Page 16

“Bossy,” I teased, following him inside.

He glanced back, mouth tugging up in something like a smirk. “Someone has to keep you safe.”

The heat in my chest spread lower. He set my bags on the floor, then went through the space, looking for anything that might have been damaged. I wasn’t sure how I felt about him doing that. The past couple of years, I’d learned to take care of myself. It had been a long time since anyone had been worried about me.

Eventually, he returned. “Everything seems fine.”

For a long moment, we just looked at each other. The silence was heavy, charged.

Then he was moving toward me. “If you don’t want this, you’d better tell me now.”

Instead, I smiled, and held my hands out to him.

The kiss wasn’t soft this time. It was rough, hungry, like the fire had burned away every barrier he’d kept in place. My back hit the door, his body crowding mine, solid muscle pressing me tight to the wood. His hands framed my face, then slid down, gripping my hips as if he couldn’t get me close enough.

I gasped, and he swallowed the sound, his tongue sliding against mine, demanding and sure. My hands tangled in his shirt, yanking him closer until there was no space left. Heat coiled through me, sharp and dizzying. My body craved him.

Was it the release of emotion that was sending us off this cliff? Relief so profound it needed a physical outlet? I didn’t know, and I didn’t care. I just wanted to feel him against me. More. Harder. Deeper. I wanted him to kiss me again.

He lifted me before I realized what he was doing. My legs wrapped instinctively around his waist. The strength in him was staggering, and there was no strain. He easily carried me to the counter, set me on top, and kissed me again, deeper, slower, like he had all the time in the world to take me apart.

My body melted, even as a shiver ran through me. The man knew how to kiss. Then a hand brushed against my breast, and he felt exactly how excited I was.

I laughed breathlessly against his mouth. Jack chuckled too, low and rough, before his lips found the curve of my throat.

“This isn’t just the adrenaline let-down talking,” he murmured against my skin. “Or exhaustion. Or relief that the fire is gone. I want you. I wanted you the moment I found your braid caught in the engine.”

My pulse thundered. “Good. Because I want you too. And I promise it’s not just relief that my house is okay. I wanted you as soon as you wrapped your arms around me that first day.”

His hands slid up my thighs, firm and sure. He cupped my ass, sending shivers racing through me. My fingers gripped his shoulders, holding on, not because I needed balance, but because I couldn’t imagine letting go.

For the first time in years, I wasn’t afraid of being consumed. I wanted it. I wanted him.

Before I could second-guess myself, I ripped my shirt up over my head and tossed it away. Jack went still, staring at my lace-covered breasts. Then a slow smile curled his mouth, and his hands reached out to cup me.

“Oh, baby, look how pretty you are,” he breathed. “And your nipples are so hard…”

His fingers brushed over both nipples at the same time, and I gasped. My eyes shut and my head tipped back as his fingers worked magic, tugging and cupping. My bra fell away at some point, and I almost came when his mouth took my right nipple.

“Oh,” I moaned, reaching up to hold his head against me. My entire body throbbed in time with the movements of his tongue.

I wanted him to do more, but I also wanted him to carry me to the bedroom and fuck my brains out. That must have been what he wanted too, because he snugged his hips between my legs and pulled me from the counter. My inner thighs gripped his hips, and I could feel exactly how much he wanted me. His cock was hard, even through our jeans.

For a split second, I worried that I was moving too fast. I was divorced less than a year, and Jack would be the first man I’d been with since my husband. From what I’d heard around town, he was a bit of a choirboy. Maybe he went out of town for his fun.

He tasted so damn good, though, and I knew there was no way I was going to give this up right now. My body was so aroused, just the grind of him carrying me was almost enough to send me off.

As if he heard my internal monologue, he pushed through the bedroom door and we fell on the bed together, legs tangling deliciously. There was a waft of smoke scent, but it wasn’t too bad. For a moment, I felt a quiver of insecurity. I hadn’t shaved in two days.

I lost all sense as he reared up above me and stripped his shirt over his head, revealing the cobbled contours of his chest and stomach. There were scars here, too, but they paled in comparison to the beauty of his body. “Oh. My. Gosh…”

Jack grinned, one side of his mouth quirking up at my exhalation. “Thank you for that.”

I stared at him, momentarily sidetracked. “You have to know how damn sexy you are.”

His gaze slid away from mine. “Well, as long as you think so.”

I cupped his face in my hands. “Jack, you’re toe-curling gorgeous. I’m sorry if you haven’t heard that enough. But you are.”