Jake flinched as if she’d just slapped him. “And what the hell is that supposed to mean?”
He was yelling again, and this time, a vein in his forehead and one in the side of his neck bulged from the pressure.
“It means”—she raised her own voice—“that you can’t just show up here after two months of not even calling or sending a freaking text to see how I’m doing, and get mad at me for not running to you with every little problem that I have!”
“Mad?” He shook his head and his lip curled up in a sneer as he moved in on her. “Oh, sweetheart, I’m not mad. I’m fucking pissed!” His voice seemed to get louder with each word he spoke. “You damn well should have come to me with this. And news flash, Liv...having a stalker isn’t a little problem!”
“I told you,” Olivia shouted back. “I don’t want you here just because you felt—”
“Obligated,” Jake threw the word back at her. “Yeah, I got that, Liv. But guess what? I’m not here because I feel obligated.” He took another step toward her as they continued screaming at each other.
“Then why are you here, Jake?”
Tension rolled off his body as he continued to move closer. “You want to know why I’m here?”
Olivia jutted her chin up. “Did I stutter?”
His movement faltered slightly, but Jake quickly recovered. With one final step, they were standing toe-to-toe, and she had to tilt her head back to keep eye contact.
His hot, heavy breaths brushed across her face, and Olivia was sure her heart was going to leap out of her chest.
Determined to stand her ground and not let him intimidate her with his size and stature, she stood still and waited for him to continue yelling. Much to her amazement—and total confusion—his scowl slowly turned up into a sinful, sexy grin.
No longer sounding angry, Jake’s voice came out low and steady, and his eyes found her lips. He shook his head slowly. “God, I’ve missed that smart mouth of yours.” He raised his hand to her face and traced her bottom lip with his thumb.
Olivia was so taken aback by his sudden mood change—it absolutely was not the jolt of electricity that thumb was sending through her system—that she was barely able to speak.
“Jake?” she whispered back. “W-what are you—”
The rest of what she was about to say vanished as he grabbed the back of her neck and crushed his mouth to hers. The kiss wasn’t soft. It came out of the gate hard and fast, almost as though he were laying his claim.
Jake groaned as his tongue invaded her mouth. Olivia knew she should be pushing him away. Instead, she stood on the tips of her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer.
Giving everything she had into that one, spellbinding kiss, she set free the desperate need that had been gnawing at her for the past two months,
It was too revealing. She was allowing him to see what she felt down to her soul, but Olivia couldn’t find it in herself to care. She needed this. Needed him. Even if it was only for this brief moment.
He moaned again as he continued to devour her, and Olivia knew then, that he still wanted her just as much as she did him. Physically, anyway. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered if that was enough.
As she continued taking what he was offering, her heart began to feel heavy because, deep down, she already knew the answer. And it broke her heart in two.
****
Jake pulled back, forcing himself to end the kiss. Their breaths were labored as he touched his forehead to hers, giving him a close-up view of her wet and swollen lips.
His cock twitched at the sight, and he wanted nothing more than to lift Liv onto the counter, drive himself inside her, and never let go.
He held back, though, having already broken the hands-off vow he’d made to himself on the drive to her house. But damn, the woman was sexy as hell when she was mad. Add to that her little quip about stuttering, and he’d lost it.
“That’s why I’m here, Liv.” He lifted a hand and gently brushed some hair from her face, tucking the wayward curls behind her ear. “Not because I feel obligated, but because I...”—he swallowed the words he was too afraid to say, instead giving her another truth—“I missed you.” He leaned in, kissing her more slow this time, before breaking the kiss to admit, “I missed you so damn much.”
Olivia ran a finger along his jawline, the simple touch as arousing as if her hand was actually touching his dick. Maybe even more so.
“I missed you, too, Jake.”
She smiled, but her eyes looked sad, which bothered the hell out of him. Jake swallowed nervously, sensing she had more to say.
He didn’t want to hear it, but that didn’t matter. He’d hurt her by leaving without a word, and she had every right to feel whatever it was she was feeling. He just prayed he could make her understand.
“I’m sensing a ‘but’ coming.”
She placed the palms of her hands on his chest, his body’s reaction instant. He was already hard as a rock, his dick a throbbing club between his legs, but his heart was where he felt her touch the most. Yeah, I am way the hell past screwed.
“But, I—”
She seemed to be struggling to find her words. Good. At least it wouldn’t be easy for her when she told him to go to hell.
“I lied,” Olivia finally blurted out, her hands dropping to her sides.
Wait. She’d what?
Jake’s mind raced, because this woman was the farthest thing from a liar. Him, sure. Her? Not a chance.
However, as he stared down into her eyes, those alluring swirls of greens and brown said she was telling him the truth. Damn.
Had she lied when she
