“Me too,” he whispered back, licking slowly up her neck, causing her to gasp, a surge of moisture accompanying a deep throb between her legs. She clawed lightly at his back, and he emitted a low growl in his throat. Thrill and fear coursed through her as it seemed to do when he did something decidedly . . . animalistic. Another throb made her moan.
“Jak,” she sighed.
“You make me feel exultant,” he breathed against her neck.
She let out a small laugh that was part whimper as he nipped at her skin. “Exultant?”
“Mm,” he hummed, bringing his head up and meeting her eyes, a smile teasing his lips. “It means happy but more. I feel exultant when I’m with you.”
Oh, God, he was sweet. And sexy. And . . . yes, she felt exultant too.
He brought his mouth to hers, kissing her deeply, thoroughly, the world fading away around her. He tasted like cinnamon and smelled like something new . . . a soap or an aftershave, a product he hadn’t had before. It was subtle, and it smelled good, but she remembered the heavenly night they’d spent in her bed, the way his masculine scent had still been on her skin the next morning—clean male, sex . . . him. She knew a person could hardly go through life not smelling like something other than themselves—soap, laundry detergent—but she’d miss the way he smelled before a million products got hold of him.
“I missed kissing you,” he said, trailing his lips down her throat again. “I missed being inside you, making love. I want to be inside you now.” He took her hand and led it to his erection, hard, straining the material of his pants.
A flush of heat blossomed under her skin. Oh, yes. She wanted him too. “We can’t, Jak,” she moaned. “Not here.”
“Why not? No one will come in here.”
She laughed, and it ended in a moan as he moved his hips, rubbing his erection between her open legs. Her hardened nipples grazed his chest and lightning arced downward to the place that was aching for him to fill. “Because, it’s your grandfather’s library. It’s just . . . it’s not . . .”
He pulled back slightly, looking at her. “People only make love in beds?” he asked, looking truly interested, perhaps a little outraged. It made her want to giggle.
“Well . . . no, not only, but . . . usually. Normally. I mean, people can do it wherever they want ex
cept in public. Even then . . . some people do, just discreetly. They, er, enjoy the thrill of, oh, being caught.”
He was staring at her with great interest now. His cheeks were flushed the way they got when he was aroused. “The thrill?”
“Well, some people find thrill in that.”
“Do you find . . . thrill in that?”
She laughed and shook her head. “No, not generally. Although, you know, don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it and all that.”
“Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it,” he repeated, his brow wrinkling. God, he was so adorably sexy. “I’ll try anything with you, Harper.”
She groaned, taking his face in her hands and bringing his lips back to hers. He used his tongue to probe slowly inside her mouth, mimicking the same movement he was making with his hips, driving her crazy, driving her over—
“Ahem.”
Harper let out a surprised gasp, sitting straight up, Jak jolting in front of her. She scooted quickly off the table, turning, straightening her shirt, and quickly smoothing her hair.
Jak’s grandfather was standing in the doorway, staring at them with thin-lipped disapproval. “Sir,” she said too quickly, too breathlessly. “Uh, hello, Mr. Fairbanks, sir, good to see you.”
He gave her a precursory glance, his eyes doing a quick once-over of them both. She refused to look down at Jak, though she grimaced internally, knowing exactly what Jak looked like at the front of his previously pressed khakis.
Embarrassing didn’t begin to cover it.
“Dinner’s almost ready,” his grandfather said. “The whole family’s here. I wanted to make sure you joined us, Jak.”
Harper didn’t miss the way he pointedly said Jak’s name, but left her out. “Oh, well, I should go—”
“Harper will stay,” he said, not breaking eye contact with his grandfather. Jak took her hand. For a tense moment they stared at each other. Was she missing something? She realized this was an awkward situation, but Jak’s grandfather was only making it ten times worse. Jak leaned forward, sniffing the air, his brow wrinkling. “What is that?” he asked, a strange tone to his voice.
Jak’s grandfather brushed at the front of his shirt, looking suddenly chastised for some reason. “Er, cigar smoke. Bad habit. I promised Loni I’d quit.” He looked at Harper, giving her a slight smile. “Forgive my rudeness. I was surprised to find Jak had company. Of course, you may join us for dinner.”
“Oh. Um—” Jak squeezed her hand and she gave him a quick glance, understanding that he was telling her he wanted her there, not to decline dinner. Please, his eyes seemed to say. “Thank you for the dinner invitation. I’d love to join you.”