Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Jeff watched, frustrated, as Marisa ignored him. She paced some more, pausing to pick up a bottle of water from a small shelf. “My parents will be frantic,” she muttered. “But I’m guessing our phones won’t work down here?”
“The walls are reinforced steel,” he admitted. “But we can try.”
It was a dead end. His phone had no bars at all. Hers only one.
“I’ll try texting,” she muttered. “Sometimes that goes through even when a call won’t.”
“Good idea.”
Jeff didn’t bother. His parents lived out of state now, and his sister was on a business trip. By the time any of them heard about the tornado, he and Marisa would probably be rescued.
His companion made a frustrated noise. “It says not delivered .”
“I’m sorry. Surely they won’t have to worry for long.”
Marisa leaned against a wall and crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “I hope no one was hurt.”
“Me, too. Sometimes these tornadoes touch down briefly and hop back up into the sky. Maybe this one wasn’t so bad.”
“It sounded bad,” she said glumly.
He tried again. “Why didn’t you tell me you were a virgin?” he asked quietly.
Her gaze darted away from his. Hot color flushed her cheeks. “I was embarrassed,” she whispered. “It was our first date, so I didn’t think sex was a possibility. And then when I realized that we...” She trailed off, the muscles in her throat working.
“That we couldn’t keep out hands off each other?”
She nodded slowly. “It all happened so fast.”
He winced. Not what a guy wanted to hear. “That was my fault. I hadn’t been with a woman in six months. Work was hectic. I live in a small town. Not too many opportunities for sexual relationships without expending effort and energy I didn’t have. So when I met you, I went a little wild.”
“Because I was convenient and easy...” She scowled.
“No,” he said forcefully. “No.” He paused, trying to make her understand. That was a tall order since he didn’t quite understand it himself. “Sexual attraction is unpredictable. Whatever buzzed between us that night was powerful and rare. I haven’t done one-night stands since I was young and green. Taking a woman to bed on a first date isn’t my style.”
“But?” Her chin lifted again, and her gaze challenged him.
He rolled his shoulders and exhaled. “But I had to have you. I don’t know how else to explain it. Though, if you had told me to stop, I would have, of course.”
Chagrin painted her face. “You had no reason to stop. I was obviously right there with you. I’d like to blame my behavior on alcohol, but I only had one beer. You’re right. We were at the mercy of our bodies, not our rational selves. Fortunately, that kind of impulsivity wears off in the light of day.”
“Does it?” he asked, not at all kidding. He wanted her as much right now as he had that night.
She nodded firmly. “It does. I’m glad we had this talk. Closure is good. Now we can get on with our lives.”
Her tidy summation of the situation pissed him off. “How does a woman get to be a twenty-four-year-old virgin? In the twenty-first century?”
Marisa glared at him. “First of all, that’s an insulting question.”
“I really want to know.”
“It’s not as unusual as you think. We’re not unicorns. I’ve met several women like me.”
“I don’t care about them ,” he said. “I want to know about you.”
She sighed. “My parents were very strict. I wasn’t allowed to date until I was a senior in high school. By then, I had a reputation for being extremely shy, which was well deserved, by the way. I wasn’t the kind of girl who talked easily to boys.”
“And after you graduated? You told me you went to culinary school in Atlanta. Surely men noticed you. You’re a stunning woman.”
His flattery didn’t appear to make a dent in her mood. “It’s not a question of being noticed. Guys asked me out. But I was sharing an apartment with four other girls. Sexual intimacy wasn’t an option there. Besides, I was living in a big, possibly dangerous city for the first time. I didn’t feel safe going home with a guy to his place.”
“You went home with me,” Jeff pointed out.
Silence fell. Marisa’s expression was a combination of shock and dismay. “I know. I’m not sure why. Especially since you bundled me up afterward and took me back to my place like an unwanted package. It was humiliating.”
“I didn’t know what else to do,” he said quietly. “I felt like I had taken your innocence. And I didn’t know why you had offered it.”
She stared at him, lips parted, chest rising and falling with her rapid breathing. “You didn’t take anything. And I didn’t offer. It just happened. To be honest, I’ve done my best to forget about that night.”
“Ouch.” He rotated his neck.
“You should forget about it, too,” she said firmly. “No reason for a guilty conscience. We both enjoyed a sexual encounter that was mutually satisfying. End of story.”
He wanted to challenge her. Needed to challenge her. But until he understood what he wanted, perhaps it was best to leave things alone. “I still feel bad about how things played out,” he said. “A woman’s first time should be special, gentle. I’m really sorry, Marisa.”
She was quiet for so long he started to think she was stonewalling him. But finally, she spoke. “I chose to be with you,” she said. “Because I wanted you. And I have no complaints. It was very nice.”
