“Having fun?” he asked.
A blush rose to her cheeks and she immediately withdrew her hand. She seemed embarrassed, but not at all remorseful. And then…and then she actually had the nerve to try walking away like nothing happened, like she hadn’t just disrespected his body. He should have let her leave, but instead he yanked her in front of him and pushed her up against the basin, pinning her firmly in place with his hips. If she felt the hardness that had grown beneath his towel, she gave no indication. Then again, she probably didn’t know the effect she had on him.
He caught the edge of her T-shirt, slowly sliding it up until he felt the bare skin of her stomach. His fingers crept beneath the material, pressing into soft flesh. She was dainty and petite, and were it not for the hard muscles he felt under his tips, he may have thought she was fragile. But she wasn’t. She was firm and toned, encapsulating strength in her small frame. Those workouts had done her good and he wanted to see what she was hiding beneath her oversized clothes.
He was unaware that he was moving closer until he felt her chest press against his. Her anxious breaths warmed his skin and her lips parted in invitation. Like the pull of a magnet, his head dipped towards her, his mouth so ready to take possession of hers. He wanted to slide his tongue between her teeth, kiss those lips the way they were meant to be kissed. But he stopped himself at the last second.
Instead, he gripped her tighter. His hands moved higher and she stiffened. He held her gaze, waiting for her to tell him to stop, and when she didn’t, he pushedherboundaries a bit more. The curve of her breasts met his thumbs and he stopped there, very careful to not take it further than it needed to go. He lightly caressed the undersides of her sports bra and her breath caught. Actually, it seemed like she stopped breathing altogether. Her eyes were wide, staring at him expectantly, and he had to hold back a smile of satisfaction.
“You like that, Jazz?” he asked. “Some guy you barely know putting his hands on you without permission?”
She caught her lower lip between her teeth. It was a sign of nervousness, but all it did was draw his attention back to her mouth.
“Actually,” she whispered, “I do…I do like it.”
That wasn’t the response he’d been expecting. He’d been expecting discomfort, embarrassment, hell, even an apology once she realized how inappropriate it was. He certainly hadn’t expected her to like it and he definitely was not prepared to see her looking at him like she wanted something more.
Immediately, he dropped his hands and stepped back. Distance was needed between them, because that statement made him want to ruin her, destroy every ounce of innocence he saw in her Jasmin eyes.
“You shouldn’t be so honest,” he said. “One day it’s gonna get you in trouble.”
She said nothing, still looking very flustered as she left the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
“What are you doing?” he asked, looking at himself in the mirror. “You can’t mess around with a girl like that.”
And he knew he shouldn’t have to convince himself of that. She had too many issues. Mommy issues. Daddy issues. Abandonment issues. A woman’s heart wasn’t something to be toyed with and he wasn’t about to fuck around withthatheart. As tempted as he was to push the physical boundaries even further, he knew that lines would inevitably get blurred. A fling would be misconstrued as something else. He needed to steer clear of that mess, because he was a mess himself.
She probably didn’t realize it, but she wanted something more from him, something he wasn’t prepared to give her. She wanted his friendship and if he wasn’t going to give her that, he wasn’t going to give her anything. Jasmintha Daas, and all her issues, needed to be someone else’s problem.
His problem, however, was figuring out how he was going to get through the rest of the day. Alone with her. On a bed.
Knowing what she felt like, what she tasted like, how was he going to sit there the whole day and justwatch a movie? This was definitely a problem because she left ten minutes ago and he still had a fucking hard-on.
November, 16
Grand Canyon, Arizona
Another storm. Another delay. Another day of watching of movies.
He was bored of being in the same room, so bored that he even agreed to watch a Bollywood movie. It was an investment of time, because that shit was three hours long. He couldn’t be cooped up with her for much longer, especially because they were lying on the tiniest bed in the world and every time she moved, she brushed up against him. The laptop was between their legs, but it was a single bed meaning only one pillow for both of them, so most of the time her head was resting on his shoulder. Every now and then, she sighed and snuggled closer, like she felt comfortable, safe. It was weird that he wanted her to feel like that around him.
He’d slept with quite a few women and he’d never experienced this kind of intimacy. Whether it was with his ex-girlfriends, flings, or even Claire, he generally didn’t indulge in any activities that wouldn’t eventually lead to sex.
This was different. Unlike her usual inappropriate touching, this didn’t make him feel awkward. It was nice in its simplicity. There were no arguments. No past issues rearing their ugly heads. Just two people enjoying each other’s company as they watched a movie. He didn’t like it, because he liked it too much.
*****
“That is probably the best one I’ve seen so far,” Jasmin said, switching off her laptop. “And Deadpool is the funniestsuperhero ever.” She stood up and packed it away, then returned to the bed and sat down on the foot side.
Kevin sat up against the headboard and shifted his legs to give her more space. “The funniest, but not the coolest,” he said, popping a handful of Skittles into his mouth.
They were already on their eighth bag and showed no signs of slowing down.
“I agree. There is only one ultimate superhero.” She let out a dreamy sigh. “Superman.”
He stopped mid-chew. “You mean Wolverine, right? Either you’re on crack, or that was just an innocent slip up. I will forgive either. I will even let it slide if you accidentally said Superman instead of Batman.”
“No. I meant Superman. Wolverine’s got nothing on him. Put them in the ring together and Wolverine is going down.”
