Saugatuck Summer (Saugatuck, #1)(57)
I hadn’t eaten much at the cookout because of my discomfort, so after I packed my bag, I ducked into the kitchen, offering to make a sandwich for anybody who wanted one. They all declined, but Jace followed me anyway. As I worked on piling smoked turkey deep on whole wheat, one of his hands settled on the small of my back and the other on my shoulder, drawing me close as he kissed my neck. I sighed and closed my eyes, becoming a mass of nerve endings in one split second, all of them yearning for him.
After a moment I cleared my throat and turned my attention back to my sandwich.
“This isn’t a complaint, but I have to ask why you do that.”
“Do what?”
“Touch me like you have every right in the world to. You do it even before it’s a sure thing that I’ll sleep with you.”
“I don’t know.” His voice lifted, sounding slightly puzzled. “I think because whenever you’re within arm’s reach, it seems like my hands would feel more natural on you than they would hanging at my sides.”
“Okay.” I nodded, accepting that without question, because it sounded just about right. I could be ridiculously protective of my personal space at times, especially with people I didn’t know well, but when Jace was near me, it was like he belonged within my bubble.
We said good-night to Robin and Geoff as soon as I had finished scarfing down my sandwich, and I don’t think I was imagining the urgency on Jace’s part when he hurried me down the driveway toward his car.
I smiled when I saw his room at the Dunes.
“What, no huge-ass cottage this time?”
He looked at me out of the corner of his eye, leading me up the stairs of the hotel portion of the resort. “It was a last-minute cancellation. I’m lucky I even got it on a holiday weekend.”
My eyebrows shot up as he slid the card key in the door. “You told Robin you booked it months ago.”
Holy shit, was he blushing?
He ducked his head. “Yeah, well, I thought it would be too creepy to admit that I decided on an impromptu visit the moment Geoff mentioned during an email exchange that the guy who had modeled for those paintings was in town full-time and working for them.”
I froze just inside the doorway. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.” He tugged me into the room, far enough to close and bolt the door, then rubbed the back of his neck, glancing at me from under his lashes. “I don’t know why, but I’ve thought about you a lot. Especially while I was painting you. You . . . struck a chord, I guess. I’ve never turned out anything as good as those paintings in such a short amount of time.”
“Wow.” I swallowed hard, unsure of what to make of that revelation. I let the strap of my duffel bag slide off my shoulder onto the floor of the open closet, and glanced around, feeling at loose ends. Then his hand captured mine and he pulled me close, until he was sandwiched between my body and the door.
“Don’t worry about it,” he murmured, and kissed me.
For all that alpha-male crap he’d pulled at the fireworks display, he started off incredibly gently. His hands framed my face, tilting my head into the kiss, the brushes of his lips becoming strokes. He captured my bottom lip between his and sucked on it, making no effort to open my mouth or thrust within. Just those light kisses, punctuated by flicks of his tongue against the edges of my lips, and careful nibbles.
Amazing. Best kissing technique ever. Seriously. He didn’t mash his mouth against mine, he just took his time, until my lips were so sensitive I couldn’t bear it. We groaned together when my tongue slipped out to meet his in the space between our mouths, and that’s when it intensified. His hands tightened on me, moving down my shoulders and back to clasp me closer, his tongue sliding into my mouth and staking a claim. My knees weakened, and suddenly I really wished I was the one leaning on the door, because I was going to be hanging from his arms soon if I didn’t find something to support me or get horizontal.
My lips tingled as I pulled away from him. They were puffing up, filling with blood. I touched my tongue to my upper lip while I kicked off my shoes and jerked my shirt over my head, walking backward toward the bed. Jace followed, stripping a lot more impatiently, throwing his clothes aside. He shoved me back so that I fell onto the bed, and peeled off my jeans and underwear himself.
Then he planted his face in my groin, licking and breathing deep, inhaling the scent of me. I wanted his red, red mouth around my cock so f*cking bad, but he gave me everything except that. His tongue stroked the crease of my thigh where it met my torso. He sucked and licked my balls with such attention and enthusiasm that he had me arching off the bed, writhing and groaning before he finally moved on to my taint. I drew my knees up, hoping he might rim me, but after only a teasing stroke at my entrance, he nibbled his way down my inner thigh and calf to my foot.
Holy f*cking hell, who knew having your toes sucked felt that good? It was like they were wired directly to my groin, each almost-ticklish nibble and pull sending a small shock wave of tension through my cock and balls.
“Please!” I panted, twisting on the bedspread and lifting my head to stare at him in desperation. Pre-cum dripped from the head of my cock to cool on the sweaty skin of my belly. “Come on, Jace. Just f*ck me already.”
That diabolical grin flashed as he turned his face away from nuzzling the arch of my foot.
“Oh, nonono, angel.” He tsked, licking the hollow behind my anklebone before nibbling on my Achilles tendon and, ohmygod seriously, how the ever-loving f*ck was that even erogenous? “I’m going to take my own sweet time with you.”