She was fruitlessly wiping away the tears when she caught Jack staring at her. She narrowed her eyes at him, not in the mood for his disapproval. She already felt foolish, she didn’t need him to rub it in.
"What?"
"Why do you do that?"
"I don't know what you are talking about."
"Yes. You do."
She looked away, suddenly feeling more exposed than she had in the restaurant. The funny thing was, she did know. He wanted to know why she craved the attention. She licked her lips, unsure how to answer.
"You okay, ‘Nettie?”
Kaylie was back, putting her arm around Janet's shoulders. She nodded and stood up straight. No harm done. She’d been through worse. Her whole life people had poked and prodded her, both as a dancer and at home.
Nothing she ever did was good enough.
Shake it off girl.
She would just have to find a job somewhere else.
"I'm good, thanks."
Devlin looked relieved that she wasn't going to cry anymore. She almost smiled at the way he was already treating her like an older brother. It was adorable.
And it was really nice to know he had her back.
"We better go. I need to get these two little missies home to their mamas."
Kaylie giggled at Devlin as he pulled her into his arms for a kiss.
Janet opened her mouth and said something that surprised even her.
"Jack is taking me."
Kaylie's mouth dropped open for a full minute before slowly widening into a huge grin. Devlin looked thrilled.
She slid her eyes sideways, peeking at the huge man standing beside her. Jack hadn't said a word but Dev and Kaylie's big smiles had clearly irritated him. Devlin slapped him on the back. Hard.
"Alright, man! Have a good night."
And then they were gone, leaving Janet standing all alone with Jack in the mall parking lot. The big man had barely said a word to her, other than to ask her why she was such an idiot.
Typically, that made her like him even more.
He shifted his eyes toward her and raised an eyebrow. She lifted her chin. She wasn't going to let him intimidate her.
"So? Are we just going to stand here all night?"
He grunted and grabbed her arm, pulling her toward his bike.
Chapter Fourteen
Jack
Jack stared straight ahead, trying to focus on the road. He'd never ridden with anyone on the back of his bike before. He could feel her slender arms wrapped around his waist with surprising strength. She had a good grip for such a tiny thing.
That's right. Kaylie had said she'd been a dancer. It made sense with the graceful way she moved with him on the bike, unconsciously leaning into the turns with him.
He'd given her his helmet and thrust her onto the seat, trying not to stare at her spread thighs beneath him. Those orange shorts clung to her body in a way that should have been illegal.
He’d climbed on and started the bike without hesitation. He made sure she understood that he was annoyed with her. That this ride was a one time thing.
All without saying a word.
The mall was a half an hour from town, which gave him plenty of time to enjoy her body pressed against his back. And he was enjoying it. A lot.
He groaned inwardly. It was his front he'd like her pressed against. He wanted her. Badly. He might as well stop lying to himself about it. The little minx was getting to him whether he liked it or not.
And for some reason, she seemed to like him too.
He wanted to fuck her. She liked the attention. That was all it was.
But maybe, it was enough.
Maybe he should bed her.
He'd make it clear that it was just the once- one long night for him to get out all his frustrations. Or maybe a couple of times, until he got her out of his system.
That would give him time to explore her, to take her all the different ways he wanted to… yes, that was a much better plan.
He'd taste her first. Then once she was writhing in ecstasy, he'd slide into her body and wrap those long, elegant legs around his hips. Then he'd ride her, as hard as he wanted to.
He'd show her that he wasn't the sort of man to be trifled with. He would be rough, but not too rough. Afterwards he'd tell her to wait quietly until he wanted her again. It probably wouldn't take too long, given the state she'd put him in these last couple of days.
He'd take her from behind the next time. So he could see that sweet little ass up close. He almost lost his focus on the road at the thought.
His mind wandered again. Toward the end of the night he'd be gentle with her. Maybe he'd even let her be on top. She'd look good riding him. Then he'd drop her off at her house and that would be it.
She'd be out of his system. For good.
It was an excellent idea.
It was a terrible idea.
He knew Dev wouldn't like it if he treated his old lady's best friend as a disposable lay. Hell, he wouldn't like it either. The girl deserved more than that.