He dragged his nose up the side of my throat. “Sometime soon, I’m gonna need to see you in those.”
My heart banged harder in my chest. “Okay,” I whispered.
He flicked the light off suddenly and all but towed me out of the room, pulling the door firmly shut behind him.
“You heard from Brooks?” he asked.
“No. And I doubt very much I will after what happened.” There was also the fact that everyone had seen Jesse and me leave the bar together the night Bull kicked Brooks out. That news had spread all over town.
“Good. Now let’s eat, woman,” he said gruffly and gently pushed me toward the kitchen.
When I obviously didn’t move quickly enough, he swatted me on the butt and laughed when I narrowed my eyes at him. I walked ahead and could feel his eyes on me the whole way.
I liked it.
After we had dinner and dessert—Jesse had two helpings of both—we chose a movie. Jumanji, the new one with The Rock in it. I loved Dwayne Johnson, so I highly approved of this choice. Something that Jesse noticed a short way into the movie.
“Bambi, you get all starry-eyed when The Rock comes on screen.”
I glanced at him. “Well, yeah, he’s hot.”
“You like that, all those muscles?” he asked.
His thigh was pressed against mine, the hardness and heat of his body making me tingly and breathless. “What’s not to like?” I said back, teasing.
Jesse growled and tackled me, taking me down on the couch, somehow managing to flip us so I was lying on top of him, against that long, lean, hard body.
He cupped my face. “You saying you don’t think I’m pretty? I’m deeply hurt, Bambi.”
I grinned down at him. “The Rock means nothing to me. I promise you’re the prettiest boy I’ve ever seen.”
“Man,” he said and licked his lips.
“Sorry…prettiest man,” I repeated. “Muscles shmuscles.”
“Now I have no muscles?” he said in fake outrage.
“I’d have to see them to assess,” I said and kind of froze after the words left my mouth.
The air around us became charged.
“If I start taking off my clothes, I’m gonna want to take off yours as well,” he said low and growly.
I bit my lips to stop myself from blurting anything else. As much as I wanted to be naked with Jesse, right freaking now, I was also inexperienced and seriously self-conscious.
My lack of response obviously told him all he needed to know. He tucked my hair behind my ear. “Since we decided to take things slow, you’re just going to have to imagine my ripped-as-fuck chest while you kiss me and make it all better.”
“It’s the least I can do,” I whispered.
Jesse’s big body trembled as I leaned in and pressed my mouth to his. His fingers slid into my hair, cupping the back of my head, the other hand on my lower back, but he didn’t try to take over, he let me lead, and I did.
I took my time tasting his gorgeous mouth, gliding mine over his, taking small sips of his perfect lips, luxuriating in the texture, the plumpness, the way the stubble on his jaw scraped against my skin.
I’d never done this before, taken the lead like this, and I liked it.
His breath was sawing in and out of his nose and he bent one of his legs, leaning it against the back of the couch, so my legs ended up between his. He was hard against me, so very hard.
I squeezed my thighs together and slid the tip of my tongue along the seam of his lips. He opened on a groan as the hand on my lower back slid to my butt and squeezed. Oh God, that felt good.
We explored each other’s mouths, searching, caressing, making out like our lives depended on it. Jesse tasted like sweet apples, and I couldn’t get enough.
The longer we kissed, the hotter I got. I was slick and aching between my thighs, turned on in a way I never had been in my life. Jesse rolled so we were on our sides, dislodging my mouth, and I chased his again, wanting more.
He let me catch him for several more minutes, then panting, he slowed things down, giving me shorter, sucking little kisses that included the odd flick of his tongue. He was panting when he pulled back, his green eyes darker, heavy.
He softly slid his thumb over my lower lip, those drowsy, sexy eyes following the movement. “I could kiss you all damn night, but if I don’t stop soon, I’m gonna disgrace myself.”
I was finding it hard to focus with his hard-on pressed into my belly and his strong, hot body wrapped around me. The way his lips moved was suddenly mesmerizing.
“Fuck, Lila, don’t look at me like that,” he rasped.
I tried to shake off the haze, it wasn’t working. Not when my nipples were insanely hard and aching and being pressed up against Jesse’s hard chest felt so good. I licked my lips and wished his were back on mine. “Like what?”
“Like you want to lick me all over.”
My face heated.
He groaned. “Goddammit, I want to keep on kissing you.”
“Then kiss me,” I said, voice so tight with need I barely recognized it.
He laughed, on a shaky breath. “Did you not hear what I just said, Bambi? I keep kissing you I’m gonna blow in my jeans.”
“Oh.”
He squeezed my butt again, and his big body shuddered. “Yeah, oh.”
Despite his concern over losing control, he continued to massage my ass, kind of tugging me closer, pressing his hardness against my belly.
“Talk about something unsexy,” he said roughly, still kind of grinding against me.
That I’d made him like this, so turned on, it thrilled me. “Um…I thought I’d make cupcakes tomorrow?”
“Nope,” he croaked.
“How can cupcakes be sexy?”
“I’m picturing you naked in one of those frilly aprons…yeah, spreading frosting on your nipples for me to lick off.”
I bit my lips, trying not to laugh and now even more turned on than before as well. “You have a dirty mind.”
“Woman, you have no idea.” He pressed into me again and groaned. “Quick, something else.”
“I have a bunch of books to re-shelve tomorrow? Since people are reading more with the colder weather.”
He shuddered and whimpered.
“What? Seriously? Putting away books is turning you on?”
His eyes locked on mine. “Everything you do is sexy. And considering you put away books in those tight fucking skirts, and how many times I’ve thought about you bending over and…” His nostrils flared.
“And?”
He shook his head.
I wanted to know what he was thinking. I liked hearing how hot I made him, his dirty fantasies about me. “Tell me, and who knows, one day I might make it a reality.” I couldn’t believe I’d said it out loud.
His fingers dug deeper into my ass and his eyes narrowed. “You’re not playing fair, Bambi.”
I don’t know where my confidence suddenly came from. Maybe it was knowing just how much he wanted me. It was heady. I pressed my lips to his. “Come on, tell me,” I said against them.
He growled and chased my mouth. I pulled back and shook my head. “No more kisses until you finish what you were going to say.”
“I thought you were a nice girl.”