by Bird, Peggy
She leaned over the bar to kiss Fitch on the cheek and say goodbye.
Fitch grinned down at her. “See, m’love! I told you you’d liven the place up.”
Chapter 12
Matt was quiet on the ride home, leaving Jade to her own thoughts, which were pretty grim. She had now managed to mangle two dates and embarrass herself in front of a bar full of people, including the man she was trying to impress. If she was out of her league before, she had cemented that status by beaning Matt in the head with a pool cue. She was starting to feel like she was living a Lucille Ball comedy routine. I suck, I suck, I suck. The refrain echoed in her head. Meg would hate that kind of thinking.
“You are thinking way too hard over there.”
Jade looked up from her lap and over at Matt. “It’s that obvious?”
“Yeah, I’m a little worried about it.” Matt slid his glance toward her, then back to the road.
“About my thinking?” Jade narrowed her eyes at Matt, prepared to get defensive.
“Yeah.” Matt smiled a little.
“Why?”
“Well, what are you thinking?”
“That I suck.”
Matt laughed. “That’s why.”
Jade shrugged and felt hot tears pushing at the back of her throat. Oh, no. No crying. That would not be cool on a second date. And of course, right at that moment Matt chose to glance over at her again. He pulled the car over to the side of the road. They were only about halfway back to Lakehaven, and he just pulled over to the side of the little two-lane road like he had arrived at his destination, and pulled her into his arms.
She really couldn’t stop the tears then. “Oh God, I am so sorry.”
Matt just gathered her closer and stroked his hand up and down her back. “You don’t suck, Jade. You don’t,” Matt whispered. “You are the most … incredible woman.”
Jade nodded in agreement, channeling her best friend. “I am!”
Matt laughed and gathered her closer.
Jade lifted her head and wiped at the wet spot she had left on Matt’s shoulder. “I got snot on you.”
“I like snot.”
Jade shook her head. “I don’t get it. You are a sophisticated, creative, super-hot guy with a great sense of humor who could date anyone. This doesn’t make any sense. You going out with me. I mean, yes, I am awesome, when I’m not clumsily smacking guys in the face with a pool cue. But there is absolutely no reason for you to like me.”
“I’m super-hot?”
“That’s not the point. Focus here, Connor.”
“No, that kind of is the point, Jade. You think I’m super-hot. That means something. Not everything, but something.”
Jade rolled her eyes.
“Why do you like me?” Matt pulled back to look down at her.
“What?”
“I’m serious. Why?”
Jade smirked. “You’re super-hot.”
Matt grinned down at her. “Yeah. And?”
There was a long silence as Jade pretended to think.
Matt looked like he was starting to get worried. “Uh, can you come up with anything?”
Jade laughed. “Yeah, I just wanted to make you squirm a little.”
“Oh, I haven’t taken enough abuse tonight?” Matt gestured toward his nose, which looked slightly swollen and a little red.
Jade smiled weakly. “God, I really am sorry about that.”
Matt waved off her apology. “Nah, it was my fault anyway.”
“See, that’s why I like you. You’ll take a perfectly disastrous date and turn it into fun. You’ll take the blame for something that I did, just to make me feel better. You’re creative and intelligent. You’re funny, charming, witty, and a good kisser.”
At Jade’s last words, Matt’s gaze heated and drifted to her mouth. She could see his intent before he even moved. She knew he was going to kiss her, and she almost sighed with pleasure when his mouth met hers. His lips were firm but still soft, and his kiss was impossibly gentle. His hands slid up her back to her neck and then cradled the back of her head, his fingers working into her hair and massaging her scalp. Her breath caught as he took the kiss deeper, pulling her into him with the slightest pressure of his fingers. She flattened her palms across his abdomen and felt the tightening of the muscles there as she ran her hands across his stomach and out to the sides of his waist. Heaven. Having his hands on her, her face bracketed by his forearms, his scent wrapped around her in the close confines of the car was heaven. She wanted to lick him there, on the inside of his wrist, to taste his skin, but that would’ve meant breaking off the spectacular kiss. She wanted more, but she also didn’t want him to stop kissing her, ever. The sensation was so full, so rich, she felt suffused, drunk with the kiss.
