Undercover Attraction (17 page)

"What's in there?" Amy asked as they passed
a door and Jacob didn't lead them in.

"The basement and garage. That's where you
go if you hear the alarm sounding. Until then, it's too dangerous
to enter, since I have an arsenal of loaded weapons in there."

Amy's eyes grew big, and both she and Jenna
nodded.

"You think they can get Jenna here?" Amy
asked quietly.

They both turned to Jenna, making her feel
like an eight legged freak. "Only with an army, and not if I can
help it," he muttered, then turned away, leading them further.

His house had more guest rooms than a hotel,
almost every one having its own bathroom and dressing room. The
rooms were large, with thick carpet and a queen sized bed, as well
as a desk. The décor of each room was different, though, with
various colors and furniture styles that best suited it. A TV was
mounted on the wall in most rooms, positioned so that the guest
could easily view it from the bed, or from the lounge chaise that
rested as a window seat.

Jenna was beginning to think that Jacob just
wanted to show off his rich home, when he finally showed them to
their rooms on the second floor.

They shouldn't even be considered rooms.
Maybe suites or penthouses, but
room
didn't do them justice.
He led Amy into a lavender and violet room, with an entire king
sized four poster carved oak bed. Sheer curtains hung from the top
half, drawn and tied back to give the appearance of a princess's
quarters. Her purchases from the mall sat at the end of the bed on
an intricately carved oak chest.

Jenna was surprised he had been so
thoughtful.

Amy turned in a circle in the center of the
room, her mouth open as she took it all in. The closet was huge,
with a vanity tucked alongside one corner, and a dresser that
matched the oak bed and chest in the other. It was more spacious
that Jenna's kitchen, and she only wished she'd had an interior
designer decorate her home before Jacob had come along.

One wall had floor to ceiling mirrored
glass, with sheer blue and lavender hangings to cover, but not
conceal the outside. A panel was mounted in the wall next to it,
and Jacob walked over to it, signaling to Amy to follow.

Jenna watched as Jacob showed them how to
adjust the windows to their personal preferences. More electronic
technology, since the windows were just multiple panes that housed
a space between them. The pane to the outside had a mirrored tint
on it, so that it still retained privacy, while the remaining panes
were just clear. The electronic panel allowed them to adjust the
view from the inside, while not affecting the inability to view in
from the outside.

Pressing the up button made the window
harder to see out of from the inside, while down made it easier. It
activated a smoke-like filter inside the panes, which filled the
gap with a foggy vapor, creating a thickly condensed cloud that was
impossible to see through whenever it was at 100%.

"That's awesome!" Amy exclaimed. "Does
sunlight get through in the daytime?"

Jacob shook his head. "No. I sleep mostly
during the day when I have big assignments and I like a dark room,
so I made sure the windows allowed for adjustments."

Amy sighed. "A hangover's best friend." She
looked out of the window at the view of the backyard when Jacob
adjusted it back to lower opacity, and gasped. "You were holding
out on us!"

Jenna peered out. A huge pool the size of a
small lake lay sprawled between the main house and a small
cottage-like pool house. It obviously was a millionaire's dream,
with shiny black smooth stone, a waterfall that fell over from
another higher pool, and a hot tub divided from the pool. Lounge
chairs lined the pool, with large ceramic pottery behind them,
filled with roses and small contained trees. Flowers and small
gardens gave the back yard an ethereal look, and she longed to take
a dip in the crystal clear water.

"You can get out there tomorrow. It's a
heated pool, and towels and robes are in the pool house. Just don't
go beyond the fence. My security doesn't reach beyond the immediate
yard." he told her, leading her to the personal bathroom at her
disposal.

It was also decorated in the same colors as
the bedroom, and was just as spacious. The lavatory had a separate
area from the shower, which was in a petitioned area in the corner.
A large ceramic claw foot tub sat in the center of the marble tiled
floor, with a wraparound curtain.

Jacob looked at them. "The shower is voice
activated, just tell it the degree you want the water. It's
programmed for Fahrenheit, and it won't spray until the water
reaches that temperature. Just say 'off' to turn it off."

