One Sexy Ride(9)

But it was comfortable, and a sense of peace he’d been lacking for a long time grew stronger.

Although, on another level, the tension between them was real. They might’ve been walking side-by-side, but he still could see and admire everything about her. The mesmerizing curves he’d gotten up close and personal with only the night before. He’d felt her body pressed against his. There’d been a layer of clothing between them, his, but the memory was enough to make him want to hurry his step. To get to the end of the loop and back to the truck, so he could take her home and see what happened next.

Except…

He was drawing a line tonight. Just because they were finally going out, it didn’t give him the right to simply take her home and give into the lust raging through him.

He glanced over, and Janey winked, slipping her hand from his to pace backwards down the path in front of him. She wiggled her hips a little harder, and leaned over, the curves of her breasts swaying slightly as she moved.

Dark hair hung low enough the ends of her hair would have just touched the pale red nipples he’d admired the night before.

“You keep looking at me like that,” she teased, “and I’m going to spontaneously ignite.”

“You’re looking mighty fine. I’d hate to see you go up in flames.”

She pulled to a stop, and he stepped close enough she had to tilt her head back to stare at him. “I don’t know. Little bit of burning could be fun.”

Janey pressed her palms to his abdomen, slowly sliding upward until she reached his neck.

Len imitated her in terms of catching hold around her waist, and this time when he tugged her against him, they both let out enormous sighs.

Her smile increased. “I’ve been looking forward to this forever.”

“Not nearly as long as I have,” he confessed.

He kept one hand planted firmly in the center of her back. The other he used to cradle the back of her neck, controlling her and angling her the way he wanted as he leaned forward. Slowly. Ever so slowly.

Warmth brushed past his cheek as her breathing increased in tempo. The rock-solid length of his arousal was pressed to her body, and she shifted her hips slightly. Enough that he couldn’t stop a groan from escaping.

Their mouths so close, but not yet touching.

Her gaze dropped from his eyes to his lips. “What’re you waiting for?” she whispered.

He wanted to say something—hell, he wasn’t sure what. Something borderline romantic, maybe.

Only when her tongue darted out there was no way to convince his brain to wait any longer. He closed the distance between their mouths, pressing their lips together. Lightly. Once.

Then again.

She eased open her lips, so he did the same, and the taste of her shot through him, setting off warning bells. It was every bit as good as he’d hoped for, and far, far more enticing.

Their bodies were locked together as he took her mouth and controlled her. Kissed her as if this would be the only chance he had, and he needed her in his system to survive.

He hadn’t lied. He had wanted this forever, and holding back had taken considerably more strength than he’d ever imagined. Now he took every bit of the restrained longings, and the waiting, and used them to experience her as fully as possible.

It wasn’t enough to kiss her. He kissed her lips. He kissed her cheek. He planted a row of kisses along her jawline until he reached a spot underneath her ear that sent her squirming against him. If it was possible, he grew harder, his cock aching for release.

Still wasn’t enough. Janey moaned as he put his teeth to her earlobe and nibbled. Changed tactics to trace the tender surface with his tongue. He was rewarded with a full-body shiver that sent him twirling toward the edge.

“Oh, Len. Yes, I like that.” She dug her fingers into his shoulders, clutching the fabric of his shirt as she tried to get closer.

He couldn’t resist going back to her lips. To the tease of her tongue against his. But with every rub between them, danger approached rapidly.

And when she snuck a hand down his body, circling over his chest and tweaking one of his nipples before crossing his abdomen to tug his shirt free from his jeans, Len knew he wouldn’t survive. Not if they continued for a second longer.

He caught hold of her hand. “Not here. Stop, Janey.”

The sound of utter devastation escaped her throat. “I’m ready for more,” she complained.

He was ready to do that spontaneous-combustion thing she had talked about earlier. “Not here,” he insisted.

She took a deep breath then, thank God, eased off her death grip enough he could put some space between their bodies before he had an accident.

