That Thing You Do (Crystal Lake 2)

“You mean the sex part.”

“I mean all of it.”

“Sounds smart.” He nuzzled the sensitive area behind her ear, and she bit her tongue to stop from groaning. His mouth was open and hot, but then he stopped and swore. “Shit.”

“What?”

“Zach knows I’m here.”

“Are you kidding me?” She yanked her head back so she could see him better, but all that did was start a riot among all the butterflies in her stomach.

“It’s okay,” Nate said, grasping her chin. “He doesn’t know what we’re doing.”

“He can’t know.”

In response, Nate found his way back to her ear and repeated his previous actions, sending shivers marching across her skin. She could barely speak.

“Rule number two. This is just sex between friends. Nothing more.”

“Got it. Lots of sex.”

“Between friends.”

He nipped at her, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin at the base of her neck. “Yep. We’re definitely friends.”

“Rule number three. Either one of us can end this without explanation, and the other person has to accept that.”

“Sounds fair.” His hands were on her butt now, and she felt his hardness pressed against her stomach. His mouth trailed a path from her neck up to the corner of her mouth. “Anything else?” he whispered against her lips.

Molly felt like there should be. Hell, she felt like there should be a truckload of rules and regulations, all of them in place to protect her heart. But her body was weak and hot and buzzing, and her mind was somewhere between his hands on her ass and his mouth on her lips. She didn’t say another word. Instead, she leaned into him and opened her mouth so that he could kiss her properly.

Which he did. Oh God, how the man could kiss. His lips slid across hers, gentle and then fierce, while his tongue tasted every inch of her mouth. He kissed her until her head spun. Until the earth gave way beneath them. Until her knees were so weak they knocked together.

Suddenly, she was in his arms. He strode toward the house and pushed his way inside. He stared down into her face, his eyes as hungry as his mouth had been. “Bedroom?” he said hoarsely.

She pointed to the stairs that led to her loft. He took them quickly, and seconds later, she was on her back, splayed across the bed like an offering at a banquet. Nate stared down at her with a look in his eyes that made her insides melt and the ache between her legs intensify until she groaned, squeezing her thighs together in an effort to alleviate it.

He smiled then, wickedly, like the devil he was, and yanked his shirt over his head in one motion before reaching down and taking off his boots. And then his jeans. And then his black boxers.

“Jesus,” she said softly.

Nate Jacobs was built like a god. His body was sculpted from years of hockey and the gym, and being out of the sport for nearly a decade had done nothing to diminish his physique. Her eyes moved from his muscular shoulders, down past the chiseled chest and abs where a tribal tattoo licked its way up his left side. He was fully erect, and her eyes stayed there, because a part of her couldn’t believe she’d done this to him. That she’d gotten him to this state.

“Keep doing that, and this is going to be over before it begins,” he all but growled, moving toward her.

Nate bent down and slowly reached for her, gently forcing her legs apart so that he could tug her panties down. Next came her T-shirt, leaving them both naked. Leaving her vulnerable to the power in his eyes.

He took his time drinking her in, his gaze moving over every inch of her like he was memorizing a map. It was so long, in fact, that the doubt weasels, the ones she’d banished hours ago, crept onto her shoulders, and she tried to cover herself with her hands, but he grabbed them and wouldn’t let her.

“Don’t,” he said, shaking his head. “Let me look.”

Nate slowly moved up over her body, her arms captive above her head, and his mouth found hers once again. He kissed her so sweetly, it brought tears to her eyes.

“You’re so fucking beautiful, Molly. You always have been. Don’t ever hide from me again.”

She couldn’t speak. She stared up at him, mute and helpless, overcome by so many things. His body on hers. The feel of his skin and muscle and weight. The look in his eyes and the male scent of him that drove her crazy.

A slow smile touched his mouth, and he dipped his head once more, capturing her lips in a way that made her feel wanted and desired. When he dragged his mouth from hers, she closed her eyes, overwhelmed and still silent. She couldn’t vocalize the things zigging and zagging inside her.