Jackson slid his tongue across her lower lip, then did it again to her upper one. When they parted on a sigh, he dipped inside to taste her more fully, deepening the kiss. She wrapped an arm around his neck and dragged him closer. For someone so slight, there was nothing fragile about Leah at all. Small but unbreakable, she consumed him as he consumed her. Her lips fought with his, her body reared up against his touch. And he fucking loved it.
His free hand slipped upward from her waist, beneath her tee, and closed around her breast. Jackson reveled in her curves, the way she filled his palm, his fingers finding her nipple through the satin fabric of her bra. Leah rose and fell beneath him as he stroked and pinched. The raging surge of his erection had him cursing the clothes between them.
“Upstairs,” he grated against her lips. “I have a few ideas on how I can improve my ravishing technique. I’d like to run them past you.”
He pushed himself upright, climbing to his feet, and held out his hand.
“Food,” Leah murmured, even as she reached for him.
“You’re hungry?”
“No.” Her eyes dragged from his face to the foyer. “I’ve left the groceries by the door. I need to put some things in the fridge.”
He tugged her to his chest and lowered his head. The kiss was thorough, addictive; he bit lightly on her lip, praying for control. “I’ll grab a quick shower. Don’t be long.”
The water ran too hot for his already scalding skin so Jackson turned down the dial and ducked his head under the spray. Two, three minutes, and he was done. Grinning as he toweled himself, cock half hard and the taste of Leah still on his tongue, he was consumed by the joyous pleasure of the weekend lying ahead. It felt like being a child, when days off were a blissful escape from the purgatory of school. He’d take Leah to the beach house, grab a temporary vacation from the nightmare consuming him at work, and they could get away from it all together. He wanted to do something nice for her and bathe in her enjoyment. Excitement hummed under his skin.
Jackson found her in his bedroom, and his loosely held control nearly snapped.
“That’s better,” she said softly and pointed to the bed, eyes glittering. He sat down on the edge and she moved between his legs, tracing a finger along the upward curve of his lips. “I like how this looks on you.”
“The towel?”
“That, too.”
“I want you on my cock.”
Leah caught her breath. “Wow, that escalated fast.”
“Can you blame me?” He took hold of her hips, pulling her closer between his thighs. “I’ve thought about you all week. I haven’t jerked off so much since I was a teenager.” A throaty chuckle rumbled in his chest as the color rose on her cheeks.
“You have a filthy mouth, Jackson Hale.”
“I’m afraid I do.” He was delighted by the discovery. Delighted even more by the glint in Leah’s pupils which told him she didn’t mind at all, in spite of the blushing. Everything about her was so real. No airs and graces or saying things she didn’t mean. She was honest, from her surface to her core.
Her fingers wound through the damp strands of his hair as Jackson unbuttoned her shorts and pushed them to the floor. Her panties were lilac, the curve of her thighs and her ass enticing beneath his palms. Her stomach quivered against his lips when he pushed up her t-shirt and pressed them to her skin. Leah tugged the material over her head and reached behind her back to unclasp her bra.
Her breasts were perfect. His mouth sought each nipple in turn. She leaned heavily on his shoulders, her back arching with a shudder of pleasure. Jackson wound one hand around her ponytail and tilted her head to expose the long line of her neck. He licked her collarbone. Closed his teeth lightly on her pale skin. His erection strained against the confines of the towel as each husky breath broke free from Leah’s lips.
“Sit on me,” he murmured into her neck. “I need you now.”
Jackson pulled the towel from his waist and shifted to the middle of the bed. He lay on his back, head cradled on one arm. When she slipped her underwear off and crawled toward him, he thought he might come before he was inside her. Leah’s impish smile suggested she knew. She took her time to reach him, stopping to press kisses against the inside of one ankle, his shin, the outsideof the other knee, his inner thigh. And Jackson ran out of patience, hauling her the rest of the way and forcing a burst of laughter from her mouth.
He sat her astride him and pressed upward into her warmth with a groan. She parted her legs wider and rocked down on him until he was seated as deep as he could go. Reveling in having his hands full of her body, her body full of him, Jackson gripped her tightly; his thumb brushed the raven on her hip. “You feel like warm silk around my cock.”
Reaching for her hair again, he dragged her down to his mouth. The shift of her core around him was a punch in the gut. There was light and there was dark. There was so much heat. His muscles were bunched, yet liquid. Leah’s touch featherlight but all he could feel. His climax was upon him way before he wanted and Jackson exploded into pieces, the fragments of his soul gathered up by Leah as she fell with him.
Side by side, they lay next to each other until their breathing slowed. She ran her fingers over his chest, threading through the smattering of hair, while he traced Leah’s arm from wrist to collarbone and back again.
“How’s your diary looking for July 20, Raven?”
She rested her chin on the heel of one hand. “Are you asking me on a date, Jax?”
He grinned at her. “Hale Evolution is hosting a charity event. We do it every year. It raises money for the Dominic Hale Foundation. This year, it’s a silent auction at the Chicago Architecture Center. Come with me?” Leah’s smile dimmed a little. “Please? Sam and Kash have bought tickets.”
He thought maybe she’d make an excuse. He could read in her eyes a list of doubts. A very long minute ticked by.
“No society princesses you could ask instead?”
