Breakaway

Chapter Two

Remi pulled back from Jason on the red leather banquette.

“What?”

He looked at her, eyes heavy lidded, mouth curved into a sexy smile.

“Let’s go somewhere quieter. Maybe that jazz club. This place is too…frantic.”

“Uh…” Remi’s mind worked furiously. What the hell was going on here? This was supposed to be a fake flirtation to get Delise off her back. Okay, and Jason’s ex, the freakin’ gorgeous supermodel Brianne Haskett. He’d dumped a model, but he was flirting with her? Plain little Remi? A boring, responsible school teacher? Whaaaat?

It had to be a joke.

She laughed.

He frowned.

She laid a hand on his chest—oh dear lord, what a nice chest it was, hard and muscular and warm—and gave him a playful shove. “Don’t be silly. We don’t even know each other. We’re just doing each other a favor.”

He blinked, brows still joined above his slightly crooked nose. It was cute, that crooked nose in an otherwise heart-stoppingly handsome face—square jaw, high cheekbones, melting chocolate eyes. A little scar above his left eyebrow was also endearingly imperfect.

“Well, yeah,” he said. “But I like talking to you. And it’s hard here, with the loud music and all these people.”

Her mind skittered off in a thousand different directions. He was serious. He liked talking to her. Warmth blossomed inside her and spread through her body, tingling through every nerve ending. Oh no. She recognized that feeling. It was…attraction.

She liked talking to Jason too.

She put the straw of her drink to her mouth and sucked hard, downing the rest of her mojito. The drinks she’d had so far were creating a pleasant buzz of warmth and well-being. She looked at Jason.

“I came with my friends.”

“Me too.” He paused. “You need a distraction. Remember? So you don’t worry about your brother and sister.”

They looked at each other. Heat grew. Tension shimmered. When his eyes dropped to her mouth, everything inside Remi went hot and liquid and aching. Her eyes widened and she licked her lips.

His eyes got even darker and his lips parted.

Remi reached to set her empty glass on the low table in front of them. She missed and it hit the floor with a thunk. They ignored it.

“You’re not my type,” Jason said.

Huh? She blinked. “Okay, then.” She started to stand but he grabbed her hand and tugged her back down, almost onto his lap.

“I mean…you didn’t used to be my type. Hell.” The corners of his mouth turned down. “I sound like an idiot. I am an idiot.”

Her heart softened. She relaxed onto the couch, his arm around her waist, and it felt sooooo good.

“You’re not an idiot,” she said with a little laugh.

“Yeah, I am. Bah.” He shook his head, mouth tight. “What I mean is, I’m not normally attracted to cute little blondes.”

Cute little blonde? Yeah, that was her. How she wished she had mile-long legs and big boobs and full lips like Brianne Haskett. Stephanie Seymour. Laetitia Casta. All those other Victoria’s Secret models who looked like that.

No, she was teeny weeny, skinny, flat-chested, with wispy, blonde hair.

But Jason seemed to find her attractive.

She tilted her head to one side and regarded him through a rum-and-lust haze. “You’re kidding. Right?”

“No. I mean…” He looked confused. “I’m not kidding about not usually being attracted to cute little blondes. But you’re…cute.”

She laughed. Shook her head. Wished for another drink.

The crazy thing was, he was exactly the type of guy she was attracted to. Not just physically—big guys had always appealed to her, maybe because she was small—but she also liked his smile, his wide mouth and how it tilted up at the corners even when he wasn’t smiling, the fact that he was gorgeous but wasn’t all hung up on himself and the most important thing—he’d dumped a supermodel!

Dammit. What the hell was going on here? She looked around a bit frantically, now hoping Delise would show up and rescue her. But Delise was nowhere in sight. And Jason was right next to her, touching her, his big body radiating heat. He smelled good, like he’d just showered, a fresh masculine scent of shampoo and men’s shower gel, and a faint shadow of beard shaded his jaw. Yum. She wanted to bite him.

Whoa. She blinked. Her mind was in the gutter. What kind of responsible big sister and schoolteacher was she?

He put a big hand on her cheek, cupping it, and she melted into a liquid puddle of lust on the red leather banquette. “You’re sweet,” he said, almost sounding surprised. “Okay. We’ll just stay here for a while. We can talk here.”

