Under Pressure (Body Armor #1)(126)

As if making love to her didn’t affect him at all, Jesse spoke calmly. “Brick was after Merrily, making moves, and then he met you. Most guys would do an about-face for you. You know that right?”

No, she refused to answer that.

“They would,” he assured her. “But Brick was already in it for Merrily. Hook, line and sinker. So he asked me out here with a trumped-up excuse of needing help with a door and promised me a really awesome ‘gift’ if I played along.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you.” He kissed her hotly. “I wanted you the second I saw you.”

Threading her fingers into his sun-streaked hair, Tonya admitted, “I wanted you too.”

“Took me a while to figure that out though. You were friendly enough in a group, or as long as we were talking weather or improvements on your house. Anything personal, you turned cool as a cucumber.”

He meant cold. And withdrawn and distant...a total drag.

Apologetic, she hugged his head to her breasts. “I’m sorry. You scared me, Jesse. This scared me.”

“You didn’t think you should risk getting involved.”

It was love she hadn’t wanted to risk. “It didn’t seem fair when my life remained up in the air, the future so uncertain.”

“I know.” Another kiss, and then he half sat up and reached for a condom.

Tonya watched as he opened the packet, rolled on the condom and came down over her.

Kneeing her thighs apart, he whispered, “It’s not uncertain anymore.”

“How can you say—”

With one thrust, he entered her, burying himself deep. She sank her fingertips into his solid shoulders; he closed his eyes and groaned.

They stayed like that, holding the moment, until Tonya couldn’t take it anymore and shifted under him.

He locked an arm around her hips. “The future,” he murmured, and three deep breaths later, he continued with, “It is set, you know. There’ll be ups and downs, good times and bad. But Kevin isn’t going anywhere.”

“Never.”

He smiled, kissed her softly. “I see you,” he told her gently. “You and your responsibilities. The challenges you’ll face. The fun.”

Fun? Yes, with Jesse, everything was fun. But with or without him, she planned to make it so for Kevin. He deserved it. “Okay.”

“You need to understand, honey. None of it scares me.”

Nothing scared Jesse. From the moment she’d met him, he’d been rock-steady. “Maybe I’m afraid enough for both of us.”

“You don’t have to be. I’m here with you.” He started a slow rhythm that sent heat spiraling through her. “And no matter what, I’m staying put.”

For how long? Tonya wanted to ask. But with his slow, heavy thrusts, her every nerve ending sparked. It had been so long since she’d been held, even longer since she’d been loved.

“Jesse...”

He kept her hips tilted up so that each slide of his body on hers gave the perfect contact. “God, you feel good.”

“You feel better.” She put her legs around him, lifted into him and whispered, “Harder.”

Growling, he lifted up to his elbows, watching her as he gave her what she asked for. The bed rocked.

Jaw tight, color high on his cheekbones, Jesse stared at her with glittering green eyes until she cried out at the start of her climax.

Done fighting off his own release, he gathered her closer, his face in her neck.

She felt the coiled tension in his shoulders, the heat pouring off him, and she let go.

Seconds, maybe minutes later, Jesse lazily kissed her shoulder, her neck, her temple.

“Don’t move yet,” she begged, wanting to hang on to this moment...forever.

“Not yet,” he agreed. Then he surprised her by saying, “Soon though.”

“Soon?”

“So I can look at you some more.” He lifted up to see her. “And kiss you some more.”

And love her more?

He touched his mouth to hers. “And love you more.”

He was so good at that—at reading her mind, and making love to her.

“What?” he teased, smoothing his thumb over her brows. “You’re frowning—but I know you came.”

“I did,” she confirmed, not that there was really any question. “You’re amazing.”

“And it’s been a long time?”

A lifetime. “Yes.”

“We have—” he rose up to see the bedside clock “—several more hours. Plenty of time.”

“For what?” She liked him like this, all mellow and sated. But she liked him ramped up and turned-on even more.

“I ended up rushing things, after all. But I’m blaming you for that.”

Pretending outrage, she said, “Me?”

“Mmm. The way you smell, how you taste.” He bent to her and whispered, “Those sexy sounds you make.”

“I don’t—”

“Totally set me off.” He sat up beside her, his attention on her breasts. “I wanted to spend a lot more time on these.” So saying, he cupped each breast, using his thumbs to tease her nipples into stiffening again.

Tonya breathed harder. “Okay.”