Her heart wasn’t on the line. It was the fervent desire to be wanted, to be seen as more than a problem to be solved, to be the object of Blake’s attention. And being with him, letting herself be touched and tasted and taken by this gorgeous man, might help her find a way back to herself. Back to the woman she’d been and maybe restore the strength she’d need to embrace a new life—a different future than she’d planned—here in Sweetbriar Springs.
The place from which she’d once wanted to escape. But that had brought her to the brink of disaster. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. Being with Blake offered her a way out—albeit a temporary one—and she wanted to feel like a woman of worth again.
…
Blake watched the play of emotions on Jessie’s face. The tough stance she’d taken when she’d jammed her fists in her fleece jacket’s pockets hadn’t fooled him. Not. One. Bit. He’d caught the slight movement of her fingers crossing and heard the underpinning of fear in her voice. The sting of her internal throbbing panic, the storm gathering in her expressive gray-blue eyes, unhinged him.
She was terrified of being rejected. And yet he knew with every thundering beat of his heart that if he acted on the attraction drawing him to her, he’d risk inflicting collateral damage.
Damage he wanted to avoid. Damage he wanted to minimize. Damage he wanted to outmaneuver.
Because the feisty Marine standing in front of him, all sassy attitude and wickedly tantalizing in her figure-hugging spandex black pants, moved him in ways that unsettled him. And that sent a dangerous signal to his brain. The fallout of this so-called holiday fling Jessie proposed could damage him, too.
But when Jessie slanted her strong-as-steel eyes suggestively, licked her luscious lips, and cocked her hip at a sexy angle, he knew what to do.
He wanted her. And if he showed her how beautiful she was to him, maybe she’d realize how much more she deserved from a different man. Because his life could upend in less than a month, should his franchise refuse to let him change his career’s direction.
His mind warred with the desire pulsing between them. The sweet, tantalizing pull of attraction won. He couldn’t be the guy worthy of someone like Jessie, but he could be the guy who set her free to discover the right one.
“You want to have fun?” he asked. “I say we start with a date that doesn’t involve gym shorts and barbells.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You heard me.” He framed her face with his palms. “As it turns out, the most eligible bachelor in Hollyweird doesn’t have a date to his sister’s wedding. You game?”
She blinked and her mouth fell open, then she snapped it shut and gave her head a little shake.
“What? You turning me down?”
“I don’t have anything to wear,” she mumbled.
“Not a problem.” He wanted to nibble her lip, kiss her again. But now that he’d taken charge, he’d make sure she was 100 percent romanced before they moved on to having fun. “I happen to have a lot of resources at my disposal.”
Her pulse fluttered in her throat. She looked left, right, left again. “Won’t my attending the reception mess up your sister’s wedding arrangements?”
His pulse drummed in his ears. She was so adorable when she was flustered. “I’m paying for it.” Blake refused to take “no” for an answer. “Shouldn’t be a problem to add your plate to the tab.”
“I’m on kitchen duty that night.”
“Jessie, I’m sure your mom will let you come out and play.”
“I suppose.”
A hint of hopeful expectation danced alongside her hesitation. Would she ever believe that the only thing he saw standing in front of him was a tight, sexy-as-hell, gorgeous package?
There was one way for her to find out how much he wanted to unwrap her, layer by sexy layer.
Show her.
He pressed his lips against her delicate ear. “We’ll skip our workout tomorrow morning. You’ll need time to get ready, ’cause it’ll be a long night.”
He saw the hairs on her nape rise. Heard her sudden intake of breath. “How long?” she whispered.
“As long as you want it to be,” he answered.
“And afterward?”
“I’m sure we’ll think of ways to fill the time.” Blake nibbled her earlobe. “We should make the most of every minute.”
Chapter Five
“Fits perfectly.” Jessie’s mother finished hooking the eyelet at the back of the strapless, midnight blue dress with a beaded bodice, each stone a different hue. “You’re beautiful.”