Fear of Falling(30)

We had been open for a few hours and were expecting a slow day. Sundays usually brought in a few regulars, but since it wasn’t football season yet, most people were out enjoying the warm weather with their families. Blaine was in a good mood. Things between us had been comfortable and easy, though I still would break out into a deep blush whenever his arm grazed mine or our eyes would lock. The past two nights had been so crazy that we hadn’t had much alone time. I think we were both looking forward to the slower shift, and I was secretly hoping that Blaine would step his game up. I wanted to experience the Blaine Jacobs persistence that he so confidently believed would eventually break me down and make me fall madly in love with him. As if that could ever happen. But, hey, there was no harm in trying.

“Hold still just a sec,” he said suddenly, as I was filling a beer order for Lidia, one of the waitresses. Luckily, the pitcher was full, and I slid it towards her. She cocked a curious brow and winked at me before heading off to service her tables.

I felt him behind me before we even made contact. There was something about his scent that drove me absolutely mad. It was masculine, natural and impossibly erotic. I could pick it out even among the sea of scents at a department store fragrance aisle. By the time I felt his hands at my waist, I was high off the smell of mint and spice, and drunk with anticipation. They were firm yet somehow gentle as they gripped my hips, drawing our bodies together. When his chest and abs were flush against my back, I felt as if I might pass out. That’s when I realized I had stopped breathing.

“Kami,” he whispered, his lips on my earlobe unapologetically.

I wanted Blaine’s ways of persuasion, and now I was getting it. Oh, sweet baby Jesus, was I getting it.

Warm breath slid down my throat and caressed the top of my chest, spilling down into my shirt. “Here, let me help you,” he rasped.

Blaine’s fingers traced the edge of my jeans, skimming the tiny bit of exposed skin that my tight Dive tee couldn’t conceal. That’s when I looked down and realized that he was retying my apron. His hands were at the base of my spine above my tailbone, driving me insane as they slowly worked those strings into a bow. What should have taken him mere seconds was drawn out into a vicious assault on my senses. I wondered what else he could prolong with those fingers, the possibilities causing a flame to spark between my legs.

Though I knew my apron was secure, Blaine’s hands never strayed. They coasted back to my front, stopping at my hipbones as he pulled me back into him. My head was leaning back onto his shoulder while his head dipped further into me, warm lips grazing my neck. My eyes fluttered closed reflexively as a low moan seeped out before I could stop it.

“God, you smell good,” he breathed, running his soft lips from my earlobe down to my collarbone. “I bet you taste as good as you smell.”

“Why don’t you taste and see?” a voice moaned. It sounded like mine, but there was no possible way it could have come from me. It was too confident, too self-assured. There wasn’t a trace a fear laced between those words.

“Can I?” he teased. He knew damn well I was ready to let him sample every bit of my body in that moment.

The gruff sounds of a clearing throat cut into our aroused senses like a knife. Blaine and I broke apart in time to catch the narrowing eyes of Mick. He glared disapproving daggers at his nephew before snorting and retreating to the back office. Mick was a man of very few words, but I could tell he didn’t like his bartenders canoodling on the job.

“Shit!” I whispered, covering my beet-red face with my hands. Blaine had the nerve to chuckle, eliciting a smack on the arm from me. “Not funny, Blaine! We’re gonna get fired!”

Blaine let out a pompous half-snort. “There’s no way that’s happening. Let me worry about Mick.”

“Well, you’re his family. Of course, he won’t fire you. But I’m still new here. I don’t want him to think I’m just a walking, talking set of T&A. I want to earn my place here.”

I swear I heard Blaine groan just at the mention of tits and ass. Such a man. Yeah, he seemed like a rare breed, but I had to remember that Blaine Jacobs was a male, and therefore, could not be trusted. Yeah, that’s what I should’ve been thinking, but my mind was still clouded with the remembrance of his lips caressing my neck. Blaine had completely dismantled me without even really kissing me.

Seeing the flush rising on my cheeks, he stepped into me, close enough for me to damn near taste the air he occupied.

“You’re right. I’ll try to tone it down here. But I need us to finish what we started. I need to see you outside of work. Tonight. Just us.”