Stalking the Pharmacist (6 page)

“Jack!” Her eyes grew wide and her tone was
outraged, yet
color
bloomed in her cheeks and she
certainly wasn’t running away from him.

He shrugged and let the chuckle rumble
within his chest, happiness filling him up like a never-ending fountain. A few
women in the past had enjoyed his erotic tongue, but the reactions he’d
received were moderate. He had the feeling she’d be different. He’d be aiming
to talk Ash to orgasm while they were in bed, and what a pleasure
that
would be.

“So what were we talking about, Ash?”

She stared at him for a moment, her
expression softening and the frown smoothing out. He reached for his drink and
took a sip.

“You actually want me, don’t you?”

The hot coffee spurted out of his mouth and
sprayed across the table as he tried to cough and laugh at the same time. Lucky
he’d aimed away from their food. He grabbed at the napkin and wiped his mouth
and nose, glaring at the woman who’d made him do such a stupid thing.

“Of course we do! What do you think this is
all about?”

When she just continued to stare at him, he
sighed and forced himself to slow down.

“Sorry, Ash, I forget you haven’t grown up
within our family and you don’t know much about how perfect pairs work.”

Ash smiled at him and made a nodding move
that he took to mean she wanted him to continue.

“Perfect pairs, as you’ve probably been
told by Rosalie, are a set of
nonidentical
twin boys
who are both exact opposites and compliments to each other.”

“No female perfect pairs exist?” Ash asked,
and Jack grinned at her. He’d wondered that himself when he’d been younger.

“No, not that we know of.
Anyway, what it means for us is that we
can offer our mate a combination of physical and personality attributes that
don’t usually exist in one male. I’m pretty rough-and-ready, and Scott’s
quieter and more proper. I’m more likely just to throw you onto the bed and
kiss you, whereas Scott likes to talk about everything.”

Ash gave him a strange look. “Have you
shared women before?”

Jack shuddered.
“No, not
at all.
That was our main objection to the legend. Neither of us liked
the idea of sharing one woman.”

When Ash’s smile drooped and her gaze fell
to her lap he could have kicked himself.

He reached out and lifted her chin up with
his fingers.

“That was, until we met you, our true mate.
We are designed to love you, together, and finally I know why. You’re an
amazing woman, Ash, and I know that you need more than I can give you alone.
Between us, Scott and I will
fulfill
all your
emotional and physical needs.” He leaned forward and waggled his eyebrows at
her. “And I, for one, can’t wait to start.”

A soft laugh left Ash as she looked up at
him, shaking her head slowly.

“How do you make me believe that so
easily?”

She picked up her wrap and began to eat
again, humming a little as she ate. Was she happy now? Was that a rhetorical
question? Man, this woman really was a puzzle.

“Because I mean it.
We’ve been waiting for you our whole
lives.”

Ash giggled and continued eating, speaking
between bites.

“Me? Are you sure? You know I’m fat and I’m
lousy in the bedroom? I’ve heard nothing but negative comments for years, and
yet you think you can wipe it all away with one touch and make me into someone
I’m not?”

Jack sat back and picked up his coffee.
This was the core issue.

“Sweetheart, you are neither fat, nor bad
in bed, and I’ll prove it to you. We’ve always been told that our perfect mate
will match us in every way. Do you know what that is for me?”

Ash shook her head, looking up at him with
sparkling, beautiful blue eyes.

“Tell me.”

He searched his own soul and brought up
everything he’d ever wanted in a woman.

“I could say I want someone with a high sex
drive, who makes me laugh and will stick around forever, but do you know what I
really want? A woman who’ll, of her own desires, kiss me every day.”

“Pardon?”

Jack shrugged.
That about
covered it.
If a woman wanted to kiss him, then the other things would
fall into place.

“I like affection, and my ex wasn’t
affectionate at all. I want to wake up with you wrapped around me, feel your
hands on me. Then I want you to kiss me when I go to work, kiss me over dinner.
I need
touch,
sex as well, but affection is separate.
More important.
You think you can handle that?”

A tear welled and flowed down Ash’s cheek,
and she let it drip onto her t-shirt unchecked.

“What about the housework? Don’t you want
someone who cooks your meals, keeps the house clean?”

Jack laughed. “I have a cleaner, and I cook
for myself. I’m pretty simple. I want someone who loves me, Ash, and who I can
love in return. I need a woman with a heart, who accepts me for exactly who I
am, and shares that love with me.”

Fuck,
you’re saying way too much, buddy.

He clamped his mouth shut and watched as
Ash slid closer to him. He didn’t want to force her into anything; it was so
important that she feel as though everything she did was by choice.

She looked down at the table, biting her
lip and gradually drawing her gaze back up to his. She inhaled deeply and
turned toward him, lifting her hands to cup his face. He closed his eyes for a
moment, enjoying the warmth of her palms against his skin. His eyelids snapped
open again as he felt her drawing him to her for a kiss. She hesitated for a
moment just before their lips
met,
her blue eyes
showing so much uncertainty Jack had to clamp down on his need to take over and
reassure her with words and touches just how much he wanted her.

She lifted her chin and their lips met, a
mutual sigh rising from both of them. He let her guide him, her tongue teasing
the seam of his lips before sliding in. Her touch spread through his senses and
he moaned, reaching for her and bringing her as close as he could
get her while tasting
her soft lips and unique scent.

His inner mountain lion stood up and
purred, not wanting to take over, just preening in happiness. They’d found her.

