by Raquel Belle
Jenna froze. What could she say to that? She never could muster any witty comebacks around Adam. Oh my, God. Avoiding his gaze, she grabbed the dish of pasta from the counter and scurried to the dining table.
Adam cleared his throat. “That slipped out. I’m sorry.”
Glancing over her shoulder, sure that her face was the color of a fire engine, she shrugged. “What are you apologizing for? I’m not your buddy, Noah, but you can joke around with me about sex and … related topics.” The heat in her face went up several degrees when Adam lifted a brow and sent her a smirk. Sex and related topics? That was the best she could come up with? Jenna wanted to sink into the floor and never be seen again.
“Right,” he said, slowly. “I doubt I’ll be doing that.” Again, as he had done several times since she stumbled in on him in her living room, he gave her a slow once over. She had no idea what that look meant because his expression was shuttered whenever he did it. There was only the slightest hint of something she couldn’t decipher, flickering in his eyes each time. She gave him a fleeting glance, but his attention had returned to slicing tomatoes.
Jenna blew out a breath and continued her task of setting the table.
The palpable tension in the room only seeped away when they were halfway into their meal. “This isn’t what you should be eating for your homecoming,” Jenna said.
Adam’s brows shot up over his glass of wine. “Why?”
Waving her hand to encompass the meal she’d prepared in less than an hour, Jenna explained. “You should be having a fancy, five-course meal to celebrate.”
His low, deep laugh filled her kitchen, and her stomach clenched again. She wished that that particular reaction to Adam would stop. She wished all of her reactions to him would stop. It was like she was a teenager again, wallowing in lust. She sighed. I’m so pathetic.
“This is a gourmet meal compared to the crap I’ve eaten, Jenna.”
“Wow, that’s sad. I’ll come home early tomorrow and go all out. Or, maybe I can take you somewhere.”
“Don’t even think about it. If anyone is taking anyone out for a meal, it will be me taking you.”
“Oh, get over yourself. A woman can take you out for dinner, you dinosaur.”
His roar of laughter made her grin. “You have a mouth on you, Jenna. When did that happen? As I recall, I barely heard a peep out of you growing up.”
Swirling the rich dark red liquid in her glass, she nibbled her lower lip and studied him. She had never been the quiet mouse he thought her to be. She was only quiet when he was around because she was either busy sneaking peeks at him, or afraid to open her mouth for fear of saying something uncool in front of the older boy who had so much swagger … that it might be ridiculous. She clearly remembered the first time she’d met Adam. She was nine, and he’d been twelve. He was the new kid in the junior high, where Noah had attended, and the two had hit it off right away. The first time Noah brought Adam home, she had been sprawled on the living room floor doing her homework. He was the cutest boy she’d ever met, and there was something about his incredible, gray eyes that looked way older than he was. They had pulled her in. She’d fallen in love that day, or so her nine-year-old heart had perceived.
After that fateful day, anytime Adam was near, she could never think of anything cool to say, so she kept her mouth shut. She preferred to listen to him talk anyway. Listening to him became more painful, as they got older, however, when he started sharing stories about girls with her brother. The envy she felt for those perky cheerleader types that he preferred had been insurmountable.
Returning to the present, Jenna shrugged. “I’ve changed quite a bit since you last saw me.”
Metallic eyes that smoldered with heat landed on her. His eyes always had a potent effect on her for as long as she remembered. That hadn’t changed. In fact, his stare held triple the intensity they had when he was younger.
“Indeed,” he said, softly.
Jenna squirmed, wishing she could tell what Adam was thinking. It was disconcerting how his eyes remained on her, as he returned to eating.
Before she could combust under his intent assessment, as she really thought she would, he spoke. “When I mentioned taking you out to dinner, I didn’t mean it in a chauvinistic way. I merely meant it’s I who should treat you to dinner, as a thank you for taking in a stray such as myself.”
“Oh,” she said, feeling the heat spreading to her cheeks.
