The Heart (8 page)

I was screwed.

As Jack took the first turn off the frontage road—avoiding the highway as promised— I realized I was nothing but tight nerves and sensation.

“You good?” he asked as I tightened my grip around his waist.

“Good,” I lied.

“This music okay? What’s your taste? Are you more a rock or country girl?”

He looked back at me through his side view, and I knew my face was crimson. He pushed the throttle slightly, and I couldn’t keep my lips from parting at the feeling, my body now fully awake. Recognition covered his features as that same slow sexy smile I saw the first day I met him crept over his now smug face.

Oh, Jesus, he knows.

“It’s fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “Whatever you want to listen to.”

I felt his chest move with his soundless chuckle and glared at him through the mirror.

“Maybe we should turn back and take my car out? You know, stretch her legs like you said? I’ll let you drive, okay?”

I will not orgasm on the back of this bike. I will not orgasm on the back of this—

Jack hit the throttle again repeatedly, and I let out an involuntary “Oh God.”

I felt his chest shake again as I buried my helmet into his back. Great, we hadn’t even had a real conversation, and Jack was about to give me an orgasm.

“We can’t turn back now.” He pointed over to the traffic on the opposing side of the road, and I nodded into his back. “Just give it a chance, okay?”

“Okay,” I agreed reluctantly, knowing I didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of keeping my cool. He took off again, this time with a little more mercy than the last, but the pulse between my thighs refused to let up. I lifted my head, trying to enjoy the rustic view around us, praying it would distract me. The sun wasn’t going to set for another few hours, but it was low enough in the sky to paint a colorful gold over the pastures we passed. I gripped Jack tighter as I listened to the song in an attempt to ignore my tuned in body, but of course, the whole song was all about sating sexual desire.

In an attempt to make conversation, I admitted my preference. “Rap and R&B, but mostly rap,” I said as he took a slow curve with care.

“Really?”

“Yep, I love it. My mom does, too. Well, we like vintage rap mostly. Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Eminem, 50 Cent, Ice Cube, but not so much the new stuff. She got me hooked when I was a kid.”

“Laura let you listen to Eminem as a kid?”

The world passed by in a blur as I stared at him in the side view. “I forget you know my parents,” I said. “You can’t be much older than me.”

“I’ve been working with your dad for the better part of ten years, so I know them pretty well.”

I remembered hearing his name in conversation a few times but never remembered meeting him in passing. During the majority of that decade, I’d been in college then medical school, so it wasn’t a mystery why we hadn’t met.

“Well, I’ve heard of you,” he said, reading my thoughts, seemingly unoffended by the fact that I didn’t know of him.

He studied me briefly through the side view, and I answered his attentiveness with a smile. The man was good looking, and I wondered if he knew of his effect on women. He was cocky but not in an obnoxious way. It came out as confident, but not arrogant like so many other men blessed with ridiculously good looks. Or maybe he did know just how good looking he was and didn’t make it a point to let anyone else know. If that was the case, I liked him even more for it.

I’d only ever been attracted to one man in my life whose outside matched the beauty of his inside. I know that’s what did me in with Grant: his heart. Looking at Jack’s strong profile, I wondered if the same was true of him. Was he a good person, or did he manipulate women with his looks in a way that would make him unbearably ugly?

A real man wants to know and explore the inside of a woman before he attempts to claim her in any real way. That was the truth I knew; that was what being loved by Grant taught me. A sick feeling washed over me as I realized I had only been alone with Jack for a few minutes and I was already comparing him to Grant. I squeezed my eyes shut tight and tried to clear my head in an attempt to give my friendship with Jack a chance.

“My mother didn’t protect us from any words we would eventually hear,” I said, returning to the previous subject in an attempt to silence my inner musings. “She didn’t see the point. She told us which ones not to say even though she said them often.”

Jack chuckled. “Sounds like Laura. Your sister seems to have quite the colorful personality, too.”

“You have no idea,” I said as I gripped him tighter and lifted in my seat slightly in a useless attempt to keep the throbbing between my legs at bay. “Anyway, I get crap for it all the time. No one I’m close to likes my music.”

“I can’t sympathize. I’m not a fan, myself. My uncle did teach me everything there is to know about music, but given the choice, it would never be rap.”

