Chapter 12
Alice
T he hurricane must have opened a portal to an alternate universe. It’s the only logical explanation. The entire world has turned upside down in one afternoon because I’m sitting on a dust-covered couch in an abandoned house, and I’m kissing Jake. Really kissing him. My tongue is in his mouth right now. Because I put it there. On purpose.
I let go of him and pull away. We’re both breathing heavily, and his pupils are wider than they were before. What are we doing?
“Sorry,” I tell him, sliding back to my own cushion. I brush my fingers over my swollen lips. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“Oh, you’re sorry, huh?” He smirks playfully.
“Yeah. I am.”
“Okay. Then I’m sorry, too. But only because I didn’t make you feel like you could tell me about Owen sooner. I’m not sorry about the rest of this at all.” He gestures between our bodies. There’s still a small smile playing with the corner of his lips.
His other arm is slung over the back of the sofa, and he twirls a strand of my hair with his fingers. That tiny motion doesn’t have any right to be as hot as it is, but feeling his fingers brush my neck gives me goose bumps.
I roll my eyes for probably the millionth time today, but there’s no longer any fight behind it, and he pulls a smile out of me before he leans in to kiss me again. And I let him. After the next soft brush of his lips against mine, my reservations dissolve and I fully give in. My mouth crashes into his with a reckless urgency that has our teeth and tongues fighting for space. I move my hands to his neck and link my fingers together at the base of his head.
“We shouldn’t,” I murmur.
“Maybe not,” he whispers in my ear before gently nipping my lobe. “But I really, really want to.”
He bucks his hips into mine as he tugs my lower lip between his teeth.
“We really, really shouldn’t,” I mumble between hurried, ungraceful kisses.
His breath deepens, but he plants his hands on my hips, as if he’s waiting for me to make the next move. “We can stop. Or not. Whatever happens next is up to you.”
I groan and pull him back to me. I don’t want to stop. I grab at the hem of his hoodie, and he leans back to take it off while I trace his abs with my fingers. His patience is walking the line between infuriating and endearing because I already feel like my body is on fire, and I don’t know how he has so much self-control. I kiss him again. My own desperate need to feel wanted fogs up my brain while his tongue explores mine
Years of tension, frustration, and unspoken attraction pass between us, and even though it’s chilly in this dark, drafty house, there’s a new warmth spreading through me. The waves of heat and intense emotion are almost too much. I know how dangerous this is for our delicate friendship, but it’s also too exhilarating to make myself stop.
I break the kiss to tell him, “Whatever happens tonight, it doesn’t leave this room.”
“If that’s what you want,” he agrees without missing a beat.
“I’m not really sure what I want,” I admit.
“That’s okay. Come here.” Jake pulls me onto his lap with one arm hooked around my waist, so my back is pressed to his chest. “We’ll figure it out together.” His warm breath raises the hairs on my neck, and I can feel the thud of his heartbeat when he holds me closer to him like we’re in the bathtub again. “Is this what you want?”
He runs his nose along the skin behind my ear. I arch into him and turn so my face meets his. Reaching up with one hand, I tug him back into a quick kiss before tapping the arm that is pinning me in place. He loosens his grip so I can shift my body, and I turn to straddle him, my knees sinking into the couch cushions on either side. I grind on him while my fingers roam through his hair, lightly scratching his scalp. He closes his eyes and leans back into the sofa, and I drag my nails down his chest.
“Is this what you want?” I volley the question back to him.
He chuckles darkly and puts his hands on my hips again, pressing me down into his lap. “I think we can both feel the answer to that. But I’m not doing anything until you ask for it.”
“That’s too bad. Guess we’re going to be here for a while, then.” I tease as I rub against him.
“You won’t hear me complaining.”
He looks into my eyes and I feel almost drunk on his attention. His strong hands guide my hips in fluid circles as I ride his lap, fully-clothed like some horny coed. Low sounds rumble in his throat, and his Adam’s apple bobs. I feel a rush of power as his body reacts to mine. I run my thumb down his neck while he swallows, and I can’t explain why that’s the thing that snaps my last thread of control.
“Kiss me.” I lean forward.
Jake moves a hand to my face. “I’m pretty sure that’s what we’re already doing.” He holds me still while he plants searing kisses from the corner of my mouth, down my jaw, until he reaches the sensitive spot at the base of my neck, sending chills through my entire body. “Is there somewhere else you want me to kiss you?” he asks, guiding my body to lie down on the sofa. “Like here?” He moves lower and kisses my collar bone. “Or maybe here?” His voice is a raspy whisper as he moves to the other side, this time slowly working his way up from my neck to my earlobe. I groan as his fingers toy with the waistband on my shorts and he shifts us so he can fit next to me. “Where Alice?”
Hearing my name in his smooth bedroom voice makes me whimper. I know I might regret this in the morning, but I don’t care, because I also know if I stop now I’ll regret it even more.
So, I reach down and slide out of my shorts. Jake gives me a hungry smile as he reaches for his wallet on the coffee table and produces a condom.
“This just gives us options,” he says calmly, laying the condom on the table next to the open box of cupcakes. “We don’t have to go that far. We can stop right now and go back to playing cards if that’s what you want.” He offers me an out, but I shake my head because I’m not taking it.
“Come here,” I tell him. “I want you.”
“Good.” He kisses me again and drops to his knees on the mattress on the floor. “Because I’ve wanted you like this since the morning you walked out of my bedroom wearing my shirt.” He takes my hands and pulls me down on top of him.
I moan while our bodies glide together. I don’t know if I should tell him I still sleep in that shirt almost every night.