High on that rush of emotions Steve had conjured, I leaned in and brushed my lips across his.He hummed low in his throat, more like a purr, then tugged me closer and deepened the kiss.
I loved how Steve tasted: hints of mint but always with a wildness to him.I flicked my tongue along his, my palm cradling his cheek.
He pulled back in increments, eyes closed, blond lashes resting against his cheeks.When he opened his eyes, the intensity of his stare rocked me.
“Good night,” I murmured.
“Night, my lovely Jasmine.”
He opened his door, no doubt to walk me to the porch.Warmth built in my chest.Steve was such a good man, a thoughtful one.I placed my hand on his forearm.
“Don’t.”My voice cracked.“Don’t get out.Please.”
“I can’t let you walk into that house alone.Not after that jackass nearly…No, I can’t do that, Jasmine.It goes against everything in me—that’s not being a man, your man, if I don’t protect you.Maybe that’s antiquated and unnecessary, but it’s how I feel.”
“My house is under constant supervision.I get alerts when a leaf blows across the porch, so I know it’s fine.”
At first, I’d been nonplussed by the tool Carter had chosen, but now I found the additional level of security comforting.
“But that’s not what I meant,” I said.“When I asked for space.”
I cleared my throat even as I shivered.This level of raw honesty sometimes left me uncomfortable—I’d been taught not to rock the boat, but I didn’t want to put Steve in a position that left him feeling hurt.
“I want you in my bed, inme.That’s why I asked you to stay—as you know.And if you kiss me like that again, I’m going to insist you come inside so we can finish what you started.”
My fingers tightened on his arm as I implored him to understand how close I was to losing control.Much as I wanted to savor the delicious arousal spiking in my veins, I feared it and wanted to quash it more.
“You’ve explained your reasons for not wanting to go that far now, and I respect them.This is the only time in twenty years, besides our night, that I’ve felt lust.Deep,tinglydesire that I know will turn into toe-curling orgasms.”I sucked in a breath, stared into his darkening eyes.“So,please, don’t tease me with something you aren’t planning to offer.”
He sat stone-still for a moment, then reached out and tucked some strands of hair behind my ear before letting his fingertips graze my cheek.They fell to his thick thigh.
“Hell, Jasmine.”
“Yeah, it is,” I said.
“I want to kiss you even more now.”
“Don’t.I might explode from lust.”
I bit my lip, worried I’d offered too much information.Steve chuckled, but it was a dark, sexy sound that tingled through me.
“You sure you’ll be okay?”Steve asked, glancing around the space.
“I’m sure.”
He sighed.“Get your ass in your house, woman, before I break my self-imposed vow.”
So now I knew how much our relationship mattered to him—quite a lot.That was good because I felt the same.I’d lusted after Steve Lincoln for years, but now…
Now, I wanted him with an unmatched desperation.We stared at each other, the silence thickening, breathing in lust-laden hormones.My gaze dropped to his lips, and we both moaned.Fromlooking.
He leaned in and I did the same.Our lips nearly touched and a zing of electricity lit me up.
“Jasmine,” Steve groaned.
Sticking to his promise mattered to him, so I had to help us both make that happen.After fumbling with the door handle, I hopped out of the car and blew him a kiss.He pretended to catch it and slam it into his chest.I giggled as I made my way up my steps and into my dark, lonely house without a single thought about last week’s assault.For the first time in days, I didn’t bother to flick on every light and peer behind every door and in every closet.
I didn’t need to fear anything with the memory of Steve’s smile buoying me up the stairs and to my solitary bed.
