Craving More (4 page)

“So can I stay longer?” he
rumbled out. His hands were making delightful circles over her flesh. Working
his way back down to her ass. He sure did seem to like that part of her body.

“Sure,” she groaned, “but
let’s go to the house.” The words slipping out without thought.

He stopped rubbing, his
head jerking back.

Uh oh. Maybe he didn’t
expect her to say yes. Maybe he really didn’t want to go to the house. It might
make it more personal,
not that sex wasn’t personal,
but guys did seem to be able to separate sex and emotions. He might think she
wanted more–relationship wise. Sure her tiger was trying to tell her
something about him but the truth was she didn’t know what she wanted. Corrine
bit her lip, unsure of what was going through his mind. The longer he stood
there staring at her, the more uncomfortable she became.

Before she could stop her
overactive brain a nasty, wicked thought entered her mind. “You regret it
already don’t you?” she gasped. “You’re really not interested in heading to the
house are you? You were just scratching an itch, so you want to stay here in
case you need a quick getaway. Its not like anyone would raise an eyebrow at a
tiger prowling into town.”

Damn. She didn’t know how
she got attached to him so quickly but the idea that he regretted what they’d
done hurt. Tears pricked the back of her eyes. She would not cry in front of
him. She struggled against him. Trying to get him to loosen his arms and let
her go. Instead, his arms tightened and his brow furrowed. He looked about as
confused as she felt at the moment.

She wasn’t ready to shove
him out the door, but he didn’t look happy about staying. The first
good—no,
great
—sex she’d
had in years and she wasn’t quite ready to pass up on more. But she didn’t want
a guy staying around when he didn’t want to. When he regretted it.

“Hold on
there
Corrine.” His hands moved over her back again. Long
soothing sweeps meant to calm her down. “The only thing I regret is not taking
it slow like I planned. But once I saw you, touched you, I just couldn’t stop.
You drive me crazy. I was just surprised by the offer. I didn’t expect it. I
want to stay and not just for sex. I’ve been tempted with pictures and stories
about you for too long to just hit it and run. I want to get to know you firsthand
through my own experiences with you. Not based on what your brother said. I
think we might have something special. I want to see where it takes us. I’m not
promising forever right now but ever since I saw your picture you’ve called to
me. I’ve told you that much already. Hell, even when I was in a relationship
with someone else I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Now that I have you
within reach I’m not letting go without a damn good reason. That okay with
you?”

Corrine searched his face
for the truth. The only thing she saw was definite interest and arousal. She
was okay with getting to know him better. She wasn’t looking for forever
either. Didn’t think she’d ever really find it anyway. “That’s fine with me
Jett. You just freaked me out a little when you got that look on your face.
Let’s head back to the house, warm up a bit and grab a bite to eat. I’m
starving for some reason.” Smiling she reached back to grab his wrist, pealing
it off her back before tugging him toward the house.

“What was your plan for
tonight anyway? You said things went faster than you were thinking. Plus, you
got here pretty late for a date.” She slipped her hand into his, threading
their fingers together. The rightness of being connected to him in this simple
way settled in her bones.

“No real plan actually. I
just couldn’t go through the weekend without seeing you. I saw the note posted
that the bakery would be closed for the weekend and figured if I saw you
tonight we could make plans together. Spend the whole weekend with each other—hopefully.”

Corrine snorted. “Great
non-plan
there. What would you have done
if I’d already had something lined up for tonight? Or been on a date even?”

Chuckling Jett pulled her
against his side draping his arm across shoulders, her free hand landing on his
rock solid chest as he laughed. “When I mentioned I was interested in you, your
friend Kacie let me in on a few things. She told me you never go out,
especially on dates. She thought it was terrible you planned on staying cooped
up in the house with no one around. She thought you should be out having fun.”

“That’s what you two were
talking about? I got the impression you were flirting with her, and that you
were interested in her and were going to ask her out. That’s what most of the
guys who come into the shop do.”

He placed a finger on her
mouth to stop her from talking then planted a soft kiss on her lips. “Never
kitten. She isn’t my type.
Too skinny and fragile looking.
I prefer women with curves I can explore and a woman who is strong in mind and
body.”

“Sure you do,” she said a
little too sarcastically. “What’s wrong with hanging out at home and relaxing.
I’m not some crazy cat lady you know. Plus, it isn’t like I was going to be
alone the whole weekend anyway.”

He chuckled softly. “I
know. I’m here now.”

“Ha! Ha! Funny man. I
wasn’t talking about you. Sam called this morning to let me know he was popping
in for a visit. It was a last minute decision I guess and he’ll be here later…
well later this morning.”

 
Corrine leaned in for one more kiss then forced herself to
lean away from all of his tempting flesh. She had an urge to bite and mark,
which was not good considering those urges fell in the mating category.

When he didn’t respond she
looked at his face. Lips clamped shut and turned down at the corners, his jaw
clenched and unclenched. The once tight grip on her loosened and his back
stiffened. The muscles bulging in his arms and chest turned rigid with tension.

Damn, I guess this isn’t going to end well
.

 
Jett was
shocked to the core hearing Sam was going to be there soon. He thought he’d
have a little time to really figure out if Corrine was the one for him. His
tiger was positive she was, especially after seeing her feline half, the
human-side was still a bit gun shy. Being burned once by a woman was definitely
enough. And he wasn’t prepared to deal with the friend/sister issue unless
Corrine really was his mate.

 
If she wasn’t then no one needed to know
they hooked up. It was a cold and probably callous thought; nevertheless it was
how he felt.

 
Dropping his arm from her shoulder, he
adopted a calm, relaxed look. Hoping his voice would follow. “Later today?” he
asked as casually as possible.

