Page 47 of An Unexpected Turn
Seriously considering anything with Jake had kept me up all night, terrifying me no matter which angle I tried to look at it from.
I jumped out of my skin at the sound of my doorbell. I took a quick glance at myself, the simple sweater on top of jeans and boots, and shrugged. I shouldn’t have wanted to be sexy for Jake or encourage the heat I spied in his eyes, but I craved it as much as I’d craved him.
“Hey” was all I could say. He leaned against the doorjamb, his black jacket stretching across his broad chest and shoulders as if it was specially made for him. I let my eyes drink all of him in—the thick, dark hair that gathered at his neck just below his ears, the sparkles of gray at his temples making him even hotter, the dusting of stubble over his cheeks short enough to tease a dimple when he smiled. His lips curved as he swept his gaze up and down my body with a dirty intention he either stopped hiding or I finally allowed myself to acknowledge as real.
Talking rationally about what was between us, no matter how many layers of clothes I piled on myself, wasn’t going to happen. The stolen glances and innocent yet forbidden touches had become a powder keg of foreplay.
Despite Claudia trying to talk me out of it, I still believed this was wrong, but I was in too deep to stop it.
“Hey, yourself.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. Jake smiled into the kiss when I went in for another on instinct.
“Feeling better?” he rasped, sliding his hand to the back of my neck. Tingles went down my back from the graze of his calloused fingers against my skin.
“I am.” I smiled when he yanked me closer.
“Good.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Let’s go.”
“Where’s Mike today?”
“My sister is taking him and his cousins to the pancake house on the thruway. She offered to take him since she still feels as bad as I do about the fight he got into, and my nieces will probably love being along for the ride.”
“Oh,” I said. “You didn’t want to go?”
His lips curved as he gave me a slow shake of his head.
“I think my son would like a break from me hovering over him, and I had important plans.”
“Which are?” I lifted a brow, my dopey heart speeding up at being part of his important plans.
“Well, first, we’re getting breakfast since I didn’t have much to eat last night. I was too distracted by what was happening on the other side of the table.”
I exhaled with a groan at his lifted brow.
“Nothing was happening on the other end of the table. But I didn’t really eat either, so breakfast sounds good.” I fought a smile as I pulled on my jacket.
“Then, we’ll go somewhere and talk.”
“Where?” I asked, eyeing Jake as I locked my door.
“Somewhere we can just be us, not what we are to someone else.”
My stomach dipped at his reference to my uncle, but I said nothing as I followed him to his truck.
“So, another planet, then?” I smirked as he held the passenger side door open for me to climb into the seat.
Just as I was about to fasten my seat belt, Jake cupped my neck and pulled me in for a kiss. It was deep, wet, and just as possessive as when he stalked me into my uncle’s bathroom last night. Yet, there was something different about it. He was proving something, trying to convince me with every stroke of his tongue. He kept a tight grip on the back of my head as if he were holding me in place so I didn’t slip away. He should’ve known how hard it was to be anywhere else.
We traded whimpers and groans as the kiss kept going. I should have been aware of where we were and who could possibly see us, but I didn’t care. As his lips moved against mine, all I saw and all I felt was Jake. The control and distance I’d grasped on to all this time vanished, and I doubted I’d ever get it back even if I wanted to.
And I didn’t want to.
In all the uncertainty and trepidation when it came to Jake and me, that was the one thing too sure to deny.
I fisted the collar of his jacket, ready to get out and drag him back to my condo where we wouldn’t have an audience and wouldn’t have to stop. He pulled away when I shifted toward the door, leaning his forehead against mine as he chased his breath.
“Fuck, you can kiss,” he groaned and shook his head, still leaning against me.
“Back at you,” I said in a breathless whisper.
