Jack

Chapter 1

 Harper

“No, no, no, no!” I slammed my fists on the steering wheel as the car coasted to a stop on the side of the road. Of all days for my car to break down, it had to be today. Why couldn’t it have happened when I was actually dressed properly? My mother had always told me to be fully dressed when I left the house. “You never know what’s going to happen,” my mother used to say. I rolled my eyes as I heard her nagging voice in my head. I had never been good about listening to my mother. We didn’t get along all that well. Or at all. I never took much stock in the advice my dear mother doled out. It looked like now would have been one of those times to listen.

I reached across the seat to grab my phone when I remembered that I had left it at home. Shit! I hadn’t brought it because I was just making a quick trip to feed my friend, Anna’s cat. I had been looking after the little devil for the past week and we had an equal hatred for one another. He hissed, bit, attacked, and scared the living day lights out of me. I went once a day to feed the cat, change the water, and clean the litter box. Then, I got the hell out of there. I always snuck in as quietly as possible and ran for my life to escape the apartment. It had worked once so far.

Now, here I sat. Alone. I wasn’t actually that far from Anna’s apartment, but it was pouring outside. It was supposed to be a warm day, hence the inappropriate clothing, but it had cooled down considerably with the rain. I scrounged around the backseat for something else to put on, but I had just cleaned out the car the other day. Glancing down at what I was wearing, a white, spaghetti strap tank, barely there pajama shorts with pink flamingos, and flip flops, I realized I had not made a smart choice this morning. 

Looking out the window, I huffed at the realization that if I was going anywhere today, I was going to have to walk. Taking a deep breath, I flung open the door and started running towards Anna’s apartment. I got about ten feet from the car when my foot landed in a rain puddle that was actually a big hole. My foot twisted to the side and pain shot up through the top of my foot as I fell forward. I yelped as I flailed my arms, hoping to grab on to the imaginary oh shit handles.

I sat up and breathed through the pain. It was intense and I had to will myself not to cry. I took a deep breath in and counted to five, then slowly released my breath. Surely if I breathed through it the pain would recede, but as my luck of the day went, it did not. In fact, it felt much worse.

Seriously? I couldn’t just have my car break down? No, I had to also try and break my foot while running in the rain wearing barely there pajamas. I swiped my soaking wet hair out of my face and held in a breath as I tried to stand on my injured foot. I was able to get up , but when I put pressure on my foot, I fell back in the puddle with a splash.

“Need a hand?” an incredibly sexy, deep voice said.

My heart rate picked at the sound of the steely voice. I looked up through my lashes and saw one of the sexiest men I had ever seen. I took stock of the man, my eyes trailing over his rain slickened body, and couldn’t help the breathy sigh that escaped my lips. I really did try to pull myself together, but I was mystified by his ruggedly handsome good looks.

Yummy! He must be at least 6’2”. Purr. I love that stubble on his jaw. I wonder what that would feel like against my neck? Mmmm. Chocolate eyes… not actual chocolate, but the color of chocolate. Dummy. You don’t need to tell yourself that his eyes aren’t actual chocolate. You’re having a conversation with yourself and I’m pretty sure you knew what you meant. 

It was then that I came out of my daze enough to realize he had spoken to me and I was just staring at him like he was a chocolate bar.

Get yourself together and stop staring! Say something! And wipe the drool off your face!

“You can keep staring, but maybe you should close your mouth. You do have a little bit of drool right here,” he said as he wiped his chin. 

Apparently, I was speaking out loud. What an idiot!

“I’m Jack. You look like you need some help,” he said as he held out his hand and pulled me to my feet. His arm snaked around my waist as he supported my weight with his strong chiseled body. I leaned heavily into him as I reveled in the warmth of his body. I hadn’t realized how cold I was until I felt his body heat through my soaked clothes. My hands perused his chest, feeling his rippling muscles under his t-shirt.

“Harper. Though, I’m making a really bad first impression. I don’t usually have to be hauled off the ground.”

“Let’s get to my truck, out of the rain.” He started to pull me toward the truck, but I couldn’t put pressure on my foot and let out a small whimper when I tried. An instant later, I was lifted in the air as he hauled me up into his arms and carried me to his truck. I felt weightless in his arms as he used his hand under my knees to open the passenger side door. 

“I’m soaking wet! Don’t set me down in your truck,” I yelled when he tried to set me inside on his beautiful, leather seats. He rolled his eyes at me and practically tossed me into his truck. Then he shut the door and climbed into the driver’s seat a few seconds later.

“Let me see your foot.” 

He had a very commanding presence and I found myself complying without batting an eyelash. As I started to lift my leg, I realized how short my shorts were and the fact that he would get a great view of my lady bits, seeing as how I wasn’t wearing underwear. Hey, don’t judge. It’s laundry day. I looked up to tell him that I was fine and saw that his eyes were glued to my chest. I looked down and was mortified to see that I hadn’t put on a bra and my nipples were poking through the thin fabric of my shirt.

Deciding that I was already well and truly embarrassed, I cleared my throat and raised my eyebrows in a disapproving glare. He didn’t seem to care. He just smirked at me.

“What? I’m a guy and you have nice tits.” 

Then he reached down and adjusted himself. I would be lying if I said that didn’t turn me on. This guy was majorly hot and he was getting hard from me. What rational girl wouldn’t be flattered by that? Okay, maybe some girls wouldn’t, but if they saw this insanely sexy man, they would be drooling over him just like I was right now.

“Now let me see your foot.” He grabbed my leg and started prodding my foot and gently turning it to check for breaks. I grimaced when he turned it too far, but didn’t make a sound. 

“It looks like you just sprained it. What were you doing out there?” 

