Penalty Clause (5 page)

Andrew didn’t think he had ever felt this crazed drive to be with a particular woman before.
At least not since he’d left puberty behind. He enjoyed sex and had plenty of it, but even during his time with Blair, Andrew had never felt anything like the pull he felt from Jill.

Tonight
, from across the room full of people, Jill’s body called to Andrew’s as though some unseen tether connected them, one that he couldn’t break with distance or space. All night, Andrew had fought to keep sensuous images of Jill at bay. He tried walking away. He went to the other side of the room to mingle, but still she followed him in his thoughts.

Flashes o
f Jill’s sexy legs, in those sweet cowboy boots, wrapped around his hips flew through Andrew’s mind. Of burying his head in the soft curve of Jill’s neck to breathe in the scent of her. Then lower, licking the curve of Jill’s breast. Closing his mouth around her nipple as she pushed her body closer to him, writhing for more.  

Again, Andrew had to shake off the image
s and force himself to focus on the party going on around him. Andrew knew he couldn’t date Jill. He never dated in his circle of friends. Hell, he never really dated. He slept with women. Women who understood that he didn’t want more from them. Women who knew he’d sleep with them a few times and then move on. No strings attached. No long-term relationship. Not even a friendship when it was over. Jill Walsh wasn’t one of those women. Never could be.

Andrew refocused on the group around him and saw Jill trying to hide a yawn behind her hand. He approached her and placed a hand on her lower back. He leaned in to speak to Jill, cursing
himself for being weak enough to manufacture that small bit of contact. “You’re tired. We can head home if you want.”

Jill smiled up at him. “You caught that, huh?” Jill asked.

“It’s all right. It’s getting late. Even Rev and Zoe have quit.” Andrew nodded at the dogs who were now asleep in a corner of the room.

“As long as you don’t mind leaving, I’m ready to go,” Jill said.

“No problem,” Andrew said to Jill and then turned to Jack and Kelly. “Hey guys, we’re gonna head out. I’ll see you Monday, Jack?”

“Thanks for coming you guys,” Kelly said, hugging Andrew and then Jill. Jack and Andrew said goodnight and several of the others in the small group of people that were left at the party called out good-byes as Jill, Andrew and Rev made their way to the door.

They rode in silence but it was comfortable silence. Neither felt the need to fill the gaps with talk. Before long, Andrew looked over and Jill was asleep in the seat. His mind immediately went to thoughts of waking up with her next to him. He could almost feel her long, supple body pressed into his, arms and legs tangled, his body growing hard against her soft, giving curves...

Shit, where is this crap coming from?
Andrew didn’t spend the whole night with women. There was no waking up next to them, no snuggling in bed with them, no pillow talk. Nothing. And it needed to stay that way.

Andrew turned his attention to the road and had them home in a few minutes, pulling Jill’s Explorer up to her front door. God, she was so beautiful. Andrew reached over and shook Jill’s shoulder gently.

“Jill, honey. We’re home,” he said softly, resisting the urge to wake her with kisses instead.

Jill woke slowly, looking around
, trying to get her bearings. “Sorry. I guess I fell asleep.” Jill asked.

“You were tired, huh? You should have told me you were so tired. We could have come home sooner,” Andrew said as he unbuckled his seatbelt and opened his door.

Jill got out of the car and opened the back door to let Rev jump out.

“It’s okay. I was having fun. Besides, I’m my own boss. I can sleep as late as I want in the morning,” Jill said with a smile.

Andrew walked up to the front door with Jill and handed her the car keys. His fingers brushed hers and he let them linger for a moment longer, just a moment longer than he should have. The contact was small but the moment wasn’t. Andrew’s eyes were stuck on Jill’s and he knew if he wasn’t careful, if he didn’t stay in control, he would kiss her. His mind raced, debating the pros and cons, the danger of leaning in for just one kiss.

Andrew stared at Jill’s lips
and he felt himself take a step closer until they stood only inches apart. Her mouth was so tempting. Those full, rosy lips begging him, pleading for just a brush of his tongue, a gentle nip from his teeth.