Jade was a short heartbeat away from crawling onto Matt’s lap when he pulled out of the kiss with a groan. She could hear his ragged breath and feel his abs rise and fall with it.
“Why did you stop?”
“We’re still in the car.” Matt dropped his head forward and raked his hand through his hair, leaving it sticking up at odd angles.
Jade nodded. “Right.”
Once his breathing started to slow, Matt turned to look at her. “Look, you want to know why you? That kiss says it all. When I’m with you, I can’t get enough, Jade. I can’t know enough about you. I’m fascinated, intrigued, impassioned, and flattened by you. I can’t hear enough, I can’t look enough, and I can’t touch enough of you to stop wanting to know you, hear you, look at you, be with you. I don’t know how to explain it any better than that. It doesn’t have to make sense to me. It just is what it is.”
Jade looked Matt in the eyes, searching there for something, some way of knowing if it was the right thing to do, the right choice to make. Then, in a moment, she chose. She chose him; she chose the situation; she chose her feelings. She felt the resistance in her slide away, and every cell of her being acquiesced. The air in the car went from charged to crackling, and Jade nodded at Matt. “Let’s go home.”
• • •
They slipped into Jade’s cabin, already wrapped around each other but, surprisingly, only slightly disheveled. They had strolled the path to her door with false patience. They had touched and kissed leisurely along the way, each time holding something back.
Jade locked the cabin door behind her and leaned against it. Matt reached over her shoulder slowly and turned the light on. It was a soft light, playing across Jade’s features, her small nose, the wide, sensuous mouth, big green eyes. He took his time looking at her, drinking her in. Beautiful. Matt smiled at the inadequacy of language to really express it. Exquisite. Yeah, maybe that was closer.
He reached out to touch the bridge of her nose, the seam of her mouth. Her breath caught, and he stepped in to her. She pushed in to meet him. Goddamn, he wanted her. Badly. He took a deep breath to steady himself as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Big mistake. He breathed in her scent—mint, pine, and something richer beneath that—a smell that was simply her skin, and he felt the heat coil tightly in his belly and shoot straight to his groin. If it weren’t their first time, he might just bury himself in her right now. He tried to concentrate, but he could feel her fingers playing lightly across the nape of his neck, and all of her pressed against him. His control was slipping.
He stepped away, and she made a little noise of dismay. She took a step to him, and he stepped back again. She glared at him and followed, reaching out to grab his t-shirt. “Where are you going?!”
Matt looked down at her small hand, fisted in the material of his shirt, and smiled.
Jade shook her head. “There’s nothing funny here, mister.”
“No, ma’am.” Matt nodded at her but the corners of his mouth gave him away.
She shook her hand, which was still twisted up in his shirt. “Take this off.”
Matt raised his eyebrows.
“Now.” She started to pull the hem of his shirt up his torso, and her hands bru
shed against his skin. He stilled under her touch and let her struggle to pull it over his head. It was sweet torture, and when she was done he was breathing hard, and she had a look of triumph on her face.
Matt’s control slipped another notch. He needed to do something now to slow this down. “You don’t want to talk?”
Jade stared, dumbfounded, at his bare chest and licked her lips. “Uh, no.” She reached for him, but he intercepted her hands and held them in his.
“I never told you how I broke my nose. Don’t you want to know?”
She wiggled her hands to try to free them, but his grip held firm. “Tempting, but later.” She pulled at her hands again. “Come on, let me touch you.” It came out like a little growl, and he could feel himself get harder with the demand in her voice.
He seriously thought about giving up then and there and just letting her do whatever the hell she wanted to do to him, but there was his pride. Or what little of it he had left. “I was with my best friend, Sam, and we were playing He-Man and Skeletor.”
That got her attention, and she stopped struggling against him. She looked up at him and smiled a devilish smile. “We could play She-Ra and Sea Hawk.”
Matt sucked in a deep breath at the thought, but he continued with his story as if he were unaffected. “We were wrestling.”
