bottom of her lips.
“I did.” Her warm hands take the sides of my face and pull me toward her. Our lips collide again. This kiss is full of passion, love, and desire. She tastes like the candy we’ve been eating. So sweet.
Pulling back again, I reluctantly say, “I should go. You need some rest.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to you later.” With one last chaste kiss, she climbs off me. My lips are left tingling and calling to hers with such a power I have to bite the corner of my mouth to stop myself from speaking.
As my hand lands on the door handle, I turn around. She sits on the edge of the bed, her hair slightly tousled, a sight that causes my heart to hammer.
“Screw it,” I mumble before stalking back to her. Her smile is wide, as though she’s won a prize. “One more. You tease me.”
She laughs, falling back. I lean over her. My fingers trace up under her shirt and dance over her skin. She’s a temptress with magical powers, and with one look, she’s got me crazy for her even though I know I need to leave. I pepper kisses over her stomach, making my way up her neck and stopping on her mouth.
I sigh. “You captivate me, Charity. My temptress.”
This entire experience is a whole new world to me. Jase is tender and respectful, even though my body aches for his touch all over. He steals my breath every time his lips touch my sensitive flesh.
“Thank you,” I say between heated kisses.
His head comes up. His eyes are questioning. “For what?”
“For being you and not giving up on me. I’m not the girl you remember. I’ve been through so much, and being able to share this moment with you is special.” The words get caught in my throat, and the burn in my eyes becomes too strong. The tears pour out before I can contain them.
Jase is off me in a flash, pulling me into his lap. He rests his head against mine and lets me cry.
“I’m here.” Two simple words speak volumes. He stands with me in his arms and then lays me down on the bed and slips in beside me. “If you want me to, I can leave, or I can go after you’re asleep, or I can stay. The choice is yours.” He presses a kiss to my forehead.
“Stay.” It’s him I want. His comfort, kindness, and support. Being in his large arms and pulled against his sturdy frame, I take a deep breath, locking to memory his familiar musky scent. It’s calming and settles the bundle of emotions bursting through me as though fireworks have gone off inside me. Listening to his breathing lets the blanket of sleep come soon. Hopefully, my dreams are full of Jase and not the nightmares I’ve been enduring lately.
My body slowly wakes from a perfect sleep. A tattooed arm is draped over my waist, and hot breaths hit the back of my neck. My mouth pulls into a grin. Jase. I don’t want to move. Lifting my arm, I take one look at my watch and freak out. Bolting upright, I startle Jase.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” He rubs his eyes as I climb over his body.
“I’m late to meet Mom to get something to finish off my bedroom. I was supposed to meet her ten minutes ago. We’d planned this earlier in the week, and it just skipped my mind.”
Jase stretches. I pause. His shirt rises a little, and there’s a visible six- or possible eight-pack under there. “I can take it off if you want me to.” He cocks a grin.
“Shut up. I’ve got to go,” I say. Jase gets up and slips on his shoes, as I do mine, and we leave the room. Opening the door, we’re greeted by the same group of people we spent time with last night.
“Damn, if I had known we could have slept over, I would have stayed,” Aiden teases. Elsie backhands him in the chest.
“Shut up,” she says through gritted teeth.
“It’s okay. We only slept, and now I’m late meeting Mom.” The words clamper out of me; I’ll be surprised if they understood it.
“I’ll drop you home. Come on,” Jase offers.
Five minutes later, we pull up out the front of my place. A wave of nerves crashes over me. “Ah… thanks for last night.” I can’t help the flush that hits my face. He makes me feel stupid, but in a good way.
He leans