"Marry me," Amy blurted out. Then looked
embarrassed as she realized what she had said.

Jacob just laughed, and pointed out the
towels, washcloths, and robes. All made of the finest terrycloth
and cotton.

He motioned for Jenna to follow him, and
they left Amy to explore her room while he showed Jenna to hers,
which was right across the hall.

Jenna had never felt so poor in all her
life. The room was absolutely gorgeous, decorated in Caribbean
colors of blues and greens, with another huge bed minus the
princess drapes. It had the exact same layout as Amy's, just a
different color.

"I don't feel comfortable staying here,"
Jenna muttered quietly, feeling as out of place as a jellyfish in a
duck pond.

Jacob stopped and glanced down at her. "I
can give you a different room if you don't like this one," he said,
almost unsure of himself. He had figured that she would prefer the
ocean room because it had many of the colors as her own
bedrooms.

She shook her head. "That's not what I
meant. I love your house. It's all beautiful, but I don't fit in
here. I feel like Alice and Dorothy all rolled into one." Jenna
wanted to wake up in either case.

"Jenna," he said, turning her towards him,
"I'm sorry all of this has happened. If I could change it, I would.
But I can't. So we should just try to make the best out of a bad
situation."

He didn't want her to be here, either, she
thought. His words had just said as much. She almost wanted to cry,
but refused to show weakness in front of him.

Jacob noticed anyway. He summed it up to
being fearful of having to be relocated, not to mention that
someone was out to kill her. He didn't know what to say to make it
better, though. And he didn't have enough experience with women to
know what to do. So he just pulled her gently into his arms.

Jenna didn't know why it felt so good to be
held by him. She just felt safe at the moment, but knew it to be an
illusion. After a second, she pushed against his chest. "I'm fine.
I just want all of this to be over with so I can go home. I don't
like drama."

"It will be over with before you know it,
and you will be tucked back into your house safely. I can promise
you that." He noticed her absentmindedly wincing as she adjusted
her arm, and guilt rose to the surface. "I'm sorry you got hurt."
He couldn't tell her how sorry, and he knew it would eat at him for
a long time.

Jenna shrugged her good shoulder. "It isn't
your fault. No apologies needed."

"But it is my fault. I should have been more
diligent when they cornered us in the garage. And I should have
gotten the SUV with the bulletproof windows."

She felt bad for him. There was no point in
him beating himself up over something that probably couldn't have
been avoided. Her hand reached up to his cheek of its own accord.
"I'm fine. Because of you, I'm alive. These wounds will heal, and I
will be right as rain in no time. You can't blame yourself or it
will eat you alive."

His hand covered hers, the warmth soaking
into her through the back of her hand. His cheek was rough,
slightly bristly where he hadn't shaved, and her brain suddenly
conjured an image of him using that scruffy jaw in places that made
her belly jittery.

His eyes caught hers, and his head slowly
dropped towards her. Their lips met in a meld of liquid heat, and
she wasn't sure if he had lowered his mouth to hers or if she had
met him halfway.

It didn't matter. His lips melted the
remainder of her pain away, replacing it with desire, a burning
need to have him part of her again.

"Jenna, did you... Whoops!" Amy said from
the doorway. "I'm leaving. You two carry on."

Jenna jumped back suddenly, realizing what
she was doing. She looked at Jacob, "That shouldn't have
happened."

He just stared back at her with those
piercing eyes. "I'm going to fix dinner. Give me twenty minutes,
and it will be ready." He strode out of the room without a
backwards glance, winking at Amy as he passed.

Of course, Amy ran right in. "You want him,"
she said with a big smile on her face.

"That was an accident. No, I don't. Not
really, but I did promise you I wouldn't avoid the situation," she
said as much for her own benefit as for Amy's.

Amy just stood there with her hands on her
hips, contemplating her sister. "Okay. Well, let's get you
comfortable, and then go see if your man can cook worth a
damn."

"He's not my man," Jenna denied as she
watched Amy go through the bags on her bed.

