Page 20 of Burning for Him

Jenn sank onto the couch in the living room of her apartment. She was finally alone—well, except for Beau, who’d followed her from Uncle Ian’s apartment and jumped up and lay down next to her. The dog always seemed to know when his humans needed him. Jenn buried her face into his furry neck and let the tears, which she had held back for hours, finally flow. She knew it was from an adrenaline crash—she’d experienced it more than once in her life—but she hadn’t wanted Doug to see her cry. He already thought she was still a child, and that would have proven it to him.

Those two assholes who harassed her in the parking lot of Donovan’s and then attacked Doug when he came to her defense now faced numerous charges, including assault with a deadly weapon. One was already sitting in a city jail cell,while the other was in the hospital. He needed surgery on his knee after Jenn used a collapsible baton she kept in her car to incapacitate him. Doug had taken down the other guy, then yelled at Jenn for not following his order to run inside. She couldn’t leave him when it was two against one, so she did what her uncles had trained her to do in situations like that. While she was grateful he showed up when he did, it irritated her that he was still pissed she hadn’t followed his orders to run away. Her uncles were annoyed about that, too, but at least they’d expressed how proud of her they were.

After Jenn called the social services department where she interned to let them know she wouldn’t be back until tomorrow, Uncle Ian accompanied her and Doug to the police station, where they gave their statements. Uncle Brody also provided the police with surveillance video from Donovan’s system, which he’d installed.

Once they arrived back at the TS compound and filled everyone else in, Angie invited Jenn and Doug to stay for dinner. Both declined the offer. Doug claimed he had work to finish, and Jenn thanked her aunt but said she wasn’t hungry, which was the truth. She couldn’t stomach anything right then. Maybe later.

At twenty-two, Jenn had already gone through plenty of emotional trauma in her life—hell, it was really only during the last five years—but today, she proved to her uncles, and herself, that the training they’d given her paid off. She just wished Doug could see she was a competent adult who could defend herself if needed.

Beside her, Beau tensed and let out a low growl. Moments later, someone knocked on her door. The dog must have sensed they weren’t a threat—not that one could easily get near her apartment—because he relaxed again, his tail thumping on the couch.

Figuring it was one of her aunts or uncles checking up on her, Jenn wiped her eyes with the back of her hands, then stood and answered the door. Her heart rate sped up when she found Doug standing in the small foyer she shared with Nick and Uncle Jake, who had the apartment above her. The burning embers smoldering in her core flared at the sight of him. There was no way that what she felt for this man was a fabrication her mind had created. She just needed to convince him of that fact.

He frowned when he saw her red eyes. “You’ve been crying. Are you okay?”

She shrugged. It wouldn’t do her any good to deny her earlier tears. “Yeah, just an adrenaline crash. I’m fine.” When he remained still and silent, just staring at her, she asked, “What are you doing here?”

He suddenly seemed unsure of himself, flexing and balling his hands over and over while looking around the basic foyer like it was the most interesting place he’d ever been. His eyes darted everywhere but avoided landing on her. “I...um...I was getting ready to head home and just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m fine,” she repeated, doubting he believed her. “Do you want to come in?”

He glanced over her shoulder into the apartment, then shook his head. “I—um—better not.”

Damn, the man frustrated her. “Why? Because we’d be alone, and you think I’m going to jump you?”

“Jenn—”

She crossed her arms and glared at him. “Don’t ‘Jenn’ me, Doug. I get it. You think I’m too young for you, and I’ll always be that way. Well, you know what? You’re wrong. Look at my Uncle Devon and Aunt Kristen—she’s twenty-nine and he’s thirty-nine. And Jake is nine years older than Nick. And UncleBrody is six years older than Fancy. So you being eight years older than me is not a big thing—at least, not for me or anyone else.”

“They may have big age differences, but they’re all a lot older than you, Jenn. And it’s not just that. You’ve got this—this hero-complex thing when it comes to me?—”

“What?” She tossed her hands into the air. The man was going to drive her absolutely and utterly insane. “Are you kidding me? Trust me, Doug. What I feel for you has nothing to do with you being my bodyguard and taking a bullet for me. Do you know how scared I was while Aunt Angie and I were being held hostage? I was scared more for you than myself—I thought you were dead or dying, and there was nothing I could do about it. If you’d died, I would’ve been devastated. Not only because I would have lost you, but because I would never have had the opportunity to tell you I love you.”Oh, shit. I did not just say that!

The stunned look on Doug’s face told her she, indeed, had just confessed her love for him. Again, he shook his head. “Jenn?—”

Before he could say anything else, she threw caution to the wind and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her lips met his, and Jenn almost liquefied. For years, she dreamed about what it would be like to kiss Doug Henderson, and there she was doing it.

Doug froze as she melded their lips together, then his hands grasped her hips. When he tried to push her away, she tightened her hold around his neck. If this was the only time she ever kissed him, she wanted something to remember. She wanted him to kiss her back and prove to her that it wasn’t a one-sided attraction she felt between them.

Parting her lips, she slid her tongue between them and licked his mouth. His hold on her hips increased, but instead ofpushing her away, he pulled her closer. Oh, God! He was hard—for her. Doug groaned, then suddenly, took control of the kiss. One hand came up and grabbed her hair. He angled her head to the side as his tongue plunged into her mouth, dueling with her own.

The kiss was better than she dreamed it would be—and she’d dreamed of it often. She ran her fingers through his silky hair and rubbed her chest against his. Her nipples pebbled and sent delicious sensations down to her clit. It throbbed, wanting more. Doug pivoted them and used his body to press her against the door jamb, and she moaned when she felt his erection thicken between them. Heaven—she was in heaven and never wanted to leave.

Without warning, Doug ripped his mouth from hers and practically leaped out from the doorway into the foyer, panting and trembling. “Shit! Jenn. That—that shouldn’t have happened. I shouldn’t have?—”

Tears welled when she saw the horror he felt reflected in his eyes. That, more than anything, tore her heart out and threw it into the nearest garbage can. “Don’t say that. I kissed you, Doug. I wanted to, and I wanted you to kiss me back. I’ve wanted it for so long. Don’t stand there and tell me you don’t feel the attraction between us. You wouldn’t have kissed me like that if you didn’t. You?—”

“Jenn, stop.” He ran a hand down his face. “I’m sorry, but it shouldn’t have happened, and it won’t happen again. I’m sorry.”

“It will if you get over yourself and let it. Goodbye, Doug.”

She was about to close the door in his face when a deafening boom accompanied the foyer wall exploding inward. She jumped back as a tsunami of mud rushed in, causing the floor to collapse under Doug’s feet. Wide-eyed and panicked, Jenn screamed and reached for him as he vanished into a massivesinkhole, and the mud covered him. “Doug! Nooooooooo! Oh, my God! Doug! No! No! No! Come back!”

“Jenn! Wake up! Jenn. I’m here. Wake up!”

Her eyes flew open as she gasped for air. She was drenched in sweat as she tried to sit up, but Doug’s arms prevented her from doing so. They were wrapped around her as he spoke soothingly. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Just a nightmare. You’re all right. I’ve got you.”

Her chest heaved as the images of Doug dying right in front of her still swirled in her mind.

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