he said quietly.
“Any time.” I pivoted back to him, my eyes still on her retreating form in the mirror. “I don’t think I like her.”
A smile twinkled in his dark eyes. “You don’t say.”
Micah
S weet, timid little Jewel Jackson had just bared her claws and run Stephanie off. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t witnessed it with my own eyes. The more facets of her personality she showed me, the more intrigued I became.
We agreed to a picnic lunch, so after we finished up at the gym, we swung back by her apartment for showers. I sat on her couch as she cleaned up first, but with the first hiss of the shower, I was tense and antsy. All I could picture were her naked, wet curves under a stream of water . . . the way her green eyes would deepen with desire if I touched her bare skin.
I adjusted myself and mentally cursed my wayward hormones. She was just beginning to open up to me. I couldn’t blow it by pushing. I was lucky she hadn’t shown me the door after kissing her. She enjoyed it, I knew, but I could also feel her holding back. Until I had her full trust, I couldn’t force anything more between us.
“Okay.” My head popped up to where she stood in the hallway threshold, towel-drying her hair. “You can go ahead.” She tilted her head. “Do you have clean clothes?”
“I always carry a spare set in my gym bag.” I stood and grabbed my duffel.
Closed into her bathroom, all I could smell was her. Sexy and flowery without being too strong. I undressed and stepped under the spray, obsessed by the fact she had just been there. Wondering if she was thinking of me the same way I’d thought of her.
“Get it together, Christian,” I mumbled to myself.
I toweled off and tugged on my clean clothes then raked a hand through my wet hair. I kinda wished I had stuff to shave, but I wasn’t going to miss my chance at a day with Jewel.
I found her in the kitchen, packing up our lunches. She glanced up when I entered, her face light and happy. A sexy angel. “Tuna on whole wheat okay? It’s the best I’ve got for healthy. That and bananas.”
“Sounds perfect.”
We bundled up the food, drinks, and a blanket and made our way out to my Jeep. I’d already removed the soft top so we would be open to the sunshine and breeze. I studied her glowing blond hair as it fell around her shoulders and wondered if that was a bad idea. Women could be weird about their hair.
As we drove, she grinned like a kid at Willy Wonka’s, surprising me. “This is awesome.” A hair tie magically appeared from her purse and she pulled it all up in a bundle.
At the park, we walked in silence, her carrying the blanket, me with the cooler. I was dying to hold her hand but I held back. She brushed against me once or twice and I caught her studying me like she was trying to puzzle something out.
“What?”
“Nothing.” She stopped at a shady spot at the far end of the park. “How about here?”
“Looks good.” I helped her spread out the blanket and we sat side by side, our legs outstretched, gazing at the small pond near us. A fish kerplunked in the water and children’s noisy laughter floated from the playground. The shade of the large oak kept most of the heat of the sun away, but the breeze was still warm as the Texas summer came into full swing.
Jewel offered me a water bottle from the cooler. I nodded my thanks, letting myself sink into the ease between us. I had no explanation for it, but after so many years of solitude, it felt like coming out of hibernation. I was desperate to know her, to know it wasn’t a dream or fluke.
She faced me with a tender smile, her green eyes open and trusting.
“Did he abuse you?” I took a chance and blurted the words that had haunted me since our little Twenty Questions game that had morphed into anything but a game.
Her smile fell and her brows curled in. “Pass,” she said softly. “What really happened in Afghanistan?”
Hell. “Pass.”
She nodded
“Any time.” I pivoted back to him, my eyes still on her retreating form in the mirror. “I don’t think I like her.”
A smile twinkled in his dark eyes. “You don’t say.”
Micah
S weet, timid little Jewel Jackson had just bared her claws and run Stephanie off. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t witnessed it with my own eyes. The more facets of her personality she showed me, the more intrigued I became.
We agreed to a picnic lunch, so after we finished up at the gym, we swung back by her apartment for showers. I sat on her couch as she cleaned up first, but with the first hiss of the shower, I was tense and antsy. All I could picture were her naked, wet curves under a stream of water . . . the way her green eyes would deepen with desire if I touched her bare skin.
I adjusted myself and mentally cursed my wayward hormones. She was just beginning to open up to me. I couldn’t blow it by pushing. I was lucky she hadn’t shown me the door after kissing her. She enjoyed it, I knew, but I could also feel her holding back. Until I had her full trust, I couldn’t force anything more between us.
“Okay.” My head popped up to where she stood in the hallway threshold, towel-drying her hair. “You can go ahead.” She tilted her head. “Do you have clean clothes?”
“I always carry a spare set in my gym bag.” I stood and grabbed my duffel.
Closed into her bathroom, all I could smell was her. Sexy and flowery without being too strong. I undressed and stepped under the spray, obsessed by the fact she had just been there. Wondering if she was thinking of me the same way I’d thought of her.
“Get it together, Christian,” I mumbled to myself.
I toweled off and tugged on my clean clothes then raked a hand through my wet hair. I kinda wished I had stuff to shave, but I wasn’t going to miss my chance at a day with Jewel.
I found her in the kitchen, packing up our lunches. She glanced up when I entered, her face light and happy. A sexy angel. “Tuna on whole wheat okay? It’s the best I’ve got for healthy. That and bananas.”
“Sounds perfect.”
We bundled up the food, drinks, and a blanket and made our way out to my Jeep. I’d already removed the soft top so we would be open to the sunshine and breeze. I studied her glowing blond hair as it fell around her shoulders and wondered if that was a bad idea. Women could be weird about their hair.
As we drove, she grinned like a kid at Willy Wonka’s, surprising me. “This is awesome.” A hair tie magically appeared from her purse and she pulled it all up in a bundle.
At the park, we walked in silence, her carrying the blanket, me with the cooler. I was dying to hold her hand but I held back. She brushed against me once or twice and I caught her studying me like she was trying to puzzle something out.
“What?”
“Nothing.” She stopped at a shady spot at the far end of the park. “How about here?”
“Looks good.” I helped her spread out the blanket and we sat side by side, our legs outstretched, gazing at the small pond near us. A fish kerplunked in the water and children’s noisy laughter floated from the playground. The shade of the large oak kept most of the heat of the sun away, but the breeze was still warm as the Texas summer came into full swing.
Jewel offered me a water bottle from the cooler. I nodded my thanks, letting myself sink into the ease between us. I had no explanation for it, but after so many years of solitude, it felt like coming out of hibernation. I was desperate to know her, to know it wasn’t a dream or fluke.
She faced me with a tender smile, her green eyes open and trusting.
“Did he abuse you?” I took a chance and blurted the words that had haunted me since our little Twenty Questions game that had morphed into anything but a game.
Her smile fell and her brows curled in. “Pass,” she said softly. “What really happened in Afghanistan?”
Hell. “Pass.”
She nodded
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