“You could get hurt,” he whispered.
Maya gave him a sad smile. “I’m hurting without you, Jake. I’m willing to risk more for you. You’re worth it. I wish you could see that.”
Jake leaned down and rested his forehead on hers. “You’re so much stronger than I am.”
“No, I’m not. It’s just my turn to be strong. I’ve leaned on you before, and that will happen again. So why don’t we lean on each other, Jake?”
“I love you, Maya,” he whispered. “You’re my best friend.”
“I love you, too.”
They both knew those words would mean something different in the future. There was no denying that. And because of that, Jake knew he would have to stop using them until they made sense of the next steps in what they could be.
“So what do we do now?” he asked, and Maya let out a laugh.
“We’ve never been awkward like this, have we?” she asked, and Jake slid his hand down her side.
“No, I guess not.”
She licked her lips, and he swallowed hard. “Will you kiss me again?”
Jake smiled then. “The Maya I know doesn’t ask to be kissed, darling.”
She rolled her eyes and grinned. “Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”
He slid his hand over her ass, and when he squeezed, they both let out a breath. “I think I know you just fine, Montgomery. I think if you want this kiss, this time, you should take it. You’re the woman who told me how oral is a deal breaker for you. You’re the one who prowled toward me that night. So take what you want, Maya. And I’ll do the same.”
Her eyes darkened, and he knew that had been the right thing to say.
When she cupped the back of his head and brought his lips down to hers, he was lost. She bit his bottom lip, forcing a groan from him. He pressed her lower half closer to him, and she kissed him harder. When he rocked into her, the hard ridge of his cock pressing into her belly, he knew there was no going back.
But Jake didn’t want to go back.
Ever.
He ran his hands over her body, wanting to know every inch of her. Again, for the first time, for now, forever. They were older now, a lot more confident, and yet on a new plane when it came to who they were to each other. This wasn’t a one-off after a long night of dancing and drinking. He wasn’t even sure it would have been back then.
This was now, and he knew he’d do anything to keep it like that.
He pulled away, trying to catch his breath. “I want you in my bed, Maya. I want you everywhere, come to think of it.”
“Then have me, Jake,” she said, panting. “Because I don’t think I can wait any longer. Oh, and I’d better get oral this time. Just saying.”
He threw his head back and laughed, knowing that no matter what happened next, he had Maya for now, and he would try to keep what they had the same…but evolved.
This was his Maya.
And Border? Well, maybe he’d have Border, too.
That should have made him a selfish man, but he couldn’t help but think maybe he was finally just Jake Gallagher.
One lucky motherfucker.
Chapter Eight
Maya swallowed hard as Jake laughed, and she tried not to freak the hell out. She might not have been joking about the oral thing, but now she wasn’t sure what to do next.
Maya hated being unsure.
And this was about as sure as she’d ever been about being unsure. Sure, she’d told herself she’d try a ménage with them, but now here she was, taking the first step.
And she hadn’t even talked to Border yet.
She might be going about this all backwards, considering Border might not want this? though Jake had a feeling the man did, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to stop being in Jake’s arms at the moment.
She’d take things as they came and try to protect her heart in the process. Because there was no going back now. She wanted this, even if she wasn’t sure what she’d do with the need.
Jake covered her mouth with his, and she sank into him. His taste, his touch, pulled her out of most of the darkest of her thoughts. He’d always been able to do that with just a look, but now it went deeper.
She pulled back and cupped his face, trying to catch her breath. “So, we’re really doing this?”
Jake licked his lips before biting down on her lower one. “Well, we were. Then you pulled away to ask if we were doing this, so I don’t know.”
She pushed at his chest and rolled her eyes. “Ass.”
He patted her butt before squeezing one cheek. “I like this ass. You going to let me fuck it?”
If she’d been drinking something then, she’d probably have sprayed it all over his face. “You like fucking asses, do you?”
He smiled at her, looking for all the world like an innocent, tattooed schoolboy. “Actually, I tend to bottom, thank you kindly.” Where that southern drawl had come from, she didn’t know, but she liked it.