She nodded.

“You’re a free woman,” he said with a sexy smile. “And I’m a free man. We should both be celebrating. Why not together?”

She took in a long, slow breath. “Why not?” She smiled at him.

“Here’s the deal,” he said. “I’m not ready to settle down. I like you. We could have fun together.”

“We could.” Oh lord. What had she just said? She closed her eyes briefly, then focused on him and firmed her lips. “I’m not ready to settle down either. I just got my freedom. I’ve had enough responsibility. All I want is to have some fun.”

Even as she said the words, a small niggle of guilt wormed its way into her conscience. Was it true? Was that really all she wanted? She’d been mature, responsible, dependable for so long…did she even know how to just have fun?

She wanted to find out.

“Perfect,” he said, his thumb tracing over her bottom lip. He was watching her mouth again and it was so hot and sexy everything inside her contracted hard. She knew her panties were wet. She knew it. “Let’s have fun, Remi.”

And he kissed her. His mouth was warm, his lips firm on hers, and when his tongue licked over her bottom lip, she moaned helplessly.

Delicious pleasure rippled through her in waves and she put out a hand and rested it on his arm, the wool of his suit jacket soft and warm beneath her palm. Her skin tingled and tightened and that heavy liquid ache between her legs intensified.

His fingers slid around into her hair, cupped the back of her head and held it while his mouth moved on hers, slow, soft, lingering. Her heart beat so fast she was afraid it was going to explode in her chest and she whimpered. Her breasts swelled and she ached to press them against him.

He drew back. “Sorry. I kinda forgot where we are.” His voice was husky and sexy.

She sat there dazed and foggy, blinking at him. Where were they? Oh, yeah. In the middle of a hot nightclub. Music throbbed and the lights pulsed and flickered around them.

“I…I need another drink.”

“Good idea.” He turned and looked for a waitress and, sure enough, one hurried over right away, although she gave Remi a look that could have sliced her open. Was the waitress jealous? No way!

Feminine pleasure curled inside her and she smiled and sat back.

“So.” Jason looked at her, his eyes intent, face a bit flushed. She’d turned him on. With a kiss. That was so freakin’ hot. “What do you do for a living, Remi?”

She opened her mouth to tell him—and then closed it. It sounded so boring. The word “boring” echoed in her mind, what Darryl had called her when he’d given her that ultimatum. The word had stabbed into her heart, mostly because she knew it was true.

“Let’s not talk about stuff like that,” she said, smiling. “We don’t need to know personal details, right? We just want to have fun.”

His eyes squinted at her a bit, then he smiled too. “Right. Okay.” The waitress brought their drinks and they somehow managed to find other things to talk about and laugh about as Remi sipped another mojito and Jason drank his beer, their talk and laughter punctuated with small touches of fingertips on the back of a hand, a stroke down a bare arm, the brush of legs as they shifted on the banquette.

An hour passed as they talked and smoldering awareness grew, a haze of heated desire floated around them. Remi quivered, pressing her thighs together, her tummy fluttery, her pussy clenching. When their eyes met and held, attraction tugging them toward each other, another kiss had her melting against him.

“We need to leave here,” he murmured into her ear, and his breath there gave her tingly shivers. “I can’t keep my hands off you much longer and I’m going to embarrass you.”

Weak and trembling with need, she nodded. She felt the same. It took everything she had not to climb onto his lap and press herself against him.

She rose unsteadily. “I’ll go tell my friends we’re leaving.”

“I’ll meet you at the coat check.”

Pressing a hand to her tummy, Remi found Delise at the table, still with Tiger.

“Where have you been?” Delise asked. “Please tell me you met someone.”

“Oh, yeah. I met someone.” Remi bit her lip. “In fact, we’re leaving now.”

Delise’s eyes popped wide. “What! Who is it? Where is he? Where are you going?”

“I…uh…don’t know where we’re going. Maybe…my place.”

Delise stood up so fast her chair almost fell over backward. “What! Remi! You can’t take a strange man home with you!”

Remi tipped her head to one side and frowned. “Isn’t that what you wanted me to do?”

“I didn’t think you’d actually do it!”

“But…” Remi blinked. “But, Delise…”

“It’s dangerous, Remi.” Delise looked around. “Where is he?”

