If I Loved You (Harper Falls Book 1) (27 page)

“Great, another movie reference.” Jack was
about to rethink how much he liked the way her brain worked.

“But mostly? I found you so sexy I couldn’t
wait to get you alone and rip your clothes off.”

“Now
that
I
like the sound of. But I’m still growing my hair out.” His blue,
blue eyes held hers as he leaned in and claimed her mouth in a
scorching hot kiss. “I need to let Edgar out. So it’s either a
quickie or wait until I get back.”

Rose slipped her hand between his legs to
gauge his readiness. Making a happy hum she squeezed his hardening
length gently. “Why not both?”

Jack tumbled her back onto the bed. Why not,
indeed?

JUNE WAS IN full bloom.

Rose could smell the sweet combination of
flowers, their fragrance intensified by the hot afternoon sun. She
had spent so much time working on the
Wishes
soundtrack that she’d almost forgotten what
it felt like just to stand outside and take in all the sights,
sounds and smells of nature. But now that she had finished all but
the final love song she decided to break out of her self-imposed
prison for the rest of the day and reconnect with the world. Or at
least her part of it.

Rose had been using work as a way of
avoiding Jack. And, to be honest, after almost a week, she had
missed him. A lot. She missed him so much that she found herself
calling him every night to ask how he and Edgar were doing. They
would end up talking for an hour or more. She didn’t mean to call.
Or talk so long. If she was so busy how could she spare the time?
Why didn’t Jack call her on it? If he had asked her to hang up the
phone and come be in his bed, Rose knew she would have caved. But
he didn’t ask. Her bed, the great big bed she’d ordered because he
asked her to, was sitting in her newly painted bedroom. Surrounded
by her brand new bedroom furniture. The brand new ultra-soft sheets
never having been slept on. Like an idiot, she was sleeping
downstairs on the couch—alone.

And why was she alone? Because she was a
coward and because Jack wanted to take her home to meet his
parents. Not that he’d put it precisely like that. But that’s what
it amounted to.

On Friday, Jack was traveling to Oregon to
help celebrate his parent’s fortieth wedding anniversary. Seven
children, eleven grandchildren, forty years waking up next to the
same person every morning. And he wanted her to go with him.

Rose had tried to get out of going by
arguing that it was a family get together and she was
not
family. Jack had argued that
everyone in the county was going to be at the huge event,
neighbors, friends and probably some drop-ins who just liked a good
party. It wasn't going to be just family. The argument, though
never heated, had gone back and forth until Rose threw up her hands
and had told him she’d think about it.

She’d been thinking for a week. And even
though he was leaving tomorrow, Jack hadn’t tried pressuring her
during their nightly talks. In fact, he hadn’t even mentioned the
trip again, which, as he probably knew, made her think about it
constantly. Either he was sneaky as hell or he didn't care if she
went with him. God, she had to stop or her brain was going to
explode.

Tyler and Dani told her to go. It was one
weekend, not a lifetime commitment. And how could she pass up the
chance to meet the woman who had named her son Jack Rabbit Run?
Frank told her to go. She would be miserable the entire weekend if
he went and she stayed home. Maybe she would be miserable in
Oregon, but at least she’d be with Jack. Even Sam Laughton told her
to go. If she needed inspiration to finish a love song where better
to get it than at a fortieth wedding anniversary party?

So everyone thought she should go. And Rose?
Damn it, she wanted to go. She looked at her phone but decided Jack
had put up with enough phone calls, he deserved to hear her
decision in person. He also deserved an award for the most
understanding, patient man in the world. That and an apology just
might start to make up for her idiocy. She hoped he thought so.

But first a quick shower and a change of
clothes. She had only gotten two stairs up when there was a knock
at the door. Groaning at the inconvenient timing, she changed
direction. If this was another invitation from Regina Harper poor
Potts was going to get an earful.

“Look, I don’t have time to…” Rose stopped
in mid-sentence. It was the one person she had plenty of time for.
“Jack.”

“Should I go?”

“No!” She grabbed him and pulled him into
the house before he could get away. “I was just coming to see
you.”

“Then I saved you a trip. Any particular
reason you wanted to see me?”

