Chapter Three

She didn’t understand why she couldn’t talk to Jason. He was just a guy.

She’d never had problems talking to guys before, but Jason was different. She felt butterflies when he was around, and no guy had ever had that effect on her. What would happen if they actually went out and had a romantic relationship? He would want sex, like all guys did.

The last two guys she’d been ready to do that with hadn’t been interested after finding out she was a virgin. That card she’d been holding for the right guy had turned into the bane of her existence. Now it was a handicap, and she was afraid if Jason didn’t want to deal with it she would do more than just eat a pint of Blue Bell. She might have to sign up to be an escort or something to get rid of it.

A week after the plot, the offices were open again, and everyone was celebrating having an office to go back to with drinks after closing time. Jason, as the office hero, had been given special permission to join them. Apparently a veteran of the Marines, his experience with explosives had helped him disarm a bomb in the basement that would have blown up the building. He was a hero and had saved her life. She really wanted to thank him—preferably in private. Maybe tonight would be the night. Mae couldn’t quell the butterflies taking flight in her stomach as the excitement of seeing him again loomed.

Mae focused on his seeming interest in her, dwelling on the heat in his eyes as he’d stared at her panties the other night. When after-hours came and the office shut down, Mae arranged her ride to pick her up later and went with the girls to the bar, hoping Jason would show up.

She was stirring her second margarita when Jason finally showed, looking nothing short of delicious in a pair of worn, low-hung jeans and a black t-shirt that fit just right. The girls all let out a collective sigh as they watched him enter the bar and look around. Mae held her breath as his head swiveled, his eyes searching before landing on her.

Something happened at that moment, something fierce. His eyes turned dark, glittering dangerously as they swept up and down her body. He didn’t smile at her. Instead, his mouth hardened into something almost feral as his eyes continued to bore into her. It was as if the stare locked them together, and Mae couldn’t look away if she tried.

Juliette broke their moment by yelling across the room at him to get a drink, so he went over to the bar and ordered something before sauntering over to their table. He was the picture of the casual marauder, as if he were about to pounce on something at any moment. It gave Mae chills.

“Dude is fine,” Juliette breathed as he waited for his drink. She sat at the end of the table, down from Mae, the office princess holding court. She started whispering to some other girls clumped around her, and snippets of their conversation floated over the music to Mae.

“… never speaks. I thought the man was soft in the head, you know? Pretty packaging, not all there?”

Indignation fired Mae’s face at the thought someone would think Jason was soft in the head. Just because someone was quiet and kept to themselves didn’t have to mean they weren’t all there. Before she could say anything, the conversation around her continued.

“Wonder what they were up to, all alone here like that? Maybe Mae’s getting a little somethin’ somethin’?”

Mae felt a wild tingle of pride travel up her spine. They thought she was in his league enough to have something going on the side with Jason?

“What the hell are we working on that someone would want to blow us up? Those fracking lawsuits?” The conversation continued with someone else responding, “He can frack my oil deposits anytime.”

Mae whole-heartedly agreed, even as a wild possessiveness traveled up her spine at the thought of Jason fracking anyone at the office.

Juliette let out a wild cackle before jumping up and meeting Jason to drag him onto the dance floor.

Mae hadn’t even gotten a chance to say hi. She bit the inside of her mouth as she watched Juliette put her hands all over Jason and gyrate around him on the floor, shaking her hips and flinging her arms. Jealousy reared its head as Juliette grabbed his lean hips, leaving his biceps no choice but to flex maddeningly as he clutched Juliette’s waist. Mae couldn’t watch. Instead, she focused on a neon depiction of a crab surrounded by fishing nets hanging on the wall, contemplating whether she should order food to go with her liquor. They did have decent oysters here.

“If you like him, you should say so. I think he’s more interested in you than her, anyway.” Claudia, who wasn’t usually one for the drinks with the girls, had come tonight, and was sipping on a glass of chardonnay.

“You think?” Mae looked at Jason and Juliette again. Gah. Even their names sounded good together. She was grinding her hips against his junk, and Jason was staring at their table with a trapped kitten look in his eyes. The thing was, it wasn’t even that kind of dancing music. There was a live band playing standards from the forties, fifties, and sixties. It wasn’t like it was a jukebox playing Top 40 dance music or anything. This was supposed to be a family place, but the owners were friends with Mr. Amir, the owner of ADS—Amir Document Solutions—and occasionally the owners picked up the tab when they came for drinks. That’s why they came so often.

“Honey, I saw the way he was looking at you earlier, and it made me wish I was thirty years younger. I can tell you that.” Claudia leaned back with a self-satisfied smile as the dance ended and another girl, Donna, from the end of their table jumped up to take Juliette’s place. Jason smiled politely, shot Mae an apologetic look, and shimmied right back at the girl.

