Dirty Thoughts - Megan Erickson Page 0,69
she fanned herself with her hand, and Asher looked at her strangely. “Hot flash,” she said in explanation, and with a look of alarm, Asher focused back on the screen and asked no further questions. Boys did not want to talk about girl stuff. Always a good defense.
By the time they left the theater, Jenna was tucked into Cal’s side, and his arm was around her shoulders. She didn’t protest, because frankly, it felt so good to be in Cal’s arms, while Asher jumped up and down about how the movie was so cool, and the lead actor was so hot, and he couldn’t wait for the DVD to come out so he could see all the bonus scenes.
On the way to her house, finally free of Cal’s touch, Jenna thought maybe she should be resisting this. Maybe she should tell Cal to go to hell. But her heart didn’t want to. That hope that had been a low simmer was now a rolling boil.
She could be strong and resist Cal, but the effort seemed futile. If she dug deep in her heart, she didn’t want to avoid him. She’d never stopped loving Cal, although she’d certainly stopped being in love with him.
And now, the more time she spent around him, the more she could see that she was following that same path, where she tumbled head over heels in love with Cal Payton. These past couple of weeks had been just a taste of all they’d dreamed about when they were kids. She wanted more.
When they pulled into her driveway, Jenna unclipped her seat belt and turned to Asher. She smoothed back his hair, kissed his forehead, and then wrapped him in a hug. “Thanks for the flowers and for inviting me to see the movie with you.”
Asher ducked his head after she pulled out of the hug. “Thanks for coming with us. I had a really nice time.”
“Me too.”
As she placed her hand on the truck’s door handle, Asher spoke up again. “When am I going to see you again?”
Asher’s face was hopeful, his dark eyes luminous in the yellow light above her garage door. She let her gaze drift past him, meeting Cal’s steel stare. He said nothing. He gave her nothing. She looked back at Asher. “Soon, buddy. Okay?”
Asher smiled. “All right. Bye, Jenna.”
She hopped down out of the truck and wasn’t surprised when deep murmurings came from inside before she shut her door. A door shut behind her and booted footsteps followed her to her front door.
She didn’t turn around, even though her hands were trembling as she stuck her key in the lock and let herself into the house.
Cal’s heat was on her back, and she didn’t bother shutting the door. Cal did it for her.
She stayed facing the hall, schooling her face until she felt under control, until she could focus on her thoughts rather than her body’s reaction to the only man who had ever made her feel alive.
When she turned around, he stood in front of the door, hands on his hips, eyes on her. He didn’t look away, and she wondered what he was thinking. And if he planned to talk first.
Ten seconds later, he answered both of those questions.
“Remember what happened last time we were standing right here?”
She swallowed. Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded. Her hands itched to touch him, to run her fingers through that thick hair, to brush the stubble on his jaw.
He paused again, and when he finally spoke again, his voice was gravel. “You opened that robe for me. You let me in. I can’t stop thinking about that night.”
His voice was killing her. Because although it was gravel, she knew if she dug hard enough, it’d be soft velvet underneath.
He took a step toward her. Just one. Like he was waiting for her to back up a step. But she didn’t. She held her ground and waited for Cal to come to her. He took another step. And another, until he stood in front of her with a hand on her hip. His fingers rested on the top of her ass, and his thumb slipped under the hem of her tank top, teasing the sensitive skin.
“Thought I’d come here that night and steal a ray of that sunshine. Then walk away, hoping it would keep me warm for a while.” He was whispering now, barely audible. His breath smelled like mint, because he’d been popping them the whole movie. “But damn if