The Heart (17 page)

“You have no idea,” he said as he fisted a handful of my hair and licked my bottom lip smoothly.

“No, Jack, I mean you
are
dirty,” I said, running my short nails over his t-shirt clad back, urging him on.

“I’m not arguing,” he teased just before his lips brushed mine. I pulled him in closer and our mouths collided in a hungry kiss. His tongue moved with mine, and I sank into him. Minutes later, we pulled apart, foreheads touching as we shared a breath of recovery.

“Jack...” I said as I pulled him tighter to me, resolute to keep him there as long as he would let me.

“Feels so good,” he murmured as he trailed soft kisses along my jaw. I tilted my head back as his lips traced the skin of my neck and collarbone. On fire, I gripped him tight, wanting him closer. He lifted me off my feet, wrapping my legs around his waist, then sat on my new desk with me latched to him, his hands cupping my ass as he pulled me closer, his lips moving all over as he licked and sucked. It was better than I imagined it would be and without thinking, I began to grind against him, wet and ready.

“Fuck,” Jack cursed as he gripped my hips, stilled them, and brought his mouth back to mine. I was as good as gone as I began to ride the hard bulge in his pants. My center ached, pulsed, and begged for relief.

“I need you to stop that,” Jack said as I clung to him for dear life, hunger out of control as need drove me to the brink.

Jack was everything I’d been missing: temptation, lust, hunger, and comfort all wrapped up in the perfect package. I felt strangely safe with him.

When he pulled away from our kiss, I saw the warning in his eyes. I was pushing his limits.

“Rose,” he pleaded as he kneaded my ass with his strong hands.

“Okay,” I said as I pulled away and puffed out my lip, which he took and sucked in teasing. Sharing the same smile, he gently put me on my feet, and I beamed at him.

“You hungry?”

“Starving, actually. I got super focused on finishing this and lost track of time.” He eyed my bags. “You brought me food, woman?”

“I did,” I said with affection, still moved by the beauty of my new office and our kiss.

“Let me go wash up and change t-shirts?”

“K.”

Cradling my face with both hands, he moved his thumb along my lower lip. I caught it and flicked my tongue against it before sucking gently. Jack’s inhale was audible as he narrowed his eyes. “You’re dangerous.”

“I’m harmless,” I murmured and pulled my mouth away.

“You feel so god damned good,” he said, making another round on my jaw with his perfect lips before he reluctantly let go of me and made his way out the door. After a moment or two of reflection, I got busy clearing the room of debris and setting up the bag full of food I’d brought from the store. French bread, a container full of chicken salad, mixed fruit, soft cheese, and crackers were all set out on the shiny new wood that made up my desk. Though rectangular in shape, the outer edges were rough and left uneven by the condition of the original wood. I wondered how long it took him to work on a desk so intricately carved. He’d said days, and I appreciated his talent. We were both good with our hands, a shared commonality. Excited for a few stolen hours alone with him and a chance to explore the mystery that was Jack, I went to the break room and filled two plastic cups with ice. I was just about to break the wax seal on the bottle of booze when Jack emerged out of the hallway with damp hair. Even with a newly built room of things to admire, Jack was by far the best design to look upon.

“You up for a drink?” I asked, pouring two healthy sized glasses of bourbon. “I feel like celebrating.”

“Sure,” he said as he took the glass from me and consumed a healthy sip. “What are we celebrating?”

I spent a few minutes telling Jack about my day, less the reason behind my breakthrough. I told him of my excitement about the clinic, of how Dr. McGuire had moved me into a better position of helping my future patients at the center, about how I felt like my dream had finally come true, and my new appreciation for what I did.

“I feel like I just woke up, you know? And I’m looking around now like
wow
. This is really happening,” I said around a mouthful of French bread. “And of course a part of me has been aware, but it’s like now... I can fully embrace it. Make sense?”

“Perfect sense,” he said, sitting in the chair next to me, his ankles crossed as he nibbled on my offering.

“God, I’ve been talking nonstop, sorry,” I said sheepishly.

“Don’t ever be sorry about talking to me about something important to you. I happen to love it that you’re so enthusiastic. You worked hard for this. You deserve to be happy about it.”