“See,” I said with emphasis. “I never win with the company I keep.”

“Sorry,” he said unapologetically. “Tell you what, give me a song to listen to every day... educate me. By the time I’ve set up shop and am ready to leave, I can make a more informed decision.”

“You’re on,” I said as a thousand song titles danced through my head.

“So you think my family is colorful?”

“Absolutely, and I can relate. I know exactly what it’s like to have a colorful family,” he mused. “I was raised by five people.”

“Five?” I asked, curious about the man I was holding onto with a death grip.

“Yeah, my parents, both my aunts, and my uncle. Technically, only my mom and dad are blood relation to me. My uncle and my dad were best friends for years. They met my aunts on a road trip before I was born and have been inseparable since. My aunt and uncle weren’t able to have children, so I guess in a way they shared me. And, well... my other aunt, she was just as much of a part of my life as everyone else. It’s kind of a weird dynamic, I guess, but it’s all I know.”

“Must have been some road trip,” I said, trying to imagine a younger Jack.

“I’m pretty sure it was. Nine months later, I was born.”

We shared a laugh as Jack turned to the county road behind the center. I felt a rush of relief that I may just make it back without losing my cool. Yet the more I brushed against Jack’s hard body and inhaled his scent, the more turned on I became. His face in the mirror, his voice, and hard lines of his body had all contributed to the state I was in. Anything could tip me over. I could feel the indents of Jack’s six-pack underneath my thumbs and rubbed over them without thinking. He eyed me through the side view. It was a heat-filled warning, and behind that warning, a fire had been lit. Apparently, he enjoyed muscle appreciation as much as I enjoyed giving it. He pushed the throttle, making me jump in my seat. Our eyes met in challenge, and I couldn’t help but rise to it.

All right, Jack, let’s play.

I moved my hands as slyly as possible, caressing his midriff and repositioned them just above his belt buckle as I stroked him subtly. I clenched my thighs around him and heard his reluctant curse as he kept his head averted so I couldn’t get a good look at him. He was easy prey, and I wondered if it had anything to do with my unintentional strip tease last night. Secretly, I hoped it did. I let out a soft chuckle as Jack’s head snapped to. Catching his eyes, his intent behind his gaze was all too apparent.

I had been falsely confident in a game his eyes told me he was sure he would win.

The gentlemen who seemed intent on sparing me further embarrassment had just left and was now replaced by a man hell-bent on torturous foreplay. Our eyes locked as he slowed at the entrance of the center. I let out a small breath of relief that maybe I had misjudged his intentions, all the while becoming completely engrossed in the feel of him. I was no longer at a friendly distance, my breasts pressed against his back, my legs all but wrapped around his waist. His entire body was stiff with the tension we’d created and I could now feel the sweat between us as I adjusted myself on the seat. Jack idled at the entrance, his legs firmly planted on the pavement. He pulled the throttle and watched my lips part. I was on edge again, and there was no stopping it. He tugged at the handlebar again, and I dug my fingers into his flesh, gripping him to me as I panted into the speaker.

“Jack,” I pushed out and heard the desperation in my voice. My whole body vibrated in warning as I clutched him tighter to me.

Eyes pleading with his, I willed him to stop our dangerous game, but with one last rev of the engine, I went over. A small cry escaped my lips as I clung to him for dear life. The orgasm washed through me, so intense I went with it, no longer giving a damn about my audience. I tilted my helmet-clad head back slightly as it rolled through my body. Digging my nails into his stomach, I moaned out his name as the last powerful wave coursed through my limbs. Jack quickly parked the bike then jumped off. He paced next to me, his helmet in his hand, as I slowly removed mine, embarrassed but... relaxed.

Owning my part, I made a light joke, though my body was still aching in a way it hadn’t in years. Nervous laughter spewed out of my mouth as I felt the full weight of what had just happened. “Well, that’s one way to get a girl to like to ride.”

I braved a look in his direction. He stopped pacing and stood looking down on me with a mix of lust and confusion.

Avoiding his odd reaction, I made quick conversation. “I think we should do a rain check on the Tesla. I’m in need of a shower,” I said, setting his helmet on the seat.

“Seth is a good friend of mine,” he huffed out in slight exasperation.

