Read Online Protective Ink (Urban Fantasy) by Misty Simon - Free Book Online
Authors: Misty Simon
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a battle plan, and I need tea to think.”
He snorted. “I’d prefer something a little stronger.”
“Well, you’re not going to get it in my kitchen. Head into the living room and I’ll be right there. Two sugars and enough cream to turn a brunette into a blonde, right?’
He gave her a sharp nod then thudded out to the next room.
She took a second to lean back against the counter where she’d found him and rubbed her upper arms. He’d just rocked her entire world. Thinking about that was not going to help her sort out this mess for Garrett. She and Jackson had always had their separate but equal roles in Garrett’s superhero-dom—she inked Garrett’s tattoos and Jackson helped protect him from the cops. After they sorted this out, they’d have to go back to the way things had always been.…
She’d make sure of it. Because she knew one thing: Jackson would break her heart if she let him.
* * *
For fuck’s sake! What had he just done?
Jackson was too pissed at himself to be worried about Lissa’s reaction just yet. It was one thing to think about her luscious hair and another to actually sink his hands into it. It was fine to think about those full, kissable lips, but to actually plant one on her? God, he needed a drink and not some crappy tea. There was no way he was going to be happy with the fantasies he’d spun after finally getting a delicious taste of the real thing. Well, shit, indeed.
He’d been Garrett’s protector for years. These attacks on him must have shaken Jackson to the soles of his size-twelve boots if he’d actually played tonsil hockey with one of his oldest friends. He was not a good bet for a relationship, and she deserved so much more than him. Not to mention that he’d never wanted to mess up the bonds they had with each other and the circle they had formed with Garrett. Well, that had just gone down the shitter.
He wanted to kick something, but the damn room was too well put together for him to consider ruining a single thing in here. If Lissa wasn’t already pissed at him for that lip-lock, having her come out to a destroyed couch would send her over the edge for sure.
He’d just focus on Garrett and his dilemma and pretend the kitchen scene had never ever happened. It might haunt his dreams tonight and for many nights to come, but for now he’d do his damnedest to put it out of his mind.
The living room in this apartment was too small. Jackson needed more than five steps from one window to another to effectively pace. Instead he was stuck in a room full of plush, velvety couches and a chair upholstered in some kind of brocade fabric. It was feminine but with an edge that suited Lissa down to the ground. Yeah, that wasn’t helping, either.
Cracking his knuckles, he shoved the thought back into the steel box he’d constructed in his mind.
He was here for Garrett. Garrett, who might be in more danger than he’d ever been before. Only last month the premier drug boss in the area—Morgan Sellers—had tried to kill Garrett. She’d died instead, creating this void that others were trying so hard to fill.
Jackson shook his head. None of that had any bearing on why he was here now. Here, where he might never be able to visit again, since he’d just felt something he shouldn’t and wanted to run from it like a dog with his tail between his legs. Not that he’d ever willingly admit that to anyone.
Finally, Lissa came through the doorway with the wretched tea he hated to drink. If nothing else, he was grateful for the distraction from his thoughts.
“You can sit down, you know.” She placed the tea tray on her leather-topped coffee table, bending at the waist and giving him a view of her backside that should not have sent him into another tailspin.
Tearing his eyes away from her lush figure, he stared at the wall and one of the stark black-and-white photographs she’d taken. Garrett had a few of them hanging in his apartment, too. They were haunting and
He snorted. “I’d prefer something a little stronger.”
“Well, you’re not going to get it in my kitchen. Head into the living room and I’ll be right there. Two sugars and enough cream to turn a brunette into a blonde, right?’
He gave her a sharp nod then thudded out to the next room.
She took a second to lean back against the counter where she’d found him and rubbed her upper arms. He’d just rocked her entire world. Thinking about that was not going to help her sort out this mess for Garrett. She and Jackson had always had their separate but equal roles in Garrett’s superhero-dom—she inked Garrett’s tattoos and Jackson helped protect him from the cops. After they sorted this out, they’d have to go back to the way things had always been.…
She’d make sure of it. Because she knew one thing: Jackson would break her heart if she let him.
* * *
For fuck’s sake! What had he just done?
Jackson was too pissed at himself to be worried about Lissa’s reaction just yet. It was one thing to think about her luscious hair and another to actually sink his hands into it. It was fine to think about those full, kissable lips, but to actually plant one on her? God, he needed a drink and not some crappy tea. There was no way he was going to be happy with the fantasies he’d spun after finally getting a delicious taste of the real thing. Well, shit, indeed.
He’d been Garrett’s protector for years. These attacks on him must have shaken Jackson to the soles of his size-twelve boots if he’d actually played tonsil hockey with one of his oldest friends. He was not a good bet for a relationship, and she deserved so much more than him. Not to mention that he’d never wanted to mess up the bonds they had with each other and the circle they had formed with Garrett. Well, that had just gone down the shitter.
He wanted to kick something, but the damn room was too well put together for him to consider ruining a single thing in here. If Lissa wasn’t already pissed at him for that lip-lock, having her come out to a destroyed couch would send her over the edge for sure.
He’d just focus on Garrett and his dilemma and pretend the kitchen scene had never ever happened. It might haunt his dreams tonight and for many nights to come, but for now he’d do his damnedest to put it out of his mind.
The living room in this apartment was too small. Jackson needed more than five steps from one window to another to effectively pace. Instead he was stuck in a room full of plush, velvety couches and a chair upholstered in some kind of brocade fabric. It was feminine but with an edge that suited Lissa down to the ground. Yeah, that wasn’t helping, either.
Cracking his knuckles, he shoved the thought back into the steel box he’d constructed in his mind.
He was here for Garrett. Garrett, who might be in more danger than he’d ever been before. Only last month the premier drug boss in the area—Morgan Sellers—had tried to kill Garrett. She’d died instead, creating this void that others were trying so hard to fill.
Jackson shook his head. None of that had any bearing on why he was here now. Here, where he might never be able to visit again, since he’d just felt something he shouldn’t and wanted to run from it like a dog with his tail between his legs. Not that he’d ever willingly admit that to anyone.
Finally, Lissa came through the doorway with the wretched tea he hated to drink. If nothing else, he was grateful for the distraction from his thoughts.
“You can sit down, you know.” She placed the tea tray on her leather-topped coffee table, bending at the waist and giving him a view of her backside that should not have sent him into another tailspin.
Tearing his eyes away from her lush figure, he stared at the wall and one of the stark black-and-white photographs she’d taken. Garrett had a few of them hanging in his apartment, too. They were haunting and
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