Nothing like damning with faint praise, he thought ruefully. He wasn’t even entirely sure she had come. Likely not. The truth was, she had wound him up to a fever pitch and turned him into a desperate, ravenous mess.
He rubbed the back of his neck and took his own turn at pacing. The conversation had ground to a halt. Maybe he should concentrate on getting them out. If he could.
When he glanced at his phone a second time, he felt a jolt of relief. He had one bar now. Quickly, he dialed 9-1-1. A voice on the other end answered, but before Jeff could say a word, the call dropped. Damn.
Marisa straightened, downed half the bottle of water, and grimaced. “No luck?”
He shook his head slowly, hating the feeling of helplessness. He liked solving problems. “At least the call went through for a couple of seconds. Maybe they’ll see the number and know where we are.”
“Okay.” She yawned and stretched. “We might as well sit down now. I’m guessing we’re gonna be here more than five minutes.”
He watched her get settled and did the same. The fabric seat wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible. Soccer moms and dads all over the country sat in these things for hours. It only seemed uncomfortable because Jeff and Marisa had no idea how long they would be stranded.
For half an hour, neither of them spoke.
Finally, Marisa sighed. “Why did your sister set you up on a blind date, anyway? Jilly knows I have no social life. But what’s your excuse?”
He stretched his legs out in front of him, flexing his feet. “Owning a business is hard. You know that as well as I do. I tend to bite off more than I can chew when it comes to projects and deadlines. I had to push hard and work hard when I was getting started. It became a habit. At night, I would fall into bed and then repeat the schedule the next day.”
“I might know a little about that,” she said.
“It’s a vicious cycle. Before you know it, a week has passed. Then a month. And suddenly, you can’t remember the last time you had a day off to go fishing or swim at the lake or head down to Florida for a long weekend.”
Marisa nodded. “So how did she convince you to go on a blind date? Has she done that before?”
“She’s always trying to set me up with someone. It’s annoying mostly, but I know she loves me. Jilly wouldn’t let this thing go. She said I was too old not to have a date for Valentine’s Day...”
“Ah.”
He frowned. “What does that mean?”
Marisa shot him a sideways glance. “Nothing.”
“It didn’t sound like nothing.”
“I just think it’s funny your sister thinks you’re old.”
“You don’t?”
“No. From what I can tell, you’re in your prime.”
He blinked. “Are you flirting with me?” The blood in his veins began to pump harder.
She sniffed. “Don’t let your ego run away with you. Why would I flirt with a man who’s not my type?”
He felt his face burn. “Not your type? Holy hell, woman. We were all over each other that night. We could have set the bar on fire with the heat we generated. And you know it.”
That gold-sandaled foot started tapping again. “Possibly. But then again, maybe we both just wanted to get laid. Any port in a storm and all that.”
He rolled to his feet. “Get up,” he said. “Right now.”
Her face reflected alarm. “Why? Is the roof about to cave in?”
“Of course not. I’m going to kiss you again.”
“Oh, no,” she said. “We’re not going to play that game.”
He stared down at her, his hands in his pockets. “Why not?”
“Because I don’t want you to kiss me.”
“Liar.”
Marisa didn’t protest when Jeff reached down, took her wrists and pulled her to her feet. The adrenaline burst generated by the tornado’s onslaught had faded, leaving her weak and shaky. She wanted and needed Jeff’s comfort. Among other things.
His body was big and strong. When he drew her into his arms, he smelled good. Really good. Good enough to distract her from the current nightmarish situation.
“How hot is it going to get?” she asked, hating that her voice wobbled. She didn’t want Jeff thinking she was a coward.
“Maybe not too bad,” he said. “The generator will keep the AC going. Unless the unit was crushed. But I still feel air flowing, so I’m hopeful.”
Finally, she asked the question that was bouncing around in her head. “How long do you think we’ll be here?”
His body tensed. She could feel it.
“Don’t lie to me,” she said quickly. “I’d rather know the truth.”
“Okay.”
She felt his fingers brush the back of her neck as he played with her ponytail.
“Jeff?”
He sighed. “The answer is I don’t know . But if the building did collapse, we could be stuck for some time. Rescue personnel will be looking for survivors. Often that means bringing in heavy equipment to move rubble. Several people know that I outfitted this walk-in safe as a storm cellar. Somebody will come for us. It’s only a question of how long...”
Marisa told herself she wasn’t going to whine. She was alive. She wasn’t even hurt. Jeff had created this extremely effective safe room. They were lucky to be where they were.
“I understand.” Being this close to him resurrected feelings she knew she should fight. She’d spent a year and a half getting over Jeff Grainger. One lousy tornado wasn’t going to undo all that hard work. She wouldn’t allow it. As a grown-ass woman, she could stand on her own two feet in an emergency.