“Yeah, oh,” he said, mockingly.
“You’re no stray. You can stay here for as long as you need. I understand that you practically have to build a new life at this point.” She gazed at him, wondering why he never came home. She knew enough about Adam’s life to know that he pretty much had no family. He and his father weren’t on good terms, and his mother was deceased, and so was his older brother. But, he’d always had Noah and the entire Benson clan. They all adored Adam. He must have known he could have come home to them. Jenna pondered asking him why he stayed away but thought better of it.
“So, Adam, what exactly did you do in the military?”
Again, unreadable, silver eyes landed on her face. “I was a Navy SEAL.”
Jenna blinked. That didn’t tell her much, but Adam has visibly shut down, so she nodded. “Why did you retire?”
He lifted his broad shoulders. “I wouldn’t use the word retire. It makes me sound so old.”
Jenna laughed. There was nothing old about him. Words such as virile and powerful came to mind, but never old.
“I simply didn’t renew my contract.”
Giving him her full attention because he’d always commanded it without even trying, she rested her chin on her hand. “Why didn’t you renew?”
“I realized eight years later that it wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I joined for a reason other than for myself.”
“Your brother?” She asked, softly. He’d never spoken the words aloud, but she suspected Adam had taken the military path to honor his brother in some way. With a single nod, he resumed eating, and Jenna sighed. Getting information out of Adam was like pulling teeth. Not that she thought he would spill all of his secrets to her, but she was interested in everything about him. It occurred to her that maybe she should curb that interest and not get too caught up in Adam. Again. “What are you going to do now that you’re out of the military?”
“I’m still thinking about it,” he said, almost absently.
“Well, the possibilities are endless because I know for a fact that you’re a closet genius, my friend.”
“A what?” Wide eyes, brimming with amusement met hers.
“A closet genius. You were a popular jock in high school, but in secret, you were a mathematical and IT genius.” She’d gotten glimpses of math tests he’d kept hidden with all A pluses, and she’d never once seen him study. And there was the time he’d practically rebuilt a computer just for the fun of it only to throw it away. She always wondered why he hid how smart he was. “Why you hid that from everyone is beyond me.”
“Because popularity and nerdy simply didn’t go together, Jenna,” he said.
“Tell me about it,” she said, jabbing at the contents on her plate. She was always seen as a nerd, therefore there was never any room for her at the popular table.
“And sometimes when everyone doubts that you’ll ever amount to anything, you don’t show your true potential, just so you can shock the living hell out of them in the future.” He winked, making her smile.
Jenna held his gaze silently for a long while. Most had held the assumption that Adam would end up like his father or behind bars. She never did understand why people always assumed the worst of someone simply because of where they grew up. Many defied the societal statistics and went on to be great, and she was looking at a prime example. “I never doubted you.” When Adam tilted his head and gave her a strange look, she quickly added, “Neither did mom, dad, or Noah.”
One corner of his mouth kicked up. “I know
, and that knowledge kept me going most of the time.”
“You got your degree in computer science, and you have a military background, you’ll figure something out,” Jenna said, confidently. “I know you will.”
“Thank you.” Sitting back he grinned. “Now, let’s talk about you.”
“Me? There’s nothing interesting to tell, I assure you.”
“I don’t believe that. Tell me about your job, your friends,” he said, “and your significant other.”
Jenna snorted. “I have exactly one close friend because I’m a workaholic. And you know what I do for a living. I’m sure Noah kept you updated on my movements. I know you two kept in touch.”
Adam’s lips twitched. “Alright, I might have inquired about what you were up to a few times. I know that you got your BBA, worked for your dad, managing the finances for his construction company while you got your MBA, and then you moved here.”
“Then you know everything,” she said.
“I don’t believe that.”
She snorted. “The only thing left to tell is about my tragic romance. Surely, Noah shared the details.”
Adam frowned. “Why would your brother share details of your love life with me?”