Rev sat in front of the unopened door and barked, breaking the moment.

Well at least the dog has brains, since I’m apparently functioning with something else right now.

Andrew’s head cleared and he took a step back, putting distance between him and Jill. “I guess Rev’s ready for bed.
Nite, Jill.” Andrew’s voice was husky with need. He hopped down off the porch and strode to his car.

When he got to the door, he looked at Jill one last time. She stood watching him from the porch, fingertips touching her lips as if she too had wondered. As if she knew as well as he did that just one kiss would have the power to break their resolve not to take things further.

Andrew rolled down the window and smiled at her.

“Get some sleep, sweet Jill.”

Always a glutton for punishment, Andrew once again made the trek over to Jill’s house the following morning. He cut through the backyard, telling himself he was just going over to be friendly. He was being neighborly, that’s all.

Andrew peeked in the kitchen window but didn’t see Jill anywhere. There was a pan on the stove with eggs in it, though, and from the looks of it, they were well on their way to becoming burnt eggs. Andrew poked his head in the backdoor.

“Jill?” he called out. No answer.

He stepped into the kitchen and took the pan off the stove. Even Rev didn’t make an appearance. Andrew stuck the pan on one of the cool burners and walked toward the front of the house. He stopped mid stride in the hallway when he heard voices from the front entry. Jill and someone else.

“Jake, I asked you for a clean break. I thought if I came to New Haven, you’d get the point. I don’t want to see you. I don’t want you checking up on me.
Or
dropping by to visit,” Jill said.

Ex-husband, Jake? What the fuck is he doing here?
Andrew felt his body tense as he listened to the conversation. It wasn’t any of his business. He should walk away, but the frustration in Jill’s voice was evident. Frustration and something else.
Pain?

Ah, shit.

“Jill, don’t be ridiculous. You just moved, you’re starting over in a new city. You need me. There’s no reason for you to be like this. We can be friends, Jill,” a man’s voice said.

“No. We really can’t. That ship sailed when you slept with another woman. When you ended our marriage. When you moved in with her. There’s not going to be any friendship, Jake.” Jill sounded firm.

Good. She was firm. The guy will get it and go away.

“
You’re being unreasonable, Jill,” said the male voice.

Or not.
Time’s up, asshole.

Andrew stepped out into the entry.

“Hi, sweetheart,” Andrew said as he stepped up and put an arm around Jill. He felt her jump in surprise. “Who’s this?”

The asshole at the door looked every bit as surprised as Jill to see Andrew in the house.

“Um, uh,” stammered Jill.

Andrew smiled at her, amused by the stunned look on her face. He stuck out his hand to the ex standing on the doorstep. “Hi. I’m Andrew. You must be Jason.
Wait, that’s not right, John? Jarrod? What’s his name, honey?” Andrew asked, turning back to look at Jill, who now appeared to understand his game plan.

“Jake. I’m her husband,” Jake said.

Jill gasped audibly at the description and Andrew’s amusement went out the window. “I think you mean ex-husband. And I think Jill asked you to leave.”

Andrew pulled Jill closer to him, snuggling her body against his as he kept his gaze firmly on Jake. Jake looked like he might argue for a second or two but then backed down.

“Fine. Jill, I’ll talk to you soon,” Jake said tightly as he turned on his heel and walked down the front steps.

Andrew slammed the door with a little more force than was probably necessary but it felt really good. Turning Jill in his arms, he studied her face. She still wore the same stunned, confused look.
Damn, she felt so good in his arms. So right pressed up against his body.

“Sorry, I probably should have let you handle that. It just didn’t sound like he was
gonna leave any time soon and your eggs were burning,” Andrew said. Andrew couldn’t seem to let Jill go. The bewildered look on her face was just too damn cute.

“My eggs? Oh! My eggs. Oh
, crap!” Jill broke out of Andrew’s hold and rushed back to the kitchen, leaving Andrew with a disturbingly empty feeling where she’d been.

Andrew walked into the kitchen to find Jill dumping eggs in the garbage can.

