when he pulled away, keeping her eyes closed.
‘Excuse me, did you say something?’
‘More kisses, please,’ Jessie replied, a little louder this time.
‘I’m sorry, I still can’t hear. What it is you want?’ Jack asked her in a condescending tone.
‘I said, more kisses please. And it’s not about want , but I need more kisses to make me feel better,’ she said at normal volume, finally opening her eyes again to see his lovely dark eyes smiling back down at her. He was loving hearing her beg. Jessie didn’t care though. It was amazing how reinvigorating a little kiss from this man could be. It was like he was breathing life back into her. When he made no move to kiss her again, Jessie decided that escape was the only other option open to her. She’d humiliated herself enough for one morning. There was absolutely no way on this earth that she was going up on tiptoes to kiss him. That would just make his day, and Jessie still had some pride left in her. Instead, she ducked and freed herself from Jack’s arm prison. Only, he saw her move coming and quickly grabbed her wrist, pulling her back up the wall to a standing position.
‘Don’t bother then,’ she said sulkily, crossing her arms over her chest.
‘Don’t pout, Jessie,’ Jack said as he leaned in and hovered his mouth on the sensitive spot below her ear. Still no kisses. The guy was driving her mad. She wanted him to either kiss her and make her feel better, or let her disappear to clean up so she could feel more human and make herself feel better.
‘I’m glad you’re still wearing your dress from last night,’ he said softly next to her ear, tickling her skin with his breath.
‘You’re welcome. I knew you’d be stopping by at some point,’ she said cockily, for want of anything funnier to say.
‘Does that mean you’re still wearing last night’s knickers then?’ Jack replied, playing with a strand of her hair. Jessie had never felt so dirty in her life. Not dirty in a sex way, just dirty in a dirty way.
‘Yeah, that’s why I really need a shower,’ she said forcefully, trying to shove him away from her so she could make a dash for the bathroom. But however much she wriggled, she couldn’t get free from him. After a minute of watching her struggle and get more irate, he touched his fingers to her chin and guided her head to look up at him.
‘You’re right about one thing, Jessie Slaymaker. You do make me angry. But not because of your feelings for Charlie. I know they were there long before I came along. You make me angry because I’m a big boy and you don’t need to protect me. I’ve been out in the big bad world for some time now, and I’m aware of the games people play. All I want is for you to do whatever makes you happy. If you want to go out with Charlie, then do so. Likewise, if you want to spend time with me, then do so,’ he finished, monologue complete. Jessie sighed, digesting his words. She wished he would just kiss her.
‘If you want to kiss me, then do so,’ he said, as though reading her mind. Automatically, Jessie felt herself rise up onto her tiptoes and push herself forward into his mouth. A voice in Jessie’s head chided her for giving in, but she silenced it by arguing that she was just doing want she wanted to do. Maybe she should start being more selfish and do what she wanted to do more often, rather than worrying all the time about everyone else and putting her own needs and wishes last.
Their kiss began gently and tenderly, but after the first initial caresses, Jessie felt something take over inside of her. Something she hadn’t felt since Natalie and Nick’s wedding when she’d had a taste of control and taken Jack to bed. Their kiss went from being sweet and gentle to one of urgency, need, and desperation. All at once, fumbling, hurried hands began wandering over body parts, searching for zips and buttons.
Chapter 33
Jessie somehow managed the buttons on Jack’s shirt and had him
C. J. Cherryh
Learning to Kill: Stories
John O'Riley
Brenda Sinclair
Christopher George
Stephen Lloyd Jones
Karl Iagnemma
Celya Bowers
Jill Gregory
Aria Cunningham