If We Dare - J.H. Croix Page 0,57

were digging into the sweet curve of her bottom on one side. I released my grip slowly and lifted my head. When I opened my eyes and saw her, I almost became hard again. Which was downright incredible considering I’d just come harder than I ever had in my life.

Jade, with her dark hair a tangled mess around her shoulders, her shirt twisted sideways, and her skin flushed with her lips pink and swollen from our kisses was simply a sight to behold. She was so sexy and sultry, she simply took my breath away. Her thick dark lashes swept up, and she met my gaze.

“Didn’t mean to be so rough,” I said.

She shook her head. “Please don’t apologize.”

I stared at her, my heart still thundering. Unable to form any sensible response, I leaned forward and brushed my lips over hers briefly before pulling back with an effort. I wanted to stay buried deep inside of her.

Don’t get me wrong, a small part of that urge was born solely out of how deeply my need for her ran. Jade had tapped into a vein so deep inside of me I hadn’t even known it was there. The madness she wrought—a tangle of lust, pure need, and an emotional connection so visceral it frightened me—left me almost shaky inside. Being intimately connected with her anchored and eased me.

Because I needed to trick myself into thinking I was in control, I snatched what little I had and withdrew from her. I stepped back and slowly lowered her to the floor.

I wasn’t afraid of my feelings. On the contrary, I was almost relieved. Because I could be accused of being cynical, I’d been afraid that perhaps I was too cynical to fall for anyone like this.

As I tucked myself in and buttoned my jeans, I watched her putting her clothes to rights and smoothing her skirt into place. It felt as if she had reached right in my chest and snatched my heart because she most surely held it in her hands.

What I feared was the way her eyes shuttered slightly as we looked at each other. I knew without even a little doubt that Jade was seriously guarded. I knew trust wasn’t something she handed out casually. As Jackson had presciently noted, I was going to have to work for her.

“Did you even have dinner tonight?” I asked.

Jade stared at me for a moment before shaking her head. “No. I meant to grab something at the bar, but obviously that didn’t happen.”

“I’ll make us something.”

“You cook?” she asked, her brows hitching in surprise.

I nodded with a soft laugh. “I do. I’m told I’m good at it. Let’s see what I’ve got to work with.”

As I turned away to walk into my kitchen, I considered that perhaps I needed to make a habit of surprising Jade. That seemed to knock her guard down slightly.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Jade

“JJ, look!” Rylie called to me from the kitchen table where she was working on a drawing.

I finished loading the dishwasher and closed it before I turned. Crossing the kitchen, I slipped into the chair beside her. “Let me see.”

My niece turned the small whiteboard in her hands and held it up. An explosion of color covered the entire board. Angling my head to the side, I studied it. “Is that a pig I see there?” I smiled.

“Yes!” Rylie exclaimed, giving me a toothy grin. As soon as she set the whiteboard down, she promptly erased everything she’d done. I’d gotten her this whiteboard about a month ago, and it could keep her occupied for hours at a time.

“How loose is that tooth?” I asked when she distractedly wiggled a loose front tooth with her fingers.

“I don’t know,” she said. “It keeps wiggling. The last one hurt when it came out.”

My little niece looked so much like my brother it made my heart hurt sometimes. With her glossy dark hair that had a curl to it and her big green eyes, she was definitely a Cole family member. The only thing I could see of her mother in her features was her round button nose. I considered her blessed for that. Although a strong, bold nose looked good on Lucas, on me, I considered it too big.

I doubted Rylie would ever remember her mother. Melissa had an aneurysm when Rylie wasn’t even one year old, and it was over before she made it to the hospital.

Rylie brought my attention back to her. “Should we pull it out?”

“Nah. Let’s wait