Page 38 of Jacob

Now she could be the poster girl for vaginal wetness. She could feel it, feel moisture trickling down her leg from her red-hot vagina. It was actually embarrassing and she was angry at her body for betraying her.

She looked at herself in the mirror and was astonished at what she saw. Of course, she’d had a nice meal with a glass of excellent wine, but that wasn’t it. There was color in her cheeks, her eyes shone, her lips were somehow swollen and red though she wasn’t wearing lipstick.

Down girl.

While she put on her cotton pajamas and washed her face and brushed her teeth, she talked herself down. Yes, Jake—Jacob!—was attractive. Yes, he was super sexy, though he was anything but handsome. He did have that Emperor of the World vibe thing going, though. There was that.

But sleeping with him would be a huge mistake. Taking her internal temperature, it was clear that this man could mess with her head in a way no other man could. She’d loved him. He’d left her. Brutally. He could do that again. Probably would, in fact.

Yes, he seemed interested. Well, why not? In the most real sense, she was the one who got away. A missing notch on his bedpost, of which she was sure he had many. He was rich beyond measure, hobnobbed with heads of state. And beyond that, had that uber male thing going that was like catnip to women.

Some kinds of women, of course.

She’d have prided herself on not being like those women, though apparently she was. Who would have thought that cool, collected Alex Hethering was so susceptible to rich beefcake? Just like a million other women.

On that depressing thought, she pushed open the bathroom door and felt her heart give this massive kick. There he was, standing by a small console that doubled as a desk. He was sex on a stick in pajamas. Black silk, of course. Made her light pink cotton pajamas look like a child’s.

He was looking at the screen of a laptop, totally absorbed.

“Hey,” she said softly.

His head came up as he quietly closed the lid of the laptop. “Hey yourself.” He frowned. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” She sighed. “Having some depressing thoughts.”

“Having a few of those myself,” he said. Though honestly? He looked exactly the same.

Jacob walked barefoot over to her and damn him, even his feet were incredibly sexy. Long, perfectly shaped, a few black hairs on the toes.

He held out a huge hand, unexpectedly. And even more unexpectedly, she put her hand in his, without hesitation. “Which side?” he asked.

“Left.”

“Okay.”

He led her to the left-hand side, keeping her hand in his. With the other, he turned down the comforter and sheet. The sheet was cream-colored, the comforter was dove gray. Restful. “In you go.”

She slid between the sheets, realizing how tired she was. The food and wine had given her a calorie boost, but she was exhausted. They were well out over the Pacific and she’d started her morning in Atlanta.

Jacob opened a door in the bedside table, hand hovering. “Flat or fizzy.”

“Fl—” A huge yawn overtook her, nearly unhinging her jaw. “Flat. Sorry.”

He placed a small water bottle by her bedside, then touched her hair, briefly.

“Nothing to be sorry about. You’re tired.”

She nodded.

“Get some sleep,” he said gently. Then: “Lights 5%.” And the cabin lights dimmed almost to darkness, leaving only a light glow. Enough not to bump into furniture.

With a pang, she realized that he remembered. As a girl, she’d been afraid of the dark, and he had never let her be in the dark. She was better about it as an adult and didn’t freak any more. But utter darkness still unsettled her.

“Thanks,” she said softly and he nodded.

The room was incredibly quiet, only the faintest hum betraying the fact that they were 35,000 feet in the air. Alex could feel everything—the cool sheets, Jacob’s gaze like hands, the black edges of sleep starting to tug at her.

“Sleep,” he said quietly. She turned over and fell immediately into a sleep as deep as the night.

---