Haven’t read the previous part’s of Jana’s story? Click here for Part 1. Click here for Part 2.
With a gasp, Jana tried to pull away from the deep look Deuce was leveling her way. Her brain started screaming at her Too close! Too close!
Automatically she folded her arms, causing him to break out laughing. “Nervous, J-babes?”
“That is not my name.” She glared over at him. When he kept laughing and didn’t move any closer, Jana forced her arms to relax a little. “Why do you refuse to call me Jana? I know you know it.”
His shrug pulled her attention away from the road and back to his arms, more specifically to the muscles of his arm tensing as he drove. “Everyone calls you Jana.”
“With good reason. It’s my name.”
“Don’t get all huffy with me J-babes.” He drawled out her nickname, nice and slow. “You can’t think of any reason why I wouldn’t want to call you by the name everyone else does? No theories as to why I would want to set myself apart?”
Just as she was about to connect her fist with his arm she stalled, sucking in a gasp of air before pulling back completely.
“What? That first kiss still sending you in a tizzy?” His low teasing tone echoed through the cabin of the truck. “Or maybe your subconscious is urging you into a kiss that you are trying to convince yourself you don’t want.”
Another sigh escaped her as she noticed the familiar sign announcing their arrival. Home.
Deuce’s voice was surprisingly soft when he asked, “How long?”
“What?” She jolted.
His voice stayed soft and steady, all hints of teasing gone. “When’s the last time you’ve been back?”
Even more surprising was her sudden urge to cry. She had to fight back the sniffle. “Not too long, I guess. Since a week after high school graduation.”
“Not long? J-babes, even I didn’t go without a trip home every few months. Your mother must be ready to come twist your ear and drag you home by now.” He paused. “I thought the two of you were close.”
She didn’t stop her shoulders from slumping. “We are. Were. We were close.” The last bit came out as barely a whisper.
“What happened?”
Jana had to gulp in a breath of air, glancing over at him. “Who are you and what have you done with the cocky self assured jerk sitting there a few seconds ago?”
“Trust me, J-babes.” He shot her one of his signature smirks that had had all the girls swooning at his feet in high school. Well, all the girls, but her. “I’m still here. However, I’ve also done some growing over the past several years and know when to not stomp on tender feelings. Would it be easier to tell me if I was still being my normal chivalrous self?” His head ticked to the side.
With a shaky laugh she shook her head. “No. That would be most unhelpful, Mr Carter.”
“Ugh. Don’t call me that.” He immediately groaned.
She perked up. “What? You don’t like being called Mr. Carter?”
“You wouldn’t.” He growled.
With a triumphant smile on her face she leaned over. “Would.”
Quick as a flash he had a hand behind her head, pulling her in for a short but searing kiss. When he pulled back she swung at him. “You kissed me!” She shrieked. “Again!”
“Yes.”
She slugged him again for good measure.
“Is that you asking for another one or just letting out all those feelings about me that you don’t know what to do with?” His gaze didn’t leave the road this time.
Still, a blush rose to her cheek. “I am not asking you to do anything. And, Mr Carter, you will not ever kiss me again unless I ask you to.” After a brief pause she hurried to add, “Not that I will ever be asking you to kiss me.”
“Oh sure.” His chuckle shot straight down her spine. “Now, how about you tell me why you haven’t been home?”
Instantly she felt all the shock and anger from that last kiss dissipate in a fizzle. “I didn’t have a choice. Can we move on?”
“Move on to what?” His brief glance speared her. “Just to clarify, that was you asking that we move on from talking and to get back to the kissing, correct?”
“No!”
Deuce slowed his car to a stop at the light and Jana suddenly got the urge to bolt. As she put her hand on the door handle the lock clicked and the light turned green. “Can’t leave me yet, J-babes. What would your mother say if I didn’t deliver you safely into her sweet embrace?”
Jana let her head thud back against the headrest. “She wouldn’t know.”
“Just tell me, J-babes. Or maybe I should make a few wrong turns and find myself accidentally heading back out of town until you talk.”
“That’s kidnapping.” Jana didn’t lift her head or open her eyes. “You’ll be arrested.”
“Only if I’m caught. Spill.”
Flopping her head over to glare at him, Jana stuck out her tongue.
“You’re giving me ideas.” He winked.
“Am not!”
Pulling off to the side of the road and putting his truck into park, Deuce turned to fully face her. His smile was gone, as was the twinkle in his eye. “I can tell that you are hurting over whatever reason has kept you away. I promise you right here and now that I will not be telling a soul anything you say to me.”
Her gaze narrowed on him as she tried to decide whether or not she should tell him. “Since when have you been such a good guy?”
It was his turn to blush as he shrugged. “Couldn’t tell ya.”
“You have been one confusing, unforeseeable surprise today, Deuce Carter. So confusing.” She sighed. “Who knew.”
He scooted over closer and pulled her in for an astonishingly soft and tender hug. She found herself melting into the surprisingly warm safety of his arms. And there he held her, waiting for her to be ready to end the hug. And she didn’t want to.
Still hugging, she tilted her head back to look up into his face. “You should come with a warning, Mr Carter. Your hugs are intoxicating.”
His arms didn’t falter in their steady strength as she listened to his laugh bounce around the cab and inside her heart.
