“How long have you worked for Jack?” Zoe pushed her work aside, muttered a thank you, and picked up the fork. She would never get use to someone serving her.
“I use to change his diapers.” Joan's eyes went misty and soft. “My family has taken care of his clan for generations. He’s good man.”
Zoe nodded and looked down at her salad. “What was he like as a child?”
“Much like he is today. Handsome. Stubborn. Arrogant. Caring. Always looking out for the less fortunate.”
“I read online that he gives away millions.”
“Oh, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. He facilitates with governments. Uses his influence to make sure his money goes where it’s intended. He visits all those places, too. Here let me show you.”
Joan reached for Zoe’s laptop and brought up a webpage with Jack’s face all over it.
They hadn’t been apart for so long since the mating. She couldn’t believe how much she missed him. She perused page after page full of pictures. Jack in China looking for earthquake survivors, Jack in Haiti, Jack with a smiling child after ‘spina bifida’ surgery.When did he find time for all that?
“If he had his way, this website wouldn’t exist.” Joan peered up over her reading glasses sounding as proud as any mother. “His publicists insist so they can continue to increase awareness for their causes.”
“I don’t think I know him at all.” She gave a weary breath. “He never said anything about what he does for a living. When you’re down at the shore, it’s like the real world doesn’t even exist. But here…”
“Love can blossom in unexpected places.” Joan gave her a sympathetic smile and patted Zoe’s hand.
“Maybe,” Zoe murmured, but even as she said it, she wasn’t convinced.
Love wasn’t something Jack was willing to give.
Chapter 25
Jack smiled when he found Zoe in the kitchen, bent over her laptop, typing in a focused frenzy.
“I missed you.” He leaned over and inhaled her essence. She let out a soft sigh. When he nibbled the top of her ear, she turned and all but devoured his lips. She stood, and melted into his embrace. “How’s my mate?”
“I’m better now.” Her eyes flickered with a surge of desire, then clouded over. “How’s Erina?”
“She’s safe.”
Zoe cocked her head and pursed her lips into a little frown.
“I made a promise. Nothing will happen to her.” He kissed her nose and pulled away. “I’ve put a team together to research how we can best help girls like her.” He walked to the stove and uncovered the blue ceramic saucepan. “I’m starving.”
“You’re setting up a new charity?” Her voice broke with emotion and her eyes grew misty.
“You said it’s important to you.”
For a moment, he glimpsed the pain and nightmares that she had held inside herself for far too long. He forgot about his rumbling stomach and pulled her towards him, and enveloped her in his embrace. He brushed his lips against hers and infused her with a gentle blast of heat. He dug in for a deeper kiss and his tongue met hers playfully.
He couldn’t believe how she affected him.
“Are you hungry?” he asked, when her stomach rumbled.
“For you? Yes,” she said, nipping at his bottom lip. With a wince she looked at the pot on the stove. “I’m allergic to tomatoes, but I didn’t want to hurt Joan’s feelings.”
“What else are you allergic to?” Jack cursed himself for not asking sooner.
“I love strawberries, tomatoes and chocolate but they make my face break out into icky acne. Something about histamines. And some red wines give me a migraine.” She let out a soft moan as he kissed his way down her neck. “Red food dye can, too, and anything with sodium nitrate.”
She conversed as if she had no idea how hard he was for her. His erection pressed solidly into her abs and she pretended not to notice. So that was her game tonight. He played along, ignoring the fact her eyes dilated and her cheeks flushed.
“That’s quite a list. How did you figure all that out?” His hands helped themselves to the soft skin at her waist and he teased her with an index finger just under her bra band.
