Page 54 of Take Me Home

The reality of what happened was sinking in. “I could have died. You could have died, Darcy,” I said, shaking my head. “I’ve been such a dick to you today.”

“It’s okay. It doesn’t matter. We’re safe,” she said. My hat had popped off during the fall and she ran her fingers through my hair.

“It does matter. I shouldn’t treat you badly just because I’m in a bad mood. I wouldn’t have slipped if I hadn’t been pissy.” And part of me wondered if my dad was behind this, too. I’d been resisting her touch all day, knowing damn well I needed it. I put my hand over my eyes, ready to let it all out. “My dad died 13 years ago today.”

“Jake,” Darcy said, propping herself up to look at me better. “I’m so sorry.”

Then without asking, just knowing, she gave me what I needed. She laid her head down on my chest, hooked one arm around my shoulder, and used the other hand to keep stroking my hair. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her tight. My breath shuddered, and the sobs I’d been fighting all day finally came. She didn’t shush me or tell me it was okay. She was just there, holding me and letting me hold her. She understood my needs without asking. She understoodme.She sat up a bit and wiped one of my tears off my cheek, one corner of her mouth turned up slightly.

“You were 13?” she asked.

I nodded.

“Half of your life now,” she said, understanding. “That’s really hard, Jake.”

“I shouldn’t have taken it out on you,” I said, feeling upset with myself.

“Well, no, you shouldn’t have. But you are a boy, so…” she said, joking a little. We both laughed. “And it’s not like you have no reason to be mad at me.”

We stilled, her on top of me and not moving. Her eyes studied mine, brow furrowed. I could have chosen to save face and act unaffected, but I needed her to know how I felt.

“It wasn’t a mistake for me,” I said quietly.

“I’m too much of a mess for you, Jake,” she said, brushing her finger over my cheekbone. “You deserve better than me.”

And then, right there, Darcy Rossetti broke my heart open again. She didn’t think she was worthy of my love.

“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that? I’m a big boy. I can want whoever I want,” I said, my tone sweet as I fawned over her, messing with the curls falling in her face again. She cracked a smile at that. “You keep managing to save my life, after all.”

“Well, you saved mine the other day after I was the asshole who dehydrated myself into illness,” she pointed out. “So I guess that makes us even.”

“Even?” I asked, incredulous. “I helped you when you were sick. You saved me from plunging to my death. With cat-like reflexes, I might add.”

“Yeah. Even,” she said, her voice a low purr. Oh shit. Darcy wanted to play. I’d been wanting to play all damn summer.

“If you’ll recall, you helped me when I burned my hand.”

“You tried to patch up my busted elbow,” she countered.

“I tried, but youdidsave me from vicious coyotes,” I said, smirking at her.

Darcy’s body shook slightly, probably from her own adrenaline from the fall. I felt intense warmth wave off her body. “In that case,” she said in that same purr, “I guess you do owe me one.”

Our eyes locked. Her breath came in slow, heavy pants. I looked away from her eyes down to her mouth, where her lips were parted, waiting. Nerves tingled in my belly as I realized that I was going to try to kiss her again. I hoped to hell it would work.

Darcy inhaled sharply as I slid my hands under her arms and pulled her body up so our faces were flush. She straddled my torso, suspending herself above me with her hands on either side of my head. I drew my hands down her sides, to her waist. I could feel the heat between her thighs pressing down on my stomach and if she sat back, she’d feel my body’s response to her. There was no hiding it this time. She had me all the way turned on. This had to be it.

She hovered her face over mine, eyes softened. I nodded my head ever-so-slightly to let her know that yes, I wanted this. I wanted this so fucking bad. My thumbs grazed the bottom of her ribs through her sweaty shirt. I knew what she meant about me smelling like me because she smelled like her. The essence of Darcy, a combination of that shampoo and her body’s natural scent after a day of hard work, mingled with the sweet hay smell that surrounded us.

And what she did next almost put me into an early grave. Darcy lifted a hand, ghosting the pad of her thumb over my bottom lip before sliding her hand across my cheek to my jaw, tipping me up to her. A quiet groan escaped me in response. Even if she never touched me again, I’d be replaying that for the rest of my life. I blinked slowly, lifting my chin to beg for her mouth, focusing my gaze on her delicate, sexy lips that I was dying to taste again.

She fluttered her eyes closed and descended that last inch, our lips barely brushing. She paused, then dove right back in, giving me the fire that had been building between us since that night I saw her at that bar. Our lips locked, and I couldn’t resist sucking on them to hold her there once I had her. She wasn’t running off again if I could help it. I needed to convince her how badly I wanted this, wanted her to stay. My hands roamed up her back as her grip tightened on my jaw and neck. I passed my tongue along her lips and she opened to me with a soft moan.

Kissing Darcy was incredible, giving and taking just the right amount and letting me feel all of the passion we’d been holding back from each other. I was so happy, yet so nervous that it would be over too fast. We’d said so, so many words to each other, but nothing was quite like connecting our bodies, letting our physical chemistry burn. Her hips curled across my stomach, seeking friction, and I so wanted to give it to her, gently shifting her down toward my arousal. That’s when the sound of footsteps on the gravel made her pull back from me. I’d forgotten all about the time crunch we were in because all that mattered was her.

“Shit,” she mumbled against my mouth. My hands tightened on her hips, trying to keep her just a little longer.

“Y’all need any help?” Becca called out. “We gotta leave in 10 minutes.”

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