“You two used to talk about everything. I overheard a few things I shouldn’t have a few times.” She shuddered, and he chuckled. “And don’t act like you weren’t a co-conspirator in Noah’s mission to keep me a virgin until I turn forty. So, I assumed he would share details about my love life.”
Adam, in the process of sipping from his glass, erupted in a fit of coughing. He sputtered, wide eyes flying to her. “I never conspired with Noah for such a thing.” He sobered, one brow elevating. “You’re not a …”
“Of course, I’m not a virgin Adam!” Embarrassed, Jenna stared down at her half-empty plate. “And you did work alongside my brother. I very clearly, remember you scaring the crap out of my first date ever.”
She was fifteen and had started to take a slight interest in other boys after realizing that perhaps it wasn’t healthy to obsess over Adam, who was older and on his way to college, and would never look in her direction.
He laughed. “I remember. Noah wasn’t home to do it, and I felt it was my duty as his friend to warn that little wimp about trying any funny business.” Jenna sent him a glare, and he shrugged. “You were fifteen, way too young. Who dates at fifteen?”
“You did.” And she had been around to witness the parade of giggling girls passing through his life.
Adam’s smile was sheepish. “That was different.”
“How so?”
“Well, I was experienced, and you were sheltered and innocent.”
Jenna’s lips twisted as she stared at him. Did he still see her as innocent? She had always played it safe, but she was hardly innocent … “Is that how you still see me, Adam?”
He rubbed his jaw and grunted. “Hell, yes.”
Jenna felt her heart plummet. All hope seemed to have diminished because Adam didn’t go for the nice, innocent girl. “I see. Well, I’m not as innocent as you may assume.” With that, she pushed her chair back and shot up. “We need more wine. I’m going to get some.”
Adam sat back. “One glass was enough for me. I don’t drink much.”
“Oh. I need it,” she said and rushed off. She suspected she’d be downing a lot of wine as long as Adam was in her apartment.
“Jenna? Are you okay?”
She stuck her head around the wall and gave him a huge smile. “I’m great.”
Chapter Four
Adam
Adam knew something was off with Jenna, even though she insisted that she was great. Hours after dinner, he was still replaying the last part of the conversation with her before she’d practically sprinted from the room. She did return, but with a bottle of red wine, that she gulped down as it were water. She’d become way too animated and chatty, and he suspected she was trying to distract herself. But, from what? Was she uncomfortable with him in her personal space?
He certainly was uncomfortable. He was painfully aware of every move she made. He couldn’t stop his roaming eyes, and it was only a matter of time before he couldn’t control his roaming hands. That couldn’t happen. Staying with Jenna suddenly seemed like the worst idea.
When she strolled into the living room wearing a smile and carrying an arm full of sheets and pillows, he stood up.
“Hey, I hope the couch is comfortable enough for you. It’s pretty big and cozy.” She busied herself, laying out everything she carried. She straightened and put her hands on her hips, as she studied the couch with a frown. “But you’re way bigger than I am.”
“Jenna …”
She turned to him, still wearing her frown. “Yeah?”
“I was thinking that maybe it would be better for me to stay at a hotel. We’ll still travel home together for Noah’s wedding, of course.”
Jenna’s frown deepened. “What’s the matter? Did I do or say something? I thought …”
“No, you’ve been great.” Adam held Jenna’s gaze for a few seconds. He couldn’t tell her he wanted to jump ship and swim like hell in the opposite direction because he found her too much of a temptation to be around. “I just feel like I’m putting you out of your way, and imposing on your privacy.”
Her mouth fell open. “Are you being serious right now? If I had a problem with you staying here, I wouldn’t have agreed, Adam. Please, don’t feel like you have to leave on my account. I don’t mind having you here.”
He ran his fingers through his low cut hair. “I’ll be perfectly fine in a hotel.”
“If you stay in a hotel when I have a place right here, not only Noah, but my parents will have my head. I can hear mom chastising me about letting you stay in some hotel and not ensuring that you have home-cooked meals. You know how crazy mom gets.”
