Page 84 of A Kiss at Midnight

“I’m giving you a date,” he says.

My eyebrows raise. “This is a date?”

“Yep.” He pats the seat of the swing.

“Whose idea was this?” I move forward and sit.

He grips the sides of the swing, and I’m being pulled backward before he releases me. My legs automatically go out and then tuck in as I return back to him. The feel of his hands against my lower back as he pushes me to fly forward again, sends a surge of awareness through me.

“I’m not divulging my secrets,” he says.

And then, miracle of all miracles, I relax as I go higher and higher with each push Blake gives. Soon, I’m giggling like a young girl on a playground — exactly how I feel... and, well, exactly where I am.

After several minutes, he stops pushing, and I come to a stop in front of him. Turning, I barely see him under the dim lights, but I can’t miss the smile on his face. My how it changes him to see him looking this carefree. He’s always gorgeous, but in the moonlight with no stress marring his features, he’s spectacular.

“I can’t remember the last time I’ve had so much fun,” I admit.

“Then the date’s a success so far,” he tells me before he comes around the front of me and pulls me from the swing and straight into his arms.

“The date’s most certainly a success,” I breathlessly reply. Bending down, he runs his lips across mine before drawing back.

“I want you right now,” he says in a growl that sits low in my stomach.

“Ialwayswant you, Blake.”

I wish I could see his eyes better, but rays of light from the moon have begun, and the lighting around the playground is inefficient at best.

“Come on,” he tells me.

But he doesn’t drag me to the nearest cave to have his wicked way with me. We fill the next half hour with our laughter as we move through the growing shadows of the park, swinging across the monkey bars, trying out the teeter-totter, and taking a turn on the merry-go-round. Blake nearly flies off it when he puts out his leg to spin us faster.

“I might need to have one of these installed in the backyard. I see definite possibilities,” Blake tells me when the spinning stops, and I lie back on it. He leans over me, and my laughter dies as passion quickly takes its place.

“Hmm, we might be a little too old for playground equipment,” I tell him, but a few ideas of my own pop up in my mind.

“We’re only as old as we allow ourselves to be, Jewel.”

I don’t get a chance to reply, because he’s covering my mouth, and this time the kiss isn’t nearly as gentle, and with the hardness of his desire pressed against my core, I begin to seriously think about adult playtime.

Minutes pass and I’m ready for Blake to take me right here on the playground when we hear voices closing in on us. Blake lifts his head and groans in frustration. Then he sits up and helps me to my feet.

“Let’s go home.” I smile in anticipation as the two of us run from the park. Even in our haste, we still don’t make it home for quite some time as we get lost in each other’s arms on an old road in the front seat of his car. I’ll never get enough of his touch, and I’m truly accepting this now, and even more scary, I’m getting used to it.

Chapter Review

Chapter Forty-Eight

Jewel

Tyler and Byron lookat Blake and me with differing expressions. I shift nervously on my feet, glance up at Byron’s black eyes, then down at the floor. I always thought Blake was intimidating. Well, Blake seems to have nothing on his little brother. Byron’s downright terrifying.

When I manage to lift my gaze, Tyler beams at me, and before I can think of stopping him, he rushes over, takes me from Blake’s arms, and wraps me in his. “Congratulations, Jewel. I’m delighted to welcome you to our family,” he says. He bends down and gives me a loud, smacking kiss... right on the lips.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Blake grumbles as he pulls me away from his overly enthusiastic brother.

“Aw, come on, Blake. She isn’t married yet,” Tyler says with a laugh, and I have to cover my smile when I see Blake’s eyelid twitch. This is the first warning he might blow.

I gently rub his arm, and Blake turns his look from his brother to me, and I watch a miracle happen — his shoulders relax and the sparkle returns to his eyes.

---