Corrine
cocked her head to the side, eyes narrowing slightly. “Yeah. Later. He’ll
probably show up in time for breakfast like he usually does, hoping I’ll make a
huge breakfast just for him. Is that a problem?”

He
could hear the challenge in her voice. Felt the pressure to make a choice he
wasn’t ready to make. Acid formed in the pit of his stomach and he felt sick.
Just thinking about committing before he knew for sure she was the one made his
head hurt.

Without
thought he took a step to the side. Putting distance between them. He wasn’t
lying when he said he wanted to spend more time with her and not just having
sex. He just wasn’t going to be able to pledge his undying love, as Sam was no
doubt going to demand.

Memory
after memory rolled through his head of Sam complaining about a guy Corrine was
seeing. How none of them were good enough for his sister and each and every one
of them were like dogs in heat. At the time, Jett laughed and commiserated with
him since he had two younger sisters of his own.

Now
he was the guy in heat and though he and Sam were friends, Jett wasn’t too sure
he would find him good enough for his sister. Sam knew all of the crazy things
he’d done and the women he’d messed around with. Hell, Sam had joined him a few
times with a woman or two, all in the name of having a good time. The women
knew the score. Some hot and heavy sexin’, no commitment involved.

Fuck
no. Having Sam all over his ass about his intentions wasn’t something he was
ready for. Not this early into a barely there relationship he wasn’t even sure
was going to work.

It
didn’t help that past experience had him on the run from the idea of settling
down with one of his kind and no mind-blowing romp in the woods was going to
instantly change that. With time, yeah, maybe.

His
ex-girlfriend, Macy, did a great job fucking him up in the commitment department.
Her obsession and stalking after they broke up left him cold. After her, he
could only bring himself to casually date non-shifter women. They were safe
choices. He made sure they knew he wasn’t looking for long term and he didn’t
have to worry about his tiger popping his head up to check them out.

Corrine
was the first shifter since Macy he’d had any interest in. When he walked into
the little bakery, he planned on finding out if it was Sam’s sister tempting
his sweet tooth. Then day after day he was compelled to stop in, his tiger
taking more of a notice on each visit. Craving more. Wanting to get to know
her—to get close to her. His tiger made it clear that he wanted out and
wanted Corrine. Which was damn difficult since his tiger-side was his dominant
half.

It
took him a week to even decide to come out here and take a chance. His issue
with Corrine being his friend’s little sister aside, the fact she was a shifter
and he was attracted to her was harder to deal with. He had to warm up to the
idea. Tell
himself
it was okay and that it was time to
move on, grow up a little. Remind
himself
that all
female shifters weren’t crazy like Macy. His mother and sisters were proof of
that.

Now
with Sam coming he felt boxed in. Panic reared its ugly head. If he pursued
Corrine and Sam found out, things would go much quicker than he was prepared
for. He just couldn’t do it.

“Jett?”
she asked grabbing his attention.

“Yeah?”
He focused on her face.

A
sad half smile curved the corner of her mouth. A flash of disappointment lit
her eyes before she blinked it away. “I guess it is a problem. Listen don’t
worry about it, I understand. You thought you’d say a few sweet words, we’d
have some fun and then you could move on. I didn’t think knowing my brother is
going to be here would put a damper on us already. Let’s just head back to the
house and you can grab your stuff and take off.”

Corrine
turned and walked away leaving him rooted to his spot. He watched her lush ass
swish from side to side. His hands ached to grip her hips again, to feel her
soft, supple skin beneath his fingertips. All he could do though was swallow
the bile rising in his throat and follow her with his gaze until she
disappeared in the thick trees.

She
was slipping on a robe by the time he caught up to her. He had taken his time
heading back to the house. His mind conflicted with what to do. Stay and
discover who Corrine was for
himself
, suffering the
consequences when her brother showed up, as there was no doubt in his mind he
would be staying the night. Or leave and miss out on getting to know the woman
who very well could be his mate.

It
wasn’t a decision he could make. Not right now. His mind was stuck, frozen in
his past and overcoming sheer hell. Silently he mounted the steps heading to
the bench where his clothes sat. Pulling on his jeans and t-shirt before
glancing at Corrine. She stood waiting, arms wrapped around her middle. Ready
to walk through the open slider door at a moment’s notice.

The
light from the kitchen glowed behind her. Highlighting her shoulder length
auburn hair and the curves hidden beneath the short ivory-colored silk robe.
Nervous, sickly sweet energy rolled off her, the scent unmistakable to his
naturally heightened senses.

“Um,
I’m not sure what you’re supposed to say in a situation like this but thanks
for the good time. It was a fantasy come true.”

Jett
moved toward her wanting to pull her back into his arms. Before he could, she
stepped inside shutting the door behind her. The snick of the lock telling him
he’d missed his chance. The light in the kitchen went out leaving him in
darkness.

What in the hell am I supposed to do
now?

Visions
of what could have been bounced through his head. Taking Corrine back to the
house, laying her down on her bed while he explored her body with his lips and
tongue. Molding his hands to her curves, finding every sensitive spot to
exploit.

His
body came alive at his thoughts. Pulling a frustrated groan from his throat.

He’d
fucked her. Told her he wanted more then froze at the mention of her brother
and the ghost of Macy whispering through his head. He had no one to blame for
his current situation but himself.

Picking
his shoes up Jett trudged to the front of the house and started his walk down
the long curving driveway. He’d parked far enough away not to alert her to his
presence, hoping to catch her by surprise. Before he rounded the bend in the
drive he stopped, glancing back at the impressive two-story home.