Page 27 of Jack of All Trades
"Then I'll want it even more." He reaches out slowly, giving me time to pull away, and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "Maya, I don't know what this is between us. I don't know where it's going. I just know I've never felt this way before, and I'm willing to risk everything to find out if it's real."
"And Rex is okay with this?" I ask.
"I wouldn't say 'okay,'" Jack admits with a wry smile. "More like 'reluctantly accepting under specific conditions that involve potential career suicide.'"
Despite everything, I laugh. "That sounds more like my brother."
"So," Jack says, his eyes searching mine. "Now what?"
There's so much contained in that simple question. Now what, indeed. I'm supposed to be leaving in less than two weeks. I have a life in Seattle, a job, an apartment. But I also have plans. Unspoken plans to potentially move to Pine Haven, to start fresh, to be closer to Rex.
And now there's Jack. Jack with his steady hands and warm eyes. Jack who apparently went toe-to-toe with my overprotective brother for the chance to pursue... whatever this is.
"Now," I say slowly, "it's up to me."
"Completely." He takes a half-step back, giving me space. "No pressure, Maya. If you're not feeling this, if you don't want to explore it, just say the word. I'll respect that."
But I do want to explore it. God help me, I want it more than I've wanted anything in a long time. For once in my life, I want to stop overthinking, stop protecting myself from potential hurt, stop imagining all the ways things could go wrong.
I want to take a chance. On Jack. On us. On the possibility that sometimes, against all odds, things might actually go right.
"I want this too," I say, the words barely above a whisper. "I want to see where this goes, even though it terrifies me."
The smile that breaks across Jack's face is like sunrise—slow, radiant, illuminating everything. Before I can say another word, he closes the distance between us, one hand coming up to cradle my face as his lips find mine.
The kiss is everything I didn't know I needed. His lips are softer than I expected, and when we finally break apart, both breathing heavily, I press my forehead against his. "Wait. What if Rex comes back?"
Jack chuckles, "He won't. He knows I'm here. Said something about his neighbor being on surveillance duty, but I think that was just his way of giving us space while still sounding threatening."
"You're telling me my brother is actively allowing this?" I pull back slightly, skeptical.
"More like acknowledging he can't stop it." Jack's hands settle on my waist, warm and steady. "I think the jaw punch was his way of getting his objections on record before stepping back."
"That's... surprisingly mature of him." I consider this new information, then my body acts before my brain can overthink it.I press myself against him, feeling the solid warmth of his chest, the strength in his arms as they tighten around me. "I want you, Jack. All of you."
With a motion that takes me by surprise, Jack scoops me up, his hands gripping my ass as my legs wrap around his waist. "Which way to your room?"
"Down the hall, first door on the right," I manage to say, my heart racing at his display of strength. I'm not a small woman—curves and all—but he lifts me like I weigh nothing.
He carries me through the apartment, his lips never leaving mine for more than a moment. When we reach the guest room I've been using, he kicks the door closed behind us and gently lays me on the bed.
Standing at the foot of the bed, Jack pulls his t-shirt over his head, revealing the toned, sun-kissed chest I've been dreaming about since I saw him in his backyard.
"You're sure about this?" he asks. "We can slow down, take our time."
I nod, suddenly finding it hard to form words. This is really happening. Jack Morrison—Pine Haven's most eligible bachelor, the man women literally line up to meet at rodeos is standing half-naked in my bedroom, looking at me like I'm the most desirable woman he's ever seen.
It doesn't compute. Men like Jack don't want women like me. They want the petite, perky-breasted, flat-stomached women I've spent my life being compared to and falling short of.
"You might not like what you see," I say quietly as Jack moves toward me, his knee dipping the mattress as he leans over me. "I'm not... I have curves. Rolls. Parts that jiggle."
"Maya, I couldn't care less. You're beautiful. All of you. Every curve, every inch." His hand traces the outline of my hip through my clothes. "I want you exactly as you are."
He helps me sit up, his hands sliding under the hem of my shirt. "May I?"
I nod, lifting my arms as he slowly pulls my shirt up and over my head. I resist the urge to cover myself, to hide the soft swell of my stomach, the fullness of my breasts straining against my simple cotton bra.
Jack's eyes widen as they take me in. "God, you're gorgeous," he murmurs, and I can hear the truth in his voice.
