How could she look at him when she was supposed to be watching TV? She tore her eyes away and focused on the screen. The commercial ended, and a syndicated episode ofThe Big Bang Theoryresumed.
Oh,yeah…
Jacques sniffed a quiet laugh of approval, but it was loud enough for her to hear, so she relaxed a fraction. At least it hadn’t been an episode ofGilmoreGirls.
They watched in silence. Or at least, Jacques seemed to be watching. Rainey could not focus on the antics of the awkward pack of geniuses on the screen or on the bundle of yarn in her lap. Although her eyes were aimed there, all of her other senses and the parts of her being beyond sense were trained onJacques.
She could hear the gentle tide of his breath. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the masculine perfection of his feet and toes. His hair was still damp from his shower, and Rainey would have sworn that she could smell his sandalwood soap scent and the clean dampness of his hair from six feetaway.
Unbidden, she remembered his hand on the small of her back the night of their first kiss. The way he’d pressed it there, the span of it claiming her, and the way he used it to draw her intohim.
She thought of their very long day. It seemed like weeks ago that she’d called him in distress upon hearing back from Ray Charles’s mother. How quickly he’d proposed a solution to her problem, one that he could deliver on. He’d come to her rescue. Again. And he’d brought a first-aid kit with him, she thought, smiling. He was right. He was so full ofsurprises.
She glanced over him out of the corner of her eye. And found Jacques looking ather.
Rainey quickly pulled her eyes back to the TV, her pulse kicking into a faster rhythm, her smileunstoppable.
“Rainey.” He spoke her name like acommand.
She looked back. “Yeah?”
A smile played on his lips. “What were you smiling at?” heasked.
She felt her brows lift, and she reached for the nearest camouflage. “It’s a funny show,” she said, pointing to the TV with her crochethook.
The look in his eyes changed a fraction, and Rainey knew he didn’t believe her. Still, he didn’t challenge her or call her bluff, but his eyes held hers with piercing focus. Holding his gaze was too hard. She had to lookaway.
“Rainey.”
She looked back, and Jacques pushed himself up on the bed beside hers and turned to face her, his elbows on hisknees.
“What?” she asked, her throat suddenlydry.
The commanding note in his voice remained, and a matching look held her captive, but then a shade of vulnerability passed over them. “Could I… Would you let me come over there with you?” he asked, nodding to her bed. “I won’t try anything. I just want to be close toyou.”
She felt his words move through her chest and land in her heart. It beat with a sudden strength. The thought of saying no never crossed her mind, but it was near impossible to say anything atall.
“Y—” she tried, but her throat was stuck together. She swallowed, her eyes never leaving his. “—yes, ofcourse.”
And just like that, he was off the bed and moving to hers. Rainey had time only to toss her yarn and hook off the side of the bed and scoot to give him room. For an instant, she pictured him peeling back the covers and slipping in with her — a thought that made her heart race and her breath stall — but he simply stretched out on top of the bedspread, tucked his left arm behind her shoulders and pulled her againsthim.
Jacques looked down into her eyes. They were close enough to kiss now. The distance between their lips could be easily closed. And Rainey knew she couldn’t stop him if he did. Not because she was powerless, but because she didn’t wantto.
But he didn’t kissher.
Instead, he held her gaze. “Is this alright?” he whispered, tightening his hold just a fraction. His embrace had tipped her onto her side, and her head rested on his shoulder. The length of their bodies pressed against each other so that even with the blankets between them, Rainey could feel his heat and pressure and solidpresence.
She couldn’t imagine opiates felt anybetter.
He let go a sigh, and his body sunk a little deeper in the bed, taking hers with him, so it was necessary to lay her hand on his chest to keep herself in place. At least, that was what she told herself. Through the thin cotton of his white T-shirt, she could feel the strong beat of his heart. It was a steady cadence under her palm, not the runaway horse that sped inside her ownchest.
She should have said something. Friends didn’t lie together like this. But for all the life that stirred in each of her cells, Rainey couldn’t even answer hisquestion.
Chapter 21
“All I ever wanted…All I ever needed… Is here in my arms.”Rainey’s Depeche Mode lyrics echoed in hishead.
Even as Jacques held Rainey against him, he couldn’t quite believe she’d allowed him this close. He wanted to kiss her. How he wanted to kiss her! He could kiss her for days. He’d spend tonight on the cupid’s bow of her top lip. Tomorrow would be for the ripe fruit of her bottom lip. Then Tuesday and Wednesday would belong to hertongue.