Save Me (11 page)

“
We can't go back in,” Jack says, his dark eyes are serious again, the playful light I’d brought to them inside is now gone. “Because of your boyfriend.”

“
Because you had to get in a fight,” I counter.

“
Over you!” Jack almost bellows. He turns to face me, the frustration flushing his face and he tenses his jaw at me.

He closes the gap he’d put between us. "I did it for you."

“
Well, I would never ask you to do that for me,” I say.

“
You did when you let me hold you.” The words come out in a hushed whisper. A blush is rising in his cheeks as we stand in the cold having this insane argument. Jack defended my honor and knocked Nick’s ass out in the process. I should be flattered, but instead, I’m confused. Why would he fight for me? He barely knows me.

He opens the passenger door and I stare at it. “Are you going to get in or not?” he asks, his tone is controlled as he stares at me.

I look at him, at this impulsive man who would defend me when he doesn't even really know me. Finally, the cold temperature takes his side and forces me to get in. Fighting off a body shiver, I walk to the Escalade and grab the bar to hoist myself up and inside.

Heat pours out of the vents, chasing the cold out of the cab. Jack climbs inside and slams his door. He reaches across me and presses a button on the side of my seat.

“
The seat’s heated,” he explains. A warm sensation blossoms underneath my ass. I can smell his hair again; a sweet, clean scent as he leans back to his side of the vehicle.

He exhales heavily and then rubs his face. "I'm sorry," Jack says, keeping his eyes focused on the distant parking lot. The hand that's not on the steering wheel rests on his lap.

"You don't have to apologize, Jack. I'm just trying to get my head together after that."

“
Was
he your boyfriend?” Jack asks.

“
Not exactly,” I say. I don’t really want to explain what Nick was to me. I keep waiting for Allie to come out the door, but she doesn't.

“
You danced with him last weekend.”

I look across the vehicle at him. “You were watching me?”

“
Every man in there was watching you, Carly,” Jack says. His eyes are so dark in the dimly lit vehicle, like black holes that I know I could completely disappear in.

“
Because I was dressed like a whore,” I say, looking out the window.

“
No, because you were and
are
stunning,” Jack answers. He stares at me with longing. The liquid heat inside me starts to simmer. “And watch it. The last guy who called you that ended up on the end of my fist.” A smile breaks his face a little, softening it. He opens and closes his hand, flexing his fingers.

“
Let me see,” I say, reaching for his hand. The knuckles are red and the middle one is a little puffy. I massage the back of his hand and his open palm. Deep lines crisscross his palm and his calloused fingers.

"Why are you how you are?” he asks so quietly I have to strain to hear him.

I don't wait for him to elaborate; I know what he means. "I'm the way I am for a lot of reasons, Jack. Just like everybody else."

"You're nothing like anybody else," he says, turning those new moon eyes on me.

I pull his fingers to my hand, each swollen knuckle brushes my lips and I kiss them. Jack looks at me, the heat emanating from his eyes and his body radiates across the space like a sun. A bright, shining, burning sun.

“
Why’d you let me kiss you like that?” he asks.

"Because I wanted you to. I wanted to taste your lips."

Jack is visibly affected by my words, but my own body responds to them almost violently.

"Will you take me home with you, Jack?" I hold my breath.

His eyes say yes, but I can tell he struggles to answer. I'm still holding his hand and I kiss his fingertips.

"It wouldn't be right, Carly."

"What would be wrong with it?"

"You’d regret me in the morning." He's seriously trying to talk me out of wanting him.

"How do you know?" I ask.

"Because I know. Don't think you owe me anything for tonight. I just wanted to be with you and maybe steal a kiss here and there." Jack leans toward me and starts to plant a kiss on my cheek.

Knock, knock.
Allie is standing at the window holding Jack's coat with a big grin.

I press the button and the window goes down, letting in Allie's excitement.

"I didn't know which vehicle you were in," she says. "You should see Nick's face."

"I don't want to," I say.

"Please, let me apologize for that," Jack says. "It was uncalled for, even though he deserved it."

"Don't you dare apologize," Allie says. "He was so mean to Carly when they were hooking up-"

I shoot her a look to shut her mouth, but it's too late. She's already said it. What's more is that she knows she said it. Her face is all regret.

"Thanks for getting my coat, Allie," Jack says. He reaches into my lap, picks it up and tosses it into the backseat.

"You're welcome," Allie says. She looks at me apologetically. "Call me tomorrow?"

"I will," I say. She backs away from the Escalade, that expression of apology still on her face, and I put the window up as she disappears back inside the club.

"So, what were you two? Friends with benefits?"

I stare out the window. "Sort of. Except we weren't really friends and there weren't a whole lot of benefits, at least for me."

