Page 51 of Legacy

“I’m fine.” His thumb brushes the back of mine. “I didn’t like kissing you in that room.”

“So you brought me out here?”

He shrugs, and for a second, my pride is hurt that he didn’t want to add me to his list of conquests. But then it hits me:He didn’t want to add me to his list of conquests.

I’m naive enough to wonder if it didn’t feel right because there’s something more between us. And when I look in his eyes, I’m pretty sure I’m right.

“You brought me out here to kiss me?” I can’t hide my smile. “I didn’t take you for a romantic, Jesse King.”

He smirks. “I’m not.”

A hint of fear flecks his bright-blue eyes. A bleeding artery spilling out his truth.

“Well, we’re out here now.” I glance out at the empty desert then back to him. “So, are you going to kiss me or not?”

He tucks my hair behind my ear. Not dropping his hand once he does. His fingers pause on my neck, where my heartbeat meets my skin. Where my truth meets what I’m refusing to admit to myself.

I angle my chin up, and he dips down to claim my lips like he understands.

My need.

My desperation.

That’s all this is—all I can be for a man like Jesse King. His barriers are too high to climb, and I’m too tired to try. So instead, I sink into this comfort and pretend it won’t change anything.

I lie to myself as he pulls me up onto his lap, and my knees dig into the bed of the truck on either side of him. I block out the whispers of warning as his fingers bury into the soft flesh of my thighs.

If only he felt less temporary.

“Fuck, Reagan.” His mouth moves down my jaw to my throat.

I tip my head back, and his teeth nip at my shoulder.

“We shouldn’t do this.” He’s mumbling, but he doesn’t stop. “You shouldn’t let me touch you like this.”

My fingers grip his thick shoulders as he nips at me again. That bite. That sting of heat that shoots straight to my center starts a pulse in my core.

“Are you going to stop then?” I rock my hips.Taunting him. “Are your morals so high you won’t defile the nanny, or are you going to show me what all the fuss is about?”

His blue eyes meet mine, narrowing. “You can’t help yourself, can you?”

“I—” I open my mouth to answer, but he stands up with me in his arms, spinning me around and laying me back down in the bed of his truck, cutting me off.

“Testing me.” He teases my lower lip with his tongue as he leans over me. “Teasing me.” He skates his mouth along my jaw and neck. “Tempting me.” He slowly trails his tongue down my chest to the peak of my nipple.

The fabric of my dress is thin enough to feel the warmth of his breath through it as he kisses the peak. My hands fly to his hair. Needing more. Desperate for all of him.

“Keep running that fucking mouth, Reagan. I dare you.” His hand drags up my thigh, under the hem of my dress, so his thumb skates dangerously close to my center. “There’s nothing I’d like more than to show you exactly what I’ll do if you push me to my breaking point.”

His body inches closer, shoving my knees apart. His hand teases the spot that’s aching. But he won’t give me the relief I need as he holds back.

Jesse leans over me, watching and waiting for me to back down. The problem is, I’m in too deep. This is wrong, and I can’t stop myself.

So I grab his wrist and pull his hand between my legs, letting him sink his fingers against my damp core to show him everything I’m not brave enough to say out loud. The sound that rumbles in his chest as he grips my center makes me deliciously wet, and I grind my pussy against his hand.

“You dare me, huh?” I roll my hips, lifting onto my elbows to bring my mouth to his ear. “Let’s see what you’ve got then,Legacy.”

15

---