Despite everything he’d said about sex earlier, I wanted his kiss more than anything in the world. I’d tried to be mature by not kissing him like I’d wanted when I’d had the chance, but now I was thinking I’d squandered the opportunity.
God, it was all just so complicated.
But as he held me there in his arms, all I could think was,Fuck complicated – I want to know what it’s like to have a man’s mouth moving over mine.This man’s mouth.
So much for my promise to myself to keep my distance from him. I couldn’t afford to need him like I had for so very long. But just because it wasn’t good for me didn’t mean I didn’t crave it just the same.
“Is this a good spot?” Jace asked.
“What?” I asked. I didn’t give a shit where we were when he kissed me. I was pretty certain the second his lips touched mine, the rest of the world would cease to exist.
“Maybe something closer to the bridge? Or one of the inlets?”
God, he was talking about fishing.
“Oh, um, yeah, an inlet might be better. It’s quieter.”
Jace released me and stepped aside so I could walk ahead of him. It took a few minutes to get the boat in position and go through all of Dalton’s fishing gear.
“I think he left some bait for us in the fridge,” Jace said. He disappeared below deck and returned a few minutes later with a plastic container.
“Clams… nice,” I said as I took it from him. “We’ll start by just casting and see how it goes. If we don’t get any bites, we can try trolling.”
Jace looked at me blankly, and I couldn’t help but laugh. He hadn’t been kidding. The man was completely clueless when it came to fishing.
“I’ll take care of you,” I said with another laugh.
Jace’s eyes held mine for a moment and we once again got lost in that place where it seemed like only the two of us existed.
“I have no doubt you will,” he finally said.
I wanted to say a lot of things to him in that moment, but then I remembered who I was and who he was, and that was enough to have me turning away from him so I could focus on the task at hand.
Anything to keep from reaching for Jace and begging him not to leave me again.
“Son of a bitch!”
“Again?” I said in disbelief as I turned to look over my shoulder at Jace. I stifled a laugh at the sight of Jace caught in the awkward position of holding his rod over his head, the line stuck behind him somewhere. I quickly put my own rod in the holder and then hurried to his side.
“God, you weren’t kidding,” I said as I eyed the hook that had gotten caught on one of the loops of Jace’s jeans. Fortunately, the sharp tip hadn’t penetrated the material and reached his skin. “You really do suck.”
“You going to help me out?” Jace growled, though there was no true anger behind his words.
I dropped to my knees so I could get a better look at the hook and work it free of the thick denim. “Okay, got it,” I said after a minute of working it loose. Jace carefully maneuvered the rod and then turned to face me.
That was when I realized I was still on my knees.
In front of him.
Tantalizingly close to…
I stumbled to my feet. Jace grabbed my elbow to steady me, butI quickly pulled free of him. My body felt like it was on fire. “I’ll… I’ll re-bait your hook,” I stuttered. I avoided Jace’s gaze as I worked. “Do you want to try casting again?” I asked when I was finished. Jace’s eyes were still on me, but I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
“No, not sure my ass can take a second hit.”
His attempt to lighten the tension worked and I found myself smiling. I took the rod from him, avoiding touching him as I did so, then quickly re-baited the hook and cast the line into the water. I returned to my seat and Jace did the same. The silence between us grew, causing my anxiety to build.
“So, um, you can’t ski, cook, or fish,” I blurted. “What can you do? Besides save my life and stuff,” I added, flashing him a slight smile.
