Page 5 of Jack

Chapter Two

Astrid still couldn’t believeshe’d said those things to Jack, but every time he was around, her mouth and other parts of her body went off on their own merry tangent. Which she had no control over if their conversation that morning was anything to go by.

A blush stole over her cheeks at the memory of what she’d been doing when Jack called. Instead of doing what an average person would do when she saw his number on her phone and ignore it, she’d hit answer and had literally been caught with her pants down.

Now he was watching her walk across the open area from the gate to the entrance where he was waiting with his arms crossed, looking typically pissed off. Astrid had no idea what it was about Jack that made her act the way she did. Just that when he was around, she constantly wanted to shock him and ruffle his feathers. Equally, she didn’t know why her presence, more than most, pissed him off.

“Jack, good to see you smiling as usual.”

A frown marred his handsome face, and she noticed the creases of tiredness around his eyes. A wave of sympathy rushed through her, and she buried it deep, not wanting to care for this man who seemed to dislike her so much. From their brief encounter earlier that year when he’d nearly kissed her in his office, she knew he desired her. He could hardly hide that thing in his pants.

“Don’t start, Astrid.”

“Fine, be a grump. You got any coffee?” She barged past him, not showing any of the hurt she felt over his constant dislike of her for no reason. His cologne wafted around her, and it took everything in her not to lean in and sniff him like a freak.

Eidolon was eerily quiet, and she found she missed the constant hum of noise that usually accompanied her on her visits to this base. She knew her way around and moved towards the kitchen, feeling Jack behind her, and added an extra sway to her hips.

Jack moved around her and made them both instant coffee. It would taste like shit compared to what she was usually treated to, thanks to Alex and his love of the dark java of heavenly goodness.

Taking her cup, she felt the air go static around her as their fingers brushed and her eyes shot to him to see if he’d noticed, but he was already walking away.

“Let’s go to the office and we can get this over with.”

Astrid rolled her eyes. “Way to make a girl feel wanted, Jack.”

He didn’t answer her but kept walking until he was seated behind his desk. “Take a seat, and I’ll go over the operational brief with you.”

Astrid slid into the seat opposite and crossed her long legs. She was tall for a woman at five feet eight inches, but around the men she worked with on occasion she felt tiny most of the time, which was a nice change. She got her height from her dad, but everything else was her mother. Her sister was the polar opposite. She’d inherited her mom’s size and her father’s dark looks.

Everyone had always been shocked when they’d said they were sisters because they looked so different, but they were close, or at least they had been. Thoughts of her sister inevitably brought the familiar pain in her chest, and only iron control stopped her from reaching up and trying to rub the pain away. It didn’t work anyway—it never worked.

Plastering a smile on her face, she locked the thoughts down, not wanting Jack to see that vulnerable, exposed side. He had made it clear he didn’t like her, and she was damned if she’d share her pain with him. “So, what’s the plan?”

He was watching her intently with those baby blue eyes that seemed to see everything and nothing at the same time. Her skin prickled with need and her heart beat faster. He was so intense and like every time before, she wondered what it would be like for a man like him to lose control, to show the world what was underneath all that muscle and good looks. She wanted that. Who wouldn’t? Jack was a fine specimen of a man, if not the best she’d seen, and she’d seen more than her share of handsome men. Charm was definitely not part of his package though.

“Why are you staring? Is my boob hanging out or something?” She looked down, pretending to check when really, she was just trying to get away from the knowing eyes that seemed to be seeing through her armour today.

“Why do you do that?” His voice was a deep rich baritone that made her think of sweaty sex.

“Do what?”

“That. Deflect attention by being annoying and provocative.”

Astrid gripped her coffee mug tighter, her fingers turning white on the cup. “I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. You try to wind me up and get a reaction from me like a fifteen-year-old girl.”

“Wow, conceited much?”

Jack stood and moved to her side of the desk, leaning his delectable ass against it. She refused to move even though she wanted to get away from his addictive pull and his leg innocently brushing hers.

“I’m not being conceited. You admitted it in Taamira’s hotel room, remember?”

She did remember that and felt heat rush to her cheeks at getting caught lusting after the sexy asshole. Astrid waved her hand in the air. “That was a minor aberration and I’m over it now.”

“Are you? That’s a shame.”

His leg pressed against her thigh, and she felt her breathing increase as she tried to stop her damned heart from exploding. “Are you flirting with me, Jack?”