Page 48 of The Other Plan

His lips moved closer to mine.

“All you need to do is stop fighting this.”

Closer.

“Stop running.”

Even closer.

His warm breath tickled my lips as he whispered against them, “Kiss me, Jenna.”

I wanted to. God, did I want to. I whimpered as I waited for his lips to press against mine. But they didn’t. Instead, they tortured me, hovering so close that the breeze barely fit between us.

“Kiss me if you want this, Jenna... if you still want me. I’m not going to force this on you. You have a choice. Either kiss me now or walk inside, and I promise I’ll leave you alone.”

I closed my eyes, trying to focus on my breathing instead of the perfect face hovering just an inch away from mine. His breath moved against my skin, and I made the mistake of inhaling the faint remnants of his intoxicating scent. Even a plunge in the lake hadn’t completely eliminated the smell of his earthy, masculine cologne—the same cologne he’d worn when I’d first met him. How I’d loved to curl up inside his arms and breathe him in, burning that scent into my memories. Smelling it again transported me back to the girl who’d fallen for the boy on the beach.

The boy standing before me now as a devastatingly handsome man.

Slowly, my lids fluttered open, and I looked into his eyes. They burned with the same passion I knew was reflected in mine.

Screw it.

I levered up on my toes as I tossed my arms around him and pressed my mouth to his. His waiting lips met my passion as he slid his hands onto the side of my face, pulling me into him, deepening our kiss. His tongue slipped past my lips, and I met its demands as I moaned into his mouth.

He pushed me back up against my door, his body pressing into mine as he pinned me against it. Digging my fingers into his back, I pulled him tight against me.

“Jenna,” he breathed against my lips as he softened his kiss. “I missed you. God, did I miss you.”

“I missed you too,” I whispered. “Now shut up and kiss me again.”

A fire lit up his eyes for a moment before his lips connected with mine again. His powerful, passionate kiss nearly dropped me to my knees. I heard the handle turn and felt the door disappear from my back as he kissed me harder, pushing me into the house.

Arnold jumped up on us with excitement, but Carter continued kissing me, devouring my lips with his own as he moved me through the house toward my bedroom.

“Upstairs. Second door.” I mumbled against his lips.

With a smile that paused our kissing for only a moment, he swept me up into his arms and kissed me senseless while he carried me up to my room. Kicking the door shut behind him, he brought me to the bed, laying me down gently when we got there. His powerful body hovered over mine, and I whimpered when his lips drifted away.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dreamed about this,” he said as he brushed a hand through my hair. “I can’t believe I found you again.”

“Small world, huh?” I reached up and dragged my fingertips across his jaw.

He closed his eyes and pressed into my touch. “No world is big enough to keep me away from you. We were fated to meet back then, and we were fated to find each other again. I’m just sorry it took so damn long. Ten years is way too long to go without this.”

He lowered himself again, his biceps bulging beneath his weight as he pressed a kiss to my lips.

Then my neck.

Then my bare shoulder.

His fingers moved to the bottom of my tank top, and he pushed it up slowly while his lips drifted south to meet them. When he slid it up over my breasts, I sat up just far enough for him to pull it over my head.

Those same fingers moved to the back of my neck, his lips trailing just inches behind them. I closed my eyes when I felt him working open the ties of my bikini strings. The cool air brushed across my breasts when he slid my top down. My breath hitched when I felt his warm kisses peppering their way down to my breasts.

I moaned when he took me in his mouth, his fingers and lips breaking apart as his hand continued south. It found its way beneath my suit and into the spot I needed him most. I cried out when I felt him inside of me, but he closed my mouth with a kiss.

“Do you want me to stop?” he asked.