His gray eyes glimmered with regret as he looked up at her. “I know I’m not the easiest man to spend time with. I’m moody and dominating and sometimes I’m just a big fucking jerk. But…” He released a ragged breath. “The week’s not over, and I’m not ready to say goodbye to you yet. Don’t bail on me, Bree.”
Her heart nearly somersaulted right out of her chest. With Jake gazing at her with that lost little boy expression, she was a total goner.
“I won’t bail,” she said softly.
He shot her a sheepish smile. “And if I’m being an asshole, or an idiot, feel free to point it out. If you feel like I’m not…I don’t know, sharing enough, just tell me. I promise you, as long as we’re seeing each other, I’ll try and tone down my asshole-ness.”
Her lips fluttered in a smile. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
Chapter Eight
By the time Friday night rolled around, Bree was wondering if the real Jake Bishop had been replaced with some kind of sweet-talking, lovable robot Jake. The past three days had been absolutely surreal, and although she’d spent every night at his house, there’d been a lot more than hot sex on the agenda. They’d eaten dinner together. Walked by the lake. Bundled up under a fleece blanket and cuddled in the bed of his truck. They’d even watched a documentary about the Green Berets, during which Jake spoke in length about life in the military and regaled her with stories about the hell week he’d endured during basic training.
Strange, how the man wouldn’t shut up now that he’d agreed to start talking.
Tonight, he’d decided to launch into a game of tell-me-everything-about-yourself, which involved him hurling nonstop questions in her direction, as if he truly wanted to get to know her better.
“Favorite food,” he ordered as they lazed on the big leather couch in Nate’s living room.
“Any kind of pasta.”
“Movie.”
“Don’t have one. I never have time to watch movies.”
“Favorite flower.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Tulip?”
“You asking or telling?”
“Telling, I guess. To be honest, I don’t think about flowers too often.”
She leaned her head against the arm of the sofa and stretched out her legs. Jake immediately captured her socked feet and brought them into his lap, stroking her heels with his warm hands. Bree almost purred in delight. She loved the way he touched her in that confident, skillful manner.
On the other end of the couch, Jake leaned forward to swipe his beer bottle from the oak coffee table. He took a long swig, then resumed the interrogation. “Favorite music genre?”
“Country.”
He made a face. “Seriously?”
She grinned. “What can I say? I love having a raspy-voiced cowboy crooning to me about lost love and broken hearts.”
“I didn’t know you were such a romantic.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”
Gray eyes glimmering with heat, he slid across the couch and pulled her into his lap. “I know you like it when I do this,” he murmured, and then he cupped her chin with his hands and brought her mouth down to his.
The kiss sent a jolt of desire to her core. She instinctively parted her lips to grant his tongue access, and Jake spent the next several minutes kissing her senseless. He swirled his tongue over hers, then retreated, nibbling her bottom lip before peppering kisses along her jaw. Bree tilted her head so he could kiss her neck, whimpering when he sucked that sensitive spot right beneath her ear.
As his mouth traveled over her feverish flesh, leaving goose bumps in its wake, he slid his hands underneath her tank top and cupped the bare breasts beneath it.
“I know you like it rough,” he added as he flicked her nipples with his thumbs. “And that if I pinch your nipples like this—” he pinched, hard enough to bring a sting of pain, “—you’ll make that little growling sound in the back of your throat.”
Was she growling? He pinched those rigid buds again and from the crooked smile that lifted his mouth, she knew she must be making that sound he spoke of. But her pulse was drumming in her ears so loudly she couldn’t be sure.
“Makes me wonder about the kind of sounds you’d make if I dragged it out, tortured you for a bit.” His touch grew gentle, fleeting, and his smile widened. “Let’s find out, shall we?”
The next thing she knew, she was flat on her back, while Jake quickly removed every scrap of clothing from her body.
Once she was naked, he wrenched off his T-shirt and sweatpants. When his boxers came off, Bree’s gaze slid to his groin, to the thick erection that rose to slap his washboard belly. She reached for him, but he swatted her hands away.
And then he proceeded to tease the living hell out of her.
His tongue devoured every square inch of her body. Swirling over her collarbone. Tickling the swell of each breast. Dancing around her belly button.
Ribbons of heat unfurled inside her, washing over her skin, settling between her legs and the tips of her nipples. The scrape of his stubble on the top of her mound had her hips thrashing. The warmth of his mouth as he neared her wet slit made her moan. Her muscles tensed, craving relief.
“Jake,” she squeezed out. “No teasing. I need…”
“This?”