She whirred around and pressed her face to the wall slats again, and then let her breath out in relief when she saw J.L. glance over his shoulder and reach for the door. She moved toward him the moment he closed it behind him, but he put his finger to his lips and glanced around the toolshed barn, as though being hunted. She froze, listened hard, but couldn't take her eyes off him. Her gaze became a slow glide down his handsome, symmetrical features; it stopped at his mouth, then continued to his Adam's apple; took in his shoulders and the way his T-shirt clung to him with a thin sheen of sweat; then slid down to his narrow, tight waist, to his jeans.
"Kris, I can't do this anymore," he whispered, and then closed his eyes.
Hurt initially stunned her, but the expression on his face told her that she'd misinterpreted what he'd meant.
"Why not?" she whispered, already knowing the answer. Each time had become more intense, closer to the inevitable, harder to stop. Their secret shed visits had become more frequent with less time between each stolen moment, and they were both going crazy from it all.
J.L. opened his eyes. The way he stared at her made her feel like her legs would give out from under her. He offered her a lopsided smile as his gaze went toward a dried-out hay bale, then over to a row of rusted tools on the wall, settling on an ax.
"Because there's about fifty things in here for your dad to kill me with."
She smiled. "He's playing cards."
"The man isn't stupid, and he's armed and extremely dangerous. A cop, remember."
"Ex-cop," she countered, going to J.L. and filling his arms.
"Worse. That means he's not worried about losing his job." J.L. laughed wryly and kissed her forehead.
"I don't care," she murmured as he nuzzled her neck and her hands splayed across his muscular, toned back.
"I care," he breathed out hard against her hair.
"I know you do... That's why I love you."
"I gotta at least wait till you're legal."
"No you don't," she whispered in a rush against his ear. "I want to."
His grip tightened around her back as his mouth found hers, palms stroking more desire into her shoulders as they slid against her damp shirt then found her arms. A soft whimper entered his mouth and he swallowed it, her body producing friction against his. She thought she would faint when his fingers sought her hair, not the ache of her br**sts... She'd purposely not worn a bra just for him, and he didn't seem to notice.
This time had to be different. They could all die any day. She refused to die never fully knowing him. His featherlight touches during stolen moments had made her crazy. Having nowhere to ever really be alone had made her bold. Sleeping in an overcrowded room with no privacy to bask in the sweet aftermath of a secret interlude, ever, made her tug at his T-shirt and deepen their kiss. Working side by side with him every day, all day and half the night, learning his ways, his laugh, his humor, his moods, his deepest feelings, down to his very scent made her throw caution to the wind.
Her touch ran down his back, covered his backside, and then traced his h*ps until she gained the courage to slide them between their bodies. The low sound he made filled her mouth and caused her to tear away from the burning kiss to gasp.
He shook his head, and spoke in halting, pained bursts. "Just a few more weeks. I love you, Kris, but I won't make it till then if - "
She kissed away his words and began frantically working on his belt. Her shirt yanked up, and his hot face pressed against her br**sts with a groan, making her cry out. The long-awaited sensation caused tears to spill as she staggered backward, blind, eyes closed, kissing him harder, trusting, knowing he was walking her toward the prickly hay bale and she didn't care.
In one martial arts pivot, he was under her, moving in a fluid tide, stripping away her shirt and taking the full punishment of the hay to save her skin.
When Damali pulled up to the front of the family house, Dan was standing on the steps with a duffel bag in hand. He smiled broadly, the sun catching in his blond hair and making his boyish face seem even younger.
"Marlene had a hunch you might be needing these," he said with a smirk, holding out a bag of Carlos's clothes to Damali. Damali chuckled. "I see Marlene hasn't lost her edge."
"Not at all," Dan said, coming down the steps to hug Damali. "You okay, lady?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little weary."
He looked at her, worried. "How's our brother?"
"He's cool," Damali said. "Just been through a lot of changes, but he'll be all right."
Dan nodded and glanced back at the screen as Jose appeared within it.
"You cool, D?" Jose said, coming out onto the porch quickly and keeping his gaze fastened to Damali's.
"Yeah. Like I told Dan, everything's gonna be all right."