No, I wasn’t an idiot to think she’d thought of me first. I must have been last on her list.
Exhaling roughly, and unable to stop myself, I glanced back at her. The silvery moonlight spilled through the window, highlighting her profile and glinting off the multiple studs marching along the shell of her ear. Her lashes appeared like a dark arc over her cheekbones, her lips relaxed in sleep, revealing its lush shape—a mouth that could toss out insults to make a man want to hide. Her brow puckered a little as if she was in pain.
I reached out and gently stroked the small creases between her eyebrows and then brushed back her silky, dark hair with its purple streaks. I had no idea why she tried to change the way she looked. Ray was impossibly beautiful. All the damn dickheads in the bar wanted her. I’d heard more than enough of their crude jokes, but we usually put an end to those.
A low sigh drifted from her. Stunning me senseless, she shifted closer as if seeking warmth. Her body trembled, and she slipped her arm over my chest. I didn’t kid myself, in the light of day, Ray wouldn’t touch me with a ten-foot-long barge pole. It’d taken heavy sedation for this miracle to happen.
“Jack?”
At least she knew it was me. Feeling like a schoolboy with his first crush—crush? Hell, I was crazy attracted to her. “Yeah?” My voice sounded like it belonged to another, like I hadn’t used it.
“Hold me. Feel…c-cold.”
Careful of her wound, I drew her closer and settled her against me, her head resting on my chest. I gently ran my palm down her side. “I have you, Ray.”
A small, pained moan escaped her, and I wanted to find that damn fucker and kill him. But with her bare, luscious breasts pressed against my chest, and her too warm body aligned with my side, another problem arose. After several months of disinterest, my cock stirred. Desire uncoiled and reformed into dark need. Gritting my teeth, I tried to get my tightly wound body under control when she sighed and slid her hand to my lower abs. An inch or more lower, and she’d have her palm on my half-mast cock.
Fuuuuck!
I grasped her slender fingers, and her eyelids flickered opened. Glittery hazel eyes stared blankly at me. Man. If this was karma’s lesson for my past, then I was paying big time.
She stretched up and kissed me.
My cock jerked to full-on erect.
Hell, I could play a saint and stop. But I was no fucking saint, and I wanted this girl so damn bad. So, I remained still and let her do as she wanted. Her soft mouth moved against mine in a tormenting and sensual kiss as if learning the shape of my lips. She sucked and nipped on my top lip then ran her tongue along my lower one. Her questing hand slid up and framed my face.
My heart thudded hard as if it would crack through my ribs, and my lungs burned since I’d stopped breathing. I longed to deepen the kiss, but this wasn’t about me.
I prepared to ease away because her tempting mouth was damn near shredding my sanity, and I didn’t want her to do more damage to herself. Then she sighed and ceased her torment. Her head settled back on my chest, and her hand slid along my cheek before falling to my pec. With a soft sigh, she nestled against me and fell asleep.
Inhaling a harsh breath, the thought of sleep long gone, I glared at the ceiling as if that would help.
Yeah, I’d teased Ray about starring in my dreams, but the dark truth was that my dreams and reality were the same, an endless loop of emptiness—an abyss of nothing. Even if I caught a glimpse of something good, it slipped through my fingers and was taken away—
My jaw hardened. No one would take her away from me. No one.
RAY
A shaft of sunlight seeped beneath my barely parted eyelids, forcing me to shut them again as a bongo drumroll continued inside my skull. I shivered, a moan breaking free. God, what the hell did I do last night?
I rubbed my brow and peered through slitted lids, taking in the white—or pale gray?—walls. I couldn’t be sure which. Navy, undrawn drapes framed massive scenic windows at the far side of the room, revealing a living area near the fireplace and windows. A pale gray sectional faced the hearth. The warm body I snuggled against feltsooogood. A hand stroked my side down to my waist and hips, and I pressed closer to all that deliciously hard, male heat…wait,maleheat?
Frowning, I tried to recall last night, but that made my head hurt, made me feel as if I’d rammed it against a wall. God, even my face and body ached—
“Good morning.”
At the low, husky voice, my head snapped up, my skull colliding with a rock-hard jaw.Oww. I whimpered, squeezing my eyes tight, more pain strumming through me as I gingerly rubbed my tender brow.
A low curse crowded my ears. The body beside me shifted, rose.
My eyelids snapped open, and amused ice-gray eyes peered down at me.
I blinked, then blinked again, my foggy brain not computing. “Jack?”
“So, which number on your list would this be?” he drawled, resting on his forearm. “I think number four, but you’re not wearing any pajamas, so…”
Oh no—oh, God!Panic took hold, and I shoved hard. Jack fell off the bed, laughing. I glanced down at myself.Nooo.I bit off a shriek, grabbed the navy sheet, clutching it to my naked breasts. Nausea churned in my stomach. I wanted to vomit. “Tell me we didn’t—I didn’t sleep with you.”