“Thank you,” I said, pushing my glass against his in a toast. “I’m relieved.”

“Why’s that?”

Cajun.

God, I loved it.

“Because I didn’t think I would feel this way again.”

Jack looked slightly confused. “Again?”

I caught myself before I gave too much away. “It’s just... it started to seem like an endless amount of work and I was blind to the reward.”

“Nothing worse than not loving what you do,” Jack agreed. “I’ve fumbled in that department.”

“You weren’t always a contractor?”

“No, I went to Stanford and got an MBA in business. I was a suit, can you believe it?”

I opened my mouth to speak and closed it in equal parts shock and admiration. He was highly educated, and though I wasn’t at all opposed to dating anyone without an education, it made Jack more intriguing.

“Guess not,” he said as he poured a little more blend into our glasses.

“It’s not that at all. Tell me.”

“Nothing to tell, really. I graduated and got a job making a ridiculous amount of money, did my job well, and mapped out the rest of my life. Day in and day out, from the time I graduated until my twenty-seventh birthday, I had no issue with it. Then one morning I woke up and my life no longer fit. So I turned in my tie and decided to start from scratch.” At that moment, I saw a flicker of something cover his features, but it disappeared just as quickly.

“Wow,” I said, sitting back in my chair.

“The next week, I took a temporary job working with my hands. I had no intentions of quitting work while I figured out what my next step was. So I helped build the Skylit building in downtown New Orleans.”

I nodded with a smile on my face. “My dad’s design.”

“Your dad took an interest in me for some reason and I’m forever thankful. I didn’t have to look around. I didn’t even question it. Once I’d seen the finished building and knew I had a hand in it, I couldn’t wait to finish the next. I stayed on with Seth for a full year before I went back to school and got what I needed to be a builder. And the rest is history.”

“So my dad is like your sensei.”

“Exactly.”

“Now I understand why you don’t want to piss him off.”

“I had to make sure you were worth the trouble. The jury is still out.”

Wrinkling my nose at him, I smacked him on the chest before closing the small amount of space between us.

“So you started out a suit and ended up being a roughneck.”

“I started out a man with a plan and decided my plans were shit. Your dad was there for me, and I learned a lot from him. And as cheesy as this may sound, I don’t want to disappoint him.” Jack leaned in and took my lips gently. “He’s made it abundantly clear over the years that his family is the most precious thing to him. I can see why.” Another slow kiss and I was reeling. “But since the day we met, I haven’t been able to think of anything else but this,” he said between breath-stealing kisses, “to touch you, taste you.”

“I’m glad you came back,” I said softly as I held our connection.

“There’s no way in hell I couldn’t,” he assured me, his voice low and full of heat. “And now I’ve got you all to myself,” he murmured.

An hour later, Jack had told me of his life since that fateful day he turned in his tie. He’d traveled the world, taking on a few international projects, and collecting what he called ‘experiences.’ I envied him in that he’d seen places I’d only heard about in books and movies. At only thirty-seven, Jack had accomplished more than most people do in a lifetime. I wondered how he was so easily entertained sitting in my office with me. He seemed to have wandered around for the last ten years without anything really to hold on to, except his next job or ‘experience.’

The conversation turned to me, and I studied him endlessly as I spoke, memorizing all parts of him. From his boot-clad feet to his long torso, defined arms, and perfectly broad shoulders, he was perfection right up to the flawless head that graced his shoulders. I now knew what it was like to kiss him, and very little of me wasn’t aware that I was still preoccupied with that.

“Something on your mind, Rose?”

“Sex,” I admitted through a long pull of drink. “I haven’t had it in years. I’m wondering what it will be like with you.”

Yep, I totally said that out loud.

Jack chuckled as he gripped my hand in his. We’d remained side-by-side, sizing each other up.

“What do you think it will be like?”

“Nope, I’m not taking that bait.” I stood to clean up our mess.

He pulled me into his lap. I sat there wrapped in him with a dare in my eyes.

“Why so long?” Jack asked in a whisper.

“I’ve been busy,” I said as his hands held me still while I struggled to break free.