“I’ll wrestle with you.” Jade’s hands were still shackled by Matt’s, but rather than try to pull them out of his grip, she changed tactics. She was leaning forward, pressing her breasts into the back of his hands and rubbing them against him. When he felt her nipples pebble under his knuckles, he had to stifle a groan. The stalling tactics were backfiring big time.
His voice came out strained, but he was determined to continue with the story. “We were rough housing and got a little out of control.”
Jade purred. “Out of control? I know the feeling.” She stepped back and bent her head over his hands, flicking her tongue over his knuckles. Her tongue was warm and pink, and she slid it up the length of his finger to the tip and swirled it there.
Matt dropped her hands like he had been burnt. He was pretty much done for and couldn’t even finish his thought. There was very little blood flow reaching his brain at this point, and he let instinct take over. He reached for her, sliding his hands up her sides, over her ribs and up under her breasts. He filled his hands with her and stepped closer.
Now that her hands were free, they worked the button-fly on his jeans while her mouth and tongue explored his chest. She made a little noise in the back of her throat and that was it. He was done playing. He needed her now. He picked her up and strode back to the bed. He dropped her there on her back and watched her wiggle her way back up. Nice. As she slid her body further onto the bed, her breasts shifted and her hips lifted in a symphony of movement.
• • •
Jade watched him watch her. His eyes darkened and passion played across his face as he stood at the foot of the bed. His shoulders were steeled with tension, and she could see the play of muscles across his arms, chest, abdomen. She had managed to unbutton his jeans, and they must’ve slid down his hips when he carried her to the bed because they hung low on his hipbones. She could see the shadow of hair that started below his belly button, where it trailed down his stomach and disappeared under the waistband of his underwear. Her mouth felt dry, and she had to lick her lips for about the hundredth time tonight. The movement caught his attention, and he smiled a wolfish grin. “Do that again.”
Jade complied. He slid his thumbs into the sides of his waistband and Jade sat up suddenly to get a better look. Matt lifted an eyebrow but didn’t move.
Jade begged. “Please.” Her voice was husky, which wiped the smile off Matt’s face. He slid the waist of the jeans down an inch then paused. His eyebrows pulled together. “You still have all your clothes on.”
She slid her shirt up over her head and lay there in jeans and a black lace bra so filmy that her nipples were clearly visible through the thin fabric. She leaned back on her elbows then glanced at his waistband and stared back up into his eyes. “Now you.”
Matt eased his jeans the rest of the way off and climbed up on the bed with her. He was big everywhere, and his weight pressed her into the mattress. Jade gave into a sigh at the feel him on her. He leaned his head down to her breasts and licked a nipple through the lace of the bra. The fabric seemed to melt under the moist touch of his tongue, and she savored each sensation. He sucked harder and snaked his hand around her back to undo the clasp. His mouth stayed where it was, even as he gently slipped the straps down her shoulders and peeled the fabric away from the tops of her breasts. He moved up to her mouth as he pulled the bra the rest of the way off, and she pushed back onto the sheets. He slid further up her body. He inched up her torso until he was over her completely, his arousal hard up against the seam of her jeans. She slipped her hands around to the base of his spine then slid them lower, tracing the contour of his lower back as it arched into his fabulous butt. She could feel the muscled planes of him flex as his hips pushed forward, and she felt herself go wet with need.
Her jeans had to go, but Matt was too busy taking small nips at her shoulder. She gasped and shuddered with the feel of his teeth gently gliding on her skin. Her body involuntarily arched up into him. He moved to the base of her throat and licked there. It was slow torture, and she was panting with the strain. Matt seemed leisurely, but she could feel a sheen of sweat between them as their bodies slid together. “Help me get these off!” she moaned as she tried to work her hands between them to get to the button of her jeans.
Matt lifted his hips and jerked at her button, popping her waistband open with one pull. He circled his tongue around her nipple as he slid his hands down her hips, pushing her jeans and underwear down her legs. His mouth moved lower as he worked the jeans down her calves and she felt his breath hot on her belly. He tried to slip her jeans over her ankles and feet then paused. They were stuck. He tugged at them a little harder.