Jack nods his head and turns to look out his own window. He pulls the gear shift into drive and eases the Escalade onto the highway.

We ride toward Captain's in silence. I wish we'd never gone to that fucking club. If we would've just stayed at Captain's or gone anywhere else, this night wouldn't have turned into the clusterfuck it is.

"Did you love him?" Jack asks. I look across the vehicle at him, but he doesn't meet my eyes at first. When he does, I'm not prepared for their intensity.

"No," I answer. "I didn't even like him."

"Then
why
?"

"If I could answer that, Jack, I wouldn't have messed with him in the first place."

"Don't you understand how beautiful you are? How worthy you are of someone better than that asshole? Maybe I'm not good enough, but I know he isn't."

Jack's hands are tense on the steering wheel and I reach out and loosen the one closest to me. I twist my fingers with his.

"I want to know how good you are," I say. I pull his hand to my lips, but Jack lets his fingers trail down and around my jaw line in a circle.

"Do you still want to go to my place?" He looks at me again and this time there's an obvious hunger there.

"Yes," I answer. Jack turns the Escalade around in a spot beside the highway and we follow the road to whatever happens next.

He exits off an unmarked road and then onto a one lane dirt road. Some of the best things in West Virginia happen on one lane dirt roads.

Trees line the lane we drive on, black against darker black. There is nothing but darkness in the distance, not even the pin pricks of faraway porch lights. I like the look of his woods at night, dark and inviting and mysterious, just like his eyes.

We turn a slight left and a large log house comes into view. It’s lit by several of the smallest solar lights, but I can tell even at this distance that it’s beautiful. The front of the dark wood house hosts two massive triangular windows that come to a peak next to a huge stone chimney. He pulls the Escalade around the back and puts it in park.

“
You sure about this? I can take you back to your car if you've changed your mind." His eyes narrow thoughtfully, searching me for something.

"I'm sure."

"Okay, then," he says, unclicking his seatbelt.

He opens his door and I open mine, distractedly looking out at his big house. He comes around to my side and holds the door for me again. I do an awkward step/fall out of the tall vehicle and Jack reaches out to catch me, his arm brushing my breast. My nipple tingles and stiffens. I let out a small laugh and he takes my hand. I'm hit with more of that shocking sensation.

I follow him up the steps, looking around at the big house. The porch wraps around to the side, disappearing into the darkness. The faint barking of a dog sounds off in the distance.

The door opens and his scent welcomes me, multiplied by a thousand. It's almost corporeal as it sings through my head.

He flips a switch and three tiny pendant lights cast the area in a warm glow. I watch him as he hangs the dinner jacket on a hook by the door.

I go to take off Claire’s diamonds, but drop one of them. It immediately falls out of my sight. "Dammit!" I groan.

"What happened?" Jack asks.

"I dropped one of Claire's diamonds," I mutter, getting on my knees to search the floor for it. "It's worth a fortune and she'd kill me if I lost it. I'd probably kill myself."

He squats next to me and runs his hand along the length of the cabinet. I watch his long fingers dance through the semi-darkness, feeling for the borrowed earring.

"Ah," he says, holding out the diamond between his fingertips. "Here ya go." Our eyes meet again and our lips are within touching distance. I smile at him and he grins. I take the earring gratefully and put it inside the zipper of Claire's clutch.

Jack walks toward the stairs, his hands touching the logs of his home with reverence.

“
All West Virginia timber, right here,” he says, leaning against a tall supporting log at the base of the stairs. I smile at him, his eyes never leaving mine.
West Virginia timber, huh
? In that moment, I want to kiss him so hard his lips bleed.

“
Awfully big house for just one guy," I say. A shadow moves across his face, a response to what I said given by his body instead of his mouth.

“
I didn't plan on the house being just for me forever," he says simply. "Wanna look around?"

I nod, but what I really wanna do is strip those clothes off him and get a look at that body. His entire house smells like him; everything is saturated with that scent and it pulls at me, my desire swelling with every inhale. It's a deep musky scent, coupled with vanilla and something hot, something spicy. I'm going to sleep with an almost complete stranger tonight and this is how he smells.

He gets behind me, to watch my ass, I imagine, and lets me lead the way upstairs. Three large paintings hang on the wall that directly faces the stairs, each one a watercolor of a lake, only slightly different in angle and lighting. I stand and appreciate them for longer than I intend to before I notice Jack watching me. I look over the rail into the living room and down onto the huge fireplace, the dark gray stone work heavy and well placed.

“
Home office here,” Jack says, drawing my attention from the living room. “Doesn’t see much use when I’m always at the mill, but at least it’s here when I need it.”