Page 29 of Unlikely Guardian

Even with their no-holds-barred conversation, he hadn’t expected her to say that. “Excuse me?”

“Your jeans,” Lilly said as if that clarified everything. She waited a moment. “You look really good in them. You look really good, period. And maybe because it’s been so long since I’ve had sex. Or maybe it’s you. Or me. Or the moonlight. Or your aftershave. Or maybe it’s because I’m just going crazy.”

Well, they were definitely on the same wavelength, and it wasn’t a good place to be. “My aftershave, huh?” Jason questioned.

She nodded. “It reminds me of leather and sex.”

He frowned. “And that’s a good thing?”

“Apparently so.” She touched his arm, rubbed softly. Stopped. Then started again. Her fingers moved to the front of his white cotton shirt. To his chest. And she began to play with the fabric. “When I was in the laundry room this morning, I sniffed your T-shirt.” She huffed. “See what you’ve reduced me to? Clothes sniffing. Thanks to you, I’m now a bona fide pervert.”

Lilly had no doubt meant that to make him laugh. Or at least she’d meant it to break the almost unbearable tension. It didn’t work. No amount of humor or sarcasm was going to defuse this.

He didn’t move.

Neither did Lilly.

But he did move closer. Yep. He went in the wrong direction. His gaze traveled over her moonlit face and searched her eyes. He saw a lot of concern there. Maybe even fear. And unfortunately there was something much, much worse. He saw mirrored in her what stirred his own body.

Desire.

Minutes earlier Jason had been certain that he’d filled his quota of doing stupid things. But he was apparently wrong. He saw a flash of the future and realized he was about to make the stupidest mistake of his life.

That didn’t stop him.

Nothing would stop him. He knew that now. So he quit fighting.

He reached out, slid his hand around the back of Lilly’s neck and hauled her to him. She made a soft gasp when she landed against his chest. Not a gasp of shock or discomfort. It was breathy. A quivery, feminine sound.

“We’re practically at war with each other,” she reminded him.

It was a good reminder.

And a useless one.

“That whole war thing between us…” he lowered his mouth to hers “…is cooling down a bit.” He brushed his lips over hers and elicited another of those gasps from her. “Wouldn’t you say?”

“It’s a little cool. But still there. And that means we shouldn’t kiss,” she said, her breath clipped. She shook her head and the movement stirred her hair around her face, the wisps landing on her cheek.

“Well, we have to start somewhere. It would hardly seem appropriate if we had sex without kissing first.”

Now, she laughed. It was low, rich and filled with nerves. Jason knew how she felt. Every nerve in his body was on edge.

Her scent curled around him, blending with those of the cool, damp air-conditioning and the spring night. There were undertones of her arousal. Subtle. Yet not subtle to his own body. He wanted his scent on her skin. Her scent, on his. Hell, he just wanted her.

He skimmed his thumb over her bottom lip.

“Jason—”

He didn’t let her finish. Fitting his mouth to hers, he kissed her. It was quick and light. No urgency. No demands. Almost immediately he lifted his head to gauge her reaction. Her eyes were wide, her mouth pursed in what appeared to be surprise. Or maybe outrage. It wasn’t quite the reaction he’d hoped for. He’d hoped to see a punch of lust in those ocean-colored eyes.

So, he kissed her again.

This time her breath quickened. Her clenched hand trapped between them relaxed, for just a moment, before she gripped the front of his shirt and pulled him closer.

It was the only invitation he needed.

Running his hand into her loose hair, he recaptured the back of her neck and gently angled it so he could deepen the kiss. She made a little sound, just enough to part her lips. Enough for him to slip past the sweet barrier of her lips and discover plenty about Lilly Nelson.

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