“Fuck, Eliza,” he ground out between kisses, his voice tight. “Tell me to stop.”
“No.”
It was just that. Just that one simple word, but its effect on him was instantaneous. He let out a disbelieving sound, but his mouth crashed into mine with renewed fervor, his fingertips tightening on my hips.
I sucked in a breath, suddenly trembling as anticipation rolled through me. Jesse let out another low sound. “Please tell me that’s just because you’re cold.”
“No.”Gosh, I really am on a roll. So eloquent.
Once again, however, the word appeared to be his undoing, despite being the opposite of what you would expect him to want to hear under the circumstances. He ran his hands more firmly up my sides, not stopping until he was cupping my breasts.
“Oh.” I arched into him, not quite sure whether it was normal to be so utterly consumed by hormones that I’d been reduced to single syllables, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. Especially not when his tongue slid against mine in the most delicious ways and his thumbs moved up to brush over my nipples. Sparksof relief and pleasure shot through me, practically making my knees buckle as I moaned.
As if Jesse had sensed that my legs were no longer trustworthy, he brought one hand to my hip and his fingers held me in a bruising grasp that I adored. But I was also surprised by it. I hadn’t expected him to get sofirm.
A moment later, he slowed his fervent kisses until his mouth left mine. He didn’t step away from me, though.
“Let’s go,” he murmured against my lips. “I’m not doing this here.”
Oh, thank God.
I’d thought he was putting an end to things again, but instead, his grip on my hips tightened and his other arm slid around me as well. Before I could ask what he was doing, he scooped me clean off my feet and picked me up as effortlessly as if I was a bag of potatoes.
Giggles erupted from my lips before I could stop them. My hands grabbed at his back to hold my balance as he strode down the hall. “Where are we going?”
“Somewhere I don’t have to worry about either of us cracking our heads open if our legs give out.”
“You felt that?” Heat rushed to my cheeks, but as soon as he spoke, the embarrassment receded.
“Felt what? I was talking about myself.”
“You’re a real darling, trying to take the blame for it.”
He chuckled, one hand wrapping around my thigh to keep me safely across his shoulder. “Trust me, I’m not being gallant right now.”
There was an edge to his tone that I didn’t like, a sharper, almost dry note that made it sound like he thought himself something of a villain. Perhaps my imagination was simply overactive on account of all those books I’d read, but I couldn’t help feeling like something was amiss.
The living and dining rooms flashed at the edges of my vision as he strode to his destination, the hardwood floors gleaming under his feet. I literally hung on for the ride, my nerve endings too alive to ruin the mood by questioning his apparent guilt.
Trust me, I’m not being gallant right now.
The words repeated over and over through my head until I was tumbling—gently—onto a bed. When I refocused on my surroundings, I found myself in what appeared to be the master bedroom of the townhouse.
Or perhaps it was simply a much larger, much more lived-in guest room than my own. There was a large, open walk-in closet on one side that contained row upon row of somber, serious-colored suits, navy, black, and gray abounding.
Ties and belts hung neatly from mounted rails and even the shoes were more orderly than any such collection I’d ever seen. There was a backlit case filled with what appeared to be watches and cufflinks, certainly not the kind of thing I’d expect in a bedroom one would only be occupying temporarily.
But I supposed Jesse had moved in with Will. Perhaps he’d simply wanted to be comfortable instead of feeling like he was in limbo.
As my gaze sped around the room, I decided that had to be true. There were knickknacks on a dark wood dresser, a half-open drawer revealing piles of socks. Beyond the bedroom was also an en-suite bathroom, its counters filled with toiletries in precise rows.
Jesse stole my attention back to him when he stepped up to the bed. His fingers slowly worked on the buttons of his shirt, but those blue eyes were locked on mine. “I can give you a tour if you’d prefer.”
“Don’t you dare.” My gaze dropped away from his to follow the deft movements of his hands. My pulse quickened when hefinally pulled the last bit of his shirt out of his trousers and flicked open the final button.
Without making much of a show of it, he let the shirt slide from his shoulders and it fluttered to the floor, revealing that same deliciously carved abdomen I’d seen in my bathroom back home. Only it was different now because his eyes were laser focused on mine. He reached for his belt and I gasped like an innocent little wallflower when he undid his fly next.
“You can stop me at any time, Eliza.”
