Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
IAN
I shifted my attention back to Jane, away from the darkness with the snow illuminated by the lights out the window. I hadn't been thinking when I said we should come back in the summer.
My heart twisted in my chest as I looked over at this girl beside me. She was a woman now, no longer the girl I didn't pay much attention to in high school.
It was true that I had made a point of not paying attention to any of Thea’s friends.
We'd been at odds for most of our childhood, the two youngest in the family and frequently clashing.
We were close now, and our relationship was different, but I didn't know any of her current friends.
I didn't like thinking that I probably wouldn't have noticed Jane, even if she hadn't been Thea’s friend.
Now, I couldn't stop thinking about her at all. I recalled more details about her from high school—always wearing glasses, always quiet. She even worked part-time in the library at the school.
“Yes, we,” I finally answered.
“Us being here at the same time now was just a chance,” Jane replied.
“I call it serendipitous,” I offered, not sure why I was pressing this. It chafed at me that she was trying to compartmentalize me.
“Oh, how?”
I hadn't been planning any of this with Jane. But here we were now, and I’d just had the best night I'd had since I could remember.
Tonight brought back memories of when I was younger, but not because I had amazing sexual experiences.
Most guys didn't. We were all fumbling and probably careless, but I recalled the hum of anticipation, the kind of excitement that came from something new that you couldn't replicate.
This night with Jane was filled with new moments, though perhaps not new for me in the way it was for her.
I still kind of couldn't believe she was a virgin and was no more.
I'd fallen into a pattern when it came to sex, treating it solely as a way to meet needs, the way someone might grab dinner or take a quick shower when they were in a hurry.
I’d savored every second of tonight. I'd forgotten what that was like. I didn't want this to be compartmentalized to only tonight.
Jane’s eyes dropped from mine. She lifted her wine glass and took a swallow. I couldn't seem to take my hand away once I had touched her. Her skin was soft and silky along the side of her neck.
The fire in the fireplace cast a flickering glow over us. The basketball game carried on, with the sounds of cheering and the announcers following the game receding into the background.
When her lashes lifted and her eyes met mine again, my heart gave a swift kick. She had her glasses back on, and I wished I could climb inside her mind and read her thoughts. She was good at keeping her thoughts shuttered away.
“I still don't get it,” I heard myself saying.
Her brows hitched. “Get what?”
“Okay, I do understand what you said before, that some guys would get skittish about someone reading too much into being someone’s first. But I'm surprised nobody has locked you down yet.”
She pressed her lips together, laughing softly as she rolled her eyes. “Locked me down?”
“Yeah. You're gorgeous, you're smart, you have a good career, you're financially stable, and you’re fucking hot.”
Pink crested high on her cheeks as she stared at me.
Her gaze flicked away, and she glanced at her wine glass before finishing the last swallow.
When she leaned over to set it on the coffee table, my hand fell away from her neck.
I wasn't to be deterred. As soon as she straightened, I shifted closer to her, pulling her toward me at the same time.
“What are you doing?” she murmured, looking flustered.
“I like being close to you,” I said bluntly.
“This was just a one-time thing,” she countered.
“Did we say it was a one-time thing?”
She bit her lip, sending a sizzle of fire through my veins. “I thought we had ground rules.”
“I didn't think we said it was only once.”
She twisted her lips when she nodded. I was being reckless, but I ignored it.
It's just this was too good with Jane, and I wanted more. We hadn’t said only once, and I knew she knew that.
Feathering along the edges of my thoughts was a subtle warning, pointing out this wasn't just about how good this felt. I was in no mood to entertain warnings.
“Nobody's here. It's snowing. We might as well enjoy the time.”
As Jane stared up at me, her lips parted. I didn't wait, dipping my head and catching her little gasp when I fit my mouth over hers. Our kiss spiraled out of control almost instantly. Before I knew it, I had pulled her onto my lap to straddle me, and my arousal swelled to an ache.
One kiss melted into another and then another.
I refrained from burying myself inside her again after we’d tugged our clothes out of the way.
I knew she could be sensitive, so I tasted the core of her until she came in a shuddering burst. She thoroughly disabused me of any notion that she hadn't had experience other than the full act after she left me nearly incoherent with her hands and mouth on my cock.
We fell asleep together. That was the first of every night together over the following weeks.