he was going to make it to his car until Hayley caught up with him.
She shoved her hands in her back pockets. “I guess I’ll let you finish up.” She started for the steps.
“I’m already finished, actually, and Matt’s not around. He borrowed my car.” A slight exaggeration. He’d moved it around back earlier. “I could use a ride if you don’t mind.”
She tipped her head. “Where are you headed?”
“To bed.” He deliberately left out whose bed he planned on sleeping in.
The corners of her eyes narrowed. They both knew he wasn’t getting anything past her. Still, she didn’t give him a hard time or remind him what they wouldn’t be doing.
“I need to drop a couple tools off first, if that’s okay.”
“Sure.”
He loaded the bin of tools in the back of the truck and hopped in next to her. After spending the day chatting with every local or tourist who wandered outside to watch him work, Hayley’s company bolstered his mood.
Jackson gave her directions as they drove along, watching her from the corner of his eye.
After they made the last turn, she glanced at him. “You do realize I know every route to Sunset Bluff, right? No matter how many random turns we make on the way.”
He laughed, but didn’t deny it.
A couple minutes later she guided the truck into the gravel lot that dead-ended in front of the woods.
She opened her door and walked around to the passenger side. “Okay, let’s go.”
“You’re kicking me out? Is this still payback for having to clean the truck out when we were teenagers?”
She held the door open and he slid out, making sure to rub against her as he moved past.
Hayley rolled her eyes, but instead of climbing back in the truck like he half expected, she bypassed the worn path many tourists discovered while exploring the bluff and climbed over the large, flat rocks that rose above the small parking lot.
He followed, having forgotten the less traveled path that appeared to end at the edge of the trees lining the bluff. Hayley threaded her way between them, leading the way to a narrow opening that looked out over the water.
The sky was on fire from the setting sun. Streaks of brilliant gold colored the thick clouds, fading to deep purples and pinks along the horizon. He marveled first at the view of the ocean, massive and powerful, and then the woman next to him, the wild strands of her blonde hair caught in the breeze and making her look even younger than usual.
“I haven’t been up here since I was a kid.”
“It’s a nicer view. Quieter.”
“You come here a lot,” he guessed.
She shrugged. “When I have things on my mind, though it’s been a while.”
He leaned back against a tree, arms crossed. “So now that you have me here, whatever will you do with me?”
“I don’t have any wicked plans to seduce you, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
He sighed. “I was trying not to get my hopes up. Lucky for you—” he hooked a finger through the loop on her belt, “—I’m wicked enough for the both of us.” He brushed away the strands of hair trapped by her lip gloss at the corner of her mouth, and tucked them behind her ear.
With the path clear, he touched his mouth to hers, immediately sinking into a kiss that ignited his insides from the first breathy moan she made. The feel of it between their lips made his heart pound faster than hockey sprints, and all it took was one woman.
One cute and sexy woman curling into him like he was the only thing holding her to the bluff.
He pushed his tongue into her mouth, greedily taking as much as she’d give and hoping like hell it would be enough to pull him back from the brink of losing control. He’d spent too much time thinking about her today. Had spent too much time thinking about her since coming home, and he didn’t have a clue what it would take to shake the increasing need to be with her.
Or worse, if he wanted to shake that need at all.
Jackson broke the kiss, letting his gaze roam over her, drawn to where her breasts were pushed up to the neckline of her tank top. He bent to kiss the soft skin that smelled so incredible.
Already so damn hard for her, he pulled her hips forward, groaning into her breasts when she rubbed along his cock. He lingered over each kiss, licking a