Page 112 of Next Time I Fall (Excess All Areas 2)

“You know. Enough.Enoughenough. Me. What we are. You’ve come back to this crazy level of success, and all the interviews and ... everything else.”

“Why did your voice go up oneverything else?”

“Don’t make me spell it out, Jase.”

“Women. Is that what you’re saying?” He reached for the hem of her hoodie and pulled it up over her head.

“Yes. But all of it.”

Jase raised an eyebrow. “I told Little Jase he had to wait. I told him you’d be tired. Might be hungry. I got food and shit in case you were. But I can see you need reassuring just how much he’s missed you. How muchI’vemissed you. Let’s start there. Let’s rebuild that connection and talk when we’ve reminded ourselves just how much we mean to each other. And I’ve got to be honest. He might not last very long because the only action he’s seen in the last month is my palm and your sexy as fuck Welsh accent.”

He yanked his own sweater over his head, then cupped her cheeks. “I think we need to get reacquainted and start from there.” He didn’t just kiss her, he owned her. His hands slid to her neck, holding her in place while his tongue duelled hers. “You think I need anybody else?” he gasped. “When I’ve got you? And this?”

The way her insides quickened for him, the feelings he stirred up inside, rode over the words her father had placed in her head. Later, she’d tell Jase why she’d worried, but for now, it was impossible to think.

She reached for the hem of his T-shirt, and he helped her as she tugged it off. Then he helped with her T-shirt and bra until they stood, topless, in the middle of Jase’s living room.

Thank God for net curtains.

When their skin pressed together, they both gasped, their lips pressed in an open-mouthed kiss.

“I’d carry you upstairs, but the hallway is so fucking narrow I’d injure you, or me, or both of us.” He took her hand and led her up the stairs to the first door off the hall.

Jase fell to his knees in front of her and slipped off her Converse and socks. With gentle fingers, he unfastened her jeans and shimmied them down her legs with her underwear.

“I should shower,” she said, knowing full well it was nearly twenty-four hours since she had.

Jase pressed a kiss to the seam of her hip, running his nose along her. “No. You shouldn’t. You should stop fucking worrying about shit that doesn’t matter and focus on us being back together.”

She placed her hand on his head, letting her fingernails scratch gently along his scalp, as he eased her clothes over her feet until she was naked.

“Unless you feel uncomfortable. I mean, I don’t want you to do something you don’t—”

“Jase. I’m fine. You want me as I am. You’ve got me.”

When he stood, he lifted her into his arms and placed her on the bed. He grinned as he stepped back and removed the rest of his clothes. “Just as I thought.”

“What is just as you thought?” she asked.

“You. In my bed. Fucking perfect.”

She turned her head to the side and blushed, only to catch sight of the photo frame she’d given him right there on the bedside table. “You really missed me. As much as I missed you.”

“I hope that’s a statement and not a question, or I did something very wrong in the last five weeks.”

“It’s nothing you did, I promise you.”

Jase crawled over her on the bed, and she ran her finger over a new tattoo on his chest. Foamy blue and white waves rose into the sky in front a stylised sunshine with flames licking out around it. “I like this,” she said.

“Yeah. I’ll tell you about it later. But first, I need to feel you.” Jase settled between her thighs, his erection pressing exactly where she needed pressure. “And fair warning. I’m pretty certain this is going to go from ‘babe, I missed you’ to ‘fuck, I need it dirty’ in about ten seconds.”

Cerys bit the lobe of his ear. “I like the sound of dirty.”

Jase rolled his hips against hers. “Say dirty again and I might come.”

“Diiiirrtty.”

“Shit.” He lifted onto his forearms and wiggled down the bed, sucking one of her nipples into his mouth. As he let it slide out, he dragged his teeth along her skin. Her entire body tightened, and she gasped. “Miss me, babe?”

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