The Way You Look Tonight (The Sullivans #9)(22)

When disappointment clouded her beautiful features, he hated seeing it so much that he did the only thing he could think of to make it go away. Their second kiss was even sweeter than the first, as this time he remembered to savor her more, to slow himself down and start learning the curves and crevasses of her gorgeous mouth.

Pure pleasure whipped through him as he ran his tongue over her full lower lip, then drew it in between his teeth. The little sounds she was making as his tongue slid over hers, the small tremors just beneath her skin as she pressed her wet body closer to his, had him struggling to contain the wild sensations jolting his system.

It was going to kill him not to just take her to bed right now, but even if they were just going to be friends who had sex—wild sex, God help him—he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he didn’t at least treat her well while they were sleeping together.

"We’re both going to think things through tonight, and then tomorrow night, if you still decide you want this—"

"I’m still going to want you, Rafe. Just like I want you right now."

He didn’t know how the hell he kept from kissing her again, but one more little kiss would be a direct gateway to taking her right there in the sand. He needed to make sure that she had the time to think things all the way through.

"Twenty-four hours." But even as he insisted on the waiting period, he couldn’t bring himself to actually stop touching her. Sliding his hand down her arm to thread his fingers through hers, he said, "And as a thank-you for letting me stay at your house, helping to clean up mine, and for finally getting me back into the lake, how about I take you for a ride into town for dinner?"

All she would have needed to do right then to push him over the edge of reason was lean in to kiss him again. One more kiss, and he would have been done for in twenty-four seconds rather than twenty-four hours.

He was more disappointed than he wanted to admit to himself when she simply nodded.

"Okay, I’ll accept your invitation to dinner, but I’ve got to take a shower first." She gave him the most beautifully wicked smile he’d ever seen. "A really long shower."

On that shockingly seductive note, she slid her fingers from his and began a slow walk up to her house.

He knew exactly what she was doing, that she was purposely taunting him with visions of her touching herself in the shower while he waited to take her to dinner. He had no doubt whatsoever that sweet little Brooke Jansen was going to keep pushing him closer to the edge during every one of the next twenty-four hours, and that she’d continue to laugh and smile through each and every one of them.

And hot damn if it didn’t make him want her even more, knowing that the good girl next door not only had such a well-hidden naughty streak...but also that it seemed nothing could dim the naturally bright light inside her.

Chapter Eight

Brooke dried and braided her hair before choosing a pair of skinny jeans and a blue and white long-sleeved striped top to wear for their motorcycle ride and night on the town. After she’d made her suggestive comment to Rafe about the shower, her legs had just about given out on the way back into the house. She’d never been so bold before, but the rush that had moved through her at his reaction was easily worth the butterflies in her stomach.

He’d looked stunned...and also like he wanted to throw her over his shoulder and drag her back to the nearest bedroom to do dirty things to her.

She had hoped a few minutes by herself would help calm her enough to make it through dinner with him. Instead, the warm water rushing over her overly sensitized skin had only heightened her need. One kiss was all it had taken to arouse her beyond reason. She was no stranger to self-pleasure, but something told her that instead of taking the edge off, touching herself would only make her crave his touch more.

Anticipation and heightened pleasure, she also suspected, were quite closely linked. And when she and Rafe finally came together—if the two kisses they’d shared so far had been anything to go by—it would be explosive.

She should have guessed that just kissing Rafe would be better than any other sexual experience she’d had. He’d tasted so delicious—a little salty from the hard physical work he’d been doing all day, and fresh and wet from the lake at the same time.

She was heading into the living room when her phone rang. She could see Rafe waiting for her on the front porch—hopefully wallowing in all the things she might have been doing in the shower for the past thirty minutes—and would have just let it ring until she saw her new business partner’s number on the small screen.

"Hi, Cord. I’m just walking out the door for dinner."

She listened with one eye on Rafe as Cord quickly told her that he’d found the perfect Seattle storefront and had emailed her several pictures of the space. "That’s great. I promise to log on and look at the photos before I go to bed tonight. I’ll give you a call back in the morning." He told her they’d need to make a deposit as soon as possible, before one of the half-dozen new cupcake makers in Seattle decided to snap up the space. "I’ll transfer the money into your account tomorrow. That way, we’re ready to jump when we need to." She felt bad about cutting the call short, but for one night, chocolate could wait. After disconnecting, she put a couple small boxes of chocolates into her bag.

Despite the fact that Rafe was staring out at a truly serene and peaceful lake view, he looked tense.