Page 67 of A Lonely Road
I blinked at her. “Huh. That’s nice.”
Then her mouth was on mine and I didn’t bother thinking about anything other than how good she felt against me. Any interest in Sam and Casey’s relationship, inevitable as it hadalways seemed to me, flew straight out of my head. All that was left was Nora—the taste of her lush lower lip between my teeth, the soft swell of her breasts against my chest, her heat pressing against the fly of my jeans.
When my palms slid up the outside of her thighs to cup her ass under the cotton skirt of her dress, I froze, my brain short-circuiting until I managed to assemble my thoughts back into some degree of coherence.
“You’ve been wearing that little black thong all night?” I asked hoarsely.
A mischievous smile lit her face even as she batted her lashes at me. “Of course I have. I did buy it just for special occasions, you know.”
“Of course,” I repeated, a groan rumbling through my chest. “I didn’t realize meeting my parents counted as a special occasion, but I suppose I can see that. And you didn’t tell me before because . . . ?”
“Well, I thought you might be too distracted, silly.” She trailed her lips along my jaw and I responded by kneading the soft, bare flesh that filled my palms. “Besides,” she murmured against my ear, “my parental approval rating might have dropped if they saw the way you’re looking at me right now.”
“And how am I looking at you?”
Her hands tangled in my hair to tip my head back. “Like you’re hungry,” she said softly. “Starving, even. And definitely like you have some very explicit thoughts going through your lovely head.”
I cupped her more firmly against me and stood just long enough to turn and lay her out on the bed. “I’m absolutely ravenous, and those thoughts are very, very explicit,” I replied against her throat. Sitting back on my heels, I threw off my shirt and lifted the skirt of her dress to her hips with tantalizing slowness. When my lips brushed the top of her knee, she wiggled.
“Jake! That tickles,” she gasped, then I let my tongue swirl along the inside of her thigh and the gasp turned into a moan.
“You have beautiful kneecaps,” I said. I propped myself on my elbows and shot her a quick grin. “Your father did just threaten mine, so I think it’s only fair to show yours some heartfelt appreciation. And now look. I discovered they’re connected to these truly exquisite thighs, which I’ve decided deserve equal reverence.”
All the air left her lungs in an audible rush as my mouth traveled along her skin. My hands slipped under her ass again, cupping the bare flesh in my palms as my lips grazed her hip bone. When my teeth caught the edge of the sheer black fabric, my name escaped her lips on a strangled, breathless whimper. I slid my hands upward, underneath the waistband, then drew them slowly down her legs, inch by agonizing inch.
“Should I stop?” I murmured, but she only tossed her head restlessly on the mattress.
As I crawled back up, I dropped hot, open-mouthed kisses from ankle to calf, from knee to sweet, softly rounded thigh. When she whimpered and let me spread her legs further, wide enough to fit my shoulders between them, I dipped my head torun my tongue along her center. She arched, her hips lifting of their own volition, and she gasped when I did it a second time.
“What was that?” I asked, drawing back to cock my head at her. “I’m afraid I couldn’t hear you.”
“Please,” she whimpered, then my tongue rolled against her, teasing, circling, lapping at her until she was breathless and writhing beneath me.
I paused again to lift my head, eyebrows raised. “Please stop?” The way she wiggled was answer enough, but I waited for her to say it.
“Please don’t ever stop or I might shrivel up and die,” she groaned, arching violently against the teasing brush of my lips along her hip bone.
“Can’t have that now.”
I flashed her a devilish smirk before dropping my head again, then I set about showing her just how much I appreciated her.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Nora
Inthethreegloriousdays that followed, I learned what it felt like to be welcomed into a loving family. First, Sam, Casey, and Cheryl insisted on taking me shopping while “the boys,” as Cheryl lovingly referred to Jake and Dave, worked on my car. Jake had even invited my dad over for the day, but he had a fishing trip planned with Chief Roberts. When Jake told me that, I gave a mock scowl and accused my father of reconnoitering with his Spruce Hill spy.
The next day was family brunch at Jake’s childhood home—which, against my better judgment, included a brief but scorching makeout session in his old bedroom—followed by an impromptu trip to a family friend’s vacant beach house on the lake.
To my surprise, my dad actually accepted the invitation to join us and enjoyed the day talking about boats and world travel with Jake’s parents.
Meanwhile, Jake and Sam spent the afternoon trying to one-up each other with a mix of tragic town lore and ghostly tales about the Spruce Hill Lighthouse that stood proudly in the distance, supposedly home to a lost treasure. Much as I enjoyed the stories, I had to beg them to stop before the competition came to blows.
By the end of those few beautiful days, I was left with a fully stocked wardrobe, a hint of a sunburn, and a heart so overflowing I almost teared up just thinking about it.
That unexpected degree of happiness was why, when Jake walked me out of the house so I could meet Sam for coffee the next morning, finding my closer-to-good-as-new Baby covered in spray painted graffiti almost brought me to my knees.
My blood turned to ice as I stumbled against Jake’s side, my fingers tensing into claws around his as he kept me standing. A harsh rasp filled my ears, but I couldn’t tear my gaze from the car to see if it was coming from Jake.