“I hate that he still gets me flustered. But, what the hell is he doing showing up this early in the morning, unannounced, now that I live forty minutes away from him. Who does that?” Jill looked up at Andrew as if she expected him to be able to explain her ex’s behavior.

“You handled him just fine. You stood your ground and told him to go away. I wouldn’t call that flustered.” Andrew watched as Rev tried to get into the garbage can for the
trashed eggs.

“I tell him that every time he comes around. So far, the words are completely ineffective,” Jill said.

Andrew watched her crack more eggs into the pan and begin to scramble them as he tried to figure out how to ask his next question.

“When you say he doesn’t listen, you don’t mean... I mean, he doesn't ever force his way in, does he?” Andrew could feel the tightness in his jaw as he asked the question. He clenched his fists at his sides, holding his breath as he waited for Jill to answer.

“No, no. Nothing like that. He just doesn’t listen, you know? What I don’t get is why he keeps coming around? He’s the one who left.” Jill gestured Andrew toward the kitchen island as she slid scrambled eggs onto two plates. “Here, you earned breakfast.”

Jill smiled and pulled two pieces of toast from the toaster, buttering them and placing one on her plate and one on Andrew’s.

Andrew was quiet for a minute while he thought about Jill’s question.

“Only two reasons he’d keep coming around,” Andrew said slowly. “Either he really is an arrogant ass who thinks you can’t live without him or he still wants to sleep with you.”

Jill’s head shot up. “What? No! I mean, no. He’s...he left me. He’s living with his mistress. He doesn’t want... I mean, we don’t. He’s not...”

Andrew laughed. “Okay, then he’s an arrogant ass who thinks you can’t live without him.”

Jill frowned at her eggs. “Well, yes. Actually, that sounds exactly like him.”

They ate the rest of their breakfast in silence. Jill seemed to be a million miles away and Andrew was busy having a little internal conversation with his
dick about its reaction to Jill in her pajamas. She wore men’s pajama bottoms and a thin cami top that beautifully outlined the round curve of her breasts and hard peaks of her nipples.

If Andrew expected to keep his head around Jill, he really had to stop coming around first thing in the morning. Jill in pajamas with her hair mussed from sleep was way too tempting.

***

Andrew walked into Jack’s office for their morning meeting and found Chad and Jack were already there drinking coffee, waiting for him.

“Sorry, guys. Got caught on the phone,” Andrew said as he picked up the coffee that waited for him in front of his usual chair.

“No problem. We don’t have much to go over today.
A few details for the investors we have coming in and someone who’s looking for a spot on your team, Andrew. Chad, you have anything else to go over?” Jack turned to Chad.

“Just a few employee raises,” Chad said. This earned him puzzled looks from Jack and Andrew.

“We don’t need to review raises for your people. We never have before,” Andrew said.

Andrew watched Chad squirm, not something you normally see from a guy like Chad, and instantly Andrew knew this had something to do with Jennie. Chad was head over heels in love with Jennie, but she reported to Chad. In Chad’s mind, that meant she was off limits. It also made him anal about being objective where Jennie was concerned.

“One of them is Jennie’s. I want you guys to review and approve all of the raises so there’s no question about... Well, you know,” Chad finished, trying to act casual about his nervousness where Jennie was concerned.

“Aw, look at the big guy, Jack. He’s growing up so fast
…all hot for a girl,” Andrew said with fake wistfulness and a big grin.

“He’s not our little boy anymore,” Jack said. Chad was two years younger than Jack and Andrew and they never tired of reminding him.

“Very funny, guys. Just review the damn raises,” Chad said and tossed a stack of papers on Jack’s desk.

It only took a minute for Andrew and Jack to review the raises. Chad had been meticulous when it came to his supervisory role of Jennie. He never touched her, never treated her differently than any other employee, and it was no surprise that he had clearly documented the grounds for giving a raise to each of the three employees in question, including Jennie.

“Looks good to me, Chad,” Andrew said and Jack echoed his approval.

