Chapter 62
[ 482 words ]
Chapter 62:
Caroline looked into his intense eyes. She swallowed hard and gave a tiny, almost imperceptible nod.
Jarrod’s shoulders instantly relaxed. The hard lines of his face softened. A faint, relieved smirk touched the corner of his mouth.
He stood up straight, pulling her up with him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her flush against his chest, burying his face in her hair for a brief, tight hug.
He turned his head toward Linda. His voice returned to its cold, commanding baseline.
“Box the dress and the necklace. Put them in the car.”
K.C. Bell loaded the massive, black velvet boxes into the trunk of the Escalade.
Jarrod kept his hand firmly on the small of Caroline’s back as he guided her into the back seat. He climbed in after her, and the heavy door sealed them in the dark cabin.
The SUV pulled away from the curb, heading toward the Potomac River.
𝗠𝗈re ոo𝗏𝘦𝗅𝘀 о𝘯 𝘨a𝗅𝗻𝗈𝘃𝖾l𝘴.сo𝘮
The atmosphere inside the car had completely shifted. The explosive anger was gone. In its place was a thick, heavy, suffocating silence.
It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. It was a vibrating, electric tension.
Caroline leaned her head against the window. She watched Jarrod’s reflection in the glass. His eyes were closed, his jaw relaxed.
His left hand was resting casually on the leather armrest between their seats.
As the SUV hit a small bump on the bridge, Caroline’s hand slipped off her lap. The back of her knuckles brushed against the warm skin of Jarrod’s fingers.
A jolt of electricity shot straight up her arm.
She didn’t pull her hand away.
Jarrod didn’t move his hand, either.
They sat there in the dark, the sides of their hands barely touching, the heat transferring between their skin. Caroline’s heart began to beat a slow, heavy rhythm against her ribs.
Thirty minutes later, the SUV rolled to a stop on the quiet suburban street outside her parents’ house in Alexandria.
The amber glow of the streetlamp spilled through the tinted windows, casting deep shadows across Jarrod’s face.
Caroline took a deep breath. She grabbed her purse from the floorboard.
“Thank you,” Caroline whispered, her voice trembling slightly.
She reached for the door handle.
Before her fingers could touch the plastic, Jarrod’s large hand covered hers.
He stopped her movement completely.
Caroline turned her head. Jarrod was looking at her. His eyes were dark, heavy with desire.
He leaned across the center console. His broad chest was inches from her shoulder.
“I am still waiting for my goodbye gift,” Jarrod murmured. His voice was a deep, gravelly rumble that sent a shiver straight down her spine.
Caroline’s breath hitched. Her face flushed hot. She knew exactly what he wanted.
He didn’t force her. He hovered there, his face so close she could feel his warm breath ghosting across her lips. He was waiting for her to make the choice.
Caroline looked at his mouth. She thought about the fierce, terrifying way he protected her, and how he had declared her an extension of himself.
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