Ash pulled back, her pupils dilated. “I’m a
workaholic,
I’m too pedantic about how I like things,
I…”

She bit her lip, and Jack kissed the tip of
her nose.

“I love the fact that you’re intelligent
and hardworking. Be as pedantic as you
like,
just try
not to rip me apart when I don’t fall into line.”

Because if she wanted a
lap dog, they’d be in trouble.
Though surely fate wouldn’t design a woman for him like that?
Impossible.

Ash shook her head quickly. “No, I
wouldn’t. It’s just my things.”

He kissed her forehead, her nose,
her
now slightly swollen pink lips.

“Fantastic. But you’ll kiss me every day?
Smile at me and make me happy to be just as I am?”

Ash
hiccuped
out a laugh.
“You make
it sound so easy and yet I don’t even live here! I’m on holidays for one week.
How are we meant to find out if we suit in such a short amount of time, let
alone the question of what we’ll do if we do want to stay
together.
”

Jack waved his hands to dismiss such
foolish talk. “Don’t even use the word
‘
if
’
in that sentence. And don’t worry about all that,
sweetheart. We’ll sort something out. Jobs are flexible, and homes can be
bought and sold. You’re the most important thing for me. I don’t care about
anything else.”

Ash stared at him, her beautiful blue eyes
swimming with tears again.

A cold wave slipped over Jack, and he
forced himself to face one of his biggest insecurities.

“Can you deal with the fact that I’m just a
footballer? I know you think I’m not bright enough for you, but that’s where
Scott kicks in. He’s super smart.”

Ash pressed her lips to his mouth and just
held herself there, melting against him and pushing waves of acceptance at him.

When she pulled back, her eyes were blazing
with heat.

“Maybe you can teach me a thing or two
about football so I can appreciate the game more?”

You
bloody magnificent woman!

He chuckled and slid off the seat, pulling
her with him so they were soon standing next to the table. He took out his
wallet and dropped some cash, more than enough to cover the cost, on the bill.

“So, where are we going? You
wanna
see my property? Go find Scott, perhaps?”

She shook her head and gave him the
most sultry
look he’d ever seen. His stomach muscles
clenched and his breath hitched in his throat as he waited for her to make the
next move.

“No. I think you should take me back to the
motel. I need to know if there is any truth to what you’ve been saying to me,
Jack, and that means I need you to touch me.”

Surprise and lust moved over Jack in
alternate waves, making his belly flutter and his groin tighten. He grinned at
her and planted one
more fast
kiss on her succulent
lips before grabbing her hand and linking their fingers once again. He liked
having at least one hand on her at all times.

“Sure, sweetheart. That sounds like the
perfect plan to me.”

They made their way to his car and were
back at her motel within minutes.

Chapter Five

Ash slipped her key into the lock and took
a shaking, deep breath. Her tummy was tight and jumpy, yet she turned around
and smiled as she took one of the most reckless steps of her life to date. “Do
you want to come in?”

Jack grinned and rocked back on his heels
as he stood opposite her in the hallway of the motel. His smile was devilishly
handsome and his eyes sparkled with mischief.

“Course I do. You sure you want me to?”

Ash nodded and turned her back on her big
footballer, opening the door with hands that shook.

She stepped through and held back the door
as Jack walked in, his swagger exaggerated as he moved. Butterflies wiggled and
fluttered inside her belly, her palms hot and sweaty as she rubbed them against
her pants.

Jack wanted her, and if she was being
honest—boy did she want him. For the first time in years, she really wanted to
be with a man, feel his body on top of hers, the raw strength of him consuming
her. No one had ever inspired such needs in her before. Her insecurities
regarding her body and the true depth of her lover’s feelings for her always
inhibited her responses. Jack’s honesty and animal need for her seemed to wipe
all of that away.

He was simply huge. Broad shoulders that
tapered into a lean waist, an ass so fine she was dying to dig her nails into
it. He prowled into the room, radiating a sexual beat loud enough to drown out
a rock concert.

He turned around and looked at her, his
blue eyes burning. He opened his arms out wide. “You
gonna
come here, my beautiful woman?”

His words sank into her, slipping around
the guard she held around her heart and penetrating deep. She’d invited him to
her room, yet he was still giving her free choice. There wasn’t going to be any
uncomfortable, forced groping with this man. “I’m not yours yet, Jack,” she
teased as she walked forward, unable to resist the pull.

Jack was gorgeous, it was true, but her
inability to resist him was built on so much more than that.

“Why do I feel so safe with you?” She
looked up at him as she moved closer, gasping as his big hands grabbed her ass
and pulled her against him.

Heat flared in her belly and she stifled
the moan that rose from the pressure his body against hers aroused.

He squeezed her rump and grinned, his face
lighting up with that cheeky, happy smile that she was beginning to associate
with him. It made her heart feel
light,
elated.

“Because you
are
mine, Ash.
You’re our fated mate. This was planned
long before we even existed. That’s what our ancestors believe, anyway.”

His soft lips pressed against hers gently
and she pulled back so she could look at him, slipping her arms around his
solid neck. He smelled so good. Like hazelnuts and man. She stroked the hair at
his nape and flexed her fingers against his strong neck muscles.

He shivered and she smiled up at him, hope
flaring in her heart.

“You mean, like soul mates or something?”

He nodded, his hands moving up to stroke
her back before he circled her waist with his palms. Warm tingles spread
through her body wherever his skin touched hers, making her muscles relax and
turn to mush.