Rescuing Jenna - Anna Blakely Page 0,96

like a second skin. With a hem that stopped mid-thigh, the mini wrap-around tied together at her hip.

It was just this side of scandalous, and for what she had planned…it was perfect.

Checking her watch, she turned off the bathroom light and headed for the door. The last time she’d made a hasty decision like this, she’d ended up kidnapped and shot.

Neither were experiences she cared to repeat, but she also wasn’t going to sit around on her ass waiting for a certain man to finally grow a pair of balls and face her.

With her purse on her shoulder and her keys and bags in her hands, Jenna turned off the last of the lights, opened the door, and…nearly ran into a wall of muscle.

Startled, she chuckled nervously. “Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t…”

The air all around her vanished. Every molecule of oxygen sucked dry by the man standing before her.

He was dressed in a pair of well-worn jeans and a dark gray t-shirt. Nothing fancy or new, but damn if he didn’t look like he’d just stepped off a runway.

His dark hair was a bit longer than before, and there were a few new, lighter streaks from where the sun had kissed it.

The skin on his face and neck was tan. His cheeks, forehead, and nose almost pink from too many ultraviolet kisses. And his eyes…

Those gorgeous, tortured eyes were lined with creases that made her heart hurt. Worry had put those lines there. Worry and pain.

With his hands shoved into his pockets, Adrian stared back at her as if he wasn’t really sure what to say. Or if he should even be here at all.

Finally, after what felt like forever, he offered her a small smile and a rough, “Hey.”

Jenna’s insides tingled. Like always, her body reacted instantly to the deep timbre of his sexy voice.

She was still so busy trying to wrap her brain around the fact that he was actually here, a full minute passed between them, and she hadn’t said a single word.

“I, uh…” He glanced down at the bags and cleared his throat. “I probably should’ve called first.”

“It’s fine.” Jenna finally snapped out of her shock-induced trance. “I mean, I was just about to leave, but—”

He forced another smile. “Right. I’ll get out of your way.”

Adrian turned and started to walk away.

Seriously?

Jenna had a half a mind to let him go. To leave him dangling on the hook he’d left inside her a little longer. But she didn’t.

“You want to come inside?” she hollered before he got too far to hear. “I can make us some coffee.”

He stopped in his tracks and spun around. With another quick glance at her suitcases, he asked, “You sure you have time?”

Jenna shrugged. “I have a few minutes.”

Waiting a beat, he slowly began walking back toward her. She purposely kept her eyes on his, refusing to focus on the way his shirt stretched over his broad shoulders and chest. Or how his strong thighs worked against his denim with every step.

She turned and started to pull her wheeled suitcase behind her, but he picked up his pace and grabbed the handle.

“Let me get that for you.” He lifted it with zero effort.

His warm hand brushed against hers, sending a shockwave of electricity through her system. Jenna’s eyes dropped to the bulging biceps and taut forearms, and…

Damn it, Jenna! You weren’t supposed to look.

Shaking off her momentary failure, Jenna stepped back into her apartment and shuffled to the side to give him room.

“Here okay?” He motioned toward the open area to the left of the door.

“Sure.” Jenna gave him a tight smile, and…nope. She would not—would not—look at his fine ass when he bent over to set the suitcase down.

Aaaand…she looked.

Her mouth watered and her inner muscles clenched.

Good lord, woman. Do you seriously have no self-control with this man?

No. No, she did not.

Adrian stood upright and turned to face her. Praying she’d schooled her expression in time, Jenna slid her purse and carry-on off her shoulder and set them on the floor next to her feet.

He stared back at her, his eyes even more guarded than when she first met him, but there was something else there this time. A nervousness that didn’t fit the man she knew him to be.

“You look good.” His heated gaze fell on the hem of her short skirt.

“Thanks.” Jenna smiled inwardly. “You, too.” Better than good.

God, she hated the awkwardness that was between them, now. She and Adrian had shared a lot of things, but