One Night with Sole Regret 03 Take Me (8 page)

Desperate much, Amanda?
She released a heavy sigh.

On her elbows and knees
,
she swayed back and forth with nervous energy as she read titles. She wouldn’t have known
he
’
d entered the room if he hadn’t muttered, “
s
on
of
a
bitch
,
” under his breath.
W
hat was his problem
n
ow
? She pulled a case of
f
the shelf and
tossed it on the coffee table.

“How about that one?”

“Fine,” he said
,
without looking at it. He crossed the room to the large ottoman at the foot of an oversized blue chair. He opened it and pulled out a blanket. “Have a seat.”

When she sat on the sofa in front of the television, he unfolded the blanket over her lap and then went so far as to tuck it in around her legs. “That’s better,” he said.

“What’s better?”

He
paus
ed. “I figured you were cold.”

“In a flannel shirt?”

“Your legs, I mean.”

“It’s June.”

“The A
/
C is on.”

“Okay, I get it. I’ll keep covered up,” she said testily. “Sit down and eat.”

Scratching the back of his neck, he eyed the chair on the opposite side of the room. If he sat all the way over there, she was going to punch him in the nose.

“Put the movie in,” she said and loosened the blanket so she could reach
for a
slice of pizza.

He obeyed. She glowered. They hadn’t even kissed, yet all of the easy friendliness between them had vanished as if he’d just discovered he’d been making out with his first cousin.
She paused with her pizza dangling from her mouth.
Oh God.
Maybe he thought of her like a
sister
. She
suddenly
felt like throwing a Julie-sized tantrum.

Jacob
got the movie going and then settled at the opposite end of the sofa from where Amanda was
wrapped
up like beans in a burrito.

“Uh, no,” she said, “
if
you’re making me watch a scary movie, then you’re sitting within grabbing distance.”

He inched closer but looked none too happy about it. She munched her pizza and sipped her beer while pretending she didn’t feel like an ugly duckling. The room darkened as the sun slipped beneath the horizon. The surround sound
and the
suspense
soon had Amanda so engrossed in the movie that she couldn’t look away from the
wide
screen. She was the woman lost in the woods. She was the woman who kept glancing over her shoulder. The sound of crunching leaves grew louder behind her.
Closer.
Louder.
Something grabbed Amanda’s shoulder. She screamed.

Jacob
burst out laughing.

She smacked him on the arm. “You scared the shit out of me.” Her heart was racing out of control.

“Hey, you were the one who wanted to sit within grabbing distance.”

“So I could hold on to you when I was afraid, not so you could scare me.”

The blue light of the television cast an eerie glow to his grinning face. “Sorry.”

“No, you aren’t.” She took another sip of her beer only to find it empty. Her pizza had also disappeared into her stomach while she’d been absorbed by the movie.
She noticed
Jacob
had finished all the slices she’d brought from the kitchen and she did not want to move from her spot
.

Amanda reached for the bowl of fruit, setting it between herself and
Jacob
on the sofa. They both reached into the bowl at the same time
,
and the back of his hand brushed hers. Her entire body tightened in response. He yanked his hand from the bowl and reached for his beer. Jeez, was it hot in here or was it just him? Most likely it was the fucking blanket she was smothered
under
. She kicked it off and tucked her legs beneath her, which moved her closer to
Jacob
. He didn’t seem to notice, but his scent engulfed her, mix
ing
with
the
mouthwatering scent of strawberries and oranges wafting up from the bowl.

The unlucky woman on the TV screen was being brutally murdered, but Amanda didn’t find it nearly as frightening as the build-up.
B
lood and guts didn’t bother biology teacher
s
. The being stalked in the darkness
part
terrified her, however. So when the next unlucky woman found herself being pursued down dark alleys in the wrong part of town, Amanda leaned toward
Jacob
until her temple rested on his shoulder.

He tensed, but didn’t push her away.

“God, don’t these women carry a
damned
cellphone?” Amanda said. To the woman on the screen who was breaking into an abandoned warehouse, she yelled, “Don’t go in there, you idiot.”

Jacob
pulled the bowl of fruit from between their hips and set it on the table. Then he did an entirely baffling thing. He wrapped an arm around her and cradled her against his side. Her heart was definitely pounding now. Blood rushed through her ears, stifling the screams of the woman
i
n the movie.
Movie?
What movie? Amanda’s awareness focused entirely on the hard male body
press
ed
against her. She didn’t mean to turn her head and kiss his neck, but once she’d crossed the line, there was no retreat.

Chapter 5

Every nerve-ending in Shade’s body was already in tune with the woman beside him, so when her soft lips brushed his throat, the last shred of his self-control snapped like an overstretched rubber band. He’d thought covering her with a big, shapeless flannel shirt would keep his raging hormones in check, but seeing her looking so small and feminine in his shirt had unleashed a second battery of hormones. The blanket he’d used to hide her sexy bare legs hadn’t helped smother the lust in his groin.
And now?
Now there was no way in hell he’d be able to get through another moment without tasting her.
Every inch of her.
He didn’t care if she was off-limits
—
h
e
was on fire.

She gasped when he deftly shifted her onto her back and covered her tempting little body with his. He buried his hands in her hair and tilted her head back. She stared up at him with her soft green eyes wide with shock.

