Chapter 8
Janice shifted uncomfortably, massaging her side sorely. Warren had been right about the lavender-chamomile stuff helping with pain, but now noticed he’d notably said nothing about discomfort. . . And she was definitely uncomfortable.
Honestly, Janice would rather have been at home right now, lying naked in her bed.
Her clothes were too tight and constricting, and she thought she might go insane with the way the fabric of her bra chafed at her sensitive nipples.
She liked to think maybe a hot bath would help, her mind repetitively cycling back to the idea of luxuriating in a steaming tub of water.
And then there was that foreign congestion of her stomach to deal with, too.
She pressed and ran a hand down her stomach again, still hoping beyond hope that she would somehow be able to push her organs back into their normal position to be rid of the congested reminder of how she’d quite literally had her mind blown by a guy she’d just met.
Her thoughts jumped that train again, cycling to the fact that she hadn’t brought up the passing out thing before she’d gotten out of the man’s car.
And she really would like to know if that was normal.
. . But then, nothing last night had been normal for her.
Every touch, every sound, every sensation had been a new, thrilling, and— upon further contemplation— confusing experience for her.
Hell! What even Happened last night?
She’d gone out for a fight. Not a. . . Whatever that was!
Instead she’d gotten her guts rearranged by some stranger she’d never even met before. She showed him her power! It had even manifested physically around them! And he hadn’t freaked out and tried to see an end to her right then and there. . . WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT?!
“Janice?”
A hand on her shoulder had her jumping, suddenly startled from her ever cycling tirade of absurd and confusing thoughts.
“Janice, are you okay?” Sascha frowned worriedly, taking in the way she was rubbing at her stomach and Janice immediately switched to rubbing circles into her stomach. “What’s wrong? I’ve been calling you for a while now.”
Janice cut her eyes to Stephany, who stood haughtily nearby, arms crossed over her chest as she leaned against the back counter, casting surreptitious glances their way.
Sascha caught the look and clenched her jaw. “Let’s get you some water and a pain pill from my purse.” Sascha slipped an arm around her shoulders and led her toward the hall. “Do you have something to eat with the medicine?”
They both heard the door open and as they passed, Stephany brightened at the sight of whoever it was that had come in.
They ignored it. The last thing they needed was a dose of who Stephany was or wasn’t trying to get into the pants of today.
“No. I was in a rush this morning and didn’t get to pack a lunch.
” Which she had been. Because of her late night, she’d overslept and barely made it out of the house on time.
“You can have some of my crackers then—”
It was then, that Stephany’s words reached them. “Janice? No, she’s going on break. Are you sure there’s nothing that I can help you with?”
The girl was definitely turning on and working the hell out of her charm, but the unaffected voice that responded to her was terribly familiar.
“No, I actually told her I would be stopping by.” It brought to mind softly growled nothings she couldn’t make sense of, spoken into the flesh of her shoulder and raising her flesh in goosebumps. “I have something to give to her.”
“Well, I can just pass it—”
Janice turned sharply, uncertain if it was just disbelief or a touch of horror that had her voice so high. “Warren?”
The man looked over at her and smiled gently. “Janice.”
She felt heat rise in her face and pushed out of Sascha’s hold, startling the other woman, but there was no time for that.
She’d nurse her relationship with Sascha later.
Right now, she needed to get this man as far away from her job as fast as possible.
Rushing around the counter to jerk him by the arm, she hissed, “What are you doing here?”
He lifted his arms out of her reach as he stepped away from the counter, effectively shutting Stephany out of the conversation, much to the girl’s consternation. “I did say I’d bring you coffee today. Remember?” His tone was as patient as his kind smile and the look in his eyes.
Janice frowned, finally looking at what he held in his hands. In one, he held a small bag and in the other he held a blended coffee topped with whipped cream, caramel, and chocolate chips on top. Her face flushed further and she swallowed hard.