“I’m sorry.” Rose launched herself into
Jack’s strong arms and just held on. “If you’ve come here to tell
me you’ve had enough of my nonsense I don’t blame you a bit. All I
ask is that I can visit Edgar now and then and that you call me
whenever you’re, you know, in the mood.”

Jack buried his face in her hair and
breathed deeply letting her scent wash over him. He’d gotten used
to his daily fix of Rose. He had a week of deprivation to make up
for and he planned on starting right now.

“Sweetheart, if you think you can get away
with visiting Edgar
now and then
,
you’re out of your mind. I’ve had to look at his sad puppy face all
week and it has gotten a bit old. I think he secretly blames me for
your absence, but he’s afraid I’ll cut off his kibble, so he’s kept
quiet.” Jack paused to kiss her senseless. “And I have no idea what
nonsense you’re talking about. As for calling you whenever I’m in
the mood? For a while now you’ve been the only woman to interest my
mood so that one’s a given.”

Rose felt her mood lift and her libido kick
in. Smiling knowingly, she pulled away from his embrace and began
to slowly back up the stairs. “There’s a brand new bed in my room
that needs christening. Do you think you’re up for it?”

Jack started to follow her. “In about thirty
seconds I’m going to show you just how
up
for it I am. So unless you want those clothes
ripped off right where you're standing you’d better get your pretty
ass up those stairs.”

Twenty-five seconds later they were both
naked, limbs entwined, on the bed. They felt the urgency of a week
without this, but neither was in a hurry for it to end. Jack took
his time; he needed to taste every inch of her soft skin. Her
breasts were of particular interest. He stopped to savor how they
felt as he rubbed his cheek over her plump nipples and then pulled
one into his mouth. Her gasp of pleasure shot through him, sending
his
arousal into overdrive. A man
could die happy if his last moments were spent loving Rose.

“You know just where to touch me,” Rose
sighed. She reveled in the sensations that bombarded her as his
hand slid between her legs. When he replaced his hand with his
mouth, she wondered why her heart didn’t burst from her chest. This
is what she needed, what she craved. And Jack was the only one who
could give it to her.

“Tell me you’ve missed this—missed me.” Jack
moved over. Rose reached for him, her body begging for him to fill
her, to give her the release she craved more than air.

“Yes, Jack,” she gasped at the feel of his
teasing entry. “I’ve missed you, only you.”

Hearing the words he craved, Jack entered
Rose, driving them both closer and closer to the edge with every
powerful thrust. And when they toppled over it was together,
swallowing each other's cries of fulfillment with a long, soulful
kiss.

Totally spent, Jack rolled to the side of
the bed, bringing Rose with him. He tucked her into his arms; one
hand gently stroking up and down her arm. She relaxed against his
body with a sigh of pure contentment. Leaning back, he stared up at
the ceiling. This was more like it. Jack was thrilled to know that
Rose had been about to come to him, that she had missed him, needed
him. Jack could be patient when necessary, but he wanted Rose so
much it was becoming more and more difficult to keep his feeling
suppressed. Part of him knew he couldn’t force her to love him. The
primitive part of him wanted to beat his chest and keep her in bed
until she admitted she couldn’t live without him.

“Has this room been painted?” Jack’s brain
had been so busy running in the same circle it had been caught in
all week that it took several minutes for him to register that he
was looking at an entirely new color.

“It has.” Rose was pleased he’d noticed. “Do
you like it? It’s a pale blue but in this light it looks a bit
darker.”

“It’s great, really.” He looked around the
room. The furniture looked different and so did the curtains. “When
did you do all this?”

“This last week. Though technically, I
didn’t do any of it. The painters finished two days ago and then
the furniture and drapes came yesterday. I just opened the door and
left them to it.”

Jack shook his head in amazement. “I just
asked you to get a new bed.”

“Which I did. But then nothing matched.”
Rose looked around. Normally she would have done most of the work
herself. She liked to paint—it was soothing. But she’d wanted it
done right away. Hiring professionals saved her time, which at the
moment was in short supply.

“You should see the little room off of the
front door. To be fair, I started that project a few weeks ago, but
the half bath looks amazing.”

“Rose," Jack said softly.

