“No, princess. My house, my rules. What were you thinking about a minute ago?”
Narrowing her eyes at him, she replied with her usual bluntness, “About the one and only time you kissed me, and then left me hanging.”
Jack remembered that kiss well, and his reaction to having her lush body plastered against his. She wasn’t the only one who had been left hanging that night.
“We need to talk.” He needed to keep both their minds off anything sexual until he figured out what was going on with her and what scrape he’d have to bail her out of now. He knew it must be a doozy to have her driving clear from Chicago in the middle of a blizzard to see him. Not that he minded being there for her. He never had and never would. But she’d picked a bad weekend to show up unexpected on his doorstep. The private BDSM party booked months ago would take up most of his time and he had no idea how he would manage his responsibilities as their host and keep her occupied elsewhere.
He tossed one of his flannel shirts on the counter along with a pair of socks. “When you’re warm enough, join me in the kitchen. I’ll fix you something to eat then you can tell me what scrape you’ve gotten yourself into.”
* * *
“You always could cook as well as Agatha.”
Jack turned from pulling the leftover lasagna from the oven to see Morgan looking cute as a button in his shirt and socks. He hadn’t thought ahead when he gave her the shirt, but seeing her in something of his and knowing she was naked, her lush body easily accessible underneath the flannel made her even harder to resist. “Lucky for you. Sit down and tell me what was so important you had to drive all the way here in the middle of a blizzard.”
Morgan hopped up on one of the stools at the counter, her mouthwatering when he set a plate of steaming lasagna in front of her along with a glass of tea. Not even the reminder of Joel’s betrayal could deter her from diving into Jack’s lasagna. “Just a minute.” Taking a bite, she closed her eyes, moaning in pleasure.
“Morgan,” Jack growled, wondering if she sounded like that when she came. “Last time we talked, you were making plans for your big wedding.” And he had gone on a two-day binge Marc had been forced to pull him out of.
Setting down her fork, Morgan sighed and looked up at him leaning against the counter with his muscular arms crossed and dark eyes assessing.
Why couldn’t her mother have been as supportive and caring as Jack, she thought as tears welled. Her betrayal had hurt more than Joel’s.
“The wedding’s off. I refuse to spend my life with a two-timing jerk.”
Jack had always been overprotective of Morgan, and the thought of this guy daring to hurt her made him see red. She deserved better than that, someone who would love her unconditionally. “He cheated on you?” he growled, quelling the urge to take her in his arms. He was having enough trouble trying to keep from imagining how her breasts would fill his hands, how her nipples would harden in his
mouth as he sucked and bit at those tempting pink buds. But feeling that lush body pressed against him would be dangerous. His libido didn’t need any encouragement. It raged out of control well enough on its own.
“I caught him red-handed, fucking some skinny blonde in the same bed he had just fucked me in that morning.” Morgan shrugged and took another bite of lasagna before adding, “But that didn’t bother me near as much as mom’s dictate that I still marry him.”
That didn’t surprise Jack; her mother had never been supportive of her or indignant on her behalf. After all, why start now? If there were two people who should never have had a child, it was Kathleen and George Tomlinson.
“And why would she want you to do that?” he asked, although he could guess. He was pretty sure the marriage had to have some benefit for her parents, otherwise they wouldn’t have given their blessing.
“Something about a merger and keeping both companies in the family. Since Joel and I are both only children, our parents thought the easiest and most fail-proof way to do that would be for us to marry and have kids, thus keeping the company in both families. I ran home after leaving Joel’s and mom was there. When I told her the wedding was off, she said…”
Jack frowned when she bit her lip and looked away from him in shame. Over the years he had comforted her more than once when her mother or father said or did something to hurt her feelings. He and Agatha were the only ones she trusted and turned to when their callousness and indifference drove her to tears.
“Don’t tell me, let me guess. The bitch said you should be grateful he was willing to marry you. What was it this time? That you’re not pretty enough, skinny enough, or smart enough to do any better?”
“Something like that,” she muttered, looking away from him.
The way her face reddened in shame made him want to hit something. “Damn it, Morgan, you know better than to listen to her bullshit. And you know better than to let her get to you so badly that you recklessly drive for what, two days, risking your life, just to get away from her.”
“But you’ve always been the one I’ve run to, Jack. It’s not my fault you moved so far away. And, I didn’t know about the weather when I left Chicago,” she answered in defense.
He narrowed his eyes at her and replied softly, “But you found out about the incoming storm before leaving Denver, didn’t you? You had to have stopped for directions up here and I’m sure you were told it wouldn’t be safe for a day or two.” Her casual shrug, as if her safety was of no consequence, pissed him off more.
“I didn’t want to wait. Although, after what I saw downstairs, I now know why you’ve been so closed-mouthed about this place.”
The sparkle in her eyes and her impish grin were much preferable to the shame and sadness she had been showing. “Which is precisely why you shouldn’t be here. What am I supposed to do with you for the next few days? This group is booked through Monday and I won’t have time to babysit you.”
Shoving her plate aside, Morgan hopped off the stool, placed her fists on her hips, and glared at him. “In case you haven’t noticed, Jack, I haven’t needed a babysitter for quite some time. Something you would have perceived if you weren’t so fucking blind.”
Arching a dark brow at her language, he stated with a calmness her belligerence threatened, “You, princess, have the uncanny ability to get yourself into trouble on a regular basis, so in that respect, I beg to differ. You do need a babysitter. But you’re right. You’re all grown up now, and it’s time you took responsibility for your actions. I need to get back downstairs. You are to stay up here. Pick one of the rooms on the right side of the hall. You can watch television or go to bed. I’ll be late as these parties tend to go on for a while, and then I have to see that everyone gets back to their cabins safely. We’ll talk again in the morning.”
As he moved past her, she asked with her usual candor, “Are you going to fuck that girl you were whipping?”