“Did you think I came for something else?” He leaned in, his voice a low tormenting rumble and she remembered the way his hands and that naughty mouth of his had felt on her body.
Desire swelled low and she swallowed. “Warren.” She muttered nervously, placing a hand against his chest to keep him from coming closer.
“Don’t worry so much.” He breathed a laugh. “I won’t do anything to you where others could see.”
“Oh.” She sighed, suddenly able to breathe easier.
He took a step closer, leaning forward to close the distance between them and whispered in her ear, sending shivers through her body. “I’d rather keep those tempting reactions of yours to myself.”
Janice could see Sascha with her hands out as though asking her What the hell?
But she was flashing back to visions of the man’s shit eating grin and the way his voice rumbled over her skin as he pressed kisses into her thigh while he spoke.
She could still feel the warm press of his mouth on her and the way his soft hands massaged circles into her flesh.
Her breath caught as a light tingle started between her legs, tempting her with desirous thoughts of what she knew this man could do.
He leaned back then, watching her face. His gaze dropped to her mouth before traveling back up to her eyes and he used the finger of his cup holding hand to nudge her to look at him more directly.
Tilting his head slightly, he whispered her name and she felt passion bloom between her legs. “Janice. . . What’s wrong?”
Janice blinked at him several times. Rapidly, slowly. . . Rapidly again.
She just couldn’t seem to align his behavior with any interaction she’d had before. Warren was an utterly singular existence to her.
“Janice.”
Her jaw trembled. She knew she had to say something.
Anything. He was waiting for her to open her mouth.
Janice said the first thing that came to mind.
“I want you—” and promptly clammed up as she realized what she was saying, the sentiment echoed by the stirring of lust in the center of her.
She wanted his mouth on her body. His hands roving over her.
His skin pressed against her. . . His body inside hers.
. . She covered her mouth with her hands.
He smiled and leaned forward, as though to share a secret and she dropped her gaze. “I want you, too.”
Janice frowned softly and turned uncertain eyes up to him, letting her hands fall away, but his hands at her elbows stayed them where they were.
“Would it help if I told you what I’ve been thinking about all day?
” He nodded slowly when she frowned deeper, her brows bunching on her forehead.
Leaning forward again he whispered, rumbling the electrifying sound for her ears only.
“Honestly, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head.
I keep reliving the sound of your voice in my ears.
The taste of your body. The feel of your skin.
. . I even dreamed about you. . . but instead of in my car, you were in my bed.
Which is a wish I’d very much like to make come true. ”
Janice felt as though her face was on fire.
Had he really been thinking about the same things as her all day?
Well. . . everything but the bed thing she supposed.
That tingling lust from earlier began to eat at her.
More than anything she wanted him to grab her and kiss her.
She imagined him pushing her up against a wall and interlacing his fingers with hers. She wanted—
He wasn’t done. “I’ve even been having these rash little thoughts about picking you up and kissing you.
I want to lay you down on the service desk and pull those pretty lavender pants from your long legs.
I want to see what kind of underwear you chose this morning and how it shapes to your sexy body.
And then, of course, I want to take those off you too.
Your clothes look great on you, but they’d look so much better on the ground. ” He practically purred.
Janice bit her lip, excitement spilling from her at the images he painted. She was starting to think she’d drag him back into the bathroom to at least live out part of that dream. The man’s mouth was made of sin and she was more than happy to repent her sins on her knees later tonight.
He sighed and pressed his forehead to hers. “I want to taste you right now. To—”
“Are you going to introduce me?” Sascha’s voice broke through the spell Janice had fallen under and reminded her of where she was. . . Who she was.
This was not something Janice would do. . . She flushed with embarrassment and abruptly turned away.
Taking the interruption in stride, Warren turned to Sascha, juggling the bag into his drink hand before offering the newly empty one to Sascha. “Warren. We met. . .” She could feel the glance he threw her. “Recently.”
Janice watched Sascha take his hand in her peripheral. “I see.” Sascha took his hand and for a moment, they were silent.