“You shouldn’t have done that, Amanda,” he said
.
“I only have so much self-control.” He claimed her mouth in a deep, hungry kiss, not knowing if he wanted to punish her for being irresistibly unattainable or if he wanted to devour her whole. He groaned
when
her mouth opened to his. Fuck, she was even sweeter than he imagined.

He tore his mouth from hers and kissed and suckled her throat.

“Jacob,” she whispered breathlessly.

Most women he bedded called him Shade because that’s what they thought his name was. Hearing his given name made him feel vulnerable and unbalanced. It didn’t do a damned thing to calm his excitement though. If anything, it fueled the inferno already blazing inside him. His fingers curled into the soft flannel at her shoulders. Kissing her hadn’t been enough, but necking, necking was plenty. He could stop here. Not take it any farther. He could stop before he destroyed their cherished friendship with mindless fucking. He could stop.

His fingers fumbled with the buttons of her shirt. He just had to feel the give of her soft breasts against his palms. That
was
all. He’d hold her luscious breasts in his hands for just a moment and then he
’
d stop. Shade opened the shirt and shifted onto his elbows so he could cup her breasts. Her back arched, pressing the soft globes more firmly into his hands.

“Jacob,” she moaned.

Oh God. He couldn’t let her call his name like that again
,
or the hardened nubs of her nipples
that were
burning holes through her bra and into his palms would have to be sucked and licked and nibbled. He wasn’t going to take it that far. He had to stop before
… She shifted her back from the sofa and unfastened her bra.

“Amanda,” he murmured. He’d meant it as a reprimand, but it sounded like a lover’s caress.
Shit.

Okay, he’d massage her bare breasts with his hands and then he wouldn’t go farther. He pushed her loosened bra up to free her breasts. Oh God, they were perfect. He covered them with his hands so the sight of them didn’t tempt him into sucking on them for hours. He occupied his mouth with hers, though his disobedient thumbs insisted on stroking the taut buds of her nipples until she began to writhe beneath him, rubbing her mound against what had to be the hardest erection he’d ever experienced. Her legs parted
,
and he sank between her thighs. He could feel the molten heat of her sex and couldn’t
keep
from grinding his cock against her soft flesh. Damn it.
You can’t take this any farther, Silverton. You have to stop. Stop now. Stop before you go too far.

“Take me, Jacob,” she moaned into his mouth.

His mind was saying no, no, no, but his body had already surrendered.

He tore his mouth free, ending their heated kiss, and rested his cheek against hers, trying to collect his breath. “We can’t do this, Amanda.”

“Why not?”

“Because
… because it will complicate things.”

“It doesn’t have to. It’s just sex.”

That’s what he was used to
,
j
ust
sex.
Just-sex
.
But not with women he cared about, enjoyed outside of the bedroom and had been inappropriately crushing on for years. No, he’d never had just-sex with someone like Amanda. He had just-sex with women like Veronica. He preferred it that way. So why
was he
so excited that he expected to blow his load down his thigh at any moment?

“Jacob, please don’t leave me like this. I’m about to explode.”

Yeah, he knew the feeling.

Okay, he’d give her relief by making her come and then he’d stop. That was doable. Sure.

“Easy,” he whispered into her ear. “I’ve got you.”

He kissed a
slow
path from her ear to her collarbone. He massaged both breasts in
easy
circles, deciding he’d allow himself the pleasure of sampling her nipples.
Sucking them.
They were so hard.
So in need of proper attention.
And
pleasuring them
would help her reach orgasm. And then, by God, he would put a stop to this madness.

When his lips drew one tight bud into his mouth, she shuddered and clung to the back of his head with both hands.

“Jacob,” she whispered. “Yes.”

At the sound of his name, his cock jerked
,
and he felt the dampness of pre-cum against his thigh. He rocked his hips, rubbing himself against the sofa cushions, because no matter how much he wanted to plunge his throbbing cock into her wet heat, he wasn’t going to take it that far. He needed to make her come quickly so he could go jerk one out in the bathroom. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d masturbated, but he was sure he remembered how to do it.

He shifted one
hand
to her mound and rubbed
its
heel against her, massaging her clit gently through her satin panties.

“Jacob!”

She had to stop saying his name like that. He was going to lose all control. His cock ached, protesting its uncomfortable position trapped inside his jeans. He moved his hand to loosen his fly. He sighed in relief when his cock sprang free.
Much better.
With his dick in a less painful and distracting position, he might regain a semblance of control. Still sucking her nipple, he flicked his tongue over the sensitized flesh in his mouth
,
and she shuddered. Amanda clung to his scalp
,
her fingertips holding him to her breast
,
while he moved his hands to slowly lower her panties. She wriggled out of them eagerly
,
and he lifted his hips so he could free the garment from her legs. He quickly pressed his cock against the sofa cushions again so he didn’t do something truly stupid and thrust deep inside her.

Lord, he could smell the musk of her
excitement,
feel the heat of her pussy against his belly. If he moved
just
a foot upward, he could plunge into that inviting warmth. And plunge into it
again and again
and again
.
Harder and faster.
Fuck, he had to stop
thinking about the slick
,
warm pussy at his disposal. Instead of doing what his body demanded and surging up into her, Shade moved down instead.
H
e gave
her nipple
a sharp nip with his teeth before sucking a trail of open
-
mouthed kisses down her belly. If he didn’t taste her sex soon, he just might go insane. Or maybe he’d already lost his frickin’ mind.