For half a second, he’s still, and then he laughs, deep and rumbling, and I can feel it, the vibrations of his chest traveling throughme.
“Oh yeah?” he says.
“Yeah.” I run my foot up the back of his bare leg. “It’s appalling. I never knew I had a thing for guys in kilts until you.”
A smile plays at his mouth. “Guysin kilts or…”
I roll my eyes. “Fine,” I say, and he laughs again. “You. I have a thing foryouin a kilt.”
He rewards my honesty with another kiss, and I pull him toward me. He’s been holding himself up, hovering above me, but I want to feel the weight of him, the pressure, the feel of his body against mine.
“I have a thing foryouin everything,” he says when he breaks away, the words the faintest whisper against my lips.
And whatever balance we’ve struck tonight begins to wobble.
Because that doesn’t sound like the continuation of a one-night stand. Fleeting and light. Something we’ll both walk away from in a few days.
It sounds like…more.
“Jacob,” I say, and he freezes, his hand going still in my hair.
“What?” he asks.
I lick my lips, my mouth feeling dry.
“Tell me,” he says softly.
It loosens the tight sensation in my chest, and the words flow out of me.
“I want this,” I say. “Tonight. But I just want to make sure that you know…that’s all it can be. That we can’t—” I stop, a little unsure. Maybe I’m reading too much into things. Maybe I’m assuming too much, but I want to be clear with him. I’m leaving soon and this can’t…I can’t let this become anything more.
His hand moves then, his fingers lightly brushing through my hair. “So, just tonight?” he asks lightly, but I can see the slight strain in his face, can hear the effort in his voice that he’s trying to hide.
“I—” I hesitate. “I don’t know what else we could…”
He holds still for a moment, and then he kisses my temple. “It’s fine,” he says. “Tonight. I understand.”
I feel a tinge of regret. “Jacob,” I start, not quite sure what I want to say. I don’t want to hurt him, but I have to set these terms, have to make the parameters clear. Otherwise, I’m the one at risk of getting hurt. “Are you sure you’re okay with—”
He pulls back, and that small tinge of regret blossoms into something greater.
He’s done with me,I think. The sense of loss is immediate.
But he doesn’t move farther away. He remains above me, his gaze gentle.
“If all we have is tonight, I’d like to make the most of it,” he says softly. He leans down, brushing his lips against mine, the faintest kiss. “Wouldn’t you?” he asks.
“Yes,” I breathe against his mouth. “Yes.”
He settles more firmly against me, and with the weight of him, the feel of him against me, it’s like a switch has turned off in my brain. Like all the thoughts that usually travel a mile a minute through my mind are suddenly quiet, at peace.
“You smell so good,” Jacob says, his mouth following the curve of my neck, his tongue dipping into the hollow of my collarbone.
Oh my god.
I didn’t realize how sensitive I am there. How good that would feel.
“What is it?” Jacob asks.
