Until We Touch (Fool's Gold #15)

For the second time in as many minutes, she was mentally backtracking. No, she told herself firmly. They weren’t involved. They never had been. She’d learned that lesson early and she’d learned it well. Jack was heartache. Jack wanted the most beautiful woman in the room...for fifteen minutes. And then he was done. He wanted sex and easy conversation—he didn’t want to get involved. And she...she didn’t know what she wanted but it wasn’t that. Was it?

She took the glass of wine he offered and followed him into the big open living room. When they watched movies they went downstairs to the media room. Because Jack had, if not the biggest house in town, then one that was certainly close. Five or six bedrooms, a fully finished basement, a three-car garage. He had space and gadgets and lots of shiny surfaces. But sometimes she wondered if he ever got lonely in his big house.

His place in L.A. had been similar. Maybe that explained all the fast-food women he favored. He got to pretend he was a part of something, even for a few hours, and then didn’t have any relationship messiness.

There was a large curved sofa facing a massive fireplace. Paintings hung on the walls. Real paintings of beaches and trees. Not quasi–pop art representations of him playing football.

She spotted a small oil painting by the antique writing desk in the corner.

“Is that new?” she asked. She put down her glass of wine and walked to study it.

The colors were all shades of the ocean and forest. There was a rough sea and an island beyond. She could barely make out the tiny sign by the boats. “Blackberry Island Marina.”

“When did you get this?” she asked, turning to face him.

He set his wine next to hers and grinned. “You don’t know everything about me.”

“I usually do, but this is unexpected.” Her smile widened. “You have a secret life.”

“I wish. A little privacy in this town would be nice, but I’m not holding my breath.”

She returned to stand next to him. “What would you want to keep private? It’s nice that we know everything about each other.”

“It’s a guy thing.”

She rolled her eyes. “A convenient fallback statement that has no basis in reality. You’re trying to distract me and it’s not going to work.”

“Larissa, if I wanted to distract you, there are better ways.”

He was being fun. Or playful. She knew that, because she knew Jack. But when he made that statement, in a firm voice that was both teasing and slightly sexy, she could only think of one thing.

Her muscles tensed even as her gaze involuntarily settled on his mouth. Breathing was tough and the only thought she could hold on to was an intense desire to have him kiss her. Not on the cheek or the forehead, like he usually did. She wanted him to kiss her on the mouth. Like he meant it.

Jack’s startled expression quickly changed to something she couldn’t read. He took a step back and held up his arms, as if warding her off. But in the next movement, he grabbed her, hauled her against him, then pressed his mouth to hers.

The contact was unexpected and exactly what she wanted. She went willingly into his embrace. Her hands settled on his broad shoulders as her thighs nestled against his. But the best part was how he kissed her.

Gently, at first. Light, barely touching, then more firmly. His mouth lingered. Her eyes sank closed as she melted against him. Yes, he was definitely lingering, she thought. Lingering and moving back and forth. There was a tenderness, but also a hint of something else. Something more.

Heat began to bubble deep in her chest. It flowed in all directions, making her body warm and sensitive to every touch. His fingers stroked her back, holding her with just the right amount of pressure. Thinking became more difficult and the world reduced itself to this man and what he was doing to her.

His tongue brushed against her bottom lip. She sucked in her breath even as she parted for him. He slipped inside. The kiss deepened and then they were straining against each other. She moved her hands up and down his back, wanting more. Needing him to touch her everywhere. He responded in kind. One hand slipped to her rear while the other slipped around her waist and up her rib cage until it settled on her left breast. His fingers brushed against her tight nipple. Electricity shot through her and she jumped back.

They stared at each other, both breathing hard. Passion darkened his eyes. It made her tremble. She tried to speak, but honest to God, what was there to say? Larissa did the only thing that made sense. This time it was her turn to run.

CHAPTER FOUR

“I KISSED JACK.”

Larissa supposed “Hi” or “Can I come in?” was a more conventional greeting, but the words just sort of spilled out. Bailey stared at her a second before motioning her into her small house.

“Wow,” her friend said. “I’d been thinking I was going to have a quiet, if slightly boring, evening at home while Chloe is with one of her friends, and then you come along. Well done.”

“I’m sorry,” Larissa breathed. “Is this an okay time?”

“Of course. Like I said, Chloe’s gone. And you are better than anything on TV. Let’s go into the kitchen. I have some very cheap wine and I made brownies yesterday.”