Page 38 of Crossroads
There’s something under his surface, something deep. Something raw. Something he doesn’t show anyone else.
But I see it.
“Sure,” he says, swimming around me. I get lost in watching him.
“Lucy looks good,” I say because I’m an asshole, but it kind of bites me in the ass when I feel that sting of jealousy. The same jealousy I felt when I watched him grab her hand and hold it.
The asshole’s eyes just spark with mirth. “Yeah. She always looks good.”
Fucker.
“So that’s the ultimate goal then?” I ask, swimming around too, lying back a little to float but keeping my ears out of the water.
“What?”
“Get her back. Get married. Buy property and a donkey or whatever.”
He chuckles at that, mimicking my position in the water and floating effortlessly next to me. “It was.”
“Was?” I hate how intrigued I sound. How locked-in I am on his upcoming answer.
He clears his throat and rights himself in the water so he’s treading water again, and I do the same so I can face him, fully aware that we’re both completely naked. “I’m not sure what I want anymore. Maybe she was right about us.”
I don’t like the hope that flickers in my chest at that. I mean, what the hell do I think is going to happen? We had one quick,horny hookup that we didn’t talk about, and now I’m happy because he doesn’t want to get back together with his ex? Make it make sense.
I move closer to him, taking in the lines of his face. I’ve noticed how good-looking men can be before, but Jasper is on a whole new level. His jaw is cut, his cheekbones are high, but his face is completely and totally masculine. His lips are full and red. His nose actually looks like it may have been broken once or twice, but it only adds to his beauty. I reach out and stroke over his nose with my pointer finger. “Did you break this?”
He lets out a low chuckle. “Twice.”
I smile fondly. “How?”
“First time was in grade school. Football practice. Fucking Jordy wasn’t watching where he was going.” He doesn’t seem upset though. More like it’s a fond memory. “Then last year, there was a storm, and I was trying to get one of the horses in the barn before it really hit. But the thunder scared her, and she tossed me off right into the side of a building.”
“You caught yourself with your face?” I laugh.
“Fuck off,” he growls, but there’s no fire in it. We’ve moved to where we can both touch now, but the water is caressing the tops of both of our shoulders. “I’ve had my fair share of farm injuries.”
I think back to dinner and how quickly he shut me down when I asked him to show me his scars after everyone else had done so. I move impossibly close to him, sure that I’m pushing my luck, but I don’t think I could stop it if I tried.
He’s a force.
One I can’t deny.
I lean in, breathing in his scent, earthy and musky from the sweat of hard work and sun. “Show me your scars, Jasper,” I say, looking into those eyes of his, my mouth an inch from his. My voice is a quiet rasp between us as we stare at each other.
He fills the gap, shocking me to my core, his lips crashing against mine and stealing my breath. I gasp into his open mouth, catching on quickly and then kissing him back. The familiar battle is back on, my fingers in his hair and his in mine as we work our way to the shore.
My back hits the wet grass around the edge of the pond, and his big body claims mine, covering me as his mouth works on devouring mine. We’re naked and soaking wet, our hard cocks dragging against each other as I thrust upward, and he pushes down in a heated exchange.
I can’t catch my breath. I don’t want to. I want to live in this moment forever as I tug at his wet hair, my mouth owning his the same way he owns mine.
It’s never been like this before. So intense. So raw. So real. I feel everything everywhere, and I’m greedy because I only want more. “I want to taste you,” I confess.
He groans, the sexy, deep throaty sound bubbling up from his chest. “We can’t do this here,” he says breathlessly, kissing over my mouth and then down my jaw, biting and sucking so hard, it makes my dick throb.
“Where?” I ask, my fingers raking through his hair and then down over the back of his neck.
“Come on,” he says, pulling me up to my feet and tugging me along. I follow willingly, not caring for one second that I’m naked and chasing after him.
