Free Pole Dance by J. A. Hornbuckle Page B

instead of trying to make an impression. In the bowels of his club, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, Jake had only appeared to be a bad boy, the kind that your mother warned you about. Straddling a bike and clad in a leather jacket, he was the dangerous bad-ass your father demanded you stay away from but that you snuck off to be with at every opportunity.
"Just visiting an old friend," he replied playing with the straps of his helmet.
"Sorry I couldn't have offered you a job, Darlin'," Jake spoke softly, so softly I found myself stepping towards him to make sure I heard every word. His eyes came to mine and I could see the sincerity in their golden depths.
"No worries. Technically, I declined the job , remember?" I replied equally softly, surprised that my words spoke the truth. I didn't blame Jake for not hiring me when I was the one that couldn't wait to perform for him and then couldn't stick around to be told I wasn't quite what the club needed. I was close enough to him and calm enough now to see how thick his dark eyelashes were that both shadowed and framed his beautiful eyes.
God, he was gorgeous.
"We good?"
"Mm-hmm," I mumbled still staring at him, forcing myself to look directly in to his gaze. It was the same bravado I had used during my interview but now my stomach warmed as I watched him. There was a glimmer, a moving beneath his golden stare that was approving and yet guarded.
Seeming to make a decision, Jake glanced away and then, dragging his eyes back to mine he stood up from his motorcycle seat while he snagged the back of my neck and pulled me into his chest. And, just like before, I was caught off balance, stumbling before clinging to the soft leather of his jacket.
"That's good," he whispered as his lips gently brushed my forehead. I felt the warmth of his fingers through my thin jacket when he let go of my neck and slid his hand down my back.
I tilted my gaze soft up to his full lips realizing that I wanted, had craved, the feel of his mouth on mine since my dance, since he'd taken on Mahmood and Jamison, since I'd been held in his arms. I raised my eyes further to meet his and saw the awareness of my wants reflected there. Jake released me with a grin and pushed me back a bit before slipping his helmet on, sitting back on the seat and turning the key in the ignition. I shakily took another step back and realized that again, in his presence, my knees had gone to water.
"Be good, gorgeous, yeah?" he said over the roar of the engine.
All I could do was nod in reply as I watched him release the kick-stand and, glancing over his shoulder, pulled out into the street. My eyes continued to follow him well after he was gone from my sight.
What the heck was that ?, I thought furiously as I shook off whatever it was that had me frozen yet painfully aware of my own heartbeat in all sorts of different places. I turned and made my way up the path to see if my professor was feeling generous.

Chapter Five
"Hey, Mrs. Baxter," she called opening the door of the room while balancing a covered tray in one hand. "Dinner time."
Jake glanced toward the nurse's assistant as she made her way into Ms. Lily's room at the Shady Acres Nursing home. His eyes went back to his most cherished person now that his brother was gone. She was older and her body was breaking down by degrees daily, but she was just as beautiful today as she was the day she first hugged him when he was only six years old.
"Hello, Caitlin," he heard Ms. Lilly's melodic voice say. "Come meet my Jacob."
At her name, Jake's head whipped to the nurse's assistant. Hers was slow to follow, but when it finally made its way to his, he saw her eyes widen and her mouth open in a perfect circle of 'oh'.
Both their eyes went back to Mrs. Lillian Baxter as she continued to speak, unaware of their shock at seeing one another here, in this place.
"Jacob, this is the girl I've been telling you about. Caitlin, this is my beloved Jacob."
"Nice to meet you, Caitlin," Jake rumbled