Page 38 of Dante
Going to his locker, he stripped down to skin and made his way in, grateful that they were the only two people present. Jackson was already relaxing with a towel draped around his waist.
"I think I'm bruised all over." He lazily opened an eye as Dante came into the room. "My lovely wife is going to have some questions, which I'm going to point to you."
"You can always tell her that you were not up to the task."
"Bite me."
Dante laughed and stretched out on the soft mat. He was feeling the effect of the half hour they spent on the boxing mat and was sure that a bruise was forming on his chest. His ribs hurt like a son of a bitch, but Jackson did not have to know that.
"Want to tell me why we're here at this godforsaken hour, beating our brains out?"
"I wanted to do something different. I went swimming this morning, but it did not do the trick." He grimaced and rubbed his hands over the moisture on his face. "I have a problem."
Jackson sat up and stared at him with keen interest.
"What sort?"
"I have become involved in something I never thought would happen."
"Your assistant."
"Yeah." He sat up and draped one hand over the padded headrest. "We had sex last night. In my office."
"I see."
"I've been trying to avoid her for the last couple of weeks, but then we were working late, and she got sick. She threw up in my bathroom. I carried her to bed and." He dragged a hand through his damp hair. "I couldn't help myself. And now I think I'm half in love with her."
Jackson shot him an amused look.
"Half?"
"Okay, all the way."
"How was the sex?"
"Intense and powerful. I wanted to swallow her. I could not keep my hands off her. I don't know what the hell to do. She's not who I would choose to be with and she's an employee. Plus, she's pregnant." He rose and started pacing. The room had steamed up significantly, only allowing him to see several inches in front of him. "I never saw myself as a father. I'm not daddy material."
"That's bullshit, and you know it," Jackson interjected with quiet force. "I've seen you with my sons and I'm a prime example of someone who never thought he could be someone's daddy. And I know I'm a damn good father."
"This is a woman who is having another man's baby. It's different."
"Admittedly yes. But you cannot take her on without taking on the child. You have to ask yourself if you can."
Dante sat back down.
"I don't know if I can answer that. You know my childhood and how rotten it was for years. I resigned myself to never getting married, much less having kids." He eased out a breath.
"And you never thought you would meet a woman you could fall in love with."
"What if it's just extreme lust?"
"You cannot tell the difference?" Jackson asked mockingly. "If that's the case, then I'm disappointed in you." Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes. "The very first time I saw Jerri, I knew it was going to be different. I tried to deny it, but as soon as I touched her, I knew I was a goner." He opened his eyes and stared at his friend. "I believe it's the same for you."
"Yeah." Dante scrubbed his hands over his face. "And I'd better go and try and sort things out with her."
It was times like these that Courtney wished desperately that she had a woman friend she could talk to. She had always been content to say anything to her brother and knew that he would be in her corner, but this was different.
She had gone from being sensible and practical to being a woman who gets pregnant and alone and then having sex with her boss, her incredibly wealthy boss. After spending an hour rescheduling his appointments and doing some filing, she felt as if she was going crazy.
