Chapter 16 #2
A crooked smile crosses his face. My palms sweat at the mischief behind it. Instead of handing me the s’more, he leans over until he’s a foot away and lifts it to my mouth.
I narrow my eyes at him. A smile curls my lips. “You like feeding me.”
He stares at my mouth and nods. “Mm-hmm.”
That’s dirty. I like it. Two can play this game. I lick the chocolate dripping down his index finger, taking my time. Jaeger’s face tenses and he breathes in, his gaze on my tongue running along his long, thick finger. I take a bite of the s’more and lick my lips. “Mmm, good.”
His mouth parts slightly. “You’ve got some—” He indicates the side of my mouth.
I intentionally lick the other side.
He looks in my eyes. “You’re teasing me?”
I nod slowly.
Jaeger lets out a slow breath and sets the s’more on top of the paper bag. “I don’t like to be teased.” His face is devoid of emotion, and for a moment, I think he’s serious.
Before I know what’s happening, Jaeger drops the head of my lounge chair till I’m flat on my back and climbs on top of me, lightly pinning my arms above my head.
I let out a squeak. He grabs both my hands with one of his, licks the side of my mouth where the chocolate was, and tickles my ribs with his other hand.
“Stop!” I free a hand—he isn’t holding tight—and grab his tickling fingers, twining them with mine.
“What? You don’t like the punishment for naughty girls who tease?”
I’m grinning, because despite my misery, I’m having fun. I always have fun with him. “This isn’t punishment.”
He smiles boyishly. “No, I guess not. I’m a lover, not a fighter.”
His eyes grow serious and he leans down and kisses me softly. He tastes like chocolate, and something else yummy that I associate with him. The gentle kiss evolves, transferring into something hot and needy. I wrap my arms around his back and he leans more weight on me.
I love the way he holds me, the way his kisses are deliberate, not sloppy and fast in order to get somewhere.
Jaeger shifts his hips between my legs and my breath catches, thighs softening around his waist. He moans in my mouth and presses again—
The lounge collapses—well, the bottom half, anyway—and our legs slam to the ground.
Jaeger laughs. “Are you okay?” He makes no move to get off me, and I’m glad. I like him right where he is.
I look down at the damage. The bottom support posts are bent in half. “Crap, how will I explain this to Gen?” I squeeze him tighter so he knows I’m going to be very upset if he tries to get off me right now.
He kisses the side of my mouth and runs his hand down my ribs to my stomach. “Blame it on me. Tell her I sat on it,” he murmurs.
His tongue finds the inside of my mouth and his hands travel up and down the length of my body for the next half-hour on that broken lounge chair—until the telltale sounds beyond the fence reach my ears.
Guilt flushes my chest and I push away lightly. “Gen is home,” I whisper. “We should get up.”
I did it again. How could I do it again? I need to know without a doubt that there’s nothing between Gen and Jaeger. I don’t think there is, but I need to be sure.
Jaeger groans and pecks me on the mouth before pushing up.
“What’s going on with you and Gen?” I blurt.
Gen’s answer didn’t fill me with confidence the one time I asked, and Jaeger’s here now, no sexy protector pheromones coursing through me to muddle my brain like they were after the Drake mauling.
My mind’s a little fuzzy after all that kissing, but I can’t hold off asking any longer.
He puts away s’more paraphernalia, his head cocked to the side as if confused. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, are you guys—um—well, hooking up?”
Jaeger freezes. “What? Why would you think that?”
“You took her out the other day. I wondered… I mean, she said no, but I have to be sure.”
He looks away as if thinking, and then slowly shakes his head. “I wanted her opinion about something I’m working on. It’s not… No, Cali, I’m not hooking up with Gen. I can’t believe you thought that after—” His hand lifts to me and then drops. “I would never do that. I’m not like that.”
I believe him, but I can’t say I know him well. “What are you like?”
He’s quiet for a moment, replacing the top of the hibachi.
“I’m not going to lie. For a time I hooked up a lot, but that was a while ago.
There were things going on—things I was trying to deal with.
Obviously, I didn’t deal with them well, but I got over it and I’m not like that anymore.
It wasn’t the real me.” He stares into my eyes.
“But even then, I would never have hooked up with one girl and then turned around and pursued her best friend.” He rubs his jaw.
“I also didn’t, ahhh—date—more than one girl at a time. Too complicated.”
So he didn’t screw more than one girl on the same day, but there probably wasn’t much lag time in between. I can deal with that. He was younger then. I don’t expect less from a twenty-year-old guy who was hot enough to have anyone he wanted. As long as he’s not like that anymore.
I’m not a virgin, but I’m loyal, and despite what Jaeger might think of me after I let Drake drive me home, I don’t sleep around. Make out, for sure, but not sex. That I reserve for relationships. It’s my one prim and proper rule, if you can call it that.
Gen opens the screen door. “There you are. Hey, Jaeger. I didn’t know you were coming over.” She looks at the lounge chair I’m sitting on and the bent legs. “You eat too much tonight, Cali?”
“Shut up!” I toss a pine cone at her head, but she’s farther away than Jaeger and my aim is not exactly accurate. Gen doesn’t bother deflecting because the pine cone lands wide. Okay, it lands in the next county.
Jaeger shakes his head and stands, holding the warm hibachi by the handles, the paper bag stuffed under his arm. “We’re going to need to work on that.”
“I thought you said I’m never to throw anything ever again.”
“And did you listen?”
He has me there.
Jaeger walks to the back gate. “Later, Gen. Cali, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Tomorrow?
“Eleven a.m.,” he calls from the driveway.
I trust what Jaeger said about him and Gen, so if he isn’t hooking up with her, what is going on? There’s something Gen isn’t telling me.