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“Sure. Shoot.”
“Has your dad dated since your mom left?” Her voice was soft, as though she wasn’t sure whether to ask or not.
“No.” Jackson blew out a mouthful of air. His dad’s lack of moving on had long been a source of contention for them both. “I think he’s still holding a candle for my mom after all these years.”
She looked thoughtful. “My dad’s the same. Since mom died he hasn’t dated anybody. Not publically anyway. I mean, he has to have been seeing somebody, you can’t go twenty years without sex, can you?”
Jackson wrinkled his nose. “I don’t know. And I guess I don’t want to know what my dad gets up to.”
Lydia laughed. “He’s definitely had sex before. Where do you think you came from?”
“I know where I came from.” Jackson shook his head at the amusement in her voice. “But I don’t really want to think about it. Those kind of mind movies can get stuck in your head, and I’m not ready to deal with that.”
“I bet your dad’s good in bed.”
“Lydia!” His eyes widened. “Where the hell did that come from?”
“Hear me out. He’s a nice guy. Wants to make people happy.” She bit her lips to stop herself from grinning. “Kind of like his son. And since I know you have all the skills, maybe he does, too.”
“You think I’m nice?” Jackson winced at the word.
Her eyes narrowed as she took him in. “Hmm. I guess I think you can be nice. You were nice to me this evening. Took me driving and bought me dinner.”
“For ten dollars. You weren’t exactly an expensive date.” He rolled his eyes.
“But other times you’re not so nice. You were short with me when you drove me home from the airport on Saturday. I thought I’d done something wrong.”
He shook his head. “I was fighting the attraction. Trying to do what Griff asked me.”
Lydia sighed. “Let’s hope he’s stopped trying to interfere with my love life.” She ran her finger over her bottom lip, and it made him want to kiss her again. “So you’re not nice when you’re fighting the attraction to me, but you are nice when you give in to it. Do I have that right?”
He snorted. “Pretty much.”
She clapped her hands together. “That’s simple. Stop fighting it. Be nice to me.” Reaching out, she traced the seam of his jeans along his inner thigh. Damn, her touch felt good. “The way you were nice to me when we were kissing on the cliff.”
“Nice is a weak word.” Her finger moved up further. He was torn between wanting her to carry on and wanting to keep his concentration on the road. Good thing they were almost home.
“Tell me a better one,” she whispered.
He swallowed, turning onto the road leading to his house. “I desired you. Needed you. Wanted to make you feel things you hadn’t felt before. I wanted to see you come apart in my arms, and hold you until you could breathe again. I wanted to kiss you until our lips hurt, until we had to pull apart because we need air like we need each other.” He turned left into his driveway, parking in the usual spot. Switching the engine off, he turned to her, a half-smile on his face. “How’s that?”
She swallowed hard, her cheeks flushed. “Yeah,” she said, her voice ragged. “That’ll work.” She looked from the house and back to him. “Let’s go in. I’m ready for you to show me exactly how un-nice you can be.”
14
Jackson filled a bowl with water and threw a treat into Eddie’s waiting mouth. “You need to stay down here, boy,” he told him, when Eddie barked indignantly at Jackson walking out of the kitchen. “This is adult business.”
Eddie buried his head in the water bowl, but let his tail hang down so Jackson knew he was pissed. It was okay, Jackson would make it up to him. Maybe take him for an extra long walk in the morning. They could both go for a swim.
He’d think about it later, when his brain was working properly, and not full of the gorgeous woman waiting for him.
“Is he okay?” Lydia asked when Jackson walked back into the hallway. She was leaning against the wall, her hands clasped behind her. She’d kicked off her shoes, and he noticed her toes were painted the same color as the cherry blossom on her tattoo.
“He’s fine. Sulking because he wants to play.”
Her eyes twinkled. “He needs a girl dog.”
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