“Why did I–” Jack scrubbed a hand over his mouth, looking away as he shook his head. “You needed help, Maggie. And no, maybe it wasn’t my place to drive him home and put him to bed, but you looked devastated. I just wanted to help you.”
His worry for me meant he cared, I knew that. But I couldn’t let him care. Not like that. The second we started caring for each other, romantic feelings would get involved.
I couldn’t handle that, especially not after tonight.
But for tonight…just tonight, maybe I didn’t want to be alone.
“Let’s go,” I ordered, pulling one arm away from his and dragging him off to the closed gift shop behind us.
“What—Maggie, what are you doing?” Jack stuttered as he blindly followed me. “Where are you going? This is—”
I yanked open the back door of the gift shop and pulled it shut once we were inside. “Just give me a minute, Jack,” I repeated his earlier words and locked the door.
The small gift shop was only open during public games and was therefore usually closed and empty when nothing was going on. Luckily, the back door was always unlocked.
It was pitch black inside, so I had to feel my way around the tables in the cluttered room. Jack’s hot breath landed on my neck as I held my hands in front of me like a zombie. But despite the darkness, his hands found my hips instantly, gripping them with fervor.
When I finally found the blank wall I was looking for, I turned around to latch my fingers on Jack’s broad shoulders and pulledhim against me. As soon as our bodies were flushed together, he let out a sigh. Both of us were breathless with anticipation, he tugging my hips closer and me itching to feel his bare skin. I inhaled him like a drug, letting that crisp leather scent sit in my lungs. Jack’s eyes met mine in the dark.
“You want me to make it all better, baby?” his low voice rasped in a bare whisper.
Better. Safer. Come closer.Just don’t leave me alone.
“Yes,” I answered breathlessly.
And with that, his lips were slamming into mine, devouring me like he hadn’t eaten in months. His mouth was rough and ravenous, searching my mouth for the pleasure we both so desperately wanted. But his hands? His hands were soft and gentle, caressing me in a way that warmed me the same way as his hug. I laced my fingers through his blonde hair and pulled his face closer to mine.
His lips were warm and so damn intoxicating. Everything in the last hour faded into another life, letting me focus only on Jack's fingertips burning my skin. His hands moved from my back down to my waist, cautious with his touch. I arched into him, letting him know that I was okay and that I craved his touch on every surface of my body.
Pulling back, Jack rested his forehead against mine. “Maggie.”
I looked up at him, fear slipping through the cracks of my tough façade.
“I am going to ask you this as many times as you need me to, and I need you to be honest with me.” His eyes turned serious, still bubbling with want. “Are you okay? Do you want this, or is it a distraction?”
My heart spiked. No. No, no, don’t feel this. Don’t feel anything.
To answer his question, it was honestly both.
“I’m okay,” I nodded slightly, rolling my forehead with his. “A little shaken, but…I need this.”
I captured his lips, and he groaned into my mouth.
“You didn’t answer my question,” he growled. “Is this a distraction?”
Shaking my head, I chanted, “No, no, not just that,” and kissed him. Hard.
He moved down to grip my ass with both hands. A different kind of shiver rushed through my body. The kind that only Jack Hennicke and his perfect knowledge of what I needed could elicit.
“Good,” he whispered through kisses.
This felt more intense than just a hookup. Granted, I was the one who dragged him to the nearest dark space and provoked him, but he was caring more intensely than I was ready for.
Dousing my thoughts with the cold bucket of water that was Jack’s likely roster of women, I dismissed the idea of him caring and prepared myself to leap onto his waist. But Jack had other plans. He took two short strides forward and slammed me against the wall, placing his forearm against it and wrapping his hand around the back of my neck. Startled by his sudden action, I pushed him forward and began to unbutton his navy blue button-down. The reveal of his perfectly tanned chest was heavenly, warming my core and ruining my panties by the second. Jack took the opportunity to move his lips to my neck and his hands to the hem of my top.
His hands on my body? Unreal.
We were bare against each other almost instantly. As Jack moved his hips closer to mine, a look of terror crossed his face.
