Extreme Close Up Chapter 17

Jack searched Ally's pretty face.
“What?” she asked.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“That was pretty tense.” He shrugged. “It can’t be easy seeing the guy who cheated on you.”
She waved a hand. “Whatever. I’m not buying his explanation about why he didn’t tell me he’d heard from you, but hey...water under the bridge, right?”
“Right.” He studied her. She really seemed okay. She was tougher than the Ally he’d known five years ago. And it looked good on her. Thank God she wasn’t still carrying around feelings for Carter, because he sure as hell didn’t deserve her.
They stepped back into the living room and sat side-by-side on the couch.
“That was freaky,” Ally said.
He laughed. “Freaky?”
A smile tugged the corners of her mouth but her eyes held sadness. “Yeah. Freaky. What happened to us, Jack?”
He stared at her. “Uh...”
“We were such good friends. The three of us. When Carter moved to Garden City and started hanging around with us...we were the Awesome Threesome.”
“Yeah.” They’d had a lot of fun. Good times. Tough times. Ally and Carter had helped him through the whole nightmare of Brittany’s pregnancy. He didn’t know what he would have done without them. “I know.” He sighed. “I guess things change.”
Their eyes met. The room heated and faded away.

* * *

Ally didn’t know if she moved toward Jack or if he grabbed her, but his hands were on her shoulders, her breasts pressed against his chest and his mouth was on hers, hot, hard and fiercely demanding. The slow yearning inside her exploded into feverish lust, and she burned, hot, blind with need. She clutched his shoulders, feeling the big hard bones beneath his shirt, the almost-scorching heat coming off him.
Lost in it, swept up in his arms, her own arms slid around his neck. Her breasts ached to be touched and she pressed against him, unable to get close enough.
Jack’s mouth opened wider on hers, and she matched his movement. His tongue filled her mouth, and more liquid heat ran through her, pooling low in her tummy, between her legs. A sharp, exquisite heat throbbed there. A small moan leaked from her mouth into his.
His hand moved up to her head, dug into her hair, turned her head for a better angle, and the kiss grew deeper, hotter. The hardness of his body pressed against hers, including that bulge in his jeans she’d tried not to notice before. She pressed herself there, desperately seeking something, loving the feel of his arousal.
Then the kiss ended and Jack set her away from him. Coolness washed over her with the warmth of his body removed. His stormy eyes gazed at her, and he slowly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “God, I am so sorry,” he muttered.
She didn't know what to say. She stared back at him, blinking rapidly.
“That shouldn’t have happened.” He shifted away.
They were supposed to be just friends. But...if they both felt the same way...what did it matter?
She still couldn’t speak. She touched her fingers to her swollen lips.
“Just tell me to leave and I’ll go,” he offered, his voice gritty.
“I don’t want you to leave.”
He closed his eyes briefly, adjusted the hard-on in his jeans with a quick movement that made her weak again.
He held up a hand. “Look, I apologize. I don’t know what the hell got into me. You’re still my friend Ally, even after all these years, and I should not have done that.”
“But you said...things change.”
He tipped his head back. “Yeah. But some things don’t. Christ. You don’t hit on your friend’s ex.”
For a moment she couldn’t make sense of what he said. Than she realized. She was Carter’s ex.
But it wasn’t like that.
Carter had cheated on her. It wasn’t like he was all devastated and heartbroken. Ha. They were talking about Carter here.
“Jack,” she whispered. Then she was afraid to go on. What was happening? She was having these intense, agonizing feelings for him and it seemed like something was going on with him, too, but what if...what if she was wrong? What if she was about to humiliate herself by trying to take their friendship somewhere he didn’t want to go? “I’m going to...um...go...” Where? How could she escape this freaking nightmare? “Um...have a bath,” she decided. She leaped to her feat. “Ah...help yourself to another beer if you want.” And she fled.
Jesus. As floral-scented steam filled the small room and she immersed her body in scalding water, she realized even when she’d been with Carter, she’d never been aroused to such a peak of raw sexual excitement. She burned for Jack, still pulsed and throbbed, especially her breasts and between her legs. She covered one breast with her hand, pressing hard, almost painfully, her nipple tight and sensitive. Her other hand slid between her legs under the water, and she touched the heat and wetness there. Oh God.
Frustrated. Confused. Embarrassed. She let out a little moan that turned into a sob and squeezed her eyes shut. The humiliation was almost as bad as the unsatisfied ache inside her.

Extreme Close Up Chapter 18