SEVENTEEN

Kryptonite

I woke to the moon shining through the window. My head was pounding, and I had to think about where I was. Jack’s face filled my mind, and I remembered our lunchtime tryst. Feeling around for the lamp on the bedside table and turning it on, I cursed when the light hit my eyes. What on earth possessed me to drink that much?  Oh, yes, Mayor Hall, douche bag extraordinaire.

Looking around Jack’s bedroom, I saw clothes scattered on the floor. His tastes in décor were rugged…plain, simple, all man. He had a huge knotty pine log bed, black comforter, and black sheets. Instead of pictures, he had some type of Indian art hanging on the walls, which were painted a warm toffee color. His chest and dresser matched the bed, and from the looks of the hand-turned wood, I’d say he bought it locally from the master carpenters you saw around the area.

I sat up, thirsty and needing a drink. I turned to the edge of the bed and saw a large glass of water with two pills lying next to it. Smiling at Jack being so thoughtful, I took the pills and drank down the glass. Putting my feet to the floor to stand, I looked down at my body and saw no clothes.

“Yup, still naked.” I needed my clothes, and a shower, but obviously not in that order. I grabbed a t-shirt from the floor, threw it over my head, and headed down the hall to find my clothes and purse.

The rest of Jack’s house was decorated the same as his bedroom. Warm, honey-colored pine log furniture graced the living room and dining room. To say Jack embraced his Colorado heritage would not be wrong. Surprisingly, most of the house was tidy and well-kept; the only exceptions were his bedroom with his clothes on the floor and his kitchen, which opened to the living room. He had dishes stacked in the sink, and that didn’t surprise me, either; Jack didn’t seem like the type of man who cooked, and washing dishes was more than likely a low priority on his list. All in all, the house was very Jack, and I loved everything about it.

Grabbing my clothes and purse, I headed back down the hall to his bedroom. I pulled my phone from my purse and checked any missed calls. I’d missed five: two from Mandy, one from Lorraine, another from the mayor, and one from Jack. I wasn’t about to call the mayor back now that my mind was clear. I realized Jack was right; he’d kept filling my glass, aware of my unease and hoping to get past my defenses. Bastard. So instead I hit redial on Jack’s number.

“You’re awake.”

“I am. Hope you don’t mind, but I’m taking a shower?” I turned the shower on to warm the water and then turned around to finish the call.

“You’re calling me from the shower?”

“Of course not. I’m calling you from the bathroom before I get in the shower.” There was a long pause, so I called his name, wondering if the call had been dropped.

“Jack, you there?”

“You expect me to work knowing you’re naked in my shower?” That made me smile. He was such a man.

“I didn’t call to bother you; I just called to see when you would be home so I could get my car.”

“Based on my speed, I’d say in about ten minutes,” he purred down the line, and I felt my heart rate speed up. What is it about this man that I can go from being a grown woman to acting like a teenager on her first crush? Not caring at that point and with memories from this afternoon fresh in my mind, I had good reason to be excited.

“Ok, I’ll see you when you get here.” I tried for alluring, but it came out kinda croaked, though I didn’t think he cared when his reply came back with a tight, “Right. See you in ten.”

Wanting to be clean by the time he got home, I jumped in the shower and washed my hair. He didn’t have conditioner, though. Men were so lucky like that. I focused on soaping up my body. I grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste and brushed my teeth in the shower. “She-just-woke-up-from-being-drunk” breath was an instant mood killer in my estimation. While I was rinsing, I heard the bathroom door open and turned to see Jack pull his shirt over his head while locking his eyes on mine. His focused gaze moved down my body, then back up, as he kicked off his boots, unzipped his jeans and pulled them off, then opened the shower door, stepping in behind me.

“You missed a spot,” he whispered as he grabbed the soap, rubbing it back and forth between his strong hands. Seeing Jack standing there like that, water rolling down his body, clinging to the ripples of his muscles, I was incapable of speech. My mouth was open, but no words came out.

He twirled his finger, indicating I should turn around, so I did, all the while praying that my ass didn’t look as huge as I thought it did. I felt his warm soapy hands come up to my shoulders, and he started massaging. His hands moved down my back, kneading my muscles as he went, until he reached my ass and whispered, “Spread your legs, baby.”

