God, their 'hello' kisses were getting hotter and hotter each time. They were sweet, sensuous torture. Frankly, she couldn't wait to get in his pants, especially when she could tell how hard he got.
"Kane," she said in gentle warning as she strained for a bit of distance.
"You don't want my kisses?" he asked huskily, keeping her within the tight circle of his strong arms.
"Don't be ridiculous."
"Oh, so you do want them, then," he said, nuzzling the side of her face.
"You know what I mean," she said breathlessly, her hands on his chest now caressing instead of pushing.
"Hmm, what exactly do you mean?" He pressed soft kisses on her neck.
"Stop," she said weakly.
But he continued, his hand finding its way underneath her top.
"Kane, you have ten seconds to stop or …"
"Or what?" His eager fingers played with the band of her bra as his tongue licked an earlobe.
"Or there'll be no stopping us. I don't want us to regret our first time."
Kane growled in frustration. "It's so hard, Jaz. I want you so much."
"I know," she soothed.
"Do you know how much I'm dying to be inside you?" he whispered in her ear, his body rigid from keeping his passion in check.
She trembled. "Yes. Just as much as I'm dying to feel you inside me."
He hissed before releasing her and putting his hands in his pockets. "That's why I haven't bought condoms yet. It's the one fact that's helping me to stop and wait."
"I'm on birth control. And I know we can trust each other," she said softly.
He groaned and stepped back from her. "You just made me ten times hotter," he said accusingly. "And you know I can't touch you yet."
"Hannah's back tomorrow," she reminded him.
He sighed. "Yes, another day or two won't kill me, I suppose."
"I have another bit of news," she announced, deciding to change the topic so they could both cool down. "Apparently, Tim's flying back to Melbourne later tonight."
"How do you know?"
"I was speaking with my mum and I kind of asked her if she heard how Tim enjoyed the wedding since he came here by himself. She said they had dinner with his parents yesterday and they mentioned Tim was catching the last flight back tonight."
"Jaz, you will tell your dad about his actions, right?" Kane asked.
She shifted on her feet. She didn't want to answer that question. She didn't know yet if that was what she wanted to do.
Kane put his hands on his hips as he gave her a disapproving look. "Jaz, you have to tell your father. And his father. Someone's got to make him see sense. And if he's actually unstable …"
"But he's stopped already," she replied with a pleading look. "I think he got the picture. If he sends me another text or did anything threatening, I promise I won't hesitate to tell my dad."
Kane stared at her for a long moment. "And me," he commanded.
She smiled. "And you."
She took his hand and led him to the lounge room. "Come, I want to show you something."
Jasmine handed Kane her new e-reader.
He looked at her quizzically.
"Do you have one?" she asked.
"Not this kind. I generally use my iPad or my phone to read ebooks. But generally speaking, I don't have much time to read for pleasure."
"Maybe you can check out my favourite author." She tried to keep the nervous tremor from her voice.
"Who's your favourite author?" he asked.
"Her name's J.A. Nell."
"J.A. Nell? Never heard of her."
"She's a newish author. Do you read romance novels?"
Kane snorted. "No. I'm into mysteries and thrillers."
"Well, maybe you should check out her books. They're on there."
"Romance novels are for girls, babe," Kane complained with a cute grimace.
She laughed. "Some men like them, too."
"Straight men?"
"Yes."
"Okay. But why?"
"Why not? Some men are very romantic and enjoy a good love story."
"I can be very romantic but I've never wanted to read a romance novel," Kane countered.
"Or maybe some of them like the hot sex scenes," she continued, ignoring his last comment.
"Hot sex scenes?" Kane now sounded interested.
"Uh-huh."
"This J.A., whatever her name is, has hot sex scenes in her books?"
"Yup."
"Okay. Maybe you can tell me what pages they're on and I'll read them."
She rolled her eyes at him. "But you have to start from the beginning to enjoy the book. The sexy parts just enhance the story but they're not the story."
"If I like her sexy parts maybe I'll read her whole book."