body.
“Jake,” she moaned against my mouth.
That did it for me. I lost every ounce of control I had, slamming my mouth over hers in a brutal kiss that stole the air from my lungs and hers. Presley returned the kiss, her tongue thrusting against mine, her fingers jerking my shirt up, sliding beneath. When her cold hands hit my overheated skin, I hissed but didn’t pull away.
Fuck.
I’d wanted to kiss her lips since the minute I’d seen her in the coffee shop, and the few minutes I’d had last night hadn’t been nearly enough. I’d relived every second, remembering what her mouth had felt like against mine, but this was so much better. The cold metal on her lip piercing slid against my lip, the barbell in her tongue hitting my tongue. God, she was so fucking sweet, her body warm, pliant as she strained against me, trying to pull me closer, though we were as close as we could get. While dressed, anyway.
Not wanting things to get too out of hand, I finally managed to pull back, looking down at her. My hands framed her face, our breaths mingling as our eyes locked. I knew where this was headed, knew I needed to do something to slow it down, to at least put the brakes on before I ruined everything, but I didn’t want to.
Somehow, I managed to step away from her, hating myself when her hands fell from beneath my shirt. Rather than dwell on it, I took a deep breath and tucked her hand in mine once more.
“Starting over,” I told her, smiling. “You down for that?”
Her smile surprised me with its intensity. “Yeah. I think I am.”
“Come on,” I said, my voice rough. “Let me get you home.”
As we neared our building, I noticed her fingers were cold, so I tucked her arm under mine and enveloped her small hand in both of mine, warming it as we continued to make our way down the fairly deserted sidewalk. We didn’t talk about last night, or even about that kiss a few minutes ago, but there was definitely more sexual energy sparking between us, intensifying with every step.
“This is me,” she said, stopping in front of the first building we came to when we crossed the street.
I looked up and realized we were there. I’d lost all sense of where we were sometime in the past few minutes. She did that to me.
“I’ll walk you up,” I teased.
“You don’t have to do that,” she said, looking up at me, her hand still tucked in mine.
“Trust me, I do,” I assured her, and not only because we lived on the same floor. I didn’t want to leave her just yet.
With a simple nod, she led me into the building, then to the elevator. The lobby was empty except for the security guard sitting at the desk. He didn’t even look up from his computer screen.
A minute later, we stepped out of the elevator and I followed her to her door. Before she could open it and disappear, I stopped her.
“Thanks for tonight,” I said softly, cupping her face in my hand. I couldn’t resist the urge to touch her. She was so small, my palm cradling most of her face while I stared down at her.
I’d thought about this woman for almost three weeks, imagined all the ways I wanted to touch her, explore her, and for now, this was good. Last night, though… I wasn’t sure I’d ever forget what she’d tasted like, how she’d felt wrapped around me, didn’t think I’d ever stop thinking about how amazing it had felt to have her body against mine.
“I’m the one who should be thanking you,” she replied just as quietly, her eyes locked with mine.
I wanted to kiss her again. No, I needed to kiss her again.
And as I leaned down, tilting her face up to meet mine, I prayed I’d be able to keep myself under control. When her arms slid beneath my jacket, her hands gliding up my back as our lips met, I questioned myself. It damn sure didn’t help when she whimpered softly as I licked my way into her mouth, tilting her head slightly as I controlled the kiss.
Fuck. So good. So sweet. So…
Another moan escaped her, and I knew I would have to put the brakes on or I’d lose my sanity. As much as I liked her, I had meant it when I said we would start over. This time, I