She hoped he never learned about the disgusting exploding watermelon joke some of their former classmates had tossed around in the aftermath.
She had still been struggling to pull herself together, actively reminding herself that her emotions were simply overactive for other reasons and she was being too dramatic, when Jon suddenly tugged her forward and kissed her. Not on the hair or even the forehead, but firmly on the lips.
For a beat, she was shocked into an almost juvenile stillness. Then a humiliating sound, like a whimper or a moan, somehow escaped her and her body melted. Her fingers abandoned her purse in favor of his toned chest as his tongue pushed into her mouth. He vibrated with a groan that had her squirming to get closer. Heat coursed through her with every swipe of his tongue and she curled one arm around his neck.
His kiss was ruthless, devouring, and Jenna lost herself completely to it. She clawed at the back of his shirt as he sucked her tongue into his mouth, her body already aching. Then he broke from her lips, trailed open-mouthed kisses along her jaw, and sucked on the lobe of her ear long enough to draw one more moan from her soul.
“The next time you look at me with those sad eyes,” he breathed, lips brushing her ear with every syllable, “I don’t care where the fuck we are or what the hell we’re doing, I will drop to my knees and bury my face in your pussy until ecstasy is the only thing that shows in your expression.”
Jenna gasped, a spark of indignation lighting somewhere beneath the avalanche of lust.
He pressed a kiss to the underside of her jaw. “Do I make myself clear?”
Her breath faltered. “Jon…” That was far from the admonishment she should have gone with.
He continued to trail his kisses across her throat. “It’s a yes or no question, Jen.”
She had to unlatch her hand from the back of his shirt before she could semi-effectively push at his chest. She pretended not to understand that he only eased back by choice. “That’s ridiculous, Jon. We’re not—” The words caught in her throat and she ducked her gaze, her face burning as if she were half her age.
Jon’s fingers brushed the side of her blazing skin as he tucked a strand of hair behind her neglected ear. “Guess I know what we’ll be talking about tomorrow, then.”
She didn’t know how to define the way her stomach flipped. It may have been more than her stomach, even. Larger, deeper, like her entire soul. “What?” she croaked.
“The day’s winding down, you’ve been up for hours, and I still need to read that damn letter,” Jon said. He popped his door open.
Jenna sucked in a breath as the cab filled with fresh air. She’d already forgotten about his mystery letter. “Right, you do.”
“So, quit distracting me,” Jon quipped as he hopped from the truck.
Her jaw dropped. She stammered half words for two or ten seconds, her eyes tracking his movements as he rounded the front end to her side and pulled open her closed door. Then, finally, she blurted, “Me? Distracting you?”
His smirk was shameless and searing. “At least you’re aware.”
She was aware of nothing, least of all her sense of sanity. What was even going on? Had she fallen asleep at the table between phone calls? She barely remembered to dig out her keys and unlock the door when they made it to the front stoop, stillshaking her head. “I’m glad your sense of humor’s still in there, at least.” She paused as she transferred her phone from purse to pocket. “I think.”
“You think it’s still there? Or you think you’re glad?” He arched a brow at her as he threw the locks again.
She made a thoughtful sound and continued inside. “Well, since we’ve confirmed one…”
Jon chuckled. “Oh, she wants to play now, does she?”
A shiver rolled through her that she attempted to disguise by dropping her emptied milkshake cup into the trash with a flourish, then spinning and gesturing to the counter—and Jon’s. “You let it melt again!” She shouldn’t have been surprised. The psycho always had preferred his ice cream treats more soupy than frozen. It’d been his biggest flaw as a teen. Well, that, and his absolute disregard for personal consequence if he felt she’d been slighted, but in truth she’d always been conflicted on the latter. It wasn’t a smart or safe behavior, but it was hard for a once-shy, always-overweight girl not to be flattered by that kind of devotion.
Jon started to laugh, but the sound abruptly cut off, the amusement disappearing from his face just as quickly. He narrowed his eyes at the cup. “Did you forget to tell me you have a roommate?”
Jenna blinked, glancing at the cup he continued to glare at, then back at him. “I haven’t had a roommate since—” She cut herself off. She generally preferred not to say his name, and for whatever reason, the idea of telling Jon she’d been married for a brief time in his absence felt heavy. Like a betrayal. It hadn’t been, it couldn’t have been, but especially after that kiss they’d just shared, the stupid part of her struggled to balance the feelings.
His stare snapped to her, the glare softening with understanding. “Since the bastard who hurt you.” Not a question, because he was a smart man, and not inaccurate.
Jenna nodded faintly.
Jon took a large step forward and pulled her sharply to his side, his fingers curled around her arm in a firm grip that stopped just shy of hurting. He turned his gaze slowly outward and when he spoke again, his voice was lower, quieter, and Jenna immediately wished he hadn’t spoken at all. “Someone’s been here while we were out. That’s not where I left that.”
Chapter eight
Oorah
It only took threesimple words for her stomach to bottom out and the cozy feeling that had just barely built in her chest to vanish completely.