“I was on my way to a friend’s and my car broke down. I didn’t have my phone, so I was going to walk there, but then my foot hit the hole and my body met the ground.” I shrugged it off like it was no big deal, but I was mortified that he had met me in a puddle in a skimpy outfit. When you meet the man of your dreams it’s always best to make a good first impression. This was definitely not that.

“Well, that’s good to know. It looked to me like you were doing some kind of Indian rain dance, the way your arms were swinging around. I wasn’t sure if I should stop at first, but when you went down, I thought I’d risk it,” Jack replied with a smile.

That smile was to die for. A beautiful, full smile with a dimple in one cheek and a beautiful set of pearly, white teeth. I swear I blushed from my head to my toes when he smiled at me. He was so sexy and I couldn’t help staring at him. Did I mention he was sexy? Of course, I looked like a drowned rat. Why couldn’t I leave the house looking absolutely fabulous? Okay, I had to stop staring or I was sure I would jump across the seat and start humping him. 

“Thank you for stopping. Apparently, I can’t be trusted to walk on my own two feet.” 

I shivered from the cold and he reached into his back seat, grabbing a huge sweatshirt that I was sure would swallow me whole. It would be perfect to warm me up.

“Here. Put this on before you freeze to death.” I took the sweatshirt from him and threw it on over my head. I didn’t miss the way his eyes watched my chest as I lifted my arms or the disappointment when I was covered up. 

“Thank you. Could I borrow your phone so I can call a tow truck?” I snuggled into the sweatshirt and sniffed his wonderful scent. Mmmm. Sandalwood. God, he smelled good. I stopped sniffing and glanced up to see if he had seen me acting totally weird. Luckily, he was looking out the window and I was pretty sure I was in the clear. 

“I’ll take care of it. My buddy works at a garage and I’ll have him take a look at it. Do you want me to drop you at your friend’s house?”

“No. She lives in an apartment on the third floor and she isn’t home. I’m just feeding her cat. He hates me and I am not staying the night with the spawn of Satan,” I said emphatically.

He looked at me like I had grown a second head. “I can take you over there and protect you from the cat. Seriously, how bad can a cat be?” He rolled his eyes. “Then, I’ll drive you home.”

He made it sound like this cat was a precious, little kitten. Just wait until he met the tiger. He wouldn’t be laughing then. I smirked at him and let out a little laugh. 

“Alright big guy.” Big guy? Did I seriously just call him that? Just keep talking. Blow through and pretend everything is normal. “I’ll take you up on your offer. Could you get my purse out of my car first? Oh, and make sure you lock the car doors.” 

I knew the car wasn’t much, but I couldn’t afford to buy a new-used car right now. Hopefully, his friend wouldn’t charge me too much to fix it up. Maybe he could give a friends and family discount.

Jack glanced over at the car and laughed. “Really? You’re worried about someone stealing it? No one would even steal it for parts!” I glared at his blatant disregard of my possessions.

“It’s all I have, so please lock the doors,” I said, trying my best to keep an even tone. He was helping me after all and I didn’t want to piss him off before I could get my car towed. 

He shook his head and went back out into the rain and was back just a few seconds later. He handed me my purse and started the truck, putting the heat on. He ran his fingers through his inky, black hair and shook off the rain. Good Lord, this man was sex on a stick. The rain water ran in tiny rivulets down the length of his neck and down the neck of his shirt. Was it wrong that I was jealous of rain?

I would give anything to be the one of those rain drops right now. I would run all the way down his body to his hard cock and wrap myself around him. Maybe I could go over and lick his neck. Just a little nibble. I bet his skin tastes salty. I could run my tongue up his neck and then nibble on his earlobe….

I was snapped out of my fantasy when he laughed and I could swear a blush was creeping up his neck. “Do you always say what you’re thinking? Because what you’re suggesting sounds pretty good to me.”

I flushed bright red as I realized that once again my thoughts didn’t stay that way. I couldn’t look at his handsome face with those eyes boring into me, so I glanced away. No, not away. Down. 

Oh. My. God! He’s hard and huge.

My eyes popped out of my head and my mouth hung open as I saw the tent in his pants that made me want to reach over and take a taste.

“Again, not a thought,” he said with a chuckle. “How do you not know you have verbal diarrhea? Not that I’m complaining. I kinda like knowing what you’re thinking, sweetheart.” 

I would have been embarrassed, but he slid across the seat and hoisted me up to straddle his lap. His lips came close to mine, but he held back, teasing me with the slightest brush of his lips against mine. My heart hammered as I anticipated what he would taste like. His tongue darted out and barely licked my lips as his breath huffed out against my mouth. 

Then his lips were on mine in a bruising kiss that left me absolutely breathless. His hands came up to frame my face and he ran one hand along the back of my neck to hold my head where he wanted me. His kisses moved away from my lips and down my neck and I closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of his hot, wet kisses. I was vaguely aware of the strain this position was putting on my foot, but I couldn’t find it in me to care all that much.

He ran his hands through my hair and down my sides, brushing against my breasts. I could feel my nipples tighten in anticipation of his hands and I ground my throbbing clit against his cock. I could practically feel everything as I rubbed against him. If I undid his jeans right now, I could just slide my shorts aside and he would be fully seated inside me. God, it had been too long since I felt this. I needed more, but then he pulled away and rested his forehead against mine. Taking in deep breaths he said, “Now I’m hard.”

I couldn’t help the laugh that broke free. There was no use in feeling embarrassed by what just happened. He obviously wanted it just as much as I did. We sat there a few minutes letting our breathing return to normal. Then he kissed me lightly once and then again. 

“Let’s go take care of this demon cat. Then we’ll see what trouble we can get up to.” I nodded and slid off his lap. He slid over and put the truck in drive. “Where to?”