Just a few seconds and I’m so close to the edge it’s crazy, but I don’t want to tumble over alone.
I want Jake with me.
In me, so deep there’s no room for anything but him.
“I want you,” I whisper, tugging his shirt from his jeans. “So much. I’m on the pill so we don’t have to worry about a condom.”
Instead of taking the words for the green light they’re intended to be, Jake pulls away, his hand sliding from my body as he puts space between us.
The loss of his warmth hits like a physical blow, making my nipples sting and the needy place between my legs send up a wail of objection.
“We should talk,” he says, his breath coming fast as he brushes my hair from my face with one warm hand.
“Talk later. Kiss now.” I reach for him, but he wraps his hands around my shoulders, holding me at a distance.
“Now,” he insists, gently. “Before we do something one of us might regret, I want you to know where I stand.”
I already know I won’t regret anything he wants to do with me, or to me, but he clearly needs to talk.
I suck in a breath and nod. “Okay. Talk. Why are we kissing all of a sudden?” I hurry to add, “Not that I’m complaining. At all. I’m the opposite of complaining.”
He smiles, an almost shy smile that makes my insides melt. “I wouldn’t call it sudden. I’ve been chewing on the idea all week. At first, I wasn’t sure, but by this afternoon it had become pretty clear to me that I’m not built to resist you.”
My lips part and I just barely keep from pinching myself. This has to be a dream. Any second I’m going to wake up in my bed alone and this will all have been another steamy Jake fantasy cooked up by my subconscious.
“There’s still something between us,” he continues. “I told myself it was just physical, but it’s not. I care about you. I want to get to know you again, to see how it might work between us now that we’re older. I would be a coward to keep running from that.”
“You’re not a coward,” I say, my pulse thready with hope.
“I don’t want to be.” He holds my gaze, making me shiver as I realize I’m seeing all the way to the heart of him for the first time since I returned home. His shields are really down. He’s wide open, truly letting me in. “And that’s why I think we should give this a shot. A real shot.”
“There is nothing I want more than that, Jake.” I pull in a shaky breath and add hopefully, “Except maybe to feel you inside me in the next five minutes? Or three? One if we can manage it?”
His eyes crinkle around the edges in a way that’s unbearably sexy. “I feel your pain, but…I think we should make sure we can tolerate each other for longer than a month of Fridays before we take things too far.”
My lips push into a pout. “That sounds like a terrible idea,” I say, earning a soft laugh from him.
God, I love hearing him laugh again, and knowing it’s because of me. It’s the best sound ever, enough to make my toes buzz and my heart do a slow, delicious swan dive.
“It’s only two more weeks.” His fingers skim down my arms and then he takes my hands in his. “I just want to be sure we’re on the same page. No more secrets, especially ones that make you write long letters and leave without saying good-bye. If you’re having doubts or big feelings…I want to know about them.”
I pull in another breath and nod, the weight of what he’s offering settling around my shoulders, helping cool the heat bubbling in my blood. This is a real second chance, something I wasn’t sure Jake was capable of giving anyone, especially me.
I have to make sure I don’t do anything to screw it up.
“No more secrets,” I promise. “And just so you know…I’m not the girl I used to be. I’m at a different place in my life and I’ve learned a lot of hard lessons since then. I know how to communicate and be honest with the people I care about, even if I know they’re not going to like what I have to say. But truly, all I want for the foreseeable future is peace and family and friends and a quiet life in Bliss River, but…that future would be a lot brighter with you in it.”
Jake smiles. “You always did have a way with words.”
“Yeah? Do I have a way with kisses, too?” I lean in and tip my head back, my heart leaping as I realize this is okay now—it’s okay to flirt with Jake, to touch him, to make it clear how absolutely irresistible he is to me.