In Love with John Doe (11 page)

“Only about a thousand times,” Lexi said through gritted teeth. She pried Mimi’s fingers from Jack’s forearm. All evening Jack had done his best to keep his distance from the bride-to-be, but she wouldn’t leave him alone. Lexi had finally had enough. “Hank is looking for you.”

Mimi tilted her head. A look of confusion furrowed her brow. “Who?”

“Hank.” Lexi somehow managed to keep a smile on her lips. “Your fiancé?”

“Oh,
Hank
.” Mimi snorted. “I thought you said
tank
.”

Apparently finding the thought incredibly funny, Mimi started laughing. Once she started, she didn’t stop.

Lexi exchanged a look with Jack.

“Drunk,” he mouthed.

Lexi nodded and with a resigned sigh turned back to the young woman who now had tears of laughter streaming down her cheeks.

“Mimi, this is your engagement party. Why don’t you spend some time with your fiancé?” Lexi gestured to the other end of the bar where Hank stood drinking shots with a couple of his ranger buddies. “He looks lonely.”

Mimi wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes and glanced in the direction Lexi had indicated. Something that looked almost like a snarl lifted her lips. “He cares more about animals and trees and drinking with his friends than he does about me.”

Under the bitterness, Lexi swore she heard a hint of hurt in Mimi’s voice. “I’m sure that’s not true—”

“I want to go to Hawaii on my honeymoon. Everyone goes to Hawaii.” Mimi’s voice grew louder with each word. “But Mr. Park Ranger refuses to leave his precious park during high season.”

Despite the noise in the room, Mimi’s voice rang out above the din.

Hank slammed the shot glass on the bar and turned. His expression darkened and the glitter in his eyes told Lexi that Mimi wasn’t the only one who’d had too much to drink this evening. “It’s not just the job. We don’t have the money to go to Hawaii,” he bellowed. “You’d understand if you’d ever shut your mouth and listen.”

The room took on a hushed chill.

Mimi didn’t appear to notice. Her entire attention was now focused on her fiancé.

“I’m through listening to you, Hank. If you can’t understand that a girl only gets married once, if you don’t want to do everything in your power to make me happy, you’re not the man for me.” Mimi tugged the ring off her finger and threw it on the shiny mahogany bar. Then with a toss of her long blond hair, she flounced out of the room.

Lexi waited for Hank to follow. Instead he scooped up the ring and dropped it into his pocket. Then with a grim expression he turned back to his friends and downed another shot.

“Do you think I should go after her?” Lexi asked Jack, who—like the rest of the room—had watched the scene unfold.

“If you think you should, then go. Don’t worry about me.” A thoughtful look settled on his face. “Though it might be a good idea to give Mimi some space. Throwing the ring at him was probably just an impulse. But this is the time for her to consider if she really wants this wedding to go on as scheduled. If Hank isn’t the man she wants to spend the rest of her life with, it’s best to end it now.”

For the past several weeks Lexi had begun to have a bad feeling about Mimi and Hank’s upcoming nuptials. The events tonight confirmed her worst fears. “You’re right. If she and Hank are going to break up, it’s better to do it before they walk down the aisle.”

Jack frowned. “Otherwise he might leave her at the altar.”

It was an odd comment. But then there was an odd look in Jack’s eyes. As if he’d remembered something…

Lexi grabbed the sleeve of his sweater and pulled him into a little alcove, away from prying eyes and ears.

“If you want us to be alone, you just had to say the word,” Jack teased, though the distant look remained in his brown eyes.

“You remembered something.” She pinned him with her gaze. “What was it?”

“You know me too well,” he said in a flip tone.

“Considering I don’t even know your real name, I hardly think so.” Lexi wasn’t about to let him change the subject. “C’mon, spill.”

Still he hesitated.

“Jack, you have to know by now that there’s nothing you can’t tell me.” She leaned close, the clean, fresh scent she’d come to associate with him teasing her nostrils. “I won’t judge you. But I can’t help unless I know what’s happening in that head of yours.”

“I think—” he took a step back and raked a hand through his hair “—that I left someone at the altar.”

When Lexi had been Addie’s age, she’d fallen off her bicycle. She’d hit the ground so hard that all the air had been knocked from her lungs. She remembered that feeling. She felt the same way now.

However, underneath the shock and the breathlessness, joy sliced through her veins.
Jack isn’t married. Jack isn’t married. Jack isn’t married.

“You remember leaving a woman at the altar?” Lexi asked when she could finally speak again.

“I remembered the wedding,” he said. “Just like before. But this time, I heard myself telling a guy in a tux that I couldn’t do this. I needed to be absolutely sure she was the one for me before I took this step and I wasn’t sure.”

“What happened then?”

