The Freelancer – Chapter 35
The day went by quickly for Jenna. She abandoned her desk to spread out on the floor with the mounds of paper encircling her, made somewhat worse by the fact that her kitten wouldn’t stop attacking imaginary bugs on them. By six o’clock, her mind was swimming with the details of the case.
The prosecution had a good case. Most of what they had was circumstantial, but, portrayed the right way in court, it could be very effective. His cell phone bill corroborated every date and time their witnesses mentioned and the witnesses wouldn’t have been permitted to know that, so it wasn’t faked. The bartender, who was cooperating with the prosecution to get a lighter sentence, was prepared to testify against Blaine as well. Mingled with the testimony of the girls who supposedly worked for him, as well as the knowledge that there was rarely a night Blaine wasn’t personally overseeing the operation of the club, Jenna felt as though her work was cut out for her.
When they heard the familiar squeak of the building’s access door, Trista jumped up.
“Finally. I thought Blaine would never get here with the pizza. I’m starving.”
Once Trista opened the door, she gave Blaine a quick peck on the lips and frowned at something behind him.
“You two, don’t think you’re going to sneak by without coming over to say hi, do you?”
“I figured you guys were busy. I didn’t want to bother you.”
Jenna jumped up off the floor as soon as she heard Jackson’s voice. Her heart began to race and a swarm of butterflies gathered in her stomach. She wished she’d ignored the voice in her head that told her it would be too vain to put a mirror by the front door. She was dying to know if she looked as plain as she thought she did.
“We were about to quit for the night,” Jenna said breathlessly.
Blaine must have sensed something and he joined in on the coaxing. “You guys have to join us. I’ve got a ton of pizza here and you know how women are; they eat half a piece and pretend to be full.”
“Not me,” Trista snapped grabbing the pizza out of his hand and heading into the living room. “I could eat all of this by myself, I’m so hungry.”
To Jenna’s delight, Jackson and Collin conceded and entered the condo. Jenna closed the door behind them and went into the kitchen to get paper plates and napkins for everyone. She was surprised when she realized Jackson had followed her.
“I wanted to apologize to you for last night,” he began slowly. “I could have handled things differently, better. I’m sorry I didn’t.”
Jenna set the napkins on the counter and stood on her tiptoes to reach for the paper plates in the cabinet over the stove. “Don’t worry about it. I got your point.”
Jackson retrieved the plates for her and set them on the counter next to the napkins. “I don’t think that you did.”
“You made yourself clear, Jackson. I don’t see what I could have missed?”
“This,” he said, pulling her against him. “I haven’t been able to think about anything else all day long.”
Jenna locked her arms around his neck as he began to kiss her. “Really?”
Jackson’s hands slid from her back to her butt, pulling her flush against him. It only took a second for Jenna to understand exactly how far his interest went. There was no question in her mind he wanted more from her than her friendship. He was hard as granite. That realization made her heartbeat thump out of control and there was no way that he wasn’t aware of it.
Not with as close as their bodies were.
His lips left hers to explore her neck before making contact with that spot below her ear that turned her knees to mush. And her mind. After who-even-knew how long, Jackson whispered, “I’ve been trying to be good, to take it slow with you, but I’ve got to tell you that it’s too damn hard. I have no idea what was said at the meeting this morning. All I could think about was what an idiot I was for pulling away last night. I won’t make that mistake again.”
Jenna was about to respond when he shifted his weight against her, causing the most erotic sensation that Jenna had ever felt. Instead of speaking, she arched against him. That was all the response Jackson needed because he captured her mouth again, crushing her lips with his.
He lifted her up onto the counter and Jenna wrapped her legs around his waist out of instinct, keeping him as close as was possible while they were both still clothed. A groan of satisfaction and frustration rumbled in his throat as he went to work again on her neck. What she wouldn’t have given at that moment to get him naked and find out if her first impression of his body had been correct.
“Sorry to interrupt. I’m just going to grab this stuff for everyone. Sorry. Pretend I’m not here. I, uh, just see plates and napkins right now.” Blaine’s embarrassment was plain on his face.
After Blaine left Jenna’s small kitchen, Jackson brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and smiled. She buried her face against his shoulder, sure it turned a shade of crimson yet to be discovered. She shook her head as he helped her back down to her feet, and started to laugh.
“That was embarrassing,” she told him.
“Not for me,” he replied. “I was enjoying it.”
“I was talking about Blaine walking in on us.”
“And I was talking about this.” Jackson placed his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her in for a rough kiss, erasing all thoughts of crimson from her mind.
With that, he turned and left the room. Jenna lagged behind in a futile attempt to regain her composure. There was no way that Trista would let the look on Blaine’s face go until she found out what happened in the kitchen. At this very moment Jenna was certain Trista was discussing it with Maureen and Collin. The fact that there seemed to be a hushed silence coming from the living room, disturbed only by the sound of the bathroom sink, wasn’t helping to squelch her embarrassment.
Not even in her wildest dreams had she imagined Jackson would simply walk into her kitchen, announce that he wanted her, and go for it on her counter – with four nosy people in the next room. Just when she’d thought she had him figured out, he had thrown her for a loop.
As she joined the others, Jenna realized she liked that about him.
