Flirting with Disaster (Jackson: Girls' Night Out 2)

“You know what? It kind of was. I’d spent my whole life doing what I was told, and it took waking up in a stranger’s bed to realize I could do whatever I wanted. I could be who I wanted to be, instead of—” She cut herself off. “Anyway, it all worked out. And here we are.”

“Yes,” he said, “I’m glad.” He was glad. He wanted her to know that. He was glad she’d run, and he could help her. “Was your mom strong like you?” he asked.

She let out a long breath but didn’t push away. Didn’t get up. Eventually, she answered. “No. My mom was timid and quiet. She deferred to my dad. I loved her, but I wish she’d been stronger.”

“And your dad?”

She shrugged. “He left one day. That’s all.”

“Isabelle—” he started, but she interrupted him by stroking a hand over his chest.

“You’re pretty great, you know,” she said. “You make me comfortable. It’s easy to trust you.”

The ple

asure that had melted through his body turned cool. She trusted him. Obviously. She’d let him into her home and her body. Hell, he’d encouraged her to trust him so she’d open up.

She must’ve felt him stiffen. “Hey, don’t freak out. A girl in every port, right?”

“No,” he said. His phone buzzed, and he was embarrassed to feel relieved, because it wasn’t that he wanted an excuse to leave; he just couldn’t stay and lie to her anymore.

She kissed his cheek and moved off him, letting him sit up. “I’m glad you came by again.”

“Not as glad as I am.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, eyebrows raised.

“After what you said tonight, no. Were you using me?”

“Absolutely.” She was giving him an out. Keeping it light so he could retreat with grace. The worst part was that he was about to take full advantage of that and get the hell out of her house as if he really wanted away from her.

He cleared his throat and headed back to her kitchen for the rest of his clothes. She followed and started doing dishes as if she were totally comfortable wearing nothing but a sweater that fell just short of covering her bare ass.

Fuck, she was cute.

He strapped on his gun and shrugged on his jacket, feeling guilty as hell. “When I’m done with all this, I’d love to do this right.”

“If what we just did was wrong...”

Right. Keep it light. “I meant we could go out. Dinner or a movie or skiing.”

She stopped washing dishes and turned to look at him. He tried to keep his eyes above her waist, but failed several times. “I’m not much of a skier,” she said. “I love the part where you get to the top of the mountain, and it’s so quiet and solitary. But all the lift lines and the crowds at the bottom... That’s not for me.”

“Rock climbing is more my thing,” he admitted.

“Oh! I’d love to try that! Would you teach me?” She shook her head before he could speak. “Not in the winter, I guess.”

“No, but in the summer, I’d love to.” He ignored the awkward pause. “Anyway, I wish I had more time right now.”

“It’s okay. That was fun.”

It had been fun, but he wanted to stay. Wanted to wake up in the morning and slide his hand over her naked body, and find out if she was a morning person. He was pretty sure she wasn’t, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t be horny.

“Keep your curtains drawn,” he said. “And be careful. Things are getting tense.”

She nodded, and even as he wondered if he should, Tom walked over and gave her a kiss goodbye. She kissed him back, stroking a hand down his jaw with a murmur of pleasure. When she kissed him again, Tom cupped her ass in his hands and pulled her tightly against him, surprised to realize he was getting hard again already.

“Damn, you’re sexy,” he whispered.