Until We Touch (Fool's Gold #15)(33)

Jack put both hands on her waist, then slowly slid them up and down her back. On the second pass, he slipped down over her hips. He moved slowly, exploring unfamiliar territory. Anticipation built. Her ni**les hardened.

More, she thought, ready to go wherever this led. Definitely more.

But instead of reading her mind, he drew back enough to break the kiss and put space between them. They stared at each other, both breathing more quickly. She felt as wide-eyed as he looked. Emotions flooded his eyes. Confusion, affection and, most of all, desire. Exactly what she was feeling. Because while she’d always liked Jack, until recently she hadn’t thought about liking Jack.

Indecision had her biting her bottom lip. Because this night could go in two very different directions. While wanting him was great and making love would probably rock her world, what would happen the next morning? What would she have lost?

She nearly stomped her foot. This was all her mother’s fault, she thought bitterly.

“I have to go,” she said suddenly, darting around him.

“Larissa, we have to talk.”

“We don’t. Not really.”

She found Dyna curled up on the sofa. Her cat didn’t take kindly to being disturbed, but allowed her regal self to be placed in the carrier.

“I’ll see you tomorrow. At work.”

With that, she raced for the front door and didn’t allow herself to relax until she was safely in her car. Before starting the engine, she drew in a few breaths and told herself living in a state of denial wasn’t all that bad. People did it all the time and she could, too.

* * *

JACK CHECKED ON Percy and found the kid was out like a light. After that, he wandered through his too-large house, then tried to find something interesting on TV. When that didn’t work, he grabbed his phone and scrolled through the numbers, looking for a way to ease his troubles.

A woman seemed like the best solution, he told himself. A safe nonLarissa kind of woman. A woman who understood who he was and that he wasn’t looking for more than a night. But after two passes through the names, he couldn’t find a single one he wanted to talk to let alone have sex with.

He tossed the phone onto the coffee table and sighed.

What the hell? When had he and Larissa started kissing? This was the second time and like the first, he had no idea how it had happened.

Sure, she was pretty, and sure, he liked her, but so what? She was Larissa. His assistant, his friend. She mattered to him. A guy didn’t mess that up for something as meaningless as a night of sex. He could get that anywhere. What he couldn’t replace was her. So what had he been thinking?

Only he hadn’t been thinking. He’d been minding his own business, helping in the kitchen when bam—she was in his arms and he wasn’t holding back. The thing was, no matter how he tried, he couldn’t figure out the steps that had made it happen. It was as if those seconds had never existed.

He stood and grabbed his phone. After starting for the door, he turned around and sat on the couch. Thirty seconds later, he was walking out into the night. But instead of heading over to Larissa’s place, he went in the other direction. When he reached the small house with the motorcycle parked in the driveway, he turned up the walk.

Angel answered the front door. He was wearing jeans and nothing else. Jack stared at him for a second before putting the pieces together.

“Were you having sex?” he asked before he could stop himself.

Angel raised an eyebrow. “Not your business and if you’re asking to join us, the answer is no. Any threesome would go the other way.”

Angel walked off but left the front door open. Jack stepped into the foyer and waited. A couple of seconds later Taryn appeared. She wore a T-shirt over jeans and was barefoot. Her long blue-black hair hung straight and she didn’t have on any makeup.

“Sorry,” he said, immediately turning away.

She grabbed his arm and drew him back. “It’s fine. Don’t leave.” She studied him for a second. “What’s up? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re lying and not very well.”

She linked arms with him and led him to the kitchen. An open bottle of red wine sat on the counter. She poured them each a glass and handed him one, then moved into the living room.

“Angel isn’t joining us?” he asked.

“Probably not. I think he still worries about you. Well, us, really. The ‘you and I’ us.”

“Why? We work together. We’re friends.” Taryn was his best friend, except maybe for Larissa. The relationships were different, though.

“We used to be married,” Taryn reminded him.

They sat on the sofa. She angled toward him and tucked her feet under her.

“Our marriage was a long time ago,” Jack said, then sipped the Cab. “It’s not like we were in love.”

Taryn’s gaze was steady. “What’s really bothering you, Jack?”

A polite way of asking why he was there, he thought.

“I don’t know,” he said, telling the absolute truth. “Cal U Fool’s Gold isn’t looking for a coach. They’re deciding on whether or not to start a football team. I don’t know anything about that.”

“I’m sure you have strong opinions.”

He shrugged. “Sure. Of course they should have a team. But why put me on the committee? I don’t have any skin in the game.”