Chapter 48
As soon as my fingers wound into his hair, his hands were on me.
He gripped my waist and he pulled me tightly against him, one hand coming up to cup my face.
The kiss was far from soft and restrained. It was like a dam had broken, and everything was rushing out, impossible to stop.
His lips were warm—so incredibly warm. And the urgency in the way his mouth moved against mine was exactly the speed and insistence I craved.
A guttural sound came from his throat, and his hand tightened on my hipbone, sending electric shocks through my body.
I shivered and pressed myself closer to him. I didn’t care that my shirt was getting soaked from being pressed up against him.
His fingers tightened in the hair at the base of my neck, and he tilted my head further so he could deepen the kiss, his tongue meeting mine in a dance that somehow we both seemed to know.
He only stopped to move his lips to my neck, pressing fervent kisses to my throat. “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to kiss you like this.”
My head tilted to the side, giving him more access. Colors, poetry, and sensations akin to fireworks flared behind my eyes, in my mind, across my skin…through my blood. The little tingles rippling across my skin were positively addictive, and I never wanted them to end.
“Please, don’t stop,” I said breathlessly, my cheeks flushing when I realized I’d said it out loud.
He gave a low chuckle and pressed a few more kisses across the sensitive skin of my throat, his arms encircling my waist now.
“No hace falta que supliques.”
Suddenly, he lifted me, and my toes left the wooden planks of the dock. Instinctively, I wrapped my legs around his waist, my eyes popping open in shock. I pulled back, my arms moving to drape around his shoulders, surprised by how easily he lifted me.
“What are you doing?”
“I think we might need to take a swim.”
“What?” I panicked, my eyes widening in alarm. “No way.”
He grinned, looking far too pleased with himself after that kiss.
“Come on, are you scared of a little water?”
My eyes narrowed. “I’m not scared, it’s just—”
“What?” he asked, waiting for a good excuse.
“Cold.”
He threw his head back and a hearty laugh escaped him. “I’ll keep you warm. I promise.”
And I couldn’t possibly refuse him. I was feeling so amazing, he could’ve convinced me to go skydiving.
“Okay—but—”
I didn’t get a second to reconsider. He was already walking me to the edge, pausing only for a brief moment.
“Hold your breath,” he said against my ear.
Then we were free-falling.
My stomach dropped, and I hurried to suck in a breath.
The water quickly engulfed us.
And it was freezing.
When I kicked my way to the surface, I gasped for air, wiping cold droplets from my eyes. “Oh my gosh, Jay, I’m going to kill you.”
His chuckle sounded beside me, and then his arms were wrapping around me again, pulling me back to him.
My legs wrapped around him instinctively, and I realized it was pretty shallow by the dock. He could stand easily, and also hold me against him with minimal effort.
I was shivering, but he was very warm, and it felt nice. Really nice.
“Relájate. It gets better after a few minutes,” he said gently, brushing strands of dark curls from his forehead before leaning in to kiss me again.
When his lips met mine, I was no longer thinking about how cold it was. And he was actually right. After a few minutes, it did get better.
He carefully waded through the water until we were just beneath the edge of the dock. He reached up, gripping the edge of the wood to steady himself as he kissed me.
His other hand was still wrapped tightly around my waist, keeping me pressed against him.
I let myself kiss him with total wild abandon. There was teeth and tongue, and I was breathing so rapidly it was sort of embarrassing. Between the cold water and the way he was devouring me, there was no way I could’ve kept my breathing steady.
“Jay,” I breathed his name between kisses. My hands roamed his shoulders and his back, unable to stay still.
It was cold, and he was warm, and I wanted to be as close as possible to him. He seemed to like it when I put my hands in his hair, which was where they ended up, fisted around his curls for quite some time.
After a few long minutes, he pulled back and rested his forehead against mine. I gave a little whimper, not wanting it to end.
“You’re shivering, Hope.”
“I am? I don’t think I am,” I said, attempting to tug him back for another kiss, but he didn’t budge.
“Let’s go inside and get you warm,” he murmured, kissing my cheek, then my temple.
“O-okay,” I said, my teeth chattering now.
He pulled himself up onto the dock. Water droplets splashed everywhere. Then he reached down to help pull me up after him.
Once I was safely on the dock again, dripping and shivering like a drowned cat, he wrapped his spare towel around me as quickly as possible.
Then he bent down again.
“Jay, what are you—”
He scooped his arm behind my knees and, with ease, lifted me to a cradle position against his chest.
“I’ll hurry and make us a fire and some hot chocolate.”
“Hot chocolate?” My protests were immediately silenced, and my obvious interest made a smirk tug at his lips.
“It’s the least I can do after throwing us both into that freezing water.”
“So you admit that was a little insane.”
“You just told me you’re falling for me, Hope. I’m not going to be thinking clearly for a while,” he admitted.
My stomach fluttered with butterflies at his words.
This wasn’t some crazy dream I was having after a concussion. Jay had said he was falling for me, and I’d said it back.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” I whispered as he continued carrying me back to the house.
“Believe it,” he murmured.
He came to a standstill on the dock for a second and leaned down, nuzzling his face into the crook of my neck.
“I’m falling for you, Hope.”
A thrill went through me, stealing my breath for a moment.
Whoa. I was never going to get used to that.
“Me too,” I whispered