Page 88 of Five Alarm Kiss

Laurel hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath, but she let it out when she heard his words. He wasn’t rejecting her. He was giving her control.

“But make no mistake…” He caught and held her gaze. “I want you. More than anything.”

A shiver tumbled through her. The way he was looking at her confirmed everything he’d said. She could see the desire simmering in the darkening blue of his eyes, the primal longing mirroring her own.

“What doyouwant, Laurel?” He started making circles on the inside of her hip with his thumb.

The simple movement shouldn’t feel as good as it did, but apparently the man had a roadmap to her erogenous zones and had memorized every on-ramp and turn. She pressed her hip against his hand, answering him without saying the words, but he didn’t respond.

Didn’t he get her meaning? Okay, to be fair, a little hip move wasn’t super obvious. Maybe he was waiting for instructions.

Cranberries, does he literally want instructions?

Remembering how he’d required her to voice things out loud before, he probablywaswaiting.Fudge!

“I…”

“Hmm?”

That wasn’t even officially a word, but knowing he was listening so intently, made her hesitant. Maybe baby steps?

“Could you, um, maybe kiss me again?”

He grinned. “No maybe about it.”

Dipping his head, he brushed his lips across hers. A tantalizing, feather-light caress that promised more, if shewas willing to take it. Laurel leaned into him, increasing the pressure. Jake moved his hand to her thigh and gripped tighter at the same time he ran his tongue along the seam of her lips. She opened for him, shivering when his tongue slid across her own.

Asking him to kiss her and having him respond immediately gave her a boost of confidence.

Since her hand was already on his chest, she tried something subtle again and let it drift lower. When she traced the ridged muscles of his abdomen, they tensed beneath her touch.

Jake hooked his hand around her legs in response, and lifted them across his own.

“This okay?” he asked. He must be feeling her cautiousness, so was confirming consent.

When she nodded, he captured her lips again and deepened the kiss. Sliding his hand up to her ass, he hauled her onto his lap.

“Jake...” Laurel could feel him hard beneath her. Butterflies took flight in her stomach, and she couldn’t refrain from wiggling a little.

He let out a low growl. “Can you feel what you do to me?” he asked, moving against her. “One kiss and that sexy little shimmy, and I’m at your mercy.”

Jake athermercy? Was he kidding? All he had to do was glance at her with that smoky look in his eyes, and she got wet.

But, at her mercy was good. She could work with that. Testing his statement, she moved against him again. He inhaled sharply through his nose and dug his fingers into her hip. His response thrilled her, and knowing she could affect him made her want to do it again. She intentionally repeated the action, rubbing herself against his thick length. Once more, his fingers tightened. They’d probably leave bruises, since she bruised like a peach, but she honestly didn’t care.

“Fuck, Princess. Are you trying to kill me?”

Was she? She’d never deliberately teased a guy to try to turn him on. It gave her a heady rush she wasn’t used to, and she liked it.

Throwing caution to the wind, she toed off her shoes and repositioned herself so she was straddling Jake’s lap. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him and slid her hips again.

“If you don’t stop doing that,” Jake ground out, “I’m not gonna be responsible for my actions.”

“Oh, really? What will you do?” she asked, wiggling some more.

Who the heck am I?

She’d never been confident sexually. Less so after Ethan. And she’d never been the aggressor. But with Jake, she felt safe. He made her feel desired and sexy.

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