I giggled. Story time from Jesse Drake? Yes, please.
“So I was a young man of twenty-five, working at Central Valley High School for three years. It was the beginning of a brand new school year, and I had been asked to present scheduling information to the new teachers. I was setting up my presentation when this woman walked in, and it was like I had been punched in the stomach. She took my breath away and she was a breath of fresh air all at the same time. I thoroughly enjoyed my single life, but one look at this woman told me that maybe there was more out there than the string of meaningless relationships I’d had.”
I stopped swinging, shocked at his revelation. He stopped, too, and we sat on the swings gazing at each other. He glanced away first, and I reached over for his hand.
He didn’t look at me as he continued. “And then I missed my chance. Quinn introduced you to Richard, and you know where things went from there.”
“How come you never said anything to me?” I asked.
His eyes found mine again, and he thought for a moment before he spoke. “Because you were happy,” he said, his voice quiet. “You were in a relationship. It wasn’t my place to tell you that he was all wrong for you.”
I felt hot tears prickling behind my eyes. “You knew all along?”
He nodded. “I wanted to be the one for you, V,” he whispered. “I knew Richard would never be good enough for you. I don’t know if I’m good enough, either, but I’m sure as hell going to try.”
I stood up from my swing and walked in front of him. I straddled him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He pulled me close with his hands on my back as the swing moved gently under our combined weight.
My lips found his. I couldn’t believe the words out of his mouth. I couldn’t fathom that he’d had feelings for me since the moment he had first spotted me.
I had wasted so much time with the wrong man, but now I was going to set things right.
His sweet, warm tongue parted my lips as his hands moved up my back and into my hair. Something about his hand holding the back of my head was so fucking sexy that I could hardly handle the lust rocketing through me. I moaned into him, and he arched his hips up into me, causing the swing to sway under us. Our tongues moved more aggressively against each other as I felt the ache begin to throb between my legs.
I wanted Jesse Drake.
Badly.
More than I had ever wanted any man before him.
On the one hand, I had Jesse telling me that he didn’t fuck married women. And on the other hand, I had my goddamn ethics preventing me from giving into what I wanted most in the entire world.
And as we swung together and our kiss turned from fiery and aggressive into a slower dance, I started to seriously question everything.
If he was this good at kissing me, I couldn’t imagine what kind of god he was in bed. I wanted to know. I needed to know.
And the sooner, the better.
He pulled away from me and leaned back slightly in the swing, gazing up at the sky.
“We have to stop,” he said, panting.
“I know,” I said, and then, just for good measure, I pressed my hips down into his.
“Fuck,” he moaned, drawing out the word. “You’re killing me.”
I grinned, loving the effect I was having on him after his confession. I brought my fingertips to his cheeks and stroked his gorgeous stubble. I held my hands still on his face. “I have a confession to make, too,” I said bravely.
He looked at me, brows raised.
“I had the hugest crush on you for the past five years.” I was thankful for the dark night since I literally felt the blush stretch across my cheeks.
A slow grin spread across his lips, and his whole face lit up even in the dark when it reached his eyes. “You did?”
I nodded.
“How come you never said anything to me?” he echoed my earlier question.
“Because I was the new teacher who didn’t think it would be a good idea to get involved with a coworker. Besides, you’re way out of my league.”
He chuckled. “You may be clinically insane if you believe that.”
I laughed.
He shook his head. “It boggles my mind that you really have no idea how perfect you are.”
I shrugged.
“And after that view you gave me yesterday…” he trailed off, and he nipped my nose with his lips. “I’m even more convinced that you’re perfect.”
I still wasn’t sure how he knew just exactly what I needed to hear, but he was certainly an expert at it. I think my panties melted right off of me with that line.
“I need to stand up and put some distance between us,” I said.
He grinned and held me tighter, pressing his hips up into me again. I knew he was hard, and now I knew for sure that he wanted me. I didn’t know what was so special about me, but he’d just admitted that one look at me had tamed Jesse Drake. And now, finally, after five years, we were going to get our chance.