Bossy, even while having sex. I decided I loved this most of all about Jack, so I spread my legs without a moment’s hesitation and sucked in a breath when his fingers hit my folds and gently massaged in erotic foreplay.

“Put your hands on the wall and don’t move,” he crooned in my ear. I turned my head and looked up at his rugged face, and needing to feel his mouth on mine, I leaned up to kiss him. His head came down and met mine, our lips meeting and our tongues tangling; he took the kiss deeper, releasing his hunger. Forgetting he wanted me to put my hands on the wall, I turned into the kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck, getting as close as I could. I reached my hand down and grabbed him, running my thumb across his crest, causing Jack to rip his mouth from mine and throw his head back, hissing “Fuck.” I was lowering myself to my knees, his hands in my hair and his eyes hooded, watching me, when the lights went out.

I couldn’t see Jack in the dark, but I could feel him tense, and then he reached forward and turned the water off.

He helped me to my feet, kissed me once and said, “Don’t move, I’ll get you a towel.”

In the dark, he somehow opened the door, found us each a towel, and wrapped me up tight in it. “Stay here,” was all he said before I heard him exit the room.

There was no light coming under the door, so I figured a fuse had blown. I dried off and found the shirt I’d worn and threw it over my head, then moved to the door, feeling my way around. Turning in the direction of the living room, I kept my hand on the wall for balance and was getting ready to call out to Jack when I heard a loud crash. Startled, I moved quickly in the direction of the sound, calling out “Jack,” when I heard struggling in the living room. I could see two figures battling in the dark and ran towards them. The only thing on my mind was to help Jack.

“Jack!” I screamed as I reached the struggling forms.

In the filtering light, I saw an arm raised high and what looked like a knife glinting from the rays of the moon.

“Jenn, get back!” Jack shouted, and I heard a whispered voice say, “You’re corrupting her. I have to kill you.” A chill ran through me, and I knew this was the killer. I reached around for anything to use as a weapon, but only met dead air. I needed something, a fireplace tool, anything I could hit this man with. Then a thought struck me: Jack was a sheriff, he carried a gun.

“Jack, where’s your gun?”

“Jesus, Jenn, get the fuck out!” Jack bellowed. I turned when he shouted and watched as the knife came down and heard someone grunt.

“JACK!” I screamed, then saw an arm swing and connect, forcing someone’s head back, and down he went. Frozen in place, not knowing which man had gone down, I started to move back in fear, when the man still standing turned and ran toward me. When he reached me, he stopped briefly, and I felt his hand brush against my arm, running down the length of it in a caress, then he turned and ran out the open door in the kitchen.

I don’t know what possessed me, but I ran to the door and looked outside. I heard an engine start and saw taillights of what looked to be a truck speed off down the street.

“Jack!” I shouted, then turned and ran back into the living room, falling to my knees, reaching around the floor searching for him.

“Where are you, Jack?” I started to cry and then mumbled, “Don’t die, please don’t die.” My hand felt a bare leg. I ran my hand up to his stomach and felt it moving up and down. I needed him to wake up so I started to shake him.

“Jack,” I sobbed. “Jack, wake up,” I begged as a really ugly sob passed my lips. “Please don’t die, Jack, please come back to me.”

Over a year ago I lost my husband to a drunk driver, and I was there when he died at the hospital. That feeling of helplessness was maddening. It broke my daughter and left me empty, missing my best friend. Now with Jack on the floor, not responding, I was reliving all those emotions and started to panic. I couldn’t see what I was doing; I couldn’t see how badly he was hurt. So I stood and moved my way back down the hall to the bathroom where I’d left my phone and searched the countertop. Finding it among the towels, my fingers wrapped around the phone and I mashed buttons, so it lit up. Using the light, I ran back down the hall till I found Jack on the floor, a huge slice in his shoulder and blood pooling on the floor. I looked him over for other wounds and couldn’t see any, but I couldn’t tell with all the blood.

Jack’s eyes started fluttering, and then they opened wide and looked around. Relieved, I threw myself on him, unable to stop the tears from coming, and started bawling. Great, huge sobs came from my body. All I could think was I couldn’t lose him, too. Burying Doug had been excruciating, and losing Jack the same way would have killed me.

