“I’m not making that promise,” Jake said. “But you do matter. I totally plan to be a pain in someone’s ass as soon as I figure out what asshole did it.”
“But he’s going to give it a rest tonight,” Coop said, a warning in his tone. “So he doesn’t worry you.”
That would be nice.
“Yeah, okay,” Jake relented. “C’mon, sweetheart. Let’s go up, and you can shower and then eat. I’ll help with any homework, too.”
“Homework,” Coop snorted, and I glanced up in time to see Jake give Coop a look. He smirked and raised his hands. Then turned to me and dipped his head. The first brush of his lips was almost tentative, but it lasted all of three seconds before his mouth firmed against mine. The sweep of his tongue requesting entrance had me almost sighing. A part of me recognized Jake was right there, a quick kiss was one thing, but this… this was something else altogether.
This wasn’t like the kiss where Coop had stormed through all my defenses while trapping me against the fridge, or the hungry kiss he’d devoured me with on the sofa. This was all sweet heat and gentle promise. Tingles raced over my skin and left a trail of goosebumps in their wake, and when he sucked on my tongue, my toes curled and I had to fist his shirt to keep from falling.
When he lifted his head, he smiled and I shivered. “Goodnight, Frankie.”
“Night, Coop.” My whole system hummed from that kiss, and a lot of my tired evaporated.
“You know, I’d punch you except that was hot,” Jake commented drily, and I jumped. Oh crap, I’d almost forgotten Jake was there for a second. I’d known he was there, and his watching had actually turned me on even more. Guilt pierced me, but then his words registered in the same moment as his slow smile.
“Yeah well, just remember Frankie needs to sleep,” Coop said. “Don’t stay too late.”
“I’ve got her,” Jake retorted, wrapping an arm around me. “C’mon, we’re going inside. Night, Coop.”
I stole one look back, and Coop grinned then blew me a kiss. Some of my guilt evaporated, and I glanced up at Jake. “That really didn’t bother you?”
“You kissing Coop? Or should I say, Coop melting your panties with that kiss?” The droll comment made me laugh because he wasn’t wrong with that assessment.
“Yeah.”
At my door, he let me go so I could unlock it and then he followed me inside. He locked the door before he set the bag on the table, and I found myself swept up into another embrace. Only this time, it was Jake’s hard chest I impacted against as he fisted my hair, and then his mouth closed over mine. The embers Coop ignited flared to life, and heat swept through me as Jake massaged my lips apart.
With one stroke of his tongue, I was shuddering. The keys fell with a jingle and a thud. Then I had my hands on his shoulders before sliding them up to his hair. It was so soft against my fingers. He made a low sound in his throat as he delved deeper, and there was no mistaking the erection pressing against me where his hips ground against mine. The angle was a little off, and then Jake picked me up and I was sitting on the table. He nudged my legs apart as he lifted his head for a moment. His pale blue eyes were like icy fire, and my nipples tightened at that single look.
“That kiss didn’t bother me in the slightest,” he said in a thick voice. “It was hot, like I said. Kissing you myself is hotter, but watching you melt into him? Yeah, I liked that.”
He skimmed his fingers down my sides, and my breath caught as he nudged my shirt up to tease against my skin.
“Did you like kissing Coop while I watched, Frankie?”
The more I thought about it, yeah, I kind of did. I licked my lips. “Is it crazy to say yes?”
“Not at all.” He traced his thumb across my abdomen. “I like knowing what turns you on.” When he nuzzled a kiss behind my ear and then down along my throat, I groaned. “I also know you wanted a shower,” he whispered at my ear. “You said something about homework.”
Yeah. I had.
When Jake started to pull away, I gripped his shirt and dragged myself forward, even as I yanked him back. “You know what else I like?”
He raised his brows.
“You.”
Then I reeled him down for a kiss, his mouth was open, hot, and wet when I teased his tongue with mine. Everything in me ached and it had been a shitty day, but all of that fell away. The guys being there had helped. Coop had chased some of it away with his talk and his goodnight kiss. But Jake turned the rest of it to ash.
When his fingers tugged at my shirt, I pulled back long enough to shed the uniform top and meet his gaze.
The confident sexy smirk had turned into something of a wondering expression. “Yes?”
I knew exactly what he was asking.
“Do you have condoms?” Because—yes, I recognized the irony after today—I really needed to get some.