Jenna climbed into her bathtub and tried to let the bubbles wash her day away. Lunch with Chad was alright, boring, but alright until they were leaving. She couldn’t believe he’d kissed her.
It was no secret he had a crush on her when they were in school, but she was certain that would have vanished by now. At least Chad had understood she was seeing someone else and they’d parted on good terms.
Jenna wished she could figure out if she really was seeing someone else, or if it was all in her head. She’d overcome the urge to go and see Jackson that night; instead convincing herself to get into the tub. She should be able to go a night without seeing the man. After all, she was spending the day with him and her niece tomorrow. It wasn’t the most ideal date, but it was a start.
Once Jenna got out of the tub, she played her messages and was pleased to have received a call from Maureen about the case. She played the message a second time, just to make sure she hadn’t misunderstood, then smiled.
“Hi, Jen, it’s Maureen. I wanted to let you know that Victor’s last name isn’t Wellington, its Ascenzi. Apparently, Mr. Ascenzi has a wrap sheet longer than most of my skirts. He used to do the exact same thing in New York. I can’t wait to see the look on his face in court tomorrow. Thanks Jen, I owe you one.”
Jenna took her hair out of the towel on her head and tried to shake out some of the water as she walked down the hall. No sooner had she flipped on the bathroom light, a knock sounded at the door. She glanced at herself in the mirror and decided her robe covered enough for her to answer the door. Still trying to towel of the excess water from her hair, she answered the door.
Jackson blew out a breath when he saw her. “Damn.”
Jenna frowned at him. “That’s a different greeting. Do I look that bad?”
“No. Can I…” His voice trailed off and he just stared at her.
“Come in?” she finished for him. Stepping aside she added, “I swear you get stranger every time I see you.”
Jenna closed the door and felt him come up behind her. His arms circled her waist and pulled her back against him, making her drop the towel in her hand when she realized how aroused he was. At least that explained his inability to form words.
Trying to make her voice light, she asked, “What’s up?” She realized the moment she said it that her words were poorly chosen.
He nibbled on her earlobe. “I think that’s obvious.”
As one hand pulled back her hair to allow his lips free reign over the back of her neck, the other hand slipped inside her simple terrycloth robe to cup her breast. It had been a long time since any man had touched Jenna in such an intimate manner, so long that she gasped when his thumb rasped across her nipple. Her heartbeat throbbed in her ears and her mind shut down.
Jackson pulled back the hand and stepped away from her. She turned to face him in shocked silence, not understanding why he’d stopped. He looked at his hand as though it were an alien before turning away.
“I swear I didn’t come over here for that. I wanted to find out what time we needed to leave in the morning, but…” He looked back at Jenna. “The sexy, wet hair and robe were more than I could handle, I guess.”
Jenna looked down at herself, confused. This robe was the least sexy thing she owned. Maybe if she’d been wearing the short silk one Elaine had given her for her birthday one year she could understand his reaction. Come to think of it, she should probably figure out where she’d put it before too much longer…
When Jenna didn’t respond, Jackson continued, “I didn’t realize that I, uh…the hand, uh…” He started to move towards the door. “I should go. You look like you were getting ready for bed.” He paused, his eyes raking over her. “Hell.”
Jenna reached out and placed her index finger over his lips to silence him. “If you would stop babbling for a second then you might be interested in hearing you read this all wrong.”
Jackson’s eyes grew dark with interest, but he remained quiet.
“First off, I never get to sleep early so you aren’t keeping me up or anything. We should leave at ten, but I don’t care what your reason for coming over here is because I’ve been trying to talk myself out of going over to your place for most of the night and…” She flicked her tongue over her now dry lips. “You don’t have to apologize about the hand because I liked it.”
“Wait. Which hand?” Jackson asked, eyes dark, intense. He moved around her and pulled her back against him, pulling her hair back as he had moments earlier. Grazing the back of her neck with his lips, he asked, “This hand or,” He paused long enough to slide his other hand into Jenna’s robe. “This hand?”
Jenna shuddered and arched back against him. “Both.”
Time ceased to move. His lips moved from the back of her neck to her ear, then to her jaw as she twisted around in his arms. Their lips met in a ferocious kiss, shoving all thoughts of the mishap with Chad or the case from her mind. He was all that mattered; his taste and his touch were all that existed.
More than anything else, she wanted him. It didn’t matter how long they had or hadn’t known one another. It didn’t make sense and it didn’t have to. Jenna wanted all of him; couldn’t stand the layers of fabric standing between them. Blind, useless fingers tugged at his shirt until he broke the kiss to yank it over his head.
Their eyes met as the forgotten shirt fell to the floor. Something as timeless as it was dangerous flashed through his eyes. He held her gaze while moving towards her in a wordless seduction. She didn’t realize she moved until her back met the wall. Why she would ever move to put space between them, she didn’t know.
His body crushed against hers, melding to all her curves. “Jackson…”
Hurried lips moved over her neck and face before teeth met earlobe. “Tell me to stop right now.”
© 2009, Sydney Katt. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use of content will result in dragon attacks.
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