“I walked out of the church into the sunlight. I remember looking down at my left hand and being so happy there wasn’t a wedding band on it. I liked Ellen. I cared about her. But I couldn’t marry her.”

“Ellen who?”

Jack blinked a couple of times. “Ellen?”

“You said ‘I liked Ellen,’” Lexi reminded him. “What was Ellen’s last name?”

Jack’s brows pulled together in thought. After a long moment he shook his head.

“Where were you? Do you remember the state? The town?” Lexi pressed, though her heart had resumed beating the mantra
Jack isn’t married, Jack isn’t married.

“I don’t know.” Jack rubbed a hand across his forehead. “That’s all I remember. I know it’s not much—”

“Not much? It’s huge.” Lexi grabbed his arm, her voice trembling with excitement. “Don’t you realize the significance? You’re not married. I, I mean we, don’t have to feel guilty anymore about the kiss we shared.”

A light flashed in his eyes. She saw the moment he made the connection because a smile lifted his lip. “That means it’s also okay for me to do this—”

In a single heartbeat, he pulled her close and his lips covered hers. Lexi wrapped her arms around his neck and slid her fingers into his hair. Her mouth opened to his probing tongue and she lost herself in the sensations coursing through her body like an awakened river. This time there was no hesitation. On his side or on hers.

The chatter, the laughter, the chinking of glasses faded away. Lost in the kisses, she was barely conscious of him maneuvering them farther into the alcove, until she felt the wall behind her back. Still he continued to kiss her, long kisses that made her body ache with need and want.

His hand slipped under her sweater and skimmed up her side. Her breasts tingled with anticipation as his hand moved to the clasp of her bra.

Without warning his body slammed into hers.

“Watch where you’re going,” Jack growled as beer dribbled down his shoulder.

The burly outdoorsman who’d bumped into him stopped to survey the damage. He gave a snort of disgust at his now half-empty glass before shifting to Lexi. He appeared to take in her disheveled hair and swollen lips before dropping to Jack’s proprietary hand on her waist. A smile split his lips before he chugged the last of the beer in his glass. Then he belched loudly. “You two should think about getting yourself a room.”

Without another word he continued down the hall.

Get a room.

Jack met her gaze. “An interesting suggestion.”

Lexi wasn’t fooled by the casual tone. The heat in his eyes told her that the desire that held her in a stranglehold gripped him, too.

She’d never been into casual sex. At thirty-two, she’d only slept with two men—her high school boyfriend and Drew, Addie’s father.

But what she felt for Jack was more than casual. She liked him. She admired him. And she wanted him with a passion that shocked her with its intensity. “No motel.”

The light in his eyes dimmed but he didn’t argue. “I understand. We haven’t known each other—”

“It’s not that.” Lexi leaned forward and brushed her lips across his. “Addie’s spending the night with Sarah.”

His eyes never left her face. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

Lexi smiled. “There’s absolutely no reason to spend money on a motel when we can sleep in my bed.”

Jack’s eyes gleamed. “I don’t think either of us is going to get much sleep tonight.”

Lexi smiled and kissed him again. “I hope not,” she murmured against his lips. “That would be a waste of a perfectly fine bed.”

“Would you like a glass of wine?” Lexi shut the door to the closet and turned.

The slight wobble to her voice resonated with him. It was as if they were two scared virgins about to make love for the first time. Of course he wasn’t a virgin. At least he was
almost
positive he wasn’t. And he wasn’t scared. Well, maybe just a little. But only because he wanted to make tonight as special for her as she deserved. “I’d love a glass.”

“Red?” She opened a cabinet and peered inside. “Or white?”

He moved to Lexi’s side. Lifting one hand, he brushed her hair back from her face and planted a gentle kiss on her temple. “I want what you want.”

Her breath caught. “White it is.”

She retrieved the bottle and shimmied past him. “The corkscrew is in the top left-hand drawer. You can do the honors while I get the glasses.”

Another man might have been discouraged by her going from hot to cold in sixty seconds. But in the past couple of weeks, Jack had gotten to know Lexi. It had been a long time since she’d had a man in her life, much less one in her bed. He wouldn’t rush her.

After retrieving the corkscrew, Jack opened the bottle with ease. While she poured he glanced around the living room and found what he was looking for almost immediately. “Mind if I put on some music?”

Lexi looked up, the bottle of wine in her hand. “There’s a CD of piano concertos on top of the pile. Or you can pick something else from the stack.”

He popped the CD into the stereo and dulcet piano tones filled the room. Lexi brought the wine into the room and carefully placed the bottle and half-filled glasses on the coffee table in front of the overstuffed sofa. But instead of taking a seat, she remained standing. It was almost as if she was trying to decide how best to proceed.

If tonight was all about him, he’d take her in his arms and make love to her now, on the sofa, on the floor, against the wall. To heck with wine and music and atmosphere. But this wasn’t about him. This was about Lexi.

