Jake was seated on the flower print couch when Lil returned to the living room. He stood as soon as he saw her.
Neither said anything at first.
Lil broke the awkward silence. “Do you really think we’re in danger?”
Jake loosened his tie as if he suddenly found it a bit constricting. “Dominic has as many enemies as he has allies and it only takes one.”
Lil spoke, scanning the main area of the penthouse. “How long will it take for this to pass over? Surely people will forget about me when the next story catches their attention.”
“There is no going back. The sooner you accept that your life has changed, the easier it will be on you and Colby.” The even tone of Jake’s voice grated.
Some of Lil’s anger returned. “How can you say it like that? I didn’t choose this. I don’t want this.”
He stood and approached her calmly. “What do you want me to say, Lil?”
She flung angry words at him. “I want you to look like you care that this is ruining everything for me. How am I going to take my final exam tomorrow? I can’t even get out of my driveway…oh, wait, I don’t have a driveway anymore. Just this…this…” She waved her hand around referencing the penthouse.
He stood above her, sending her hormones into overdrive. Her body wasn’t concerned with why they were there, it tensed and tingled. His eyes dilated and his breathing changed to match her own. Without touching, they synchronized on a level that was foreign to both of them. In that moment, there was no yesterday, no tomorrow- just two people fighting off an attraction that defied what either of them thought they wanted.
He groaned and slid a hand beneath her hair, cupping her head, and pulling her to him. He kissed her with an unexpected flood of passion; a passion her body leapt to match.
It was not the timid kiss of one who was testing a new flavor, but rather the bold claiming of a man who had tasted and returned with a hunger. Lil closed her eyes and lost herself in a wave of pleasure. His other hand slid across her backside, lifting her against him. Her skirt bunched beneath the strong hand that held her, kneading her ass through the cotton material.
He pulled back slightly. “We can’t do this,” he said
She looked up at him, desire impairing her ability to provide a witty comeback. Her body was sending wild sensations from every area their bodies touched. She wanted, needed, to feel more of him.
“I meant what I said about anything between us being a bad idea,” he said huskily.
His words doused the heat within her. She tore herself out of his embrace and adjusted her skirt. “Then you seriously have to stop kissing me,” she said angrily.
He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, mussing it the way she would have gladly done had he not been such a jackass.
He said, “Obviously, there is a certain amount of attraction between the two of us.”
“But you think Dominic won’t approve?” she goaded. She wanted to hurt him as he was hurting her.
“I don’t care what Dominic thinks, but one of us has to stay focused on-” He stopped himself.
“On?” She put a hand on her hip and waited.
“Business. Just business. Listen-” he started.
She cut him off. “No, you listen. Why are you messing around with my head today? This whole forced move has done enough of that, thank you. I’ve got an exam tomorrow morning that I’m probably going to fail because I should have been studying today, but I already blew that. If I can figure out how to get my hands on my books, I might be able to use this time while Colby is napping-not that I’ll be able to concentrate after this.” When he looked like he was about to say something Lil held up a hand and said, “Please don’t explain again why we can’t be together. I’ve heard just about enough of that. Just leave.”
Jake paced restlessly before her and ran his hand through his hair again. “You’re hurt.”
Lil snorted. “You’re delusional. Sure, you’re sexy and rich and women probably fall at your feet all the time, but to hurt me, I would have to care about you, which I don’t. Whatever attraction you feel-ignore it. That’s what I’m doing.”
He looked a bit bemused.
She stopped and shook her head. “You stopped listening at sexy, didn’t you?”
A slight flush spread across his cheeks. “I’ve tried to ignore it,” he said softly.
She folded her arms protectively across her chest.
He moved closer and ran his hands from her tense shoulders, down her arms and pulled her gently toward him. “You’re not my type,” he said almost to himself.
She stubbornly kept her arms folded, even as his hands slid lower and encircled her waist.
“You’re definitely not mine, either,” she replied. “You’re way too uptight.”
He eased her against him again and said, “You’re far too unpredictable.”
Her body tightened and quivered. She met his eyes boldly. “You never listen.”
A half smile curled the corner of his mouth, “You never shut up.”
Time stood still and the air around them sizzled. She bit her bottom lip as the tension mounted and she gave in the temptation to feel him against her. Sliding her arms up and around his neck, she fit perfectly against him and his mounting excitement. “So, we agree.”
With one strong move, he lifted her at her waist, rubbing her deliciously against him. “Yes.” He swung her higher, forcing her to wrap her legs around him to steady herself. With one step, she was partially seated on the table behind the couch. He tossed a decorative bowl onto the cushions below and rested her more fully there, exploring her mouth with his while his hands slid beneath her skirt and followed her long legs down to remove her shoes with a flip.
Strong hands ran up and down the length of her legs as if he could not get enough of her, as if he were memorizing every curve and corner of her. His kisses moved from her mouth to her neck. Exploring. Tasting. His hot breath licking at her. She steadied herself with her hands on his shoulders.
He spread her legs further apart and slid a finger beneath the silk of her panties and between her eager folds. With painstaking thoroughness, he explored and caressed. When he found the spot that made her shudder against him, he lavished it with attention. Each stroke increased the building heat within her. She wanted to feel him inside her, claiming her.
She squirmed against his hand, leaning back as her excitement replaced coherent thought. He filled her center first with one finger and then as she welcomed that with a moan, he inserted another and moved back and forth within her. Lil cried out as the pleasure became more than she could contain.
She nearly wept in protest when his kisses and his hands stopped simultaneously.
He eased her further back and slid her panties out from beneath her. With another deft move, her skirt was bunched around her waist, her bare ass exposed to the cold of the table and her warm center once again opened to his attentive fingers.
In her growing desperation to feel him, she pulled his shirt out from his pants and slid her hands up his rock- hard abdomen, enjoying the feel of his muscles clenching beneath her touch. One of his hands held her head firmly in place while his lips plundered, his tongue circling and teasing hers, while his other hand tickled her outer folds until she was spreading her legs wider for him, begging him to once again use his thumb and magical fingers on her. He did and she was soon jutting against his hand, writhing in pleasure.
She slumped a bit when he removed both hands for a moment and almost came when he tore the front of her shirt open with one powerful move. He pushed one cup of her bra aside and licked her puckered nipple, lapping and nipping at it softly until Lil was moaning and yanking off what was left of her shirt, tossing her bra onto the floor silently begging him to give her other breast equal attention.
Which he did.
She leaned back onto her hands while he continued to worship her with his lips, his tongue, and those wildly knowledgeable fingers. He pushed her gently back until she was fully reclined against the back cushion of the couch and stood above her for a moment.