"Okay. Whatever. Do you want me to help you
clean up a bit before we go downstairs?" Amy asked, pulling out
clean underwear, compliments of Victoria's Secret, and the new pair
of blue pajamas.

She followed Amy into the bathroom, letting
Amy help her wash up with a washcloth, while she threw longing
looks towards the shower. She felt no cleaner without a shower once
she was finished, but her new pajamas were every bit as comfortable
as she thought they would be. Luckily, the top was a button-up, so
she was able to tuck her arm inside it again with Amy's help.

But the panties! Naturally, she didn't carry
an extra pair in her purse for emergencies, so the only fresh ones
were the ones she had bought today. They were delicate white lace,
every bit as concealing as a tree in winter. Even though they felt
luxurious against her skin, she almost wished for her regular ugly
undies because she didn't feel anywhere as sexy as these were meant
for her to.

"What do you think he's fixing for dinner?"
Amy mused while brushing Jenna's hair.

Jenna sighed. "I don't know. Nothing about
that man is as I expect. If I say PB&J, he'll have something
like baked salmon with lemon sauce. I don't care at this point. I
just want something to eat so I can relax for a bit before going to
sleep."

"Well, I will be happy with sandwiches. I'm
starving."

Once they had finished getting Jenna ready
for bed, they went downstairs. Jenna wished she had the foresight
to keep a little makeup in her purse for just this occasion. After
taking a quick peek in the mirror, she realized she looked like she
had been dragged through a pile of bricks. If she weren't so
hungry, she wouldn't even go down there where Jacob could see her
so under-made. It was a far cry from when he met her at the strip
club.

Once they reached the bottom of the stairs,
they could smell dinner. And their mouths watered.

"It's not PB&J sammies," Amy said,
almost relieved. She never was a fan of peanut butter.

They stepped into the high-tech kitchen.
Jacob had only let them glance in earlier, and Jenna had sighed at
the beauty of it. It was a chef's dream. Black and white chessboard
marble tile decorated the floor, while shiny black marble covered
the countertops. The appliances were all black and chrome, right
down to the blender. A large L shaped island occupied the center of
the room, with modern black and chrome bar stools. Jacob stood at
the refrigerator when they walked in, filling their glasses with
what looked like sweet tea. He looked up when they walked in.

"Right on time. I just finished," he said,
carrying the glasses on a tray to the bar.

"It smells delicious! I was expecting peanut
butter and jelly sandwiches," Amy said, taking a seat at the bar.
Naturally, she sat in one at the end so Jenna was forced to sit by
Jacob.

He had their plates already topped with
food. "Not sandwiches. I can cook. I've been cooking since college.
This is just a simple chicken stir-fry, though, nothing fancy."

It was more than just stir-fry. He had fried
rice and a piece of Texas toast on each plate. Jenna took her seat
next to Amy, and Jacob sat next to Jenna.

The food was every bit as delicious as it
promised to be. They carried on idle chit-chat around Jenna, who
answered when they asked her something by nodding her head or
one-syllable words. Now that her belly was full, exhaustion was
setting in like a lead weight. Her arm and neck were throbbing, and
Jacob caught the wince she made when she scooted back further in
her chair.

Her eyes followed him as he got up, took
their plates to the sink, and opened a drawer on the other side of
the bar. He shook out the prescription meds that the doctor had
given him, and brought them to Jenna.

"Here. Take these." He held them out in his
hand.

She raised an eyebrow, eyeing the pills as
if they were poison. "I don't need those."

"You do, else the doctor wouldn't have given
them to you."

She shook her head. "I'm fine. They are just
going to dope me up so that I can't think right. "

Jacob and Amy sighed at the same time.

"They are for your own good, Jenna," Jacob
said.

"It's just antibiotics, anyway. To ward off
infections," Amy said, taking the pills from Jacob and standing
next to him with her hands on her hips.

They were ganging up on her. Jenna felt
helpless against both of them standing in front of her. But she
really hated taking any kind of medications. She wouldn't even take
cold medicine when she was sick.