He eyed the unlit candles scattered throughout the room. “Do you have matches? The lighting in here seems a bit harsh.”

“Candlelight and wine,” she said in an exaggerated Southern drawl. She brought a hand to her chest, striking a pose. “Why, sir, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you mean to seduce me.”

Though Jack told himself to wait until everything was just perfect, he couldn’t help himself. He had to kiss her. “Umm hmm,” he murmured as his lips closed over hers. “Very soon.”

She watched him survey the flames then drop down on the soft cushions, looking more handsome than any man had a right to look. When he called her name and patted the spot next to him, Lexi took a deep breath and reminded herself she could do this. It may have been eight years since a man had touched her intimately, but surely it was like riding a bike. And she’d always been good at riding. She sat beside him and offered a smile.

“A glass of wine, madame.” He lifted her glass of Chardonnay from the coffee table and placed it in her hand. Then he sat back and slipped his arm around her shoulder.

For a second Lexi stiffened. She couldn’t help herself. Thankfully, Jack didn’t seem to notice. Or, if he did, he didn’t comment. Instead he started asking her questions about Jackson Hole. When that topic was exhausted, he effortlessly sent the conversation in another direction.

She wasn’t sure how long they sat there, sipping their wine, chatting about everything from current events to child-rearing techniques. The more they talked, the more Lexi realized that this guy had it all. He was intelligent, witty…and sexy as hell. His spicy cologne teased her nostrils and she found herself focusing more on his lips than on his words.

His hair, which had been longish when he’d been found, now brushed his collar. Lexi’s fingers itched to run through the wavy thickness and see if the hair was really as soft as it appeared.

Anticipation and excitement snuffed out the last flickers of hesitation. It was as if all the stars had aligned to grant her this night. Jack didn’t have a wife. The fact that he’d recently left his fiancée meant he didn’t even have a girlfriend. Her cabin was isolated, so no one needed to know he’d slept over. And with Addie spending the night with her friend, Lexi didn’t have to worry about setting a bad example for her daughter.

Tonight wasn’t about forever. It was about a stark carnal hunger she hadn’t even known she was capable of feeling.

Her gaze dropped to his arm, to the dark hair over-lying the muscles beneath. Complaining of being hot, he’d shed his sweater about ten minutes ago leaving a dark T-shirt hugging his broad chest. She was seized with a sudden desire to run her hands over his body and feel the coiled strength of skin and muscle sliding under her fingers. She wanted him to touch her in the same way. She wanted to feel his hard body pressed against hers. She wanted to have him fill her—

“Condoms,” she blurted out. “I’m not on the pill and I don’t have any condoms.”

He stopped midsentence and his lips quirked upward. “How you got from global warming to condoms, I don’t think I want to know.”

Color crept from her throat, heating her cheeks. While he’d been discussing various methods of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations, she’d been mentally undressing him.

But he didn’t seem upset by the interruption. In fact, a look of tenderness filled his gaze. “No worries. We have condoms. Lots of them, in fact.”

“We do? I mean, you do?”

“I rode to Idaho Falls with one of the maintenance men this week,” Jack said in an offhand tone. “While he was picking up something Coraline had special ordered, I stopped into a drugstore and did some shopping of my own.”

Lexi didn’t know whether to feel thankful or irritated. “So this was all planned?”

His eyes followed her sweeping gesture. “Of course not. But if anything did happen between us, I wanted to be prepared.” There was concern in his eyes but not a hint of apology in his tone.

“It just seems so…calculated.” She brushed a piece of lint from her dress and wondered why she was making a big deal about a good thing. Jack didn’t become angry the way Drew used to when she’d questioned him. Instead he placed his wine glass on the coffee table and took her hand. He laced his fingers through hers, his thumb caressing her palm, sending heat shooting through her veins.

“From the moment I first met you, there’s been this pull between us.” His gaze never left hers. “A very strong pull.”

There was a challenge in his eyes, as if he expected her to disagree. But how could she when he was only stating facts?

“That’s true,” she said slowly.

“I wanted you from the moment I first met you.” His fingers were not quite steady touching the curve of her cheek and trailed along the line of her jaw. “As things kept heating up between us, I wasn’t sure how long we’d be able to hold out.”

Lexi flung her arms around his neck. “I’m sorry,” she whispered against his throat. “You were being the mature one. I don’t know what got into me.”

Tears sprang to her eyes but she blinked them back before he noticed.

“It’s okay.” His arm tightened around here. “That’s what I like about our relationship. There’s nothing we can’t say to each other.”

The warmth of his acceptance surrounded her like a favorite coat. She rested her head against her chest with a contented sigh. “I like that you’re honest with me, Jack. And I like you…a lot.”

