“You’re right, you don’t. And since Ramsey and I have no relationship, then I don’t have to share any information about what we did or did not do with you either.”
“So, you slept with him then?” he asked plopping down on the couch in defeat.
“No, Jesus Christ, I did not sleep with him. He kissed me good night. That’s all. It was nothing. He practically had to beg me to go out with him in the first place, because I didn’t want to. Alright? Are you satisfied?” she asked placing her hands on her hips as she stared at him.
“I’m losing my mind,” he said his blue eyes meeting hers. “I realized how much you mean to me, Lex, and I can’t help but freak out. I’m sorry.” He reached forward and grabbed her hips pulling her into his lap. She snuggled in close to him. “I shouldn’t be overreacting like this.”
“No, I understand, Jack. I’d probably be freaking out too. I should have told you,” Lexi said kissing his cheek.
“I wish you would have,” he said turning his face and stealing her lips before they hit his cheek again.
“Jack,” she said warningly against his lips.
“Lex,” he mumbled back sliding his tongue into her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed her firmly against his chest. She pushed her hands up through his unruly dark brown hair and moved her mouth against his. Being in his arms felt like the most wonderful place in existence. The feel of his lips tasted of heaven, and though she knew deep down she needed to stop him, she was having trouble finding the rationalization as her brain shut down.
Jack stood pulling her legs around his waist, never letting their lips part. She locked her legs behind his back as he supported her weight by placing each hand on her butt and hoisting her up. He pulled back and stared at her flushed face with a smug smirk firmly planted on his face. She could tell by his shallow breathing that he wanted her. His eyes were fiery blue with passion.
“I love you, Lex,” he said breathily.
“I love you too,” she said, her heart palpitating wildly as he crushed his lips against her again.
He leaned her back against his couch and pressed himself against her. They were both practically naked from recently waking up, and the hardness pressing against her inner thigh made it evident what was on his mind. He pushed up his band t-shirt that she had thrown on and ran his hands down her tiny body. She groaned as he leaned down and began kissing every inch of her flat stomach. From there he moved to her perky breasts. Her body ached for him as he continued his insistent prodding of her upper half. She arched her back in pleasure as the sensations coursed through her body. The anticipation from a year and a half of self-restraint was catching up with them as he retreated back to her plump lips.
“We should get rid of this,” he said attempting to yank the shirt over her head. She let him rip the shirt off her, but immediately reached out and grabbed it out of his hand. She covered her bare breasts with the material and scooted to a sitting position.
“We can’t…I can’t do this,” she said sliding the shirt back over her head and removing her legs from around his waist. “I told you how we can be together, and I really have to stick with that,” she said, her breathing ragged and body still pulsing with desire for him. It was one of the hardest things she had ever done, but she knew that she couldn’t do this. Not again.
Jack groaned and moved to a sitting position next to her. “Yeah, I know. It’s just…this is what we’re normally like. You’re so damn sexy when you get angry. I can’t seem to help myself.”
“I know. I didn’t want you to help yourself either. I don’t want you to have to help your feelings for me, but this isn’t fair to Bekah. We’ve been here before. I don’t want another Kate/Clark situation. It didn’t go well the first time, and I have a feeling that it would be just as bad this time around,” she told him sadly. Lexi hated so much having to have this conversation. All she wanted right then was to be swept up into his arms and be carried to his bed so they could have hot passionate sex all afternoon. But she couldn’t do this again.
“You’re right,” he said meeting her desirous gaze.
“I’m sorry,” she told him shyly. “I do want this terribly bad.”
He reached out and caressed her cheek. “I know.”
“Well,” Jack began awkwardly, “I’m going to go take a cold shower.” He stood up uncomfortably adjusting himself. “Feel free to come and go as you please. I really do have a lot of work to catch up on, but I’d love it if you stuck around. I can’t seem to get enough of you.” He bent down and kissed her forehead sweetly.
Lexi watched him exit the living room. She couldn’t believe how close she had come to giving into him. She knew one thing though. She needed Chyna right then. Chyna was the only one who could keep her focused while Jack was taken. She had to give him enough time to deal with Bekah, and allowing him to think that he could have her without doing anything about the situation wasn’t going to help her. She needed to stand her ground. But not getting swept up with their desires was a lot of work, and Lexi wasn’t prepared for it. That’s where Chyna came in. It was too bad Chyna was still hours away, and Jack was currently stripping down naked in the next room preparing to get soaking wet.
CHAPTER 18
NOVEMBER ONE AND A HALF YEARS EARLIER
A scraping sound followed by shuffling feet across the carpeted floors made Lexi shift from her otherwise comfortable position. She yawned, refusing to open her sleep deprived eyes to the blinding sunlight. Her hand slowly rose above her head and she stretched languidly across the couch. Her back arched pushing the checkered quilt off of her upper-half leaving her body exposed with only a flimsy, white tank top as a cover-up. She shivered at the near freezing weather and scrambled to cover the rest of her body with the warm fabric. Yanking the covers up to her chin, she snuggled deeper into the plush cushions. Another yawn followed as she wrestled with her own inner turmoil: to study or not to study.
A sharp pain shot across her temples reminding her of the amount of alcohol she had absorbed last night. Memories of shot after shot flooded her conscious, and she knew her answer to that dilemma. There would be no chance she would be studying today. She groaned and shuddered against the pain pulsing throughout her body. Her stomach twisted with nausea and she was certain that she would be sick at any moment. Swallowing down the rising bile in her throat, she groaned even louder this time. A giggle punctuated the early morning air causing Lexi to cringe further into her comfortable niche.
“You gonna get up, you lazy bum?” Rachelle, Lexi’s roommate, questioned her in her thick New England accent from across the kitchen through Lexi’s open door.
Lexi grumbled angrily into the pillow adding a few choice curse words. “Don’t talk so loud, Ray,” she mumbled pressing her palms to her forehead.
“It’s pretty late, and you know we have that huge Civ Pro reading for tomorrow,” she drawled slamming the microwave door shut for Lexi’s benefit. Another giggle resounded throughout the space confirming that sentiment. “I wouldn’t want to see my genius roomie getting behind in her class work.”
If she had had the energy, Lexi would have flipped her off. Under the circumstances, she just griped louder and pulled the covers completely over her head. She let her eyes open and painfully adjust to the feeble amount of light apparent through the blanket. Her mind sifted through the disjointed memories from the previous night focusing in on the high points. Vodka gummis, hot Armani Guy, dancing, leaving with Chyna—Jack. She let her brain wrap around the foreign concept. Had that been a dream?