Sleepless in Manhattan (From Manhattan with Love 1)

Jake reached out and uncurled her tightly clenched fist.

He stared down at the ridges and indentations made by the screws and glanced at her face. “Paige?”

“I’m fine.” She said it like a mantra. “Totally fine. Don’t worry about me.”

Jake pocketed the screws and pulled her into his arms. “You don’t like enclosed spaces,” he murmured. “How could I have forgotten that? It’s fine, honey. I’m here. I’m going to get you out of here soon, I promise.”

His words and the sure confidence of his tone should have been enough to quell the rising panic, but it wasn’t.

“How?” She gave up all pretense of being all right. “That man’s in Houston. We’re here.”

Her breath was coming in snatches. Her chest felt tight and heavy.

“The maintenance guys are right here in the city.” He smoothed his hand over her hair. “Relax, baby.”

“Did you seriously just call me ‘baby’?” She pressed her palm to her chest, trying to soothe the tightness. “Normally I’d punch you for that.”

“Normally I wouldn’t call you ‘baby.’” He eased her closer, molding her into his warmth and strength. “I’m not your brother and I’m not your parents. You don’t have to do the happy act with me. I can cope with the truth.”

She was held snugly against him, the hard muscle of his thighs supporting her shaking limbs.

“My heart...” She hated herself for being so weak. “I’m— It’s—”

“It’s not your heart, Paige.” He lifted his hand and stroked her face gently with his fingers. “It’s not your heart, sweetheart.”

She tried to breathe. “But—” She inhaled male warmth and strength and closed her eyes. “It’s—I’m—”

“Your heart is just fine.” His voice was sure and strong. “Paige, look at me—”

She couldn’t.

She stared at his chest, her breathing shallow and rapid, and then felt his fingers slide under her chin as he lifted her face to his. His touch was comfort and sin all at the same time.

“You’re panicking because you hate tight spaces. I should have remembered that. I need you to breathe slowly. That’s it.” With one hand he continued stroking her face, and with the other he held her close, so close her body blended with his. She could feel the warmth of his skin through the thin fabric of his shirt and the warmth of his hand soothing her spine. She should have felt secure and safe, but nothing, not even being held by Jake, could dispel the panic. It rose like floodwaters, seeping through her, out of control.

Her lungs felt tight. There was a crushing sensation in her chest and she curled her fist into the front of Jake’s shirt, her knuckles white.

She wanted to tell him that she couldn’t breathe but she couldn’t find the air to talk.

Through the swirling mists of panic she heard him curse softly, and then felt his hand move from her back.

She was about to cling to him and beg him not to let her go, when she realized he wasn’t letting her go. He was pulling her closer. He slid his hand into her hair with a slow, deliberate movement and stroked her cheek with his thumb.

“Look at me, Paige. Look at me, honey—” His voice was firm, his eyes hooded and silver gray as he held her terrified gaze. His face was familiar and yet unfamiliar, those hard masculine lines stamped with a determination she didn’t recognize. Or maybe panic had distorted her vision as well as all her other faculties.

She was holding her breath, her mouth a mere whisper away from his, and then his head lowered and he took her mouth in a slow, hard, deliberate kiss.

She gave a start of shock but he held her firm, her body locked against his.

What was he doing?

She didn’t have the breath for kissing.

She didn’t—

Desire ignited, engulfing fear, and she moaned against his lips, breathed him in and tasted the essence of him as he kissed her slowly and thoroughly. Holding her head still, he explored her mouth with long, leisurely kisses that changed the source of her shivering from fear to arousal. Her mouth opened under his in complicit surrender. She’d often wondered how it would feel to be kissed by Jake, and now she knew. It was like drinking champagne too fast, like riding a roll

er coaster with your eyes closed, like diving from a high board into deep water. She swayed, dizzy, but he held her captive, anchoring her against the power of his body with strong hands. And just when she thought she’d felt everything there was to feel, the kiss changed from slow and seeking to rough and raw, from gentle seduction to pure primal sex. She’d never experienced anything like the erotic intimacy of being kissed by Jake. It was wild. Thrilling. And it awoke something inside her that had been dormant her whole life.