“You know, Chad, there isn’t technically any non-fraternization policy at Sutton. You can date Jennie if you want. I mean, I’m not saying I want you to run out and date just anyone in your division, but we both know Jennie’s not just anyone. And, we can file a mutual consent form for the record. Maybe it’s time for you to see where this goes,” Jack said.

“Not happening. Next topic.” Chad’s tone left no room for discussion.

Andrew shrugged at Jack in a silent agreement to drop the topic for now.

“All right, here’s the agenda for the investors from New York. They’ll be here for two days and we’re packing a lot in with them. Any questions on the packets you got on the agenda for the visit earlier?” Jack asked.

Chad and Andrew
glanced through the agenda Jack handed them and both shook their heads.

“Okay, last item. Andrew, there’s an administrative assistant over in legal who requested a transfer over to financial.
Uh…” Jack looked down at his notes. “Theresa Martin. She gets good reports, seems to do her work, but she doesn’t have any particular legal training so there’s really no reason for us to keep her in legal if she’d rather join finance. Do you have anything open?” Jack asked.

“I might. Jason and Katelyn have been sharing an assistant for a while because neither had a full workload. They’re getting to the point where they need more support. I’ll double check and get back to you later today,” Andrew answered
, jotting a note to himself.

“That’s it, then,” Jack said, standing.

***

For the next two days, b
y the time he pulled himself in late at night, he was exhausted so it made resisting Jill a little easier. By the third day, work had eased up and he couldn’t stay away any longer. Before going to work Andrew cut through the backyards to see if Jill was awake.

As
he walked up to the back door of Jill’s house, he could see her sipping a cup of coffee and reading something on her laptop at her kitchen island. He tapped on the door and let himself in when Jill waved in response.

“Hi
.” Jill greeted him with a genuine smile and he felt himself smile back.

“Hey, stranger. Wanted to see if you felt like getting together tonight.” Andrew raised his hands in a gesture of goodwill. “Just as friends. I promise. We send our investors back to New York
this afternoon so I’ve got nothing going on and I could use a break.”
Not that I should be taking that break with you, but I’m a glutton for fucking punishment, apparently.

Jill nodded, but Andrew noticed a wary light in her eye. He would bet she was also thinking through the consequences of the two of them spending more time together.
 Jill got up to get a cup of coffee for Andrew and appeared to make a decision.

“Okay. I could use a break, too. I’ve been knee deep in the website for the past few days and now it’s all up to the designers to finish their end of things before we go live.”

“Pick you up at seven and we’ll go out to dinner?” Andrew took the cup of coffee, using the gesture as an excuse to let his fingers brush along Jill’s. Hot, warm. Just like he knew she’d feel.

Andrew also
knew taking Jill to a restaurant was too much like a date but staying in seemed too dangerous. At least in public, he couldn’t strip her clothes off and use his mouth to see how many times he could make her come.

Needing a distraction,
Andrew bent to Rev and rubbed the dog’s belly.

“Sounds perfect,” Jill said.

“Great, I’ll see you tonight,” he said.

Andrew slipped back out the door and cut back through the yards to Nora’s house. The whole way, he told himself he was playing with fire by seeing Jill this way, but he didn’t have the strength to resist.
 

***

Jill watched Andrew as he jogged through the backyards to go back to his grandmother’s house.
Oh, what a pair of jeans did for that man’s ass. It should be a crime to look that good.

She couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy, because
she already knew they shouldn’t get as close as they were. It was one thing to spend time with a group of friends together. Tonight would feel more like a date.

Jill sighed. She’d just have to keep reminding herself that Andrew was only a friend. And that he could only ever be a friend.
Simple in plan, but tough in execution when every second around Andrew was compelling torture. When Andrew looked at her, Jill felt flames run through her body. When he brushed her arm or touched her in a casual, friendly way, her body burst to life and a needy ache burned in her core. And so far, Jill couldn’t figure out how to stop her response.

Jill knelt down and threaded her fingers through the curly hair of Rev’s chest,
scratching him as she bared her worries to him, in the face of his unconditional love. “I think I may be in over my head already, baby. Mommy might get hurt when this is over.”