Chapter 38
He leaned toward me, and our lips almost brushed. When he spoke, his voice was almost a caress. "You gotta ask?"
In spite of all my longings, I forced myself to pull back. "Yes. I do." I swallowed. "I mean, was it all for Rango's benefit?"
With a soft chuckle, Jake turned and leaned back against the sofa. "No. It was formybenefit."
"But…" I struggled to find the right words. "Did you know Rango was standing there?"
"Yeah. I knew." Through the shadows, I saw him turn again to face me. "And yeah, I wanted him to see. I wanted him to get good and pissed off. And I wanted him to know that you weren'thisanymore."
He leaned close. "But you know what I really wanted?"
"What?"
"I wantedyou." He moved a fraction closer. "And I wanted more than a kiss."
My head was swimming. "I want more than a kiss right now," I confessed.
Soon, his lips were on mine. I melted into his embrace. His arms closed around me and pulled me tight against him. His body felt warm and hard, just like I'd always imagined. He moved his head lower and nibbled on my bottom lip.
My pulse jumped, and a soft moan escaped my lips. I was wearing next to nothing, just that oversized shirt and black lacy panties. But what Iwantedto be wearing was nothing at all. And I wantedhimto be wearing nothing too.
His lips trailed lower. They zeroed in on my neck, teasing, tantalizing. Unable to resist, I leaned my head back, exposing more of my neck in hopes of more. His tongue caressed my jumping pulse, making heat surge from my head to my toes and everyplace in between.
The room, so cool just a few minutes earlier, was feeling nearly tropical. His hand slid up to cradle the back of my neck, and his lips drifted to that sensitive spot just between my neck and shoulder. With his mouth, he pushed aside the thin cotton fabric of the borrowed T-shirt.
His teeth grazed my skin, and I caught my breath. If he was driving me to distraction now, when we were still mostly clothed, what might happen if things kept going?
Theyhadto keep going. No matter what, I'd make sure of it. I crept forward to straddle his lap. I pressed my knees to either side of his hips and laced my fingers behind his neck. When I pressed myself against him, his hardness pulsed against me.
"Luna." He drew a ragged breath. "If you were smart, you'd run."
Liar. If I was smart, I'd do exactly what I was doing. His words might say one thing, but his body said another. When I ground against him, he made a sound of frustration that made me smile.
I pressed myself tighter against him. "Are yousureyou want me to run?"
"No." He slid his hands up the back of my T-shirt. "But you should anyway."
His hands felt big and strong, but his touch was soft, a sweet caress that left me aching for more. His hands drifted lower, finding the waist of my panties. If I was lucky, he'd tear them off and take me right now.
"Run?" I said. Why would I do that?"
"Because you're way too sweet for the likes of me." His hands dipped lower. "I ruin everything." His hands dipped lower still. "And I sure as hell don't want to ruin this." His fingers skimmed my ass-cheeks, and his voice became raw. "I don't want to ruin you."
Under my fingertips, his neck muscles were tense, straining, as if his control might suddenly break. I wanted it to break. With both hands, I trailed my fingers over his broad shoulders and then down over his chest. It felt every bit as good as it looked, a perfected mass of smooth skin and hard muscle.
I trialed my hands lower until I reached his flat stomach, with its washboard ridges and hard valleys. The muscles contracted, tensing as if preparing for battle, whether with me or with himself.
If the battle was for self-control, he wasn't going to win, not if I could help it.
I leaned against him and whispered in his ear. "I'm notthatsweet."
I heard his sharp intake of breath. "You're sweeter than I deserve."
"Wanna bet?" I trailed my fingertips lower. When my fingers brushed over his hardness, he surged against me. I made my tone light, playful even. "I don't want to run, but if you insist…"
"Now you've done it," he said.
