The Billionaire's Temporary Bride (Scandal, Inc #3)(20)

Somehow, each date ended with a long walk through the quiet streets and a kiss at Jack's door. For their third date, at Charlotte's insistence, they went to a sushi restaurant in Alexandria. Charlotte met him at his place. He'd been finishing up a call with his campaign manager that had run half an hour too long. He felt terrible, and he didn't know how to make it up to her. They ended up losing their reservation and didn't eat until two hours later.

"One of these days, I'll convince you to come inside for a drink," he said in the doorway to his house afterward.

"What happened to always have a drink but never finish it?" Callie asked.

Jack smiled. "That's for public events. This is different. At some point, you should at least come in. Otherwise, people will start to wonder why I can't seem to seal the deal with the mysterious redhead everyone's been talking about. One of these nights, I'll convince you that the walk inside is a better idea than the lonely walk home."

Jack held his breath. A car horn in the distance cut through the low hum of the city in the night, and Charlotte stared into his eyes as she thought about what he had said. Her face was half in shadow, and Jack doubted he had ever seen anyone more beautiful. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Her kiss was soft and slow, and he could smell her delicate floral perfume as she pulled back, and he just wanted to hold her in his arms, just wanted to hold onto that moment for just a while longer. He had to remind himself to breathe. Charlotte smiled at him. "How about tonight?" she asked.





Chapter 8

Charlotte had barely stepped inside the door before Jack kissed her again. He pressed her against the paneled wall and pinned his lips against hers. Desire swelled up inside her. Jack slipped his fingers between hers and deepened his kiss.

Charlotte wanted to melt into that kiss, wanted its warmth to course through her, but she knew it was a bad idea. She could feel Jack's solid frame against her. With each kiss, her excitement grew, and she knew his did too.


It was dark inside the house, and their hurried breaths echoed off of the marble floor of the entryway.

Just a few minutes, Charlotte thought. Just this kiss, and then I'll stop.

Jack's breath was hot against her skin as he kissed her neck. She tilted her head back and took a deep breath. She felt that dizzy endorphin rush start to spiral into a deeper need, and she knew she needed to stop herself before she went any further. She unlocked her fingers from his and ran her hands over his back.

In one quick motion, Jack picked her up and spun her around in a wonderful, disorienting blur of motion. As he put her back down, he nodded toward the room off of the entryway. Charlotte kicked off her heels and tumbled with him onto the plush leather couch.

Just one more kiss, she told herself.

She could feel a deeper need taking over as she raked her fingers down the back of his shirt. She kissed his chin and planted her lips against his. The slow motion of his tongue against her lower lip would have buckled her knees if she weren't already lying down. Charlotte slipped her tongue against his as bliss hummed inside her. She needed this, and she wanted more.

When their lips parted, she knew she had reached the point of no return.

"I should go," she whispered.

"You should stay," Jack said. He brushed his hand against her cheek and sat up. "It's late. I have several guest rooms. You can stay the night, and I don't have to worry about you walking halfway across the city alone."

"Then don't worry about it," Charlotte said. She straightened herself up. Everything was already confusing enough. She liked Jack. She liked him a lot, but she was starting to worry that she liked him too much for someone who supposedly didn't believe in love.

"But I will," Jack replied. He stood up and turned the light on. "You can leave in the morning. Let me show you to a room."

Charlotte took his hand and followed him up the long staircase to the second floor. Halfway down the hall, he opened a door and flicked on a light.

"Does this work for you?"

The room was bigger than her apartment. It had a large four-poster bed and a reading area with a library's worth of bookshelves and couches circled around a fireplace. It looked like something out of a magazine.

"This is perfect," she said.

"Goodnight, Charlotte," Jack said. He grinned and kissed the back of her hand. He stepped out into the hallway, and Charlotte stood there in the middle of the room, waiting for him to either leave or stay. "Should I get the door for you?"

"I can get it," Charlotte said. She wondered what Jack was thinking as she slowly closed the door. "Goodnight, Jack."

She stood there with her ear against the door for the next five minutes, waiting to hear Jack either tap on the door or walk down the hallway. Was their relationship still all business, or was it becoming something more? If Jack didn't believe in love, should Charlotte still feel for him as strongly as she did? She wondered if his heart beat with the same sharp ache as hers. She wondered if he was still standing in the hallway, leaning his forehead against the door, deciding whether or not to make his move.





***

The following weeks were full of those moments when Charlotte felt that she and Jack were on the verge of becoming something more than co-conspirators. They were also full of times that made her wonder what the hell she was doing pretending to be Jack's girlfriend.