Hot Pink Heels (The Street Series) (11 page)

“Amanda,” Jackson called out, before pushing his chair back and following her to the door. “Wait.”

Whirling on him, Amanda fisted her hands on her hips. “No Jack, I’m tired of this game,” she said. “I’m leaving
now
. If you want to give me a ride, then fine. Take me home now. Otherwise, leave me the hell alone.”

He grabbed her arm, attempting to pull her back into the room, but her
words stopped him cold. “What’re you gonna do, Jack? Drag me back inside like Billy did?” She stared at him for a heartbeat and then he released her. “I didn’t think so.” She turned on her heel and walked out the door.

Jackson was torn. He looked for Clarissa and saw her dancing with another donor, but her eyes were locked on him from across the room. Sighing, he followed Amanda into the night.

While they waited for the valet to bring Jackson’s car, he spoke with the other valets about Phil and asked them to keep him from driving himself home. Amanda tried not to admire him for the way he took care of a friend, but it was hard. When they weren’t speaking to each other it was easy to lose herself, thinking about all the “what ifs.”

What if she wasn’t a prostitute? Would he date her, or was Clarissa the type of woman he really wanted? What if she threw all caution to the wind and jumped him? What if she really could break down his defenses and get him to sleep with her? What if he wanted to take her home and take care of her forever?

Whoa, Amanda, where the hell did that come from?
Mentally shaking her head, she saw them pull up with a faded Focus and she turned to look at Jackson. “That really wasn’t your car last week, was it?” She couldn’t figure out why it made her want to laugh.

“I told you it was my friend’s car,” he said with an easy smile. “I had to get that thing detailed and fumigated
before I could return it to my boss.”

Her eyes widened in horror. “It was your boss’s car?” She saw the grin on his face and they both started laughing as he helped her into the car.

As they pulled away, he glanced at her outfit. “I like your…shoes,” he said, sticking with a safe compliment. “Are you hungry?”

“Seriously? Didn’t we just come from a fundraiser where the plates cost more than I earned all last year?” She looked at him incredulously.

Tossing a grin at her, he nodded. “Yes, but did you notice how
much
of those plates we could see? I’m starving!”

Amanda chuckled. “I
was
able to eat my entire piece of salmon in three bites,” she grinned back at him, forgetting that she was supposed to be mad at him. “So, yes, I am pretty hungry.”

Jackson pointed the car toward a local fast food joint, where they pulled up to the window and ordered burgers, fries and icy colas. “Okay, now that we’ve got food, give me your address and I’ll drop you off,” he said.

Her smile died and she remembered he wasn’t her date. Clarissa. Ugh. She spouted off the address for her tiny place but didn’t notice the way his mouth tightened. This new location wasn’t much better than her previous one, and in his opinion, still much too close to Billy for his liking.

She was silent for the next few minutes as he maneuvered
through the late evening traffic. Wrapping up her last few bites of cheeseburger, she licked the salt off her fingers before settling back to enjoy what was left of her coke. She hadn’t eaten this good since…
since Jackson’s mom made breakfast for me.

As they pulled up to the building where her apartment was located, Jackson noticed the holes in the window screens and the run down appearance of the entire
area. However, he didn’t notice any street girls, just a couple of homeless guys. Still, he wasn’t comfortable leaving her there.

Jackson parked the car but left it on, the radio playing softly in the background. “Amanda, we need to talk,” he said.

“I know you are set on living this lifestyle and I can’t force you to change,” he began. He was facing her now, the burned out streetlight casting a shadow on his profile. He looked dark and dangerous and she felt even more drawn to him.

“But that’s just it,” Amanda protested. “You don’t really know me at all. I don’t plan on hooking anymore and I don’t want to be in the escort business forever either! I’m saving up to get a chance at a movie script, an extra, whatever. That’s why I came out here in the first place!”

Jackson sat back a bit, not knowing how to respond. “Where are you from?” He’d never even considered that she wasn’t from L.A., so her answer really shocked him.

“Iowa,” she said simply. “A small, one-horse town in Iowa. I just wanted to get out. God, I felt like I was suffocating there, and my parents didn’t understand
or they didn’t care. I finally had it out with them, and that was that. I got on a bus and ended up here. End of story.”

Her abrupt
ending tipped him off that there was more to her story, but he didn’t push her for fear that she would just clam up again. He remained silent, but when she said nothing else, he said the next thing that came to mind: “I’m really glad you did come here,” his voice husky.
Where did that come from, Jack?
Gather your wits, because they’re all over the place and you need them right now.

The air had changed in the car. Tension sparked between them and they were now facing each other, their knees touching. He felt scorched and he was afraid he was getting too close to the fire again. Shifting nervously, he attempted to move so they weren’t touching.

Amanda had a different goal in mind. She liked the nervous tension. She was use to it and she felt safe with him, which turned her on even more. Her breathing shallowed as she leaned slightly toward him, waiting for him to close the gap.

She smiled with satisfaction when she felt Jackson twirling a loose curl around his finger. She was certain he didn’t even realize he was touching her like that, but
it sent a shiver down her bareback. He seemed mesmerized. Pressing her advantage, she leaned closer, curling her hand around his neck.

“Jack,” she murmured. “Thanks for taking care of me, even when I fight you on it.” Her voice was husky, drawing him within a whisper of her kiss.

“You’re so damn hot,” she said, and then she captured his lips in a feathery kiss that jolted her all the way to her toes.