“He’s meeting me out front. He’s a nice guy, Del. He’s not dangerous.” Only in that he made her panties wet.

“How do you know that? Jesus, Remi.”

“I…” Disappointment started to dampen her happy buzz. “But, Delise…” She leaned closer to her friend. “I want him.”

Delise’s mouth opened. “Oh.” She stared at Remi. “Good god, Remi. Well, hell. Okay. Keep your cell phone on and with you at all times. All times. Got it?”

Remi gave a jerky nod.

“Because I’m going to be phoning you. And if you don’t answer, I’m sending the police. Go to your place. Don’t go to his place. Nobody will know where you are there.” She put a hand to her mouth. “This is still crazy. He could be a serial killer and once you get in a car with him…”

“Ssssh. I’m not that stupid.” Remi smiled at her friend. “I know this isn’t the kind of thing I usually do, but…I want to have fun tonight. I like him. He likes me.”

Delise’s face softened. She put her hands on Remi’s upper arms and squeezed. “Okay. But remember…I’m calling.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Remi hugged Delise and then turned and hurried toward the front of the club, looking for Jason. He stood near the entrance, a long, black coat loose over his suit, hands in the pockets. Her breath stuck in her throat at how gorgeous he was. She fumbled in her little purse for her coat check ticket, then Jason held the new silver trench coat Delise had made her purchase earlier while she slipped her arms into it.

“Let’s go,” she said, turning to him with a smile, lifting the ends of her hair out from the collar.

“Where are we going?” he murmured as they climbed the red-carpeted stairway to the door, one hand on the small of her back.

“My place.”

“Okay. We’ll have to take a taxi. Unless you…”

“No. I came with my friend.”

“Me too.”

The frosty March night air greeted them as they stepped out of the club onto the sidewalk. Busy restaurants and clubs with brightly lit signs surrounded them and throngs of people filled the sidewalks on both sides of the street. The windows of the office towers climbing into the sky around them glowed golden and tiny white lights twinkled on the bare trunks and branches of the trees lining the street. Several yellow cabs waited at the curb. They climbed into one and Remi gave the driver her Lincoln Park address.

“Is it far?” Jason asked, his hand warm on her bare knee. She glanced at him.

“No. Don’t you know where Lincoln Park is?”

“Sort of. I’ve only lived in Chicago a few years.”

“Oh, really? Where did you live before?”

“Canada.”

“Oh.” Curiosity spurted inside her. They’d agreed they didn’t need to know a lot of personal details about each other, but that was such an unexpected answer she wanted to know more. She studied him. “Why are you in Chicago now? Your work?”

“Yup.” He reached out and touched her hair. “What about you? Have you always lived here?”

“My whole life. The house I live in is the house I grew up in. When my parents died, we inherited it, and it was lucky because it was paid for. We didn’t have much money, but at least we had a roof over our heads.”

“That must have been hard for you. You were what…twenty-two, you said?”

“Yes. I’d just finished college, was just starting my first job.”

“And you had to look after your little brother and sister.”

“Mmm.” She hitched a shoulder. “I did what I had to do.”

His eyes grew a bit distant. “I couldn’t have done that when I was twenty-two. Hell, I couldn’t do that now.”

She laughed. “Well, hopefully you won’t have to. Are your parents still living?”

“Oh, yeah. Alive and well.”

“In Canada?”

“Mmhmm.” He focused back on her, his gaze warm and intent. She quivered inside.

“And do you have brothers and sisters?”

“Three brothers.”

“Whoa! Four boys! Your poor mother!”

He grinned. “She’s a tough lady.”

“Are you the oldest?”

“No. My brother Tag is older. Matt and Logan are both younger.”

“That’s cool. Must have been a busy house with four boys.” She eyed him. “Are they all as big as you?”

“Bigger.” He grinned.

“That’s not possible.”

“Well, Matt is about the same size as me. I might have a few pounds on him yet.”

She was intensely curious about the woman who’d given birth to four boys as big as Jason and how she’d reared them, but that was way more personal than they needed to get, so she shut off that train of thought.

The taxi pulled up in front of her two-story Victorian style house, and Jason reached for his wallet to pay. Remi started to protest, but he waved a hand and gave the driver some bills, including enough for a generous tip.