“Take me home?” Her words came out husky and low.

Len swallowed hard. “Yes.”

She’d obviously forgiven him for being a bonehead in the restaurant. By the time he’d gotten her home, he’d recovered some of his missing brain. He caught hold of her hand as they walked to the back door, bracing himself for the coming storm.

Before disaster struck, he was going to enjoy kissing her all over.

He waited until she’d used her key before twirling her between him and the side of the house. The porch light was still off, but the stars were out, and the moon and the streetlights gave enough light to send shadows dancing everywhere in the yard. Silent witness as he picked her up and pressed her against the wall with his body.

Damn him for being a sick bastard and punishing both of them like this, but he simply couldn’t resist feeling her heat once more. She wrapped her legs around him and smiled.

He took her lips, and this time there was not only the newness of the connection, but a touch of familiarity that only made it better.

They kissed until they were both breathless and he was one second away from exploding. He tugged his lips from hers, and they stared into each other’s eyes. Her pupils were huge dark moons against the golden brown irises.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Her expression changed to complete shock as he carefully lowered her to the ground.

“Len?”

He didn’t trust himself to speak, so he turned and took the stairs off the porch as quickly as possible, two at a time, afraid if he hesitated he’d reconsider.

“Len.” This time her voice was a lot louder and a lot more demanding.

He tossed her a wave. “Give me a call tomorrow. I’m free all day.”

He hightailed it back to his truck as fast as he could as all sorts of excuses why he should turn around filled his head.





Chapter Five





No one could torture you like family.

“I swear if he starts singing that kid’s song one more time, I’m going to rip his head off,” Len threatened. “I don’t give a shit who’s sitting in what tree—unless it’s to toss a rope over a limb and hang Troy high.”

His youngest brother grinned, but this time it appeared Len had some backup.

Mitch stepped away from the welding bench. The tattooed flames on his hands and arms rippled as he cracked his knuckles and gave Troy the evil eye. “I’ll cut him into small pieces so it’s easier to hide the body.”

“You two have no sense of humour,” Troy complained.

“Or maybe the problem is you couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket.” Mitch retorted. He twisted towards where Clay and their dad, Keith, were pulling a diagnostic. “Can we send him out for coffee or something?”

“He’s just teasing your brother about his new girlfriend. It’s not as if you weren’t doing the same thing three minutes ago,” their dad shouted back.

“But Mitch’s joke was funny,” Clay offered. “Troy hasn’t mastered the art of the insult yet.”

“He’s still wet behind the ears. He’ll learn eventually,” Mitch grinned evilly, ducking around the tire station to get away from Troy.

The only one in the room who wasn’t family paused in the middle of his tune-up. Or more exactly, Len had to correct himself, the only one in the room who wasn’t family by blood. Gage Jenick had joined the family in a decisive way over the past year, and while the wedding still had to take place, he and the youngest of the Thompson family, Katy, were not only rock-solid, they were the parents of the cutest little baby Len had ever seen.

He didn’t mind being Uncle Len one bit. As long as he got to give the kids back when they got stinky or started to make noise, his siblings could crank out all the rug-rats they wanted.

His usual mode of staying silent was working in his favour even as the conversation once again narrowed in on him and Janey’s change of relationship.

“What I want to know,” Gage said, “is why now?”

Len shrugged.

“Oh, come on. The girl has been around forever. And she’s been chasing you forever.” Mitch agreed with Gage. “Did you just now figure out what to do with your dick—?”

Their dad swatted Mitch on the shoulder as he walked past. “If you’re going to take the conversation in that direction, I’ll be the one who goes to get coffee.”

Good-natured chuckling accompanied his words, though. No way the man could’ve survived raising five kids through puberty on his own without having had some extraordinarily blunt conversations.

Keith Thompson wasn’t the type to beat around the bush and keep it all hush-hush. In fact, Len’s earliest memories about getting the talk pretty much matched everyone in the room.