The mysterious note in her voice revealed a lot. It didn’t take but a moment for him to figure out Mike was someone who didn’t bring out the best memories. “Who’s Mike? He still around?”
“I used to date him. Before you ask, he’s someone I’d rather not talk about.” Gillian shivered, fear and shame darkening her eyes. “He’s not in my life anymore and I’m happy about that.”
Hoping to lighten her mood, he grinned a cocky grin. “You, dumb? Somehow I doubt you were ever dumb.” Jack parked beneath a pair of old spruce, their boughs spread out over the clearing, offering shade from the spring sunlight. “So, other than history and dinosaurs, what do you like to do?” He rifled through the basket, pulled out a thermos, and set it between them. A moment later, he reached in for two cups and handed one to Gillian.
“I like to have bubble baths.” Gillian’s cheeks darkened to a pale pink, a smile tugging at her lips. “And candles. I love to read as well. I just finished a great book on Canadian history. What can I say? I like the boring things in life.”
Jack paused, his stare rising to her face. Nervous energy filled her, and an uneasy look shadowed her eyes. Setting the thermos aside, he reached over and cupped her jaw. “Gilli, it’s me. Nothing to be worried about. I meant what I said the other night.”
“Oh, I know that.” Gillian waved aside his words. “It was nice of you to try and soothe my ego by telling me you’d like to have sex with me again, but I’m aware of my own shortcomings.”
The blasé way she said it revealed more than words ever could just how deeply she doubted her sexuality. Jack closed his eyes, the desire to beat whoever had given her the current impression of herself almost as strong as the need to show Gillian otherwise. “I meant I want to get to know you, Gilli. I want to see the woman behind the glasses and the drab clothes.”
“I like my clothes.” Gillian glanced down at her attire, a confused frown on her face.
“So do I. But that isn’t what I meant. Look, I’m not sure I’m doing this right or not because honestly, I’m in over my head here, but I like you. I like the cute little way you wrinkle your nose before you adjust your glasses. I like you’re not afraid to tell me off or to snipe at things you know you can’t change. I even like that you can’t hold your liquor.” Jack pushed her chin up with his forefinger. “I just want to get to know the whole you. Doesn’t mean I don’t want to jump your bones; just means I want the rest of the package that goes with the amazing, sexy woman who rocked my world.”
Gillian giggled, her finger darting up to straighten her glasses. “That’s nice of you to say.”
“God, I don’t know what I’m doing. You have a way of making me feel like I’m about fifteen again, bumbling through this.” Jack poured coffee into her cup before setting the thermos aside and digging into the food. “Chicken leg or thigh?”
“You cook?” Gillian took the drumstick quickly.
“Some. Being a bachelor you have to learn a few tricks. It gets too expensive after a while if you’re eating out all the time.”
“True. I keep to my budget, it helps me stay organized.” Gillian took a bite out of the chicken, her eyes closing in delight. “I like being organized. But I do like my once-a-month dinner out. It’s perfect for me.”
Jack sipped at his coffee, studying her face as she nibbled on the cold chicken. The look of pleasure was familiar and he eased forward a bit, his cock stirring in his jeans. His fingers burned to trace over her jaw, her pert nose. He watched her tongue slide across her full bottom lip, her teeth catching it and biting down. The tiny white crescents stood out in the full, rose-colored flesh.
“So how much longer do you have on your paleontology degree? I remember you saying a year or two…” He swallowed, setting his coffee cup into his lap to hide his swelling cock. He wasn’t going to let his hormones drive a wedge between them before they’d even started.
“Since I’m doing it in bits and pieces it could be a while. The actual degree is another year or two, but since I’m expanding my field it could be more. Depends on how hard I work. I never set a time frame, it’s something I do on an ongoing basis.” Gillian picked up her coffee, and tucked one sock-clad foot under her. The action pulled her T-shirt and sweats tighter, revealing her braless breasts and the sweet curve of her behind. “I’ve been trying to figure where I want to go with my learning. How about you?” She watched him as she shuffled the contents of the basket round before pulling out a Tupperware container of fruit. “Are you going to stick with firefighting?”
Jack nodded. “I love what I do. One of the things I want to do is help kids learn fire safety. One of the reasons why I like doing the presentations at schools. It’s also why I’m opening my own store around fire safety.”
“Hmm, you should talk to Mister Learner about the program we’re developing.” Gillian pointed at him with the chicken bone. “He’d probably jump at your input.”
“What about you?” Leaning closer, Jack plucked the bone from her fingers and dropped it into the basket. “Do you think it would be a good idea?” He reached out to trail his finger down her chin, smearing the oil so it glistened on her skin. The tremble that raced through her danced along his fingertip and shot straight to his groin. Stifling
