Chapter Six

THE DAY HAD BEEN QUIET. Jack and Jessie had compiled and finalized their report for the client, with Jack working on the video evidence portion after all, since Jessie wasn’t able to figure out how to do it. He was careful to delete Jessie’s embarrassing ending without watching it. Well, at least mostly. He snuck a quick peek but with the way she was turned around, he didn’t see anything more than he had seen the other day in that red bikini.

Russell had taken the whole office out to lunch at his favorite Italian restaurant. He did that from time to time, as a way to show his appreciation for his hard-working staff. There were twelve full-time investigators, two administrative assistants, two people who worked in billing and an office manager. Jack didn’t usually attend those lunches, but Jessie had convinced him to go this time.

“Come on, grouchy! It’ll be fun! If you’re nice to me, I’ll buy you an ice cream on the way back.”

He hesitated, but when she looked up at him with those captivating blue eyes and her playful smile, he found he couldn’t say no to her. He agreed reluctantly, but she was right. He had enjoyed himself. They made fun of each other good-naturedly throughout the meal.

They did stop for ice cream at a vendor on the street on the way back, breaking off from the rest of their group and then walking back to the office just the two of them. It was a warm day and Jessie’s ice cream had melted faster than she could eat it. He had finished his in about sixty seconds.

Jessie’s strawberry scoops were melting down her hand and she was laughing and licking up the dripping ice cream at the same time. Her fun mood was contagious. He laughed at how silly she was being, and he wasn’t usually a big fan of silly. Definitely not where women were concerned. But for some reason he found her entertaining. She made him laugh. He was pretty sure that no girl had ever made him laugh before.

He was meeting with Russell at the end of the day and when he returned to his office after six, Jessie had already left.

He headed home, taking Cody for a run before showering and getting dressed to go out. He stopped at a small restaurant he frequented to get something to eat. He didn’t really keep food at home, since he didn’t cook. He ate most of his meals out, which suited him just fine.

Chris had called Jack earlier in the day to persuade him to come to Whiskey Rocks. Jack knew that Chris was hoping to run into Zoey again, so he agreed to go, even though it wasn’t a place they would usually hang out. Chris needed to get laid. Seriously. The dude probably hadn’t had any pussy since Heather had fucked his head up. He hadn’t gotten back in the game. It was time. That hot friend of Jessie’s with the long legs and sweet ass might be just what his buddy needed to get over the little whore who had fucked him over.

IT WAS ALMOST TEN O’CLOCK by the time Jack made his way to Whiskey Rocks. As soon as he walked in he realized it was karaoke night and he almost turned around and walked out. The guy on the stage singing was terrible. No way was he going to listen to this shit all night.

Chris caught his eye from his table near the stage and waved.

Fuck, Jack thought, as he noticed Zoey seated at the table next to him. He’d never get Chris out of here.

Jack made his way over to Chris. He said hi to Zoey, who looked incredible. She had Chris completely enchanted and Jack could definitely see why as he admired the girl’s long legs. Jack sat down at the table.

“Karaoke,” he said, slapping Chris on the shoulder and giving him an “I’m going to kill you” look.

Chris smiled apologetically and shrugged.

Jack leaned toward Chris and in a low voice said, “You fucking owe me.”

“First rounds on me. I’ll wave down the waitress,” Chris said, looking around.

“You better. I’m definitely going to need a drink. Probably a lot of them,” Jack said sarcastically.

He looked around the bar and his eyes stopped on a cute blonde in a very short, light blue dress that matched her eyes.

Jessie.

Damn she looked good in light blue.

She was talking to a guy at the bar, laughing and touching his arm as she chatted with him. He was giving her his full attention, obviously interested. Jack watched as she threw her head back, laughing and flipping her hair.

He had a flashback of unzipping her dress earlier in the week. Now he briefly imagined taking that little blue dress off of her and putting his hands… he shook off the thought and forced himself to look away. He started scanning the bar for the distraction he was definitely going to need tonight.

“Zoey and Jessie,” a voice came over the microphone. “You’re up.”

Jessie whirled around at the bar and rushed over to the table.

“Hi Jack!” She smiled and surprised him by hugging him briefly. He stiffly allowed the contact, noticing how good she smelled and how tiny she felt when his hand automatically rested on the small of her back.

“They’re already drunk,” Chris explained as they watched the two girls rush up to the stage. “Apparently they love karaoke. It’s like, their thing.”

Jack smiled. “Dude, Zoey’s definitely a sexy girl, with those long legs and that hot ass, but even still… you must really like her if you’re willing to sit through this bullshit.”

Chris nodded. “Yeah, man. I do. There’s something about her. So fucking hot.”

Jack laughed. “Yeah, but I think she’s going to make you work for it.”

Chris laughed with him. “Yeah, I got that feeling myself. That’s okay. I like a challenge.”

On the stage, Jessie and Zoey each held a microphone. The announcer introduced them and the song, Breathe (2 AM). Zoey started singing first. They sang the chorus together, and then Jessie sang the second verse. It was clear that they had done this song together before.

“Damn,” Chris said, unable to tear his eyes away from Zoey.

Jack was surprised at how well they could sing, especially Jessie. Their impressive voices put them in the spotlight and most people in the bar were now directing their attention toward the stage. Even Jack found their performance entertaining, although he usually hated karaoke.

