“Hey there.” He pulled the marshmallow he was roasting off the stick and fed it to her.
She bit part of it off, then guided the rest into his mouth and tried not to laugh when the sticky marshmallow stuck to his fingers. He shook his fingers up and down.
“I think it’s stuck for life,” he joked.
She swallowed the piece she was eating and captured his hand in hers. Their eyes met. He knew what she was about to do. She saw it in the darkening of his eyes, felt it in the tension in his hand. She had no idea that following her heart would take her down such a dirty trail, but follow she did as she drew his finger into her mouth and rolled her tongue over the sugary sweetness, sucking until all that was left was the taste of him. She held his gaze as he drew his finger slowly out of her mouth. Jamie was breathing hard. His hand came around the back of her neck, hard and hot against her skin, and their lips came together in a hungry kiss that had her mind sprinting down the dirty trail again. She pawed at his shoulders, his chest, and a moan slipped from her lungs into his. Surely everyone around them was thinking they were going to rip each other’s clothes off any second—because man, oh man, did she want to.
She forced herself to tear her lips from his. A quick scan of the beach told her that nobody cared that she’d been ready to make a spectacle of both of them.
“Let’s get out of here.” It wasn’t a question. Jamie pulled her to her feet and crossed the sand like he was on a mission. “We’re taking off!” he yelled over the music in their friends’ general direction. Then with one arm around Jessica’s back, her take-charge boyfriend led her toward the dunes.
Chapter Twelve
JAMIE WAS HOT and bothered, hornier than a bunny on Viagra. The image of Jessica sucking his finger with that seductive look in her eyes that did him in every time played over and over in his mind. They were halfway to the dunes—the parking lot was three minutes away. Four, tops. And there was no way he was going to make it. He had to feel her against him. They were shrouded in darkness, far away from the band and the lights. He swept Jessica into his arms. Her eyes were at half-mast, full of desire and the same well of emotion he’d seen earlier. He was so far gone, he couldn’t ignore his feelings for her if his life depended on it. He forced himself to slow down. After how aggressively he’d taken her the first time, he wanted to cherish every inch of her, show her how good she could feel with tenderness instead of heady need. He ran his thumb over her lower lip and heard the breath leave her lungs.
“Jess.” He breathed deeply, reminding himself to be sweet and tender, and forcing his greediness away. He lowered his mouth, a whisper away from hers, so they were breathing the same air. He had to taste her, to feel the woman who had seared herself into his heart so fast. He dragged his tongue along the swell of her lower lip, and she inhaled a jagged breath. A seductive, intoxicating sound that nearly brought him to his knees. He grazed her lips with his, kissed her softly, resisting the urge to deepen the kiss. His hands slid down her back, and he felt her heat through the silky fabric of her dress. His tongue slid over hers, to the smooth enamel and jagged ridges of her teeth. Her jaw dropped open and she melted against him, giving herself over to him as she’d done from their very first kiss. Allowing him to lick the insides of her lips, the creases and corners, as he memorized every dip and curve of her sweet mouth.
He could barely think for the need to make love to her. He drew back, putting distance between their lips, if not their bodies. There was no way he was letting go of her.
Her eyes opened and her lips curved into a contented smile. “Hi.”
Her whisper brought his forehead to hers. “Hi.”
“Kiss me more,” she pleaded.
“I’m going to kiss you all night long.” His hands circled her waist, lifting her into his arms. Her legs wrapped seamlessly around him as their lips met again in another interminable kiss.
He parted from her delicious lips, and his powerful legs carried them up the sandy path to the top of the dunes. Jessica rested her head on his shoulder, her hot breath on his neck, and ran her fingers through the ends of his hair.
“Hurry,” she whispered, as he picked up her flip-flops from where she’d left them.
The word shot through him like a bullet. The temperature had dropped, and a chilly breeze swept over them. Her body was so amazingly soft as she gripped him tighter and cuddled closer.
“Dune or bed?”
“Whatever’s fastest,” she answered.
He tangled his hand in her hair and tugged softly, so he could see her eyes.
“Baby, I want to love every inch of your body the way you deserve to be loved. I want you to feel how good your body is capable of feeling, learn each of your most sensitive spots. Hurrying is the last thing on my mind.”