A huge sigh escaped. Did she have the courage to do this?
Maybe the better question was whether or not she had whatever it would take to live the rest of her life without having loved this man.
Nibbling her lower lip, she asked herself what was the worst that could happen. He’d refuse her. Send her back to her room. To her lonely bed. If that happened, she’d—what? The question didn’t deserve an answer. Couldn’t be contemplated.
So she pushed it away.
Quickly, before she could chicken out, she opened her bedroom door and padded barefoot down the hall to Jake’s room. His light was still on, leaking out to form a puddle on the wood floor. She twisted nervously at the sole button she’d fastened.
The lines of the song from tonight played in her head. Jake’s voice, gruff and sweet at the same time.
She swore the temperature in the bungalow shot up a good ten degrees. She knocked once. Without waiting for an answer, she pushed open the door.
Jake was propped up in bed reading, both pillows plumped behind him. A thin sheet covered his lower half. His ripped abs were bare. But it was his face, the expression there, that gave her the courage to step inside.
“Jake?”
“Lucy…”
“I want you.”
“Luce.”
She hesitated, licked her dry lips. “I know. It makes me a bad person, but—”
“A bad person?” He tossed his book onto the table. “Why would you say that?”
She covered her face with her hands, then took them away and forced herself to meet those green, green eyes. “Because only a few days ago, I didn’t even know you. I was ready to walk down the aisle with—”
“Don’t. Don’t say his name, sweetheart. Don’t bring him in here, into the bedroom with us.” He nodded toward her hand. “Take the ring off.”
“What?”
“The ring. Take it off.”
“But you told me—”
“That was before.”
She removed it, handed it to him and watched as he threw it into the drawer of his nightstand. With a slow, sexy smile, he crooked a finger at her. “Come here.” He patted the bed beside him.
Taking her time, she stepped closer. Her heart hammered.
An arm snaked out and drew her close. The long tail of his shirt flipped up, giving him a flash of bare leg, bare thigh. She saw the flare in his eyes. Felt heady with power.
“You’re killin’ me, baby girl.”
“But—”
He laid a finger over her lips. “No buts. These insane circumstances do not make you a bad person, Luce.” He ran his hands over her face, through her hair. Kissed the tip of her nose. Nuzzled her neck. “It makes you real, Lucinda Darling. It makes you human, like the rest of us. And—it makes you free. Free to do what you want.”
He stared into her eyes. “I’m gonna hate myself, but I have to ask. Are you sure about this?” He dragged his hands down her neck, over her shoulders and arms, along her bare legs. With a sigh he laid his forehead against hers. “I’d rather cut my tongue out than say this, but maybe this whole thing isn’t a good idea. I mean—”
“You know what, Jake Parker? You talk too much.” She pulled his lips to hers and kissed him. Deep and long and hard.
He snagged her closer still, dragged her down to the bed and rolled so that she was beneath him. His fingers snaked between them, and he undid the single button. Drawing back, he separated the two pieces of fabric.
“Absolute perfection, sugar.”
Then those incredible lips were on hers. They traveled lower, tasting, devouring every inch of her. She arched her back, giving in to the sensations that ripped through her.
“Jake.” Her voice caught.
For a split second, her brain rejoiced that she’d walked through that door, that she’d not let fear deny her the touch of this magnificent man.
His fingers glided over her stomach, his lips following, and all rational thought stopped. Emotions rolled over and around her, her own hands exploring, touching. Her lips moved over him, exhilarating at the different texture of his skin, the maleness of him. Her hands fisted in his midnight hair, in the sheets. She cried out his name as he carried her to heights she hadn’t imagined existed.
Chapter Sixteen
Jake put on a pot of coffee and wrestled with his feelings. Lucy was like a riled gator. She fascinated him…and scared the holy bejeezus out of him. Try as he might, he couldn’t get a handle on her. Every time he thought he was beginning to understand her, she threw him for a loop again.
Last night—well, he didn’t know quite what to think about last night. Other than that he was one lucky SOB. The woman was Christmas, Easter and his birthday all rolled into one. She was warm and giving. And, despite her upbringing, innocent.