“We’ve established that,” I said, looking up at him with a grin that faded as soon as I saw that wasn’t the response he was looking for.

“And you want to pretend that didn’t just happen?” he said roughly as his eyes lit every single nerve ending in my body on fire.

“I’m sure it happens a lot,” I said with intended humor, still pinned to the leather seat by his stare. I felt exposed, and yet as he looked at me with such intensity, I felt needed, beautiful. I remained silent until I saw him mentally make a decision.

I had an inclination I was about to get kissed and thoroughly.

Just as he went to reach for me, we heard Dallas call out from behind us.

“Hey, y'all,” she said as if she hadn’t just interrupted the best waking daydream of my life. Jack and I turned toward her as she hugged Annabelle to her hip and walked toward us, assumption written all over her face.

Clearing my throat, I stepped off the bike and ignored Jack’s lingering stare as I walked toward Dallas.

“Hey, I thought you were in Shreveport.”

“I was. We were there for all of four hours before I called home to check in and heard Mom going through a living hell because of this one.” She lifted a tired Annabelle with her hip, and I leaned in and kissed her chubby cheek then wiped a curly, sweat-covered piece of hair off her forehead.

“Hey, baby girl.”

Annabelle reached for me, and I readily took her.

“It was a nice thought,” Dallas said with a chuckle. “I did place a few bets, though.”

Jack’s easy smile had both Dallas and I struggling to catch our breath as he answered her. “Win anything?” he asked as he put my helmet back in his saddlebag.

“Not a thing. Hey, I saw the installs. I’m impressed. You look like you covered a lot of ground here.” Nobody missed her insinuation. I glared at her openly and Jack visibly tensed.

“That I did,” Jack responded, taking a step forward and rubbing a finger over Annabelle’s chin, making her smile. Her grin was infectious, and I joined in as we both looked back at Jack, a sigh on my lips and an audible “Haywo” from Annabelle.

“Hello to you too, pretty one.”

“Well, I see you got my sister on a motorcycle, which is some feat considering she hates—”

“Where’s Grant?” I interrupted her with a warning in my tone.

Dallas looked at me oddly before she answered. “Dean has him. They’re grabbing dinner. I came to get my laptop.”

I nodded and motioned toward the door. “I’ve got her, go ahead.” Dallas looked between Jack and me, and I narrowed my eyes at her to show I meant business, which meant shit to her.

“Okay, I’m going, though if you ask me—”

“I never do,” I said without an ounce of politeness in my tone. Dallas chuckled and reached for Annabelle. “I’ve got her,” I snapped.

“Right,” Dallas said as she turned toward the building but not before a quick verbal jab. “Thanks, Rosie, you’re the best.”

Seventeen choice words I couldn’t say circled my head as I watched her retreating form with a glare. I absolutely hated that nickname and she knew that without a shadow of a doubt.

All too aware Jack was still standing there, I turned to him as I clutched Annabelle to me.

“Thank you for the ride. I’m sure you have stuff you need to do.”

He looked past me toward Dallas with a nod in her direction. “Are you dismissing me, Rose?”

“Of course not,” I said, a little too hastily.

“Well, just so we’re clear, you owe me a ride.”

“Of course.” My eyes remained trained on Annabelle though my thoughts were still on the possibility of a kiss. “Thanks again, Jack.”

Jack leaned in slowly just as the streetlamp clicked on above us, illuminating his face in soft white light. “Anytime,” Jack whispered in my ear, sending chills down my spine.

“Eye!” Annabelle exclaimed, sticking her tiny finger directly into Jack’s eye as he pulled away. I let out a roar of laughter as Jack bit back his curse, holding his damaged eye with the butt of his palm.

“Are you okay?” I asked as he peeked at us with his good eye.

“You Whittaker women... colorful,” he said with a smile and incredulous head shake.

“Technically, she’s half Martin, but we’ll take that compliment,” I said as I leaned into Anna to nuzzle her neck. “Won’t we, baby?”

Jack looked at me with clear regret. “See you tomorrow, Rose.”

“Thanks again, Jack. It was... stimulating.” Without waiting for his reaction, I turned to walk back into the building to join my sister. I watched her as she finished typing an email and then closed her laptop to look over at me.