Page 78 of Jackson
She turned for the door, expecting the men to ignore her.
Jackson cleared his throat.
She froze.
Her pulse jumped as she looked over her shoulder, locking eyes with him.
Damn it.
She knew what he wanted.
Knew exactly what that sound meant.
He wasn’t going to let her walk out without following rule number two.
Her throat tightened.
Not now, please.
Not with them watching.
But there was no way in hell he’d let her leave without giving him what he was silently demanding.
She released a slow breath and returned to him.
The air in the room shifted as the guys went silent.
Paula leaned down, pressing a quick, chaste kiss to Jackson’s lips before he could make a bigger demand.
Before he could pull her back in.
Before she forgot there were other people here and who they were.
She stepped away, ignoring the heat in her face.
“Enjoy the game, guys,” she said over her shoulder as she headed toward the door.
The silence in the room stretched.
Then Carl let out a low whistle. “I get it now.” His voice was thick with amusement.
Paula didn’t turn back as she exited, but she felt their stares.
Jackson realized everyone was staring at Paula.
He didn’t blame them. She looked incredible. Those jeans hugged her in all the right places, and her usual sharpness had softened into something warm and distracting.
Still, it made him bristle. The way the guys glanced, lingered, and whispered. He didn’t want her looked at like that, not by them not by anyone.
And yet, he’d been the one to bring her here. He’d asked for this. Pushed when she clearly wasn’t ready.
Now she was stiff and retreating again, like she wanted to disappear.
He wasn’t mad at her—but yeah, he was frustrated. She kept running, and he was starting to hate the way it made him feel: like he didn’t matter.
He shifted in his seat as Will set down the pizzas, rubbing the back of his neck like he was still processing what the hell had just happened. “So how are you doing, Cagney?”
“As good as I can be after being caught in the blast zone, Tolbert,” Jackson countered.