She led the way in her front door, flicked on a light and looked around at her home, wondering how it looked to Jason. She lived a simple life. Although Jasmine had been working at a full-time job for several months now, there wasn’t a lot of money left for luxuries from Remi’s teacher’s salary. But Jason bought drinks and handed out money easily, wore clothes that were clearly expensive and the watch she’d noticed on his wrist was a stainless steel Baume & Mercier. She didn’t know what he did, but he obviously had money.

“This is nice,” he said, surveying the living room. The house was old, but Remi loved it, loved the character in the big baseboards, the mullioned windows, the original brick fireplace and hardwood floors. “It reminds me of my parents’ home in Winnipeg.”

“Winnipeg? That’s where you’re from?”

“Yeah.” He slid his coat off and she stepped toward him to take it and hang it up. Nerves tightened and twisted inside her. She’d never done this—never brought a man home like this. She and Darryl had dated for months before they’d had sex and then it had to be quick and planned so as to avoid Kyle and Jasmine. What were the rules? Were there rules? Should she offer him a drink?

“Would you like a drink?” she inquired after hanging his coat in the closet. She stroked a hand down the sleeve of the exquisitely soft, black wool fabric before closing the closet door.

“Your coat?”

“Hmm?” She stared at him.

“Are you going to take your coat off?”

She looked down at herself. “Oh!” Her cheeks heated and she gave a lopsided smile. “Yes, of course.” She quickly removed the pretty new coat that she shouldn’t have spent so much money on and hung it in the closet next to his.

“C’mere.” He held out a hand and she hesitated, then walked toward him and took it. “You’re nervous.”

“No, I’m not.”

He laughed softly and pulled her closer, his hands on her hips. She trembled.

“It’s okay. Let’s have a drink, sit down and talk some more.”

“Okay. I have beer or wine…or champagne.”

“Champagne?” He lifted a brow. She moved away from his touch toward the kitchen.

“Delise brought it over earlier. To celebrate.” She shook her head, smiling.

“Well, we should finish it,” Jason said, following her. “That stuff doesn’t keep.”

“Okay.” She found two clean champagne flutes and poured the bubbly wine into them.

He touched the edge of his glass to hers before lifting it to his lips. “To Remi. All on her own now. Ready to have fun.”

She inhaled. Exhaled. Sipped her fizzy wine. Jason took her hand and led her back to the living room. They sat down on the slip-covered couch.

“Tell me about Winnipeg.”

He grinned. “Do you even know where it is?”

She nibbled her bottom lip. “Canada.”

His laughter warmed her insides. “Very good. Actually it’s not that far from here. Just north of North Dakota. It’s a nice city. Not as big as Chicago, of course. Bet you didn’t know it was once called the ‘Chicago of the north.’”

“I didn’t know that.” She watched him talk, sipped her wine.

“Back at the turn of the century, Winnipeg was growing fast. There were a lot of skyscrapers built—well, at the time they were considered skyscrapers. The architects who designed them were trained in the Chicago School style. Those buildings are still there, in the Exchange District. In fact, a lot of movies are filmed there because the buildings and streets still look just like they did back then. It’s a neat area.”

“Really? That’s cool.”

“Yeah. Winnipeg has stood in for Chicago in a few movies.”

“Like what?”

“Um…Shall We Dance, with Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon.”

“Get out! Really?”

“I kid you not.”

She wanted to know why he’d left, why he was here in Chicago, but didn’t want to ask.

“Do you miss your family?”

“Yeah. I see my brothers once in a while.” He gave her a funny grin. “And my parents visit sometimes, when they can.” He paused. “You must miss your parents.”

“Well, I do. But to be honest, they weren’t around that much, even when they were alive. They were both doctors and they did a lot of work in Africa.”

His brows rose. “Wow. Africa.”

“Yeah. It was very noble of them. They felt a…a ‘calling’, I suppose. But they’d be gone for months at a time.”

“Let me guess. Leaving big sister Remi in charge.”

“Yeah.” Her mouth twisted into a crooked smile. “And then they were killed in a small plane crash in Somalia.”

“Ah. That’s crappy.”

She nodded. “Yeah. But we did okay.”

“I see that.” He stroked a strand of hair back off her face, sending heat sliding down from his touch.

“Let’s talk abut happier things.”

“How about….let’s not talk.”