Alluring (14 page)

"A glass of wine would be nice."

"Sit here, I'll go get it."  He sat her at an unoccupied table for two then headed for the bar. 

One of her favorite songs started, and she tapped her fingers to the beat.

"Would you like to dance?"

Alexis looked up.  Standing beside her was an extremely good-looking guy with dirty-blond hair, blue eyes, and a dimple with his flirtatious smile.  "No, thank you."

"Come on, I know you want to.  I saw you twitching a mile away."  He gave her a wink.

"I'm here with someone," Alexis said, curtly, wanting to end their exchange before Jack got back.  If there was one thing she knew about Jack, he did not like other men talking to her.

"I don't see him anywhere."  He took a step closer.

"You lay one finger on my woman, I'll forget we're friends and kick the shit out of you."  Jack set down the drinks and wrapped a possessive hand around the back of Alexis's neck.

"Jack! "  The guy took a step back and held up his hands.  "I didn't know she was yours.  Peace, brother."  He made a peace sign with his fingers.

Alex couldn't hold in her giggle.  The guy was ridiculous.  She heard Jack chuckle as well. 

"Can I at least get an introduction to this beautiful creature?"  He put his hands in the front pockets of his jeans and gave them a boyish smile.  "I won't even shake her hand."

Jack shook his head, clearly amused by his friend.  "Mase, Alexis Taft. Alexis, Mason Connor," Jack begrudgingly muttered.

"It's nice to meet you, Mason."

"You, my lovely, may call me Mase."

Jack took a swig of his beer, giving Mase a glare over the bottle.  Alexis dipped her head, so Jack couldn't see her smile.

"Well, I guess that's my cue to leave.  Give me a call in the next few days, Jack.  I have something important to talk to you about." 

"Will do," he said, with a nod of his head.

"Night you two.  Have a fun evening.  Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"That's a short list."  Jack deadpanned.

Mase threw back his head and laughed.  "I know, right!"  He turned and was gone.  Swallowed by the crowd.

"He's um ... different.  Where do you know him from?"  Alexis took a sip of her wine.

"My dad owns a part of the Nevada Pursuers.  Mase is their star quarterback.  We met at a charity function a few years back."   Jack leaned in closer.  "But enough about him.  I want to talk about you and me and what I'm going to do to you once I get you upstairs."

Alexis played with the rim of her wineglass as she asked, "And what are you going to do to me?"

"First, I'm going to strip you of this incredibly sexy dress," he said, running a finger along the line of her zipper.  "Then I'm going to lay you out on our bed
—
"

"Don't you mean, your bed?" she interrupted, turning to look at him.

"That's our bed, sweetheart.  You and I are the only ones who have ever slept in it."

"Really?"

"Really."  He lightly kissed the tip of her nose.

Alexis sighed.  She loved when he did that.  "That still doesn't make it our bed.  It's your bed, in your house."  That was a very important distinction.

It was now Jacks turn to sigh, but his was in frustration.  "If I had it my way, you would be in that bed every night, living with me under that roof."

Alexis's body tensed.  "What?" she whispered.  OMG, was he insane?  He couldn't possibly want her to move in with him.  It was too soon.  What if things didn't work out?  She felt her heart beating wildly in her chest, and she had to concentrate on breathing in and out.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Shit.  He saw the panic on her face and knew he had pushed too fast.  Fuck it.  She was his, and the sooner she realized this, the better.  He wanted to walk into his home and be surrounded by her, her scent, her essence, her belongings, her laughter, her body.  "I want you to move in with me."

"I can't move in with you.  I ... It's too fast."  She was getting flustered.  He had to put her at ease.

"Let's try it for a month.  You can keep your apartment."  He moved in close, their noses touching as he spoke against her lips.  "Move in with me, Alexis."

She licked her lips, in turn licking his.  "For a month?  If I kept my apartment, it wouldn't be like I was moving in.  It would be more like a long visit."

She was rationalizing.  He was fine with that as long as it got him what he wanted, her in his home.  He smiled.  He knew she felt it because his lips were still against hers.  "Let's go upstairs so I can fuck you in
our
bed."

* * * * *

"Jack, please."

"Please what, Alexis?"

She was beyond aroused.  If he didn't bury himself in her soon, she was going to start whimpering.  "Please, I need you."

"What do you need?"  He took her nipple into his mouth sucking deep.

Alexis moaned, arching herself off the bed.  "I need you inside me."

Jack sat up on his knees.  "Roll over on you stomach, baby."

Alexis was too far gone not to obey.

"Up on your knees.  Ass in the air.  Brace your arms on either side of your head."

Alexis was quick to comply.

"Spread your legs a little wider, baby."  She felt him rub his hands along her ass.  "Wish you could see this view.  Your perfect."  He grasped her hips and pushed inside.  "So tight and wet.  You're dripping for me."

Alexis sighed as he entered her.  She pushed back with each of his forward thrusts.  She felt so full, and the spot he was hitting, sweet torture.  "Don't stop.  Please don't stop," she chanted.

He pounded into her hard.  Her head pushed into the pillows.  She threw her arms before her, bracing against the headboard for leverage.  He brought his hand around, stroked her sweet spot, and she exploded. 

She cried out his name.  Hers bursting from his lips as he gave a final thrust, collapsing against her back.  He quickly rolled to his side, bringing her with, holding her tightly in his arms.

"Are you okay?  Did I hurt you?"  He asked, softly rubbing her hip and thigh.

"It was amazing," she murmured against his chest, already half asleep.

He kissed the top of her head.  "Sleep, sweetheart.  I've got you."

"Okay."  She closed her eyes and drifted off to the sound of his heartbeat.

