Page 58

That bad? “Would you bring me some too?”

“Actually, I think we should get some food in our systems before more booze.” He begins to scoot away from me.

“You’re dodging, Captain.”

He swivels his head toward me, and one side of his mouth curls upward. “Or maybe instead of food …” He pounces on me, tossing me on my back, and trails playful kisses up and down my neck. Then he pulls the covers off me and stares—not at my face. “Oh yeah. I like this idea way better.” Lowering his head, he pulls a peak into his mouth and swirls his tongue around it, and it stiffens immediately. After our sexcapades, my skin is on fire with sensation, but certain places are especially sensitive—like my breasts.

I struggle not to gasp as I admonish him. “That’s not going to get me off track.”

He lifts his head. “At all?”

God, he’s handsome and adorable and charming and …

I shrug a shoulder. “Maybe for a minute?”

Pleased with himself, he licks a trail to the other breast and gives it the same treatment. What was it I asked him?

The question spirals out of my consciousness as he carries me into a state of exhilaration once again. Maybe I’ll get it back, maybe I won’t. Right now it’s irrelevant.

Chapter 27

After Gale

Colby

I distract Jackie as long as she lets me—not that it’s a hardship in any way, shape, or form. No, I could make love to this woman tonight, tomorrow, tomorrow night … I want her in my bed for a very long time, which is new for me.

But I feel an impulse to come clean about some of the events in my past that shape my life—the secrets she proposes “trading for.” Why this urge has a hold of me, I have no idea. That’s dangerous territory, and I don’t want to see the look on her face if she ever hears the whole truth. So I do what I do best: distract, dodge, create chaos. At the moment, the chaos I create is what I wreak on her body.

Yeah, a real hardship.

Wanting to bare myself can’t be because we just shared the best sex of my life, can it? Great sex is something I’ve enjoyed in the past, but it never made me want to open up and pour out my secrets—although what Jackie and I did can’t be labeled as great. It’s on the order of something I never imagined was in the realm of possibility. I’m not sure there are words to describe it. Mind-blowing? That’s one way of putting it. Earth-shaking? That too. Cataclysmic? Absolutely. None of those clichés do it justice, though.

But I digress.

Once I’m done exploring every inch of topless Jackie with my mouth, I sit up. “We need to eat. Why don’t I whip us up something?” A thought stops me in my tracks. More accurately, her brother suddenly looms in my consciousness. “Or do you need to get home?” Shit! The deed is done, and I want to do more of those deeds with her, but we crossed a line forged in steel, and that’s on me. It’s also a dilemma for a different day.

She sits up too and pulls those damn covers up to her neck before leaning in to nibble my neck. Fuck, that feels good. It would feel even better if her bare skin was against mine instead of the sheet. I’m going to need to convince this girl that she’s a walking work of art. Yes, I admit it. Part of me wants her comfortable enough in her own skin that she struts around without a stitch. Okay, a huge part of me. My motives are ulterior, and I own them.

The fact that I’m seeing her in my future is also unusual—and unsettling. I haven’t been here before, and certainly not with a woman who’s completely off-limits. And there’s Harper again, living rent-free in my brain and crushing my good time. I need to get him the hell out of my head.

Leaning back, she gives me a sly smile. “I have a hotel room—that’s where I stayed last night—and Donny took a trip to Florida, so no one’s expecting me at home.”

A grin forms on my face. “A hotel room? Does it have a cushy bed?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Think maybe we should test those sheets out? See if we can set them on fire too?” I waggle my eyebrows, then yank the cover off her.

Her cheeks grow bright pink, and she resecures the damn sheet. “Maybe, but I need a shower first.” She drags her free fingers through her tangled hair, and they get stuck.

I glance toward the head. The Gail’s shower hardly fits me; no way will it fit the two of us, and that’s exactly where my mind wanders. If Jackie’s in the shower with me, she can’t wear a sheet.

This girl’s giving me all kinds of devious ideas.

“Tell you what,” I propose. “Let’s get dressed and head to your place to get cleaned up. Then I’ll take you out to dinner. How does that sound?”

She frowns at me. “Is this another Colby Chase evasion tactic?”