“Pepperoni?”
“And extra cheese.”
He sits forward, and water splashes around his thighs. My eyes dip, take in his wet boxers, the way they’re clinging to his body, one part in particular.
He scrubs his chin. “You don’t play fair.”
“All is fair in love and war,” I counter, and open the box.
“So what is this, love or war?”
Good question. “It’s friendship. I don’t want war between us, Jaxon, and I owe you an apology. I overreacted, and I’m sorry.”
The lines around his mouth soften, and I revel in the sight of his lips, remember the way his mouth felt on my body.
Glorious.
I set the box down on the picnic table, and hand him a slice, but when I do, he grabs me, gives a little tug, and I end up falling into the rubber pool with an undignified thud.
“Jaxon,” I yelp and brush my wet hair from my face. “What are you doing?”
“You looked hot.”
“Now my clothes are all wet.”
“Take them off.”
“Not likely.”
He shrugs. “Leave them on then.” He takes a huge bite of the pizza. “This is delicious. Did you make it?” He turns the slice around for me to take a bite. I hesitate for a second. I’ve never shared a slice with anyone before and it kind of feels…intimate.
Then again, nothing is more intimate than what we did last night in his bed, right? I take a bite, and Jaxon brings it back to his mouth.
I chew, swallow and say, “I made it before I left work.”
“Damn, maybe I’ll have to visit Pizza Villa.”
“Try to do it on a night when I’m off. I screwed up a few orders tonight. The boss wasn’t very happy with me.”
His face goes serious, protector mode. Honest to God the man really is a warrior. “Want me to have a little talk with him?”
I laugh. “No, Jaxon. I’m a big girl and can take care of myself and I can’t lose this job.”
He lifts his bottle to my mouth. “Drink,” he says.
I take a pull from the bottle and let the cold beer wash the pizza down. He drinks after me and I wipe my mouth. “Thanks.” He finishes the slice, leans out of the pool, and with a long stretch, grabs another. He offers me the first bite.
We both go quiet as we eat, lost in our own thoughts. Jaxon is a nice guy, and a great father. We’d only just really met, and I don’t want tension between us. We are, after all neighbors—who can see into each other’s windows. And we have to be around each other since I offered my services for fixing my car. Truthfully, I can’t back out of it, because I just don’t have the money to pay him.
I finally break the quiet and say, “Are we okay?”
“Yeah, we’re okay.” He leans toward me, and nudges my chin with his fist, his warm breath washing over my face. “I just need you to know something.” I go quiet and wait to hear what he says as he tugs on his hair and shakes his head. “I’d never hurt you, Rachel. I might have beaten that asshole to within an inch of his life, but I’d never lay a hand on you.”
I look down as my heart crashes against my chest. It’s just so hard for me to trust, but I’m not about to get into my personal life with a man I barely know. Than another thought hits. “I’m not worth the fight, Jaxon.” He opens his mouth like he’s about to protest, but I continue with, “You have a little girl and fighting won’t look good to the courts. If your in-laws ever found out, they could use that against you.”
Callused fingers cup my chin, and nudge it upward until we’re eye to eye. “I don’t know who the guy from you past is, and you don’t have to tell me anything, but goddammit, Rachel, he did a number on you, and if I ever got my hands on him…” His voice trails off.
My heart misses a beat. “How do you know about—”
He shakes his head and cuts me off. “I’m not him. I won’t lay a hand on you, Rachel.” I take in the blue of his eyes, the way they drop to my mouth like he’s dying for a taste. He clears his throat and adds, “Unless, of course you want me to.”
I swallow. Hard. I left his house with the intentions of never touching him again and he told me once I said no to being with him sexually, he’d never ask. But the truth is, I want him again. I want to feel his arms around me. Want to feel his naked body next to mine. Just one more time.
“Jaxon,” I whisper, even though what I’m doing isn’t smart or rational. This man has obviously put the pieces of my life together and figured out a thing or two about me when I was trying to stay under the radar.
“Yeah.”
“I want you to.”
He takes in a huge breath, holds it for a moment, then exhales slowly. “Are you sure, Rachel? I need you to be—”
I press my fingers to his lips and shift until I’m sitting on his lap. When he stops speaking, I place my hands on either side of his face, and instead of answering with words, I lower my lips to his. I open for him, and welcome his tongue. The deep groan that catches in his throat sings through me and arouses me even more. I want this. I want him. Right here, right now, in this moment. That’s the only thing I care about—and I can’t say that’s a good thing.
He slides his arms around my back, and drags me closer, my breasts pressing against his wet chest as he centers his erection against my core, a good indication that he wants this, too.
He holds me to him as he pushes from the
