Free Rescue My Heart by Jean Joachim Page A

smart chickie, Hack. Face it. She must have…other
charms.”
    “ Well...” His brows
knitted.
    “ Oh? She doesn’t satisfy
you in the bedroom?”
    “ That’s
none of your business!” I can’t believe
she said that. How does she know? He
sneaked a peek at her cleavage, amply displayed in a low-cut
T-shirt. She’s wearing this to tease and
torment me. And it’s working! God, if I could only touch her for
five minutes. But he knew that would never
be enough. He’d want more from her and was surprised she stayed
top-of-mind with him, even when he wasn’t with
her.
    “ She’s missing something,
you might say?”
    Hack
drew his gaze back to the plate of Rory’s cookies and took another.
“These are great.” Not gonna bash
Felicia.
    “ You’ll never get those…or
much else in the way of cookies, when you marry Miss
Skeleton.”
    He burst out laughing. “I’ve been
waiting for you to run out of insults for Felicia’s slim figure,
and hot damn, you haven’t. I take my hat off. Words are definitely
your game.”
    “ Thank you.” Rory blushed
with pride.
    The next
week Hack retaliated by wearing a tight T-shirt and jeans. The look
of surprise on Rory’s face made him chuckle inside. Sauce for the goose. I can turn on some heat
too. She stared at him, blatantly. While
he had the satisfaction of watching her reacting to him, it only
made him more uncomfortable. Maybe I could
touch her or kiss her. She doesn’t look like she’d resist. He slid onto his chair. Back to work before I do something stupid I’ll
regret.
    “ You want the last three
paragraphs?” he asked, pulling up the document.
    “ Hmm? What?”
    “ Last
three paragraphs?” He snapped his fingers. “Wake up. Dreaming about
your hot date last night?” Or maybe
interested in me? Rory snapped her head
up, directing her gaze to Hack’s face. She took a deep
breath. Damn! When you do that, wearing
that tank. Geez, you almost popped out of the top. And you expect
me to work? Hell, my concentration is out the
window.
    “ And wouldn’t you like to
know about my hot date.”
    “ I
would. Where did you go, and what did you do?” I was kidding. Shit. Did she have a hot date? Probably. She’s
on fire.
    “ Sorry. No hot date to
report. Only Baxter and me, watching television.”
    Relief
flooded through him. He calmed down, and his lips stretched into a
big grin. Would I be jealous? Yeah, but
why? I have no reason, no claim. But, dammit, I would. Back to work
before you blow it.
    Hack read the last three paragraphs
while she moved across the room. Rory fixed coffee as she dictated.
He typed quietly.
    After a difficult two
weeks, trying desperately to keep his mind on typing when all he
wanted to do was kiss and touch Rory, Hack finally wrested control
of his libido. He was determined to keep his mind on task and not
think about how alluring she was. He didn’t want to get involved
with her and complicate his life. If they were dating, he’d want to
spend all his free time with her. Felicia would throw a fit. He
didn’t need the aggravation.
    I’d want
to spend time with her. She’s so caustic, snide. Yeah, but she’s
smart and funny. He kept his eyes on the
keyboard and tried to ignore her perfume dancing seductively under
his nose.
     
    * * * *
     
    The next morning, Rory opened the door
to admit Hack with one hand, while she cradled the phone on her
shoulder. She petted Baxter as she chatted.
    “ Wait, Hack is here. Okay,
shoot.” She looked up at him. “Remember this. The Pound.
Three-fourteen East Ninetieth. Right, Janice. On our way.” She hung
up.
    Hack pulled out the chair.
    Rory slipped on her shoes. “Don’t
bother. We have to go to…that address I just gave you?”
    Hack repeated it verbatim. “I have to
be here and only here. According to the judge.”
    “ We need to rescue a pug
from the pound. They’re gonna put him to sleep ‘cause he’s
old.”
    “ That’s not my concern.”
He shook his head. “The judge