested. Which I didn’t know. Not for sure. But the moment I’d touched her. Taken her hand in mine, something had happened. A wall came tumbling down. I was pretty sure it was the one I’d built around my heart.
I checked the time. Six-fifteen. I needed coffee, so I roused myself from the couch, folded the blanket, and headed to the kitchen. It felt a little weird to be rifling around in Lisa’s cabinets, but I found the coffee on the second try and fixed a pot.
While the coffee brewed I checked in with Archer and Maverick. Their nights had been as uneventful as mine. Archer had spent the night parked down the street from Lisa’s house. Maverick had spent his keeping an eye on her small office building downtown. He’d pretended to be homeless and camped right outside her building. Said he’d made five bucks from the bar crowd that staggered to parts unknown at closing time.
I heard her before I saw her. Bare feet on the wooden floor approached. When Lisa rounded the corner and stepped into the kitchen, the erection I’d battled most of the night raged with new life. She looked like a sex kitten. Hair slightly tousled, eyes bright, but sleepy, and black yoga pants that hugged her in all the right places. God bless the man, or woman, that came up with the idea for yoga pants.
“Hey, Jack. How did you sleep?”
I got two cups out of the cupboard, poured the coffee, and handed her a mug.
“I try not to sleep on the job. You?” I couldn’t help but notice her toes were adorable and painted blood red. I’m sure there had to be a fancy bullshit name for the color like Cherries in Springtime, but blood red they were. And sexy as hell.
“You know, I slept better than I have all week. Since the first note arrived. I didn’t realize how much my stalker had gotten to me. I’m glad you’re here, Jack.” She tugged on her oversized sleep shirt.
That made two of us. “What’s our schedule for today?” I asked.
“Well, I need to be at the office at eight, lunch meeting at noon at The Artichoke Cafe, then I’m calling it quits for the weekend.” Somehow I didn’t think she did that often, but hanging out with her here for the weekend sounded like a little slice of heaven to me.
Lisa helped herself to another cup of coffee and read the newspaper while I tried not to stare. What can I say? I just couldn’t help myself. Two decades of military training and suddenly my body made no attempt to follow the orders issued by my brain. Like stop fucking staring before you freak her the fuck out.
When she said she was going to shower and get ready for work, I sighed with relief. Until I figured out that thinking of her naked in her master bathroom just about threw me over the edge.
Forty minutes later Lisa joined me in the living room looking like every fantasy I’d ever had. Sexy black patent leather pumps, a red skirt that just skimmed her knees and showed off calves that had me drooling. Not something I normally did. Drool. The red jacket fit her like a glove over a silky looking ivory shirt. And that was it. She was the woman I would fantasize about for the rest of my life.
“You’re staring, Jack. Do I have a stain or something?” She looked down at her outfit with a critical eye. Brushing away imaginary lint drew my eye to her chest, and I was back to battling the desire I felt for her.
“Uh, no. You look---beautiful.” She looked shocked at my words. “Mind if we take your car into your office? Not that I wouldn’t love to have you on the back of my motorcycle, but today probably isn’t the day for that.”
Chapter Three
Lisa
I let Jack drive us to my office. Honestly, I was so flustered by his comments, first about looking beautiful, then about having me on the back of his bike, that I didn’t trust myself to pay attention to the road. If I wasn’t mistaken, Jack found me attractive. Curves and all. I was definitely going to thank my stalker. Preferably as they hauled his ass to jail.
My office was really a smal, one story converted house off of Coal Avenue. It had warm wood floors in the waiting area. Each former bedroom housed an attorney, and we’d taken out a wall allowing space for each of our assistants. Six of us, and an office cat fit snuggly, but comfortably in the space. Until Jack walked through the front door and seemed to fill up all the remaining area with his hulking six-foot-four-inch frame.
“Mike, this is Jack. He’s helping me out with the stalker situation.” Mike stood up from behind his desk, and they shook hands. It appeared that each man puffed out his chest just a bit. And neither man seemed willing to end the handshake.
Interesting. Male competition.
“Jack, make yourself comfortable in the waiting room. Mike and I need to review the status of a few things.” Mike cracked a smile, like he’d won the pissing contest, and Jack appeared to want to throttle him.
Mike closed my office door behind him, which wasn’t the norm. “Lisa, what’s with the neanderthal out there?”
“He’s a perfect gentleman, not a neanderthal, and I hired him to find my stalker.” I appreciated Mike’s concern, but not his overprotective attitude.
“You didn’t have to do that. I told you, I would look after you. Take you to work, take you home. You didn’t need to bring someone in from the outside. How do you know you can trust him? He looks like he might have just walked out of a prison cell.”
“I checked his references, and he’s a professional. I think a professional is warranted in this case. Don’t you?” It was sweet of him to be concerned. Having a work-husband was a good thing. Mostly.
