mean to text me, I take it?” He ran a hand through his thick black hair and sighed, looking strangely despondent. “I knew it was too good to be true.” He grinned ruefully at her, looking, well, damn good. He was handsome, she knew he was, but before now she’d not let herself see just how hot.
God, Jenna. Like a bitch in heat! Are you just going to jump on every man you see? Maybe... she thought. Just maybe. And distantly... I really shouldn’t ever drink vodka.
Jack glanced down at his shoes, looking embarrassed. She wondered why. Women threw themselves on Jack all the time. It’s not like the man was hard up for willing booty calls. She’d heard women at work talking about him in the kitchen by the coffee machine and what they’d love to do with him. “Right, well, then, I... Uh... This is for you.” He handed her a bottle of red, an expensive bottle by the look of it. What kind of man brought expensive wine to a drunken hookup?
A nice one, Maddie would’ve said if she were here.
“Well... uh... I’ll be on me way, then,” he grumbled in his sexy Irish brogue. Even Jenna had taken note of the accent. Everyone in the office had. “No need to call the peelers.”
“Peelers?”
“Police,” he explained. He headed to the door, pausing there. “By the by, you look feckin’ amazing. Whomever you meant to call is a lucky feckin’ lad.”
Something in his voice, the yearning in it, made Jenna pause. Did Jack have a thing for her?
“Jack, wait.”
He paused. “Are you going to call HR? Pam will be asleep and meaner than she usually is.”
Jenna laughed. Pam in HR was a hard-ass. She’d hate being called at home, but she’d love reprimanding both of them. She lived to chastise rule-breakers. “Have a drink. She can’t have us fired for having a drink.”
“She can if you wear that.” Jack looked down at Jenna’s robe, which had gaped open, revealing cleavage. She giggled, and stumbled a little, and Jack steadied her on her feet. His hands were strong and warm and Jenna liked the feel of them on her shoulders. He smelled like leather and cinnamon. He smelled good.
She glanced up and saw a worried look in his stark blue eyes.
“You okay?”
“I’m... I’m a mess,” she admitted, and hiccupped. The vodka hadn’t weakened its grip on her at all, which was probably a good thing, because if she’d been sober, she would’ve died on the spot of embarrassment. But, now, the alcohol blunted the flash of disapproval in her boss’s eyes. She’d deal with all of that later. Right now, she was drunk, and there was a good-looking man standing in her living room. She hadn’t made the leap of sleeping with him, yet, but then, anything could happen.
“Let’s open this,” she offered, taking the bottle to the kitchen.
“Let’s get some food first, lass,” Jack said, carefully taking the bottle out of her hands. “I know a twenty-four-hour pizza place. Crust to die for! Pepperoni, yeah?”
Confused, Jenna nodded. Jax would never stop to order pizza. He’d have had his way with her five times to Sunday by now. He never cared if she was drunk or not. Usually, she didn’t care either. She was too busy trying to get Jax’s clothes off. She’d thought it was sexy, that he couldn’t wait that he had to have her now, but maybe that was all wrong. Maybe he was just being self-centered.
Jack took care of ordering the pizza, paying over the phone with his credit card, and somewhere, in that little act of chivalry, Jenna lost it. The tears started flowing before she even knew she was crying.
“There, now, food will help...” Jack dropped the phone back in his pocket and glanced up, seeing her tears for the first time. “Feck sake, luv! What did I do?” Jack froze, looking scared. Of course he did. He was a guy, and she was crying! And she couldn’t stop. She blamed vodka. Seriously, no more vodka!
“I-I-I’m sorry. You’re just so nice. That’s all. The guy I thought I was meeting tonight would’ve never done that.”
“He wouldn’t order you pizza?” Jack look genuinely puzzled.
“Or brought me wine. Or cared how I was feeling.”
“Oh.” Jack seemed to understand. He whipped out a packet of tissues from his pocket and
offered her one. Was there nothing he wasn’t prepared for? She blew her nose into it, knowing she was mid-ugly cry, and waited for Jack to make an excuse to leave. This would’ve been Jax’s cue to exit. He didn’t do well with crying. Or with any real genuine emotion that wasn’t lust.
“Come here, then. Bring ’er here.” He opened his arms wide.
Jenna hesitated. She wanted nothing more than to jump into that big circle of warmth, but something gave her pause. The room dipped a little.
“I won’t fondle you, I promise. Gentleman’s word.” He nodded and she moved into his embrace, feeling silly. Her makeup was probably running halfway down her face. She sure didn’t feel sexy at the moment. His arms felt big and strong and safe, and she cried some more, into his shirt, before she realized she was leaking mascara.
“I’m sorry! Your sweater.” She sniffled, and swiped at her eyes with the crumpled-up tissue.
“I can get a new one.” He shrugged, unoffended. He whipped off the wool cardigan and revealed a plain T-shirt beneath that clung to his clearly defined chest. She found herself staring at it. She didn’t realized her boss worked out, since he mostly wore oxford button-downs to work, but clearly he did. You didn’t get biceps and pecs like that by sitting on your couch playing Xbox. “Why don’t we sit down? You can tell me all about that prize of a boyfriend of yours who starves you and doesn’t listen.”
Jenna barked a laugh, already feeling a little better. She sniffed and headed to the couch, swaying dangerously on her feet. Boy, she’d had far too much to drink. She slipped down into the soft cushions. Jack slid in next to her, his lithe, muscled frame unsettling. She couldn’t stop staring at his chest. Jenna’s weakness was there, the big, solid muscles that she could run her hands over. Jax had an amazing chest, she remembered, and those big, broad shoulders. Jack’s shoulders weren’t bad either. She wondered what it would feel like to grab them, run her hands down his arms.
She mentally shook herself. You’re not sleeping with your boss. This is embarrassing enough!
“You must think I’m a mess.”
“I’m relieved, actually, luv.” She could feel the warmth of his Irish brogue in the pit of her stomach. She sure could listen to him all night, she thought. Or like one of the admins at work said, they’d listen to him read the phone book. There was something to it. “You’re so cool and collected at work. Nothing ever flusters you. It’s good to see you’re human after all.”
“Things fluster me all the time!”
“You don’t show it.” Jack grinned, and Jenna felt suddenly shy. She was very aware of his leg, just six inches from hers on the couch. His shoulders seemed to fill up the space of her small condo living room.
“You
