Free Exposed by S Anders

intertwined.
    "You are being noble and I really like that about you," she said.
    It was as if they were caught looking deeply at each other. If only she knew what naughty thoughts he had about her, she'd not think him noble at all.
    "Thanks." He brushed her palm with his thumb. It was an intimate act and he waited for her response. A light blush crept on her cheeks, and he looked down at their hands and deliberately did it again. "I'm really glad you’re here, Nia."
    "I am too, Jack," she murmured.
    Reluctantly, he let go of her small hand, not willing to let her know the full force of his attraction to her. "I haven't had a homemade meal in ages," he said instead.
    They talked about their lives as they ate—him growing up in town, her not. It felt like a date, and he really liked that.
    "So you like making those purses, then?" he asked, sitting back in his chair after finishing a good meal. They'd been talking about hobbies: his love of camping, which he never got to do, and her love of making really stylish and quirky purses.
    "I love it," she replied. "I just sort of started when they had a dollar sale at work, and I got carried away with what I bought." She laughed, and he smiled at how pretty she was when she did that. "I had to use the material up and this is what came of it. Then I was hooked."
    "You know I’m just a guy, and even I noticed that purse."
    She looked surprised. "You did?"
    He nodded. "It looks ... ah, interesting. I like the quilted patterns."
    "Wow. Well, thanks. I do have ladies stop and ask me where I bought it." Suddenly the sound of a Roy Orbison song interrupted them. "Oh, my cell," Nia said, rising.
    "You took Elvis off," he said, showing a wounded look.
    She giggled, grabbing her phone out of her purse. "Sorry, Jack, I didn't know you liked Elvis so much," she teased. Then she looked at the call and immediately frowned. "It's him," she ground out.
    Jack leaned forward and grabbed her hand gently, trapping her fingers against her cell. "Don't answer," he said. "We don't need to answer tonight."

Chapter Nine
    N ia felt every inch of Jack's hand over hers and she had to acknowledge the look in his eyes was more than friends ... it was intimate. She might have been married, but she knew when a man was interested in her. The thrill she felt eclipsed the anger she had about her husband's call. Jack wanted her. Maybe Jack just wanted any woman after the betrayal, but she stubbornly shoved that thought aside because her deepest secret was that she wanted him to want her.
    "You’re right," she returned softly, moving her fingers beneath his fingers and clicking her phone off.
    Jack's eyes grew deeper and warmer, making an answering flush move across her. He slowly looked over her face, then lower to her mouth. Things inside that hadn't made any appearances in a long, long time stirred.
    "Jack," she whispered.
    He blinked slowly, with his dark lashes falling and lifting, as if he were coming out of a trance. "You make me feel things I haven't felt before," he said slowly, so low she barely caught the words.
    She was surprised to hear him say such an amazing thing, while an answering kick of excitement filled her.
    "Me too," she murmured. Now she was looking at his mouth, tracing the contours. It would have to be absolutely amazing to be kissed by him. In a league her bastard husband could never touch—Jack was just that attractive to her.
    The scratch of his chair sounded as he moved closer and his hand tightened over hers. "Tell me to stop and I will," he murmured, looking deep into her eyes.
    He was going to kiss her! If she let him. "I'm not moving, Jack."
    His brown eyes flared, and he dipped closer as she dipped toward him. "God, Nia, I can't keep my mind off your sweet mouth." His big hand cupped her face, drawing her closer.
    She gasped lightly at his sexy words, and when their lips touched, hers were open. Sensations expanded like a mini-explosion through her, and she lost coherent thoughts