“Of course. I just want you to be safe.” Mike sat down and pulled up the electronic version of my schedule on his smartphone. I really did have the afternoon free. I wondered what it would take to talk Jack into watching a few chick flicks? I’d order dessert to bring home with me from the restaurant after my lunch meeting and use it as bribery. He looked like a peanut butter cup kind of guy.
The morning flew by, like it usually did. Though, I didn’t get as much done as I should have. Once Mike returned to his desk, I’d left my office door open. It gave me an unrestricted view of Jack sitting in my waiting room. Given the view, I was pleased to have gotten anything done at all. He and Judge Judy, our office cat, had had a come-to-Jesus conversation an hour ago.
Naturally, Judy had won that round, and had her orange tabby butt planted on Jack’s lap where Jack stroked her fur.. Lucky cat.
Mike came in to remind me to leave for my lunch appointment. Jack flew off the sofa at warp speed,
car keys in hand. Judge Judy looked less than pleased. She flipped her tail in the air and sauntered over to her window perch. No doubt to watch Jack walk away through the window. I couldn’t blame her.
“Thanks, Mike. Why don’t you head out, too. We could both use an early start on the weekend. Put Judy’s food out for the weekend before you go?” I grabbed a few files off my desk and shoved them into my computer bag.
“Of course. I’ll see you on Monday.”
I walked out of my office to see Jack waiting for me at the door. He’d been bored out of his mind, I was sure of it. I made a mental note to subscribe to a few more manly magazines for the waiting room. Home and Garden, Cosmo, and Yoga Journal weren't everyone’s cup of tea.
I hadn’t been looking forward to meeting Mr. Ortega over lunch. He was a repeat client. We were meeting to discuss divorce number three. There were just some people on the planet that shouldn’t be married. Mr. Ortega for one. Failed relationships weren’t the part I dreaded. He tended to get handsy. Nothing I couldn’t handle, but even the thought of Creme Brulee for dessert wasn’t enough of a reward for making it through the meeting.
Kim, the hostess, greeted me at the door. She was a former client and was always happy to see me. “I have your usual table ready,” she said. Then she caught sight of Jack and stumbled over a dust mote. “I’ll set another place at your table,” she said.
Jack smiled. “No need. I’ll just be sitting over there at the bar.” Jack headed that way.
“Holy hotness, where did you find him? Are there more where he came from?” Kim fanned herself with the menu in her hand.
“He’s---a friend visiting from out of town.” I didn’t want to go into the whole stalker discussion, so I went with a little white lie instead. We arrived at my table, and I seated myself. Kim handed me the menu, winked at me, and walked away.
Propped up against my water glass was a pink envelope. I gasped and my heart beat kicked into a hummingbird flutter. My eyes searched for Jack. The panicked look on my face had him striding in my direction. He sat down next to me, and I handed him the envelope.
“It was here at the table. I don’t want to open it. You do it.” Just then Mr. Ortega walked toward us. His step faltered when he noticed I wasn’t alone. I took a deep breath, exhaled, and refused to let the note get the best of me.
“Mr. Ortega, how are you?” My voice came out high and squeaky. Hopefully, he wouldn’t notice. We shook hands. He held mine a little longer than necessary, and I pulled back from him.
“I’m well, Lisa. I’ll be even better when this divorce is final.” He turned to Jack and extended a hand. “And you are?”
“Jack Shield. Lisa’s boyfriend.” Mr. Ortega seemed to deflate right before my eyes. I suddenly didn’t mind how Jack had introduced himself. “I’ll just be over that at the bar if you need anything, Lisa.” I got the impression he wasn’t thrilled with my lunch date. I knew it for a fact when he leaned over and planted a kiss on my lips.
I’m pretty sure I squeaked with surprise. Jack winked at me, tucked the pink envelope in his jacket, and returned to the bar, leaving me to stare after him like a lovesick puppy.
After that, my lunch meeting went remarkably well, and Mr. Ortega wasn’t inclined to linger. Thank God. Once he’d left, I ordered two desserts to go and paid the bill. I wanted to get the hell out of there.
“Ready?” I mouthed to Jack across the room at the bar. He smiled and headed in my direction. He took my doggie bag and then took my hand in his and led me out of the restaurant. I didn’t squeak this time. But I damn near melted into a puddle right there on the sidewalk. His touch made me tingle in places I thought had shriveled up and died from lack of use.
Mr. Ortega waved from across the street. That’s when I realized Jack had just been making sure his little misdirection about us being a couple continued for appearances sake. That didn’t mean I couldn’t savor it for another few minutes.
###
Jack
I’d read Lisa’s most recent love note. Her stalker was pissed. Pissed about her sexy red suit, pissed about her seeming lack of concern over his opinion on things, basically just pissed. Without a doubt, her stalker was someone she knew.
