Devon came out the back door of the restaurant first and ducked to take a quick look inside the truck. Making sure it was me, I guess. He winked, like he was in on some huge secret, then opened the door, stepping aside so Jack could enter first. He hesitated for a split-second before climbing in.
I turned my face and looked stoically out the dark windshield in front of me, as if every cell of my body and senses weren’t attuned to Jack settling his tall frame inches away from where my thigh rested on the seat. My knuckles turned paler on the steering wheel. My skin actually felt hotter on that side of my body.
“Thanks, Keri Ann,” Devon said as he got in and slammed the door closed, causing a breeze, laced with Jack, to wash over me.
God.
I threw the truck in gear and pulled out of the parking lot onto the dark street, the headlights sweeping over the palmettos lining the sidewalk.
Closer To The Edge by Thirty Seconds to Mars came on the truck radio.
“No problem,” I croaked. I was weak at the moment. I was tired, and emotionally spent, and totally on edge. And worse? I was aroused. I had been all evening. For some reason, my body hadn’t gotten the memo that Jack was not to be involved with me in any way. I’d managed to find the strength that morning to push him away, even as my body had been responding. Responding to the memory of how it felt to be with him, which was far more potent now that it was a real memory, than when it had been just a concept so many months ago. God, I wanted to shut my mind down, but I needed it to keep my wits about me.
Shifting in my seat, I turned down the road to Devon’s house.
Jack took a deep breath beside me and leaned his head back against the seat. His hands dropped together between his jean-clad thighs, causing them to spread slightly and bump against my knee.
I jerked and ground my teeth.
“Sorry,” Jack murmured and pulled his leg away again.
I flicked my eyes over to his closed ones and didn’t miss the small quirk of his dimple.
Devon was looking at me from across Jack, all innocence, with his brows cinched up and arms folded.
“So, how long are you in town, Devon?” I asked, my voice steady and conversational.
He smiled. “For a while, actually. I’m producing a movie in Savannah that Jack will be starring in, so this should be home for a while.”
My heart thudded. I glanced at Jack then back at the road. “That’s great. Good for you. Both.” So he came back for a movie, not for me. Of-freaking-course, Keri Ann. Seriously, I could be a dumbass sometimes.
And why should that bother me, when I didn’t want anything to do with Jack? I glanced back at Devon, ignoring Jack’s eyes on me. “Gosh, well, if that means scenes like tonight are going to become the norm, you better find some groupies to take your drunk asses home. Coz I’m not doing it.”
Devon snorted with laughter. “Monica would have my hide.”
“We’re not drunk,” was all Jack said quietly.
I pulled into Devon’s driveway, shifting the gearstick into park, and turning down the music. No, no, no, no, I will never forget came the lyrics from the radio. Instantly, I was hit with a wave of longing. Longing to go back to the beginning with Jack.
Devon thanked me and opened the door. He climbed out, and after a nod at his cohort, closed it behind him.
I whipped my eyes to face Jack. “What the …” My words trailed off as Jack leaned in toward me, his scent, his Jack scent that I remembered so well … pine … soapy … clean, surrounded me.
My pulse raced.
The truck’s headlights reflected off the white house in front of us, slicing across his eyes, making them glow. A deep green forest floor, sucking me in.
“Jack—”
Our air mingled. Mine were quick shallow breaths un-synched with my starving need for oxygen and reality.
“You think I’m only back because of the movie in Savannah, don’t you?”
I licked my lips nervously, and nodded.
Jack’s eyes followed the movement.
“I begged,” he whispered. “I pleaded, and I sold a little more of my soul to make it happen.” His mouth tilted up into a grimace.
“I don’t understand why you’d do that, Jack.”
“Yes, you do.” He leaned closer, and his arm came up to brace on the driver’s side door. “Seeing me whisper in that girl’s ear tonight bothered you, didn’t it?”
“No,” I managed.
“Liar. Do you want to know what I was telling her?”
I shook my head. “No, definitely not.”
The truck suddenly went still and silent as he turned the ignition off, then he shifted his body closer, sharing my air and not leaving enough for me. His hand went around the steering column and flicked the headlights off.
We were plunged into darkness.
I swallowed. It was a deafening sound. Every other sense went into high alert. Closing my eyes, there was no point in keeping them open, I felt his rough fingers skate up the column of my neck setting my nerve endings ablaze. His lips were close, close enough to taste again, if I just leaned forward a little. I resisted.
My mouth watered.
Fingers danced over my cheekbone then slid behind my head. I felt the gentle tug of my ponytail being pulled free, and my hair tumbled down around my ears.