If I Didn't Know Better (The Callaways #9)(47)

He met her questioning gaze, knowing that what he'd said recently was true; he couldn't lie to Mia, and he didn't want to. Even if he tried, she wouldn't believe him. Mia had an eye for detail. She always saw past his barriers to the man inside, the man he let few people see.

"Down deep—maybe," he conceded. "If you kiss them, I'll feel better."

Her bright smile made him blink. It was like a moonbeam hitting him in the face.

"I walked right into that, didn't I?" she asked.

"You did."

"Okay." She pressed her mouth to his shoulder and then lowered her head to trace a wet path along the scar at the bottom of his rib cage.

His jeans grew uncomfortably tight as he thought about where else he wanted her mouth to go. But he didn't want this night to be just about him. He grabbed her arms and pulled her up against him. "You still haven't said the word."

The heat between them practically sizzled in the summer night.

"If I didn't know better…" she said.

"What?" His pulse leapt at the possibility that she was going to say no.

"I'd say yes."

His breath caught in his chest. "But…"

She shook her head. "You're making this hard."

"You're making me hard."

Her tongue darted out to wet her lips. "I don't know what to say."

"I'm not looking for conversation. If you want me to go, tell me to go."

She hesitated for a long, tense minute. "Do you have anything—protection, because I wasn't planning on you or this…"

His heart jumped. He pulled a condom out of the pocket of his jeans. He'd put it there earlier, an old habit from whenever he headed out for a night with the guys, not that he'd actually thought he was going to use it.

"So you were planning…" she said.

"I was dreaming," he corrected. "And hoping." He paused. "But you still have to say the word, Mia. I'm not talking you into anything."

"Aren't you?" she asked with a helpless smile. "If it makes you feel better…yes."

His pulse leapt. "Are you sure? I thought you knew better."

"I thought so, too."

She reached for her back zipper, unzipped it and then stepped out of her dress. The material fell next to his shirt, and he watched in amazement and appreciation as she unhooked her bra and slid her panties down over her beautiful legs.

"Is this real?" he asked, feeling a little dazed.

She took his hand and put it on her breast. "Do I feel real?"

"You feel amazing," he said, his thumb caressing her nipple into a tight peak that was followed by a slight gasp of air coming through her parted lips.

He lowered his head and put his lips to one soft, full breast and then the other. Then he stripped off his jeans and pulled her down to the grass.

The cool ground quickly heated as they moved together. There were no more words. They spoke with their hands and their lips, as they let go of everything—except each other.



*



Mia lay on her side, her head resting on Jeremy's incredibly solid chest, her arm laying across his flat, muscled abs, her leg holding his to the ground. Above them, the moon shined bright, and the only sounds she could hear were the crashing ocean waves and Jeremy's heartbeat.

She felt sated and incredibly content, her body still tingling from Jeremy's touch.

If this was a mistake, at least it had been a good one. She would never forget this night. The painting she'd done had unlocked her heart, but Jeremy had made her fly.

What she should do, what she should think, had fallen to the wayside. Instead of listening to her brain, she'd paid attention to her body and her heart, and she might have just had the best night of her life.

Whatever happened next, she would have no regrets, she promised herself. She wouldn't let herself look back and judge what she'd done. Life was about living, not always trying to do the right thing.

As she looked up at the stars in the sky, she had a feeling that her aunt would have approved of her impulsive behavior. She smiled at that thought.

Jeremy shifted beneath her, and she lifted her head. "Am I weighing you down?"

He gave her a lazy, happy smile. "Not at all. You look happy, Mia."

"You might have to give yourself a little credit for that."

"Only a little?"

She laughed. "Okay, a lot."

"No, it wasn't me; it was all you—beautiful, gorgeous you. Your eyes are so amazing. They're like the sea. The colors change from light blue to dark blue to mysterious blue. And your mouth is so soft, so sexy. Damn, you're hot."

She laughed, flattered by not only his words but by the look in his eyes. "You're not so bad yourself." She pressed her fingers against his abs. "These muscles make me feel like I should get to the gym."

"I like you just the way you are," he said, running his finger down her cheek. "You never have to be anyone but yourself with me."

His words made her heart tighten. It felt like the first time she'd ever been with a man who saw her—the real her, which seemed a little crazy because she and Jeremy barely knew each other and yet she felt incredibly close to him. "The same goes for you," she murmured.