She nibbled on her bottom lip as several sexy suggestions sprang to mind, but she was too embarrassed to say them out loud. “I’ve got it all covered, unless there’s something you want to bring for dessert. Meet me down there at seven and…”
He silenced her with another kiss. “I’m going to want you for dessert.”
Damn. It was like he could read her mind. She blushed furiously and tried to look away but his hand caressing her cheek stopped her.
“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do,” he said softly. “But I thought I should be honest with you.”
“I…I want that too,” she said and couldn’t believe she’d actually done it. “I’ve been thinking about that for a long time.”
“That makes two of us,” he said, kissing her soundly one last time before releasing her. “Two hours, Mal.” With a wink, he turned and headed down the deck stairs and across the yard to his house.
Leaving Mallory breathless and more turned on than she’d ever been in her entire life.
8
He was nervous.
And Jake was never nervous where women were concerned. Hadn’t been since the age of twelve. But right now?
Yeah. He was nervous.
Everything about his relationship with Mallory was different. And it wasn’t just because they’d known each other for so long – it was more. He enjoyed talking with her and just hanging out with her. She was a friend and…before the night was through…she would be his lover.
Damn. He was losing it. He’d never thought of a woman like that before.
And we’re back to nervous.
The truth was that Jake never felt the need to get into a serious relationship before. He enjoyed dating, really enjoyed sex, but never found anyone who made him want more.
Mallory changed that.
It still boggled his mind.
Even now as he walked across the lush Coleman yard and down to the pier, he still couldn’t wrap his mind around how they had gotten to this point.
Mallory had never mentioned having a crush on him before this summer. Every time they’d ever seen each other, they hung out in a group – Mallory, Sam, Jake, Mason, Parker and Peyton primarily. And not once did he notice that she felt anything for him other than friendship.
Unfortunately, until this summer, that’s all he’d felt for her. She was younger and not really on his radar because she lived six hundred miles away and only came around for a month or two during summer vacation. Still, when she did finally tell him how she felt, he’d been more than a little shocked at how he could have missed the signs. He was usually pretty aware of the girls who crushed on him. Most of them had been fairly obvious about their feelings, unlike Mallory. But now that he knew? He was still a little shocked but mostly in awe of it because she was an amazing woman.
Stepping onto the pier he noticed the lights on in the boathouse and smiled. In his hand he carried a bouquet of wildflowers. Last week when they were working on Zeke’s study, she mentioned how much she loved the ones that grew in the family garden. Luckily, his mother planted a similar garden and he managed to charm her so he could go out and cut them fresh for Mallory.
He couldn’t wait to see the surprise on her face.
The closer he got to the boathouse, the better he could see what was going on inside. The sun was still shining fairly brightly in the sky, but the lights were on inside the small structure. There were boats out on the Sound, but Jake could also make out the music that Mallory was listening to – could see her dancing around the room as the flirty white dress twirled around her thighs.
Damn.
Maybe he picked up his pace.
Maybe his palms started to sweat.
And maybe – just maybe – he wasn’t quite so sure they’d even get to dinner.
At the door, he took several breaths to calm himself. No need to pounce as soon as she opened it, no matter how badly he wanted to. Knocking lightly, he smiled when he spotted Mallory through the glass. She motioned for him to come in.
Her soft gasp greeted him first. “Oh my goodness! Are those for me?”
“I remember you mentioning how much you liked them,” he said, suddenly feeling a little awkward.
She took the flowers from him and kissed him softly on the cheek. “Thank you. They’re absolutely lovely and perfect for the vase I bought yesterday.” Turning her back to him, Mallory arranged the flowers and then placed them on the small corner table. With a smile, she asked, “Can I get you something to drink?”
Nodding, he watched her move around the space and marveled at how relaxed she seemed when he felt like one ridiculous nervous twitch. It was insanity, really. Nothing ever made him nervous – and certainly never a woman. So, he took a minute to really look around at what she did with the space. He’d been in here almost every day while she was working but somehow tonight she managed to transform it. Maybe it was intentional, maybe it wasn’t, but either way this room no longer looked like a casual-but-forgotten space in an old boathouse. Now it looked like something you’d see in a coastal living magazine on tiny spaces.
She’d picked the perfect colors, the furniture was all inviting, and after observing her for the last week Jake knew she had a passion for this sort of thing. It kind of bothered him to realize she had such a creative side that she was afraid to let others see. For some reason, Zeke saw it in her and finally gave her an outlet for it. Why was she taking business and tech courses and going for a degree in that when she could be doing something she actually wanted to do?
It was something he made a mental note to talk to her about, but not tonight.
There were other things he wanted to talk to her about – sexy things. The rest of it could wait.
He could smell her perfume. The entire space smelled like her and it was like all of his senses were consumed by her. The sight of her. The smell of her. The feel of her. And right now, he definitely wanted to feel and touch all of her.
And when Mallory turned to hand him a glass of wine, he knew the only way to get over this craziness was to take control and confront what he was feeling.
Placing his glass on the table beside the flowers, Jake reached out, cupped her face and captured her lips with his. She pressed in close just like she always did and then Jake simply poured everything he had into kissing her. He loved the way Mallory kissed – her lips were always so soft and her tongue was always a little tentative but once she settled in? It was heaven.
Capturing her small moan of pleasure had Jake’s hands leaving her face and skimming down over her throat, her shoulders, her arms, before banding around her waist. Her hands raked up into his hair – something else he really loved – and gently grasped. They’d done this dozens of times in the last couple of weeks, but this suddenly seemed different. He knew his words earlier set the stage for what he wanted for them tonight, and now that they were here, he wasn’t sure he could wait.
Pulling away slightly, Mallory kissed his cheek, his jaw, and then tilted her head to study him as she caught her breath. “I made us some seafood salad for dinner,” she said, pausing to lick her lips. “I went to the bakery and got the rolls you like and then got us some brownies for dessert.”
She could talk about food right now? He thought with mild amusement.