Page 29 of Make Me Melt

She climaxed in a blinding white-hot rush of pleasure. Jason     bucked against her, and she felt him stiffen and then shudder once, twice and     then again, inside her. He collapsed onto her, his heart pounding erratically,     and she wrapped her arms around him, not wanting to let him go. She stroked her     hands over his back, slick with sweat, and reveled in the feel of his body,     heavy and replete against hers.

“Ahh...damn,” he gasped. “That was unbelievable.” He raised     himself on his elbows over her. He kissed her, slowly and languorously, but made     no move to withdraw from the warmth of her body. When he finally pulled back to     look at her, his expression was intensely serious and filled with a tenderness     that made her chest ache. “You okay?”

Caroline gazed at him. “I think so.” Her legs were still curved     around his hips, and their breathing was uneven as they stared at one     another.

As if unable to help himself, Jason dipped his head and kissed     her again, a kiss so sweet that she thought she could willingly stay in his arms     like that forever. When he finally lifted his head, it was to carefully withdraw     from her body. After rolling away from her, he sat on the edge of the bed to     dispose of the condom. But he didn’t immediately come back and pull her into his     arms as she wanted him to.

Reaching out, she tentatively touched Jason’s back. “That was     even better than I could have imagined.”

In the indistinct light, his expression was difficult to read.     Finally, he eased himself back down beside her. Reaching down, he retrieved a     quilt that lay folded at the foot of the bed, opened it and covered them both     with it. Pulling her against his side, he smoothed her hair back behind her ear     and gently ran the back of his knuckles across her cheek.

“This is definitely going to complicate things,” he said wryly,     but he took the sting out of his words by dropping a kiss onto the corner of her     mouth.

“It’s what I wanted,” Caroline assured him.

“Like I said...spoiled rotten.”

This time there was no malice in his words, and she smiled up     at him. “You’d do better to remember that I always get what I want.”

He was silent for a moment. “You should want more than what I     can offer.”

Raising herself on one elbow, Caroline studied his face in the     darkness. “I’ve done a lot of growing up in the last twelve years,” she finally     said. “And while I may not have as much experience with the opposite sex as you     have, I do have enough to know what I want.”

His mouth curved in a rueful smile. “Just tell me you didn’t     make good on your promise to have a dozen other guys when you were only     sixteen.”

His tone was teasing, but Caroline could hear the underlying     question in his voice.

“There’ve been a few,” she acknowledged, thinking of her past     relationships. “But not until I was in college, and not even close to a     dozen.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“I have no regrets, Jason.” She was glad that the darkness hid     her expression. Didn’t he see that she’d gotten exactly what she wanted? She     knew he’d had a rough upbringing, and that maybe he had some lingering     insecurities about his background, but she’d never considered him beneath her,     and the inference that he was somehow unworthy of her was disturbing.

“I’m glad,” he said gruffly and pulled her down beside him, so     that her cheek rested on his chest. She could hear his heart beating and     wondered how long this dream would last.

7

JASON NEEDED A stiff drink.

Badly.

He’d waited until Caroline had fallen asleep; then, unable to close his own eyes, he’d finally gone downstairs. Barefoot and shirtless, he strode to the wet bar and poured himself a shot of Judge Banks’s best bourbon, then quaffed it in a single gulp. He gasped as the liquor burned its way down his throat and set the empty glass down on the counter.

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