"Do you think this is a bad idea?"  Alexis asked, as Steph sat on her bed, watching her sort through the clothes in her closet, deciding what she wanted to take with her to Jack's.

"Probably."

Alexis popped her head out of the closet and turned to look at her friend.  "Really?"  She walked to the bed and sat down.  "Then why aren't you trying to stop me?"

"Because, I said probably.  I don't know for sure."  Steph reached for her soda and took a sip.  "What if it ends up working out."

"I don't know, maybe I shouldn't do this.  I already really like him.  He makes me feel things I've never felt before.  Living with him will make it worse."

"So what.  Why can't you have feelings for him?  Why can't you fall in love?" 

"Because he'll break my heart when he leaves me."

Steph sighed in what sounded like exasperation.  "First of all, you don't know that he's going to leave you.  What if he falls in love with you, too?"

"Come on Steph, this is Jack we're talking about here.  We're so different."  Alexis threw her arms in the air for emphasis.

"Haven't you ever heard the phrase
opposites attract
?"  She brought two fists up between them.  "Let's do a pro and con list.  Pro.  He's hot."  She lifted her left pointer into the air.

"This is silly," Alexis said.

Steph gave her a stern look.  "Pro and con lists are never silly.  Now be quiet.  Pro.  He's rich."  She held up her middle finger creating a 'V'.

"Peace to you, too."  Alexis giggled.

Steph rolled her eyes.  "Would you get serious."

Alexis sighed.

"Pro."  She held up her ring finger.  "He's hot."

"You've said that one already." 

"Yeah well, I figured he's so hot it should count twice," Steph explained.

"The same should go for rich than, too," Alexis stated.

"Good point."  Steph lifted her picky.  "Pro."

"Don't you have any cons?"  Alexis asked.

"Um ...,"  Steph looked over at her right fist, deep in concentration.

"What about the fact that he's a womanizer?"

"
Was
a womanizer.  Alexis, you said yourself that he told you he wouldn't cheat on you and that you believed him."

"Okay fine, but he's got to have at least one con."  They looked at Steph's right fist.

"Does he have a small dick?"  Steph asked.

"I wouldn't really know, but I don't think so."

"Well, how big is it?"

Alexis held out her hands.  "I guess about like this."

"OMG.  Pro!"  Steph popped her thumb out and waved her hand in the air.  Then they collapsed on the bed laughing.

Jack arrived a few hours later, looking skeptically at Alexis's two suitcases and three boxes.  "Is this all you're taking?"

"I know, right!"  Steph sauntered out of Alexis's bedroom, looking her usual sexy self in a pair of tight jeans and an even tighter T-shirt that highlighted her curves perfectly.  Her blond hair was styled precisely, and her make-up was flawless.  "I mean, what typical girl goes away for a month with only two suitcases and three boxes?"

Alexis looked down at herself.  She was wearing a pair of gray cutoff sweats and a baggy T-shirt that had 'ALWAYS GIVE 100% UNLESS YOU'RE DONATING BLOOD' written across the front.  Her hair was in its usual messy bun atop her head, and she wasn't wearing any make-up.  The best thing she could say about herself, at the moment, was that her legs were shaved.  "I guess I'm not your typical girl," Alexis shrugged.

Jack walked up to her, lifted her chin with a finger and gave her a very long, very deep, very thorough kiss.  "Thank God for that," he said, giving her a wink.

"Wow.  That was fucking hot."  Steph said, sounding awed.

Alexis giggled, feeling slightly drunk from Jack's kiss.  She recovered slowly but still managed to introduce Jack to Steph.

Steph gave him a sly smile.  "It's definitely a pleasure to meet you.  Any friend that can get into Alexis's pants is a friend of mine."

"Steph!" Alexis yelled, mortified.

Jack chuckled.  "I'll be the only friend you'll ever meet that's getting into Alexis's pants.  Although, I don't think
friend
is quite the right word."

"What would be the right word then?"  Steph asked.

Jack looked over and gave Alexis a tender smile.  "I don't think Alexis is ready to know the answer to that yet."

Alexis looked around her apartment one last time while Jack took her things down to his SUV.  She was bent over, looking through the refrigerator, making sure she didn't miss anything that would spoil, when she felt a set of strong arms wrap around her waist.  "Don't think I can see you bent over and be able to resist you,"  Jack mumbled against her neck.  "Especially in these short shorts."

Alexis had changed into a pair of black, cuff shorts and a pink tank, knowing they were about to leave.  The day was unusually warm for late April, and although it would be cool in the hotel, it had to be at least 90 degrees outside.

She pulled her head out of the fridge and shut the door.  With her back still to Jack, one of his hands traveled north while the other went south, cupping her through her shorts.  Her head fell back against his chest as his lips attacked his favorite spot on her neck.

"I will never get enough of you."

Alexis stiffened in his arms.  She knew he felt it when his hold on her tightened.  "Don't, Jack.  You know how important your honesty is to me, so don't say things about a future you can't possibly know about.  Let's just enjoy the now."

She heard Jack sigh against her neck before he stepped back, turning her to face him.  He gripped her shoulders, staring at her very seriously.  His eyes penetrated hers, searching for something in their depths.  "One of these days, I will make you understand what's going on between us.  I'm trying to give you time to figure it out on your own, but you have to know by now, I'm not the most patient of men.  My patience will run out and when that happens I will spell things out for you, word for word if need be, until you understand."

"I ... I ... d ... don't
—
"

"I know you don't.  But understand this, I will never tell you something I don't mean, now or in the future or even about the future.  Know that whatever comes out of my mouth is the truth.  Some of it you'll like.  Some of it you won't.  But all of it will be true."