Jack listened to the monotonous voice in his headset and tried to concentrate on his research. Doing anything that day other than count the hours, the minutes until he could be alone with Olivia had been a struggle for him. Even working on his latest project didn’t hold its usual appeal. He’d worked out in his home gym longer and harder than usual, even done some research on the company trying to develop the local ski area, but nothing held his attention like the woman teaching his sister in the den. He turned up the volume and hoped like hell he could resist jumping her before they made it to her place.
He smelled her, that sexy and subtle fragrance that made every hair on his body stand at attention. When her arms wrapped around his chest and he felt her lips on his neck, other body parts slammed to life and stood at attention. He swiveled around and yanked the headset from his ears. “Where’s Erica?”
“She went for a walk,” Olivia said. “She worked hard today.”
“Are you ready to go?” he asked.
“Go where?”
He couldn’t help it. His shoulders slumped and he felt as if he’d been stabbed in the gut. Was she serious?
“I’m just kidding,” she said and slid onto his lap. “I’m more than ready. And so are you by the feel of things.”
“Sorry, but this is what you get when you make me wait. I’m not very patient.”
She yanked on the cord around his neck. “What’s with the headset? Is this so you’re not tempted to interrupt me and Erica?”
“I use screen reading software.”
“Oh,” she said. “I thought you’d use magnification or something like that.”
“I can, and I do, but it tires my eyes out. When I’ve got a lot of work to do, I use the screen reader.”
“How does it work?”
He placed the headset on her ears. “Samantha reads the screen to me.” He pressed a button on the keyboard and enjoyed the feel of Olivia giggling on his lap.
“Samantha? You named her? She doesn’t sound very sexy.”
“She came with a name. She does everything I tell her to do.”
“Oh, really? What does she look like?”
Jack smiled. The easy banter, in addition to touching her, was what he’d been looking forward to all day. “In my mind, she looks like Elizabeth.”
“Your former assistant?”
“The one and only.”
“And for curiosity’s sake, what did Elizabeth look like?”
“Are you jealous?”
Olivia clasped her hands behind his neck. “That depends on what she looked like.”
“She was a blond, green-eyed grandmother of two.”
Olivia ran her hands through his hair. “And was she sexy?”
“Not even a little. We worked well together.”
“Do you keep in touch?”
Jack nipped Olivia’s chin. “Are we really going to have this conversation now?”
She slid off his lap. “Let me get my stuff and we’ll go.”
As she gathered her things from the table, he drummed his fingers on the counter. Anticipation was a painful experience. “Did you tell Erica about our plans?”
“I did. She’s fine with it.”
“I told you she would be.”
“I know, but I feel better getting everything out in the open.”
He grabbed her from behind and planted his lips on the nape of her neck. “I’ll feel better when I get you out of here and open. For me.”
“Let’s not keep you waiting.” She laced their fingers and pulled him toward the door. He’d have been just as happy to drag her to his room down the hall since she’d told Erica about their plans. She opened the passenger door of a small, red sedan.
“What is this thing you drive?”
“A car. Perhaps you’re familiar?”
“I mean how old is this?”
“Old. I’m not made of money like you, big guy.”
He settled in the musty smelling vehicle. “What is that smell?”
“I left the windows open a couple of years ago and it got wet. No matter how many times I scrub the carpet, I can’t get the smell out. I try to mask it with air freshener, but it only seems to make it worse.”
“I’ll say.”
“Beggars can’t be choosers.” She pulled onto the road and picked up her phone from the dash when it beeped. He heard her gasp.
“What is it?” he asked.
“It’s a voicemail from my college advisor. I need to listen to this.”
“Go ahead.” He thrummed his fingers on his leg as the tension in the small space increased. “What’s the word?” he asked when she placed the phone in the cup holder.
“The investigator from Pueblo will be down in the morning and wants to interview me tomorrow at noon.”
“That’s good, right?”
“Good?”
“The sooner they start the investigation, the sooner it’ll be over.” When she sat silent, he said, “You did nothing wrong. It’s time you got a chance to prove it.”
“But I don’t have any proof. It’s my word against his. Maybe…” She blew out a breath. “Maybe now’s not the right time to do this.”
“Do what?” he asked.
“Be together. Start something.”
“Olivia, we started something weeks ago and we’re damn well going to finish it. Tonight.”
“I don’t know, Jack. I want you, but…”
“No buts. What are you supposed to do? Sit around and worry all night?”
“I could prepare for the interview.”
“How? Script out answers to the obvious questions? That won’t get you anywhere. You need to relax.”
“That’s not likely.”
He reached over and placed his hand on her leg, running it up and down her jean-covered thigh. “I bet I can prove you wrong.”
“Jack…”
He lifted his hand and stroked the side of her breast. “Drive faster, Olivia.”
“It’s hard to concentrate on my speed when you’re touching me.”
“I’ll stop if it means you’ll get us there faster.”
“What if someone sees us? The night before the interview? That can’t look good.”
“So what if they do? You’re allowed to have a life. Besides, the investigator won’t even be in town until tomorrow.”
“I’m scared, Jack. It took me a long time to figure out what I want to do with my life, but now that I’ve been in the classroom and teaching Erica, I’m sure this is what I want. I figured out something I’m good at and can make a difference doing.”
“Trust me when I say you can lose a job and still go on with your life.”
She reached over and linked their fingers. “I know. I’m sorry. That was very insensitive of me.”
