The Will(122)

That seemed to assuage him for he turned and strolled out of view.

When he did, Jake’s hand that had been resting on the counter beside us (even through our kiss) came to me so he could wrap his arm around me and his hand that had not left my hair glided through it.

I looked back at him.

“Your home is not boring,” I remarked.

“Nope,” he agreed.

“It’s been a very interesting day,” I noted.

“Yep,” he agreed, lips twitching.

“And oddly, I’m hungry,” I shared and his lips curved up.

“Time to feed my woman.”

“Mm,” I mumbled.

“No delivery. We’ll pick up the pizzas, leavin’ right after we order so we can make out in my truck waitin’ for them.”

“Mm,” I repeated but the noise had a different meaning this time.

Jake didn’t miss the meaning and I knew this when his mouth came back to mine even as he held my gaze. “Let’s do that now.”

“Okay,” I breathed and got another smile from Jake, this one I saw only in his eyes but felt against my lips.

It was extraordinary.

Then he slanted his head and kissed me again.

In other words, we didn’t order pizza right then. We ordered pizza five minutes later when Jake stopped kissing me.

And we left two seconds after he disconnected.





Chapter Fifteen


Say Her Name with His Last Breath



I felt the bed move before I felt my hair slide off my neck.

I opened my eyes, turned my head and saw Jake. He was sitting on the side of my bed, his weight in his hand in the bed on the other side of me, his eyes on me.

“Is it time to work out?” I asked sleepily.

“Oh yeah,” he answered, his voice strange, deeper and rumbly, the sound, especially first thing in the morning, utterly lovely.

I decided against telling him that and instead turned to my back and shared, “I have new workout clothes so I don’t have to borrow Amber’s anymore.”

He dipped closer to me and his voice was even deeper and more rumbly when he told me, “Way we’re gonna work out, Slick, clothes are unnecessary.”

I felt my entire body melt into the mattress.

Oh my.

Jake kept talking.

“Opened the gym, got boys there, they’ll keep an eye on it.” He got even closer. “We got hours.”

“Hours?” I breathed.

His mouth hit mine but his eyes didn’t close so I was staring into their deep blue depths when he whispered with emphasis, “Hours.”

“Oh my,” I replied and watched his eyes smile.

Then I closed my own for I’d seen his head slant and I knew he was going to kiss me.

He did and I melted deeper into the mattress. But only for a moment. When my mouth opened and his tongue slid inside, his arms closed around me and he pulled me out of bed and across his lap.

Still kissing me, he fell back on a twist taking me with him so he was properly in the bed and at once, he rolled so he was on top.

I liked him waking me. I liked that he was the first thing I saw in the morning. I liked his voice all deep and rumbly. I liked him in bed with me. I liked that we had hours.

And I very much liked his kiss.

So much, I wanted more of it and of him. Therefore, I slid my hands into his shirt and pulled up by dragging them up the warm skin of his back.

Alas, when I did this, he detached his lips from mine. Fortunately, he did this only to arch away so I could drag the shirt up further and when my arms could reach no more, he assisted and yanked it off, tossing it aside.

I caught a glimpse of his wide, defined chest before he settled on me again and took my mouth. My mind lost in Jake’s deep kiss, my body knew what it wanted. Thus, I bent a knee, planted my foot in the bed and bucked.

Jake, being Jake, gave it to me by giving in and allowing me to roll him. I rolled with him, broke our kiss and lifted up to look down at him.

His dark hair on my pillow. His eyes heated but languorous. His jaw stubbled. His corded throat and muscular chest right there.

All of it amazing.

And all of it right there.

For me.

I decided to take it and dipped my head to slide my lips against his rough jaw, liking the sharp, bristly feel against my soft skin. Liking it so much, I went for more, trailing them down his neck.

This brought in sight his throat and I’d always liked that so I moved to take that in with my lips. My hand was encountering warm skin over hard muscle, which brought to mind his chest so I leisurely made my way there. Since that expanse was so vast, I really needed to be in the proper position to do it justice so I moved over Jake, straddling his hips.

Trailing my lips everywhere, I engaged my tongue on a little mew when I felt Jake’s hands slide up into my nightie then down into my panties to cup my behind.

The pads of his fingers were not smooth. He was a man who renovated his own home, owned a gym, boxed. Thus, his fingers were calloused and abrasive.

And, like his voice earlier, utterly lovely.

I encountered his nipple and brushed my lips across it. Back. Again. And again. On the next pass, I grazed it with the tip of my tongue.

I heard Jake emit a noise that sounded like it came from deep in his chest. A noise that reverberated pleasingly between my legs, just as his fingers dug into my bottom, something I liked. Very much.