Page 23 of Never Finished

I thought of that day often, the first brush of her lips that had me hooked. And to this day, I haven’t been able to unhook myself—I’ve never wanted to.

“Excuse me,” she laughed, “you are rewriting history, Mr. Acosta, because I distinctly remember you cutting me off mid-sentence to kiss me.”

We were approaching the double doors at the end of the hall that led to the Carter family suite, and a knot of dread began forming in my gut. Our moment was almost over. “Well, you can hardly blame me. I’d been wanting to kiss you all summer, and we were finally alone,” I asserted as we stopped in front of her door.

She turned to face me then, a little more of that spark in her eyes now.

I looked down at her, reveling in the way she tilted her head upward, staring into my eyes, and the loneliness I saw in hers tore at me. Not just because I couldn’t stand the thought of her being lonely, but because it was the very thing that had been plaguing me for years. I’d had relationships, but none of them were Emma and she was who I wanted. “I had no choice but to kiss you… before I lost my nerve.”

She huffed out a laugh. “I’ve never known you to be short on nerve, Jaime,” she breathed.

“It’s rare, that’s for sure. But if I’m being honest, I could use a little extra nerve today, too.”

Something lit in her eyes and a familiar heat rushed through me as she murmured, “then let me give you some of mine.” Then she rose on her toes and, like a magnet, our mouths had no choice but to meet. At the first taste of her, I had to bite back a groan and curl my hands into fists at my sides to keep from grabbing her and manhandling her like a caveman.

But Emma had other plans, because she curled her hands into my shirt, yanking me down so I had no choice but to slant my mouth to kiss her more deeply. The action made her lose her balance and because of her hold on me, we both stumbled back until we bumped against the wall.

We broke apart, laughing, but when our eyes met, all laughter stopped. Her eyes were glassy with need and my mouth went for hers with a vengeance. I needed to taste her again, like I needed air.

When my tongue touched hers, there was no going back. I speared my fingers into her hair, the silky tresses twining around my fingers and a hungry moan echoed the air and it took me a moment to realize it had come from Emma’s throat and not my own.

This wasn’t like any of the stolen kissed from our youth, not with the way her hands were rubbing against my chest. And God, the taste of her… I felt like I was home after being away for too damn long.

I didn’t know how I was ever going to stop when Emma abruptly shoved me away and looked up at me with wild, worried eyes, then breathed, “we have to stop.”

Emma

Idon’t know what possessed me, but once we were alone, Jaime overwhelmed me. His scent, his warmth and charm. Everything I’d been missing about him compelled me to act. It was as if I didn’t have control of my body.

My lack of control scared me even as the taste of Jaime thrilled me. What would happen if we were to take it further? Could my heart handle it when this inevitably ended?

My brain was fighting with my body, which was screaming for more of Jaime’s touches. It frightened me how much I wanted him, which was why I pushed him away so forcefully.

But then something strange happened. It was as if the cosmic presence of both Abby and Caroline converged and I could practically hear their voices screaming at me to “let go.” Ever since my mom died, I’d been holding onto every little thing as if my life depended on it because I was terrified of what else I might lose.

But the truth was I’d already lost Jaime, so I really had nothing to lose. Why not have some fun? Why not get answers to some long burning questions about Jaime? Like what it would be like to spend all night in his arms—or what it would feel like to have him inside of me. That question had driven me to near madness a few times in my adult life.

When I shoved him away, though, the wounded look in his eyes told me everything I needed to know. Despite what I’d said, I didn’t want to stop. I wanted the heat back in his eyes and his hands on me, so moments after I pushed him away I told the sexy man in front of me, “What the hell am I saying? I don’t want to stop.” Then I grabbed his shirt again, yanking him to me, and our mouths crashed together.

He groaned against my lips, and my hands ran over his taut chest and stomach. I have vivid memories of what he looked like without a shirt on when we would go swimming as kids. But I suspected those broad shoulders and muscular arms I’d been admiring since I got back matched that of a mature man, one who would make me forget, if only momentarily, about all the pain and loss.

His mouth traveled over my cheek and down my neck, and the feel of his lips against my skin warmed me from the inside out. “Jaime,” I breathed, “come inside with me.”

His eyes were dark and wild as they looked down into mine. “Are you sure, Bella?”

I nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, I’m sure.” I would not let any niggling worries ruin this moment—I wanted him, and I wasn’t about to let him go.

His eyes dipped to my mouth and then down the rest of my body as I rushed to grab my clutch, my hands shaking with excitement as I dug for my room key. It was only the size of a wallet and yet I was fumbling to find the key when Jaime reached his hands out, covering my shaking hands with his large, steadying ones.

“Let me help,” he said in his deep, reassuring voice. Keeping one hand on mine, his other reached inside my clutch and effortlessly snagged the key card. I was grateful for his steadiness because I felt like I was going to come apart if I didn’t get in his arms soon.

He flashed the key card on the sensor, and the door clicked open. Then he held it up between two fingers, offering it back to me as he grabbed the door handle.

It wasn’t lost on me that the next time I walked out of this room, I will finally know what it’s like to be with Jaime, to share myself completely with him.

With a shaky breath, I follow him in and shut the door behind us with a definitive click. Jaime looked at me for a long moment in the dim light from the lamp Caroline must have left on.

I dared a glance around the room to see that Caroline had indeed cleared out all of her things. Then I returned my nervous gaze back to him. “Jaime?” I started, unsure of what to say next, but he seemed to understand my hesitancy because he answered by reaching out and grabbing my hand, gently tugging me to him until I fell into his arms. His other hand stroked my cheek.

---