Mae sat there, waiting patiently, while all the girls from her department took a turn dancing with Jason, most of them talking in his ear through the dance, gesticulating wildly in their conversations. Mae felt more and more deflated with each turn of the music, until she’d finally had enough to drink to just go up and dance by herself.

The song Mae had chosen to dance to was “Girl from Ipanema”, and as she danced, she closed her eyes and hummed to herself, trying to get lost in the music. She didn’t want to admit her feelings were hurt. Now that everyone knew what a hot hero they had in their midst, they had their talons out and wanted a piece of Jason. She’d thought he was hers, that they’d had a moment that night. But now, everything was different, and Mae didn’t have a clue what had happened. He’d walked in, looking every bit like the conquering hero, left her panties in a twist, and proceeded to dance with every other girl in the bar.

Before she could sink too deep into her despair, a pair of strong arms came around her, falling on her hips from behind before a low, smooth voice murmured in her ear, “I’ve been waiting to dance with you all night.”

Maybe it was the liquor in the margaritas, but Mae released her inhibitions as he fell into her easy salsa rhythm. She wrapped her arms around his neck behind her and pulled him closer, tangling her fingers in his hair, while his aftershave enveloped her in nothing short of sex. If sex were a scent, it would be his spicy aftershave, that much was for sure.

Jason’s body melded to her backside as he wrapped his arms around her and roamed—her thighs, her hips, her belly—all appropriate, but his hands trembled slightly and gripped occasionally, letting her know he was utilizing some restraint. Mae was warm all over, and his breath in her ear wasn’t helping. Whiskey and mint filled her senses, and something between a groan and a whimper came out of her, as his hands, once again, swept up her thighs.

Throughout it all, he was silent, as if worshiping her body in rhythm with the song. His touch did things to her insides, made them swell almost to bursting. He hadn’t touched any of the other women this way.

“Get it, girl!” Donna sloshed her beer as she danced alongside them, off beat and yelling louder than the music necessitated. “Y’all going home together?”

Mae rolled her eyes at the implications. “Um … I have a ride picking me up in a minute,” she said, very uncomfortable with the attention they were receiving.

Jason tightened his hold on Mae and murmured in her ear so Donna couldn’t hear, “Can we share a ride? I want to talk a minute without people.”

Mae nodded, not having any words to speak to him at this point. She didn’t trust herself with the ideas that had been going through her head and the amount of alcohol she’d had.

He squeezed her hips. “Do you mind going now? I’m afraid if I don’t leave, somebody else will want to dance, and I just don’t have the heart for it.”

After they’d gotten their things and said goodbye to everyone—who all probably assumed they were hooking up—Jason and Mae stood outside, waiting for the cab to pick them up.

Jason looked at her through lowered lids. “I only came out tonight to talk to you. It seems like I can’t do that at work anymore.”

“Yeah, I’m not staying late since the … incident. It used to be peaceful, but now it just freaks me out being there alone.” Incident was a meager word to use, but she didn’t want to relive most of the memories of that night, those men, and the things that had almost happened.

“Understood.”

The cab pulled up and Jason held the door open for her to get in, slipping in next to her after she slid over. She wondered what he wanted to talk to her about to so badly but didn’t wonder very hard. With him so close to her, and nobody else around, she couldn’t think about much else besides the fact he was next to her and smelled so good.

They sat in silence after she gave the cab driver her address. Finally, Jason took a deep breath and exhaled, grabbing her hand in the process. He squeezed her fingers between his and looked at her, his piercing eyes seeing deep inside her. He looked at her the way nobody else had. Ever.

“I’ve been out of the service over a year now, and nobody’s made me give a shit about anything. Except you, Mae. I don’t know why you’re different, but something tells me to get to know you. I’d like to know you.”

She didn’t know what to say to that. He wasn’t asking her, but his tone of voice wasn’t demanding, either. He was holding out his other hand, still gripping her hand in his. Mae raised her eyebrows.

“Your phone?”

“Oh, uh … sure.” Mae dug around in her purse, onehanded, looking for her phone. When she found it, she held it out to him. Jason took it, swiping around and inputting numbers before handing it back.

“There. Now you have my number. Text me when you get inside, so I know you’re safe.”

The cab had pulled up in front of her apartment building, and she moved to get out, but Jason stopped her. “Text me,” he murmured before kissing the top of her head and letting her go. Deflated at the contact that told her she was more like a sister than a lover, Mae swallowed her disappointment and went up the steps.

Inside her apartment, Mae settled her keys on the table by the door, hung up her purse, and texted the new number input for Jason Everly.

I’m inside safe. Thank you.

She saw the dots immediately after hitting send, but they disappeared. She saw them again and waited for him to answer.

Good. I’ll text you soon.