Someone who knew she had lunch at the same restaurant every Friday. Someone who knew what car she drove and where she lived. This was personal. And I was going to get to the bottom of it.
I found myself on high alert as we walked through the parking lot. I opened her car door for her, and we headed to my house. I grabbed an overnight bag and then we arrived at Lisa’s house just before three o’clock. I parked her car in the garage, right next to my bike. Our weekend had officially begun.
“You know, I do have a spare room that you might find more comfortable than the sofa,” she said. Her voice had a melodious ring to it. I could listen to her talk for hours and never get tired of the sound. She didn’t even know how sweet her voice sounded.
“Well, now that your alarm system has been installed, I might just take you up on that offer,” I said, relaxing a little more, confident the system would alert me to any intruder.
“Seriously? While we were gone today, somebody installed a security system?” A look of disbelief crossed her features.
“Yep. Maverick took care of it while we were at your office this morning. I’ll bring you up to speed on how it works right now.” I pushed the button to close the overhead door.
I went around to the passenger door to open it for her. I grabbed her computer bag, and her hand, and led her into the house. The alarm triggered, and I told her to enter the code I’d picked.
“That code doesn’t mean anything to me, how am I supposed to remember it?” she asked.
“That’s what makes it secure. It’s not your birthday, your address, or any other typical password. You just need to memorize it.” I didn’t bother to explain the code meant something to me. I’d guessed at her measurements and come up with 40-32-42, but she didn’t need to know that. Every window and every door now had a sensor.
The backyard butted up against public land and had two cameras set up to catch video of anyone approaching from that direction. A couple of motion sensors inside, and my girl was safe and sound as long as the alarm was engaged.
I’d had three keypads installed to make it as easy as possible for her to arm and disarm the system.
“So, I don’t plan on doing any work this weekend. I just want to kick back and relax. I’m afraid you’ll be terribly bored hanging out with me. Now that I have a security system, are you sure you need to be on guard 24/7?” Lisa asked.
The thought of leaving her just about killed me. And now that I thought about it, that was going to be a problem. Leaving her wasn’t something I looked forward to. If nothing else, I wanted this weekend with her.
“Let’s talk about who knows you always have lunch at The Artichoke Cafe on Fridays. How many people are on that list?” I asked. I sat on her sofa and motioned for her to sit next to me.
“Well, the hostess, the waitstaff, the partners at my firm, and all of our legal assistants. Does that help?” she asked. Those gorgeous eyes of hers innocently locking with mine, looking to me for answers and an end to this situation.
It did. The hostess and the waitstaff didn’t know she was wearing a red suit until after she’d arrived. The note was already waiting for her. That left her partners and their assistants. That narrowed the pool of possible suspects to six. I’d collected all their business cards from her office this morning. Archer was already running background checks. I didn’t want to worry her, so I dropped the subject.
“So, why don’t you change into something more comfortable, and I’ll find a movie to watch. Sound good?” I asked.
“Good? That sounds great. How much extra do I have to pay you to sit through a few chick flicks?” She flashed a sexy smile in my direction.
“I’ll do that for free, Lisa. Hanging out with you is more fun than I’ve had in a long time.” Shit. That sounded
pretty sappy. I headed for the living room in search of the TV remote.
Five minutes later Lisa walked into the living room in those damn fine yoga pants. Black and hugging her curves. Blood red toes bare and adorable. An oversized t-shirt that looked comfortable and well-loved. The woman could parade around in an orange jumpsuit, and she’d still look beautiful.
It would really be in my best interest to keep this relationship professional. But when she sat down next to me on the sofa, her thigh pressing against mine. I couldn’t help but drape my arm over her shoulders and pull her a little closer. Her face turned a lovely shade of pink, but she didn’t move away.
I crossed my ankle over my knee in an attempt to hide the bulge behind my zipper. A flush of red tinted her cheeks and I was pretty sure my attempt had failed.
I was pretty sure I didn’t give a fuck.
Lisa was a successful attorney, gorgeous, funny, and a woman I wanted to get to know a whole lot better. I was kidding myself if I thought I could keep my hands off of her. I knew I couldn’t. It was only a matter of time before I made her mine.
Chapter Four
Lisa
We watched three movies. I can only recall the first one. The longer I sat next to Jack on the couch, the more distracted I became. It started when I sat down and he draped his arm casually over my shoulders. Then halfway through Pretty Woman he tucked my hair behind my ear. I think it was so he could see my profile a little better. Then when he laughed at the cheesy ending, the rich velvety sound somehow snaked down next to my heart and made it beat in double-time.
We ordered a pizza between movie two and three. Jack liked pineapple on his pizza, just like me. There had to be more people who would agree it was the best pizza topping ever, but me and Jack were the only two I knew personally.
After movie number three, we decided to snack on the dessert I’d brought home from my business lunch. We stood at the kitchen counter forks in hand and indulged.