He was certainly enjoying watching them move, his gaze fixed firmly on Jessie. She was obviously comfortable in front of a crowd as she moved slowly and provocatively with the music. She seemed different tonight… confident and sexy, all traces of the blushing, awkward girl he spent his workday with gone.

When they returned to the table, Chris couldn’t stop complimenting their performance.

“That was amazing! How often do you guys do this?” Chris asked.

“All the time. But I always sing better under pressure.” Zoey laughed.

“Pressure, what pressure?”

“Trying to impress you, of course,” Zoey replied, still laughing.

Jessie observed their flirty interactions for a couple of minutes. She took a sip of her drink and looked at Jack. He was quietly watching her across the table, his serious expression impossible to read.

She smiled at him but he didn’t smile back, their fun camaraderie strangely lacking. Instead, she felt something building between them.

His eyes lowered from her face to her cleavage, which her new dress was displaying nicely. She blushed under the heat of his gaze. He looked back up into her eyes.

“You okay?” Jessie asked.

He nodded and finally gave her a small smile. “Yeah, fine.”

“Not a fan of karaoke?” She smiled and moved to the other side of the table, next to him.

He shook his head. “Not really. But you sounded good.”

His restless eyes traveled up and down her body. Suddenly she was self-conscious of her super short dress. His eyes were all over her and he wasn’t even trying to hide it. She wondered what he was thinking behind that mask of indifference.

“Thanks.”

Jack couldn’t seem to stop staring at her. He was surprised by how appealing she was to him. He didn’t usually find himself so attracted to her type. The girl-next-door with the whole sweetheart vibe going on. Innocent, sweet, virgin-types had never really been his thing. Jessie was so pretty—blonde and fresh-faced, sparkly innocent baby blues. She fit that description to a tee.

He preferred his women a little edgier, experienced and broken in already. Women who were a little damaged, like him, who wanted their sex as dirty, depraved, and disconnected as he did.

Jessie was commanding his attention tonight, though. He wondered what it would be like to be with this girl. If he got her alone and out of that little dress, would she glance up at him shyly like she was doing now? What would she let him do to her? Would anything be off-limits or could he get an all-access pass?

His cock grew hard and pulsed with curiosity as he imagined touching her body, his hands and lips all over that pretty skin. Probably wouldn’t be too hard to hook up with her, either. Her crush on him was pretty obvious, as she blushed and swallowed nervously under his gaze.

What the fuck was wrong with him? He knew better than to mess around with a little sweetheart like Jessie. He was a fucking animal. There was a one hundred percent chance Jessie wouldn’t be down for his preferred rough and dirty casual encounters.

He tore his eyes away from her and looked around for the waitress so he could order another drink.

Jessie noticed Pete, the guy she had been talking to earlier at the bar, looking her way. He gave her a little wave. With that, she excused herself to go back to the bar to talk to him.

Jack cringed as the guy singing hit a terrible high note in his attempt at Whitney Houston. He watched Jessie walk back to the bar to resume her conversation with some wimpy looking dude. The guy slid an arm around her back and Jack watched his fingers curl around her waist as he pulled her a little closer.

His mood changed and he felt tense and irritated. He turned away and looked around the room, making eye contact with a super-hot girl at the bar. She smiled and began making her way toward him.

“Hi,” she said as she sidled up beside Jack.

She was tall and smoking hot—long, straight black hair, tight jeans, thigh high black leather boots and a black tank top. She had a tattoo of a flock of birds that ran down the length of her arm. Super sexy. Just about every guy in the place had an eye on her as she walked toward Jack.

“Hey.” Jack smiled slightly as he checked her out.

“Want to buy me a drink?” she purred.

He nodded and motioned for the waitress. The waitress came over and took their drink order.

The announcer called Jessie’s name again. This time she went on stage solo. She sang Faithfully, her voice so beautiful and mesmerizing that Jack found himself unable to look away.

“I’m Angie,” the girl said, in an attempt to pull Jack’s attention back to her.

He glanced at her.

“Jack,” he mumbled before turning back to the stage.

The waitress returned with their shots. Angie knocked hers back immediately, as did Jack.

“She’s pretty. She your girlfriend?” Angie asked, glancing toward the stage.

“No, fuck no,” he said quickly. “Just a girl from work.”

“Lucky me.” She put a hand on his arm and winked at him.

His eyes trailed down her tempting body. He figured they’d both be getting lucky tonight.

“Want to get out of here? I live close.”

“Yeah, let’s go.” Jack glanced at the stage before he nodded at Chris, who laughed and shook his head.

When Jessie finished her song she went back to talk with Pete at the bar. She gave him her number when he asked her for it, and then headed back to the table where Zoey and Chris were deep in conversation.

“Oh my God!” Zoey exclaimed. “You should have seen the super-hot biker chick that Jack just left with! She looked like she just stepped out of a movie or something. Who was that guy you were talking to at the bar? You just gave him your number, didn’t you?”

“His name is Pete. Really cute, and seems nice,” Jessie said honestly, though she felt a pang of disappointment at finding out that Jack had left with someone.

Of course, it was ridiculous. Why should she care who Jack left with?