Mrs. Robins chuckled.
“Well, still, that’s far off.”
“It’s not that far,” he answered. “And besides, Lucas called me. Said something about you needing to be rescued.” He grinned wide. “Twice in one night? Don’t let me find out you’re going to make a habit of this.”
Kerry balked. “Listen, I didn’t need your rescuing then, and I surely don’t need it now.”
He looked at her and blinked but nodded in the affirmative. “Okay, so you’ve got somewhere to go? Is somebody picking you up?”
It was on the tip of her lips to say “Val,” but shit, he had probably gotten some form of the same sexy-times text from Craig that she had gotten from Val.
“I hear they are setting people up in the shelter. A night should be fine.”
“Kerry?” This came from Mrs. Robins, and it was posed as a question but had all the feeling of a warning.
Shit. She knew when she was good and stuck. Kerry smiled at the older woman. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Robins. I’m not staying at the shelter. I’m fine.”
Mrs. Robins gave her a long look, then looked over at Jesse. She finally cracked a slight smile and walked away with her little to-go bag when Jesse gave her his own nod, as if he was somehow taking over and handling the situation. What the total hell was that?
He let out a breath. “You know, Kerry Girl, sometimes your stubbornness can go just a little too far. Why you scaring the old lady like that?”
“And why are you being such a Neanderthal dick?” she grumbled under her breath, afraid to talk too loud, not for Jesse’s sake but in case Mrs. Robins might overhear.
Still, Jesse leaned forward and took the duffel from her hand. Kerry wanted to pull it back but felt lighter as soon as he took the weight from her.
“Come on, then,” he said, then paused and reached out his hand, going for Kerry’s head. This time she ducked, but Jesse was fast as he pulled the wet shower cap from her head. The sprinkling droplets splashing her face, surprising her. Crap, she’d forgotten she had it on.
“Did you even dry off?” he asked, looking down at her body. Suddenly the coolness of the night air and being under his perusal put her braless nipples on full alert.
He shook his head, then sighed. “Of course you didn’t. Let me get you back to the house before I have to hurt somebody out here.”
“What are you talking about?” Kerry said.
Jesses raised a brow, then leaned in close to her ear. “You looking all hot and sexy already almost got me into one fight tonight. I don’t need to push my luck.”
9
What was he doing bringing Kerry back here? Worse, why did he admit that she looked sexy?
And that was the moment Jesse knew that he had fucked up.
He and Kerry were standing in the residence living room, awkwardly shifting like two kids suddenly thrust together on the gym floor in the middle of a school dance. What else could it be besides awkward? It was two thirty a.m. on a hot-as-hell August night, and he was alone with the woman who, though he wouldn’t admit it, yes, shit yes, he had been secretly fantasizing about for the past ten years, and now here she was standing in front of him freshly showered and braless with no place else to go. This was a lot. A whole fucking lot.
Okay, Jes, get a grip, he told himself. At this point he may actually be reverting back to middle school. So what if she was standing here braless? It wasn’t like he’d never seen a breast before. He’s seen plenty of breasts in his day. Big, small, that just right middle size that fit perfectly when you . . . Jesse paused and mentally kicked himself in the head. A mental dropkick, because nothing less would do.
This was Kerry. Kerry was not a woman who he needed to associate with breasts. Jesse stilled over the stupidity of his statement and looked at her. Her this time—not her body, but her. She looked adorable standing there tired and damp, but still like Kerry, trying to act like she was fine. He saw the strain and wear the night had put on her when she looked at him now, though, with clear tiredness in her big brown eyes. And then he spotted something else as her eyes shifted and she rubbed at her arms.
“Uh, listen,” he said, “if you’re uncomfortable here, I can take you somewhere else. You want to call Val? Or you can go to a hotel. I can try and get you a room?”
She gave him a skeptical look that edged on insulting.
“In a nice place,” he added. “Damn. You over here looking at me like I’m suggesting something that goes by the hour.”
She smiled. It was small, but it was still a smile. “I wasn’t looking at you like anything,” she said. “And why should I be uncomfortable here? This place is like a second home, and you guys are like family. Thanks for bringing me.”
She looked around again. “Listen, it’s late and I don’t want to hold you up. If you just direct me to a blanket, I’ll be fine on the couch. You can go to bed or back to doing what you were doing.”
The family comment didn’t sit quite right, and confusion swirled around Jesse’s mind until her meaning clicked. The looking around, her being uncomfortable. He took a step toward her. “And just what do you think I’d have to go back to doing?” he asked.
Kerry raised her chin and looked at him defiantly. “I don’t know. It’s the middle of the night, so that’s your business. I just don’t want to be a third wheel and end up messing up your plans.”
Jesse growled. “You know, you really can be presumptuous to the point of just past cute, and I think you’ve reached that point.”
She crossed her arms and frowned. Jesse told himself to keep his eyes up where they belonged. He was mad at her anyway.
Kerry shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean Erika or anyone could be over. And just how am I being presumptuous? I’m only going by past experiences.”
“One freaking woman on one freaking morning.”
She shrugged again. “One that I know about.”
Jesse stared at her, insulted but also confused by the whole argument. He waved his hand with a flourish. “Well, Mom, would you care to inspect the place? Do a bed check?”
Kerry’s glare was cutting. “We both know I’m not your mother,” she said, but then her eyes went immediately wide as soon as the words were out of her mouth.
Jesse took another step forward so that they were only inches apart. “Well then, stop acting like it. I’ve had two in my life already and they are both dead. Trust and believe I’m not taking on anyone else to fill that role.”
Kerry closed those wide eyes but still Jesse could see the hurt on her face mixed with anger and some despair, but when she looked back at him he was surprised to see a resignation that pierced him more than her anger ever could. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been all up in your business, Jes. It’s late and you’re being nothing but nice to me.”