Chapter 26 #2
“You know what, Little Menace,” I accused, fighting the urge to press her into the wall and crush my lips to hers. I was hanging on by a thread, and she was doing everything she could to unravel it.
“You looked uncomfortable, so I came to your rescue. You’re welcome, by the way,” she added smugly.
Her smart mouth made me want to do wicked things to it. My cock swelled in my jeans, and I had to take a step back so I didn’t ask her to touch it. Pushing off the wall, I scrubbed a hand over my face.
“You intentionally tried to make it look like we’re together.”
“Did I?” she asked with feigned guilelessness. “All I did was call you Daddy and give you a peck on the cheek.”
“Don’t call me that,” I warned her.
“Does it make you uncomfortable because you wish I’d call you that behind closed doors?” she challenged, brow cocked suggestively. “Are you hoping I have a daddy kink?” she asked with a mock scandalized gasp.
“No,” I ground out. It wasn’t that at all. I had no desire for a sexual partner to call me that. No shade to anyone who did. It simply wasn’t my thing.
“Then why does it bother you so much?” she challenged, taking a step toward me with narrowed eyes.
“Because there’s nothing fatherly in the way I feel about you,” I admitted, stepping into her space. Her breath caught, and her eyes widened in shock, but she recovered quickly.
“Oh, that’s right, we’re just friends. Isn’t that what you told Nash?” I froze as the words I’d said to her brother came back to haunt me.
Shit, she’d overheard our conversation in the barn. Was that why she seemed so interested in Quinn? Was she backing off because she thought I only wanted to be her friend?
“I’m not your friend either. I don’t ever want to be.” My voice lowered at the confession.
“Then what do you want?” she demanded, her voice shaking.
She’d asked me that same question in the barn, but I hadn’t been brave enough to give her a straight answer, worried if I told her the truth, the dam would break, and everything I felt for her would come pouring out. I wasn’t any braver now either.
“Jasmine,” I choked out, her name a plea for mercy. My resolve was waning by the second. If she pushed, I couldn’t guarantee I’d be strong enough to hold back.
“Tell me what you want,” she said, her voice softening. She stared straight into my eyes as she delivered the command, imploring me to give in. My chest squeezed at the openness and vulnerability in her expression.
When she settled her palms on my chest, heat licked up my spine and desire curled in my belly.
This was the first time she’d intentionally touched me in a way that went beyond casual or friendly.
My restraint was about to snap with that one simple touch.
If I didn’t put some space between us, I would do something reckless, but I couldn’t seem to get my feet to move.
Her proximity was scrambling my brain and impeding my judgment.
Then she brought her hand to my face and cupped my cheek. My breath hitched, and my pulse hammered against my ribs. Her touch scorched my skin, but damn if I wasn’t ready to burn.
“Fuck it,” I growled before cupping her face in my hands and slamming my lips down on hers.
They parted on a gasp, and I took full advantage of it.
I slanted my mouth over hers, dipping my tongue inside to get a taste.
A faint hint of berries and mint danced over my senses from the blackberry mojito she’d drank earlier.
Before I even realized I was moving, I had Jasmine pressed against the wall.
She moaned when I dropped an arm to her waist and pulled her into my body, digging my rock-hard length into her belly.
I speared my other hand into her hair and angled her head perfectly for my invasion.
The kiss was rough and feverish, a culmination of months of yearning and denying myself what I truly wanted.
Jasmine snaked her arms around my neck and dug her hands into my hair, knocking my hat off my head.
I didn’t care one damn bit when she raked her nails over my scalp.
Growling, I reached down and gripped her by the backs of her thighs, lifting her into the air.
She snaked her legs around my waist, and I pressed my erection into her core.
Goosebumps covered my flesh, and my cock grew impossibly harder.
I was about to pull her into a broom closet or bathroom or whatever private space I could find.
“Oh,” a feminine voice squeaked from the direction of the hallway entrance, followed by a nervous giggle.
“That’s where you two went.” I froze, and so did Jasmine.
My eyes flew open as I pulled back. I held her gaze for a long moment, too scared to look toward the intruder.
Swallowing hard, I lowered Jasmine to her feet and took a step back.
Bending to pick up my hat, I smoothed my hair back before placing it on my head and finally turned to face Jasmine’s cousin.
“Luna, that wa—” Jasmine began, holding up her hands like she was trying to calm a cornered animal.
“Was hot,” Luna finished for her.
“What?” Jasmine and I said in unison.
“Look, I could tell from the get-go there was something going on between you two,” she claimed, and I winced. “Don’t worry, the guys are too oblivious to notice, but I can easily pick up on these kinds of vibes.”
“Please don’t say anything to anyone,” Jasmine pleaded. “This isn’t… We’ve never…”
“You don’t owe me an explanation,” Luna assured her.
“But Gabe works at the ranch. He’s Dad’s best friend,” Jasmine blurted out, and Luna’s eyes bugged out of her head.
“Well, um, okay.” Luna blinked away her surprise and composed herself.
“In that case,” she began, and I could practically see the wheels turning in her head.
“Gabe, you go back to the table. Tell Varen Jasmine got sick, and you were trying to get her to the bathroom when I showed up just in the nick of time. Jasmine, your makeup is already a little smudged,” she said, shooting a smirk my way.
“We can pretend it’s from puking your guts out, not from this cowboy trying to be all up in your guts. ”
Jasmine snorted a laugh, and my lip twitched with the effort to contain my amusement. It was clear these two were related and had probably spent a lot of time together at some point. They acted just alike.
“Alright,” Jasmine said, and I nodded my agreement. I turned to head toward our table, but Luna stopped me.
“Wait!” she called out, her voice panicked.
I turned and she walked up to me, holding out a napkin.
“Wipe the gloss off your lips. I may be rooting for you, but my big brother won’t be quite so understanding.
You don’t want to go back out there to a table full of guys who spend an hour every day slamming each other into the boards and who have no qualms about throwing a punch when you have one of their baby cousin’s signature lip shade smeared across your mouth,” she warned.
I took the napkin from between her fingers and scrubbed it over my lips, removing any trace that Jasmine had been there. It was necessary, but still, an ache settled into my chest at the thought of erasing our first kiss before the sensation of her lips on mine had even faded.