Where the h.e.l.l was she???
She sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She stood up gingerly, feeling incredibly stiff. That"s when the smell hit her.
Pancakes.
There was a dresser with a mirror across the room. She hurried over to it and stared in shock at the wan looking young woman staring back at her. She was wearing a large black t-shirt and nothing else.
Not large. Humongous. It hung down to her knees.
Was she dreaming when she"d imagined Jack and the Sp.a.w.n"s? Was she still kidnapped?
Who had changed her out of that hooker outfit she"d been wearing?
Her stomach gurgled and she tentatively peeked into the hallway. Might as well get this over with. If she"d been sold off, she"d have to confront her keeper sooner or later.
But first she wanted to eat. She wanted to eat a horse.
Well, one made out of tofu anyway.
She tiptoed through the house- it looked like more of a cabin actually- following her nose down the stairs toward the delicious smells in the kitchen.
There was an old 1950"s mint green table and chairs in there. A huge stack of pancakes was on a plate in the center of the tabs, along with a plate of bacon, a bowl of fruit and a carton of OJ, two gla.s.ses, and two plates. One of the plates had been eaten on. And there was an empty coffee cup.
Oh dear G.o.d, she smelled fresh coffee.
She"d never smelled anything so good in her life.
She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and turned abruptly. Someone was coming in from the deck. Leaning on the door jamb and staring at her.
Jack.
He didn"t say anything at first. He just took a sip of his coffee. He looked like he"d just taken a shower. His shirt was open in the front and she could see... oh G.o.d. She could see his chest and stomach. She tore her eyes away from all that glorious man flesh to see the glint of humor in his eyes.
"Sit."
She sat. She sat down so fast that her teeth knocked together. He strolled over leisurely and picked up her plate. He piled on pancakes first, then turned to look at her.
"How long was I out?"
"Fifteen hours give or take. You"re a vegetarian right?"
She nodded mutely.
"So, no bacon."
He loaded her plate with fruit and set it down in front of her.
"Eat."
She just stared at him.
"You- did all this?"
He gave her a mildly exasperated look and poured syrup onto her steaming stack of pancakes.
"Eat Janet."
She did. She put the first bite of pancake into her mouth and moaned in ecstasy. She hadn"t had real food in- oh G.o.d, almost a week. She shoveled in a few more bites, stealing glances at the man who sat across from her, calming sipping his coffee.
Then she noticed something.
He had a dishtowel thrown over his shoulder.
Jack, The Viking, had a G.o.d d.a.m.n dishtowel thrown over his shoulder like a regular chef!
"How did you learn to cook?"
He stood up and grabbed the empty coffee cup, walking to the counter.
"Coffee?"
"Yes please."
He poured them each a cup from the ancient percolator. It smelled so good. He carried it back over to her and set it down. She grabbed it and inhaled deeply. She"d never smelled anything so good in her life. She"d never tasted anything so good in her life. She looked up at him, realizing he"d saved her after all.
She"d never seen anything so good in her life.
He looked so clean and good and strong. His long wet hair falling to his shoulders in waves. His tight jeans hugging that insanely beautiful body. His dark eyes watching her watch him.
That"s when it hit her.
She was in love with him.
Oh dear G.o.d, she was in love with The Viking.
She would have run out of the room if she"d had the strength. This was not good. Not good at all. How could she fall in love with someone who wanted nothing to do with her?
She was an idiot, that"s how.
She felt tears sting her eyes and bent forward, focusing on her food. She ate in silence for a few minutes, wishing the floor would open a large hole and swallow her up.
"Foster care."
She glanced up at him sharply.
"What?"
"You asked how I learned to cook. When I was six years old I got moved out of the orphanage into foster care."
Her mouth almost dropped open. Jack was talking to her. Jack was talking about himself.
"Mrs. McNealy. She was my first foster mother. I never understood why they called it that though."
Her stupor vanished suddenly. She tried to imagine Jack as a boy but it was impossible. He was so strong and tough.
"She started training me on the first day. There were a couple other kids there. We each had a duty. The girl who"d done the cooking had just left for another foster home so Mrs. McNealy decided to teach me."
"She- made you cook for her?"
He nodded.
"For all of them. Well, whatever sc.r.a.ps she decided to feed her wards on any given day. She might have been a mean old drunk but she liked a clean house."
"Oh G.o.d, Jack... I didn"t realize you were an orphan. How long were you with her?"
He shrugged.
"A couple of years. Until the next foster house. And the next one. In retrospect, Mrs. McNealy wasn"t so bad."
She took a deep breath, realizing what he was saying.
They"d hurt him.
She wanted to kill them for that. She snuck a glance at him. He was looking out the window. She realized he was letting her in, telling her something no one knew.
"You got away though."
He nodded.
"When I was 14. I"d been tinkering with stuff for years. Garbage I"d find lying around. You have no idea how much junk poor people keep in their back yards. It"s like they are afraid to throw anything away. I"d found an ancient broken down Indian bike and been slowly fixing it when Norm wasn"t around to stop me. He was a real cold b.a.s.t.a.r.d. He killed a kid once. In front of me. Made me lie to the social worked and say it was an accident."
"What would he do if you didn"t?"
He rolled his shoulder and turned slightly, letting his shirt slide off enough so she could see part of his back.
She gasped.
He was covered in a blanket of scars. Huge welts. Thick ugly lines that reminded her of something.
A belt buckle. She felt her insides twist into a knot.
"As soon as that bike turned over the first I left, and I never looked back. I couldn"t help the other kids. I couldn"t do anything but run."
She stared at the beautiful man sitting in front of her as he pulled his shirt back on. He went back to looking out the window.
"You helped me."
He grunted and stood.
"Are you finished eating? I want to show you something."
He walked out of the kitchen door without waiting for an answer. Janet stood up and followed him onto the deck.
The house sat above a small mountain lake. There weren"t any other houses out here. They were alone.
It was beautiful.
She felt Jack"s hands on her shoulders and stared up at him as he slowly turned her around to face him. He was staring at her lips. He was going to kiss her!
He leaned down and whispered into her ear.
"Are you sure you"re okay?"
She nodded.
He put his arms around her and smiled sweetly.
"Good."
And then he chucked her into the lake.
Jack watched as Janet came up sputtering. He was ready to jump in at a moments notice if she needed help of course but she looked fine.
p.i.s.sed off, but fine.
"What the h.e.l.l ,Jack!"
He shrugged, liking the way the wet t-shirt clung to her curves. Hmmm... he"d have to get her out of that soon.
Very soon.
"Sorry. You smelled."
Her mouth opened and shut like a fish. He sure did get a kick out of shocking her. He grinned and started taking his clothes off. She shut her mouth abruptly and looked at him with a very different look on her face.
A very warm look.
He grinned and shimmied his jeans down over his hips, kicking off his boots with them. She was trying to look anywhere but at him. He glanced down and saw his c.o.c.k was already rising.
And he hadn"t even touched her.
He took a running leap into the water five feet from Janet. Just close enough to splash her.
He came up to catch her reaction but she was gone.
SPLASH.