Page 28 of His Jersey

“I’d never. I was going to toss you on the bed but was thinking about the night we went swimming.” My heart drums in my chest.

Ella’s cheeks turn pink. She looks away as if she doesn’t want me to notice.

Heat creeps across my skin because there’s no denying I want her. We want each other.

“What would you do if I did throw you in the pool?” I ask when what I mean to say is,What would you do if I kissed you right now?

“In my clothes? I’d splash you until you were soaked, too,” she threatens with a laugh.

Her gaze traces mine as if she remembers our swim in the pool and what followed.

The kiss lives rent-free in my mind.

Ella is impossible to forget.

12

JACK

Standing face to face,my arms lace around Ella’s waist. I inhale her cocoa butter scent. Edging toward the veranda, she wiggles as if trying to escape, knowing there’s a good chance I might toss her in the pool.

I tickle her, resulting in a fit of giggles. Her laughter makes me smile inside and out. With her, I can take a deep breath of the fresh night air.

Outside, we both go abruptly still as if we just surfaced from whatever this is.

Our eyes lock.

A silent question floats between us.

I lean in. She angles her head.

My pulse lurches. Her eyes dip.

Our mouths crash together.

The pace races recklessly, filled with longing as if we both have been shipwrecked and were finally rescued.

Her fingers dig into my shoulders. Mine tangle in her hair. My inhales become Ella’s exhales and hers meld with mine.

Awareness quickly fades away and there is just the two of us.

That’s all there needs to be.

The thought disappears into the darkness of my mind as our kiss deepens.

When we part, my thoughts spin with every reason I shouldn’t be doing this. Teasing Ella with a kiss, with the room, with anything other than the truth that I’m the spoiled and arrogant son of a billionaire with a terrible track record when it comes to relationships and commitment.

I’m loyal … but only for a few dates before I move on. In recent years, I’ve made it very clear that I’m not looking for love or any of the things that come before or after that. And definitely not cookies with my face on them made out of royal icing—unless Ella baked them.

She is sweet.

Charming.

Adorable.

Strong.

Cute.

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