Rev It Up (Black Knights Inc. #3)(53)

“It took me a long time to get to the point where I could trust myself again, before I felt like I had a handle on all the anger and hatred. Even after I got your letter, there were still times I struggled. But I made a promise to myself then and there. I promised myself that I would come back for you just as soon as I felt strong enough, just as soon as I felt like a reasoning, rational man instead of one motivated by rage and a need for retribution. Shell, I—”

“Oh, please stop,” she pleaded, trying to dislodge her hands, but he held tight. “I don’t want to hear any more.”

“I know you don’t, but I have to make you understand—”

And then she did the only thing she could think to shut him up.

She kissed him.

***

Yo.

The touch of Shell’s soft lips was the dead last thing Jake expected to feel. And even when she put her hands on his shoulders and scooted forward until he was between her thighs, he still knelt there like a complete jackass, afraid to move, eyes wide and blinking in astonishment.

She was…kissing him?

Oh, mama, was she ever…

And just like that, the promise he’d made to her the night before was forgotten as old instincts kicked in. He grabbed her face, sucking on the sweet tongue she’d inserted into his mouth as his heart filled with hope. Was that birdsong he heard? Were church bells ringing somewhere?

It was like being in the middle of a Broadway musical. That is until he realized what this kiss really meant.

It wasn’t about passion or love. Hell, it wasn’t even about comfort.

She was just trying to keep her walls from crumbling. To distract him from saying the things that might make her reconsider her opinion of him, the things that might make her start to believe him when he said he loved her.

Well, that was just bullshit.

He pulled back. And the look on her face was desperation tinged with fear.

And just as quickly as they’d begun, the song birds and church bells fell silent. All he heard was his harsh burst of breath as he exhaled, and the heavy thud of his heart pounding in his ears.

“This isn’t why I brought you here,” he told her. “I just want to talk.”

“We’re done talking,” she said, reaching for him again. Her sweet breath feathered across his lips as the expression on her face turned provocative and slumberous. That look was enough to reduce any man to nothing more than a hard-on with a body attached.

And, yo, you better believe he wasn’t immune. Not by a long shot. But that wasn’t how he wanted it to be. When they finally made love, he wanted it to be because they’d come to an understanding, an agreement about their future together. He wanted it to be because—

“Aw, hell,” he grumbled, completely disgusted by his lack of self-control when she kissed him again.





Chapter Eleven


This is so wrong.

Michelle knew it in her heart.

She’d kissed him to shut him up. But she should’ve known better. Because it was impossible to stop at only one kiss when it came to Jake unless, like last night, she could latch onto some distraction.

Of course, there’d be no distractions here. Not in this hotel room.

It was just the two of them. Alone. So entirely alone…

And Jake was so heartbreakingly familiar. The way he touched her, skimming his hands up her sides until he gently cupped her breasts, his thumbs feathering over the tips.

Oh wow. She’d forgotten how toe-curlingly good that could feel.

The way he kissed her, nibbling on her neck before softly biting the tender skin there, making her arch beneath him. The way they fit together, breast to chest, hip to hip. The way his eyes burned when he looked at her.

Stop this!, her mind screamed, but she refused to listen. She wanted more. Just a little bit more heat, a little bit more pleasure. And then she’d stop…

Shoving her hands under the tail of his silly Hawaiian shirt, she was rewarded with the feel of smooth, hot skin rippling over wonderful muscle. She couldn’t see it, but she had a very clear memory of the tattoo covering his back. It was a bold, colorful reproduction of the SEAL Budweiser, the pin all Navy SEALs attached with pride to their uniforms—on those rare occasions they actually wore uniforms—an eagle perched atop an anchor and trident. She remembered thinking the tattoo was tough-looking and fierce, like the man who wore it.

Like the man she’d secretly dreamed of for years.

Just a little bit more…

She kicked free of her pumps, and he groaned when the movement pressed her more tightly against his throbbing erection.

Kneeling on the mattress, he pulled her into a sitting position, ravaging her mouth as he unzipped her dress. What’d seemed to take an eternity to do in her bedroom earlier this evening was undone in an instant with no more than a harsh zziiiipp of metal teeth pulling free from one another.

And this was it. Here and now. If she let this go any further, there’d be no turning back.

Stop this!, her mind screamed at her again. But that voice was growing fainter and fainter as Jake continued to love her, as her body started a steady chant of oh wow…oh wow…oh wow!

And hadn’t she already suffered the consequences of loving him? Hadn’t she already suffered the heartbreak? So what would be the harm in giving herself this one night to finally make love to him?