Gone was the laid-back, friendly conversation. The muscles in his jaw twitched and her body heated under his hot stare. Just the fact that she wanted to kiss him again so badly should have had her moving away, but there was also a burning desire and an unfamiliar need she’d never felt with anyone but Jake.
She brought her hands up to his hard chest, not to push him away, but because she had to touch him. Sliding her hands slowly up and over his shoulders, she almost whimpered at the feel of the muscled contours beneath her palms. That first kiss had just happened like an earthquake just happens. This one would be anticipated, layered with the hours they’d spent together. It would leave aftershocks rippling because she knew him better now. Knew his voice and his different smiles, hot or teasing or both. She knew his playful side with Casey and how his hand felt around hers.
“I told myself I wasn’t going to kiss you again,” he said, dipping his head closer.
“Why did you tell yourself that?”
“So many reasons.” Firm but gentle fingers tightened on her hips and his lips hovered a breath from her own, sending even more chills along her skin. “Because you’re so damn beautiful. Because I want to kiss you so damn much. More than kiss you.” His hot breath brushed her ear. “I want you too much, Paige.”
His low, sexy voice vibrated under her palms and the first touch of his lips along her throat sent a jolt through her system. He continued downward, pressing his lips to the hollow of her throat and sucking lightly. He was so good at this, at making her feel, and her eyes drifted shut as she gave herself over to it. “God, I’ve been wanting to do this since…”
“Since when?” She was amazed she could even speak as she inhaled the faint scent of aftershave and sun and Jake. That and his hot mouth tickling and nibbling along her bare shoulder combined to make her head fuzzy.
“Pretty much since the last second I stopped kissing you.”
Before she could think too hard on that, he speared his fingers through her hair and took her mouth like a man who was done waiting. His tongue swept inside and a warm flush spread through her body. If the last kiss had stolen her breath, this one nearly shattered her. She slid her hands up his arms, her greedy fingers teasing under the edges of his sleeves, then clutching at him while his skilled kiss alternately coaxed and demanded.
And all she could think was, More. More of his taste, his scent, his touch.
The tension that had simmered between them all day exploded and when his thigh pressed between her legs with just the right pressure, it brought a rush of heat to her core. In this moment there was nothing else to think about, nothing else to want except this man with his hands and mouth making her entire body hum with pleasure.
While his lips drove her wild, one hand slid cleverly up her rib cage, stopping just at the underside of her breasts. A whimper escaped when his thumb rasped over her nipple. He did it again and she gasped his name. She wanted him, God, how she wanted him and everything his kiss promised, but this was going too fast. Especially since she didn’t know where it was going at all.
She broke the kiss, bringing herself back. Back to the place where she made sure she was doing the right thing, making all the right decisions. Jake lifted his head but didn’t let go.
They were both breathing hard and it took her a second. “I shouldn’t be doing this,” she said softly, followed by a nervous laugh. “You’re kind of impossible to resist.”
His smile was soft and slow as he smoothed her hair back from her face. “I like being kind of impossible to resist.” He grazed his hand over her hair again and gently tucked a strand behind her ear. “And I like you.”
Looking up at him, she felt like a seed were being planted right inside her chest. A little bit painful and a lot scary, but she smiled. “I like you too.”
Chapter 11
The sun rose into a clear sky the next morning as JT drove an hour north up the coast, then inland to Malibu State Park. He’d woken up the same way he’d gone to sleep—thinking about Paige. After a short run with Boulder, he decided to test out a new prosthetic rock-climbing foot. He’d combine work with pleasure, get some air and clear his head.
He needed his head cleared because he’d been an idiot for kissing Paige again, for even thinking he could get that close and resist her. She smiled and he felt taller, she laughed and he felt like a winner. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he never wanted to let her go. But even without the kiss, he figured he could have sat outside her trailer all night and been a happy man. Just talking to Paige, getting to know her, sitting close enough to hear her breathe filled something in him.
He needed to take a giant step back and think, because the things he was feeling were racing far into unknown territory.