Unraveling (Second Chances) - By Micalea Smeltzer Page 0,125
his chest. After I’d rubbed over it, I placed a tender kiss to the spot. “You don’t always win, but you do always seem to get hurt. Even if it’s just a small injury.”
He shrugged. “It’s part of the job, kitten.”
“I know,” I kissed his chest.
I pulled out of his arms and began to swim.
It felt good to do something forbidden, even if it wasn’t exactly that dangerous.
It made me feel alive.
An hour passed, and all three of us had turned to prunes, when we returned to our rooms, dripping wet.
Jared went straight to the shower, turning on the hot water, before shucking his pants and shirt.
“Come here, kittycat,” he smirked.
Shivering, and dripping water on the floor, I tiptoed to him.
“Lift your arms up,” he said, his voice suddenly husky.
I did as I was told. He pulled the wet shirt over my head and dropped it to the floor.
A jog bra covered my chest but I brought my hands up anyway.
Jared’s breath hissed through his teeth as he unbuttoned my jeans, pulling them and my pajama bottoms down. He got down on both his knees, and gently lifted my feet out of the pants legs, one at a time.
I startled when his lips pressed against my cold stomach.
I looked down at him and his brown eyes flicked up to meet mine. The lashes lining his eyes were long and thick; they fanned his cheeks when he blinked.
We stared at each other like that for an endless amount of time.
Jared gripped my hips as he stood.
His eyes never left mine as he pushed back the shower curtain and pulled me under the spray of the shower head.
The warm water was a welcome relief.
Jared didn’t let me go as the water beat down on us.
He pushed me against the tiled wall, the water still hitting us, and his lips descended on mine.
My fingers gripped his shoulders so I didn’t fall.
His lips moved over mine, playing me like an instrument.
I wanted this.
I wanted him.
I always would.
41
THE BONFIRE CRACKLED IN THE COOL EVENING AIR. I watched the sparks fly and disintegrate before falling to sand.
“Are you cold?” Jared asked.
“No,” I shook my head.
“You feel cold,” he felt my arm before pulling off his sweatshirt. “Put this on,” he handed it to me.
I pulled my arms through the huge sleeves, the scent of Jared hitting me. It was such a unique scent, mostly citrusy, but with a hint of wood or something else.
“Hey!” Jared called, waving a guy over to us.
Jared’s friends had decided to only come to the beach for today, so I had yet to meet any of them. It looked like that was about to change.
I watched the mountain of a man approach. He was probably an inch or more shorter than Jared, but way more muscular. His arms were covered in tattoos, his eyebrow pierced, and his dark hair shaved close to his head.
“Jared!” the guy grinned, two dimples appearing in his cheeks, totally at odds with his tough guy persona.
“Jay,” Jared said, clapping him on the back. “Katy, this is Jay. Jay, this is my girlfriend, Katy,” Jared introduced us.
“Hi,” I said, shyly, shaking his offered hand.
“It’s nice to meet you in person, Katy. This guy talks about you all the time,” he ruffled Jared’s hair like a brother would.
I blushed.
“I would’ve met you sooner, but since I moved away, I don’t come back often. Only when the whole gang can get together,” Jay explained.
“Jared said you used to fight MMA with him and Holden.” I tried to strike up a conversation so I didn’t stand there like an idiot.
“I did,” he nodded. “I got out of that a couple of years ago, though. It just wasn’t really my scene. I work at a motorcycle shop now, it suits me,” he shrugged. “I’ll leave the fighting to those two.”
I laughed.
“I’m going to grab a beer. You two want anything?” Jay asked, already backing away towards the cooler.
“Nah, we’re good,” Jared waved him off.
“He’s nice,” I said.
“See,” Jared bumped my shoulder, “I knew you’d do fine meeting my friends.”
“He looked intimidating from a distance, but Jay seems cool,” I tucked my hair behind my ears since the wind kept whipping it in my face.
“Yeah, Jay can look scary but he’s just a big teddy bear. I really don’t know how he ever fought; the dude can’t stand to swat a fly.”
I laughed at the image my mind conjured of big, burly, Jay, refusing to kill a fly.