Intoxicated (33 page)

She held tight, afraid to let go. The tension left his arms as he realized it was her and he hugged her tight to him, his nose buried in her hair. There was nowhere else she wanted to be besides in his arms.

“I love you,” she said. The words were muffled in his chest. He bent down to hear.

“What? Are you okay? Is something wrong?”

“I love you, Jack.” This time she lifted her head. His eyes were filled with concern. “You’re worth fighting for. I don’t want to leave you. I don’t care about Chelsea or the baby. I just want to be with you.”

“What?” He pulled her away from his chest and took a step back as if unsure.
 

“Are you deaf? I said that I love you.”

She was rewarded with a blinding smile bracketed by dimples. “I heard you, Popsicle. I just wanted to hear you say it again.” He pulled her closer, enveloping her in the scent of leather and his musky scent. “Please say it again.”

“I love you.” She lifted on her tiptoes and turned her face up to his. Taking her cue, he kissed her. She plunged her fingers into his short hair and moaned, overwhelmed with sudden heat. This was where she belonged. He turned and pressed her against the wall, pinning her body to the plaster with his. She was reminded of that fateful night four months ago when he’d kissed her in the back hall of Felony. Had it only been four months? It seemed like a lifetime ago.

“Does this mean you’re not going to Philadelphia?” he asked when their lips finally parted.
 

“Yes, I’m staying,” she replied, breathless. “But I’m going to need a place to live if your offer still stands.”

“You know it, baby girl.” He put his hands beneath her bottom and hoisted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her back to the apartment. When he reached the threshold, he stopped and let her slide gently to her feet. “Oh, shit. Chelsea’s here. I haven’t seen her since we were all at Felony. She just dropped by…”

Ally put a finger to his lips to silence him. “I’ll take care of this,” she said.

Chelsea was sitting on the sofa in front of the television, snacking on cheese curls when Ally came through the door. Chelsea looked up when she heard the light footsteps, a curious mix of displeasure and resignation on her delicate features at the sight of Ally. With a loud sigh, she closed up the bag of cheese curls, dusted off her hands, and rose to her feet with an awkward lurch.

“So you’re back,” Chelsea said, blue eyes boring into Ally’s.

“Yes, I’m back,” Ally replied. “And I’m not leaving this time. You are.”

“Well, shit.” Chelsea kept her gaze on Ally, as if assessing her temerity. “I had a feeling it would go down like this.” She took her handbag from the chair where she’d dropped it earlier and slung the strap over her shoulder. “Are you sure you want this? I’m not giving up on Jack. I need child support and help with this kid. If you think I’ll just go away…”

Ally interrupted her with a wave of her hand. “You don’t have to worry about Jack. He’ll support the baby because that’s the kind of guy he is. And I’ll support Jack one hundred percent because I love him. You’ll have both of us to help with the baby.” She took a step closer to Chelsea. “But that’s all. You can’t have Jack. He’s mine and I won’t let you come between us.”

“It’ll never work, you know.” Chelsea sighed again, shrugged her shoulders, and gave Ally a wry smile. “It’s about time you grew some balls, girl. They look good on you.”
 

Jack poked his head inside the door. “Can I come in now? Or are you ladies about to throw down?”

“We’re good.” Ally turned to Chelsea. “Right?”

“Yeah, we’re good.” Chelsea shrugged again and shook her head as she lumbered toward the door, one hand on her back for support. “Do either of you have a twenty? I need cab fare home.”

Jack slapped a ten into her hand, but he only had eyes for Ally. “Lock the door behind you,” he said to Chelsea as he scooped Ally into his arms. His next words were for Ally’s ears only. “I think this occasion calls for a little cheesecake.”

“You have a cheesecake? Seriously?” She wrapped her arms around his neck.
 

“No, but the bakery down the street delivers,” he said with a devilish smile.  

Thank you for reading
Intoxicated
!
 

I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Ally and Jack have been begging for their story to be told for a very long time and
Intoxicated
is just the beginning. They will continue to appear in all the Felony Romance novels along with Karly and Randy, who have their own story to tell. If you liked this book, please take a minute to leave a review so that others will be able to find it. If you’d like to connect with me, drop by my website at
jeanaemann.net
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