Page 7 of In His Arms

He took a long pull from the bottle. So that’s what it was. Regrets.

Jessica’s breaths quickened, heat stealing into her face while Alex assessed her every move. His own memories of the previous night forced their way into his mind, nothing but silky thighs and pouty lips. He’d been five seconds from stripping Jessica naked and plunging hard into her welcoming body before Dani had interrupted them. And had she come in earlier, she would have gotten an eyeful. He smiled, remembering the black lace panty set. Definitely an eyeful.

Alex shifted uncomfortably while he recalled her sweet body in the sinful lace lingerie. Sweet little Jessie had a naughty side, and he liked it very much.

“I disagree.” He waited for her eyes to meet his. “What happened last night was only the beginning of what should have happened a long time ago.”

“You could have sex with a million girls in one night. Why would you choose me?” The insecurity he saw in her eyes broke his heart.

“Uh, thanks, but not even I could live up to that.” He leaned against the cabinet, opposite her. “Oh, I don’t know why I’d want you Jessie. You’re beautiful. You’re kind when you want to be. You’re smart. You’re my best friend, even after all these years. Yeah, I can’t find one reason why I would want you.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, expecting her to find some excuse to leave him high and dry. She fiddled with the moonstone ring on her left hand. He held back a grin when he saw that she still wore it after all these years. They’d taken a fieldtrip in high school to the Earth Science Museum. She’d had ten dollars in her wallet for souvenirs, and the sterling silver ring she wanted cost twenty. She didn’t ask him for the money, which he would have gladly given her. No, her pride kept her from that. He saw in her eyes how much she’d wanted the ring, knowing no matter how much she wanted it, she’d never have it. She moved on with the rest of the class, pretending the ring didn’t exist. Skipping the next exhibit, he bought the twenty-dollar sterling silver ring for her.

“I can’t believe you still wear that thing,” he said. He pulled her hand toward him, admiring it more closely. The deep azure blue stone sat in the center of the sterling silver mounting. The stone itself was in a perfect ball suspended up from her finger.

“Yeah.” She shrugged. “I think of it as my high school class ring. My father had all those medical bills when the order forms came around to purchase a ring. Even though I had a job, we couldn’t afford it.” She shook her head. “But that’s beside the point. I just wanted to make sure we both know where our friendship stands.”

“How is your dad doing?” He changed the subject to distract her. He’d figure out a way to make her see. Whatever her fears, they’d overcome them together. Alex decided to make it his new mission while visiting Paradise.

“He’s good. Remission is great.” She smiled, though Alex saw the sadness cross her face. Her father’s illness was a never-ending battle. “Stop changing the subject.”

“Fine. You want to know where our friendship stands?” He closed the space between them until her body was pressed into the island behind her. “I want you, Jess.”

He lowered his head and kissed her. Not a demanding and possessive kiss, but a sweet, gentle touching of his lips against hers. Desire shot through his body, heading straight for his groin. She responded with a little gasp of surprise and then submission. She wanted him too. She tried to deny it, but it was there, unavoidable.

He saw it last night, though he never expected such intense desire.

His sank into the moist depths of her mouth. She tasted magnificent, tempting his senses, making him crave more. How he ever managed to keep his hands off her in high school was beyond him. He cradled her head, shifting so he could explore her at a different angle.

The sweet pleasure of her tongue flicking against his nearly blew the top off his head. He’d never had a kiss that started out so innocent and sweet turn into something carnal and arousing.

The kiss ended, and she said, “You’re really good at that”

“Thanks,” he said with smug pride. “I’m even better at other things.”

She shook her head, licking her bottom lip. “I meant you’re good at turning my words around to suit you. I came here to talk about our friendship, and you have me forgetting my own name.”

He stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. “You really don’t need to know your name right now, do you?”

“Stop it,” she said, half chuckling. “I’m serious. Can’t we have a serious conversation?”

She was beautiful—everything about her.

“I’ll have a serious conversation if you put everything out in the open between us.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips against her forehead in a soft kiss. “That includes what happened in New York.”

She hesitated. “Fine. What do you want to know?”

“Everything.” He kissed her again, this time briefly, on her lips.

“Justin and I had an office romance.” She looked away.

He hesitated briefly before his hands coasted along her back, silently urging her to continue.

“I worked as a paralegal for a big firm, and I was always faxing something to someone. He got a bright idea to seduce me in the fax room. He met me in there on his lunch break and worked his charm.” She finally gained enough courage to look at Alex, who slid his hands down her arms, keeping her close. “I broke up with him shortly after, when I found him with another employee. I didn’t know he’d filmed the entire episode and put it on the Internet, where it got a ridiculous amount of hits each day.” She absently rolled the moonstone ring, hesitating before she continued. “I found out later his friend ran an amateur porn business, and somehow the link to the free peepshow reached my former employer’s e-mail. I walked in the next day, and he fired me on the spot, saying his prestigious business didn’t need women like me working for them. They didn’t fire Justin because, ironically, the video didn’t show his face.”

Alex’s muscles tensed. Jessica prided herself on being able to handle anything, no matter how much it truly hurt her. But to have someone treat her like that—no woman deserved that. The more Alex thought about it, the hotter his cheeks became. Too bad Justin didn’t live in Paradise.

She pulled back, tears streaked her face, but she never looked more beautiful to him. He wished he could take away her pain. The humiliation, the hurt—he would take it all away if he could.

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