A smile tugged at Adam’s lips at the thought of the woman who had been like a mother to him. Mrs. Benson would indeed have a heart attack if she knew he ate hotel food when Jenna had a perfectly functioning kitchen. The woman was obsessed with feeding everyone. “No one has to know where I stay.”
Jenna’s eyes narrowed, the green orbs darkening suspiciously. “What’s this change of heart really about, Adam? If this is about you feeling uncomfortable, fine, I’ll let you walk out without another word. But, if this is about me, you’re staying damn it.”
Amusement lit his face, and then he started to laugh. “Are you willing to hold me prisoner?”
“You’re damn right I am. I’m willing to chain you to this couch just to save my own hide. If you don’t stay here, the rest of the Bensons will descend like angry hounds on my ass. You’re practically family and you know how they get about family. So, tell me, honestly, what’s the problem?”
He couldn’t hold his laughter at bay, picturing Jenna manhandling him and binding him to her couch. He wouldn’t mind. Though he’d prefer to be bound to her bed. Better yet, he would want to be the one handcuffing her to her bed or any bed that he happened to be in. And there he went again, having inappropriate thoughts about her. She was gazing at him with worry in her eyes, and at that moment, he would have told her anything she wanted to hear even if it was a lie.
“I’m comfortable here, Jenna.” He sighed. “I’ll stay.”
She let out a breath. ‘Good.”
“As long as I contribute financially.”
“Adam …”
“Jenna. We’ll discuss that part tomorrow.” Her mouth snapped shut and he smiled with satisfaction. He plopped onto the couch, threw his feet up, and laid back. Arms behind his head, he grinned up at her. “Happy?”
“Yes,” she said, primly and turned to walk away. She stopped to give him a warning glance. “And you’d better be here in the morning.”
Adam grinned, his brows shooting up. “You really have changed, Jenna. The bossy you is sexy.”
He heard her sharp intake of breath before she scurried away, and he grinned broadly. His am
usement died down after a while, and he stared up at the ceiling. Sleep would elude him, as it often did. His mind was always too active when he laid down to sleep. That night, in particular, he had more than the horrors that he had witnessed on his mind. There were thoughts about the direction of his life. What did he do now that he wasn’t on a battlefield or training to go on one?
Then thoughts of Jenna pushed their way through no matter how hard he tried to keep them away. She was mere feet away, probably lying in bed and staring at the ceiling like he was. Did Jenna sleep in the nude? She had come out in modest attire, a silk pajama bottom, and a tank top, but maybe she undressed once she got to her room.
Adam groaned and flung a hand over his eyes. There was no escaping his lecherous thoughts of Jenna. It had been too long since he’d gotten laid, and he had to remedy that. But, not with Jenna. Never with Jenna. Still, he found himself gazing in the direction of her bedroom and his dick stood at attention.
“Down boy. That’s never going to happen.” It couldn’t.
Angel, Jenna’s cat, sauntered into the living room and made a beeline for the couch. She crouched, ready to launch upward.
“No, bad kitty. You stay down there, girl.”
Angel meowed and hopped up anyway, rubbing her gray downy coat against Adam’s arm. The cat settled beside him and began to purr. He tried to get Angel down with gentle shoves, but the cat refused to budge.
Finally, with a resigned sigh, Adam laughed. “Stubborn girl. What the hell? At least, I can say I slept with a woman tonight.”
Chapter Five
Jenna
It had to be the most adorable thing she’d ever witnessed. Jenna stopped in her tracks, as she tiptoed to the kitchen. The sight of Adam with her cat nestled in one muscular arm and the other arm thrown over his head, made her smile. Angel was fast asleep and purring away. What she would give to be nestled in Adam’s strong arms, cozied against that broad chest.
She gave Angel an envious glare. Lucky bitch, she thought, and she had to hold back the bubble of laughter that threatened to erupt. The day she was jealous of her cat was a sad, sad day, indeed.