“Bullshit, I can already tell you have a healthy appetite.” He made a trail with his silky lips with a hint of his hungry tongue from my shoulder to my ear. His hands moved from around my stomach and stopped at the top of my thighs with a squeeze. He flicked his tongue at the shell of my ear, his warm breath sending my imagination into overdrive. “And I’m pretty sure I’m going to love every second of making sure I satisfy it. I’m going to taste every part of you. I’m going to love making you come.”

“Jack,” I rasped out as I sank impossibly further into him.

“Just like that. I’m going to draw my name out of you every chance I get.”

“Oh God,” I whispered as his hands moved up my body to cup my chest.

“That too,” he promised as I melted in his lap and his warm, skilled touch and thick husky voice completely seduced me.

He waited only a minute before he spoke again. “You got hurt?”

I closed my eyes tight, thankful he couldn’t see me. “Yes. Can we do anything but talk about exes?”

“Agreed,” he said easily.

“Are you always this easy to get along with?” I asked as I looked back at him with a grin.

“My hands are all over you now,” he said heatedly. “Why in the hell would I want to ruin that?”

I lifted the bottle off the desk and took a drink. Jack leaned in and sipped it off of my lips.

“I feel good, Jack. Thank you for ending this day with me.”

“It was my pleasure,” he returned with sincerity as he kept me snug against him.

“I should go. I have a shift tomorrow,” I sighed.

He lifted us both to stand, his strength expected and at the same time surprising. “Come on, Rose, I’ll walk you home.”

“I have my car parked out front.”

“Let’s walk,” Jack said, discarding the rest of our drinks into the trash. Though nearly a two-mile walk didn’t appeal to me at the moment, being anywhere with Jack did. The highway in front of the center buzzed with a few scattered late night cars as we made our way toward the lit path.

“You never get scared out here alone?” Jack asked as he took my hand. It felt so natural.

“Never, I know that’s strange.”

“Fearless,” he joked, referring to my parents’ conversation about me the night before.

“I really don’t remember that. I don’t remember being that crazy kid.”

“I was a colorful asshole according to my Aunt Rory.”

“That’s an unusual name,” I remarked as he stroked my hand with his thumb, seducing me with the small gesture. He was extremely gentle with me, and I wondered if had to do with his nature of if I was being handled with special care because of his relationship with my father. Either way, it was endearing and didn’t seem to be forced.

“She’s an unusual woman. I think I’ve seen about a hundred different shades of hair on her. And she dresses like a carnie every day. Not only that, it’s like she suffers from multiple personality disorder, but every single one suits her. She trades in husbands the way most people trade in cars.” Jack laughed and stopped walking before he turned to me with his next statement. “She dropped me off my first day of kindergarten in my Halloween costume.”

“You’re joking!” I said, both amused and sympathetic, trying to imagine a younger Jack.

“Both of my parents were down with food poisoning, and they thought her the safe alternative. I showed up my first day of kindergarten dressed as a zombie.”

“Oh shit,” I gasped out with a laugh.

“It took my mother a solid year to forgive her, although my dad thought it was hilarious.”

“Aww,” I said as I squeezed his hand. “And it scarred you?”

“The first of many,” he said as we resumed our walk. “I think she was trying to disguise my lip, you know, so it would be less hard on me.”

I didn’t pause my stride, but my heart skipped a beat at his admittance.

The stars were in clear view above us, and neither of us could ignore them as we paused next to the water and gazed up at them in admiration.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve looked up,” I admitted freely as I gazed over at Jack who took in the same glittered night sky.

“It’s something,” Jack said of the expansive rolling black cover painted with just the right amount of twinkling overlay. He looked over at me with concern. I was sure he could see my day setting in. “Come on, Doctor. I’ll get you home.” We spent the last few minutes of our walk in silence. I was thinking of any explanation I could to avoid bringing him inside my house. I wasn’t emotionally in the position to do so, and I didn’t know how it would make me feel. Jack made it easy on me by whispering a kiss on my lips followed by a “Goodnight.”

“Thank you,” I said to him in an inaudible whisper as he walked out of sight.