Page 123 of Drive
And since physical violence was off the table, Jacques had only one course ofaction.
He blew out his breath. “I guess I’ll just have to prove you wrong,” hesaid.
* * *
They pulledinto Pal’s driveway closer to eleven o’clock. An accident on the Atchafalaya span had slowed traffic to a crawl on the last leg of their journey, but Jacques wasn’t complaining. Rainey had fallen asleep just after ten, and she hadn’t stirred when he pulled off the interstate and onto University Avenue. This meant that she couldn’t object to his plan to take her home withhim.
The crunch of gravel beneath his tires and the silence that filled the car when he killed the engine must have been enough to do the trick. Beside him, Rainey inhaled a yawn, stretched in her seat, and opened her eyes. Archie stood up on the back seat and pranced, clearly excited about the prospect of getting out of thecar.
Jacques watched Rainey’s eyes focus out the windshield before she frowned. “Where are we?” Her voice was an adorably sleepycroak.
“At my house. C’mon. You get Archie. I’ll get ourthings.”
She jolted. “But — but aren’t you taking me home?” she asked,frowning.
He opened the car door and unfolded himself before ducking his head back into the cab and laying it out in a way he hoped would leave no room for argument. “No, because you’re staying withme.”
Jacques watched her mouth fall open, but he didn’t wait for her to respond before he shut the door. Still, he heard her muffledprotest.
“Wait. Jacques—” Her passenger door flew open, and she jumped out of the car. “What? I-I can’t stay here. In your grandfather’s house? That’s… that’scrazy.”
He rounded the back of the Impala and popped the trunk. “No, it isn’t. I live here, too. I’m a grown man, and I can bring home anyone I want.” He slung her backpack and his duffle bag over his shoulder and lifted out his guitar case. Then he shut the trunk with the firmness of finality. “And I wantyou.”
His watched the effect of his words jolt her frame. Her eyes widened. “But what will your grandfather think ofme?”
Jacques moved to her, stopping just before he reached her. He opened the rear passenger door, found the end of Archie’s leash, and guided the dog out of the car. “The truth,” he said, shutting the car door. “That you’re damn important tome.”
If his earlier statement jolted her, this one made her soften. He watched it happen, the way her shoulders eased and her hips shifted, and the sight sent a current straight to his sex. Jacques draped his free arm around her and steered her toward the house, fully prepared for her to dig her heels into the gravel and refuse to budge, but she fell into step beside him and they ascended the front porchsteps.
He fished out his keys and unlocked the front door. “Now, Pal will be asleep, so we need to be quiet going up the stairs,” hewhispered.
The front door swung open noiselessly, and Archie poked his nose inside, sniffing the air. As always, the house was completely dark, the only light coming from the glow of the streetlamps filtering through thewindows.
“I can’t see a thing,” Raineywhispered.
Jacques grabbed her hand. “Here,” he said, moving her grip to the back of his jeans. “Followme.”
It would be hard enough going up the stairs with his guitar case in one hand and a dog leash in the other — especially when it was connected to an excited dog who was encountering new territory. They couldn’t possibly negotiate the narrow staircase side by side without knocking the guitar case against the wall and wakingPal.
“Okay,” she breathed, grabbingon.
And so they climbed the stairs, Archie surging forward, his toenails scrambling on the wood of the stairs and making Jacques wince. But soon enough, they were in his room, and Jacques closed and locked the door behindthem.
He left the lightoff.
His bare windows let in enough light for the outline of his furniture to stand out in relief. Jacques set down his guitar and their bags, and as soon as he dropped Archie’s leash, the dog wasted no time jumping onto Jacques’sbed.
“Archie!” Rainey whisper-scolded.
Jacques turned to her and placed his hands on her hips. “It’s alright. He knows thescore.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, still watching the silhouette of her dog on hisbed.
He slipped his hands under the hem of her shirt and found the soft welcome of her skin. His already eager cock leaped with the contact. Jacques brought his lips to the slope of her neck. “He goes where you go. And he’s figured out that no matter where we are, you sleep withme.”
His lips felt the working of her throat as she swallowed. Her body swayed into him just a fraction, and he took full advantage, wrapping an arm low across her back and tugging her against him so he knew she felt the press of hisdesire.
She sucked in a startled breath. “Jacques—”
