Page 88 of Second Act
“Just the opposite. This is so wonderfully normal,” Jessica said. She smiled at Hugh as she said it and caught an odd, stricken look in his eyes.
But her brother distracted her when he announced, “I’m going to bed. Want to be fresh for the big job interview tomorrow.”
Jessica gave him a quick hug. “I’ll wish you luck in the morning.”
As soon as Aidan walked out of the kitchen, Hugh looped a dish towel around Jessica’s waist and pulled her into him. “At last I have you alone,” he growled.
“Could you pretend to be Mick Jagger again? I’ve always kind of had a thing for him,” Jessica teased. “But seriously, how did you make yourself look skinny like him? That was amazing.”
“Just actors’ tricks,” Hugh said. “Let’s go upstairs, and I’ll be anyone you want in bed.”
“In bed, I only want you.”
“Good answer.” Hugh draped the towel around her neck and cupped her face in his hands. “Can I stay here tonight?”
“I’d love that.” It would extend the illusion that Hugh was just a regular boyfriend.
He tossed the towel onto the counter and grabbed her hand, towing her to the staircase. Hugh kept stopping to kiss her as they made their way up the narrow, creaky steps, so it took a while to get to the bedroom, and Jessica was practically panting with the need to rip her and his clothes off.
“Where’s Aidan sleeping?” Hugh asked as Jessica started to pull him through the door to her room. “I want to know how quiet we have to be.”
“Don’t worry, those Victorians were prudes,” Jessica said, tugging him in with her. “They inserted a bathroom and two closets between the bedrooms, not to mention some thick plaster walls. Besides, Aidan sleeps like a dead person.”
“Good, because I don’t want you to hold back.” The intensity of his gaze sent a prickle of heat through her.
However, he came to a halt just inside the door, his gaze skimming around the space. Jessica looked around, too, trying to figure out what he found so fascinating.
The only really standout feature was the star-pattern quilt she had hung on the wall between the two windows. Her grandmother hadmade it for her mother, and her mother had passed it down to Jessica. She found the bold green, yellow, and blue colors and the geometric pattern almost modern, even as it gave a nod to her Iowa heritage. She’d matched a simple matelassé bedspread to the royal blue of the quilt and added toss pillows that picked up the other colors in their prints. Other than that the furniture was solid but unremarkable Victorian oak.
“So this is your most private space.” Hugh nodded. “It’s you, Jess.”
She frowned. “It’s pretty basic.”
“Not to my eyes,” Hugh said. “I would know exactly how to play you in a movie just by seeing this room.”
“Hmm, I’m not sure that would be as easy as making yourself look skinny like Jagger.” She faced him and ran her palms over the hard, flat wall of his chest.
He laughed, but his gaze was scorching as he lifted his hands to the top button of her blouse. “I need to observe more closely the physical attributes of your character.” He flicked open all the buttons in rapid succession, pushing the blouse off her shoulders. His eyes were locked on her breasts, so she threw her shoulders back to tempt him into touching.
“Being a method actor, I also need to know how theyfeel.” He slipped her bra straps down to her elbows so the lace cups peeled away from her skin. He curved his hands underneath her breasts, lifting them as though gauging their weight, before dragging his thumbs across her already taut nipples. The friction sent an electric current arcing from the point of contact to the simmer of longing low in her belly, igniting it into a flare of arousal.
“Method acting is an excellent technique,” Jessica managed to gasp as he drew circles with his thumbs.
“I need to know how they taste, as well.” He bent, his hair brushing against her chest like frayed satin, making delight shimmer over her skin. When he fastened his mouth on one nipple, a streak of lightning lanced through her, making her arch into him and cry out. He suckedin, and she grabbed his shoulders to keep her knees from buckling under her.
When he switched to the other breast, her bones seemed to melt into molten desire. “Could you method-act us into bed right now?”
The warm, wet suction of his mouth disappeared from her breast, making her mew an objection, but then he stooped to hook an arm under her knees and scooped her off the floor. This time she didn’t fight him while he carried her the few steps to the bed. She wound her arms around his neck and teased the side of it with her teeth and lips. “Being carried isn’t so bad after all,” she breathed into his ear, flicking her tongue against the lobe.
He held her poised above the bed as she combed her fingers through his hair and licked into the hollow at the base of his throat. His neck was one of his erotic trigger points. She could hear his panting and feel the uneven rise and fall of his chest against her breasts as she played there.
With a harsh groan, he put one knee on the bed and lowered her onto the bedspread. But he didn’t follow her. Instead he leaned over and spread her hair out on the bed before running his palms down her shoulders, breasts, and bare torso. “So beautiful,” he murmured.
“And so desperate for you inside me.” Not that she didn’t enjoy the compliment, but the ache between her legs was not going to be eased by words—unless maybe they were a lot dirtier.
His smile was wicked. “That’s exactly how I like you. Eager and wanting more.”
Jessica grabbed his belt and yanked the end out of the buckle. Unsnapping his jeans and pulling the zipper down, she thrust her hand in to find the hard length of his erection pushing against his black briefs. “Seems like you’re pretty eager, too.”
