Free End of Day (Jack & Jill #1) by Jewel E. Ann Page A

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    Jillian’s hands navigated to his back. Don’t do it, her mind chanted. But her fingernails curled into his flesh on their own accord. AJ dragged his hand from her neck to her chest between the exposed cleavage from her bikini top. She waited for him to push the material aside exposing her hardened nipples, but he didn’t. He left the heel of his hand pressed to her sternum. Her heart tried to beat it away, but he left it there until she swore she could feel his pulse surge against hers. Slipping … her control was slipping as the moment blurred into dizzying confusion.
    “Fuck!” AJ growled as he shoved her back. “Knock that shit off!”
    Stumbling to a halt, eyes wide, Jillian opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Any other woman would have been flat on her back with the force he used on her. She looked down, twisting her palms up and fisting her fingers. Blood. Her nails were smeared with his blood. She closed her eyes for a brief moment.
    “I-I have to get ready for work.” She smiled with childlike innocence as she wiped her fingers along her shorts, kissed him on the cheek like she didn’t just dig a garden into his back, then slipped out the side access door. “I go for a run every night at ten if you care to join me,” she called two seconds before the wind slammed the door shut behind her.
    *
    Jillian Knight brought one thing with her that used to belong to Jessica Day—killer sales skills. The Lascivio consultant that “trained” Jillian at the bachelorette party found herself being schooled in the sales department. Jillian spent the whole night number crunching and making up statistics about nipple clamps and breast cancer prevention, vibrators and decreased yeast infections, and strap-on penises and longevity.
    Her mentoring consultant sulked with guilt that she’d allowed Jillian to sell the products under such false pretense, until Jillian made a quick calculation of the commission that the party brought in: over twelve-hundred dollars.
    “Hey, working girl! Did you bring home the bacon?” Jackson grinned as he finished playing a familiar Bach piece.
    Jillian loved listening to him play. Part of it was envy because she didn’t inherit an ounce of musical talent, but most of it was honest adoration for his insane ability.
    “Tempeh bacon, and no I didn’t bring it home, but Sara, the Lascivio consultant that ‘trained’ me, her family is celebrating bacon fest, thanks to yours truly.”
    Jackson whistled.
    Jillian shrugged, gulping down a glass of water. “Sex sells.”
    “You, my dear sis, could sell purity rings and abstinence to pimps and call girls.”
    “Speaking of call girls … what are you doing here anyway? Have you gotten laid since we arrived?”
    Jackson closed the lid. “I think this Jackson guy is going to keep his virginity for a while.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “How many people get the chance to start over from scratch? Very few. So I’m saving myself. Maybe I’ll find some nice girl who’s not a virgin and would be willing to teach me about sex and intimacy.”
    “You fucked half the West Coast!”
    “I don’t know what guy to whom you’re referring.”
    Jillian shook her head while unbuttoning her white blouse. “I’m going to change. I need a run and an escape from this impostor who claims to be my brother.”
    “No sparring tonight?”
    “Maybe when I get back.”
    “You’re just upset that I’m making a change for the better, a true fresh start.”
    Jillian stopped in the hallway. His words, even if not intentional, were a jab to her gut. “Here’s the thing … I had it as good as it gets. I have nowhere to go but worse.” She shrugged off her shirt and tossed it onto her bed.
    “Let’s talk about it.” Jackson stood at her door while she changed in her closet.
    “I can’t talk about it with you.”
    Jackson chuckled. “I’m the only person with whom you can talk about it.”
    Lilith. She couldn’t wait to be with her again