“Fun,” Pierce echoed.
“Fun,” Jacquie said, those lips curving into a smile as she took a step closer. Their gazes locked and held, and he felt the temperature in the studio rise as she reached out and laid a fingertip across his mouth. “I’m sorry we were interrupted,” she murmured, her voice low and husky.
“So am I.” Pierce took her fingertip into his mouth and sucked on the tip a little. He watched her inhale sharply as he grazed her skin with his teeth, but was keenly aware that he needed a shower. He caught her hand in his and pressed a kiss against her palm, holding her gaze all the while. She flushed, just a little, and her eyes brightened. “How about we meet in the lobby in fifteen minutes and pick up where we left off?”
She shook her head a little. “I don’t want to neck in the lobby, Pierce.”
“What do you want?”
“Sex. What do you want?”
Pierce found himself liking that she was prepared to tell him what she wanted. He admired people who were forthright, although he hadn’t met many women who were as direct as Jacquie. “That works for me.” They smiled at each other. “We could share a cab to wherever we decide to.”
“I live uptown,” she said. “And I have to call in within the hour. My place?”
“Your place,” he agreed.
Jacquie’s smile was blindingly bright. “Fifteen minutes.” She shook a finger at him. “Don’t be late.”
Pierce had no intention of being late.
That had been close.
Jacquie had seen Pierce’s trepidation, even though he’d hidden his reaction quickly. Brandon had gotten the same deer-in-the-headlights expression whenever he had to make a presentation or stand up in front of the class for any reason. She expected he’d gotten that look whenever a teacher had called on him to answer a question, too. Her second child didn’t like being the focus of attention and anytime Brandon was forced into the spotlight, his expression was the same. Eyes a little too wide, lips a little too tight, that expression combined with a quick intake of breath. She’d learned to step in and bolster his confidence before he could hide in his room, pretend to be sick or refuse to go to school at all.
The same uncertain expression had crossed Pierce’s face when she’d admitted she had a son. It had only been there for a split second, but Jacquie had seen and recognized it.
Why? Obviously, Pierce had concerns about kids, or about her having kids. That could have been a deal-breaker, because she wasn’t going to ditch her kids for any man. On the other hand, he’d looked ready to bolt, but he hadn’t. Jacquie had seen that she had a New York minute to save the situation and she’d done it.
Phew.
Pierce had also been emphatic that he had no kids of his own. Was it a matter of principle? Some people didn’t believe in adding to the world’s population. Was it personal? Didn’t he want to leave a genetic or blood legacy? She found it hard to believe that he wasn’t a man to accept responsibility for his actions. Maybe he just didn’t want to be tied down.
Maybe he was divorced because his wife hadn’t felt the same way. Maybe he was single because women often wanted kids. He certainly wasn’t gay. That kiss covered serious ground in making up for the lack of physical affection in her life in the last twenty years. Jacquie showered in the women’s change room, considering the possibilities based on what he’d said and what he hadn’t said.
Sonia was right: she did love a mystery and Pierce was one she wanted to solve.
Or had his concern simply been that she had ties and responsibilities? That was possible. No one wanted kids—room mates or anyone else—to intrude on a romantic interlude. Jacquie could respect that concern because she shared it.
She’d gone with the easy answer first, and it seemed to have been the right one. Pierce had been visibly reassured to learn that her kids had all left home and that Mitchell was dead.
She grabbed a towel, realizing that even though he knew she was a widow with four grown kids, she knew a lot less about him. He had no kids and hadn’t married. She should have asked whether he was involved or had a partner, but she’d been so intent on reassuring him that she’d neglected her own concerns.
Well, she could fix that in the cab. And if she didn’t like his answers, she didn’t have to ask him upstairs. It would take maybe fifteen minutes in a cab to get to her apartment on the Upper West Side. That was plenty of time to learn his situation. Jacquie wasn’t afraid to ask him outright.
With any luck, after that, things might get really interesting.
She might even be late calling Cole back—but seducing Pierce would be worth any grief her kids dished out.
There were only half a dozen guys changing in the men’s locker room, chatting as they dressed to leave the club. The shower room was filled with steam but otherwise empty, so Pierce had it to himself.
His body was thrumming after kickboxing with Jacquie and he closed his eyes with satisfaction as he stepped under the stream of hot water. The evening was shaping up better than he could have anticipated. Would Jacquie tell him everything she wanted? He liked the prospect of that.
Pierce turned toward the shower head, facing the wall, and let the water pound onto his face. Did he have time to shave, as well? He had a bit of a five o’clock shadow and he checked his watch, knowing he could shave quickly enough.
“Hey!” One of the men at the lockers protested. “You can’t be in here!”
Pierce glanced up, curious but unconcerned. He felt the ripple of agitation pass through the change room
