Page 32 of SEAL's Doorstep Baby
“Pretty please, sir,” I hold up four fingers. Then, with a deep breath, I pop up my thumb. “Pretty please, sir.”
We both let out a breath at the same time. I lick my lips, trying to keep my head on straight.
He grins, smug as a cat, and I try to focus all my energy on the annoyance I feel—rather than any of the other emotions that are coming up.
“Alright, you win. Which game do you want to play?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe Monopoly, but we play with real money?” I ask innocently.
“Nope. No way.” He shakes his head in complete disagreement. “I’m not letting you rob me blind. Think of something else.”
I don’t have anything in particular on my mind. The only alternatives left are Scrabble and poker, but I have a feeling Jacob won’t agree to poker for the same reasons he rejected my Monopoly idea. “How about Scrabble? It’s either that or poker.”
My plan is working, and Jacob seems much more relaxed. He has lost all the tension in his frame from his earlier worries about Maddie. His arms are sprawled across the couch and his bright blue eyes sparkle with a glint of excitement that wasn’t there a moment ago. “I think we can start with Scrabble. And then, when I’ve broken down your mental resolve, I’ll move onto robbing you blind in poker.”
He laughs brightly as he teases me. I grin.
“Right. Excuse me if I don’t have a lot of confidence in your ability to spell. I hear you boys don’t read books over there. It’s all muscles and guns.” I sigh airily, intent on engaging him in banter, and from the growing smile on his face it’s clear he is taking it all in his stride. “A shame really, because you’re one of the pretty ones and I can’t help but imagine how much better it would be if you could read Hemingway or…”
My words are interrupted by the squeal I let out when Jacob lifts me into the air in the middle of my regret-filled speech bemoaning his intellectual shortcomings. His abrupt action has shocked me, but I like the feel of his arms around me. I don’t want it to end so I wrap my legs around his waist, anchoring me to him.
“Don’t stop now, Allie. Tell me, what else should I be able to read to be the perfect pretty man?”
I know we’re toying with fire. But—for the first time in days—in weeks, if I’m being really honest—I’m just… having fun.
Jacob looks at me, his face close by and relaxed. It’s so good to see him like this. For the first time, Jake actually looks his age. He looks young and—
Good.
He looks good.
“Let me down.” I say lightly, but my hands find their way around his neck, encircling it and resting my fingers on the nape of his neck. I can’t fight the desire to play with the thin hairs there so I give into it, tugging at them lightly. “I won’t slander you anymore. I know your ego can’t take it.” I whisper with the intent of pushing him just a little bit more.
“I think you need to say pretty please again if you want me to put you down.” His voice is octaves deeper, and I know I am not the only one feeling the electricity sparking between us, just like the last time.
I know why he stopped kissing me that day in my room, I know how complicated things are between us. But with the heat rising between us right now, I know I don’t want to put an end to whatever this is. “What if I don’t want you to put me down, Jake?”
Jake’s eyes widen. His gaze dips to my mouth before he looks back up again. “I’ll kiss you,” he warns.
I swallow. “What if I want you to kiss me?”
His eyes darken. “I won’t stop.”
Heat flushes through me. “What if I don’t want you to stop?”
I have always known Jacob was attractive, and seeing him on that porch—hair disheveled, eyes bloodshot from exhaustion —had not changed my mind at all. Living with him had heightened everything I had ever felt, and now, every whispered word seemed to promise more. Every innocent touch carried the risk of delving into the sensuous and turning into a soft caress.
I remember that night we had all those years ago.
I remember the way he’d kissed me—the way his hands had felt. The softness of them, the clumsiness—the heat of it, the desperation. It has only grown since then.
And maybe this is a mistake. Maybe it’s just stress, and hormones, and grief, and other things I can’t begin to detangle.
But maybe it’s also… okay. Maybe it’s okay to want him this much.
To know that he wants me, too.
His face is set in resolute silence, staring into my eyes with a soft gaze. My hand moves to the side of his head, gently pressing my fingers into his hair, and that is enough to break through whatever restrictions he has placed on himself. Jake claims my lips with his and I melt into him.
