Free Until We Touch by Susan Mallery Page A

a PR firm. They’d joined Score and the rest was history.
    “I would love to have been a fly on the wall when Jack came to tell you he and Kenny and Sam were joining Score,” she said.
    Taryn groaned. “There was a lot of swearing. I felt invaded and manipulated. I was not happy.”
    “Still, it worked out.”
    “It did. But you can’t tell Jack.”
    Larissa chuckled. “I think he already knows.”
    She wondered how things would have been different if there had been a baby. Imagining that made her chest tight, which was strange. Jack would be a good dad, she thought wistfully. Despite the fact that he pretended not to care, she knew things touched him deeply. His goal was to keep the world at bay and he mostly succeeded.
    He’d lost so much already. His brother. After his brother’s death, his parents had gone away. Both physically and emotionally. Then his child with Taryn. She understood why he protected himself. She enabled that, she knew. Her causes became his causes. He could be a part of things without ever truly being touched by the circumstances.
    They were a team. Maybe one that could do with a little therapy, but a team all the same. She counted on that. Needed it. As far as she was concerned, nothing was going to get in the way of their connection. Not her mother’s crazy statements or a kiss she still couldn’t quite explain.

CHAPTER FIVE
    J ACK HOVERED IN the hallway. Taryn’s massage had ended ten minutes ago and now it was his turn. He liked his turn. He liked knowing that in ninety minutes, his shoulder wouldn’t hurt and that he would sleep better that night because of it. He liked that he could completely relax because Larissa knew what she was doing and she always took care of him.
    Except relaxing today seemed impossible. He and Larissa hadn’t spoken since that kiss. If he didn’t know better, he would say they’d been avoiding each other. Which meant they were going to have to talk now and he didn’t want to. Talking about kissing would remind him of the act, and going down that road was dangerous. Not to mention humiliating.
    He was determined to keep things under control, so to speak. Which meant vigilance. He couldn’t allow his mind to wander. He had to stay focused on the pain. On staying ahead of his body. Because if he wasn’t careful, he would start to think about her hands on his body. Or worse, that damned kiss. And they all knew what would happen then.
    The door opened and Taryn stepped out. She smiled at him. “Larissa’s on her A game today, big guy. Enjoy.”
    He nodded and waited for her to walk past him. Then he started toward the half-open door, only to stop. He was naked, he thought suddenly. Buck-naked, except for the robe he would take off as soon as he got into the room. Naked and alone with a beautiful woman. Under what circumstances was that a good idea?
    He swore under his breath. Why hadn’t they hired some guy to do the massages? It would have made all their lives easier, especially his. But it was too late now. Everyone liked Larissa and there was no way he wanted to replace her. It was just, dammit all to hell, why couldn’t he shut off his brain?
    He walked purposefully toward the door and flung it open. Larissa looked up and smiled at him.
    “You are not my last massage of the day,” she said. “A couple of days ago I was trying out some techniques on Dyna and she loved them. Now I get feline requests in the evening. I give her a kitty massage, then brush her. It’s becoming a ritual.”
    Jack nodded because he couldn’t seem to speak. Had the massage table always looked so suggestive—with the top sheet pulled back? And what was up with the soft, sexy music? He glanced around the room, half looking for an escape, then told himself to suck it up. As long as he stayed focused, everything would be fine.
    She looked at him, then away. Her shoulders rose and fell with a sigh. “It doesn’t mean anything. It just happened. I’m going to ignore it