The sensation of his finger tracing the skin beneath my lower lip was erotic. I found myself leaning in to get closer to him. He leaned in, his lips hovering over mine.
"Fuck, Amber," he growled. "I want you so goddamn much."
I'd spent the night hoping he was feeling the same way I was. The confirmation that he was made my breath hitch. When his lips touched mine for the first time, I felt like a billion dollars. The kiss was sweet until I wrapped my arms around his waist and rubbed myself against him.
Jake groaned as he deepened the kiss, his tongue meeting mine as we explored each other. The hot, wet, slide of his tongue against mine was an electric charge that sparked a desperate need inside of me. When he broke the kiss, I blinked at him dazedly as I tried to recall how to function without his lips on mine.
"Jesus," he rasped, "you're incredible."
For countless seconds I stared at him in silence, unable to formulate a response. He was wrong—I wasn't. He was. The man knew how to make me mindless, that was for damn sure. He dropped a series of soft kisses on my lips before pulling back.
"Tomorrow night, baby. You. Me. Dinner. I'll be in the garage waiting for you when you end your shift."
I lifted my right hand and traced my kiss-swollen lips with two fingers. "I'll be there," I murmured.
He smiled and cupped my cheek with his left hand. "Go home and get some sleep. You don't take care of the baby on Fridays, right?"
I shook my head. "Nope. Caroline makes Fridays Mommy and Macon days. I normally loaf around and do nothing until it's time to go to work."
"That means we have more time tomorrow night," he pointed out.
The look on his face let me know in no uncertain terms that he was very happy about it.
"We do," I agreed.
He kissed me again, this time on the forehead. He used the opportunity to lay his nose against my hairline and sniff me.
"I could bottle this," he announced.
I chuckled and smacked at his chest playfully as he stepped back. "I reek of lemon-scented cleaner and disinfectant. If you think that smells good, you need an olfactory check."
Jake shook his head and barked out a laugh. "No, baby. You smell like…" he paused and leaned in for another sniff. "Coconut, raspberries and lime."
My head reared back. "You got all that from two sniffs?" I asked incredulously. He was spot on in his assessment, since I used raspberry shampoo and lime conditioner. As for the coconut, that was my beauty go-to. I used virgin coconut oil as a moisturizer, makeup remover, deodorant and a styling aid on the ends of my hair after I dried it.
He grinned and gestured to his nose. "I come from a family of perfumers. Picking out scents is in my DNA."
I threw back my head and laughed, the stupidity of my question finally dawning on me.
"I'm so blonde," I joked.
He reached up and tugged at the ends of my braided pigtails. "You're perfect," he said firmly.
I smiled as he kissed my forehead one more time before taking two steps back.
"I want nothing more than to keep you here with me forever but that's not what you need," he sighed. "Go home and get some sleep, gorgeous. I'll see you in the garage tomorrow night."
I nodded as I pulled my keys from my pocket and clicked the control for the doors to unlock. He watched me with hooded eyes as I opened the door, slid into the driver's seat and dealt with my seatbelt. I turned the car on and hit the button for the window to go down before I pulled the door shut and locked it.
"Goodnight, Jake."
I hummed happily, my fingers tapping against the steering wheel as I navigated the roads home. When I got there, I didn't even bother taking off my makeup. Shrugging out of my clothes, I dropped into bed wearing only my bra, underwear, and a huge smile. I was still grinning when I woke up the following morning.
* * *
After spending the day taking care of Macon, ironing my clothes, cleaning my room and texting Caroline the details about the night before whenever I had a chance, I took a bit more care with my appearance when getting ready for work.
Instead of the braided pigtails I normally favored, I pulled my hair back into a high ponytail and had Caroline curl the ends for me. Once we were satisfied with my hair, I showed her the after work outfit I'd put together for my date with Jake. The ensemble wasn't fashion forward or anything—it was summer, which meant it was hot out, plus we were only going to a diner.
I settled on a pair of white shorts, a hot pink off the shoulder top and some pretty jeweled sandals. It was perfect because the whole thing was something I'd be able to change into quickly in one of the work bathrooms, which meant I wouldn't be drawing any attention to myself. The last thing I needed was to have anyone figure out that I was going on a date with the CEO. I shuddered thinking of how people would react to that bit of news.