He could wait...barely.
Kevin got Love settled in her nook beneath his bed where he’d put a few of his old shirts for her to nestle into. She enjoyed the familiarity of his scent, something Kevin found very odd but clearly liked.
With his hand on Kevin’s shoulder and a knowing glint in his eyes, Brick faced Jesse and Tonya. “Want us to bring you back anything?”
Tonya had gone very quiet, so Jesse smiled and said, “We’re good, but thanks.”
Evan said, “Banana splits are on me. It can be our last hurrah before school starts tomorrow morning.”
Kevin asked, “Banana split? They have those?”
“Ooh,” Cinder said. “Are you in for a treat!”
As they left, Jesse could hear Evan regaling Kevin on the wonders of bananas, ice cream, chocolate sauce and whipped cream.
Going to the window, Jesse watched until both cars had left the driveway.
Then he turned to Tonya.
Cheeks still warm, gaze soft and dark, she watched him. “Um... I’m not sure we have time—”
“We don’t. At least, not for what you’re thinking.”
She relaxed a little, her expression now teasing. “What am I thinking?”
“Sex. With me.”
She slowly inhaled and nodded. “Nailed it.”
“I know, because I’m thinking it too. Pretty much around the clock.”
“So then—”
Moving away from the window, he got close but didn’t yet touch her. “We need to talk.”
Groaning, Tonya dropped back against the wall. “You’re a terrible tease.” A sexy, hard-to-resist tease. “At the very least, I figured we’d do some kissing.”
“All right, we will. After.”
“After?”
He looked at her mouth and said, “If I start kissing you now, we’ll get off course in a big way. But this is too important—to me, and to you and Kevin.”
That sounded pretty heavy.
Especially when he added, “To our future.”
Her knees almost turned to noodles. She wanted to cheer because he’d just stated, out loud and plain as day, that they did have a future. But given the serious look in his green eyes, this was something important.
And maybe not cheer-worthy.
So maybe it had to do with Kevin. Had she missed something serious? Jesse had spent almost as much time with her nephew as she had.
Worried, she braced herself. “Okay. I’m listening. What is it?”
Cupping her neck, he drew her closer and whispered against her lips, “I want in.”
“In...?”
Trailing his hand down her shoulder, along the side of her breast, her ribs and her hip, he boldly cupped her between the thighs. “Here, for sure.”
One simple touch should never have so much impact, but when it was Jesse touching her, she felt it everywhere. Slowly, heating with sensation and need, she closed her eyes and swallowed back a groan. “Here?” she tried to say as casually as he’d spoken. Instead she sounded all raspy and turned-on.
Because she was.
His fingers curled, his voice dropped. “I definitely want in here.”
She nodded. “I already told you I’m on board with that.”
He released her and touched below her breast, his hand big and warm and firm. “And here.”
He wanted...into her heart? She could have told him he already took up far too much space there.
Lastly, he trailed his fingertips up until he brushed them over her forehead. “But for right now, I want in here.”
Denying that, she tried a laugh that fell flat. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Jesse’s expression went sympathetic, but also determined. “Will you tell me about your sister?”
She really, really hated talking about Cissy. Heaven knew she’d spent far too many years with the focus on Cissy’s problems. What Cissy wanted, what Cissy needed...
An awful bubble of unhappiness rose up to her throat, choking her. Oh God, her sister was gone. Forever.
Tonya looked away. She felt awful. Selfish. Even mean. How could she still resent a sister who had lived such an unhappy life?
Jesse’s fingertips on her chin brought her face back around. “Tonya?”
She could still hear her mother telling her that she was stronger, more independent than Cissy. She dredged up that strength now and straightened her posture. “What do you want to know?”
At close range, his gaze searched hers, stealing her thoughts right out of her head. “Everything.” He brushed his thumb over her jaw. “But mostly I want to know how it was for you.”
“Me?” No one ever asked her that. She didn’t have Cissy’s problems. No, her problems were small and insignificant in comparison.
“There were only the two of you?”
“Yes.” Although often she’d felt invisible in Cissy’s gloomy shadow. “She was eight years older.” Trying for a careless smile, she added, “Pretty sure I was a mistake, you know?”
Rather than reply to that, he asked, “Was she always troubled?”
Laughing without humor, her expression pained, Tonya shrugged. “For as long as I can remember.” Somehow, without her really realizing it, Jesse steered her to the kitchen. Why did all big discussions take place there?
He pulled out a chair. “She must’ve gotten a lot of the attention.”
“The squeaky wheel gets oiled.” Tonya winced over that blatant complaint, but then went ahead and expounded on the truth. “Cissy didn’t just squeak, she screamed. Trouble. All the time. Over everything.” As if a dam had burst, her words came rushing out, her hurt and resentment mixing together. “My parents had to work, and they had to always help Cissy. Financially, emotionally, in every way you can imagine.”
“I guess that didn’t leave much time for you?”
“It left no time. I was expected to be the easier child, and so I was.”
“That’s pretty impressive, you know. You could have gone the opposite way and followed Cissy’s example.”
“Ha! Not likely.” She covered her face with her hands, embarrassed over her pettiness, hating her own resentment of the past, but it felt so good to say it aloud, to get it out of her head. “I got in trouble at school once. You’d have thought the world ended. Dad lectured me, telling me how unfair it was to my mother to burden her that way because, after all, I already knew she had her hands full with Cissy. He was so disappointed in me. And Mom cried. I think the idea that two kids would cause problems just overwhelmed her. She was in bed sick for two days—until Cissy had another meltdown and needed her.”
Appalled, Jesse took her hands and stared into her eyes. “What did you do to get in trouble?”
“I skipped a class, went out with a friend and tried smoking.” Remembering her own ridiculous attempt at rebelling, she wrinkled her nose. “It was so dumb. The cigarette was awful, the repercussions worse. Believe me, I never tried anything like that again.”
“So you never got to sow your wild oats?”
She shrugged. “Did you?”
“Sure.”
She would love to hear all about Jesse and his misspent youth. “Admittedly, I’m starting late. But here I am, sitting at the table with a bona fide gorgeous hunk who, starting tomorrow, will let me wallow in lust. Better late than never, huh?”