“Jack,” I answer it coldly. I know Rob must have called him. I haven’t heard from Jack since he boarded his plane back to Chicago.
“Lindsay, goddammit! Robert called me; what the hell happened today?” I hear the door click shut and I glance up to see Jonah watching me. He keeps his distance as I talk to Jack.
I chuckle. “No ‘nice to hear your voice’? No ‘how are things going’? Just, ‘Robert called me; what the hell happened today’?”
“Lindsay…” His tone is argumentative and I can tell he is pissed.
“I pushed Amanda Stephens. She’s been fucking with me since the first day and I lost it today. I pushed her up against a wall and told her to quit fucking with me. Got a problem with that?”
I hear him sigh loudly. “Lindsay, you cannot lose control. You have to prove yourself to Robert. This dream of yours is hanging by a thread.”
“I don’t want this dream, Jack. I thought I did. I thought I wanted all of this, but if this is how it is, I don’t want this,” I scream through the phone at him, my voice full of emotion. “I don’t want this.” My voice breaks.
“Lindsay, you’re in a one-year contract. That is unheard of in this business. Give it a year. Focus and give it one-hundred percent and don’t let bullshit like Amanda Stephens get in the way of your career.”
“Jack, I’m losing control. Everything is slipping through my fingers.”
“No, it’s not, Lindsay. Pull yourself together.” With those words pull yourself together, there is an abrupt click and the phone call ends. I set the phone on the counter and feel my shoulders begin shaking at the same time an arm wraps around my waist from behind, giving me support.
“Come here.” Jonah’s long arms spin me around and he pulls me into his chest.
“Jonah, now’s not a good time. I need to be alone.”
“You need me,” he says firmly. “The last thing you need is to be alone.” His embrace is comforting yet foreign as I stand in his arms and let him hold me.
“Look at me, Lindsay,” he finally says as his arms release me. “You are stronger than you think you are, but you need to believe it.”
“I don’t believe in anything right now,” I confide in him. Jonah rests his hands on my shoulders and tips my head back so that I’m looking at him.
“You’re beautiful, and strong, and…” His voice trails off. His hands move from my shoulders to my neck and he rubs his thumb gently across my bottom lip. “… and beautiful.” His eyes search mine, looking for resistance or an invitation, but I am numb. Without waiting any longer, he leans in, pressing his lips to mine. His lips are warm and soft and everything I don’t want right now, yet I can’t say no—I am weak, and he has the upper hand. Closing my eyes, I welcome his kiss, needy and hungry.
My hands rest low on his sides, my fingers brushing the warm skin just under the hem of his shirt.
“Lindsay,” he mumbles between desperate kisses, but I ignore his warning. My hands move under his shirt, finding the rigid muscles of his stomach. My hands explore his solid stomach, brushing against a light sprinkling of hair as they find their way up to his chest. He breaks our kiss and pulls away from me slightly before pulling his polo shirt over his head and tossing it onto the kitchen floor.
His skin is a perfect golden color, and a slight tan line peeks out just above the waistband of his shorts. I reach out, pulling him closer to me, pressing my lips to the center of his chest. His skin is soft and warm and he smells like body wash. He wraps his arms around me again and holds me tightly. He gasps quietly as I fumble with the button on his khaki shorts and, in one swift motion, I pull down his shorts and boxer briefs at the same time. I follow their descent to the floor and kneel before him.
“Lindsay.” He reaches for my arm, pulling me back to my feet. “Not here.” I nod and he laces his hand through mine as he steps out of his shorts and leads me toward the bedroom.
A flood of emotions and thoughts cross my mind as we walk quietly, hand in hand. It’s late afternoon, so the bedroom is light. Jonah pulls the long, sheer curtains as I step out my heels and unzip my dress.
“Let me,” he says quietly as he approaches from behind me and finishes unzipping me. The dress falls to the floor and pools around my feet. His finger trails down the curve of my spine, tracing it from neck to bottom, slow and soft before he lifts my silk slip over my head. He sweeps my long, blonde hair over my left shoulder and I feel the press of his lips against the back of my neck. His erection pushes against my backside and my body falls back into his.