Page 17 of Love Unbound
Frantically slipping the earrings she had chosen to wear into the holes in her ears, she hurried out to the door and took a deep breath before opening it.
Dread iced her like a bucket of cold water over her head, her body tensing with apprehension.
“I really hope you don’t plan on going out wearing that.”
Jodi bit her tongue until it hurt to keep the sharp retort from escaping her lips. Instead, she smiled sweetly and said, “Last I checked my life was none of your business anymore. I thought I asked you not to come here again.”
“Knock your shit off, Jodi, I’m not in the mood to deal with your attitude today,” Josh snapped from the doorway.
Jodi’s eyebrows raised in astonishment, and she snorted a laugh. “Excuse me? I don’t recall asking you to come here to begin with.”
“I heard you have a date tonight.”
How? Jodi thought.Howdid he know already?
But she rolled her eyes in frustration, snapping, “Like it or not, I am a grown adult and I’m allowed to go out with friends to have a drink if I’d like. Even if it was a date, I don’t need your permission to do so. Not that it’s any of your business.We are divorced, Josh. Now, if you’ll excuse me—”
Josh caught the edge of the door in his hand before shecould close it. Forcing herself to remain calm, she squared her shoulders and steeled her nerves. She knew he reveled in the knowledge that he could still illicit fear in her, and she didn’t want to give him the pleasure of seeing her rattled.
“Leave my home,” she grated out through clenched teeth. “Don’t make me call the police. You know I’m not afraid to.”
Jodi could see the indecision and fury battling for supremacy in his hazel eyes. She could tell he’d been drinking; his eyes were glassy, his cheeks were flushed, and his breath reeked of cinnamon whisky and cheap beer. She had no qualms calling the police. She’d done it before, and he knew she could and would do it again if necessary.
Backing away and releasing his hold on the door, he smirked. Holding his arms out away from his body in a defenseless gesture, he patted the air and snickered, “Calm down, geez. All I wanted to do was talk, and you’re acting all crazy for nothing.”
Jodi was shaking her head before he finished talking. Her breathing was elevated, and she snapped, “No. You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to talk to me like that anymore, Josh. Leave. Now.”
Josh turned and headed back down the porch stairs, crossing the short way to his Lincoln. He climbed in and flipped her off out the window as he spun his tires, pulling out of the driveway with a spray of gravel behind him.
Jodi closed the door and leaned her back against it, taking several deep, restorative breaths.
How did he always know everything, almost as it was happening? She wondered again. It was unnerving how close of a watch he kept on her.
Padding back to the bathroom, she glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was pale, her hair was only half done, and she now second guessed her outfit of choice. Then, she shook her head and muttered darkly to herself, “He doesn’t get to do this toyou anymore, remember?”
Taking another deep breath, she continued getting ready. At five minutes to eight, she was just dabbing perfume on her wrists and at the base of her throat when another knock sounded on the door. Checking her reflection one last time, she tried to reign in the butterflies that took flight in her stomach again. Walking out to the door, she opened it, sighing in relief at the sight of Free standing on the doorstep.
Free stood on her front porch, hands shoved into the back pockets of his indecently tight jeans, his head bowed slightly. The black shirt he wore was stretched tight over his upper body. He had on the same black baseball hat, but tonight the brim was turned forward, and with his head lowered slightly, she couldn’t see his face beneath the brim of the hat.
His eyes traveled from the simple black sandals she wore, up her bare, tanned legs, over the cutoff jean skirt that hit mid-thigh, and continued up over the black halter style tank top that left her shoulders and arms bare. Her hair had been left curly, and it cascaded down her back and over her shoulders in soft, touchable ringlets. She had kept her make-up simple and chic, with just a hint of a smokey eye. A mauve tinted lip gloss gave her lips just a hint of color.
“Hi,” she breathed. “I’m almost ready. Come inside while I grab my purse.”
Free’s aquamarine eyes met hers and she sucked in her breath at the power of his stare. He stepped inside.
“Free?” she whispered breathlessly.
He stepped closer to her, pulling his hands from his pockets. One of those hands came up and flipped the hat around on his head, so that the brim was backward, the way Jodi liked it best. When she took an instinctive step back, he reached out and threaded his fingers into the hair at the nape of her neck and drew her closer to him. He angled his body against hers, nothingbut their clothing whispering against each other, all the while lowering his head to hers. He rubbed his lips against hers, softly, sweetly, again and again. She sighed, and her eyes slid closed in exultation as his lips pressed and stayed. Tilting his head to one side, his mouth opened, and hers reciprocated. His tongue was inquisitive and hungry, and it spiraled into the sweet cavern of her mouth to taste all of her.
Jodi’s fingers splayed wide against the rippling muscles of his abdomen. She could feel his thumb stroking her neck and his heart beating thunderously under her hands. She could taste the spearmint toothpaste he’d used. He sipped at her lips before sliding his tongue between them again to taste her more thoroughly. She met his kiss fervently, her tongue tangling with his in an effort to taste more of him. She could feel his kiss in her belly, sending signals to her cleft, making her wet and wanting.
When he finally drew his lips from hers, he rolled his forehead across hers briefly, their lips barely touching. Free opened his mesmerizing eyes and pecked another light kiss to her mouth.
Speaking directly against her well-kissed lips, he whispered huskily, “I think I’ve waited long enough to do that.”
Chapter 11
Jodi peeked at Free out of the corner of her eye as he drove. He drove with one hand draped over the wheel loosely, the other kept her hand captive. He hummed and mouthed the words to the country songs playing softly from the radio.
