Janelle Denison - Pure Indulgence

Chin held high with every ounce of confidence she possessed, and her heart hammering wildly in her chest, Kayla knocked on the front door of Jack's house. A big, gorgeous, custom-made home that overlooked the ocean and was a testimony to all of Jack's hard work and resulting success over the past years.

She knew he was home, not only because of the Escalade parked in the circular drive, but because she'd gone to Tremaine's Downtown to look for him, only to be told he'd taken the night off. His friend and manager, Rich, had been kind enough to give her his home address, along with a promise that Jack would be thrilled to see her.

Except when Jack opened the door wearing nothing but a pair of navy-blue cotton sweatpants, he didn't look overjoyed to find her standing on his porch. Surprised, yes. Thrilled, no. He stared at her with an uncertainty that made her own chest tighten with a wealth of dread. Most prominent was the fear that he'd changed his mind about her.

Her confidence faltered, but her sister's convictions along with her own-which had replaced those other more destructive voices in her head-now helped her to stay strong. She refused to leave until she set the record straight with Jack about her feelings for him.

"Come on in," he said, and held the door open wider for her to enter.

She walked inside a large foyer, accepting his invitation as a very positive sign. She turned around to face him again and attempted to explain her presence.

"Rich gave me your address and directions-"

"I don't give a damn how you found my place," he said, his voice low and rough, his expression unreadable. "I'm just glad you're here."

Glad … but not thrilled. They were getting there, slowly but surely.

"Come on in," he said again. After shutting the front door, he led the way into a spacious living room.

"Make yourself comfortable," he said, gesturing toward the sofa and love seat. "Would you like something to drink?"

"No, thank you. I'm fine." He was treating her like a casual acquaintance-not that she could really blame him considering the way things had ended between them.

And now she was back, barging into his life, hoping and praying she wasn't too late to make amends. Hoping and praying that what she had to offer him would be enough to earn back his trust. His love. For a lifetime.

He settled himself on the couch, those broad shoulders and strong chest of his momentarily distracting her from her original purpose. Desire settled warm and low in her belly, and that tingling sensation spreading through her veins was pure sexual attraction, an all-natural, aphrodisiac-free lust.

It was a wonderful, glorious feeling.

"Kayla?" he prompted, tipping his head curiously. "Are you going to tell me why you're here?"

There were so many reasons why she'd come. So many things she needed to say and share with him. And there was one very important facet of who she was that she needed to show him.

First, she'd start with baring her soul.

"I want to apologize about the candies," she began, and because she was feeling too restless to sit, she remained standing. "I never should have fed them to you, or used you as a guinea pig in my experiment without your knowledge."

He shrugged and stretched his arms along the back of the sofa. "The candies didn't affect me in any way."

"No, but the intent was definitely there on my part, and it was wrong."

He didn't disagree.

She shifted on her sandaled feet and continued. "You know about my past and those insecurities played a big part in my decision to feed you my candies, as a way of protecting my emotions. It was like a big fantasy for me, being ravished without having any expectations of you at all because you were under the influence of an aphrodisiac."

He continued to stare at her, looking as though he wanted to argue those points, but refraining from commenting in order to hear her out.

Pacing to the other end of the sofa, she forced herself to relax, but it was a difficult feat when she had no idea how all this would end. "In the beginning I told myself your passion wasn't real, that it was all a product of a stimulant, and because of that I was able to convince myself that I'd avoid getting hurt when our affair ended because I wouldn't be emotionally involved with you.

"But every time we were together I wanted what we shared to be real. It felt real, and that scared me because I knew I was falling for you. Then I started to question whether your feelings for me were genuine, or a product of the aphrodisiac." She glanced at him and absently tugged on her lower lip with her teeth. "There was also a part of me that just couldn't believe that someone like you could want someone like me beyond a brief fling."

He moved off the couch and came toward her, his stride purposeful. When he reached her, he gently framed her face in his big hands, the intensity in his bright blue eyes holding her gaze hostage.

"Kayla, I wanted you from the first moment I met you at the Commerce dinner. Your smile, your eyes, your laughter, your curvy body… everything about you drew me in. And then I really got to know you, who you are inside , and that's when I fell in love with you."

She put her forehead to his, knowing she'd never get tired of him saying those words. Her chest expanded with so much emotion it felt as though it might burst.

It was time for her to bare what was in her heart, too.

A smile trembled on her lips. "I love you, too, Jack."

"Thank God!"

He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close, and Kayla felt her aching heart mend itself and her insecurities fade into the past, where they belonged. This was her future, here with Jack. Secure in his embrace, there was no room for doubts or uncertainties. She felt adored. Cherished. Loved.

There was only one thing left for her to do.

She would bare her body to the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

"Take me to your bedroom, Jack," she whispered in his ear.

A teasing, tempting grin tipped the corner of his sexy mouth. "What, no feeding me candies this time?"

"Nope." She'd given her plan for those candies a lot of thought and came up with an alternate idea she was happy with. "I had to scrap my idea for aphrodisiac candies, but I decided I'm going to sell them at Pure Indulgence without the stimulant. I think they'll inspire lustful thoughts because of what the candies resemble, not necessarily because of what's inside of them."

"That's a great idea," he agreed.

She nipped playfully at his chin. "From now on, between you and me, it's nothing but the real thing. Real desire. Real passion."

A groan rumbled up from his chest. "I like the sound of that."

He led her up the darkened stairs into an equally shadowed master bedroom. He didn't attempt to turn on the light, so she did, illuminating the room so that there was nowhere to hide. Jack didn't say a word, but the initial surprise she saw etching his features spoke volumes-he hadn't expected her to be so bold, so brave.

But the anticipation glowing hot and bright in his eyes emboldened her, made her feel feminine and seductive. This man had helped her find the sensual woman lost inside the body her mother and Doug had criticized… and Kayla liked the wanton she was beginning to discover in herself with Jack.

"I want you to see the real me," she whispered, and pushed him back until he was sitting on the mattress, an avid audience of one for her strip show. " All of me."

Standing in front of him, less than a foot away so he could touch if he wanted to, she began unbuttoning the bodice of her dress, until the material parted and she was able to shrug it off her shoulders and down her arms. This unveiling was as much for her as it was for him. A final shedding of that last lingering bit of insecurity that had no place between her and Jack.