He winced as her fingertips skimmed his mouth. “I’m fine.” His fingers circled her wrist and he slowly moved her hand away. “Just a little bruise.”
She studied him, trying to decide if he was downplaying his injury in an attempt to act macho, but the lack of pain and discomfort in his eyes told her he was telling the truth. Still, she couldn’t help but sharply sweep her gaze over him to make sure he hadn’t been hurt anywhere else. He seemed fine, though. Pretty damn fine, in fact. His black T-shirt hugged every delicious muscle of his chest, the camo pants and scuffed-up shitkickers added to his tough-guy look, and the swelling at the side of his mouth lent him a dangerous vibe.
He was so sexy her mouth went dry, and he must have sensed where her thoughts had drifted because he cocked an eyebrow and grinned.
“You finished ogling me, Ms. Pervy Eyes?”
She laughed. “You complaining?”
“Nope. I love having your eyes on me. Especially when I’m naked.”
“You look really good naked,” she conceded.
Cash promptly reached for the hem of his shirt.
“What are you doing?”
“Giving you what you want.”
She intercepted his hand before he could remove his shirt. “Hold your horses. If you get naked now, I’ll totally lose my train of thought.”
“I’m that distracting, huh?”
“You know you are. Now come sit down and tell me what happened. How on earth did you wind up in jail?”
They settled on the couch, where Cash released a breath. “The boys and I went to the bar. We politely asked Brendan to come outside and I told him in no uncertain terms to leave you alone. He didn’t like that. He threw a punch. Things escalated from there.”
She had to laugh at his matter-of-fact recitation. “That’s it? He punched you, you punched back?”
“Yep.” Cash eyed her warily. “You’re not going to lecture me about violence and not solving problems with your fists, are you?”
She mulled that over. “No.” A grin sprang to her lips. “Honestly, the thought of you kicking his ass is hot as hell.”
Cash took that as his cue to reach for his shirt again.
This time, Jen didn’t stop him, and sure enough, when he exposed his chest, his six-pack distracted her for several long seconds. Snapping herself out of it, she placed her hand in the center of his chest and said, “Wait. There’s something I wanted to say to you.”
“It’s about earlier, isn’t it? In all the chaos, I forgot about that.” He hesitated. “I’m sorry I was so insensitive. I told you, I don’t know the first thing about talking to women—”
“Don’t apologize. I’m not mad at you, Cash.”
Surprise registered on his face. “You’re not?”
“No. I spent the whole day thinking about what you said, and I realized you’re right.” A twinge of embarrassment colored her cheeks. “I could have been submitting my work to magazines and newspapers years ago, but something always stopped me. The truth is, I’m scared. I’m scared people won’t like my pictures, scared they’ll tell me not to quit my day job, scared my parents will say I told you so.”
Cash stroked her cheek with his knuckles. “It’s okay to be scared.”
“Maybe. But it’s not okay to not try.” She shook her head. “I’ll never know if I’m any good unless I put myself out there.”
“Is that what you’re planning on doing?”
She nodded. “I made a list of publications I think I’d be a good fit for, but most of them require a portfolio, so I need to put one together.” Excitement trickled through her. “And then I’ll start submitting and lining up interviews. I want to try to make my hobby into a career. I have to try.”
His answering smile warmed her heart. Despite everything he’d said earlier, for some reason she’d expected him to say it was a bad idea or give her that patronizing stare her parents had perfected. But he didn’t. All she saw in his eyes was encouragement, and before she could stop herself, she launched herself at him and pressed her lips to his.
She kissed him with fervor, cupping his stubble-covered jaw with her hands. Cash groaned and parted his lips, but it wasn’t until she tasted copper on her tongue that she remembered he’d been hurt.
She drew back and gently touched the bump. “Sorry, I forgot.”
“I already told you, it doesn’t hurt.”
She gazed into his blue eyes, experiencing another rush of amazement. “I can’t believe you beat up Brendan for me.”
“Does that turn you on, the thought of me defending your honor?”
“Mmm-hmmm.” Jen pressed her face to his neck and kissed him, then tasted him with her tongue, enjoying the masculine, salty flavor of his skin. “You taste good.”
“I taste like saltwater,” he corrected. “I swam two miles earlier and haven’t showered yet.” He made a move to get up. “I should probably do that.”