“I feel the same.” He planted a kiss on her hair, his heart beating strong and steady against her ear.

After a moment, Lexi slipped her hand under his shirt, her fingers playing with the belt buckle. “I think it would be a shame to let those condoms you bought go to waste.”

“That same thought occurred to me,” he whispered against her hair.

“Why don’t you, ah, make yourself more comfortable?” She rose to her feet. “I’ll freshen up and be back in a second.”

He met her gaze, his eyes more black than brown in the dim light. “Don’t be long.”

Resisting the urge to sprint, Lexi strolled to her bedroom. Once there, she shrugged off her dress and undergarments in record time then jerked open a dresser drawer. She grimaced. The neatly folded flannel pj’s and high-necked nightgowns seemed more suited to a nunnery than a night of passion.

She was ready to settle for shorts and a T-shirt when she saw Mimi’s shower gift on the dresser. The lingerie shower, hosted by the maid-of-honor, was set for next week.

Lexi opened the unwrapped box and pushed aside the tissue. The ivory-colored negligee had caught her eye the moment she’d seen it in the store window. Though ivory was really more her color than Mimi’s, she’d bought it anyway.

Seconds later, Lexi slipped the sheer fabric over her head. Before she left the room she took a moment to spritz on perfume. She didn’t look in the mirror, afraid what she saw there might make her lose her nerve. But when she entered the living room she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the front window. Only then did she realize sheer was one thing, transparent quite another.

But the expression in Jack’s eyes when he rose from the sofa, now clad only in boxers and a T-shirt, told her transparent was a very good thing.

“You’re beautiful.” His voice was a husky caress.

Suddenly Lexi no longer felt the urge to grab the throw she’d knitted from the chair and use it to cover her nakedness. Instead she walked straight to Jack and curled her fingers into the fabric of his shirt. “Is it just me or are you overdressed?”

“Without you in the room, I was cold.” Jack pulled her toward him, linking his arms lightly around her waist.

There was no space between them and she could feel the hard length of his arousal against her.

“Are you still cold now?” she asked in a husky voice she barely recognized.

Jack’s eyes glittered and he grinned. “Did someone turn on a blast furnace?”

Her chuckle turned to a gasp as he began trailing kisses down her neck.

Still he continued to kiss her, this time on the mouth. Long, passionate kisses that left her weak and trembling.

“You are so incredibly lovely,” he murmured, easing her down to the rug in front to the fireplace. He kissed her with a slow thoroughness that made her tingle all the way to her toes before settling on the rug next to her. “I want to explore and taste every inch of your beautiful body.”

She sat up and pulled the negligee over her head.

“I want to do the same.” She cast a pointed glance at his T-shirt and boxers. “So those have to go.”

His eyes shone in the candle’s glow and his quicksilver smile sent her already heightened senses into over-drive. His shorts and shirt quickly joined her negligee on the floor.

Jack’s gaze slowly surveyed her and the approval in his eyes made her bold.

“Do you like what you see?” she asked, batting her lashes.

“Very much.” He planted a kiss on her lips that accelerated the heat flowing through her body.

He trailed a finger along her jawline and followed it with kisses. Then he dropped his gaze to her breasts. “I’ve wondered what you looked like.”

“You’ve seen women before.”

“Not you.”

“Tell me what you like.” He cradled her breasts in his wide palms, his thumbs teasing the sensitive tips. “Do you like this?”

She pressed her legs together as heat shot straight to her belly. “Oh, yes.”

“How about this?” His mouth replaced where one hand had been.

His tongue slid around the nipple but kept stopping short of the tip. She laced her fingers through his hair, holding him to her, arching her back in a silent plea for more. She wanted to sob in frustration when he circled her nipple then once again moved away.

“Please,” Lexi moaned.

She didn’t need to ask twice. His mouth closed over the aching tip. Pleasure shuddered through her as he drew the tight bud into the delicious heat of his mouth. Each erotic pull of his lips sent an answering pull deep in her belly.

When his hand slipped between her legs she moaned and squirmed beneath the pleasure of his touch. She was determined to make this last as long as possible. But it had been so long and he assaulted her senses on all fronts.

His lips. His tongue. His…fingers. Oh, God, those fingers played her like a fine violin, her desire rising like a crescendo. When he slipped one of those fingers inside her the orgasm she’d been trying to stave off struck. Delicate inner muscles contracted and she pressed herself against his hand, crying out.

He held her tight, kissing her face, her neck, her lips.

“I’m sorry,” she said when she came back down to earth. “I wanted this to last forever and now it’s over.”

She couldn’t keep the disappointment from her tone.

“Over?” Jack chuckled. His hand flattened against her lower back, drawing her up against the length of his body. “Sweetheart, that was just the appetizer.”