Jackson knew he should pull away, that it was wrong, but it felt so right. Her lips felt like home, and his brains were zapped, which
might’ve explained why he sank deeper into the kiss instead of collecting his sanity and moving away. His hands were in her hair, pins everywhere as he pulled her against him.
Jack. Jaaack.
He heard the whisper in the back of his mind, but he was already past reason as he groaned against her mouth.

Amanda was fighting to keep from ripping his shirt off while at the same time feeling like her limbs were made of jelly. She’d heard people talk about bombs and rockets going off when they kissed
the one
, but she’d never believed it until now. She never wanted him to stop and he didn’t show any signs of backing off.

Her hands made their way under his jacket to help
him remove it while he pushed her farther back until his body was pinning hers into the seat. No one would think twice about a couple fogging up the windows in this area of town.

They were in their own little world as Jackson fisted one hand in her hair, freeing the other ha
nd to slide across her stomach.

Jackson’s hand snapped back like it had been burned. His head came up at the same time and he looked at Amanda. Her dreamy expression paired with her heavy breathing was enough to bring him back to reality.

He pulled his hand out of her hair and moved back to his side of the car, saying nothing.

“What’s the problem, Jack?” Amanda sat up, her eyes sharpening as she watched him struggle. She made no effort to straighten her clothing as she watched him.

Inwardly, Jackson’s struggle was a whole lot worse. He wanted to go back to her soft lips and feel her tight body up against his, but he knew he’d already made a huge mistake. Looking down at her stomach, he suddenly realized her abortion had saved him from one of the biggest mistakes of his life.

Touching the soft skin there had reminded him of what she’d done, and he had yet to come to grips with her decision. Besides the fact that she did not even half-heartedly proclaim to follow Christ, he had no business taking advantage of her this way.

Amanda was a desirable young woman and he definitely felt a spark with her, but he’d crossed, no, make that
jumped
over the lines he’d drawn in his relationship with Clarissa.
Clarissa never pushed you on it either,
Jackson told himself. But that was no excuse. He’d drawn those lines with God in mind, and he’d managed to stay on the right side of them for 26 years.

And tonight, one simple woman, albeit a very sexy and gorgeous woman, had caused him to abandon the lines and his principles. He’d
enjoyed his sin, despite hearing that warning voice.

How many times had Harry warned him and others on staff that the biggest mistake a man in ministry could make these days was to be alone with a woman who was not his wife?
Apparently, so many times you stopped really listening to him,
Jackson told himself.

All of those thoughts passed through his mind quickly, while Amanda still just stared at him in
silence; her breathing slowing down while her expression remained stony.

“What’s
your problem, Jack?” She whispered the words again, but they were a cold whisper, barely controlled.

Jackson looked at Amanda, her messy hair making her even more attractive. Twin feelings of desire and anger flowed through him. Desire for her, because he had been the one to mess up that perfectly pinned hair. Anger towards himself, because he
’d taken advantage of her and crossed his boundaries.

“Amanda, I cannot even begin to tell you,” he started, but she threw her hands up and cut him off.

“If you’re about to apologize for what just happened, then you can shove it up your ass, because I’m
not
sorry,” she said icily. “We both know you’ve been wanting to do that since we first met.”

“Okay, Amanda, yes, I am attracted to you, but that doesn’t mean I am free to act on it,” Jackson said.

“Oh you mean because of Clarissa?” Amanda raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I can tell you are very committed to her.” Her sarcasm was not lost on Jackson.

“No, not because of Clarissa,” he continued. “Or not
just
because of her.”

“Well then, what’s the problem?” she asked again. “We’re two consenting adults and we can do what and
who
we want. It’s not like you’re married to her and besides, it wouldn’t be the first married guy I’ve slept with.”

“No, it’s not like that for me,” Jackson said. “I made a promise to myself and God that I would wait for my wife.” He reached over, pulling her strap back onto her shoulder.

“Wait for your wife? What does that—oh my God, you mean to tell me you’ve never had sex before? Are you kidding me?” She laughed at him. “Well, it doesn’t matter, I’d still sleep with you and I’d be happy to show you any of the tricks of my trade, Jack.” She leaned closer to him, but he put out his hand to stop her.

“Amanda, I want what I have with my wife to be special and not something I’ve already shared with a bunch of other women,” Jackson said. “Or even
one
other woman.” He said this last line while looking directly at her. “No matter how tempting it is, I really don’t want to cross those lines I put up, and I did that tonight. For that, I apologize to you. Please forgive me for just using you like that.”

“How could it be wrong, I mean, you enjoyed it, right?” She was curious now instead of angry. He could be so endearing, and she had no idea how he managed it, but suddenly she was feeling sorry for him. He was obviously upset over what he’d done, but she didn’t understand.

“Amanda, seriously? You really have to have an answer to that question?” Jackson cleared his throat. “The fact that I nearly tore your clothes off in the front seat of my car in a public place wasn’t enough to convince you how much I was enjoying it?”

“Jack, you forget, I’m use to that,” Amanda sighed. “That comes with the job.”

“But Amanda, just because you allow other men to treat you that way does
not
give me a pass to treat you like that too, just using you because it feels good,” Jackson said quietly.

Amanda’s frustration returned, but Jackson continued. “Plus, I would lose my job for sure if I went to bed with you.”

She loved his cute terminology, but she’d had about enough. She got out of the car and slammed the door. He was already rounding the front end of the car, but he kept a safe distance. “Jack, you guys are all the same,” she said, venom creeping into her voice.

“You talk about us being equal with everyone else, but when it comes to real relationships with us, you’re just like everybody else,” Amanda said, cocking one hip to the side and putting her hand on that hip. “We’re good enough to come to Jesus, but we’re not good enough to date, right?”