He had managed to twist the fabric around her ankles but not quite pull the jeans off. They had bunched around her feet and pooled there. She wiggled her feet to try to free them, but it didn’t help.
Jade pointed her toes hard to make it easier. “Try now.”
Matt pulled harder but the jeans stayed put. He grunted as he pulled. “Almost.”
Jade pointed her toes harder to try to help him. “How about now?”
Matt tugged one last time and the jeans suddenly came free, and he sat back hard on his heels.
“Oww, oww, cramp!” Jade was twitching her foot crazily.
“What’s wrong?”
“My foot, it’s cramped. Help.” Jade was laughing but wincing at the same time. “Oww, oww, oww.”
Matt grabbed her foot and started rubbing. “Here?”
Jade dropped her head back on the bed. “Almost … lower.”
Matt lowered his voice an octave. He sounded like a James Earl Jones impersonator. “Better?”
Jade laughed again. “No, toward my heel, you idiot.”
“That’s no way to talk to the man who is about to rock your world!” Matt boasted.
Jade rolled her eyes. “Yeah, all talk and no action.”
“Oh, you want action?” Matt swiveled his hips, which made his penis bob up and down. Jade laughed again. Here was a Greek god come to life: sculpted shoulders, chest tapering down to a trim six-pack, and all of it glistening in the low light of her cabin, but he was making her laugh in the midst of what promised to be the hottest sex of her life. Was it possible he didn’t take himself too seriously?
He bent over her and kissed her forehead gently. She reached for his face but her thumb caught him in his red and swollen nose.
“Oww!” Matt pulled back suddenly.
“Oh God, I’m sorry!” Jade pulled her hands away as Matt jerked his head back. “Are you okay?”
Matt rubbed his nose. “Do you have a nasal fetish? It’s okay if you do. I’m just curious.”
Jade sighed. “I’m not very good at this.”
“What?” Matt looked flummoxed.
“This sexy, seduction stuff. It’s not in my skill set.”
Matt shook his head disbelievingly. “Are you kidding?”
“Uh, hello. I just picked your nose in the middle of sex after accidentally bashing it in with a pool cue. I’m not even mentioning the foot cramp. Not sexy.”
Matt wiggled his eyebrows. “Are you kidding? I’m incredibly turned on.”
Jade narrowed her eyes. “Are you into S&M?”
Matt smiled a naughty smile but didn’t answer her question. “We were not quite in the middle of sex, anyway. Not yet.”
Jade frowned. “Whatever. I’m not good at this.”
Now Matt frowned. “Whatever gave you that idea?”
Jade shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s supposed to go more smoothly than this.”
Matt caressed her cheek. “Says who?”
Jade didn’t say anything.
Matt leaned down to kiss her. It was a tender kiss, sweet and gentle. Jade relaxed back into the pillows. Her eyelids drifted shut.
Matt kissed her along the jawline. “What if it this is exactly how it’s supposed to go?” He flicked his tongue along her neck and collarbone.
“Mmmmm.” Jade stretched like a cat.
“See? You’re very good at this.” Matt worked his way lower, nuzzling her cleavage. Jade arched her back and moaned. Matt grinned and slid lower. “Really good.” His voice sounded like velvet and gravel.
He worked his way down her body with his tongue. His mouth played along her skin. It was warmer than the cabin air, and she shivered at the contrasting sensations. He explored her curves reverently—where her rib gently jutted out below her breast, where her waist curved out to hip and then back down to her thighs. His every movement aroused her. She shivered when his hair gently brushed across her sensitized skin as he made his way back to her center.
His head rested at the V between her legs, and he looked up at her to make sure she was with him. “Open up for me.” Jade hesitated but then gave in to him. He bent her knees and slid her feet over his shoulders, caressing the arch of her foot and the curve of her calf as he did. He slid his hands up to her hips to tilt them upward. She fought to keep her head up to watch what he was doing, but finally just dropped back to enjoy his touch on her body.
