Then he laughs. I love the sound, deep and resonant, and the way he throws back his head. “God, no, he brings chicks here and bangs them in his room next door. Plus, I’m into women.” He wipes the back of his hand over his mouth and quietens, gazing at me. “I’m definitely into women.”
Caught in the blue-green of his eyes, so intense now, I couldn’t move if the world ended. “Good to know,” I hear myself whisper, as if from a distance.
My reply seems to amuse him. A corner of his mouth curls up.
Then he takes my face in his hands. “Embers, I have a question of my own to ask you. I need you to tell me why Travis frightened you so much.”
“I was bullied at school by this guy and his friends.” Still caught in his
eyes, in his spell. “He was tall and strong, and he liked overpowering me.”
His mouth twists. “What was his name?”
“Nick.”
“Nick.” His hold on my face is so hard it’s bruising. “Nick what?”
“Nick Harris.”
“Is he still around? Is he bothering you?”
“No, I…” I pull back and his hands fall away. “Haven’t seen him in years.”
I think. If the guy I saw across the street the other day wasn’t him, and thinking it might be him sends icy shivers down my spine.
“Good. He’s lucky. I’d feed him his fucking balls.” Jesse rises on his knees until his face is right in front of mine. “He’s gone, but he’s left scars. Invisible, unlike mine, but real. Are you scared of me?”
“No,” I whisper and lift a hand to stroke his face. “No, I’m not.” I trail it over his soft lips, and he draws it into his mouth. I gasp, fire spilling down my arm to my chest and straight to my belly.
What is he doing? I feel like I’m on fire, even after I withdraw my finger from the heat of his mouth, the scrape of his teeth, the velvet of his lips.
“You’re so pretty,” he says quietly, his eyes smoldering. “You should be afraid of me.”
Then he cups my face again and kisses me.
Chapter Twelve
Jesse
Sweet, soft, hot with a taste of strawberries, her lips part under mine. Like candy dipped in hot fudge, sprinkled with almonds… I moan as I deepen the kiss and lick her mouth, desperate for more. It’s as if I’ve been waiting for this kiss all my life. In fact, I can’t remember kissing any other girl. Never wanted to. And now…
Now I can’t get enough of her. I climb over her, pushing her on her back on the bed and crawl over her, lie between her legs. I’m diamond hard, my dick throbbing painfully against the zipper of my jeans, trying to burst out, enter her.
The idea of pushing into her has my hips jerking before I even realize I’m doing it. I grab one of her pretty legs, pull it up to wrap it around my hip and stroke up her thigh, my fingers sliding over silky skin.
Damn, this girl…
Her hands land on my shoulders. She digs her short nails into my flesh, and the pain feels good as I keep kissing her, exploring her mouth with my tongue. She moans, and fuck, my cock twitches, ready to go. Christ, I wanna do things with her I’ve never done before—like lick her all over, kiss her until we both pass out from lack of oxygen, hold her… never let her go.
I break the kiss and scramble back, struggling to get my breathing under control.
“Dammit. I didn’t mean to do that.” Liar. Fucking liar. I’ve been dying to do this since I first laid eyes on her.
Her fingertips trail over her reddened lips, her eyes wide. Sprawled on my ratty blankets, one strap of her blouse hanging off her shoulder, she looks like a dream come true.
But a dream, still, and I shouldn’t. Not with her. Because she matters to me, I realize with a jolt. She matters like no other girl before.
I’m so fucked. This wasn’t supposed to happen. If she doesn’t hate me now, she will, and then…