“Nah.” I reach over to squeeze her knee. “If we want to get people excited about the project, we need to make it fun. Let’s say that level one is ‘just a li’l crack’.”
“Perfect. Then ‘serious dent’, followed by, ‘officially a pothole’.”
I chuckle, retracting my hand as I take a corner. “Level four could be, ‘hold onto your britches’.”
“I like that! And level five could be ‘yikes’ or even just three exclamation points.”
“And then the ‘edge of the road, asking for trouble’ bits. Boom – naming convention done.”
Jenna grins, then checks the time. “It’ll only take me around half an hour to crop and process the best shots. I could do it atAunt Bernie’s, then it will be right around time for the floof’s feeding.”
“Can I play with Monster while you work?”
She snorts. “You can try. He’s pretty standoffish with strangers.”
When we reach her aunt’s house, I wait for her to go in first so the cat isn’t startled. Jenna starts working at the dining room table, and I stay out of the way on the couch, checking email on my phone and ignoring the black and white furball staring at me suspiciously from beside the easy chair.
About twenty-five minutes later, Jenna’s head snaps up. “Well, they’re all cropped, got nice contrast, and… What the heck?”
I grin, setting down my phone to wave, since my left hand is busy scratching between Monster’s ears as he sprawls lazily across my lap.
“I can’t believe it,” Jenna murmurs. She moves slowly as she brings the laptop over, and we easily agree on which shots we should use.
Although I’m trying to pay attention to the photographs, all I can think about is the feeling of her thigh pressing against mine, and how she seems so comfortable being so close to me already. We work well together, too. And we listen and think and react at similar speeds and styles. Except that I want to rush things and kiss her properly again.
After we send everything off to my brothers, Jenna sets her laptop on the coffee table and turns to me. She’s just opening her mouth to speak when Monster sets a paw on her knee and gives a firm shove.
I glance at my phone on the couch. Sure enough, it's two minutes past four.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jenna laughs, standing and trudging to the kitchen with the ball of fur hot on her heels. As soon asMonster is happily chomping away, Jenna returns and I pull her into my lap. She’s taken down her ponytail, the auburn waves settling around her shoulders.
"Thank you so much for your help." My hand caresses her back while I dip my head to nuzzle her ear. "I'm more than happy to pay you whatever you think is fair for those photos."
"No way!" She gives my chest a playful shove, then leaves her hand resting on my heart. "If you guys are paying a fortune to fix all the roads, the least I can do is donate a few hours of time."
"Well, maybe we can?—"
My phone beeps, and I groan. I skim the flurry of texts, then growl. "Coding marathon at Kingston's starting in half an hour. I thought we were starting tomorrow, but apparently we’re doing it tonight. I'm so sorry, baby."
In the indoor light, Jenna’s eyes are glowing a soft ocean green. She smiles, snuggling against my shoulder. "Baby? Already?"
“Yeah. Is that okay?"
She's already nodding as I pull her tighter to me, kissing her softly. Jenna's body feels so perfect in my arms. I break off the kiss just long enough to murmur, "For the record, I've never called anyone baby in my life. I already feel like this relationship is a couple of weeks along instead of days."
Jenna nods, her fingertips tracing slowly around the edge of my ear. "Yeah. It's weird. But good weird, right?"
"The best weird."
Her soft, sweet scent fills me with a rush of desire as I kiss her again, leaning back slightly and pulling her close. Her luscious round breasts flatten against my chest, her legs curled around my thigh as she twists, kissing me back just as deeply. She's so soft and feminine and smart and…oh wow.
I'm falling for Jenna, hard. I had no idea that it would hit me like a lightning bolt, but that’s exactly how it feels as I hold hertight, caressing her hip, her waist, both of us moaning as our lips part.
"What about your code-a-thon?" Jenna breathes. "Don't you need to make that app right now?"
"Coding later. This is more important."
I lie back a bit further, pulling her so she's straddling me. We're fully clothed, and there’s no time to start anything major, but I can't resist untucking her shirt to caress the silky, soft skin across her lower back. She hums her approval, her hands in my hair and across my chest as we kiss and grope and caress, practically gasping for air.
