"HE LIKES CHICKEN."
Kris nodded, suppressing a smile. She had already know that Abel was fond of chicken. They weren't chicken nuggets, it was true. But she figured chicken might be chicken to a toddler. She was right. Abel had eaten all that she had put on his plate and asked for more.
Kris and Jax sat across from each other at his kitchen table. Kris was sipping a glass of water and Jax was taking a drink from his beer bottle.
"I'm impressed."
Kris raised her eyebrows. "You didn't think I'd be able to cook?"
It wasn't much, at least not to her. It was just chicken marinated in Italian dressing with rice and corn on the side. It was one of her favorite meals to make because it was easy.
Jax shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "You're a high-powered, career woman. Figured you didn't have the time."
Kris smiled. "Well, that's mostly true. But when we weren't busy, we'd take cooking classes."
He looked at her. "We?"
Kris hadn't realized she used the word "we".
"Oh, uh, my roommate and I. You know, trying to survive in a man's world, like the law, is hard. So when we got the chance to do something womanly, we did."
She saw that Jax was smiling at her. She had probably just revealed too much. Then again, this was the most they had talked since she had come back to Charming. They were too busy doing other things.
"Kris, show is on!"
She looked up and saw that Abel was pointing into the living room.
"It's Bob the Builder!"
Kris laughed. She had never heard of the show, probably because she hadn't really known anyone with small children until now.
"Should I…?"
Jax nodded, smiling. "Sure, if he wants you to. I'll take care of the dishes."
That surprised her. "Didn't think I'd be able to do the dishes?"
She smiled and shook her head. "You're a busy man. Figured you didn't have the time."
Jax laughed and watched her backside as she joined his son in the living room. Shaking his head to himself, he began clearing the dishes. Truth was, there wasn't much to doing the dishes. He had a dishwasher, after all.
When he was finished, he grabbed his beer bottle and went to stand in the doorway. Abel had instructed Kris to sit on the couch, while he remained on the floor in front of her. He was entranced by the television.
She looked comfortable on the couch, like she belonged there. The thought struck him like a bolt of lightning. How could she look so perfect in his home?
"Come in, Daddy."
Jax smiled at his son and went to sit down in the recliner, but Abel shook his head.
"Sit next to Kris."
Jax nodded, doing as his son asked, like he usually did. But he made sure that he and Kris didn't touch. He was dying to get his hands on her, but kept his self-control around his son.
Kris felt the heat between the two of them, as she always did. She was glad that Jax didn't sit directly next to her. All she could think about was getting her hands on him and having his hands all over her.
At seven p.m., Jax's voice broke through her erotic thoughts.
"Will you hand me the remote? It's bed time."
Kris nodded, grabbing the remote and placing it in his hand. Their fingers touched. She tingled and sat back against the cushions.
Jax switched off the television and scooped his son up.
"Time for bed, buddy. Say goodnight to Kris."
Abel smiled at her. "Goodnight Kris."
Kris returned his smile. "Goodnight Abel. Thank you for inviting me over."
Abel grinned and Jax just shook his head. Kris watched them walk out of the room and then leaned back and closed her eyes. She should leave. She should let Jax get into Abel's bed time routine with him and leave before he could stop her. Because she knew that he would make her stay.
Make you, ha, an inner voice said. That was a joke. Jax had never made her do anything she wasn't more than willing to do. And that would include tonight. If she stayed, she knew where they would end up.
Honestly, she wanted to end up there. Jax was like no other man she had ever met, both in and out of the bedroom.
She had seen the way he was looking at her earlier tonight, the intense stare as he stood in the dorway and watched her sit on the couch. His couch. In his home.
She was starting to feel too comfortable here and she had known that for weeks. It was Jax that made her feel comfortable, that made her feel things she didn't want to feel, that she wasn't prepared to feel.
Standing abruptly, she headed to the kitchen and looked for her purse. She had to get out of here now, before things got even further out of control. Though, if she didn't kid herself, she knew it was too late for that. Things were already so far out of her control.
"Leaving so soon?"
She nearly jumped at the sound of his voice. He stood in the doorway to the kitchen, arms folded across his chest.
"Yeah, um, I'm gonna go get some work done. Thank you for inviting me over. I hope you liked dinner."
Once outside, she took a deep breath. What the hell was that about? Did she just ramble? She never rambled. Ever. Dear God. She needed to get a grip and she needed to get one fast.