And she would. In a few minutes.
She hadn’t meant to flirt with him. Of course not. The words had come out wrong. That’s all.
Jeff Grainger was nothing to her.
When she rested her cheek against his chest, she heard him sigh. “Maybe you should kiss me ,” he said. “So we’re clear on the consent thing.”
Her stomach flipped hard. “I don’t think so,” she whispered, already imagining it.
He nuzzled her nose with his. “Please,” he cajoled.
“This is stupid.” Something had happened to the air in her lungs. Maybe she and Jeff were slowly being deprived of oxygen. That could make people do impulsive things.
She put one hand behind his neck and pulled his head down so her lips could find his. “So stupid,” she whispered. And then she kissed him.
Wow. Eighteen long months had passed, and still she remembered how he tasted. Like Christmas and her birthday and cotton candy at the fair.
Her bones went liquid with pleasure, and her heart raced. His lips were warm but closed. His body was rigid.
“Kiss me back,” she demanded. “This was your idea.”
His thumb caressed her cheek as he exhaled jerkily. “We won’t be able to put the genie back in the bottle. You know that, right?”
She pulled away a little and smiled wryly. “We’ve been through a traumatic, world altering event. Don’t we need some kind of life-affirming action to make us feel alive?”
Jeff’s deep brown eyes and wavy brown hair, coupled with a toned body, made him a very handsome man. He studied her face. “Maybe we do,” he muttered. And then he took control.
Though he held her carefully, as if she was fragile and breakable, his kiss offered no quarter. He ravaged her mouth, taking and giving and taking until she was literally breathless.
“Jeff...” She whispered his name, falling into the madness that had caught them up on their first date.
His tongue stroked hers, tangling, caressing. “You make me so damn hot. Come here, sweet woman.” He sat in a chair and pulled her across his lap. “Let me feel you.”
Before she could do more than gasp, he had his hand under her shirt and her breast between his fingers plucking at the nipple.
Marisa moaned, lifting into his touch. “I didn’t know how good it could be,” she said. “If I had, I might have agreed to that blind date a lot sooner.”
Jeff frowned. “What do you mean, sooner ?”
“Jilly had been badgering me since Christmas to go out with you, but I thought you were too...um...”
“Too what?” he demanded, his scowl dark.
“Too overtly masculine. Too arrogant. I thought you would overpower me.”
Now he looked appalled. “Is that what you think happened?”
He scooted her off his lap and lurched to his feet, putting the width of the safe between them, not watching as she straightened her clothes.
“Of course not,” she said.
But he didn’t respond. He stood, back stiff, facing away from her as he fiddled with his phone.
Marisa curled her legs beneath her in her own camp chair and tried to rest. She shouldn’t have said anything. Now she had offended him or something . Which was exactly why she didn’t date. She was bad at it.
She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but it was the middle of the day. Even if the adrenaline surge had left her exhausted, her mind raced. Should she suggest a second chance for the two of them? Did she even want that?
Of course not. Jeff Grainger wasn’t the man for her. She needed someone placid. Maybe a little boring. A guy who would love her but not swallow her up in his personality.
Sexual overwhelm was all well and good for one amazing night, but not for a steady diet.
The heartbreak she had experienced and later suppressed washed over her, leaving her wistful and depressed. She did want Jeff. But she didn’t know how to make that happen.
Finally, he sat down with a sigh. Marisa kept her eyes closed.
In this small room, she could almost feel the invisible cord that drew them together. Was he fighting it as much as she was?
She might never have this time with him again. The two of them alone. This was her chance to rewrite the ending.
But she was petrified.
Jeff was a guy. A guy who’d had far more sex than Marisa ever had. He was confident and kind and competent and sexy and a dozen other adjectives she could name.
Would it be worth it to be with him not knowing how their story might unfold?
She opened her eyes and found him watching her, his intense gaze guarded. “What are you thinking?” she asked.
“Were you afraid of me?” he asked. “That night?”
“No.” She shook her head vehemently. “I might have been afraid I was doing the wrong thing, but I was never afraid of you. Never.”
His body language relaxed. “I’m glad. When I found out you were a—”
She held out her hand, stopping him. “I know what you found out,” she said impatiently. “You’re making way too big a deal about that. My sexual state was situational, not some kind of declaration. I wasn’t waiting for Mr. Right. You needn’t have panicked.”
“I didn’t panic,” he protested.
Marisa heard his words, but she didn’t believe them. Why else would he have rushed her home so fast?
“I think maybe you did,” she said slowly. “I had visions of spending the night with you. All night. But you couldn’t get me out of your house fast enough. That was a crappy thing to do.”
He stared at her, his jaw working. “You’re right, Marisa. I handled the situation poorly. I’m sorry.” He paused. “Would you consider giving me another chance?”