Page 115 of Jaked

Instantly, my temperature shot up several degrees. "Okay, now you're just being unfair," I said.

"Yeah? How so?"

"How is any girl supposed to resist that?"

"Luna," he said, his voice softening, "you're not just any girl."

I swallowed. "I'm not?"

His gaze dipped to my lips. "No. You're not."

Just when I started to feel all warm and fuzzy, he added. "You're a smart-ass. And bratty as hell." His voice grew lower. "And so sweet that I want to drag you away and corrupt the shit out of you."

Oh wow. My lips suddenly felt way too dry. Without thinking, I brushed my tongue against my upper lip and managed to croak out, "You do?"

He nodded.

I glanced toward the bedroom. "Just so you know," I said, "youcouldcorrupt me now if you really wanted to."

A slow smile spread across his face. "Yeah?"

I felt myself nod.

He pushed away from the table. "Now, you did it," he said.

I blinked innocently up at him. "Did what?"

"Here," he said, "let me show you."

And so he did, right there in the dining room. By the time we finished, I was too blissful to argue about anything – not about shopping, not about my lost jobs, and not about the fact I knew all of this was temporary.

Soon, I'd be leaving. And he'd go back to whatever – or whoever – he was doing. The idea made me just a little sick to my stomach, but I wasn't a fool. So I kept telling myself that only arealfool would give up the chance to enjoy this for whatever it was.

The way it looked, Jake was enjoying himself too. It was a win-win.

Right?

A couple hours later, we were showered, dressed, and ready to hit the mall. Jake was wearing dark slacks and a charcoal dress shirt that made him look half-dangerous and all delicious.

If I didn't love looking at him, I might have felt outclassed, given what I was wearing. Short of clothing options, I'd thrown on the same yoga pants and long-sleeved shirt that I'd purchased with Bianca.

More than the thing at the museum, the upcoming shopping excursion was feeling more like an actual date, and I felt surprisingly jittery. I knew it was silly. After everything we'd done in the last twenty-four hours, a simple trip to the mall was hardly anything to be nervous over.

And yet, Iwasnervous, even if I was determined not to show it.

I was just lacing up my new black tennis shoes, when I heard the sound of a key card in the front door.  I froze. So did Jake. A moment later, the door flew open, and there she stood – Bianca.