A Kiss for Luck Read Free Page A

her mind. When she was young, they had been soft and fanciful. Later when she’d been forced to endure Frank’s attentions, she would close her eyes sometimes and try to imagine Jackson’s lips on hers or his body pumping into her and it had almost made it bearable. Now here he was, wild eyed and flushed with excitement for her.
    She should have played it safe, but she leaned forward and kissed him once more, savoring his stunned gasp against her mouth as she licked at his lips then slipped her tongue past them like he’d done to her. Jackson responded instantly and crushed her to him, kissing her back like a man starved. His passion shouldn’t have been surprising, but it was. It stole her breath and left her body humming in need.
    Months without sex, years without passion, and it must have worn on her because she literally ached for him. It didn’t even matter that he was her best friend, that by moving against him seductively and inviting more intimate attentions she could be doing permanent damage to their relationship. All she knew was she wanted him and she told him so in a breathy sigh when she pulled away to inhale the alluring scent of his aftershave.
    Jackson took a deep breath as his head fell back against the couch. “We can’t do this.” He gripped her shoulders and pushed her away. “You’re drunk.”
    “I’m not that drunk.”
    15

    Kele Moon
    “You’re drunk enough and I couldn’t bear you hating me,” Jackson said, looking genuinely conflicted. “You mean more to me than that. Much more.”
    It didn’t matter that Jackson sounded more than sincere, her pride stung. Frank had often called her cold and she’d dismissed it, but with Jackson it was more than she could bear. Perhaps there was something wrong with her? She was too plain and her mother was always saying she was too thin. Maybe her breasts were too small. Jackson probably preferred them bigger. Her hair was unmanageably curly and brown. Hadn’t he always preferred blondes?
    She started to get up when she felt tears in her eyes. Being reminded of how undesirable she was wasn’t how she wanted to start the New Year. It was what she had hoped to do away with.
    “If you didn’t want me all you had to do was say so,” she whispered, feeling a sob trap in her throat as she turned away from him, determined to go straight to the spare bedroom and pretend none of this had ever happened.
    “Clara, wait!” Jackson jumped from his seat. “You don’t understand.”
    “Oh, I understand. I’m not pretty enough for you,” she snapped, unable to hold back her temper. “You’re just like Frank!”
    A fresh flush flooded his face and his eyes sparkled with fury. “Don’t you dare compare me to that asshole!”
    “Why don’t you tell me I’m cold next? An Ice Queen. Isn’t that what you’re thinking?”
    Jackson laughed incredulously as he reached out and held her arm, stopping her retreat. “Cold? It’s taking every ounce of willpower I have not to rip your clothes off and fuck you right here. If you weren’t my best friend, I’d already be inside you!”
    Clara’s eyes widened at his bold words. Despite her anger and embarrassment, a wild side of her responded to the images his harsh statements created. So intense was her reaction that she wrenched her arm out of his grip and turned so her back faced him. That couldn’t be true. Guys like Jackson didn’t want girls like her. Even if they had 16

    A Kiss for Luck
    been best friends since ninth grade, he was still out of her league. He was gorgeous, a firefighter, one of those big, buff guys women fantasize about.
    He had always been perfect and beautiful in that way. A football player in high school, popularity came easily to him. They only became friends because he needed a tutor for math and science in order to remain on the team. Being generally inept socially, she had clung to Jackson when he had offered her friendship at a time in her life when the offers were few and