Page 15 of Alluring

"That's a little archaic." He didn't reply, just gave her hisJackgrin and escorted her into the restaurant.

The interior was dark, cool and smelled like garlic and tomatoes. Yum. Jack walked in like he owned the place, leading her to a small booth along the back wall. Alexis looked around. The room was packed.

"Jack!" A large man, with an even larger stomach, covered by an enormous, white apron, arms held wide in greeting, approached their table. "It's been too long since I've seen you."

Jack stood and gave the man a hug. "I've been busy, Vinnie."

"And who is this bella rigazza?"

"This is Alexis," Jack said, giving her a big smile.

Alexis held out her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Vinnie."

"The pleasure is mine," he said, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips for a kiss.

"Hey, find your own girl. This one's mine," Jack said, with a laugh. He wrapped his arm around Alexis's waist and pulled her closer, so their legs brushed under the table.

"What can I get you?"

"We're in a bit of a hurry so whatever's ready."

"Two lasagnas coming right up."

"Thanks, Vinnie."

Alexis smiled at Vinnie as he left, then tried to scoot away from Jack. He held her waist tighter. "We don't need to sit so close."

He brought his lips to her ear. "If we weren't this close, I wouldn't be able to do this." He lightly traced his tongue along the edge of her ear.

Alexis felt a shiver run down her spine. "Jack." She meant for it to sound like a reprimand, but it came out more like a breathy whisper.

"Or this." He brought his lips to her neck and trailed feather light kisses down its slope.

Alexis slowly tipped her head to the side to give him better access, when a booming laugh brought her back to her senses. Vinnie stood in front of their table with a large plate of steaming lasagna in each of his hands.

She quickly scooted away from Jack (she knew, she was only able to do that because he let her) and picked up her fork as Vinnie set their plates on the table. "Thank you. It looks and smells delicious," she said, putting her napkin on her lap.

"Buon appetito."

After eating about half her lasagna, Alexis put down her fork, sat back in the seat, and looked over at Jack. His T-shirt fit him like a second skin, and for the first time, she could see how truly muscular he was. His hair looked thick and soft with a slight wave that gave it body and was slightly mussed, as if he ran his fingers through it or drove with the windows down. His lips were full, yet firm looking. Although she knew just how soft his lips felt as they grazed her neck.

Alexis mentally shook herself out of her musings. Jack was regarding her as intently as she had him. "We need to talk," she said, placing her napkin on the side of her plate. Jack moved his plate aside and set his arms on the table, never once taking his eyes off her. "This is never going to work," she said, waving her hand between them. "You need to stop."

Jack opened his mouth to speak, but she quickly held up a hand. "Let me finish." He closed his mouth and took a deep breath. She saw him mentally restrain himself from speaking. He closed his eyes and breathed deep, as if counting to ten in his head.

"I know I surprised you, that first night, when I wouldn't sleep with you. And, I know you think of me as some sort of challenge that you need to conquer." She watched as his hands, resting on the table, form into fists, his knuckles turning white, as he squeezed. "I just want you to know that that's not going to happen. No mater how much I sometimes want to be that kind of girl, I'm just not." She watched his nostrils flare, and his jaw tighten. She could tell, his desire to speak was all consuming, but he stayed silent, letting her continue. "This isn't going anywhere, Jack. It's a waste of your time. I'm the kind of girl that wants to be kept, if not forever, at least for a while, and you're not a keeping kind of guy. You're a love 'em and leave 'em kind of guy."

There, she'd laid it out for him. Now he could walk away with no hard feelings.

"Are you finished?" At her nod, he continued. "If that little speech was supposed to scare me away, it didn't work." Alexis opened her mouth to speak, but this time he held up his hand. She closed her mouth. "You've had your say, now it's time for me to have mine." He leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked angry. Why was he angry?

"You think I don't know what kind of girl you are? You think I don't know you're a keeper. Believe me, sweetheart, if all I wanted was a quick fuck, I wouldn't be doing all of this." He flung his arm out to indicate the restaurant. "You would be at my penthouse being so thoroughly kissed, your panties would melt, destroying the only barrier between me and your pussy."

Oh my God! Who talks like that?

"And when I do get into your panties, it won't be to fuck you, it will be to make love to you. Do you understand what I'm telling you?" When she shook her head, he explained, "I plan on keeping you. You're mine, Alexis."

Alexis was in a daze the rest of the day at work and through her shift at Allure. She'd gotten several drink orders wrong and dropped her tray once. Thank goodness, it was full of empty glasses and not full ones.

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