“I always knew it’d be like this,” he murmured.
“What?” I asked as confusion filled me and I tried to pull away.
Jack wasn’t letting me go, instead of allowing me the space I suddenly wanted, he pulled me tighter.
“Kissing you is…” His gaze rose to the ceiling and then dropped as a smile crossed his face. “It’s mind-altering.”
My mouth dropped open and I felt my cheeks heat. Could he be serious? I began shaking my head, unable to believe what I was hearing or experiencing.
“Am I that terrible?” Jack’s tentative question drew my gaze and I realized that I had sunk into my own head and lost track of my surroundings.
“What?”
“Am I a terrible kisser, Naiva?” he clarified his question.
“Terrible…” For some reason, I couldn’t string my thoughts together in the correct order. I knew I needed to answer him but nothing was making its way to my tongue.
So, instead of a reply, I reached up and pulled his head down and claimed his mouth in a kiss that stole my breath. Something changed inside of me and for the first time in my life, I felt whole. I felt complete.
We didn’t pull apart until neither of us could breathe. A dreamy look crossed Jack’s face and made me smile like a lunatic. He said my kisses were mind-altering and from his expression, that’s exactly what he appeared to be dealing with.
“Jack?” I lifted a hand and cupped his cheek.
“Yeah,” he sighed.
“I’d say… earth-shattering.” Staring at him as I held his cheek and teased his temple with my fingers, Jack’s face scrunched up in concentration.
“Earth-shattering…”
“Yeah, your kisses are earth-shattering.” I grinned at him and saw the exact moment it finally clicked.
His head tipped backward and a deep laugh rumbled from him. It was sexy and had me shivering. Which was probably why I missed his intentions until he lifted me off my feet and swung me around in a circle.
Holding me tight to his chest, Jack looked down into my face and sobered.
“I’ve wasted too much time because of fear, Naiva. I want you to be mine. Will you–”
“Jack, please… uh… put me down.” It was like a piece of ice being dropped down your back on a hot day. I wasn’t sure what he was going to ask me but the familiar refrain slammed into my mind… he’s out of your league, Naiva Aisley.
“Okay, sweetheart,” Jack agreed and slowly lowered me until I was balanced on my own feet. “How about you show me how to chop vegetables?”
“Have you ever cooked anything in your life?” I gave him a pointed look – silently thanking him for the change in topic.
“Does reheating takeout in the microwave count?” he chuckled.
“Oh my… how have you survived on your own?” I gasped.
“I almost didn’t,” he whispered and gave me a sad smile. “But then I hired Clark.” A huge grin brought the light back to his eyes.
“Ah, a personal chef, that makes sense.” I rolled my eyes at him as I picked up my knife and started slicing peppers into strips.
“Not a chef… assistant,” Jack corrected. “He orders my food and then makes sure I eat it.”
“Does he spoon it into your mouth, too?” I asked in disbelief.
“Of course not. My mother taught me manners and how to use my silverware,” Jack chuckled and I laughed with him. “But, truthfully, I get wrapped up in my work and if it wasn’t for Clark, I’d forget about everything else. He forced me to install a full bathroom connected to my office because some nights I forget to go home. He said he didn’t get paid enough to smell me.”
“Oh my God!” I burst out laughing. “I think I’d like this Clark.”
“Oh, he’s great.” Jack pointed at the vegetables. “So, instruct me?”
“Fine…” I sighed.
“Thank you for having pity on me,” Jack placed his hand over his chest and stood up taller as he bent slightly at his waist in a barely-there bow.
Rolling my eyes, I began to give Jack a brief lesson in cutting up different types of vegetables for different recipes.
Hours later Jack had asked me to take a walk on the beach with him. It seemed silly to go out at this time of the night – well, morning – but I wasn’t ready to leave his company. Jack had proven to be a fast learner in the kitchen and even better company.
He had regaled me with stories of his family. Told me about his sister’s wedding and how he’d had to threaten her to keep her from running off and eloping. His mother was definitely a force to be reckoned with from what he told me about her.
What I liked most was when he told me about his software company and the groundbreaking technologies they were using to create software that would help revolutionize so many different jobs. Jack became animated when he talked about his work and his employees. I could tell that he thought more of Clark than a simple assistant. I was glad he had someone like that in his life. He deserved it for all of the hard work he put in and how much he helped the world around him.
“I’ll give you a million dollars for your thoughts,” Jack interrupted my mental recap of the evening.
“Wow, that much, really?”
“Two million! That smile tells me it’s worth it.” Jack grinned and reached for my hand to tug me to a stop.
“How do I know you’re good for it, Mr. Noch?” I questioned and scrunched up my face in deep thought.
“You don’t trust me?” he gasped and pulled me by my hand into his arms. “How about a kiss then? I’ve heard they’re earth-shattering.”
Jack didn’t allow me the time to reply before he pressed a feather-lite kiss to my lips. I gasped and he tugged my lower lip into his mouth. He nipped it and sucked on it before
