Jane's Gift (Lone Pine Lake 1)

“I think so,” she answered, sounding breathless.

His lips curved and he tilted his head toward her, the fork poised between them. She caught the rich scent of the cheesecake, lemony creaminess and tart raspberry tickling her nose. She sniffed loudly and parted her lips, touched the tip of her tongue to her bottom lip, and she heard his sharp inhalation of breath.

“Please?” She blinked up at him, put on her most innocent of expressions, and couldn’t help but marvel at her own audacity.

The man brought out a different side to her, a side she didn’t even know she had.

Chris dabbed the bite of cheesecake against her mouth once, then drew away. She licked at her lips, the creamy, fruity taste dissolving on her tongue. His eyes darkened.

“More?” His voice sounded strained and she smiled, proud of herself. She could definitely give as good as she got.

“Yes.” She waited, smiled when he brushed the bite against her mouth, leaving behind a dollop of cheesecake. She licked at it again, the yummy taste almost more than she could stand, all of it heightened by the teasing way she was being fed.

It was arousing. She’d never played with food before in a sexual way and she liked it, even though it was torturous.

This time when he brought the bite back to her lips, he kept it there. She opened her mouth and he gently pushed the fork between her teeth. Wrapping her lips around the tines, she took the bite clean from the fork, savoring the sweetly tart taste, the crunchiness of the graham cracker crust. A low murmur of approval sounded deep in her throat, and his lids lowered, giving him such a sexy look she almost choked on her cheesecake.

If he continued to look at her like that, she wouldn’t be able to eat another bite. She’d want to save room for him instead.

“You missed some of it. Right…there.” He leaned in, his lips touching just the corner of her mouth, and when she felt the sweep of his tongue there, she almost melted into the bed. “Got it,” he said as he pulled away from her, smacking his lips.

Okay, this was too much, too heady for her tired, still-a-little-buzzed mind to take. She watched him, caught the devilish glint in his eyes, took in all of that exposed, tanned skin, and she held out her hand, an idea forming in her mind.

“How about I feed you?”

He sat up straighter, handing over the container and fork. “I’m ready when you are.”

She bet he was. Carefully, she cut off a small bite, forked it up, and then brought it close to his face. His lips parted, his gaze never leaving hers and she flicked the fork, the cheesecake falling off and landing right on his pec.

“Whoops. I dropped it.” She could barely keep the smile back and wanted to laugh when she saw him glance down at the mess on his chest. She set the fork into the container. “Guess I’ll have to clean it up.”

Jane bent over him, swiping her tongue at his chest as she licked up the dessert. The ragged groan that escaped him urged her on and she licked again, loving the taste of the sweet bit of cheesecake and the salty, earthy taste of man just beneath.

He clasped his big, warm hand to the back of her head, threading his fingers through her hair. With his other hand he took the container from her, setting it on the bedside table. He held her, but not so tightly she couldn’t glance up at him. The devilish look was long gone. The expression on his face was now one of stark, raw need, and her breath caught at the sight.

“You surprise me, Jane. Each and every day we’re together you surprise me.”

“That’s a good thing, right?”

“Oh, yeah.” He stroked her hair, his fingers tugging on the ends, and she closed her eyes in bliss. “It’s a very good thing.”

…

Something had shifted between them tonight, sending them straight into un-chartered and completely welcome territory. Chris had known ahead of time she was off shopping with Chloe Dawson and he’d told himself he would leave her alone. Let her get that one-on-one time with her friend she’d told him she needed.

He’d spent the evening alone, eating delivered pizza, watching crappy TV, and nursing a lone beer. Curious what she might be doing, what she wore, what she smelled like. But then he remembered her mentioning her parents were keeping the kids overnight.

So he’d called and invited her over. Decided to make a sexy game of it and waited for her in his bedroom. He loved the way she quietly appeared in his doorway, her dark jeans making her legs look endless, the cream-colored sweater she wore emphasizing

the soft curve of her breasts.

It had been fun, teasing her with the cheesecake. And then she’d taken it to the next level, licking at his heated flesh, her wet, slick little tongue raising havoc within him. Stripping her naked, admiring her pretty body before he made love to her. He’d imagined this moment more than once. Jane, in his house. In his bed. Smiling, laughing, moaning, calling out his name…

“That was amazing.” She lifted her chin, the little smile curving her lush lips beautiful, dreamy.

“Definitely.” He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, exhaling slowly when she snuggled close, her tousled hair in his face, her cheek resting against his chest. It felt so good, having her here with him. Since he’d spent so many nights at her place, he was eager to show her where he lived. At first, he didn’t understand that need.

He got it now. He wanted to reveal a piece of himself, a piece he didn’t often share with others. Wanted her to know all of him and was ready to lay himself bare at the altar of Jane.