“Now that the bedroom and bath are done I
was thinking about painting the whole house—inside and out. The
guys who did in here gave me a great quote for the whole job.”

“Rose." His voice was a bit firmer this
time

“I know, I’m rambling.” Her thoughts were
pinging off each other so quickly that her mouth couldn’t catch up.
She breathed in and steadied herself until what she wanted to say
was in the right order.

“Thank you, Jack.”

Jack laughed. “If you’re talking about the
mind-blowing sex, you’re welcome.”

“Thank you for not giving up on me.”

“Rose.” Jack took her face between his
hands, his eyes an intense blue. “I will never give up on you—on
us.”

“You should.” When he began to protest Rose
gently covered his mouth with her fingertips. “I should make you. I
know if you honestly believed I wanted to end it you would leave me
alone.”

“
If
I
believed it.”

“That’s the problem, isn’t it?” She trailed
her fingers over his lips, across his cheekbones and then along his
jaw. Touching him was addictive. She sighed. Right now she didn’t
have the strength to give it up—to give
him
up.

“I know what you want, Jack. You haven’t
said it, and I’m grateful. I wish I could promise you that one day
soon I’ll be able to give you everything you need, everything you
deserve. But I don’t know if I’m capable of that. But, God, I want
to be. Maybe—.”

This time it was Jack that silenced
her
. “That seems like a good place
to stop. Okay?”

Rose nodded. She kissed his fingers then
pulled one into her mouth. So much better than any lollypop.

“Ready for another go, are we?” Jack
groaned. He could feel the suction of her mouth down to his
toes.

Rose nodded again. Her eyes changing to a
deep sherry color, warm and inviting.

“One more thing before I lose all ability to
think. Oregon. Yes?”

“Oregon, definitely.”

ROSE HAD PEPPERED Jack with seemingly
endless questions about what kind of clothes she should pack. She
knew he didn’t understand, but she did appreciate his patience. But
once she started in on shoe choices? Jack finally reached his
limit.

“Rose, I have no idea what my mother and
sisters will be wearing. But if it’s that important I’ll a call mom
right now and you can ask her yourself.”

Horrified at the thought, Rose snatched
Jack’s phone out of his hand.

“I’ll figure it out for myself.” They were
leaving tomorrow and coming back on Monday. Not even three full
days. But Rose wanted to be prepared for any contingency. “There’s
plenty of room in your SUV. I’ll bring a few extra things, just to
be safe.”

They had decided to go out for dinner. Rose,
as usual had almost nothing in her refrigerator and Jack was in the
mood for something more substantial than cold cereal.
On The Waterfront
had a great view
of the river and eclectic cuisine. He looked at Rose over the top
of his menu.

“We aren’t driving but there will still be
plenty of room. Unless you plan on taking steamer trunks. The plane
has lots of cargo space, but that would be pushing it.”

“We’re flying?” Rose didn’t mind, but she
was
surprised.

“It usually takes less than an hour, so I
like to fly when I visit my family.” Jack smiled at the waitress as
she walked up to take their order. Rose could almost hear the
woman’s wistful sigh. She understood completely. She’d felt the
power of that smile the first time they’d met and it still got to
her—every time. The crazy part was, he wasn’t even trying. He
didn't do it consciously and he left a trail of breathless women in
his wake. These days he reserved the deliberately sexy smile just
for her. The poor waitress wouldn’t have been able to function for
the rest of her shift if she'd witnessed that one.

“Have you decided what you want,
sweetheart?” The warmth in his voice sent a little shiver down her
spine.

Oh, she knew what she wanted, Rose thought.
But she was going to have to wait until they were alone to do
anything about it

ROSE SLID OUT of Jack’s SUV. Edgar bounced
impatiently in the back seat, waiting for someone to let him out.
It only diminished his enthusiasm slightly when Jack fastened a
lead on his collar. Jack had decided to bring the dog with them so
that he could visit the brother who still lived with Jack’s
parents. But Rose knew the real reason. It might only be until
Monday, but Jack would miss him. The private plane they were taking
was plenty big enough for all of them, so there was no reason not
to bring him along. Taking control of the dog, Rose let him explore
the exciting new territory while Jack unloaded their luggage.