“I’ve never tried to interfere in your personal life.”
She didn’t speak, merely quirking a brow at his blatant lie. When the alarm on the coffeepot beeped, signaling it’d finished brewing, Deanna stood to retrieve it. After she poured them each a cup, she placed the pot back on the warmer and sat back down. She watched as Dean attempted to gather his thoughts. She could practically see him formulating a plan of attack. He was terrible at hiding his feelings from her. What he didn’t know, what she hadn’t even realized until she’d woken up without Jonas beside her, was that she loved Jonas. And no one, not even her well-meaning twin, was going to keep her from having a chance to explore that wonderful new feeling.
“Okay, so I worry.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t want to see you hurt.”
“You mean the way you were hurt by Linda?”
Dean stiffened. “She has nothing to do with this. This is about you and Jonas.”
Deanna hated the pain she heard in her brother’s voice. It tore her up to know how much Linda’s betrayal had changed him. “That’s not entirely true,” she said in a soft voice. “You’re worried Jonas will hurt me because you were hurt. But I don’t want to shut myself off from love, Dean. I care about Jonas. I need to see where this could go.”
“And if he hurts you?”
Yeah, that’s the part she was concerned about too. “Then I’ll deal with it,” she answered, hoping he didn’t hear the catch in her voice. “It wouldn’t be the first time a guy hurt me, Dean.”
His frown darkened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Uh, newsflash, bro, I’m not a virgin. I have been in relationships, believe it or not.”
“Yeah, I’m aware, smart-ass. What I’m asking is which of those asswipes hurt you.”
Deanna picked up her cup and took a sip. Good. A little strong, she thought, but good. “That’s not the point. The thing is, I was hurt, but I got over it. I moved on.”
Dean shook his head and picked up his own mug. “Puppy love isn’t the same thing, Dee.”
“No, you’re right,” she conceded. “It would hurt more if Jonas betrayed me.”
“Wait, are you saying he’s the one? That you’re in love with the guy?”
“I—” A loud pounding on the front door interrupted her morning confession. She stood to go see who it was. “This place is turning into Grand Central Station.”
“Deanna,” Dean growled as he shot to his feet. “You aren’t even dressed. Go put something on while I see to your visitor.”
Her face heated as she imagined opening the door to the UPS guy. “Uh, not a bad idea. I just want to see who it is first,” she said, still hoping Jonas would stop by.
As Deanna approached the door, she looked through the security hole. Her heart rate picked up when she spied Jonas standing on her porch. He was wearing a brown leather jacket and jeans. Ooh, yummy. Deanna quickly turned the knob. Between one breath and the next, Jonas crushed her against his muscular chest, his arms wrapped around her waist so tight she thought she might break a rib.
“Damn, I missed you,” he groaned as he nuzzled her.
“Jonas.” Her arms snaked around his neck, and she inhaled his warm, masculine scent. “I thought you were going to call at lunchtime.”
“Yeah, that was the plan,” he murmured as he loosened his hold and leaned back to look at her from head to toe. “Christ, you look good enough to eat, kitten. In fact ...” His sentence drifted off as he slammed the door with his foot and took her mouth in a hard, claiming kiss. His tongue demanded entrance, and Deanna was helpless to the passionate assault. She sighed and parted her lips. Jonas delved in, tasting and playing. Deanna melted against him, and she heard a low growl deep in his chest. When he dipped his tongue out and licked over her bottom lip, Deanna felt as if she were drowning in bliss.
Oh, my, the man could kiss. Before she had time to think clearly, his hands slid down her back to cup her bottom. When he started tugging her shirt upward, Deanna forgot everything else and surrendered. Having Jonas so hungry for her had a way of doing that. Her body tingled everywhere his hands touched. Excitement skittered down her spine when she felt his rock-hard arousal against her belly.
Then someone cleared his throat.
Too late, Deanna remembered they weren’t alone. She broke away just as Jonas glanced over the top of her head. He scowled as he straightened. Deanna noticed he didn’t bother to release her. “Dean,” Jonas muttered, clearly unhappy at the interruption, “what a pleasant surprise.”
“I take it you didn’t see the big red pickup parked on the street in front of Dee’s house?”
Jonas grinned down at her. “I was a little distracted.”
“I noticed,” Dean said as he glared at her. “Maybe some clothes would be good?”
Deanna rolled her eyes. “Fine.” She looked up at Jonas and smiled. “I’ll be right down. There’s fresh coffee. Help yourself.”
Jonas placed a gentle kiss to her forehead before releasing her. “Take your time.” He winked and patted her on the bottom. “Dean and I can entertain ourselves.”