“So much as what?”
“What?” he asked blankly.
“You wouldn’t say traumatized by my legs so much as....what?”
“Taken,” he finished swiftly.
Britt felt warm and like she wanted to swoon out loud. Taken. As in, I was quite taken with you. As in, taken by surprise. As in, taken on the couch, on the bed, in the kitchen. She blushed for a minute before composing herself.
“Taken,” she repeated slowly.
Jack nodded.
“That’s a good word.”
“Good isn’t good enough. I can do better,” he said, and she flashed
on the moment he’d said that to her before, naked and gorgeous and all tangled up in her legs.
“You already have,” she said. “If you don’t mind my asking, why did you ask me to go out with you tonight? I mean, it’s obvious that you could have anyone you want.”
“I told you already; I hoped I’d get another shot with you. I like you. If I can get anyone I want, that’s good news,” Jack said.
“I’m starting to think I have no social skills,” she sighed. “I can’t flirt. I can’t be...fun. I’m the most stereotypical awkward nerd there is.”
“No. That dress keeps you from being stereotypical. If you want to be seen as an awkward nerd, you’ll have to wear pants at all times,” he said.
“Thank goodness I forgot my pants. It’s saved me from mediocrity,” she deadpanned.
“I want to show you something. Are you finished?”
“Yeah, I’m finished but I’m pretty sure I’ve already seen what you’ve got,” she said.
“You haven’t seen this. Okay, if you have seen this, just pretend it’s new to you.”
“I’m being a fake virgin now?”
“In a sense, yes,” he said.
Chapter 16
Jack paid the check while Britt made herself resist taking a ton of pictures in the restaurant to message to Marj. Marj was dying to see the place. She snapped pictures of the shells and candles, the waterfront view, the seed bread, the light perfection of the exclusive interior. She felt a pang of regret at leaving it. It was so lovely, and she was unlikely ever to see it again. Britt stood and tugged her tunic down, smiling at him mischievously.
“You’d better pull that down. If I can see all the way to paradise, we won’t walk very far,” he admitted. She felt a swirl of heat, anticipation. She was ready to take him to bed, ready to save the smart thoughts, the second thoughts for tomorrow.
Jack touched her back again, guiding her to the elevator. In the elevator itself, he didn’t take his hand off the small of her back. The heat of his skin, the way his hand fit in the curve of her back was surprisingly erotic. He didn’t kiss her, didn’t reach for her at all. He just kept his hand on her, as if she were his, as if she were taken. It made her smile despite herself.
They emerged not in the parking structure but at street level, stepping out onto sand. The city lights and the moon warred for reflection in the dark water beyond. She took a long breath of the salt air and stood transfixed, almost dizzily as she watched the inexorable pull and slide of the water under the weight of the moon.
The sounds of traffic and voices seemed far away, as if they were far out in the ocean instead of standing at the edge of it. Jack took off his shoes and tried to lead her forward to walk along the sand, but she looked at him and then down at her stilettos. The flash of his grin in the darkness, then he was on his knees before her, unbuckling the strap of her shoe and slipping it off her foot so she could stand barefoot on the warm sand. He ministered to the other foot as well and stood, handing her the shoes.
“Those are nice, but it’s time to take them off,” he said. She wiggled her toes gratefully, feeling the texture of the sand.
Jack led her down the beach a little ways to the pavement of the busier harbor area. There were only two ships in at that time, and Jack stepped up onto a vacant dock, bending to give her his hand. She climbed up after him, jerking the hem of her tunic down as she stood. They walked out to the end of the dock, and he spread his coat for her to sit on. They dangled their legs, feet not reaching the water.
“When I first moved here, I couldn’t sleep. I was on some new prescription to help me focus, and all it did was give me the insomnia from hell. So I’d walk for miles at night. I was restless. It made me crazy to stay cooped up inside. So I got to where I came down here and watched the water.”
“Did it calm you down so you could sleep?”