“No, it was honest. And I understand your fear. Losing what you’ve wanted, what you expected to be yours forever, it hurts. But you’re young and healthy and you’ve got a fascinating mind. If you go in a different direction with your career—by choice or not—you’ll succeed.”
She squeezed his hand before letting go and gripping the steering wheel. “I’ve never wanted money. I mean, I know I have to earn enough to live, but I’ve always wanted to help people. I thought about being a nurse, but I was never very good at science. I can’t believe I’m having to think about different career paths again. What if it means more school? I’m so sick of being in school.”
“You’re putting the cart before the horse. You don’t know how this will play out. You don’t have any proof, but neither does the student.”
“He has the picture.”
“That was taken without your consent. Why don’t you let me call my lawyer? He can be down here by noon if I ask him.”
“No. No lawyers. That just makes me look guilty.”
Her age was showing. Having a lawyer would make her look prepared to fight and not roll over under the influence of the superintendent, but talking her into calling his attorney meant the conversation would continue. He may be a selfish bastard, but he wanted her to relax and forget about everything but him. If she knew how long it had been since he’d wanted a woman, since he’d felt comfortable enough with himself to take a chance, she might understand.
She stopped the car at the same nondescript brick building he’d been to only the day before with Lyle. She didn’t have to guide him up the stairs, but he let her if only to feel her soft hands. He didn’t mold himself against her like he wanted to as she struggled with the lock because he knew she didn’t want to draw attention.
But when the door swung closed behind him, enclosing them in the dusky apartment holding her scent, all of his intentions and attention were focused on her. He dropped his overnight bag as she deposited her things on the kitchen counter. When she went around the bar and into the kitchen, she opened the refrigerator and offered him a drink.
“Olivia,” he said, his voice conveying the intensity of his need, “the only thing I want is you.”
She came around the corner and stood before him. “I hope you’re not disappointed.”
Good Christ. If she only knew she’d just given voice to his greatest fear. He hadn’t been with a woman since losing his vision, and he worried he’d disappoint her. So he did what he did best: he masked his fear with confidence. “I’m going to peel your clothes off one piece at a time until you’re standing before me as naked as the day you were born. And when you’re naked, I’m going to run my hands and my mouth over every inch of your skin. I’m going to make you forget everything but me.”
The startled breath that escaped her lips had his hands clenching into fists. “You did that the first moment I heard your voice, Jack. You’ve been doing it every day since.”
He reached out and fingered the hem of her shirt. He lifted it up, and she raised her arms, letting the material glide easily over her head. He dropped it at his feet. His hands moved lower, over the delicate skin of her chest, along the flat plane of her stomach. He paused when his thumbs ran over her belly button. He dropped to his knees, gripping her waist, and ran his tongue around and in the tiny hole. She moaned and gripped his shoulders as her body swayed.
His hands inched lower. He unhooked her jeans and dragged the zipper down, feeling the satiny softness of her panties as he tucked his hands beneath the denim and slowly freed her legs from their confines. He lifted each leg out of the jeans and ran his hands back up her legs while his mouth teased her along the edges of her underwear. He could feel the heat from her skin and smell her ripe scent. He’d never craved a woman more.
“Jack,” she purred his name and tried to get him to stand, but he stayed on his knees and pleasured them both by freeing her of her bra and panties. She moaned when his lips cruised over her stomach, along the edges of her need, and finally into the source of her desire. She buckled at the first brush, her knees slamming into his chest. He stood and brought her into his arms, lowering her to the couch and spreading her wide.
“You still have your clothes on. Let me see you, Jack. Let me touch you.”
“You will. You won’t have to ask, but first…” He settled between her legs and gloried when her hands fisted in his hair and every muscle in her body bowed tight. He brought her up, higher and higher until she bucked and his name escaped on every breath.
No longer patient, no longer able to see to only her needs, he ripped the shirt from his back and freed himself only to realize his condoms were in his bag. She whined when he left her, reached for his bag, and sheathed himself as quickly as possible. He drove into her waiting heat in one long, hard stroke. His groan and her gasp mingled in his mouth as he poured himself into her and felt her climbing again as he pounded away with greed.
She urged him on as her nails dug into his back. She matched his demands with a ravenous need of her own. Her body, the pliant warm skin, welcomed him as he took everything she gave and more, again and again and again until there was nothing left but surrender.
She held him as he emptied his soul, her body still quaking. As sanity slipped back in, from one minute to the next, he realized he hadn’t used any of the finesse he’d intended. She’d stripped him bare, and he’d acted only out of pure survival.
“How did…why weren’t…” She ran a shaking hand through her hair. “They begged you, didn’t they?”
“What? Who?” He’d have given his soul to see her clearly, to know without a shadow of a doubt that he’d given her everything she needed. It was the first time he’d ever thought about a lover more than himself. He’d tuck that realization away and enjoy the feel of her, soft and supple in his arms.
“The women you had before. They hunted you down, I know they did. They cried at your doorstep, begging for one more kiss, one more touch. If you tell me it’s not true, I’ll know you’re lying.”
“You flatter me, Olivia. I usually have more finesse.”
“More?” She chuckled. The deep, raspy sound of her voice poured over him like a warm, velvet sheet. “More would have killed me.”
“I was too rough. I’m sorry.”
“I’ll kill you myself if you apologize. That was…wow, just wow. If you let me catch my breath for just a second, I’ll do my best to return the favor.”
He’d make her realize she was wrong. He could do better. He would do better and please them both.
“That,” she said as she elbowed into a sitting position, “was exactly what the doctor ordered.”