She cupped the back of his neck to pull his mouth to hers for a hungry kiss. “Lie on top of me. Let me feel your body.”
He shifted, bearing down on top of her with a ravenous thrust of his hips.
“Mm.” Her head tipped back, exposing the arch of her throat.
Mitch stared at the throb of her pulse in the delicate hollow of her neck and realized he’d misjudged her. This woman wouldn’t shatter under his weight. Strength coursed beneath her beauty. The countless miles she’d run honed a lean body capable of matching him, thrust for thrust. How’d he get so damned lucky?
He got up on one elbow and brushed the edge of his thumb against the nipple jutting against her sports bra.
Smiling, she arched into his touch.
If touching her like this made her happy, he’d never let go. He bent his head and kissed the hard little bump protruding against her bra. Desperate for more, he slid his fingers under the snug elastic band and touched the lower curve of her breast.
Jaye grabbed his wrist. “Please don’t. We need to go slow.”
“Slow?” He saw the want glittering in her gorgeous brown eyes and was sure he misheard her. “Don’t you want me to undress you?”
“No.” She pulled his hand out of her bra and placed his palm on top of her cotton-clad breast. “Keep me dressed. It’ll help us stay sane.”
“Too late. Sanity left me the instant you took off your shirt.”
She stroked his head, his shoulders, his back. “You look so good. Like a real man should.”
“Do you know what you’re doing to me?” He genuinely wanted to know, because if she thought he’d muster any restraint while she caressed him with such hungry adoration, he couldn’t hold back. “If you keep touching me like that, you’ll never get rid of me.”
“You say the best things.” A smile sparkled in her gaze. She touched her mouth to his.
He groaned, silently acknowledging he was hers. She owned him. Giving in to defeat, he made love to her with their clothes on, familiarizing himself with every stitch of her bra, every crease in her jeans. His body became a never-ending fuse, burning for release.
The fire sputtered to a dim yellow glow, plunging the living room into semi-darkness. Mitch felt a draft creep along the floor and stroked his hand down Jaye’s cool back. “You’re cold. Stay here while I feed the fire.”
He knelt to toss another log on the embers, stirring the coals with the iron to reignite the flames. When the hearth radiated a warm blaze, he turned and caught sight of Jaye lying on her side, watching him.
“The room is warmer now.” She grinned. “Thank you.”
Her gratitude warmed him better than any fire could. He stayed put, admiring her long legs clad in denim, the sexy plane of her bare abdomen, and the beautiful curve of her breasts above her bra. Her short hair was mussed from his caress. Dangerous emotions swirled deep in his chest. “You look like an angel.”
A rosy blush colored her cheeks. She brushed the hair out of her eyes and got up on one elbow. “Watching you feed the fire reminded me of the first night we met. When I watched you turn away to pull off your sweatshirt, I stared at the lettering across the back of your shirt and thought an entire sentence could fit between your broad shoulders.”
He returned to her, kissing her slender hip, her sexy belly, and the pretty contour of her shoulder. “What sentence would you print between my shoulders?”
“Hm.” She pursed her lips. “Beware of frightened women who carry metal flashlights.”
Busting out in a laugh, he traced her jaw with the back of his knuckles. “I can’t believe you hit me in the nuts that night. I was just going to change your tire.”
“No good deed goes unpunished.”
He leered at her. “You thought I was a sex-crazed murderer.”
“In my defense, I was spooked by all the noises coming from the forest. When I realized how big you were, I worried you might carry me into the woods and use me as bait to catch whistle pigs.”
“Forget the whistle pigs. I wanted to carry you into the woods and keep you to myself.” He gazed into her radiant eyes. His mirth drained away, replaced by a terrible awe. When this woman left, would he find another reason to smile?
Drawing him closer, she cupped his face and pressed kisses along his cheek.
Pained he didn’t have much time before she’d be out of his reach, he bowed his head to hide the vulnerability in his gaze.
The warm tip of her tongue darted inside the sensitive shell of his ear. Shivers shot down his neck and coursed down his back. Her lithe body strained against his, flattening her breasts to his chest. Her magical mouth made him shudder with lust. He panted against her neck and warned, “Don’t kiss my ear, pixie. You’re driving me crazy.”
She gazed into his eyes. “The way you look right now is driving me crazy.”
He fisted his hands, tilting his ear toward every little nip and lick of her mouth. Carnal pulses rippled through his body. Out of his mind with pleasure, he drove his hips against hers.
“Feels good.” She moved in tandem with him. “Everything about you feels right.”
“Jaye.” Her name fell out of his mouth like a prayer. She had no idea how much he needed her, how much her touch affected him. He felt an overwhelming urge to possess every secret part of her until she was his—body and soul.
He shifted to one side and unbuttoned her jeans with an adept flick of his fingers, pulling down the zipper so he could
