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

he entire skirt mud splattered and soaked.

She remembered feeling invincible, as if she’d found the things she had been searching for her entire life. Love. Stability. Family.

“I knew then,” he said hoarsely. “You are the only woman I know who wouldn’t think twice about dancing in the rain in your bare feet.”

“With you,” she whispered. Then more urgently. “With you, Jake.”

Rising up to her knees, Raine cupped Jake’s face between her hands and kissed his forehead. Gently she trailed soft kisses down the side of his face, pausing, making time to whisper, “Only with you.”

She reached his mouth, her breathing as heavy as Jake’s, and rested her forehead against his. “I loved Jesse, but I loved you, too.”

He wrenched away and gazed into her eyes.

“Don’t mess with me, Raine. I don’t think I…”

“I’m not.” Gently she kissed his mouth, her lips moving against him as she settled into his lap. Slowly she coaxed his mouth open and slid her tongue inside, touching him hesitantly until he groaned into her and kissed her back with such urgent, sweet need that it made her ache.

She broke the kiss, barely able to breathe. “I need you to know this.” She stared straight into his eyes so he could see the truth in hers. “I love you, Jake Edwards. I’ve always loved you. It doesn’t lessen what I felt for your brother or cheapen the time I had with him. Nothing can take that from me.” She shuddered and exhaled slowly, trying her best to keep it together. “But right now, in this lifetime, in this moment…it’s different. It’s raw and it’s hungry, and I don’t think that I can live without you.”

He opened his mouth, but her finger was there to keep him silent.

“The other day I told you that I didn’t belong to anyone, but that was a lie. I belong to you, Jake. I always have.” She grinned through her tears and shrugged. “One way or another, I guess.”

His hand rose to wipe away the tears that lay in the corners of her eyes. “I love you, Jake. So much. And I don’t want to think about a tomorrow without you.”

“You love me,” he said as if he didn’t believe her. “And you don’t think that’s screwed up?”

She shook her head. “We don’t choose who we love, Jake. It just happens. And sometimes, if you’re really lucky, you get a second chance at it. I love you. It’s different than what I had with Jesse, but it’s just as real and it’s strong. I don’t care what anyone else thinks.” She reached for the edge of her top and pulled it over her head. “All I care about is you.”

She pushed him so forcefully that he had no choice but to fall backward until he was flat out on his back.

Raine straddled his hips, gazed down at the man she loved, and bent over until her bare breasts were crushed to his chest. She felt his erection between her legs and nuzzled his neck…there, where she knew he liked it.

“I’m going to make love to you right now, if that’s all right?” A hint of tease colored her words, and she grinned when he shifted beneath her and groaned.

“Good,” she whispered. Her hand reached between her legs so that she could cup him through his jeans. “This feels good.”

Slowly she teased him through the fabric of his jeans until she knew it was too much, and then she kissed him again, pouring every ounce of her love into that one perfect kiss. Tongues danced, lips cajoled and then commanded. He tasted like every piece of decadent chocolate she’d ever had, and when she finally dragged her mouth away, they were both breathing so raggedly that Gibson whined a few feet away, his tail at half-mast, his large eyes full of concern.

Gently, Jake pushed her off and rolled over to get to his feet. He grabbed Gibson’s bone, and when the puppy erupted into a fit of barks and yips, Jake tossed it into the kitchen.

Within seconds they were both naked, and Raine licked her lips as she grabbed the blanket off the sofa and tossed it in front of the fireplace. Jake was behind her, his arms around her waist as he kissed the back of her neck and ground his erection into her backside.

One hand snaked over her hips, moving lower, past her belly. Raine spread her legs in anticipation. She leaned back into him as two fingers slid between her wet folds and plunged inside her body.

“You feel so good,” he said huskily, moving his fingers as her body twitched in response. “So damn good.”

Raine’s hands rose over her head and she touched his face, gyrating her hips as his other hand fondled her breasts and his mouth tortured her sensitive neck. She felt the spiraling heat burst inside and then spread rapidly as she moved against him, his hand buried between her legs, his fingers stroking and pressing and rubbing.

The pressure built until she knew she couldn’t hold it in any longer, and when she came, when she shuddered against him, Jake was there to hold her. To make sure she didn’t fall.

“That was pretty intense.” Raine turned and slid her arms behind his neck as she rose on her tiptoes, her mouth seeking his, relishing the hard feel of him against her softness. She kissed him long and languidly, her tongue teasing, the heat already building inside her as his hands cupped her ass to hold her in place.

She broke the kiss and grinned mischievously. “But I’m still feeling a little…”

Jake bent low and with his tongue, slowly circled her turgid nipple.

“I’m feeling a little…”