I felt his arm wrap around my shoulders and heard him say in a soft whisper, “Shh, I got you, baby. I’m not going anywhere.” I let out a cry and nodded my head in his neck. Then bossy Jack came back.

“When I fucking tell you to stay, you stay.” My head snapped back at that, and I narrowed my eyes.

“What?”

“I was too damn busy worrying where you were to concentrate. Jesus, Jenn, when you got too close, I almost let him go so I could get you away.” That deflated me because of course he was right, dammit. I hadn’t thought about that when I rushed in.

“Sorry,” was all I could say.

“What am I gonna do with you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Jesus, you’re a walking, talking danger to me.” Hurt by his words I tensed and tried to move back. Struggling to stand up, he wrapped me up and buried his head in my neck, then started to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” I hissed, but he only kept laughing, and my ego took an even bigger hit. For some reason, instead of being pissed, I got choked up at him thinking I was a walking disaster, and the tears started coming again.

“Le…let me…up,” I cried. Jack pulled his head back and even though he couldn’t see my face, he could hear the tears in my voice.

“Jesus, Jenn…you’ve got me turned inside out…. You’re a danger to me because the thought of anyone touching you or hurting you brings me to my knees.”

“What?” I whispered.

He continued, “Twenty years…not once in twenty years have I ever met a woman who tied my stomach in knots, and you stomped into my life four days ago, and just the thought of you, Christ… you’re my kryptonite, Jenn…You’re a danger to me, because when you’re around, I can’t see anything else,” he answered hoarsely.

“Jack.”

“So please, in the future, don’t be Lois Lane, alright? Just be my sweet Jenn and stay.”

I stared at his dark face and felt the warmth of his words run through me…I was his sweet Jenn?

I answered him the only way I knew how. I threw my mouth to his and kissed him, and then whispered in his ear, “Ok, Jack, I’ll stay next time.”

“That’s my girl,” he whispered back. But then he grunted and cursed in pain.

“Baby, I need to call the station and get some clothes on.” I jerked out of my warm fuzzy haze and remembered he’d been stabbed, and then I moved into nurse mode.

“Lie still, I’ll get a towel. We need to call an ambulance and have you checked out. He hit you, and you could have a neck injury, so don’t move, I’ll be right back.”

Using my phone for light, I ran back to the bathroom and looked for towels and a first aid kit. While I was digging, I felt a hand wrap around my waist and pull me back. Jack took the phone from my hand, hit 911, and started talking to dispatch about the break-in, the fight, and the knife, all while holding me to his chest.

Then he leaned closer and whispered in my ear, “Babe, clothes. Deputies are on the way.” I don’t know how he thought I’d find my clothes in the dark, but I reached down on the floor of the bathroom and searched around until I found both his and mine. A little wet from the shower, but better wet than naked, I pulled them on, and Jack managed to get dressed as well with the light from my phone before the sirens in the distance were right outside. Jack grabbed my hand, pulled me up to his still shirtless body, and put his head to my forehead.

“Jenn, did you recognize this guy?”

“No,” I shook my head. “It was too dark.”

“There was something about him that was familiar, Jenn. I’ll figure it out, but until I do, you can’t be alone.”

“What? Why?”

“Baby, I know the link to these women, why he’s killing brunettes.” Confused how he figured that out fighting with the killer, I asked him.

“How do you know?”

He paused before answering, taking a deep breath, “Because it’s you.”

My head spun when I heard that, and the words of the killer came back to me, “You’re corrupting her. I have to kill you.”

Shaking my head, I took a step back, but Jack grabbed me and held me close as denial turned to fear, and I started shaking.

“No, no, no, that’s not true!” I shouted, but I knew, I knew he was right. I pushed hard against him, trying to get away, but he didn’t budge. Panicking, my breaths started to come out too fast.

“Jenn, stop. Baby, listen to me. I’ll find him, I promise you.”

“No, it’s not true, it’s not true.”

“Jenn?”

My name on his lips was all I heard before my brain shut him out and then the lights went out…? Not the house lights, no, I passed clean out like some Victorian heroine in a cheesy romance novel. And in the back of my mind, as I slipped into darkness, I wondered if Jack thought I was worth all this trouble or if he was rethinking his stance on kryptonite.