Love In Secrets (Love Distilled #3) - Scarlett Cole Page 0,42
After she’d washed her face and pulled on Jake’s T-shirt, Cassie lay in bed and looked up at the ceiling. The feel of Jake’s hands on her lingered, as if he’d branded her. With her fingers to her lips, she could still feel his pressed against hers. And the longer she thought about the way her body had felt surrounded by his, the more the ache between her legs throbbed.
If he wanted her burning for him, then he’d succeeded. The kiss on the sidewalk, the way he’d held her so possessively. She didn’t even know why she was keeping up this distance.
Except, deep down, she did. He was a good man. Deep and noble. He was stalwart, there for his sisters, the quiet strength that kept the distillery going. The gentle honesty holding them all together.
When she’d asked him about his “shoulds”, Cassie wondered how many of them would be rooted there. In the push and shove of keeping the distillery afloat, she assumed each of the Dyer siblings were picking up roles and work they hadn’t expected.
Mostly, she admired Jake’s stance on their relationship. They shouldn’t rush despite the way they felt together was explosive. When a building was torn down, the implosion was strategically planned. Dynamite was placed at critical junctions, knowing that when they blew, the very pillars keeping the structure standing, would collapse, and down with them would go the rest of the building. The real effort was in the preparation. Everything that could possibly be stripped away from the interior was removed. All debris was cleared away. Glass was removed. The explosion was the final part, when the building had no defenses left but to fall.
And as much as she hated to admit, Jake was doing the same to her. He was removing every internal objection she might have, he was removing all the inhibitions she had about falling for her friend's younger brother, he was allowing her time to remove all the emotional clutter so she could let go and trust him to catch her when she fell.
And any day now, without all her armor and protection, she was going to.
It was impossible to escape her own thoughts.
Despite her wavering, she needed Jake to help quiet them. Sliding her legs out of bed, she stood and walked to his room. The door ajar. The sound of a soft snore made her grin. He was already fast asleep.
Cassie thought twice about her decision. Was creeping into his bed appropriate? How would she feel if he crept into hers?
I’d love it.
And it wasn’t as if it would be wholly unexpected. She wasn’t going to molest the man. She just needed to be . . . What?
Be close.
He slept on the side of the bed near the door, but there was plenty of space on the other side. Gently, she tugged the covers back and climbed in, trying not to disturb the bed as much as possible.
Her breath was coming quickly as she tried to settle. She eased the sheets over her and exhaled slowly, trying to calm her racing heart. As she found a comfortable spot, a hand snaked around her waist.
“If you’re going to sleep in here, you’re going to sleep next to me,” Jake mumbled gruffly.
“I needed to . . . be near you, I guess.”
“Come here.”
Cassie rolled over in his arms so she was facing him and wiggled close to him. Without opening his eyes, he tucked her thigh between his. She rested her head on his shoulder as his hand slipped along her thigh until he cupped her ass.
Her thoughts quieted almost immediately, the slow and steady beat of his heart encouraging her to relax and let go.
“Sleep, love. Everything else can wait until morning.”
And wrapped in his arms, she had the best sleep she’d had in years.
9
As consciousness danced around the edges of his dream, Jake realized two things were true. The feeling of Cassie in his arms, in his bed, was better than anything he’d imagined. The second was, Cassie was in his bed. Like, in his bed. With her ass pressed up against his dick, which was ready for her to wake up and play with him.
He had vague recollections of her coming in his room, more because the mattress had jostled before he’d fully passed out. She’d been lucky, really, because once he went to sleep, he fell hard. Instead, he’d been able to hold her while they fell asleep together.