A Daddy for Jacoby(54)

Gina picked up the jacket and headed for the bathroom. Hanging it on a hook on the back of the door, she found a first-aid kit beneath the sink. She then grabbed two towels, wetting the smaller one with warm soapy water.

Walking back into the main room, she halted, noticing the new furniture for the first time. A sofa and loveseat faced the fireplace and a larger television sat atop a nearby cabinet. Simple end tables held mismatched lamps and a coffee table was covered with magazines, a drawing tablet and a tin full of crayons. A round dining room table and four chairs sat nearby in front of the row of windows. All of it was clearly secondhand purchases and while the place still needed something Gina couldn’t quite put her finger on, it was easy to see Justin was working hard to make a home for himself and his son.

“What do you think?” He returned from the kitchen, his bolo tie gone and the top buttons of his shirt undone, a bottle of whiskey and two glasses in his hands. “None of it’s new, but—”

“I think it’s great.” She joined him at the couch and made room on the coffee table for the items she’d brought from the bathroom. “I also think we’re going to need a bit more light.”

He clicked on one lamp, the sudden brightness causing her to blink, but for the first time she could see the slash marks and spots of blood on his shirt.

“Oh, Justin.”

He backed away from her outstretched hand and set the glasses next to the first-aid kit. Quickly pouring a splash of whiskey in each, he straightened and offered her one. “Thirsty?”

Gina shook her head. He couldn’t look at her. His eyes moved to the glass in his hand before darting around the cabin. Then it hit her. Having her in his home again was driving him crazy. But was it a good crazy or a bad crazy?

She now realized he’d been fighting an attraction to her as much as she’d been fighting what she felt for him. But she’d heard the longing in his voice, felt the restrained desire when he held her while they danced, in the gentleness of his touch when he wiped away her tears.

He didn’t want this—whatever this was between them—and he was fighting it with everything he had. The question now was what was she going to do about it? What would happen if she and Justin gave in to the powerful magnetic pull they seemed to have toward each other?

Would it be magical or the biggest mistake of their lives?

And was she willing to take the risk of falling even deeper for a guy, who according to all common sense was one hundred percent wrong for her?

“You sure?” he asked again, tipping the whiskey-filled glass toward her, finally looking at her.

This time she nodded. Yes, she was sure.

“Suit yourself.” He lifted the glass in a mock toast, then tossed back a mouthful.

Gina took the opportunity to move in closer and quickly unbuttoned his shirt. Two quick yanks and the material was free from his pants and hung open.

“Hey!” He tried to swallow and choked.

“Like I haven’t seen this before? Please.” Gina tried to play it cool as she pushed his shirt open, but the twin red marks that covered his well-defined stomach from midchest to his waist made her cringe. “Oh, my…you know, this would work better if you lay down.”

She looked up at him in time to see Justin toss back the rest of his drink.

“Fine, have it your way.”

She dropped to the couch, crinolines and tulle puffing out around her. His belly button and the faint hairline that disappeared beneath his belt buckle were right in front of her. She grabbed the soapy towel and pressed it to his skin.

“Geez…” Justin released the word in a long hiss.

“You’re not even bleeding. Don’t tell me this stings.” When he didn’t reply she looked up and found her gaze locked with his. “Well? Does it?”

A heartbeat passed before he spoke. “No.”

Breaking free of his hypnotic hold, she focused again on the toned stomach muscles that twitched beneath her fingers. She moved the cloth with gentle pressure. “Is it cold?”

“No.”

“Then what are you complaining about?”

Justin dropped the empty glass to the couch cushion beside her, and pulled her to her feet, the towel falling from her hand. “Tell me you aren’t as innocent as you sound. Do you have any idea what you’re doing to me?”

“I don’t—”

He released her, his hands moving low over her waist until they reached her backside. He pressed her intimately against the junction of his thighs. “This, this is what you do to me.”