The Christmas He Loved Her (Bad Boys of Crystal Lake 2)

She was on fire. Her body, long dormant, now raged with hormones and pheromones and whatever the hell else kind of mones were out there.

Outside, a blast of wind threw ice pellets against the window, shaking the glass and filling the cottage with the sound of winter. Yet it did nothing but fan the flames inside the small house. For a moment it was the only noise they heard, and then with a growl, Jake’s hands slid down her body.

Raine couldn’t take her eyes off him, and when his head dipped low and his mouth slid over hers again, a teasing pass that spread fire everywhere, her legs gave out. His large palms cupped her butt, and he lifted her as if she weighed nothing. Raine wrapped her legs around his waist and sank her hands into his hair.

Jake’s mouth hovered over hers for a second, and then he said something unintelligible and took what she offered. His kiss was an aggressive exploration, and she accepted it wholeheartedly, her hands kneading his scalp, her body pressed against him intimately. He tasted her, his mouth and tongue stroking and nipping and sucking, each motion tugging a response, and her hips began to move of their own accord.

His hands cupped her as she slowly gyrated against him, gasping into him when her jeans rubbed against the place where she ached to be touched the most.

Raine had no idea how long they strained against each other, her legs wrapped around him tightly, her breasts crushed to his chest as he continued to assault her mouth with the most intense, rough kisses she’d ever had.

Nothing about Jake was soft or gentle. He was an alpha, and at the moment, exactly what she needed.

Except she needed more.

With a strangled noise, Raine jerked in his grasp as his mouth slid from hers and traveled a wicked path down her neck, down to the base, where her pulse pounded crazily. He suckled her skin, his tongue leaving her weak as he slowly made his way across her collarbone to the sensitive area just below her ear.

And when his tongue stroked in a small circle there, she couldn’t help the gasp of raw need that escaped her lips.

“I want more,” she managed to say, squirming in his arms until he was forced to let her go.

“Shit, what about birth control? I don’t have anything on me,” he said roughly, sounding as if he was in pain.

His words stopped her cold and she swallowed hard. God, she was out of practice. Of course. Of course he’d be worried about something like that.

“I’m on the pill, Jake, for other reasons, so you don’t have to worry, and I’ve…” She blew out hot air. “I haven’t been with anyone since…” The lump in her throat was so thick she couldn’t speak, and she glanced away.

“Hey,” Jake said softly as he kissed the corner of her mouth. “I’m clean, so there’s no worries there, but you have to be sure about this, Raine.” He blew out a long jagged breath. “Are you sure?”

Raine’s answer was to slide down his body, her hands seeking his skin, desperate to touch him. Nimble fingers tugged on the edge of his shirt, yet she couldn’t seem to get it past his abs. With a groan Jake pushed her back, ripping it off and tossing it to the ground.

Holy hell.

Her eyes slid over ripped abs, defined pecs, and—Lord have mercy—the indent above his jeans, the one that made any woman weak with want. Jake had a few tattoos: one that was identical to Jesse’s, a Gemini—the sign of the twins, and another down his right side. It was new; she’d never seen it before, and it added an air of danger to his already-badass physique.

“You’re beautiful,” she said. Her hands greedily covered every bit of flesh she could reach, and when she felt him tremble beneath her fingertips, she smiled and glanced up at him.

Jake’s mouth was open slightly, his even, white teeth barely visible. Several inches taller than her, he stared down at her with hooded eyes and an almost painful expression on his face.

She licked her lips and he groaned, and when she opened her mouth and then closed it over a turgid nipple, he swore.

“Jesus.”

His hands, however, held her in place so she couldn’t leave even if she’d wanted to. She twirled her tongue over him, loving the taste of his skin, loving the feel of a large, strong man in her grasp.

He bent lower and she surged upward, meeting his mouth and deepening their kiss as her hands fell to the waistband of his jeans.

And when her fingers tugged on the snap, when she yanked on the zipper and slid her hand just inside and felt his flat skin there, he froze for a moment and then pushed her away, a ragged breath exhaled as he ran his hands through his messy hair.

Jake’s chest heaved and a chill ran over her as she stared up into his pained eyes. Eyes that were also dark with desire—desire for her—desire that she wanted to wrap herself in.

Slowly her eyes ran down his wide chest, past the rock-hard abs and past the low-slung, and now-open, jeans. Hello, the man was commando.

She licked her lips at the sight of the bulge that was barely hidden, and her fingers crept to her swollen mouth as she tried to hide the whimper of need in her throat.

The heat from the fire enveloped her already-hot skin and she held Jake’s gaze, watching as his eyes widened when she reached for the edge of her shirt and yanked it up past her rib cage and then over her head. With a toss, she sent it flying to the ground beside his.

“Raine, I don’t…I don’t know if…” His words ended on a strangled gasp as she cupped her breasts, slowly rubbing her aching nipples through the soft material of her bra. And then she undid the snap and it joined her top on the floor.