Jake (California Dreamy) - By Rian Kelley Page 0,18

floor. Jake was waiting at the nurse’s desk and he wasn’t alone. He’d captured the attention of a small knot of nurses. They were doing most of the talking and Jake was listening attentively. It gave Ivy a moment to study him unnoticed.

Her body flushed with heat. With awareness. Exactly as it had happened Sunday. She felt heat pool at her pulse points as she allowed her eyes to consume him. He had a strong profile, with a Roman nose and a firm chin covered now with a thick five o’clock shadow. She liked it on him. It gave him a rough edge. His shoulders were as broad as she remembered, the t-shirt he wore stretched so that it defined the muscles beneath. She followed it over his chest, to his narrow waist and the blue shorts he wore that were modest compared to Ivy’s choice. But they did give her a peek at his thighs. Strong, sculpted, a dusting of fine golden hair. Military men trained. A lot. And Ivy realized how thankful she was for PT.

Last night she had floated off to sleep thinking about their physical differences. His cheeks had been slightly abrasive and had rubbed against her face when he had kissed her on Sunday. It had sent a delicious tremor through her body. But in her imaginations, she had gone deeper, fantasizing about the strength of his arms, holding her a willing captive, the friction of his legs as he slid between hers. The hard length of him pushing against her sex, sliding smoothly into her need.

Her lips parted as her breath became shallow. She felt her nipples bead. Damn. She looked up and got tangled in his gaze. His face was tense, his skin slightly flushed.

He’d caught her undressing him. And wouldn’t you know it—her new-found sexual assertiveness had her smiling brazenly into his discomfort. His eyes flared slightly. His chest lifted as he drew in a deep breath. He hadn’t expected her reaction, but he liked it. She could tell.

She watched him excuse himself from his groupies—interrupting one of the nurse’s in full-speech—and advance toward her. His legs were long, powerful. His shoulders taut with muscle. He stopped with only inches between them, clearly a stake in her personal space. His voice was a low, thick bass when he tipped his head toward hers and asked,

“Ready?’

“Since Sunday,” she deliberately misinterpreted him. Or maybe not.

“Hell yes,” he said and took her hand in his. “Let’s get out of here.”

She stepped into stride and allowed him to steer her toward the elevators. His hand was much bigger than her own and calloused, but he held her gently. His warmth rolled off him, settled on her. His scent, a clean pine wrapped with his own natural spice, was like a drug. Breathing him in, she felt her body soften, continue a melting that was in a whole other league than anything her imagination dreamed up.

As they waited for the doors to slide open, Jake shifted their hands so that their fingers entwined, his rough edges sliding between her sensitive flesh. The simple act caused a shiver to rock her.

Jake shifted so that his hip brushed against hers.

“Steady,” he said, but she didn’t know if he was talking to her or reminding himself.

“Not so easy,” Ivy said.

“Definitely not easy.” The doors opened and Jake pulled her into the car beside him. “Didn’t help, you peeling off my clothes back there.”

The elevator was empty and so Ivy was a little more daring than she’d have been. She used her free hand to steal a feel of his hard body. Her palm settled just above the waistband of his shorts and she felt his abs contract, heard the breath woosh out of him. She smiled, liking that she could push him to the edge as fast as he did her.

“Didn’t it?” she challenged and moved her hand so that her palm dragged upwards, over his rib cage. “Because it certainly did something for me.”

He laid his hand over hers. “It did plenty for me, too,” he promised her as the doors closed. “And so there’s no misunderstanding about this—“ He moved their hands so that she felt the soft cotton of his shirt give way to the silkier material of his shorts. He stopped when she was cupping the hard length of him in her palm. “This is what you do to me. You only have to look at me and I’m hot and hard.”

His words caused a tremor