that. Not the ones he’d met so far. He didn’t know if it was just his rotten luck, or if women were different in America, but it seemed all they were into was partying and shagging anything that moved. The last time he fell for a girl, she’d been dating two other guys at the same time. He should’ve learned his lesson then, but now here he was again, falling for a girl before he even knew her.
Did she just want a shag like the rest of them? Or was she fishing for more? He wanted a real connection. Did she?
Part of him told him he’d just be disappointed, but the part of him that lived below his waist didn’t care at the moment. The thought that her hard veneer had finally cracked drove him wild.
He backed his car out of the garage space and steered it toward Jenna’s condo in Wrigleyville.
The fact that he’d memorized her address after only dropping her off once after a photo shoot a few months ago should’ve raised more warning bells in his head, but didn’t. Just hear the lass out, and figure out if she feels the same way about me, he thought. Nothing more.
Back at her condo, Jenna quickly stuffed her dirty clothes into her closet, kicking errant socks under her bed. Jax had a thing about bedrooms: they had to be clean. He felt nothing should get in the way of setting the mood, and he was right about that. He was an artist in the bedroom, and wanted to work every angle of the canvas. A dirty bra on the headboard or a sweatshirt on the floor might mess with his rhythm, and Jenna had no intention of doing that. If this was going to be the last time she’d ever fuck him, she wanted it to be perfect. Quickly, she lit those vanilla candles he liked so much, and shut off the lights.
Maddie had been the hardest to get rid of—she’d almost insisted on sleeping over. “I don’t want to leave you alone,” she had said. “What if he tries to hit you up for a booty call?”
“He won’t,” Jenna had lied, since he already had. And she’d accepted. She felt bad about that, and about shuffling Maddie out her door with some mumbled excuse about having an early workday tomorrow. She knew by the sour look on Maddie’s face, her friend didn’t buy it, but Maddie had let it slide, so there was that. Now, she just had to focus on what was coming and how she planned to be naked with Jax in less than an hour.
Already, she’d found the lingerie that drove him wild: push-up bra, transparent black thong, the silky black robe he’d gotten her for her birthday last year. He’d had her try it on—sans anything underneath when she opened it, and that had led to a six-hour, multi-orgasm, marathon lovemaking session, which she still sometimes daydreamed about. She hoped he remembered that when she opened the door.
What am I doing? she thought suddenly, remembering that the day after that lovemaking marathon she’d gone in for her annual OB/GYN appointment and discovered she had HPV, which could only have come from Jax. She’d done the math and realized that he’d given it to her sometime during one of their so-called monogamous phases, which meant he’d picked it up from playing around on the side. When she’d confronted him, and asked him if he’d been sleeping around, he’d said yes. When she asked him if he used any protection, he’d said sometimes.
Sometimes! That had led to a panicked call to the doctor’s office once more, where she had tests for the whole spectrum of STDs run. She’d come up negative for any more, but that had led to their second breakup.
Jenna shook her head, the vodka making her thoughts all jumbled. She’d had a lot to drink and hardly anything to eat, and she swayed unsteadily on her heels as she tried to gather her thoughts.
She couldn’t believe she’d let him back into her life and her bed. She knew how it sounded to Maddie, and everyone else in her life, but the fact was, nobody wanted her like Jax. His hands... his mouth. He knew every one of her weak spots. He exploited every one. And if that didn’t work, he made her come so hard she cried uncle.
Nobody pursued her with his single-minded determination. Even though he ran after dozens of girls the same way, that little voice said. She checked her makeup in the mirror, her image a drunk blur. She’d fixed her eyeliner the best she could, but wondered what would happen after he left. Would she cry herself to sleep? Was she really going to do this? Trade her dignity for one more night with Jax?
I should call him and tell him not to bother. I shouldn’t do this. I know where this leads...
No. One more time, she thought. Just once. One time and I’ll be done with him. For good this time.
But... was that really a good idea? She wavered, phone in hand, almost ready to text Jax and call the whole thing off. Maybe she would...
Her door buzzed then. Too late. Jax was downstairs. She could ignore him, but she knew Jax. He’d worm his way in somehow, or he’d buzz all her neighbors’ doors until one of them let him in. When it came to sex, Jax wasn’t going to be derailed. He’d take the door off the hinges if he had to. She thought of trying to explain to the police she called about her drunk texting, and decided she should be in for a penny, in for a pound. She invited him over, and part of her was still very excited about their last night.
She hit the buzzer button, and cracked open her front door. She was in a third-floor walk-up, and she could hear the front door click behind him, and the heavy footsteps on the carpeted stairs. Jenna propped herself in her doorway, her landing not visible to any of her neighbors. She had her silky black robe open, her lingerie and assets on display—push-up bra working overtime to make her a Victoria’s Secret model look-alike. She slouched against the door frame, hoping she looked seductive and not drunk, as she saw a glimpse of dark hair and a leather jacket. Jax didn’t wear leather... and wait one minute, that wasn’t Jax at all.
Her boss, Jack Kearney, climbed up the last flight, his broad shoulders moving his fit body as she froze in absolute shock for about two full seconds, during which, his ice-blue eyes swept over her in approval. He looked a little like a man on Christmas morning, amazed at the good fortune he’d found under his tree.
Jenna managed to gain control of her body once more, and she whipped her robe closed, tying the sash and backing into her apartment.
“Jack! What are you doing here?” she exclaimed, even as she realized the silk of her robe clung to her curves, and was too short to cover much of anything, her hem hanging well above her knee. Her eyes darted down the stairwell, as if Jax might be there right behind Jack, trying to figure out what on earth had brought her boss to her apartment at midnight.
“You told me to come,” Jack said, holding up his phone.
The vodka swirled around Jenna’s brain, making her two steps too slow. “What?”
He read the messages aloud. “We need 2 talk. I know you want me. You should want me. I’m the best you’ll ever have. “
“No... Oh, my God.” Jenna stumbled back into her apartment, grabbing her phone. It couldn’t be true. She’d texted Jax. She knew she had...and yet, as she scrambled to pick up her phone she saw she hadn’t. Jack sat neatly at the top of her message list. Jack, not Jax. She’d been off by one letter. She’d probably typed Jac, and it had automatically pulled up Jack, but she’d been too drunk to notice. Oh, God! Her boss... her... really devilishly good-looking boss. She didn’t know if it was the vodka talking, but man,
